Chapter 4

Chapter

Four

C hris's back ached and he had a crick in his neck, but he wasn't going to move. He didn't want to disturb Lindy, who'd fallen asleep in his arms after they'd moved from standing by the chair to lying on the bed.

Giving a rundown of his life story to a woman he'd just met wasn't something he normally did. However, she'd needed assurance that she hadn't made a mistake by letting him look after her.

She was sleeping soundly, a surprise considering all she'd been through, but he was glad that she could find peace in slumber.

For him, getting a good night's sleep was hit or miss. Too many memories of what he'd done and seen always popped up when he let his guard down, and sleeping was the ultimate time for his guard to drop.

Chris leaned back against the wooden headboard and thought about the previous knight, particularly Lindy's bag snatch. Something about the whole event seemed off, especially her recounting of what the guy had said when he'd been standing over her.

If he'd been a little quicker, he might've been able to stop the assailant in his tracks and they'd have the answers they needed.

Was he reading too much into the situation?

Possibly, but he'd learned never to ignore when his instincts were telling him that something wasn't right.

What he would do, once Lindy had returned home, was contact Steve Power. The guy ran his own security company and was the team leader of an elite group of men who worked for various organizations like he did. That was how they'd hooked up—they'd worked many missions together.

Through his contacts, Steve hopefully would be able to access any CCTV footage of the area, if there were any cameras. Maybe one had been able to catch an angle of the guy so they could make out some distinctive feature like a scar to tattoo, considering he wore a mask and facial recognition was out, that could help nail the son of a bitch who'd tried to hurt Lindy .

Again, was he making too much of it? Always assuming that there was an ulterior motive to someone's actions. All his career Chris had been chasing people who appeared good on the outside but were pure evil on the inside. Those that looked nasty on the outside, sometimes were the scapegoats for the leaders.

The world was full of horrible things, and he'd seen a shit load of it, so turning it off when he'd witnessed Lindy being assaulted was near on impossible.

She stirred in his arms and he loosened his hold, knowing the moment she woke up reality would set in and she'd likely go her own way and he'd never see her again.

Still wasn't going to stop him from making sure everything was okay with her and no one was trying to stalk or kidnap her.

"What time is it?" Her voice sexy and sleepy and had him envisioning waking up with her after a full night of lovemaking.

Whoa.

What was it about this woman that had him tied up in knots?

"Chris? What's the time?"

"Sorry." He lifted his arm and glanced at his watch. "It's a little after four. "

Lindy stretched beside him and his body instantly went on alert, not for danger, but shot with desire and need.

She twisted so she rested on her stomach and looked up at him. "You've been holding me like this all night?"

Chris nodded; words trapped in his throat.

"It must've been uncomfortable for you?"

"Trust me, I've slept in far worse conditions, this is luxury." He injected humor in his voice and was rewarded by her smile.

"I'm sure." She yawned and her eyelids drifted down.

"You need some more sleep. What time do you need to be up by?"

"Hmm, I usually get up at six to get on my exercise bike and I'm at work by seven thirty." Her voice got softer with each word.

"I'll wake you up in time."

"Okay." She snuggled into him and he shifted further down the bed so that he was lying flat and secured Lindy by his side with an arm around her back.

She let out a small huff of air and began to snore lightly.

The sound was cute, and he closed his eyes, allowing the steady rhythm of his heartbeat to lull him into sleep.

" T hank you for walking me to my building, you didn't have to." Lindy glanced at a point over his shoulder, and Chris wished she'd look at him.

The walk from his hotel room to her office had been made in a tense silence. The streets weren't busy, but there were people rushing to grab a coffee and pastry before heading to their workday. Most had a skip in the step knowing that in a few short hours they'd have the next two days off to forget about work.

"I wasn't going to let you walk by yourself."

She sighed. "I was the victim of a random bag snatch, the police said it themselves. They don't expect to find my handbag. I'm going to call the locksmith when I get to my office and I'll go to the house to meet with them and grab my new keys. I'll also speak to the security company I use and ask them to up their patrols around my house for the next couple of weeks. "

Everything she'd said should comfort him. Lindy was doing everything they'd discussed, yet walking away from her was becoming harder and harder.

How could he be feeling this way for a woman he'd met only twelve hours ago?

It seemed impossible for Chris to have these strong feelings for her, yet he did.

He'd never believed in love at first sight, how could he when he'd seen so much tragedy in his life?

Yet he'd heard the stories of it happening to people, men he'd worked with in the past. They told the story of how all it had taken was one look and they'd known the woman in front of them was the one.

Surprisingly, those were the relationships that tended to last in the Army. Perhaps there was something to it, but he didn't want to believe that about what he was feeling for Lindy.

There were so many factors and reason for a relationship between them to not work, the biggest one being Chris' life was on the other side of the world to hers. He had a feeling her job was an important one. One that couldn't be blown off making it impossible for her to move to America to be with him.

It would be best if they parted ways outside the front of the impersonal glass and steel structure. Chris looked down at her, her face lifted toward him .

All thoughts of saying goodbye for good disappeared at the look of longing he glimpsed in her eyes.

Was there an answering one in his? Probably. Should he kiss her?

Chris took a deep breath, and as if she could tell what his intentions were, Lindy took a step back and held out her hand.

"Thanks for looking after me last night, Chris Swanson. I enjoyed spending time with you."

Her words were like bullets to his chest; the finality of them burned. Why was he upset?

This was what he wanted.

"I enjoyed spending time with you Lindy Jones. Take care."

"I will."

Their gazes locked, and for a moment he suspected she was going to hug him, but instead, she shook her head and turned to head into the building.

The glass doors whispered open then closed only a few seconds after she walked through.

He stood there looking at the blueish green glass, willing the doors to reopen and for Lindy to rush out and kiss him, as though she needed it to breathe.

Yet the doors remained closed, and he cursed himself for even thinking anything romantic about the situation he now found himself in .

Last night had been a glitch in his well-ordered life. Chris had people to save. Missions to work.

He swiveled around, heading back to his hotel, ignoring the longing and the feeling he'd left a little bit of him behind.