Lisa Childs - Soldier Bodyguard

Not that she cared about Cole anymore.

She loved Xavier, though. He had always been so good to her. All those times Cole had left her for boot camp and for those long deployments, they had bonded together over their concern for him. Even after Cole had broken up with her, she’d still been there for Xavier, offering him comfort and hope, while he worried about his favorite grandchild.

Shawna couldn’t entirely meet Cole’s blue-eyed gaze, but she could feel him staring at her. Goose bumps of awareness and fear rose on her skin. She shivered a little.

“She’s sweet,” he said. “Looks just like you did.”

“My mini-me,” she said. “That’s what Emery always called her.” Her voice cracked as she thought of her dear friend. More tears threatened despite the fact that she should have already been completely dried out. She blinked them back.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” he said.

It was a loss. But it wasn’t her first one. Not by far.

First she’d lost her parents. And then she had lost the love of her life: Cole. She would not feel sorry for herself, though, not when she had so many other blessings.

Like Maisy...

Emery was the one who had lost everything—his life.

“I don’t understand it,” she mused. “I don’t understand why anyone would want to harm Emery.”

“I read the police report,” Cole said. “The bomb wasn’t in his car. It was in yours. The bomb was meant for you.”

Shawna gasped, feeling as though she’d been punched. Of course it had been her car. She hadn’t been using it since she’d started working for Xavier. He always insisted that she use his car and driver. So when Emery’s vehicle hadn’t started that morning, she’d suggested he use hers. She’d urged him to take it and keep it.

The little SUV had just been sitting in the garage for weeks. She’d teased him about letting the newer vehicle sit while he continued to drive his clunker. But because theirs had never been a real marriage, Emery had always been hesitant about using anything of hers. He had been hesitant that morning, too.

If only she hadn’t pushed him. She should have had him use Xavier’s car and driver instead. But then she and Maisy might have gotten into hers.

She didn’t care about her own life. But Maisy was just a child. She had her entire life ahead of her.

The tears rushed over Shawna again, and she couldn’t fight them this time. Sobs racked her body, making her tremble. Then strong arms wound around her, drawing her against a hard, muscular body. And she began to tremble even harder as fear overwhelmed her.

Now she wasn’t just afraid for Maisy but she was also afraid for her heart. It was reacting to Cole’s closeness. It was pounding fast and furiously, and beneath her cheek, she could feel his heart pounding just as fast and furiously.

No. He could not be her bodyguard because no matter what promise he’d made their daughter, he would not be able to protect her.

Even if that bomb had been meant for her, like he’d claimed, he still posed the greater threat to her. She still reacted to him, just as she had when she’d loved him. And she could not fall for him again.

Loving him last time had nearly destroyed her. If she fell for him again, she was terrified she might not survive.

Xavier Bentler smiled as he softly slid the pocket door closed on the couple embracing inside the library. He didn’t want anyone to interrupt them. Not even their daughter. When Maisy had caught him standing in the hallway, he’d sent her off to the kitchen to get him some cookies. Fortunately Shawna hadn’t banned them from the house like she had his cigars.

He turned away from the door and slammed into what felt like a steel post. Cooper Payne steadied him with a strong hand on his shoulder.

“You’re playing a dangerous game,” the younger man warned him.

“What game?” Xavier asked, feigning innocence.

“My mother’s a wedding planner,” Cooper related. “I know a matchmaker when I see one.”

Xavier shrugged. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. My nurse is obviously in danger. She needs protection.” He had a bad feeling that she could be in danger because of him.

“And you could have hired any other security firm besides ours,” Cooper said. “You could have even hired one of my brother’s franchises of the Payne Protection Agency. But you chose mine. No.” He pointed toward the closed pocket doors. “You chose him .”

Unabashed, Xavier nodded in agreement. “Of course I did. He’s my grandson. I know he’s the best.”

And he also knew nobody would protect Shawna like Cole would. Xavier was pretty damn sure that was why the stubborn young fool had broken their engagement all those years ago. Cole had been trying to protect Shawna from the pain of losing him.

Damn fool. He’d just put her through that pain sooner.

His grandson’s boss studied him through narrowed blue eyes. The guy was shrewd. Xavier understood why he was friends with Cole.

“He’s good,” Cooper acknowledged. “All my guys—and my sister—are very good. They will do everything within their power to keep Shawna and her daughter safe.”

“Good,” Xavier said as he released a breath of relief. “That’s what I hired you to do.”

Cooper snorted. “We both know that’s not the only reason you hired us. You’re playing matchmaker. And that’s a dangerous game.”

“More dangerous than bombs?”

“When emotions are involved, things get messy,” Cooper warned. “People get distracted. Cole can’t afford to be distracted right now. You hiring him has put him in even more danger than she is—in even more danger than he was on our missions for the Marine Corps.”

Xavier tensed as fear replaced his earlier satisfaction. “How’s that?”

“Because Cole will give up his life for hers,” Cooper said.

“But you’re all here,” Xavier said. “You’ll all work together to keep her safe.”

“Her,” Cooper said. “But Cole’s going to be more worried about protecting her and that child than himself. He’s now in more danger than she is.”

Xavier hadn’t considered that. He’d known his grandson had defied odds before—in the Marines, even in his new role as bodyguard. But he hadn’t considered that the job he had hired him to do could be the one that would get him killed.

What the hell had he done?

His heart beating frantically, Cole hadn’t been this afraid...since the last time he’d held Shawna Rolfe in his arms. But she wasn’t Shawna Rolfe anymore. She was Shawna Little. She was another man’s wife.

But having her in his arms again felt so right, felt so natural. She fit just as perfectly as she always had even though she was so petite and he was tall. She was delicate, and he was tough. Actually they had never really fit at all.

He should have never proposed to her in the first place, not when he’d been leaving for the Marines. He’d been young and arrogant then and so convinced that he was invincible. After his father’s death, he should have known no one was, if his incredibly strong, independent father was not.

But it had taken a few deployments for him to understand how tentative his life was. And he hadn’t wanted to put her through yet another loss. Her parents’ deaths had nearly destroyed her.

But losing him hadn’t affected her at all. She’d moved on quickly. And really, he had tried to be happy that she’d had. That she had a husband with a good, safe job. Emery Little shouldn’t have died.

So Cole offered his condolences again with all sincerity. “I’m sorry.”

Shawna pulled back, tugging free of his arms. “Why?” she asked.