High-Sided: An Armed & Dangerous Novel by L.P. Dover Page A

of bad. My job isn’t glamorous, Kassie. I go after the worst of the worst. I’ve seen more death than you could imagine.”
    She swallowed hard. “Have you killed people?”
    I stared into her eyes, then turned my head. I didn’t like the killing part of my job, but I had no choice. “Yes,” I admitted honestly. “Sometimes, it’s either kill or be killed. It’s part of my job.”
    She rested a hand on my arm and I closed my eyes, wishing like hell I could pull her into my arms. “When you were in college to earn your degree, I never thought about what being an agent would entail. I guess I never could imagine you killing anyone.”
    I opened my eyes and turned my body toward her, resting my hand over hers. She sucked in a breath as I trailed my fingers up to her face. “Does it scare you that I’ve killed people?” I asked.
    She leaned into my touch and closed her eyes. “No.”
    “Then why are you shaking?” Her whole body trembled under my touch. The last thing I wanted was for her to see me as a murderer. I did what I had to do to stay alive and bring people to justice.
    “Because,” she whispered, opening her eyes, “I never would’ve realized the truth if I didn’t come here. What I don’t understand is why you kept it all a secret.”
    I clicked on the folder with her name, and there on the screen were pictures of her at different times through the years. There were ones of her walking across the stage in her cap and gown as she graduated college. The others were at various races, when I’d gone to watch Levi.
    Tears filled her eyes and she clapped a hand over her mouth. “Why didn’t you let me know you were there? Did Levi know?”
    Sighing, I closed my laptop. “He knew. I tried approaching you twice, but both times you were with someone else. After that, I figured you’d completely moved on.”
    “No,” she cried, “I didn’t. Every time I tried to date someone else, it didn’t last long. My relationships have been unsuccessful ever since.”
    “Mine too, but then again, I never cared about dating anyone.”
    She stiffened. “So you slept around?”
    “We’ve all made mistakes, Kassie. I hate you’ve been with other men, but it’s something I have to live with.”
    She stood and walked away, keeping her back to me. “Only one, Logan. There’s only one man I’ve been with besides you. It wasn’t easy for me to let someone in after you left. I wish you would’ve come to me earlier. I needed you more than you know, especially when my mother died.”
    I walked up behind her and put my arms around her waist. When she didn’t recoil, I held her tighter. “And I was there, Kassie. Your mother was an amazing woman.” She burst out crying and I held her until she stopped. I didn’t want to let her go. “After I let you go, I knew you hated me. When I assumed you were happy with someone else, I had to face the fact I lost you. I’d never been so angry with myself in all my life. I loved you, and even to this day, I never stopped.”
    She turned around and laid her head on my chest. “Even when I tried to hate you, I still loved you too. I can’t help but think about all the years we lost.”
    I tilted her chin up and looked down at her lips. “We can’t get them back, but we can always make up for what we lost.” I pressed my lips to hers and her arms around my neck tightened. She opened her mouth and I pushed my tongue inside, loving the way she tasted.

Kassidy
    I felt like I was in a dream. Everything felt right for the first time in my life. But when I opened my eyes, it wasn’t a dream. Logan’s arms were wrapped around my waist and I could feel his breath against my ear. After talking the entire night, we finally fell asleep around three in the morning. My phone vibrated across the hardwood floor, but I couldn’t reach it. Logan tightened his grip so I couldn’t get it.
    “What are you doing?” I laughed.
    “Keeping you close. Who’s calling you so early