Tempted By The Bodyguard. Elle James

      Daniel drove the SUV down the driveway and out onto the highway heading toward Beth City, wondering what the hell he’d done by agreeing to watch over the independent, young Shelby O’Hara. He’d have his hands full keeping up with her.

      “I’ll take you to the university and then we head back to the Winston Estate.”

      “What if I’m not ready to go straight back?” she countered.

      “I want to be back by dark. It’s hard enough watching out for bad guys in the daylight.”

      He noted Shelby didn’t agree or disagree with his idea of heading right back to the estate where he could keep her in a defined area that was rigged with security cameras.

      Out in the open, he had no way of knowing who might hit and when. His hands gripped the steering wheel as he navigated Raleigh traffic and finally made it out to the highway leading east to Beth City. He checked his rearview mirror periodically to make certain they weren’t being followed. So far, so good.

      Shelby pressed a button and lowered the window, letting the breeze blow through the car. She leaned her head toward the wind, her dark hair flying out behind her, her blue eyes gleaming in the sunlight.

      Daniel could imagine Kate looking like this when she’d been the same age. He could see why the young Patrick O’Hara had fallen for her. Too bad their affair had gone so wrong. Both had been too young, too impetuous.

      He’d seen the anguish in Kate’s eyes when she’d learned her daughter hadn’t died, but had lived to die before she got to meet her. No one could fake that. To have missed knowing your child, missed watching her grow up, her first steps, her first day at school, her first crush on a boy…

      Daniel’s mother had celebrated all his and his siblings’ firsts, loving every minute of their lives and loving them unconditionally.

      Had Kate’s mother been that cruel, to tell her that her child had died? Why would she do that?

      “Do you mind if I play some music?” Shelby asked.

      Daniel shook his head. “Have at it.”

      She fiddled with the tuner until she found an oldies station.

      “Really?” Daniel laughed. “I’d have pegged you for pop/rock.”

      She shook her head and smiled. “I live on a beach. This is my comfort music. It reminds me of home.”

      He could relate. His family home was on a beach much farther north and rockier than those found on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, but still, the music reminded him of home, as well.

      “It was so dark and quiet where I was, all I had were the songs I remembered to keep me company.” She glanced out the window, her mouth turning down, her eyes darkening. “I only sang the happy ones.”

      His chest tightened, imagining her tied up in a basement, alone and scared. His fists curled around the steering wheel. He wanted to be on the investigation team searching for the bastards who’d kidnapped her. When he found them, he’d be hard-pressed to control his anger and resist the desire to kill them for what they’d done.

      “Are you angry at me?” Shelby asked.

      Daniel glanced her way, shaking out of his thoughts. “No, why?”

      “You looked like you wanted to kill someone.”

      “I was thinking about the men who kidnapped you.”

      “And you want to kill them?”

      “Yes,” he said through gritted teeth.

      “What good would that do?”

      “They’d be off the street and unable to hurt anyone else, for one.”

      She stared at him a moment, then said, “Despite what they did to me, I don’t wish them dead.”

      “You’re much nicer than I am.”

      Shelby sat back in her seat and gazed out the window at the road in front of them. “I’d want to know why they kidnapped me.”

      “You’re related to a very influential and wealthy woman.”

      “But that’s her. I’m not influential or wealthy.”

      “Yeah, but she’s known for taking care of her family.”

      “Who would have known I was her granddaughter?” She laughed humorlessly. “I didn’t know I was her granddaughter. I still find it hard to believe. Did they demand a ransom?”

      “No.” Daniel shook his head. “That’s what has us all stumped. They never demanded anything. Did your captors say anything to you?”

      “Not a word. It was as if I was a dog at the pound, to be fed and locked up until it was time to euthanize me.” She sighed. “Well, that was one of the thoughts I had at the time.”

      “Not a particularly good one.”

      “I know. Thus the beach songs.”

      “You were lying on the floor in the kitchen when I found you. How did you get there?”

      She straightened, her lips curling. “I broke a brace off my chair and used it to break the zip tie binding my wrists.” She glanced down as she rubbed the sores there. “I would have made it out if I’d run a little faster. But after sitting still for so long, my legs weren’t cooperating.” She smiled. “But I kicked one of my captors in the face and hit the other with a heavy flashlight.”

      Daniel’s stomach tensed. She’d been kept in the dark both physically and mentally. It had to have been tough. But she’d been tougher. To have the inner strength to figure a way out of her predicament was a testament to her resilience.

      Shelby wasn’t what he’d thought the granddaughter of Kate Winston would be like. But then she’d been raised by her grandfather and thus she was much more down-to-earth. He found himself drawn even more to her, and not just because of her physical attributes—all of which he’d seen and admired, and many of which he’d touched