Page 53 of The Bodyguard

His eyebrows rose. “Say again?”

Angela sighed and then met his gaze. “You heard me. My mother wanted a reason to bring me home or, at the very least, keep me from this job. But Jared could’ve been involved. I’m not sure. The guy wanted to know a lot about Paul and…” She blushed. “Relationships.”

The elevator doors opened, and Sawyer ushered Angela toward her apartment. He wasn’t sure what to say. Field readiness evaluations weren’t unheard of. They all underwent psych evals and a battery of readiness tests—but not moments before an op. The questionable timing crossed Jared off the list of instigators. Boss Man didn’t pussyfoot around a healthy, well-functioning team, but he never surprise-tested mental acuity like they were playing a game right before a job. “Why do you think Boss Man might be involved?”

“Does anything happen in this building that he doesn’t know?”

Sawyer could think of a few events, starting with the time Hagan and Amanda began dating and the poet ninja who posted funny-but-antagonizing flyers around the building to drive Boss Man crazy. “He doesn’t butt into people’s personal lives.”

She shrugged as they stopped in front of her door. “Of course, he knows John Patterson was here.” Angela unlocked her apartment and let Sawyer in behind her. “But even if he knew the line of questioning, Jared probably didn’t think twice because, all things considered, it’s not a big deal. I’m blowing this out of proportion.”

“I don’t know about that.”

Tension pinched at the corners of her lips and eyes.

“Something happened in that meeting that you’re not telling me about.”

She wrapped her arms over her chest. “My entire body aches.”

“Stress is a physical thing.”

Angela squeezed her eyes shut.

“You’re avoiding my question.” Sawyer hesitated but then stepped closer. He didn’t like the unknown and hated that she wasn’t sharing her burden.

“I know.” She released a deep breath. “He had questions about you.”

Surprised, he faltered. “What kind of questions?”

Her cheeks turned pink, and just as she had at the elevator, she looked everywhere but at him. “I don’t know. If we’re friends.”

Sawyer cocked his head. He shoved his hands into his pockets again, restless that she had to ask, restless in a way he couldn’t pinpoint. “And you didn’t know?”

Angela side-eyed him, looking half defensive, half annoyed. “Of course I know.”

“But you just asked me in front of the elevators if we’re friends.”

She hesitated. “I—uh, he started to ask if we were more than friends.” She tried to laugh, but it sounded more like a wheeze. “I know. Crazy.”

Sawyer stood very still, able to hear his heartbeat. “You were in a relationship.”

“A nonexistent one, but yeah,” she agreed. “But the idea that you and I were…” She wouldn’t meet his gaze. “That doesn’t make sense.”

His thoughts scrambled. Sawyer considered his words and struggled to keep his tone even. “Why wouldn’t we make sense?”

“Because you’re you, and I’m me.”

“What does that mean?” he pressed.

“I have no idea.” Her laughter didn’t ring true. “I need to pack. Make yourself at home.”

She sidestepped Sawyer. He caught her arm. Her breath lurched. He heard it the same way he had heard his heart jerk. More than that, he felt her gasp in his chest. A heady hunger that damn near blinded him took hold.

His hand stayed on her elbow. The pad of his thumb skimmed against the fabric of her blouse. Nerves jumbled in his throat as a charge of electricity radiated up his arm and down his spine. Angela watched him, beautiful, with wide eyes so overwhelmed that guilt punched him in the chest.

Sawyer stepped away. “I’m already packed.” He released her arm and swallowed hard. “We’ll leave when you’re ready.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

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