Chapter Sixteen

Angel watched Colton at the stove as he made her breakfast. He was damn sexy doing nothing at all, but somehow cooking made him all the more attractive. She especially liked the way his muscles flexed when he whisked the eggs.

A year ago, that would have been enough to launch them into a heated frenzy. Clothing would have been pulled off and tossed haphazardly. He would have picked her up and placed her on the counter while kissing her. They would have groaned together when they joined in an urgent rush.

He would have held back until she cried out her satisfaction, then afterward they would have collapsed back on the counter without a care as to what was displaced in their moment of passion.

But today it was just breakfast. The only action happening on the counter was him plating up their eggs.

He was different than he’d been a year ago. He seemed…content.

Back when he’d first been put in protection, he didn’t know what to expect from his new life. He was focused on one goal—putting Viktor Kulakov behind bars. After spending two years undercover, Colton had evidence on the mobster for trafficking not only drugs, but humans, in and out of the country.

But before Colton could get out, Kulakov had one of his people take Colton down. Six shots to the chest. How he’d survived she still didn’t know. She’d seen the scars, four bullets had gone through, and two had to be pulled out.

It was easy to make everyone believe he’d died, mainly because he should have. But he’d survived, and had been ready to testify. Except it didn’t work that way.

He had been concerned about his brothers—three older and one younger—and their families. They, along with everyone else, had been told he’d died from his injuries. It was the best way to protect him, as well as his family.

She remembered the day his next oldest brother, John, had seen her at the edge of the cemetery. Rather than run off, she pretended to be visiting a different grave. She should have thought to bring flowers.

He’d greeted her with a smile and told her he was glad she was there.

For a moment, Angel had worried she’d met the man before and he knew who she worked for. All of Colton’s brothers worked in law enforcement, out of respect for their father who had died in the line of duty. But she’d never met John before.

He told her she looked like an agent of some sort, and that could only mean one thing—that his brother was still alive and living somewhere else. He’d asked her to tell Colton something. “Tell him I’ll see him again sometime.”

She hadn’t given Colton the message. At the time it had seemed cruel to get his hopes up about reuniting with his brother. It was hard enough to start over. It had to be a lot worse to leave people behind.

She hadn’t had that issue when she’d started her own new life.

After breakfast, Colton left for the store armed with a list of things she needed to build her computer system. Once she was connected to the outside world, she hoped to find out who had murdered a good man while he slept, and stolen a priceless piece of technology.

She checked the television, seeing her face occasionally when a talk show ran the story of Heath’s death. There was only so much of that she could watch before she started yelling at the TV, so instead, she straightened up Colton’s already neat home and played with Pudge.

“Man, this is boring,” she told the dog. “How does he stand living like this?”

Pudge didn’t have an answer.

She was getting ready to toss the ball for what felt like the eight-hundredth time when Pudge alerted and barked.

“Is Daddy home?” she asked, thinking her words sounded both odd and appealing. Shaking it off, she went to meet Colton in the garage as soon as she heard the door close.

“Did you get everything?” She was actually bouncing with excitement. There was nothing better than getting a new computer. The speed and all that available memory. It was heaven.

“This thing cost thirteen hundred bucks,” he complained. “Not to mention all this other stuff. I’m a teacher, Angel, not a billionaire.”

She frowned, remembering the billionaire who’d died while she was supposed to be protecting him.

“I’ll pay you back,” she promised quickly. She should have considered the expense. Unfortunately, she didn’t have access to her funds at the moment.

“Sure. Why don’t you just write me out a check? I’m sure no one will be looking at your bank accounts.”

She narrowed her eyes on him. “When I get my life back, I’ll pay you back for this stuff.”

“Yeah, well, not everyone gets their life back,” he said softly.

The truth hit her hard. Up until now she hadn’t imagined she might need to stay hidden indefinitely. She knew she was innocent, and had assumed it wouldn’t take long for the truth to come out. But it was possible she wouldn’t ever find any proof.

It was possible she would never be cleared of this crime.