For Her Protection

by Lauren Giordano

  “What about justice?”

  “Don’t lecture me about principles, Luke. I don’t have time for justice.” She caught the interested glances from across the room and lowered her voice. “I’ve got three children to raise. If I can manage to do that, if I can overcome the disruption to their lives—” She swallowed hard around the lump of anguish clogging her throat. “If by some miracle, I can provide stability and try to erase the horror they’ve lived through, then justice will be served.”

  “So, you don’t care if her killer goes free?” His laser-beam eyes narrowed in disbelief.

  “You really do believe I’m completely stupid, don’t you?” She clamped her lips together to keep them from trembling. He was the most arrogant, insufferable man she had ever met.

  “Do you think I flew over here and buried her in the backyard?” She shook her head in disgust. “The police were involved, Luke. There was an autopsy. I’m sure all the details are buried on some bureaucrat’s desk somewhere. If you’re so bloody fascinated, you can check it out yourself once you’re rid of us. Then you can send me a copy of your report.”

  She sank down onto the edge of the bed and bit her lip to keep from crying. Why was he doing this? Why did he persist in upsetting her?

  “Jill, perhaps we got off on the wrong foot. I was trying to help, that’s all. I figured I could check into it for you and get some details. I didn’t mean to hurt you by bringing it up.”

  “Don’t bother. I really don’t need to know.” The mattress sank when he sat beside her and she winced at the incredible sensation caused by his thigh touching hers. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

  “Do you have any of her personal effects? Any notes?”

  She shook her head. He simply didn’t know when to quit. “Just the three suitcases. The children didn’t have much.”

  “That’s it? You’re sure?”

  Still unable to look at him, she shivered at the gruff persistence in his voice. He never gave up. The knowledge made her want to weep. Why couldn’t he want her like that? Like she was a war worth winning? He wanted answers. He wanted convictions. He wanted justice. And in the end, he’d probably die fighting for them.

  “Look, I said some things earlier that I probably shouldn’t have.”

  “If that’s your version of an apology, it’s rather pitiful.” Jillian felt his hand clamp around her arm and pull her up from the bed and into the far corner of the room.

  “Unhand me this instant. You’re embarrassing me in front of your friends.” Her face heated with anger. How dare he? The room was full of agents. The children were shrieking in the next room. Sarah was fussing. It was bloody chaos.

  “I don’t give a rat’s as— I mean, I don’t give a damn.” He shook his head in exasperation. “You know what I mean.”

  “Yes. I can see the bar-of-soap trick is working splendidly. Why, you’re truly a changed man.”

  “You’re driving me insane. Do you know that?” He released her arm and took a step back. “I’m sorry. Okay? I was angry and I said things I didn’t mean. You reacted to the television report just as you should have. The bottom line is you were protecting your kids and that was the right thing to do.”

  “Then why didn’t you at least try to see it from my perspective?”

  “How about seeing this from my point of view? I left you alone to retrieve a freaking diaper bag of all things.” He dragged his fingers through his hair, looking as though he wanted to pull it out. “I was a sitting duck out there. If there’d been a sniper in the woods, we’d all be dead. I didn’t have time for hysterics—not that you were acting hysterical,” he quickly amended.

  She folded her arms across her chest. “I see.”

  “I was pissed, all right?” He grimaced and lowered his voice. Luke was clearly a man who was unaccustomed to explaining himself and least of all to a female. “I thought you trusted me,” he said. “So, I apologize. Okay? For hurting your feelings.”

  She swallowed hard, her heart suddenly thumping far too fast for its own good. Lord, he was absolutely devastating when he stared at her like that. She could almost pretend that the worry reflected in his eyes was concern for her and that maybe he liked her just a bit. Maybe he really was sorry.

  “Look, you need to get over this. I don’t want it to affect us.”

  “Us?” Her pulse leaped foolishly into a gallop. He did care. She knew it!

  “I don’t want to blow this op. When I give an order, you’ve got to do it without hesitation. Without question. Are we clear on this?”

  He didn’t care a whit for her. It was simply another ploy to gain her cooperation. Luke Gianetti had to be the greatest undercover operative the DEA had ever known, because he was the best liar she’d ever met. And she was the most pathetic woman on the planet.

  “Apology accepted. You have my word I will belt up for the sake of your mission. Now, get away from me.”

  His eyes widened in confusion. “Now what have I done?”

  She glanced beyond his shoulder and pasted on a smile. The agent named Josephson was standing directly behind him. “Yes, Charles? Did you need me?”

  Luke’s body stiffened and she had confirmation that he was annoyed. He was probably just put out because he’d been interrupted before he’d accomplished his goal. He was just annoyed that she wouldn’t fall into step with his plans.

  “What d’ya need, Chuck?”

  “The baby’s starting to fuss and I figured Jilly would want to know.”

  Luke refused to take his gaze from her. She felt his stare, felt him try to intimidate her with those beautiful eyes and decided the best course of action would be to ignore him. It would do no good to let Agent Gianetti gain the upper hand. That was abundantly clear now. Thank God she hadn’t slept with him. It was bad enough she’d fancied herself falling in love with him.

  “I’m not through with her yet,” he insisted, his voice annoyingly determined. “Miss Moseby will be there in a minute.”

  He wasn’t through with her? Well, she would just see about that. She moved around him, intent on showing him that she could bloody well speak for herself, thank you very much. “Nonsense, Charles, I’ll come with—”

  Luke grabbed her and yanked her back against him. “I said not yet,” he muttered as his lips came down to cover hers.

  She opened her mouth to protest and knew an instant later that it had been a colossal mistake. His mouth devoured hers. He used her lapse in judgment to his advantage and thrust his tongue in her mouth. Although her brain told her to fight the indignity, her body simply refused to cooperate. Oh, he tasted so good, his mouth so warm and insistent. She felt the blood drain out of her body, felt her bones dissolve to dust while he continued to kiss her senseless.

  When he finally thrust her away from him, she staggered and had to grab one of his arms for support. She only had a moment to glimpse the molten heat in his eyes before he quickly shuttered his expression. He even managed to smile, although it wasn’t a magnetic Luke Gianetti smile. It was a tight, frustrated, I-shouldn’t-have-done-that smile. It was a put-her-in-her-place smile.

  “Now you can go,” he drawled.

  She slapped his arm away, mortified when his smile deepened. The old arrogant, self-assured Luke was back, damn him. When her brain slowly began to function again, she discovered Agent Josephson had backed away, a rueful smile on his face. How would she face him? How would she face any of them? Her gaze flew to the window where the buzz of activity had all but stopped for their sideshow. Why he’d practically branded her as his property in front of everyone. Every last one of them was staring. And grinning.

  She whirled on Luke. “Don’t you ever touch me again, do you understand?”

  He chuckled as she shoved past him. “Yeah. Right.”

  She’d only turned her back on him for a moment before she heard the most godawful noise from outside. It sounded like an explosion. Before she could turn to question Luke, she was bodyslammed from
behind and sent crashing to the floor on the far side of the bed.

  The scent of dust filled her nose as Luke threw himself down on top of her and pushed her face into the carpet. “Where are the boys?” she asked.

  “Murphy’s got ’em. Keep your head down,” he ordered. “Don’t move a muscle until I tell you to.”

  “What was that?” Her body frozen in fear, she could only listen to the commotion taking place near the door to their room. Petrie had moved swiftly to the door and launched himself out into the dark. She heard his footsteps clatter down the outside corridor, each step reverberating like gunshots as he took the stairs two at a time. Terrified, she wondered how an agent could manage to sneak up on anyone, being that noisy.

  “Sounded like a rifle shot. Close range,” he muttered in her ear. “I’m gonna have to go see what’s happening.” He slithered down her body, keeping his own close to the floor. “No matter what happens, don’t freakin’ move,” he ordered. “Do you hear me, Jill? I mean it. Don’t move an inch until I get back.”

  “Luke, please don’t go,” she pleaded.

  “Promise, dammit.”

  “I swear. I swear I won’t move.” She wished desperately that she could turn, wished she could see his face, but she’d just given him her word that she wouldn’t budge. “For God’s sake, be careful.”

  Chapter 8

  “A false alarm? A bloody false alarm?” A quarter hour later, Jillian sank onto the edge of the bed, her legs still trembling too badly to hold her weight.

  “Yo, Jill, you okay?” Luke frowned as he crossed the room to check on her.

  “I can’t take this anymore, Luke. This is sheer madness.” Despite her efforts to contain them, her eyes welled with tears.

  “Hey, it’s nothing, okay? A car backfired in the parking lot and the overhang on the motel made it echo like a shotgun.” He sat beside her and patted her hand. “Look, we’re all a little jumpy, but everything’s going to be okay. Everything’s back to normal.” He shrugged his shoulders. “At least our plan worked.”

  “What plan?”

  “If it had been real,” he clarified. “If it had been a real shooter, everyone did exactly as they were supposed to do.”

  “If that’s supposed to be comforting, it’s not working.”

  Ignoring her sarcasm, he rose from the bed to give James a quick hug. “You guys did a great job.”

  Rather than terrified, the boys had been thrilled. It wasn’t a life or death situation, it was like something out of a movie starring Luke Gianetti as the hero. As Luke had dived across the beds to send Jilly crashing to the floor, Murphy had done the same to Samuel and James. Josephson had covered the door. The boys had been practicing all evening and on Murphy’s signal, they had eagerly slipped under the beds in the spare room, a heavily armed Josephson guarding all of them.

  Sarah, bless her little heart, had slept through the whole episode in her portable crib that had been wedged deep inside the closet, all but hidden by the hanging clothes. Jillian shook her head and gazed down at Sarah who was finally awake. She picked up the baby and bounced her on her lap to Sarah’s delight. Still reeling from the close call they’d averted, Jillian couldn’t seem to shake her fear. Her head spinning, she wondered what would be left of the old Jillian when this mess was finally resolved. Already she felt changed. So far away from home—so far away from everything she’d known. Why, if all went well, in ten days she’d be working at a new job in a state hundreds of miles to the north in a town she hadn’t ever seen. Living with her new children in a home she hadn’t yet found.

  And where would Luke be next week, or next month? She’d ignored him for the better part of the afternoon, unsure if she should be angry with him or with herself for being such a fool. Now it had gone dark and she was no closer to an answer. For his part Luke seemed as unaffected by the near death encounter as he had been moments earlier, when he’d kissed her senseless, she recalled with a frown, then set her on her feet and walked away.

  She didn’t want to feel anything for him. In a matter of days, hours, even, he’d be gone from their lives. And she’d never set eyes on him again. She could not fall for him, with his cocky attitude and his sexy good looks. She couldn’t allow herself to care that he was so bloody wonderful with the boys, nor admire the fact that he handled Sarah like a professional father. She couldn’t afford to forget how dangerous his life was, how often he’d been shot. How he seemed to thrive on the challenge of outwitting people who would kill him just as easily as drawing a breath. And how he deliberately held himself back, always keeping a certain distance from everyone around him.

  Biting her lip, she allowed herself a moment of pity as she cautiously glanced across the room. Agent Josephson, a set of headphones covering his ears, was playing with the buttons on a console that looked like a stereo. Petrie was at the window, his body alert, his eyes continually scanning the night for signs of activity.

  Everything had, indeed, returned to normal, if one could call a motel room crammed with federal agents “normal.” Luke, as usual, was oblivious to her. Deep in conversation with the man named Murphy, he probably wouldn’t have noticed if she’d set herself on fire.

  She knew nothing about Luke Gianetti. Nothing, except that he wanted no part of a relationship. More specifically, he wanted no part of a relationship with her. He didn’t want a family. He didn’t want ties. He didn’t want commitments. Her heart sank a little further into her stomach. Despite knowing all that, it was still too late.

  She loved him, dammit.

  How she had allowed it to happen so fast was absolutely beyond her.

  “Hey, Jill.”

  The object of her misplaced affection dropped to a squat on the carpet in front of her, bringing himself to her eye level. “Yes, Luke?”

  “Petrie and I are gonna run out for a few supplies. Since it looks like Sloan is gonna be a no-show, we need to get food and stuff. In any case, it’s nearly time for another security check.” He glanced down at Sarah and his gorgeous face creased with a soft, secret smile that had Jilly’s heart pounding in reaction.

  “Hey, beautiful. How are you?” Sarah turned toward his husky crooning voice and smiled in response. It took all the strength Jillian had not to cry. He was so tenderhearted. Under that gruff, surly exterior, Luke Gianetti was soft as butter. At least when it came to children.

  “You need anything special?”

  Her thoughts scattered abruptly as the blast force of his attention was turned on her. “I—I don’t think so.”

  “Diapers? Wipes? Formula?” He ticked them off like a pro.

  “Yes, of course.” She swallowed hard and forced herself to concentrate. “I need all those things.”

  “Anything for the boys?’

  “No—yes.” Exasperated, she raised her gaze to meet his curious expression. “I don’t know. Ask them.”

  “You okay?” His beautiful eyes flashed concern.

  She steeled her resolve not to weep at his feet. “I—I’m fine. Just a little overwhelmed. D-don’t let me keep you.”

  His eyes narrowed and he stood rather abruptly. “Right. Just wanted to let you know I was leaving. It’s not like I’d expect you to be concerned or anything.”

  Now what the bloody hell was that supposed to mean?

  “Ask Murphy if you need something.” He turned on his heel and walked away. “I’ll see you later.”

  She stared helplessly at his rigid, well-muscled back as he strode to the door and forcefully jerked it open. What was he doing to her? She’d never in all her life met a man as aggravating to deal with as Luke. The men at home bored her to tears. Luke, on the other hand, made her stark raving mad. Why couldn’t she want someone less challenging? Perhaps some nice plodding academic?

  Sarah burped and then sighed gustily, her eyes drooping with the exertion. Jillian gratefully shoved her wayward thoughts aside.

  “Want a little help with her?” The man named Murphy watched her curiously.
r />   “You don’t mind?” She glanced beyond him to see Josephson busy scribbling notes at his station, his gun within reach.

  “Heck no. I love babies.”

  “Thanks, Murphy. I think she’s ready to go down for the night. I just need to find her jammies in this mess.” She started toward the dresser and paused. “What’s your first name?”

  “It’s Danny. But everyone calls me Murphy.”

  “Your wife, too?”

  He grinned then and it absolutely transformed his face. Instead of sweet and unassuming, Danny Murphy’s hulking frame became devilishly handsome, his eyes snapping with good humor.

  “Nah, mostly Danny. Unless she’s pis—excuse me, ma’am—ticked off at me. Then it’s Daniel Joseph or something worse.”

  “Been married a long time?” She sounded wistful, even to herself, and smiled when Danny cradled Sarah in his big, burly arms.

  “Yeah, forever. Met Lucy fifteen years ago.” He glanced up, his expression suddenly thoughtful and she forced herself to move briskly over to the nightstand. “You know, Luke’s a really good guy. He’s just a little stressed right now.”

  “I’m certain he is. He just doesn’t like me very much.” She managed a smile, even though it nearly killed her. “I seem to rub him the wrong way.”

  Murphy chuckled at that. “The way I see it, you’re rubbing him exactly the right way. He just doesn’t like it very much.”

  “Yes, well, it doesn’t matter, does it? After this is all over, I shan’t be seeing him again.”

  “Wouldn’t be too sure about that. I see the way he’s watchin’ you.” He waggled his eyebrows and she felt the heat rise in her cheeks. “Reminds me of how I felt about Luce when we first met. Couldn’t keep my hands off her.”