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“Stop calling me Jane.” She folded her arms across her chest, her anger, frustration, and desperation deepening. Griff didn’t love her. Griff didn’t seem to care about her at all right now.
“Forgive me … Scarlett.” The slight smirk turned to a tight-lipped angry line. “Go pack,” he demanded in a voice that few would argue with.
“No.” Scarlett pursed her own lips. “Not until you tell me where we’re going and why I should go withyou. If I’m in danger, I’ll hire my own security.” She was tough, smart, and wealthy. She didn’t need Griff Quinn, especially not the impenetrable Griff Quinn standing in front of her.
Griff slowly, deliberately walked toward her. He looked intimidating and so stinking attractive. He could give any action hero a run for their money. Even though he towered over her, she wouldn’t allow herself to back away from him. She glared up at him, borrowing on years of acting a part. If he could be cold and unattached, she could act that way too.
“I’m sure you could hire your own security, but Sutton’s team is the best in the world. His tech guys will find this threat. His team of former Navy SEALs and professional security specialists will neutralize it. AndIwill watch overyouevery second of the day.” His eyes traveled over her, and something in his gaze reached out to her. It heated her clear through, no matter how hard she tried to fight it, seeing how he didn’t love her any longer. “To make sure you’re safe,” he added.
“So this is only about my safety?” She begged him to open up to her, to tell her he was here because he cared. Everyone in her life, except her parents, acted a part, told her what she wanted to hear. Griff was real, and she needed to know the truth.
He studied her and finally nodded.
Scarlett shriveled inside. Griff wouldn’t lie to her. She straightened her spine and put on her tough action-star face. “I’m sure the famous Sutton Smith has many, many security personnel who could whisk me away and keep me safe. Why you?”
His smirk reappeared. “Because I’m the best.”
She gave him a saucy glare. “I don’t doubt that, but why would you accept an assignment to ‘watch me every second of the day’? Knowing our history, this can’t be easy for you.” She was projecting her own feelings. Being with him and knowing he didn’t love her would be horrific for her, yet he didn’t seem bothered by it at all.
His gaze never left hers, and she thought that deep down in those blue eyes she could see the Griff she used to love. He lifted his hand and grazed his knuckles along her jawline, which set her panting for air again. He could have her at his mercy before she could blink. Sadly for her, she wanted to be at his mercy.
“Because I used to care,” he murmured in a deep, gruff voice.
“Used to?” No. It was all over between them. She didn’t want to be around him another second if he had no feelings for her.
A few beats passed. He pulled his hand back and nodded. “Used to.” His gaze left hers and swept around the room. “Nice place.”
Scarlett felt unsteady and chilled. Even when he’d stopped responding to her years ago, she’d held out hope that he loved her, that he’d dumped her because he was noble and good and wanted to serve his country without emotional attachments, or something along those lines. She’d been in many action flicks where the hero or heroine had issues like that. It was understandable, and excusable, as long as they came together and chose each other in the end.
Seeing him now, how cold and detached he was from her and their past love, made her shiver. Griff finally coming and then acting like such a heartless jerk was ripping her apart. Especially if some faceless person had offered a million dollars for her to be kidnapped. What kind of psychotic person did that?
“Why are all your blinds shut?” he asked.
Scarlett hugged herself for warmth. Griff knew her so well. Even at night, she rarely closed blinds, preferring to see the lights outside and not feel so alone. “I don’t know. I felt uneasy earlier, right before you came.”
Griff’s gaze darted back to hers. He knew all about her spirituality and intuition. She attributed it all to her Father above, but many people had scoffed at her when she shared impressions. Griff never had.
“I didn’t see any signs of forced entry,” he murmured. He stepped in front of her. “Stay close,” he commanded.
Scarlett’s traitorous heart leapt, imagining he still cared for her. Griff used to tease her that she didn’t live in reality. If he’d thought that years ago, he’d laugh out loud at her thoughts now. The reality of being in danger and Griff coming to her rescue was something straight out of a daydream. However, any dream or fantasy of Scarlett’s would include one essential element—it could only happen in a world where Griff still loved her.
This reality, between the million-dollar bounty, the fear of who might have instigated it, and Griff being “assigned,” was more of a nightmare.
* * *
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EXCERPT - THE LOYAL PATRIOT
Lily stepped into the office all the way and the man turned to face her. Lily’s jaw dropped. Anybody with any kind of electronic device would recognize that good-looking face. “You’re …” She caught a breath. “Holy Toledo, you’re Hyde Metcalf!”
He smiled, and she honestly wanted to swoon right then and there. “‘Holy Toledo’?” he repeated.
She blushed.
On camera, Hyde Metcalf always had half a smile on his face, like he knew a joke everybody wanted to be privy to. But when he really smiled, wow, it was a good one. She didn’t have as much insight as she wanted to about his personal life because she tried diligently not to become obsessive about him, but she knew he had an African American father who’d also played pro football back in his day and a beautiful blonde mother. He was the perfect blend of his parents. His eyes were dark and framed with long lashes, and his face was just nice—the right amount of manly lines with enough softness to make him real.
Just because she didn’t allow herself to Google his personal life any more than once a week, or read every article put out by the gossip magazines about him, didn’t mean she didn’t know his every stat, watch his games faithfully, or follow him on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook … really, wherever he had an account. Okay, truth be told, she was a geeky football fan and she was pathetically star-struck by Hyde Metcalf.
