Lisa Childs - His Christmas Assignment

And Candace?

Where was she?

Other than on his mind? She was always on his mind, staring up at him with such confusion and desire. Her pupils had dilated so only a thin rim of blue circled them. She’d wanted him, too. But then why had she left?

Dimly he heard the SUV pull out of the alley and drive away. But he didn’t glance back as he hurried toward his vehicle. He didn’t look back until it was too late—until he’d finally heard the footsteps rushing across the asphalt behind him.

He had been followed. He had been watched—just like he’d feared.

Before he could turn around, a body connected with his and slammed him into the side of his SUV. His head struck metal, and like the snowflakes, spots danced across his field of vision—momentarily blinding him. He had no idea who had attacked him and no idea if he would survive the attack.

Chapter 3

Candace was home. In River City again, at least. Raised an army brat, she’d never had a real home. But she had lived in this city longer than any others. So it was probably as close to home as she had ever come.

She had already done what she’d had to do. Not what she’d wanted to do. She wasn’t sure what she actually wanted anymore.

Her hand trembled as she slid the key in the lock and turned the knob. But Candace hesitated before pushing open her apartment door.

He was gone.

She knew that. After all, two weeks had passed and she knew what he’d been doing during that time. Sort of. As much as anyone ever knew what Garek Kozminski was doing. He wasn’t still in her apartment. But he’d been there the last time she had been.

So she stepped carefully inside, but she didn’t stop in the living room. She carried her suitcase directly down the hall to the bedroom.

Some of the clothes she hadn’t packed had fallen to the floor around the bed. And on the bed the silk sheets were as tangled and twisted as she—as they —had left them. Her face heated with embarrassment. What had she done? And why the hell had she come back here? To the scene of the crime. The scene of her stupidity.

The scene of the most exciting night of her life. And Candace, as a soldier and a police officer, had lived an exciting life.

Her breath shuddered out in a ragged sigh—like it had that night he’d kissed her. She should have stopped him then. She’d pulled back. But then he’d looked at her—like no one else had ever looked at her—with such hunger and desire. And instead of shoving him away, she had looped her arms around his neck and pulled his head down for another kiss.

She had been a fool that night. And she’d been an even bigger fool to come back. Garek Kozminski had gotten what he’d wanted from her. He wanted nothing else—or he would have been the one who’d tracked her down. Not his sister.

She shouldn’t have let Stacy get to her. She should have just stayed away. Not that she doubted what his sister had told her. She believed that Garek had gone back to his life. What was the saying—once a thief always a thief?

But she had found no evidence that he’d been stealing anything since he’d been a teenager. Was he just so good that he had never gotten caught?

Or that lucky?

If he was working for Chekov again, his luck would probably run out. Like Stacy had said, he was in danger. Candace just didn’t believe there was anything she could do to stop him. Or to protect him.

By coming back, she had only put herself in danger—her heart and maybe even her life.

* * *

“What the hell are you doing?” Garek asked when his vision cleared and he recognized his brother as the one who’d knocked him into the side of his SUV.

“What the hell are you doing?” Milek asked, his voice raised and sharp with anger.

Garek blinked again—making sure he was really seeing his brother. Milek didn’t get angry; he didn’t lose his temper anymore—not even when he had every right. “What’s wrong with you?”

Milek shoved him back, knocking him against the SUV again. “What’s wrong with you?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Garek answered honestly. His brother wasn’t making a whole lot of sense. “And how the hell did you find me here? Did you follow me?”

He had suspected someone might have, but he hadn’t seen anyone behind him. He’d been distracted, though. But...

“Did you follow me?” he asked again.

Milek snorted. “How else would I have found you? Of course I followed you. You’re not as good as you think are.”

His brother must have been right—about Garek’s not detecting a tail. But maybe that wasn’t the only thing Garek wasn’t as good at as he’d thought he was. Candace had left that night—after they’d finally given in to the attraction that had burned between them for a year.

At least he’d felt it.

“ I taught you everything you know about following someone,” Garek reminded him. That was why Milek was so good. “And I may have noticed you were behind me, if I’d known you were back already.”

Milek had taken the assignment Candace hadn’t wanted him to take—protecting the reality star. Why hadn’t she wanted him to take it?

She had never explained her real reason. Jealousy?

But if she’d cared, she wouldn’t have run away—like she had sometime in the night. She wouldn’t have left him if she’d really wanted him.

“The girl wasn’t in any danger,” Milek said. “It was just a publicity ploy.”

Which was what Candace had suspected. The woman was so astute. How had she never realized how he’d felt about her—how he’d felt about her for nearly a year?

“It took you two weeks to figure out it was all a publicity stunt?” Garek teased.

Milek shook his head. “It only took me two minutes.”

“So you milked the assignment to enjoy the weather in California?” Garek gestured at the snow. “I don’t blame you.” He would have razzed him about staying for the starlet. But it was too soon to tease Milek about women.

“I might have stayed longer,” Milek admitted, “if Stacy hadn’t called me.”

Garek shook his head, both frustrated with and sympathetic to his sister. “I told her to back off and give you time.”

“She didn’t call me about that ,” Milek said.

That was the single most devastating thing that had ever happened to his brother. So it was no wonder he didn’t want to talk about it; he probably couldn’t.

Garek had tried a couple of times to get him to talk, and Milek had asked him to move out of the warehouse apartment they’d once shared. He’d moved into an apartment while he’d looked for something more permanent.

Milek continued, “She called me to talk about you.”

Garek chuckled. “Sounds like she was just looking for any excuse to reach out to you.” And he couldn’t blame Stacy for trying. He wanted to try again, but he was worried his brother would cut him completely out of his life then.

Milek shook his head. “It wasn’t an excuse to talk to me. She didn’t want to call me. So she hesitated—maybe too long. How deep are you in?”

Garek sucked in a breath and then choked on the cold air. “I—I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Milek shoved him again. But Garek was already backed up as far as he could go against the SUV. “You’re working for Viktor Chekov again.”

“Not like I used to,” Garek assured him. And he felt a flash of pain that his sister and brother had assumed he had. Didn’t they know him better than that? He could understand other people thinking the worst of him; he’d done nothing to correct misconceptions of him. In fact with Candace, he had enjoyed playing the bad boy with her—to tease her and irritate her. But he hadn’t been a boy for a long while—if ever. “It’s an assignment—a protection job.”