Dangerous Surrender by Katie Reus

then he sighed and seemed to relax, the tension in his shoulders loosening as he leaned back against his seat. He was still turned in her direction. “He’s a good boss. Benefits are good too. He takes care of his people.”
    “That’s a very succinct answer.”
    His lips twitched as if he wanted to smile—she wondered what it would take for him to full-on smile at her. “There’s not much else to say. The guy’s a hard ass when he needs to be, but he’s fair. I like working for him and I like the people I work with. Did he offer you a job again?”
    Her eyebrows raised at his question. “You know he’s offered before?”
    “He mentioned it when he called earlier.”
    “He could have contacted me for all I know but I still don’t have my phone.” Or her laptop, her tablet, e-reader or half a dozen other electronic devices she was used to carrying with her at all times. Being so disconnected was jarring.
    At the same time, it was also oddly nice not to have to deal with anyone who’d known Hugh, whether they thought she was guilty or not. The thought of talking to people she worked with about Hugh made her want to tailspin into a breakdown.
    “I don’t think he’d make an offer just yet.” Roman’s voice was dry.
    Taylor snorted. “Yeah, but this jet is a nice touch. If it wasn’t for Hugh I probably would have considered Mr. Christiansen’s offer—well, offers.” But she hadn’t even thought about it, nice as it was to be headhunted. Now she had no clue what she planned to do once the dust settled. One of the main reasons she’d stayed with Powers Group was because of Hugh and because she loved her job. Now the thought of going back to work for the company was depressing.
    Roman seemed to sense her mood change because he reached out and squeezed her hand. “We’ll be there soon, rest if you want,” he murmured.
    She wished he wasn’t being so sweet and caring. Okay, that wasn’t true. She was incredibly appreciative of his support. It just made it harder because she knew this wasn’t going to last. Throat tight with a cacophony of emotions brought on by thoughts of her dead friend, she nodded and closed her eyes. The seat was like a big cloud so it wasn’t hard to relax. She couldn’t help but notice that Roman never let her hand go.
    And she wasn’t inclined to pull it back from him. He made her feel safe, grounded and…not so alone.
    * * *
    “You ready?” Roman asked quietly as he and Taylor waited to disembark. As soon as they’d landed he’d received a call from Wyatt—who’d clearly taken a personal interest in this situation—letting him know that the detective assigned to the case, two uniformed officers and three men from Powers Group security were waiting for them. No one wanted to take any chances that Taylor didn’t make it to the police station.
    After watching a couple news clips on his phone before they’d taken off, he’d seen how much the media was paying attention to the story of Hugh Powers’ death. No doubt the Oceanside PD wanted this wrapped up quickly and efficiently. There’d recently been an earthquake a couple hours north though so half the media attention was on the natural disaster.
    Taylor nodded, her bright blue eyes seeming more vivid against her face under the afternoon sun streaming in through the open windows. “I think so. Guess it doesn’t matter now… Thank you for coming with me.”
    He just grunted, not needing her thanks. Not wanting it. All he wanted to do was chase away the shadows in her eyes, see her smile. A real one.
    When the plane door opened, she tensed next to him. Seconds later the pilot, co-pilot and flight attendant thanked them for flying with them with smiles on their faces—Wyatt’s people were always professional—before Roman and Taylor exited.
    Carryon bag in hand, he went first, wanting to shield her from everything. Two matching, black SUVs and a slightly smaller black Ford Explorer were on the tarmac not far