Page 26 of Unexpected Heroine

With dozens of confusing questions racing to the front of my mind and clambering to be asked, I don’t know where to begin.

There’s no way I’m going to be able to organize my chaotic thoughts. Why bother?

Feeling more like myself than I have in days, I start word-vomiting my questions. “Let’s see. Tell me a little about your job and who those people were. Is it normal to be involved in a dangerous operation like that? Do you do IT, or was that a cover? How did you find me? How did you know what to do once you found me? How did you know I was even gone? And what is going to happen to the men from the house and the ones who abducted me? Did someone call the cops? Do I need to talk to them? Because I don’t think I’m ready for that.”

He grimaces, lifting his hand to halt my rambling. “That’s the exact opposite of one question at a time, but I’ll do my best to answer them.”

I lean forward to squeeze his forearm. “Sorry. Please answer as much as you can. I’ll try not to interrupt.”

To be fair, I’ll undoubtedly fail. But I will try.

“Redleg Security is the only place I’ve worked since I got out of the Army. It’s a private security firm, mostly bodyguards and home or business security systems. I’m the head of intel and IT there, but I occasionally do field work when we have more cases than guards. We’ve expanded over the last few years and have added several teams, so that happens less frequently. Most of the field staff are former military special ops or law enforcement.” He clears his throat. “The man who was upset with us last night is my boss. He owns Redleg. I helped him start up the company several years ago. We call him Big Al, and I’ve known him for about fifteen years.”

Exactly as predicted, I interrupt him when he takes his next breath. “I heard someone mention the name Big Al when we were in the van, but I assumed it was the giant guy. Who was that dude? Why did it seem like he and your boss were so pissed off? You did a good thing by saving everyone.”

His throat bobs with a tight swallow. “The big guy is Leo. His sister was the one who was abducted last year. Remember that?”

“Yes, of course. Why would he be pissed that you rescued me? That makes even less sense in light of what happened to his sister.”

I find myself growing agitated at the thoughts swirling through my head. The fact that some of his friends or coworkers were upset that he rescued me doesn’t sit right. It’s like a ball of fire igniting inside me.

Likely noticing my mood shift, James skims his hand up my leg, squeezing gently just above my knee to slow my spiral.

I take a deep breath and force myself to relax.

As I sink deeper into the pillow, a twinge of discomfort knifes through me. I try not to wince, but I’ve never been good at hiding my reactions. Especially those involving physical pain.

“Hold on a second. Let me go get you some acetaminophen.” He removes my legs from his lap and springs to his feet before I can react.

My throat threatens to close, and I ball my hands into fists. My pulse immediately spikes.

He’s only leaving the room for a split second. I’m not alone. I’m perfectly safe where I am.

Well, this is a super-duper pooper. He’s only going into the bathroom. Am I a grown adult or a high-strung poodle? I should be able to be in a room by myself.

“Getting you some water, sugar,” he announces as he passes by me en route to the kitchen.

And he’s gone again.

I pointedly focus on the ice clinking in the glass and his footsteps to reassure myself of his presence.

By the time he returns about twenty seconds later, I’m about to crawl out of my skin.

Unaware that I’m pitching a duck fit with a tail on it, James hands me two pills and the glass. With a shaky hand, I toss them back. While I’m at it, I finish the rest of the water, carefully sipping so I don’t ralph up my cheesy scrambled eggs.

He rejoins me on the couch, lovingly snuggling my legs back onto his lap. He might as well just have swaddled me in a cocoon.

After heaving a shaky exhale, he resumes his explanation. “Okay, where were we?” He doesn’t wait for my response. “Leo and Boss weren’t upset that we rescued you or the other girls. We do that type of thing at Redleg. Not all the time, but we’ve done it before.”

“When you say?—”

He cuts me off with his quasi-Dom look. Instantly, I fall in line.

He’s the only human on the face of the earth who can silence me with a look. Weirdly, it’s never a hostile expression or threatening. Instead, it simply conveys that he’s in charge, allowing me to relax. Leave everything to him.

So I do.

My ADHD squirrel is like . . . okay, yep. I’ll behave now, sir.