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Excerpt:
She
leaned her back against the door and shut her eyes, her face ghostly white. Her
hands shook as she adjusted the strap of her purse on her shoulder.
Frowning,
Zack shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans and headed toward her. She
smiled weakly when she saw him, her lips twitching up for a second, but the
smile didn’t reach her eyes. Her fingers curled around the strap of her purse,
her knuckles going the same shade of white as her face. Something hot and
protective tightened his chest, and for a crazy second, he wanted to reach out
and pull her into his arms, to promise her that, whatever it was, she’d be
okay.
Instead
he stopped a few feet in front of her, his hands still in his pockets. “Alexa?
You okay?”
Her
eyes met his, and she sucked in a shaky breath. “I...Oh God.” She pressed her
hands to her face and let out a soft sob, her shoulders trembling.
Zack
yanked his hands from his pockets and pulled Alexa into his arms, cradling her
against his chest. She felt so tiny, so vulnerable. She barely reached his
shoulder despite the fact that she had heels on.
“What
happened? Did someone hurt you?” he whispered into her light-blond hair, so
fine and soft under his fingers as he stroked the back of her head. So help him
God, if someone had hurt her, he would make them bleed.
She
pulled back, just enough to look up at him, and he noticed the mascara smudged
under her eye. He left his arms around her. It would’ve felt wrong to take them
away.
She
shook her head slowly, her bottom lip caught between her teeth. “I...don’t
think...I can’t.”
“Do
you want to go outside? Get some fresh air?” Maybe if she calmed down a little,
she’d be able to tell him what the hell had her so...It was more than upset.
The
poor girl was fucking spooked.
She
hesitated a second before nodding. Without a word he tucked her under his arm,
shielding her from the view of the other party guests. He led her down a
hallway off the foyer and into the garage, where a side door led into the
quiet, dark backyard. The noise from the party filtered out through the open
windows, mingling with the soft gurgle of water from the pool. A cool spring
breeze rustled the palm fronds and teased Alexa’s shoulder-length hair around
her jaw. She brushed it aside as he led her to a stone bench off to the right,
their backs to the house.
For
several moments they just sat, Alexa sniffling and staring blankly at the still
water of the pool. Zack stroked a hand up and down her back, hoping to comfort
her in some way. He’d spent the past year as a bodyguard honing his protective
instincts, and they now came to life, alarm bells ringing through his skull. Something
was very, very wrong.
When
she finally spoke, she surprised him with her question. “Who’s the party for?
Sierra was cagey about it on the phone earlier.”
Zack
glanced back at the house. “Oh. Uh, for Taylor and Colt. They got married in
Vegas last weekend.”
Alexa’s
head whipped around. “What? But didn’t they just get together?”
“Yeah.”
“They’re
crazy.” She shook her head, but he could hear the smile in her voice.
“That’s
what I said.”
Gently,
she laid a hand on his arm, the tips of her fingers warm against his skin. “Are
you okay?”
Fuck,
she was so sweet. He was supposed to be comforting her and finding out why
she’d suddenly burst into tears, and she was worried about him because his ex-girlfriend
had eloped.
He
laid a hand over hers, allowing himself the luxury of tracing his thumb over
her delicate knuckles. “I’m fine. Just surprised, like everyone, I think. You
gonna tell me what’s wrong?”
She
sighed heavily. “I don’t even know where to start.” “Beginning’s usually a good
place.”
She
scoffed out a laugh. “That would take too long.”
He
turned to face her. “Did someone hurt you? What happened, Alexa?”
A tremble
coursed through her, and he wished he were wearing more than a T-shirt and
jeans so that he had a jacket or a sweater to offer her. But he didn’t, so
instead he pulled her close and tucked her against him. “Please tell me. I want
to help.”
She
swallowed thickly and looked up at him, meeting his gaze. “I...I think my dad’s
a murderer and that I might be in a lot of trouble.”
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