She kept her emotions hidden away.
Bryce turned his attention to the dog. Samson was a great distraction when one was needed. She totally got that.
“Is it always this crowded in town?” he asked. “Or is that just because of the ice festival?”
“No, it’s not usually so crowded. The town becomes an ice climbing mecca during the festival.” The timing of the prison break couldn’t have been worse. The tourists and fans that flooded the town—so many strangers here—could make it easier for Raul to hide in the chaos and get to her.
If only…
Bryce glanced up at her. Not even the hint of a smile curved his lips. And why should there be? There was nothing to smile about under these circumstances. Bryce showing up because of the Novack brothers only served to emphasize the way the horrors of the past were coming back to threaten her again. Maybe even threaten Bryce again too. Still, the look in his eyes—He wanted to know how she felt about him being here—of course, he would want to know. But she wasn’t sure herself.
“You know.” She smiled. “I have this amazing guard dog, compliments of you. Samson wasn’t there before, when the attack happened. But he’s here now so you didn’t need to come for me.”
A pained look skittered across Bryce’s face. Had she imagined it? At the sound of his name, Samson lifted his head. Bryce ran his hands through the dog’s fur. “And I missed Samson, okay? I needed to come see my buddy and make sure you were treating him right.”
Bryce’s grin ignited memories in her. She’d adored his grin before. She couldn’t let herself adore that grin again.
“I appreciate you coming to check on me, Bryce. Really. But there’s no need to worry about me. I’m fine—and I’m sure Raul will be captured soon.”
He crouched to get a better angle to rub Samson’s enormous belly. The dog was really too big for this kitchen.
“Yeah. Maybe. In the meantime, why don’t we have dinner tonight? You can tell me about life back here in Crescent Springs.”
Dinner. Two friends catching up. Not a date. As long as they were both clear on that point. “And you can share what you’ve been up to. Catch me up on the Boulder PD.” Wistfulness washed through her. While she loved working here and being close to her father, there were aspects she missed about the daily grind of detective work in Boulder.
Bryce stood to his full height, his silver-blue eyes taking her in. An old, familiar stirring hit her, and she realized how much she’d missed this man. She’d always felt drawn to him. But then, that was why she’d been deliberate about putting emotional distance between them.
“I don’t have any inside scoops for you. I don’t know what’s going on with BPD.”
She glanced at him. That didn’t sound good. “Why don’t you know what’s going on?”
“I’m not working with BPD anymore.”
Okay. That surprised her. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I’m telling you now.” He winked. “I’ve been a private investigator for a year now. That and working security.”
She nodded, taking it in. “That had always been your dream.” She remembered that much. “Good for you, Bryce. I’m glad.”
Bryce held her gaze captive for a few breaths longer than necessary. There was so much more she could say to him.
He approached her and, in two easy steps, he stood much too close. Samson, who had stuck by Bryce’s side, decided to wag his dinosaur tail and it thumped against her leg.
“Just so you know, I’m here until Raul is back in prison. I’m here for as long as it takes.”
Sierra stared into his eyes. If only she could send him away. It would be safer for her heart. But his proclamation had the strange and unbidden effect of reassuring her that she would be safe as long as he was here. Between Samson and Bryce, no one would get to Sierra. And maybe it was okay to accept his help. After all, it had been only yesterday when she’d looked into Damien’s vengeance-filled eyes right before he died. Only yesterday she’d seen Raul watching her.
Bryce suddenly took her hand. “Breathe, Sierra. It’s going to be okay.”
She hadn’t been breathing? She slowly drew in air along with the hint of his musky cologne. “Is it? You didn’t see what I saw.” She hadn’t meant to show him how scared she was. She didn’t want to be scared. But this situation made her anxiety impossible to ignore. “You didn’t see the hate in his eyes. He wasn’t even afraid of the fact that he was about to die. All he cared about was getting to me. His last words were nothing more than evil. His brother is no different than him, and Raul succeeded in getting to me before.”
And both she and Bryce had almost died.
A shudder rolled through her.
She tried to hide it but Bryce didn’t miss the effect Damien’s words had on her. Without a second thought he wrapped his arms around her. As a friend. Nothing more. Someone who cared for her deeply—and platonically.
“It’s going to be okay. I hope some part of you knew that I would come. We’ve been through so much together. We faced off against Raul before. If he comes for you, we’ll face him again and win—together, Sierra. That’s why I’m here. To face him with you if it comes to that.”
Though uncertainty about his decision to come had plagued him, now Bryce was more than glad he’d decided to head to Crescent Springs. Whether she had realized that she needed him before, he didn’t know. But the way she held on to him now told him she would accept his presence, at least for the time being.
He eased away and gripped her arms. “I’m here for you.”
In her eyes he could see that she didn’t want to need him. He took a step back even as she did too. “See you at dinner?” he asked.
She nodded. “Okay. Sure.”
“How about the Crescent Springs Café just across the street.” That should be easy.
“It’s going to be crowded.” She shrugged. “We could eat here.”
“We could. But then your father would hear our conversation.”
She nodded. “Right. I don’t necessarily want him to know all the danger I’ve had to face or am facing now. I haven’t even told him the worst part about yesterday.” She rubbed her arms. “I need him to know. He needs to be safe and remain cautious, but I know how much it will hurt him to learn all the details of what I went through before, and that it followed me here.”
“I’ll be praying for you,” he said.
Her eyes widened. “Looks like you have a lot to share with me, then.”
Right. He’d found God. Or rather God had found him since Sierra had left Boulder.
“So
