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Strong arms, thick with muscle, surround me.
“We can’t fix some of that, Nora,” Clint rumbles. I press my face into his chest as he holds me close. “But we can help with some of it. Now, pull up a picture of this fucking dead man, so that we know who we’re looking for.”
The command settles me. I nod, pulling out of Clint’s arms and robotically digging out my phone from my pocket. I pull up my camera roll and go to the only picture of the two of us that’s left. I hold it up.
“I didn’t delete it because my hair looks really good here,” I mutter.
Shane takes the phone. He taps, looking up at me. “I’m sending this picture to Landon, Clint, and myself. And I’m saving all of our numbers in your phone.”
“If you so much as get a hint of him, even just out of the corner of your eye, you fucking call us,” Landon says.
“Wait. Are you leaving?” I hate that my voice shakes.
Clint shakes his head. “No. I meant what I said. I told your dad we would guard you, and I fucking meant it.” He turns to Landon and Shane. “Shifts. You two take the barn and the house, and I’ll swap out with whoever’s watching the house when you need it.”
Both Landon and Shane give sharp nods, then walk out.
I look at Clint. “What are you going to do?”
He looks down, then back up. When he does, I can see a softness in the corners of his eyes that I’ve never seen before. He leans forward. “I’m not leaving you alone, Nora. I’ll sit right down here, on the couch, until morning.”
I bite my lip. My bedroom is upstairs, and I want to walk up there and shower and fall into it.
But Aaron has been here. What if he’s been watching me sleep? What if…
I shudder. “No.”
Clint’s eyes widen. “No?”
“No. I mean, I don’t want you to stay down here.”
“Nora, you don’t exactly have a fucking choice?—”
“Because I want you to be with me,” I say softly.
Clint steps back like the words hit him in his chest. “What?”
“He’s been here, Clint. He’s been in my barn. Around my house. I don’t want to be alone up in my room just thinking about him. Come upstairs. With me,” I whisper.
Clint agrees to come upstairs with me. I leave him sitting on my bed, and I turn the shower on in my adjoining bathroom. For a moment, as I strip, I wonder if I’m forcing him to do this.
He was the only one who just… watched the other day. Does he hate me? What if Clint only puts up with me because of what Landon and Shane want?
I’m so preoccupied that I take a step too far into the bathtub. My foot hits the smooth porcelain, and I slip. I shriek, barely catching myself from falling flat on my face.
The door to the bathroom bursts open.
“Nora?” Clint says, his face frantic. “What happened? Are you okay?”
I’m just frozen. I’m totally naked, my limbs everywhere, bracing myself up in the shower.
Clint’s eyes travel over my body. I watch as he goes from a somewhat clinical detachment to… interest.
“I’m fine,” I say, my nipples tightening under his gaze. “I’m fine. I just slipped.”
“Slipped,” he repeats.
I nod.
