His gaze stayed steady.
“I’d die for her if I had to,” he said, voice firm.
“We’ve known each other before you ever met her—we trained together, worked together… so yes, I care about her.”
A beat.
“But that’s it.”
His gaze hardened slightly.
“There are lines we don’t cross.”
His voice remained steady as he kept his eyes locked on Ashcroft.
Ashcroft’s fist tightened. He slammed it onto the table and suddenly stood up.
“So what are you saying?” he snapped. “Given a chance, you’d cross that line if you could?”
Cruz shook his head.
He looked down for a moment, a faint, almost unreadable smile tugging at his lips, before lifting his gaze again to meet Ashcroft’s burning eyes.
“Beyond being our boss, she’s like a sister to us too.”
A pause.
“Don’t let insecurity or jealousy derail
