Killer Body. Elle James

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СКАЧАТЬ him leave, she had so many questions needing answers she refused to let Dawson out of her sight. “How did I get injured?” She touched her fingers to the bandage on the side of her head. “What happened?”

      Again, he glanced toward the door. “Let me get the doctor.”

      “No!” She grabbed for his sleeve. “Stay with me. Tell me what you know.”

      “Look, lady, all I know is that I was hired by the district attorney to play bodyguard to you until you could remember what happened.”

      “Did the D.A. tell you what happened?”

      “Only that you shot—” Dawson clamped his lips shut for a second before continuing “—received a gunshot wound to the head. You should ask him for the details.”

      Savvy gasped, her heart slamming against her chest, beating so fast the wound at her temple throbbed. “Gunshot?” She tried to remember, tried to picture herself in an alley, but couldn’t. She didn’t think she’d ever worked in a bar. And to be shot in an alley behind one? It didn’t feel right. “Who shot me?”

      Dawson shifted ever so slightly, but just enough that Savvy could tell he didn’t want to respond. “I don’t know.”

      “You know something, or you wouldn’t have hesitated when you answered.” What was he hiding?

      Dawson dug in his pocket and pulled out a cell phone. “I really need to make a call. Do you mind?”

      “Yes, I do mind.” She pinned him with her stare. Now, that felt natural, as if she’d been in some position of authority at one time. “Are you or are you not my bodyguard?”

      He hesitated. “The D.A. hired me to protect you.” He glanced down at his phone. “But I’m not the right guy for the job.” He stared at her with chocolate-brown eyes she could fall into. A thick, dark strand of coffee-colored hair fell down over his forehead.

      She wanted to reach out to push it back. Instinctively, she trusted him. She had to, she didn’t know anyone else, and he didn’t want to be her bodyguard. “Why?” she asked, her voice softening. Something had him tied in a knot. Worrying about him helped keep panic about herself at bay. “Why do you think you’re the wrong man for the job? You managed to save me from being smothered.”

      His hand tightened on the cell phone, his jaw clenching so hard the muscles twitched. “That guy should never have made it into your room.”

      “But then you weren’t here yet. And once you got here, you took care of him.” She raised her brows, challenging him to come up with another excuse, which she was certain he would.

      “I’ve never been a bodyguard.”

      That didn’t matter to her. He knew how to fight and defend. He had to have learned it somewhere. “Were you ever a cop, FBI agent, in the military?”

      “Military,” he said tightly.

      Savvy pressed on. “Soldier or staffer?”

      “Soldier.” He dragged in a deep breath and huffed it out.

      She crossed her arms over her chest. “If you were a soldier, you know how to use a gun. You know how to defend yourself and others.”

      He grunted, his brown eyes darkening to an inky black. “I’m not the right man for the job.”

      “I ask you again, why?” She waited, refusing to let him leave without a reasonable answer, and to her, there wasn’t one.

      “Because, damn it, I’m no good at it!” He swung away and stomped toward the door.

      “Dawson,” she called out. Savvy’s voice caught on his name, her stomach flip-flopping as the only man she felt she could trust was leaving.

      His hand smacked against the solid door, absorbing the force needed to swing it open. “I’m not the right man for this job.”

      “Please,” she whispered. “You’re the only person I can trust in a world of strangers.”

      “Why me?” he said, his back to her.

      “Because you’ve already proven yourself. You’ve saved me once.”

      “But that doesn’t mean I can do it again.”

      “Maybe not, but I know you’ll try.” Why wouldn’t he turn and face her? What made him so certain he couldn’t handle this job? “I don’t know anyone else,” she said, not too proud to plead.

      He turned toward her, his face blank, emotionless. “You don’t know me.”

      “Right now, I don’t know anyone.” How could she convince him? The thought of Dawson walking out the door and leaving her alone left her feeling so scared she couldn’t think straight. “I’ll take my chances with you.”

      For a long moment, he stared at her, his eyes fierce, his body stiff. Finally, he shrugged. “It’s your life.”

      Chapter Three

      Dawson paced the length of the tiled floor, careful to keep his footsteps quiet while Savvy slept the afternoon away. With each pass beside her bed, he studied the woman.

      Strawberry-blond hair splayed out in a tangle across snow-white sheets. Auburn lashes fanned across pale cheeks where a dusting of freckles gave her the youthful appearance of a teenager. That was all that reminded him of a teen. The proud tilt of full breasts couldn’t be hidden completely by the shapeless hospital gown. Those legs—long, silky smooth and toned—made him think of how they’d feel wrapped around a man’s waist. Lush coral-colored lips could inspire kisses from even the most devout bachelor.

      But not Dawson Gray. When he’d lost Amanda, his high-school sweetheart, his wife, the mother of his unborn child, he’d sworn never to walk that path again. He refused to expose himself to that kind of agony again.

      Savvy Jones could only ever be a job to him. He’d do well to remember that and not allow her attributes to blind him to the danger surrounding her or the unrest raging in the border town of Laredo.

      Dawson stopped in front of the window as the sun slowly sank over the city skyline. A dusty red haze clouded the air as the plump orange globe melted into shades of pink and gray.

      District Attorney Young had called to inform him that he’d be by shortly to question the witness.

      Dawson glanced over his shoulder at Savvy. He didn’t have the heart to wake her. The police had come and gone, asking Savvy a barrage of questions of which she had few answers. The doctor had made his rounds after consulting with the D.A., still prickly from his run-in with Dawson. But he’d informed Savvy that she would heal quickly, and that she was lucky it had only been a flesh wound. No damage to her skull except for the lump she’d acquired when she’d fallen to the pavement, resulting in a mild concussion. Nevertheless, the hospital staff kept a close eye on her to watch for any brain swelling. If all went well, she’d be allowed to leave the hospital the following morning.

      Which introduced a whole new set of complications СКАЧАТЬ