C.J. Miller - Escorted By The Ranger

“A car company,” Jack said.

Marissa rolled her eyes. He was giving her the party line, but she had time to work on him. “I’ll call her. Is there someone you need to call?”

They had spent time together and she knew little about him. Usually, she built better rapport with the people in her life.

“No one,” Jack said.

“Wife? Girlfriend?” Marissa asked, thinking of Clarice’s questions.

“No one,” Jack repeated. “I’ll have someone pick up your belongings at the hotel.”

Where would they spend the night? He was being evasive. “I need to be in New York tomorrow. It’s Avery’s memorial service.” She couldn’t miss it, although she was dreading it. She’d need to say goodbye and she wasn’t ready to do that. Part of her was harboring denial.

“I’ll get you there,” Jack said.

Marissa bumped him with her hip. It was like moving against iron. “When you want to be amenable, you’re a good guy.”

Jack glanced at her, meeting her gaze. “You don’t know anything about me.”

His stare was intense and she felt it all the way through her. Her stomach tightened and warmth curled through her. “Are you saying you are not a good guy? ’Cause I’m pretty sure my sister wouldn’t let a psychopath watch my back.”

The jewelry guards were closing and locking the pieces of jewelry into containers, snap, click and lock. The waves beat against the sand and the hum of the heaters was low. Marissa was in her own space with Jack.

“I know how to do my job. That’s all you need to be concerned about.”

His tone was brusque. Marissa liked him, which fit a pattern with her. Her ex-husbands had been difficult people. The challenges of complex people intrigued her. Michael had been a musician and his volatile emotions brought intensity to their relationship. She had needed someone more calm and stable. Elliott had been sweet, but he had been possessive. Though his absolute attention and focus on her had made her feel cherished, he’d hated sharing her with the world and given her job, privacy had been in short supply. Marissa wished she could fall for a simple, even-tempered man.

Though Jack seemed in control of his emotions, she sensed a fire in him. Marissa went for broke. “Have I done something to offend you?” If they were going to be spending time together, better to clear the air.

“No.”

It was hard to continue the discussion from a single word. “Then why are you being so abrupt?”

“I don’t follow,” Jack said. “You hired me to do a job. I’ve done that job. Twice.”

He had performed well at his job. Most of the people she worked with, Marissa became close to over time. Jack wasn’t having it. “Do I irritate you?” Marissa asked.

“You’re a client,” Jack said.

“That’s not an answer,” Marissa said.

“It is. I don’t have feelings of any type for clients.”

Marissa’s heart fell and her emotional response told her she had developed a crush on him. Losing her head to someone she had known briefly under difficult circumstances was her specialty. Unlike her past relationships, Jack was bent on freezing her out.

* * *

Jack had protected dozens of people over the course of his career and Marissa was one of the most kind and considerate. She didn’t keep distance between herself and who she worked with. She made millions of dollars having her picture taken. Under the traumatic circumstances, she had handled the shoot in New Hampshire well. No complaining about the weather or that she was wearing next to nothing or that she had almost been killed the night before.

That little bikini she’d worn would haunt him for the rest of his life. He hadn’t seen a woman wear a few scraps of fabric so well. Jewelry held little interest for him, but the way she wore it made it entirely too appealing.

Marissa was nothing like Lacy. It had been seven years since Lacy had broken his heart and taken off for Los Angeles, hoping to score a job as an actress. The last he had heard, she was working as an assistant in a recording studio. Jack resented that she had thrown away their relationship for a chance to be an actress. She hadn’t studied acting. Hadn’t been in a play. Hadn’t tried out for anything. Moving to Los Angeles and being the lead in a successful television series was the dream. Beautiful, and a head-turner in Springfield, couldn’t compete with the thousands of beautiful, talented women already looking for those roles.

“You seem upset. Are you upset?” Marissa asked.

Jack kept boundaries with clients and she pressed them by asking too many questions.

“Someone attacked you. I’m concerned about who else might figure out where your next job is and try again,” Jack said.

“Have you worked with other models?” Marissa asked.

She was digging around about his life and he wished she was more narcissistic. Droning on about herself would be easier. Didn’t most people busy themselves playing games on their phones or texting friends or checking social media updates? Marissa rarely touched her phone. “You are the first model.”

“How’s that been so far?” Marissa asked.

“All that matters is that you’re alive and unharmed,” Jack said.

“Thank you, that is so nice,” Marissa said with a genuine smile.

He wasn’t aiming to be nice, only honest.

Marissa played with the hem of her shirt. “There will be a lot of people at Avery’s service. What if one of them is her killer?”

“It’s possible. But you’ll be safe. You have me.”

“Have you? I didn’t realize you were mine.” She winked at him and laughed.

Flirtation must come easily to her. Men probably fell at her feet. “I’m only yours until this is over.”

Marissa frowned. “Won’t be the first time a man walks away from me.”

That gave him pause. “I would think you’d have no trouble finding relationships.”

She smirked. “Finding them isn’t the problem. Making them work is hard. I have terrible luck picking men.”

He had read she’d been married before. It had gone through his mind that she must be flighty. Unless her ex-husbands had something to do with Avery’s murder, it wasn’t his concern what had happened. “Your sister picked me to help you, so maybe this will work out okay.”

* * *

Avery’s memorial service loomed and weighed on Marissa. For now, sleeping soundly wasn’t possible. Her agent had offered to contact her doctor for a prescription for sleeping pills. Not wanting for her thoughts to be cloudy, she’d declined. After showering, she dressed in a black high-neck sheath dress that fell below her knees.

She slicked her hair into a low bun, twisting her hair and pining it into place. Her makeup was simple and light. The musical jewelry box on her dresser pinged and Marissa’s chest felt tight. Avery had given her the box for Christmas the year before. Marissa hadn’t put jewelry in it and she had considered tossing it after Avery’s betrayal. But it played one of Marissa’s favorite songs and she had felt sentimental about the gift.

Marissa finished getting dressed, selected her handbag, shoes, a pashmina and a simple necklace. After checking her appearance, she decided she was ready.

She sucked in her breath at the sight of Jack waiting by the front door. He was wearing a black suit, white shirt and appropriately demure tie. He had shaved and his hair was combed and fell to the tops of his ears.

“The rest of your security team went ahead. The funeral home has been swept and security is tight. We’ll stay vigilant,” Jack said.

He offered his arm and she took it, slipping her hand around his elbow and exiting the house with him. The warmth of holding on to him and the security of knowing he was protecting her were a comfort. He smelled of sandalwood, the light fragrance of his aftershave.