Page 15 of When He Protects

Did he truly expect her to confess? He’d have to work much harder in order to learn her secrets. “I’m getting bored. And sleepy. Six a.m. is my bedtime.” She needed to move things along. Mostly because the longer she stayed in one location—especially with word spreading about her being the silly Fox character—the more danger she’d be in. She didn’t enjoy danger. Adrenaline? Yes. Absolutely. She was an adrenaline junkie. But when her life was actually on the line—nope, not so much fun. “Step one, scrub the picture of me. Scrub every bit of gossip about me being the Fox. Such a silly idea.” A wave of her hand toward Grayson. “I’ve heard the FBI and CIA have incredible tech teams. Should be child’s play for them. While your tech gurus are at work, you can get that handsome face of yours in front of the press and tell them all about what a tragic mistake you made. Not like we want to have some sort of international incident.” Esme mock shuddered. “Can you imagine? Our countries are such close allies. Why create drama over nothing?”

Silence.

Actually, if she strained a bit, she could swear she heard the faint ticking of the clock on the wall. Tick. Tick. Tick.

“Are you seriously giving orders right now?” Grayson asked her.

Tyler had gone back to just watching her. There was something about that intense stare of his. It made her feel like he was…Wait. Hold on. “Are you undressing me with your eyes?”

Tyler’s lips parted.

“Non? Oui?”A shrug. “See, there I go again. Using French for you. You don’t have to answer. We both know what you were doing.” But, enough play. For now. She hopped off the table. Without her shoes, both men were just far too big. So Esme took a moment to put her heels back on. Except the two inches didn’t really do much. The men remained big and bold. Swamping her. But she wouldn’t show that perhaps she felt the slightest bit intimidated. Instead, she casually smoothed her hands over her dress. The slit still worked to maximum effect and showed off her legs when she shifted ever so slightly. As for the bodice…perfection.

She walked toward the mirror. Grimaced. Her hair was a tangled mess. And she looked far too pale under the abysmal lighting in the interrogation room. “Who do I have to kill in order to get some decent coffee in this place?” The question was directed at the agents behind the mirror. Taking her time, she smoothed back her hair. Esme even pinched her cheeks to try and bring back a bit of color to her face.

“I don’t think you understand the situation,” Grayson informed her.

She looked at his reflection in the mirror. He was now to her right.

Tyler stood just a few feet away. Both men looked intense and grim. Capable. Dangerous.

“In a fight,” she murmured, “who do you think would win betweenthe two of you?”

Grayson frowned at her. He also cast a quick, nervous glance Tyler’s way.

Answer received.

“Lady…” Tyler’s growling voice. Sadly, he’d gone from calling her “sweetheart” to “lady.” Such a disappointment. “What is it that you want?”

So many things.“I believe I outlined my first few steps.” She held up her hand and began ticking items off her list even as she kept staring into the mirror. It was best to be clearly understood by everyone.My gut says Grayson’s boss is behind the glass watching.In her experience, the big players in the game always liked to hide in the shadows. Or hide behind one-way glass where they thought they could be all anonymous and protected. “I want my picture removed. I want all references to me being the Fox scrubbed. I want a statement issued saying there has been a misunderstanding, and I am a tragic, tragic victim.” She stared harder into the mirror and let her lower lip tremble.

“Are youcrying?”Tyler demanded.

She wiped away a tear that had slid down her cheek. She hadn’t gotten her mother’s singing skills, but an opera singer was both incredible vocally and incredible as a performer. Esme knew all about performing. The acting talent was in her blood.

“Stop crying,” Tyler ordered roughly.

She did. “If I’m on a hit list because of your incompetence in letting people believe I am some sort of master thief, then I shall need protection.” She peered into the glass. “Protection,” Esme emphasized. “On my terms.” Esme waited a beat so that her message could be received. Then, satisfied, she nodded and turned back to the two angry men in the interrogation room.

“You are insane.” Grayson stared at her as if he thoughtshe might need a straitjacket at any moment. “We have you dead to rights.”

“You have nothing. I have diplomatic immunity.”

“You had diamonds strapped to your thigh!” His hands flew into the air, then dropped back near his thighs.

“You’re the one who mentioned a deal.” Her high heels tapped across the floor.Tap, tap, tap. “I’ve cooperated. Haven’t even gotten any attorneys in here. Attorneys who could make your life a living hell.” A simple phone call could have arranged for a storm of lawyers. “I told you my terms. Well, most of them. And now you will either agree or I’ll walk out of here.” She paused near the door for dramatic effect.

“You walk out,” Tyler told her, “and you could be dead within the hour.”

Do not show fear.“I walk out,” she returned, “and your buddy Grayson’s boss won’t ever be able to take down…oh, what did you call it? Ah, yes, some sort of global criminal organization. He wants my cooperation to take down the bad guys. In order to get that cooperation, I have a list of demands. You just heard the start of my list.”

“There’s more?” Tyler asked.

Grayson stomped toward her. “Do tell. I want to make sure I get everything down.”

Oh, there was certainly more. She turned away from Grayson and focused on the man who mattered. The man who had taken out five bad guys without breaking a sweat. The man who was “always faithful.” The man who was her end goal. “I will need a bodyguard. Someone who will stay close to me until the case is closed. What with this unfortunate business of a price being put on my head, I need a serious badass to keep me safe. Someone who isn’t afraid when bullets fly.” She edged closerto him.Tap, tapwent her heels. “Someone who doesn’t mind getting physical. Sometimes, you just have to fight dirty and hard.” She closed the last bit of distance between them.Tap, tap.“Someone who will truly take the job of protecting his charge very, very seriously.” She gazed happily up at him. “Someone just like you, Tyler.”

“Excuse me?”

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