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“I’m sure there will be.”

That had been vague.

His lips pursed. “So, where shall we stay tonight?”

She was not following. I just hired a PI. He’s going to help me.

“Your place or mine?”

Her mouth opened but no words came out.

“You said we’d be starting immediately.” He backed up. Propped one hip on the edge of his desk again. “So I’m assuming that means we’ll be sleeping together.”

“Uh, no. No, we will not be sleeping together.”

“Sorry. Sleeping at the same location. My bad.” His lips pursed. “My place is a wreck because I’ve only been in town a few weeks, but you are one hundred percent welcome to stay with me anyway⁠—”

“No.”

“Your place, then. Done.”

“No, no, I meant we’d be together twenty-four, seven when we went to Florida. I’m perfectly safe here.” She’d made sure of it. Top of the line security. Cameras all over her home. Had she made the house into a fortress? Damn straight she had. “We’ll begin as soon as we can make travel arrangements.”

“Pretty sure the deal we just shook on was for immediate protection.”

“When we leave.” She was not having him move into her house that night. Unnecessary. And yet…

Tempting. Because she had a sudden mental image of Hunter McQueen in her bedroom. Standing at the foot of the bed. Watching her with his deep, intense eyes. “Are you involved with someone?” Shelby asked, the question coming out in a rush.

“I am not.” An easy response, but his gaze suddenly seemed sharper. “What about you? Got a jealous lover who is going to be pissed as hell when I’m suddenly with you every moment of the day and night?”

Laughter broke from her.

His jaw tensed.

“No lovers at all.” She’d been in cold storage for too long. “The last man who I let into my life just got close to me because he wanted to write a tell-all book about fucking the final girl.”

Now his expression did alter. Rage flashed on Hunter’s face. There one moment, gone in a blink. “Bastard.”

“Yes, he was. Is a bastard.” Though Andre had protested that the potential book deal hadn’t been about fucking her. No, no, baby. It’s about falling for you. Having to deal with your trauma and paranoia and still showing support for⁠—

Oh, whatever. Screw him.

“No lovers,” she repeated. “No one will have a problem with our partnership.”

“Excellent to know.”

They stared at each other. This whole deal had been way easier than she’d thought. But worry nagged at her. Shelby rocked forward onto the balls of her feet. “And you’re okay with any potential danger that might come your way? Because, sometimes, it can be dangerous to be around me.”

His eyes gleamed. “I can handle danger. I’ve got you.”

Those three words rocked straight to her core. I’ve got you.

He’d wanted to stop her before Shelby Carter made it to the PI’s office. Yes, he’d been fully aware of her plans. After all, he made a point of always being aware of what Shelby was doing. It was important, after all. She was important.

But she’d gotten to the office building before he could stop her, and now, he watched as she left the building. Still daytime, of course. Because careful Shelby never liked to go out at night. She liked to be tucked in her house, with her security system on, with her doors and windows locked, as she shut out the rest of the world.

Which made getting to her quite tricky.