Page 88 of Her Reluctant Hero
Santiago had hated spending any extended period of time with Hector because he was so noisy. Santiago was accustomed to everyone doing what he wanted, not taking into account Hector was only a child.
So she waited for Alex to lose his temper. So far, though, he only watched the child warily.
She wanted to ask him what this all meant, that he was still here with her, but every time she met his gaze, his was guarded. She didn’t know how to get past that.
“We’re heading to Orlando after this,” he told her when the waitress came to clear the plates.
“Why?” She wiped absently at Hector’s mouth, as if she hadn’t been out of practice for four months.
He flicked a glance at Hector. “I’ve been given forty-eight hours of leave and we’re going to Disney World.” He mouthed the last two words so the boy wouldn’t hear.
An emotion she was afraid to name bubbled up so that she had to push the words out. “You don’t have to do that. I’m already happier than I’ve ever been.”
He folded his napkin and tossed it on the table, not looking at her. “I keep my word, Bella.”
What did that mean? She knew that. He’d said he’d protect her and he had. He said he’d get her son back and he had. The Disney World promise—that had just been to get her through it, right?
Or not.
So they drove to Orlando. Alex got them a room with two double beds on the resort, and after a trip to Walmart to replenish their supplies, courtesy of the US Army this time, Isabella gave her son a bubble bath. The splashing and giggling held Alex’s attention, a foreign sound, and he resisted the urge to go watch. This was their time together and they needed to be alone, no matter how much Alex ached to be a part of it.
Once the kid came barreling out of the bathroom, wrapped only in a towel to bounce on the bed, Alex rose to walk to the bathroom. They hadn’t had much time to talk, especially for him to scold her, not when she’d been hurt, then anxious, then so happy. Now her emotions had evened out, and it was time. He braced his hands in the doorway and she beamed up at him, truly glowed.
“You scared the hell out of me when you went with Danes, you know.”
She dropped her gaze and he cursed himself for making her smile dim.
“I know. I’m sorry. I thought—you trusted him. When I saw him pull up, I thought he’d come to tell us about Hector.”
“I did trust him,” he admitted. “I was stupid.”
The smile disappeared altogether now. Good. She got that he didn’t trust anyone, not even her.
“But you came after me.” She looked up at him with adoration in those big brown eyes.
“I did,” he agreed, wanting to turn away. But he was no coward. “You were my responsibility. I was supposed to keep you safe.”
Hurt flashed in her eyes. “That’s not all I am to you, Alex. If it was, you would have said goodbye to us at the airport instead of bringing us back to Orlando.”
“I’m your protector. With Santiago behind bars, you don’t need me.” As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized instead of sounding cruel to push her away, he sounded needy.
She heard it too, damn her, and stood to move closer, letting the sopping towels fall into the tub. Her fingers were cool and wet as she touched his cheek.
“I need you. I love you, Alex.”
He took a step back and looked away sharply at her words. “You don’t. You don’t know anything about me other than I saved your life and brought you your son.”
She laughed. “That’s a lot to know.” She came nearer. “You stood by me through all of this. You risked everything to help me. You risked your career, the respect of everyone around you to help me. You killed someone who meant something to you to help me. You’re my hero.”
He turned to her then. “I’m not a hero all the time, Bella.”
“No?” She smiled. “When aren’t you?”
“When I used to sell drugs.”
She blinked, surprised, and let her hand fall away. “You did?” She glanced past him to her son, who was happily engrossed in a SpongeBob cartoon Alex had turned on. He waited for her to return her attention to him. He needed to see her reaction.
He needed to push her and her child away.
