by Nikki Rose
“Oh, that sounds nice. I had fun there the last time we went.”
“Just be careful, you two.” Applegate pinned me with his stare and I nodded my agreement with the large bite of toast in my mouth but Caroline answered for me.
“We will.”
I hurried to finish my breakfast so I could get ready to go. I was looking forward to having some alone time with Caroline.
The warm summer day was perfect. A soft breeze blew through the trees. The birds chirped and kids played on the swings. The world seemed less threatening and ominous than usual. I wasn’t sure if things were actually that much better than they’d always been or if I was just more attuned to it because of how happy I felt being there with Caroline.
We walked for a while in comfortable silence before I finally got my nerve to speak. “So, this thing between us doesn’t seem like just a one-night stand anymore.” I paused, hoping she’d make this easier on me and say something. But she just walked quietly listening. The silence was uncomfortable so I kept going. I wanted to be with Caroline and if I was honest with myself, I didn’t want it to just be some casual thing. Even so, the last thing I wanted was to make her feel pressured to be more than what she was comfortable with or what she wanted. “I just think it’s a good idea that we have some kind of understanding as to what this is.” I motioned between us and again paused, waiting for her to say something.
“You’re right. I think it would be a good idea to make sure we’re both on the same page.” She wasn’t giving me much information and I couldn’t help feeling like she was putting up walls. Maybe I was pushing too hard. I needed to keep things casual until I could get a better feel for what she was feeling.
A man behind us caught my attention. He was alone and walking the same path as us. He wasn’t dressed for the park on a summer day in jeans and heavy boots. It would be too hot for that. I could be a coincidence, but when it came to Caroline, I didn’t like taking a chance. I also knew better than to make a big fuss before knowing for sure so I kept walking, keeping my eye on him every chance I had whether it was in my peripherals as I glanced at Caroline or in the reflection of a passer byers sunglasses.
“Exactly. It helps manage expectations.” Manage expectations? Damn it, I made it sound so cold when all I meant was to take the pressure off. This was a very important conversation but it was a mistake to have it when I was distracted by a potential tail.
“Well, that sounds very romantic. Be still my heart.” She teased.
I looked at her, glancing to the side to see the man still walking with determination behind us and I guided Caroline and my path to the right when we came to a fork in the walkway. “I just mean that...I just don't want this whole thing blowing up in our faces. I’ll start. I’ll be honest, I’d like for this to be more than just something that just happened a couple times. But only if you would like to continue.” What I really wanted to say was that I wanted her—all of her—mind, body, and soul. I wanted for her to be mine and I wanted to be hers but that would have probably sent her running for the hills.
I couldn’t get a read on what she wanted or how she was feeling about the whole situation. Did she want to continue the way things were? Did she want a relationship? It would be embarrassing to assume she wanted a relationship and her say she didn’t want more. And, I couldn’t focus on the conversation the way I truly wanted to while worrying that she might be in danger.
He was still behind us. I guided Caroline to turn onto a side path that wound along the pond. Not many people took the trail since it was overgrown and lacked the attraction of the stone bridge and manicured gardens. I noted that the guy who had been walking behind us for several minutes turned the same direction. I was almost certain but wasn’t ready to blow the whistle yet.
Caroline interrupted my focus on the man with her answer. “I’d like to continue too. We have fun together.”
“When we aren’t at each other’s throats.” I teased, trying to keep the conversation light.
“I kind of liked when you were at my throat, especially when you ran your lips down my neck, like this.” She dragged her finger down the column of her neck seductively and I wanted to ravish her again right there.
“Stop that.” I gently grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand down to her side.
“What?” She feigned innocence but wasn’t fooling me. She hadn’t noticed my distraction and I was glad because I didn't know if she would be able to keep her cool. The good thing about being followed is that you control the direction you go. If I played this just right, I might be able to get Caroline somewhere safe and catch the guy. It would be nice to have someone who could answer our questions about the attacks.
“You know what you were doing.” I smiled but caught a glimpse of the man still behind us particularly interested in a flowering bush off to the side that he’d stopped to examine since we had stopped on the path.
After that, I was positive he was following us. I placed my hand on the small of Caroline’s back and led her around the path, hoping to loop back around to find a more public part of the park.
“Don’t look back, but we are being followed.”
Her breath hitched and her body stiffened under my hand. she was fighting the urge to turn around but glanced at me instead. “What? How do you know?” Her soft whisper was laced in panic.
“Relax. Don’t act like you know. Don’t walk so fast. You’re speeding up. Just walk like we are still on a casual stroll.” I took her hand, hoping to offer her the support and comfort she needed to stay calm.
“Are you sure we are being followed?”
“I’ve been suspicious for a while. That’s why I made the turns I did. I was testing to see if he would follow.”
“What do we do?”
“Keep calm. We need to get back onto a more public trail. Chances are he won’t try anything if there’s a lot of witnesses. Whoever is after you doesn’t want a big public display, they want to use you to get to your dad.”
We came to a part of the park I wasn’t familiar with. The trail forked off into two directions and I cursed myself for going away I didn’t know well. I’d let my conversation with Caroline distract me from thinking things through. In an attempt to expose the person stalking us, I’d led us into isolation. I wasn’t too worried. I could handle that guy easy enough but I didn’t want an altercation with Caroline with me. If he was armed, someone could get hurt and I’d be damned if it was her.
I had to make a choice on which way to go and was running out of time to choose without making it look obvious. I took a deep breath and tugged Caroline’s hand to the left where the thick woods blocked her stalker from being able to see us after we rounded the bend.
“He can’t see us right now. Run.”
I kept a tight hold on her hand, pulling her along as we ran down the empty path. We only had a few minutes before he would be rounding the turn and see us running which would give us away. We needed to be out of sight before then.
Another trail cut through the thick woods and I drug her down the overgrown path with raised roots and stones making it more difficult to keep steady. The trail widened up ahead and I was hopeful we were coming up to a more populated area. We just had a few yards to go. Caroline stumbled and I glanced back to check on her. “Careful. Watch your step.” When I turned around again, a second, large man appeared from the brush and stepped into our path with imposing, stalking steps.
I stopped us in our path and turned to run back the way we came, we’d only ran a few feet when the first guy came into view. We were trapped between the two who closed in rapidly as I racked my mind to figure out a solution for getting Caroline out of the mess my mistake had caused.
“Chris.” She squeezed my hand tight and looked at me with questioning eyes begging me to know what to do.
“Stay behind me.” I chose to go after the larger man first, having Caroline go along with me until we got nearer to him. She jumped behind a bush and crouched low as we approached.
/> He took a swing at me but I ducked and managed to catch him in the kidney with a sharp jab of my elbow. I whirled around on him as he turned to charge me. His shoulder struck hard into my abdomen, half knocking the air from my lungs but I kept my control. I grabbed the back of his head and brought my knee up fast, catching him in the stomach. He got away, stumbling, he caught his balance, grabbing a knife from his hip, he took another swing.
I grabbed his arm, turning and dropping my weight fast, letting the bone snap and the knife fell to the ground. He cried out and I managed to turn in time for my elbow to hit him hard in the face again, sending him stumbling back. I punched his left eye and he fell to the ground.
His friend ran up to help, taking a sloppy swing at me which I dodged easily but his second swing connected with my face, sending a blinding light exploding behind my eyes. I stumbled back but recovered quickly. I took a swing, waited for him to dodge it and struck hard with my left hand in his gut, making him double over. Before I could hit him again, the bigger guy recovered, grabbing me from behind. He turned me around and swung. I grabbed hold of his arm, flipping him over my shoulder and crashing into the first guy again, sending him flying to the ground and his head hitting a large rock half buried in the dirt.
The smaller guy didn’t get up but the larger one stumbled to his feet once more. I was running out of stamina and needed to end this quickly. As he plowed toward me, I kicked him directly in the breadbasket with a soft thud. A rush of air forced its way from his lips and he fell to the ground, gasping.
“Chris.” Caroline called out in a panic and I looked up. Three men charged down the trail from the direction we’d come from. I wanted to get these guys but I wanted to get Caroline out of there more.
I jumped over the skinnier guy, unconscious on the ground and grabbed Caroline’s hand, dragging her down the path. A bullet whizzed past my ear and I pushed us to go faster. We rounded one bend then another, jumping over roots and rocks.
“Who are these guys?” Caroline panted as we ran faster.
“My guess is some thugs working for whoever hacked into the server’s files.” We finally reached the end of the trail that opened up into the main part of the park.
We slowed our pace just slightly, dodging couples out for a walk and parents strolling their babies. I glanced back across the park. Two of the men stalked quickly toward us with their guns hidden. At least out in the park, we didn’t have to worry about their guns. They wanted to keep a low profile. We jogged to the parking lot and jumped in the car.
I spun out of the parking lot and raced down the road, my car’s engine roaring as it switched gears. I glanced behind me as a SUV zig-zagged through traffic at a furious pace. My tires squealed as I took a turn to the left then back to the right at the next turn. I glanced back but didn’t see them.
I took a sharp turn, my backend fishtailing and Caroline gripped the armrest and braced herself against the window. “Chris, slow down.”
I didn’t listen, turning onto the long straight away that led back to Caroline’s house.
“Chris. Slow down. There’s no one behind us now.”
I glanced in my rearview. There was no one around. I finally slowed down when no one showed up behind us for several minutes but didn’t allow myself to relax even the smallest amount until we were safe behind the security gates of the Director’s property.
CHAPTER 14
Caroline
I laid on my bed, my feet softly kicking at the air while I turned the page on one of my favorite books. It was one of those stories I loved to revisit every so often—like visiting an old friend. As a teenager practically kept under lock and key by my overprotective father, reading was my way to escape. Reading and watching tons of movies.
Chris peeked his head into the room and I couldn’t help but smile.
“Hey, what do you have planned today?”
“Nothing really, just being lazy. Why?” Hope rose in my chest at the thought of spending time with Chris. He hadn’t wanted us to leave the house much since the attack at the park. I couldn’t blame him for that but it didn’t make it any easier.
“Your dad needs me to go in with him to the office for a few hours. He was going to leave O'Neill here with you since I’d be with him. I wanted to check what you had planned to give him the day’s agenda.”
“Oh,” I couldn’t hide my disappointment and Chris walked into the room and sat on the edge of my bed.
“You were hoping I was going to suggest us doing something together?”
“Maybe. Yeah, but I get it. You have things you have to do. I’m just going nuts here.”
“I could see about O'Neill taking you somewhere for a little while as long as it's somewhere secure.”
“No, it's fine. Really. I’ll just hang out here.”
“Okay. I’ll try not to be too long.” Chris smiled at me, glancing toward the door before sneaking a quick kiss. “I’ll see you soon.”
“Hurry back.” I smiled up at him, not returning to my book until well after he’d walked out of sight.
Two hours flew by while I was lost in my book before I realized I hadn’t heard a peep from O'Neill or even seen him for that matter. I slipped a bookmark into my book and hopped off the bed. I barely made it out of my room before a loud scream tore from my throat. A large shadowed figure caught my eye in the poorly lit hallway.
He whirled around, the light from my bedroom revealing his face.
O'Neill.
“Geez, you scared me to death.”
“Sorry, ma’am. Didn’t Andrews tell you I’d be guarding you today?” His warm Irish accent was subtle but somehow softened his intimidating presence.
“Yeah, he did.” I swallowed hard and leaned against the wall as I worked to calm my pounding heart. “I just didn’t expect you to be lurking outside my bedroom.”
“I was standing guard.”
“I don't think you have to stand at my bedroom door. Being in the house is good enough, don’t you think?”
“Seems too far away to me. I wouldn’t be able to respond quickly if something were to happen.”
“Okay,” If I thought Chris watching me was smothering, this guy was practically on top of me. “I was just going to grab some lunch.”
I walked down the stairs with my big towering shadow close on my heel.
“I’m going to make a sandwich. You want one?” I looked over my shoulder with my head stuck in the fridge as I pulled out the mayonnaise and a pack of turkey.
“No, thank you.” O'Neill stood near the doorway with his arms crossed looking every bit the part of bodyguard.
“You don’t eat while on the job?”
“No ma’am.”
“Why not? You have to get hungry.”
“I eat before work and after work or when the subject is secured.”
I glanced around the kitchen and motioned around me with my hand. “How much more secure could I get? We upped the security since the break in. I’m in a gated home with security manning the entrance and video cameras all along the outside. I’m sure if someone managed to get through all that, plus the locked front door, you’d have time to drop your sandwich before saving me.”
“I suppose.”
“So... sandwich?”
“Sure. Thank you.”
I smiled and went about making the sandwiches for us both. I was slicing the tomato when the knife slipped and nicked my middle finger.
“Ouch.”
“What? What’s wrong?” O'Neill ran over to me.
“I’m fine. It’s just a little cut. Why don’t you finish making the sandwiches? I’m going to clean this up.”
He looked hesitant to agree but my argument from earlier must have worked because he agreed and took my place at the counter. I went into the guest bathroom and pulled out the first aid kit. It didn’t take me long to get the cut cleaned and wrapped in a band aid. I was putting everything away when my cell rang.
“Hello?”
“
He cheated on me.” A sobbing voice blubbered through the receiver.
“Amanda? Who cheated on you?”
“Carl. The guy I hooked up with last month.”
“I didn’t realize you two were exclusive.”
“Yeah, we decided to not see other people three weeks ago. He couldn’t keep it in his pants for three weeks.”
“I didn’t realize.”
“You’ve been pretty busy lately.”
“I’m so sorry. What can I do?”
“It’s okay. You’ve been dealing with a lot of your own lately and I’m sorry to even call, it’s just...”
“You want to come over?”
“I don’t really feel like going out.”
“Why don’t I come over there then? I’ll bring junk food and we will binge watch comedies until you aren’t even thinking about that jerk anymore.”
“Really? Will your dad and Chris let you?”
“They aren’t here. I just have to convince their stand-in. And I can be very convincing when I set my mind to something.”
“Thanks, girl.” Her voice had finally calmed down and she let out a relieved sigh that help was on the way.
I walked into the kitchen with purpose. O'Neill was inhaling his sandwich. I suppose the guy had been starving but was too controlled to let it get in the way of his job.
“Once you’re done with that, I need to go to Amanda’s house.”
“What? The boss didn’t approve that.”
“I’ve been to Amanda’s a hundred times and he’s never had a problem with that. I’ve got a crisis I need to deal with.”
“Crisis? What’s wrong?” He spoke around a bite of his sandwich and it was the first time I could see how young he really was. He couldn’t have been much older than I was but his stern face held so much responsibility that it added ten years to his features.
“Chill. It’s nothing like that. Amanda’s having some guy trouble. She needs me.”
“Okay.” O'Neill stuffed the last bite of his sandwich in his mouth and wrapped mine in a napkin to take along.
“Okay? Really? No fighting over it?”
