Free Steel 4: Blackthorne MC #4 by Carrie Cox Page B

could never be too prepared, and if I had to walk across the desert to escape I would need plenty of water.
    I set the bottles of water I was carrying down on the heavy chest and then turned to glare at him. Why did he have to ruin everything?
    Nick looked at me. “I’m so sorry, Ella. I really thought that you were leaving. This wasn’t down to me.”
    “And why exactly should I trust anything you say?”
    Nick sighed and looked down at the water bottles on the floor. “Promise me you’re not planning to do anything stupid.”
    I stayed silent. I wasn’t going to promise him anything.
    Nick looked particularly good today. The T-shirt he was wearing clung to his upper body in a way that displayed his tight muscles, and his jeans fit snugly around his muscular thighs.  
    I bit my lower lip.  
    Focus , I told myself sternly. I wasn’t shallow enough to be distracted by the way he looked.
    I went and sat beside him on the bed. “I suppose it isn’t your fault,” I said.
    He frowned and turned to face me. His soft lips parted as if he was about to speak, but I didn’t give him a chance.
    “I thought you were someone I could trust, someone I could rely on. It wasn’t fair of me. You told me from the start that you were no hero. It just took a long time for that to sink in. But I’ve got it now. You don’t need to worry anymore. I don’t see you as a hero.”
    Nick winced as if my words hurt him, which was my intention. It should have felt good but instead I felt miserable.
    He nodded slowly. “I let you down and I’m sorry.”
    “It’s not your fault you don’t have to apologize.”
    From outside, a huge bang suddenly sounded, and I jumped. My heart was pounding as I clutched his arm. The noise had sounded like a weapon discharging.
    Nick put his arms around me, comforting me.
    I looked up into his beautiful eyes, and they made me want to melt. “Was that a gun?”
    Nick shook his head. “It was just a bike backfiring. You don’t have to worry, Ella. I know I’ve let you down, but I promise you no one will hurt you so long as I’m around.”
    He said the words so sincerely and so sweetly I almost believed him.
    I was pathetic. I was falling for it again. I pulled away from him and scooted back on the bed. “Yeah, sure. Whatever you say.”
    “I’m serious.”
    I sighed. “I can’t trust you, Nick. I never know if you’re telling me the truth, so it’s better if I just think everything you say is a lie.”
    Nick ran a hand through his hair. “Fair enough. I deserved that. But I’ll tell you the truth now if you’ll listen.”
    I shrugged, pretending I wasn’t interested, but really I wanted to know what he was going to say.
    “What do you want to know?” Nick asked.
    What should I ask first? There were so many things I wanted to know. I had so many questions.

2

    “When Victor’s bodyguards let you in to speak to him, but made me wait outside…What did Victor say to you?”
    Nick nodded slowly as if he’d expected that question.
    He looked down at the floor for a few moments and then said, “He told me I needed to get you to stay, to persuade you to stay here.”
    I swallowed hard. I believed him. That sounded just like the type of thing Victor would say.  
    “And how exactly are you supposed to persuade me to stay?”
    Nick raised an eyebrow and smiled softly. “How do you think?”
    I flushed and took a deep breath.  
    A million thoughts were racing through my mind. Had this been their game plan all along? Was this the only reason Nick had been paying attention to me?
    I turned to him, but before I could ask anything else, he said, “I’m telling you the truth, Ella. I’m sorry if it hurts. But you have to know that I like being with you. I’m not doing it because Victor tells me to.”
    I nodded, but I still felt sick.
    My next question was inevitable. It was the question that had lingered in the back of my mind since I first realized he was in the Blackthorne MC.
    “Why