Dangerous Promise (The Protector) Read online

  “Do you think there’s someone on the inside working against me?” Ewan asked.

  “It seems likely,” she said and hesitated. “I also think there are a lot of people out there who want to terrorize and intimidate you, and many of them are not related to each other. So that’s something to think about. Who really wants to bully you versus who’s trying to outright hurt or kill you? I know you had several real attempts on your life over the past two years. What does your team say about it now?”

  The thought sobered him. He paced, hands on his hips, thinking over the past few years. “I have them monitoring all kinds of threats, culling social media commentary and tying stuff together. But so much of it is idle, especially since I’ve been out of the public eye.”

  “People like to talk big, especially online. Say things they can’t back up. Rich men always have someone who’d like to see them knocked down a notch. And you . . . well, you’ve got yourself all tangled up in some truly controversial and inflammatory business,” Nina told him.

  He turned to look at her. “I didn’t set out for it to be that way, Nina.”

  “I didn’t think you did. But that’s what it’s become, and unfortunately, you have to face the consequences of that.” Her eyebrows rose slightly. Her lips pursed, and she touched the tip of her tongue to the center of her top lip.

  Now he was remembering the taste of her mouth again. The firmness of her curves. The smell of her hair.

  “I can’t win, you know. One way or another, no matter which side I come out on, someone is going to hate me.” Ewan shook his head.

  She nodded. “That’s a hard thing to deal with. Being hated for what you believe in. For who you are.”

  “You know how it feels,” he said in a quiet voice. “To be hated for who you are.”

  “Not for who. For what I am,” Nina corrected gently. “That’s what people believe. That I’m a what, not a who. It’s a little different. But we could toss around semantics all day and night and it wouldn’t make a difference. Right now, we need to figure out a way to make sure all those people who hate you are kept far away.”

  “Did you ever?” he asked, hating that he was even asking but helpless not to know. “Hate me, I mean?”

  Nina looked surprised, as though the concept hadn’t occurred to her. “Because you’re responsible for the Enhancement Repeal Act?”

  “Well, certainly not because I use a fancy jam spoon instead a normal one.”

  This time, she did laugh. Relieved that his humor had hit the target at last, Ewan chuckled with her, his gaze tracing the lines of her smile. Her eyes lit up when she was amused. He’d never considered himself a funny guy, but he wanted to always see that light in her eyes.

  “I hoped that over time you’d change your mind, but . . . no. I didn’t hate you. I can’t, remember?” She shook her head.

  “The laws are in place now. Even if I did change my mind, it’s not so simple to overturn them. It took a lot of work, time, effort, money, to get that law enacted. It would take even more to get it repealed. And with public opinion such as it is, I don’t think I could even if I wanted to.”

  That was also his doing, though she wouldn’t know that. His behind-the-scenes work using social media to change the public’s perception couldn’t be traced directly back to him any more than his involvement in the origination of the tech. In an age of near-instant coverage of everything online, money still managed to keep secrets, and Ewan had enough to ensure his were kept. Gray Tuesday had helped with that.

  Nina was no fool. “I think we both can agree that you have the following and ability to sway public opinion in the other direction. If you wanted to. I understand that you don’t,” she added, putting both her hands up and making a small pushing gesture. “I get it. And really, it doesn’t matter. As my grandma was fond of saying, you get what you get, and you don’t pitch a fit.”

  “Good advice,” Ewan said.

  “She had a lot of terrific words of wisdom, most of which I did not learn to take until I was much older.”

  He smiled. “And wiser?”

  “Well,” Nina said lightly, “maybe just older.”

  They stared at each other in silence for the span of a breath or two, and Ewan said, “I admire you.”

  “I am admirable.” She grinned, curling her fists toward her shoulders to show off her biceps, one and then the other. She tossed her braid over her shoulder. “But thank you.”

  “That’s not what I meant,” Ewan said, enjoying this easy, casual conversation more than a serious one but needing her to understand. “You could have come in here with a chip on your shoulder, but you didn’t.”

  “I don’t need a chip on my shoulder. I have a few in my brain.” She smiled, but her voice had gone a little chilly. “Also, I don’t see the point in trying to antagonize someone I have to spend literally every second of my life with. That’s a very good way to be miserable, isn’t it? Who wants to spend their time being miserable?”

  Ewan shook his head. “I don’t. I’m not as good as you are, though. With the positive attitude.”

  “Maybe I’ll rub off on you,” Nina said, then hooted low laughter and rolled her eyes.

  “We both know you don’t want me rubbing off anything anywhere near you.”

  His attempts at humor had failed more often than hers, but now Nina gave a surprised chuckle. “Is that what you really think?”

  He wanted to kiss her again. No, he wanted to apologize for kissing her. No, Ewan thought again. He wanted to stop wanting her.

  Nina said, “We should talk about what you’re going to do next.”

  Disappointed that she’d turned the conversation but knowing it was for the best, Ewan shook his head. “Siege mode. Nothing comes in, nothing goes out, until we figure out if there is, indeed, an internal leak or my team determines the threat levels have dropped again.”

  “And if they don’t?”

  “They will,” he said confidently. “They always do. If the League of Humanity doesn’t have anything fueling it, eventually they’ll get tired of harassing me. Not that I think they’re the real danger, anyway.”

  “How long are you willing to hunker down?” she asked him. “I mean, it sounds romantic and all, surviving off the land and all that. You certainly have the setup for it. And I mean ‘romantic’ in an old-fashioned sense, not, you know. Romantic.”

  She gestured, curving her fingers into the shape of a heart and bumping it against her chest.

  “For as long as it takes. Why? Do you have someplace to be?” Again, what was meant as a joke fell a little flat.

  Nina tilted her head to look at him. “Not particularly. I did sign an open-ended contract. If that’s what you think is the best option . . .”

  “You don’t?” When she shrugged, he took another step closer to her, making sure to look her in the eyes. “You have a better idea?”

  “I’m not a strategist, Ewan. I’m a soldier. It’s not up to me to decide how you resolve these threats. I’m here to—”

  “Protect me. I know. But you have thoughts on it. I know you do. I’d like to hear them.”

  Nina frowned at first, then stood straight and tall, her shoulders squared. “I do have an idea, but it’s going to be dangerous. Do you trust me?”

  * * *

  “Absolutely,” Ewan said at once. No hesitation. His gaze never left hers.

  Nina nodded, her mind working fast. She was usually not one for pacing, preferring to keep her physicality controlled, to use her energy wisely, but now she mimicked his habit by striding back and forth in a few short paces, her hands on her hips as she worked it over in her brain. She shot a glance over her shoulder at him.

  “What would it take,” she said, “to make sure that nobody was even looking for you?”

  Ewan’s brow furrowed. “Not following.”

  “Your team’s been putting together reports on all the threats against you, correct?”

  “Yes,” he said.