Bodyguard by Melanie Shawn
34
Gage
Rage filledme as we drove, and I had to make a point to calm down. I didn’t want us to get into a car accident. Not only would that attract attention, the exact opposite of what we were trying to do, there was no way I was going to take the risk of dying before I could wring that weasel Woodward’s neck with my bare hands.
That motherfucker had taken money in exchange for Savannah’s life. He didn’t deserve to live, and if I had anything to say about, he wouldn’t for much longer.
I gripped the steering wheel so hard my knuckles turned white.
Savannah laid a hand on my arm and I glanced over at her. She was giving me a sad, sweet smile. Not one that said she was happy, but one that said she was grateful.
“What?” I asked quietly.
She shook her head. “I’m just…it’s…I feel…so lucky to have you. That’s all.”
My blood pressure instantly lowered. I was still enraged at the crooked, asshole Marshal I’d never met. But I wasn’t consumed by it. It burned hot, like a roasting lump of coal in my gut, but at least I could think clearly. I was spinning out a minute ago. I could see that now.
Don’t make any plans or decisions until you talk it through with Bear,my inner voice advised. Plan it out with Bear.
It was a good call. Bear had just as intensive a training background as I did, and his instincts were just as good. But his main asset in this operation was his objectivity. He had no skin in this game.
I cared more about saving Savannah, but operationally, that could actually be a detriment. It could cloud my judgement.
Bear had no such blinders. He could be clear-headed, consider only operational objectives.
And, hell. If he didn’t consider erasing that fucking asshole Woodward from the face of the earth to be a valid operational objective, then we would just have to fucking discuss it.
When we walked into the safe house, I brought Bear up to speed immediately. I hadn’t wanted to send information over the phone, either by voice or text. Too easily intercepted. And now that we knew we weren’t just dealing with an underworld figure but also with a government agent, we were going to have to be twice as careful when it came to evading surveillance and utilizing electronic communication devices.
When I’d downloaded everything that Savannah had told me to Bear, he just nodded. “Yeah. I thought it might be something like that.”
Savannah laughed bitterly, her voice shaky. “That’s weird. I never did. Where were you when my father was still alive? I could have used that perspective.”
Bear looked at her, and I could see compassion in his eyes. But also concern. And for more than just her emotional state.
If she were starting to come undone, that would make her hard to protect. Her actions could be unpredictable. She might have a hard time controlling her impulses. All of those were nightmare qualities in protectees.
Not to mention, if she wasn’t in a fit state of mind to assist in the investigation, it could potentially hamper it and make it go much slower. The longer this dragged on, the more time the other side had to prepare for an attack. Which meant the more danger Savannah was in. And that was unacceptable.
I looked at her. I needed to get her back on track. I was confident I could, though.
“Don’t worry, man,” I said to Bear, quietly. “I’ll talk to her. I’ve got this.”
He didn’t look entirely convinced, but apparently he decided that the only thing he could do was move on.
“I’ll tell Crypt to dig into Woodward’s bank accounts, emails…anything he can access. We’re going to need ammunition when we question him,” Bear continued.
Savannah’s head snapped up, her eyebrows raised. “Question him?”
I nodded. “Yeah. I realize it’s—unconventional. But we’re going to have to snatch him. Bring him here. Question him. There’s just no other way. We need answers, and we can’t risk him contacting Barlowe after we get them.”
Instead of protesting, though, she just nodded, her lips pressed tightly together. “Good,” she said flatly. “I’ve got a few questions for him myself.”