When Day Breaks

She’d done her eyes in a dark smoky look with a hint of glitter on her eyelids and affixed dangly diamond earrings to her ears, and she wore a matching choker around her neck.

She looked every bit the supermodel she was. The heels she wore made her nearly as tall as he was, and he was a tall man, but he liked the idea that she fit him just right. He could tuck her underneath his shoulder and he didn’t have to lean down to kiss her.

She checked her watch. “Can you see if the others are ready? Fashionably late is one thing, but late-late is altogether different. I don’t want to piss off the Aria representatives by showing up when the party is nearly over.”

Swanny gave her a small salute and then went next door to check on his teammates. Nathan and Joe were inside Edge and Skylar’s room and Skylar was laughingly helping her male teammates with their suits and straightening their attire.

“You guys ready?” Swanny asked from the door. “Eden’s ready to go. Everything in place?”

Joe nodded. “Yeah, we’ll take the lead. You follow behind with Skylar and Edge.”

Swanny shook his head, unease creeping up his neck. “No, Skylar rides with you. Edge is with me. Put Skylar between you. Too much exposure up front.”

Joe and Nathan gave him a concerned glance but didn’t argue. “Okay, man, we’ll play this your way,” Nathan finally said.

Swanny nodded and then walked back toward Eden’s suite with the others in tow. He slipped his key card in and then cracked the door partway.

“Everyone’s ready if you are.”

“Perfect! Let me just get my clutch.”

Eden collected the beaded, sequined small purse off the bar and then went to meet them.

They immediately fell into step around her and escorted her down the stairs to the back entrance where the cars waited.

The drivers on hire were big burly men, well versed in personal protection. Swanny had no doubt they were packing as well, and it gave him a measure of relief that they had two extra men on Eden’s protection detail.

While his gut wasn’t screaming, it wasn’t exactly quiet tonight and he couldn’t pinpoint why. This was precisely why it didn’t pay to become personally involved with a client. It could be that he didn’t want her on display for dozens of wealthy men to salivate over. It could be that there was a real danger to her.

Things had been too quiet ever since Eden’s brush with death when a sniper had taken a shot at her, and if Big Eddie Sinclair was to be believed—and the man was not prone to overexaggeration or bouts of hysteria—a very real threat lurked in the shadows, waiting and watching for an opportunity to enact his revenge against Eddie.

They weaved through busy Paris traffic the short distance to the upscale bar and restaurant that offered a private room. Swanny had already been over with his team to see exactly what they were dealing with.

They’d marked areas in the room Eden was to never be in. Where she’d present an easy target from a sniper shooting through a window. They also arranged for one of them to tail Eden the entire night, and she wasn’t to go to the ladies’ room without Skylar and Swanny to escort her, with Skylar going in while Swanny manned the door, temporarily shutting off access until Eden had exited.

They’d prepared well for the event. So why was his gut eating a hole in his insides?

Eden reached over and slid her long slender fingers through his much larger ones, his hand engulfing hers. As if sensing his sudden turmoil, she smiled sweetly and leaned over to kiss him, uncaring that Edge sat on her other side.

“Relax,” she murmured. “What could possibly go wrong when I have Superman protecting me? I trust you, Swanny. You won’t let anyone hurt me.”

Her words settled over him, warm and comforting, but they did nothing to dissipate his sudden agitation.

The closer they got to the restaurant where the soiree was being hosted, the more twisted up he got inside. He knew he could very well jeopardize Eden’s career or her account with Aria if he f**ked this up for her, but he could ignore it no longer. Her life was worth far more than some million-dollar cosmetics campaign. At least to him it was. Damn anyone else.

“Turn around,” he barked into the small mouthpiece affixed strategically to his collar. “Abort. Abort, goddamn it.”

To the driver’s credit, he didn’t hesitate. He executed a perfect J-turn in the middle of traffic and Swanny caught sight of the car carrying Nathan, Skylar and Joe doing the same, falling in behind them.

“What’s up, Swanny?” Joe asked tersely. “What’s going on?”

“My gut is screaming like a motherfucker, that’s what,” Swanny said sharply.

Radio went silent. They were all preparing for the worst. No one on his team doubted his gut, as ridiculous as it might sound. It was just another reason he fit in so well with his teammates.

“What you feeling, man?” Edge murmured from his place on Eden’s other side. True to Edge’s nature, he never hesitated. He was always prepared for anything. He already had a gun pulled and was reaching for the other from the opposite shoulder harness.

“It’s wrong,” Swanny muttered. “It’s all goddamn wrong.”

“Swanny?” Eden whispered.

He turned to Eden, expecting anger or even outrage that he’d pulled the plug on what was a very important night for her, but all he saw were eyes wide with fear. Whether she was conscious of it or not, she was gripping both his and Edge’s hands, her knuckles as white as the color in her face.