Page 7 of The One for Forever

Lana hushes me. “They were few and far between, all directed at me, until this morning. I’ve gotten plenty of vague threats before as DA. I’ve always passed them on to Max.” Her husband, Max Bennett. The owner of Bennett Security. “Heusually insists on investigating, and he brings in West Oaks PD if it seems warranted.”

“But the one this morning?”

She chews her lower lip, a hand still making unconscious circles over her baby bump. “The one today was about you and me both.”

Chills slide under my skin. “Me?”

“It was a letter sent to our office, accusing us of being corrupt. That we’re persecuting Amber because she’s young and beautiful, and we’re jealous of her.”

I shake my head slowly. Lana and I are the only women on the trial team for the prosecution. The other two are men. “That’s the most idiotic thing I’ve ever heard.”

“And probably not the worst I’ve been accused of. But the threat against us was…more concerning. The letter had some choice words about what might happen to us if we don’t leave Amber alone. How we might disappear and the world would be better for it.”

“Crap.”

A couple of years ago, a deputy DA from our office was attacked in the parking lot after a trial verdict. It took months for him to heal from the head injury. And everyone knew Lana had been targeted years ago during a major murder trial. She’d actually been kidnapped. Max had helped track her down.

If Lana is taking this threat seriously, then it’s a very big deal.

I set my half-empty champagne glass on a nearby table. “What should I do?”

“You mean, what shouldwedo. I’m not throwing you to the wolves, Quinn. I want you on this team because I think you’re ready for it, and you deserve this opportunity. But I’m also going to see that you’re protected.”

“Protected how?”

“I promise having a bodyguard is not as bad as it sounds.” Then her eyes lift, her attention drawn by something past my shoulder. Her worried expression smooths out, and her mouth curves in a smile. “Speak of the devil, and there he is. My protector in chief.”

I’m stuck on a certain word she used.Bodyguard. My heart rate accelerates for entirely new reasons.

I turn around, following Lana’s gaze. I see her husband first. Max always looks casual, even when he’s dressed in a shiny tuxedo that makes Derek Keller’s Tom Ford look off-the-rack. But my eyes quickly move past Max Bennett to the other man beside him.

I knew that Rex would probably be here tonight. But I still wasn’t prepared to see him after the last several months I’d spent avoiding him.

Rex Easton might as well have a spotlight shining on him. That’s how much he stands out to me. He cuts just as impressive a figure as he did the first time I saw him well over ten years ago. Broad shoulders, straight spine, an easy smile. His dark hair has turned salt-and-pepper, and gray streaks the stubble on his chin. There might be an extra line or two around his eyes. But if anything, he’s gotten more handsome over the years.

Rex’s muscular frame fills out his tux, which fits him like a tailored glove. If that’s a thing. Even though he’s a little rough around the edges, I wouldn’t be surprised if someone mistook him for the billionaire owner of Bennett Security instead of Max. But I also know Rex has no interest in running companies. He’s a full-time hero. Not just as a member of the Bennett Security bodyguard team, but as a volunteer when he heads to disaster-ravaged areas to help them rebuild with a nonprofit called Team Triumph.

He’s also been the star of most of my fantasies since I was eighteen.

Yes, I am exactly that hopeless.

Rex turns, his dark eyes finding mine. They narrow appraisingly, then widen slightly, as if he’s just now recognizing me. I guess that makes sense, given the fact that I rarely dress up. Rex probably hasn’t seen me in evening wear like this since…ugh, senior prom night.

“You know Rex Easton, don’t you?” Lana asks. “You’re friends with his son?”

“Yep,” I manage to say.

She’s waving them over. I’m trying to come up with an excuse to escape. Because apparently, New and Improved Quinn runs and hides just like Old Quinn did.

But it’s too late. Rex and Max are already walking toward us.

2

“Why am I here again?” I murmur to my boss, just as we enter the hotel ballroom.

“Because it’s a party, and you look decent in a tux.” Max elbows me. “Almost as good as I do.”

After all these years as a Bennett Security bodyguard, you’d think I’d be used to wearing a tuxedo by now. This is practically part of the uniform. But I don’t feel anywhere near as comfortable in this getup as I used to in desert fatigues. Or better yet, my worn-in jeans and a white T-shirt.

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