Hidden Impact (Safeguard #1)(6)

Her head tilted up, her forehead bumping his chin and knocking his teeth together. “Where?”

Good thing she’d matched his whisper, but ouch, she had a hard skull. “I’m taking you anywhere but here. We’ll figure out next steps after we get to your car and get out of the area.”

“But...”

“There’s too many red flags here. Even if you go to a hotel for a night, you can’t stay at one indefinitely. Too accessible.” He tightened his arms around her to stop her argument. “You are not safe and I want to know why. We can talk more about it on the drive.”

Hours ago he hadn’t wanted to have anything to do with her. Now, rage burned through him as he held her trembling form against his chest. Almost flattened by a not-so-drunk driver and the privacy of her home violated. Someone was investing a lot of effort into hurting her and it didn’t make sense.

Puzzle pieces were floating around them, and no private investigator had the means to help her fit them together before somebody took her out of the game.

Thing was, what was anyone like her doing caught up in any kind of game?

She raised her hand and slid it between them, flat against his chest. He thought she was going to push him away, and loosened his arms so she could step out of his hold if she wanted to. But her hand fisted in his shirt instead and she pressed her face into him. A moment later, hot tears seeped through the fabric to his skin.

“It’s okay.” He murmured the reassurance, not sure she even absorbed what he was saying. “I’ll help you.”

A promise. It wasn’t a small thing he was giving her, whether she understood or not. What mattered was he recognized it for what it was. It’d been a long time since he’d been willing to make one like this. He intended to see it through. Maybe he’d think about why he was doing it later.

Hopefully, this wouldn’t bite him in the ass the way his last mission had. That one had turned him bitter on the human condition in general.

Her shudders were the only sign of her being upset. He rubbed a hand up and down her back, hoping it was comforting. Crying women generally weren’t his thing—he avoided them like the plague—but he couldn’t bear to put her at arm’s length. Not when she obviously had no support anywhere nearby.

Noiseless, she pressed against him for another minute, maybe two at most. Not a single sound to give her away to the invisible listeners in her home. Then she was taking a deep breath. When she stepped out of his arms, he might not have known she’d been crying at all but for the hint of bloodshot in the corners of her eyes.

She looked him in the eye and nodded.

Okay then.

He led the way to her bedroom, watchful for anything he might have missed the first time, any cameras especially, but it seemed all they’d done was install audio. He hoped he was right.

She approached her closet with hesitation, taking a long look at the open door. He stepped toward her but she shook her head and began to move with brisk efficiency. A duffel bag came out of a corner and clothing went into it, rolled tight to take up minimal space. When she turned to a drawer by her nightstand, he looked away politely when he caught a glimpse of lace and satin.

Oy. The drawer had been a rainbow explosion. She liked her underwear colorful and he was all sorts of interested in seeing more. Absolutely the wrong line of thought to be following at the current moment. Probably ever.

He shot a glance back in her direction and caught sight of a satin emerald bra. Maybe not never.

*

Maylin focused on drawing in air through her nose and letting it out slow, willing away the shivers threatening to take over her entire body. She wasn’t in shock anymore. The emergency room doctor had cleared her. And yet, she couldn’t stop shaking.

From the edge of her vision, she watched Gabe settle into the driver’s side of her car and turn his head in her direction. He didn’t say anything though, only turned up the heat and set the fans to blow on high.

Her trembling had very little to do with being cold, and she’d bet he knew it. Still, the warm air chased away the clammy chill of the late night. It was late spring but the nights still had some bite to them, especially after a good rain.

“Where are we going?” If she wanted to pay this man and the rest of his team to help her get her sister back, she didn’t have the funds to spare for a night in a hotel. Not one. And she wouldn’t, couldn’t take her focus away from An-mei, even to consider how long it would be before her own apartment was safe again. “Any hotel, either downtown or on the outskirts of the city, is going to cost too much.”

One crisis at a time. It was the way to navigate through every mess, and she’d find a way through it all. Had to.

“No hotel. Even if you wanted one, we’ve got a tail, so wherever I put you someone is likely to find the room not long after I leave.” Gabe didn’t sound worried. How in hell did he not?

It was probably too much to hope he might be mistaken. “Somebody following us? How do you know?”

He glanced up at the rearview mirror then turned his attention back to the road in front of them. “Same car’s been behind us since about a block away from your parking garage. It’s harder to tell at night, but the headlights are the same shape, and whenever we turn I confirm the car color. They’re being smart and staying back with a car or two between us. On the plus side, it’ll make it easier for me to lose whoever it is.”