Page 11 of Noel
I’ll find them.
And when I do, they’re done.
The traffic clears as we emerge from the tunnel into Jersey, headlights bouncing off slick asphalt.
The skyline fades behind us, replaced by narrow streets lined with brownstones and corner delis still glowing from the evening rush.
She signals right, pulling into a small lot beside a three-story brick building that’s seen better days.
Weehawken.Modest, tidy.
A few wreaths hang lopsided on doors.Hers is the last apartment on the second floor, if I remember the file right.
I park a few spaces back, engine idling.Through her rearview mirror, I catch the flash of her face—the quick exhale of relief, shoulders slumping like the air’s finally safe to breathe.
Yeah, that does something to me too.
Because I want to keep her feeling like that.Safe.
The thought hits me harder than it should, sharp and unwelcome.
I don’t do feelings.I do facts.Threat assessments.Tactical defense.
But looking at her now, fumbling with her keys, cheeks pink from the cold, I get this tight, stupid ache in my chest.
Not just protectiveness.Not just duty.
Something worse.
Something I can’t afford.
I kill the engine and sit there a moment longer, the sound of the city humming faintly around me.
Yeah, I’ll sweep her apartment.Check her locks.Get her new security installed before morning.
And then I’ll do the smart thing.
Keep my distance.
Because if I let myself get any closer to Holly Winters, I won’t just be breaking protocol.
I’ll be breaking myself.And that’s not something I can afford to do.
By the time I blink, she’s already hustling up the front steps.The building’s old but clean—three floors, small lobby, old radiator hissing like it’s tired of trying.
I kill the engine and step out, boots crunching on gravel, eyes automatically scanning.
Nothing obvious.Just a quiet Jersey neighborhood half-drowned in holiday lights.
She glances back as I reach the door.The look she gives me is halfway between suspicion and relief.
“You followed me.”
“Yeah,” I say.“That’s what bodyguards do.”
Her lips twitch like she’s fighting a smile and losing.“You’re not officially my bodyguard.I mean, I haven’t said yes yet.”
“Already told you, the Callahans hired me.But give it another ten minutes, I’ll grow on you.”
