Free Love Inspired Suspense July 2015 #1 by Valerie Hansen, Sandra Orchard, Carol J. Post Page B

feet. Instead, he stood slowly, deliberately. His shoulders were square, his spine stiff and his jaw set, presenting an image of an immovable granite boulder rising from bedrock.
    â€œMs. Dunne,” he began, “I have never lost a person I was assigned to protect and I don’t intend to start now. Either you agree to do things my way or we won’t do them at all. Am I making myself clear?”
    â€œPerfectly.”
    Daniella knew she shouldn’t fight his good intentions, yet a perverse side of her personality kept insisting she didn’t need looking after. Logically, she did, of course. Anyone in his or her right mind could see that. It was just that when Isaac issued orders he got under her skin. Perhaps it was his tone, although it could also be the way he delivered his demands. His body language brooked no argument, actually spurring her to disagree just on principle.
    Which is totally unfair
, she chided herself, realizing she was being unreasonable—and not liking the picture of herself as a petulant, spoiled child.
    Finally she said, “All right, Officer Black. You win. We’ll do it your way. Just take me back to find my cat. Please?”
    â€œOf course. As long as you promise to behave reasonably from now on.”
    Daniella raised her right hand as if taking a solemn oath. “I hereby promise to be reasonable about the rescue of my pet, Puddy.” She grinned slyly with a telltale twitch of mirth at the corners of her mouth.
    Any vow she took was meant to be kept and there was no way she’d ever agree to promise to do things the officer’s way forever. Just getting through the following few days was going to be hard enough without placing further restrictions on her thoughts and actions.
    She was her own woman. She’d already given up just about everything that mattered to her. She was
not
going to walk away from her dearest furry friend. Not if she could help it.

SEVEN
    I saac kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. Daniella was behaving so well during their outing back into DC she worried him. Knowing her the way he thought he did, he kept wondering what kind of stunt she was planning to pull before she eventually escaped from Virginia. And from his protective custody.
    He wasn’t kidding himself. The pretty nurse was not foolish, nor was she fearless. Somewhere between those two extremes was the real Daniella Dunne.
    â€œI’ve contacted the patrol that was watching your building,” Isaac told her. “They haven’t seen any suspicious activity.”
    â€œWatching it how?”
    â€œDrive-bys and a few closer inspections. They couldn’t afford to put men on it 24/7 since no one was actually hurt there.”
    â€œI could have been!”
    â€œYes, but you weren’t. Now, settle down. There’s no use getting mad at me. I’m not in charge.”
    â€œIf I’d been a congressman like Jeffries they’d have guarded my apartment.”
    â€œThat bomb at his press conference was detonated,” Isaac reminded her. One glance told him she was beginning to adjust to hearing discussions of explosives and such. When he’d first met her she’d blanched and looked unsteady every time the subject had come up. Now she was actually chatting about the subject. Sort of.
    â€œTrue. I don’t suppose there’s a snowball’s chance in July of the two bombs being made by the same person.”
    His head snapped around. “Why do you ask? Do you think they were?”
    â€œHow should I know?” She was studying him intently. “Wait a minute.
You
think they were, don’t you? You’ve suspected him ever since you found out he wasn’t in prison anymore.”
    â€œI never said that.”
    â€œYou didn’t have to.” Daniella’s voice rose. “I can see it in your face. What did the lab reports say?”
    â€œI couldn’t tell you if I knew.”
    She slumped back