Bodyguard: Outrageous / Riley

“Ah, that’s right. I remember now. You’ve been something of a sensation, haven’t you?”

Judd shrugged. “Hey, I make a buck wherever I can. A man can’t be overly choosy.”

“Obviously.” Clayton looked down a moment, then his smile reappeared. “Maybe we can do business together sometime. I have several different ventures that might interest you. Especially since you’re not choosy.”

Again, Judd shrugged, careful not to show his savage satisfaction. Then he took Emily by the arm. “Maybe.” He deliberately dismissed Clayton once more, knowing it would infuriate him, but probably intrigue him, as well. As he started out the door, he said, “You can look me up if anything really…interesting comes along.”

They were barely out the door, when Emily started to speak. Judd squeezed her arm. “Not a word, Em. Not one single word.”

The tension was still rushing through him, and he knew Clayton was watching them through the large front glass of the pool hall. Playing it cool had never been so difficult; no other assignment had been so personal. Playing up to Donner turned his stomach and filled him with rage. He wanted to hit something. He wanted to shout.

He wanted to make love to Emily.

But, he couldn’t do any of those things, so he had to content himself with the knowledge he’d set Clayton up good. Not only had he more or less managed to steal two hundred dollars Clayton had earmarked as his own, but he knew damn well Clayton didn’t consider their business finished. Not by a long shot. He’d hear from Donner again, and soon.

He only hoped he could manage to keep Emily out of the way.

Chapter 5

EMILY THOUGHT SHE’D SHOWN GREAT RESTRAINT and a good deal of patience. But her patience was now at an end.

Judd had refused to talk to her while he aimlessly drove around the lower east side, burning off his sour mood and occasionally grunting at the questions she asked. Twice they had stopped while he got out of the truck and talked to different people loitering on the sidewalk. Emily had been instructed to wait in the pickup.

When she asked him what he was doing, he’d said only, “Investigating.” When she asked what he’d found out, he’d said, “Quiet. Let me think.”

It had been nearly two hours since they’d left the pool hall, and her frustration had grown with each passing minute. She tried to maintain her decorum, tried to keep her temper in check and behave in a civilized manner, but he was making that impossible. You’re the boss here, Emily. You hired him. Demand a few answers. She decided she would do exactly that, when Judd pulled up in front of the diner.

Apparently, he expected her to get out and follow him like a well-trained puppy, because he stepped out and started to walk away without a single word to her. She refused to budge.

Of course, Judd was halfway through the diner door before he realized she was still in the truck. Then he did an about-face, and stomped back to her side, looking very put out. “What’s the holdup?”

Emily gave him a serene smile. “I want to talk to you.”

“So? Let’s get a seat inside and you can talk. God knows, that’s all you’ve done for the past hour, anyway.”

She stiffened with the insult, but refused to lower herself to his irritating level. “You’re not going to make me angry, Judd. I know you’re just trying to get me off the track. But I want to know what that was all about in the pool hall. And don’t you dare shake your head at me again!”

He looked undecided for a long moment, then let out a disgusted sigh. “All right, all right. Come in, sit, and we’ll…talk.”

Emily wasn’t certain she believed him, he still looked as stubborn as a mule, but she left the truck and allowed Judd to lead her inside. They sat at a back booth, and a waitress immediately came to take their order. The woman seemed a little hostile to Emily, then she all but melted over Judd.

Judd treated her to a full smile and a wink. “You got anything for me, Suze?”

You got anything for me, Suze, Emily silently repeated, thinking Suze had just received a much warmer greeting from Judd than she herself had managed to garner all day.

The waitress looked over at Emily, one slim eyebrow lifted, and Judd grinned. “She’s fine. Just tell me what you’ve got.”

“Well…”

Emily rolled her eyes. Suze obviously had a flair for the dramatic, given the way she glanced around the diner in a covert manner, as if she were preparing to part with government secrets. She also patted her platinum blond hair and primped for a good ten seconds before finally exalting them with her supposed wisdom. What a waste of time.

Emily no sooner had that thought than she regretted it. Suze turned out to be a fount of information.

“He’s been in twice since we spoke and something is definitely going down. He met with the same guy both times, that punk kid who distributes for him. I’d say something will happen within a week or two. That’s usually the routine, you know.”

“You couldn’t catch an actual date?”

“Hell, no, sugar. If Donner caught me snooping, he’d have my fanny.”

Judd reached out to smack the fanny-in-peril. “We wouldn’t want that to happen. But Suze? If anything more concrete comes up, you know where to find me.”

She knew where to find him? Emily knew she had no right to be jealous. After all, her relationship with Judd was strictly business. But still, she didn’t like the idea of him…consorting with this woman. Of course, Suze seemed to know a great deal about the gun dealer. In fact, she seemed to know almost too much. Emily narrowed her eyes, wondering exactly when Judd had contacted this woman, and what their relationship might be. Judd seemed to be on awfully familiar terms with her.

But Suze did appear to be helping, and Emily certainly had no claims on Judd. She decided to concentrate on that fact, but she couldn’t keep herself from glaring at the waitress. Suze didn’t seem to notice.

She was back to primping. “Of course I know where you’ll be. I wouldn’t miss an act. Do something special for me Tuesday night, all right?”

Judd laughed and shook his head.

Suddenly, Suze was all business. “You two want anything to drink or something? It don’t look right me standing here gabbing without you orderin’ anything.”

“Two coffees, Suze. That’s it.”

Emily barely waited for the waitress to go swaying away before she leaned across the table and demanded Judd’s attention. “Was she talking about who I think she was talking about?”

“Who did you think she was—”

“That’s not funny, Judd!”

“No, I guess it isn’t. And yes, she was talking about our friendly, neighborhood gun trafficker.”

Emily was aghast. “She knows him?” She couldn’t believe the waitress had called him by name. Why, if he was that well known…

“Everyone knows who commits the crimes, Em. It’s just coming up with proof that’s so damn difficult.”

Her breath caught in her throat and she choked. “You know who he is, too?”

Judd shrugged, his eyes dropping to the top of the table. Then he quirked a sardonic smile. “You met him yourself, honey.”

“I did…” Suddenly it fit, and Emily fell back against the seat. “The guy at the pool hall?”

“Yep. That was him. Clayton Donner.”

It took her a minute, and then she felt the steam. It had to be coming out her ears, she was so enraged. Judd had let her get close to the man who’d hurt her brother, and he hadn’t even told her.

He was speaking to her now, but she couldn’t hear him over the ringing in her ears. Her entire body felt taut, and her stomach felt queasy. No wonder she had reacted so strongly to that man. He’d been that close and…

Emily didn’t make a conscious decision on what to do. She just suddenly found herself standing then walking toward the door. She somehow knew Judd was following, though she didn’t turn to look. When she stepped outside, and started past his truck, he grabbed her arm and pulled her around to face him.