Keeping Her Safe

by Myrna Mackenzie

  Vincent had secrets, ones he wouldn’t share with her, and it was more than just the reporter in her who wanted to know those secrets, to understand this man. It was also the woman. That was a dangerous thought. So instead of asking questions or standing on her toes and kissing Vincent, she hugged the package close. “I’ll just get changed,” she said, and she rushed back to her room.

  When she came out, she looked like a skinny boy in loose clothing. “Well?” she asked.

  Vincent grinned. “All right, nice disguise. Now let’s go find some hills.”

  Natalie shook her head in confusion, but she understood when she stepped outside and saw two bicycles sitting next to a tree. Derek Seefer sat in his car on the street.

  “Sorry,” Vincent told her. “You’re too exposed on a bike for me to feel that I’m covering your back as well as I should. Derek will leave some distance, but I don’t want anyone to think they can slip up on us.”

  Vincent’s gray eyes were so filled with concern that Natalie couldn’t help herself. She stepped forward, rose on her toes and kissed his cheek. His beard was rough beneath her lips, his skin warm. He went rigid at her touch, and she wanted nothing more than to step closer, but she didn’t dare.

  “It doesn’t matter,” she whispered, before she stepped back. “What matters is that you and I are going to ride bikes! And I’m going to fly down a hill,” she said with a grin.

  Then she turned toward Derek’s car, waved and blew a kiss. “I hope you can follow me,” she called out.

  But she never knew whether Derek followed or not, because all she was aware of was Vincent behind her as she hopped on the bike and rode. When she swerved, he swerved. If she turned a corner, he was right on her wheel. If she climbed a hill, he kept right up with her. And when she flew down an even bigger hill, she hit a small rock, losing control of her bike, he flew right after her and was off his bike and at her side almost before she had time to get herself untangled from her bicycle.

  She sat up on her elbows.

  “Lie down,” he ordered her.

  She started to protest. He gave her a look that promised instant death if she didn’t obey.

  “I’m fine,” she told him.

  “Maybe. Let me make that determination,” he told her. “For once, Natalie, could you please follow an order?”

  He scrubbed his hand back through his hair, and because he sounded so exasperated and worried and because he had given her this gift, she did as he said and lay back on the ground.

  Vincent’s hands roamed gently down her arms, down her sides, his touch firm and warm.

  She sucked in her breath as heat sizzled through her.

  “Does that hurt?” he asked.

  “No,” she gasped out.

  He stopped touching her and stared at her. “Don’t lie to me, Natalie.”

  She shook her head from side to side. “I’m not. It doesn’t hurt at all.”

  Vincent stared at her for a minute and he continued running his hands down her legs. She held her breath.

  “Natalie?”

  This time, she glared at him. “Vincent, imagine you trying to lie perfectly still while an attractive woman ran her hands over you. I’m not hurt. I’m…”

  He gave her a slow grin. “Burning?” he suggested.

  She glared. “I’m mildly intrigued by you.”

  He gave a whoop.

  She sat up and started to struggle to her knees.

  His hands clamped down on her arms.

  “Let me up.”

  “I will, but first I want you to promise me you’re really okay and that you’re telling me the truth.”

  She looked up into his eyes then, nearly losing herself in those serious gray depths. “I’m really fine,” she told him. “I’m just a little embarrassed. A lot embarrassed. I fell off my bike. I admitted to liking your touch. I let you tell me to lie down.”

  He might have grinned again, and she wouldn’t have blamed him. He definitely had the upper edge. Instead, he shook his head slowly. He lifted one hand and ran his thumb over her lips. “You were magnificent,” he told her. “So alive on that bicycle. People who never ride down hills never fall, but they never fly, either. And if you think I’m going to gloat over you admitting to liking my touch when I’m fighting to keep my hands off you every minute of every day…well, I’m not gloating, Natalie. I’m the one burning. You’ve got nothing to be embarrassed about. And by the way…”

  “Yes?” She waited.

  “Thank you for agreeing to lie down while I made sure you were all right. I half expected you to run. If I had been the cause of you hurting yourself, I wouldn’t have forgiven myself.”

  “You’re welcome,” she said as he helped her to her feet. “What do you think Derek thought of all this?”

  “He probably thought he should start looking for a new boss. If he ever let a client do this, I’d probably fire his butt.”

  She touched his arm. “Maybe you’re good at what you do because you’re responsive to the needs of your clients.”

  “My clients need to stay alive.”

  “There’s more to being alive than just being free from danger.” She gazed up at him, and his fierce expression held her enthralled. She couldn’t even think of looking away, even though she was playing with something more explosive than dynamite could ever be. This was not a man to toy with, and she was not a woman who could ever get involved with a man like him, no matter how much he made her long for dark nights, a soft bed and the weight of his body against hers.

  She gave herself a slight shake, trying to rid herself of the feelings coursing through her.

  “Thank you for giving me this day. I needed it,” she whispered. “I needed a few hours of feeling like a normal person again, like the woman I was before I saw Jason Jamison kill that woman.”

  She forced herself to throw the darkness back into the conversation, and it finally accomplished what nothing else could. It broke the erotic spell that bound her to Vincent.

  He took a deep breath. “You’ll understand, though, if we pitch the bikes and ride back with Derek?”

  She nodded. “I’ve had my recess. Life awaits.”

  But she couldn’t help wondering what kind of a life she would have when this was all over. And she wondered what a life without Vincent around would be like. Would she miss him?

  “Idiot,” she told herself later. Of course she wouldn’t miss the damned infuriating, bossy man.

  But she was a reporter, and she knew a lie when she heard one. She wanted the threatening notes to stop, she wanted her life to be the way it had been. But she couldn’t kid herself that life would really be the same as it had been before. It would be a long time before she forgot Vincent Fortune. He had changed her, and she would spend a long time recovering.

  The Fortune men certainly had a way of changing a woman’s life, Lily couldn’t help thinking as she, Ryan and Linda Faraday rode over to the Armstrongs’ house to visit Ricky the next day.

  She could barely remember her life before Ryan. He filled her world. And Linda?

  Lily took a deep breath. The woman’s experience with Cameron Fortune had deprived her of ten years of her life! Lily wondered if Linda hated Cameron or if the fact that he had given her a son would ever make up for any of what he had done.

  She hoped this day with Ricky went well. Linda’s face looked pinched and drawn. Sitting in the back seat of the car with Linda, Lily reached over and patted the other woman’s hand.

  “He’s a little boy,” she whispered.

  Linda turned, distress on her face. “I don’t know him. He doesn’t know me. We don’t…fit.”

  Lily’s eyes met her husband’s concerned gaze in the rear-view mirror. Love filled her heart. Ryan worried about her. And he trusted her. That was why he had asked her to help with Linda. That meant everything to her.

  She turned back to Linda. “This won’t be a long visit,” she said soothingly. “I just want to meet him.”

 
Lily couldn’t blame Linda for being distressed. Developing a relationship with her son after ten years was going to be difficult. Linda was clutching her book more tightly than ever.

  Lily patted the younger woman’s other hand and was surprised when Linda clasped Lily’s tightly for a second.

  When they pulled up to the house and the Armstrongs came out with Ricky beside them, Lily couldn’t help smiling at him. He looked so serious, his blond hair sticking up in one spot. “What a fine young man you are,” she said. “I’m Lily.”

  He eyed her warily, his eyes darting to his mother for a second, then quickly moving away. He mumbled a quick hello.

  “Well, this is going to be a bit awkward,” Lily confided. “Most first meetings are, but that’s okay. We’ll just talk about some stuff and the next time we all meet, it will be easier. Okay?”

  Ricky gave a stiff nod.

  Lily smiled. “All right. Let’s start with the basic stuff so we can get to know you. Do you like sports?”

  He blinked, then shrugged, his body still tense. “Some.”

  “To watch or to play?”

  “Both. I race at school.”

  Lily gave him a regal nod of approval. “I always loved to run when I was young. I’ll bet you’re fast.”

  He studied her with those solemn eyes. “I’m not too bad.”

  She grinned at him. “Not too bad is good. Is it all right if we stay outside for a bit?” she asked Nancy Armstrong.

  “As long as you like,” Nancy said with a smile. “I’ll see all of you later.” Then she retreated back into the house.

  “It’s a perfect day for being outside,” Lily declared, smiling at Ricky and Linda, even though neither of them were smiling or talking. She sat down on the stoop, and Linda made a small noise.

  “Your dress,” Linda said, her eyes suddenly intensely worried and darting from side to side. But Lily just shook her head.

  “Dresses can be cleaned. You two come sit here beside me. We’ve got lots of sunshine today. Let’s share it. Come on. I don’t want to sit here alone.”

  She didn’t suggest that they sit next to each other. It was clear that they both were uncomfortable being around each other. What they needed was a mediator, a friend.

  Lily looked up at her husband. He was smiling at her, and he mouthed the words I love you to her. Lily’s heart soared. It was amazing how that man could still make her feel like a young girl after all these years.

  Linda gazed at her son, her eyes bleak, as if she wasn’t sure what to make of him. She glanced back toward the house where Nancy had gone. It was clear that Linda felt like an outsider, but after a moment she sat down.

  Ricky sat down on Lily’s other side, and she could feel the tension in his thin little body. Both Linda and Ricky looked at her as if she were their lifeline in this trying moment.

  “Let’s just enjoy the lovely weather today, shall we, all of us? Tell us some things, Ricky. Like what do you think the best name would be for a pet hamster?”

  He gave her a sideways look. “You have a hamster?”

  Lily laughed. “No, but who knows? I might have one someday. A woman needs to be ready.”

  Ricky studied her with some confusion. “You’re just saying that. You’re not going to get a hamster.”

  She lifted her shoulders in good-natured defeat. “You’re probably right. You don’t have to answer. You don’t even have to talk if you don’t want to.”

  He shrugged. “Okay, then.” He sat in silence for a few minutes.

  “If you ever did get a hamster, I could think of a name then,” he suddenly said.

  “We’ll wait, then,” Lily said. She nodded at him, and he seemed to relax a little, just sitting there with her and his mother as the lemony sunshine poured down on them. And after a few minutes when nothing much had happened, Linda sagged a bit herself, as if she’d been holding her breath until then.

  The conversation never really did get started. Somewhere along the way, Linda looked at her son when he wasn’t looking at her. There was no longing in her eyes. She watched him as if she didn’t know what to make of him.

  Lily quietly asked Ricky questions about school. She let Linda sit in the sun, but patted her hand now and then, and Linda seemed to be fine with the human contact, but she never let go of her blue notebook.

  When everyone finally had said their goodbyes and Ryan and Lily had dropped Linda off and returned home, he put his hands on Lily’s shoulder and kissed her.

  “You’re a good woman, Lily, my love,” he told her.

  “It’s sad,” she said. “They’ve been robbed of so much.”

  “It’s going to take time,” he agreed.

  “More than time,” she said, shaking her head. “Thank you for taking me to meet them. I’m sorry I doubted you. I didn’t understand then but I do now. If the newspapers got hold of their story…it just wouldn’t do.” She leaned against him and was grateful when his arms closed around her.

  Lily closed her eyes and gave a little prayer of thanks for having Ryan. Her life was so blessed while others had experienced such tragedy. She really was a very lucky woman.

  Thirteen

  Vincent was walking Natalie to the car outside work two nights later when she wheeled and headed back toward the door. “I forgot my notes on the Peacock Festival story,” she called back, running for the door and fumbling for her keys. “I won’t be more than a minute.”

  He turned to follow and saw a figure standing half-hidden behind some bushes not twenty feet from Natalie. The darkness obscured the man’s face, but it was obvious that he had spotted Vincent. The man turned and ran, knocking over a garbage can.

  “Freeze, you piece of scum,” Vincent yelled, barreling toward the man. The guy picked up speed, racing toward the center of town.

  He ducked and wove, trying to put space between himself and Vincent, but Vincent was running on anger. Adrenaline, hot and thick, pumped through his body. This snake had been spying on Natalie. Maybe he was even the one who wanted to hurt her.

  The very thought made Vincent run faster. Rage consumed him as he charged. He was nearly on the guy’s back now, could hear the rat panting with the exertion of trying to stay ahead.

  “Not going to happen,” Vincent snarled as he ran. “I’m on you, buddy.”

  Suddenly the man reached in his pocket, brought his hand back in a low, scooping motion and opened his palm. Loose change clattered on the ground beneath Vincent’s feet and he slipped, but managed to stay upright.

  The move to stay balanced, however, gave his prey a chance to gain some distance. The worm darted around the corner and into heavy traffic.

  “Hell!” Vincent bellowed as cars came between him and the man who might give him the answers he needed, a man he wanted to pummel until he spilled his secrets and promised that Natalie would be safe.

  Vincent pulled up short. In the rush of anger and his urgency to stop this guy, he’d left her alone. He could pursue the man, possibly still catch him once the guy thought he was safe, but what if the guy wasn’t working alone?

  Not even bothering to debate the issue with himself, Vincent sprinted back toward the newspaper office.

  She was there, leaning against the car, waiting, her eyes big in her narrow face. The fear was still with Vincent, his heart practically exploding, it was hammering so hard.

  He jogged up beside her. “He got away,” he said, his breathing ragged.

  Dismay filled her eyes.

  “I’m sorry,” he told her. And he was. Sorry he had not managed to snag the guy, sorry for more. “I should never have deserted you.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t care about that.” Concern blossomed in her eyes. “You’re hurt.” Natalie reached up and lightly touched his cheek.

  Vincent briefly remembered skidding around a corner and scraping up against a brick building in this mad rush to catch the jerk who had dared to spy on Natalie.

  “I’m fine.” He had to chase the concern fro
m her eyes.

  “No, you’re not.” Her voice came out weakly, not like Natalie at all.

  So he did the only thing he could do. He gathered her into his arms and held her. “See, the old heart’s still beating.”

  “Don’t joke,” she said, placing her hands against his chest. “I hate to think that it would have been my fault if that guy shot at you or something.”

  That was all it took. He pulled back and gazed into her eyes. “None of this is your fault. Not one bit of it.”

  “I guess I know that, but—”

  Vincent shook his head. “This is my job, Natalie. It’s what I do. I just wish I had done it a bit better tonight.”

  She frowned. “You did. If you hadn’t been there with me…”

  He didn’t want her to even think about that. He didn’t want to think about it, either. What he wanted was to wrap himself around her and keep her from all harm, to protect her with his own bone and blood and resolve. But he hadn’t lied when he told her that every part of him was working fine. Taking Natalie into his arms again wasn’t an option, because given the heightened state of his emotions, if he touched her again, he would kiss her. And if he kissed her, then—

  Damn his uncontrollable emotions! He was a man who felt too powerfully, and lust and anger weren’t that far apart. He wouldn’t subject Natalie to either.

  Vincent took a deep breath. He looked down into Natalie’s pretty green eyes. “Let’s just consider ourselves lucky that everything worked out tonight,” he said thickly. “Come on. I’ll get you home. There’s nothing more to worry about tonight.”

  Natalie worried that she was going to be the first client to drive Vincent nuts. Her mother had always told her that she was headstrong, and that was probably true.

  Things would be simpler if she would agree to stick to writing about the Peacock Festivals and chili fests that the newspaper wanted her to. All of those events took place in very public areas, and usually they took place in the bright sunshine. A woman wasn’t likely to be stalked by a potential murderer in such circumstances.