Secret Intentions. Paula Graves

held up one finger, annoying her. She clamped her mouth closed and sat on the sofa opposite his chair.

      “Tell them it’s not safe.” Jesse shot her a pointed look. She pressed her lips together more tightly and held her tongue, waiting until he finished with his brother. When he finally hung up the phone, he turned to look at her, preempting her next words. “Your parents will be calling from a secure phone in about twenty minutes.”

      “I want to see them, not just talk to them.”

      “Evie, someone just tried to kidnap you a second time. We’re damned lucky we’re both still alive.”

      She knew he was right, but she didn’t have to like it. “I can’t imagine my father will be happy about this situation.”

      Jesse’s eyebrow ticked upward. “I’m sure you’re right.”

      “What are you going to tell him when he calls?”

      “That you need protection.”

      “He’ll want his own people to guard me.”

      Jesse’s mouth set in a grim line. “Too bad.”

      “Don’t goad him about it.”

      “I won’t. But he’s being stubborn. He’s not going to find a security crew better equipped to handle the threat than Cooper Security. We know more about the SSU and AfterAssets than anyone out there. We have an entire section dedicated to bringing them down. He should let us help him protect not just you but the rest of your family, as well.”

      “I’m on your side, Jesse. You don’t have to convince me.”

      “I know.” His gaze shifted slightly, and she looked down to see that the T-shirt she’d selected was stretched tight across her breasts.

      Self-consciously, she crossed her arms in front of her. “I could use some clothes that fit better.”

      “I know. Tell me your size and I’ll have someone do some shopping at the thrift store in Gossamer Ridge for you.” Jesse leaned closer, his gaze narrowed as he searched her face. “Your eyes still look pretty red and swollen. Do they hurt?”

      “They’re better.” They weren’t stinging anymore, although the sensitive skin around her eyes felt tender and raw. “The blurry vision has gone away.”

      To her surprise, he reached out and touched her cheek. “I’m so sorry about what you’ve been through today. I know it had to be terrifying.”

      “I didn’t have time to think about it,” she admitted. “Not then.”

      He dropped his hand to cover hers. His palm was warm and dry, driving home how cold her own hands were.

      With a look of apology, he said, “I need you to tell me everything you can remember about the last few hours.”

      Chapter Four

      Evie eased her hands away from Jesse’s grasp and sat up straighter. “You know they grabbed me outside the sanctuary. I told you that, right?”

      He nodded. “They put you in that box I saw them carrying.”

      “Right. I think it was one of those big cases large audio speakers go in.”

      Jesse nodded. “That makes sense. The truck had a logo on the side—Audiovisual Assets.”

      “Assets.” The word clicked into focus. “As in AfterAssets?”

      He looked surprised. “I hadn’t thought about that. But because we’re pretty sure those guys were former SSU operatives, it makes sense.”

      “They definitely gave off the stench of the SSU. All business. I was out of commission and stuck in that box before I had time to think.”

      “How did you get out?”

      She managed a grin. “I used my earrings to slide through the space between the box and the lid to push the latches open.”

      He smiled. “Everybody always underestimates you, don’t they?”

      She felt ridiculously pleased at the indirect compliment. “At their peril,” she said with a bright bravado she didn’t quite feel. The full impact of what had happened to her had begun to sink in. Jesse was right—she’d been lucky today. Twice. “How did you know to follow the truck anyway?”

      “A hunch,” he admitted. He told her about seeing the silk sticking out of the box. “When I called your phone and got Rita, I couldn’t shake the feeling that you were inside that box.”

      She tamped down a shiver. “Thank God for your hunches.”

      He got up from his chair and sat beside her on the sofa, sliding his arm around her shoulder. She fought the urge to sink into his arms, acutely aware of the danger that lay behind that desire.

      Beyond the fact that he was her boss, he was also about as off-limits as a man came. He’d been her sister’s fiancé, and she was pretty sure he still harbored feelings for Rita that would never go away. She’d already spent her whole life coming in second to her brilliant, beautiful sister. She wasn’t going to do that with Jesse Cooper. It was long past time to let go of her girlhood crush on him.

      Jesse’s cell phone rang, giving her an excuse to ease out of his grasp. He looked at the display, frowning a little as he answered. “Hello?”

      After a pause, he held out the phone to her. “Your father.”

      She took the phone, dismayed at how her hand was shaking. “Daddy?”

      Her father’s deep growl rumbled over the phone line. “Kitten, are you okay? Cooper’s brother told me what happened to you.”

      “I’m fine.” She blinked back the unexpected tears stinging her eyes. It had been a long time since her father had used his old pet name for her. Their relationship had been difficult for the past few months, ever since she’d told him she was taking the accounting job at Cooper Security. It was good to hear him speak to her without the strain of disapproval.

      “You don’t sound fine. What happened exactly?”

      She told her father about the ambush, trying to make it sound less scary than it had been at the time. “Jesse helped me get away. I was lucky.”

      “You tell Cooper you want to come home.”

      “Daddy—”

      “I’ll hire extra security.”

      “Hire Cooper Security,” she said. “We’re all still in danger. And the security team you’ve hired isn’t capable of dealing with these people.”

      “You think I can’t protect you?”

      “I know you’d do everything you could. But this is big, Dad. You know that better than any of us.”

      He was silent a moment.

      “Daddy, please talk to Jesse. Tell him everything you know about the Espera Group. Give him your part of the code to the journal.”

      “Evie, none of this concerns you.”

      “It all concerns me. They’re trying to use us against you because of what you know.”

      “And flapping my jaws about what I know will only make things that much worse. I’m trying to protect you girls and your mama.”

      “It’s not working.”

      “I know what I’m doing.”

      She bit back a retort she knew would only hurt her father. “I do, too. Jesse and the Coopers know what we’re up against. I trust them to protect me. And maybe it’s smarter if we’re not all together in one place.”

      “I don’t agree.”

      “I