Page 9 of Securing His Heart

Her identity had changed with the screech of tires, twisting of metal and shattering of glass. Prior to her father’s death she’d known exactly who she was and who she was going to be. Being thrust into the position she was now in, without her father to guide her, was overwhelming.

Chris’s fingers closed over her arm, squeezing gently. He raised his other arm, his thumb brushed her cheek, coming away wet from the tears silently trickling down her cheeks. “You know my name is Chris Swanson. Here is my life in a nutshell. I grew up in a small southern town in Mississippi. I joined the Army when I turned eighteen, three days after my high school graduation. I became a Delta the day I turned twenty-one. I served my country until my twenty years were up. Now I do consulting work and I live in Denver, Colorado. I’m in Perth because a friend got married and I was part of the team that rescued his wife from an awful circumstance. And I’m very glad that I walked into the bar tonight and sat next to you.”

Lindy stood from the chair and Chris did, too, his expression wary. He probably expected her to run away; after all that was what she’d done when he’d gotten close to her at the pub and what she’d wanted to do when they arrived at his room.

Instead, she wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head against his chest. “I’m glad you sat next to me, too.”

Chapter

Four

Chris’s back ached and he had a crick in his neck, but he wasn’t going to move. He didn’t want to disturb Lindy, who’d fallen asleep in his arms after they’d moved from standing by the chair to lying on the bed.

Giving a rundown of his life story to a woman he’d just met wasn’t something he normally did. However, she’d needed assurance that she hadn’t made a mistake by letting him look after her.

She was sleeping soundly, a surprise considering all she’d been through, but he was glad that she could find peace in slumber.

For him, getting a good night’s sleep was hit or miss. Too many memories of what he’d done and seen always popped up when he let his guard down, and sleeping was the ultimate time for his guard to drop.

Chris leaned back against the wooden headboard and thought about the previous knight, particularly Lindy’s bag snatch. Something about the whole event seemed off, especially her recounting of what the guy had said when he’d been standing over her.

If he’d been a little quicker, he might’ve been able to stop the assailant in his tracks and they’d have the answers they needed.

Was he reading too much into the situation?

Possibly, but he’d learned never to ignore when his instincts were telling him that something wasn’t right.

What he would do, once Lindy had returned home, was contact Steve Power. The guy ran his own security company and was the team leader of an elite group of men who worked for various organizations like he did. That was how they’d hooked up—they’d worked many missions together.

Through his contacts, Steve hopefully would be able to access any CCTV footage of the area, if there were any cameras. Maybe one had been able to catch an angle of the guy so they could make out some distinctive feature like a scar to tattoo, considering he wore a mask and facial recognition was out, that could help nail the son of a bitch who’d tried to hurt Lindy.

Again, was he making too much of it? Always assuming that there was an ulterior motive to someone’s actions. All his career Chris had been chasing people who appeared good on the outside but were pure evil on the inside. Those that looked nasty on the outside, sometimes were the scapegoats for the leaders.

The world was full of horrible things, and he’d seen a shit load of it, so turning it off when he’d witnessed Lindy being assaulted was near on impossible.

She stirred in his arms and he loosened his hold, knowing the moment she woke up reality would set in and she’d likely go her own way and he’d never see her again.

Still wasn’t going to stop him from making sure everything was okay with her and no one was trying to stalk or kidnap her.

“What time is it?” Her voice sexy and sleepy and had him envisioning waking up with her after a full night of lovemaking.

Whoa.

What was it about this woman that had him tied up in knots?

“Chris? What’s the time?”

“Sorry.” He lifted his arm and glanced at his watch. “It’s a little after four.”

Lindy stretched beside him and his body instantly went on alert, not for danger, but shot with desire and need.

She twisted so she rested on her stomach and looked up at him. “You’ve been holding me like this all night?”

Chris nodded; words trapped in his throat.

“It must’ve been uncomfortable for you?”

“Trust me, I’ve slept in far worse conditions, this is luxury.” He injected humor in his voice and was rewarded by her smile.

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