Page 21 of Rescuing Erin

I was a little embarrassed at what they’d find. Not that I had anything to hide but the “friends” they’d check out would take less time than they thought. There were very few people I worked with who could even be considered acquaintances, and the boyfriends would be even faster. There had only been one since high school.

“Why do you think this is happening?”

“I don’t know. But I promise we’ll figure it out. Tomorrow, when we get to Abe’s cabin, we’ll have a secure line to Zane. There’s a chance they’ve already started to put the pieces together.”

“Thank you for sharing.”

“I already told you, from now on I’ll share what I can. But I want you to understand there will be things I can’t tell you. It’s not because I don’t think you deserve to know or I’m purposefully being a dick, but I am bound by my word not to talk about certain things.”

“What type of things?”

“Nice try, sunshine.” He smiled and settled back on the pillow, pulling me back to his chest. “You should get some sleep. I wanna leave first thing.”

“I’m not tired.” His body started to shake with silent laughter. “What’s funny?”

“You just told me you were tired and wanted a shower.”

“That was five minutes ago.”

“And in the last five minutes, you’ve changed your mind?”

“Well I changed my mind about three minutes ago when we started talking about super-secret coded messages.”

He shook harder and chuckled as he said, “Super-secret messages. You’re a nut.”

For some reason Colin laughing warmed my insides, even if it was at my expense. In all the time I’d spent around him he rarely looked happy. I wanted to know why, then I wanted to figure out a way to change that. The closed off, silent but deadly side of Colin was sexy as hell. All it had taken was one look at his tough guy exterior and I was schoolgirl crushing. However this side of Colin, the softer, funny side where the fierce and gentle protector mingled—was swoon worthy.

“Thanks, I think.” The hand that was resting on my hip squeezed and I liked that, too. “Tell me about your family.”

“What about them?”

“I don’t know. Anything. You know all about mine.”

“I’m finding I don’t know as much about you as I thought I knew.”

I wanted to ask what that meant but I was too afraid of the answer. Too afraid he’d say something nice, and the infatuation I’d been harboring would grow. Lying next to Colin with my head resting on his chest, and his arms around me did crazy stuff to my head. As hard as I was trying to keep my distance, the pull was too strong. I knew it was too late, Colin Doyle was going to break my heart.

Chapter 8

I was playing a dangerous game holding Erin in my arms. The most alarming part was how right it felt. I’d been wrong about her. Not only had I mistaken her as ungrateful, I’d also assumed she was a high-maintenance pain in the ass. I was wrong, she was anything but. I couldn’t fault her for wanting her life as her own. And I suppose after repeatedly asking those around her to clue her in and being denied, she’d done what most anyone would do—she started demanding. I’d taken her ball-buster attitude as not liking to be told no, however, she simply wanted to understand why others were making decisions for her without consulting her first. That I could appreciate.

“There’s nothing really to tell. We’re just an average everyday family, I grew up middle-class. My dad’s side immigrated here from Ireland. My mom’s side is Italian. The mix always led to some fiery holidays when everyone got together. I have an older sister in the Navy. My parents still live in the house I grew up in. We really are a boring bunch.”

“I don’t believe there’s anything average about your family. It sounds like your parents raised two great, selfless kids. What does your sister do in the Navy?”

“She’s a nuclear mechanic.”

“Right.” Erin laughed. “Nothing special there. So, you’re telling me she’s wicked smart.”

“That she is. Keira got all the brains in the family.”

“Does that mean you got all the good looks?”

I had to take a deep breath to stop the inappropriate comeback that was on the tip of my tongue. Somewhere in the recesses of my mind I’d known she thought I was attractive, she wouldn’t have tried to kiss me otherwise. However I was finding it difficult to keep my body from reacting to her compliment.

“What made you want to be a Green Beret?”

Her question took me by surprise. At lunch we’d lightly touched on my military service, but when I’d steered the conversation to something slightly less personal like favorite movies she seemed to go with the flow and not push for more. I figured she was simply disinterested. I didn’t have an issue talking about my time in the Army, however I didn’t make a habit of getting into the details.