I wanted to still be that person he thought I was. At least for a little bit longer before he bolted. Or turned me in. Or both.
I made my fingers work to open the door to his truck, and I slid into the passenger side. He shut the door after me, and I couldn’t bring myself to look at him.
When he climbed behind the wheel, he didn’t start up the truck. Instead, he sat there, like he was gathering his thoughts, looking out the front windshield.
“So, your dad is a criminal.”
I lifted my gaze to his and gave a single nod.
“And you’re working with him?”
“No!” I snapped from a burst of anger at being thrown in with him again. “Of course, I’m not–” I broke off because it wasn’t true. It might have been true yesterday, but it wasn’t anymore. I was working with my dad.
I blew out my breath. “He got himself into trouble with those guys you saw last night. They’re holding him hostage until I do this job.”
Hayes’ expression cleared, like that explained everything to his satisfaction. “Okay.” He nodded. “Okay, baby doll. I understand.”
I blinked in confusion. “What do you understand?”
He rubbed his thumb across his lower lip. “I understand you were raised by a criminal. You went into law enforcement as a reaction to your upbringing, trying to stay on the side that was right, but now you have to risk everything, or someone dies.”
Tears filled my eyes at his succinct summary.
“How’d I do?”
I let out a laughing sob, then covered my lips with my fingers. “Yeah. That about sums it up.”
Hayes nodded. “I’m in.”
I nearly choked on my own spit. My spine shot out straight, and I leaned forward. “What? No, Hayes. Absolutely not.”
“Listen, baby doll. You’ve been pushing me away from the start. I thought maybe it was because you had commitment issues. Maybe you’d been hurt before, and you were scared of it happening again. That was legit and all, and I hoped to wear you down. To let you see I wasn’t like any guys in your past. But now I see you have genuine, serious problems. The kind I can help you with. So, I sure as hell am going to help get you out of your pickle.”
“Pickle?” I asked, huffing out a laugh.
“How about cluster fuck? When we’re done figuring your shit out, you can stop hiding who you are from me. Because I already know. And I’ve already accepted it.”
Jesus.
I shook my head, pushed open the door and bolted. I ran past my car and down the road toward town. It was miles away and unless I was a marathon runner, I’d never get there. Except I had to run. Had to get away. The hat and wig flew off my head.
Hayes caught up to me, his long legs eating up the distance. He was fit–damn those SEALs–and wasn’t even breathing hard. His arm snagged about my middle, and he lifted me right off my feet.
“Let me go!” I shouted, thrashing as if I was a fish caught on a hook. “Hayes, you have to let me go.”
“No.” He murmured in my ear. “You’ve gone on alone too long. It’s time to stop running.”
Tears threatened as sweat coated my skin. The sun beat down on us. God, I wanted to bawl like a baby. I’d never in my life had anyone just accept me for who I was, blemishes and all. My mom abandoned me when I needed her most. So had my dad. I hadn’t let anyone get close enough to do it again.
But here was Hayes. Reaching across the ocean divide I tried to keep between us and wouldn’t go away. This guy followed me thinking I was a criminal, then when he heard my story, offered to join me. Just like that. His honor be damned.
A tear slid down my cheek because I cared too much for him. The more I pushed him away, the more he’d stuck. I cared for him, dammit! “I can’t let you do this, Hayes,” I said, trying so damn hard to be brave. To be honorable when what I had to do was anything but.
He shrugged, and I felt it against my back. “Try to stop me.”
I glanced over my shoulder at him, the reality of it dawning on me. I wouldn’t be able to stop him. This guy was steadfast in his pursuit of me, and he’d be steadfast in his decision to help.
But there was no way in hell I’d let him risk his life, honor, reputation and team for the steaming pile of poop that was my situation right now. He might know about the job, but I had to wonder if he knew about my past. It had been sealed, and it’d been a secret for over a decade.