Page 7 of Hidden Shadows
“Nate asked me not to until he gave me the all clear that you were told.”
She huffed, her cheeks reddening. “Well, I’m sorry you flew all this way for nothing, but your job is canceled.” She spun around, grabbing the handle of her bag and rolling it forward. He got three steps in behind her before she peeked a look over her shoulder, then turned on him again. “What are you doing?”
“Going to my room.”
“No. You need to go home.”
He laughed. “Even if I did get confirmation from Nate that this job was terminated, I doubt I’d get a flight out tonight.”
The line in her brow deepened, like the truth in that statement only frustrated her further.
A couple walked past, eyeing them closely.
Nixon lowered his voice. “Maybe we should have this conversation in one of our rooms.”
Her jaw tightened, and it took a moment for her to respond. “Fine. But you’ll just be told the same thing.”
Finley spun again and marched toward the elevator before jamming her finger on the button so hard he thought she’d dislocate something. When the doors opened and he followed her inside, she was all he could smell. That sweet floral scent again. Because being surrounded by it for the two-hour flight hadn’t been enough.
When the doors opened on the fifth floor and he followed her out, she eyed him suspiciously. She stopped halfway down the hall, and he stopped at the door beside hers.
“Really? Your room’s right beside mine?” She swiped her card and moved inside her room.
If she didn’t like that, shereallywouldn’t like—
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
He stepped inside his room to find she’d opened the connecting door.
“I’m not angry at you. I’m angry at the situation.Reallyangry. Don’t get comfortable. This isn’t happening.”
“You do realize I’m here to help you, right?”
“Nate and Andi should have been honest with me. And even though Nate told you not to, you still should have told me who you were on the plane.”
She stepped back and closed the door before he could respond.
Dropping his bag on the bed, he looked around the large hotel room. There was a mini bar in the corner, a big TV opposite the bed, and a bathroom. He ignored all of it, grabbing his phone and calling Nate as he moved to the window.
His friend answered on the first ring. “I know what you’re gonna say, Nix.”
“This isn’t gonna work.” The man had been a friend for years, but there was a line, and protecting a fully grown woman who clearly didn’t want his protection was it.
“Andi’s calling her right now. She’ll convince her.”
The Christmas decorations at the front of the hotel made nausea crawl through his gut. “And if she can’t?”
“She will. Finley knows she needs you. And we need her safe. She’s family, and someone’s targeting her.”
He knew both those things. Nate considered the woman a sister, and the asshole who was harassing her was escalating.
“Just let Andi work her magic,” Nate continued. “If anyone can turn Finley around, it’s her.”
Nixon blew out a breath. “I don’t like this.”
“I know. And I hate that I put you in this position. But you’re the only guy I trust to keep her safe.”
Nixon ran a hand over his face. Goddammit, how could he say no to that? “Fine.”
