Page 39 of Reckless Chance

“That was Max. He’s on my security team. That may not be true much longer though. His only job was to make sure we were safe.”

“You had someone following us?”

“It’s a standard precaution when I’m in crowds. It’s usually not an issue. Tonight was the exception. Max should have stayed closer. I shouldn’t have let you stand next to the street. I’m sorry, sweetheart.”

“Sean, none of this is your fault.” I wrap my arms around him, closing my eyes.

As Sean continues stroking my hair and tenderly kissing the top of my head, my pulse rate starts to slow. A calmness begins to settle over me.

At the sound of heavy breathing next to us, my eyes fly open and my body tenses, sensing danger.

Relief floods through me when I see that it’s Max returning from chasing the thief.

“Max, you were supposed to be protecting us. What the hell?” Sean asks.

Trying to catch his breath, Max says, “I’m sorry, Mr. Cartwright. The moped came out of nowhere, and the ridergrabbed her purse while speeding by. There wasn’t time to stop him.”

“Did you get the number on the license plate?” Sean asks.

“No, sir. The plate was missing.”

“Great. Just great. Get us out of here.”

“I’ve already called for backup. Let’s step to the side. A car will be here shortly.”

“Don’t be mad at Max. No one could have stopped that guy,” I whisper to Sean.

“He didn’t protect you. That’s not acceptable.”

“I’ll be okay. You don’t need to yell at Max.”

“Security never let anyone harm my parents,” he says under his breath.

About ten minutes later,Sean whispers in my ear, “Our ride’s here. I’m going to help you into the back seat.”

That’s my clue to ease the bear hug hold on him.

Safely cocooned in the limo, Sean instructs the driver, “Take us back to the Athena.”

“Wait a minute, what about my surprise?”

“We’ll reschedule it for another night.”

Regaining my composure, I shake my head. “No. That criminal is not going to ruin the rest of our evening too. I was frightened, but I’m okay now, thanks to you. Please take me to my surprise.”

“Let me look at your arm first. Is it still hurting?”

With a tender gentleness, he inspects my arm. An ugly bruise has already taken shape where the shoulder strap temporarily caught as the thief yanked my purse off my arm. Otherwise, I’m still intact, at least physically.

“Nothing appears broken. Let’s put ice on your arm to prevent swelling. We should go back to the Athena and let you rest. You also need to report the theft to the police.”

“We can contact the police tomorrow. The probability of them catching the thief and recovering my purse is miniscule. I’ll be fine. I want to enjoy the rest of our evening.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m positive.”

“Change of plans. Take us to the High Roller and close the partition,” Sean says to the driver.