saw her settled safely on the sofa before joining the officers.
When he caught his first glimpse of the war zone that had been the high-end hotel suite’s master bedroom, he was glad he’d insisted she stay behind. He didn’t want her to see this. His hands trembled with barely suppressed rage as he took in the devastation. The explosive device the intruder had planted hadn’t been powerful enough to completely demolish the room, but it had wreaked plenty of havoc all the same. Fury surged through his veins at the thought of how close Brianna had come to being seriously injured . . . or worse. This should never have happened on his watch. What the hell had gone wrong?
“We had an incident similar to this one two weeks ago at a café downtown,” the older of the two detectives commented. “The damage here is more extensive, though. If this bomb was planted by the same individual or individuals, they’ve upped their game.”
The younger detective scratched his head. “No other rooms were hit. Miss Atwood said she doesn’t know of anyone who would have a grudge against her, but it certainly looks like someone may have been targeting her.”
Luke made sure the bedroom door was closed tightly before he pulled out his identification. “I’m a covert bodyguard. Miss Atwood’s father has retained protection for her in the wake of threats made against his family. She’s not aware of the security concern, and she doesn’t know I’ve been enlisted to watch over her.”
The officer in charge raised an eyebrow. “Well, that certainly sheds some light on the situation. Do you have any idea who’s behind the threats?”
“That’s still a gray area, I’m afraid. We believe her father’s ties to a reputed mob boss, Lawrence Mendacci, may have placed her in peril. Proving it and tracking down the person or persons Mendacci has hired to carry out his dirty work is the challenging part.”
“Mendacci is well known to us,” the older detective relayed. “He’s as slippery as they come. Every time we think we’ve gathered enough evidence to build a case against him, he squirms out of our grasp. He has a gift for slithering around in sewage and coming out smelling like a rose.”
“It’s Sentinels’ job to make sure he’s not so lucky this time,” Luke asserted. “We know Mendacci isn’t carrying out the attacks personally. If we can catch the middleman, we should be able to obtain the ammunition we need to nail him.”
“Good luck with that. We’ve been trying for years to get something substantial enough on Mendacci to put him behind bars.”
“Miss Atwood’s father, Philip Dimitriou, knows more than he’s saying, but so far he’s been reticent about giving us any information regarding the identity of the individual or individuals behind the threats against his family. Hearing about this attack may prompt him to be more forthcoming. I suggest you contact him.”
“I’ll get right on it,” the officer relayed. He paused then, as though he was uncertain if he should proceed. “I’m not questioning your professionalism, but do you think continuing to keep Miss Atwood in the dark is wise? This situation could escalate.”
“Covert protection is Sentinels’ specialty. We have a near perfect track record when it comes to keeping our clients safe. I can assure you I don’t intend to be the one to mar that record.”
Especially not when protecting this package is beginning to feel personal.
Despite his intentions to the contrary, he’d allowed Brianna to get under his skin. And that wouldn’t do. The romantic distraction was too dangerous. It was essential he stay focused on his mission, and that meant maintaining his emotional distance when it came to the woman he’d been assigned to guard.
He needed to do a better job of that than he’d done so far. He already had one strike against him in the emotional stakes.
The moment Marcus had left him alone with Brianna at dinner tonight,
When he caught his first glimpse of the war zone that had been the high-end hotel suite’s master bedroom, he was glad he’d insisted she stay behind. He didn’t want her to see this. His hands trembled with barely suppressed rage as he took in the devastation. The explosive device the intruder had planted hadn’t been powerful enough to completely demolish the room, but it had wreaked plenty of havoc all the same. Fury surged through his veins at the thought of how close Brianna had come to being seriously injured . . . or worse. This should never have happened on his watch. What the hell had gone wrong?
“We had an incident similar to this one two weeks ago at a café downtown,” the older of the two detectives commented. “The damage here is more extensive, though. If this bomb was planted by the same individual or individuals, they’ve upped their game.”
The younger detective scratched his head. “No other rooms were hit. Miss Atwood said she doesn’t know of anyone who would have a grudge against her, but it certainly looks like someone may have been targeting her.”
Luke made sure the bedroom door was closed tightly before he pulled out his identification. “I’m a covert bodyguard. Miss Atwood’s father has retained protection for her in the wake of threats made against his family. She’s not aware of the security concern, and she doesn’t know I’ve been enlisted to watch over her.”
The officer in charge raised an eyebrow. “Well, that certainly sheds some light on the situation. Do you have any idea who’s behind the threats?”
“That’s still a gray area, I’m afraid. We believe her father’s ties to a reputed mob boss, Lawrence Mendacci, may have placed her in peril. Proving it and tracking down the person or persons Mendacci has hired to carry out his dirty work is the challenging part.”
“Mendacci is well known to us,” the older detective relayed. “He’s as slippery as they come. Every time we think we’ve gathered enough evidence to build a case against him, he squirms out of our grasp. He has a gift for slithering around in sewage and coming out smelling like a rose.”
“It’s Sentinels’ job to make sure he’s not so lucky this time,” Luke asserted. “We know Mendacci isn’t carrying out the attacks personally. If we can catch the middleman, we should be able to obtain the ammunition we need to nail him.”
“Good luck with that. We’ve been trying for years to get something substantial enough on Mendacci to put him behind bars.”
“Miss Atwood’s father, Philip Dimitriou, knows more than he’s saying, but so far he’s been reticent about giving us any information regarding the identity of the individual or individuals behind the threats against his family. Hearing about this attack may prompt him to be more forthcoming. I suggest you contact him.”
“I’ll get right on it,” the officer relayed. He paused then, as though he was uncertain if he should proceed. “I’m not questioning your professionalism, but do you think continuing to keep Miss Atwood in the dark is wise? This situation could escalate.”
“Covert protection is Sentinels’ specialty. We have a near perfect track record when it comes to keeping our clients safe. I can assure you I don’t intend to be the one to mar that record.”
Especially not when protecting this package is beginning to feel personal.
Despite his intentions to the contrary, he’d allowed Brianna to get under his skin. And that wouldn’t do. The romantic distraction was too dangerous. It was essential he stay focused on his mission, and that meant maintaining his emotional distance when it came to the woman he’d been assigned to guard.
He needed to do a better job of that than he’d done so far. He already had one strike against him in the emotional stakes.
The moment Marcus had left him alone with Brianna at dinner tonight,
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