Page 28 of Second Chance Savior

Fuck.

I sprinted toward Cora. The little girl was on the ground by the ten-yard target. Holding her arm as she cried. I heard Charlie running. Yelling. “Oh my God! Cora! Is she hit?”

Ross was right behind Charlie. “Is Cora okay?”

There was no sign of blood. It looked like the arrow had gone through Cora’s dress. Pinned her to the hay bale behind the target. She must’ve run out onto the range to grab her own arrows. And neither Charlie nor I had noticed. We’d been oblivious to anything but ourselves.

I yanked the arrow free, and Cora scrambled away, clutching at her dress. “She wasn’t hit,” I said. “Just scared. Right?”

But Charlie looked stricken. We both knew what could’ve happened.

“Mom told you to be careful when Cora is out here, Charlotte,” Megan said. “I’m telling!”

“It was an accident.”

Megan led a sobbing Cora toward the house. “It’ll be fine,” I murmured to Charlie. My hand reached out to touch her, and she reared back.

“Leave me alone, River. Just leave me the hell alone.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

Charlotte

“It’ll be fine,”Brynn said.

I startled and glanced over at her. My mind had been somewhere far away.

“Of course.” I smiled my best politician smile. “I’m sure tonight will go off without a hitch.”

“That’s what we’re here for.” Agent Josh Rainey turned and grinned at me from the shotgun seat. “And of course, to look good.”

We rolled through the Capitol Hill neighborhood on our way to the botanic gardens for the fundraiser. The FBI’s presence here was off the books, and Brynn had specially chosen two of her most-trusted colleagues. Agent Rainey was blond, built like a football player, and constantly grinning. Another agent, Rafael Torres, drove the SUV. He seemed like the silent, stoic type. Torres kept his eyes glued to the road and didn’t even flinch when Rainey joked around.

All of us were dressed to the nines, because this was an important fundraiser, and I didn’t want any donors to realize I had a security detail. Most of the time, I didn’t have bodyguards or anything like that. Few people ever recognized meon the street. A lieutenant governor simply wasn’t a high-profile target.

Assassination threat? What assassination threat?

“But I do have to say,” Rainey added, “all this might be easier if we knew what we were up against.”

I tucked my hair into place. The top half was swept off my face, the rest brushing my shoulders. “I wish I could tell you more. The anonymous tip didn’t include many details. Just that someone might try to harm me.” From what River had said, the threat wasn’t against anyone else.

“And that’s why we’re going to stay close to her the entire time,” Brynn cut in. “Unless you want to cancel, Lieutenant Governor. That’s still an option.”

“No. This is for charity. It’s an important chance to talk about my initiative with the donors. We’re here to help vulnerable people. I won’t cower and hide based on a single vague threat.” If I did, then Stillwater would have already won.

Besides, the attack might not come tonight. It might not come at all.

River had left Brynn’s house hours ago, and I had no idea where he’d gone after that. I’d pretty much dismissed him. I’d gone to the office, attended my scheduled meetings, and tried my best to have a normal day. The whole time, Brynn had stayed close by my side.

In prepping Rainey and Torres, we hadn’t revealed the Stillwater connection. I’d sworn Brynn to secrecy about anything related to River or his illegal hacking activities. I had told him I didn’t want to shield him, but I wasn’t going to throw him to the wolves either.

Butof courseRiver was part of some secret hero society. A bunch of alpha males who dealt out hard justice while keeping their emotions locked away. No thanks. I wanted nothing to do with it.

I wasn’t in denial. I was taking River’s warning seriously. Being careful. But I couldn’t crawl into a hole and cancel my entire schedule. I had to keep living my life.

Just not with River standing over my shoulder. I didn’t need any more of his help.

My personal phone rang, jarring me out of my thoughts.

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