Page 73 of The Bodyguard

Angela and Sawyer had days of interviews under their belts. She was more convinced than ever that Mylene Hathaway was one of Tran Pham’s victims. They’d found no indicationthat Mylene’s husband and sister were having an affair. More than that, Angela sensed that except for two dead bodies and a missing Mylene, no one who knew Mylene, Mark, or Tabby could fathom the tragedy that had unfolded years ago. It pained Angela not to tell them what she thought had happened and that, perhaps, Mylene could be found and exonerated.

Back on the beach, the receding tide rolled out quietly despite the darkening storm forming miles offshore. Angela let the quiet waves lap over her feet. Her mind drifted. She and Mylene were the same age. Pham had connected them. Their connection was different, however. Mylene was one of the many persons Pham blamed for Quy Long’s death. Angela was a victim. Her mother was the focus of Pham’s anger, one of the people he most blamed for what had happened to his daughter. Angela could have been dead like Mark and Tabby. Instead, she was a fill-in for Pham’s daughter.

“Hey, Ange.”

She jumped. The sand had muffled Sawyer’s approach. Her heartbeat didn’t slow down, though. Tension had crackled between the two of them since their rendezvous on the deck and slumber party on the couch. They had worked nonstop since, hunting down the leads that Parker gave them and rehashing every conversation. They hadn’t had a break until now, when she wandered to the beach, waiting for Sawyer to wrap up a phone call with Parker and Jared. “All done with calls for the night?”

“All done.” His hands clasped to her waist and pulled her close. “And nothing to do except pay attention to you.”

God, Sawyer made it easy to melt. Her arms wrapped around his neck. The pair came together with effortless ease. She had never known the magnetic pull of a kiss, and as his mouth took hers, she melted all over again.

The wind lifted her hair off her neck, and his kiss deepened. They weren’t alone on the beach, but she didn’t care. They could kiss until sundown and then take advantage of the dark.

“Damn,” he whispered against her lips. “You are fun to kiss.”

She grinned. He was the most fun she’d ever had, period.

“Come on.” He led her to dry sand and sat down, reading her expression. “A little sand on your clothes won’t hurt.”

Sand could get everywhere; she would rather go inside and keep kissing. But Sawyer petted the spot next to his side and smoothed the area flat. She couldn’t resist.

“Not so bad, huh?” he teased.

“What are we doing?”

“Relaxing.” He lifted his chin to the ocean. “Give it a chance.”

“I was before you arrived.”

“Nah, I could tell from your body language something heavy was on your mind.”

Angela sighed. “You’re not wrong.”

He extended his legs and leaned back on his elbows. “Mylene?”

As she watched a bird swoop into the water and fly away with dinner, she wanted to ask if she could tell him the truth, to say her thoughts aloud, even if they were dark and crazy. Angela knew he’d answer with his favorite question: did she trust him? She did, but that didn’t make sharing any less scary.

“I think…” Rain fell miles offshore. “I thought Mylene and I were similar.” Angela crossed her legs and ran the palm of her hand on the cool sand. “But we’re not. I was collateral damage. She was a target.”

He nodded as though he’d understood that from the start.

“Mylene probably hates him without reservation, and I…” Her fingers pressed deep into the sand. She smoothed the spot and dug the small hole again. “I sort of get him.”

“Him?”

“Pham,” she whispered.

Distant thunder rumbled from the ocean. A hidden crack of lightning lit up the storm clouds. “In what way?”

Angela pushed sand into the hole she’d made, smoothed the surface, and dug it once more. “He lost his daughter.” She packed the sand. “Even if he’s a horrible person, responsible for horrible things… I can see both sides. Horrible person and grieving father.”

The dark clouds were illuminated with lightning. “Yeah.” His voice sounded as far away as the storm clouds. Maybe even more distant.

Her heart sank. He didn’t understand, and she couldn’t explain. “Have you ever known a parent to lose a child?”

After an eternity, he answered, “Yeah.”

Angela waited for more, but Sawyer had locked his unfocused gaze on the water. The tide was out, but the calm, retreating waves now frothed with white surf. The storm wasn’t close, but its effects had reached the shore.

---