Page 114 of The Curse Trilogy

He tightens his lips, and then he turns me to face him.

“I never left you. I just had shit to do, and I regret it. It had to be done though,” he mutters with his secretive eyes staring into mine.

“I feel like you’re leaving me in the dark about something, and I don’t want you to propose until you trust me enough to tell me.”

“You think I don’t trust you?” he asks with a pained tone.

“I can’t think of any other reason you wouldn’t tell me something. Until you tell me, I won’t know. I love you, and I hope you find a way to let go of whatever is holding you back because I can’t marry you until I know there’s nothing left to tear us apart.”

“Araya, I-”

“I’m glad you two are on time for a change,” Clay chuckles out.

“Let’s get to work,” I say while stepping out of mine and Hale’s conversation and into the room of fully attentive faces staring expectantly at me.

“You did excellent,” Brazen compliments as soon as the meeting adjourns, and I smile appreciatively at him.

“I hate speaking in big crowds. I do better in an interrogation room.”

“Well, today you matched your skill in that steel box. I was impressed, and I think everyone else was too. Where are you going to look for your lead?”

“I’m going to start in the market area, and then I’ll work my way out to the taverns. His name wasn’t on the check in sheet, but he could be using falsified credentials. I think a few of us are going to fan out and search. There’s over eight hundred people in Selma, so it could take a while.”

“I’ll help you. Just point me in the direction I should go,” he smolders out. “Or we could work together. I think that proved to be very fruitful the last time.”

I stifle a grin, and then I feel possessive arms wrapping around me as Hale stakes his claim.

“Araya and I are teaming up on this one,” he adamantly interjects, and Brazen smirks before giving me a wink and walking away.

I wish I could show Hale some sort of affection, but I’m still too pissed to pretend as though everything is okay. I’m sure he’ll wear me down. It’s his specialty after all. He pisses me off, and then gives me nothing to satisfy my curiosity before finding a way to extinguish my anger.

“Let’s start combing the public places,” I mumble while walking out, obviously brushing his arms off me.

“You’re mad at me,” he sighs.

“I’m not just mad, I’m confused. I don’t keep anything from you. Why are you still hiding whatever this thing is? Did you cheat on me? Was it Alex?” I almost whisper.

“Hell no! I didn’t cheat on you.”

“Then what the hell is so secretive?” I gripe while walking away. “You should feel like you’re able to tell me anything if you want to marry me.”

“Please just trust me on this. I promise I’ll tell you one day, but right now we need to focus on this.”

I stop walking and take a deep breath before turning to face him.

“Does it have anything to do with another girl?”

“Fuck no. There’s no other girl in this world that could distract me from you. It’s work related only. I swear there’s nothing that kept me that could be avoided, and I swear I’ll tell you. Please just drop it for now. You know I fucking love you.”

I sigh out, and then I start walking a little slower. His hand takes mine, and I don’t fight it as we make our way outside.

“Did you just get tired of me?”

He jerks my body to his, and he tilts my head up so that my eyes meet his.

“That’s an impossibility, baby. I told you it’s work related. Don’t ever think this had anything to do with you. I begged you to come back to me, and you had me banned from the Javeline premises when I kept showing up. I did everything I could to try and talk to you. The day I found out you were coming to my compound, you can’t imagine how incredibly excited I felt. I knew I was about to get to see you again… finally, and nothing compared to that feeling, baby. I do love you… so fucking much.”

My lips find his, and he pulls me against his body as it intensifies. He wipes the stray tears from my eyes as he pulls back, and then he cups my face before clearing his throat that has gotten full of emotion. He did it. I knew he was going to do it. He defused me without telling me what I wanted to know.