Page 49 of Lone Star Country Protector
“I don’t think it was the smartest idea to ditch your protection and drive here on your own,” Dalton whispered. “But I’m glad you made it safely.”
“My car took a hit, but I’m okay.” She regretted the words the second they left her mouth. “Before you jump on meagain, it happened in my neighborhood before I could get to the highway, and I called it in.”
“Johnny Spear?” he asked, the corners of his mouth turning down in a frown.
“I couldn’t get a good look at the SUV driver, but I assumed it was him,” she said. “Who else would it be?”
Concern lines creased his forehead. “Did Houston PD report back?”
“As far as I know, he’s still on the loose,” she said.
“Consider me back on your case,” he said under his breath.
“Is that a good idea?”
“Do you have a better one?” he quipped, raking fingers through his hair. He paced back and forth in front of the window.
“I haven’t really thought about it,” she admitted. “Ralph was able to keep me safe out the back of the courthouse, and he was the one who made sure I was behind the wheel with doors locked before he even thought about leaving.”
“Johnny Spear could have followed you from the courthouse or been waiting for another opportunity to strike at your house.”
“That’s the reason I took Ralph with me,” she tried to explain.
“Not good enough, Blakely. You could have been killed.” The pacing quickened.
“But I wasn’t,” she said, trying to soothe him. As it was, she could almost see the wheels spinning as he retreated in thought. “I’m here. I’m in one piece. And I can’t spend my whole life worrying about ‘what if’ because that would push me over the edge. A lot can happen. It didn’t. I’m safe.”
“Promise me that you won’t disappear,” he stated. “I’ll request to be put back on your case, but you have to giveme your word that you won’t do anything to jeopardize your own safety.”
Blakely raised her right hand. “Do you have a stack of Bibles?”
Because she was ready to take an oath that she would stay by Dalton’s side and allow him to protect her.
Could she trust him with her heart?
Chapter Eighteen
The text came through approving Dalton’s request to be reinstated on Blakely’s case in a matter of minutes.
Are you sure this is what you want?
His response was direct:Never been more certain of anything in my life, boss.
Done.
Dalton glanced up at Blakely, who he was surprised to learn had been studying him like notes the night before a final. “I’m back on the case. You’re my responsibility now, and I take my job seriously.”
“So I’ve noticed,” she shot back as she matched his glare. “You’re the best. It’s the reason I’m still alive, and I don’t take that for granted.”
“No more funny business. Period. Understand?”
Blakely looked more than a little put off by the comment.
“I have no intention of getting myself killed,” she lobbed back with fire in her eyes. “And I feel a whole lot better with someone who I know is competent having my back than a stranger who is punching a time card.” Daggers shot from her eyes now. “And no more funny business on your side either.”
It wasn’t the words she said so much as the way she’d said them that had him thinking she’d changed topics on him. Did she mean the couple of kisses they’d shared? Because he hadn’t been the one to initiate them. Though, he’d been a willing participant. No way in hell could he regret those, or even stick them in the category ofbad ideas. They were. But they’d also been the best kisses of his life and had held the most heat and promise. He knew exactly what happened next when he let those kisses run wild. Primal instinct took on a life of its own when his hands roamed her smooth, silky skin. She was the closest thing to heaven on earth he’d ever experienced, and he highly doubted he would ever have the pleasure of experiencing anything that came remotely close again.
“We’re in agreement then,” he said vaguely. Two could play games. Speak in veiled sentences. “No more.”
