THE PERFECT TEN (Boxed Set)

again.
    She blinked, then seemed to come back to this world in the next instant and pushed away. Confusion and surprise flashed in her eyes. He could handle that, but the embarrassment he saw before she lowered her lashes cut him deep. He’d done that.
    When her lips parted to speak, he shook his head.
    Her delicate brows knitted together in irritation. She opened her mouth again, determined to have her say.
    He put two fingers on her lips and let his gaze roam past her until she understood they had to be quiet.
    Based on activity outside the abandoned gas station and the amount of daylight, he guessed the time to be nearing seven in the morning. A young boy rode past on a tangerine bicycle oblivious to any danger lurking nearby.
    Zane leaned close to Angel’s ear. “We’re moving out. Stay close to me.”
    “No.”
    Wrong answer.
    He whispered, “The last time you said that I had a gun shoved in my face. Do as I say. We’ll discuss this later.”
    He pinned her tight against his chest in an unspoken order to cooperate. The scowl he gave her didn’t seem to deter her at all.
    She yanked hard on the back of his shirt then pushed up on her toes. He lowered his ear close to her mouth, fully expecting the berating he deserved for behaving like a hormonal teen.
    “Let me go ahead,” she whispered. “I had an ... incident on the beach. Someone is following me. It’s risky for you to be with me. I’ll meet you somewhere.”
    Zane couldn’t believe his ears. Unarmed, wearing clothes bright enough to be a bull’s target, she was trying to shield him. His words were terse to cut through any more argument. “Incident, my ass. Someone shot at you.”
    She stared with shock and murmured, “You saw that?”
    He nodded. Leaning close again, he said, “I know all the back ways out of here. If someone’s following you, they won’t see us. Trust me.”
    Her face displayed a myriad of emotions, then something he wanted to call trust entered her eyes. What had she been through to be so cautious about trusting a man who’d come to her aid twice and expected nothing in return?
    Liar. He’d been seriously close to undressing her three minutes ago. But that hadn’t been due to expecting anything in return. Just the raw need to have her.
    Zane rubbed her back lightly and gave her shoulders a reassuring squeeze. He took her hand, leading her outside before she could resist his help.
    She never stumbled as he scuttled them through a maze of narrow passageways, taking several detours in and out of vacant buildings. Though he’d followed her for miles, she’d circled so much they weren’t far from his apartment. In less than an hour, they trotted into the parking lot at his apartment.
    In his rush to leave, Zane had left the apartment unlocked. Any other time he wouldn’t be concerned, but that was before someone had taken a shot at Angel.
    He punched the code to open his truck door, then pulled his .40-caliber Sig from the leather holster tucked in the console. He hesitated in indecision over what to do with Angel for several seconds. The last thing he wanted to do was expose her to a hidden danger within, but he’d learned better than to let her out of his sight.
    Pushing the door open slowly, he glanced inside, first to the right, then around the corner at his unmade foldout bed. Frigid air welcomed him. When Zane stepped inside, Angel tried to move next to him, but he swung her close to his back and kept a tight grip on her wrist, careful not to bruise her. Room-by-room, he cleared his house, something he hadn’t had to do since he was shot down and searching for shelter in enemy territory. Ten minutes later he was convinced no one waited inside for them.
    In the living room, he rounded on Angel. Arms crossed, feet apart, he was ready for answers. “Okay, enough of these charades. What’s going on?”
    “I told you.”
    “You said you had an arrangement that went sour,” he pressed. “This doesn’t look like a pissed off boyfriend. Who is this guy and what does he want?” 
    Angel wrapped her arms around her chest and moved away from him to stand in front of the terrace doors. “I can’t tell you.”  She sounded as disappointed as he felt.
    “Then explain why you can’t.” 
    She spun around to answer, hair swatting her face. “Don’t you understand? He is dangerous. Worse than that. I have to go. If he finds me with you he’ll – ”
    “He’ll what?” Zane interrupted.
    “He’ll hurt us