Protecting Fate Read Online Free PDF Page A

don’t know about you, but I’m not made of money.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “And some things are irreplaceable.”
    Now wasn’t the time to tell her that her uncle had given him damn near an unlimited budget to keep her happy. Or that Z was more than capable of replacing anything she had in her apartment twice over out of his own funds. He had to get her out of here by whatever means necessary—get her safe . “Make a list.” When she still didn’t move, he ground his teeth.
    “Is this where you tell me that we can do this the easy way or the hard way?”
    “No.” He pulled her toward him and bent down, tossing her over his shoulder in a smooth movement. She cursed, but he had a job and that job wouldn’t be changed for difficult women. Z nodded to the shell-shocked cashier as he stepped out onto the street and headed for the town car he’d rented. A quick check in the front showed one of his men, Joe. He set Sara into the backseat as carefully as he could and then climbed in behind her.
    Right in time to catch a right hook to the jaw.
    He reeled back, but that didn’t keep him from stopping her next punch, encasing her fist with his hand. “Enough.”
    “You can’t just throw me over your shoulder whenever you think I’m being too difficult. There’s this neat little thing called words—normal people use them before skipping straight to force.”
    “I used words. Words which you ignored.”
    “Then use better words.”
    “Sara.” He waited for her to stop huffing and meet his gaze. “You were getting in this car one way or another, and we both know it.”
    “Ass,” she hissed. “Both you and my uncle.”
    “Maybe.” His job was to keep her safe, and sometimes doing so meant keeping his charges safe from themselves. It was entirely possible that whoever trashed her apartment was long gone, but hoping for that wasn’t worth the risk of allowing her back there. She knew it—or she would as soon as she calmed down and thought things through.
    But he wasn’t going to be her personal punching bag in the meantime.
    Z looked up in time to see her shifting. He squeezed her fist, hard enough to show her he meant business. “You were entitled to one hit. Any more and there will be consequences.”
    “What, are you going to hit me back?”
    Did she realize she got damn near belligerent when she was frightened? He’d seen it in men back during his days in the Army. They got scared and immediately picked a fight with someone bigger, just to prove they weren’t. He didn’t find it any more endearing with Sara than he had with them. “I don’t hit women.” Before she could look too smug, he continued. “But I will not hesitate to put you over my lap and spank you until you beg for mercy.”
    Her blue eyes went wide. “Oh.”
    He couldn’t believe he’d given those dark desires voice. Or his reaction to doing so. It was all too easy to picture doing just that to her—yanking up her dress to bare her from the waist down and using his hand to redden her ass. Fuck . Z had no more success banishing that image than he had back at Serve, so he tried to focus on the immediate problem.
    Satisfied she wouldn’t try to hit him again, he let go of her fist and sat back. “Text your uncle the items you want and my man will bring them out in the morning.” He watched her type away at her phone, satisfied she was obeying. For once. When she pushed send, he noted that her hands were shaking. Shit. Her attitude was one thing—he’d dealt with that kind of thing before—but this was something else. Z specialized in putting himself and his team into some of the most dangerous situations known to man, but put him in a car with a shaking woman and he was at a loss.
    What was he supposed to do? Pull her into his arms and hold her until she stopped? The idea was more attractive than it should be, which meant that was exactly what he shouldn’t do. But he still found himself reaching for