Page 10 of Beyond Rosy Irish Twilight

He snapped his fingers and another man walked over. “This is Ray. He’s on her protection detail.”

“What happened today?”

“Ms. Buchanan went into the shop to look at dresses. When she came out, she was acting erratic, looking around as if someone was after her. She started running from us and that’s when the shots were fired. She ran right at a car that exploded.”

“Did you check out the shop before she went inside?”

“Of course we did.”

“And when she came out, you said she was acting erratic. Was that immediately when she came out or after you approached her?”

“We didn’t have time to approach her,” he said.

“How far away were you?” I questioned.

“Not far.”

“Yet, she was able to run from you. She can’t be any more than five feet tall. Are you telling me that a woman outran you? That she was shot at and then still ran away from you instead of going to you for protection?” I turned to Buchanan. “What’s the protocol if shots are fired?”

He stiffened beside me. “The guards immediately step in front of her for protection.”

“But you didn’t do that,” I accused. “Because if you had, she wouldn’t have been able to run from you.”

He opened his mouth, struggling for something to say. “She fell to the ground when the shots were fired,” he said, stumbling over his words.

“Which means that she would have been on the ground and it should have been even harder for her to get away from you.” I stepped into his space. “You weren’t there, were you?”

He swallowed hard as sweat formed on his brow. He stood taller, trying to intimidate me, but this fucker didn’t know what it truly meant to be intimidated.

“You’re dismissed.”

Ambrose stepped between us and nodded to the man. “Remember, you’re talking to my staff.”

“And that’s my fiancé in there. There’s no fucking way I’m leaving her protection to men that weren’t even where they were supposed to be.”

I wasn’t sure if he was aware that his guards weren’t in position like they were supposed to be or if he just didn’t care. But I wasn’t about to bet her life or mine on that.

Patrick stepped off the elevator and I waved him over. Dressed in all black, he was intimidating as hell. His tattoos peeked out from the top of his shirt and over his fingers from the full sleeves on both arms. Ambrose didn’t look the least impressed, but I didn’t give a fuck what he thought.

“This is Patrick. He’ll take over Ms. Buchanan’s detail.”

“In addition to my own detail,” Ambrose cut in.

“No,” I answered, my voice deadly and low. “If my life depends on her staying alive, I will put someone I trust explicitly in the position of protecting her. Patrick is the best of the best, and I won’t have anything else for my future bride.”

I turned to the guard outside her door and jerked my head at him. “You’re relieved.”

He looked to Ambrose, who nodded, though I could tell he was pissed about it. Patrick took up position outside her door and stood stoically despite the tension in the air.

Ambrose watched me carefully. “I’m sure you want to see your fiancé. I’ll give you a moment.”

How kind of him. I shoved past him and stepped inside, feeling my heart stop the moment I saw her lying in that bed. Even with cuts all over her body, she was fucking beautiful. I had to remind myself that this was an arranged marriage, and it wouldn’t do me any good to sleep with her. I had to keep some separation between what I had to do and my real life. Mixing the two would only end badly for us.

4

JADE

“What were you thinking?” my father yelled at me.

---