“I can’t believe we’re having this conversation about Robert. Our Robert.”
“Our Robert hasn’t been forthcoming about a lot of things.” She gave me a motherly look. “You and Robert are tight. I get that. You don’t want to believe he could be involved in this, but it’s true. I could have kept all of this to myself, but I trust you. You have a good head on your shoulders, and I wanted to warn you. Be careful around him.”
I stood, not liking this one bit. Her words were starting to sink in, and I wasn’t sure what to believe. Could I trust Robert? He’d never given me a reason not to. I put a hand over my heart, and it thumped harder and harder. “Do you think Robert had something to do with Daniel’s death?” My knees felt like they would give out on me, so I lowered myself to the chair.
“No, I don’t believe that. Like I said earlier, Robert is a caring man. He might be involved in white-collar crime, but he’s never been violent. And besides, he liked Daniel. He had a great deal of respect for him. I don’t trust Robert anymore, but I can’t see him killing Daniel.”
Robert had been good to me all these years, and he deserved my loyalty at the very least. He’d never given me a reason to believe he was anything but a good guy. Until she provided proof of criminal activity, I couldn’t allow myself to doubt him in that way. If the tables were turned, I’d want him to think the best of me. “I believe you saw something that didn’t add up in your mind, but you have to be wrong. Have you asked someone familiar with financial planning to look it over?”
She shook her head. “I don’t want to become more involved in this than I already am.” She held up both hands. “Take what I’ve said with a grain of salt, but you’ve been forewarned. I’ll call you when I get back and we can look over that file.” She licked her lips and let out a breath, glancing furtively to the side at Troy. He was watching both of us carefully as if trying to figure out what was going on. “Why do you need a bodyguard?”
I quickly filled her in on everything that had happened to me, and when I finished, she walked around the table and hugged me. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart. Trouble seems to follow you. Wish things were different.”
“Me too.”
“Daniel was a good guy. We all miss him.” She smiled sadly and shook her head. “But now that he’s gone, you need to move on with your life. He would have wanted that.”
“I know.”
She tipped her chin ever so slightly in Troy’s direction. “Something tells me that man over there wouldn’t mind signing up for the job.”
I laughed self-consciously as I smoothed a stray lock of hair behind my ear. “You have the wrong impression. We have a professional relationship and that’s it.”
Looking undeterred in her assessment, she just shrugged. “Time will tell.”
She gave me another hug and then left in a hurry. Troy joined me seconds later, concern showing on his face. “Are you okay?”
“Yes. No. I’m not sure.”
“Want to talk about it?”
“It would be nice to have someone to confide in, but I don’t want to pull you into this mess.”
He laughed softly. “Whatever it is, I’m sure I can handle it.”
I forced a smile and stood, ready to leave. “I’m sure you could, but you’re better off not knowing. We should go.”
Chapter 12
Troy
A couple of weeks passed, and I was finding it increasingly difficult to put aside my interest in Kayla. The more I got to know her, the more I wanted to spend time with her. Even though I told myself she was just a client, I wanted more, and those feelings were quickly overtaking the ones that tried to keep her at arm’s length.
It was starting to get hard, and that meant I needed to pass this case off to one of the other guys before I did something stupid. I was perfectly capable of remaining professional, but when I was around Kayla, I didn’t want to be professional, and that scared me a little. Will had said he would assign someone else as soon as he could, but until then, I had to keep it together.
In the last week, I’d accompanied her to a few different events. She performed at a concert at a local amusement park on Thursday and Friday, and then on Saturday night, she sang at a charity benefit for disabled children. It was Sunday, my usual day off, but Will had asked if I’d work. He promised to send another guy tomorrow if Kayla needed to go out.
I had accompanied her to church this morning, and this evening she was doing a small job—her words not mine—at a local coffee house that had live music. It was the type of place that had couches and board games set up.
Kayla stood at the makeshift stage, belting out "Jesus, Take the Wheel," made famous by Carrie Underwood, and she impressed the socks off me with that one. There was a large group tonight, and it was a good thing I was there because I’d already had to push back a few overeager fans who wanted her attention.
The first time I’d seen her, I thought her girl-next-door image was just that—an image—but I was quickly seeing how real she was. She had a genuine kindness about her that drew people to her, and I had no doubt that if she continued getting
