a fist squeezing her heart tighter and tighter, crushing her.
And then to see Raul watching her from the trees…
As if that wasn’t enough, Bryce apparently thought he could walk back into her world and she would welcome him to save her again—as if he was her knight in shining armor? On the one hand, that he would do such a thing warmed her through and through. But on the other hand, she didn’t want to feel that way about his sudden appearance. They’d been through enough already.
Before Bryce, she’d cared deeply about someone on the Colorado State Patrol, but he’d been killed after he’d pulled a speeding driver over on the highway. His death had been senseless. It had been hard for her to get over it, but time had eased the pain enough for her to be ready to try. She had been close to letting Bryce in when Raul’s attack came. He’d almost died.
Sierra wouldn’t let herself care deeply or love someone in law enforcement again. There was too much pain to be had, something she knew from experience.
She sighed heavily. She truly had no idea how she really felt about Bryce’s appearance. The moment she’d seen him in the aisle next to the baby dolls, her heart had stumbled, then begun to beat erratically until she’d calmed herself and reminded herself why she had to guard against caring too much. But that had always been hard for her when it came to Bryce. His sturdy form, strong jaw and huge dimples when he smiled had always made her heart jump around, but adding to that, he could be tough as steel one moment, then instantly turn gentle and sensitive and caring the next. She was surprised someone hadn’t snagged and married him already.
“Listen.” He remained at the table, toying with his mug. Samson lay at his feet, taking up half the space of the nook.
It was a picturesque moment, one she wouldn’t easily forget.
“I know my sudden appearance today is a surprise to you. But I couldn’t stay away. Not when I heard about Raul and Damien.”
That news hadn’t filtered all the way to the small town of Crescent Springs—not until they’d found the crashed plane. That Bryce still thought of her, and that some part of him had remained committed to her, could melt the cold places in her heart. And that wasn’t a good thing. She’d tried to forget him and now he was here.
She’d hurt him before. She’d hurt the both of them. Could she really turn around, face him and ask him to leave? Washing the mug off, she tried to figure out what to say.
She continued to rinse the few remaining dishes in the sink. “So, what are you going to do?” she asked.
“I’m staying in town for a few days.” His chair scraped the floor as he scooted it away from the table.
Oh. Okay. Hmm.
Facing him, she crossed her arms and leaned against the counter. “Don’t you have a job? Did you take vacation or something?”
“I’m taking a few days off.” He studied her as if waiting for her reaction. She kept her emotions hidden away.
Bryce turned his attention to the dog. Samson was a great distraction when one was needed. She totally got that.
“Is it always this crowded in town?” he asked. “Or is that just because of the ice festival?”
“No, it’s not usually so crowded. The town becomes an ice climbing mecca during the festival.” The timing of the prison break couldn’t have been worse. The tourists and fans that flooded the town—so many strangers here—could make it easier for Raul to hide in the chaos and get to her.
If only…
Bryce glanced up at her. Not even the hint of a smile curved his lips. And why should there be? There was nothing to smile about under these circumstances. Bryce showing up because of the Novack brothers only served to emphasize the way the horrors of the past were coming back to threaten her again. Maybe even threaten Bryce again too. Still, the look in his eyes—He wanted to know how she felt about him being here—of course, he would want to know. But she wasn’t sure herself.
“You know.” She smiled. “I have this amazing guard dog, compliments of you. Samson wasn’t there before, when the attack happened. But he’s here now so you didn’t need to come for me.”
A pained look skittered across Bryce’s face. Had she imagined it? At the sound of his name, Samson lifted his head. Bryce ran his hands through the dog’s fur. “And I missed Samson, okay? I needed to come see my buddy and make sure you were treating him right.”
Bryce’s grin ignited memories in her. She’d adored his grin before. She couldn’t let herself adore that grin again.
“I appreciate you coming to check on me, Bryce. Really. But there’s no need to worry about me. I’m fine—and I’m sure Raul will be captured soon.”
He crouched to get a better angle to rub Samson’s enormous belly. The dog was really too big for this kitchen.
“Yeah. Maybe. In the meantime, why don’t we have dinner tonight? You can tell me about life back here in Crescent Springs.”
Dinner. Two friends catching up. Not a date. As long as they were both clear on that point. “And you can share what you’ve been up to. Catch me up on the Boulder PD.” Wistfulness washed through her. While she loved working here and being close to her father, there were aspects she missed about the daily grind of detective work in Boulder.
Bryce stood to his full height, his silver-blue eyes taking her in. An old, familiar stirring hit her, and she realized how much she’d missed this man. She’d always felt drawn to him. But then, that was why she’d been deliberate about putting emotional distance between them.
“I don’t have any inside scoops for you. I don’t know what’s going on with BPD.”
She glanced at him. That didn’t sound good. “Why don’t you know what’s going on?”
“I’m not working with BPD anymore.”
Okay. That surprised her. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I’m telling you now.” He winked. “I’ve been a private investigator for a year now. That and working security.”
She nodded, taking it in. “That had always been your dream.” She remembered that much. “Good for you, Bryce. I’m glad.”
Bryce held her gaze captive for a few breaths longer than necessary. There was so much more she could say to him.
He approached her and, in two easy steps, he stood much too close. Samson, who had stuck by Bryce’s side, decided to wag his dinosaur tail and it thumped against her leg.
“Just so you know, I’m here until Raul is back in prison. I’m here for as long as it takes.”
Sierra stared into his eyes. If only she could send him away. It would be safer for her heart. But his proclamation had the strange and unbidden effect of reassuring her that she would be safe as long as he was here. Between Samson and Bryce, no one would get to Sierra. And maybe it was okay to accept his help. After all, it had been only yesterday when she’d looked into Damien’s vengeance-filled eyes right before he died. Only yesterday she’d seen Raul watching her.
Bryce suddenly took her hand. “Breathe, Sierra. It’s going to be okay.”
She hadn’t been breathing? She slowly drew in air along with the hint of his musky cologne. “Is it? You didn’t see what I saw.” She hadn’t meant to show him how scared she was. She didn’t want to be scared. But this situation made her anxiety impossible to ignore. “You didn’t see the hate in his eyes. He wasn’t even afraid of the fact that he was about to die. All he cared about was getting to me. His last words were nothing more than evil. His brother is no different than him, and Raul succeeded in getting to me before.”
And both she and Bryce had almost died.
A shudder rolled through her.