Remembering that from their days in the jungle, she managed to nod, forcing herself to keep her eyes on his face.
Chase reached out and touched her cheek. “Good night, angel.”
Harper stiffened. “Don’t call me that. We aren’t together anymore. That’s not going to change.”
“I’m not a man who gives up easily, Harper. Not when there’s something I want. I made a mistake. I’m going to find a way to fix it.”
“You made a mistake when you used me to get to my father.”
“That wasn’t my mistake. My mistake was not trusting you with the truth. Making you understand the reason it had to be done.”
She couldn’t breathe. She didn’t want his words to make sense. “He’s still my father. He’ll always be my father.”
“I know. We’ll have to find a way around it.”
A way around it?“There is no way around it.”
“I guess we’ll see.” Chase turned and walked away, his muscular back as enticing as his flat stomach and amazing chest. Disappearing into the guest room, he closed the door, and Harper breathed a sigh of relief.
It didn’t matter that she was physically attracted to Chase. The man had broken her heart. She wasn’t getting involved with him again.
Exhausted, she went to her bedroom. Chase had checked all the locks on the windows and doors. He had checked her security system and approved. There was nothing to do but try to get some sleep.
She knew Chase slept naked, and he was in the bedroom next to hers. He planned to stay until he knew for sure she was safe. God only knew how long that would be.
What in the world had possessed her to go to The Max for help? Harper sighed as she walked into the bathroom to brush her teeth. She didn’t want Chase anywhere near her. But she couldn’t deny she felt safer knowing he was staying in the guest room.
They finally agreed on a plan. They’d argued all morning, fought and even shouted, both of them equally determined. Chase liked that Harper was strong enough to stand up to him. He liked that she was also smart enough to understand the danger and back down when she realized he was right.
A reminder of her brother and Pia, kidnapped and force-marched through the jungle, had been his closing argument. Her protest had died on her lips. Harper’s intelligence was one of the things he found so attractive.
In the end, they had decided that Chase would drive Harper to work, then pick her up at the end of the day. Both could do their jobs and Harper would be safe.
She wasn’t happy about the security guard he posted at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the Elemental Chic offices, but she understood it was important for the safety of her staff as well as herself.
Satisfied she was as secure as possible, Chase left her in her office and went to work. He made some phone calls, one to DEA Agent Tanner to be sure the blue Buick wasn’t one of their undercover vehicles. He wasn’t surprised to hear it was not.
It was midafternoon when an unexpected phone call came from Reese.
“Hey, bro,” Chase answered. “Haven’t heard from you in a while. What’s up?”
“I need to see you. Bran called me this morning about what happened to Harper last night, that someone’s been following her. He’s been keeping me abreast of what’s been going on since you two got back from Colombia.”
“I should have called you myself. Sorry.”
“You’ve been busy. I get that, believe me.” As CEO of Garrett Resources, the billion-dollar oil and gas corporation his family owned, Reese ran one of the top-rated companies in Texas.
When Bass Garrett died, leaving the company and the millions Bass was worth to his three sons, Reese had taken over the business. Chase and Bran had no interest in running the company, but it had been Reese’s dream.
Or at least had become his dream after he’d been released from juvenile detention and moved out of their father’s house, where he had been getting into trouble since their parents’ divorce. From the day he’d moved in with his mother and brothers, Reese’s life had changed.
“There’s something I need to talk to you about,” Reese said. “You and Bran, both. Someplace besides your office or mine.”
Chase frowned. “Sounds serious.”
“It is.”
“How about my place?” Chase suggested. “It’s fairly central.”
