tears from flowing down her cheeks.
Then she heard a loud slam on the other end
of the line. “Who is that, Susan? Who are you talking to?” A gruff
voice yelled in the background.
The line went dead.
--- ~ ---
Seth’s jaw ticked and he flexed his hands as
he stood behind Amber. His body was wound tight, but not with need.
He was on full alert. As soon as he had driven into the back lot to
install security cameras he had noticed two things.
One: Amber’s white Prius was parked beside
the back entrance of Bella. Two: The back door to the building was
slightly ajar.
Visions of her lying unconscious - or worse -
had immediately popped into his head.
He had come in through the back entrance and
made his way through the beaded curtain without her ever being
aware of his presence. Logically, he knew that since he was trained
and specialized in extractions, he could get into almost any
structure undetected. But, honestly, anyone could have gotten in
without Amber knowing.
It was late. She was alone. There was a
break-in just a few days ago. What the hell was she thinking?
“Amber,” he barked.
She jumped, screamed and clutched her chest
as she spun around.
Her eyes were wild with fear. He saw the
exact moment she recognized him, “Oh my God! You scared me!”
“What are you doing?” he asked through
clenched teeth. He could feel the anger radiating off of him in
powerful waves.
He didn’t feel like this often, but the few
times he had, the people on the receiving end of his mood looked
scared and nervous. They cowed or at the very least flinched when
he spoke to them angrily.
Not Amber. She seemed pissed.
Her brow furrowed and she shook her head with
indignation. “What are you doing?”
“Installing security cameras,” his tone
remained harsh with anger. He really didn’t give a damn.
“Cranston agreed to pay for those?” she
sounded genuinely shocked.
“No,” he replied. His fury beginning to
dissipate.
He had been told once by The Colonel when he
was a teenager that anger was really just a byproduct of fear or
hurt. He hadn’t believed him at the time. He hadn’t had an ‘aha’
moment, as his cousins (who were obsessed with Oprah) always
claimed they had. As an adult, though, he was beginning to see the
wisdom in that statement. He had been terrified that something had
happened to her. Now that he saw she was okay, he was still mad,
but not furious.
“How much is this going to cost me?” she
asked distractedly. She didn’t seem like herself.
Seth had heard her talking when he came
through the back door. It had sounded to him like she was upset.
The sound of her distraught tone had only added to his panic. Now
he saw that she held her phone in her hand and her eyes definitely
showed signs that she had in fact been crying.
“What’s wrong?” he asked bluntly.
She just stared at him. He nodded his head
down to the phone she was holding in her hand.
Amber waved her hand dismissively,
“Nothing.”
In contrast to the words she had just spoken,
her body language screamed that it was, in fact, something.
He wanted to reach out and pull her into his
arms. To hold her until whatever was troubling her disappeared from
her mind. He was filled with the desire to offer comfort and
security. Not in any kind of a sexual way, purely as emotional
support.
And that scared the shit out of him. The plan
to keep his distance was looking better and better all the time.
She seemed fragile and vulnerable and it caused him to want things
he had no business wanting.
He was fucked up. He knew it. Not just
physically, but mentally. For the past year or so he had not felt
like himself. Maybe it was the PTSD. Or it could have been that all
the things he had seen and done in his time in the military were
catching up to him. A strong argument could also be made that he
was still messed up from all the shit he had gone through with his
mom.
Seth had never had a serious relationship. He
had had casual ones
Then she heard a loud slam on the other end
of the line. “Who is that, Susan? Who are you talking to?” A gruff
voice yelled in the background.
The line went dead.
--- ~ ---
Seth’s jaw ticked and he flexed his hands as
he stood behind Amber. His body was wound tight, but not with need.
He was on full alert. As soon as he had driven into the back lot to
install security cameras he had noticed two things.
One: Amber’s white Prius was parked beside
the back entrance of Bella. Two: The back door to the building was
slightly ajar.
Visions of her lying unconscious - or worse -
had immediately popped into his head.
He had come in through the back entrance and
made his way through the beaded curtain without her ever being
aware of his presence. Logically, he knew that since he was trained
and specialized in extractions, he could get into almost any
structure undetected. But, honestly, anyone could have gotten in
without Amber knowing.
It was late. She was alone. There was a
break-in just a few days ago. What the hell was she thinking?
“Amber,” he barked.
She jumped, screamed and clutched her chest
as she spun around.
Her eyes were wild with fear. He saw the
exact moment she recognized him, “Oh my God! You scared me!”
“What are you doing?” he asked through
clenched teeth. He could feel the anger radiating off of him in
powerful waves.
He didn’t feel like this often, but the few
times he had, the people on the receiving end of his mood looked
scared and nervous. They cowed or at the very least flinched when
he spoke to them angrily.
Not Amber. She seemed pissed.
Her brow furrowed and she shook her head with
indignation. “What are you doing?”
“Installing security cameras,” his tone
remained harsh with anger. He really didn’t give a damn.
“Cranston agreed to pay for those?” she
sounded genuinely shocked.
“No,” he replied. His fury beginning to
dissipate.
He had been told once by The Colonel when he
was a teenager that anger was really just a byproduct of fear or
hurt. He hadn’t believed him at the time. He hadn’t had an ‘aha’
moment, as his cousins (who were obsessed with Oprah) always
claimed they had. As an adult, though, he was beginning to see the
wisdom in that statement. He had been terrified that something had
happened to her. Now that he saw she was okay, he was still mad,
but not furious.
“How much is this going to cost me?” she
asked distractedly. She didn’t seem like herself.
Seth had heard her talking when he came
through the back door. It had sounded to him like she was upset.
The sound of her distraught tone had only added to his panic. Now
he saw that she held her phone in her hand and her eyes definitely
showed signs that she had in fact been crying.
“What’s wrong?” he asked bluntly.
She just stared at him. He nodded his head
down to the phone she was holding in her hand.
Amber waved her hand dismissively,
“Nothing.”
In contrast to the words she had just spoken,
her body language screamed that it was, in fact, something.
He wanted to reach out and pull her into his
arms. To hold her until whatever was troubling her disappeared from
her mind. He was filled with the desire to offer comfort and
security. Not in any kind of a sexual way, purely as emotional
support.
And that scared the shit out of him. The plan
to keep his distance was looking better and better all the time.
She seemed fragile and vulnerable and it caused him to want things
he had no business wanting.
He was fucked up. He knew it. Not just
physically, but mentally. For the past year or so he had not felt
like himself. Maybe it was the PTSD. Or it could have been that all
the things he had seen and done in his time in the military were
catching up to him. A strong argument could also be made that he
was still messed up from all the shit he had gone through with his
mom.
Seth had never had a serious relationship. He
had had casual ones
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