invested in her life, including the people who insisted she be protected right now like Bast and Elijah and a few others.
“Is this like witness protection and—”
“Anyone you want to know you’re alive, will.” He cupped her cheek in his palm in a gesture so reassuring she almost sighed. “This setup is purely for cover for those in your old office most prone to panic.”
She snorted. Couldn’t help it. “So, most of them.”
“Yeah.”
“Thank you.” The words came out softer than she intended but the feeling behind them was heartfelt.
After she’d nearly driven him mad with her stubbornness he should rightly hate her. She pushed and denied right up to the point where he drugged her and got her on the plane. Not her finest moment, but the lack of trust came from a very real place. A shaky one that wanted life to shift back to normal, even though she knew that could never happen. She’d made that decision the day she opted to keep her people safe over covering her own ass.
Before he could say anything to ruin the moment, she rushed to set some emotional ground rules. “And don’t say you’re only here because you’re being paid. I mean, I know that’s true and all.”
“Natalie.”
He stared at her until the heat bore into her and she looked up. “Yes?”
“I am here because I want to be here. You are going to my house in Virginia because I want you there.”
The words washed over her. She turned each one over and around, looking for a hidden meaning, and didn’t find one. He wanted to be with her. Her, little Natalie from the trailer park. Little Natalie who killed her father and couldn’t save her mother.
Emotion clogged her throat. She knew she should say something profound but nothing came to her. Her mind got stuck on the beautiful comments he made. The ones she’d hug close in the future when and if her new life fell apart.
She settled for expedient. “Then let’s go crash a plane.”
He held up a finger. “Fake crash.”
“Yeah, let’s definitely do it that way.” She glanced around the tiny bedroom and looked into the family room beyond. “I’m going to miss this place.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
The words finally came to her. Stuttering and a little disjointed, but the idea behind them stuck with her. “Actually yes, since I’m taking the one thing I would miss along with me.”
He nodded. “The shampoo?”
“You.”
• • •
Andy didn’t even look up from the file in front of him when Rick walked into his office. He’d insisted on being buzzed in five minutes ago. Andy seriously considered pretending not to be in.
This is why he preferred being in the field. No one just stopped by out there. No one annoyed him with mindless chatter. He had no idea how Gabe tolerated running this place and managed to do it without killing anyone. That was some impressive personal strength right there.
Andy kept flipping pages even though he had read through this operation report several times already. “You’re starting to be here a lot.”
Without any introduction or hello Rick dropped into the open chair across from Andy. “My guy was right. They’re together.”
The next thing on the agenda was to remove that extra chair. Maybe making people stand would usher them out of his office faster. But first he needed to figure out what mess Rick had created now. “And you know this how?”
“I went to Montana.”
Of course he did. Hopped on a plane, flew to an area where no one lived except militia members and off-the-grid types and bothered Gabe. Andy thought there had to be a better job out there than the family business. He thought maybe he and Gabe should take it. “Now there was a terrible idea.”
Rick slouched down in the chair and crossed one leg over the other. “Gabe didn’t exactly welcome me to the place.”
“You thought surprising him out there, in the middle of nowhere . . . the guy who’s an expert shot, by the way, was a good idea.” It was a wonder they weren’t planning a funeral right now. “You’re lucky to be alive.”
“Natalie wasn’t exactly happy to see me either.” Rick frowned. “Threatened to kill me more than once. Seemed mighty connected to Gabe.”
“Not a surprise.” At least not the first part. Natalie might be on the run, but that woman was capable. She also had a loyalty streak that rivaled Gabe’s.
But the last part piqued Andy’s interest. Gabe’s attraction to her wasn’t exactly