Bodyguard by Shirlee McCoy

Author:Shirlee McCoy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Love Inspired Suspense
Published: 2017-09-05T04:00:00+00:00

EIGHT

Esme didn’t speak as she climbed into Zeke’s oversize SUV. She didn’t say a word as the two men got their dogs into the back. Zeke climbed in the front. Ian nudged Esme into the center of the bucket seat, grabbing her arm when she would have moved all the way to the other side of the vehicle.

“The middle is safest,” he said.

She didn’t respond.

She didn’t have anything to say. She’d been fooling herself, believing in a fantasy, convinced that Reginald had committed only one murder.

One had been bad enough.

One had been horrible.

But he’d committed at least two more.

She had no reason to doubt Ian’s story. She’d seen the truth in his eyes. She’d heard it in his voice. Apparently, Reginald had been killing people to get them out of his way for as long as he’d been running the family business.

How many lives had he taken?

And why was she telling herself that she was surprised, shocked, flabbergasted?

Reginald wanted his own sister dead.

He was working with Angus to make sure that happened.

Hadn’t the FBI been telling her that for months? Hadn’t they brought up his name every chance they got? It wasn’t just Angus coming after her, it was Reginald. He was calling the shots and pulling the trigger.

“Are you all right?” Ian asked, his voice a soft rumble in the silent SUV.

“I will be.”

“I shouldn’t have told you about my parents.”

“Of course you should have.”

“It could have waited.”

“Until when? Something like that festers the longer it sits.” That was the truth. “Besides, I asked you. It’s not like you just tossed the information out at me.”

“It still could have waited. Seat belt,” he said, and when she didn’t reach to snap hers into place, he did it for her, his hand brushing against her abdomen, the warmth of his arm pressing against hers.

Comforting.

Just like his touch had been, his hug, his hands brushing tears from her cheeks.

Esme didn’t want to think too much about that. About how much safer she felt when he was around, about how desperate she was to have someone she could count on.

She’d always been confident and had always known how to go after what she wanted. What she wanted right now was to be done with the trial and the testimony.

A month wasn’t a long time.

She could do anything for a month.

Except maybe survive.

She shuddered, the warmth of the summer air drifting in the open driver’s-side window doing nothing to chase away the chill that had settled deep in her bones.

“Here,” Ian said, taking off his jacket and laying it over her, tucking the edges around her shoulders, his fingers brushing her collarbone and the side of her neck, lingering there. Soft and light and gentle.

That should have been all. Just a simple touch. His hand there and then gone. She met his eyes, felt something arc between them, the jolt of it making her pulse race.

“This is probably a bad idea,” she said, and he smiled.

“What?”

“Whatever we’re doing.”

“Getting to know each other? We’re going to be spending a lot of time together in the next month or so.

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