Page 61 of The Bodyguard

When she finally turned to face him, he was watching her. Not just her face. Her stance. Her choice of her favorite sweater, which she suspected was fast becoming his. There was an absence of any tension or fight on her shoulders.

He said nothing about it. Just nodded once. “Maya wants a meeting this morning. I took a look at your schedule and approved it.”

Andi snorted as she took a sip from her mug. “I take it Cerberus cleared her?”

“No traces. No anomalies. She’s clean.”

“Good.” A beat passed. Then, “She’s going to have questions.”

“Let her ask them.”

Andi raised an eyebrow. “About you. About last night.”

Mitch’s jaw twitched. “Let her ask them.”

Andi didn’t push further. It wasn’t the time. She walked over to him, rose on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek before heading back to the bedroom. She showered, changed, and pulled her campaign face on like armor. By the time Maya arrived, she was almost ready to act like her world hadn’t exploded under her feet less than twelve hours ago.

Maya stepped into the loft, sharp in her navy cardigan over a print tee-shirt, tucked into light-colored jeans, her tablet already pulled up. Maya’s eyes scanned Andi’s face like she was looking for cracks.

“You okay?” Maya asked.

Andi nodded. “I’m fine.”

Maya gave a dry little laugh. “Sure. That’s why you look like someone just hit you with a sledgehammer and then kissed it better.”

Andi didn’t answer.

Maya didn’t let it drop. “You and Langdon.”

“I don’t know what you think you saw?—”

“I saw the way he looked at you last night. The way you didn’t look away. That’s new.”

Andi didn’t deny it.

Maya set her bag down on the counter. “Look, I don’t care who you sleep with. But that man? He’s not just your bodyguard anymore. And whatever this thing is between you two—it’s not casual.”

“No,” Andi said, quietly. “It’s not.”

“Good,” Maya said. “Because I don’t need you distracted when someone’s still out there with sniper-grade rounds and a grudge.”

That pulled a half-smile from Andi. “You’re all heart.”

Maya grinned. “And you’re all reckless. So we balance each other out.” She glanced in Mitch’s direction and lowered her voice. “And he’s gorgeous.”

They moved into the living room, Mitch hovering near the security feed in the corner, silent but listening. He didn’t interfere, but his presence shifted something in the room—like a gravitational field that bent everything around him.

Andi turned to Maya. “So. If you’re not a suspect, and Coop’s not—then someone else is.”

“I’ve been working with Coop. We’ve narrowed it down to six possibilities,” Maya said, pulling up the list. “All of them had access to the schedule changes and internal routing. Cerberus has already started digital surveillance on them. But we need a better way to flush the traitor out.”

Andi crossed her arms. “What are you thinking?”

Maya hesitated. Then looked at Mitch before answering. “Use me.”

“No,” Andi said, instantly. “Not a chance.”

But Maya was already shaking her head. “Andi, it makes sense. I still have full access. I can plant a breadcrumb—something small. A fake route, a decoy schedule. Something only someone close would see. We track who touches it. Who leaks it.”

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