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As if this part was my job. I’d been hired to protect her and all I could think about was that somewhere along the way, someone had failed her. That someone should pay.

There were hundreds of pictures on the card. It would take me hours to sort through them. Time I felt I didn’t have. I yanked my phone into my hand, hoping I’d missed a call.

I hadn’t.

So I started going through the vibrant photos depicting a life that up until now I’d wanted nothing to do with. I’d shoved everyone out of my life, including my parents.

Including the men I’d trusted. Maybe my hatred of Maddox was unjustified. He’d been following orders, or so I’d been told. But the soldier had told me he had my back.

At some point, I’d need to have a conversation with him to put the past to rest.

Not right now.

My entire system bristled when I noticed she’d taken a couple of pictures of me. When I’d explicitly told her not to. Could the woman follow directions or a single rule? Fuck. I was poised to delete it when I curled my finger. She’d trusted me enough to allow me to look through her visual diary. Who the hell was I to take it upon myself to delete something that technically belonged to her?

Nah. I’d make her do it later.

Half laughing, I pushed my full concentration into combing through the photos.

They were all exquisite, highlighting her talent even more. While impressed, after looking through at least two hundred of them, I’d reached another point of being disenchanted.

My eyes were tired even as my body had become wired. Maybe having a beer at ten in the morning wasn’t in my best interest.

I absently flipped through several more photographs, about to eject the SIM card when I noticed something. Wait a minute. I finally realized what I was looking at. I glanced at the door before downloading the photograph to the laptop. What I didn’t want to do was alarm her any more than I already had.

When I pulled it up onto the screen once again, my instincts were in overdrive. I quickly wrote another email to Gray, attaching the single photograph of the two men shaking hands before emailing it to myself. That way I could get it on my phone if needed.

If the asshole following her was in town, he’d be searching for her. There was one place I had a feeling he’d go looking for information.

Time to throw on some clothes.

I’d gone from soldier and protector to investigator.

CHAPTER 31

Kage

Strawberries.

The scent permeated every pore. I’d have trouble eating anything that tasted like the fruit for the rest of my life. I’d always be reminded of her.

As if knowing what was on my mind, she licked her lips.

Damn it. I could barely get my mind off the desire to kiss her.

“I don’t like this,” Juliette said softly. Her arms were shaking. The weapon I’d selected was in both hands, her arms extended. She was so tense, her body trembling so badly she would never be able to react in the case of an attack.

I moved behind her and the immediate closeness brought an ugly sound from her throat.

“It’s okay, Juliette. I just need to show you an easier way of holding the weapon.”

“I’m doing just fine.”

She remained tense, enough so I kept my actions deliberate. When I had my body wrapped around hers, her body was even more rigid.

Whatever limited trust I thought we’d built had been stripped down a notch or two after the earlier conversation.

Yet when I placed my hands on hers, she finally took a deep breath and managed to relax. “You’d end up pinching your fingers if you managed to get off a shot. Just remember if you need to use a gun, you’ll only have a split-second decision. Simply aim and shoot. You might not be able to use two hands. Why don’t you squeeze the trigger.”