of those who threaten the country.” She looked away, sucking in a deep breath, not noticing the stunned expression on his face. “Never would I have asked you to leave.”
“How do you know about what I do?” His voice had turned hard.
Incredulous, she crossed her arms. “Truly? Twice, you’ve rescued me from terrorists, one time including my parents. You and the others were dressed in full combat gear, your words and actions screaming a military connection, which to me meant SEALs. Since you never replied to my requests to talk, refused to acknowledge me after the rescues, I decided to do some digging.”
“Well, shit. What did you find?”
“First, it wasn’t easy.”
He walked to within inches of her face. “Only an expert hacker could cut through the layers of bullshit to find us. Is that what you became since I knew you? Who are you working for, Brit, because what you did indicates you’re no longer on our side.”
Glaring at him, her face heated in open anger. “That’s crap and you know it! I had a source, and don’t ask me for a name because you’ll never get it.”
“Why were you searching for me? What in the hell would make you take such a big risk by hacking into highly secure government databases? And don’t tell me you were just curious.”
She planted her feet, refusing to let him intimidate her. “That’s none of your business.”
“The hell it isn’t. A handful of people are cleared for any information about Eternal Brethren, and you aren’t one of them.” He gripped her shoulders, shaking her lightly. “Tell me why.”
“I had my reasons.”
“Fine. Tell me.” His grip tightened.
“Dammit, Scott. It’s need to know, and you don’t need to know.”
Throwing back his head, Fuse barked out a laugh. “Sweetheart, my clearance is about as high as you can get.” He didn’t admit that those in DEVGRU/ST6 receive top security clearance. “Stop stalling and spit it out.” Lowering his voice, he stroked his hands up and down her arms, wanting to calm their conversation down. “You’re not leaving here until we’ve talked this through and I’ve learned everything you discovered.”
Fuse couldn’t even begin to imagine the danger to his team if they were exposed to the public. Each member would have a large target on their back, as would their families. There’d be the same danger faced by all SEAL teams. In their case, revealing their mission and identities to the Night Devils and Demons Blood would mean a death sentence. At a minimum, they’d be disbanded, transferred back to DEVGRU, all the time and work digging into the outlaw MC world lost.
Drawing her to him, he wrapped his arms around her. At first, she stiffened, going rigid in his arms. Continuing to caress her back, he lowered his head, brushing a kiss across her temple.
“I know this wasn’t some attempt to sate your curiosity, babe.” He kissed her again, this time lingering several seconds longer.
Placing a finger under her chin, he raised her head. Seeing the agony in her eyes, he was tempted to let it go. But he couldn’t. If she was able to discover the data on Eternal Brethren, so could their enemies.
“I…” She closed her eyes, shaking her head.
“Whatever the reason, I’ll do what I can to keep it between us.”
Choking out a chuckle, she opened her eyes, seeing the sincerity in his sparkling green eyes. “I did it because I still love you.”
Chapter Twenty
Holy hell. Of all the reasons Brittany could’ve given, still loving him was the last one Fuse expected. He’d seen it in her eyes more than once since the op began. Hearing her admit it rocked him.
“You still love me?”
Feeling her face flush, she took a step away, waving a hand in the air. “Stupid, I know.” She shrugged, still backing away. “Didn’t matter what I did to occupy my time or who I dated, you were always the one, Scott.” She could’ve dropped into a hole at what she’d revealed.
Eyes wide, he stepped closer, unable to draw a full breath. “Then why did you send me away?”
Tears burned the backs of her eyes. Clenching her hands, she refused to let them fall. Admitting she still loved him was hard enough. Revealing the rest would be much more difficult.
It would expose how weak she’d been, and the extent of her parents’ determination to end their relationship. She didn’t want Scott to hate her father and mother.
Brittany reminded herself she was no longer the sweet, mild-mannered woman who Scott loved.