Hidden Away (KGI #3)(51)

Surprise made her suddenly unsteady, and he tensed, hoping she didn’t shoot him by accident. Then her eyes narrowed again. “Why wouldn’t he say anything?”

“When exactly would you have had this heart-to-heart?” He took another stab and hoped he was right about Sarah not being in constant contact with Lattimer. He suspected she corresponded solely by email, judging by how fanatical she was about that damn laptop. “Your brother isn’t the type to spell things out through an email. Nothing’s one hundred percent secure, you know. Plus, he didn’t want to worry you. My job was to stay close and make sure you stayed safe.”

She frowned. “So why all the elaborate charade? You didn’t have to date me to watch out for me.”

He met her gaze and remembered kissing her. Remembered touching her and stroking his hands over the curves of her body. And what he was about to tell her, while a lie, would be the absolute truth if her brother really had hired him to protect her.

“I wanted to spend the time with you. You intrigued me.”

“So all that bullshit on the island was just you making sure our paths intersected repeatedly so you could do a job?”

The note of incredulity in her voice was hard to miss. As was the sarcasm. But there was also a hint of hurt in her voice that twisted the knife a little further in his gut.

“Hell no, and I think you know that.”

She closed her eyes and shook her head for a moment. The hand holding the gun wavered precariously, and he seized the opportunity before she accidentally pulled the trigger and made a woman out of him.

He rolled and grasped her wrist, pointing the gun toward the wall. Then he squeezed until she yelped in pain and the gun dropped with a clatter to the floor. He immediately eased off her wrist but held on while he reached for the gun with his other hand.

Still holding on to her hand, he hoisted himself up and then turned her arm over and rubbed his thumb over the mark he’d made on the inside of her wrist. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

She yanked her arm back and clutched her arm to her chest, her eyes troubled as she stared nervously at him.

“Who are you?”

He popped the clip out of her gun and pocketed it before laying the pistol on a nearby end table. “My name is Garrett. I didn’t lie about that.”

“That tells me precisely nothing.”

“I work for different people,” he said. “I protect people. It’s what I do.”

She arched a delicate brow. “You’re a mercenary?”

“If you’re asking if I take money in return for my services, then yes. I don’t work for free.”

Her eyes narrowed. “And how much are you being paid to protect me?”

“Does it matter? What’s important is that I keep you safe. I’d think you’d take a keen interest in that part.”

“And you expect me to trust you. Just like that.”

He had to control the wince. Yes, he wanted her to trust him even as he fed her a huge lie. He went on the offensive instead.

“If I wanted you dead, you’d be dead,” he said bluntly. “I damn sure wouldn’t have gone through an elaborate charade to get close to you, and I damn sure wouldn’t have kissed you.”

Her eyes widened and he kicked himself for bringing it up. He wasn’t trying to be manipulative and make it about emotions though it would certainly look that way in the end.

“Why did you then?”

“Because I wanted to.” That much was the truth.

She didn’t look like she knew what to say to that. Confusion flickered in her eyes and then she turned away, her hands going to rub at her temples. When he walked around enough that he could see her face again, her utter fatigue flashed like a neon sign.

“When was the last time you slept?” he demanded.

She looked even more startled by the question. Her hands came away from her head and she stared at him like he was a puzzle she couldn’t quite figure out.

“I don’t get you, Garrett. I don’t get any of this. Why are you here? I don’t need you.”

“The hell you don’t.”

She raised her hand again and pressed her open palm to her forehead. “Let me rephrase then. I don’t want you here. Go home. I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want Marcus involved. Just leave me alone.”

He snorted, growing more irritated by the minute. “You really think you can go it alone? Sarah, you’re a victim waiting to happen. Hell, you’ve been standing in front of the windows, gawking around like an idiot.”

Her head snapped up and she glared at him, her eyes flashing. “You’ve been watching me?”

“Hell yeah, I have. I’ve been here for two days scouting and making damn sure you weren’t followed. You haven’t exactly made it hard for anyone to find you. You may as well hang up a neon sign that says ‘Sarah Daniels Is Here’ and paint a big red X on your forehead.”

She covered her face with her hand and closed her eyes. “God, I was careful. I thought I was careful. Am I deluding myself? I don’t know anything about hiding. I’ve never had to hide.”

She looked dangerously close to collapsing. Her shoulders slumped in a gesture of defeat, and she looked so damn small and vulnerable. He stepped forward, fully intending to pull her into his arms, but he hesitated. On the island he wouldn’t have thought twice about it, but it was different now. He’d misled her. She probably thought everything that happened on the island was merely an effort to gain her trust. And while that had been his initial intention, it sure as hell wasn’t why he kissed her or why he was dying to do the same right here and right now. Only now he’d upped the stakes. He’d never outright lied to her before now.