“So how did you end up near the Seelbach?” Detoine asked. “That’s a block or two south out of your way.”

I answered honestly, knowing better than to lie about something like this. If Detoine thought for a minute I wasn’t telling the truth about why I took a detour, he could make my life even more miserable. “There were cop cars blocking the street. Several of them on East Mohammed Ali, a few on Fourth near the bars.” I shrugged. “Me and cops don’t get along. You know that.”

Carly winced. “Shit.”

I looked at her.

“That’s, um, that’s my fault. I was over there. And, well.” She looked at Detoine, and then at me. “They blocked it off for crowd control. Bobby, I’m sorry. You were out there walking in the cold because of me.”

“I was walking anyway,” I said. Irritated with all of it, I drummed my fingers on the arm of the chair. “I cut up Fourth by the Seelbach. It’s usually quiet there this time of year, but it was crazy busy. I was too cold to care. A bunch of reporters were grouping up there. Then somebody bumped into me. It was her. I didn’t...” I stopped, tucking my tongue against my lower lip, unsure of where to go at that point.

“He didn’t know me.” Carly smirked, looking completely delighted with herself now. “I was pissed off because one of the reporters started asking me about my little sister. She’s my step-sister, actually, and the poor kid is in rehab again and they just won’t leave her alone. Then they go asking me if I’ll be joining her. I do not need rehab, but they are always running at the mouth and...” She sighed, seemingly oblivious to the fact that she was giving way more information than Detoine needed. “I let it get to me. I wanted to get away from them, so when we got inside, I told the guys I needed to use the restroom, then I ducked out a side door. I know better. Really. But I was just going to take a few minutes, walk it off. Maybe tell a reporter off. Then I crashed into Bobby. I wasn’t paying attention at all, and if he hadn’t grabbed me, I’d have been a pancake.”

“I saw the video,” Detoine said. His voice was dazed.

I looked at him. He was staring at Carly, looking, well, spellbound. He had good reason. Carly was like a whirlwind.

Abruptly, he shook his head and then leaned forward, pinning me with a look. “Okay, she bumps into you. You grabbed her, kept her from walking in front of a car, and then she pays you five thousand as, what, a thank you gift?”

“No!” Carly cut me off before I could attempt to answer.

“Carly,” I said, gritting my teeth. “Believe it or not, I can speak for myself.”

She made a face at me, and I heard Jake smother a laugh. “Fine.”

I turned back to Detoine. “There were reporters. We made a commotion, me yelling at her and her yelling back. The reporters started rushing us, and well, I tried to stop them from hassling her, and then they all asked if I’d help out.”

“After he broke Jake’s arm,” Carly interjected.

“For fuck’s sake!” I closed my eyes.

“You broke...” Detoine glanced at the two men who’d been mostly silent up to this point.

“Jake’s arm,” Jake supplied with a wry smile. “To give Bobby credit, I tried to grab him. He caught my arm, locked it, warned me not to move.” He shrugged. “I didn’t listen.”

I stared hard at the surface of the desk and waited for the ax to fall.

Then, to my surprise, Detoine started to laugh.

I snapped my jaw shut before looking up.

He leaned back in his chair and laughed until there were tears running down his dark cheeks. It took him nearly five minutes to get it under control. “Boy, I will tell you what, you land yourself in some crazy predicaments, but this has to be the funniest one by far. And the best.”

He leaned forward and snagged a tissue from a box, dabbing the tears from his face. He tossed it into the trash can by the door and then looked from me to Carly and then back. His face got serious.

“Now, as entertaining as this is, I do have questions that I need to have answered. By Bobby, and only Bobby. Let’s get them over with so you can be about your business.”

“Will Bobby be able to come with us?” Carly asked.

She sounded like a damn kid asking for a cookie before dinner. And I was the cookie. I didn’t know how I felt about that.

A smile tugged at Detoine’s mouth. “Just let me do my job, Ms. Prince.”

Then he looked back at me. There was humor in his eyes, but if I wasn’t imagining things, I thought I also saw relief.

“So you played knight errant, if I’m not mistaken.”

I shrugged, not really agreeing with his choice of words.

He picked up a pen and started to tap it on the desk. “At some point, did you let them know you’re a convicted felon?”

“Yeah.”

He nodded. “I figured as much. You aren’t the kind to hide things.” He glanced past me for a moment and then came back to me again. “Did you tell them what you were in for?”

“Yes.”

He nodded yet again. “Okay, then. Seeing as how they’re here with you, I guess it didn’t matter much to them. How long will this job last?”

“Four days–” I started to say.

Carly interrupted. “That’s still under consideration.”

I turned my head and glared at her.

She smiled innocently. “I never said the job offer wouldn’t be extended.”

“Hmmm.” Detoine tapped his pen harder.

Pushing Carly and her stubborn head out of my mind, I looked back at my PO.

He asked his next question, “What does the job entail?”

“Watching her.” I jabbed a thumb at Carly, hurrying to answer before she did her thing. “I keep reporters back, watch for suspicious activity, and if she needs protection, I provide it.”

“I can see you providing the protection. Even watching for suspicious activity. You’ve always had an eye for trouble.” He rocked back in his chair. “Problem is, instead of avoiding it, you usually dove right in, fists up and ready for blood. Are you certain this is the right job for you?”

“Mr. Sampson.”

Ryan leaned forward and now I could see him as a lawyer, all slicked up and polished, ready to argue with some judge, or another lawyer. “I’m sorry, I know you need some answers from Bobby, but if I could...”

Detoine held out his hands.

“You didn’t see him that night.” Ryan smiled. “We did. He didn’t know who she was, and even though she tried her best to knock his head off his shoulders with her purse, once he realized there was a problem, he waded through a good twenty reporters and put himself between her and them. That’s what a good bodyguard does, puts himself between the person he’s hired to guard and harm. More than that, he took both Jake and myself down.”

Detoine’s eyebrows shot up. “Is that supposed to be a good thing?”

Ryan chuckled. “I’m a former cop. Jake did eight years in the army. And Bobby took both of us without breaking a sweat. That proves he’s strong, determined, and a survivor. Plus, he cares about Ms. Prince.”

I tried not to shift in my seat. I couldn’t believe Ryan was saying that with a straight face after what he’d caught Carly and me doing. Almost doing.

“If I was being offered five thousand dollars, I’d care too,” Detoine pointed out.

“He’s tried several times to walk away,” Ryan countered. “He says with his past, he’d bring more trouble than he’s worth. I believe he’s wrong.”

I hadn’t known I was going to have to listen to them talk about me like this. I could feel the heat creeping up the back of my neck.

Detoine’s focused shifted back to me. “You want to walk away from a job that pays five grand, Bobby? That’s more money than you’ve seen in a long while.”

My head was pounding. Rubbing the back of my neck, I stared out the small rectangle that served as a window. “I just don’t want anybody to have trouble because of me. I’ve caused enough.”

Moments ticked by.

Detoine finally blew out a rough breath. “Kid, I just don’t know what to make of you, you know that?”