Shielding Kinley

by Susan Stoker

  Jangles waved off his thanks. “We’re used to dealing with men like him. He’ll never know Kinley’s been out running around Paris…as long as you get her back before those meetings start at one.”

  “I will,” Lefty said. He stood and shook each of the other men’s hands.

  As they left, Jangles turned at the door. Lefty braced himself for one more warning.

  “For the record…Kinley’s too good for DC. On the surface, she seems almost fragile, but she has to have a core of steel to have lived and worked in DC for as long as she has. Don’t underestimate her, Lefty, but at the same time…look beyond the surface to find the real Kinley. I have a feeling she’s never had a chance to blossom, to be who she’s meant to be.”

  And with that surprising pearl of wisdom, Jangles shut the door behind him as he left.

  Lefty didn’t have much time to ponder the man’s words when the door reopened and Grover and Oz entered. Winkler must’ve ended his night earlier than usual.

  “Everything all right?” Grover asked. “We saw Merlin and his team leaving.”

  Lefty nodded. “Yeah, I’m going to be taking the morning off tomorrow. I already cleared it with Trigger.”

  “Kinley?” Oz asked with an insight borne of the men being so close.

  “Yeah.”

  “’Bout time,” Oz said with a smile, then he sobered. “You gonna be all right if she tells you she’s just not into you?”

  Lefty nodded. “Yeah. If I think she’s being honest. But the thing is…we connected, Oz. And I’m not just saying that. She’s interesting, and although she’s not super chatty, when she does speak, it means something. I don’t know what’s goin’ on in her head, but I want to make sure she’s all right. That she didn’t ignore my messages because she’s in trouble or because of some other bullshit reason. If she honestly doesn’t like me, I’ll be okay with that. But I don’t think that’s the case.”

  “She watches you when you aren’t looking,” Grover said as he got settled on the sofa bed where he’d been sleeping.

  Lefty’s head whipped around. “What?”

  “When you aren’t looking, she follows you with her eyes,” Grover repeated.

  Lefty should’ve been thrilled at hearing that, but instead, it only confused him. “Why the hell has she been avoiding me then?”

  “Don’t ask me,” Grover said with a shrug. “Ask her.”

  “I plan on it,” Lefty said with determination.

  “I don’t understand girls,” Oz said with a sigh. “Never have. Not since I was ten and was chased around the playground by one. She caught me, kissed me, then told everyone she hated me.”

  Grover cracked up, and Lefty couldn’t stop the smile that spread over his face.

  “She likes you,” Grover said after he’d gotten himself under control. “But she either doesn’t think she should, or maybe she thinks you shouldn’t like her. I don’t know her, but if you say you clicked, I believe you. Especially with the way she watches you so closely.”

  “And how do you know so much about women?” Oz asked.

  Grover shrugged. “I’ve got three sisters.”

  “Three?” Oz said incredulously. “I mean, I’ve heard you talk about your sisters a time or two, but didn’t realize you had three.”

  “Yup. One younger and two older. I also have a younger brother. I’m right in the middle. I grew up listening to my sisters gossiping about boys in their classes, agonizing about dating, and analyzing every little thing their boyfriends did. Believe me when I say that I’m pretty much an expert when it comes to what girls are thinking,” Grover said with a smirk.

  “Then why are you still single?” Lefty snarked.

  “Because I know how crazy they are,” Grover said without hesitation.

  All three men laughed.

  “Seriously, how did we not know you had three sisters?” Oz asked, obviously not able to get past Grover’s revelation.

  The other man shrugged. “I don’t know. I just don’t talk about them much.”

  “Are they single?” Oz asked.

  Grover gave him a look. “Don’t go getting any ideas.”

  Oz held up his hands as if surrendering. “I wasn’t. It was just a question!”

  Grover shook his head. “Sorry. I’m protective of them. Especially Devyn, my younger sister. She’s had a hard life. She’s twenty-nine, but she has an old soul. She had leukemia when she was little and missed out on a lot of her childhood as a result.”

  “That sucks,” Oz commiserated.

  “Yeah. But she doesn’t let it define her in the least. She’s more than made up for missing all the fun stuff growing up. I swear to God she’s gonna be the reason I go gray prematurely. She’s a wild child. If she’s not parachuting or bungee jumping, she’s riding a camel across Africa. If it’s an adventure, she’s up for it.”

  “She sounds fun,” Oz said.

  “She is. But all the fun is masking some pretty big hurts inside, I’m sure of it. I’ve tried to talk to her but she blows me off, telling me I’m just being a protective older brother. Which I am, but if she’d just slow down for two seconds, I think she’d actually enjoy life more.”

  Everyone was silent for a moment. Then Grover said, “Anyway, take my word for it, Lefty. Kinley is into you. But for some reason she’s keeping you at arm’s length. You’re going to have to get her to trust you before she tells you the real reason she ghosted you.”

  “And how do you propose I do that?” Lefty asked, genuinely grateful for any help.

  “I’d say rescue her from a crazed mob who wants to hurt her, but you’ve already done that and it didn’t work,” Grover said, tongue-in-cheek.

  “Thanks for nothing,” Lefty grumbled.

  “Be patient,” Grover told his friend. “Don’t jump on her case. Go slow, show her that you aren’t going to fly off the handle. Maybe open up to her, tell her something you’ve never told anyone else before. And definitely make her feel special, so she’s sure you aren’t just blowing smoke up her ass. For all she knows, you chat up women all over the globe.”

  “I don’t,” Lefty insisted. “You know that.”

  “I do, but she doesn’t.”

  That made Lefty pause. He and Kinley were essentially still strangers. Yes, they’d talked a lot in Africa, but they hadn’t had a chance to really get to know each other on a deep level. He’d told her he was single, of course, but she had no way of knowing for sure. Long-distance relationships weren’t his favorite; they were hard, and they were even harder when you didn’t truly know someone. He nodded at Grover. “Good point. I’ll make it very clear tomorrow that I’m not dating anyone, that I’ve spent more time on the battlefield than in the bedroom, and that I’m talking to her because she intrigues me.”

  “Good. Although it’ll probably take time for her to really believe you. My best advice is…don’t give up. If she ghosts you again, keep messaging her. Even if it’s about stupid shit, like what you’re eating for dinner. Women usually want to know that you’re thinking about them even when you aren’t together.”

  Lefty nodded. He’d be the first to admit that he wasn’t exactly an expert on women. He’d dated, but most of his relationships had left him feeling…blah. He enjoyed spending time with women, but he wasn’t constantly thinking about them when they were apart.

  He couldn’t say the same about Kinley. She wasn’t a total constant in his thoughts, but he couldn’t deny that he’d see something—a woman sitting in a coffee shop, or a news story about Walter Brown—and he’d immediately be transported back to Africa and how much he enjoyed talking with her.

  Lefty got ready for bed, and after he lay down, he stared up at the ceiling for a long time, trying to figure out how he was going to get Kinley to trust him, to open up to him, to truly believe that he wanted to get to know her better. He’d start with being her friend and maybe things would progress from there.

  He admitted to himself he wasn’t sure how things could wor
k out on a more intimate level, with him being in Texas and her living in DC, but he’d never felt so determined to get a woman to talk to him before. That had to be a sign that maybe, just maybe, they were meant to be more than passing acquaintances.

  Determination rising within him, Lefty promised himself he’d do whatever it took to make sure Kinley understood how serious he was about being her friend, about getting to know her better. That he truly liked her.

  Somehow he had a feeling it would be easier said than done.

  Chapter Three

  Kinley opened her hotel door at 7:03 the next morning. Her head was down and she was lost in thought about how much she was dreading the day. She hated the social get-togethers at conferences like this. They were boring, and people rarely talked to her, so she didn’t usually have anything to do other than stand on the sidelines.

  But it was all part of the job, she told herself. She’d be on her way back to Washington tomorrow, and she’d have the entire flight to read. Hopefully she wouldn’t be sitting next to anyone who wanted to talk. She hated that. Headphones helped to make it clear she wasn’t interested in chatting, but sometimes even that wasn’t enough to deter an overly extroverted seat-mate.

  She was so lost in thought about what book she wanted to read on the plane ride home that she didn’t even notice someone standing outside her room. Before she knew what was happening, the man had taken hold of one of her arms and was walking her down the hall.

  Ready to scream and pull her arm out of the man’s firm hold, she looked up just in time to swallow her protest.

  It was Gage who had ahold of her arm. He had a determined look on his face and didn’t appear to be in any mood to argue.

  Kinley looked back toward her room and saw Jangles, one of the Delta Force operatives assigned to protect her boss, standing outside her room.

  He smiled at her and tipped an imaginary hat in her direction. “Have fun!” he called out.

  Frowning, Kinley turned back around just in time to see Gage open the door to the stairs that led down to the lobby. He’d ushered her through the door before she could say a word. But instead of continuing down the stairwell, he put her back to the wall and let go of her arm. He actually took a step back, giving her some space before he spoke.

  “Sorry if I scared you,” he said gently. “But I wanted to get you out of the hall before Brown had a chance to come out and see you.”

  “He doesn’t usually get up until around eight,” Kinley told Gage. “He stays up late. I think Drake Stryker, the US Ambassador to France, was in his room visiting last night. They hang out a lot when they’re at the same conferences, and he told me not to bother him under any circumstances.”

  “Ah, okay. Anyway, I have a proposal for you.”

  Kinley could only stare up at the man she’d been thinking about for months. He looked different this morning, more approachable. He had on a pair of jeans and a short-sleeve white polo shirt. She could see a smattering of hair on his chest where his shirt was open, and on his left arm, he saw the intricate black tattoo she’d caught glimpses of in Africa. She longed to push up the sleeve so she could see all of it, but managed to keep her hands to herself…barely.

  His hair was sort of sticking up, as if he’d towel-dried it after showering then didn’t bother to comb it. He’d also shaved recently; there was no sign of the five o’clock shadow she’d gotten so used to seeing. Kinley wasn’t sure if she liked his clean-shaven look or not. She liked when he looked rugged and a little unapproachable. It made her feel as if no one would dare approach them when he looked a little on the rough side.

  “Kinley?” he asked with a slight grin on his face.

  “Oh…yeah?”

  “I have a proposal for you,” he repeated. “I’d like to spend the morning with you. There’s nothing going on at the conference except for the social brunch.”

  “Oh, but…Walter expects me to be there,” she said, the disappointment easy to hear in her tone.

  “I’ve taken care of that for you. Bought you a few hours,” Gage admitted.

  “How?”

  “I talked to Merlin and his team. He’s going to tell Brown that you’re not feeling well this morning. That you’ve got menstrual issues.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yup. I’m betting he’s not the kind of man who will get in your face about your period. Am I wrong? If so, let me know now and we can think of something else. Maybe I can get Merlin to slip him some laxatives after all.”

  Kinley couldn’t help but laugh. “They would really do that?”

  “For you? Yeah, they would. They like you, Kins, and they want you to have some time to explore Paris this morning. To have some fun.”

  Kinley was shocked, but their concern felt good. “I’m pretty certain that Walter won’t question it. I mean, I had to call him once to tell him I had food poisoning, and I was throwing up and had diarrhea, and he couldn’t give me the time off fast enough. I know you don’t like him, but he’s not always so horrible. I think traveling brings out the worst in him.”

  She could tell Gage didn’t believe her, but he looked relieved that the excuse he’d made up to get her out of work for a few hours would suffice. She probably should be irritated that he’d planned this without talking to her ahead of time, but she was too flattered he wanted to spend time with her.

  “Jangles will stay by your door just in case Brown decides to come down and see you, but I’m guessing that probably won’t happen after what you just told me. I’ll make sure you’re back by one for the last of the meetings today though.”

  “Thanks,” Kinley told him.

  “No need to thank me. I’d like to talk to you without having to worry about Brown deciding he needs you, and without you running off to solve the world’s problems. I’ve missed you, Kins…and I’d love to spend time with you in Paris. What do you say?”

  Kinley didn’t think she could say anything. She’d been longing to talk to Gage since she’d first seen him earlier that week, but the longer she’d avoided him, the more awkward she’d felt.

  “Just talk, Kins, Nothing scary. Have you ever been to Paris?”

  She shook her head.

  “We’ll play tourist and talk while we do it. I’ll find you some amazing macarons and we can stuff our face while we see the Louvre, what’s left of Notre Dame, and of course the Eiffel Tower. What do you say?”

  Knowing she should say no and go to brunch instead, Kinley still found herself nodding. How could she resist this man? He’d gone out of his way to give her a morning of freedom. Wasn’t she just lamenting to herself last night that she was in Paris and hadn’t seen a single thing? Her hotel room overlooked a damn alley instead of the Eiffel Tower, as she’d hoped. It was supposed to be a romantic city for lovers, and she’d been sitting in her hotel room, too intimidated to go out on her own.

  The smile that spread across Gage’s face was absolutely beautiful. “Good. I promise you’re gonna have a good time.”

  Kinley wasn’t so sure about that—she was worried about this talk he wanted to have—but she’d take spending time with Gage over standing against the wall in a room full of politicians any day.

  Then, as if he’d done it every day of his life, he reached out and took the strap of her briefcase from her. He opened the stairwell doorway and placed it on the floor inside the hall they’d just exited. Then he turned and took her hand and draped it over his forearm.

  Being this close to him made Kinley feel even more awkward than usual, and that was saying something. She felt short most of the time, but next to Gage, instead of being self-conscious about her size, she felt surrounded by him. He was over half a foot taller than her, and she liked having him at her side.

  “Jangles will grab your bag and make sure it’s at the meetings this afternoon,” Gage told her as he steered her down the stairs.

  “Okay.” There wasn’t anything valuable in her briefcase…well, except for her government-owned laptop. She ha
d her wallet in her purse, which was slung around her chest.

  “What do you want to see first?” Gage asked as they walked through the lobby toward the exit. “How about breakfast? We can stop at one of those sidewalk cafes and get some coffee and some of the pastry the French are famous for.”

  Kinley nodded. She didn’t care what they did. She was spending time with Gage, so she already knew she’d remember this day for the rest of her life.

  Her head seemed as if it was on a swivel as they walked. Even though it was early, there were lots of people out and about. The sound of residents speaking French was all around them, making this adventure seem all the more surreal.

  Gage found a small café and got her seated, then managed to order them breakfast even though he didn’t speak the language. It took lots of pointing and pantomiming, but before too long, they had small cups of espresso sitting in front of them and a huge plate of sweet, decadent pastries.

  “This isn’t my normal breakfast, but since it’s a special occasion, I think I’m okay,” Gage said.

  Kinley knew she needed to do more than just stare at the man, so she forced herself to ask, “Special occasion?”

  He beamed. “Yeah. Our first date.”

  Kinley was stunned. Her brows came down and she frowned at Gage.

  “Aw, don’t look at me like that,” he said, reaching for her hand. “I wasn’t going to get into this so soon, but I think it’s better to just get this conversation out of the way so we can enjoy the rest of the day. I thought we decided in Africa that we were going to keep in touch.”

  It wasn’t a question, but it still was. Kinley’s stomach rolled. She had no idea how to explain to him that she wasn’t worth his time. That she’d had doubts from the second she’d left Africa. She licked her lips and tried to think of the right words. But he spoke again before she could.

  “It was brought to my attention that maybe you think I do this all the time…befriend women and give them my number and email. I don’t. You’re the first, and I’m not lying about that. We didn’t get a ton of time to spend together in Africa but I really thought we’d clicked. I was looking forward to getting to know you better, even if it was only over the internet. I was disappointed when you didn’t return any of my messages.”