Page 36 of Rescuing Josiah
Then something inside him shifted.
A petite brunette with stormy gray eyes and a heart of gold. Her dedication to standing beside him and offers of friendship meant he could no longer just shut himself away. Physically or emotionally.
Every time he turned around Chelsea was there, physically, or he could smell the sweet lavender scent of her perfume orhear her puttering about the house. But it ran deeper than that. Somehow, she had him starting to believe that there could be more to life than his self-imposed exile.
It was a terrifying thought.
His survival and his sanity relied on his not letting anyone get close. He didn't enjoy cutting his family out of his life or giving in to his growing feelings for Chelsea, but he had to do what he had to do.
Didn't he?
“Josiah.” Chelsea poked him in the leg, and he blinked as he looked over at her.
Like it had all morning, his gaze zeroed in on her neck. He couldn’t see her skin beneath the high neck of her dress, but he knew beneath the soft pink material, there had to be bruises. Bruises he’d put on her delicate skin.
The reminder was exactly what he needed right now. A reminder of the damage he could cause if he weakened and let Chelsea in. Already he was slipping. It was getting easier to spend time with her, he’d joked with her at breakfast, laughed, and enjoyed the comfortable silence. How much further could he slip over the next few days or weeks?
“Yeah?”
“Raven asked about uploading a virus onto Dr. Wood’s computer the next time we go there,” Chelsea explained patiently. “They want to try to see how he’s communicating with the rest of the trafficking ring. The code works for other hospital employees, but he has to have another way of contacting the ring. I said I think next time we’re there, we can figure out a way to get you alone in the room so you can upload the virus. And don’t go acting all outraged like you don’t want me to be in danger.”
Snickers and chuckles came from the computer, and he knew the rest of their team was watching the exchange, waiting to see how he was going to respond.
Of course, he wanted to explode and absolutely forbid Chelsea to follow through on whatever idea was currently running through her head. The last thing he wanted was for her to be in danger.
But …
That’s why they were here.
This whole thing was dangerous, and he’d agreed to be part of it even if the idea of Chelsea in danger had always made him feel sick. He trusted her. At least in this. She’d proven herself to be a talented actress, and to be brave and strong. She was handling all of this like a champ, and implying otherwise felt like insulting her.
“We can do that,” he agreed.
“We can?” Chelsea’s eyes widened in shock enough that he couldn’t help but smile.
“You’re right, it’s dangerous, but not any more than what we’re already doing. We’ll work out a plan that minimizes risks,” he said, refocusing on the screen.
“Perfect,” Raven said. “We’ll leave you two to work on that. Update us once you have your plan worked out so we can assist in any way necessary. This is the list of employees we were able to identify through the coded messages. We’ll brief you both on all of them, and if you get any chance to make a connection with them run with it.”
As members of his team began detailing the information they had so far compiled, Chelsea leaned slightly closer. Not enough that anyone on the call would notice, but enough that he felt the heat of her body seep into him.
“Thank you,” she murmured.
“For what?”
“For not freaking out, for believing in me, for wanting to work with me instead of against me.”
Her words were simple, but he felt the weight of them. The weight of her gratitude for something as simple as him working with her as the partners they were supposed to be.
There was no way in hell he couldn’t imagine what it would be like to truly be Chelsea’s partner. She was headstrong, sure, and he was quickly learning that she was a risk-taker, but he was also learning that he liked seeing that side of her.
For all the years he’d known her, he’d always believed she was too soft, too sweet, too innocent for the work they did. While he believed she could handle it, he’d never thought she could take what they did and make it work out in the real world, where there was real danger, real threats.
But she could.
From the looks of things, she could handle anything. She certainly took his anger in stride.
Why couldn’t things be different?
