Free Own (Command Force Alpha #1) by Katie Porter

long-sleeve henley, this one open at the throat to show off his golden skin. His hair was nicely shaggy, skimming over his ears and hinting at a curl at the ends. It made her wonder where he’d been that long hair would make him blend in.
    Could a man like him ever really blend in?
    “Yes, if it means we’re going to see Dad,” she said. “I want to.”
    White creases spread from the corners of his eyes, evidence of his own strain. She shouldn’t care, but she wanted to reach out and touch those lines. Would he crack if she were so bold as to be the one to touch first? Would she? She felt ready to crack in his presence, although she couldn’t tell anymore if that would make her weaker or stronger—stronger by breaking free of the constant, amorphous fear.
    “He’s in a coma, Kat. It wouldn’t do any good.”
    “They say people in comas can hear what’s going on around them. And maybe they don’t remember, but it sticks with them. The…” she swallowed so hard that there could have been a baseball in her throat, “…the feeling of not being alone.”
    He was the one to reach for her. He didn’t even need to take his eyes off the road, because he knew where her hand was on her knee. His fingers wrapped around hers. “If that’s what you’re worried about, don’t be. There’ll be a different CFA agent by his side every day. And every night. We’ve already gone as often as we can risk for now, and taking different routes only helps so much. I can’t take you so regularly that we cement a pattern, not while we’re in the dark about what’s going on.”
    “You’re babysitting me instead of being the one out there figuring it out.” She shouldn’t say such stupid things, or he might take his hand away. Then where would she get her strength from? That weak thought was almost as scary as the potential loss of his touch. “I bet that just eats you whole.”
    He pulled over so abruptly she wondered if it was because of what she’d said. Maybe he’d grab her and punish her, and she wasn’t sure what kind of thing that would mean, but at least it would calm the chaos in her head. She could think then. Think about whatever evil and nasty thing he was doing to her. Think about how much she needed it.
    Only temporary. It’ll pass when Dad gets well.
    Apparently he was more interested in the duplex that he looked at through the passenger’s side window. He reached past her and popped the door. “You’re going to have to come with me, Kat. I don’t trust you alone.”
    She slid out and waited for him to shut his door before folding her arms across the top of the car. She couldn’t have done it if she wasn’t standing on the curb, but the details didn’t matter. “It’s not when I’m alone that I get up to the most trouble.” The smart-ass tone she affected was entirely bullshit. “It’s when I’m with someone else. That’s when you should really watch out.”
    He didn’t rise to the bait. Every bit of his attention was focused on an ordinary clapboard house. The porch looked like it had once been open to the elements, but it had since been enclosed. The windows were six-paned, probably original.
    “Where are we?” she asked.
    He led the way up the concrete steps. The whole neighborhood had a slightly listing, desperate quality. The trees were old enough that they towered over three-story houses. The homes had been rehabbed the best that people could manage. Here and there were hints of structural decay, with cracks in windows and chips in paint that hadn’t been scraped properly.
    Not the building that stood in front of them, though. It matched those around them in style and age, but it stood prouder than the rest. The paint was smooth and even. Whole casement windows had been replaced. This was…better in ways that Kat couldn’t identify.
    Evan was incredibly tense, considering how ordinary the house seemed. She could dig her fingernails into the sharp line of his shoulders, and he