Personal Protector Read online

  Piper frowned. Who the heck was the guy who’d saved her? Just a passing Good Samaritan? That seemed a little too unlikely. She dismissed the question. Probably another federal agent, or maybe one of her uncle’s friends. She was quite certain Lucas was leaving nothing to chance.

  After giving Dave a quick pat on the arm, Piper started for the door again. “Everything’s going to be fine,” she assured him. All she had to do was stay alert. This morning was a perfect example of not keeping up her guard and allowing too much distance between herself and her designated protection.

  “Don’t give Martinez too hard a time,” Dave tossed out, again slowing her departure. “I have a feeling there’s more to him than that flashy exterior.”

  “Let’s hope so.” She hated that Martinez was now privvy to her personal situation, but she supposed it was only fair. As if fairness had anything to do with any of this.

  RIC BREATHED a sigh of relief when Piper exited the news director’s office and actually made eye contact with him. He’d been worried there for a minute that she was going to put up a fuss about accepting him as her new partner. But he doubted she could be any more upset than her regular cameraman. The guy had been royally ticked off at having to take this little unplanned vacation. Ric checked the smile that twitched his lips. Lucas Camp could be a very persuasive man.

  Piper glanced at her watch, then at Ric. “We have a ten-o’clock shoot. We’d better be on our way.”

  “My equipment’s in the van already.”

  She just looked at him for a moment, then said, “Fine.”

  Okay, Ric decided, time for him to turn on some of his own persuasive powers. He wasn’t about to risk screwing up this assignment. If Piper Ryan thought he couldn’t do the job her regular cameraman did, he’d just have to prove her wrong. And he would win her over. Ric allowed the smile to slide across his lips then. Oh, yeah, he hadn’t met a woman yet he couldn’t charm. This one would be no different.

  His course of action settled, Ric followed Piper through the newsroom and down the stairwell into the parking garage. The two FBI guys assigned to her moved ahead of them to check the garage and the WYBN news van. To his surprise, Piper had carefully masked any lingering fear from this morning’s little drama. Ric couldn’t help but wonder if she was as tough as she pretended to be. It took one tough cookie to face death and then walk away as if nothing had happened.

  He also decided that Piper looked even better in person. The sway of her hips was seductive in a very elemental way, as was her manner of dress. She didn’t exploit her feminine assets, yet she couldn’t hide the exquisite attributes that had no doubt helped along her television career. That conservative suit did little to hide her sexuality. She was definitely hot.

  And her hair, almost as dark as his own, hugged her neck in one of those swingy styles that looked sophisticated yet sexy. But the eyes were the most notable of her features. As blue as a clear summer sky. The kind of startling blue that you never expected on a brunette. When she looked at him, heat went right through him. Which was intriguing but most definitely out of bounds. Ric felt with a fair measure of certainty that that little point would prove the most difficult to keep in mind. The attraction was there, but he couldn’t act on it. Not the way he wanted to anyway. This was an assignment, and even if it wasn’t, Lucas Camp would probably kill him for thinking even remotely carnal thoughts about his niece if he ever found out.

  End of subject.

  “Hope Place is just off Memorial Drive.” Piper pulled the passenger side door open as she spoke. “If we hurry we’ll get there in time to get some footage before the interview.”

  “Just tell me which way to go.” He started to close the door after her.

  “You don’t know the way?” A surprised and openly accusing gaze collided with his.

  “This is my first day in Atlanta,” he said with a confident smile. “But I’m a fast learner.”

  Piper blinked those amazing eyes, but failed to conceal her utter disbelief. “You are kidding, right?” She laughed, a kind of startled sound. “Surely you can’t mean that you don’t know your way around this town.” The disbelief turned to something resembling outright panic when he didn’t immediately respond. “Oh, God, you’re serious. You’re completely lost.”

  Ric delivered one of the megawatt smiles that usually got him anywhere he wanted. “Don’t sweat it, querida. I won’t let you down.”

  Outrage kindled in her eyes, searing away the panic.

  Before she realized his intent, Ric reached up and traced the line of annoyance marring her smooth forehead. “You’re much too pretty to frown like that, querida.”

  He moved back a step when she bounded out of the van to stand toe-to-toe with him. Fury blazed in those blue eyes now. She jabbed him in the chest with her finger. “Let’s get this straight right now, Martinez. I am not your querida or any other pet name in your vast ‘charm’ vocabulary. You will refer to me by name or you won’t refer to me at all. And you will keep your hands to yourself. ¿Comprende?”

  Ric braced one hand on the open door and the other on the van, effectively trapping her. Then he leaned in close. Very close. He smiled when she held her ground in spite of the flicker of uncertainty he saw in her eyes. The emotion was banished behind that slick, professional veneer she wore as swiftly as it appeared.

  “Comprende,” he said softly.

  He didn’t miss the little hitch that disrupted her breathing. Before he drew back, Ric took his time studying her eyes, her cute little turned-up nose and then her lush velvety lips. He could smell the barest hint of perfume, something subtle and entirely too enticing. This close he could see the tiny, almost imperceptible scar on her delicate chin. He wanted to know what caused it, and even more, he wanted to touch it. But that would be a big mistake. Reluctantly he drew back from her personal space.

  “After you.” He indicated the seat she had abandoned.

  Piper blinked then turned away from him. Once she had climbed back into her seat, Ric closed the door firmly behind her and headed to the other side of the van. Miss Ryan might think she was tough, but she wasn’t. Ric had her number already. Spoiled little rich girl. She might be the hottest thing going on local television here in Atlanta, but outside the state of Georgia she was just another wannabe. And if he had her pegged right she usually got her way. But then she’d never tangoed with Ric Martinez.

  He grinned as he climbed behind the wheel of the WYBN-TV news van. He had every intention of keeping the upper hand. Just like he told her uncle, this assignment was going to be a walk in the park.

  He started the van and turned to his silent companion. “Which way?”

  She settled back into her seat but kept her gaze straight ahead. “Left out of the parking lot.” She turned to him then and smiled sweetly—too sweetly. “I’ll tell you the rest on the way. You have twenty minutes.”

  “Don’t sweat it, boss lady. I’ll get you there.”

  Ric stomped the accelerator, burning rubber as he exited the garage. This was going to be a walk in the park all right, but definitely not the park he’d had in mind.

  Once he merged with the flow of traffic on the street, he stole an assessing glance at his assignment. If it was a war of wills Miss Ryan had in mind, Ric could teach her a thing or two about perseverance. This was one time the pretty lady was not going to get her way.

  And he was going to enjoy every moment of teaching her how to compromise.

  Chapter Two

  As her new cameraman snapped on his utility belt and then gathered his equipment, Piper scanned Hope Place to determine which shots of the housing area she wanted Martinez to take. Unlike her relationship with Jones, she would likely have to tell this guy each and every pan of the camera. Piper tamped down the irritation that wanted to bubble up inside her yet again. She had promised Dave that she would get along with this guy and she would. If only he wasn’t so damned cocky. Martinez obviously had his share of testosterone and someone else’s
, too.

  Her two G-men shadows stayed in the background, but still close. For the first time since this whole thing started, she was immensely grateful for their presence. Although it had been a stranger who saved her this morning, she knew the two federal agents were highly trained and dedicated. Piper was at fault for not taking their presence more seriously. She should have been more careful not to get too far ahead of them. The way she darted in and out of traffic, how could she expect them to stay on her tail where they belonged?

  She pushed away the memory of staring into the business end of that handgun. She couldn’t think about that right now—it would only undermine her sense of control. And currently it was tenuous at best. The Feds would take care of the police report, relieving her of the hassle and still satisfying the requirements of her insurance company. Sometimes it paid to have an uncle in the right place.

  Martinez pivoted and hoisted the camera onto his shoulder. The turn drew Piper’s gaze to his rhythmic movements. She frowned as she considered what exactly it was that captured her attention. There was something vaguely familiar about the way he moved. But that was impossible. She didn’t know the man, had never even seen him before their introduction outside Dave’s office only an hour ago.

  Still, something niggled at her. Piper dismissed the distraction and turned her attention back to the business at hand. She had an interview to do. Six residents had agreed to speak out on camera against the increasing violence in their neighborhood. And that was no small thing, as Piper was well aware. Retaliation was a definite possibility. She knew it and so did the half-dozen people who had asked for the opportunity. Piper would never have asked anyone to purposely put themselves in danger. Her last segment had been based on what she referred to as anonymous tips. But the people of Hope Place had decided it was time to stand up for their rights and make their intentions known.

  Hope Place had been built just over ten years ago in a goodwill effort by the city’s mayor at the time to offer affordable housing to low-income families. It had been well received and had helped numerous families. In Piper’s opinion, the mayor’s appointed planning committee’s one oversight had been not proposing strong clean-up steps for the nearby crime-ridden neighborhoods. Eventually those problems had crept into the new housing area, a seemingly unstoppable epidemic.

  “Tell me how you want it, boss lady,” Martinez said smoothly, his smile quick, the flicker of insinuation in his eyes even quicker as he moved in her direction.

  He made the request sound intimate…sexual.

  “My name is Piper,” she reminded him firmly.

  “Piper,” he acquiesced, adding emphasis and a sultry tone to the one word so that she shivered at the sound. “I’ll try to remember that.”

  He was too handsome, too close and too darned infuriating. Piper stepped back. “Why don’t you tell me how you would do it, Martinez?”

  He inclined his head in acceptance of her clear challenge. “My pleasure.”

  She wanted to rant at him. She wanted to hit him. Piper blinked. But mostly she just wanted to touch him and see if he felt as hot as he looked.

  Damn. She hated this crazy attraction.

  “Sweep the block,” he suggested solemnly with a wave of one massive hand. Junked automobiles and battered trash cans lined the street. “Zero in on the run-down high-rises, and the laundry hanging from the lines outside the windows, then the cluttered alleyways.” He took his time surveying the area once more. A scrawny cat peeked from behind one of the dead cars and then scurried away. “That about sums it up, I think.”

  Gone was the easy smile and the teasing glimmer in those dark eyes. Piper saw the glimpse of sadness before he closed his expression. She frowned. Surely Mr. I’m-too-sexy-for-my-own-good wasn’t the sentimental type. Before Piper could make a decision on that possibility, the voice of Mr. Jackson, one of her interviewees, called out to her as he and the other residents he’d rounded up ambled closer.

  “That sounds good, Martinez,” she told him before turning away. It actually sounded better than good; it was precisely what she would have said herself. But she wasn’t about to admit it and give him one more thing to enlarge that already-overblown ego.

  “Whatever your heart desires, querida.”

  Piper ignored the extrafoolish beat of her heart that invariably accompanied his persistent use of the Spanish endearment. She absolutely would not let this cocky Casanova get under her skin.

  “THE SITUATION IS under control, Mr. Camp.” Ric kicked off his shoes as he crossed the living room of his temporary apartment to lower the volume on the television. “No, man, I’m telling you I was on top of the situation.”

  Ric blew out a breath as Lucas Camp continued to re-hash this morning’s events on the other end of the line. Jack Raine had been poised from his point position to take out the guy with the gun, but Martinez had gotten to him first. Which was okay with all concerned since it left Raine in an anonymous position and the would-be shooter alive to be interrogated. But Lucas Camp hadn’t been happy that the bastard had gotten that close to his niece without encountering resistance. Outside of forcing Piper to ride in a bulletproof vehicle, there wasn’t any way to prevent the same thing from happening again. And she refused to change her routine. Allowing the Feds to follow her around was the extent of her concession.

  If she discovered that her dear old uncle had not one, but two, additional personal protectors in place, she would likely go berserk. The woman had no intention of making Ric’s job easy. She was dead set on maintaining her normal routine. As much as he hated to admit it, Ric respected her for her courage.

  Most, male or female, would have cowered in fear under much less threatening circumstances. But not Piper Ryan. She didn’t intend to let the bad guys win. As risky as it was, she wasn’t backing down in the least. A smile slid across Ric’s face. She was one tough lady for a spoiled little rich girl. He suddenly wondered what events in her life had given her that much backbone. He doubted she would ever share anything that personal with him, but his respect for her had grown somewhat today. She wasn’t just another pretty face on the television screen.

  “She doesn’t know it was me,” Ric assured him when Lucas asked if Piper had recognized him outside her car that morning. “My cover is intact. She thinks I’m some sort of Casanova.”

  Definitely the wrong thing to say. Ric regretted using the term immediately. “No, man, I am not flirting with your niece,” Ric lied. As far as he could tell, flirting with Piper Ryan was the only way he’d found to throw her off guard, to make real contact. She clearly did not allow anyone close. He wondered about that. She was young, beautiful and wildly popular with the viewing audience. But on a personal level, an introvert if he’d ever seen one.

  “Yes, sir, I won’t take my eyes off her,” he said in response to Camp’s final warning. Ric punched the off button on his cell phone and tossed it onto the sofa. The man Ric had tackled this morning had no previous record, and he wasn’t talking. Since he didn’t sport the usual shield tattoo on his right bicep, there was no way to know if SSU had sent him, or if he was somehow related to the gang series Piper was doing. Or, hell, he could just be a nut case trying to make the evening news. Whatever his motivation, the threat had been neutralized. Lucas was royally ticked that he couldn’t talk Piper into going into seclusion. Prior to calling Ric, he had apparently spent the last thirty minutes trying to convince her to take a leave of absence from her work.

  “You’re one headstrong lady, querida,” Ric murmured distractedly as he unbuttoned his shirt. He’d ruined one of his favorite shirts this morning, and had to change before he got to the station. He shouldered out of his shirt and tossed it onto the back of the sofa, then started to unfasten his slacks when Piper’s face on the screen grabbed his attention. The segment lasted less than four minutes but it was very good. Ric gave himself a mental pat on the back for his videography. He unzipped his pants and headed for the bathroom. He supposed he could always be a came
raman if Lucas Camp got him fired from the Colby Agency for flirting with his niece. A vision, including her pretty face, especially those lush lips, instantly loomed large in his mind.

  Ric needed a shower. If he couldn’t keep his thoughts away from the woman next door, it might be in his best interest to take a cold shower. The signal was set loudly enough that if Piper decided to leave her apartment while he was in the shower, Ric would hear the alarm. But she wasn’t scheduled to go anywhere for another hour. He had time. And since he couldn’t keep his eyes on her every waking moment without blowing his cover, he’d had to wire her apartment to ensure he knew her every move—or anyone else’s who might try to go through the Feds and enter the premises.

  Considering his sore shoulder, he opted for the hot shower after all. The pavement had been hard, and his shoulder had taken the brunt of the fall when he’d slammed into the guy with the gun aimed at Piper. Ric scrubbed his hands through his hair and allowed the relaxing spray to flow over his tense muscles. The image of Piper Ryan, all five feet four curvy inches of her, filled his head once more. He had not expected the physical attraction between them to be so fierce. He’d thoroughly read her file. She’d grown up in the lap of luxury, was educated at a fancy private college and had all but been an overnight television success. Atlanta’s sweetheart.

  The complete opposite in every way with Ric’s upbringing. He’d grown up in the Projects on the south side of Chicago. He’d had to fight his way out of that barrio, and only the kind of drive and fortitude borne of desperation and alien to the likes of Piper Ryan had saved him. In her world she stood head and shoulders above the rest when it came to determination and courage, but she wouldn’t last five minutes in the world he’d known as a kid.