“You’re going to drive her away completely.” Chance lowered his voice. “She’ll leave you. She’ll leave me. For good. That’s not what either of us wants.”
Fear flickered in Will’s eyes. “I just want her safe.”
Because Gwen had been right, and Chance knew it. Will blamed himself for the death of Gwen’s mother. He’d been away on business. Denise had been out, shopping with Gwen. And when she’d died in the street, Will had been over two thousand miles away.
Dev—who’d been slumped against the wall on the right, avidly watching the scene—pushed up and sauntered down the hallway, following quietly in Gwen’s wake.
Lex just kept watching the action unfold.
“I’m going to ruin you,” Will said, the fear still in his eyes, but fury appearing now. “This is your fault. If anything happens to her—”
“Save your threats. I don’t give a shit about them.”
Will’s lips snapped together.
“The only thing I care about is Gwen. And I will not do anything to hurt her. No more secrets. No more lies. Not ever.” He’d do anything necessary to prove himself to Gwen. Because she mattered. Plain and simple.
Will’s heavy brows lowered as the older man seemed to consider him. “When did my daughter come to mean so much to you?”
From the minute I met her. But that was for him to tell Gwen. “Keep your guards back. Gwen told you what she wanted, and, from now on, the only thing I care about…is giving Gwen what she wants.”
“I care about keeping her safe! I care about finding the guy who nearly ran down my daughter! I care—”
Faith cleared her throat. “We’ve got patrols looking for the van now. We caught the vehicle on one of the traffic cams. Got the make and model, no tag, but we’re looking for the guy. Every cop in the city will be searching for the perp. He won’t get away.”
No, he wouldn’t.
Chance marched down the hallway. Gwen was long gone, and so was Dev.
“Are you going after my daughter?” Will called after him. “Are you going to protect her? Are you going—”
“I’m going to apologize to her, and then I’ll see what the fuck happens after that.” He didn’t have anything else to say, not to Will, anyway.
But he sure had plenty that he needed to tell Gwen.
***
Will’s hands were fisted at his sides. Gwen had left, and Chance had just basically told him to screw off. “James and Harvey,” he said to his guards, “I need you to—”
“I’d think carefully about that,” the blond-haired man to the right said. Lex. Lex Jensen. He knew the guy…Will had researched him as soon as he’d learned Lex and Devlin Shade were in business with Chance. Lex had served in the military with Chance, but after his tour had ended, Lex had kept working in the Middle East and in Russia as a mercenary. A lot of his past had been covered in secrecy, and even Will’s government contacts hadn’t been able to provide him with many details about the man.
Will’s gaze swept over the younger guy, sizing him up.
Lex gave him a wide grin. “I mean sure, if you want to piss off your daughter and ruin the last hope of a relationship that you have with her, go right ahead. But if you actually care about the woman…” His shoulders pushed away from the wall as he straightened. “Then maybe you should put some trust in Chance. Because I know for a fact, that man would give his life to protect Gwen.”
Will knew that, too. Actually, he’d counted on it. He’d known Gwen wouldn’t turn Chance away when he came calling…because Gwen cared about Chance.
And as for Chance…Will had known he was the perfect guard for her…because Chance more than cares for Gwen. The guy loves her…and he doesn’t even realize it.
Or maybe, Chance did. Maybe he’d finally wised up. Judging from the look that had been in Chance’s eyes, Will thought the guy had finally figured things out. Just in time.
“Will doesn’t trust easily,” Faith said as she approached them.
He nearly winced at her words, and Will couldn’t help but cast a guilty look her way. Dammit, in spite of the nightmare surrounding him, he still noticed that Faith looked beautiful.
She always did.
“He likes to use people,” Faith continued. “That’s sort of Will’s thing. His specialty.”
He did wince then.
“He uses them. He doesn’t trust them.”
So she was definitely still mad at him. Right. He made a mental note to send her more diamonds. But the diamonds hadn’t exactly worked in the past. Not with her. Faith had never given a flying shit about his money. She wanted something far more important from him.
She sauntered forward. Her hand was close to her holster. A little too close for his peace of mind.
“Isn’t that right?” Faith asked him. Her dark eyes gleamed with a hundred emotions. “Trust isn’t an option for you.”
As he stared at her, Will couldn’t speak.
“Maybe it should be,” Faith said. “Maybe you should trust Chance this one time. I saw the emotion in his eyes, just the same as you did. Do you really think he would do anything to put Gwen at risk?”
No, he didn’t. So he didn’t give the order for his men to rush after Gwen. He knew Chance would protect her from any threat. But he also knew…
Chance…you can hurt her. Gwen’s vulnerable to you.
If Chance screwed this up with Gwen, Will would make him pay.
Chapter Nine
Chance jumped out of the taxi and tossed his cash to the driver. He yanked up his collar and a soft plume of chilled air appeared above his mouth as he stared up at the gleaming lights of the hotel. Just blocks from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Gwen had chosen one of the swankest hotels in the city.
And one with top-notch security.
He headed for the entrance. Two doormen were there, their assessing gazes sweeping over him as he walked inside. Once in the lobby, he spied the security guard near the elevator. Chance glimpsed another guard watching near the check-in desk.
“You got here faster than I thought,” Dev murmured as he strolled to Chance’s side. “Someone was hauling ass, huh?”
Yeah, he had been. “Did Gwen see you tailing her?”
Dev stroked his chin. “Let’s see…before she boarded the elevator—the one that only takes you up to concierge level if you have the special key card for access—she did turn in my direction and flip me the bird.”