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“I’m fine,” she tried to reassure him. “I know that I’m okay and safe. This is just some sort of delayed reaction.”
“It’s normal. You had a shock.”
She twisted her hands together.
A second later, he hauled her onto his lap. She threw her arms around him and held on. God, he was so warm. She pressed her face to his strong neck. The warmth of his body seeped into her, and she breathed in his scent. He smelled like her shower gel, and she smiled.
A big hand stroked down her back. “I’ve got you.”
It felt good leaning on someone. Having someone she could depend on.Don’t get used to it, Hols.
“Jesse is on his way,” Sawyer said. “He said he won’t be long.”
She nodded.
“Do you want something to drink? Tea? Whiskey?”
“No, I’m all right.” She lifted her head and met his hazel eyes. “Thanks, Sawyer. For saving me.”
His face darkened. “I’m just sorry I couldn’t catch the bastard.”
She cupped his bearded cheek.
“Now—” his face turned even more serious “—it’s time you tell me what the hell’s going on. My gut is telling me this wasn’t a random attack.”
Her stomach did a sickening twirl. “I need to…move.” She pushed off his lap and paced across the room. She stared out the window, but for once, the view of the ocean didn’t calm her.
“It started with a stupid party that I didn’t even want to go to.” She turned. Sawyer was sitting there, leaning forward, his hands dangling between his legs, his entire focus on her.
Had anyone ever looked at her like that before? Like he sawherand not the façade of Hollis Stanton, the actress.
“Go on,” he urged.
She took a deep breath. “It was a party at the home of Michael Reuben. My agent said it would look bad to turn down an invite.”
A groove appeared on Sawyer’s brow. “Reuben. The movie producer?”
She nodded. “A powerful and important one. I don’t really like him.”
“Why?”
“No solid reason. He just gives me the creeps.”
“So what happened at his party?”
“I was looking for the powder room and got lost. Down the hall, I could hear him talking with a man. They were talking about shipments and sanctions. I only heard snatches, and then they spoke in Russian.”
“Shipments of what?”
She shrugged a shoulder. “I didn’t hear.”
“Is Reuben Russian?”
“No, he’s from California, but I don’t really know his family history.”
“There are lots of sanctions on Russia at the moment, so any sort of shipments would be illegal.”
She bit her lip. “I know.”