Free Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Cowboy D-Force (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Brotherhood Protectors Book 4) by Elle James Page B

that you’re putting yourself up as the target. The bullet that hit your martini glass this evening could easily have hit you instead.”
    She nodded. The thought had occurred to her, and she hadn’t been all that happy about it.
    “Who has Lena pissed off enough to want to cause her a whole lot of grief and possibly even kill her?”
    “Hell, who hasn’t she pissed off?” Angel sighed. “The possibilities could be too many to calculate.”
    “Any rivals vying for the same parts?”
    “She is up for a really big part in a movie. Phillip has been waiting on pins and needles for the call.”
    “Who else is being considered for that part?”
    “You’ll have to ask Phillip. He knows all of the ins and outs, and the actresses and actors who are anybody in Hollywood.” Angel sighed. “I’m just the stunt woman. Nobody of consequence in the grand scheme of the big studios.”
    “Except you look like Lena Love, which has put you in the unlucky position of being the decoy to draw out a potential killer. We have to find this person before he makes good on thinning the talent pool.”
    “We don’t know he’s out to kill Lena.”
    “No, but that bullet today made it an entirely different game. One we want to win. If we’re serious about luring him out into the open, we need to take the game to a new level.”
    Angel frowned. “And how do we do that?”
    “Ever been camping in Montana?”
    Her frown deepened. “No. Sounds cold and uncomfortable.”
    “If we stay here at the house, you’re nothing but a sitting duck. If we lead him up into the hills, we can switch the hunted to the hunters.”
    A slow grin spread across Angel’s face. “I like the way you think.”
    “Yeah?” He chucked a finger beneath her chin. “I like the way your nipples poke at your T-shirt. I suggest you go to bed and get some sleep. Tomorrow we head into the mountains.”
    She frowned. “Hey, you’re not supposed to be so obvious about your lascivious observations.”
    “Yeah, well we’ve already established I’m no gentleman.”
    “Your mother would be so proud.”
    “Leave my mother out of this.”
    “Leave my nipples out of this.”
    She jutted out her chest, parading her pointy breasts as she headed for the door. When she reached it, she flung it open and tipped her head. “Goodnight, bodyguard.”
    “Goodnight…Lena.” As he passed her, he leaned close, captured her head in the palm of his hand and whispered, “Angel fits you so much better.”
    “Just so you know, my teammates called me the Angel of Death.” She shot him a challenging glance.
    “I can see it. You wouldn’t be where you are today, if you were any other way.”
    Angel frowned.
    Duke shook his head. “I meant that in the best, strongest way.” With his hand still cupping her head, he bent and captured her lips with his. When he raised his head again, he smiled that sexy smile that turned her knees to melted butter. “Oh,” he said, his voice deep and husky. “I’m sleeping in your room, tonight.”
    She had been leaning toward him, her entire body drawn to him like a moth to a flame, when his words sank in. She jerked back. “Like hell you are.”
    He patted her cheek like a parent pats a child’s. “Get used to it. We’re going to be spending a lot of time together over the next couple of days. Or however long it takes to flush out your stalker.”
    Her pulse thundered through her veins, and her palms grew moist, along with another place farther south. How was she going to resist this man if he insisted on being right beside her? Day and night? A normal, sexually deprived woman could only take so much before she conceded defeat and begged to join the other side.

7
    D uke lay on the chaise lounge in Lena Love’s bedroom, trying not to think about the tattoo on Angel’s breast and the fact that, since she was a decoy for Lena, she really wasn’t his client. Lena was.
    Which meant the separation between client and bodyguard didn’t