Page 28 of Aspen's Defense

"You're sure?" Dillon asks.

I lift my gaze from the photo, looking at him. "I'm positive. He asked for my number." I thought he looked familiar in the shop, but it was dark and everything was chaotic. I didn't see him nearly as well as I saw his partner-in-crime. But there's no mistaking him in this photo. "He said his name was Troy."

A possessive, predatory growl emanates from Noah's throat.

"Troy Crevier," Dillon confirms. "Heir to Crevier Enterprises."

"Jesus fucking Christ," Noah curses. "You're kidding me."

Crevier Enterprises is one of the biggest trucking companies in the United States. Why is the heir of the company breaking into a coffee shop? I doubt he's hurting for cash. He probably owns more property than most of the men in this town.

"Why the fuck would the heir of a trucking company need to knock over a coffee shop?" Noah asks, echoing my thoughts.

"That's exactly what I plan to ask him," Dillon says, slipping the photo album off my lap. He flips it closed, tucking it under his arm. "Just as soon as I find him."

"You can't find him?" Noah's voice drops to a deep, menacing growl, far more intimidating than if he'd shouted the words.

"He's currently MIA." Dillon grimaces. "I've got people working on it. As soon as I find him, you'll know it."

"Is she safe in the meantime?" Noah demands, clearly not satisfied with this answer. "If he thinks she can identify him, he has more to lose than the other motherfucker. His entire family stands to lose something if she points the finger at him."

I shiver, wrapping my arms around myself.

Dillon doesn't say anything, which seems to be answer enough for Noah.

He rattles off a string of curses under his breath.

"I can assign someone to watch her," Dillon offers. "The alternative would be for you to send her somewhere else until the dust settles."

"I can't just leave town," I protest. "I have an entire business to run, Dillon."

"I can assign someone to sit on her," he says to Noah again.

"I've already got Cormac Carmichael on standby. He starts first thing in the morning."

"What do you mean, I can't go to work?" I ask, staring at Noah like he's grown a third head. "Jack's expecting me back at the shop. He has an entire company to run!"

"Not today he doesn't," Noah growls, shoving the rest of his stuff into his gym bag. "I've already talked to him. He agrees that you need to lay low until Dillon finds Troy."

"He agrees that I need to…. Youcalledhim already?"

"Before I hit the showers."

"I can't believe you called my boss. That's over the line, Noah."

"Believe it, baby." He lifts his gaze to mine. "When it comes to your safety, there isn't a line I'm not willing to cross. Your safety iseverythingto me. I'll do whatever I have to do to make sure my goddamn life doesn't flash before my eyes like it did yesterday morning when I heard you scream."

I want to be mad at him, but he makes it so hard. If he were anyone else, I'd be furious right now. But he says things like that, and my heart hears them before my head does. It leaps for joy, and I forget that I'm supposed to be mad. I forget that I'm supposed to be anything other thanhis.

"You are so lucky I lov…" I snap my mouth closed, eyes wide as I realize what I almost said. I'm in love with him. Crap. How, in God's name, did I fall for someone even more overprotective than my brother? I don't know, but here I am anyway. Head over heels for a crazy man.

"Say it," he growls, rising to his feet.

Part of me wants to refuse just because I'm stubborn and I never do what I'm told. But he's not demanding. He's pleading with me, begging me to say the words and release him from the bonds he's tied himself into to keep himself moving at my pace.

I don't refuse him. How can I?

"You are so lucky I love you," I say, my voice shaking. "Otherwise, I'd be kicking your a—"