A car rumbles past, shaking the side door where we're parked on the side of the road.Ben leans back, his arm outstretched over the back of the passenger seat as he stares at me, neither one of us moving. "You don't need to sit in the back, you know.""Oh." It's not until right then I glance around and realize when it was time to get into Ben's police car I went right to the back seat. Granted I've never been arrested before, but I guess I assumed. I blame my lack of steady thought on Hudson... And sadness."We usually save the back for criminals. You're not a criminal. Are you?" Ben asks, laughing as he gets out and opens the back door to let me out.If he only knew. Subconsciously I put myself in the back seat of his unmarked cruiser because I carry so much guilt. I'm heavier. Like I'm carrying an overstuffed suitcase of lies. Ben has been nothing but a fourth brother to me. He's looked out for me. He took care of me the night of the... Calling it an accident is incorrect, bu

The first-floor lobby is full of windows and I check around hesitantly. Damn, living with Hudson is wearing on me. Now he's got me looking for potential gunmen on the streets."Come on, Alex. Let's go upstairs." My brother in my apartment is not the smartest decision. It would be much better if I could keep him here and away from the mysterious man who is currently sitting in my living room. I'll have to answer a lot of questions, but it'll be easier to do it this way than if I wait too long and Hudson comes to search for me. A tall lumbering man running down the steps with his gun drawn is not a sight my brother needs to see today.The four flights of steps go by too fast as I spend them internally debating whether I interrogate my brother about why he's here or come up with a good cover story for Hudson and me. There's absolutely no way, not one in 1,000,001 chance I'm going to tell my brother I witnessed a shooting and now have a full-time bodyguard until the guy wakes up in the

"How long do you plan to stay?" Hudson asks, but he never looks in my direction. Instead his hawk eyes survey the streets outside of Cosmo's Comics and Café's large glass window covering the entire front of the building."I don't know. Sometimes we stick around for an hour and a half, sometimes a day." You never can guess what to expect when your best friend is Aspen.This causes his head to swivel in my direction, his eyes wide in fear, shock, and a little annoyance. "All day? A group of highly wealthy people and their wives and girlfriends sit around in an unsecure comic shop with a huge non-bulletproof glass window every single Sunday morning?"When he puts it that way. "Kind of." My face scrunches because I can guess where this line of questioning goes. We've been here before. I don't know why he's so upset now."And do you do this every Sunday?""Like clockwork." I twist my fingers together and hold them in front of me pretending to stare at my nonexistent nail polish. W

"I can't believe you said that to Finn," I say for at least the sixteenth time as I unlock the door to my apartment. I've never heard anyone yell at Finn. Well, besides Aspen. And Marissa yells all the time but normally only at Ryland. This is uncharted territory.Although, Hudson's been trying to boss me around for weeks. And I kind of let him. Fighting has never been my style.Hudson doesn't even fake feeling bad as he walks in the apartment with our bag of food."He deserved it."Yup, definitely not upset."It's stupid to put everybody's safety in danger. Sure San Francisco isn't Mexico where people get kidnapped all the time, but he is rich and whether he's high profile doesn't matter. Somebody out there will try to use it to their advantage. He needs to protect himself now before he gets caught up in something bigger than he can handle."People get kidnapped from Mexico? I wanted to go there for my next vacation."He's rich and works in technology.""That doesn't m

"Shit," I say looking at the alarm clock setting on my nightstand. "We'll have to order dinner soon."I'm not looking for an excuse to get out of bed with Hudson nor do I want to, but neither of us have eaten since breakfast. Well not food anyway.I hate to miss food even if it's because of hot, delicious sex with quite possibly the man of my dreams.Hudson pulls the sheets up around my shoulder, tightening them underneath me. "Not yet. I can't move."I try to laugh but it comes out this nervous giggle. I smother it by rolling closer to Hudson and putting my face in the pillow. He turns toward me as well, and in the quiet of my bedroom, my fingers are drawn to the small bit of raised skin beneath his shoulder. I skim across the bumpy ridges going back and forth the length of the long scar.Hudson watches my movements, his eyes hooded. "Sometimes I forget.""Did you get it while you were in the service?" I ask. He hasn't told me much on his time being a Navy SEAL and I wonde