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Eva nodded in acknowledgment of her kind words. “Since you read the file you must know about Diego Robles’s death.”
“Captain Cyrus explained what happened. He’s very concerned that you’ve been approached and threatened. Dr. Pierce is immensely concerned as well. Why don’t you start at the beginning and tell me what’s happening.”
As much as Eva had dreaded this part, somehow Victoria made her feel relaxed and comfortable—at least as comfortable as she could be under the circumstances. Eva started with what the second man who came into the bathroom on Friday night said to her. She moved on to the ones who’d shouted at her on the street on Saturday, the confrontation on Sunday, the visit at the ER last night and then to the carful of thugs who had followed her to the parking garage three blocks from here. Thankfully, they hadn’t yelled more threats at her...they’d only watched her. Their hateful eyes on her had been equally threatening.
Victoria studied Eva for a moment after she finished recounting the events of the past three days. “I have full confidence the police are watching Robles’s men, but they can’t watch every move each of his hundreds of followers make—not with the budget cuts they’ve suffered recently. You haven’t been assigned a protection detail for the same reason. Until a law is broken, the police can’t afford to shift the resources.”
“I might be dead by then.” Eva hated to say the words aloud but they were true.
“Which is why we’re here. We can fill that void.” Victoria folded her hands atop her desk. “Since Dr. Pierce and I are well acquainted, he asked that I assign the very best to your security and he insisted that I send the bill to him.”
“What?” Eva shook her head. She couldn’t have heard correctly. “I’m prepared to pay for the services I need.”
Victoria held up a hand. “I’m certain you are, Eva. But Dr. Pierce feels responsible. He would like to handle this and, frankly, he can easily afford to do so. Trust me, you should take him up on his generous offer.”
Eva wanted to argue, but Victoria was right. She had scratched together the retainer but she would be hard-pressed to come up with more than a week’s worth of the required fees. She wanted to be upset that Dr. Pierce had been brought into the financial aspect of this arrangement but she supposed it was the right thing to do. I know what you did. The note someone had left on his desk blotter flickered across her mind. She had no idea what the message meant or who left it. She had wanted to ask Dr. Pierce but with all that had happened that night and then the threats, she’d forgotten. In truth, she didn’t feel comfortable discussing it with him after his reaction that night. She wasn’t worried that he somehow felt she was involved or aware of who went into his office, but she couldn’t quite dispel the idea that he’d looked at her with doubt for just a moment.
“I suppose I can do that.”
Maybe when this business with Robles was behind her she would come clean and tell Dr. Pierce she’d lied about being in his office. God, Eva, you’re such an idiot. It would have been so much easier if she’d told the truth in the first place, but it had felt so awkward in that instant. As badly as she felt about that decision, she had far more serious issues with which to deal at present.
“Good.” Victoria picked up a manila folder on her desk and opened it. “When I assign one of my people to a case, I do all within my power to ensure I’m covering every possible need a client might have.”
The door opened and a woman walked in. Blond hair, blue eyes. She was tall and thin. Very young. High school, maybe a college freshman. As young as she was, she held herself in a regal manner that reminded Eva of Victoria.
“I apologize for the delay.” The girl smiled first at Victoria then at Eva. “I’m Jamie Colby.” She offered her hand to Eva.
Eva shook Jamie’s hand, noting the firm confidence in her grip.
“Eva, this is my granddaughter,” Victoria said, pride brimming in her tone. “She’s a sophomore at the University of Chicago and my intern two days a week.”
“You look so young,” Eva blurted before she could stop herself, “to have accomplished so much.”
“Jamie is quite special,” Victoria agreed.
Jamie smiled. “I took freshman classes my senior year of high school. It’s not so unusual that I’m eighteen and a sophomore and certainly not special.”
Her humility was refreshing. Eva said, “I’m certain your parents are very pleased.”
“They certainly are.” Victoria turned to Jamie. “All is in order?”
“It is,” Jamie assured her.
“As I was saying—” Victoria turned to Eva “—I take great pride in assigning the best person for the job. Since your bodyguard—”
“Bodyguard?” Eva expected an investigator to help with the Miguel Robles situation, not a bodyguard.
Victoria and Jamie shared a look before Victoria’s gaze settled on Eva once more. “We need to take this situation very seriously, Eva. Frankly, I’m surprised you’re not already dead.”
Eva’s breath caught. She put her hand over her mouth too late to catch the sound.
“Ms. Bowman,” Jamie said, turning in her chair to face Eva, “I’ve done extensive research on the True Disciples. Miguel Robles raised his younger brother since their parents were murdered fifteen years ago. He thought of Diego as more of a son than a brother. Typically when crossed, Miguel wields vengeance far more quickly and concisely. The idea that you’re alive three days later tells us that he is planning to make some sort of example out of you. He wants you to know it’s coming. He wants to watch your fear build. He wants a large audience and rumor on the street is that all eyes are on you right now.”
Eva blinked repeatedly to hold back the rush of tears. “Wait, this is crazy. I didn’t mean to kill his brother. He attacked me... I...”
When Eva’s voice failed her, Victoria said, “I’m afraid it only gets worse. Chicago PD has a unit called Gang Intelligence. Though they cannot provide any measure of security for you, they are watching. If you want my honest opinion, they’re hoping Robles will come after you. If they can catch Miguel Robles in the act of trying to harm you, they can bring down a man who has slipped through their fingers repeatedly over the past two decades.”
Oh God. “I think I see the whole picture now.” Eve swallowed at the lump still lodged in her throat. “I’m bait. The police won’t protect me—not because of budget cuts—but because they want to get this guy.”
“In all fairness,” Victoria reminded her, “no law has been broken—more or less tying their hands. At this time all anyone has are rumors and suspicions, and resources are stretched too thin already. I fully believe the police are doing all they legally can.”
Jamie placed a warm hand over Eva’s ice-cold one. “But we can take up that slack.”
“Dr. Pierce has granted us full access to his facility,” Victoria explained. “We’d like to provide around-the-clock protection until this situation is neutralized.”
Round-the-clock? “Is that really necessary?” The moment the words left her lips she felt foolish for having said them.
Eva hadn’t expected this insanity to consume her life. Her sister had told her it was bad. She’d spent the past two nights with Eva. If all that Victoria said was true, Lena being close put her in danger as well. Eva suddenly felt immensely grateful that Lena’s boss had called about a hot-button issue in DC and wanted her there ASAP. Lena had nearly refused to go but Eva had promised she would be fine with the Colby Agency taking care of her. After considerable persuasion, her sister had reluctantly accepted the assignment. Eva now completely understood how important it was to keep Lena as far from this as possible...and to end this as quickly as possible.
“Okay,” Eva heard herself say. “When do I meet this bodyguard?”
“As Victoria explained,” Jamie cut in, “we take every precaution when making the selection. Your situation requires extensive training. The man we’ve chosen spent eight years in the military, six in the Army’s Special Forces. He is an expert in all manner of defense and protection. His extensive emergency medical training will allow a smooth transition into your workplace. He’s the perfect choice.”
Victoria nodded her agreement. “You couldn’t be in better hands.”
Eva’s head was still spinning. She could do this. It was necessary. Her boss understood. Lena would come unglued if Eva even thought of backing out of hiring the Colby Agency. This was the right step. Just do this. “All right. I’m ready to do whatever I have to.”
“Before we ask him in,” Victoria began.
Eva instinctively understood that something bad was coming.
“We’ve been made aware that there may be a stumbling block of sorts. Under normal circumstances,” Victoria went on, “I never make assignments when there are personal connections. Emotions can often get in the way.”
Eva shook her head. “I’m sorry. This is my first time here and I’m fairly confident I don’t know anyone at your agency.”
“Todd Christian.”
Eva’s head turned so quickly toward the woman seated next to her that her neck almost snapped. “Todd Christian?”
Impossible. Even as the word filtered through her, Eva comprehended it was not. Todd had gone straight from college into the military. She’d heard at some point later that he was in some sort of special something but she couldn’t remember what. She had spent the past nine years blocking every single thing about him from her brain. Todd Christian no longer existed as far as Eva was concerned. She had worked extremely hard to make that happen.
Jamie nodded. “He is the perfect choice.”
Eva shook her head. “No. Absolutely not.” She could not—would not—spend one minute much less 24/7 with him. No damned way.
Another of those looks passed between Victoria and her granddaughter.
“Todd thought you might feel that way,” Victoria offered. “Eva, let me just say that I’ve been doing this for a very long time.”
“A seriously long time,” Jamie echoed.
“I do not make a suggestion such as this lightly,” Victoria continued. “I ask that you put your personal feelings aside for a moment before you request an alternate choice. Toward that end, Todd has asked if he might speak with you privately before you make your final decision.”
“He’s here?” Stupid question. He worked here. Of course he would be somewhere on the floor. Eva felt the heat rise in her face and then, just as suddenly, the color drain away, leaving her as weak as a kitten. How could she face him? He was the last person on Earth she wanted to hear about her personal issues.
“With your permission, Jamie and I will wait in my private lobby while the two of you talk for a moment.”
“There must be someone else.” Eva shook her head again. This would never do. “You mentioned an alternate choice.”
Victoria set her hands palms down on her desk and stood. “I pride myself in hiring only the best, Eva. Of course, there are others, but no one who would fit as seamlessly into your world. To make sure you are protected in such a way that the enemy will not simply lay low until that protection ceases, we must ensure they are taken by surprise. The last thing we want is for Robles to step back and wait out your resources. This is the only way to guarantee the outcome you desire in the quickest manner.”
As crazy as it sounded, Eva had to admit that she could see her point. But could she do this? Could she allow him back into her life? Uncertainty and a new kind of fear coiled inside her like a snake ready to strike.
“I’ll speak to him.” Eva took a big breath. “I can at least do that.”
Victoria nodded. “Excellent.”
Jamie patted Eva on the hand and stood. “We’ll give you a few moments, but we’ll be right outside.”
Eva tried to smile but her lips wouldn’t make the transition.
When the door closed behind the two women, Eva stood and smoothed a wrinkle out of her sweater hem. Slow, deep breaths.
The door opened and she turned to face the man who had shattered her heart when she was barely old enough to understand what love was. He’d been a senior, she a freshman. She’d never lived anywhere but at home with her parents and sister until she moved into that college dormitory. Lena had gone to Europe for a year of studies abroad. And Eva had fallen madly, deeply in love with the man who taught her what a real orgasm felt like.
She might have been able to say the thirty-two-year-old man who walked into the room and closed the door behind him hadn’t changed one bit except that would be utterly and completely wrong. He seemed taller somehow, his shoulders even broader. Her gaze moved down his torso, over the ridges hidden behind the crisp blue oxford she knew all too well. The long sleeves ended at his wrists where the wide hands and blunt-tipped fingers that had touched her as if she was all that mattered in this world to him didn’t look as smooth as they once had. Long legs were camouflaged by navy trousers tailored to mold perfectly to the powerful muscles beneath. She blinked and shifted her gaze to the handsome face she’d dreamed of every night for years even after he left her. His face looked the slightest bit leaner, more angular, and there was a small scar on his right cheek. His lips...his pale, pale blue eyes—She shifted her gaze from his face. His brown hair was still more blond than brown and in need of a trim. So many little things had changed and yet her body reacted to his mere presence as if absolutely nothing were different. Fire licked a path along every nerve ending.
His lips—the ones that had instructed her in the true art of kissing—slid into a smile. “Eva... It’s good to see you.”
The hesitation after he said her name told her he was savoring it. Something else she’d yearned for night and day. The sound of his voice, the pull of every syllable he uttered. Chill bumps rose on her skin. The smile...the sound of his voice, his presence in the room even after all these years had the ability to make her nervous. Made her ache for things she couldn’t name.
Eva commanded the butterflies that had come to life in her stomach to go away. She stared directly into those gorgeous eyes of his. “Is it true, what they say? That you can protect me better than anyone else employed at the Colby Agency?”
“You have my word.”
Those four little words—damn him—sent another shiver racing over her too-hot skin. “I’ll need more than your word, Christian.” She refused to call him Todd. She could not. “You see, I learned long ago that your word is of little value.”
“I hurt you, Eva,” he confessed. “You haven’t forgiven me and maybe I don’t deserve your forgiveness, but if you’ll trust me now I swear on my life that I will take care of this for you. Let me do that. Please.”
The idea that she could spend the next few days making him damned miserable held some appeal. “Fine. I trust your boss. She says you’re the man for the job. We’ll see about that.”
“Good.”
She picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder. “Make sure you remember that once we walk out of this building I am the boss.”
He nodded his agreement, and just like that she jumped right out of the frying pan and into the fire.
Chapter Three (#uc162b7aa-c8af-540e-8dc2-b011e61824f0)
West Grace Street Apartments 5:50 p.m.
Eva didn’t want him close. She’d insisted on driving separately to her building. He hadn’t liked it but she’d given him no choice. He’d stayed right on her bumper on the drive from the agency to her address. Rather than warn him about the parking situation, she’d driven into the covered area for tenants and he’d had to fend for himself on the street. When he’d finally found a spot, he’d had to hurry to catch up to her before she reached the building.
Like it or not, that would not happen again. Next time they would be in the same vehicle together.
At the front entrance she entered the code for the door and walked in, letting go of the door as she did. The damned thing almost closed before Todd caught it. She didn’t look back, obviously unconcerned as to whether he made it inside.
He hadn’t really expected her to forgive him—not even after nearly ten years. Not ever, most likely. Under the circumstances he was hoping for some sort of cordiality or at least a temporary truce.
Inside, rather than going for the elevator, she headed to the door marked with the stairwell logo. No problem. He hefted his duffel onto one shoulder and followed her. His time in the service had taught him not to take his physical condition for granted. He stayed in the same shape he had when he’d been in active duty.
The climb to the third floor, however, gave him far too much time to focus on the sway of her hips. Someone else stayed in shape, he decided. He remembered her soft curves a little too well. Time had been good to her. She still looked like the nineteen-year-old he’d first met in the university library. He’d tried so damned hard to focus on the book he’d been reading for an English paper, only he couldn’t stop looking at her over the top of the page. She had the blondest hair, still did. Every sweet hair on her gorgeous body was naturally blond. Her skin was the creamiest white, like porcelain. And those eyes, so green. When she smiled or got angry they shimmered like emeralds under a waterfall.
She exited the stairwell on the third floor, again without looking back or saying a word to him. He followed. This was another part they had to get straight. He went through any door first. She stayed close and behind him, preferably.
He imagined the real trouble was going to be in getting her to cooperate when he explained that she might be the boss but he was in charge.
At the door to her apartment he stepped in front of her. “I go in first.” He held out his hand.
She dropped the key into his palm and stepped back. He unlocked the door and moved inside. He’d looked at the floor plans for her building. She had a one-bedroom. The entry door opened into a small hall. The living and dining space along with the kitchen were an L-shape, and then another tiny hall with doors to a linen closet, the bedroom and the bath. No balcony, but she did have two large windows. He motioned for her to come inside, but she didn’t. She stared at the door across the hall.
“Something wrong?”
She shook her head. “Guess not.” She gestured to the door she’d been staring at. “I thought my neighbor was going out of town.” With a shrug she turned to her own door and stepped inside.
Todd closed and locked it. “Stay put until I have a look around.”
She rolled her eyes and folded her arms over her chest.
The large window overlooking the street allowed plenty of light into the room. He was surprised there were no blinds or curtains. The Eva he had known before had been very shy and private. Another of those things that had attracted him. He was glad to see an upholstered sofa rather than leather since it would serve as his bed. A small cocktail table stood in front of the sofa and a side table sat between two comfortable-looking chairs. The upholstery and the throw pillows were soft, muted shades of blues and greens and yellows. A rug in the center of the room was scattered with two larger pillows. Didn’t take much to imagine her on the floor curled up with a good book. Back in college she’d enjoyed reading romance novels when she wasn’t studying. He’d often teased her about her secret hobby.
The kitchen was tiny with an even tinier dining area. Updated three-piece bath with lots of that subway tile people went gaga over. Big mirrors that made the space look a tad larger and more of those little bursts of color that adorned the main living space. He opened the door to the bedroom and the scent of her assaulted him and made him weak. The large window in this intimate space was covered with thick curtains, ensuring the room was dark. He flipped on a light, checked the closet that overflowed with clothes and shoes and then turned to go. The unmade bed and the nightshirt tossed onto the tousled covers made him hesitate.
Selfishly, he experienced a sense of satisfaction at the untouched second pillow on the bed. He scanned the walls and other surfaces for photos or signs of a boyfriend. The only photographs were of her and her sister, Lena, and their parents. Their father had died the year before Eva started college. She had still been struggling with the loss when they were together.
“Are you finished yet?”
He pivoted toward her voice, surprised she’d gotten as far as the door without him noticing. Distraction is dangerous. He knew better. “The apartment is clear.”
“I noticed.” She executed an about-face and stormed away.
Todd heaved a disgusted breath and plowed his hand through his hair. This might not be as easy as he’d thought. He had foolishly hoped they might be able to make amends. That maybe he and Eva could be friends now that he was back in Chicago. Guess not.
He exited the bedroom and took the few short steps to the kitchen. This place was considerably smaller than it looked when he reviewed the building’s floor plan. Spending a lot of time here with her would prove less than comfortable. She opened cabinet door after cabinet door, then rummaged in the refrigerator, obviously looking for something to eat.
“We could have dinner delivered,” he suggested.
She looked at him over the fridge door. “Yogurt and crackers are fine with me.”
