His Jaguar Tattoo

Unlikely Traitor

Whatever Drew did in the six hours he was gone irked him. Zuri was gazing at the moonlit cow pastures out of the window when he came marching into her bedroom. She quickly peeled herself off the window, a guilty look on her face. In his anger, he seemed to have forgotten his strict bedrest orders.

"I know who set my house on fire," he growled.

"You do?" she replied, surprised.

His single nod was sharp, certain as he crossed the room to where she stood. "Turns out that little weasel you were dancing with at that party is a snipe."

"Kevin?"

"Yes."

"What?" Zuri jammed her fists into her hips. "What're you talking about?"

"He recognized me. He works for Willis, this drug smuggler who has tried to kill me on multiple occasions. Now—"

Her mouth fell open. "Someone's been trying to kill you?"

Sighing, Drew rested his hands on her shoulders. "That snipe tried to get you killed, Zuri."

The realization was coming to her slowly. Her mind was reeling from the profoundness of it. Kevin is trying to kill me? Why? I can't believe I didn't see it in his eyes. I must be a poorer judge of character than I thought.

"I can't believe it," she whispered. "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"How'd you find this out?"

Drew swallowed uncomfortably and shifted between his feet. "That's on a need-to-know basis."

"Yeah, well, I need to know."

"All you need to know is that he was trying to hurt you. By some miracle, his attempt to burn you alive wasn't successful. He won't be so lucky."

Turning away, Zuri looked back out of the window. It would take her time to process this. No one had ever tried to kill her before, much less someone she knew and trusted. She forced herself to ask the next logical question, regardless of how painful it was.

"Is Addison involved?"

A pair of hand gently gripped her shoulders. Drew pressed his body against her back. "Not that we know of."

"Thank God." She sighed, relaxing into him. "You're going to kill Kevin, aren't you?"

"Yes."

Zuri was glad he couldn't see her face. "So your work does involve killing people."

"Only when I absolutely have to," he murmured while turning her around. His eyes were wide and bright with some unreadable emotion. "But this is about more than work. If anyone ever tries to hurt you, they will face the same charges as him."

Her belly tingled at the protectiveness in his voice. When she managed to speak, the words came out softly. "Okay."

Drew kissed her head, and his emotional front disappeared. "Didn't I tell you to stay in bed?"

"Uh...no." She framed an innocent smile on her face to soften his reaction.

"Mhmm. I think I did."

"Okay, but it's so boring in that bed. Besides, do I look like I need to be laying in bed and eating all day?"

His throaty chuckle made her heart beat a little faster. "I think I like how you look in that nightgown."

Zuri's mouth parted in surprise. Wait, what? Did he just compliment me? Oh, no. He's changing. How am I supposed to make him fall in love with Elle if he's getting all soft?