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“Damien Pell. EPG.”
Her attention settled on me for a long second before she shifted the bakery box Laurie had pushed into her arms and accepted my hand.
Her grip was firm.
“You’re the bodyguard.”
“Close protection,” I said. “For practical purposes, yes.”
“I’m not sure that sounds less intrusive.”
Pamela made a quiet sound beside her that could have been amusement. Sybil glanced her way, and that brief turn showed me the exhaustion she was fighting more clearly than when she’d faced me straight on. Her skin was pale beneath her freckles. A crease from sleep—or the lack of it—marked one cheek near her hairline.
Laurie tucked a loose strand of Sybil’s hair behind her ear. “Before you object to anything else, you’re coming home and eating.”
“I wasn’t objecting.”
“You were preparing.”
“I can do both.”
There was affection beneath the words rather than real friction. I stepped back enough to give the three women room while keeping the entrance and parking lot in view.
A man in a dark suit came through the doors behind them and paused beside Sybil. “Everything we discussed still applies. I’ll call as soon as I have anything new.”
Sybil nodded. “Thank you.”
He looked at me. “Mr. Pell?”
I acknowledged him without encouraging a conversation on the sidewalk. Whatever legal advice he’d given her belonged between them.
Sybil seemed to appreciate that. She waited until he had walked toward another row of cars before saying, “Rick got me the lawyer. He helped with the bail too. A judge approved my release this morning, but apparently that doesn’t make the murder charge disappear.”
“No,” I said. “It doesn’t.”
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
Laurie gave me a warning look.
I kept my voice even. “Your bail is between you, your attorney, and the court. I’m not here to enforce it.”
“Then what exactly are you here to enforce?”
“Nothing. I make security decisions. You make your own decisions about everything else.”
“That sounds suspiciously tidy.”
“It probably won’t feel tidy once we disagree.”
Pamela adjusted her glasses. “I like him better than I expected to.”
Sybil turned toward her. “You had expectations?”
“I had concerns. They’re different.”
That earned a tired smile from Sybil. My cock stirred, and I held myself still until I could ignore it.
I nodded toward the SUV. “We should get moving.”
