Page 5 of The Bodyguard's Fall

“Yeah, he’s behind that group in the corner. How do you know him?”

She blew out a frustrated sigh. “Last week, I was on the street, and he walked up to me and asked me out to eat.”

“He just…walked up to you? On the street?”

“Yeah.”

“And you went?” I already knew the answer, but it had to be asked.

“Yeah.”

I waited a beat. “What corner were you working at?”

Our cover was nearly blown by my short laugh when she whacked me on the shoulder.

“And does he dress like that every day, or is this a special occasion?”

She didn’t want to, but a tiny smile broke free before she remembered herself.

“Have I told you lately how much I don’t like you?” she asked.

I stepped back and grabbed one of her hands, enjoying her smile while I surprised her with a spin. At least one of us would be able to claim they were decent undercover.

“Why did you say yes to him?”

“I was hungry, and he seemed kind of sweet. Stop looking at me like that.”

“This is my natural face when I’m looking at you.”

I surveyed the room. “Hey, he’s still watching. You need to act like you love me, or he’ll be right back over here.”

Immediately, she threw on a smile and pressed in closer, wrapping her arms once again around my neck. The enticing scent of her perfume infiltrated our natural barrier. My hands clasped casually around her waist. For my first undercover non-assignment, it could certainly have been worse.

“What happened next?” I asked. “Was he as sweet as you thought?”

She peered up at me, preparing for battle. “I was trying to be nice. He seemed a little off, socially, you know? And I knew it was probably scary for him to ask me out, so I said yes. It was just across the street at a public restaurant, and there were lots of people around. It was perfectly safe.”

I nodded. It did sound like it should have been safe enough. “What happened?”

She blew out a breath. “He got creepy pretty fast. He started talking like we were already a couple. Planning future dates. He kept finding ways to touch my arm. He told me he’d seen me around before…” She trailed off. “I don’t know. I’m probably overreacting, but I had literally just met the guy, and he suddenly had all these plans and was buying tickets to take me to see a play on Broadway.”

The blood in my veins heated to a brotherly simmer.

I turned to find him still watching us in the crowd. I held his stare with my own, without flinching, until he looked away. “I don’t think you’re overreacting.”

“Yeah. Anyway, after we were done eating, he told me he’d pick me up on Friday to go out again. I told him I had my brother’s wedding this weekend and that I didn’t think we could go out anymore. And then I thanked him for the lunch and walked away. I figured that would be the end of it.”

“Did you tell him where the wedding was?”

“No.”

We both swayed absently as we processed that information.

“I’m going to go talk to him.” I released her, only to be pulled back.

“No!” She held my arm. “I can handle him.”

I gave her a look.