“The plants were already doomed.” His anxious expression morphed into a grin. Lana tried not to let the way the smile melted her insides distract her from her job, but it was undeniable how much more handsome he looked when he smiled. “I’ll leave them on the porch. Maybe some green thumb will take pity on them.”
Lana moved the plants outside to his exposed porch while he finished packing. The air outside was much easier to function in—the interior of the apartment was too full of Trent’s scent. Almost to a dizzying extent. She took a few deep breaths to clear her head before stepping back inside.
Trent hauled his duffle bag across his body at the same time and stumbled a bit under the weight. Lana rushed to help him, but the scent grew so intense she backed off and watched him push himself straight with the help of an armchair instead.
“Sorry, I might have gone a bit overboard with the packing,” he said. “I wasn’t really sure what one takes to a hideout.”
Lana took a step closer to him, almost in a daze. He smelled like pine and cloves, and long Texas summer nights.
Not now, she thought. I don’t have time for this.
But she couldn’t help herself from taking another sniff.
CHAPTER THREE
TRENT
The truth was, Trent thought everyone was overreacting, and not just a little. A security detail? A safe house? It was all over the top. It’s not like he was the only one with the information—he’d spoken to more than one reporter. Still, it had all been in an anonymous capacity.
Sure, one of them had reacted oddly when Trent brought up Lee Quirk. The reporter even warned Trent that he should be more careful than to get in the ring with the senator. Still, he’d thought nothing of it until he’d been contacted by Nick Milan and informed that some high-ranking officials had hired his protection agency to help Trent.
Trent had tried to object and tell Nick that he was fine, but Nick had taken it to a severe level right away.
“Do you want to be a living whistleblower or a dead one?” Nick had asked. “Because if you want to be the former, then you’ll let my team come in and do what they do best.”
Mulling over the fact that someone had paid the protection agency to help Trent, he figured maybe, just maybe, he should go along with it… considering he did like the living part, after all.
And then, Lana had shown up. She was young, early twenties, like Trent was, but with a strength and determination about her that he found almost as attractive as her beautiful reddish-brown hair and luscious curves. She hadn’t been what he’d been expecting—he’d thought Nick would send big buff dudes in three-piece suits—but she had made Trent feel a bit better about it all.
If his protection detail consisted of one lone young agent, then the trouble he was in probably wasn’t such a big deal. So, he’d pack some stuff and head out for a weekend retreat with her. Hell, maybe it could even be… dare he think… fun?
“You know, let me just say again, I’m sorry you’re tasked with such a trivial case,” Trent muttered, looking out the window at the scenery flashing by. He wasn’t sure where they were headed. None of this landscape looked familiar to him. “I’m guessing it’s because you’re a young agent, they put you on the silly little white-collar crime detail—babysit the nerd for a bit until my exposé circulates to a wider audience?”
“You need to stop considering your situation silly and trivial.” Lana snorted, obviously not impressed with his show of bravery. Even her snort was attractive somehow, but Trent tried not to focus on that. He’d never been the type to pine after girls that were so far out of his league. “Your story rattles some pretty big wasp nests, and I don’t think you’re fully grasping how desperate people can be to keep their secrets hidden.”
Trent shifted in his seat to face Lana. “The feds already know about this. I’m sure they’re doing something. Plus, there’s the reporter—”
“Which one? You talked to so many that you managed to blab to one owned by Lee Quirk,” Lana cut in, shrugging as she spoke, gripping the steering wheel loosely, exuding calm and confidence, despite the fact that her words seemed meant to sound dire.
“Which one?” Trent asked quickly. “Is it Brylee Ford?”
Lana glanced at him quickly, a look of annoyance on her face. “No, it’s not Brylee, but why do you ask about her specifically? Do you two have something going on?”
Did she sound jealous? No… Trent was sure she was just acting like a bodyguard who needed to know all the facts. “I’m not involved with Brylee, no. I’m not involved with anyone in case you need to know that… you know, for the case.”
Lana quirked her mouth to the side, but Trent couldn’t tell exactly what the expression meant. “I see,” she answered after a few moments. Perhaps she was genuinely considering the information he was giving her.
Trent turned to face Lana more fully. Her tone was oddly protective, but he supposed that was just her job. “I asked about Brylee because she’s been looking into Quirk for a while. She has lots of bits and pieces. She just needed something to tie it all together.”
For the first time in the conversation, Lana nodded. “So, she’s looking for the information that will bring everything into focus.”
Trent exhaled, relieved that someone seemed to understand where he was coming from. “Exactly.”
Lana seemed, once again, to weigh the possibility of what Trent was saying, but she didn’t look entirely convinced.
Trent tried to remedy that by giving her more information. “Lee Quirk has been involved in all sorts of shady businesses, according to what Brylee told me. He even had something to do with a Ponzi scheme, and two people died.” Trent spilled out his evidence, hoping something would convince Lana that this situation would work itself out. “Brylee’s taking the information I released and tying it to the bigger picture. It’s not enough to get the people involved in this one scam. Brylee wants to take down Quirk for every last thing he’s ever had his dirty fingers in.”
Lana chewed on her bottom lip, inclining her head toward Trent as he spoke. “If Brylee is so involved, is she already under protection? Because the fact remains that you’re in danger, and I’m here to make sure that danger never actually gets to you.”
“In other words, Brylee isn’t your concern.” Trent sunk back into his seat. “So, the fact that other people also have this information really doesn’t matter to you?”
“It’s not that it doesn’t matter to me.” Lana shrugged, turning onto a road with rougher pavement. “I’ll tell Meghan, but it won’t change my directive. They can assign someone else to Brylee because I’m all about you.”
She meant it in a professional way, but her words caused Trent’s imagination to run wild. What I wouldn’t give to forget about all this insider trading stuff so I could focus all on you, Lana.
Trent turned his head to watch the scenery; they’d taken several turns and long roads off the major highway, and though the West Texas countryside was all primarily flat and expansive with small mountains off in the distance, it was clear they’d made it to a far more remote location. At the end of the day, he supposed he shouldn’t complain too much. After all, he was essentially taking a vacation with one of the most beautiful women he’d ever seen.