Page 17 of Guarded Knight

But it’s the perfect chance for me to kick him in the nuts for breaking my heart, then again that would only show him, and myself, that I still care. And anyway, I’m hurt, not mad. But anger is a very strong Band-Aid for a broken heart.

Gabriel made it clear when he discharged that we weren’t happening. At first, I was understanding that he couldn’t be in a relationship. I didn’t know much about PTSD and war- related trauma at the time, but his brown eyes, once warm, were hollow when he returned.

I wanted him to work on himself.

But I thought he’d want me to help him. Be there for him at least as a friend. That he’d at least want to be near me…

But he took off. Left Starlight Canyon and me. All we had. The ground I thought was sacred to us both. And he only came back when Xander called.

TheweI thought existed wasn’t real.Weturned out to be me, Gabriel, and Xander.

But now that he’s this close again, every bit of magnetism is back.

He’s not cornering you for a kiss, Lara.

He wants the phone.

But I don’t know if even I’m ready to talk about what I’ve just seen. My heart pounds against my rib cage, experiencing a shitstorm from all angles. Gabriel’s gaze sears right through to my soul, and in my pocket, my cell claws at my confidence.

Cameron’s taken it further than ever before.

G’s warm breath tumbles over my nose, and if ever I took a chance for a hate kiss, this would be it. He’s still so gorgeous, his muscles rippling on either side of me. His alpha energy consumes the air around us…

But this isn’t about me and Gabriel. It’s about Cameron.

And the sooner I show Gabriel the phone, hell, everything, the sooner I can leave Echo Valley and get back to my independence and away from this instinct I have to grab G’s face and smother him with my lips.

Much as I don’t want to admit it, I do trust G to end this for me. I know he won’t quit until Cameron is out of my life. I don’t know what that means just now, but knowing my brother and G, they both want him behind bars because it’s the only humane solution.

I straighten my spine and lift my chin. “You said we’re on the same team.”

His eyes narrow slightly, cautious. “We are.”

I reach into my pocket and slide out the phone. I don’t hand it over. Just hold it between us, still managing to act blasé, even though my fingers are shaking knowing its contents.

Cameron photographed me in my sleep.

The thought of him standing next to me, in my Santa Fe home, in my damn bedroom… it’s chilling. Terrifying. And humiliating, even though I’ve done nothing wrong.

When did he do this? Why is he sending the photos now?

I’d send them to the police, but as my brother told me in his pitch for Echo Valley, Gabriel will likely sort it faster than they could. The truth in that statement is one of the reasons I was willing to come here and to work with him.

Gabriel takes the phone from my hands. His gaze drops to the screen, then flicks back to my face, then back to the phone again.

Photos. Me. Sleeping.

I’ve seen Gabriel rage in the past—when defending me, his family, or when he missed out on a purse at a rodeo by two milliseconds. Seeing a reserved man pop is both sexy and otherworldly.

But scarier than Gabriel’s rage is his silence.

His entire body goes still, like some machine going into deadly stealth mode.

I swear I can hear the faint hum of a swarm of apocalypse bees in his head.

Finally, he mutters, “We’re not doing this here.”

I blink. “What?”