Bodyguard: A Bad Boy Stepbrother Romance (Snake Eyes Book 1) by Tabatha Kiss

from the dead, Fox?”
    “It’s a complicated situation…”
    “Yeah, no shit.”
    “Please don’t tell anyone you saw her,” I add.
    “Fox, come on. It’s me .” She leans forward, lowering her voice. “If this was all about her, why didn’t you just say so?”
    “Because it’s a—”
    “Complicated situation ,” she finishes with a happy sigh. “Take whatever you need.”
    “Thank you.”
    “I’m sure Boxcar will prove his usefulness once more.”
    “I’ll make sure he does.”
    Caleb’s eyes follow a trail behind me, ending with a presence hovering over my shoulder. I glance to the side and Dani’s elbow brushes my ribs.
    “I want a gun.”
    I spin in her direction. “You what ?”
    “I want a gun,” she repeats, her little blue eyes sparkling with innocence.
    “No.” I shake my head. “You don’t get a gun.”
    “Why not?”
    “Because you don’t know the first thing about handling a gun, Dani.”
    “Yes, I do,” she claims. “I did thirty hours of training with L.A.P.D. officers for Backseat Driver .”
    I blink with disbelief. “ Backseat what?”
    “ Backseat Driver. Come on, you saw it. Everyone saw it.”
    “I saw it,” Caleb grins.
    “See?” Dani points at her.
    I play dumb, bringing annoyance to her eyes. “I don’t have time to watch movies, Dani.”
    “Just ask my dad if you don’t believe me,” she sighs with frustration. “Or we can throw up a target and I’ll prove it right now.”
    I glance at Caleb’s amused face then back at Dani. “ No. You can’t have a gun.”
    “My life is in danger, Fox. No offense to you and your skills but I’d feel much safer if I were armed.” She looks at Caleb. “I want a gun — and not a dinky little .22 girl gun. I want a 9mm Glock.”
    I turn back to Caleb in defeat. “And a Glock for the lady, please…”
    Caleb turns with a grin. “I change my mind. I like her.” She walks off into the back room, snatching a black duffel bag off the wall as she goes.
    “She didn’t like me?” Dani asks. “Why didn’t she like me?”
    “Don’t worry about it, Dani.” I glance at her again and she looks up at me with those perfect eyes. “Thirty hours?”
    She smiles and my knees turn to jelly.
    “Here you go.” Caleb drops the black bag onto the counter.
    “Thanks again, Caleb.” I grab the bag, taken back by its surprising heft.
    She grins at Dani and holds out a Glock by the barrel. “And for you…”
    Dani steps forward to take it but I snatch it away from her and drop it into the bag with the rest of it.
    Caleb chuckles. “If you get busted with it, you didn’t get it from me.”
    “As always,” I mutter. “Come on, Dani.”
    “And if I don’t get my Model 60 back, I’ll kill you myself.”
    I shrug. “I’d just come back.”
    “Yeah, yeah…”
    Dani lingers behind me and waves to Caleb. “It was nice to meet you.”
    “Take care of him for me,” Caleb replies, flashing a quick wave in return.
    Dani gives her a short smile before following me outside. “What did she mean by that?” she asks me.
    “Nothing,” I answer, popping the trunk open and setting the black bag inside.
    Dani hovers over my shoulder with her arms crossed. “I sensed some friction there…” she hums. “You wanna talk about it?”
    “It’s not what you think.”
    She slides in closer as I inspect the bag. I grab the bowie knife and smile at the ankle holster Caleb tossed inside, along with enough extra ammo to take down a small army. That’s her style, I suppose. All or nothing.
    “Did you two have some sordid, desert love affair or something?” Dani asks.
    “No,” I answer, zipping it closed.
    She scoffs. “Oh, come on.”
    “We didn’t,” I claim. “She and Boxcar, however…”
    “Who’s Boxcar?”
    I close the trunk. “Boxcar is our next stop.”
    “The guy in Denver that can decrypt the drive?” I nod and gesture for her to get back in the car. We walk around opposite sides and climb in. “What