Page 94 of The Texas Ranger: Saddled Up
“I was protecting you.”
“Protecting me?” she snapped. “Don’t you dare act like this has been some kind of noble sacrifice on your part. You don’t get to hurt me and call it protection.”
“There’s a lot more to the story,” he said quietly.
“Then tell me. Everything.”
“I can’t.”
“Of course you can’t.” There was pain lingering under her sadness.
“In due time.”
“In due time?” Her voice cracked. “Do you think I can ever trust you again?”
He stared back at her. A hundred things swept through his mind but nothing he could say. He was bound by his oath to the team. “I want a chance with you. I’m giving up all this for you.”
Her eyes glistened. “A chance isn’t built on lies. You betrayed me. All you had to do was be truthful. I would have told you everything.”
“Tell me now. I can help you.”
Her laugh was cold and brutal. “What makes you think I want your help? I don’t trust you.”
“I never wanted to hurt you. My hands were tied.”
“Congratulations. You did.”
The room felt engulfed in invisible smoke.
For a moment, he wanted to say fuck it and reveal everything, but he wanted to protect her and his team. He couldn’t open up to her. Even when she was breaking in front of him. Even when he lost her, he still couldn’t tell her all the facts.
“I understand. I’m sorry.” He turned and walked away.
He blindly made his way down the stairs. Phoebe and Grimes were no longer in the living room. Bear strode outside and was shocked to find Grimes standing near Bear’s truck.
“Bear, she found out. I couldn’t throw the entire team under the bus—”
“So instead, you throw me under the bus? Without even warning me? Giving me the chance to take precautions?”
“Damn, I was going to, but Phoebe—”
“I don’t want to know.” Bear started to walk past Grimes, but a second thought came to mind. Bear pulled back his arm and punched Grimes in the jaw. Not hard enough to knock the grizzly man off his feet, but powerful enough that it would be a reminder that he’d fucked up.
Bear left Grimes in the driveway holding his jaw as he drove away. He too felt like he’d been punched. Not in the face, but in the gut.
Aasia would never forgive him.
Not in a million years.
And honestly, he’d never forgive himself.
Chapter Thirty-Three
The rain had started hours before Bear arrived at the bar. He drove a hundred miles, the last twenty spent on back roads that were like ribbons of mud. By the time he pulled into the narrow driveway and killed the engine, he was ready for a cold one.
He climbed out of his truck, his boots hitting a puddle. “Fuck!”
The rain pelting nearby pine trees sounded exceptionally loud in the remote part of the backwoods.
