Lisa Phillips - Security Detail

Kayla shrugged. “Why should I answer that when you don’t want to answer my question?”

“No boyfriend? An admirer? Someone who asked you out but you turned them down?” It chafed to ask the question, but he had to know. Years ago a relationship with her would have been inappropriate and against protocol. Now it would put her in danger.

She pressed her lips together. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I am not interested in men who only want to talk about how wild I was. That’s not me anymore, but for some reason they only want to see if that girl’s still in there. Well, no more. I’d like to meet someone who doesn’t know who I am and isn’t going to judge me based on the past.”

“Kayla, everyone knows who you are.”

“Hence the reason why there’s no one in my life, past or present.” She shook her head. “I haven’t done anything.”

“That likely isn’t the case. You just don’t know what it is yet.”

“Why do you always have to be so literal? Not everything is cut-and-dried, Conner. If I knew who did this, then there wouldn’t be a problem.” Kayla pinned him with a look. Call him crazy, but he’d missed that look. She said, “You know who that was in the hall.”

“The less you know, the better, Kayla. Let me take care of this on my end, and I’ll do my best to keep you out of it.” He was going to have to leave now. Walk away from her. Again. “Tell the sheriff everything you know. Do everything he says you should do to stay safe. Including calling the Secret Service.”

It would be simpler if she got Secret Service help.

She tipped her head to one side, which usually spelled trouble. Or more paperwork. Which to a Secret Service agent was essentially the same thing. “And we’ve circled all the way back to my original question. Why. Are. You. Here?” She folded her arms. Also a bad sign. “Answer the question, Conner.”

Okay, so she was a really good lawyer. Kayla had won a few national debates in college. He hadn’t seen it but he believed it. He’d never found argumentative to be cute before, and he intended on enjoying it while he could. It would be over soon and he’d likely never see her again.

“I’m here to check on you. To make sure everything is okay.” Which it wasn’t, not now that he knew Andis Bamir wanted something from Kayla.

When she didn’t say anything, he sighed. “I heard your name come up in conversation, okay? The people who were talking about you are bad people, and I knew it couldn’t be good, so I came over to make sure you’re okay. I don’t know if they’re planning something, but the fact that you’ve hit their radar is never good.”

“Who are ‘they’?”

“Andis Bamir. And his men.”

Kayla’s mouth opened. No sound came out. She shook her head. “Andis... Okay. Right. The nastiest man in three counties is talking about me, and we don’t know why.”

We. That was nice. Conner would jump at the chance to team up with her, but it wasn’t possible. He checked his watch. The sheriff had better hurry. Though the delay gave him more time with Kayla.

She touched each finger in turn and paced her office. “Drug trafficking. Illegal arms sales. Counterfeit bills. Human—” She looked at him, and Conner nodded. “Of course he’s doing every awful thing a person can do that involves breaking the law. Except that no one can catch him in the act or find any evidence.”

“Because he spreads it around. Richmond. Washington. Norfolk. Everywhere is part of his ‘territory’ and he has a network of men all over the place.”

Kayla stared at him. “How do you know the intricacies of his operation?”

“I can’t tell you.”

He saw in her eyes that her brain puzzled out the problem. “Money. Secret Service.” Her mouth dropped open. “There was a rumor someone in town was printing counterfeit bills, but the sheriff couldn’t figure out where it originated. It was only hearsay.”

Conner waited.

“You’re investigating it. The newspaper article said you’d been fired.” Kayla lifted a finger to point at him, totally contrary to her upper-class upbringing. “You’re undercover.”

“I said I couldn’t tell you, but since my cover is now blown wide open, I guess it doesn’t hurt. I trust you to keep my secret, Kayla.”

“You’re working for Andis Bamir, trying to gather the evidence to put him away.”

Conner wanted to hug her. “I can neither confirm nor deny that.”

“Of course you can’t.” She started to pace back and forth. “It’s an incredibly delicate and dangerous situation to be in.” She wheeled around and stared at him. “Have you been undercover all this time, since the article?”

He nodded.

“That was years ago!”

“Assignments. More than one.”

“How close are you to finishing this?”

“I’m only missing the last piece of the puzzle. Then I can put this whole thing to bed.”

Andis Bamir’s counterfeit bills had stopped flowing. The operation had halted for some reason, which meant any chance at catching him in the act had disappeared. He’d been ready to call it quits when he heard Kayla’s name come up.

Kayla blew out a breath. “Conner, this is huge.”

“And I don’t want you getting caught in the middle of it. I don’t know what Andis wants with you. All I know is that it can’t be good. Tell the sheriff, and call your father. Get the Secret Service here to protect you. I don’t want you to take any risks.”

He could tell she didn’t like that, but he wasn’t going to give her the choice. Her safety was his top priority.

Conner took two steps toward her. “I don’t want you anywhere near Andis.”

Being here with her, knowing that Kayla knew the truth about the man he’d been pretending to be for months, Conner felt right for the first time since...he didn’t know when. Maybe since that night years ago when Kayla had been in trouble and he’d saved her from what that man had planned.

But Conner couldn’t be the person she’d known. Not here. No one could know that Conner. It was the nature of the job. Just the fact that Kayla knew the whole story made him feel like he was seeing the sun after a week of gray clouds.

“Wow.” The word was a low mutter as she processed everything she’d learned and the implications.

Conner looked up. There was so much in her eyes he didn’t know where to start. She cared about him; that was clear. He’d never met a more complicated woman, and he was about as straightforward as a man could be. It was probably good they’d never had the chance to be together. They’d likely have driven each other crazy.

He sighed. “I should le—”

The window smashed. A flaming bottle flew to the ground and burst open, spilling its contents across the floor.

Before the liquid could erupt into flames, Conner’s Secret Service training kicked in and he dove toward Kayla.

TWO

Kayla hit the ground. Conner landed beside her as breath burst from her lungs. Flames erupted across the room and Kayla screamed. Conner pushed up off the floor and then grabbed her. She wobbled on her feet for a second and had time to grab her phone but not her laptop bag before he pulled her toward the door.

They made it to the hall, but he headed for the back of the building. No one else was there except them, not anyone from the dentist’s office next to hers or the stores below. Thank You, Lord. There was no one else to get hurt, but there was also no one else who could call for help.

The men had come back, and now they were trying to kill them? What was going on?

Kayla raced after Conner. Halfway down the hall, another bottle came through the broken window at the far end. Conner shoved her to the wall and shielded her with his body. It was heroic, but it didn’t mean he actually cared about her. Secret Service agents weren’t paid for their feelings. They were paid to keep their charges from bodily harm. Still, she warmed at the care he was taking to make sure she wasn’t exposed—to be certain danger reached him first.