She didn’t have an answer to that question. Luckily, she didn’t have to worry about it because the bike was way too noisy to think anyway.
Scooting up closer to Knox’s back, Rachel squeezed her arms around him a little more, letting the rumble of the bike and the heat of his body soothe her conflicted soul.
Chapter 8
Knox had to force himself not to glance down when a herd of teenage girls walked past him, all of them trying to act as if they weren’t looking at him out of the corner of their eyes and failing horribly. When the girls fell apart in a fit of giggles after making it a few feet, he gave up and looked down at himself just to confirm he had, in fact, remembered to put on pants tonight. Yes, he had, and no, that didn’t make him feel any better. He’d never been happier in his life than when he’d left the juvenile drama of high school behind, yet here he was, right back in the middle of it and hating it as much as ever. Whose bright idea was it for him to play bodyguard/chaperone at this high school dance anyway?
Then he heard a devious chuckle from beside him and remembered exactly whose fault this was.
“Damn, have you ever seen so much jailbait in your whole life?” Theo murmured, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the crowded gymnasium of kids all dressed in their finery for the Valentine’s dance.
Knox tried to decide whether he wanted to slug the asshole or simply throw up. Since the former would almost certainly get him charged with assault and the latter would make a mess all over the place, he went for option three. “I might have said this before, but in case I didn’t, I think you’re the most disgusting human I’ve ever met. And trust me when I say this—I’ve met some people that seriously qualify as scum of the earth.”
Theo didn’t have enough character to be insulted when someone called him a piece of crap. Instead, the moron laughed like he thought it was the funniest thing in the world.
“You know, that’s one of the things I like about you,” he said, clapping Knox on the shoulder. “You’re willing to say what’s on your mind even if it could get you fired.”
“Acting first and worrying about the consequences later is the story of my life,” Knox said dryly. “Should I go back to the office and turn in my weapon and tactical gear?”
“Yeah right. Like I can do without you right now.” Theo let out a snort. “Our dear prosecutor seems to trust you with her daughter’s life. After what happened at the mall the other night, I doubt she would have let her kid even come to this dance if you weren’t here to protect her. For whatever reason, the woman demanded you and that sexy piece of ass, Rachel, be assigned to protect her kid 24–7.”
Knox bit back a growl. Hearing Rachel’s name come out of Theo’s mouth was enough to make him want to rip out the guy’s throat. The thought made his fangs extend half an inch, and this time, he did let out a low growl. Good thing the music in the gym was so loud or there’s no way Theo would have missed it. “Maybe it’s because Jennifer recognizes we actually care about keeping the kid safe.”
“Whatever.” Theo shrugged as if he couldn’t care less. “Speaking of protecting the brat, I’m going out front to nab Ethan and Gerald and take them back with me to the mansion.”
Knox frowned. “The plan was to have two people outside the gym and two inside. If you pull them off the detail, there won’t be anyone to guard the perimeter. Officer Bennett hasn’t shown yet, and I can’t be in two places at once. What’s so important at the mansion anyway? I thought Mrs. Lloyd was working late.”
The prosecutor worked late every night. Hell, she hadn’t even seen her daughter all dressed up for the dance. The poor girl had to send her mother a selfie. But even if she’d come back early from the DA’s office, Theo didn’t need to pull assets from the high school because there were more than enough with Jennifer already.
“Don’t worry about your cute backup. She’s at some meeting at the SWAT compound,” Theo said. “And as for movingmypeople around, first rule of the private security biz—always dedicate the most assets to the person paying the bills. Everyone else is secondary.”
That was so stupid it took Knox a moment to process it. “I thought Lloyd was paying us to protect his wife and daughter.”
“Is that what you think? But since you’re so concerned, I’ll leave Ethan outside.”
Mouth twitching, Theo walked off, leaving Knox standing there wondering what the hell his boss meant by that cryptic comment. Theo was all about the politics of the business—and the money—but that still didn’t explain what he’d said.
Knox considered going after the jackass when a familiar and delectable scent smacked him across the face, wiping everything else from his mind.
“Wow, someone certainly cleans up nice.”
The warm, sexy voice sent tingles up and down his back and Knox turned to see Rachel standing there looking absolutely mouthwatering in a slightly longer version of the classic little black dress, toned legs sculpted by a pair of black, strappy platform heels, and shoulders left bare of everything but her shiny blond hair.
Knox had to bite his tongue to keep from growling—this time in appreciation. Unfortunately, that plan didn’t work so well since the fangs that were still partially extended sliced into either side of his tongue. He grunted and nearly reached up to shove a finger in his mouth to check the damage but stopped himself. Rachel gave him a smile, as if she knew exactly what she was doing to him.
“I was starting to think you weren’t going to show up.” He stepped close enough to get a good sniff of her—without being too obvious about it. “Theo said something about a meeting with your team at the compound. Are Diego and the rest of your pack still giving you trouble about working with me?”
Rachel laughed and moved even closer. Knox was certain he saw her nose lift a little, like she was trying to get a good whiff of him, too. Maybe it was the strobe lights mounted above the gymnasium, but he thought he saw her eyes flash bright green. He wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. What if she didn’t like the way he smelled?
“Nothing like that,” she said. “Sergeant Dixon normally holds roll call in the morning, but with the four of us working the protective detail, we’ve missed most of them. He had one this afternoon to catch us up on everything we’ve missed the past few days.”
Knox nodded, remembering what team meetings were like in the SEALs. With the navy deploying them so much, commander’s call was the only chance to even see the guys outside his own platoon.
“Anything interesting come up?” he asked, making conversation so he’d have an excuse to stand there and gaze at her.
“One or two things.” She glanced around, immediately locking on Addy and Aaron, where they were standing by the refreshment table. She studied them for a few moments before turning back to fix those beautiful eyes on him. “The chief has asked Gage to put some of my pack mates on the jurors in the Marshall trial and a few of the key witnesses.”
Knox didn’t see anything wrong with that idea.
