“You weren’t nominated, so what were you doing there?” She ticked off a list on her fingers. “Publicist? Agent? Reporter? Paparazzi—and please don’t say yes to that last one because I’ll have to order you from my room even if you did save my life.” The words lost their heat when she accompanied them with a wink. “Let’s see, where was I?” She went over the mental list in her head. “Right...I doubt you work catering because you wouldn’t have been on the red carpet. The only other thing I can think of is security.” She stared him down. “So which is it?”
This was bound to happen at some point especially if he shadowed Ari Nepali until he had the information he needed.
“It’s not a pop quiz,” she said, slanting her head to the side as she waited.
“Security,” Troy finally admitted.
Her brows lifted and her smile returned. “Ah.” She nodded. “Well, I won’t feel as guilty then since you probably feel it’s your responsibility to get in the way of flying bullets.”
“You shouldn’t feel guilty anyway,” Troy told her. “Anyone working in security or law enforcement knows the risks. Like I said, I made the choice. I knew what I was getting into.”
He saw the disbelief in her eyes as her smile faded and figured he could come clean about this part. “I saw the shooter after the first few rounds went off. He laid some wild fire from a fifth-floor office, but if I had to bet, I’d say he was gunning for you.”
Her pretty blue eyes widened. “Really?” The idea seemed to surprise her. “The police suggested something similar and asked if I’d recently been threatened or had any enemies. I thought they were just covering all the bases. I mean, other people were hurt...shot, the officer, one of the attendants and a few pedestrians. I wasn’t the only one.”
“True,” Troy conceded. “But you were the only one who was hit twice and nearly died.”
“Not true.” She shook her head. “The officer is still in a coma.”
“The shooter had to get by him to get into the office building. He was a casualty, not the target.”
“Okay, maybe. But maybe he liked the idea of a moving target or the fact that I was the only famous person still on the red carpet, which meant more press for him to enjoy later. I don’t believe he was out for me specifically. The shooter hit you too.”
“Because I was saving you.”
Chapter Three
The guilt Julie had attempted to banish came back with a vengeance. “Wait a minute,” she said, stopping him with her index finger in the air. “You’re telling me you knew this guy was definitely going to shoot at you if you came for me and you did it anyway?” Her brows furrowed. “No offense, Troy, but what the hell is wrong with you?”
Troy gazed at her with an odd expression on his face and a hint of a grin on his lips. “Like I said, America would’ve been pretty pissed if I’d let their sweetheart bleed out on the red carpet.” Looking at the floor, he chuckled softly.
“What’s so funny?” she asked. She sat forward and regretted the move instantly when a blast of pain shot from her middle and extended to all parts north and south. “I don’t see how any of this is funny.” She grimaced.
The brief flash of white teeth disappeared. “You’re right. It isn’t funny. I’ve just seen you make that same face on television, and it always makes me laugh.” The hard line of his jaw screamed sex appeal and Julie’s annoyance disappeared. “Do you need me to get the nurse so she can get you something for the pain?”
“No. I’m okay.” She hated the hazy feeling of Vicodin. She took a few seconds to regroup. Let the pain ease away. She shook her head, needed to leave the grumpy victim behind. “It’s not that I’m not grateful, you know I am. I just can’t believe...” She trailed off, hating that she sounded like such a broken record. What kind of man did something so dangerous? “Thank you. Again. Thank you. I don’t know how to repay you. How much do you usually charge to save someone’s life?”
He tipped his head, his eyes intent, but they sparkled with humor. “The rates vary. Getting shot tends to jack up the price.”
“I’ll bet,” she murmured. When she met his gaze, her pulse took another leap at the dark intensity