Page 58 of Unlikely Guardian

It didn’t.

“And the other officer arrived to relieve Detective Albright?” Jason asked, reholstering his gun.

“Yes, about ten minutes ago.” Despite the feeling that she was now living in a police compound, she welcomed the officer’s presence. Having three cops in the house might allow her to breathe a little easier. Or at least it would take some of the pressure off Jason so that he might not feel totally responsible for Megan’s and her safety. Of course, he’d no doubt feel that way if they had the entire police force in his living room.

“I don’t want Megan out of the playroom,” Jason continued. “And I also don’t want either of you in any part of the house without an officer nearby, got that?”

“Agreed.” He’d already told her that twice. With Jason’s anxiety obviously near the boiling point, Lilly figured she’d hear it again soon.

“By the way, how are you holding up?” Jason asked. Not just a question, though. It was edgy and raw, like everything else about him.

Lilly sighed. Much more of this and he’d explode. It was time for action. Or rather, a good old-fashioned lecture. She shut the office door and leaned her back against it. “I want you to stop beating yourself up about all of this.”

“I can’t,” he snapped. “This is my fault.”

That answer didn’t surprise her. “Noo-oo, it’s not. It’s the fault of that idiot in the other car.”

Jason grumbled something she didn’t want to interpret and started to pace again. “We can’t keep going through this. We’ve been lucky, but we might not be so lucky next time. That’s why I’m arranging for a safe house. An undisclosed location that only a handful of trusted cops will know about. It should be ready tonight. It’ll have a solid security system. Plus, another officer and I will be with Megan and you at all times.”

“That’s good.” Well, the security part was, but it meant they’d have no privacy. No real life. No real anything. They’d be on hold and all because of some unknown moron who wanted her dead. That moron wouldn’t be shut away in some safe house, either. He or she would be out there, free, doing everything possible to find them.

So, just how safe would a safe house be?

“Nothing about this is good.” Jason shoved his backup weapon into his ankle holster. “It’s too little too late. Just how many sleepless nights will you have because I haven’t been able to catch this guy?”

That did it. Lilly had had enough. She couldn’t bear to see him like this. “How many sleepless nights will you have because of this nightmare that I brought to your doorstep?”

He dragged his hands through his hair again. “I’m not in the mood for sympathy and comfort.”

“Tough. You’re going to get it anyway.” She snagged him by the arm when he started to pace by her.

Jason stared at the grip she had on him and then lifted his eyes to meet hers. “My advice? Back off, Lilly. I’ve got a lot of dangerous energy inside me right now, and you don’t want any part of this.”

“Oh, really? That sounds like a challenge,” she said, because she thought they both needed a little levity.

The levity backfired.

Big time.

Adrenaline was high. Emotions, higher. Coupled with the attraction between them, touching him was indeed a dangerous prospect. She immediately thought of ways to defuse that tension. Well, one way in particular. Too bad it would have huge consequences.

Lilly tried to fight her way through her exposed emotions, the leftover fear and the fatigue. She tried to do the logical thing.

And failed.

When she realized her body wasn’t going to cooperate with her attempts to think this through, she finally said to heck with it. She looked at Jason. At his face. At those intense gray eyes that were piercing into hers. And she knew exactly where this moment had to go.

Suddenly everything was crystal-clear. Razor-sharp. Powerful and honed. Like the energy spearing through her. She had the power to help him, to help them both. Human contact, human touch could undo a multitude of troubles. She wouldn’t even think about the new troubles that it would create.

Before she could change her mind, or before he could stop her, she tightened her grip on his arm and pulled Jason closer.

Closer.

Closer.

Until his chest brushed against her breasts.

He stared at her, the intensity in his eyes going up another serious notch. “Think this through,” Jason managed to say. Not easily, though.

---