Mission: Impossible to Protect (The Impossible Mission Romantic Suspense Series Book 6), стр. 24

She looked up at him, waiting for him to make a joke about her tears. Instead, his eyes were back to the steely blue. What? He couldn’t handle a few tears from a woman? No wonder he never had a long-term relationship. Tears were a monthly part of many women’s lives. “Is Alex in danger from the cartel?”

His jaw clenched in the familiar Jenkins manner. On their broad Scandinavian faces, you couldn’t miss the tightening below the angular cheekbones and bright eyes. His eyes weren’t bright now but had changed to an icy glare.

“Probably not, but until Roland Young is found, I’ve attached a Jenkins bodyguard to Hardy. I wasn’t overly impressed with his head of security. But to be fair to the guy, it’s one thing to stop the ladies versus a cartel. My guy can handle whatever is thrown at him.”

“Thank you. That was very thoughtful.”

“It wasn’t. I need to make sure Hardy isn’t involved with Young and the cartel. I find it hard to believe that Hardy never noticed Young’s activities. Traveling from city to city gives the band the opportunity to move drugs or cartel money under the guise of touring.”

“What?” She couldn’t catch her breath from the visceral shock to her chest. Could she have missed Alex’s illegal activity? “Alex is a highly successful artist. Why would he need to work for the cartel?”

“The cartel bankrolls plenty of businesses, including entertainment areas like Las Vegas.”

“Alex is a generous donor to humanitarian and environmental causes. You can’t really believe Alex is involved.” She had never travelled on the tour bus, but the bus did offer an easy way to transport contraband. She couldn’t believe it about Alex. She had spent enough time with him to know he wasn’t capable of anything so insidious.

“It’s very unlikely that Hardy’s involved, but at this point, everyone is a suspect.”

“That’s fair, but I will never believe Alex is working with a drug cartel.”

“Love makes people blind.”

For the past months, Lars thought she was in love with Alex. And she’d let him believe it to keep him at a distance. Reeves had recently told Lars that she was Alex’s bodyguard. He and Reeves must believe she was romantically involved with Alex. She was a better actress than she thought.

Could jealousy account for his sudden change from warm and caring to distant and cold? Lars wasn’t the type to care enough about any woman to be jealous. She knew his type. Every attractive woman was a challenge to be won like a damn trophy. Her “supposed” relationship with Alex didn’t stop Lars from daring her to get physical with him, trying to push her into making a big mistake.

“You ready to get out of your clothes?”

It must be the stress overload, but she caught herself before laughing out loud. That there was a possibility that Alex might be involved with Miro incinerated her brain circuits. She needed sleep, food, a shower, and then an escape hatch.

“I’m sure you’ve used that line a lot.”

“Is there any time soon that you’ll stop with the jabs?” His voice edged to sharp, a tone he had never used with her. “You know I’m not the bad guy here. And you might want to consider that most of my life I’ve been on active duty, not spending my life pursuing women. I’m not like Hardy, having women waiting in every city.”

She was too exhausted to sort out the undercurrents swirling between them.

“I’m on overload over here. I’ll stop whatever offends you.”

“You will?”

His look of shock made Danni laugh. “For now.”

“Of course.” He grinned back at her, the tension dissipating.

“We need to get your foot and ankle elevated. How do you want to get into these sweats and T-shirt I found in a drawer? There are clothes for Sophie and Jordan, but you’re taller than they are, and none of them looked easy to get into and not particularly comfortable to sleep in.”

“I can handle getting the clothes on.” A stretch, but she was damn sure she wouldn’t be letting Lars undress her. She wasn’t that drugged.

“You might need help with your zippers.” Amusement laced his voice as his eyes focused on the zipper of her bustier.

Heat flooded Danni’s face and body at the idea of his large hands touching her. God, she was too tired to handle any more of anything.

“Let’s see how I do without your help.” Her skirt’s zipper was on the side, and she might be able to unzip it. She twisted to reach for the zipper and felt the sudden pull on her unhappy back muscles. And froze.

“I need Luna. My back is this—” She raised her right hand to demonstrate an inch when she noticed how swollen her fingers were. They looked like breakfast sausages and were turning the same color as her face. Suddenly, it was too much. The trip to the bathroom had wiped her out. She couldn’t stop the tear that trickled down her cheek.

“You’ll have to help me.”

She didn’t want him to see how low she felt or how much she needed his help. If he made any comment, she’d punch him with her cast.

“You must be exhausted to not comment on my experience with zippers.”

“Just do it.” She glared at him through her teary eyes. “And not another word. If you hadn’t cancelled Sophie’s flight, my friend would be here helping me.”

“Of course, that was the reason I cancelled her flight. So I could undress you when you’re drugged and look like you had a fight with a door and the door won.”

Why did his comment cheer her up more than if he had tried to comfort her?

He bent over to reach her skirt zipper, and she could see the heavy grain on his day beard, the dashing scar over his thick eyebrow, and his full soft lips. She couldn’t stop herself from staring at each feature. His long nose had a slight bump