LITMIR.BIZ

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jeans, heavy boots, a button-up shirt and a leather jacket. His chocolate-brown hair needed cutting, and he badly needed to shave.

      “You look like a thug.”

      “And you look like a lawyer.” He stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. “Though I guess that’s the point in both cases.”

      “What are you doing here?” This was so weird. “Do you...live here in town or something?”

      “Or something.” Conner glanced around the room. “Nice place. Nice town, too. I’ve been here and around for almost six months now.”

      “Six—” She choked. “And you’re just coming to say hi now?”

      He smiled again. “Not exactly.”

      “Was that you in the hall?”

      “I shot wide and chased him off. He ran down the fire escape at that end. But he saw my face.”

      That seemed to be a bad thing, as Conner’s brow furrowed over his blue eyes.

      “Who was it?”

      He looked around her office like he was trying to figure out a puzzle. “Did you make this mess?”

      Kayla exhaled and crossed the room. “Yeah, I just love cleaning so much I make messes on purpose.” She swiped up the phone. The call to 911 had disconnected. Did that mean Sheriff Johnson was on his way? “I figured whoever that was, he did this after I left work. I was picking up a file I’d forgotten that I need to work on this weekend.” She laid a hand on her roiling stomach and tried to take a deep breath. “He must have done this, then come back. Maybe he followed me. Who was it?”

      “Someone I...work with.”

      So he was a thug, for real? Kayla had heard he got fired after he was discredited. Too many indiscretions committed and too few orders followed. He’d never been one to toe the line, but she never dreamed he’d go this far.

      Kayla glanced at the window, suddenly feeling less safe with this man who’d once been a friend.

      How long until the police arrived?

      The sheriff was a friend, a nice older man who protected this county fiercely. Sheriff Johnson referred battered women to her when they wanted to get help but didn’t know where to go. She’d done some good in this county that had nothing to do with her job and everything to do with a desire that no woman should ever feel the way she’d felt that night years ago. A victim.

      The fear sat in her middle, unfurling like a snake ready to strike at her again.

      Conner studied the room, then glanced at her. “When the sheriff gets here, tell him everything.” He checked his watch. “I don’t want to read about your grisly demise in the paper while I’m drinking my morning coffee. Okay?”

      Kayla folded her arms. He couldn’t have known that man had tossed her office, couldn’t have faked that surprise. He knew that he didn’t need to do that with her when they’d always been honest with each other, even when it was hard. So why had he shown up tonight? “One condition.”

      “What’s that?” He shifted his stance. Was he really so eager to leave her?

      “Tell me why you’re here.”

      * * *

      Conner ignored the question. Being in the same room as President Harris’s daughter again was messing with his head. The cute young woman had grown into a strikingly beautiful lady who looked nothing like the Ivy League princess he’d imagined she would eventually become. She’d certainly straightened herself out from those days of pink streaks in her blond hair just to annoy her father and risky outfits her mother never would have approved of.

      Conner couldn’t say the same for himself. Not if he wanted to keep his story straight...and in line with what the world believed had become of him. His handler had agreed Conner should check on Kayla, but Greg had also told him that under no circumstances should he read Kayla in on his secret.

      But that was before Pete had seen his face. No doubt he was here with Manny, the only one of Andis Bamir’s men who actually had brains. But the boss couldn’t have meant for them to break in and then try to grab Kayla. Could he?

      Either way, Pete knew Conner was here. His cover was blown. He’d interfered with whatever they had planned, and they knew it. Manny was probably calling the boss right now. The order would go out, and Conner would have a target on his back.

      He glanced at Kayla. He could slip out before the sheriff got here. They still had a minute to talk, and then she’d be safe again. “Tell me why someone wants to scare you. What do you have in here that they need?”

      Kayla shrugged. “Why should I answer that when you don’t want to answer my question?”

      “No boyfriend? An admirer? Someone who asked you out but you turned them down?” It chafed to ask the question, but he had to know. Years ago a relationship with her would have been inappropriate and against protocol. Now it would put her in danger.

      She pressed her lips together. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I am not interested in men who only want to talk about how wild I was. That’s not me anymore, but for some reason they only want to see if that girl’s still in there. Well, no more. I’d like to meet someone who doesn’t know who I am and isn’t going to judge me based on the past.”

      “Kayla, everyone knows who you are.”

      “Hence the reason why there’s no one in my life, past or present.” She shook her head. “I haven’t done anything.”

      “That likely isn’t the case. You just don’t know what it is yet.”

      “Why do you always have to be so literal? Not everything is cut-and-dried, Conner. If I knew who did this, then there wouldn’t be a problem.” Kayla pinned him with a look. Call him crazy, but he’d missed that look. She said, “You know who that was in the hall.”

      “The less you know, the better, Kayla. Let me take care of this on my end, and I’ll do my best to keep you out of it.” He was going to have to leave now. Walk away from her. Again. “Tell the sheriff everything you know. Do everything he says you should do to stay safe. Including calling the Secret Service.”

      It would be simpler if she got Secret Service help.

      She tipped her head to one side, which usually spelled trouble. Or more paperwork. Which to a Secret Service agent was essentially the same thing. “And we’ve circled all the way back to my original question. Why. Are. You. Here?” She folded her arms. Also a bad sign. “Answer the question, Conner.”

      Okay, so she was a really good lawyer. Kayla had won a few national debates in college. He hadn’t seen it but he believed it. He’d never found argumentative to be cute before, and he intended on enjoying it while he could. It would be over soon and he’d likely never see her again.

      “I’m here to check on you. To make sure everything is okay.” Which it wasn’t, not now that he knew Andis Bamir wanted something from Kayla.

      When she didn’t say anything, he sighed. “I heard your name come up in conversation, okay? The people who were talking about you are bad people, and I knew it couldn’t be good, so I came over to make sure you’re okay. I don’t know if they’re planning something, but the fact that you’ve hit their radar is never good.”

      “Who are ‘they’?”

      “Andis Bamir. And his men.”

      Kayla’s mouth opened. No sound came out. She shook her head. “Andis... Okay. Right. The nastiest man in three counties is talking about me, and we don’t know why.”

      We. That was nice. Conner would jump at the chance to team up with her, but it wasn’t possible. He checked his watch. The sheriff had better hurry. Though the delay gave him more time with Kayla.

      She touched each

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