Mine to Protect (Mine 6)

“There isn’t any more running,” Victor said, his voice gruff. Then he looked over her shoulder, focusing on the two watching agents. “Zoe and I have a new deal. For the foreseeable future, I’ll be the agent on Zoe’s guard duty.”

“You?” Lauren sounded as if she were choking. “But sir—”

Zoe turned back to look at her, frowning. “But what? You don’t think he can watch me? That’s just insulting to the man.”

“Zoe…” Victor whispered.

“Well, it is.” She lifted her chin. “Victor is on guard duty with me. You heard him. He’ll be my twenty-four, seven companion. So just rest easy on that one, okay?”

Lauren’s gaze jerked to Victor’s face.

“I want you and Russell finding the driver of that truck. I know he’s still in the area,” Victor said grimly. “You need to find him and bring the guy in ASAP because he’s not going to stop. He will just keep hunting Zoe until he can claim the bounty on her.”

“Him and plenty of others,” Russell said.

Russell, that is not helpful.

“Sorry, Zoe,” Russell added. Such a nice guy. “But you know it’s true. The bounty on your head doubled in the last week.”

It had—doubled? She took a quick step back and her shoulders hit Victor’s chest. His arm came up—instantly—and curled around her.

“Thought you’d already told her.” Russell’s lips curled down. “Hell.”

No, Victor hadn’t told her that the price was double. “That’s two million dollars.” Breathing was hard. “Two million dollars for my life?”

“Two million dollars to end your life,” Lauren corrected.

Her knees were shaking.

“It’s not going to happen,” Victor whispered in her ear. “I will keep you safe.”

Her head turned toward him. She stared up at him. Their pose was intimate, she knew it, and she didn’t care what the other agents thought. “That bullet missed me by inches tonight.”

A muscle jerked in his locked jaw.

“How long do I get to keep cheating death?” Sooner or later, she’d be paying…for the crimes my father committed.

“Zoe…”

“How does it end?” Because she saw only one way to stop the hitmen on her trail…one of them takes me out.

“I will keep you safe. I did a fucking poor job tonight, but I will lay down my life for you.”

Her heart nearly shot out of her chest. “Is that what you think I want? You dying for me?”

“It’s—”

“It’s not. I don’t want you dying. I don’t want Russell dying or even Fresh Meat over there dying. I want you all safe. I don’t want this danger put on anyone else. I want it all—I just want it to stop. I want my life to be normal.”

Only her life had never been normal.

His arm was still around her. Their bodies were touching. His mouth was close. If she stood on her tip-toes, she’d be kissing him. He was tall, muscled. So sexy to her. And those lips of his…

I want to kiss him. I want him to need me. I want to go wild with Victor and forget everything else.

Only that wasn’t happening, either. “I think I’ll go to bed.” Maybe things would look like less of a nightmare in the morning.

Maybe.

Probably not.

His arm slid away from her.

“Good night, Russell,” Zoe murmured. “Good night…um, Agent McDaniel.” She quickly made her way to the bed. She heard the floor squeak behind her, and then hinges creak as the door opened.

Their footsteps padded to the door. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Victor, standing in the doorway. The other two agents had already gone out. “I’ll just be right outside,” he told her. His gaze was still guarded.

One day, I’ll get past his guard.

She nodded and he shut the door.

***

Victor stood just outside of the motel room.

Russell gave a low whistle. “You sure this is the path you want to take?”

“I’m sure this is the next step.” He’d worked with Russell on plenty of other cases. The guy was a good agent. Sure, Zoe had given him the slip, but she’d managed to sneak away while under the watch of other well-trained agents, too.

The woman was good at escaping. I’ll have to ask her…did she stay in that boarding school until she hit eighteen? Or did she escape from there, too?

“You’re getting involved very…closely with her,” Russell added, his voice low, concerned.

The new agent just watched them, her body tense.

“That’s the point, isn’t it?” Victor gave him a tired smile. Russell knew the score on this case—the real agenda. Hell, it was why the guy had been so affable with Zoe.

Get her trust. Get her to reveal everything that she knows.

Zoe’s case was a very, very unusual beast.

Luther Bates thought he’d blackmailed Victor into watching out for Zoe, keeping her alive, but the truth was…

The FBI planned to use Zoe in order to take down Luther and his empire completely. Luther Bates still had plenty of power, even though he was behind bars. His minions were only too happy to keep carrying out their boss’s dirty work. And with that massive team of lawyers that Luther had on call…the bastard is actually working to get out of prison.

The FBI couldn’t, wouldn’t, let that h

appen.

Word had recently reached them that one lawyer in particular was meeting far too frequently with Victor. The crime boss thought he had a way to get out of prison. To get back on the streets.

“Be careful,” Russell warned him. “Sometimes, you can lose your soul in this job. You don’t want that to happen.”

Victor laughed. “Don’t worry about that. I lost my soul years ago.” When he’d nearly beat a man to death in a fight that shouldn’t have happened.

Another life.

Another time.

He looked down at his hands. Still fucking me. “Use that truck to track down the shooter. Maybe the guy left fingerprints, DNA, something in there…”

“We already have our crime scene techs on the job,” Lauren said quickly.

Yeah, he’d figured they’d be busy. “Report to me as soon as you have any news.”

Lauren shifted her stance. “If you give me the chance, I can prove myself.” Determination flowed in her voice. “I can guard her. Zoe won’t be hurt on my watch.”

Victor focused on Lauren. “Lauren McDaniel.” He said her name thoughtfully. “Do you know that I handpicked you to join the team handling Zoe’s case?”

“Ah, no, no, I didn’t know that.”

“You don’t have to prove yourself. Not to me or anyone else. You have the badge. You’re in the Bureau. I know you can do the job.”

“Then why—”

“Plans have changed,” he said before she could ask why he was taking over guard duty—because he knew that had been her question. “I plan to stay personally involved in this case for the foreseeable future. Too much attention is focused on Zoe right now. Until the sharks stop circling in…” Sharks, hitmen—same damn thing. “I’ll be at her side.”

“Good luck,” Russell told him.

Oh, he’d need more than luck.

Because his boss at the Bureau—the fucking assistant director—had told Victor he had to come back with results. Actionable intel from Zoe that they could use against her father.

And the assistant director had also told him that if he didn’t get what they needed, Victor was supposed to play hardball with Zoe. Supposed to tell her that the FBI would walk away—and leave her ass on her own.