Chapter Four

Mark gave a snort of laughter, then covered it up with a careful cough when Francine glared over at him.

“Um, yes.” Francine scrambled to maintain the last of her dignity in front of the most gorgeous man that she’d ever seen. “Yes, I am pretty tired.”

“You look it,” Mei said with her usual unflinching honesty. “OK, well, I get your food. Su-Yin bring tea now.”

“Thank you.”

They watched Mei wander away, then they looked at each other.

“She gets away with it, huh?” Mark said, still grinning widely. “Speaking her mind?”

“I know!” Francine shook her blonde head. “Every single time.”

“I guess being ninety-four years old helps.” Mark considered. “So does being utterly terrifying, in a charming kinda way.”

A laugh burst out of Francine’s throat, catching her by surprise. Mark laughed too, liking seeing her happy.

The last of the tension and awkwardness just melted away between them, leaving nothing but warmth in its place. Suddenly, Francine was very, very glad to be sitting here with Mark.

“So,” he said. “Did you have a busy day today?”

“Yeah.” She leaned back, relaxing into the seat cushion. “Busy and stressful. You?”

“Nothing out of the ordinary.” Mark shrugged. “I was with a client, on duty. It’s always nice to get out of the office.”

“You were bodyguarding?”

“Yep.”

“All went OK?” She nodded at Su-Yin, Mei’s granddaughter, and smiled as the younger woman poured her tea. “No dangerous situations to deal with?”

“Not today.”

“Is that unusual?” she asked, sipping her tea.

Mark shrugged again. “Depends on the client, and what it is that we’re protecting them from. If we’re dealing with a deranged fan, or an abusive ex, or an obsessed stalker, things tend to be tense for the whole job.”

“I can see that.”

“But the guy I’m working with now is a businessman in town closing a huge deal. He’s worried about his security, but I don’t really see why, to be honest.”

“He has competitors? Rivals for the deal?”

“None that we found, really. He just seems high-strung, and he needs us around so he can keep his focus, you know? If we handle his security, then he can relax and do his job.”

“You’re on peace of mind duty?”

Mark laughed again. “Basically. Yeah.”

“So no beating anyone up today?” She found herself teasing him. “Nobody around to shoot?”

“Nuh-uh. Maybe tomorrow.”

She giggled, and he started at the surprisingly sweet, almost girlish, sound. He gazed at her some more, took in the strain around her eyes. Mei was right, he saw: she looked done in.

“So…” Mark said cautiously. He knew that Francine specialized in clients dealing with domestic violence, and sexual and psychological trauma, and so asking about her work was iffy, at the best of times. “You want to tell me a bit about your day?”

Startled, she stared up at him again. “You – really? You’re interested?”

As those clear blue eyes met his own, Mark’s cock stirred, hardened, lengthened. God, yes, he was interested; every inch of him was interested. He imagined how those eyes would look as she came under him, panting and crying out – they’d be wild and wide, he’d bet.

‘Interested’, babe? That’s putting it mildly.

“Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “I’m interested.”

“Oh.” She blinked. “Well… my day was… ummm. It was a hard one.”

“A client?” he probed gently. “A tough case?”

“Yeah.” She sighed. “A woman who’s being badly abused at home.”

“By her husband?” Mark kept his voice low and calm, but he felt anger building in him. Fuck, he hated guys like this, hated them with everything that he had, and was, and held dear. Bullying, pathetic cowards, beating on people smaller and weaker than they were, all to feel like the men of the house. Goddamn dickheads. “He’s the one hurting her?”

“Yes. I can’t say too much, Mark, but yes. It’s – a bad case. I mean, they’re all bad, but something about this one.” She gazed down at the table as Mei brought her soup, waited for the other woman to leave. “I don’t know… I can’t explain it. I just really feel like this one’s going to end badly. And soon. The way he’s escalating, it feels like the ticking clock is going triple-time.”

“Nothing you can do?”

Francine sighed. “No. Not until she asks for my help. The second she asks, I’ll take her to the cops personally, and then get her to the safe house that I work at.”

“You mean Olivia’s safe house, right?”

“Uh-huh. But I can’t do anything until my client asks.”

“Yeah, I know.” He had the overwhelming urge to reach over the table, take her hand. “That must be hard.”

“It is,” she admitted in a small voice. “It never gets easier.”

“I can imagine. I’m sorry.”

That seemed to bring her back to herself. “Don’t say you’re sorry for me, Mark. I’ve got it easy. It’s the women, men, and kids in abusive situations who need support and empathy.”

“Well, sure. But if you get beaten down or burned out, you’re no good to anyone, are you? You need to be strong for them, right? They can’t lean on you or ask you for help, if you’re exhausted and tired. ”

Surprised yet again by this man, she felt her brow furrow in confusion. “Well, yeah.”

“So… eat.” He gestured at the plate of pork that Mei was carrying over. “Warm up, get some sustenance. Relax, hang out with me for an hour, then go home. Have a hot bath, read a racy romance book, curl up in bed. Go to sleep early, wake up late.”

Stunned, Francine felt her mouth drop open. “Uh – racy romance book?”

“Sure.” His eyes sparkled. “The best way to relax at the end of a rough day.”