Page 18 of Stolen Salvation

“An out?” His heart rate was spiking along with his blood pressure. “I never wanted an out, Charlie. I loved you.”

“And you hated me.”

Bishop frowned and shook his head in confusion. “What? No.”

“You may not have said it, but each day we tore more pain from each other. I couldn’t even look at you some days without seeing—”

She stopped suddenly on a choked cry and slapped her hand over her mouth. The cabin of the car was filled with emotion and pain as he allowed her to get herself together. He knew what she was going to say, and the guilt almost swallowed him whole. “Without seeing Freddie.”

Charlie shook her head. “I can’t do this now, Noah. Please.”

Her voice was a dry husk as she pleaded with him, and he couldn’t deny her anything. Not then and certainly not now. “Fine.”

Bishop turned on the radio, finding a station he knew she loved and felt his heart kick in his chest when she gave him a grateful tilt of her lips. Perhaps now wasn’t the time for this conversation. They needed to get in the right head space for these next few hours and talking about the loss they’d shared wasn’t it.

“Do you have the bugs Watchdog gave you?”

She checked her bag at her feet. “Yes. Are they military grade?”

“Yes, we get lots of new tech from Will Granger to try out. He’s constantly testing new designs.”

“Is he the money behind Shadow then?”

Bishop pursed his lips and shrugged. “Honestly, I have no idea. I’ve never really thought about it. The deep stuff was always your domain. I’m the brawn, you were the beauty and brains.”

“Don’t do that, Noah. You were the brains too. We were a good team.”

She seemed to realise she’d gone too deep because she looked away and the car felt too small to contain them both.

“Actually, I think Watchdog is the brains.”

Charlie looked at him. “Oh my God, right? Does he know a fact about everything on the planet?”

“I had no idea the world contained eight-point-seven-billion species and that every day around one hundred and fifty go extinct.”

“It’s crazy how smart he is. Although some facts I wish he’d keep to himself.”

“Yeah, I can imagine.”

Her chuckle stirred something inside him, and he wished more than anything in the world his clever friend knew how to turn back time.

Chapter 8

“Are you sure they won’t recognise you?”

Since arriving in Leeds around lunchtime, Charlie had felt the change in Noah. In the last few days, she’d seen, angry, sexy, amused, annoyed, and now his face was etched with worry. “Seriously, when did you become such an old woman?”

“When I started my knitting club.”

Laughter burst from her lips at his proclamation and she glanced across the car at him. He looked refreshed after a shower and change before they’d headed out. His natural metabolism seemed to tolerate less rest than she typically needed. Probably why he looked as drop-dead gorgeous as ever and she was barely pulling off homeless wreck. His smile as he looked at her made his eyes crinkle and she fought the urge to lift her hand and stroke his cheek.

This, the easiness between them was what she missed the most. When Bás had thrown her under the bus about knowing Jack she’d expected fall out, but Noah had taken her at her word which was more than she knew she would’ve done. The tenseness between them caused by the fight in the tech room that first morning had eased. Mainly because Noah had avoided her, and she’d calmed down and seen the gesture for what it had been. Her ex-husband was a good man and cruelty had never been his style.

His eyes moved back to the road as he drove toward the clinic, where her sister had gone for help.

“So apart from knitting, what else do you do for fun?”

She was glad they were alone in the car, and the comms switched off until they got to the location. It allowed her time with him that she’d otherwise not get and she wanted that more than anything. No matter how hard it was for her broken heart.