“Is it so damn wrong of me to want you to be safe while I do my job? I can’t be in the middle of a mission in Afghanistan wondering if you’re back here tangling with ecoterrorists or falling off the side of some mountain.”
She resisted the temptation to check for water in her ears because she couldn’t possibly be hearing him correctly. Since when were they talking about his deployment? Wasn’t this an argument about the here and now?
“Is this a backdoor way of asking me to wait for you while you’re overseas?”
“And if it was?”
“I don’t think this is the time to talk about that.”
“Fine, then I’ll make sure one of Lasky’s agents escorts you on the boat over to the lodge where we’ll be staying—”
“I am not leaving. Get that through your head. I have a stake in this today.”
“You’re here to protect your friends.”
“I’m here to protect the ones who aren’t involved. The home I love is about to have the foundation crumble under it. I can’t just drink cocoa by the fire at some lodge and pretend it has no effect on me.”
He clammed up with the stone face and stubborn thrust of his jaw that had earned him his Brick call sign.
“I get that you’re a superhero, macho guy, but that doesn’t mean you can steamroll over me or that you need to protect me.” She rested a hand on his chest, hoping he would reach back and meet her halfway. “It may have escaped your notice, but I’ve done a fine job of taking care of myself this past week.”
“Tell that to the snow machine floating around somewhere in pieces,” he said starkly.
Her anger lost some steam, her heart softening a little as she remembered how freaked-out he’d been then.
“You saved my butt that time, and I’m grateful. But I’ve also carried my own weight. I’m not a wilting flower, and I thought that was something you liked about me.”
“There’s a power plant about to be blown up by some wacko ecoterrorists who lived right under your nose for the whole planning of their crime. Excuse me if I’m not so certain of your objectivity in sifting through the evidence.”
His accusation slapped at her as coldly and harshly as the wind rolling in off the bay.
“I can’t believe you would say that about me. How can you think I would ever let anyone get away with something like this, even subconsciously?”
“You’ve been protecting him for fifteen years. Some habits are hard to break.”
She wanted to throw up. How could he think that of her after all they’d shared, how close they’d been? Or maybe she’d only imagined the connection on his side. Because it was very clear right now that he wasn’t budging.
Still, she had to say her piece. “That’s totally different from this. I can love my brother without loving the choices he’s made… But I can see that you don’t believe me.”
“I can’t risk it.”
Did he believe she might try to alert her brother? Sneak him away from a military op involving enough firepower to blow them all sky-high? She shook her head in disbelief.
Her heart shattered into a thousand pieces at his words, like the final tap on a pristine sheet of ice that fractured it apart, nothing left but deathly cold water beneath.
“That’s it for us then. You go do your job, and I’ll do my best to stay out of your way. But you do not have the authority to make me leave. As long as Lasky believes I’m a valuable asset, then I’m staying right here.”
She backed a step from him, her eyes memorizing the bold, strong lines of his face. Snow flurries fell between them, melting on his hair and sleeves. Her fingers ached to test the stubble along his jaw one last time, to brush the beads of water from his head.
“Good-bye, Wade.” She forced herself to turn away fast, before she weakened and changed her mind.
Or before he saw the tears clouding her eyes.
Through the sheen, she saw Flynn in the distance, standing just past the boathouse. At least they could work together to try and make some sense of what had happened in their village. Together with Misty they could try to find the people responsible.
Before she’d made it two steps, Wade clasped her arm. “Stop. We can talk later. But for now you just can’t wander off.”
What good would talking do? She didn’t, couldn’t, face him. “I’ll stay with Flynn and my sister. We’ll stick by Lasky. Now please. Let. Me. Go.”