by Sheila Kell
“But—”
“No buts. Listen, there’s a lot you don’t know about me, but protecting people is what I do for a living. I will protect you, Caitlyn.” There had to be quite a bit he didn’t know about her either, and he looked forward to the road trip to catch up on what she’d been doing all this time. Admittedly, it was opportunistic, but he needed all the help he could get.
She narrowed her eyes but didn’t get a chance to speak.
“Oh my God, Caitlyn,” a blonde woman said from the doorway.
Hell, he’d been so focused on Caitlyn he hadn’t noticed the woman slip up and eavesdrop on their conversation. This was bad. Very bad.
“If what he says is true, you’ve got to take his protection.”
That was better but interesting. It sounded like the woman knew about Caitlyn’s past. She must be close to her.
“And you are?” he asked calmly while his insides screamed at her for needing to be more careful than to sneak up on someone. He could’ve perceived her as a threat and subdued her.
The woman took a hesitant step back, and he wondered if he’d put on deodorant that morning, since both she and Caitlyn were keeping their distances.
Caitlyn answered for the woman he’d just made fear him. “That’s Tonya Beck. She works here.”
He swung his gaze back to Caitlyn, keeping Tonya in his periphery. “She obviously has some sense.”
In an instant, Caitlyn’s hands made it to her hips and her nostrils flared. Oh, he loved an arguing Caitlyn. While he hadn’t wanted to argue with her, he’d hoped to get a sight of her in this mode at some point. “Are you saying I don’t have any sense? I said I’d get protection. Is it wrong if it’s not you?”
He wouldn’t get roped into some stupid argument with her that he’d never win because, face it, men never really did. “All I’m saying is she understands the importance of my being close.” Refusing to allow her to counter, he continued, “How long before you want to go? I filled the gas tank on my rental, so it’s ready. Your dad will be released later today.” Then to really throw her off balance, or at least he hoped, he walked toward Tonya and thrust out his hand. “Matt Hamilton.” He added, “Old friend of the family.” He had no idea what type of secrets Caitlyn may have shared with this woman, so he wouldn’t call himself an ex-fiancé or the loser who had been drinking with his friends instead of taking care of his woman. Both descriptions fit.
Tonya smiled. “It’s nice to meet you, Matt. I’m, well, like Caitlyn said, Tonya Beck. I sure am glad you’re here if someone is after Caitlyn.” Her eyes widened. “Do you think he’d come here? Should we get guards or something? Bodyguards?” She looked him up and down in a hungry gaze. She turned to Caitlyn. “Like him?” she asked hopefully.
Glancing over his shoulder at Caitlyn, who’d moved away when he’d approached Tonya, he noticed her slide behind the desk and plop into her desk chair. With her head hung low, she looked defeated. He couldn’t tell if it was the situation itself or his offering to help. Hell, he didn’t offer. He did what Hamilton men were apt to do—he dictated.
“Why don’t you let me talk this over with Caitlyn, and we’ll go from there? Right now, I believe you’re safe, because he doesn’t know where she’s located.”
Nodding her agreement, Tonya left as quietly as when she’d entered. He’d have to keep his eye out for her. She might sneak up and scare the shit out of him without even trying.
Caitlyn plopped her elbows on her desk and dropped her head in her hands. “I can’t believe it,” she murmured.
He moved to one of the two armchairs facing the desk and sat, waiting for it all to sink in. There had been a time when if she’d had devastating news, she’d rushed into his arms and held on tightly until she sorted out her headspace. How he wished it could be that way now.
Still not keen on her going to her father, he silently hoped she’d do the smart thing and remain here where he knew her to be safe. No, he’d never push her not to see her father. Hell, he’d have been on the first plane out had it been his father—danger be damned.
Which is why he was here. She’d go, and he’d be with her, no matter what she wanted. He wouldn’t push if she’d actually been afraid of him, but she wasn’t afraid. What was she?
Angry?
Disappointed?
Repulsed?
It was too hard to figure out, but luckily fear hadn’t been an emotion she’d shown him, except when he’d slammed his hands down. He could avoid that or anything like it. It stood to reason she’d have some reservations about a man who displayed a temper and violent tendencies. Luckily, that didn’t fit him. Normally. Working this case just might flip some of his good intentions though.
“Is he really okay?” she asked with her head still resting in her hands, so he couldn’t read her emotions.
He leaned forward in the chair and rested his forearms on his jean-clad thighs. “Yes, he’ll be okay. He’s going to need a bit of time to recover, but he said his sister would help him.”
“Aunt Liz?”
“That’s what he said.”
“And you’re sure it’s that monster’s brother, and he’s after me.”
He wasn’t sure if she meant that as the statement or as a question. He thought it best to be honest. “That’s right.”
She looked up. “I’m still going to see my dad.”
He decided not to mince words. “We figured you would.”
“What did you mean you had a team there? What kind of team?”
Finally, they could talk this out. “My brothers and I opened HIS—Hamilton Investigation and Security.” He sat up straight. “It’s a group of men and women with military or law enforcement backgrounds who do whatever it takes to get the job done. As for jobs, we do just about anything—kidnapping cases, hostage rescue, embezzlement, personal protection, and more—for the government or civilian world. Anyhow, I have a team of five at Adam’s house watching out for Luke Ripley in case he returns. They’re actually at the hospital now, but they’ll be at the house when he’s released. Plus, we wanted protection in place for when you visited.”
She nodded, almost as if in a trance, and that bothered him. It twisted up his gut. “Okay. That’s good.”
What part was actually good? Since he wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer to that, he decided not to ask and plowed ahead. “After you visit, a team will come here with you. We’ll do everything we can to make sure we aren’t followed back to your home.”
“What about my dad? He won’t have protection. I’d rather he have it than me.”
God, he loved this woman—still. Of course she’d put someone else above herself. “Before we return, there’ll be a second team, so both you and Adam are covered.”
“Okay. So, I ride down with you and back with this team,” she stated, even though it was clearly a question.
He wanted to chuckle but kept it inside. He saw what she was doing, and it wouldn’t fly. “No. You ride down with me and back up with me.”
Shaking her head, she said, “But the team will be fine. I mean, I’m not sure yet how I’ll pay for it, but we’ll make it work. But you don’t need to spend your time driving me. I’m sure you have better things to do.”
Better than being around her? Not likely. “You’re not paying a dime for the protection, so I don’t want to hear about it.” He almost blurted out that, even with all the years apart, she was too important to him to even negotiate protection. “This is something we’re doing for Adam’s sake.”
“But all of those men will need to be paid. There’s no telling how long they’ll have to stay.” Then, as if an afterthought, she asked, “How long will they stay?”
“Until Ripley’s caught. As for the men, they want him as badly as I do, so they’ll do anything to capture him. And that means protecting you, because we fear that the man will find a way to you, Caitlyn, which is also why you aren’t getting rid of me.” He continued his mini-rant by shoving his foot in his mouth
. “I may not have been there before, but I’ll be damned if I’ll let another asshole near you again.” His voice was tainted with anger, something he rarely allowed to escape.
He froze. Holy shit. He’d thrown it down on the table. He hadn’t meant to bring up the incident at all or the part he’d unknowingly played. But part of him needed to let her know he’d be there, no matter what.
She sat back in her chair and sat ramrod straight, her face ashen.
Christ. Look what he’d done. He’d brought those horrible memories to light. Now she’d fight him again.
Surprising him, she stood. “I need to pack and talk to my staff. I’ll be ready to leave in an hour.” Then she walked around the desk and out the door without looking back at him.
It wasn’t forgiveness, but she also didn’t turn him away. He’d take every win he could get.
WHY WAS HER world spinning out of control? She’d worked hard to put it back together after the horrific incident in her life, and she’d succeeded. Sure, she’d been lonely, but other than that, everything had been merry. She’d had her friends, her dogs, and a life she enjoyed beyond all measure.
Now her foundation needed money, her dad was hurt, a man was supposedly after her, and her ex-fiancé was at her door. She fisted her hands to her side. She had to control something. Something had to be going well. Her dogs were her first positive thought.
Thank God the dogs were safe. The organization currently had sixteen of them—labs and golden retrievers—on the premises, each at various stages of training, plus the four in foster care. Would the dogs and her employees be safe? They had to be. She couldn’t accept putting their lives in jeopardy.
Remembering what Matt had said, she breathed a sigh of relief. Security would come back with her. Surely they’d be protecting the entire area, not just her and the small house she lived in on the property. The dogs were housed in an old converted barn with concrete floors and large kennels that were inside and had an outside run for the dogs. The area they were given to play outside was fenced so they couldn’t get lost or any predators make their way in.
Walking into her bedroom to pack, her mind flitted back to the dark-haired man sitting in her office. Or was he still there? Maybe he’d followed her into her home. How frickin’ observant was she? While she hated the idea, having a bodyguard might not be a bad thing. But it didn’t have to be Matt Hamilton, did it?
As a woman on a mission seven and a half years ago, she’d taken self-defense classes, lots of them, because she’d wanted to know everything she could about protecting herself. Working hard, she’d vowed to never be a victim again.
Hearing the sucking noise of the seal on her refrigerator door as it was being opened, she figured Matt had followed her back to her house and made himself at home. Tonya and Rick would’ve knocked before they entered, out of courtesy, something Matt seemed to lack.
“I may not have been there before, but I’ll be damned if I’ll let another asshole near you again.”
Thinking of his words was like a sucker punch to her stomach. It flooded her with a myriad of emotions—both positive and negative. She tried not to remember that evening, and therefore Matt’s unwitting role in it.
Forgiveness, she reminded herself. She had to issue forgiveness. He hadn’t planned on being late. He hadn’t asked her to wait near the dark alley. As much as she blamed him in the beginning, she knew it wasn’t his fault. She’d learned from tons of counseling that it wasn’t her fault either. While she could’ve stood elsewhere, she’d waited in that same spot plenty of times waiting for Matt and had never had an issue.
A weary sigh escaped her. She’d been wrong to send him away after the rape had occurred, blaming him and lashing out like she had. Especially at a time when she’d needed him the most. And what had she done? Drove him away. She’d thought it was for good and that had broken her heart. But her life had changed, albeit not her broken heart. Unfortunately, she didn’t know how she felt about his finding her and pretty much telling her he’d be her shadow. Being honest, if she had to have a man follow her that closely, she was glad it was Matt. But how to tell him that without giving him any signals that she wanted more. Because she didn’t want more. Did she?
God, she was so damn confused. She had no idea why she was thinking about Matt like that. Hell, he could be married for all she knew. Caitlyn thought back, trying to remember if she’d seen a wedding ring. Nausea sat heavily in her stomach at the possibility before she fought hard to shake it away and concentrate on packing.
Retrieving an overnight suitcase from her closet, she proceeded to pull clothes out to pack for her short trip. She wouldn’t need anything fancy to see her dad, so that made the packing ordeal short and sweet. Jeans, shorts, blouses, underclothes, pajamas, and socks were tossed in haphazardly among toiletries she’d snatched from her bathroom. She wanted to get on the road. Her dad wouldn’t care if her shirts were wrinkled.
She wheeled her suitcase into the living room where Matt waited patiently on the couch. “I’m packed.” She dropped the handle of the suitcase. “I just need to speak with Rick and Tonya so they know I’m going and what to do while I’m gone.”
In one fluid motion, he stood to his full height of six foot two inches. His eyes twinkled at her. “Okay. Let’s get moving. How well do you trust them?”
“They’re in the training center”—she pointed to the converted barn where he’d met her in her office—“and I trust them completely.” She didn’t mention that they knew everything about her. Well, except that she’d been engaged to Matt. But she’d shared that she’d once been raped, explaining to them why she didn’t wish to be alone with an unknown male. They didn’t get many visitors, but when they did, one of the two always provided her the feeling of security by accompanying her. Until Matt. They’d left her alone with him. Curious.
They walked into the training center, and she immediately went to her office first and then hesitated before she grabbed her laptop to take with her. Her focus would be on her dad and his recovery, but maybe she’d get some work done when he slept.
Sliding the laptop into the carry bag, she walked out into the break room and encountered Rick and immediately asked him to find Tonya. Tonya already knew most of what had happened, but Caitlyn wanted the three of them together before she explained everything. After Rick returned with Tonya, and with Matt hovering in the background, she described to them what she knew had occurred.
“I want you to be careful while I’m gone. This man doesn’t know where I am, but I don’t want you to take any chances.”
“We won’t,” Tonya agreed.
“We’ll hold down the fort here,” Rick stated. “You take care of your dad.”
“While I’m gone, you can start the plans for the fundraiser. Rick, please help Tonya however you can.”
“Speaking of fundraising, a Tate Hart called this morning about making a significant contribution.” Rick shrugged. “His words, not mine. Anyway, he wants to see the facility first and meet you to ask some questions.”
God, she could use the infusion of significant cash in the next few months. Although what one person called significant, another might call a pittance. “We’ll set up the standard tour and meeting when I return.” Thankfully, at Tonya’s insistence, she’d already put together a dog-and-pony show for prospective donors who showed up unannounced. It ensured what they wanted a potential donor to see, was shown. Not that they had many who visited the site. Most relied upon the website, literature Tonya had created, and word of mouth.
She needed more word of mouth. Then again, what organization didn’t?
“Speaking of showing potential donors around, if you have a second before you go, I have an idea,” Tonya said a bit hesitantly.
Caitlyn wanted to rush for the door and make Matt floor the car, but she knew she needed to give her staff a moment before she just rushed off, leaving them with a story of danger that might come to the door. Her dad was safe and in the hospital. Matt
would get her there in plenty of time once her dad was released and at home, so she could take this moment—a brief one.
Actually curious about Tonya’s idea, Caitlyn raised an eyebrow in expectation.
“What if we have the fundraiser here? In the training facility.” She held her hand up to ward off Caitlyn’s words. “I can have this place transformed for about thirty guests. We keep the main training area open, and the dog pens are back against the wall. We can show them some of the moves of our best trained dogs. We could even coincide it with a graduation so the veterans can participate if they’d like.”
If the transformation could happen, that would be a brilliant idea. If potential donors saw the dogs and what they could do, those in attendance would surely want to help Caitlyn make it a larger operation. She already had volunteers in mind that she’d like to hire on a full-time basis, give them the formal dog trainer training, and set them free with Tonya and Rick.
“I think it’s a great idea. It’d be a smaller fundraiser than I’d pictured, but if we invite the right people….” She trailed off, thinking about the best donors and potential donors to invite. Her mind whirled with the possibilities now that Tonya had planted the seed. She probably knew that would happen, considering how well she knew Caitlyn. “We could showcase Bella and Cooper.”
“I’m sorry to interrupt,” Matt said, pushing off the wall, “but if we’re going to make good time before it gets dark, we’d best leave.”
Christ, she’d let the conversation go on too long. Matt’s words were her slap to reality and her injured dad. She liked this idea and knew Tonya could run with it without her. She needed to leave and care for her waiting dad.
“You’re right.” Smiling, she turned back to her employees. “I’ll be back in a few days. Until then, stay safe.” She stood and approached Matt who led her to the front door. Once outside, he took her suitcase, and her breath hitched when their hands slightly brushed each other. She had so many incredible memories of the two of them together that had never left her, but that touch had brought them all flooding into the forefront of her mind.
