“Yes, fine. I know they’re good. But...?“ He forks his fingers through his hair. “Just nothim. They can send someone else.”
Him?
FORTY-EIGHT
You look familiar
REED
At least,they’re punctual. Hope that’s a good sign.
“She’s coming up the elevator,” I holler as I unlock my gun safe to finish gearing up.
Lila peeks her head into my home office, expression teeming with surprise. “They sent afemalebodyguard?”
She’s bright-eyed and bushy-tailed despite the lack of sleep. Not to mention all the hours we spent unearthing the darkest parts of her past. And some of mine.
Either she got a second wind, or our heart-to-heart helped free her spirit.
Maybe both.
“Yep. I’m told she’s a top-tier guard. Highly trained. Lots of experience.” Grabbing my phone,I scan the email they sent a half hour ago with her details. “Her name is Kristin. She’s former military. Army. Bio looks good. And Agent Andrews vouches for her. Says he’d trust this company with the lives of his wife and kids.”
That’s far more reassuring than Warren’s original plan of the bureau sending someone to guard the door. A week ago, I would have assumed that was a safe proposition. Now? No fucking way.After one of our own let Riddick get the drop on him, I lost faith in the type of agents who get tapped for jobs like these.
I refuse to take a chance when Lila’s life is on the line. Especially since the death toll has increased by two as of this morning.
As I ease out of the room, Lila backs into the hallway. Still giddy with news of her bodyguard being a female, she smiles at me—the real one, not her mask. It’s vibrant and more golden than the rising sun.
She bobs on her toes, literally brimming with glee. “I can’t wait to meet her.”
Knowing my time with my cookie is about to end—strike that, it’s about topause—I slip my arm around her waist and back her against the wall. “You seem a little too happy to be getting rid of me. Dial it back for the sake of my fragile ego.”
Soaking up what’s left of our night together, she skims her palms up my chest and locks them at my nape. “You need to leave regardless. I’m simply making the best of it.”
She rises to her tiptoes, offering me her mouth. I indulge in her sweet kiss for as long as I can. The thirty seconds I get isn’t near enough, but it’ll have to do for now.
When I reluctantly break the kiss, she licks her lips and flutters her eyelashes open. She’s so fucking beautiful it hurts.
I etch this view of her into my mind so I can take it with me across the state this morning.
She rests her cheek on my chest, encircling me in an unhurried embrace. “My new gal pal and I will be perfectly safe here. You just take care of yourself. Be safe.”
Closing my eyes, I inhale deeply, wishing I could pull Lila into my lungs. “Sorry for leaving this way.”
She pops her head off my chest, the shimmer of her eyes tinged with offense. “No need to apologize. Hopefully, you’ll learn enough while you’re gone to solve this whole thing.”
“It still sucks.”
“So do vacuums, but they don’t apologize for doing their job.”
I’d laugh at that if I weren’t still pouting about leaving her.
Her tone slides from playful to earnest in her next breath. “Jokes aside. Youdon’tneed to apologize to me for doing your job. What you do out there matters. I’ll never hold it against you. Plus, we talked the night away. It was almost time for you to get ready for work anyhow.”
I pulse my hands around her soft waist in silent response.
Taking on a coy smirk, she cants her head to the side, raising the shoulder on that side to meet it. “We’ll finish our conversationandmy lesson later. A little incentive to return safe and sound.”
