Kayne scrubbed a hand over his jaw.
“Damn it,cher,” he muttered.“You gonna be the death of me.”
His phone buzzed.Good.He needed a distraction to tether him back to a world that made sense.It was a text from Logan Bradley:Status check.How’s the client?
Kayne huffed a humorless laugh.Complicated didn’t cover it.
He typed back:Client’s fine.Cooperative.Situational awareness improving.No breaches so far.Translation: Her smile could melt Kevlar, and I’m in serious trouble.
Another buzz.
Stay sharp, Serruto.Stalkers escalate fast.
Roger that.He slid the phone into his pocket.The job.The threat.The whole reason he was here.He wasn’t some kid with a crush.He was the barricade between Chloe and whatever darkness was trying to take aim at her.
And barriers didn’t get distracted.They didn’t crack.
Kayne drew another slow breath, forcing the heat, the ache, the want into a locked mental drawer he intended to revisit never.
He straightened, shoulders rolling back, posture resetting to full operational readiness.
Then Chloe’s laugh floated down the hall.It was light and airy.His pulse leaped before he could stop it.
He closed his eyes.“God help me.”
Then he walked back toward her office, every instinct at war: Protect her.Don’t touch her.Protect her anyway.
Don’t you dare touch her.
But as he neared her door, one truth anchored itself deep in his gut.He was already in deeper than he should be.
And falling fast.
#
Kayne was about toenter Chloe’s office when a voice chirped down the hall.
“Ohhh, myGod, there you are!I was about to call Search and Rescue!”
He closed his eyes.Counted to three.Nope.Still her voice.He should’ve known peace was too much to hope for.
Danica swept around the corner, the human equivalent of a glitter bomb, hair bouncing and sunglasses perched on top of her head despite being indoors.She skidded to a halt when she saw him.
Then came the grin.Slow.Wicked.Criminal in at least seven jurisdictions.
“Well, hello again, Tall, Dark, and Cajun.”She planted a hand on her hip.“Did you miss me?”
Kayne blinked.“We met twenty minutes ago.”
“Yes, and those were the best twenty minutes of my week.”She sighed dreamily.“Possibly my life.Hard to say yet.”She snapped upright.“But!I need you.”She lifted one finger.“Specifically, your brutally honest male perspective.”
He stared.“On what?”
“This.”
And without even pretending to ease him into it, Danica whipped out her phone and held up a mirror selfie of herself in what could generously be called a dress but more accurately resembled a legit cry for help.
Kayne made a strangled sound somewhere between a cough and a choke.“You askin’ me if that’s appropriate attire for what?Church?A funeral?Ice-fishing?”
