Wow.
Without warning, the vile sadness Janet had buried in the deepest part of her tunneled its way out, clawing at her, reminding her she was a lonely computer geek who had long been misunderstood by the world. And worse, she was a lonely computer geek coveting the love Roxann Taylor had.
God’s sake, Janet, the woman was held hostage.
Sparing not a glance at Michael and Roxann, Gavin walked by them and headed straight toward her. She breathed in. Could this be the man who would finally accept, without judgment, her need to spend hours in front of a computer? The one strong enough to withstand the ridiculous amount of testosterone surrounding her on a daily basis?
On cue, a huge chunk of that testosterone, namely Vic, marched down the driveway toward Gavin, and Janet half ran to keep on his heels. Too damned many long-legged people in this world.
The three of them met halfway down the drive and Gavin stared at her for three seconds—she’d counted—before addressing Vic. “Everyone is safe. Your team is securing the HTs and the weapons.”
She spotted the tattered material on Gavin’s tac vest and sucked in a breath. “You got shot?”
“No. My vest got shot.”
Funny man. She’d slap him later. “Are you hurt?”
He slid his gaze to her. “No. The vest did its job.”
By the looks of that vest, it must have been a wallop.
Vic glanced to the house and shook his head. “Jesus, head-shrinker. You got a set of stones. Freaking lunatic.”
“Rudeness!” Janet said.
Gavin laughed. “Yeah, well, this mess is your problem now. You and Mike need to get Rox in front of a judge with these dopes. She’ll present probable cause in relation to the abduction and these boys are off the streets.”
“You know it, head-shrinker. They’re going down on this one. I’ll take them to the PD myself.”
Roxann would receive justice for her ordeal, but Joe’s son would lose his father. No winners anywhere and Janet’s heart tore an inch for that sweet young boy. At least his father was alive. She’d never understand how a man allowed himself to get sucked into something that risked his child’s happiness.
No wonder she spent so much time avoiding people.
Her gaze moved back to Michael and Roxann, still in the driveway, with Michael smothering kisses over her face and hands and then—would you look at that—her belly. After this, he’d never let Rox go anywhere alone. What a battle that would be. And so fun to watch. The insidious envy from moments ago vanished and Janet closed her eyes.
She’d get her turn.
She would.
She’d just have to wait.
The sound of the front door slapping alerted Vic to his team exiting the house and he marched toward them. Janet remained mesmerized by Michael and Roxann. “Did you see that?” she asked Gavin. “Amazing.”
When he didn’t respond, she retrieved the iPod from her pocket and held it out. He focused on her outstretched hand, but stayed quiet. Was having the iPod pushing it? Somehow an invasion? Too familiar? What?
People.
Give her a computer any day.
“It’s not a big deal,” she said. “I thought you might want it.”
He scooped the iPod from her hand and grabbed her arm. “Come with me. We’ll talk to the mother and son and send them on their way.”
That was it? Minutes ago, she’d admitted to herself that she loved this man and he was back to business as usual? Really? That bit about him being the one who might understand her?
Forget it.
* * *
Gavin talked Vic into letting Joe say goodbye to his son. The guy might be a certified nut job, but his son deserved a few minutes with the father he’d spend years without.
At least the kid would be able to visit a prison instead of a cemetery.
Something to be thankful for.
Watching the kid hug his father opened an enormous, aching hole in Gavin’s chest and he turned away.
“You okay?” Janet asked.
Maybe. If he could fill the hole, yes, he’d be okay. Once again, he grabbed Janet’s arm, hauling her with him to the barn. When he’d walked out of that house with Roxann, the sight of Janet holding his iPod sent every emotion he possessed on a high-speed chase. She hadn’t just handed him the device, she understood his need to go inside himself and unwind. To relieve the stress and center himself.
Not only that, she encouraged it. How rare had it been to find a woman who had no expectation that he’d immediately talk about his feelings? Most times he never talked about his feelings. And women, at least the ones who had entered his realm, took issue with that.
But here stood quirky, dedicated Janet Fink who might be the person to fill that hollow place in his chest. If so, he’d have to step up and let her know.
Once inside the barn, he pulled the door closed and walked right up to her, his gaze steady on hers. Step up. “Yes. I saw that. Mike and Roxann. Yes, it was amazing.”
For years now he’d put his life on the line, trading places with hostages and jumping into mental battle with lunatics. Sure he’d saved lives, but at what cost? He’d lost a marriage to his job, not to mention a chunk of his own emotional freedom. If he continued on this path, in a few short years he’d be burned-out human flesh.
Not exactly something worth attaining. Beyond that, all he knew was Janet had been the first person he’d seen when he stepped out of the house.
She was important. What she’d be in his life, he wasn’t sure, but he knew he wanted to experience it.
Step up.
He kissed her. A solid press of his lips as he gathered this tiny peanut of a woman into his arms, crushing her ribs, wanting to feel her heartbeat. Everyone was alive. He was alive. After facing a shotgun aimed at him, he’d figured out what was important.
Resisting the urge to strip her naked in this broken-down barn, he backed away from the kiss. “Here it is.” She blinked a couple of times, focused those big brown eyes on him and he decided he might just be driven to begging. “You don’t report to me. I’m in no way your superior. You report to Vic.”
“Exactly.”
He squeezed her arms. “Can you deal with the gossip? Because it’ll be raging.”
“I know. It scares the hell out of me.”
“Me too. But the gossip will die down and then it’ll be us figuring each other out. That’s what I want. I want to figure out my life with you in it. I think that will be amazing.”
Not a peep out of her. She stood there, her mouth partly open, her gaze leaving skid marks on his face.
He held his hands out. “What are you thinking?”
“That I’ve successfully turned stupid and it’s not so bad.”
He laughed.
“It’s not funny. Not for a second. I’ve spent years trying to be the unslut. The girl people took seriously because of her skills. I’ve been brutal to myself. And then this thing with Rox happened and I’m questioning everything.”
“Sometimes questioning is good. Is it good now?”
She hesitated, her eyes on his. “It feels good. Which scares me even more. I’ve always been the socially inept computer geek and you’re, well, you could talk a cow into a vacation at a slaughterhouse. In some crazy way, we balance out. So, I’m gonna say screw it and live a little. The witch twins can kiss my ass.”
Then she did that crazy monkeylike thing when she threw her arms around his neck, leaped up, wrapped her legs around his waist and kissed him. Funny woman and he couldn’t help laughing, which turned out to be complicated. What with her tongue in his mouth.
A squeak came from the direction of the barn door. Someone coming in. Jig’s up.
“Ack!” the knuckle-dragger hollered.
Gavin broke away from the kiss.
“Oops,” Janet said.
“Get lost.” Gavin jerked his head toward the door. “We can handle this.”
But Vic already had his hands over his eyes. �
��Are you shitting me? Did I need to see that? I think I’m fucking blind!”
Janet grinned. “I told you his eyes would bleed.”
He shrugged. “I guess he’ll have to get used to it.”
She twisted to look at Vic. “Hear that, boss? The head-shrinker says you’ll have to get used to it. Go home to your family and leave us alone.” She turned back to Gavin, her lips curving into a wicked smile. “We might be here awhile.”
* * * * *
About the Author
Adrienne Giordano writes romantic suspense and women’s fiction. She is a Jersey girl at heart, but now lives in the Midwest with her workaholic husband, sports-obsessed son and Buddy the Wheaten Terrorist (Terrier). She is a cofounder of Romance University blog. For more information on Adrienne’s Private Protectors series please visit www.AdrienneGiordano.com. Adrienne can also be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AdrienneGiordanoAuthor and Twitter at twitter.com/AdriennGiordano.
We hope you enjoyed this Carina Press anthology. Want to discover a family as quirky as yours? Craving more protection? Need a bit more steam? If you loved this book, don’t miss the other books from Adrienne Giordano. Available wherever ebooks are sold!
Adrienne Giordano—Private Protectors Series
Man Law
A Just Deception
Risking Trust
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ISBN: 978-14268-9383-4
Copyright © 2012 by Harlequin Books S.A.
The publisher acknowledges the copyright holders of the individual works as follows:
Kilts & Kraken
ISBN: 978-14268-9384-1
Copyright © 2012 by Cindy Spencer Pape
Negotiating Point
ISBN: 978-14268-9385-8
Copyright © 2012 by Adrienne Giordano-Maynard
Slow Summer Kisses
ISBN: 978-14268-9386-5
Copyright © 2012 by Shannon Stacey
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All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
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