She couldn’t face the rest of the night without him by her side.
“I’ll be right here,” he said. “No one can hurt you while you’re under my protection. You really do need to get some sleep. The show is filming tomorrow, and we’ll need to account for the drive time to White Oak Ranch. It’ll be an early start.”
“I won’t be able to sleep if I go to bed without someone with me,” she said, long ago nights and their harsh memories had bubbled to the surface after she discovered her ransacked bedroom. Then she’d suffered from insomnia so intense she thought she’d never get over her losses.
And though Brent hadn’t been upfront with her, he’d told her the truth the minute she’d confronted him. Whatever hadn’t been true between them, his tenderness and the way he’d held her only one night before had been real. Still, she couldn’t let that sway her from keeping her hands to herself from this point forward.
She glanced at his handsome profile. A muscle jumped in his temple and his Adam’s Apple bobbed up and down twice. “I’ve got to check this footage,” he said. “You sure you’re up to viewing who might have invaded your privacy, stolen your wedding bands and put your life in jeopardy?”
“I’d rather know who’s after me than live with uncertainty.”
“There’s no guarantee we’ll be able to identify the culprit.”
She shifted closer to his chair, brushed her leg against his. Not to seduce him into saying yes, but to draw more of his strength, power and heat. For now. Later, she’d rely on herself as she’d done before. “We’ll know more than we did half an hour ago.”
Brent paused, then pressed play and her empty cabin came into view again. Minutes passed before the first sign of the intruder entered the screen.
“Got him,” he said, zooming in on the person dressed in all black. “Crap. Face is covered with mask and goggles.”
She sighed. “Then we don’t know who did this to me. My things.”
“Might not see the person’s face, but we can learn a lot by how he moves around the space.” He brought the scene into a wide angle. “Confident. Like he knows his way around your space already.”
Her stomach quivered, and she cleared her throat before speaking. “Eric’s the only one who’s been in my cabin and he’d never…” she stopped when the person disappeared from view into the bedroom. “Where’s the bedroom footage?”
“Not here.”
“You didn’t put it under surveillance?” Suddenly the thought of their wild and crazy night of sexy times flashed, bringing a rush of heat into places that had no right to be turned on like a million lightbulbs.
He cleared his throat. “I turned it off before I came over for dinner last night.”
“And tonight?” she asked, wondering if his reasons for pushing her away had less to do with his feelings for her than the job he’d been hired to do. Somehow, that warmed her in places she’d been desperate to keep iced down. “Why didn’t you reboot the cameras tonight?”
“I didn’t have a chance after we discovered the cut brake line in your rental.”
She heard the regret in his tense tone of voice. And the heat emanating from his powerful body flared hotter. “Great.” His answer hadn’t changed her gut reaction to his decision to keep what happened between them private. For all the right reasons, but still, she’d almost fallen for him. His admission gave her a great way to end things before she’d gotten too emotionally invested. “Just great. Now we won’t know what that jerk did in my bedroom besides ransacking my stuff and stealing my wedding bands.”
They continued watching the surveillance tape of her main living room and kitchen area. The person entered the space after an hour, carrying nothing.
“This doesn’t make sense. Why break in if he didn’t take anything except my rings?”
“What did you have in your computer files?”
“My recipes, the plans for my warehouse and expanding my distribution of my special marinades and sauces, but everyone I know that I’m close to already knows about my ideas.”
“You have your laptop with you now?”
“Absolutely.” She watched the person scan the room one more time, then open the door and leave. “No way would I leave it behind after what just happened. Plus, I need it to get my notes for the show tomorrow.”
“You have it password protected?”
“Yes. My brother made sure I did. He’s always loading firewalls and virus checkers and hacker protections on my computers.”
“Get it. I want to check all your files. Make sure nothing’s missing or…” he pushed a button on his laptop. “Added.”
“Does this have anything to do with my brother? Whatever he’s doing in Italy?”
“Could be. Not sure.” He stood. “Get your laptop and we’ll double check it for issues that shouldn’t be there.”
She made her way to the small foyer area in the cabin to retrieve her oversized crossbody bag. “Here,” she said, handing him the laptop after returned to the table. “The password’s Love2CooknThyme32590.”
He opened the screen, then keyed in the password. “We’ll check the finder section first, look for anything out of place or missing.”
She nodded, concern and anxiety filling her thoughts. If someone copied her secret recipes, she’d lose her first to enter in the market, the edge to stay ahead of the competition, possibly even future buyers. “So far all my folders look good. Click on that one.” She pointed to the one labeled VATHYME as she shrugged off the blanket, no longer needing the comfort it brought her. Not when she had him sitting beside her.
“Okay, looks like your files are all intact. But there’s something off.”
Chapter 10
“What?” Reagan asked, adrenaline pinging through her veins and making her heart skip several beats.
“Looks like there’s a backdoor code to let a person hack into the files from a remote location.”
“So my files aren’t protected?”
“Oh, they’re not in danger of being stolen anymore.” Brent keyed in some commands with his capable, large hands. “We must have interrupted the intruder before he could copy the files. I’ll close the trapdoor, put up stronger firewall to prevent any further cyber-attacks.”
Mesmerized, she watched him as he concentrated on continuing to key in more commands. God. Those hands brought another welcome thrill through her. Only a night ago, they’d held her, brought her to the edge of reason and given her amazing orgasms.
Reagan glanced away from the tapered fingers, willed the electricity zapping into all her erogenous zones to fizzle out.
Failed.
“That should hold off the asshole,” Brent said, pushing away from the table and leaning back with his arms folded behind his head.
“Good.” Why did his muscles still tempt her, make her want to lick him all over? She shook off the desire to act on her impulse and wrapped the blanket around her shoulders again.
A wimpy physical barrier to the man’s sheer masculine pheromone appeal, but it’d have to do if she wanted to keep her pride and self-respect intact. And her heart firmly out of the equation. “I should go to bed,” she said, then stood.
He locked onto hers. “You going to be okay on your own?”
No, she mentally screamed. But she bit back the reply. If anyone had the skills to make it through a long, lonely night while processing a nightmare, she had them in quadruple digits. At least, she’d had them until Brent had come into her life. “Yes.” She moved away from the table and from the delectable man sitting there. The sooner she got to bed, the better.
As she tucked the king-sized sheet and comforter around her, creating a cocoon she hoped would bring the rest she needed, Reagan heard Brent’s heavy footfalls come closer to her door. A soft, oh so soft, brushing sound wafted into the room.
She recognized the noise of his head resting against the door separating them. Sighing, she snuggled deeper under the covers. How many nights had she heard that sound a
fter she’d been widowed? The memories of her parents and her brother grappling with how to reach through the grief, the pain of her loss.
Sniffling, she swiped her eyes and gave up on the idea of attempting to sleep. She grabbed her e-reader and opened it to lose herself in the historical romance guaranteed to give her a happily-ever-after in lieu of getting one in real life.
The following morning, she arrived at Sadie Patterson’s ranch with fatigue weighing her down and shadows so dark her stylist clucked in disapproval.
“I thought yesterday was bad enough,” she said as she whipped a protective cape around Reagan’s body. “But I’m going to have to pull out every trick I’ve got up my sleeve today to get you ready.”
“I know. I’m sorry, but I have faith in your mad makeup skills.”
“Girl, you’re only going to be on air with two Hollywood stars that probably roll out of bed looking like they’re at a movie debut and walking the red carpet.”
“Too bad we’re not filming at Al’s Diner today,” Reagan said as she surrendered to her stylist’s ministrations.
“Girl, he could probably upstage you right now.”
Reagan sighed. “Do your best,” she said. “No one will care what I look like when they get a load of the sugar cookies and children’s holiday recipe surprises we’re making today.”
Four hours later, after shooting the live show, Reagan slumped in one of the plush chairs located in her host’s grand living room. “That went well,” she said, glancing toward Sadie and Delaney’s handsome husbands who stood next to the window facing the grand views outside.
Brent had his cell phone out and the two men nodded, faces grim. She didn’t have to hear them to know the direction of their conversation.
“Here.” Sadie set a cup of steaming cappuccino on the coffee table. “You look like you could use a double shot of this.”
“Thanks,” Reagan said, then lifted the cup and sipped gratefully. “Long night.”
Both wives nodded. “We heard about the break-in,” Delaney said. “I’m so sorry about the theft of your rings. That’s got to hurt so bad.”
She looked at her bare finger, realized the urge to twist them had long evaporated, but the love she’d had for her husband, the memories, remained. “Thanks, but I’m okay. And maybe they’ll be recovered one day.” Then she’d make something good come out of the bad and finally have the closure she needed to move on with her life. Alone, but free to love again. Just not Brent. She had to let him go. “I’m more concerned about the stalker. I can’t figure out why anyone would come after me.”
“If anyone can find out who is after you, it’s those guys,” Sadie said.
The scent of sugar cookies and sweet icing fondant mixtures still filled the air, but they didn’t tempt her as much as Brent’s powerful presence. “Yeah, I know, but I just wish…” She sipped the rich, creamy coffee again to swallow her confusion about her feelings for Brent. He’d given her the perfect reason to opt out of any permanent relationships with him, but a part of her rebelled. The selfish part, she sternly reminded herself.
“If it’s any comfort,” Sadie said softly. “From the way your bodyguard watches over you I think he’s super attracted and you’re radiating a mutual feeling. So he’s definitely into you.”
“Sure, and I can’t control my reactions to him which only makes things worse.”
“Why?” Delaney asked.
“I didn’t actually know he’d been hired by my ding dong brother until yesterday.” And she’d use that knowledge to keep the wedge between them until they returned to their respective lives. Apart.
“That’s not good,” Delaney said. “But it stinks because you clearly are still hot for each other.”
“Doesn’t matter,” she said. “Even if I can find a way to forgive him for hiding the truth from me, he’s got this weird protocol about not sleeping with his clients. Now that I’m officially one to him, I’m off-limits.” A good thing if only her body would cooperate with her reasoning.
Sadie and Delaney snorted in a very un-star like way. “Oh, that’s so rich given he’s already broken that idiotic rule,” Delaney said.
“Yeah. These macho dudes act all tough and pretend they can’t be with us but that wasn’t a problem with our Brotherhood Protectors,” Sadie added before lifting one of the holiday cookies from the plate on the table and taking a bite.
“Yeah.” Delaney caressed her belly bump. “Protocol, schmotocol.”
A sudden, sharp need lanced through Reagan. Old losses mingled with the current crappy feelings swirling in her brain. “The thing is we can’t give each other what we really want. Plus you both knew what and who your guys were before you slept with them.”
Both women looked toward Brent, then back to Reagan. “Well, if I know men, and trust me with three brothers I’ve got a good handle on them. I bet Brent figured your brother hired him, so you didn’t officially become a client in his brain until an actual threat surfaced,” Delaney asked. “And, if nothing turned up, I am also willing to bet he’d want to take this to a whole new level, see where your attraction leads.”
Reagan flushed hot. “Too bad a threat surfaced. Now everything is all messed up,” she said, though she had her own secret too. One she didn’t have to reveal now, and she could let him go despite the fierce longing in her heart for him. For more. For a different ending. “I don’t know whether to thank my brother or kick him in the gonads the next time I see him. I guess I’ll have to tolerate an I tried to stop you lecture after I arrive in Tuscany. Ugh” Her next trip to Italy had been booked to coincide with his and Isabella’s first child’s arrival.
“Can’t blame you for dreading that confrontation given my own brothers constantly interfering with my life before I married Ethan. But what about later?” Delaney asked. “After this is over and you’re back in Virginia? Any way you’ll give him a second chance?”
Nope. Not going to happen. Not when Brent’s admission had given her a reason to end things with a nice, neat see you later now that you’re not guarding me sayonara. “His pulling back, treating me like a client, is really for the best.” She grabbed a cookie and took a healthy bite. Though the flavor was perfection on her tongue, bitterness slipped down her throat.
“Are you sure you because everything in your face says you still want him,” Delaney said.
“Maybe, but he’s a covert operative in some secret agency that puts him in dangerous situations all the time. He told me this was supposed to be an easy job. Kind of like a vacation,” she said, still struggling to reconcile his career with the realities she’d faced after losing her husband. She couldn’t give him what Brent ultimately wanted, and she didn’t dare risk her heart for a man who put himself in the line of fire on a regular basis. “I’m certain most of his missions aren’t always so easy or safe.” And safe was what she wanted. Alone and single and free. Right? No worries about losing someone she loved again. Double right? No pressures about making babies and creating families. Triple right? So why did she have to go and have all these feelings for the wrong kind of man altogether?
She glanced his way again, caught his eyes with hers. Those whiskey-colored eyes that had once darkened with lust for her. Even now, the pupils went black as night, but Reagan averted her gaze, breaking the slender thread of contact.
She didn’t doubt the lust, the attraction. But she seriously doubted how they could move forward from this point without either of them getting hurt. Would she have slept with him had she known the truth all along? Despite the longing, the desire pinging between them, could she have been with him knowing the danger that shadowed his life on a daily basis?
She didn’t know. And she didn’t know if she dared to examine her own fears too closely. Not when they no longer had anything to bind them together other than Brent protecting her from some asshole trying to rob her of the one thing she could count on. Herself. And her own dreams.
“You get the new intel about the rest of the show
’s crew?” Hank Patterson asked after taking a tug off his craft beer bottle.
A fire crackled in the living room’s corner, scenting the room with wood smoke. Though Hank’s ranch home was warm and inviting, every muscle in Brent’s body remained coiled. And the case only contributed part of the tension. “Yes. Nothing has changed since the background checks I ran before I arrived at Eagle Point.” Brent pinched the bridge of his nose, stared at the pristine white blanket of snow covering the land surrounding the ranch. “Owen Davidson left yesterday. Back to New York to get ready for his grand opening on New Year’s Eve.” And he’d been tethered to Montana, sticking to his original assignment to guard Reagan.
“That puts him at the bottom of your suspect list,” Ethan Walker said.
The flamboyant chef had barely scratched the edge of Brent’s mental radar screen, given he’d left the Eagle Point well before the break-in. Still, Brent never took anything for granted. He couldn’t afford to take those kinds of chances with a client. “Doesn’t mean he’s off it yet,” he said grimly. Only he couldn’t pursue his suspicions other than run deeper background checks while keeping Reagan alive.
“He didn’t drive the SUV that crashed last week,” Hank reminded him.
“True, but I contacted one of CRUSH’s top operatives to follow up to make sure his story holds while Reagan filmed Cooking Thyme today.” He returned his attention to the men standing with him. “Tori’s stationed in New York until she has her baby, but she’s continuing to supervise undercover ops. She’ll assign an agent to tail Owen while we’re in Montana and update me if anything raises a red flag.” Meanwhile, he’d check out a few other leads and pass the info on to Hank’s team for backup.
“Good plan,” Hank said. “You want me to send reinforcements to the ranch until the show wraps?”
“Extra eyes would be great, but I don’t want to tip off anyone who has it in for Reagan.”
“I’ve got a couple of new recruits to offer additional protection.”
Tempted By Her Rescuer: Brotherhood Protectors World Page 8