Christmas with Her Bodyguard

Somehow, incredibly, given the maelstrom raging inside her chest, she stayed standing. Stayed...impassive.

‘I’ll tell Rafe this isn’t going to work.’

She should be pleased. Relieved. Wasn’t this what she’d told her half-brother less than twelve hours ago? That she didn’t want a bodyguard again, reminding the press of her past.

So why was a part of her silently screaming out to Myles not to do this?

‘I thought you said you owed him.’ She had no idea how she kept her voice from breaking.

‘I’ll find some other way to repay him,’ Myles bit out.

She opened her mouth, then closed it again.

She had no idea how long they stood there after that. It felt like a lifetime but it was probably no more than thirty seconds. Until the shrill sound of a mobile cut through the air, making Rae jump.

Was it her imagination or did Myles hesitate for a fraction of a moment before answering it?

‘Garrington.’ As his eyes lifted back to hers, his expression utterly impassive, something Rae couldn’t identify snaked through her. ‘When? How? Understood. Follow the SOPs, keep me apprised.’

He terminated the call, his focus still locked onto Rae. She ran a tongue over suddenly inexplicably dry lips.

‘What is it?’

‘Change of plan.’ His voice still gave nothing away, although for a brief moment something skittered across his features before it was gone. If she hadn’t known better she might have thought it was concern. ‘I’ll be your bodyguard for the foreseeable.’

She tried to control the panic rising inside her.

‘What’s going on, Myles?’

He paused for a moment before dipping his head in a ghost of a nod.

‘Your Manhattan home has been broken into. There’s a fair amount of damage.’

She was going to be sick.

‘Opportunists?’ she managed to get out.

‘At this point I don’t know. It could be coincidence, but I can’t rule out the possibility that it’s related to these death threats.’

‘Myles—’

‘Rafe has the company jet ready. You’ll need to get home to confirm as soon as possible if anything is missing so we have a better idea if it was a directed attack.’

‘I can’t.’ She shook her head frantically. ‘I can’t do this alone.’

Vaguely, she was aware of Myles taking her hand.

‘You won’t be alone, Rae.’ His voice sounded gritty, lower, but her head was spinning too much to be sure. ‘I’m not going anywhere. I won’t let anything happen to you.’

And with that he erased the confrontation of the last twelve hours as if it had never existed.

The tears came without warning, silent and hot, but suddenly she was stepping towards him, a part of her desperately needing his warmth and strength. And then his arms were around her and she was drawing comfort from him.

‘I can’t stay in the house,’ she muttered against the solid wall of his chest.

‘We’ll go to a hotel. I won’t leave your side.’

‘Promise me?’