Page 98 of The Bodyguard

Angela turned toward the table. Sawyer simply sat there, waiting for her to freak out or shut down. She didn’t want to do either—but realized he’d been kind to keep the possibility of Mylene to himself last night. He’d been looking out for her. Always the bodyguard.

She walked toward him and crawled into his lap. Sawyer wrapped his arms around her and held her close.

“This is hard,” she said. Her head rested on his shoulder. “I don’t know if I can do it.”

“Sure you can. It might not be how you envisioned, but it’ll be done.” He rubbed her back. “It’s almost over.”

A cry caught in her throat. Itwasalmost over. Sawyer had meant to make her feel better. Now, she wanted to weep. Their investigation could be over by the end of the day, and where would that leave her and him?

He cupped her chin and turned her face to his. “Ange?”

She tried to look away, but that was no use. Tears welled in her eyes.

“I agree with Parker,” he said. “No matter what happens with Mylene, you did something extraordinary.”

The tears fell and burned down her cheeks. “I guess so.” She was heartbroken. How could she lose this man so quickly? Angela rolled her lips together. He was never hers to keep. Maybe before last night, she could have walked away unscathed. But he’d made love to her. Before she’d fallen asleep in his arms, she’d imagined what it might look like if they had a different life. One in which they lived in a beach house with little kids to play football in the sand. Or a life in a coastal town where they could dress up, dine on tiny plates of haute cuisine, and then devour greasy burgers under the moonlight.

With his thumb, he swiped the tears from her cheeks. “When you first told Boss Man that you wanted to find Mylene, all I could think of was how it wouldn’t work.” Sawyer brushed back her hair. “I was wrong. Hell, you even came up with a signature question.”

She shut her eyes and shook her head. “It all seems so trivial now.”

“I’m proud of you, Angela. No matter what we find today.”

There was nothing to say. She couldn’t explain how her heart had already ached. Instead, she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face against his neck.

Composing herself took longer than she wanted. But after a few sniffly breaths, she returned to her chair opposite Sawyer. “I guess we should start our day. What did Parker send us?”

Sawyer took a sip of coffee. “Maybe you should eat first?” He speared a bite of pancake as if to remind her they hadn’t finished their plates.

“I’m not hungry.” After his disapproving look, though, she picked up her fork and played with her pancakes.

“All right, Parker says…” He scrolled. “Not much except an address and location summary.” Sawyer chewed a bite of pancake, read, and added, “It’s a small house owned by an untraceable shell company. Not a very big place. Overgrown lot. Minimal activity on the utilities. Water and electricity usage suggest a one-person household. No vehicle registered there.” He took another bite and swallowed it. “No name history of note from the postal service and various direct mail distribution houses.” He shrugged and set down his fork and phone. “I have no idea how Parker finds the places he sends us to, but he’s rarely wrong.”

“What are we going to do when we get there?”

“Knock on the door?” he suggested with a half laugh.

“I’m serious.”

“I am too. Scope the place and see what there is to see. We can’t have a plan until we check it out. Titan has US-based teams that could be there in a snap if we need backup. If we don’t?” He shrugged. “We knock on the door? I pick a lock? We’ll see what we see and make a game-time decision.” He gestured to her ignored pancakes. “Finish those, and then we go?”

Some of her appetite had returned. She agreed.

Sawyer moved to his suitcase. “I’d feel better about all of this if I had a weapon and you had a vest.”

“So let’s stop somewhere and arm ourselves.” She was somewhat surprised that Amanda hadn’t arranged for weapons and security equipment. Still, it made sense given that they were trying to keep knowledge of Angela’s location to as few people as possible. Especially if all they were supposed to do while at the safe house was wait. Since they’d left Emerald Isle, nothing had felt remotely dangerous.

“I’d be more comfortable if Titan made the arrangements.”

“Do you even have a lockpicking kit?” She looked dubiously at his closet. The concierge who arranged for their clothes was likely not the same person Amanda or Parker would ask for weapons and surveillance equipment.

“You’d be surprised what I can use to get into places.”

She snorted. “I doubt that.” Angela took a last sip of coffee and pushed away from the table. “Will we come back here after we go to find Mylene?”

His shoulders lifted. “Another thing we’ll figure out after we investigate the address.”

“Gee, you know how much I love uncertainties.”