Fierce Protector: Hard to Handle trilogy, Book 1 by Janine Kane Page A

the battery gave out. She still would not have called the cops, she knew. Hank might have joked about being safer in jail, but really, when was that ever true? Having the cops looking for him, as well as some crazed gangsters, might just push him over the edge. Eva knew she would not be able to live with that.
    Her first thought had been simply to wait for Tyler and Trish to come home, but within moments she knew that she had to keep them out of it; if Hank was truly in debt to dangerous people, then the fewer of her friends who became involved, the better. She didn’t know if Tyler owned a gun, although in these parts, it was likely, and dragging those lovely people into this mess would be harsh repayment for their kindness.
    The same was true of her new neighbors and friends. How could she bring violence and the unwelcome glare of media attention to a town which had welcomed her so warmly? She’d be unable to show her face at Cheryl’s ever again, another young girl with a foggy past and insalubrious connections who left suddenly and under strange circumstances.
    No, there was only one real option.
    What made the decision for her, in many ways, was not simply who he was , but who he knew . One of her first thoughts had been of Zack’s friend in the photo from ‘Hell Week’, their grueling SEAL training. Hadn’t Zack mentioned that he was now in the DEA? It was a long shot, but she felt that this might be a way to help Hank, maybe even find the gang before they hurt him, and keep this whole mess out of the public eye.
    Then there was Zack himself. Honest, mature, incredibly strong. The only man in her life who could help her, even if he was her newest friend. She had no choice but to depend on him.
    Eva dried her face with her sleeve, instantly regretting it as she saw the smear of blood. It was hardly how she would have chosen to appear to Zack at 1.30am, disheveled and bleeding, rather than draped in gorgeous lingerie and smelling of sandalwood and sex. But there was nothing she could do, she reflected yet again as she knocked gingerly on his door.
    After a few seconds, it opened and Zack greeted her with a surprised grin which quickly disappeared as she stepped forward into the light. “Eva? My God , what’s happened?” He ushered her into the house, instinctively checking left and right out of his door to see if she had been followed. “Are you OK?”
    “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I just didn’t know where to go. Trish and Tyler went to a bar somewhere and I knew they’d be a bit drunk and it’s late,” she rambled, trying not to cry but failing. Zack sat her down on the living room sofa, and then moved efficiently around the house, grabbing his first aid kid from under the sink, and a fresh t-shirt to replace the stained blouse Eva had arrived in.
    “You need to tell me what happened,” he said gently, sitting on the sofa next to the crying, injured girl, “just as soon as you’re ready. I need to know who hit you.”
    She sniffed. “I’m so sorry, Zack,” she said again, “I really don’t want to get you involved.” Her head was crowded with confused thoughts; she began to regret imposing on this caring man. “I should go.”
    “No,” he said with a certain firmness, “you need to sit there and tell me what happened.” He gently held her hand. “Take your time.”
    She breathed deeply and regained some of her composure. Zack worked on cleaning the wound and smeared on a little antiseptic ointment, making Eva wince. “It’s not that he’s a bad guy , he’s just made a bunch of bad choices ,” she explained. “And now he’s in deep trouble. He seems to think they’re going to kill him if he doesn’t come up with the money.”
    Zack applied a blue cold-pack to her face. “Go back a few steps, Eva. Who is ‘he’ and who is ‘they’?”
    “My brother, Hank. He’s been getting himself involved in the wrong kind of business since he was a teenager. I don’t know how he stayed