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It didn’t help that he was just so gorgeous. As he walked toward her, Bree’s heart flipped over with an emotion that had nothing to do with anger. All she wanted to do was run to him and feel those strong arms close around her.
“You lied to me.” Silence wasn’t an option.
“If you knew how much I regret that—”
“How did you think this was going to end, Rylan? Did you think I would never find out that you’d been hired by my parents to watch over me?” She could feel her voice rising, and she forced it back under control. “Or didn’t it matter? Because it was just a brief fling—”
Rylan caught hold of her upper arms. “Don’t say that. Please, don’t even think it.”
Bree jerked out of his grip, storming into the apartment. She heard Rylan close and lock the door before he followed her. Although he was standing just behind her, she didn’t turn to face him.
“This wasn’t supposed to happen.” The gentleness in his voice almost undid her resolve. “I promised Blaine I would look after you. One last job, as a favor to him. That’s all it was. Until I met you.”
“I don’t want to hear it.” She swung around to face him. “You and me... Whatever it was, it’s over. No amount of talking can justify what you did. Now, before you go, tell me what you found out about that gunshot.”
“Can I sit down?” He indicated one of the sofas in her open-plan living area.
Reluctantly, she nodded. Once Rylan was seated, Bree sat as far from him as she could. Papadum looked from one to the other. With his loyalties torn, the dog decided on a position on the rug mid-way between them.
I’m going to really miss the dog.
What sort of crazy, mixed-up thought was that with everything else that was going on?
“From what I’ve been able to discover, there was a single gunshot fired directly at the bulb over our heads. I spoke with a security guard at the nearest bar. He didn’t notice what happened, and he didn’t see anything else.” Rylan kept his gaze fixed on her face. “It seems we were the only targets.”
“Could the bulb simply have shattered?” Bree asked.
He shook his head. “We both know it was a shot.”
“I just hoped...”
“This has gone beyond hoping, Bree.” His expression was serious. “He won’t stop here.”
“Thank you for your professional opinion. Be sure to add it as an extra on the bill you give my parents.”
There was a flash of hurt in the depths of his eyes, and his fists clenched on his thighs as he took a moment before he answered. “I’m not charging for my services. Blaine is my friend.”
“How noble.” Her lip curled. “Am I supposed to be grateful that you came out of retirement and made me a charity case?”
She’d said she wasn’t going to talk about it. She shouldn’t talk about it. But her hurt pride wouldn’t let it go. She wanted to prod Rylan, to goad him, to wound him. To make him feel a fraction of the pain he’d caused her.
“What about the artists you are representing?” Rylan was looking down, and she flung the angry words at the top of his head. “Don’t they deserve to know you are a fraud?”
He reached into the pocket of his jeans and withdrew his cell phone. “From the day I took this job, I made it clear to your mom that I wasn’t going to waste my cover role. I promised I would help these young artists.” Flicking through web pages, he held up the screen. “I’ve made sure they all have websites, that they promote their work on social media, each of them now has a blog, and they share each other’s posts. We’ve been involved in charitable and community events, some of the group have been into schools to help the children with art lessons, we’re publishing an ebook of African American art—” He drew in a breath. “I’ve been coming into your gallery every day to watch over you, but I’ve also been keeping my promise to them.”
Bree felt a flicker of guilt. She quickly buried it. This wasn’t how it worked. She wasn’t the bad guy. She hadn’t told lies or deceived anyone. There was no point at which she deserved to have him walk into her life and make her fall for him.
