Under Pressure

Again, Leese deferred to her.

“I’d kill for a burger,” Catalina said. “Loaded. With fries. And a malt.” She made a sound of pleasure. “Man, that sounds good.”

“I just fell in love,” Justice said.

Ignoring Justice, Leese said, “A burger is doable, but we’ll pick it up and take it to the hotel to eat. Okay?”

“You two might be my new favorite people.” She curled into the corner, snuggling for a comfortable position. “At least for a little while.” After a yawn, she said, “Wake me when we’re there.”

Leese watched her fall asleep.

A whole lot of things weren’t adding up. For one, despite all the research he’d done on her, Catalina wasn’t quite what he’d expected.

The situation, too, was off. He’d planned to keep her safe, but now he had to wonder: from what?

“She’s out?” Justice asked with disbelief.

A soft snore was his answer.

Leese smiled, until she shifted, turning toward him and stretching out on the seat, her head on his thigh.

“Shh,” she muttered. “So tired.”

In the rearview mirror, Leese saw Justice’s wide eyes. Hell, his own were probably bugging. What woman escaped danger, met strangers, mistrusted them, then decided to doze?

It wasn’t normal. The idea of her being irrational seemed more plausible by the moment.

Justice turned the radio on low, and as she’d ordered, they both stayed quiet. But Leese stewed, at first in discomfort.

Where the hell was he supposed to put his hands?

Then he decided to hell with it and rested one forearm across her body. She shifted and his hand ended up on her hip.

Worked for him, and she didn’t complain, so he just went with it.

The discomfort turned internal. Confused on all counts, he wanted to call Sahara and insist on some additional details, but not while Catalina might hear. He’d have to wait for the right moment and some privacy.

Using his left hand, he double-checked their route. With that done, he read a few private emails, did a little more research on the woman dozing against him and basically bided his time.

When it occurred to him that he was lightly stroking Catalina’s hip without even thinking about it, he ceased...until she grew restless. Then he gave in to the urge again.

They drove for forty-five minutes before Leese decided they were close enough to the hotel to pull into a drive-through burger joint. In all that time, Catalina had slept soundly but now, as the car slowed, she stretched awake.

Feeling the lithe movement of her trim little body against him, Leese gave her a few pats. “Time to wake up.”

“Mmm.” Sluggish, she turned to her back, her knees bent against the door, and stared up at him, taking a moment to orient herself. Blinking in surprise, she asked, “How long was I out?”

Shadows kept her expression hidden, but he felt her intensity. “Less than an hour.” His forearm was now across her stomach, meaning he practically embraced her. “Ready to order some food?”

Cautiously, she sat up and looked around, then turned to stare at him. “No trouble?”

“No.” Did she think she’d have slept through it?

“Sorry I passed out.”

“Not a problem.” Odd as hell, but it had maybe made things easier, giving him time to sort through the altered situation.

She leaned closer to him to peer over the front seat and out the windshield. Several cars were ahead of them, and the line moved slowly. “Could we walk in? I need to use the restroom.”

“We’ll be at the hotel in just a few minutes.”

Blue eyes stared into his. “I need to go now.”

Leese wasn’t sure how he knew—she didn’t blink, didn’t lose eye contact—but he had no doubt at all that she planned to run the second she got out of his sight. “All right. I’ll wait by the door and Justice can wait right outside.”

She scowled.

He grinned.

Giving up, she sighed. “I don’t even know your name.”

“Leese Phelps. The big guy up front—”

“You’re both big.” She peered toward Justice. “But yeah, you’re gargantuan. Justice, right?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

A dimple appeared in her cheek. “I like your style, Justice.” Sitting back again, she turned to Leese. “Credentials?”

A little late, but at least she finally wanted to see them. Leese removed his folded leather holder and flipped it open to show his ID.

She studied it longer than necessary, looking from the photo to him to the photo again. “Okay, so you’re really a bodyguard.”

“You had doubts?”

“Sure.”

By the second she became more of an enigma. “And still you went to sleep?”

“I was seriously depleted and needed the rest. Besides, what was I supposed to do? Try to fight my way free?”

Justice snorted.

“Exactly.” As they pulled up in the line to buy food, her stomach rumbled. “Besides, even if I was a hulk like you two, I’m beat and I’m hungry. Fighting about the inevitable didn’t seem worth it.”

“Inevitable?” Leese asked.

“You were taking me, regardless of what I had to say about it. Right?”