Hard to Hold by Incy Black Page A

didn’t expect him to answer. She doubted he had the words to describe what he
     was running from. But she saw the flash of anguish in his eyes before he brought the
     shutters down.
    And her heart fractured. Nick Marshall was his own worst enemy. Yes, he was tough.
     Dedicated. Driven. But she wondered if he even realized he was also the loneliest
     man on the planet. Some misguided penance for God alone knew what. Totally self-imposed.
    He straightened when Will approached.
    “Safe house is arranged. I can take her anytime she’s ready.”
    “Bloody waste of time. She’s refusing to go.”
    “Great, so now what?”
    Nick shrugged his shoulders, dropped his head back, and heaved free a huge sigh. “So
     now I move in.”
    She gasped breaking the shocked silence. “Over my dead body!”
    He turned his head toward her, almost in slow motion, “Not on my shift and not while
     you’re under my protection.”
    Dear God, it was like a replay of the conversation she’d had with Antila. Two men
     both determined to protect her, uncaring of how she’d survive their attentions. One
     wanted her baby, the other…well, she didn’t know what Nick wanted or what the hell
     he thought he was playing at.
    Will stepped forward, halting only when he was shoulder to shoulder with Nick. “You
     know, it makes sense, Anna. With Nick here, you’ll be safe and hopefully, so will
     he, given it would appear he was tonight’s target. We can lock this place down tighter
     than Fort Knox without spreading resources too thinly. You’ll still be able to work,
     and Nick’s off the clock until we figure out what’s going on. Commander’s orders.”
    It was the first time he had shown her his steely, uncompromising edge, and she finally
     appreciated why it was Nick had appointed happy-go-lucky Will as his second-in-command.
    “Great. So the bloody Service is muscling in now.”
    “Absolutely. We don’t appreciate someone taking potshots at one of our own. And no
     way is the Commander about to let anything happen to Nick. He thinks of him as his
     own son, though Nick would rather die than admit it.”
    “So you move in, Will. Make Nick stay in the safe house. Please.” She didn’t care
     how urgent she sounded or how Nick might misinterpret her desperation. If it kept
     him safe, she’d insult and trample his pride, even cut his heart out with her words
     if necessary.
    “Not going to happen, Anna. Take a look at Nick’s stony expression. It’s already taken
     a double decade off my life. I could promise him you and I are just friends. He wouldn’t
     believe it. Nope, no man is getting cozy in your home, except him. He won’t tolerate
     it, and as much as I’m fond of you in a brotherly kind of way, he’s still my best
     friend, and I don’t want him thumping me.”
    She damn near turned and thumped Nick herself when she heard him snort.
    The nagging throb in her head kicked up to a pound. Hiding Antila’s identity. Protecting
     Nick. Stewing over the thought that someone else connected to Antila wanted her dead
     and not understanding why. Feeling sick with fear at the thought she might be carrying
     a girl. She was holding too many secrets. There’d been a time when she wouldn’t have
     hesitated to unburden the lot on Nick. Long ago when they’d been allies. Him and her,
     spine to spine, fighting the world. God, she hoped she was strong enough to fight
     the regret at what they’d lost—she’d lost—flooding her chest. With their lives at
     stake, she daren’t weaken.
    She nibbled at her nails, something she hadn’t done in years. She looked up, caught
     Nick watching at her, and her heart tripped. Damn the man, he knew. Knew she was hiding
     something.
    She smiled weakly and forced a mask of innocence.
    He wasn’t fooled for a second. If anything, judging by the tightening of his lips,
     she’d just made things worse.
    Now he’d be all the more determined to find out what she was hiding and why.
    She