Page 72 of Her Silver Fox Firefighters

“She’s got plenty to heal from.”

“I hope you’re not still blaming yourself.”

I look up, feeling his inquisitive gaze drilling into my face. “I try not to. Can’t really help it, though,” I shyly concede.

“Listen, Olivia, for what it’s worth, if her parents were looking into Marcus’s wrongdoings, then it had less to do with you and more to do with him covering his ass. The guy is clearly a psychopath. Chloe’s parents were just two more of his victims. None of this is on you.”

“The aiding and abetting part of my future indictment might contradict that statement,” I bitterly reply.

Halfway through his burger, Carlos frowns slightly and sets it down. He wipes his hands with a wet wipe, then takes another sip of his shake.

“I doubt there will be any indictment against you, Olivia. The support you’ve already given to this investigation is more than enough grounds to keep you out of any criminal proceedings,” he says. “Besides, the guys will get you a good defense lawyer. And a good defense lawyer will argue, likely successfully, that you didn’t have criminal intentions, that you were under Marcus’s influence. You were scared of him and?—”

“Oh, I was definitely scared of him.”

“There you have it.”

“But I also did it to protect him because I believed him,” I remind Carlos.

“You were misled,” he insists. “Put that whole scenario out of your mind. As far as I’m concerned, everything you’ve been through was karmic punishment and more than enough.”

“We’re all human; we make mistakes, right?”

“Right, and I’m telling you Chloe doesn’t blame you—at all.”

I give him a surprised look. “She told you that?”

“More than once; every time I go see her, in fact.”

“You’ve gone to see her without me?”

He chuckles nervously, and if I didn’t know any better, I’d bet there was a blush blooming in his tanned cheeks. “It is my family’s cabin, after all. And she’s a guest there. I have to make sure she has everything she needs.”

“Well, that is awfully sweet of you, Carlos.”

“I only do what I was taught to, Olivia.”

“Okay, tell me the truth,” I shoot back with a mischievous grin. “You like her.”

“Who?”

“Chloe.”

There it is. The blush is real; I didn’t imagine it. Carlos chooses to focus on his burger and fries instead, and I do the same, taking two hefty bites before I circle back around.

“You do,” I say.

“Do not. And even if I did, now is the worst time to even talk about it being a possibility,” he replies. “Chloe is recovering from a major trauma, a horrible tragedy. The last thing I want is to be the guy taking advantage of her fragile state of mind.”

“No, I get it. You’re being cautious and respectful.”

“You’re damn right.”

“And I respect that.”

“Thank you.”

“Just so you know, it’s mutual,” I tell him.