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She sighed and nodded. Joe was going above and beyond the call of duty because she was Rhy’s little sister. The youngest Finnegan. Rhy’s team would walk barefoot over fire for him.
Protesting would be useless.
Besides, the small bullet hole in the windshield was difficult to ignore. A constant reminder of the fact that the shooter wanted her dead.
Just because she’d bumped into him?
Probably. After all, he’d ruthlessly gunned down dozens of innocent people enjoying a holiday parade.
Joe opened her door. Sliding from the vehicle, she forced herself to stand on shaky knees. She needed to pull herself together. The danger was over. She waited as he closed the car door, then took her elbow to escort her inside.
A man in his midfifties was seated behind the counter. He straightened, then grinned. “Well, if it isn’t Joe Kingsley, Rhy Finnegan’s right-hand man.”
“Hey, Gary.” Joe stepped up to the desk offering a grin. “This is Elly Finnegan. I’m hoping you have a pair of rooms for us to use for tonight.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Elly.” Gary extended his hand, and she shook it. So did Joe. “Of course, I have two connecting rooms, but they’re on the second floor.”
She caught the grimace that flashed over Joe’s features. Then he nodded and handed over his credit card. “Okay, that will have to do.”
Gary nodded as he swiped the card. “I understand it’s not optimal to be on the second floor, but I have security cameras now, so that should help.”
“That is reassuring.” Joe took the two room keys and credit card Gary slid across the desktop. “Thanks.”
“The Finnegan family has been in danger more than anyone else,” Gary said thoughtfully. “Well, the Callahans had their run, too, a few years back.”
“The Callahans are second cousins to the Finnegans,” Elly said. “It’s been great getting to know them.”
“That explains why both families have similar blood running through their veins,” Gary joked. Then he sobered. “I’ll keep an eye on the security cameras tonight.”
“Take my phone number.” Joe rattled it off as Gary punched the information into his cell phone. “Call me if you see anything remotely suspicious.”
“Will do.” Gary stepped back from the desk. “Sleep well.”
Joe nodded and once again took her elbow. She did her best to ignore the warmth of his fingers radiating through her down coat. He steered her toward the car, opening the door for her.
“I can walk.” She scowled.
“I’m going to park in the rear of the building, closest to the outside staircase.” He gave her a gentle nudge. “Trust me, okay?”
“I do.” She managed a smile as she slid into the passenger seat. Joe Kingsley would protect her with his life, not because of her personally, but because of his dedication to Rhy and the rest of the tactical team.
And that would have to be good enough.
* * *
Despite being stuckon the second floor, Joe was thankful to have connecting rooms. Sharing a room with Elly would have wreaked havoc on his concentration. As if it wasn’t already hard enough not to notice how beautiful she was, and how strong.
The bullet had barely missed her, but Elly had bravely soldiered on, reassuring her oldest brother she was fine.
He wasn’t fine. Not after that near miss.
They’d already lost Kyle. He could not, would not lose Elly. As he pulled around the American Lodge, he tried to come up with an escape plan. He parked the SUV a few feet from the stairs.
It wasn’t ideal, but he was banking on Gary’s security cameras to give them a fair warning of a potential threat.
He pushed out of the driver’s side, then went around to help Elly squeeze out between the door and the building. “You must think I’m smaller than I am,” she groused.
She was perfect, but he managed to hold back from saying so. “Sorry. If we need to leave in a hurry, I want you to crawl into the back behind the driver’s seat.”
