by Mandy Morgan
But so far, Luna was still sticking to her word, even though she and Wyatt spent a lot of time together, especially after Hunter moved into my place and left Wyatt alone in the apartment they’d shared for years.
“We’re just a couple of friends hanging out,” Luna had told me when I’d asked her about it again the other day.
Of course, not even my Wiccan best friend could tell the future, so I wasn’t surprised when I’d walked into the lab this morning and saw her and Wyatt standing very close together at one of the workstations.
“What’s going on, lovebirds? Oops, I meant to say, ‘just friends,’ so sorry!”
They both jumped at the sound of my voice, which left me grinning, but when I saw they had very unhappy looks on their faces, I was instantly on high alert.
Would Scarlet Springs ever go back to being a sleepy little Colorado town? It was starting to look like that might not be the case. I hurried over to join them.
“Seriously, what’s going on, you two?”
“I’m trying to convince Wyatt there’s nothing to worry about,” Luna sighed in the dreamy voice I knew and loved so well. “But I’m not succeeding, am I?”
“Nope, not a bit,” Wyatt drawled in that deceptively laid-back way of his. “I don’t know why I can’t just hang around on the days you’re working and keep an eye out for trouble.”
I looked back and forth between the two of them and could practically see the sparks flying. But these weren’t the kind I’d been hoping to see between the pair. They were angry sparks, not the lovey-dovey kind.
“Luna? Spill your guts before you really worry me.”
My best friend looked at me with irritation flashing in her green eyes. “There have been some rumors about a pissed-off patient causing issues around All Saints.”
“Issues? What kind of issues?” I kept my voice even but I wasn’t liking the sound of this. And I knew none of the men of BPS would like it any more than I did.
“Some guy is supposedly unhappy about his test results. And my name is on the lab report. But him being an actual threat is just a rumor!”
My stomach clenched at Luna’s response and Wyatt scowled. We were both taking this much more seriously than the eccentric redhead we cared so much about.
“Luna, that sounds serious! I don’t think Wyatt hanging around would be the worst idea in the world.”
I caught Luna rolling her eyes at what I’d said, and saw Wyatt cross his arms over his chest in a way that said he wasn’t going anywhere.
It looked like Wyatt was about to go from being Luna’s friend to her bodyguard. Whether she liked the thought of having to accept his help or not.
Chapter One
Luna
I’ve always craved peace and quiet. What can I say? I had a pretty chaotic childhood. So, I’ve made finding and keeping serenity in my adult life a top priority.
I mean, if you’d been raised by a single mother who made her living reading tarot cards on the carnival circuit, and went through men like they were snacks, you’d probably want a calmer lifestyle too, right?
And I’d thought I’d succeeded, at least until two new men came onto the scene. I hadn’t asked for either of them, but I must have done something to attract both, since the Universe dumped them into my lap.
Don’t get me wrong—meeting one of the guys had been a blessing in disguise. Who knew I’d be able to say one of my best friends is an Army Ranger turned bodyguard?
I’d been drawn to Wyatt Jacobs from the moment I’d met him at the Cloud Nine Tavern. He had soft blue eyes that danced when he smiled and a mellow vibe I really appreciated and enjoyed.
Of course, he was also movie-star handsome, had massive muscles that would make any woman’s mouth water, and looked tough enough to take down an army all by himself.
But I’d learned to turn off any physical attraction I might feel. For any man. The last thing I wanted to do was to end up like my mother—alone and miserable after a long string of failed relationships.
That didn’t mean I couldn’t appreciate Wyatt for who he was or find joy in our similarities. I loved that we were both peace seekers and sort of danced to the beat of our own drums.
We also both had pretty offbeat religious beliefs. Especially for the small Colorado town of Scarlet Springs. I’d been raised in the world of Wicca and Wyatt had found Buddhism after his time in the service.
After Wyatt’s roommate had fallen for and moved in with my lab partner, we’d spent even more time together, and had become even closer.
Hunter and Amelia were happy to see the two us getting along. But they thought there should be more to my relationship with Wyatt, and they constantly teased and pressured us.
I knew the couple just wanted the best for their best friends, but Wyatt and I were at peace with where we were, and we were both content with our lives.
Until that other guy I mentioned came along and threw us all for a loop. It all started with a simple set of lab results, but before I knew it, I was arguing with Amelia and Wyatt about how to handle “the situation,” as they called it.
As far as I was concerned, there was no situation, and I wanted to let the whole thing blow over, the way pointless drama had a tendency to do, all on its own.
The thing was, I loved my job as a lab tech at All Saints Hospital, and I worked hard to get where I was in my career. Even though it hadn’t started in a conventional way.
I’d originally gotten into the medical field to annoy my anti-establishment mother, you see, but once I found I had an ingrained talent for and love of laboratory science, I put my all into my work.
That meant I was super-confident in the results I’d submitted for Frank Hall, the angry patient who’d been threatening the hospital staff with vengeance for screwing up his tests.
Well, he’d been making threats against me, if you wanted to get technical. It was my name on the lab report, and for some unknown reason, Mr. Hall seemed to think I was out to get him.
I figured it was just the hospital rumor mill working in overdrive. Wyatt and Amelia didn’t agree. My two best friends weren’t happy about “the situation,” and they didn’t mince their words about it.
They’d spent the better part of the morning trying to talk me into accepting Wyatt’s offer of being my bodyguard. He said he just wanted to hang around the hospital and watch over me.
But I wasn’t having it. Why give in to the panic being spread along with the rumors? Why mess up the good thing I had going with Wyatt?
“Guys, I understand where you’re coming from,” I told them with a smile. “And I really do appreciate your concern. I just don’t think it’s necessary to get Wyatt involved.”
His big arms were crossed over his equally large chest and his deep voice didn’t sound pleased when he responded.
“I’m already involved, Luna. How could I not be? I care about you, dammit, and want to make sure you’re safe.”
“I know you do, Wyatt.” I reached over and squeezed his bulging bicep in an attempt to calm and comfort him. “I’m afraid my answer is still thanks, but no thanks.”
My tough on the outside, soft on the inside friend grunted his displeasure. “I’m going to get some coffee. Maybe Amelia can talk some sense into you.”
Wyatt stalked off, but I knew he wouldn’t give up that easily, and that he’d be back. I turned to my bestie and lab partner, hoping I could make her see reason and get her to back me up.
But Amelia was wearing a dead-set and convinced look that matched Wyatt’s. I knew I was in for it before she even opened her mouth.
“Not so long ago, you were the one who told me I needed to accept help. Why can’t you stop being so stubborn and take your own advice?”
All I could do was shake my head and breathe through the sting of Amelia’s words. I knew in my gut she was right.
But I just couldn’t accept that and let Wyatt in any deeper than I already had. Or admit that I was more worried about my heart than any threat
to my safety.
Chapter Two
Wyatt
Luna thought she knew what my irritation had been all about that morning in the lab. But the truth was much more complicated than it seemed.
I wasn’t just frustrated by her balking at accepting my help and protection. I was slowly being driven crazy by the secret I was carrying.
I’d fallen in love with Luna. I hadn’t meant for it to happen. I knew she just wanted to be friends. Hell, I’d thought I’d wanted the same thing, at first.
But the more time I’d spent with her, the more my feelings had shifted. I’d gone from looking at her as a friend to seeing her as the woman I wanted to spend my life cherishing.
Some of it had to do with what she did to me physically. Luna had curves that made me drool and I had dreams of stripping her clothes off to get my hands on them.
I couldn’t count the number of times I’d barely been able to stop myself from grabbing her and claiming her pretty mouth with mine.
I longed to be able to plunge my hands into her gorgeous red hair. To hear her sweet voice calling out my name and begging me to give her more of the love I had for her.
Of course, Luna had been very clear from the start that she wasn’t looking for anything more than friendship. I had to respect her wishes and keep my cool.
That meant pushing my caveman tendencies down deep. I couldn’t just declare she was mine and drag her back to my place by those long, shiny auburn locks of hers. No matter how much I wanted to do just that.
I probably should have kept my distance from Luna. But I cared way too much about her not to see her as often as possible. So, it was hide my true feelings or bust.
Not making Luna mine was way harder than anything I’d ever done before. My time as an Army Ranger and bodyguard couldn’t hold a candle to the strength I needed to keep my hands off her juicy body.
When she’d put her hand on my arm and squeezed earlier, I’d told myself it was nothing more than a friendly gesture. But the stirring in my jeans said otherwise.
I’d had to get out of there fast, or risk her seeing what it was she did to me, with just the smallest touch. It felt like I was losing my damn mind.
By the time I came back with three cups of coffee, Luna and Amelia were working in tense silence, which was very unlike them and left me feeling cold.
I’d been hoping Amelia would be able to convince Luna to let me at least hang around All Saints until this all blew over. But things weren’t looking good at this point.
Luna took her coffee with a tight smile. I tried to read what was lurking in her beautiful green eyes and couldn’t. It was like she’d put up a wall between us and I felt sick.
After a couple of sips, Luna set her cup down with a sigh, and hit me with something that left me feeling as if my head and my heart would explode.
“I think we should spend less time together.”
“What? Why in the hell should we do that?”
Luna sighed again and smiled wistfully. “I know it’s not your fault, but things are starting to get very chaotic in my life, and I don’t like it.”
It felt like the world had stopped spinning. I thought my heart would beat out of my chest, and my hands had curled into fists.
I hadn’t wanted to punch something so badly in a long time. I didn’t allow myself to get this angry anymore. But right then, I could barely see, I was so pissed.
“I don’t understand, Luna,” I managed to grate out between clenched teeth. “What does our friendship have to do with any of this?”
“Aren’t you worried that we’re getting too close, Wyatt? And don’t you think we’d just become closer, if you were my bodyguard?”
“Hell, no! I don’t think either of those things. I just want to make sure you’re safe.”
But that’s what I’d been hoping would happen…
“There’s no reason to worry about me,” Luna said with a firm nod that told me her decision was final. “All of this…stuff is just a rumor!”
She turned away from me and went back to what she’d been working on. I felt like I’d been kicked in the gut. Hard.
I looked across the lab to Amelia. She just shook her head in disgust and shrugged. I knew Luna was a grown woman who could make her own decisions. But damn, this was craziness.
“Alright, I get it,” I said and took a deep breath. “You don’t need a bodyguard. But that doesn’t mean we can’t still be friends, does it?”
“I’m sorry, Wyatt,” Luna said without even looking at me. “I really think it’s best if we put some space between us for now. Okay?”
Her sudden change of heart and casual tone left me reeling. My vision had gone blood red. I had to get out of there before I said something I might regret.
“As you wish, Ms. Walker,” I spit out before storming away from the woman I loved and into a dark and uncertain future.
Chapter Three
Luna
They say silence is golden. But the quiet that fell over the lab after Wyatt had stormed out felt black and cold, not warm and peaceful.
I looked up to find Amelia staring at me. I’d never seen her so angry before and my stomach clenched in a way I hadn’t felt in a long time.
I’d thought I was just going to insist that Wyatt not serve as my bodyguard. But when he’d come back with coffee for us all, I’d seen something new in his eyes.
I’d caught Wyatt with love written all over his face. Pure, undeniable love, and seeing it had scared me to my core.
There was no way I was going to get hurt by a man again. Not after what had happened the last time I’d let someone hold my heart in their hands.
I’d panicked, alright? Instead of just refusing Wyatt’s help, I’d pushed him away altogether, and I’d managed to go from two caring friends to two pissed-off people in just minutes.
“You’re a real dumbass, Luna,” Amelia said with disbelief. “You do know that, right?”
She wasn’t wrong, but hearing it put in such a blunt manner was like a slap in the face, and I couldn’t help but cringe at Amelia’s words.
“I swear, I’m not trying to be one,” I groaned and rubbed my eyes. “I just wanted to do what was right, Amelia.”
My friend actually laughed out loud. “I think you need to do some serious rethinking on what’s right and wrong, Luna.”
Amelia shook her head and turned back to her workstation. I felt like I might be sick, so I rushed out of the lab, and hurried to the bathroom down the hall.
I didn’t get sick, but I did look at myself long and hard in the mirror, and then splashed some cool water on my face. But it didn’t really help.
My mind was spinning and I needed to clear my head. When I was in an emotional upheaval like this, I turned to meditation, and it never failed to set me straight.
I made my way back to the lab to tell Amelia I was going to find a place to meditate. She told me she hoped to hell it would help and then turned her back on me again.
I’m not going to lie and say that didn’t cut me deeply. But it also steeled my resolve. I had to get to the bottom of my feelings about Wyatt.
With shaking hands and a sour stomach, I made my way to the elevator, hoping that one of my regular meditation spots would be open and quiet enough for the work I had to do.
The lab was on the hospital’s lowest level, and while I loved my job, I always heaved a silent sigh of relief when I came back up into the light and open space of the ground floor.
When the elevator doors opened, I saw that I was in luck that day—my favorite place to mediate was empty and I hurried over to sit by a window that faced the front lawn.
The atrium off of the ER was a beautiful spot. It was also perfect for communing with nature while I examined my thoughts and got my head on right.
Two of my ER nurse friends were standing by the main desk, and I waved to them, but I couldn’t stop to chat with Blair and Lily.
Not now. Not when I was so focused on the disconnect betwe
en my head and my heart. I had to figure out what it meant for my future.
I sank down into one of the armchairs by the big front window of the hospital’s atrium and took a deep, centering breath.
I let my eyes slip closed and everything faded into the background. My heart rate slowed to a crawl and I felt my body go limp as the sun shone down on my skin.
Breathe in peace, breathe out doubt…
I repeated my meditation mantra over and over again. My mind opened like a flower in a warm summer rain. I dove deep to unlock my thoughts.
I peeled back layer after layer. I found the same thing at every turn. The look of love on Wyatt’s face. And how I’d turned it into one of pain by pushing him away.
I knew I had to make things right with Wyatt. I couldn’t leave him hurting. I discovered I didn’t want to leave him, at all, thanks to getting to the most honest part of my mind.
Then something broke my concentration. I’d been meditating for so long, I was able to filter out and ignore almost every disturbance.
But what found me in my trance wasn’t a typical disruption. It was the sound of someone screaming. My eyes fluttered open and I saw movement through the window to the side of my armchair.
There was a man stalking toward the front door of All Saints Hospital. He was moving fast and carrying a big stick in his arms.
I blinked and looked closer. That was when I saw it wasn’t a stick, after all. It was a rifle. A large one. An assault rifle, by the looks of it.
He also had a black box with wires sprouting out of it strapped to his chest. And his face was dark with angry determination.
Chapter Four
Wyatt
I’d been a tough guy my whole life. I’d stood up to deadly enemies on the battlefield and never lost a single fight or even batted an eye. But now, I’d been taken out by words.
