Executive Protection(15)

Lucy put her hand on his shoulder. “No, Thad. Let him go.” This was bad enough. Arresting him would only escalate things and prolong her dealings with Cam.

Leaning down, Thad pushed Cam’s head back, forcing him to look up at him. “Leave her alone or I’ll make you.”

Cam met Thad’s fierce eyes and didn’t say anything—for once. Finally, he was forced to accept that he could not control this situation, that he could not control Lucy, a woman he’d imagined in his crazed mind belonged with him.

Giving Cam’s head a harder shove that sent it banging back against the Honda, Thad rose and stepped back.

Cam glared at Thad as he stumbled to his feet. Thad had given him one more chance than he deserved.

Standing up, Cam walked around the front of the black car. Over the hood of the Honda, he looked at Lucy with such resentment that it gave her a shiver.

When Cam drove away, Thad went to Lucy. “Are you all right?”

“Yes.” She was now, thanks to him.

He touched her arm where Cam had grabbed her. She might be bruised. She’d never had anyone defend her the way he had tonight, never had a reason to need that from anyone. But tonight she had, and Thad had been there for her. Appreciation mushroomed into more, warmth that her undeniable attraction fueled.

“Maybe you should stick to the traditional method of meeting someone,” he said.

His logical solution to her scary encounter chased the rest of her tension away. She stepped closer to him. “Okay, Officer. Traditional it is.” She played with the collar of his shirt. He wasn’t wearing a badge. She never saw him actually wear it. “Does this qualify as traditional?”

“We’re in a parking lot, and I almost arrested someone.”

Hardly traditional. Just then she realized he must have waited for her in the parking lot. “What are you doing here, anyway?”

“I’m a cop.” Giving her a grin, he stepped back and then headed toward his blue Charger.

That was the reason he gave her, but Lucy was certain there was another reason he’d waited. He’d been concerned. And more than the cop in him had compelled him to stay and keep an eye on her. He liked her, and he’d protected her. And, strangely, she loved that he had. Not only because he’d saved her from whatever Cam would have done. If anything, he’d cared enough to ensure she made it home safely.

“Hey,” she called.

Thad stopped at his fast car.

She was going to take a plunge headfirst. “I have to volunteer for a literacy program tomorrow night. Would you mind going with me?” She had two motives for this. One, she was afraid of what Cam would do, and two, she wanted to torture Thad with children. What better way to see just how interested he was?

There went that grin again. He had a really nice grin. “Not at all,” he said. “What time?”

“I have to be there at six.”

“I’ll pick you up.”

“But you don’t know my address.”

“I have your address.”

Cop. He was starting to sound like Cam, except there was no comparison. Thad’s reasons for hanging around and looking up her address were completely different from Cam’s. They were two completely different men. Still, she couldn’t let Thad’s boldness go without at least a little teasing...

“You’re not a stalker, are you?” she asked. “Should I be worried?”

He took her seriously. His grin went flat. “No, not you. But Cam should be real worried, because if he ever comes within ten feet of you again, he’ll have to answer to me.”

Sexy, handsome, protective cop...

The way her heart thumped gave her second thoughts about inviting him to one of her most cherished pastimes.





Chapter 4


Darcy wiped the coffee that had dribbled onto his lavender dress shirt with a damp napkin. “He’s got a rap sheet.”

Thad leaned against Darcy’s desk, looking at the mug shot of Cameo Harmon that Darcy had brought up on the screen. Cam’s mouth drew a defiant line, eyes gleaming hatred and reddened from the consumption of alcohol.

“Surprise, surprise,” Thad murmured.

“Domestic violence. His former wife pressed charges after he beat her for the last time. Put her in the hospital.” Darcy reached for the small printer on his desk and handed a few pages to Thad.

Thad took them. “Does somebody have to die before this guy gets sent to jail?”

“Yeah, he’s a real dream date,” Darcy said. “Two restraining orders. One DUI. Robbery when he was a juvenile.” Standing up from his desk chair, Darcy pointed to the line on one of the printed pages. “Stole a camera from a Walmart.”

Thad had seen sheets like this before, and many worse.

“Amazingly, he has a good job,” Darcy said. “Nice house. Decent car. He puts up a good front.”

“Lures them in and then the beatings begin, huh?” Thad could see how Lucy might have missed what a loser Cam was. “His online dating profile is a real smoke screen, too.”

“Guys like that have to fool women into getting close to them,” Darcy said. “This one’s probably on his way to doing something that will land him in prison for a few years. I wouldn’t be surprised if he winds up with a life sentence someday.”