Ann Peterson - Secret Protector

Natalie shook her head and directed her attention to the busy intersection ahead. The chrome exterior of the Kendall building rose over the surrounding cityscape, nearly blinding in the bright sun. Only one more block and her lunch with Gray would be over. There must be something wrong with her. A riveting man by her side dishing out compliments, and all she could focus on was paranoia and some woman’s bad fashion choices.

They reached the end of the block and stopped at the crosswalk.

“What is it?” Gray glanced around.

She shook her head. “It’s nothing.”

He gave her a relaxed smile, scanning the cityscape. “You sure?”

His muscles were tense, alert, but Natalie sensed a strange calm coming from him that belied her jumpy nerves. “Yeah, I’m sure. I’m just being paranoid.”

“In light of what happened to you last night, I don’t think you can call it paranoia.”

“That’s nice of you to say.”

“I mean it. You feel scared, whether you think it’s real or not, you just let me know. Okay? I’m here for you.”

A flutter lodged under her rib cage. He really was too good to be true. Something she’d have to keep in mind. She gave him a smile. “Thanks.”

“Being here for you is not a problem. Trust me.” He looked straight into her eyes.

A flush of heat started to pool in her cheeks. The mix of brown and green of his irises mesmerized her. The sincerity in his expression made her ache to step into his arms. She looked at the cars streaming past, not wanting him to see her melt. The curb under her toes felt like a cliff, one step and she’d be head over heels. And despite the fact that she didn’t know Gray well, despite Jolie’s warnings, despite all the disappointments she’d weathered in the past, Natalie was tempted to look back into his eyes and let herself fall.

Something hit her hard in the back and shoved her forward, into the street. She hit the pavement hard, the force jarring her knees and shuddering up through the heels of her hands.

All around her tires screeched and cars swerved.

Gray didn’t think, he didn’t breathe, he just moved. He dashed into the street. Reaching Natalie, he grabbed her by the waist and lifted.

Drivers hit the brakes. Cars and trucks swerved as if skating on ice.

Gray backpedaled, half pulling, half carrying Natalie with him. His heel hit the curb and he fell backward onto the sidewalk. He hit the concrete on his back, rounding his spine and rolling up to his shoulders to absorb the impact and prevent his skull from hitting the hard surface. Natalie landed on his stomach, knocking the breath from his lungs.

For a second, he just held her, just struggled to breathe. He couldn’t begin to process what had happened. One second they were talking, the next Natalie was flying into the street, traffic bearing down.

“Oh … oh …”

He could feel the sounds she made more than he could hear them. He loosened his grip and struggled to a sit. “Are you all right?”

Her skin was pale, her green eyes wide with shock. She stared at him, mouth open, but no words came.

“Natalie?”

“You saved me.”

“It’s my job.”

“What?”

He shook his head. He needed to think before he talked. After following her for weeks, he hadn’t really believed she was in danger. He’d allowed himself to grow complacent, paying more attention to how Natalie looked and what she was wearing than his surroundings. He was lucky he’d been walking so close beside her. If he’d still been merely watching her from a distance, she’d now be lying battered and bloody on the pavement. “I said I’d watch out for you. I meant it.”

She let out a little puff of air.

Lips parted like that, adrenaline blasting through his body, he had a nearly overwhelming urge to kiss her.

Talk about inappropriate. “Let’s get you off the street.”

She looked around her, as if just remembering where she was, what had just happened. “She pushed me.”

“Pushed you?” That would explain a lot. He looked around. An older couple strolled arm in arm about a half block away. Three executive types argued with waving arms as they stepped out of a nearby restaurant. A handful of pedestrians were scattered on the opposite side of the street. No one was anywhere near them, certainly not close enough to give Natalie a shove. “Who did it?”

“A woman. She was following right behind us. It had to be her.”

“A light blue sweatshirt?”

Natalie nodded. “I saw her reflection in the store window.”

“Did you recognize her?”

“I didn’t see her face. Only the baggy sweatshirt. I didn’t really get much of a look at her at all.”

“Me, either.” Some bodyguard he was. All these weeks of no activity had lulled him. He’d been so distracted by Natalie’s laugh, by flirting with her, by his own damn fantasies that he hadn’t paid blue-sweatshirt woman much attention at all. It had been his job to notice any threats to Natalie, and she’d gotten as good a look as he had.

His arms were still around Natalie, and he could feel her body begin to shake.

“Come on.” He could beat himself up for his self-centeredness later. Right now, he wanted Natalie behind friendly walls. Preferably concrete ones.

Hurrying beside him, Natalie fished in her bag and pulled out her BlackBerry. “I’ll call Ash.”

“What are you going to tell him?”

“I don’t know. She could walk up to me right now, and I wouldn’t recognize her.” She started to move the handheld back toward her purse.

“No, make the call. Please. Even if we can’t tell him what she looked like, he needs to know what’s going on.” Gray would also have to fill Devin in on the situation. He doubted either brother would be surprised at the attack. They’d been worried about it, bracing for it. It had been him who was caught flat-footed.

Natalie finished leaving a message on Ash’s voice mail by the time they reached the front entrance of Kendall Communications and ducked inside. A little late for lunch hour, the building felt still. The airy atrium smelled of delicious food and floor wax. Only a few diners remained in the café, probably shoppers enjoying a quiet afternoon in the public restaurant. He glanced up at the twenty-foot trees overhead. The place felt like a quiet garden cove, not the busy building it was, most employees in their offices organizing for their afternoon schedules, he supposed. They made it through the lobby and to the elevator bank. Almost the moment they arrived, a door opened.

The elevator car was empty. At least that worked out in their favor. He preferred alone, especially since he didn’t know where any danger might be coming from. He ushered her inside and took what seemed like his first deep breath since he’d seen her flying into the street.

Soft music drifted in the air. Natalie hit the button that would take them to her sixteenth-floor office and looked up at him. Her face was still pale, but she had pulled herself together remarkably well for a civilian untrained in dealing with life-and-death stress. “It’s amazing how you handled that.”

“Amazing? Not really.” She held out her scraped palms. Her fingers trembled visibly.

He reached out his own hands and gently folded hers in his. “I’m sorry I didn’t notice that woman. I should have.”

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