Page 21 of The Veteran

KADE

As the day dragged by, I accepted that Sage had been right to call a halt earlier, but that didn’t make it any easier to resist her. Everything about her drew me in. Her peaceful smile, her surprisingly steely spine, and her sweet nature. Not to mention those luscious curves, and the delicious scent that seemed to follow in her wake. Something earthy and natural but tempting as hell.

We made a trip down to the local shops to stock up on everything we didn’t have, but we were pretty well covered between the groceries Sean had bought and the clothes we’d already purchased before leaving Chicago. Sage loved Maple, and I could see why. It was charming in an old-fashioned way. Wholesome and welcoming. The kind of place where I’d like to settle down if I ever decided to have kids. Unfortunately, I hadn’t been able to give her leeway to explore today since we were supposed to be lying low, but if we didn’t see any sign of Getty or Baker, perhaps we could venture out again later in the week.

She did persuade me to go with her to buy sage and a few of those translucent crystals she seemed to love. Then, back at the cottage, I sat and watched as she flitted from room to room, spreading scented smoke and chanting words I couldn’t make out. I didn’t go in for all that woo-woo cosmic energy stuff, but the tranquility of her expression as she carried out her ritual made me wonder if there was something to it. When she’d burned her sage, she placed a crystal in each room and played flute music on her phone while she did yoga on the floor. I watched her at first, but then I had to retreat to the bedroom because seeing how flexible her gorgeous body was made me frustratingly hard. I knew Sean would be vigilant outside, so I could afford to let my guard down a little.

I reached into my jeans and palmed my cock. It throbbed in my hand and I groaned under my breath. I tightened my hand around my erection and pumped. My hips canted forward. Damn, that felt good.

But then I stopped. God, I shouldn’t be doing this. What had I been thinking?

I tucked myself away and attempted to recite the alphabet backward until I was soft enough to be able to comfortably do my fly up. I mentally cursed myself. I couldn’t allow myself to indulge in this crazy attraction. I was sending the wrong message both to myself and to Sage, and it wasn’t fair.

I went to the bathroom and washed my hands, then got my laptop out and decided to do some research. I’d thought I knew Sage reasonably well, but I’d seen enough over the past few days to realize that the carefree wild child I’d gotten to know during our road trip last year was only one aspect of her. There were other layers. Deeper ones. She was unexpectedly strong, capable of acting under pressure, and stubborn in a very nonconfrontational way. I wondered what else I might have missed about her.

I opened the file Zeke’s team had compiled since we’d taken on her case, and started to read the summary. She’d moved around a lot when she was younger, and her father had been arrested several times on minor charges. Theft. Drunk driving. Possession of an illegal substance. He’d never been in serious trouble before the bank robbery though. The guy had probably gotten in over his head and not realized how vicious the men he was working for could be.

I read on. Sage had done well at school but wasn’t a straight-A student. She’d met Willow in junior high and they’d spent most of their free time together. She’d joined the drama club and had backup roles in a number of productions. Her mother had changed jobs often, presumably because they’d moved a lot, but she’d usually worked for restaurants and cafes. From what I could gather, the mother had been the more responsible parent, squirreling away tips to cover the bills for whenever her husband next got caught up in trouble.

By all accounts, Sage’s parents had spent the last few months of their lives fighting. The police had been called on one occasion, when a neighbor reported a domestic disturbance, but no charges had been filed. I hated the thought of Sage in such a toxic environment. She should have had love and warmth so she could spread her wings and shine.

Then the murders had happened. The mother’s death may have been accidental, but if the father had lived, he’d most likely have been arrested for manslaughter. How much had it affected Sage to know that his actions had led to her mom’s death? And for her to simultaneously have to process her father’s cold-blooded murder and the revelation that he’d been a bank robber? It was a miracle she’d emerged out the other side with her caring nature and big heart intact. The trial couldn’t have been easy either, and neither could the death of the marshal who’d been protecting her. Yet she’d made it through.

I shook my head in admiration. Sage Nichols was a very impressive woman. It was a shame I didn’t deserve her.

9

SAGE

The next day, I was back into my routine of waking early for a yoga session. Usually, I’d livestream it for my subscribers, but I wasn’t able to do that so, instead, I arranged the living room into the most aesthetically pleasing scene I could manage—which wasn’t saying much—and positioned the burner phone I’d been given on the table to record.

As I fiddled with the angle, I had to sigh. I felt as though I’d lost years of progress. Once upon a time it had been just me and my phone, but I’d gotten used to having special lighting equipment, microphones, and camera holders. Oh well, I’d just have to make the best of a bad situation. I wouldn’t even be able to upload the video myself, but Kade had suggested that one of the guys on Zeke’s team might be able to post it in a way that couldn’t be used to find me. He’d given me a phone number and said to call when I had the clip ready to go.

I grabbed a glass of water from the kitchen and sipped it, then checked my reflection in the bathroom and swiped on some lip gloss. I didn’t wear much makeup, but using a little certainly helped me look less washed out on camera, and I wanted to appear as healthy as possible or else people might wonder why they were following my yoga routines and lifestyle tips. When I returned to the living room, I was surprised to see Kade leaning against the wall, looking as though he intended to stay there.

“Do you plan to watch?” I asked, a little uneasily. Obviously, I didn’t have an issue with being observed since I shared my videos with thousands of people but having a gorgeous man a few feet away was different from the anonymous people online.

“If you don’t mind.” His dark eyes followed me, and my skin prickled with awareness. “I was awake and heard you moving around so I thought I’d join you. You probably don’t want me in the background of your demo though.”

My lips twitched. “Most of my subscribers are women. They probably wouldn’t mind.”

Mirth flashed in his eyes. “Did you just objectify me?”

“Sorry.”

He winked. “Liar.”

I grinned back. “You can stay. It’s fine.”

“Thanks.”

“Just keep quiet. I’m about to start recording.”

He saluted. “Yes, ma’am.”

I smothered a giggle as I tapped the phone screen to start the camera and positioned myself in the space I’d cleared in the center of the room. I worked through my routine, pausing every now and then to speak to the camera. It was second nature to say everything I was doing out loud so people would be able to follow along without craning their necks to watch the screen. I did well, all things considered, but I could feel Kade’s gaze lingering on me like a caress. Each movement felt strangely provocative, as though I was daring him to watch. To look at me. To want me.

But he didn’t give any indication it was affecting him, and I was grateful for that. By the time I finished, I felt flustered enough without him contributing. When I finally switched off the camera and swigged more water, I was in need of a hot shower. Yoga was supposed to be calming, but with him as witness, I felt riled up.