Page 82 of Nanny for the Mercenaries

“What’s that on… oh my God. Harrison, you’re bleeding!”

“He says it’s just a small cut,” Kaylee said. “He’s had worse. That’s what hesays.”

“Put me down,” I repeated.

“We’re almost home,” he said.

I tried to resist, to jerk out of his arms, but it was useless. He was an order of magnitude stronger than I was. I would have had more luck trying to bend iron bars.

He was right about one thing: we reached the hotel a minute later. Only then did he lower me carefully to the ground. But as we went inside, he kept an arm around my waist to steady me. As I began walking, I was grateful for the support. With his free arm, Harrison held Kaylee’s hand.

The friendly bellhop was still behind the concierge desk, and his eyes widened when he saw us. I gave him a weak smile to let him know everything was okay, but he looked more worried than relieved.

When we reached the elevator, I said, “The man who mugged me…”

“No,” Harrison cut me off. “Quiet. No speaking yet.”

We reached the top floor and went into our penthouse. Harrison put a finger to his lips, motioned for us to stay put, then quietly stalked through the rooms. When he returned, he collected the electronic sweeping device Jordy had used when we first arrived and made another pass of the entire hotel suite. When he was satisfied, he finally led us over to the couch.

“It’s clean,” he said. “Tell me everything that happened.”

“I’m a little fuzzy,” I admitted. “But I remember being in the market, looking for souvenirs to buy for my friend Lisa. Then a man grabbed my arm and said, “Got you.” He covered my mouth and dragged me into the alley. Then everything went black.”

“That’s what happened,” Kaylee said with a nod. Her eyes were big, and she seemed to realize the importance of all of this. “I saw it all. Everything went black because daddy tackled him. Then the bad man reached into your pocket, took a bunch of money, and ran away.”

“Hewasa bad man,” Harrison said, tenderly caressing Kaylee’s cheek with his thumb. The smile he gave her held all the love in the world. “Sometimes bad men do bad things. You should be careful because of that. But you don’t need to be afraid, because your daddies will always be there to protect you.Always.”

“I know.” She hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. “I always feel safe with you, daddy.”

“I need to talk to Trish in private. Can you run and play in your room?”

Kaylee nodded, and hopped off the couch. She hesitated, then gave me a strong hug. “It will be okay, Trish. You have my daddy to protect you.”

I made myself smile. “I know.”

We watched Kaylee go to her room. Only when the door was closed did Harrison speak.

“Look directly at me.” He used his thumbs to open my eyelids all the way, and gazed into my eyes. “Look to your left. Now your right. Now look up. Down.” He carefully parted the hair above my ear. “You hit the pavement. There’s a little bruise, but nothing too bad. You aren’t concussed.”

“What about you?” I asked, pointing at the blood running down his temple.

“I’m fine. Fucking hell. I was afraid of this,” he growled angrily.

“I didn’t know it would happen,” I said defensively. “Archer said it was safe to visit the city…”

He quickly waved a hand dismissively. “I’m not mad at you. I’m mad at Jordy for bringing you and Kaylee along. I knew you might get targeted. Kadyrovic’s men must have noticed me following him.Fuck.”

“Kadyrovic…” I shook my head. I was still a little dizzy. “I don’t think so. That man was trying to mug me. Kaylee said he took my money?”

“Or maybe he was trying to take your hotel key. It’s not in your pocket. I need to talk to the manager, get him to change it out.”

“You think… you think Kadyrovic sent that man to try to mug me just to get my hotel card?”

“I don’t know what I think.Fuck.” Harrison got up and began pacing. “Fuck. I lost my camera, too. Need to find that and wipe it. Fuck, there’s too much evidence on there. Whole mission might be in jeopardy. Fuck me, I fucked up.”

“That’s a lot of fucks,” I said. “And not the good kind.”

My joke didn’t have any effect on him. “You said someone was watching you in Istanbul. Did you ever see them? Was it the same man?”

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