Page 84 of Missile Strike

Danny exhaled. Let it go. “I’ll set up meetings for you two with hotel security and Charlotte police. And we need to find Omar Hassan before the event.”

“You should be there,” Caleb said. “Tavari can stay with Isabella.”

The words hit wrong. He didn’t want anyone, not even the men he trusted most in this world, stepping between him and Bella.

Danny met Caleb’s eyes. “No.”

The reason stuck in his throat.

Caleb saw it anyway and gave a subtle nod. Understanding from the man who’d broken all the rules and almost died protecting the woman he loved.

“Ryder has briefed the senator and his security team on Hassan and his threats,” he said. “Nathan’s trying to track him.”

He glanced Bella’s way before he focused on Danny. “He’s also monitoring online chatter. There are rumors an activist group is planning to stage a protest in front of the hotel the night of the gala.”

Danny’s jaw tightened. More chaos. A perfect cover for someone intent on harming the senator or a member of his family.

Bella dropped her face into her hands with a groan. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“We’ll handle it, honey.” The endearment slipped out before Danny could stop it.

He refused to look at his teammates.

Fuck it.

He didn’t care what they thought, as long as they didn’t report back to Ryder that he was compromised and no longer able to protect Bella.

Bella’s gaze softened.

Something between them snapped into place.

His throat tightened. Walking away from Bella when this assignment ended was going to be harder than he’d imagined.

Caleb stood, signaling that the meeting was over. “We’ll deal with the rest tomorrow.”

Outside, he leaned against the SUV he and Tavari had arrived in, and gave Danny a pointed stare. “I’m the last person who should say this, but—”

“Don’t make it personal?” Danny glanced behind him to make sure Bella wasn’t standing at the front door, listening. “She was my sister’s best friend.”

Caleb’s lips twitched. “My bad. For a minute in there, you sounded like a man protecting his woman.”

He slid into the driver’s seat and rolled down the window. The SUV’s engine rumbled. “One tip, though.”

Danny’s eyes narrowed. “What’s that?”

“Don’t call her honey in front of her father.”

Tavari choked on a laugh.

“Fuck you both,” Danny muttered. He gave them his back and returned to the house as the SUV backed out of the driveway.

Bella was waiting for him when he went back inside. She gave him that look—the one where it felt like she could see into his soul.

“What is it?”

“You called me honey.”

He swallowed hard. “I did.”