Page 24 of Missile Strike

Seated across the aisle with her parents and brother, eyes downcast, her hands clenched so tightly in her lap, she looked as if she’d shatter into a million pieces if anyone so much as breathed on her.

As if she sensed his stare, her head lifted. Those warm caramel eyes darkened to shimmering pools of amber so raw it stabbed straight through him.

A clap of thunder boomed in the distance, rattling the hotel windows.

Danny yanked shut the drapes.

He never should have brought Bella with him to the beach that night.

Not even a long workout and a cold shower could make the rest of the afternoon go by quickly enough. The storm had come and gone, lowering the temperature to a more manageable level.

Danny could handle the heat. This Southern humidity threatened to suck the life out of his soul.

He arrived thirty minutes early at Bella’s townhome.

Not that he was eager to see her again or anything.

She lived in an end-unit in a block of two-story brick and vinyl-sided homes, all with matching black shutters and white garage doors. Mid-size ornamental trees lined the sidewalk in front of the homes, and across the street, a median filled with more trees and bushes created a visual buffer from the next street over.

The neighborhood seemed family-oriented, with a fair number of people walking dogs, kids playing outside, riding bikes. It’d be harder for a stranger to loiter around Bella’s home unnoticed. But the tree-covered median in the street presented an opportunity for concealment that he didn’t like.

A short sidewalk curved from the driveway to the front door. There was a security camera fixed to the upper corner of the garage. And a security camera doorbell, too.

Good. He’d find out if both cameras were hard-wired and tied into a monitored system and send the information to Nathan.

He tugged on the collar of his pink Hawaiian shirt and rang the doorbell, nerves jittering like he was still in high school and taking a girl on a first date.

Which was crazy. This wasn’t a date.

Not really.

It was a deliberate attempt to get closer to Bella so he could keep her safe.

Another reason to hate him if she ever found out.

A dog barked from inside. His shoulders relaxed a fraction. Something else that would make it harder for a stranger to enter Bella’s home unannounced.

The door opened. Bella stood at the threshold in a black tank top and jean shorts that exposed tanned, toned legs ending at dainty feet with hot pink toenails. The faint outline of her nipples showed through the soft fabric of her top.

No bra.

He tore his gaze away and focused on the golden retriever Bella gripped by the collar, tongue and tail both wagging as he eyed Danny like a long-lost friend.

“I lost track of time.” Bella pulled the dog back and stepped aside to let Danny enter. “Trip, no. Don’t get hair on Danny’s clothes.”

“I’m early.” He kept his gaze on her face, where it belonged. Because he was a professional, and, like it or not, she was the job.

Her words finally registered. “Trip?”

She dropped her head, a curtain of hair hiding her face. “It’s not an uncommon dog name. I’ll be back in a minute.” Still avoiding his gaze, she herded the dog up the carpeted stairs to the second floor.

He stared after her.

She named her dog after him?

Nah, it had to be a coincidence. She’d never called him Trip like everyone else had. She’d always called him Danny.

Her voice, muted in volume, came from upstairs. “Make yourself at home.”