Page 47 of Protector Unmatched

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Daphne was still fuming about the stunt her brother had pulled. Tim had had the gall to call her shortly after Pearce brought her home. But she’d been in no mood to talk to him other than to tell him to piss off. How could he have done this to her? Used her like this? And he hadn’t only dragged her into his illegal scheme, he’d caused Pearce and Enya to get involved too. What if something had gone wrong?

Daphne had changed into a comfortable hippy skirt she liked wearing around the house and a matching embroidered blouse. Her legs crossed, she sat on the couch, unable to think straight. The only good thing was that it was Saturday and a long weekend. She didn’t have to work on Monday. And she would need the time off just to calm herself down and feel normal again.

And then there was one other issue: Pearce. What was he thinking of her now? She’d dragged him into this mess, and in the end, it had turned out that her brother and his friend were the criminals. How did that reflect on her? Besides, Pearce had witnessed her punch her brother, and what guy wanted to be with a woman who displayed such violence? She’d been so infuriated that she’d needed to pummel her idiotic sibling, and had Enya not stopped her, she would have done much worse. She’d felt justified, too, because of the emotional pain and stress Tim’s scheme had caused her. Not to mention the potential risk to her own freedom.

Just thinking of it made her heart race and her palms perspire. So much could have gone wrong.

The sound of the doorbell startled her and made her jump up from the couch. If this was Tim, she’d toss him out on his ass. Her jaw clenched, she marched to the door and ripped it open.

“You—”

She stopped herself. It wasn’t Tim who stood in the dark hallway. It was Pearce, standing in front of her door, his hands by his sides, a hesitant smile on his face.

“I guess I’m not the person you were expecting. Am I coming at a bad time?”

She let out a relieved breath. “I thought it might be Tim. He’s been calling me to apologize, but I don’t want to talk to him. I thought… Never mind.” She smiled and stepped aside. “Come in.”

Pearce entered and shut the door behind him. “I know I said I’d call…”

She nodded. “You did, but…” If she was honest, she hadn’t thought he would. Which made it even more surprising that he was here, in the flesh.

“I had to take care of a few things back at the office,” he started. “But it’s all settled. I’ve got time now.”

“I feel like such a fool,” she blurted. “I should have suspected that it was all a setup. I’m so sorry. My brother—”

Pearce put a finger to her lips to stop her flood of words. “It’s not your fault. It all looked genuine, even to me and to Enya. A little amateurish, but still genuine. Nobody blames you.”

She shook her head and felt tears shoot to her eyes. “But I know my brother. I know what he’s capable of. I should have guessed.”

Pearce brushed his knuckles over her cheek. “You’re not responsible for his actions.” Then he chuckled softly. “And you clearly don’t approve of them. That punch you landed in his face was a pretty clear message to your brother.”

She wanted to sink into a hole, feeling ashamed for her behavior. “It’s not something I wanted you to see.”

At that, Pearce laughed.

“What?” she asked.

Still chuckling, he said, “I like a woman who isn’t afraid of punching a guy when it’s necessary. And believe me, it was necessary.”

Daphne stared at him in surprise. He wasn’t appalled that she’d used physical force against her brother?

“Did I say something wrong?” Pearce asked.

She shook her head. “Pearce?”

“Yes?”

“Why are you here?”

“You want me to leave?”

“That’s not what I said. Why did you come back? You’ve seen what kind of a mess my life is… And the stuff I dragged you and Enya into… Why would anybody want to come back at all?”

“Maybe I’m a glutton for women with messy lives.”

“You can do so much better. I mean, look at you: you have a great job with a defense contractor, you’re handsome, articulate, brave…”