Page 180 of Protective Heroes

He winked at her, clearly amused by her reaction and unconcerned that he’d almost slept through the fire. “Sorry, precious. Occupational habit.” Sure, he was used to the danger and the excitement but she wasn’t. “Here.” She pulled her cell from her bathrobe pocket. “Did you find anything, anyone?”

He shook his head. “Negative. Whoever the arsonist was, he’s long gone. Lucky for both of us, I was able to put the fire out before it had time to spread.”

Dyson entered the bungalow and returned with her clothes. Soot-covered, but it was better than the thin robe she wore.

Smoke still hung low, even with all the windows open, but she could see the damage from where she stood out on the deck. After tonight and the ominous warning Bautista had tossed out to Dyson like a loaded gun, she couldn’t help but think this had to be connected. Who would randomly walk by a bungalow and set a match to gasoline?

After dressing, Shay took stock of the damage while Dyson walked over to the charred area, phone already to his ear. She listened to the one-sided conversation, his gaze following her every movement.

“Diego.”

“Party’s still going… damn, man.”

“Listen, we’ve run into some trouble. Someone’s out here playing with gasoline and matches by the bungalow.”

“No, leave the local PD and FD out of it for now. We’ve contained the fire.”

He paused while her cousin no doubt gave Dyson an earful about not wanting to bring in the local authorities.

“Yeah, she’s with me.”

“The bungalow is damaged, but we’re good. Not sure on the details, but something’s up. I followed the tracks. Whoever it was worked solo. I lost him once he hit pavement. Listen, I need to borrow your house for the night until we get this all worked out. The keys still in the same spot?”

Another long pause.

“Thanks, I’ll catch you later when I find out more, bro.” Dyson hung up and pocketed the cell.

She stood still, amazed by the man’s clipped, hurried words. The way he spoke with such confidence turned her on when she should be concerned about someone wanting to snuff them out.

“Do you always expect to have your orders followed?” In bed he was conscious of what she needed, listened to what she wanted, and obeyed her body’s desires. Out of bed, he liked to be in control. Come to think of it, they never really spent much time together out of bed. Seeing him tonight under less than romantic circumstances brought a completely new light to the man.

“When someone I care about is in trouble, there’s no hesitation, baby. We’ll get to the bottom of this, and when we do, the people responsible will pay for trying to hurt you.”

She didn’t agree with him about her being the target. “What makes you think it’s me their sights are set on? I was safe on the beach, remember?”

His stance grew rigid as her words sank in. “You shouldn’t be outside alone until we get this figured out. And the fact still remains. Bautista is up to something. You heard what he said tonight to you. The whole ‘you’re a traitor’ line of crap was aimed at you, precious. And in my experience, he was throwing down a threat, if not a damn promise, at our feet.”

She wrapped her arms around herself, worrying her lower lip. “True, but he seemed to have a beef with you military boys more.”

She’d seen the hatred in the darkness of the other man’s eyes tonight. Something was off there and it looked more and more as though she’d made a mistake in asking Bautista as her date to Diego’s wedding despite the family ties between him and her mother.

Dyson nodded. “You can say Bautista and I share a history and it looks like the man has a few more issues and something to prove. He won’t get that chance as long as I’m next to you.”

Dyson moved over to her and softly curled a single finger under her chin. “And, precious, you’re not going anywhere without me. I’ll never let anyone hurt you, Shay.” Her breath caught and her body hummed with anticipation at his tender touch and the meaning behind his softly spoken words.

He sealed his words with a kiss. Light at first then he took it deeper.

Her head cautioned her against promises, but her heart swelled with relief. Like two opposing angels on her shoulders, her head quickly jumped to override her heart’s desires. He’s dedicated to the uniform, not you, chica. Military men had their duties. Love was secondary.

He pulled back and wrapped her in his arms, utterly unaware of her mental tug-of-war.

“You ready to go rock ’n roll?”

Five

Twenty minutes and a couple of shots of Mexican gold later, Shay was pretty damn sure there was no problem in the world tequila couldn’t solve. She didn’t intend to get drunk, but she needed something to dull the tension knotting her nerves.

While Dyson made his calls to his CO stateside, she’d showered off the soot and was wide awake at some ungodly hour with an eight-hour road trip ahead of her come morning.

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