Page 28 of Shadow Redemption
“That’s your cue,” he murmured and walked with her to the stairs leading to the dais. While she spoke to the audience, thanking them for their generosity to the cause and explaining why their help was critical in saving the lives of critically ill kids, Ben kept his attention on the audience, scanning for trouble. When Ruth finished her remarks to a rousing round of applause and left the dais to return to his side, he held out his hand to help her down the stairs. When she stepped on the carpeted surface, Ben lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed her palm.
Ruth’s breath caught as murmured conversations filled the large room.
He winked at her and led her to their table. This was as good a time as any to start the media machine rolling. Someone here would remark on the mysterious stranger with Roxanne at a luncheon. Hopefully, no picture of him would appear on the social media sites yet and give him a few more hours without escalating danger from his background circling them although he knew his luck wouldn’t hold. Sooner or later, his past would come back to bite him. He prayed Ruth wasn’t caught in the crossfire when that happened.
During the next few minutes, Ben sat beside Ruth with his hand wrapped around hers. Surprised to feel her trembling after a speech where she gave no hint of her nervousness, he squeezed her hand and leaned close to whisper, “You’ve been holding back on me.”
Her brows knitted. “What are you talking about?”
“You’re a good public speaker, sunshine. You made me want to reach for my own wallet to contribute to this charity.”
“Do you think anyone knew my knees were knocking?”
“Not a chance.” If he weren’t holding her hand, Ben wouldn’t have known how afraid she was. The lady was a class act.
Turning his attention to the audience, he noticed several cell phones aimed their direction and sighed. So much for not having his picture in social media. His face would be plastered all over the Internet in a matter of minutes.
Ben slid his phone from his pocket and sent Zane a text, alerting him to the newest development and asking him to monitor the Net closely after the pictures hit. He needed to know about new threats as soon as they appeared, and still believed Brent made a mistake assigning Ben to this task.
He glanced at Ruth and found her watching him instead of the latest speaker. Ben admitted to himself that he wouldn’t have been happy to have another operative watching over her, especially after those incendiary kisses she’d shared with him. The chemistry between them was so powerful he was amazed that he hadn’t burned to ashes on the spot.
The thought of another man having the right to kiss and hold Ruth Monihan made Ben see red. Not good. He needed objectivity to do his job right and protect his heart.
He reminded himself that this was just a role he’d been assigned. She was a job and he was only acting the part of the besotted lover.
Right. If that was true, why did this feel real enough to trigger his protective instincts and make him want to mark Ruth as his?
Finally, the interminable speeches were finished and the auction winners were announced. “And for the grand price of a four-day getaway to Jamaica, the winning bid belongs to Roxanne.” The organizer grinned at her as the audience clapped. “Congratulations, my friend. See me after the luncheon and I’ll give you the information you need to enjoy a long weekend away with a friend.”
Ten minutes later, the luncheon ended and patrons trickled out of the banquet room. A few people stopped by the table to congratulate Ruth and compliment her on the speech before leaving.
The event organizer broke away from a small group and walked to their table. “Congratulations, Roxanne.”
“Thanks, Charles.” She smiled. “Great luncheon, as always.”
“Better than great, thanks to you and your promotion efforts for this event.” The middle-aged man turned to Ben with a smile and held out his hand. “I’m Charles Haywood. I’m glad you could join us today.”
“I’m Ben, Roxanne’s boyfriend. I appreciate you finding a place for me. I wasn’t sure my schedule would allow me to join her today. She speaks highly of Children’s Rainbow.”
One of Charles’s hands fisted. “I wasn’t aware that Roxanne was dating anyone. My congratulations to both of you.”
Ben slid his arm around Ruth’s shoulders. The organizer’s words said one thing, his body language another. The man appeared to be ticked off that Ruth was in a committed relationship. Was it possible good old Charles was interested in being more than an acquaintance? Could he be Ruth’s stalker? “Thanks.”
Charles shifted his attention to Ruth. “When did you start dating?”
“Recently. We’ve known each for months, but with his schedule and mine we haven’t been in a place where we could spend much time together.”
“But now you can,” he said flatly.
“We’re making time,” Ben said. “The perfect time will never come, not with our jobs.”
That drew the organizer’s attention back to Ben. “Oh? What do you do for a living?”
“I’m in private security.”
A frown. “You’re a sales rep for a security company?”
That made him smile. “I specialize in hostage retrieval.”