Page 98 of Protecting Peyton

“I don’t think we can?—”

“You can and you will if you want to interview the witness,” Lucas said firmly.

“Okay.”

Lucas pumped a fist in the air.

“I’ll be in touch when I know the timing,” O’Connor said. “Thanks for calling on this.”

“Sure thing. Lucas out,” the boss said before ending the call and sitting back. “What do you think?” he asked, looking over at me.

“I didn’t like the way it started out, but it sounds like he believes us now. Letting us have the entire case file is a win.”

Lucas nodded and stood. “It is.”

Peyton trembled as she rose.

I stood as well, keeping a protective arm around her.

“What now?” she asked as we exited the office.

I brushed her hair behind her ear. “We keep you safe and wait to see what material he has on this guy. Don’t worry, we’re on the road to putting this behind you forever.”

She looked up at me, smiling. “Say that again. I like how that sounds.”

I repeated the words for this woman who had entrusted her life to us. A lot of people would have already crumbled under the pressure she’d endured.

CHAPTER 24

Peyton

I’d been tellingmyself ever since arriving in LA that I needed to prepare to move again and again. But that stage in my life had to end. The jitters I’d felt on the call with the Boston policeman dissipated after March’s, no,Zane’s, assurances. I knew it was time to fight instead of run, but that didn’t make it easier or less scary.

The whiff of Zane’s woodsy scent as I passed in front of him reminded me I couldn’t have a better man by my side for this. Zane was all man, a SEAL, a born protector. I stumbled exiting the room. I had leftslightlybuzzed behind in pursuit of something more.

Zane caught me before I made a fool of myself.

His arms around me felt so right, and that was not the alcohol talking. I might be beyond buzzed, but I was coherent enough to understand the desire that raced through me at his touch. It could only be quenched with a night in his bed, or mine, or on the rug, or in a tree. It didn’t matter where.

Okay, yeah, maybe I was a bit drunk if my mind had conjured up sex in a tree as the perfect place for our first time.

“Careful there, Angel,” Zane said as he released his hold on me, a move I wasnotin favor of. He took the wine glass I held. “I think you’ve had enough.”

I nodded. At this point, I couldn’t manage anything but the awful truth. “It’s been a hard day.”

“Of course,” Zane said, pulling me to his chest.

I burrowed into his warmth, his protection. Every touch from Zane this evening telegraphed desire like I hadn’t known before, and at the same time, the prospect of safety and tranquility in the shitstorm that had become my life since I saw those peculiar eyes. “He’s out there,” I whispered hoarsely.

Zane spoke, his voice low and steady. “I’ve got you. We all do.” The slow stroke of his hand over my back comforted me.

Then Lucas’s voice boomed as he called the group together.

Zane held my hand as he towed me to the couch in the living room. As we sat, the thought of finally being alone with him for the better massage he’d promised earlier had my blood singing. I’d spent so much energy denying my attraction to him, and now that the dam had burst, I could hardly wait.

I’d gone from intending to never see Zane again to itching to be alone with him, skin to skin, seeing all of him, feeling all of him, giving myself completely to him and never leaving. When he’d first brought me over here, he’d joked about me not being able to control myself around him, and that prophecy was coming true.

Glancing to my left, Duke had his arm lovingly around his fiancée, and looking to my right, Terry had an arm around Grace. I’d missed how consistently couples touched and held each other in simple reminders of their attachment.