Secret Seduction

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Since Maria died.

The words hung unuttered in the air.

“I had a reason for coming,” Tanner said. “Besides the barbecue.”

Robert closed the grill, hung the tongs from a hook and turned to look at him. “Oh?”

“This job you asked me to do for you.” Tanner put his palms to the back of his head. “I can’t do it.”

“Of course you can. It’s all set. Everything’s been arranged.”

“I’m not talking about the head of security position at Confidential Rejuvenations. I’m talking about being Vanessa Rodriquez’s bodyguard,” he said.

Robert cast a surreptitious look over Tanner’s shoulder. His wife and some of their guests were standing on the other side of the patio admiring the new garden landscaping. Robert leaned in closer and lowered his voice. “What do you mean you can’t do it?”

Tanner drew in a deep breath. How did you tell your late wife’s uncle that you’d slept with the woman he’d hired you to watch? “I just don’t think I’m the best man for the job. I can recommend someone else.”

“Are you kidding? You’re the best bodyguard in the business. You were guarding the governor until—” Robert stopped again.

Until Maria had been killed in a convenience store robbery while Tanner had been out of town on a security detail.

He still hadn’t forgiven himself for not being there when she’d needed him. “This just doesn’t feel right.”

“What do you mean?” Robert kept looking over Tanner’s shoulder, keeping an eye out for his wife. He was definitely keeping something from her.

“Level with me,” Tanner said. “Why are you putting a bodyguard on Dr. Rodriquez?”

“I told you. Carlo Vega was released from prison yesterday. The man is a cold-blooded criminal. I fear he’s going to come after her for putting him away.”

“And she testified against him?”

“Correct.”

“She witnessed him murder a man in a fit of rage, right?”

“Yes. Vega went up on second degree manslaughter.”

“How did all this come about?”

“Look, is this really important? All that matters is that Vanessa stays safe from Vega.”

“You’re sure he’s going to come after her?”

“He threatened her fourteen years ago and now he’s out of prison.”

“That’s just it.” Tanner clenched his jaw. “Why do you care about Vanessa Rodriquez so much that you’d foot the bill for her personal bodyguard?”

“It’s none of your concern.”

Tanner placed a palm to the back of his neck. Maria had loved and admired her uncle Robert. As far as Tanner knew, he was a good man, but something about this whole thing didn’t add up. He swung his gaze around to take in Amanda, the senator’s wife. She was a slender woman, still quite lovely in middle age. Her skin was well pampered. She possessed almond-shaped brown eyes and a short cap of curls highlighted with stylish streaks of red and gold.

“Are you having an affair with her? Is that it? Is Vanessa Rodriquez your lover?” The thought made him sick to his stomach, but he had to ask the question.

“No.” Robert growled. “God, no. Why would you even think that? I love my Amanda. I would never cheat on her.”

Relief coursed through Tanner at the senator’s denial. It was bad enough that Tanner had slept with the woman he was supposed to be guarding, but to know that she was also Robert’s mistress…well that would have been too much for him to handle. “So why the interest in her?”

Robert swallowed. “Let’s walk.”

“Where are you going, honey?” Amanda called out to them.

“To show Tanner the koi pond.” Robert raised a hand. “Could you keep an eye on the steaks?”

“Will do.” She smiled gaily.

They walked toward the back of the senator’s five-acre lot, flush with native trees—pecan, red oak, elm and cedar. The pathway was made of quaint cobblestone, and around the perimeter of the place stood six-foot-high privacy hedges.

“Vanessa is from my hometown,” Robert said when they were out of earshot from the house. “From my old neighborhood. I knew her family, her mother, but Vanessa doesn’t remember me. She wasn’t even born when I left El Paso.”

“Why don’t you want Vanessa to know you hired me to guard her?” Tanner asked.

“Because after what happened with Carlo Vega, I paid for Vanessa’s way to medical school. I felt sorry for the poor kid. She needed a break and I could give it to her, so I did. No one knows about it. Not Amanda, not Vanessa. Only you.”

“Why the secrecy?”

“It’s not an altruistic act if people find out about it, now is it?” Robert asked.

They came to a halt beside the elaborate goldfish pond. It was a fair argument, and Tanner wasn’t sure he believed that explanation, but he let it go. “Whatever your reasons are for wanting to protect Vanessa from this Vega character, I don’t think I’m the right man for the job.”

“Now who’s hiding secrets?”

Startled, Tanner met the senator’s gaze. “What do you mean?”

“It’s not like you to renege on an agreement.”

“I’m not reneging. The truth is I think I might have blown my cover.”

The senator put his hands behind his back and leaned against the trunk of an impressive old oak tree. “What makes you say that?”

“She went to a bar last night. I followed her, but I stood out in the place. She spotted me. She came over. We danced.”

And we did a lot more than that.

“But that’s good,” Robert said.

“How do you figure?” To avoid the senator’s probing glance, Tanner bent to pick up one of the flat red river rocks landscaping the area and skipped it across the pond. It skimmed four times before sinking below the surface.

“She trusted you enough to dance with you. I think that’s a good sign. Vanessa’s pretty cautious.”

Shows how much you know her. From what he’d seen of the sexy Dr. Rodriquez, cautious was not an adjective that popped to mind.

“The fact that you were able to get close to her gives you an edge in guarding her,” the senator said.

You have no idea how close.

Tanner inhaled deeply. “I’m going to be honest with you Robert. I can’t guard Dr. Rodriquez because I’m physically attracted to her.”

Robert made a noise of surprise. “But that’s good, healthy even.”

“You think so? Because I sure don’t.” Tanner chuffed in a breath.

The senator laid a hand on his shoulder. “Maria would want you to move on. You’ve been grieving hard for four years. It’s time to let go. Letting go doesn’t mean you didn’t love her.”

“Yeah, but the first time I’m attracted to anyone since I lost Maria and it’s with someone I’m protecting.”

“It just means you’re not dead below the waist.” Robert tightened his grip on Tanner’s shoulder. “And just because you’re attracted to Vanessa doesn’t mean you have to act on your feelings.”