Page 53 of Serve ’N’ Protect

She frowned. “Not McMurray or another Secret Service officer?”

“No. McMurray said they were all swamped working other aspects of the investigation, so he delegated some of the work to the locals.”

“Is that normal?”

Actually, no, it wasn’t. But then she ran her tongue over her lower lip, and the movement ignited an urge inside him to haul her onto his lap and kiss her senseless. But her question got his brain churning, and it must have shown on his face.

“What?” she prodded, leaning in closer, and God, did she smell good.

Tough to focus with her standing so close and her pretty scent filling his lungs with every breath he took. “Like any occupation, not everyone can be the best at what they do. Not everyone is the best interviewer. It takes more skill than most people realize.” And it was one of many reasons why Kade was so kick-ass at what he did.

Maybe they needed to reexamine the lead.

He tugged his cell phone from his pocket and called Kade. As soon as Kade answered, Markus requested the two men be re-interviewed and that Kade be the one to do it.

“You got it,” Kade responded. “Call you when it’s done.”

As Markus ended the call, Cassidy’s phone chirped with an incoming text. She looked at the screen then regarded him thoughtfully, tapping the phone’s cover with her finger.

He knew that look. Something was up, and it involved him. Or it was about to. “What?”

“My family has a big Christmas get-together on Christmas Day. We start in the morning with breakfast and keep right on going through dinner.” Her fingers flew over the keypad. “Do you want to come?”

The hopefulness in her question was impossible to ignore, and it gutted him.

Whereas Kelly had somehow managed to get married and have kids, that kind of relationship eluded him then as it did now. There was a time when he’d accepted a few of his sister’s invitations. Not anymore. He’d felt more uncomfortable than a porcupine in a balloon factory. Family gatherings weren’t his thing, so he’d stopped trying. Kelly was always saddened by his declinations but given that she’d lived through Steven’s brand of childhood hell right alongside him, he knew she understood.

Hurting Cassidy wasn’t his intention, but there was no alternative. “No, thanks. Ghost and I plan to stay in.”

He caught the brief but unmistakable hurt blooming in her eyes, and that gutting sensation he’d experienced a moment ago turned to one of stabbing pain. Oh, man.

Markus shut his eyes for a moment, wishing he could say the words she wanted to hear but couldn’t. What he could do was teach her something McMurray had ordered him to do. And after last night, he’d feel a whole lot better if he did.

“Let’s go shooting.”

Chapter Eighteen

“The first rule of gun safety,” Markus said as he picked up the evil-looking black handgun from the small folding table he’d erected on the edge of the woods, “is to assume every gun is loaded. The second rule is to always keep the muzzle pointed downrange.” With one long finger, he indicated to the bullseye target tacked to a tree, behind which was a large wall with black padding and sand bags piled higher than she was tall.

Markus’s deep rumble was still sexy as all get-out but she was having a difficult time concentrating.

For the Morgan family, Christmas Day was a big deal, especially for Cassidy. Last year, she’d spent it in the hospital with her mother, father, sisters, and brothers at her bedside. This was a day she and her family would forever be thankful for, because she was alive and able to share it with them. Why she was so disappointed that Markus wouldn’t be accompanying her shouldn’t matter, considering he’d been in her life such a short time and would soon be leaving it.

But it does matter.

Maybe she was expecting too much from him and stupidly thought the toe-curling kiss they’d shared meant more than it did. Regardless, it would have been good for him to experience a loving family in action. All he really needed were people to show him the love he’d missed out on.

He handed her the gun which was, surprisingly, not as heavy as she’d expected.

“It’s lightweight,” he said, as if reading her mind, “because it’s made partially of plastic. Most people don’t know that.” Nope, she hadn’t. “When someone hands you a gun, the first thing you do is verify that it is or isn’t loaded.” He pointed to the open space at the top of the gun, through which she could see the grass at their feet. “Look into the chamber and verify there’s no bullet.”

She did as he directed and nodded.

“Good, now rack the slide.” He made a pulling motion with his hand, mimicking the movement he’d taught her only minutes ago.

Ten feet to their left, Ghost sat patiently, his ears protected by a set of black earmuffs specially designed for K-9s and similar to the ones she and Markus wore.

As instructed, she racked the slide, and the space at the top of the gun disappeared when the slide rammed forward.