Page 41 of Taking Care of the Target

“No, I’ll decide,” Cassie said, but the guy handed the notepad to Vince for obvious reasons. She turned her hard stare on Vince, adding crossed arms she hoped conveyed that she was serious.

“Fine,” Vince muttered. “But they still call my number first.” He handed the notepad back to Mr. Private Investigator and gave him a grin that was more intimidation than humor. “You can never be too careful these days.”

Mr. Private Investigator nodded. “Sure.”

“And if I see your car again—”

“You won’t. Can I…go now?”

Vince jabbed a finger through the open car window. “You better not be lying, or our next meeting won’t go as well.”

The man nodded again and started his car, obviously in a hurry to get away.

Cassie grabbed Vince’s arm and pulled him back to the sidewalk. “So, how was your day?” she asked, throwing as much sarcasm into her words as she could.

“Productive. Yours?”

“Sucky. And then I come outside and find you being a total caveman. Was it really necessary to haul him halfway out of the car like that?”

“Yes.” He put his hand on her back and guided her into the Jeep.

She wasn’t sure how to feel about dating a Neanderthal, but she had to admit she felt pretty damn safe. Well, she’d admit it to herself. Vince didn’t need encouragement.

When they pulled up to her apartment complex, Vince kept the engine running. “I told you from the beginning I wasn’t the do-gooder type and that my life was messy,” he said. “I’m not denying it. But I do know how to take care of problems, even if my methods are a little—”

“Archaic? Caveman-esque? Crazy pants?”

His eyebrows drew low over his eyes. “I was going to say unconventional.”

She shook her head. “Unconventionalbarely scrapes the surface of describing you.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever used the term crazy pants, either.”

A laugh slipped out before Cassie clamped her lips shut.

“Did I screw it up?” Vince asked, imploring her with those brown eyes she had such a hard time resisting.

“I think…” His intense gaze and the way it made her heart hammer her rib cage made it hard to get words to come out right. She cleared her throat. “Well, I think security is a good field for you. And honestly, I would’ve died that night we were shot at if you hadn’t been there, and it’s good to know I wasn’t just paranoid, thinking someone was following me.”

“But?”

Cassie swallowed hard. The truth was, Vince terrified her. Not because she was scared he’d hurt her—not physically, anyway. Emotionally, though? She already relied on him too much, and she’d opened up to him more than she ever had with anyone else. She was starting to fall for him, and she didn’t think she could simply recover from a guy like Vince. Their vast differences made her wonder if they were crazy to even attempt a relationship. But the other option was ending things, and the thought of that made her lungs constrict.

She ran her fingertip down the muscled line of his forearm. “Butmaybe we should try a little harder to have days not involving bullets or pulling people out of cars.”

A lopsided smile spread across his face. “And I could trust your judgment a little more?”

“Exactly. NodemandingI have to wait for you to pick me up. And how about just ask guys why they’re following me before threatening them.”

“People are so much more motivated to answer that way, though.”

Cassie raised an eyebrow at him.

He held up his hands. “Okay. For you, I’ll try a little less…archaic methods. Are you happy?”

She nodded. “Skeptical, but happy.”

“Smart girl,” he said. “Now, did you eat? Because as much as I love watching you cook, I think I owe you dinner out. Somewhere nice.”

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