“My father? The truth? Swanny, I don’t understand. What do you mean my father should have told me the truth? Are you saying he lied to me?”

Distress was a beacon in her eyes radiating to the rest of her body. She looked utterly bewildered, betrayed and devastated. Her lips quivered and tears crowded the corners of her lids, glistening on her eyelashes. God, but he hated what he had to do. Normally it wasn’t something he would do. KGI answered to the party footing the bill, even when they disagreed.

But this was a different situation entirely and he couldn’t—wouldn’t—allow Eden to exist in ignorance a moment longer. Her father be damned. KGI be damned. If it lost him his job, he didn’t give a f**k. All he cared about at this moment was the woman staring at him, sorrow and confusion shining in wounded eyes.

And so he started at the very beginning, telling her everything her father had related to him and his team. She visibly flinched and her hand flew to her mouth as tears gathered and ran down her cheeks when he told her that her mother’s death was an act of vengeance and not an accident.

By the time he finished the entire sordid tale, she was openly sobbing, her shoulders heaving as she tried to gulp back her sounds of anguish.

He felt like the worst sort of bastard for destroying her illusions. For turning her world upside down and for exposing long-held secrets and the endless cycle of revenge.

He stared at her in sorrow, unsure of whether to hold her, try to comfort her, but he didn’t know if she was angry with him. He didn’t know if he should touch her or maintain their current distance, because the moment the ugly story had been spilled, she’d withdrawn, putting space between them, and now she sat, hands fisted in her lap, staring straight ahead sightlessly as tears streamed down her beautiful face.

“Eden,” he said softly, no longer able to bear her agony. He felt it as keenly as if someone had driven a knife right through his heart.

And then his dilemma was solved because she whirled, her face ravaged by grief, and threw herself into his arms, fisting his torn shirt with both hands. She pressed her body as close as she could without him putting her into his lap, so he promptly rectified the matter, dragging her into his arms and wrapping them tightly around her.

Though her sobs had quieted, her body still shook and he could feel the dampness on her cheeks where her tears had left silvery trails down her face.

“I’m so sorry, honey,” Swanny said, regret a physical ache in his chest. “I wouldn’t hurt you for the world. Please forgive me this, but I thought you deserved to know. I’ve thought it from the very beginning before I even met you, but your father was adamant. He was trying to protect you.”

“How could he keep something like this from me?” she asked tearfully. “God, it’s been a lie. All these years. A complete lie. And more lies. What else has he kept from me? How long has he been controlling my life—and, my God, I’ve allowed it. I allowed him to hire Micah and David because I didn’t want him to worry. He hired you and then lied about why. I couldn’t figure out at the time why no one except me seemed relieved that the shooter had been arrested, and now I know it’s because everyone knew I wasn’t safe except the most important person in this equation. Me.”

He couldn’t argue a single point with her because she was exactly right, and his guilt intensified, because she should have been told the truth from the start even though it wasn’t his place to make that kind of decision.

But all of that changed for him the moment he and Eden connected, when she came to mean so much more than just a job to him. Her father might argue that Swanny had no rights when it came to his daughter, but that was bullshit. His commitment to Eden went far beyond the normal client relationship for a regular mission. This was deeply personal to him and he was willing to risk everything for her. Censure, the loss of his job, his very identity.

He recognized that Eden was a total game changer for him. His priorities had shifted, and he was a man who always placed his loyalty and commitment to his job above all else. But Eden had reordered his priorities. Her protection, her happiness, her life came first. Nothing else mattered as much to him. He’d go to the wall for her and damn the consequences.

“I know this was hard to hear, Eden,” Swanny murmured against her hair. “And I’m so damn sorry. You have to know I’d do anything not to hurt you. But with this attack, you need to know what you’re up against so you can take the proper precautions. Don’t get me wrong. I’m going to protect you with my life. My team is going to protect you. But you needed to be aware of what exactly is at stake here.”

“Thank you,” she whispered, stunning him. Why was she thanking him for tilting her world on its axis? Shouldn’t he be the bad guy here?

She lifted her head, a watery sheen still evident in her ocean eyes, but the tears had stopped streaking down her face. What he saw in her eyes blew him away. There was no anger. No condemnation. There was sincere gratitude, and he could tell she was valiantly pulling herself together and trying to regain her composure.

“Baby, what are you thanking me for?” he asked hoarsely.

“For trusting me with the truth,” she said in a low voice. “For wanting me to know from the start. For telling me now what my father should have told me a long time ago. I don’t want you to apologize to me, Swanny. Not for telling me the truth. It means a lot to me that you would risk so much for me. Your life. Your job. I’m humbled by the lengths you’ve gone to, to protect me physically and emotionally.”