Page 22 of Missile Strike

He turned and gave her that sexy grin that used to make her blush whenever he aimed it her way. “Yes, I do. I’m staying at a hotel nearby.”

Her body went cold. Her address wasn’t public knowledge.

On purpose.

“How? How do you know?”

Danny’s grin disappeared. “Your father gave me your address.” He was watching her carefully, as if she were a crazy person he needed to manage.

It’s Danny.

Even with everything that went wrong between them, she could trust him.

Couldn’t she?

She gave him a tight-lipped smile. “I’ll be ready at six-thirty.”

Chapter Five

Danny watched Bella’s car leave the parking garage. He’d seen her two weeks ago, so he knew what she looked like at thirty.

But damn, it hadn’t stopped his lungs from seizing when she turned to face him at the hotel. The reminder hit—how tiny she was, even in heels. That business suit hadn’t disguised the curves of her breasts and hips, or that sweet little ass.

And her eyes. Golden brown that deepened to amber with emotion. Like they had when he’d taken down his hood on the yacht.

He hadn’t needed to remove it—he’d wanted Bella to see him. Recognize him.

And she had.

She’d whispered his name, and he was grateful his wetsuit kept his body’s reaction from showing.

Consuela roared to life, but the rumbling purr of her engine did nothing to soothe his nerves. The hurt in Bella’s voice when he’d tried to apologize for how he’d left things between them was another reminder of how badly he’d failed her.

The timing had been all wrong. She’d been too young. His path in the Navy already set.

And look at her now. Strategic Events Coordinator for AegisShield Defense Solutions, a Charlotte-based defense company that designed and manufactured missile defense systems for the US and its allied partners. The file Nathan had compiled on her noted her meticulous attention to detail, her calm under pressure, and her ability to handle complex projects.

No wonder her father had asked her to organize his re-election gala.

But the irony of her career choice wasn’t lost on Danny, given what he knew of her childhood.

There was much more to grown-up Bella than met the eye.

Exiting the parking garage, he headed south to the Ballantyne neighborhood in south Charlotte, where he’d gotten a hotel close to Bella’s townhome.

This job required getting close to her. But he didn’t have to add to the hurt he’d already caused. Maybe by the time he left, he could fix the mistakes he’d made, and they could part as friends.

They couldn’t be anything more. Because he would leave.

His life as a Navy SEAL, and now as a protection agent with Dìleas, was exciting, straightforward, uncomplicated.

Relationships weren’t.

Unlike his buddies at Dìleas, he had no plans to settle down.

His phone broke into the hard-driving bass drum of “Enter Sandman.”

Nathan’s ringtone. The dude got a weird kick out of programming a personal ringtone for everyone at Dìleas into a thirty-second distillation of their personality.