Jace shot him a warning look. “Hey, watch it. I don’t get mouthy. Kids get mouthy. She is mouthy and a brat. I said what needed to be said.”
“Are you sure it needed to be said, though?” Braxton shrugged under the weight of Jace’s glare. “I’m sorry, but I would’ve kept my thoughts to myself if only to avoid rocking the boat.”
“Then I guess you should be the one in charge of her detail, then.”
Braxton chuckled, shaking his head. “No, thank you. The die has been cast, and you’re the lucky idiot who gets to follow her around until this is done. There’s nothing I can do about that.”
“Oh, isn’t that convenient for you?”
Braxton grinned. “Yeah, isn’t it?” Jace couldn’t even find it in himself to be mad since he knew that would make him no better than the whiny little girl complaining to Daddy at that very moment.
“Still, you gotta admit it,” he continued with a knowing smirk. “She’s pretty hot.”
“Don’t even start,” Jace warned.
“What? Am I wrong?”
“You know better than to even start anything like that, especially in the house with the family.”
“All you have to do is admit what you’re thinking.”
Jace fixed him with yet another hard, unflinching stare. “What is it with you today? A lack of sleep? I don’t even recognize you right now. You’re never this unprofessional.”
“Maybe it is lack of sleep. I don’t know. Or maybe I’m just hard up. It’s been a while.” Braxton rubbed the back of his neck with a rueful grin. “All work and no play, I guess.”
“We’re all overworked right now, but the last thing I need is to start thinking of her as anything other than a client.” Meanwhile, Jace’s wolf had other ideas. He paced, sniffing the air, practically whimpering. This was an abrupt turn from the way he’d acted last night when it had taken all of Jace’s restraint to stay in that armchair by the window and not climb into bed with Kara and make her his.
Braxton got up, walking around the room and pretending to examine the appliances, deliberately avoiding eye contact. “I can hear him, you know. Just in case you’re wondering.”
Jace’s heart sank. There was no need to ask who his teammate was talking about.
He stared down into his coffee. “This is really unfamiliar territory, isn’t it?” He asked without raising his gaze. “I don’t know how to behave. I don’t know what to think.”
“You’re probably the first of all of us to go through something like this,” Braxton acknowledged. “Anyhow, it’s unfair. They did this to us but didn’t give us any kind of user manual—what to expect, how to manage challenges like this.”
“They weren’t exactly concerned with what was fair. They didn’t even expect us to survive.”
That was all they could say in public. For all Jace knew, somebody was listening at that very minute. While Sledge had swept the house for bugs the night before, there were ears everywhere. Guards such as the sort a senator would hire were trained to hear and see and process that which civilians might easily dismiss or not notice at all.
And it was a good thing they stopped talking too since Senator Collins entered the kitchen moments later. He looked disheveled, frazzled, exhausted.
“I’m sorry you had to hear that.” The embarrassment in the man’s voice hardened Jace’s dislike of that girl. Here he was, a father who was only trying to do his best, and his useless, worthless daughter insisted on making it harder for him and everybody around them.
Even if she was hot. Even if his wolf was hard-up enough to want her.
“Don’t worry about it,” Jace murmured. “I’m sorry I started us off on the wrong foot and that she has such a problem with me.”
“It isn’t you. It’s the notion of having a bodyguard at all. She’s never been sort of girl who enjoys being told what to do, where to be, how to behave.” He ran a distracted hand over the side of his face and sighed. “Needless to say, it’s been a challenge.”
“I’m not here to make life difficult for anyone—none of us are,” he added, gesturing to Braxton.
“You don’t need to tell me that,” William assured him. “I couldn’t be more genuinely grateful for your presence. Last night, when the picture arrived, it felt like the entire world was collapsing, especially when I couldn’t get a hold of Kara. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. Everything was over. Now, I no longer fear for her as desperately as I did, and that’s because of you. All of you. Thank you.”
He then looked down the hall. Kara had most likely stormed up to her room, and good riddance to her. Jace wondered if he could lock the door from the outside and keep her in there until this whole thing was over, but he knew his luck wasn’t that good.
“Whether or not she likes this is not my concern,” William concluded.
“Thank you for your faith in us,” Braxton offered with a smile. “If I may, sir, it’s common for someone in a position like your daughter to take that sort of attitude, especially considering how strong-willed she is by nature. She’s out of control in the situation. Not only does she feel threatened by some unseen, unknown outside force, but she has no say in how to navigate her life. She’s afraid.”
“And Kara has never dealt well with fear,” William admitted. “Trust me, aside from the fact that you all were here and I didn’t want to embarrass myself, only the thought of her fear was enough to keep me from throwing her over my knee and spanking her until she couldn’t sit down for the rest of the day.”
What an unfortunate choice of words. Maybe Braxton was right and it had been too long since he had a woman.
Now he wouldn’t be able to get the image of a squirming Kara out of his mind, held fast over his knee, forced to accept the spanking she so richly deserved.
This was going to be the longest, most painful mission ever.
Chapter Nine
“Let’s start with sun salutations.” The soothing, gentle voice of the yoga instructor filled the room, along with the soft sound of what Kara assumed was supposed to be calming music which played on the teacher’s phone, positioned at the front of the room.
She went through the motions. This was hardly her first yoga class. With all the hours she’d spent in the studio, there were times when she thought she might be able to teach a class herself. Yoga was probably the only thing in life that allowed her to enjoy a quiet mind for a minute or two. No thoughts, no worries, no anger, not even a lingering sense of loss, no rage at the thought of being deliberately misunderstood and painted as a lunatic for feeling what she felt and knowing what she knew.
It was the only time she ever felt peace.
Today, that was not the case. Not when a certain bulging, obnoxious, smug jackass sat in the far corner of the room, watching everything that went on.
Everybody knew he was with her. A few of them didn’t even bother to hide their curiosity—or their interest in this hot stranger.
As far she was concerned, they could have him. If there was even a chance of getting rid of him, giving him the slip, she would’ve already done it.
One thing, he’d insisted on driving her there. Granted, she could’ve gotten an Uber if she wanted, but that was easily traceable. She wouldn’t have put it past him or one of her father’s personnel to do just that. It wasn’t worth the hassle.
Two, it would only make things worse at home. She felt bad enough when she remembered the tears that had shone in her father’s eyes that morning as they argued over Jace’s presence. Again, she couldn’t help but remember the only other time she’d seen him cry before this whole nightmare started.
The memory made her chest tighten, and she fumbled a little as she went into cobra pose.
“Kara, your focus is all over the place.” The instructor’s voice was gentle but firm. “Bring yourself back to the present moment. Everyone, I would advise you to do the same.”
Right. Jace was ruining everybody’s concentration. She should’ve known there would be no going about h
er day with him around.
No matter how many times she told herself to listen to her teacher, it was no use. Her body felt awkward, clumsy, like she had only just inherited it that morning and had no idea how to use it, like she hadn’t spent years in the yoga studio once she’d quit dancing.
Once that decision had been made for her, rather. She hadn’t quit. She never would’ve quit.
Would the arrogant, holier-than-thou Jace have understood if she told him that? Would he maybe respect her little more if he knew the one thing she’d ever wanted to do with her life had been taken away from her, and she hadn’t been given any sort of choice in the matter?
No, because that wasn’t important enough. That didn’t involve being a hero or saving the world or whatever. Forget the fact that dancing professionally took a ton of dedication, sacrifice, devotion. That would never matter to somebody like him. If she wasn’t risking her life or adding some deep meaning to the world, it didn’t mean anything.
She closed her eyes, forcing these thoughts away. It normally wasn’t so hard for her to clear her mind, but this was hardly a normal situation.
The fact that she was thinking of him the way he thought of her didn’t escape her for a minute. She was assuming things, judging him based on the way he had judged her. Maybe he would’ve respected her if she was a dancer, devoted to her craft, dedicating hours and hours every day to training, practice, restricting everything else in her life—food, drinks, hours spent with her friends, resting.
A quick glance his way from the corner of her eye unnerved her worse than ever. The way he stared at her. The intensity. He barely even blinked.
What was with him?
Now she wished she hadn’t made such a big deal about not wanting him for personal security because he was starting to creep her out. If she went to anybody with this complaint now, after acting like a baby earlier—even she could admit she’d been a baby about it—it would only sound like more of the same. Nobody would take her seriously after what she had already pulled.
She fumbled her way through another series of poses before deciding to give it up and going into child’s pose for the rest of the session. It was either that or fall over and cause a domino effect, knocking everybody else down one by one.
He would find it funny, wouldn’t he? He’d laugh himself sick and probably wouldn’t bother trying to hide it.
It was a relief when the class was over. She got up, rolled up her mat, avoided eye contact. Even when the instructor tried to catch her eye and say something, she pretended not to notice.
Jace followed close behind while she opened the door. “So that was yoga.”
She snickered, not bothering to turn and look at him as they stepped onto the sidewalk. “You’re kidding. You’d never seen anybody do yoga before now?”
“It’s not exactly in my wheelhouse.”
“Along with basic decency.”
“I haven’t been anything but decent to you.” He unlocked the doors on the black truck parked down the block from the studio.
“You sure about that?”
“What are you trying to say?”
She rolled her eyes after climbing into the passenger seat. “You were openly nasty to me last night. Sorry if I don’t feel like being nice now. I’m not the sort of person who wastes time being two-faced.”
“It’s not two-faced to have manners.”
“I don’t feel like being nice to you when I know what you think of me and that you didn’t even bother hiding it.”
He grunted like an animal. Again, she wished she hadn’t overplayed her hand earlier. Now, he was really starting to worry her.
“That was on me. I admit it.” He glanced her way. “I’m sorry. I won’t let it happen again.”
“It’s a little late now.”
“Can you be gracious for once?” he barked. “I mean, would it hurt you to just accept an apology and move on? Do you have to twist the knife every time?”
She stared out the window, deliberately keeping her face turned away from him. The thing was he had a point. She didn’t like herself very much just then.
“I can’t help it,” she muttered. “I wish I could.”
He sighed. “I know you’re scared. I’d be scared if I were in your position too.”
She surprised herself by laughing. “I swear to God I wish I understood myself.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean my impulse was to tell you I wasn’t scared, which would’ve been a flat-out lie. I am. I can admit that much.”
“Hey. So long as you don’t take a lot of unnecessary chances, you can snap at me all you want. My job isn’t to make you like me. It’s to keep you alive.”
“I get it. I get it.” Only that was an issue too, but she wouldn’t admit that out loud. No way.
No way was she about to admit how it got to her, the fact that he didn’t care what she thought. How she felt about him or his presence. She’d never been a people pleaser, not ever, but she was used to people wanting her to like them.
What did that say about her?
“Is this the place?” He nodded out the windshield toward the café where Mel and Bailey were already seated at a sidewalk table.
Crap.
“Yeah, it is,” she allowed. “I hope you’re in the mood for mimosas and eggs benedict.”
“Uh, no. I can’t say I’ve ever had either.”
“You’re in for a treat.”
“Do we really have to do this?” he asked. “Is there any way I can persuade you to skip brunch today?”
“Jace—”
“I know. You don’t want to interrupt your normal life. I get it.” He pulled into an empty spot in the parking lot next to the restaurant and cut the engine but didn’t make a move toward the door locks.
“So?” she asked. “If you understand, why are we having this conversation? I don’t want to change my life because of these maniacs, whoever they are. They win that way.”
“They also win when you expose yourself to them. Sitting out on the sidewalk, sipping your mimosa, they could drive by at any time and take a shot at you.”
“Isn’t that what you’re here for?”
“Yeah, but don’t get any ideas. I’d throw myself in front of a bullet for you, but I might not be able to make it to you fast enough.”
He’d jump in front of a bullet for her.
Interesting.
“I’ll keep it short. Okay? Listen,” she pressed when he groaned. “They’ll think something’s up if I don’t go. I don’t wanna tell them what’s going on for obvious reasons. This isn’t the sort of thing that needs to come up in conversation.”
He made a thoughtful noise. “Are you used to keeping things from your friends?”
“What about it?”
“I’ll take that as a yes. Your shoulders are up around your ears.”
“Maybe I like them there.” She tugged the door handle a few times. “Come on. We can shrink me later. I just want to have brunch with my friends like a normal person. That’s it.”
It was a stand-off. She wouldn’t look at him, couldn’t look at him. If she did, she might end up doing something stupid, embarrassing, like crying. The way she almost did when she saw that picture.
When the lock clicked, there was no denying the flash of relief and the sense that she’d won a battle.
“I’ll be sitting behind you,” he announced as they climbed out of the truck. “And don’t even try to convince me to put any more space between us. It’s not gonna happen.”
“That’s fine.” It wasn’t, but she knew better than to fight too hard. Certain battles weren’t worth fighting.
Besides, it might be fun this way. Yes, let him get a sense of what it meant to invade her personal space. Let him know how it felt to be uncomfortable.
Chapter Ten
Not exactly the way Jace would ever imagine spending his late morning: sitting behind a trio of girls, twiddling his thumbs, listening to the most b
oring conversation he’d ever heard in his life.
If he made it out of there with the same IQ he’d had before, it would be no small miracle.
“I told him, like, no way.” The redhead giggled, rolling her eyes more dramatically than she needed to. “I don’t even do that when I’m in a committed relationship, much less for somebody I haven’t known three days.”
“Unless there’s a trip to Maui involved,” the brunette laughed.
Only it wasn’t the redhead she was talking to. She looked at Kara. “Right?”
Right? He realized he was holding his breath as he waited for Kara to answer. Would she shut her friend up? Give her a look? Lie and say it wasn’t true?
Come on, Kara, he thought, while his wolf waited with ears tuned into the sound of Kara’s breathing. What would it be? The truth? Or a lie?
Kara lifted her shoulders. She sat with her back to him, so he couldn’t see the look on her face, but her body language spoke volumes nonetheless. “Yeah, well, we took his jet and stayed in his parents’ beach house. It was worth it.”
The girls dissolved into giggles that reminded Jace more of nails running down a blackboard than anything else. Was this seriously the way they talked? And the sort of thing they talked about?
And what was his problem? When did he turn into a prude? Nothing they’d said so far was anything close to what he and the guys had talked about in the past. If anything, it was practically G-rated compared to the banter that used to take place in Jace’s unit.
“He was the one with the big dick, right?” the redhead asked, leaning in. She didn’t even bother lowering her voice, like everybody walking past on the quaint, tree-lined sidewalk wanted to hear this sort of thing.
Again, he expected Kara to signal for silence. Instead, she held her hands up roughly a foot apart, which led to another fresh burst of laughter. “Like I said,” she laughed, “it was worth it.”
“You always meet all the good guys,” the brunette pouted.
“It helps when they have political plans and they think your daddy will get them a job,” the redhead winked before raising what was probably her third or even fourth mimosa to her glossy lips.
Wolf Shield Investigations: Boxset Page 7