Page 14 of The Bombshell and the Bodyguard
I stole over to him and felt for a pulse. Locating one and determining the man was breathing, I moved forward toward the bottom step. I’d make sure the guy got medical attention later—right now, protecting Jessica was priority number one.
There was no more doubt an intruder had been in the house. The question now was whether he wasstillthere—and if he’d gotten to Jessica.
My gut twisted in a sickening knot, and tension pounded in my temples. Listening and watching for any sign of movement, I crept up the stairs, gun cocked and ready.
At the top I found the hallway empty. I moved quickly to Jessica’s bedroom door and tried the knob.
It was locked. Which meant one of two things—the intruder hadn’t made it past this point, and Jessica was safe inside alone—or hehadbreached the bedroom door and was in there with her right now.
No time to wait.
Lifting a booted foot, I kicked the door open, did a quick scan of the room then moved to the closed and locked door of the master bath, repeating the maneuver. Closet doors didn’t generally have locks, so I simply turned the knob and entered.
And was struck in the forehead by some sort of projectile as a fierce shriek ripped the silence.
Flipping the light switch, I spotted the object that had struck me just above the right eyebrow and come within inches of blinding me—a high-heeled shoe with averypointy stiletto heel.
I scanned the rest of the closet’s interior and spotted Jessica. She was crouched in the farthest corner, furled into a ball of limbs and long, sleep-mussed hair.
“Good thing you didn’t have a knife. I’d be dead. That’s a mean throwing arm you’ve got there, kiddo.”
“Oh Wilder—it’s you!”
There was a flurry of motion as Jessica burst from the corner and flung herself at me. Reacting on instinct, I wrapped my arms around her, stroking her hair and back in a soothing motion as I murmured.
“I’m here. You’re okay. You’re safe.”
Her entire body was trembling, and something deep inside me cracked. Pure emotion leaked from the fissure. Relief. Joy. Fierce devotion.
That last one was trouble. Emotion plus Jessica equaled danger—notthe good kind of danger that got my adrenaline going and pumped me for a fight—thedangerouskind of danger that had long-lasting, friendship-ending consequences.
Wrapping my fingers around her upper arms, I set Jessica away from me, ran my gaze down her body then quickly back up again when I realized she was completely nude.
I kept my eyes trained on her wide, frightened ones.
“Why are you naked?”
“What?” She glanced down at herself. “Oh.”
Grabbing the garment hanging immediately to her right, she yanked it from the hanger and clutched it to the front of her body, almost—but not quite—concealing her nudity. It was a sparkly hot-pink evening gown.
Only Jessica Bailey could manage to look glamorous and sexy during a home invasion.
“Did you see him?” she asked in a high, shaky voice.
I shook my head, choosing not to tell her about the unconscious guard at the moment. She was already so shaken.
“No.”
“Was it another false alarm?”
“No. I’m afraid it wasn’t. Someone was here. I think I might have scared him away.”
“How do you know someone was here then?”
I couldn’t lie to her. “I saw one of your guards unconscious downstairs. He’d been either knocked out or drugged—I didn’t spend enough time with him to determine which. I was in a hurry to get to you.”
I tilted her chin up with one finger, so her eyes were forced to meet mine. “Are you okay?”
