No One to Trust by Katie Reus

continued.
    “For now Lizzy’s at my place with Mara. We
need to talk to her because after this I think she might know more
than she’s telling. I don’t see why Salas would send a gang after
her in broad daylight, not over money her brother owes him. Doesn’t
make sense.”
    It didn’t. Especially not considering who
Porter’s family was. Orlando Salas couldn’t be that stupid. “I’ll
see you in a few.” He disconnected and shoved the phone in his
pocket.
    Time seemed to move backward as he maneuvered
through traffic, but the drive was relatively short. When he pulled
up to his brother’s spacious two story home in the quiet Coral
Gables neighborhood, he wasn’t surprised to see a team of guys
parked in the driveway and another parked across the street. He was
certain there would be more men inside. Everything about Harrison’s
life was low-key, right down to the ten-year-old Ford truck he
drove—though it did have bullet resistant glass windows. But if
there was a potential threat anywhere near Mara, he was anything
but laid back.
    Porter completely understood. He wanted to
keep Elizabeth under lock and key so no one could hurt her. Before
he’d reached the front door, it flew open.
    Harrison stood back and motioned for him to
enter. “She’s in the living room.”
    He brushed past his brother until he reached
the archway that opened into the living room. Wearing the same
button down pink top and slim-fitting skirt she’d had on that
morning, she sat with her legs crossed and her hands clasped
tightly over her knees. The whites of her knuckles were a stark
contrast to her naturally tanned skin.
    She glanced up and when those espresso
colored eyes of hers locked on his, it was like a punch to the gut.
Unlike his brother’s fiancé, who was as cool as ice under any
circumstance, Elizabeth was more innocent. Sweeter and softer. And
right now she looked so damn vulnerable. She spent her days behind
a computer and if he had to guess, she’d grown up fairly sheltered.
Her parents were two of the highest paid doctors on the East Coast,
or more likely the country. One was a cardiologist and the other an
oncologist. Combined with the events of yesterday, having a couple
thugs try to gun her down had probably shaken her up more than she
was letting on.
    When he moved into the room, she stood and
skirted around the coffee table toward him. “I’m sorry, I should
have listened to you and stayed home today. I…”
    Her voice broke and he covered the rest of
the distance in two strides. Surprising himself, he pulled her into
a tight hug. He didn’t care what his brother thought about his
display of affection for her. For a split second she was resistant
but then her slim arms wrapped around him and held tight. Her head
fit right under his chin. She was so close he could feel the rapid
beat of her heart and the soft swell of her breasts pressing
against his chest. The way she hitched in a breath made him ache
inside.
    “If I’d listened to you, none of this would
have happened.” There was a slight note of anger in her words.
Anger at herself, he guessed.
    He squeezed her tighter, needing to feel her
against him. “If I’d thought this was remotely possible, I wouldn’t
have let you go to work today. You couldn’t have seen this coming.
Neither of us could have,” he murmured against her hair. She was
fairly tall, but today she felt soft and fragile in his arms.
Without caring about the consequences, he brushed a hand down her
long hair and smoothed it down her spine. He was so grateful she
was unharmed and letting him hold her. Feeling her like this kept
him grounded and reminded him she was okay. It also let him breathe
normally.
    The longer he held her, the more he savored
the way her soft curves pressed against him in all the right
places. The timing was inappropriate but his lower body came to
life with a roar. He became aware of it only seconds before she
did. She pulled her head back, away from his