The Bodyguard (Norcross #4) - Anna Hackett Page 0,35

of her butt at a ball once. He didn’t like hearing the word no.

There.

There was a photo of Andrei with his cousins. He had an arm around a man with a coat of arms tattoo on his forearm.

Boris Petrovich.

She did a quick search. The man didn’t work, just seemed to attend parties around Europe. It was also mentioned that he was going to be attending the Glittering Court gala.

She smiled. “Gotcha.”

He was staying at the Ritz-Carlton in the city.

Looked like Robin Hood was going to pay a visit.

But she knew she needed to be very careful with Rome increasing security around her. She wouldn’t let anything stop her.

It was time to get to work.

Chapter Ten

Rome checked in with the exterior guards.

“All quiet, Rome.”

“That new camera get installed in the blind spot?” Rome asked.

“Yeah, Ace sent a guy. It’s not tied into the main system yet, so you need to check the feed separately.”

“Thanks, Mike.”

Back inside, Rome fired up his laptop and activated the security system. He glanced up at the ceiling, thinking of Sofie upstairs, sleeping.

He paused. Memories of her sweet ass in his hands, and the taste of her on his lips, cascaded through his head. Damn, the way she called out his name… Desire was hot and heavy in his gut.

Tonight, she needed to rest.

But tomorrow…

Well, they’d see. He couldn’t keep his hands off her for much longer.

His phone rang. It was Vander.

“Hey,” Rome said.

“Sofia okay?”

“Yeah, she’s sleeping.”

“Saw the way you looked at her, Rome. And the way she is with you.”

Rome dragged in a deep breath. “She’s mine.”

Vander made an amused sound. “Damn, you going to take the fall, too?”

“Don’t know where it’s going, but I can’t stay away. She’s mine.” He paused. “I know it oversteps the bounds of my work, but I’m not leaving her safety to anyone else. You try to take me off her security, I’ll quit, and guard her anyway.”

Vander was silent a moment. “Are you sure you can keep your cool? That you can be her lover and her bodyguard?”

“I’ll protect her with my life.”

“Okay. We’ve been through too much together for me to doubt you. You know I trust your judgment, Rome, and at Norcross, we’ve never followed the rules exactly. We both know life is never neat and tidy. But if you need help, or things get sticky, you tell me. I’ve got your back, and Sofie’s.”

Relief rushed through Rome. “Thanks, Vander.”

He checked the security system again. He put on some music—some low, bluesy jazz—and got to work going over the security plan for the gala. There was a ping on his computer and Ace’s face popped up in a chat window.

Born to Brazilian parents but raised in the US, Ace had dark good looks that made him popular with the ladies, and his long, dark hair was pulled back in a short ponytail. The man was sitting in his lair at the Norcross Security office—the walls were covered in flat screens.

“Working late?” Rome asked.

“No rest for the wicked, mi amigo. How’s the princess after the attack?”

“Fine. A little scraped up, but sleeping now.”

“Vander said she looks like a perfect princess, but she has a spine of steel.”

“Yeah.” A good description. “Heard you got the extra camera set up.”

“The blind spot is plugged. I’ll get the camera integrated into the main controls tomorrow. I ran a system diagnostic while I was at it.”

“And?”

“There’s a problem with a downstairs window. Someone very cleverly hacked it so it won’t set the alarm off when it’s opened.”

Hair rose on the back of Rome’s neck. “Someone got in?”

“Nope.” Ace sat back in his chair. “Someone got out.”

Rome’s chest locked.

“I’m guessing you didn’t climb out the window in the middle of the night, amigo?”

“No, I did not.” It was only himself and Sofie inside.

“So, your princess snuck out.”

A muscle in Rome’s jaw twitched. “I’ll find out.”

Why the fuck would she sneak out? Why would she risk herself like that? His gut felt like sludge. Was she meeting a lover?

No. She’d come alive for him. She’d been hungry for his touch. He couldn’t believe that was a lie, or that she was seeing someone else.

“Thanks, Ace.”

His friend saluted him. “Good luck. Go easy on her.”

Rome closed the laptop and headed upstairs.

It was silent.

He didn’t bother to knock, just pushed open the door to her bedroom. It was shadowed, moonlight streaming through the window.

Illuminating the empty bed.

He flicked on the light.

No Sofie.

There was a black laptop sitting on her bed though. He frowned. It wasn’t the