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him.
    “You’re staring,” Justine said, coming up behind her.
    “I’m not staring; I’m keeping an eye on him. This area isn’t too secure.”
    “I know. He doesn’t act like a man who just had his life threatened.”
    “He’s arrogant.”
    “And pissed off,” Justine said.
    “He’s not what I expected.”
    “What’d you expect? Someone like Senator Perry?”
    “I guess. He’s not our normal client. There’s more going on here than just blackmail.”
    “Ya think? Did the bullet exchange change your mind?”
    Charity punched her friend in the arm. “You’re being annoying.”
    “That’s part of my appeal.”
    “Maybe that’s why you’re always alone.”
    “No, that’s not the reason. Ready to walk me through what happened? Anna’s inside talking to the staff, trying to get a bead on whether anyone saw the sniper earlier.”
    “That’s good,” she said. “Do you have a description?”
    “Yes, Alonzo gave us a fairly good one.”
    “Ms. Keone?”
    “Yes?”
    “I’m Officer Blane Ketting—I’d like to take your statement now.”
    “I need to make sure that Mr. Williams is in a secure area before I talk to you.”
    “I’ll go find an office inside that we can use,” Justine said, walking away.
    She noticed that Officer Ketting watched her friend go. Justine never realized her appeal to the opposite sex…well, that wasn’t necessarily true. Justine didn’t like her appeal to the opposite sex.
    “That’s fine. We’re securing this area. Do you want to go back to the station?”
    “I’d rather not. Can you give Justine five minutes to find us a place?”
    She knew that Sam would already have contacted the police department, using his contacts to alert them to what was going on. The officer backed off and she went over to Daniel.
     
    Daniel watched the ambulance pull away with another one of his people in it. Another one of his people had been injured in this war that Sekijima had started. And it could be nothing else. Sekijima was coming after him old-school style, striking at his family and weakening him.
    He needed to kick something or strangle someone—preferably that bitch who had tried to kill him. He felt a soft touch on his shoulder and turned around with a glare.
    Charity didn’t back off but he saw her guard come up. “What is it?”
    “Nothing.” He fucking wasn’t going to tell her that he was angry because this was twice that he’d been struck in his own house, so to speak. He wasn’t about to start talking because he knew that expletives and impotent rage weren’t meant to be expressed vocally. They needed to be channeled into a single focus. And now she was in danger. He knew the assassin that Sekijima had sent had gotten a good look at Charity.
    Hell, she was impossible to miss with her blond hair and knockout body, but more than that, the other woman would have recognized the trained fighter that Charity was. She’d almost caught the assassin and that would be the first thing that Sekijima would be told about Charity.
    He was going to fucking find Sekijima and ring his goddamned neck. But first he had to find a way to protect her. He figured he’d have to keep her with him if he was going to keep her safe.
    “Take a deep breath, Daniel.”
    “Why?” he asked, his mind racing over the possibilities.
    “Because you look like you’re about to do something crazy, and the cops are still here.”
    “Fuck that. I’m not worried about the cops.” And he wasn’t. He could handle them if he had to. He’d made friends in high places since leaving the streets.
    She drew him away from the cops, processing the scene and looking for evidence. He noticed almost absently that she still protected him with her body and kept the wall at his back. She was really top-notch at what she did.
    “I’m sorry I was crass,” he said.
    “Don’t be. I want to curse, too.”
    Without a second thought, he drew her to him and claimed the kiss he’d wanted in the