“You’re right, I shouldn’t have done it. It’s just…” She shifted on her feet, not backing off from me, but not exactly looking comfortable with our proximity, either. “I’m just lonely. Ever since coming back, people have been standoffish. I think most of them blame me for what happened between us, and they’re letting me know it.”

I clenched my teeth. I hadn’t exactly made it any easier on her when she came back, either, so I got it. I understood her desire to meet someone. But still. Something inside me twisted at the idea of her seeing another man, but I tried my best to shove it down. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” She shrugged. She stared at her beer bottle, picking at the label. “You stayed, I left. Naturally, they’d side with you.” She paused. “And, if what you said is true—”

“It is,” I said stiffly.

“—then I am the one to blame,” she finished faintly.

Well, she wasn’t wrong there. The anger I’d felt earlier today had faded, and I no longer wanted to scream at her, but when you emptied the bucket out and stared down at the dirty bottom, the truth was there to see. She’d jumped to assumptions instead of trusting me, and she’d run away without giving me a chance to explain, or defend myself. That had been shitty, sure.

But it had also been a long time ago.

It was time to move on, for both of our sakes.

“It’s whatever. We were different people then.”

She lifted her chin. “Yeah, we were kids.”

“Babies, practically.” I reached out and rested a hand on her shoulder. She was so frail, so tiny, and yet she held onto a quiet strength inside her that rivaled my own. She’d never been one to let life push her down, and I couldn’t help but admire that about her. “I’d like to think now, as partners, we would give one another the benefit of the doubt, though.”

She swallowed hard. Her brown eyes were dark and deep with worry and pain, and I had the insane urge to pull her into my arms and hold her close. To never let go. “We would. I would.” She hesitated, then added. “I’m sorry for running away from you.”

I swallowed hard. “I’m sorry for letting you.”

She closed her eyes for a second, but not before I saw the sadness lurking in their depths. “Did I really give you a choice?”

“We always have a choice, Sarah.” I cupped her cheek, my heart racing because her skin was as soft as I remembered. Would she still taste the same? Suddenly, it seemed incredibly important I find out. I lowered my head, unable to stop myself because she was looking up at me like nothing had ever changed between us, and like I’d never lost her all those years ago.

Christ, I wished I’d never lost her all those years ago.

She licked her lips and swayed closer. “Ben…”

Hearing her use my name snapped me out of it. I was pressing my luck, and the last thing either of us needed right now was to cross that line, and risk our jobs and partnership. She needed this job, and I needed to be her partner so I could keep her safe.

Dropping my hand, I stepped back and let out a long breath. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me.”

She blinked, then seemed to come to her senses, too, because she covered her mouth and stepped even further away from me. “Yeah. Me too. Sorry.”

“We can’t…” I gestured between us. “You know.”

“I know. I don’t want to.”

We stared at one another, breathing heavily. After a moment of silence, I downed my beer and stepped back even more. It wasn’t enough, though. I could still feel that invisible electrical current urging us closer together. “Want me to sleep on the couch, in case he shows up?’

“You don’t have to do that,” she said immediately, her cheeks flushed.

“I know I don’t have to.” I crossed my arms. “I want to.”

Opening her mouth, she started to speak, but cut herself off. She did this a few times before settling on, “Why?”

“Because I care about you.”

Her jaw worked. “You…care…about me?”

“Of course I do.” I cocked my head. “I mean, you’re my partner.”

She nodded, her grip tight on her mostly full beer. “R-Right.”

“And I refuse to let some asshole come here and hurt you. Not on my watch.”

She said nothing, just stared at me, face pale.

“Unless you don’t want me here.”

“It’s not that.” She cleared her throat. “What if people talk?”

“No one will talk. No one will know.”

“In Somerton?” She rolled her eyes. “Everyone always knows.”

“Fair enough,” I admitted. “I’ll tell the chief what’s up, then.” When she opened her mouth to argue, I held a hand up, silencing her. “I will swear him to secrecy. It’s the best way to ensure that no one gets the wrong idea at the office. Besides, he’s going to need to know about this. As your supervisor, it’s his job to know if someone is threatening one of his detectives.”

She didn’t look happy, but she eventually nodded. “Fine.”

“Would you like me to spend the night, Sarah?”

She hugged herself, glancing at the back door. “You’re sure you don’t mind?”

“Never.”

Shivering, she shuffled closer to the kitchen entrance. “Then, yes, please spend the night. Not much scares me, but the idea of him out there somewhere, watching me…”

“I’ll stay.”

She started for the kitchen door. “I’ll get pillows and a blanket.”

I watched her go, rolling my hands into fists as I made my way to the back door, double checking the locks. I peered outside, looking for anything that looked out of place in the shadows.

Nothing.

I couldn’t shake the look of fear in her eyes when she’d told me about her ex, and that he might be back in town. What had that monster done to her? If I ever got a chance to get my hands on him, I’d show him exactly what happened when you picked on females. Then I’d show him exactly what I thought of a “man” who was okay with hurting women, and scaring them into submission. If I ever got the chance to meet this son of a bitch…

My face would be the last thing he’d ever see.