“That’s right.” Her eyes widened as the implication sank in and she sat up straighter in the seat. “What if they come after me at home, Jonah? What if they try to kill me again?”
A shot of fury rolled through him, a warning his job had become far too personal. It was followed by a rush of dark anticipation.
“If they come after you they’re going to be very sorry.” He pulled open his scratched and battered black leather jacket, showing her the Glock 19 in his shoulder holster. “Because I’ll be there waiting to say hello.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
APRILBROUGHTPILLOWSand sheets out to the living room to make up the sofa. Jonah was spending the night. He was there to keep her safe and she wasn’t about to argue. She still saw David Dean’s lifeless, bloody body every time she closed her eyes.
Or the car careening toward her at breakneck speed.
She told herself it was probably standard operating procedure for a private detective to provide protection for one of his clients if they were in danger. It was nothing more than that, she was sure, though she found herself hoping it was.
Considering the bad luck she’d had with men, she knew her attraction for Jonah was dangerous, but it didn’t stop her from hoping he was there because he was beginning to care for her, at least a little.
The thought dredged a memory of her last serious relationship. She had fallen hard for Roger Kosky, a professional baseball player. She had stupidly believed Roger loved her, believed him when he’d said his legion of female fans meant nothing.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
When she’d found out he was cheating just days after he’d bought her an engagement ring, she felt like a fool. She had vowed then and there to choose the men she dated a lot more carefully.
Which was probably the reason she rarely dated at all and hadn’t had sex in over a year.
Now there was Jonah. Exactly the kind of man she should run away from screaming. Instead, she fantasized about what he would be like in bed.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
For the moment, she needed Jonah’s protection. She trusted him to keep her safe and tonight he had proven her instincts were right. She thought of the scene in front of the Derby and shivered, thinking how close she had come to death.
If Jonah hadn’t been there...
Forcing the thought away, April spread open the sheet, bent over the sofa and started tucking it in. A few feet away, she could hear Jonah’s deep voice on his cell phone, talking to his friend, Detective Ford.
“I’d appreciate it, Heath. There’s no way to prove it was more than a drunk driver, but in my book, it looks like April was right about Dean. Whoever killed him wanted her to cop to the murder, say it was self-defense. When she wouldn’t do it, they got worried. Maybe they figured if she had some kind of accident, all of it would go away.”
He nodded at whatever the police detective said. “This afternoon she went to see Mayor Rydell. Clearly he didn’t want her digging around.”
She couldn’t hear what was being said on the other end of the line, but Jonah finally ended the call and walked toward her.
“There’s no way to prove it was more than a careless drunk who didn’t want to wind up in jail, but the police are putting an extra patrol in your neighborhood.”
“That’s good.”
Jonah took the sheet from her hand. “Why don’t you go to bed? You’ve had one helluva night.”
She nodded, but didn’t move. She kept thinking that Jonah had risked his life to save her. That she would be dead if it hadn’t been for him. She thought how safe she had felt when Jonah had his arms around her.
“Thank you for what you did,” she said softly.
“You’re my client. It’s part of my job.”
She looked up at him, into those dark, intriguing eyes. “Is that all it is? Your job?”
His jaw subtly tightened. Reaching out, he gently touched her cheek. “I won’t let anyone hurt you.” He was staring at her mouth. He looked like he wanted to devour her.
Against every instinct for emotional survival, it was exactly what she wanted him to do.
He must have read her thoughts because he started shaking his head. “We can’t do this, April. Not tonight. I need to keep you safe.”
