Page 99 of Missile Strike

Before she could react, he pulled her in. “You’re safe,” he murmured in her ear, sounding as if he were reassuring himself rather than her.

Caleb eased in behind them, catching her eye as he walked past. He, too, wore a grim expression.

Her heart was going to pound right out of her chest. “What happened?”

Danny drew back, scanning her from head to toe. Beneath her palms, some of the tension in his body eased. “Someone cut my brake line.”

She frowned. “I don’t understand.”

Then his words registered.

“Oh, God.” Her hands moved over him, searching for injury, noting every smudge, every stain. Nothing that looked like blood. Still, she needed to be sure.

He caught her hands. Held them between his big palms. “Honey, I’m okay.”

“Who?” She searched his eyes for answers. “Who would do that?”

Not that she didn’t already know.

Omar Hassan.

The man had been desperate when he accosted her in the bank lobby.

Bitter.

Bitter enough to commit murder?

Her lungs tightened. “Hassan. He went after you because you’re protecting me.”

“I know what you’re thinking and you’re wrong.” Danny tilted her chin. Forced her to meet his eyes. “This is not your fault.”

“But he went after you.” Her vision blurred.

“We protect people for a living, Bella.” Danny’s voice gentled. “Danger is part of the job. We’re trained to handle it.”

“We should talk about whether Isabella stays here or we move her to a safe house,” Caleb said.

“No.” Isabella pulled her hands free from Danny. “The gala’s in three days. I have too many last-minute details to handle, and I’m not letting that man drive me out of my home.”

Danny sighed. “It makes more sense to harden the townhome than move her. We keep the Charlotte police in the loop—they already know about the note, and now, about the sabotage to my car.”

His expression hardened, becoming the stony mask of the Navy SEAL she’d only glimpsed before. “And she goes nowhere without protection.”

“I agree with Danny.” Tavari’s quiet voice cut through the room. “This is a family neighborhood. Lots of activity. It’d be hard for Hassan to approach Isabella’s home without someone noticing. Only two doors to cover and there’s already a security system in place that Nathan’s helped us secure.”

“Plus an armed protection agent in the home 24/7,” Caleb added, a slight tilt of his lips on his otherwise impassive face.

Danny faced her. “It’s your call, Bella.”

Isabella retreated to the couch. The romance novel she’d been trying to read earlier lay open. Enemies to lovers, explosive sexual tension, and a female main character who was as kick-ass as her male counterpart.

She ran her finger along the edge with a sad smile.

Everything she wasn’t.

Maybe Talia was right. Danny would get bored with her eventually. She wasn’t like the heroine in her romance novel, and she wasn’t sure she could build a life with someone whose job guaranteed danger.

He thrived on it.