Page 12 of 1001 Dark Nights: Bundle Forty-Two

“What?” he snapped, feeling a tinge of guilt that he wastaking his personal shit out on her. But she was aHollywood ice queen. She could take it. Thick skins,massive egos, and a hell of a survival instinct. The defining characteristicsof those who thrived in LaLa Land. He’d seen it firsthand, after all.

She hesitated, looking around the yard. He saw Mario and therest of the team by the cliff’s drop-off and assumed she’d headthat direction. Instead, she hugged herself, then said, “You’re really surethis is okay?”

Her voice was low, as if she was afraid the question wouldoffend him. “I mean, I know Damien and Ryan trust you, and—Oh, hell. Are you really sure? That the outside is safe? For now at least?”Her voice rose in pitch so that there was no mistaking her genuine fear. “Imean, hey, I know you don’t want this job, but your plan to trot me out for theslaughter seems a little much.”

She managed a smile to show it wasa joke, but there was no disguising the genuine worry in her voice. Honestly,she might as well have just punched him in the gut.

Without thinking, he took her hand, a bit surprised when shedidn’t pull away. Even more surprised when her fingers curled around his. “I’msorry,” he said, feeling like a complete prick. “I’m an ass, okay? As temptingas it might be to take the easy way off this case and toss you over that cliff,I promise you, it’s safe. I should have told you so before we even steppedoutside the house.”

“But earlier you said the system was down, and—”

“Mario texted me. The system’s back up and better thanever.”

“Should have told me,” she repeated. “Then why didn’t you? You dislike me so muchthat you want me scared?”

“Honestly, it slipped my mind. But that’s not even thepoint. You need to understand it’s not a question of like or dislike. It’s aquestion of you trusting me so that I can keep yousafe. You don’t get to second-guess my decisions or ask for my reasoning. If Isay jump, you should feel safe to jump. If I say we’re going outside, you say, Yes, sir. You don’t have to worryabout asking why or if it’s safe.” He drew a breath, fighting down theunwelcome image of Francesca naked on her knees, her lips curled around thosewords. Yes, sir.

He cleared his throat, banishing the unwelcome and veryunlikely image. “We both have a job here,” he said. “Mine is to assess and actand keep you safe. Yours is to trust me.”

“Trust you?” Her mouth twisted into an ironic smile. “Youdon’t even like me.”

“Don’t I?”

She lifted a brow and crossed her arms over her chest as ifshe was waiting for him to kiss the boo-boo and make it all better. Which meantshe still didn’t get it. “Like has nothing to do with it,” he said. “Likedoesn’t factor in at all. I don’t have to like you or the industry you work into do my job. For that matter, you don’t have to like me. But you do have totrust me, and you do have to obey.”

“I’m not good at blindly following orders.”

“Then you’re a fool. You hired me for my skill andexperience. I say jump, the only question you should ask is how high.”

Her teeth grazed her lower lip.

“I mean it, Francesca. I’m good at what I do. You didn’thire me for my looks.”

“Definitely not your looks,” she said, her eyes raking overhim in a way that seemed all too familiar and just a tad too appealing. “Imean, if we’re talking first impressions, it’s a miracle Ryan and Damien hiredyou at all.”

“Excuse me?”

“That body? That face? Not to mention your hair and youroh-so perfect beard stubble.” She threw off a shrug. “Bottom line, you’re too damn pretty. You’re made for a tumble in bed, not the cold,hard streets fighting bad guys.”

The thought of a tumble in bed messed with his head way morethan it should, and it took him a full five seconds before he could thinkclearly enough to shake his head slowly. “I’m entirely unsure if I should beflattered or insulted.”

She shrugged. “Either works for me.” She narrowed her eyes.“Although maybe you really are trying to get me killed. I get blown away, you move on to the next thing.”

He took a step toward her. “Are you still worried? Becauseright now, I’m not. But I don’t want to make you uncom—”

“No.” She shook her head. “No. I’m just messing with you. Isit what you said before? About it being too soon? I mean, if you brought me outhere, I know I’m safe. But what I want to know is why.”

He felt an odd surge of pride. Coming from her, the questionwas a compliment. “A few things. First of all, likeyou said. It’s too soon. But I don’t want to rest entirely on that assessment,as sure as I might be.”

“So there’s more?”

“There’s more.” He pointed toward Mario and Jasper and theothers, all of whom wore black T-shirts with Stark Securitystenciled on the back in large white letters and the company logo on the front.“For one, the system is back on line like I told you, and those guys know whatthey’re doing. Plus, there are notices surrounding the property in ten-footincrements that tell anyone who might be thinking about attacking that bothyour home and your property are protected.”

He pointed to a few of the cameras mounted on trees, poles,and under the eaves of the house. “There are also outfacing cameras all alongthe perimeter, as well as a perimeter breach warning system. I’ll grant youthere’s still the possibility of a breach by a long-range sniper, but I alreadytold you why I think that’s a minimal risk at the moment.”

She grimaced. “This whole thing is probably some tabloidreporter’s new scheme for getting all the dirt.”

“It fits,” he said. “Hollywood—destroying journalism onecrappy headline at a time.”