Mission: Impossible to Protect (The Impossible Mission Romantic Suspense Series Book 6), стр. 33

Her hazel eyes that were lasered on him took on a yellowish hue against the purple of her facial bruising. He could almost hear her brilliant brain grinding on all cylinders.

“You’re holding something back. I can always tell when you’re in your cone of silence shtick. Your eyes turn Puget Sound blue, and your jaw tightens right there.”

She touched his tight jaw, clenched over his molars.

What the hell was Puget Sound blue? He would’ve laughed if this weren’t serious. And he liked her rather poetic description.

“You’re right. There is more… I don’t want you to be upset.”

Her body stiffened. “Not telling me makes me upset.”

He took the cup out of her hand and placed it on the bedside stand and then interlaced his fingers with hers.

“Damn it, Lars.” She pulled her hand away. “Now you’re really scaring me. Don’t be nice. Just rip the bandage off.”

“I’m sorry. Young’s body was found outside your Seattle condo.”

Her flushed skin lost its color, and her mouth hung open until she snapped it shut. She swallowed hard. “In Seattle? I don’t understand.”

“Yeah, you do, honey.” He brushed the hair away from her eyes. His fingers lingered on the sensitive spot behind her ear before trailing down her neck. He needed to touch her, to comfort her as he delivered the news that he dreaded.

“His body was a message.”

“For me?” Her voice wobbled. She was a smart woman and would’ve come to the conclusion all on her own if she weren’t running on empty. Her loss of her usual quick thinking was his fault. His incessant demands had exhausted her. But he’d expected they would have all day to rest and recover. He had planned on a red-eye to New York—less scrutiny.

Shivers wracked her body. He pulled the blanket from the foot of the bed and wrapped it around her shoulders, holding her tight against him.

“Yes. Powell thinks that Miro is after you because you’re a Fed.”

She pressed her lips together and focused on his face. He wanted to reassure her, but she was too smart and too brave. She deserved as much of the truth as he was willing to share.

“There must be some way for Powell to disavow me. Can’t he put it out to their informants that I’m an innocent bystander, not an agent?”

He lavished kisses long her hairline, inhaling the lemony scent. Was there any way to reassure her without scaring her?

Lars didn’t believe for a nanosecond that Miro’s sources hadn’t informed him that Danni wasn’t an agent. What mattered was that Miro hadn’t stopped looking for Danni. He had just taken the game up a gargantuan leap by transporting Young’s body to Seattle. Powell reported that it had definitely been moved after he had been killed.

Young’s torn-up body was a valentine from the sick bastard. Miro wanted Danni terrified like the sick fuck that he was. The drummer had been tortured, multiple knife wounds indicating a slow, painful death.

“If that monster is in Seattle, you’ll need to really up protection for Sophie and Jordan.” The color returned to her face as she twisted the bedsheet between her fingers. “It’s easy enough to find out they’re my friends. Anyone who does a basic Google search will find all the articles Jordan and I have written about our research. And then there are tons of social media posts with Sophie and me partying.”

He wasn’t surprised by Danni’s immediate protective reaction. Like him, she took care of the people she cared about. She didn’t have to worry about her friends. They were well guarded, as she would be. She might not like his plans, but she would see the logic in them once she got past the shock.

“I can’t stay with Sophie. I would be endangering her.”

“I agree.” He breathed a deep sigh of relief. She was unique—logical and caring. She was his perfect match.

“That’s the plan. We need to get moving. The airplane lands in Torrance in forty-five minutes, and I want to do a fast turnaround. I don’t want to give the cartel time to track the flight records.”

“Which Dean safe house are you thinking of? It can’t be associated in any way with Jordan or Sophie.”

“We’re going to cut all ties to the Dean safe houses. I’m taking you to New York with me.”

Danni’s head snapped back. “You’re doing what?”

“We need to hustle.”

“Why would I go to New York? You’re going there to meet with your agent. Not to play my bodyguard.”

“Exactly. Gives us a great cover.”

She shook her head. “I can set up my own detail with Aiden. I’ll stay in one of the safe houses in Seattle, or I can stay here if you think it’s better not to return to Seattle.”

“Neither is an option. They know where you live, and they know your friends.”

She patted his hand. “You’ve done more than enough for me.”

WTF? She was trying to placate him… As if he’d leave her.

“New York is our best option right now. You need to disappear.”

Danni scooted up to the headboard, increasing the distance between them. “Disappear?”

“Look. I never planned for you to return to Seattle. It is exactly what the cartel would expect you to do. And I was proven right—LA is too hot to remain here. The cartel has infiltrated everything in this town. I have to trust Powell, but it doesn’t mean that I trust the DEA not to leak information about your whereabouts.”

She shook her head, her hair tumbling into tumultuous disarray like a wanton goddess’s. Did she have any idea how easily she could twist him into knots?

“But you thought once they did their research, they would know I wasn’t an undercover Fed and leave me alone.”

He shrugged. “It was always uncertain, just a working idea.”

Lars wasn’t willing to tell her that he always suspected that Miro wanted her for fun and games, not because she posed any threat. Men like Miro never saw a woman as a risk.