Protector for Hire by Tawna Fenske Page B

dealer and a murderer. You don’t know the first thing about Schwartz Patton.
    But she did. It was stupid, but she felt like she knew Schwartz better than she’d known any man in ages. There was a sweetness behind the gruff exterior. A gooey center under the layers of dark chocolate.
    Janelle glanced at the coffee mug and wished for a chocolate espresso.
    That’s not all you’re craving.
    The office door flew open, and Schwartz stomped into the living room. He gripped a small black telephone in one hand, and he held it out as he approached.
    “Here,” he said, thrusting the phone at her. “It’s a throwaway phone, and I’ve made sure the call is untraceable. Talk to your sister.”
    “Anna?” She sat back in her chair and looked up at him. “Is she okay?”
    “She’s fine. Mac’s watching her.”
    There was a tinge of pride in his voice and a flicker of sadness in his eyes, but Janelle didn’t have time to think about it. She snatched the phone and pressed it to her ear.
    “Anna? What’s wrong—is everything all right?”
    “I’m fine, sweetie. Everything’s okay. But there was an incident.”
    Janelle’s heart was slamming against her lungs, making it hard to breathe, but she forced herself to keep her voice even. “What sort of incident?”
    “I had a wedding to do in San Francisco this weekend, so I drove by your apartment just to check things out. You know, to make sure no windows were broken out and no mail had piled up on the doorstep.”
    “Anna, that’s not safe—”
    “I know, I know . I didn’t get out of the car, and I was only driving around the neighborhood for three or four minutes, but someone followed me.”
    “What? Who? Jacques?”
    “No, not Jacques, but the guy looked familiar. I recognized him as one of those bodyguard types Jacques had with him that last time he tried to talk to you. I got scared, so I called Grant.”
    “But Grant’s up in Washington at Fort Lewis.”
    “Right, but Grant called Mac, and Mac’s been keeping a close eye on things, but I guess I didn’t realize how close, and—” Anna took a shuddery breath. “Anyway, Mac neutralized the threat.”
    “He what?”
    “I have no idea. I didn’t ask what that meant, exactly. All I know is that one minute this guy was on my tail, trying to get me to pull over, and the next minute this black car comes speeding from out of nowhere and forces the other car off the road and—well, I’m not sure what happened after that. Mac caught up to me at a Starbucks twenty minutes later and told me the threat had been neutralized.”
    “Jesus.” Janelle’s eyes filled with tears, and she looked up to see Schwartz still standing beside her. “I’m so sorry. This is all my fault.”
    “Don’t say that. I shouldn’t have driven by your apartment. I knew better than that.”
    “So you didn’t talk to the guy who followed you?”
    “No, but Mac did.”
    Janelle shivered, wondering if Mac’s idea of having a talk with someone was the same as Schwartz’s. She glanced at Schwartz again and saw his hands balled into fists at his sides.
    Probably.
    “Did the guy tell Mac anything?” Janelle asked, looking down at her own hands with their chipped manicure and bark-scraped palms.
    “Yeah, I guess so. He was one of Jacques’s men. They’re looking for you, honey. They’re not giving up.”
    Janelle swallowed hard and gripped the edge of the table. She hated the fact that she’d put her sister in danger. She hated that she’d dragged Anna’s fiancé’s whole family into this mess. They’d been so good to her. So sweet and generous and kind.
    She glanced up at Schwartz again. “Sweet” was not the first word that came to mind when she looked at him, but generous and kind were true.
    “I’m so sorry,” she said again, not sure if she was talking to her sister or to Schwartz.
    “It’s okay. It’s not your fault the guy you married turned out to be someone different than who you thought he was.”
    Yes,