“I’ll be safe at work, too,” she said. “I was the other day. This is more about your insecurity. Your worrying.”
“No,” he said. “It’s about the fact that you are afraid to get too close. To really take risks with me and commit to this.”
“It’s only been like a week.” She scoffed. “You expect me to throw everything away and just jump into things?”
“Sometimes you have to take a leap,” he said urgently. “Please don’t go.”
She stepped back. “I’m going to be fine. I promise. Are you seriously saying this is going to affect us? If I just go to work on one day when I want to?”
He sighed. He was beginning to get irritated at the limited amount she let him get involved in her life. He wanted more of a say in things, but he supposed he wasn’t going to get one. At least not yet.
But hadn’t he proved himself trustworthy? Hadn’t he shown he always had only her best interests at heart?
“Look,” she said. “You’ve brought a lot of things into my life. New things that I’m trying hard to accept. Dragons. Mates. Supernatural things. But my work is the one constant in my life. I still need it, and I hope you can accept that.”
He let out a long breath. “It looks like I don’t have a choice. I just hope once I’m your mate, you actually let me protect you.”
“I do let you protect me, like you did last night. But I can’t just stop the world for you.”
“I would for you if I could,” he said. “I’d set everything else aside.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” she said. “My last boyfriend, the minute he could, he just stopped trying. I don’t want that. I want us both to work hard and keep trying.”
“Then you relax and let me show you I’ll keep working,” he said, taking her gently by the arm. “Just like this morning, with you there watching. I’m happy to work. I’ll work for you for the rest of our lives if you want me to, just to prove I’ll do anything to win you. And keep you,” he added when her brows furrowed.
She sighed. “We aren’t going to have to fight about this when I get home from work, are we?”
“I don’t know,” he said honestly. “Maybe we will. Maybe we’ll have to talk more about making decisions together about your work when it affects your safety.”
“You aren’t my mate yet,” she said, stepping back. “I know you want to be, but being super controlling isn’t going to help you.”
“I can’t mate you if you go and get yourself hurt, so I don’t see the point in holding back either. But if you are going to go, take this,” he said, taking her hand and slipping his steel bracelet off his wrist and onto hers.
“What is it?” she asked, looking it over. “Not exactly my style.”
“It’s my style,” he said. “It’s a compromise.”
She narrowed her eyes at him and then smiled. “You’re just being silly again, aren’t you?” She held her wrist with the bracelet up. “Is this some way of marking your territory?”
The tension was broken between them, and he laughed. “I suppose so.”
“Then I’ll wear it,” she said, stepping forward to give him a hug. “Thanks for understanding. Or at least not trying to stop me.”
“I wouldn’t do anything against your will,” he said, but he could feel reluctance in himself to let her go. Part of him wanted to carry her upstairs and lock her in the bedroom where she’d be safe, but he knew she’d never forgive him for that.
And besides, he could have Titus follow her again. She wouldn’t notice. And she’d been fine that way before.
Plus, while she was gone, he could put steel bars over every single window, he thought with a mischievous grin.
No, he probably better not.
He walked her to her car, feeling an ache at letting her leave him. But once again, it wasn’t his place to stop her, so he had to stand back, let her go, and just do his best to work hard so she had something good to come home to.
He waited until she was out of sight and then called Titus, on the phone this time. He told him to watch her again at work, and then hung up, watching off in the distance in the direction her car had gone.
An inexplicable urge to follow her struck him, but he remembered Aegis’s rule.
If he wanted to win her over, he had to go slow.
Fuck slow, to use modern vernacular.
He picked up the hose begrudgingly and began watering again.
15
Liam could feel his heart beating faster with each passing second he was away from Kate. He tried to tell himself not to worry, that Titus would take care of it, but it was easier said than done after what had happened last night.
He’d tried to go back to work, focus on putting in the azaleas he’d ordered in for Kate because she loved the color, but plants and flower beds seemed incredibly insignificant compared to the safety of his mate.
Even if going into work was what she had wanted, Liam just couldn’t be okay with it so long as Gold was out there, probably after her.
Any updates, Titus? Liam asked, his patience finally run out.
There was silence for a moment, and Liam began to pace, knocking over a shovel in frustration.
She’s not here, brother… Liam heard Titus say. And despite Titus’s incredibly calm, controlled demeanor, there was worry in his voice, perhaps even a little anxiety.
What do you mean she’s not there?
When I got to the parking lot at her place of work, I couldn’t find her vehicle. I even checked the side streets. It’s nowhere to be found.
“Dammit,” Liam cursed aloud. Maybe she had stopped somewhere for breakfast. Maybe she’d gotten sidetracked along the way.
Not that wasn’t like her.
Liam rushed into the house and pulled a small Post-It off the wall of Kate’s kitchen that had her work number on it in case of emergency.
This most certainly represented an emergency.
He dialed the number furiously, and a sweet voice picked up on the other side, introducing herself and asking where he’d like to be transferred.
“I’d like to speak with Kate. Kate Hinton,” he said, trying to calm the rage and fear in his voice. Humans didn’t respond well to strong emotions like that.
“I’m sorry, but it doesn’t look like she came in this morning,” she said, sounding nonchalant about the fact that Kate was missing.
“Then the man in charge. Her superior officer… I mean boss, then.”
“Certainly,” the woman said, not breaking character as Liam heard a beep, followed by ringing.
“Oscar Chavez, how can I help you?”
Liam wanted to fly off the handle right now, wanted to reach his fist through the phone and punch the bastard for forcing his mate into work when she didn’t want to, but right now, finding Kate was more important
“Kate Hinton, where is she?” Liam asked, trying very hard to suppress a growl.
“Oh, she said she wasn’t coming in today. I got an email from her first thing this morning saying she’d be out,” the man said with surprising calm.