Out of Control(31)

And there was an added irritant now. More than an irritant, if he was honest. He didn’t want Dani protecting him. He certainly didn’t want her in danger because of him. And he had no doubt the danger was real. If he’d had doubts, he would never have agreed to this circus.

He’d pissed off some bad people and they were determined to make an example of him. The letter bomb had come the closest but there had been other attempts—his office trashed, attempted break-ins to his home.

What if someone came after him and Dani got in the way? Or more likely hurled herself into the way. Fear coiled in his stomach as the car pulled up into the underground parking.

He almost didn’t recognize the emotion. And he certainly didn’t like the idea. He glanced sideways at her, but she wasn’t paying him any attention.

She slipped an earpiece on. “You getting me?” she murmured.

“Yup,” Gary replied. “Let’s go.”

Zach bit back the urge to tell her no. That no way was she risking her life for him. He didn’t want that. It had never occurred to him to worry about Gary or Simon. But she was so small. Right from the first moment he’d seen her, she’d woken some sort of protective streak in him, and it had never really gone away. Which was crazy; out of all the women he’d been involved with, she was probably the most capable of looking after herself.

All the same, he had to clamp his lips closed to keep in the words.

As she climbed out of the car, her jacket swung open and he saw the gun in the shoulder holster beneath.

She turned around and peered through the open door, giving him a reassuring smile as she took in his expression. “Don’t look so worried, Zach. We’ll look after you. Keep you safe.”

Anger, born of fear, rose at the words, but before he could make a retort, she slammed the door closed. He stared straight ahead. He felt so powerless, so helpless. And he hated that. His hands fisted at his sides and he forced them to uncurl, consciously relaxing each finger. There would be no trouble today. Other than his bodyguards, only Jake knew his exact movements. Dani was safe enough. Still, he couldn’t quite vanish the fear churning in his gut as he waited for his babysitters to tell him it was safe to get out of the car.

He ground his teeth together; he was pathetic.

Gary knocked on the glass and Zach unclipped his seat belt and climbed out. “I’m going to take the lead,” Gary said. “Dani will cover the rear. We’re not expecting anything here, but keep your eyes open. Raise your left hand if you see anything suspicious.”

Zach tried to push down his irritation—Gary was just doing his job—and gave a curt nod. He looked around for Dani and found her by the elevators. She gave him an impersonal wave, which grated his already raw nerves, then continued her perusal of the area.

The elevator appeared, Gary ushered him toward it, and they took up positions on either side of him. Nobody spoke. Zach decided that was best, because he wasn’t sure what he might say right now. He needed time to understand what the hell was going through his head.

For some reason, Dani was screwing with his mind. He gave her a sideways glance. She wore a dark pantsuit, a white shirt, and flat shoes, which meant she was a good foot shorter than him. He stared down at her bright red-gold head.

“Are you okay?” Gary asked.

He jerked his attention from the top of Dani’s head. “Why shouldn’t I be?”

Gary raised a brow. “You look a little tense.”

“I’m fine.”

He could almost feel the look pass between Gary and Dani and bit back another comment. He tried Dani’s method, closed his eyes, and counted to ten. He shoved his hands in his pockets and forced the corners of his mouth upward. “Really, I’m good.” He just wanted to get to the safety of the plane.

He’d done what he could to protect himself, because he believed the threat to be real, but he’d never been afraid before. He could feel her like a tangible presence behind him, and he kept his gaze fixed on Gary’s back a few feet in front of him as they strode through the airport. The place was quiet. There were few scheduled flights from this small airport and only a handful of people milled about the cavernous area. As they were flying private, they avoided the general departure lounge, but still there was a delay going through security as Gary cleared their weapons. Zach kept his breathing even and bit back the urge to tell them to hurry up. He could still feel Gary’s curious glances.

Finally, they were striding across the tarmac to the plane and up the steps. As he entered the cabin after Gary, he turned around to watch as Dani climbed the stairway. He scanned the rest of the airport. The sun was rising, lighting the eastern sky, and all was quiet. Gary touched his shoulder and urged him away from the open doorway. But he held his position until Dani entered, then stepped inside to allow her to pass before following her into the body of the plane.