Chapter 118

ZAIN KEPT HIS GOOD hand on Andrea's lower back and jabbed the button for his floor with the other, glad to leave the lower levels behind. At this hour, the convention center had the eerie quality of the Mines of Moria. Shadows clung to the edges of the rooms. Too bad the trolls after Andrea weren't the same kind as those from Lord of the Rings.

Andrea propped herself up in the corner of the lift, facing him. Dark crescents made her eyes look larger and sad. He had this completely irrational urge to...hug her. Hold her. Was this why so many of the Aegis guys fell into bed with their clients? She crossed her arms over her chest, blocking him out.

Yeah, one of the other guys needed to be her protective detail. Not him.

"Why are you doing this? Why are you being so nice to me?" Even her words were weary.

He lifted his shoulders.

"That's not an answer. I can't really hire you for a quarter, so what's the deal?"

"Why does there have to be a deal?"