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“Keep it tight, Sawyer. Whoever is after Hollis, you’re better than all of them. Hollis, you can trust Sawyer to keep you safe.”
“Thanks,” she whispered.
“If I get anything else, I’ll call.”
“Thanks, Vander.” Sawyer leaned forward and ended the call.
“I should leave Hawaii,” she said.
“What?” His brow creased.
“I put people in danger tonight.” She rose and threw her arms in the air. “I need to hide somewhere else.” Where could she go? Tahiti? The Colombian jungle? An Italian monastery?
“You’renotgoing anywhere,” he growled as he gripped her shoulders. “I told you, I need to know where you are to protect you.”
She lifted her chin. “And what if you get hurt?”
“Better than you getting hurt.”
“No, it’s not. Not to me.”
“It’s not going to happen.” He yanked her against him and kissed her.
It turned hot, desperate, both of them straining against each other. His hand moved across her face, and she felt a lance of pain. She winced.
He pulled back. “What’s wrong?” He frowned. “Hell, there’s blood on your shoulder. It isn’t transfer.Shit. There’s glass in your neck.”
“Really?” She lifted a hand, but he caught her wrist. “I didn’t even feel it.”
“Probably the adrenaline. You’ll feel it soon. We need to clean this.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Hollis was hurt.
Sawyer hated seeing the blood on her dress and skin.
He pulled out his first aid kit from a cupboard in the kitchen. “Dress off.”
She shifted with a wince, then pushed the top of her dress down. The entire dress slithered off her, leaving her in a black bra and panties made of gossamer lace.
Sawyer’s body locked. Damn, she was beautiful. And hurt. Shoving his desire aside, he made himself focus on the blood on her neck.
There was a small piece of glass embedded in the joint between her neck and shoulder.
She gritted her teeth. “I can feel it now.”
“Sit down.” He pulled out some tweezers, then sat on the couch beside her. “Hold still.” Carefully, he gripped the glass and pulled it out.
“Sawyer, I can’t just hide out here, waiting for a hitman to take a shot at me. If Reuben is behind this, I want to help stop him. I’ve never played the damsel in distress, and I don’t plan to start now.”
He set the piece of glass on the table, then pulled out an antiseptic wipe. He gently cleaned her wound.
“Okay, I’ll have Vander send us the info that he and his team has. We can do our own digging. Tomorrow, I want you to pack some things from your place.”
“We’ll stay here?” She looked around. “I like your cottage.”
“No, whoever was shooting at Mama’s saw me. We’ll have to find somewhere else. Somewhere safe.”