Page 27 of The Desperate Warrior

“It worked for Zoe and Junior,” Dad fired back.

Her words came out in hard bursts. “But it’s not going to work this time.” She tossed daggers at Brock with her eyes as she spoke. “This situation is vastly different.”

“Just listen.” Dad homed in on Jules. “The best way for Brock to stay close and ask relevant questions is to pose as your boyfriend. Otherwise, people will wonder why he’s always hanging around.”

The knowledge that Brock was going to be hanging around twisted something inside her. Was it anticipation? Dread? She wasn’t sure.

“Sweetheart,” Dad pressed, “be reasonable about this.”

“Reasonable?” She gave him a hard look. “I know what you’re doing. You’re trying to get me and Brock back together, but it won’t work. You bribed Tippin with a collector’s guitar. Now it’s a house for Brock. Have you no shame?”

“I did not buy Brock a house,” Dad said incredulously. “Nor do I plan to.”

“And I wouldn’t accept something like that,” Brock asserted.

Jules had to admit that his forthrightness was impressive.

“I’m here because I want to help.” Brock looked at Jules. “Surely you know me well enough to realize that I can’t sit back and do nothing while you’re in danger.”

Awareness pulsed through her with the force of electricity. Brock was a man of action. The type that dove into the fray and sorted out the backlash later. It irked Jules that she was still so affected by him. It would be so easy to let down her guard and get swept away in the depths of his dark eyes, but she couldn’t. She had to hold her ground. He’d hurt her, and she couldn’t just bounce back from that and act like everything was hunky-dory. She locked gazes with Brock. “You were hired to protect me.”

“I was,” he answered carefully, measuring his words like he knew they would be used against him.

She immediately went in for the kill. “This is nothing more than a job to you.”

Brock frowned. “I wouldn’t put it that way.”

She leaned forward, refusing to let him off the hook. “But you are getting paid.”

“Hold it,” Dad broke in. He threw a glance at Brock before turning his full attention to Jules.

Uh oh. The fire flickering in Dad’s eyes let her know that he was about to set her straight. In the old days, whatever he said would be followed up by her getting grounded and sent to her room. Luckily, she was too old for Dad to play that card.

“When Tippin called Brock and told him the news about your accident, Brock’s immediate reaction was to rush out here so he could do everything in his power to protect you.”

Surprise trickled through her. Even though her first instinct was to look at Brock to get his reaction to this, she kept her eyes fixed on Dad, trying to keep her expression neutral.

“I’m the one who insisted that Brock run this through Sutton Smith’s agency. With Tippin and Zoe scheduled to be in Ireland for several more weeks—knowing that Tippin would be out of pocket—well, I wanted to make sure that Brock has every resource at his disposal. I would’ve hired Fitz’s agency, but since Brock works for Sutton Smith, I thought it best to go through the proper channel.” He spread his hands. “So here we are.”

This time, she did look at Brock. “I stand corrected,” she said tersely.

A hint of amusement passed over his rugged features.

She reacted to the change in his demeanor like a bull charging for the red flag. “What?” she demanded.

Brock motioned. “Well, technically, you’re sitting.”

She scrunched her face. “What?”

“You said you stood corrected, but you’re actually sitting.”

“Whatever,” she mumbled.

“Sweetheart, I know you’re frustrated with Brock right now, but let’s not forget the large debt of gratitude that we owe him.” He turned to Brock, his voice breathy with emotion. “I appreciate you stepping up to the plate to help in this situation. And I thank you for what you did that night in West Hollywood.” His voice cracked. “It’s because of you that I still have my daughters.”

How long was Dad going to keep harping on that same note? “I’m grateful for what Brock did, but it doesn’t change the fact that he and I are not together. Nor will we ever be.” It was immensely satisfying to get that out in the open.

She caught the raw hurt on Brock’s face, but he didn’t say anything. Good, she was glad she wasn’t the only one hurting. “Dad, now’s not the time to play matchmaker. Brock is not going to pose as my boyfriend.”

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