Against the Sun. Kat Martin

her chair. Numbly, Sage let Jake pull her toward the door, herding Rina along in front of them.

      “What…what about the bill?” Sage asked, her voice high-pitched and shaky.

      “They’re sending it to your office.”

      She swallowed, realizing for the first time that he was guiding them though a side door that led into the alley.

      “I’ll drop you off on the way,” Jake said to Rina, apparently planning to drive Sage home.

      “I drove us here tonight. I can get home by myself.”

      “You sure?”

      “It wasn’t me they were after.”

      Jake’s scowl deepened. Sage stood there trembling as he surveyed the outside of the restaurant, searching for any remaining sign of danger. But the people who had been at the window were gone. So was the man who had barged up to her table. Jake took her arm as he walked Rina over to her little red Mercedes SLK, waited until she buckled herself inside, then watched as she drove out of the parking lot.

      Sage didn’t resist as he pulled her toward his Jeep, lifted her up and dropped her into the seat.

      “Buckle up,” he said darkly, then slammed her door and strode around to the driver’s side. With her hands shaking, she couldn’t get the clasp fastened. Fumbled, tried again. Jake reached across her lap and shoved the buckle into the catch. Without a word, he started the engine and roared out of the parking lot.

      Sage just sat there, her mind going over and over the scene in the restaurant. All the way back to the apartment, Jake didn’t speak. When they reached the tenth floor and walked out of the elevator, he took the key from her hand and started to unlock the door.

      Sage swallowed. “I shouldn’t have done it. I—I know that now. I just…” She shook her head. “After everything that’s happened, I just… I wanted a couple of hours to myself. I just wanted to pretend for a little while that everything was normal.” She looked up at him and her eyes filled. “Please, Jake, don’t be angry.”

      The stiffness in those wide shoulders melted. Jake reached out and simply folded her into his arms. She knew she should resist, but all she wanted was to burrow into him more deeply, let him make her feel safe.

      “It’s all right, baby, this is new to you. You scared me, that’s all.”

      She didn’t let men call her baby or honey or any of those ridiculous terms. She should have told him that, put him in his place. Instead, she just hung on.