Page 24 of Protector Unmatched

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Pearce pushed the door open and ushered Daphne inside, then closed the door behind them.

“Where are we?” she asked, her tone as suspicious as the look she cast around.

“My apartment,” he lied. This was one of the safe houses the Stealth Guardians operated in many cities. He’d been lucky that it was empty and not far from where they’d been.

“Really?” Daphne looked around the room that was furnished with only the bare necessities.

Pearce peeled out of his jacket and tossed it on one of the kitchen chairs. The apartment was a two-bedroom unit with an eat-in kitchen and a good-sized living room. The neighbors kept to themselves, and the rent was paid via a shell company. The lock fit a universal key, which worked for every single safe house in the city. The safe houses were used mostly in emergencies, though on occasion they’d housed vulnerable humans who needed to hide out from the demons for an extended time. A small crew of human staff serviced the apartments and stocked them with the essentials: there was always food in the freezer and beverages in the fridge to last for a couple of days.

“I just moved in,” Pearce said quickly, not wanting to arouse suspicion. Then he changed the subject. “But enough about my apartment. What the fuck were you thinking, breaking into that mansion?”

She tossed him an outraged look. “Excuse me? What kind of question is that? Your boss ordered it!” She huffed angrily and braced her hands at her hips. “And while we’re on the subject of your boss, why the fuck is he sending me in there without telling me there are two alarms? Did he want me to be caught? Fucking asshole!”

“Hold it, hold it!” Pearce interrupted. He had no idea what she was talking about. “My boss? I have no boss. I’m a freelancer.” Well, that was a lie, of course, but his official cover said that he was a freelance programmer. And he was sticking to that. “So I don’t know who you’re talking about.”

“Oh, freelance? Is that what they call henchmen these days?” Her cheeks were flushed, her green eyes firmly glaring at him.

“Henchmen? I’m no henchman!” The ridges in his forehead deepened.

“Oh, please! Don’t play stupid with me now! Guido sent you to watch me to make sure that I follow his orders. But you had to go a step further, didn’t you? You had to help me out in the supermarket so you had an opportunity to talk to me.”

She was getting awfully close to the truth with her last statement, though he still had no idea what the deal was with Guido.

“And then you invited yourself to my place as if it was a date!”

Now he was pissed. “Invited myself? No, no, lady, it appears you have a lapse in memory. You invited me! In fact, you insisted on my joining you for dinner at your home.”

“A lapse in memory? Do I also misremember that you kissed me as if I’d invited it? Huh?”

“I gave you ample chance to say no. If I recall correctly—and I do—I asked permission to kiss you. You didn’t push me away. You didn’t say no. Well, sorry that you’re now regretting it.”

“And why shouldn’t I?” she yelled. “You and Guido have my brother. You’re hurting him, and you’re forcing me to commit a crime for you.”

Her words jolted him. “What?” He stared at her, understanding suddenly flooding through him. “You were being forced to burgle that house because some guys have kidnapped your brother?”

“Don’t make it sound like you know nothing of it! I’m not stupid. Guido said he’s having me watched so I won’t talk to the police. And then you show up. And you warned me. You said I’ll find out the truth about you one day. Guess what? I already knew the truth last night.”

Pearce let out a long breath and shoved a hand through his short hair. Daphne had it all wrong.

“Daphne, there’s something I have to clear up. I think you might want to sit down for this.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “I’d rather stand.” Defiance shone from her eyes.

“Well, then, we’ll do it standing up.” He sighed. “Please hear me out to the end. Then you can ask questions, and I’ll answer them.” To what degree of truth, he couldn’t tell yet. After all, he still had to maintain his cover.

“Talk,” she said, but her eyes said that she wasn’t going to believe a single word.

Nevertheless, he had to try. “I’m a freelance programmer. Last night at the checkout, I helped you out because you couldn’t find your wallet. Would I have helped out an ugly guy if that person had been in the same predicament? I don’t know. But I helped you because I thought you looked cute, and I figured it would give me a chance to ask you out.”

Daphne’s face remained impenetrable.

“I was surprised when you invited me to your house. And I thought we were hitting it off, so when it came to say goodnight, can you blame me that I wanted to kiss you and see you again?”

“Bullshit! If that were true, then why did you show up at that house tonight?”

He’d thought of an explanation for that too. It was partially true. “I was on my way to your place to bring you flowers, but you were just leaving and looking so, I don’t know, catburglarish?” That he’d followed her invisibly, he omitted. “I don’t know what got into me, but I followed you, just in case you needed my help. And when I saw you breaking into that house, I knew I had to stop you from making a big mistake.”