Page 27 of Her New Bodyguard: Colton

Those perfect lips fell open. "It could have been. Are you saying that your agency is trying to blackmail Dad's bank or something?"

"No. But I think his brother is."

Julia dug in my jacket, which was hanging over her chair. Pulling out the photos, she spread them on the table.

Leaning down, I casually put my hand on top of one of the pages as she pointed at it. "You said that guy Smith is likely Warren's brother?"

"Yes. So if he wanted to take down his brother's agency…" Staring up at the ceiling, everything clicked. "The easiest way to get his people all out in the open would be to create a situation nearby where a company would have a reason to hire security detail."

"Like threatening the families of the three top brass of a private bank," Julia added.

My eyes fell closed. "With Warren's men all away, Smith could seize the opportunity to swoop in and infiltrate the agency. Whether it was to take Warren's money, or just ruin his reputation, it would be possible once they had a foot inside. From everything the others have said, that's certainly what's happening."

"Then who are these guys?" Julia asked.

Shit.

She had pulled the photos out from under my hand. Her mouth fell open as she stared at them.

"What—"

"I was going to show you those as soon as I made sense of it."

Julia's jaw trembled. "You're involved with this. That's you with Smith."

"Not exactly. It's—"

She was off like a shot out the front door.

Julia had been wearing her running shoes, so she had a head start as I stopped to yank on my boots.

Dashing outside, I looked in all directions. There was some movement in the trees to the east, and it would make sense for her to head toward the highway.

But where would she go then? Would she hitchhike into town?

The thought of her getting into a stranger's truck nauseated me.

My precious girl would be out there alone, with no phone, and no way to tell if the bad guys were still after her.

It was all my fault for not explaining that photo right away.

If anything happened to Julia, I would never forgive myself.

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