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He bent down and whispered in her ear. “Help me understand.”
He eased back just enough to meet her gaze. She studied him, and her lip quivered. Her gorgeous blue eyes grew bright. Hays would kiss that trembling lip until the only reason she trembled was because she ached for him. He would make certain the only reason her eyes ever grew bright was because she was happy and in love with him. He would overcome any danger that existed for her.
Suddenly, she released her grip on his biceps, whirled away from him, grabbed a tiny, flat, paper-wrapped bundle, and shoved it into the V-neck of her dress, right under her bra.
Hays straightened. “Liz. Let me help you.”
“Never,” she snipped back, a marble statue standing in front of him. Nothing like the brave yet vulnerable girl he had loved. She was putting up a wall. To protect her siblings, herself, her father, or him? He had no answers, just as he never had with her. After fourteen years of longing and frustration, he knew better than to expect an easy resolution.
Liz tried to ease around him. Hays blocked her path, giving her a searching and significant look. She was going to explain herself, or she wasn’t leaving this closet.
“If I scream, or push one button on my cell phone,” she said, her jaw tight, “my guards will come, and you’ll be lucky to survive.”
Hays’s entire body tightened. He folded his arms across his chest again and stayed right in front of her. “I remember how that goes.” He studied her, but she didn’t give him anything, not even a flicker of remorse. He was not a whipped puppy; he had to stop letting down his guard. “I’ve got news for you, Elizabeth Oliver. I will easily defeat your guards, together or separately—their choice.” He hoped the mercenaries outside were listening in and gave him that chance. “Then you and I will have a long chat about what you are doing here and how you will never hurt your sister or brother again.”
She studied him. There was a smidgeon of respect in her eyes, but she was closed off. She resembled her monster of a mother. A cold shiver traced down his spine.
“I know all about your accolades,” she said. “But you will never command me.”
Command her? His chest warmed without his permission. He wanted to command her to kiss him, and that was completely out of line at the moment.
“We’ll see about that.” He extended his hand. “Give me the device and leave, knowing that if you dare hurt Jacey or Quaid, the might of Aiden Porter and Sutton Smith’s teams will destroy you.”
She smiled. A mocking, cold smile. It chilled him. She wasn’t afraid of Aiden or Sutton. Who was she afraid of? Her mother was dead.
“You want this device?” She patted her chest where she’d hidden it. “Come and get it.”
Hays’s stomach churned. His innocent Liz would never throw out that kind of challenge.
The mature Elizabeth Oliver clearly couldn’t care less who fondled her. She’d been photographed with some of the slimiest celebrities and politicians around. He’d prayed she wasn’t ever alone with such men but knew she probably had been.
“Don’t test me, Liz,” he bit out.
She arched her eyebrows at him. Then she pushed around him.
Heaven help him, Hays let her. The touch of her hands and her body against him made him weak. There was no way he would go after that device. She knew that.
Turning back to him, she gave him a snotty glare. “You might be an accomplished … military man …”
It was then he realized she hadn’t said his name or his title. Why? Protecting him from whoever was listening? He wanted to believe that.
“But your purity shines from your eyes. You would never touch a lady inappropriately.”
“Which in your world is a disadvantage,” he bit out. He had never been this confused or out of sorts on an assignment. He’d lost his smile completely.
“Definitely.” Her smile was terrifying. “I believe you could best my men, but you will never win against me.”
With that, she whirled and stomped out of the closet.
Hays followed. To make certain she didn’t place whatever was in that paper-wrapped bundle somewhere else. Not because he was a puppet on a string and hers to command.
Damage control. That was all he could do at this point.
Sadly, Elizabeth was right. All his physical skills, accomplishments, and battle prowess were no advantage today. Liz could toy with and best him anytime she wanted. He was weak for her, even though she was proving to have morphed into the evil manipulator her brother accused her of being.
She rushed down the stairs and across the open living area. Hays strode after her. She stopped before opening the front door, one hand on the handle, and glanced back at him.
Her gaze was a mixture of defiance and yearning. It stunned him and created a throbbing ache in his heart. Could she ever let down her guard with him as she had years ago? She’d told him then he made her feel safe. He wanted to be her safe space, and so much more.
