Security Detail. Lisa Phillips

had implied to the sheriff that there was some kind of relationship between them, and he could do the same with Manny. Andis likely already knew he and Kayla were acquaintances, but not that Conner hadn’t seen her again until tonight. If they thought Conner was starting a relationship with her, then he’d seem like he was just distracted, not working against them. Only interfering in Andis’s activities—like warning her they were on their way—could get him in trouble.

      It was the dance of every undercover assignment. Balancing who knew what and how much of the truth was necessary to strengthen the lie that was his whole life. He had to be the man the Secret Service had portrayed him as, the disgraced agent willing to share what he knew about counterfeit money in order to solidify his place as a bad guy.

      Kayla would never know what it had meant to him to see her tonight. For her to realize the truth his own Secret Service colleagues couldn’t know. Everyone he used to work with thought he’d been fired for misconduct. There was only one man in the Secret Service who knew Conner still worked for them—his handler, Greg.

      A door slammed.

      Conner looked at Kayla again and pulled on the handle.

      Manny rounded the hood of his truck. Armed. If this didn’t go right for him, it was going to go even worse for Kayla.

      Her father wasn’t doing well. Conner had asked his handler for updates after he’d read in the paper about a hospital stay for the former president. If Kayla was hurt—or worse—it wouldn’t be good for the old man. Then again, it wouldn’t be good when he found out his daughter was facilitating a battered-women’s shelter either. Sure, she helped women and children feel safe, but Kayla had never once backed down when it was a fight she could win. He’d had that conversation with her father what felt like a lifetime ago now, and they’d agreed her stubbornness would get her in trouble one day.

      Now it looked like that day had arrived.

      “Let’s go, Thorne. Andis will want to speak to you.”

      “Who says I’m going in? I have something to take care of first.” Conner waved at the truck.

      “Don’t worry about that. She’s coming, too. Andis wants to talk to her, and you’d better be ready to explain why you spooked Pete. He tore out of that building so fast. Said you shot at him... Like, what on earth, man? You weren’t supposed to be part of this.”

      “Part of what? Burning down a lawyer’s office? She doesn’t even represent criminals. And I didn’t shoot first—Pete did.”

      “Being a lawyer isn’t what Andis wants with her.” Manny pulled out his gun. “And I wasn’t asking.”

      “You could’ve killed both of us.” He motioned behind him to the truck, where Kayla was still passed out. “You wanna explain how breaking into her office escalated to burning us out and trying to kill us?”

      “You shouldn’t have interfered. Pete freaked,” Manny huffed. “The idiot decided to smoke you both out, so he got Earl on it. They figured you were there to get to the info faster and you’d be the one who’d give it to Andis instead. So the two of them caused a scene that’s going to take days to iron out with the police.”

      Conner had wondered if Andis had some kind of arrangement with the local cops. Maybe not the sheriff himself. It could be someone who worked for him who was paid to look the other way, like the dispatcher who hadn’t reported the fire. It was hard to be a good criminal with too many honest cops hanging around, and Andis wasn’t above much—least of all bribery.

      Manny lifted his chin. “So you can either tell me what that was about, or I can shoot you and tell Andis whatever I want. Kayla Harris goes to him either way.”

      “Not without me.”

      “Back off, Thorne.”

      “You don’t touch Kayla Harris. No one does. Whatever Andis wants, I’ll get it for him.”

      The sound of Kayla’s screams still echoed in his ears. He was supposed to protect her, to give his life to save hers. Every second for the rest of his life, he would remember that feeling, that split second when he wondered if today was the day he would fail in his duty.

      Conner folded his arms across his chest and said nothing.

      “So you have betrayed us for a woman.” Manny’s laugh held no humor. “I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.”

      “I haven’t betrayed anyone.”

      “No, it’s more like sold us out.” Manny motioned to the truck with his chin. “She worth it?”

      “We’re not talking about this. What does Andis want with her?”

      Manny’s eyes flashed. For a second Conner saw an edge. Did he want to kill her, or did he want Kayla for something else? It seemed like he had a personal stake with Kayla, but how could that be? She was nothing to Manny but a job.

      “She and I knew each other in the White House.” Conner’s tone suggested they were imbeciles for not having figured that out themselves. “Kayla and I go way back.” Conner jerked his shoulder in the direction of his truck.

      “Fine. Andis wants her brought in.”

      Conner didn’t much care for Manny’s tone. He needed to stake his claim. It was the only way these guys would accept his bone-deep need to keep her safe. Conner needed to at least try to remain in good standing with these guys and their boss if he was going to complete this assignment. Then he could get back in good standing with his boss at the Secret Service.

      It meant everything to him that Locke knew he wasn’t a disgraced agent.

      Or it had. Until he walked into Kayla’s office and saw her again.

      Men like Manny and Andis understood possession. They understood lines men didn’t cross, though often knowingly crossed them. The consequences would be real, and Manny knew that, too. Kayla was off-limits whether they were having a relationship or not. Manny, any of Andis’s men and the boss himself had to know that this business didn’t touch Kayla. There was no way he would let her get involved, even if she’d already done something inadvertently.

      He stepped closer to Manny. “Kayla isn’t going anywhere but with me.”

      It was a risky game, pushing Andis’s number two. Conner was under him as far as the hierarchy was concerned, but they all knew what it was like being tied up in knots by a beautiful woman. Even bad guys fell in love. And it didn’t matter what they thought about him being caught by her; it only mattered that they believed he’d fight for her.

      Because he would.

      Manny’s gaze darted over Conner’s shoulder. The truck door opened, then slammed shut.

      Kayla.

      “Conner?”

      Conner didn’t turn. Instead he watched Manny’s eyes flare. He saw the man shift his stance, reacting to Kayla’s presence in a way Conner didn’t like at all. Manny glanced at Conner. “She’s coming with me.”

      Conner stepped toward her. “I’m not going to let that happen.”

      Manny lifted his gun. Conner did the same, and they faced off as he moved to stand in front of Kayla. “Whoa,” Kayla said. “I didn’t see the gun.”

      Huddled behind him, she gripped the sides of his jacket. With her head down, she’d be out of sight so that she wasn’t a possible target. She remembered.

      Conner faced his so-called friend and held the gun tight even as he guided them back. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Kayla’s hand trace the hood of the truck as they went.

      “Kayla isn’t going anywhere.” Except where Conner put her, behind cover so he could keep her safe.

      Manny fired at them.