“How many is that?” he asked.
Maggie glanced into her basket. “Four,” she said with a reverence generally used by chronic shoppers at a twice-yearly sale.
Ashley smiled at her daughter and fought against an unexplained urge to cry. Her eyes began to burn and her throat tightened. She blinked rapidly until her wayward feelings were under control.
Her weakened emotional state was easy to explain, she thought as she sat next to Jeff on the rear step of his house. Ever since she was twelve years old, she’d been fighting to keep her world together. First she’d had to deal with her sister’s death and the subsequent loss of her mother. Then she’d struggled to keep afloat in the foster home system. She’d managed to graduate from high school and start college, only to find herself in love with a charming loser who had no business being a husband let alone a father. Then she’d been a single mother, barely able to keep her world together.
For the past thirteen years, life had been one challenge after another. For the first time since the trouble all started, Ashley had a chance to relax and just breathe. Thanks to her job as Jeff’s housekeeper and the part-time accounting work she did, she actually had a savings account. She was current in her studies, every day her graduation from college was that much closer, Maggie was happy and healthy and they had a very impressive roof over their heads.
All because of Jeff.
Ashley glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. He’d dressed for church in a beautiful navy suit, but she happened to know that shortly after six that morning, he’d been outside in jeans and a sweatshirt, hiding Easter eggs. He’d concealed them just enough that Maggie wouldn’t think the Easter bunny had gone soft on her, yet she was finding every single one of the plastic eggs.
Last night Jeff had helped Ashley prepare the eggs, filling the hollow plastic with chocolates, stickers and gaudy Day-Glo rings. He was growing on her; he was growing on them both.
Ashley recognized the danger signs. It wasn’t just that Jeff made love to her every night with an attention to detail that left her breathless. Somehow the three of them had created rituals. Jeff and Maggie went grocery shopping twice a week. Fridays were movie-and-popcorn nights, complete with a rented Disney video and plenty of cuddling on the sofa. Jeff had watched Maggie two evenings before Ashley’s last set of midterms.
He always asked about both their days, listening intently as if the information were essential to world peace. Or maybe it was just essential to his own well-being. He talked about work, explaining he had a business trip to the Mediterranean late the following month, and kept her updated on the performance of the new recruits.
“Six!” Maggie hollered as she held up another plastic egg.
Jeff stood. “Well done, young lady. Most impressive. As I believe the quota for each child is six eggs per Easter bunny visit, you’ve found them all.”
“Really?” Maggie’s blue eyes glowed with pride. “Mommy, I found them all!”
“You are a very clever little girl,” Ashley said, holding out her arms to her daughter.
Maggie ran to her for a hug, then turned to Jeff and held up her free arm. The tall, dangerous man bent low and scooped the child into his arms. Ashley’s heart tightened in her chest. Both she and her daughter had it bad. Jeff no longer scared them, if he’d ever scared Maggie. He was kind and gentle and he paid attention. How was she supposed to resist him?
Jeff headed for the back door. Ashley rose and followed. He was so good with her daughter. How tragic that he couldn’t have children of his own. He would be the best kind of father. Nicole had been wrong to tell him he wasn’t human. Jeff Ritter was very much a man—as flawed and frail as the next. But he was also decent.
She stepped into the kitchen where Maggie and Jeff had already opened several of the plastic eggs to discover the goodies inside. Her daughter laughed with excitement over a bright orange ring in the shape of a daisy. She looked up at her mother and grinned.
“This is the bestest Easter ever. Can we go to church now, and then to Brenda’s where I can see Muffin again?”
Ashley nodded and held out her hand. “Let’s put on our Easter dresses and get all pretty for Uncle Jeff.”
Maggie clasped her hands together in front of her chest. “We have hats,” she said happily.
Jeff raised his eyebrows. Ashley smiled. “I know it’s silly, but it’s a tradition. New Easter hats.”
“I can’t wait to see them.”
His gaze met hers. Ashley’s heart squeezed a little tighter. In that moment she knew that she’d fallen for Jeff. Fallen hard and fast with no hope of walking away without being crushed.
“Why is everyone staring?” Ashley asked in a low voice as they walked through Brenda’s house in Bellevue.
Jeff had also noticed the interested looks they were receiving. He put his hand on the small of Ashley’s back. “It’s because you’re so lovely.”
She glanced up at him and laughed. “Yeah, right.”
He took in her dark, wavy hair, the hazel eyes that seemed to see down to his soul, the way her mouth turned up slightly at the corners. She wore a cream-colored dress with long sleeves. The heavy fabric outlined her curves, falling gracefully to her calves. Atop her head sat a small scrap of lace and fabric that could only be called a hat under the loosest of interpretations. She looked beautiful and elegant and he couldn’t believe they were here together.
“Maybe it’s you,” she murmured. “After all, you’re not so bad looking yourself.”
“I’m sure that’s it.”
She chuckled and took a glass of orange juice from a tray circulated by a tuxedo-clad waiter.
Brenda’s house was spacious. Her husband had joined Microsoft in the days when the computer firm was little more than a start-up. Their wealth was reflected in the elegant furniture and attractive artwork. But while Ashley admired the decorator touches, Jeff counted exits and planned escape routes. He knew there was no point, but old habits died hard.
“So tell me about this brunch,” Ashley said. “She goes all out.”
“It’s a yearly tradition.” He glanced around the crowded living room. “Most of the employees from the security company are here, along with a lot of people from her husband’s work. The rest are friends and family.”
“Do you come often?”
“No.”
He didn’t bother to tell her that this was the first time he’d attended. That combined with him showing up with a gorgeous woman and her daughter explained all the attention they attracted, but he wasn’t about to tell Ashley that, either. From what he could figure out, she thought of him as relatively normal. He didn’t want to do anything to change her opinion before circumstances did it for him.
“Well, well, fancy seeing you here.”
Jeff held in a groan. Fate hadn’t taken long to burst his bubble, he thought as he turned to greet his partner.
Zane Rankin stood with a young woman clinging to his arm. She was in her early twenties, with long blond hair and a chest so large, it threatened her ability to stay upright. Her scrap of a dress barely covered her from breasts to thighs.
Jeff turned and shook hands with his partner, then introduced Ashley. Zane’s date, Amee—“No y just a double e”—giggled.
“Zane says you’re really dangerous, like him. That you could kill someone with your bare hands.”
Jeff shot Zane a death look that was depressingly ineffective. “This isn’t the sort of place I can demonstrate that,” he said coldly.
“Oh.” The young woman glanced around at the crowd. “I guess not. It’s Easter. I guess we have to be nice to each other today, you know?” She cuddled against Zane. “Maybe you can tell me about it later.”
Zane leaned close her to ear. “Honey, I’ll give you a personal tour of the vulnerable areas.”
Amee giggled again. She disentangled her arm and touched Ashley’s hand. “I have to go to the little girl’s room. Want to come?”
Ashley shot Jef
f a helpless look before following the other woman out of the living room. Jeff glared at his partner.
“Just once I’d like to see you with a woman whose IQ was slightly larger than her chest.”
Zane grinned. “My normal response to that would be to say that I’d like to see you with a woman. But you’re with one. I’m surprised, Jeff. And impressed. What you lack in quantity, you make up for in quality.”
“Thank you.”
Maggie raced toward him, a moplike ball of fur tagging along. “Uncle Jeff, Brenda said I can brush Muffin and we’re going to watch a movie together.”
She raised her arms as she approached and he automatically swept her up against his chest. Muffin raised herself up on her back feet, her front paws scrambling against his legs as if she, too, wanted to be picked up.
Zane raised his dark eyebrows. “Uncle Jeff, why don’t you introduce me to this lovely young woman?”
Jeff would rather have left the brunch. Too many people were watching him, talking about the shock of seeing him with a child. He knew they were right, that he had no business being with an innocent like Maggie. But for reasons that weren’t clear to him, the little girl wasn’t afraid. He hoped he didn’t do anything to change that.
“This is Maggie,” he said. “Ashley’s daughter. Maggie, this is Zane Rankin. I work with him.”
Maggie’s blue eyes widened. “Uncle Jeff is very important. He keeps bad men away. Do you do that, too?”
“Sure,” Zane said easily. “But Uncle Jeff is the best.”
Maggie snuggled close to him. “I know.” She pressed her tiny rosebud mouth against his cheek, then motioned for him to put her down. “Muffin really wants to see the movie,” she explained, gave him a quick wave, then disappeared into the crowd.
As soon as they were alone, Zane’s gaze turned speculative. “I hadn’t realized you and the kid were so close.”
Jeff shrugged. “She’s pretty easy to like.”
What he didn’t say was that Maggie terrified him. He didn’t want to do anything to hurt her and the knowledge that he could was just one more thing that kept him up nights.
Zane looked as if he wanted to say something else, but then he stepped back. “The ladies have returned.”
Jeff turned and saw Ashley and Amee approaching. Zane was watching them, as well, but Jeff noticed his friend was paying as much attention to Ashley as to his own date.
Something hot flared to life inside of his chest. It took him a moment to recognize the bitter heat of jealousy. No way, he told himself. Jealous of Zane? Ashley hadn’t looked twice at the man. Besides, Zane would never try anything. Ashley wasn’t his type. But despite the logic, the feeling remained, making him uncomfortably aware of being out of his element.
He wasn’t prepared to be a part of society’s mainstream, he reminded himself. The cries of the dead were never quiet and he would do well to remember that.
“Amee was telling me the most interesting things about your business,” Ashley said as she stepped close to him. “Did you and Zane really single-handedly save the British royal family from certain death?”
Jeff shot Zane a questioning look. His partner grinned. “Okay, so I might have exaggerated the story a little.”
Ashley moved close to Jeff. “How much? I want to hear the part where you threw yourself on the queen to save her from a flying bullet.”
Amee beamed. “Aren’t they just the bravest men? Zane has over a dozen scars. You should see them.”
“Maybe another time,” Ashley murmured.
Jeff looked into her eyes and saw the humor lurking there. “There was no incident involving the royal family,” he said softly into her ear. “They have their own security.”
“I figured as much, but Amee was so proud.”
They watched as the blond bombshell ran her manicured fingers up Zane’s arm. “Zane’s offered to show me what he does,” the young woman said, “but I’d be too frightened.”
“You mean, take you on an assignment?” Ashley asked, sounding doubtful.
“No. They have an executive training course in a couple of weeks.” Amee sighed. “But it’s just too scary for me.”
Zane winked at Ashley. “Maybe you’d like to go. It’s just for a weekend. You could check out what it is Jeff does with his day.”
Jeff hesitated. His first instinct was to change the subject. No way did he want Ashley to see what he did in his world. She would be terrified. Which meant it probably wasn’t a bad idea. Her being scared would be the safest way to end the relationship before he did something stupid and hurt her. Her current view of him wasn’t based in reality. The weekend away would change that.
“I’m intrigued,” Ashley admitted. “What happens during the training weekend?”
Zane shrugged. “It’s no big deal. A dozen or so executives join us in the mountains. We have a special resort we use. It’s rustic, but not unpleasantly so. We teach them some basics about staying safe, how to recognize a terrorist threat, that sort of thing.”
“Why do I think it’s slightly more complicated than that?” Ashley asked.
“You’d be perfectly safe,” Jeff assured her. “If you’re interested, I’m sure Brenda would be willing to baby-sit.”
She stared at him. “Do you want me go?”
No, he didn’t. But he also knew it was important that she saw a piece of his reality. Being around her was changing him, and not for the better. He was getting weaker, softer. If she saw the truth, she would back off.
“I think you’d find it interesting,” he said. “There’s nothing dangerous for the participants. It’s not survival training.”
“Are there bugs?”
He grinned. “Just little ones. You could take them.”
“Okay. Sounds like fun. If Brenda doesn’t mind watching Maggie, I’ll go.”
“Great.” Zane gave her a thumbs-up. “I’ll arrange everything.”
Just then Brenda announced that brunch was being served in the main dining room. Jeff put his hand on the small of Ashley’s back and ushered her toward the doorway. Amee said something about shoes and the subject was changed. But he couldn’t stop thinking about the weekend retreat, two short weeks away. Nothing would be the same at the end of those forty-eight hours. He wasn’t sure if his friend had done him a favor or just sent him a one-way ticket to hell.
Chapter Twelve
The site of the executive security camp was a lodge on the east side of the Cascade Mountains. As always, the weather was better than on the Seattle side. Ashley stepped into sunshine as she exited Jeff’s BMW.
“Now here’s something I haven’t seen in a while,” she joked as she raised her face to the warm rays.
The past few weeks had been typical for spring in Seattle. Plenty of cool days and lots of rain. The weather people kept hinting at sunshine but then changing the forecast.
Her feet crunched on the gravel parking lot as she moved to the rear of Jeff’s car and waited for him to open the trunk. She glanced at the cars around them. “Lexus, Jaguars, Mercedes and…” she counted “three limos. So, Jeff, tell me about these clients of yours.”
He pulled her shabby suitcase from the cavernous truck. His own bag was soft, black leather. It was so smooth to the touch, she wouldn’t mind a coat in the same material.
“Executives,” he said. “I told you that.”
“Yeah, but I was thinking about my local bank branch manager. These people are way different.”
He grinned. “I think one of our participants might own your bank. That counts.”
“Oh, sure. We can have a detailed conversation about the way the ATMs seem to always go out at five o’clock on Fridays.”
She looked at the lodge, noticing for the first time that it seemed much more elegant than rustic. She returned her attention to Jeff and realized he was dressed in one of his tailored suits. Why did she suddenly have a bad feeling that she was completely out of her element?
“Jeff, maybe I don’
t belong here.”
He set his bag on the ground, then draped an arm around her. “Don’t be nervous. You have as much right to be here as anyone else. They’re all going to feel just as awkward because they’re all out of place. This is combat, not the board room. My staff and I make sure everyone attending is clear on who are the experts.”
She leaned into him, inhaling the familiar scent of his body. “Like that’s making me feel better.” She felt his mouth brush against the top of her head. Which did ease some of her tension. “So why are you in a suit?” she asked. “You told me to dress casual.”
He had, in fact, insisted on jeans, sweatshirts and boots or athletic shoes. The sky might be a whole lot clearer on this side of the mountain, but the air temperature wasn’t much warmer.
“I have to impress the clients during the introductory session. If I dress like them, they’ll relax.”
“So later you’ll show up in your soldier’s clothes?”
“I promise.”
She glanced up at him and grinned. “Can I swoon?”
“Do you want to?”
“With every breath I take.”
“Liar,” he murmured, then kissed her briefly before releasing her and grabbing her suitcase as well as his own.
She followed him into the lodge.
The main room was huge, both wide and tall, soaring up three stories. On the far wall was a fireplace large enough to host a committee meeting. There was plenty of wood and trophy heads mounted on the wall. The reception desk stretched for about fifty feet. It was midafternoon on a Friday and the place should have been crowded. Instead she saw only one other guest. Jeff had told her they rented the entire place even though their client list was kept at less than twenty-five. She couldn’t imagine what the executives were spending on the three-day course. Although if the information kept them alive, how could they put a price on the weekend?
This was Jeff’s world and she was about to get an inside view of it. She couldn’t decide if that was good or bad. Maybe—
Jeff stopped just short of the reception desk and turned to her. “What did you want to do about a room?” he asked.
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