And the last thing she needed right now was to have the gun-toting alpha stud shadowing her every move. Not when she had leads to chase. More importantly, she needed to keep under the radar while doing so. Making matters worse, the special agent was too damn good-looking for his own good. For anyone’s good, actually. It aggravated Josslyn that she wasn’t immune to his charm. She traced a fingertip along the skin on her wrist where he had touched her.
A flush of embarrassment spread over her body. Josslyn jumped off the bed. Tugging at the buttons of her blouse, she stripped the garment off in an effort to allow the air to cool her skin. She wanted to dislike the special agent on principle; she really did. But for a few hours two years ago, he’d been the only thing keeping her safe. Keeping her alive. And, truth be told, she hadn’t felt more alive in another man’s arms since.
And then he’d disappeared.
“Don’t go there,” she admonished herself as she stepped out of her skirt and pulled on a pair of khaki pants. “He was just doing his job. It didn’t mean anything to him.”
As spectacular as his kisses were, she’d gotten over him deserting her. Mostly.
Josslyn’s phone buzzed, startling her out of her pity party. The incoming text had her mouth relaxing into a smile. Dax had finally cleared quarantine. At least she could focus her attention on a different alpha stud for the time being. She’d worry about ditching the Tower of Testosterone once they got to the zoo.
True to his word, Special Agent Lockett was standing sentry outside her bedroom when she emerged twenty minutes later. She wished she hadn’t goaded him into changing his clothes because if he was sinfully sexy in a well-cut business suit, he looked downright edible dressed in his casual uniform. A long-sleeve golf shirt bearing the Secret Service emblem stretched tightly across his chest. The knit fabric perfectly outlined a wall of muscles she knew from experience felt as good as they looked. Gray cargo pants and a well-worn pair of combat boots that looked like he’d stolen them off a World War II veteran’s feet rounded out the ensemble.
Trying valiantly not to devour the man with her eyes, Josslyn swept past him, only to have his woodsy scent wind its way beneath her nose. She marched down the stairs, annoyed that now she was tempted to turn around and inhale him. As before, he followed discreetly at her heels, mumbling into the ubiquitous microphone hidden within his clothing. And just like that, Josslyn was visualizing stripping him naked just to uncover the damn thing. Another hot flush crawled over her skin as she stomped through the marble foyer of the North Portico entrance.
One of the marine guards silently pulled open the door for her. Aware that she was behaving like the spoiled princess the world thought her to be, Josslyn drew up short, meeting the younger man’s startled eyes beneath the brim of his hat.
“Thank you,” Josslyn said to him.
She never asked for the royal treatment. In fact, she wanted nothing to do with it. But right now, she didn’t have much say in the matter. The least she could do was be polite to those around her.
The young marine nodded, a trace of pink staining his cheeks.
Agent Lockett chuckled behind her as they resumed walking to the black SUV waiting at the bottom of the steps.
“Well played,” he murmured low enough so that only she could hear. “You’re wise to cozy up to the marines considering your adventures routinely require military intervention.”
She turned to glare at him, hating the sexy laugh lines fanning out from his eyes as he mocked her.
“Doolittle has exited the Crown,” a woman’s voice announced softly behind Josslyn.
Agent Lockett chuckled quietly again before donning the aviator sunglasses synonymous with Secret Service agents everywhere.
“Miss Benoit isn’t fond of her code name,” he explained to the female agent who appeared at Josslyn’s shoulder.
The other woman arched a blonde eyebrow, but there was a hint of sympathy in her blue eyes. “I’ve yet to meet a protectee who did like their code name.” She opened the back door of the SUV indicating Josslyn should get in. “I’m Agent Christine Groesch. I’ll be tag-teaming with Agent Lockett on your detail.”
Josslyn smiled at the other woman while quickly sizing her up. She’d obviously gotten the memo about their trip to the zoo. The agent was dressed similarly to Josslyn, wearing khakis, tennis shoes, and a light sweater. Unlike Josslyn, however, Agent Groesch had a powerful sidearm strapped to her leg. From the looks of it, the two women were close in age. Agent Groesch appeared to be capable, but she didn’t project the lethal arrogance of Agent Lockett. This was clearly an agent who would do her job while minding her own business. Josslyn could work with that.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Josslyn said as she slid into the back seat. “I hope my day-to-day activities don’t leave you too bored.”
Agent Groesch’s grin was sincere. “Are you kidding? I get to spend the day at the elephant house. How cool is that?”
The door quickly closed and Josslyn was disappointed when Agent Groesch took the front passenger seat next to the driver, leaving the rest of the back seat to the Tower of Testosterone. His thigh brushed against hers when he slid into the SUV. Josslyn told herself she flinched at the contact because of the Glock strapped there.
“Is it necessary to have your weapons so widely on display?” she snapped. “There will be children at the zoo, you know.”
Agent Lockett kept his gaze fixed on the pedestrians meandering near the White House. “Don’t worry. I haven’t aimed a gun at a kid since I left Afghanistan.”
His chilly response startled her. Not that she didn’t deserve it because she had started it. Shame burned in her chest.
Agent Groesch cleared her throat up front. “Is there anything special we should be aware of before we get to the elephant house?”
“Yeah,” Agent Lockett replied before Josslyn could. “Don’t step in their poop.”
The Uniformed Division officer driving the SUV laughed. Agent Groesch groaned before shooting Agent Lockett a quizzical look over her shoulder.
“Ignore him,” Agent Groesch said. “He’s still suffering the grumpy aftereffects from taking a hit to the head meant for the president.”
Josslyn glanced over at the man seated next to her. Harriett mentioned Agent Lockett was injured in the line of duty, but she was shocked to learn that whatever injury the Secret Service agent sustained was intended for the president.
“I don’t recall hearing anything about an attempted assassination,” she said, surprised by the terror she felt over what could have become of her brother-in-law. “What happened?”
Slowly, he turned his head but only enough that she was faced with his hard profile. It was impossible to read his expression with his sunglasses on. He and Agent Groesch exchanged a look. Their silent communication seemed intimate, and the thought rankled Josslyn more than she was willing to admit.
They stopped at a traffic light. Agent Lockett shifted his gaze back toward the window. “If you don’t hear about it, then we’ve done our job.”
Josslyn let his words sink in. She was well aware both agents’ role was to take a bullet for the president. She just never contemplated how close they came to actually doing so. But Agent Lockett was a sharpshooter on the president’s advance team. It was his primary job to ensure any environment the president entered was safe. And, on occasion, he rescued animal rights protestors from the marauding fisherman.