Page 41 of Guarding the Singer

He reached out his hand and covered hers. "You'd look good in anything."

She turned her head and looked out the window. "I... I know... that this is going to be tough on you. I remember what it was like having you as a guard in DC, but I never really anticipated a reason for it, you know what I mean?"

She swallowed, hoping to soothe the rough feeling in her throat.

Selene continued on before he could speak. "It's just that it was a part of your service as a Marine. So you kind of signed up for it, you know?"

She winced, knowing that her words were repeating, and she was stumbling a bit.

"Now, I'm wondering if this is something you'd rather not do."

His eyes widened a little before they narrowed on her face.

"You didn't sign up to protect a singer, wanna-be actress. Who knows what's going on?"

The car slowed as it came to a corner and leaning forward, she looked out of the window. They were a couple of blocks away from her rented house.

She felt a hand on her arm and turned, looking down at his hand before looking up into his eyes.

"Selene," his voice was soothing, reminding her of how long it had been since she'd heard his voice. "We'll figure this out. We'll figure out what's going on on the set. We'll protect you while we're doing it. And just so you know. I didn't sign up to protect you, but I'm glad that I'm getting the chance to do it."

He was rubbing her arm, and she wanted to lean in against him, put her head on his shoulder, but she needed to keep her wits about her.

Her mind was still reeling from what she'd found out before dinner.

"This is going to be okay."

She could feel his hand rubbing along her upperarm and hated that she had on long sleeves and her coat. "I... I don't want anyone to get hurt."

The words, once they were spoken, started a pain in her chest.

The words were true.

The sentiment real.

She didn't want anyone to be hurt because they were trying to help her.

If she thought that William might have been hurt when he was with her at the Inauguration, she wouldn't have wanted that either.

It all seemed like a precaution but really, who was going to try and hurt her then?

Now, it was different.

She'd seen the damage in her trailer.

Once the shock had worn off, she'd been able to see the anger... the rage that had gone into the destruction.

She'd been angry before.

Angry enough to throw a pillow at the wall.

Tear one up with a blade?

No.

That kind of anger...

She shuddered and felt his hand gently squeeze her upper arm through the layers of her clothing.

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