To Love and Protect Page 6

  Her father raised his arm to look at his watch. “It’s already tomorrow. He’s hired.”

  “Dad.”

  He raised his eyebrows at her one word protest, but before she could add more, her mom stepped forward to pull her into a hug. “I’m sorry, honey, but the plane’s waiting. We trust Devante will do a good job.”

  Resentment bubbled inside as her dad gave her a hug and kiss next. Then he turned to extend a hand to her newly appointed bodyguard. “Call me later and we’ll discuss the particulars.”

  Dev shook his hand with a curt nod.

  Shelby held tight to the ends of her knotted belt, her jaw aching from her clenched teeth even as she noticed her dad do the whole hand at the small of her mom’s back as they left the lobby.

  On the way out to Dev’s big, black pick-up truck, she wished she’d have asked Raine if she could crash in her hotel room for the night. Then she could’ve called her dad in the morning to talk about getting a different bodyguard instead of being stuck with Dev.

  He moved ahead to open the passenger door, and she gathered the long skirt of her dress so she could step onto the running board and pull herself up into the truck. As she settled in and turned to click the seatbelt in place, she spotted his cane leaning against the console on her side of the cab.

  A quick glance caught him as he rounded the back on the driver’s side. That hitch was there in his gait, same as it had been all evening. She didn’t think he was any less of a man because of it, but God forbid she even glance below his waist.

  He got in and secured his seatbelt before starting the engine. “What’s your address?”

  “What happened to your leg?”

  His gaze jerked to hers, his surprise evident in the dim light from his dashboard. Yeah, she hadn’t expected that blunt question either. But she brushed aside a twinge of guilt for asking. So what if her question didn’t fall in line with polite etiquette? He’d bossed her around and made decisions about her life tonight without once asking her what she wanted.

  Dev looked away, his fingers tightening on the steering wheel. “You don’t think I can protect you?”

  Under the tightness in his defensive voice, there was a hint of vulnerability she was sure he would not want her to identify. As if maybe he had his own doubts. That made her feel bad enough she had to bite her tongue on an apology. He’d always been confident, strong, and capable, and after nine years as a Special Forces soldier, it would take a lot more than a limp to make her doubt his ability to keep her safe.

  “That’s not what I asked.”

  He put the truck in gear and drove toward the parking lot exit. “Where do you live, Shelby?”

  She didn’t reply. Didn’t plan to until he answered her first.

  When he reached the road, he braked and waited as light snowflakes began to drift down and melt on the windshield. She crossed her arms and turned to watch his profile, determined to get one thing she wanted out of this night.

  The moment the question had left her lips, she realized she badly wanted to know what had happened to him. Because while physically he was still the same strong guy she’d known all her life, he was different in a way she couldn’t quite define. Harder? Distant? If she knew what had happened, maybe she could figure him out.

  You don’t need to figure him out. He doesn’t want you—not before, not now. Let it go!

  After another thirty seconds, Dev flipped on his left blinker and gave her one last glance. One last chance. She thought he was bluffing, but he stepped on the gas and pulled out onto the road in the opposite direction of her apartment complex.

  She let out a little growl of annoyance. “Where are you going?”

  “Home. I’m not gonna sit here all night because you’re acting like a spoiled brat.”

  A spoiled brat?

  Shelby glared out the window, balling her hands into tight fists as she fought the urge to reach over and hit him. After another half-mile, she unclenched her jaw and rattled off her address.

  He checked his mirrors before flipping a U-turn.

  A few miles later, she grudgingly asked, “You know where it is?”

  “I have a friend who lives near there. I’ve driven by a few times.”

  Girl friend?

  Nope. Don’t care, remember?

  She remained silent until they reached her complex, then she gave him her private gate code, and directions to her building. He pulled up slowly, his gaze scanning the area as he parked outside her garage bay. When she reached for the door handle, he ordered, “Wait for me.”

  She paused in surprise. That was something Blake never did, though the one older gentleman who sometimes filled in on his days off usually did.

  Dev came around to open her door and offered her a hand down. She hesitated, but didn’t have much choice if she wanted to avoid tripping on her long skirt in her high heels. The moment his rough, warm fingers took hold of hers, a spark of electricity zinged up her arm. She sucked in a quick breath at the same moment his grip tightened.

  Once her feet were on solid ground, he released her as if he didn’t want to touch her any longer than absolutely necessary. He didn’t speak on the way inside the building and down the hall to her door. His sharp gaze surveyed everything as if he were on a mission—at least she assumed he approached a mission with the same level of intense awareness.

  His hyper-vigilance threw Blake’s more casual approach into stark contrast. The odd thing was, she wasn’t sure if it heightened her anxiety, or made her feel more secure. Her stomach was a bit uneasy, but she guessed that was more from Dev’s presence than anything else.

  At the door, she said, “I’ll need you to pick me up tomorrow—or later, today, actually, since it’s almost one a.m. So, say around ten, for brunch and the gift opening at my parents’ house. Then Loyal and Roxanna are leaving for their honeymoon after that.”

  Quit babbling!

  “Fine.”

  “Great. Then I’ll see you at ten.” She turned to punch in her code for the keyless lock.

  Dev’s hand closed over hers on the handle, his chest brushing against her back as her pulse skipped like crazy.

  “Does Blake not check your apartment when he brings you home?”

  “No.” Fighting to keep her breath even, she added, “He walks me to the door and makes sure I get in okay.”

  He muttered what sounded like fucker under his breath.

  “It’s fine, Dev. I make sure everything is locked up when I leave.” And she always left the lights on so she wouldn’t be freaked out walking through a dark apartment.

  “I’m sure you do, but I’m still going to want to check for myself.”

  “You don’t have to—”

  “I do,” he insisted. “And if you don’t mind, I’d like to get home before two a.m.”

  Shelby pressed her lips together while re-keying in her code. Here she was all wound up from his nearness, and he was right back to being a jerk.

  She let him go inside first. As she closed the door, he strode from her foyer to the kitchen, to the living room, his gaze scanning every inch of her apartment. He even brushed aside her drawn curtains and shades to check each window lock along the way. She’d wonder what he thought of her place, but it was clear he wasn’t really looking at anything beyond security.

  After shrugging off her coat and hanging it in the closet by the door, she kicked off her heels and slid her feet into her favorite pair of fuzzy slippers. By then, Dev had moved into the bathroom, and she heard the shower curtain zip along the rod. He came back out to check the guest bedroom and a linen closet across the hall, then disappeared into her bedroom.

  She cringed when she thought about the fact she hadn’t made her bed or picked up her dirty clothes in a few days. However, it was better to think about that than the fact Devante Torrez was in her bedroom again after nine years.

  Leaning one hip against the island counter, she reached up to start removing the silver pearl pins from her hair as she h
eard the shower curtain in her master bathroom. Wow. He was being awfully thorough.

  When he strode down the hall toward her a minute later, she quipped, “Don’t forget to check under the couch.”

  Annoyance tightened his features, and his gaze narrowed. “This isn’t a fucking joke, Shelby. You’re coming home with me right now.”

  Chapter 9

  Fury roughened Dev’s voice as adrenaline tensed every muscle in his body.

  Shelby froze for a moment, then lifted her chin as she lowered her arms. “I’m not going anywhere with you. And I told you not to swear at me.”

  Half her ebony hair cascaded in loose curls over her shoulder, past the swell of her breast. Melting snow glinted in her hair from the light overhead. Dev knew he shouldn’t be noticing how beautiful she was at a time like this, but the way the shimmery silver velvet of her dress contrasted with her dark hair and pale skin was stunning.

  A flash vision of her mirror made his gut coil with another surge of rage.

  “You’ll change your mind once you see your bedroom.”

  His grim prediction subdued her defiance as color drained from her face. “What do you mean?”

  He didn’t want to force this on her, but it was the only way to impress upon her how fucking serious the whole thing was. “Come see.”

  Her gaze darted toward the hall and back to him as she slowly moved forward. Dev let her pass and then followed just behind her. She stopped two steps into the room, her gaze sweeping over the messy bed and clothes piled on the floor near the closet. He guessed she’d made that mess since she didn’t react to it at all.

  But then she turned toward her vanity, and he saw her body stiffen when she spotted the block lipstick writing on the large mirror.

  BEAUTIFUL SILVER BELLS. CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOU IN RED.

  Her brown eyes went wide, and her hand flew to her mouth to smother a gasp. “Oh my God.”

  “Pack a bag. You’re not staying here tonight.”

  She stared for a long moment, frozen in her spot. The muscles in her throat worked in an audible gulp as she glanced toward the windows. “I double checked everything was locked.”

  “It still is,” he confirmed.

  She shot him a frown, then turned back to look at the mirror. After a long moment, her expression twisted, and she strode toward the vanity, her dress swirling about her legs. Dev let her go—until she swiped a handful of tissues from the box on her end table.

  “Whoa—what are you doing?” He surged forward to catch her raised arm before she reached the mirror.

  “Getting rid of it.”

  She strained against his hold, and he wrapped both arms around her from behind, pulling her back against his chest to subdue her struggles.

  “Let me go.” Anger vibrated in the sharp demand. “I want it gone.”

  “You have to leave it for the cops, Shelby.”

  She shook her head wildly, strands of her hair catching on the stubble on his jaw. “I don’t want to see proof that some pervert was in my apartment. In my bedroom.” Her voice cracked at the end, and her breath caught on a sob.

  When her body trembled against him, his chest tightened as if squeezed in a vice. He turned her around in his arms and held her close while smoothing a hand over her snow-damp hair. She sagged against him, arms sliding under his suit coat to wind around his waist and hold on tight.

  “You’re going to pack a bag and come home with me for now,” he said firmly. “I’ll call the police to check things out first thing in the morning.”

  “He was watching,” she whispered, the words muffled against his shirt. “Whoever it was saw my dress and—”

  “Shh.”

  “He knows my nickname.”

  Dev tightened his hold for a brief moment, then slid his hands to her bare shoulders to ease her back and see her face. The shimmer of moisture in her eyes had him steeling himself from pulling her close once more.

  “I’m not going to let anything happen to you, okay?”

  She swallowed hard, her brow furrowed as she nodded.

  “Good. Let’s get your stuff and go.”

  She gave him another nod while pulling her arms from around his waist. Her hand slid along the waistband of his dress pants, and all of a sudden her eyes widened as she jerked back a step. “Is that a gun?”

  Knowing she’d felt the hard edge of his concealed carry holster with his 9mm Beretta, his hand automatically went to the weapon. “I have a permit.”

  Her gaze rose to his. “Were you wearing that the whole day?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  “Never leave home without it.” After twelve years in the military, it was as much a part of him as his legs and arms. She’d dropped her gaze once more, and he gave her another moment before wind-milling his hand at the wrist. “Can we get moving here?”

  She blinked, and gave a quick shake of her head. “Yeah. Sorry. It just surprised me, that’s all.”

  After one last glance at his waistline, she crossed the floor to her open closet.

  “Only touch what you need to,” he warned. “And use one of those tissues when you open your dresser drawers.”

  She nodded silently while stuffing clothes into an overnight bag. He noticed her hand pause mid-reach for a red sweatshirt, then jerk away to grab a gray zip-up hoodie. Then she moved to the dresser and pulled out underwear and a bra. He refused to look too close at the black scraps she fisted in her hand.

  Realizing she’d stilled, he saw her gaze shifting around the room. It locked on the mirror as she murmured, “I can’t think of what else I need to bring.”

  Dev moved in front of her to block the words. “Shoes. And a toothbrush. I don’t think I have any extras.”

  “Right.” She stuffed the underwear in her bag, added a pair of tennis shoes, and then made a quick detour to the bathroom. After she dumped a handful of items in her bag with her toothbrush, she zipped it shut. “That should be it.”

  “I’d say you could change out of your dress before we go, but—”

  “No, I just want out of here.”

  Good. He hadn’t wanted to creep her out more by pointing out her stalker could’ve planted a hidden camera. After the police did their work, he’d be doing his own thorough sweep for any electronic devices.

  “All right, let’s go.” He reached past her to grab her bag and caught the subtle lingering scent of her perfume. Forcing himself to focus, he swung the duffle’s strap over his shoulder and led the way out after she put her coat back on.

  He didn’t have to tell her to stay close on their way to his truck, she was practically glued to his side as she shuffled along in a pair of slippers peeking out from beneath her dress. Knowing she had the tennis shoes in her bag, he didn’t bother pointing them out.

  Dev tuned in to their surroundings, listening to his instincts, searching for that telltale prickle of hair on the back of his neck to signal danger in the dark. The whole world seemed muffled by the snowfall, and all remained quiet as they got in the truck. He lived about fifteen minutes away in a sprawling, wooded suburb, but he drove a meandering route that took closer to twenty-five minutes, keeping watch for any tailing headlights along the way.

  Shelby kept busy dragging pins from her hair until the remainder of her curls pooled at her shoulders. She stuffed the pile of pins in her coat pocket and then sat silently, staring out the windshield.

  When he was sure they weren’t being followed, Dev shot a glance across the dim cab. “You doing okay?”

  Her head jerked with a nod, but then she switched to a negative shake. He firmed his grip on the steering wheel to keep from reaching for the clenched fingers in her lap.

  “I don’t understand how someone got in when everything was locked.” Her brow furrowed in the dim light from the dash. “Did they get a key somehow? Or know my code? Is it someone I know?”

  The fear in her voice made him want to throttle the bastard. “Does anyone have your code? Or
a key?”

  “Other than my parents, no.”

  “Boyfriend?”

  “No. I don’t have a boyfriend.”

  Even though he’d figured she didn’t since she hadn’t brought a date to the wedding, the confirmation twinged an emotion he refused to acknowledge.

  “What about a recent breakup? Or a bad one in the past?”

  She merely shook her head through each question. He wanted to clarify, no breakups, or just no bad ones? But that would be a dumb question, wouldn’t it? Of course she’d dated and had relationships. Beauty aside, she was sweet and fun and smart enough to make every conversation interesting. Or at least she had been at sixteen, which is what had made her offer back then so damn dangerous.

  And maybe she was still all those things now. She’d been absolutely right a few weeks ago when she accused him of not knowing anything about her after the past nine years. Problem was, much as he hated to admit he wanted to know, he recognized the danger of getting too close to her was just as high now as it had been way back when.

  His number one priority had to be protecting her from the sonofabitch turning her life upside down.

  “We’ll figure it out,” he assured her while checking the mirrors to make the left turn onto his road. At nearly two a.m., there wasn’t another car in sight and hadn’t been for the past couple of miles. “The cops can talk to the super, and they’ll look at video surveillance from the security gates to see who came and went after you left for the wedding. And, you know your dad will have his PI on this in a heartbeat.”

  “Yeah. Not that he’s found anything yet.”

  He didn’t reply to her subdued statement as he pulled into his driveway and parked outside the garage. He’d turned the space into a workshop when remodeling, but needed to build a detached shop in the spring before he could switch it back. Before his discharge, he’d never been home long enough to need inside parking for more than a couple of weeks.

  He reached for his cane, though he hated to use it after Shelby had asked point-blank about his injury. Unfortunately, the fresh snow on his driveway made it a necessity after the long day.