Risking it All by Bailey Tessa

Author:Bailey, Tessa [Bailey, Tessa]
Language: ara
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Police, Romantic Suspense, brazen, line of duty, Erotic, New York, contemporary romance
Publisher: Entangled Publishing, LLC
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Twice in his life, he’d been scared.

The first time, his father had pointed a gun at Ruby. He’d been on the floor with a freshly broken arm, too far away to get between his sister and the bullet. From his position, he’d watched resignation transform her features, features so similar to his. It had been such an obvious acceptance of her own death, he’d almost looked away so it wouldn’t be etched on his memory, but somehow he’d forced himself to continue watching. Somehow it would mean she didn’t die alone. So unfair, he remembered thinking. After the close calls and scrapes they’d been in, she wouldn’t even get the chance to fight. All of it, all these individual catastrophes, took place within his mind in one second. The longest second of his life.

Until tonight.

He hated the feeling of fear. It slithered like a living thing through his veins, trying to shut him down. Out of self-preservation, he allowed the fear to close himself off to anything but burning, festering anger. He welcomed it. Let it become comfortable and focused on it. Anything that would block out the image of Sera being choked, feet dangling in the air, hands clawing at her neck. If he let himself dwell on it, he knew with 100 percent certainty his world would implode.

The anger had a few different shapes, the first of which was directed at himself. He shouldn’t have left her alone, knowing she would take any opportunity to further her investigation. It had been a poor decision and he’d nearly paid for it the worst way possible. Losing—

No. Don’t think about it. Stay focused.

Anger. Anger at Sera. If he let himself feel it, maybe he could battle this need to pull the car over and drag her into his lap. Rock her. Smell her hair. Tell her what a crazy, stupid, maddening, beautiful girl she was. Shout at her. Kiss her. Shake her. Demand she hold him until this block of ice inside him melted and he stopped feeling shaky.

He wouldn’t let himself, though. It was vital he keep his rage, hold on to it like a precious gift. Whenever she touched him, he lost the grip on his darker self. The self that had finally made an appearance tonight, much to the delight of his crew of assholes. Even Wayne had been smugly satisfied to see him promising violence and retribution. While Bowen might regret giving the man what he wanted tomorrow, tonight he couldn’t give a shit. This hot, pumping anger needed an outlet and it would be unleashed on the man who’d put his hands on Sera.

At the reminder of what he’d seen as he walked out of the restaurant, his grip tightened on the wheel, making the car swerve. In the seat beside him, Sera’s hand flew to her throat. That’s when he noticed the red marks. Just over her windpipe, five fingerprints that had to have been digging into her hard, for a good while, to leave those kinds of marks behind.

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