Page 19 of The Pretenders of Copper County
I couldn’t listen to that bullshit. Not now.
As it was, I knew I’d be spending the night keeping watch in the wingback chair. Not only was the situation next door giving me a bad feeling—the kind I’d learned not to ignore—but I hadn’t managed to make my protectee drop his act and admit he needed protection. The second I left the room, Chris would probably start tying his bedsheets together and making anotherbreak for it.
“Go to sleep,” I told him. I took my seat right next to the bed and set my jaw so he’d know I meant business.
“Now? Here?” He bit his lip. “Okay, but I’d really like?—”
“I don’t care. I’m done talking for tonight, and neither one of us is going anywhere, so stop fucking arguing andsleep.”
He blinked at me from behind his glasses. “I’m not arguing,” he said softly. “I don’t argue. I was going to ask if I could use the bathroom and brush my teeth.”
Fucking Christ. How did he always make me feel likeIwas the asshole?
Maybe because you’re being an asshole?a voice in my head that sounded suspiciously like my brother Knox suggested.
I ignored it.
“Yeah. Fine. Use the bathroom.”
But because, asshole or not, I was also determined not to fuck up this assignment. I stood in the hall outside while he used the bathroom, brushed his teeth with a spare brush, and drank several glasses of water.
Finally, he climbed back onto the bed, and I retook my chair, which hadn’t gotten any more comfortable. In an effort to ignore him, I took out my Hellcat and ran through my usual checks. The familiar clicks reassured me everything was in order, so I placed the gun back in the bag and dragged it closer to my chair.
Chris tried a stare-off with me for about three seconds before inhaling a shaky breath and scooting up the bed to slide under the covers. He removed his glasses and set them under his pillow. Then he finally,finallyclosed those pretty eyes—I mean,duplicitouseyes—pulled the covers up to hischin, and let out a forlorn little sigh that made my chest clench.
The quilt was a mishmash of garish purple cow-print patches and pastel fabric imprinted with faded peaches. The pattern hurt to look at but was also strangely hard to look away from—or at least that’s what I told myself as the minutes passed by and I continued to stare at my protectee.
There was certainly no other reason why I watched his chest rise and fall beneath the blanket. No other reason why I noticed the hank of brown hair falling over his pale forehead and had to clench my fingers against the need to smooth it back. No other reason why my chest felt hot and an unfamiliar, heavy discomfort in my gut made me turn away and glare at the window while imagining him throwing his leg over so he could scramble down the damn trellis.
Thank fuck he hadn’t gotten seriously hurt.
“Reed?” he whispered after a minute. “Are you going to bed also? Because if you are, you should probably?—”
“Sleep, Chris,” I barked. Though his eyes remained closed, I felt like I’d been caught out somehow, and it made me sound more pissed off than I’d intended.
“Sleep, Chris,” he muttered. “Sit, Chris. Stay, Chris. You know nothing, Chris.” He turned on his side toward me and pounded his pillow. “I don’t believe you, Chris.” He paused before tightening his lips and inhaling through his nose. “You’re… you’re not very nice, you know.”
“Neither are you,” I snapped back while trying to get comfortable in the chair. It was going to be a long night, but I wasn’t about to leave him alone again.
He froze. “I am so.” Then, he added more uncertainly, “Sometimes people tell me I’m too nice.”
I thought back to how quickly he’d agreed to get in astranger’s car earlier today. Maybe hewastoo nice. “Hey, if no one contacted you to let you know I was coming?—”
“They didn’t.” Chris sighed. “I swear they didn’t.”
“Then why the hell did you get in my car?”
“Because I thought…” Chris’s cheeks went from annoyed pink to mortified red. He swallowed. “Er. Never mind. I-I think you’re right. I should go to sleep now.”
I frowned. What the hell did that mean?
I opened my mouth to insist that he reply but clamped my teeth together at the last second. It didn’t matter what he said when I wasn’t sure I could believe him. And, if I was brutally honest with myself, it didn’t even matter if I believed him because either way, my job was to protecthim.
When his breathing finally evened out in sleep, I grabbed my phone and typed out an update for Janissey becausesomebodyaround here needed to follow protocol, though I had no idea when he’d receive it. Were there support people still in the office? Was anyone monitoring the Evanoviches? Would I be getting regular updates? In the morning, I’d have to demand some answers… from somebody.
I flipped off the light, settled back into the chair, and used a breathing technique I’d learned during training to finally fall into an uneasy sleep. But it was only an hour or so later that I woke again, this time to the sound of men’s voices below the window.
Probably Kenny and his buddies,but I pushed out of my chair and peeked out the curtain again to be sure.
