Guardian For Hire: A For Hire Novel Read Free

exchange for your cooperation, I will ensure that you end the month without any more holes in you than the ones God gave you to start. Or you can stay here, and I can tell my old buddy Owen that you opted not to take him up on his generous offer. I’m not exaggerating when I say that nothing would make me happier.”
    Her green eyes narrowed, and she shook her head. “It seems we’re in agreement about something, at least. I can think of little I’d want to do less than spend the foreseeable future in your company.” Her tone dripped acid as she shoved her chair away from the table and stood. “Now that we’ve settled that, I need to get to my office.”
    Dismissed. She’d been borderline polite about it, as her posh breeding clearly dictated, but it was an obvious dismissal nonetheless. He was officially off the hook. He was about to stand, but some nagging sense of responsibility made him press one last time. “You can’t go on as if nothing’s happening. You do realize that, yes? Can you go away for a while…leave town?”
    She shook her head. “Until I hear from the police, I’m staying put. The other deaths happened weeks apart. There’s no reason to believe that, on the off chance I’m viewed as guilty by association in this mess, anything would happen before the authorities have a chance to set up some protection for me if they feel it’s necessary.” She glanced pointedly at the slim gold watch on her wrist. “I’ve really got to go now. Shall I see you out?”
    He slapped his thighs and rolled to his feet. “That would be great.” He picked up the fussy miniature cup she’d set in front of him and drained the contents before setting it down. “And thanks for the coffee.”
    As she led him through the painfully neat Victorian house, he couldn’t help but watch her move. Even all buttoned-up, she had a real grace about her. The gentle sway of her trim hips held his reluctant gaze captive until she paused next to a table in the entryway. She collected the set of keys resting there and swung the front door open.
    “It’s chilly out today. You going to get a coat?” he asked without thinking. He wanted to bite his tongue off. What did he give a shit whether this woman wore a jacket or not? Maybe it was the ridiculous little glasses she wore perched on her nose like a prairie schoolmarm. Maybe it was the fact that, in spite of the bluster, her hands were trembling. Whatever was throwing his protective instincts into overdrive, he didn’t like it.
    “Of course,” she said curtly. “After I warm up my car and gather the rest of my things. It was a real pleasure, Mr. McClintock.” As she held out her right hand toward him for a shake and aimed her car remote at the Volvo parked in the driveway with her left, his skin crawled in an all-too-familiar way.
    Shit.
    “Don’t press tha—”
    He was a pretty smart guy and, rationally, he was well aware that light traveled faster than sound. But in that moment, it was all about the boom as the Volvo promptly exploded into a gigantic fireball. Working on pure instinct, he dove forward, tackling the doctor to the hardwood floor like a linebacker. Covering her body with his own, he braced himself for a second explosion or the biting rain of shrapnel. Ten seconds passed, and neither came.
    As he waited for the monotone buzzing in his ears to fade, he pushed his torso away from Sarabeth’s to do a cursory inspection. Her eyes had gone glassy with shock, which was to be expected, but he saw no blood or obvious signs of injury.
    He rolled off Sarabeth and onto his feet. She stared up at him, her mouth opening and closing wordlessly until he reached for her. “It’s okay. You’re going to be fine, but we’ve got to go. There’s no choice now, Doc.”
    She hesitated, but then nodded, still dazed. And when she slipped her elegant hand into his, he couldn’t shake the accompanying sensation of a hook sliding neatly into his gullet.
    Well, fuck