Chapter Sixteen
When Sam finally fell silent, Garrett looked over to see her sleeping. He relaxed at the sight. It meant she trusted him enough to be vulnerable. Humans could stay awake a very long time when their lives depended on it.
Though he was happy to see her safe and resting, he realized what it meant. He’d promised he’d give his life to protect her, and he’d meant it.
She was now his responsibility. No one else could be trusted.
He normally handled extractions and long-distance protection duties. He was never around the subject long enough to build any kind of relationship. The person was usually terrified or in shock, so it was easy to turn them over to their assigned handler without another thought.
That wouldn’t be the case with Sam. The two of them would be alone, possibly for months. Despite his best efforts to avoid it, they would end up knowing one another. Well.
But he had to make sure well didn’t turn into intimately.
Things needed to stay friendly between them. And strictly platonic. Despite his uncomfortable attraction to her. From the minute he’d started talking to her at Santiago’s, he’d been a goner. That kiss? Totally unplanned. And totally inappropriate. But he hadn’t been able to help himself. All that bullshit about keeping her safe being easier if she’d gone with him was just that—bullshit.
Yeah, he’d wanted her to come with him. Badly. But not to keep her safe. He clamped his jaw against the unbidden feelings surfacing just thinking about it.
No.
Hell no.
Taking advantage of Sam Hutchinson was not an option. No matter how sexy she looked at the moment with her perfect bow lips parted in sleep. He needed to stop thinking about her lips, and how they’d felt against his during that kiss.
He would keep things professional between them, even if he came off as a hardass. The alternative was a bad idea. A very bad idea.
Things would get messy. He could lose his job.
She could lose her life.
She moved in her sleep, causing the chain curled at her feet to clink. He smiled at the memory of her running with the damn thing looped over her neck.
She really had done an amazing job of keeping herself alive. He was more than impressed with her cleverness. And so far, he hadn’t heard much complaint about her situation. He hoped that would continue. Experience told him that complaining about one’s circumstances did nothing to improve them.
His phone vibrated. He looked over to make sure she hadn’t woken before he answered.
“Have you found anything?” Wendy asked as if she wasn’t responsible for losing Sam.
“I wasn’t aware I was supposed to be looking for her. I thought that was your job. You’re the one who lost her.” His gruffness was genuine. He disliked the woman.
“Is a little professional courtesy too much to ask for? All I want to know is if you have any leads.”
“No. I have another job I have to get to. You guys are on your own.”
“Let us know if you hear anything.”
He looked over at Sam again. “You’ll be the first person I call.”
“Thanks.”
He hung up and focused on driving, hoping the woman next to him was having peaceful dreams.
When he shook her awake a few hours later, she jumped away from him and reached for the door handle.
“You’re safe. It’s me, Garrett.” It was still dark out, but the lights from the twenty-four-hour department store slanted into the vehicle. “We need supplies.”
“Can’t I wait here?” She snuggled back against the door.
He wished he could allow her to sleep longer, but it wasn’t safe to leave her alone. “No. We need to stay together.”
With only a small groan of protest, she sat up and reached for the door handle. “Fine. I have to pee, anyway. Are we doing that together, too?” she grumbled.
He chuckled as she hopped down from the Jeep. “If it wouldn’t draw too much attention, yes we would.” Which only made his imagination take off into inappropriate territory.
He really needed to stop that.
She pulled on a grimy ball cap. “Is that your personal vehicle?” She pointed at the Jeep.
He’d told her he didn’t have a car. Which was the truth. Possibly stretched. “Yes.”
“Isn’t that dangerous? Won’t they be able to track it easily?”
“As far as anyone knows, I’m just carrying on with my usual job. Nothing strange about that. If I switched to a different vehicle, they’d suspect something was up.”
She nodded. “Makes sense, I guess.”
He looked her up and down with a frown. Her blonde hair was all tucked up under the cap. Her clothes were wrinkled and dirty in places. All expected, after the night she’d had. So it needed to be changed.
“What?” She studied her feet where her tennis shoes her were untied.
“What’s with the hat?” It was the biggest offender. It had an easily recognizable logo, which the neighbor would have mentioned when Tom and Wendy questioned him about the truck.
“I look like a guy,” she explained.
Was she serious?
“Trust me, you don’t.” She had sweet curves that were extremely un-guy-like. Her skin was smooth and, no doubt, soft. He rubbed the stubble on his own face and shook his head. “Lose the hat. But don’t look at the cameras. Keep your head down. Just try to blend in until we can get you some different clothes, and maybe a scarf.”
“Okay.” She didn’t ask any questions or balk when he took her hand as if he had every right. Men and women held hands when they went shopping. At least, he thought they did. He had no actual experience to pull from.
Once inside, she turned toward the women’s restroom. He stood outside the door waiting, probably looking like a possessive jerk.
The problem was, it was turning into an apt description.