Page 16 of The Bodyguard

Her mother breezed by, offering, “Angela,” by way of greeting.

Paul smiled but remained silent. He didn’t break from the group or greet Angela or explain why on Earth he was in Abu Dhabi. He had to know that one of Pham’s lackeys had tried to kill her, and yet, Paul didn’t step from the group to ask how she was. Paul didn’t care—and she didn’t care if he did or not. Her shock had morphed into grade-A, top-shelf anger.

Sawyer checked the lobby for anyone else struggling to keep up with Jared’s posse. “What in the hell is happening?”

The small distance between her and Sawyer was too much. She was alone in a way that she couldn’t explain, drowning and suffocating in the middle of Titan’s hotel lobby. Angela needed to sidle against Sawyer. She needed his protective hand on her back and calm promises that everything would be okay. But all she could do was watch the entourage board an elevator.

The elevator doors finally closed. Angela released her breath.

“Are you okay?”

She shook her head. “I can’t do this. I don’t even know what they want, but I can’t.”

“All right. Take a minute.” Sawyer guided her to the alcove again. “They’re not monsters. They’re family.”

“There’s some overlap in my family’s Venn diagram.” Her pulse raced as fast as her thoughts. “Whatever they want, it’s something they decided to blindside me with.”

He pulled her onto the couch. “Jared’s not going to blindside you—”

She grabbed onto his arm. “Jared has been MIA all day and has probably been trying to head off whatever is about to happen.”

Sawyer covered her hand, which had a death grip on his forearm. “You don’t have to worry—there’ll be an explanation.”

“An explanation won’t make this situation okay.”

He pursed his lips and glanced toward the elevators as though he might be able to make sense of the last two minutes. Finally, he shook his head and said, “I don’t know what’s happening, but Boss Man doesn’t look happy. He’ll deal with it—”

“Whatever it is, they’re here for work. Not for me.” She dropped her head against his bicep and groaned. “Nothing good is about to happen.”

He draped his arm over her shoulders and squeezed. “There’s no point in getting upset before we have the slightest clue about what’s happening.”

Her eyes pinched shut. “I know enough.”

Sawyer patted her back. “Well, I know that Jared’s mad enough to piss lava.”

She couldn’t help but laugh. For the first time in what seemed like hours, Angela grinned. “He did kind of look that way, huh?”

“Yup, and they didn’t look smart enough to know they were in trouble. Who were the guys behind Jared?”

“My mom’s campaign manager and her political consultant.”

“Ah…” Sawyer said, sounding as though he had a more nuanced understanding. Then his forehead tightened. “How long does it take to get out here?” He knew what she knew. The departure location and aircraft were the main variables. For a moment, Angela ran calculations in her head and saw Sawyer do the same.

“Huh.” His eyebrows arched. “That’s some amazingly shitty timing for a surprise visit, or they gathered their posse and jumped on a private jet pretty quickly.”

Her phone pinged. Angela pulled it out and held it so Sawyer could see the sender’s notification. “Another text from Paul.”

“At least he’s texting you again,” Sawyer muttered.

She snorted and then opened the message.

What’s your ETA?

Sawyer inhaled deeply then let out the breath as if trying to remain calm. After a moment, he laughed.

She tipped her head back to see his face. “What?”

“He’s a little off-brand right now, isn’t he?”

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