Targeted For Murder. Elizabeth Goddard

      But holding her in his arms? That wasn’t exactly his duty.

      He should release her, but she clung to him now, and trembled against him. Cooper didn’t want to feel. Not like this. But her fear—the utter injustice of her situation—pinged against the wall around his heart. Slowly, he released her. Couldn’t have imagined it would be that hard.

      Holding her at arm’s length, he looked into her translucent eyes, the golds and greens stunning him again. But he shook off the effect she had on him. She needed him to be a warrior, a protector, nothing more.

      Both uncertainty and strength mingled behind her gaze. Good. She’d need the strength to see her through, just as he would. The uncertainty couldn’t be helped.

      “I don’t want you to risk your life,” she said. “Not for me.”

      Then who else would be up to the task? But Cooper didn’t ask her that. “I have experience in doing just that. You should be glad you found your way here. Take comfort in that, and get some sleep.”

      Somehow, he needed to extract himself from this moment. She was...vulnerable. And though he never would have expected it, she’d exposed his vulnerability as well.

      She nodded. “Okay...okay, I’ll sleep. You get some rest, too.”

      Once she was at the bedroom door, she glanced back. “And, Cooper...”

      “Yeah?”

      “Thank you, again.”

      He nodded. Dead-bolted the back entrance, then he exited through the other door that opened up into the house and his business, then locked her in good and tight with his key.

      He struggled to wrap his mind around the events of the day. He’d battled with a hit man—a professional assassin—and that man had warned that someone else would be sent. If he could believe the man’s words, then how quickly would the next one arrive? How could he find Hadley here? There was one treacherous road into town from the coast and another from the east. That was a deterrent for some, but not for someone truly determined.