Page 32 of My Masked Savior
My friend breathes out through her nose. “No, I don’t mind either way. You’re right. See if your new boyfriend can hook me up.”
I flush at her description of Damien. My boyfriend.Swoon.
This is serious, Morgan, be serious.
Yeah, yeah,I tell my inner voice as I pull my cellphone out of my purse. I open our text thread, the one we started yesterday after he put his number into my phone, flushing at the last message he sent me, one I’ve been too preoccupied to reply to properly.Later.
Me:
We need your help.
Damien Hale:
Who’s we and what do you need, princess?
My lips tug up at the corners. This is a man whocomes through for you.
12
DAMIEN
Ienter O’Malley’s, scanning the dim interior until I spot Ethan and Killian occupying a corner booth. Ethan’s nursing what looks like whiskey while Killian’s got a beer in front of him, his massive frame making the booth look like doll furniture.
“Look who decided to grace us with his presence,” Killian calls out as I approach. “Thought maybe you got lost in that pretty girl’s?—”
“Finish that sentence and I’ll make you eat your teeth,” I cut him off, sliding into the booth across from them.
Ethan smirks. “Touchy. She must be something special if she’s got you this wound up.”
“I’m not wound up.”
“Right,” Killian drawls. “That’s why you called an emergency meeting at a bar on a Wednesday night. Totally normal behavior for you.”
I flag down the bartender, order a Guinness, then turn back to face their matching grins. “Her friend needs a bodyguard. Someone good. Someone discreet.”
Ethan’s eyebrows climb. “Her friend? Not her?”
“Morgan doesn’t need one.”
“Because you’ve appointed yourself to that position?” Killian asks.
I ignore that. “The friend’s being stalked. Dead animals in the mail. Threats. She doesn’t want to go to the police.”
Ethan leans forward, interest sharpening his features. “What’s her story?”
“That’s confidential.”
“Confidential,” Killian repeats, shaking his head. “Man’s been watching this girl through her window, and now he’s talking about confidentiality.”
My jaw tightens. “You want to keep going?”
“Peace.” Ethan raises both hands. “We’re just giving you shit. What does she need? Level of threat?”
The bartender drops off my Guinness, and I take a long pull before answering. “Unknown sender. Escalating pattern. Could be nothing, could be something serious.”
“High-profile client?” Killian asks.
I hesitate. Morgan said she’d tell me more after talking to her friend again. “Maybe.”
