Page 52 of Her Chosen Protector

“…save the battery.”

“Okay, check back in a half-hour.”

“Will do,” Asher agreed.

Eden looked over her shoulder to see Asher put his phone in its pocket on his vest, then peel out of his vest and rest it against the leg of the ornate wooden table.

“Eden, you need to sit back down and rest a bit. We’re going to be here a while.”

“How do you know?”

“Rafa explained this place is on a timer. It’s not supposed to open until Monday morning. Suzanne is in surgery. Once she’s out, they’re going to try to figure out if they can override it.”

“Hector?”

“What do you think?” Asher asked with a harsh laugh.

Ash was right, the bank manager was useless. She watched as Asher meandered over to where she was standing. Eden knew that he was being careful. Treating her like some kind of baby bird or something that would fly off.

“I’m fine,” she spit out. “You don’t have to walk on eggshells.”

He stopped short. “Come and sit down, Eden. If there is one thing I’ve learned, you have to conserve your energy when you can.”

She leaned back against the wall of safety deposit boxes, her toes digging into the red carpet. “It’s kind of plush in here. Do you think it’s so the high-faluting customers feel all special when they deposit their goods?”

“Could be,” he answered slowly.

She looked all around the vault. “What’s over there?” She pointed to a door.

“Eden.” She recognized that tone of voice. It was a warning that she was pushing her luck. She really didn’t care. She didn’t want to rest. If she rested, she’d think. She wanted to know what was behind that door.

She pushed away from the boxes and stood straight, and the room swam. She shook her head, trying to keep upright. Asher was there in a second.

She gritted her teeth as he helped her into one of the chairs and pushed her head between her knees.

“Take deep breaths.”

“Go find out what’s behind the door,” she demanded.

“Don’t be a brat.”

She gave a weak laugh. “I’ve heard that before.”

“I’m sure you have. But you’re a beautiful brat.”

“I haven’t heard the beautiful part before, so I know you’re full of it.” He was stroking her hair and she enjoyed every moment of it. She felt tears starting to form, so of course she pushed his hand away. “Open the door, it might be gold bars. Inquiring minds want to know.” She took another deep quivering breath.

“Stay put and I’ll look, is it a deal?”

Eden didn’t know if she felt cared for or shattered when his hand stroked her hair before walking away and trying to turn the doorknob. Dear God, how is he burrowing in so deep? He probably had no clue.

“It’s locked.”

“Of course, it is.” She waved her hand at him. “Do your SEAL thing and open it.” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Asher grin. At least she was still a smartass. Points for her. But seriously, her body was crapping out on her. Eden lifted up and then rested her cheek on the flat cool surface of the table. The wood felt good. Maybe just a minute or two with her eyes closed and then she’d be back to her fighting weight.

C H A P T E R 1 2

Asher caught her just before she slipped off the chair. How in the hell she lasted as long as she had was beyond him. Leland had told him that there’d been a crisis that had required her to work all through the night with NATO, so she was going on less sleep than he was.