Page 22 of Guarded from Sabotage

And even though it hurts every time I bend my knees or pick something up and my lip stings when I talk, I know how much worse my injuries could have been.

The man who attacked me could have done anything. In that deserted parking lot, there’s no telling when someone else might have come by. I’d like to think I’d have fought back, but what if I didn’t get the chance? What if he kept his promise and shot me? Or he could have?—

No. I might not be able to avoid the what-ifs in my nightmares, but I can ignore them while I’m awake.

When I’m awake, I can focus on the positive things. My job. My apartment. My family and friends. Blade and Arrow helping me.

And Dante. Possibly the best part of all of this.

Who am I kidding? Not possibly. He is.

I liked him when we met at the wedding, but I couldn’t let myself think of him as anything more than a friend. It didn’t matter that Tanner and I had been arguing for months by then and I had a sinking feeling it was only a matter of time before we broke up. I was still engaged, and infidelity is something I won’t stand for; not through my own actions or my partner’s.

But now… friends doesn’t feel like enough. And as much as I’m trying to have realistic expectations—I’m a client, Dante is just being kind, this is probably the worst time to get involved with a man when the rest of my life is so messed up—it’s really hard not to want more with him.

When he hugged me last night, I wanted it to last longer.

When he held my hand, I didn’t want him to let go.

And shamefully, when he said he’d sleep on the couch last night, part of me wanted to ask if he’d stay in my bedroom instead.

Not to have sex. Despite my attraction to him, it’s still much too soon. But to fall asleep with his reassuring presence nearby, possibly snuggled against his very broad and muscular chest, knowing he’d be there to help chase the nightmares away…

I didn’t ask. I wasn’t brave enough. But it was still nice having him here, even if he wasn’t in the same room with me.

I’d been hesitant when he brought up staying over at my apartment last night, already feeling guilty about taking up so much of his time. Dante didn’t just drop everything to come get me, he spent hours with me—carefully cleaning my wounds,cooking me a delicious meal, and even holding my hand whenever I got upset.

Maybe that’s part of the typical Blade and Arrow service, but I really don’t think so.

We were just wrapping up our meeting with Matt when Dante said, “I don’t feel comfortable with you staying alone, Sarah. Not after everything that happened. The attack may have been a coincidence, but I don’t want to take any chances.”

Before I could respond, Matt added in a gentle tone, “I know it’s not ideal, Sarah. We were hoping all this was random, but given what I found out tonight, I really don’t think it is. It looks like you’ve been targeted, and with the attack…” His brown eyes darkened in compassion. “We don’t want to risk your safety.”

I couldn’t really argue with that. And honestly, I didn’t have the energy to. Not after a long day followed by a frightening and stressful night and an apartment in the iffy part of town to go home to.

Up until last night, I’d been hoping itwasall random; that my information was stolen in a big security breach like I heard about on the news. But what happened with my car sounds pretty darn intentional.

That was the first thing Matt discovered—for six months, my car payments had been rerouted to a defunct account, and my address had been mysteriously changed so I never received any notices for missing payments.

“The money is still there,” Matt explained. “No one has touched it. Which makes this look like someone did this to mess with you.”

Yeah. It does. I just wish I knew who. Or why.

The other piece of news wasn’t great either. Matt accessed the security footage at the dealership in Austin, and it was inconveniently—or conveniently, depending on who’s being asked—missing on the day the car was stolen. And the employeewho handed over the keys could only give a vague description of the suspect that could be pretty much any woman in her thirties or forties with brown hair.

“Does that mean we’re looking for a woman?” I asked.

Dante hesitated before answering. “Possibly. Or an accomplice. Or someone paid to do it. We don’t have enough information to know yet.”

I appreciated his honesty, but it wasn’t very reassuring.

But. I’m getting back to my positive thinking. I have Dante and his team. Matt came over and hooked up all sorts of cameras and sensors and alarms, and I think my apartment is now more secure than the Louvre. Dante is staying over again tonight, and he and Xavier will start alternating days tomorrow.

I don’t know Xavier as well as Dante, but I’ve met him a few times and he’s always been nice. So that’ll be okay, too. Not as good as having Dante here, but probably safer for my heart.

“Hey, Sarah?” Dante’s rumbly voice breaks into my thoughts, and I look up from my laptop to see him standing in the doorway to my bedroom. He gives me a little smile. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah.” I set my laptop down and close the lid. “Just going over—”Don’t bring up money. Then he’ll feel bad and offer to help again and I don’t want to bring money into whatever kind of relationship we have.“Emails and stuff. Nothing interesting.”

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