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“Good, because I don’t want to argue—and before you get your second wind and launch into another all-out attack, trying to shoot me down, I just want to tell you that you’re right.”
Marlowe’s mouth dropped open, the words she was about to say dying before they ever emerged. He’d caught her completely off guard.
“I’m what?” she asked.
“You’re right,” Bowie repeated. “From everything you’ve told me, Selina doesn’t have your family’s best interests at heart, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we found out that she was at least partially behind what’s been going on to undermine the company with Ace.”
We. He had said we. As if they were a set, two parts of a whole. Ordinarily, she would rebel against that, saying something snide because she felt that he was trying to order her around or just take over.
But for some reason she couldn’t begin to explain to herself, this time the fact that he thought that way just warmed her.
She could only think that this pregnancy was playing havoc with her mind as well as her emotions. What other reason could there be for her reaction? She wasn’t willing to admit that she was falling for the father of her unborn baby, at least, not yet. Even though, deep down in her gut, she already knew the answer to that.
“So you agree with me that I should follow her the next time she leaves the building unexpectedly. See what she might be up to,” Marlowe concluded. She didn’t expect it to be this easy. He had to be up to something, she reasoned—or did he just really care for her?
“I agree with everything,” Bowie told her, “except the part about you following her on your own.”
“Robertson,” she began, frustrated because they seemed to be going around in circles.
But Bowie pushed on as if she hadn’t just said his name. “Which is why I’m going to tag along when the time comes,” he told Marlowe, then turned toward the bodyguard. “When that happens, consider yourself relieved, Bigelow.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Wait, what just happened here?” Marlowe asked, feeling railroaded.
“I just agreed with you,” Bowie replied simply.
“The other part,” Marlowe stipulated from between clenched teeth.
“The other part?” Bowie repeated innocently.
That only managed to fan her anger. “Yes, the other part. The part about you taking Wallace’s place and coming with me while I follow Selina to wherever she plans to go.”
“Seems to me like you have a clear understanding of that part,” he told her. And then he grew serious. “Look, Marlowe, there’s someone out there who clearly has it in for Colton Oil in general and maybe you specifically. In either case, I have no intentions of taking a chance on you getting hurt—or worse.”
“You have no intentions,” she echoed.
“Then we understand each other,” he concluded, evidently hoping that would be the end of it.
Marlowe drew herself up. “Since when did you get to figure into this equation?” she demanded.
Bowie’s eyes looked into hers. “I think you know the answer to that,” he informed her in a low voice that was only loud enough for Marlowe to make out.
“Oh, and having you with me won’t set off any alarms with Selina?” She laughed at the very idea.
“I thought the idea was to follow the woman discreetly so she could lead you to whoever she’s working with—if she is working with anyone,” he qualified.
Marlowe blew out a breath. She was defeated and she knew it. Bowie had just shot her down, and he was right. She would be safer with him along—not that she’d mind having him by her side. She had no doubts that Selina was vindictive enough to do something drastic if she set her mind to it.
> “All right, you win,” Marlowe told him. “When I follow Selina, I’ll let you know.”
He looked at the man he had hired to be Marlowe’s bodyguard. “Bigelow?”
The big man knew what was being asked of him. “I’ll call you and let you know, sir,” he promised.
“My word isn’t good enough for you?” Marlowe questioned, looking at Bowie.
“You might get caught up in the moment and forget to call,” he explained innocently. “While Bigelow here has only one thing to focus on—your safety,” he told her.
