Page 6 of Shadow Redemption
“No! We’re friends.”
A nasty mix of bitterness and disappointment brewed in Ben’s gut. Being relegated to the friend zone hurt although that’s all they could ever be. Anything more would put her in the crosshairs of his enemies. He couldn’t be in her world and she didn’t belong in his. End of discussion. So why did he want to argue the point?
“Ben would never stalk me,” Ruth insisted. “If he was interested, he’d come right out and stake his claim.”
Zane chuckled. “Subtlety is not his one of his strengths.”
“Not helping, Z,” Ben said.
“What are friends for?”
He ignored the tease and focused on his boss. “Ruth needs a protection detail. The stalker is growing bolder. The first threats were emailed pictures. The flowers and strawberries were delivered to the studio where she was working.” He tapped the picture from her SUV. “This last picture was placed on her personal vehicle. The stalker is actively following her. He’s escalating.” Ben had to stop him before the stalker did more than scare Ruth. The likelihood that sooner or later he would hurt Ruth was unacceptable.
“Agreed. As of this moment, your new assignment is to serve as Ruth’s bodyguard. Coordinate with the other members of Shadow. They’re due to arrive in the conference room in thirty minutes.”
Ben froze. Dismay filled him. He couldn’t be Ruth’s bodyguard if he wanted to survive.
CHAPTER THREE
Drawing in a careful breath, Ben looked at Zane. “Would you escort Ruth to the conference room? I need a minute with the boss.”
“Sure.” Zane scooted his chair back to allow Ruth to go ahead of him. “While we’re waiting for the others, you can give me your email address and password and I’ll start tracking the threat sender.” He closed the office door.
“Assign someone else to protect Ruth.” Ben’s hands fisted. Although handing responsibility for her safety to someone else was the last thing he wanted to do, it was best for them both.
“Why?”
He scowled. “You know why. I have a long list of enemies.”
“We all do, including your teammates.”
“They don’t have a price on their head at the moment. I do. I can protect Ruth from her stalker, but who will protect her from my past?”
“She needs you, not some other operative.”
“I wouldn’t hand responsibility for her safety to just any operative. I planned to handpick the candidate.”
“No.”
Anger flashed through Ben. “I’m better off in the shadows, Brent. Why are you being unreasonable?”
“You know why. No one else will be able to secure her cooperation like you, not even Trace. Every male operative who knows what happened in Mexico treats her as though she’s the walking wounded and they’re afraid to tell her no, even if it’s for her own protection.”
“I’ll talk to her. She’ll cooperate with the bodyguard.”
“You have an advantage over everyone else.”
His eyebrow rose.
“She trusts you.”
“She shouldn’t.”
“It’s necessary for the success of this op.”
Ben tilted his head, analyzing the overtone in his boss’s voice. Maddox’s skill at strategy was legendary. He had something planned, something he hadn’t shared yet. Whatever it was, Ben was positive he wouldn’t like it. “What haven’t you told me?”
“You’re going into this mission as more than a hired bodyguard.”