Broken Protocols (21 page)
Then she listened in growing horror to Jenna’s explanation.
When Jenna fell silent, Tania could only stare at her in shock.
Thankfully, Kane appeared to have a handle on this and blasted Jenna with her sentiments exactly. “You want us to what?”
He stood up and stormed around the room. “Are you nuts?”
Tania couldn’t agree more.
With his hands out, he said, “Look, I’m here and willing to do the work to deal with my stuff, but you’re putting Tania in danger.”
She what? Tania straightened. “Excuse me? What kind of danger?” Because she wasn’t up for any, not in any way. She wanted a safe, controlled project so she could open the door to her comfort zone and put her big toe in to test the water; that was it.
Danger? Hell no. She’d had more than enough when she’d been raped over twelve years ago.
She wasn’t going to be in any kind of danger – ever again.
*
Kane had sat
through enough today. Watching Tania’s tiny body shift away from him from the moment he’d sat down – hell, probably from the moment he walked into the room, he knew she had some big-time man issues. He didn’t get man-hater vibes from her, but a tiny woman would be easy prey for the wrong man. Unless she was a black belt in something, she had no protection from a man’s anger. That she was here in therapy, he’d bet his years of experience she’d been in an abusive relationship. She was a creampuff for any guy over sixteen. For someone like him, hell, no way could he be around her.
He felt like he’d be slamming a teacup against the wall if he said anything in a harsh tone.
She was way too delicate for this class, for him, and for this project. The damn shrink had this one wrong.
There was no way anyone with his anger issues, his hatred of his ex, should be around someone who he could break in half with two fingers.
As he realized Tania was nodding in emphatic agreement, a tiny part of him was sorry for it. In the old days, he’d have loved to have been the knight in shining armor and help her deal with whatever issues she had. He’d seen enough sad cases in his years in law enforcement that he had some idea of what she might have gone through. It could be something completely different…but his instincts said he was close. Damn close.
The shrink smiled at them both, with that damn compassionate warmth that made him wonder if she lived with sunshine and pussycats all her life to have given her outlook a rosy tinge. Because that wasn’t the reality as he knew it.
She had to know about him. They all interviewed to come here. Every one of them had spoken to her privately about their issues, and then they’d all attended her lectures at the university alongside their regular classes. While he might not know all of Tania’s issues, he knew Jenna did.
And still she’d paired them together. Wondering what she could possibly be thinking, he slowly sat back down.
And wondered why.
Dale Mayer is a USA Today bestselling author best known for her Psychic Visions and Family Blood Ties series. Her contemporary romances are raw and full of passion and emotion (Second Chances, SKIN), her thrillers will keep you guessing (By Death series), and her romantic comedies will keep you giggling (It’s a Dog’s Life and Charmin Marvin Romantic Comedy series).
She honors the stories that come to her – and some of them are crazy and break all the rules and cross multiple genres!
To go with her fiction, she also writes nonfiction in many different fields with books available on resume writing, companion gardening and the US mortgage system. She has recently published her Career Essentials Series. All her books are available in print and ebook format.
Dale’s Website –
www.dalemayer.com
Twitter –
@DaleMayer
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facebook.com/DaleMayer.author
Psychic Vision Series
By Death Series
Touched by Death – Part 1 –
FREE
Second Chances – complete book (Parts 1 & 2)
Broken and… Mending
Scales (of Justice) – Coming Soon
Standalone Novellas
Published Young Adult Books:
Family Blood Ties Series
Sian’s Solution – A Family Blood Ties Short Story
Standalone
Gem Stone (a Gemma Stone Mystery)
Career Essentials
Career Essentials: The Cover Letter