Page 28 of After The Storm
From behind her, she heard him say in that deep voice that never failed to make her feel safer, “You’ll be lucky if you make it a block from the hotel.”
She stopped and turned around to face him. “Thank you for your concern, but I’ll be fine.”
Roman gave her one of his smiles that she’d remember for the rest of her life. “That’s my line.”
Kate looked at him and thought to herself that he really could be cute sometimes. And sexy. And a good man. Too bad she hadn’t met him when she wasn’t on the run and wanted by the police for the murder of two people. Maybe they could have gotten together.
“So what’s your plan then?” he asked with a look of skepticism in his eyes.
She hated to admit it, but she didn’t have a plan. When she didn’t answer, he put his hands behind his head with a brief wince and said, “So you have no plan?”
God, this man had the ability to shift from sexy and sweet to irritating as all hell in a matter of seconds. That she wouldn’t miss.
Defensive, she put her hand on her hip. “I have money saved, so I’ll be just fine. I’ll just grab some files before anyone gets to the office and be out of town in hours.”
Roman shook his head. “The cops are looking for you, for whatever reason, so you won’t be able to just stroll through the front door.”
She raised her hand to stop him before he went any further. “I know a back way in, so I’ll just stroll in that way. Problem solved.”
For the briefest of moments, she reveled in her triumph over his negativity about her going out on her own. He may have been big and strong and very helpful in a number of situations, she had no doubt, but she wasn’t without skills herself. As a single woman in a big city, she’d learned to handle herself. More than once, she’d had to think on her feet. This situation would be no different.
Roman slowly leaned forward and positioned his elbows on his knees. “And as for your money, forget it. They’ve already put a freeze on all your accounts if they’re really after you. It doesn’t seem like you’ve thought this whole thing through, Kate.”
He was taking all the wind out of her sails. Deflated, she sat down hard on the edge of the bed and sighed. “Fine. What am I supposed to do? I have to get that proof.”
“Why? Who does it help for you to get proof that your boss didn’t trust the cops?”
She didn’t want to admit the truth, but she wanted the proof for him. Something about him thinking she may be guilty or played a part in the death of Jonas and Samuel bothered her. She couldn’t explain it since normally she reserved that kind of respect for people she knew for years and had grown to trust.
This person she’d known for only two days. It made no sense that his opinion of her guilt or innocence made any difference to her.
But it did, and every time he looked at her like she might deserve the police coming after her made it all the more important that she show him she had nothing to do with these murders. That her distrust of the police stemmed from something real and not just the crazy ramblings of a woman on the run.
“It helps me, Roman. I want to have that proof is all,” she said, not sure she wanted to admit the truth of why she planned to risk everything to go to the law offices and find the file for Samuel Darnell’s case.
Roman eased himself back against the chair and shook his head. “That makes no sense. You know if you’re guilty or not.”
Focusing on her hands in her lap, she said, “Well, it doesn’t have to make sense to you. You’re not part of this anymore.”
He didn’t say anything to that, so she pushed down the fear of going out on her own that had begun to form into a tight ball in her stomach and told herself she could do this. She had to. She had no choice.
“Kate, I told you when I walked into your room at that fleabag motel that I was going to protect you. That’s my job, and I don’t plan for you to be the first assignment I fail at, so I can’t let you go anywhere without me.”
Frustration pushed fear out of her mind for the moment, and she stood to look at him. God, he looked so in control as he sat there, probably still bleeding from that gash in his side. Even injured, he seemed so calm and ready for anything.
If every word out of his mouth didn’t irritate the hell out of her, she could admire him for that calmness. As it was, she wanted to lash out at him for thinking he could or should stop her from doing anything in this world.
“Why do you keep telling me you can’t let me do things? What makes you think you have any say whatsoever in what I do or don’t do about this or anything else? You come waltzing into my life saying you want to protect me, and you think that means you can dictate where I go and when? No way. Nope.”
Kate felt her emotions begin to unravel, but she didn’t care. She may have liked Roman more than she wanted to admit even to herself and she may have felt bad about what she’d done, but this issue of giving her permission to do things was her line in the sand, the hill she would die on, if need be.
Hopefully, that death would only be figurative.
But whatever happened, she fully intended on doing what she wanted to do and not because some man she’d just met let her.
She waited for Roman to say something, but he remained silent and just stared at her like she was some creature he’d never encountered before. Maybe he’d never met a woman who stood up for herself. She had no idea. All she knew was there would be no letting her do anything.
A grown woman didn’t require permission to run her life as she saw fit.