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Ayla let Oz pace.

They were in a new safe house. This one was much bigger than the previous one and BD had put her and Io in what he referred to as the dedicated Paladin League suite.

It wasn’t as luxurious as it sounded. The door between the rooms was warped, the paint flaking, and the suite part was tiny with two dilapidated sofas, a sorry-looking loveseat, and a banged-up coffee table.

Oz kept running into something he needed to maneuver around, and it left him cursing.

It was two stories, as run down as the last house, but it had a huge yard, a courtyard with pavers, and one of the sections of the home had a rooftop gazebo—which Oz told her in no uncertain terms she was not allowed to visit.

At least there was a private bathroom and the bedroom was large.

Ayla could breathe easier knowing Io was in there, sleeping.

She’d learned the Green Beret team had two medics, and the one who checked her sister over didn’t think she needed a doctor.

It allowed her to relax, and as agitated as Oz was right now, that spoke to how relieved she was about Io.

Oz stopped abruptly to avoid one of the sofas. “Why would anyone jam so much furniture into such a small space?”

It was a rhetorical question, so Ayla didn’t reply. He was angry with her—first for taking the risk of creating the diversion, and second for standing up for Rusty when Oz began chewing him out. Even if she hadn’t promised to defend him, she would have spoken up.

Ayla was ready to have a conversation with Oz—it was overdue—but she wanted him to calm down first. Leaning back on the loveseat, she tried to find something to take her eyes off her guy.

It wasn’t as if anything was interesting.

What was she going to do? Admire the terra cotta tile on the floor? Right.

Her eyes drifted back to Oz. He must have taken a shower while she fussed over Io because his hair was still wet. He hadn’t shaved, and she assumed the beard was making another comeback. Instead of camouflage, he wore a pair of jeans and a black T-shirt. The sleeves strained across his biceps.

It took a long time before he dropped onto the corner of one sofa and turned to face her. “You took one hell of a risk tonight.”

She should have planned what to say. It wasn’t as if she didn’t have the time to do it, and Ayla liked to be prepared. Of course, her brain felt like gelatin. Adrenaline's aftermath was hard on the body, although Oz didn’t seem to have any issues.

“Three against eight seemed like a mismatch,” she said. “I thought a distraction would help.”

“Yeah.” He scowled harder. “We would have been okay, Pollita. Six of the eight weren’t from Petrova’s A-Team and we had one of the two elite operatives contained.”

Ayla frowned back at him. “I didn’t know that. The only thing I knew was there was a lot of shooting going on and you were outgunned.”

“What did you do with that damn car that crashed into the home? I expected to pull you out of the driver’s seat and rush you for medical attention.”

“I remembered a news article and the mobsters made it easy. They left the keys in the cars and had one parked at the end of the house’s long driveway.

I put that car in neutral, started up another one, and used it to push the first car.

There must be a slight slope because it picked up speed as it approached.

” She tried a smile, but Oz didn’t return it.

“As soon as I had the car moving, I got out of there. That minimized the risk.”

Oz closed his eyes, muttered something she couldn’t make out, and then pinned her with his gaze. “You should have remained in the clearing. Rusty should have obeyed orders and stayed with you.”

“Then you and Ski would be dead and who knows what would have happened to Io.”

He didn’t have a comeback for that and Ayla took it to mean she was right.

“Was I supposed to let you die? Was I supposed to let our baby grow up never knowing its father? I did the only thing I could think of that wouldn’t put me in a lot of danger.”

He surged to his feet and resumed pacing again. “You were in danger. Damn it, Ayla, they could have had men guarding the vehicles. They should have had men guarding them.”

Ayla stood, too, but her legs were shaky. “They’re arrogant. They thought they’d walk into the house, take my sister, and walk back out again.”

“You didn’t know that for sure.”

“I did what I had to do. I wasn’t going to let anything happen to Io. I wasn’t going to let anything happen to you.”

“You said you were the unadventurous twin. Do you think what you did was sensible? Fuck.”

Oz didn’t know what he was doing. His intention was to make things right with Ayla, but she’d scared the hell out of him tonight, and fear was coming out as anger.

He’d deliberately taken his time before going to her room.

He wanted to be calm and reasonable while they talked, but as soon as he’d seen her, the terror returned, hitting him hard.

Didn’t she understand he needed her safe? That she’d become the epicenter of his life, and if anything happened to her it would fucking destroy him?

He’d kill for her. He’d even die for her if that’s what it took to keep her whole and healthy. Although he knew he should tell her that, he couldn’t say the words. Admitting he loved her made him vulnerable and vulnerabilities could be exploited.

Sometimes, like on ops, he was the one taking advantage of any weakness. But as a child, his parents had used his love for them to get him to go along with their schemes. As soon as he stopped being useful to them, they didn’t have time for him any longer.

Oz was protecting Ayla, keeping her safe. Once Petrova was taken care of and she and her sister could return to the States without being at risk, he would cease being useful to her. Would she give a shit about him then? Beyond having to deal with him about their baby. He didn’t know.

“I didn’t come over to talk about tonight,” Oz said.

“Oh?” She sank back onto a loveseat.

“I wanted to apologize. I’m sorry you think I was manipulating you.”

Ayla’s lips thinned, and the words he said registered in his brain.

“Wait, let me try again.” He pushed his hair back. “I’m sorry I manipulated you. I know I did it, that it’s not how you were interpreting my actions.” Oz shrugged. “That first apology was what I learned from my parents. The second one is what I meant to say. I’m sorry, Ayla.”

“You’re sorry I found out.”

“No, I’m sorry. Period. No qualifiers attached.” Oz sat on the corner of the couch again so he could look into her eyes. “But to be completely honest, in the same circumstances, I would do it again.”

“You could have explained it to me.”

Oz raised his brows. “Really? You would have listened? You would have stayed safely out of the way and let me and Baggs look for Iona?”

A faint smile crossed her face. “No, I wouldn’t have done that.”

“I know. You threatened to sneak out of the safe house and look on your own when you heard Baggs and I were going to search without you.”

Reaching out, Ayla’s hand curled around his forearm. “I understand you wanted to keep me safe, and I can accept that. My question to you is, are you going to continue to pull manipulative stunts like this in the future?”

He wanted to swear he’d never do it again, but couldn’t lie to her.

He wouldn’t lie to her, not about this. “If your safety is on the line? Yes, I’ll do whatever it takes to protect you, even if it means manipulating you or outright lying, but not for any other reason.

I promise, and I don’t give my word lightly. ”

Her grip tightened briefly before she released him and leaned back. “You don’t make things easy, do you?”

“Did you want me to lie?” Oz asked. “I could, and I could probably get you to believe me, but I don’t want to do that. You need to understand that protecting you and our baby is always going to be my top priority, no matter what it takes.”

The door to the bedroom opened, and Oz stiffened, ready for anything.

It was Iona Desmond. She still appeared to be partially under the influence of whatever drug she’d been given, and she leaned against the doorjamb.

She wore khaki pants and a navy blue T-shirt that was half untucked.

Her hair was stringy and her eyes were glassy.

Ayla immediately crossed to her sister. “Are you okay? How do you feel?”

“Thirsty. Hungry. I need a shower and fresh clothes. Could someone get my things? They’re in room 1238 at Hotel Embajador. ”

Her voice slurred the last words, and the only reason Iona didn’t land on the floor was Ayla’s quick reflexes. Her twin was out cold again.

Oz got up and went to them, wrapping his arms around the sister. “You can let go. I got her.” He didn’t want his Pollita hurting herself with the dead weight. When she complied, he hefted Iona into his arms. “Let’s get her back in bed.”

As soon as he laid her down, Ayla was there. She pulled the covers up and sat on the edge of the bed, fussing over her twin. He knew they were identical, but he could see why his Pollita said people couldn’t tell them apart. They were damn near clones of each other.

Seemed like the serious conversation they needed to have was on hold for the night.