Page 54 of Better Watch Out
Andrew started to turn when Frannie’s body was thrown to the side like someone had shoved her. Her arms went wide but her heel caught in a crack, tilting her backward toward the busy intersection. The crowd shifted, separating them and keeping him from reaching her hands before she teetered backward, stepping into the street.
An older man nearby edged forward to lend his hand but his kindness wasn’t fast enough for Andrew’s liking and it was blocking him from getting to her first. The growl of an engine revving caused the hairs on the back of his neck to stand up. He looked to his left and saw the headlights of a car racing toward the intersection.
Andrew sidestepped the old man and jumped into the street. He reached Frannie in time to hear the tires screeching. Wrapping her in a bear hug, Andrew lifted her off her feet and swiveled so that his back was facing the oncoming car. His muscles bunched around her protectively as he braced for impact, but the car swerved into the middle lane, coming within a few feet of them as it sped by.
Sharp pain ached from where Frannie’s fingers had pinched into his biceps. But he ignored the discomfort and tried to track the car to get the license plate but it was too dark to see anything. He glanced down at Frannie.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah.”
Andrew shouldered his way onto the crowded sidewalk, making sure there was enough space for him and Frannie. He looked her over, his eyes searching for any injuries before finally meeting her blue gaze again. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine.” Her nervous chuckle vibrated against his chest. “That was close.”
Too close. His eyes searched the crowd around them. Had someone pushed into Frannie on purpose? Was the driver aiming for her or was that his own fears feeding his imagination?
“You just can’t help yourself.”
His attention drew down to her smiling face. “What?”
Her eyes flashed to his arms still firmly wrapped around her. “Protecting people even when you’re not on the job.”
Regret curled over his shoulders. He didn’t know if what just took place was intentional or not, but instead of doing his job he’d allowed himself to get swept up in a daydream for a woman he was responsible for protecting.
Andrew released his hold on her and stepped back. The frigid air stung in the absence of her warm body nestled against his.
“I guess my odds were accurate.” Frannie straightened the collar of her coat as if she hadn’t almost been run over. “The chance of getting hit by a car in New York City is pretty high.”
Andrew forced a fake smile to his lips as the SUV pulled up to the curb. He opened the back door for her to get in but kept surveying the area around them for any sign the danger wasn’t over. Those odds might’ve been accurate for an average New Yorker but something told him that tonight’s incident didn’t have anything to do with statistics.
And despite Ryan’s wishes, Andrew needed to tell her the truth.
“Frannie, I need to tell you something.”
Her gaze swung to meet his and he could immediately see the implication of his tone. Her eyes seemed to be asking him if he was about to hurt her. He reached for her hand, hoping he wasn’t about to do that.
“When your brother called, asking me to make sure you got the airport safely, I was already assigned to a protection detail. I was going to be picking up my client from the airport around the same time I’d be dropping you off so I figured it would be okay. And I felt like I owed your brother.” Frannie’s brows pinched and her eyes creased at the side. After all she’d told him about her overprotective brother, Andrew could only guess where her thoughts were going. “At first, when I met you, I thought your brother was probably right. Maybe you were a little naïve to the dangers of the city”—hurt flashed in her eyes and Andrew squeezed her hand—“but I don’t think that now, Frannie.”
The sound of a horn from somewhere outside pulled his focus to the windows. Was this the right thing to do?
“Andrew, what is it?”
There was a vulnerability in her voice, and it caused his heart to ache because he didn’t want to hurt her.
He inhaled deeply and blew out a breath. “I saw a man following you when we left your hotel. I thought he was just some thug who saw you as an easy pick-pocket target and that’s when I decided to make sure you got to your destination safely.”
“That’s why you took me to Levain’s?”
“Yes. I figured if I got you out of his sights or allowed him to believe you weren’t alone, he’d go away. And he did, but then when I left you at the bookstore I thought I saw him again but before I could be sure, I heard you scream in the alley.”
“And you came to my rescue.” The lightness in her tone sounded forced. “I already told you that wasn’t your fault.”
Andrew pivoted in the backseat of the SUV so that he was facing her. “Frannie, it was my fault. I was hired to protect a client who has an active threat against her life, and I was supposed to pick her up from the airport the day I came to your hotel. After you were attacked at the bookstore, my agency received a note that led us to believe you were mistakenly identified as our client and that what happened to you wasn’t an accident. Rather, it appeared someone knew I was the one hired to protect our client and mistakenly identified you as my client. The note warned us that the client’s life, your life, was still in danger. Even though it was dark, he could see Frannie’s struggle to follow along in the flicking of the city lights. “You look very similar to my client.”
Frannie sat back, her gaze grew distant as though she was replaying the moment from the bookstore and then she looked back at him. “The thing at Bryant Park, when you thought someone was following us …”
“I thought the guy who attacked you had returned.”
