questioning to what extent. What we went through has severely
affected her.”
Emma was still
holding my hand in both of hers, rubbing her thumb over my
knuckles. The caress of her fingers over my skin pulsed through me
in waves. I’d never had such a feeling before. It was new, welcome,
and confusing at the same time. I hadn’t expected that from
her.
“I can almost
guarantee you it did. Traumatic experiences like those aren’t
easily forgotten.”
“What makes
you say that? Have you been through anything like that?”
“Not exactly.”
She paused for a moment, and I knew I’d hit on something there.
Maybe Emma had never been kidnapped, but whatever had hurt her, had
hurt her deep. “But my brothers have. It sort of comes with the job
for them. That’s why they’ve been so overprotective.” She rolled
her eyes.
I cocked my
head to the side. “Don’t ro…”
“… okay, okay.
It’s a habit. I’m sorry. I’ll try harder not to roll them. It’s
just that my brothers don’t really let me experience life on my
own, so I have the urge to do so without their knowledge. Otherwise
they’ll butt in all the time. I find the need to prove myself
drives me to crazy town more often than I’d like.”
“Like
stripping at a bar?” The memory of her dancing nearly naked there
worked like Viagra for my cock. It would be some time before I
could think about the night I’d met Emma without all my blood
rushing to my groin.
“Yes, among
other things. They get in my business too much. I need to lead my
life on my own. I can protect myself.”
Shit! This
wasn’t good. Okay, so maybe not being completely honest with her as
to why I’d ended up at Cross Enterprises could be a problem in the
future. But there was no way Emma would find out about our
connection, was there? Yet the cautious side of me knew what a good
investigator she had to be. There was no doubt in my mind she’d
eventually find out, so it would be my goal over the time to come
to tell her the truth before she did.
Knowing how
protective Julian and Tristan Cross had been, I wished I could have
been that kind of brother. Perhaps I wouldn’t have let my sister
down. I wouldn’t had failed her.
“You’re lucky
to have brothers who can take care of you and who love you so
much.”
She narrowed
her brows at me. “They shouldn’t worry. I can take care of
myself.”
“Would you, if
someone drugged you or put a chloroform cloth over your mouth?”
“I haven’t
been in the situation, but yeah, I’ve been trained to get out of
situations like those.”
“That’s good.
That’s really good. But training is not the same as experience.” I
couldn’t help but be wary of letting her help me. I’d need to
re-evaluate this. However, if she could find John Huntz, I’d deal
with him on my own, and I wouldn’t let the asshole come close to
Emma – so technically, so long as she kept her end of the deal and
stayed far away from him, maybe we could work together.
“I’m sorry, I
didn’t mean to interrupt. Please continue your story.”
I inhaled
deeply. This was the part of the kidnapping I’d need to adjust.
There was no way I could tell her what a bad brother I’d been.
“Annabelle
woke up a couple of hours later. She untied me and we scoured the
small compartment we were in. You couldn’t even call it a room. It
was a hole in the ground, no more than four feet high, and one we
couldn’t stand up in. She didn’t remember who had caught us, and
neither did I. Not until I was able to escape did I recognize the
man who’d been trying to purchase our parents’ farm for years, all
without success.”
“So, you’ve
got a name?” Emma’s eyes grew wide open.
“Yes, I’ve got
a name. John Huntz.”
She
immediately opened her phone and typed it in. “Tell me more.”
“I can still
remember my sister’s trembles as she shook from the cold. Our teeth
clattered so hard, I was sure I’d lose a couple. We held onto each
other
affected her.”
Emma was still
holding my hand in both of hers, rubbing her thumb over my
knuckles. The caress of her fingers over my skin pulsed through me
in waves. I’d never had such a feeling before. It was new, welcome,
and confusing at the same time. I hadn’t expected that from
her.
“I can almost
guarantee you it did. Traumatic experiences like those aren’t
easily forgotten.”
“What makes
you say that? Have you been through anything like that?”
“Not exactly.”
She paused for a moment, and I knew I’d hit on something there.
Maybe Emma had never been kidnapped, but whatever had hurt her, had
hurt her deep. “But my brothers have. It sort of comes with the job
for them. That’s why they’ve been so overprotective.” She rolled
her eyes.
I cocked my
head to the side. “Don’t ro…”
“… okay, okay.
It’s a habit. I’m sorry. I’ll try harder not to roll them. It’s
just that my brothers don’t really let me experience life on my
own, so I have the urge to do so without their knowledge. Otherwise
they’ll butt in all the time. I find the need to prove myself
drives me to crazy town more often than I’d like.”
“Like
stripping at a bar?” The memory of her dancing nearly naked there
worked like Viagra for my cock. It would be some time before I
could think about the night I’d met Emma without all my blood
rushing to my groin.
“Yes, among
other things. They get in my business too much. I need to lead my
life on my own. I can protect myself.”
Shit! This
wasn’t good. Okay, so maybe not being completely honest with her as
to why I’d ended up at Cross Enterprises could be a problem in the
future. But there was no way Emma would find out about our
connection, was there? Yet the cautious side of me knew what a good
investigator she had to be. There was no doubt in my mind she’d
eventually find out, so it would be my goal over the time to come
to tell her the truth before she did.
Knowing how
protective Julian and Tristan Cross had been, I wished I could have
been that kind of brother. Perhaps I wouldn’t have let my sister
down. I wouldn’t had failed her.
“You’re lucky
to have brothers who can take care of you and who love you so
much.”
She narrowed
her brows at me. “They shouldn’t worry. I can take care of
myself.”
“Would you, if
someone drugged you or put a chloroform cloth over your mouth?”
“I haven’t
been in the situation, but yeah, I’ve been trained to get out of
situations like those.”
“That’s good.
That’s really good. But training is not the same as experience.” I
couldn’t help but be wary of letting her help me. I’d need to
re-evaluate this. However, if she could find John Huntz, I’d deal
with him on my own, and I wouldn’t let the asshole come close to
Emma – so technically, so long as she kept her end of the deal and
stayed far away from him, maybe we could work together.
“I’m sorry, I
didn’t mean to interrupt. Please continue your story.”
I inhaled
deeply. This was the part of the kidnapping I’d need to adjust.
There was no way I could tell her what a bad brother I’d been.
“Annabelle
woke up a couple of hours later. She untied me and we scoured the
small compartment we were in. You couldn’t even call it a room. It
was a hole in the ground, no more than four feet high, and one we
couldn’t stand up in. She didn’t remember who had caught us, and
neither did I. Not until I was able to escape did I recognize the
man who’d been trying to purchase our parents’ farm for years, all
without success.”
“So, you’ve
got a name?” Emma’s eyes grew wide open.
“Yes, I’ve got
a name. John Huntz.”
She
immediately opened her phone and typed it in. “Tell me more.”
“I can still
remember my sister’s trembles as she shook from the cold. Our teeth
clattered so hard, I was sure I’d lose a couple. We held onto each
other
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