Page 40 of Defending You

“We’re in the middle of nowhere.” Her words were squeaky and barely audible.

They were a couple of miles from town. More importantly, when he’d been in the military, none of his teammates had cried.

None of his teammates had looked like Cici, either. At the moment, that wasn’t a point in her favor. He needed fewer distractions, and everything about her distracted him. It was why he walked in front of her, not beside her or, even worse, behind her where he could watch her move.

He needed to jiggle those thoughts loose, then stomp them into the bracken.

“I just thought we could catch a bus to Boston, or a flight to Portland.” Her voice was pitched high and getting higher. Soon, only dogs would be able to hear her.

The snarky side of him thought,good.

But that guy was a jerk.

“Won’t work,” he said.

“Of course not. Of course nothing will work.” She sighed. “Could we steal a horse? Find a hot-air balloon? Hitchhike with a serial killer? I’m sure there’s a tandem bicycle rental somewhere.”

Turning, he watched as she made a show of looking around, though they were surrounded by nothing but trees on every side.

He snorted despite himself. “You’re making it really hard to concentrate, you know that?”

“Maybe you’ll actually listen to one of my ideas instead of grunting like a caveman.”

He stopped short and faced her, and she nearly collided with him. Her green eyes blazed, cheeks flushed from the trek and her agitation.

“Sheesh, Cici.” He felt a grin breaking through and tried to temper it. “I’m having flashbacks to high school. Trying to think when you’re around is impossible.”

Her annoyance seemed to fade away as her head tilted, confusion flicking across her face. “What do you mean?”

What was he thinking, reminding her of the loser he used to be? His neck heated, and he shook his head, trying to wave his remark off. “Nothing. Just… You had to know, right? You were like”—he gestured vaguely toward her, grasping for something safe—“the prettiest girl in school.”Sexiest.That was the word that had popped into his head, though thank heavens he hadn’t said it aloud. “All the guys tripped over themselves watching you.”

Her lips parted, surprise softening her features. “Pretty?” she said, almost to herself, like she was turning the word over.

He started walking again, silently cursing himself.

And then one of his eyes stung, sharp and sudden. Not tears—don’t even think it. He was a Navy SEAL, and SEALs didn’t cry.

No. A speck of grit had lodged itself under a contact lens. He blinked hard, then rubbed it, but the pain only got worse. “Hold up.” He slid his pack off his back and fished for the small case he always carried. No choice now. He popped out the right contact, and the pain was gone instantly, though his vision blurred. He held it up to the dim light filtering through the trees and closed the bad eye. Whatever had gotten in his eye had torn the contact lens. It was useless now.

With a sigh, he flicked it away. He had fresh lenses, still in their sealed packages, but to use them, he’d need to wash his hands. Not like there was a sink and soap nearby. He removed the left contact, and his vision blurred even more. He found his glasses—chunky black frames he only wore when nobody was looking—and slid them on.

The world snapped back into focus.

A small smile played at Cici’s lips. “They look good on you.”

He knew that was a lie. He had a mirror, after all. He was the geeky kid all over again. “Whatever.”

She was being nice—much nicer than she’d ever been in school—and it was messing with him. She was a shallow prom queen who’d burned his confidence to ash.

He had to keep reminding himself to focus on the mission.

Even if this Cici wasn’t playing her part, she was kind, quick-witted, and despite her tears, holding it together better than most would with killers on their tail. If he wasn’t careful, she’d suck him in again.

He couldn’t afford that—not now, not ever.

He started walking, faster now, as if he could outrun his thoughts.

She fell into step beside him. “We need a real idea.” Her voice was lighter. Was she trying to encourage him? Did she read his embarrassment?