Page 19 of Lockout

“All of you,” I insisted.

“We’ve handled worse,” he said, folding his arms over his chest.

“I don’t doubt that,” I told him. Though I did. “And I’m not saying that you can’t handle these guys. If anyone can, it’s you.” I ignored his satisfied smirk. Sure I was probably inflating that massive ego even more, but there was a point to this. “But if anything happens to any of you…it’s going to be my fault. I don’t know if I can live with that,” I whispered.

He moved so fast, I could only gasp as he grabbed me by the upper arms and hauled me closer. He was scowling down at me. “And what the fuck do you think I’m going to feel if we find you dead?” he growled. “Knowing I could have done something to help?”

I hadn’t really thought of it like that. Thinking about dying wasn’t exactly something I spent a lot of time doing. It sent a cold chill skittering down my spine. I didn’t know what to say to him though, so I stayed quiet.

“Promise me, Keely,” he said, those hazel eyes burning into mine. “Promise me you’re not going to do something stupid.”

I gasped, irritated at that phrasing, and started to snap at him. His next words made me swallow my own. Made me release the offense I took from his statement.

“I don’t want anything to happen to you. Promise me you’ll let me help.”

How was a girl supposed to yell at him when he says things like that?

“Okay, Lock,” I said.

His eyes narrowed. “You’ll stay here at the clubhouse.”

It wasn’t exactly a request, but I nodded. “I will.”

“And you’ll let us handle the LoS?”

Again, I nodded.

“The words, Keely,” he muttered. “I’m going to need you to say them out loud.”

Rolling my eyes, I asked, “Don’t you trust me?”

“Not that much,” he said with a smirk.

He was still holding onto me, his fingers digging into my arms, the heat of his body so close. It took all my self-control not to just lean into him. Now wasn’t the time for that. “I’ll stay here and I’ll let you handle it,” I told him.

Satisfaction lit his gaze as he nodded. “Good.”

“I don’t know what I’m going to tell the FBI though,” I added. “They’re not going to let me stay much longer.”

“Static had an idea about that,” he said, releasing me and crossing those muscular arms over his chest again. “If you talk to your bosses, could you convince them to tell the FBI that they need you back?”

I tilted my head, considering the idea. “They might…”

“We’ll go speak with them tomorrow,” he said.

Arching my brows, I frowned at him. “Is this a part of letting you handle this?”

“What?” he asked, his lips twitching upward as if he knew what I was about to say.

“Letting you boss me around?”

“Pretty much,” he said with a chuckle.

Huffing out a sigh, I shook my head at him, but I was biting back my own smile. He was lucky he was cute. Otherwise I wouldn’t be willing to deal with his high handed ways. Well, thatand the fact that he was probably going to be the only thing keeping me from having to go on the run in order to survive.

“I’m not agreeing to that,” I warned him.

One side of his mouth lifted in a sardonic grin. “Wouldn’t expect anything else. As long as you agree to staying put and lettingmehandle the LoS, we’ll figure the rest out as we go.”