hoped her words sounded more sincere than she felt. He might have been one of the finest men she’d ever met, but he was still someone she wanted nothing to do with. “I’m glad you were able to stop by. Please have a seat.”
He removed the ratty baseball cap that had a gold omega symbol across the front, and sat in one of the leather armchairs facing her desk. Ruggedly handsome, Gunner exuded self-confidence, making it hard for Trinity not to stare at him. Every move he made her gaze seemed to follow. It wasn’t until he crossed an ankle over his knee and his eyes met hers that she realized she was entranced.
He smiled. Heat rose to her cheeks and she diverted her eyes to the file that she’d been working on earlier. It was time to get it together and tap into her professional demeanor. Breathing in and out slowly, without making it seem too obvious, she felt herself relax...some. Placing the file off to the side, she grabbed her notepad.
“Okay, let’s get started.” She scribbled the date and time on the pad of paper before she returned her attention to him.
“Why don’t we catch up first?” Gunner said and slouched a little in his seat, appearing cool and relaxed.
No one would ever believe he was wealthy by his posture or by the way he was dressed. A gold T-shirt that read I Always Wear My Poker Face, stretched across his taut muscles and hugged his large biceps. With well-worn jeans and a pair of scuffed wheat-colored Timberland boots, he looked more like a thug than the multimillionaire that she had researched.
“Excuse me,” Connie said.
Seeing the coffee in her hand, Trinity waved her in. Connie placed the steaming liquid in front of Gunner and a bottle of water with a cup of ice in front of Trinity before closing the door behind her.
“I haven’t seen you in years. I was surprised when Max told me that you had left LAPD and started your own personal protection business. I’m impressed.” He fingered a stunning gold bracelet on his wrist that had writing on it, which she couldn’t make out, but was outlined with diamonds. She glanced up to find him studying her.
Trinity sat back in her seat and took another deep breath before speaking. “Thanks. It’s been my lifelong dream to have my own business. After serving on the police force for nine years, it seemed to be a logical business to go into.”
“You must be a serious bad-ass. I heard you worked SWAT the last two years you were with LAPD.”
Trinity twirled her ink pen between her fingers. Apparently, she wasn’t bad-ass enough, seeing that she’d gotten snubbed for the lieutenant position. It was the second time she hadn’t been seriously considered for a position that she was more than qualified to hold. Her superior had often made comments about her still being wet behind the ears, and how women were created to stay home and have babies.
Her gripped tightened on her pen. She’d had plenty of time to let the bad feelings she had for LAPD pass. Yet, every now and then animosity of how she had been treated snuck in.
“Hey,” Gunner sat forward, “didn’t mean to bring up any bad memories. Are you all right? It looked as if I lost you for a moment there.”
Trinity gave herself a mental shake. “Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Being on the force and then getting the SWAT assignment prepared me for all of this,” she said, raising her hands and glancing around her office. “No regrets.”
He regarded her spacious office as he nodded. “Nice digs you have here.” Trinity followed his gaze, proud of what she had accomplished. The location of her office building was costing her a pretty penny, but it was worth it to be in a prime area. “So how long have you been in business?” Gunner asked. “Tell me a little about your agency.”
She rocked a little in her leather office chair, finally feeling comfortable with having him in her space. “I opened the agency about nine months ago and so far things are going well. I started with five security specialists on call. Now I have twenty that I use on a regular basis. All are very well trained and either have a police or military background, as well as expertise in various areas of personal security.” She stopped rocking and slid forward in her seat. “So I have no doubt that I have someone who can meet your needs. Why don’t you tell me why you need a bodyguard?”
* * *
Gunner sat back in his seat, still finding it hard to believe that little Trinity Layton was all grown up. Thanks to her brother, Maxwell, he had kept up with her career, the good and the not-so-good aspects. But what Maxwell failed to mention was how fine his sister was. Flawless skin the color of coffee with a hint of cream. Her brown hair that hung just past her shoulders was longer than he remembered, with copper highlights that brought out the gold specks in her light brown eyes. She was cute back when she’d visited them at USC, but now she was downright gorgeous. He’d bet that whenever she arrested anyone, they went willingly in order to be close to her.
Gunner had originally shot down the idea of hiring a bodyguard when Maxwell first suggested it, since he could take care of himself. Yet, he reconsidered when Max explained that Trinity was trying to build the agency’s clientele. Now, after seeing her again, he was glad he’d flown to LA to meet with her.
“In the last couple of weeks, a few professional poker players who are gearing up for the PPO, the Poker Play-Offs, have been involved in a few incidents.”
“What type of incidents?” Trinity asked.
For the first time since he arrived, she seemed relaxed and genuinely interested in what he had to say. When he had first walked into her office, she appeared to be about ready to bolt for the door. Her expression reminded him of the first time he’d met her. They both seemed to be shocked into speechlessness. Gunner couldn’t believe Maxwell had a cutie-pie sister, but he wasn’t sure what her thoughts had been. All he knew was there was a sweet shyness about her mixed with a little I-don’t-take-crap-from-anyone. He had been attracted to her back when he was in college, but never made a move on her. Not because she happened to be Max’s little sister, but because Trinity was serious-girlfriend material, and back then he was all about having a good time without the commitment.
Now that Gunner was thinking more and more about settling down and having a family, he was viewing commitment and relationships differently. He no longer dated just to be dating. Instead, he only spent time with women whom he was attracted to and could see building a future with. Needless to say, the list was short. Most women only saw him as their ticket to financial freedom. He knew enough about Trinity to know that she was the type of woman he was looking to settle down with—independent, had good values and came from a good family. The fact that she was absolutely gorgeous didn’t hurt either.
Gunner toyed with the PPO diamond bracelet that he had won the previous year, the fifth of his collection. “A participant was jumped shortly after leaving a tournament,” he finally answered. “Another walked into a grocery store and was stabbed in the side by an unknown assailant, the knife barely missing some major organs. And just recently, one of the tournament participants left a popular restaurant and was hit in the head with a steel rod. The attacker got away.”
“Those incidents sound like something that could happen to anyone, especially someone who hangs out at a casino, gambling away hard-earned cash. I’d think that would be an everyday occurrence in Vegas.” The distaste with which Trinity said the words didn’t go unnoticed by Gunner. He had a feeling she didn’t like him, but the disgust he heard in her tone sounded like something else was going on.
“This has caught some of the players’ attention because none of the individuals in these instances were robbed. Only
