Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) by Karen Rose

            Her face fell and she pursed her lips the same way she had in the Sokolovs’ laundry room, like she was holding her emotions in tight check. Finally, she opened her eyes and gave him such a sad smile that his heart hurt. “Nothing, Tom. You didn’t do anything wrong. Now, if there’s nothing else, you need to go.”

            He opened his mouth, then closed it. He started to rise, then sat back down. “Mike the—” He barely stopped himself from saying the Groper. “The guy downstairs,” he improvised. “He said you were shocky from your ordeal this morning.”

            Her jaw tightened. “I told him that I’d nearly hit a kid on a bike.”

            “I knew you hadn’t told him anything important. He took me by surprise, that’s all.”

            “You and me both,” she muttered.

            The aching of his heart lessened, just a bit. “You didn’t call him?”

            She rolled her eyes before closing them. “No. He was here when I got back and I told him to go home, but he’s a nurse, too. He wouldn’t leave until he’d taken care of me.”

            I should have been taking care of you.

            The thought was as clear as the blue sky beyond her closed window shades, and it stunned him into a moment of silence. Then his brain caught up and he cleared his throat. “The shooter was DJ Belmont. We saw his face on the surveillance tape.”

            “What a shock,” she muttered sarcastically. “I figured that this morning, without fancy tech.”

            He nearly smiled at her snark, but the gravity of the situation kept him sober. “So did I, but I have to prove my theories with evidence. He may have seen you. You could be in danger.”

            Her expression didn’t change. “And?”

            He wanted to force her to open her eyes so that he could truly see her. But he kept his hands on his thighs and his voice steady. “And you need to take appropriate precautions. You shouldn’t go running off alone. Anywhere. With anyone.” He added that last sentence with Mike the Groper in mind. “Not until we catch him.”

            She opened one eye. “If I run off with someone, then I’m not running off alone.”

            He wanted to snarl at her. She wasn’t taking him seriously. “You know what I mean.”

            “Fine, Tom. I’ll be careful. I won’t even walk Pebbles without an escort.”

            “A cop escort,” he insisted. Which eliminated Mike the Groper.

            “Fine.” She closed her eye and tugged at the blankets. “I’m going to nap now. You can see yourself out. Tell Mike that I just need some quiet and that I’ll be okay by tomorrow.”

            Tom stood uncertainly. “What happens tomorrow?”

            Her lips thinned, her expression changing to one of determination. “We’re going out to dinner. Do I need a bodyguard?”

            He stood silently, words failing him once again. He watched her swallow, then brace herself before opening her eyes. She stared up at him, brown eyes full of challenge. “Do I need a bodyguard?” she repeated. “Or should I cancel on him? I will if you tell me to.”

            Cancel, dammit. Cancel.

            But that wasn’t fair. It wasn’t right.

            Neither is Mike the Groper!

            But he knew what he needed to say. “Don’t cancel. But don’t leave the house until I can ask Agent Raeburn how we can handle your protection.”

            She visibly flinched. “All right,” she murmured. “I look forward to hearing from your boss. If I don’t hear by tomorrow morning, I’ll call him myself.”

            It was his turn to flinch. She’d not-so-subtly bypass him, going straight to Raeburn for information. “All right.” He turned to go, but paused, hand on the doorknob, when she called his name. “Yes?”

            “Tell Mike that I’ll be down in a few minutes and that I’ll make him supper.”

            He nodded once, then left without looking back. Passing her message on to Mike the Groper was harder than he thought it would be, especially when the man became smugly pleased.