Page 21 of Guarded from Sabotage

The flame is kindling into something bigger. Brighter. Hotter. Even though I keep telling myself it’s still not the right time.

“This was so good,” Sarah enthuses, setting her fork down on her nearly empty plate. “I didn’t think I’d be able to eat much, but here I am. Totally stuffed.”

“Good.” Warmth fills my chest. “I’m glad you liked it. This is one of the first recipes my mom taught me to make.”

“Did you always like cooking?” Eyeing me with an introspective gaze, she adds, “I’m having a hard time imagining you cooking in high school. I bet you were a football player, popular, going on lots of dates…” Her cheeks go pink. “I mean?—”

“Not that popular,” I reply with a smile. “And I played lacrosse. Plus, I volunteered at the fire station with their high school program, and I had a part-time job. So not too much time for parties and dates.” My lips quirk. “Do you think I was a player back then?”

“No. It’s just… Well, you know what you look like. I bet the girls thought you were cute.”

I raise my eyebrows at her. “Oh?” In a teasing tone, I ask, “What do you think I look like?”

The flush on her cheeks goes from pink to scarlet. “Well…”

Just as I’m debating whether to let Sarah off the hook—she’s had a long day, but I really do want to hear her answer—my phone buzzes with our signature Blade and Arrow tone.

Sarah stiffens, flashing me an alarmed look. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah. It’s just one of my teammates. We all use the same ringtone and vibration pattern so we always know if it’s company business.”

Sarah pales. “Business like information about what happened to me?”

Glancing at my phone, I read Matt’s text.

I have info about Sarah’s car. And the theft in Austin. We need to meet. Do you want to include Sarah in on it?

Not really. I want to ignore this until tomorrow and keep enjoying the evening with Sarah. I want to keep her smiling as long as possible.

Unfortunately, I know that’s not an option. As much as I want to protect her from this, it’s Sarah’s life, and she has a right to know.

So I look at Sarah, wishing like anything I didn’t have to say it, and answer, “Yes. Matt wants to meet to discuss it. Do you want to be there?”

She sucks in a breath. Her jaw sets. The hand she has resting on the table trembles. “Yes. I want to know.”

“Okay.” I reach across the table and cover her hand with mine. “I’ll ask Matt to come over. And remember. We’ll handle this. Information is good, even when it doesn’t seem like it. The more we know, the faster we can get this worked out.”

Sarah stares at me for a second before giving a quick nod. “I know.” She turns her hand over and gives mine a light squeeze.“Thank you, Dante. I don’t know how I’d get through this without you.”

Oh.

She’s a client. A friend. It can’t be more.

Even if I want it to be.

CHAPTER SEVEN

SARAH

Remember,think positive.

There are people in the world so much worse off than me.

I’m not going to turn into one of those people that wallows in self-pity, walking around with a gloomy expression, leaving a trail of negativity in my wake.

Even though the spreadsheet I created to manage my dwindling finances looks more depressing by the day, I’m not going to let it get to me.

Even though it’s becoming increasingly obvious that this identity theftisn’trandom, and I’ve been intentionally targeted, I’m not going to spend hours obsessing over who could possibly hate me this much.

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