Guardian

Guardian Read Online Free PDF

Book: Guardian Read Online Free PDF
Author: Catherine Mann
Tags: Fiction, General, Suspense, Romance, Contemporary
enjoyed their sparring, with its flirtatious edge nudging them into dangerous territory. “You delivered a final parry. Let’s call it even.”
    “Fair enough. I’m going to get the cab now. Thanks. You can go.”
    He didn’t move.
    Her shoulders slumped. She dropped the phone back into her bag. “You’re taking the chivalry thing to a new level here.”
    He ignored her frosty dismissal. “We’ve determined it’s not my aftershave, deodorant, or mouthwash. So why turn down a perfectly good offer for a ride home?”
    “Don’t you ever quit?” She blinked slowly.
    “Give it up, Sophie. You’re weaving on your feet.”
    She pressed her fingers to her head again. “I’ve been shot at before. I don’t know why today’s incident shook me up.”
    Of course she was rattled. He should have realized that rather than barking out orders. She just needed gentler handling right now, something he doubted even she knew.
    He touched her neck lightly, just beside the butterfly bandages. God, her skin was soft. “How’s the head?”
    “Hurts,” she admitted through gritted teeth, then straightened. “No need for stitches, though.”
    “Glad to hear it.” Her tousled look tugged at him, so he softened his words with a smile. “Come on, Blondie, let’s go.”
    “I’d argue sexual harassment if I had the energy.”
    Her half grin packed a full-size wallop.
    David resolved to get her home, fast, no chitchat after all. He would settle for stopping by her office the next day—a neutral, professional setting. He still had an evening of fifth-grade fractions to tackle with Haley Rose before he could think about sleep. “I’m not too enamored with your behavior either, Counselor.”
    He cupped her elbow, just to steady her while leading the way to his car, or so he told himself. He guided herthrough the sliding glass doors and out to ER parking. The sunset brought cooler temps. Although the drier desert heat didn’t bother him as much as it did others. He’d grown up with the thick South Carolina humidity, played golf in weather that had caused more than one observer to pass out from heatstroke.
    They reached his car—a vintage Harvester Scout, soft top. David dropped Sophie’s elbow like a steaming iron. “Here we are.”
    He tried to help her in, but she’d already managed the leap up. The butterfly bandages taped low on the base of her head peeked through strands of hair. For a moment, he relived that instant outside the courthouse when he’d tackled her, his objectivity blown to bits. His urge to protect her surpassed normal job requirements, and that shook him more than the role-playing gunman.
    David steadied himself with routine, easing his jacket off and folding it in half lengthwise. Old habits had ingrained themselves in him after years of long hours and a lot of travel. He draped his coat along the backseat, securing it with Sophie’s briefcase flung over the top.
    He slid into the driver’s seat, ready to get her home and out of his mind. “Do you need me to put the top up?”
    The drive to the hospital had been short, but they had a solid half hour to drive to her place. And then finally he could head home, sit with his kid, and help her with math homework.
    “Don’t bother.” She finger-combed her silky hair into place. “The wind might help my headache. How do you know my address?”
    “My sister lives in the same lakeside neighborhood as you. She watches my daughter after school. I was spending so much time running back and forth from mycondo to my sister’s place, we decided I might as well move into the guesthouse.”
    “You
live
in my neighborhood? How did I not know this but you do?”
    To give himself time to think, David pulled off his tie and rolled it around two fingers into a pinwheel ball. He leaned to open the glove compartment.
    The cooling breeze felt good against his neck…until David realized it wasn’t the wind, but Sophie’s breath. His stretch had strategically draped
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