Read Online Guardian For Hire: A For Hire Novel by Christine Bell - Free Book Online Page A

all ears.” He set the menu down with a clap and crossed his beefy arms. “I’m listening with bated breath.”
    Under the weight of his undivided attention, she found herself wishing she’d just let him ignore her. She toyed with her water-spotted fork restlessly. “Right, well, I’m thinking I’m not really the security, stealth-mode type.”
    “You don’t say.”
    She shook her head and shrugged. “I know it seems like I would be, but I’m not. And I think I might compromise your integrity if you take me along on your jobs. So, I don’t think it will work. For you.”
    His gaze was so intense, she resisted the urge to squirm in her seat. Why did he always make her feel that way?
    Finally he inclined his head. “Well, Doc, that’s very thoughtful of you.”
    She smiled and shook her head. “It’s nothing, really.”
    “And it has nothing to do with the fact that you’re scared, I’m sure.”
    She opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by the waitress, who had crept up on them.
    “Coffee?” she offered, hoisting a black pot in the air.
    “Yes, please. For both of us.” Gavin nodded and the waitress poured for him before turning to Sarabeth and promptly spilling a good third of a cup down her shirt. Luckily—for her skin if not for her palate—it was the temperature of used bathwater. Still, it was a shock, and she gasped.
    “Oh, my goodness. I’m so sorry.” Ashlee, if that  was  her real name, tossed a pile of napkins from her apron toward Sarabeth. “ Are you hurt? ”
    “No, I’m fine. Thank you.”
    “Why don’t you head to the ladies’ room and I’ll bring you in a cloth with some seltzer?”
    Sarabeth took a moment to dart her best “I told you so” look at Gavin, but he either didn’t comprehend it or chose to ignore her. Maybe it was better he was teaching her how to defend herself. Apparently, she was the only person on the case.
    “No, really, I hate this shirt anyway. I’ll take care of it at home.”
    The waitress frowned but then shrugged and took their order before heading back to the “kitchens,” presumably to tell her boss that their target hadn’t taken the bait. It would be a good day if there wasn’t cyanide lacing her omelet at this rate.
    “I wouldn’t drink that coffee if I were you,” she whispered, just as Gavin held the overlarge mug to his lips.
    He took a sip. “No?”
    She eyed him incredulously. “Well, there it is. You’ve just signed my death warrant. They probably doped that, and now you’re going to slump over on the table and I’ll be a sitting duck. Seriously, all the signs are here. How much clearer could this be?”
    “You’re right.” He took another sip of his coffee. “And they didn’t even have the decency to properly heat up my poison. Best of luck when I’m gone. Remember to block your chin during hand-to-hand combat. Wax on, wax off.”
    Maybe it did seem outlandish, but at this point, anything was possible and she was scared of her own shadow. The least he could do was reassure her. “You really think you’re hilarious, don’t you?”
    “Most days.” He took another gulp before holding out his mug to her. “Coffee?”
    The waitress returned with the food before Sarabeth had the chance to slap the drink out of his big, smug hand. So what if he wasn’t incapacitated yet? That didn’t mean the food wasn’t poisoned. Some poisons took longer than others. Didn’t he know anything? Clearly, he needed to watch that CSI marathon more than she did.
    Sarabeth thanked her and began pushing the food around on her plate, careful to make it look like she was eating. Let her go back and report that to her boss. The woman didn’t seem to notice, though. She was setting down Gavin’s three plates of food with extra care, patting the side of one before saying “enjoy” and walking off again.
    Gavin chuckled and tugged a scrap of paper from beneath the plate the waitress had patted.
    Panic threatened to choke her, and