“We still have it, don’t we, love?” he murmured.
Kim took a long breath, trying to steel herself from falling under his spell again.
Colt tugged on her hand and she staggered, resting her free hand on his chest to balance herself. His other hand came around her waist and warmth and desire overwhelmed her. Colt released the hand holding the phone and wrapped her up tight with both of his hands.
His eyes took their time traveling over her face.
“Oh, love, I’ve missed you,” he murmured, bowing his head as if to kiss her.
No matter how badly she wanted to kiss him, Kim had to stay strong. She shoved at his chest, one fist still clamped around her phone. “Let me go!”
Colt blinked at her as if coming out of a trance. He obeyed, releasing his grip on her, but he stayed right in her space. “I have to tell you what happened, how wrong I was, and how sorry I am.” His cocky grin resurfaced. “Then we can make up for lost time and kiss all night long.”
Kim could not believe the gall of this guy. She stepped back and his grin slipped. “No! You lost any chance with me when you cheated on me. Get out of my house and don’t come back or I’ll call Sutton Smith’s security to come remove you.”
She whirled from him and hurried toward the door, clinging to her phone like a lifeline. She would barricade herself in her bedroom and call River immediately. But how long would it take to get a specialist here? She knew they did a lot of work fighting against human trafficking and drug lords in South America. Maybe she’d get lucky and someone would be in a bordering country like Panama or Nicaragua.
“Please, Kim,” Colt begged from behind her. “Give me a chance to explain.”
“No!” she yelled. Running across the hallway, she darted into her room, slammed the door, and pressed her back against it. With trembling fingers she pulled up River’s contact info and pushed the call button.
Colt was on the other side of the door quickly. “You have to listen to me. I thought you were cheating on me with Holden.”
The phone was ringing but she couldn’t help but internalize Colt’s statement. Cheating with Holden? That was so gross. “Holden’s my cousin.”
“That would’ve been nice to know.”
Kim felt the sting of his comment. She’d told Colt often how much she admired and respected Holden Jennings, but she’d also respected Holden’s desire for anonymity and not told even the man she loved that they were related.
“Duncan,” River’s voice came on with his standard greeting.
“River! I need help and I need it now.”
“Hang up with me and call the police.” River’s voice was full of concern. “I’ll check in with my operative. He should be there by now.”
“You’re sending somebody? Why?”
“Are you in immediate danger?”
“Not danger.” Colt would never hurt her, but she wanted him out of her house before she had to listen to his silken tongue any longer and guaranteed she’d falter at some point and let him kiss her, and then her heart would be sunk when he cheated on her again. His best excuse was he didn’t know Holden was her cousin? What did it matter that he didn’t know Holden was her cousin? She’d never done anything wrong with Holden.
“Please, Kim,” Colt was still talking on the other side of the door. She ignored him.
“What’s going on then?” River asked and she tried to focus on him and shut out whatever lies Colt was spewing.
“An old boyfriend broke into my house.”
“Who?” River demanded.
“Colt Quinn.”
River did the last thing she expected. He chuckled.
“What?”
“I’m with Sutton,” Colt yelled through the door.
“Colt’s the man I sent,” River explained.
Kim’s legs gave out and she sank to the floor, the wood door bracing her back. “Why would you send him?” Sutton had dozens of men and somehow she ended up with her heart-breaking old boyfriend?
“Well to be honest he volunteered. He’s been begging all of us for information on you the past week and then we got a breakthrough with your case. The stalker’s notes have been sent the past year from La Fortuna, Costa Rica.”
Kim’s head swam and she couldn’t think clearly. “But … but … that’s where I’m living right now.”
“We know. That’s why we put the local police on alert and sent Colt immediately to you with instructions to make contact without delay. We’ve been trying to call and send messages but you didn’t answer.”
“I was in the middle of painting,” she murmured, sick to her stomach.
“Kim!” Colt was pounding on the door up above her head. “Please open the door, love.”
Her stalker was close by. Colt was here to protect her, or to apologize, or to kiss her? Her heart beat faster and sweat dripped down her back. She couldn’t handle this. She’d given up her acting career to get away from her stalker and she’d given up America to get away from Colt Quinn and suddenly they were both back in her life.
“It could be someone I see at the market or hiking to the waterfall or when I go relax at Baldi Hot Springs.”
“It could,” River admitted. “But now that we’ve pinpointed his location we’ll be able to find him. We flew a team down with Colt. They’ll start checking into everyone in the area. Colt will talk through everything with you tonight and you can give him descriptions and impressions of everyone you’ve interacted with there the past few years. We’ll get Baron and Nessa researching from here. It’s going to be okay, Kim.”
Her head and stomach wouldn’t settle and Colt was still asking her to open the door, to talk to him. As per River’s instructions she would have to talk with him and work with him to find her stalker. Could there be any worse punishment? To have the man she’d always loved right here but not be able to be with him. He’d broken her when he cheated on her and she had never recovered.
“I can’t work with Colt Quinn. Can he trade places with one of the other security guys who are here researching the people in the area?”
“Colt is specifically trained to be a bodyguard. The other people we sent down are focused on research and have the best tracking skills. Colt is the ideal agent to have by your side.”
“I can’t … I don’t like him.” That was so lame and not even close to the full story, but River was a professional and kind of an intimidating guy, Kim had no clue how to explain to him why she couldn’t be close to Colt.
“I know you two have history,” River patiently said. “But he’s invested in your safety and is highly trained to protect you. His years as Army Special Ops and the training I and his brother Griff have done with him have made him one of the best in the world at protection. Please give him a chance, Kim. If after a few days we haven’t found the stalker and you’re still bothered by Colt we’ll fly someone else down. Okay?”
Kim pushed out a breath. No, it wasn’t okay, but she didn’t want to act like a baby about it. “Fine,” she grunted out.
“Thanks, Kim. Talk with Colt and he’ll send the information on to our team and me. I’ll check in soon.” The line went dead.
Talk with Colt. Talk with Colt. The words sounded so easy but their reality was horrific for her. She couldn’t simply talk to him, hear his deep voice, look into those intriguing blue eyes, and not fling herself against his chest. She couldn’t believe River would ask this of her. How was she going to survive with Colt Quinn nearby?
Chapter Two
“Kim?” Colt’s voice was cautious. “Are you okay?”
“No, I’m not okay,” she yelled back through the door. “You’re here!”
“Aw, Kim, I’m sorry. Please open the door and let me explain.”
Silence fell as she prayed for help. She had to be strong. She had to act like the mature adult she was. She took care of herself, living on her own in a foreign country. She did the steps to the waterfall four times every morning, except for Sunday. She defended
herself from vicious stray dogs and men who were too friendly at her bi-weekly visits to Baldi Hot Springs. Her life without Colt was scheduled, predictable, and good. She’d done that on her own, she could face him and remain detached.
Standing on still-trembling legs, she took a deep breath and recalled years of training throughout her youth as a well-known movie star. Putting on a cold, detached smile, she unclicked the lock and swung the door wide.
Colt stood there. His wavy hair was disheveled, his tanned face was entirely too handsome for her unsteady state, and his blue eyes were filled with uncertainty. That glimpse of vulnerability about made her legs collapse again. She held onto the doorframe for support.
“Kim,” her name came out on a soft breath much too full of emotion, longing, and love.
She found herself leaning toward him.
No! Be strong, be strong. Colt Quinn didn’t love anybody but himself, his mama, and a different woman every day. Kim had Wi-Fi and she wasn’t naïve like she used to be.
She walked around him, ignoring the delectable musky scent he emanated and the way her arm brushed his chest. Instead of focusing on the instant yearning to touch him again, she focused on what a jerk he was to stay in her space like that and not back up. She used to love how he couldn’t stand to be too far from her. When they were together they played racquetball often. Colt would always stay too close to her on the court and one time she bloodied his nose with her racket. She’d felt awful but he’d been great about it and just teased that it was his fault for not giving her space. That memory, and a hundred more about how kind and fun Colt had been, washed over her. No! She couldn’t go there.
“River said I need to give you information about the people I interact with,” she threw over her shoulder as she rushed for the staircase and hurried down the stairs. Talking to him could not happen while she was near her bedroom and feeling so vulnerable. She needed space. The kitchen would be a better spot. Maybe with another knife in her hand, yet he’d taken the last knife easily enough. She could at least stay across the table from him. She wished it was still across the world. Sadly, even a phone call with Colt might be too much for her susceptible heart.
Clinging to the railing so she wouldn’t trip on her stupid, weak legs she hurried even faster when Colt caught her easily. The presence of his strong body close behind hers almost had her stopping and leaning back. How blissful would it be to have Colt wrap his arms around her abdomen while she leaned against him relishing in his strength and instinctive protection, his delicious scent, the ties that had always bound them together.
She was running from him and their memories by the time she hit the main floor. She didn’t care what he thought. How would she survive being close to him while they found her stalker?
If this was true though and they had a lead on her stalker, she might finally be free. What would she do then? Go home to America? It would be amazing to see her parents and her sisters on a regular basis, reconnect with Holden, and maybe even resurrect her acting career. She could start with a minor part in a Netflix or Amazon original show and work her way back up. She was no stranger to hard work and being organized, keeping a schedule to push herself. There were all kinds of possibilities with her stalker gone, if she could stay strong around Colt.
She reached the table and hurried around it, hoping to put as much distance as possible between her and Colt. He followed her. Did the man not understand social cues and boundaries, not understand they weren’t close any longer?
His large frame towered over her. Curse him being so tall and manly. Kim glared up at him and pointed. “You sit over there.”
Colt gave her his easy grin. “If I didn’t know differently, I’d think I had a strong effect on you.”
Kim folded her arms across her chest and gritted her teeth. “You have no effect on me any longer.”
Colt leaned down and tenderly trailed his fingers along her jawline. “That’s too bad because you have me whimpering at your feet simply being close to you again.”
Kim’s stomach swirled with heat and she couldn’t catch a breath. Act tough, act tough. “Stop it,” she gritted out. Yanking away from his touch she sprang to her feet and circled the table. When he tried to follow, she pointed and yelled, “Sit there!”
Colt didn’t even attempt to hide his grin but he obediently pulled out a chair and sank into it. Kim collapsed on her own chair, closed her eyes, and rubbed at her forehead to ease the tension there.
Colt’s hand covered hers as he leaned across the table. “I’m sorry, love,” he murmured in a deep, much too appealing voice.
Kim yanked back, steeled her heart, and glared at him. It was really hard to glare when he looked so good and humble. Could he truly be sorry? Maybe he’d be sorry until he got her to fall for him again, then he’d dump her when the next appealing woman walked across his path. She wasn’t doing this with Colt Quinn again.
“River informs me that you’re here professionally.”
He nodded, his eyes suddenly wary, as if he recognized her ploy, but he reclined in his chair as if he were relaxed and didn’t have a care in the world.
“I expect you to act as professionally as River or Griff would then.”
“That’s not fair, love.”
“What’s not fair about it?” Could she ever win against Colt’s charm or laidback reasoning? She hated how calm and irresistible he was.
“Well first of all River and Griff are both happily married.”
She nodded.
“And second of all …” He tilted toward her and his voice lowered to that husky level she used to die to hear. “River and Griff aren’t head over heels in love with you.”
All Kim could do was stare into his blue eyes and pant for air. Even across the table, he was too close. Several tense seconds passed, Colt staring at her so beseechingly and her begging the Lord to help her. How could she resist him when he talked like that and looked at her like that and every remembrance of the love they’d shared was right in her face? She closed her eyes and could still picture him making out in the corner booth with some blonde.
“No!” she yelled, scraping her chair out and leaping to her feet.
Colt stood too, hands spread innocently. “Please Kim. Please give me a chance to explain, to show you how much I still love you.”
“No!” She jabbed a finger at him. “I hate you, Colt Quinn! You broke my heart once but I will never let you do it again.”
His eyes were full of agony, as if she was truly hurting the ultimate playboy by her rejection.
“I’m going to bed now. Don’t you dare follow me. We will talk in the morning about the security job and nothing else. If you try to touch me or claim you love me again, I’ll call River or Sutton and get you reassigned. I’m paying for this stinking security and I will not put up with any more of your lies or sultry looks!”
Whirling from him, she ran for the staircase. Thankfully he didn’t try to say anything more and he didn’t follow her. When she finally reached her room and slammed the door, she curled onto her bed. Colt Quinn was here and he claimed he loved her. How in the world was she going to stay strong, so he didn’t trample her heart for a final time? The past five years had been lonely and hard but if Colt somehow penetrated her heart and then dumped her again … Hot tears stung her eyes at the mere idea … She would have to be committed into an institution; her heart and mind would be shattered.
Chapter Three
Colt watched Kim run to the entryway and disappear up the staircase. He could hardly stand not chasing after her but obviously he wasn’t going to get her to forgive him tonight. How could he get through to her when she wouldn’t even let him explain what happened that horrific day five years ago? He was certain she’d cheated on him with a man he knew she admired above all others, Holden Jennings. All his worries about the way she idolized Holden were confirmed when he’d seen the two of them in the restaurant foyer in what he thought was an intimate embrace. Apparently the joke was
on him—Holden was her cousin and was now in love with Colt’s own sister Navy.
Colt passed a hand over his face, trying to rid his memory of the haunted look in Kim’s big, brown eyes tonight. Her dimples had been almost nonexistent. A few times she’d seemed to soften or lean toward him, but she’d caught herself quickly. He could imagine how he’d hurt her, pretending to cheat on her, in retaliation because he thought she was cheating on him and his heart had broken wide open. The past five years he’d lived in his own personal purgatory, taking a different girl out to dinner every weekend in a desperate attempt to find happiness with someone besides Kim. He’d never found anyone close to Kim’s sweetness, zest for life, and natural beauty. He’d adored Kim Heathrow and truthfully still did.
He paced away from the table. The house was nice, lots of windows, tile floors, mahogany cabinets, but it was too warm. Did they not believe in air conditioning in this country? He got himself a drink of water, supposedly you could do that from the tap in Costa Rica, and drained it. Turning off the alarm, he retrieved his bag from the front porch, rearmed the security system, and glanced up the stairs. He imagined Kim in her bedroom and heat infused him. He’d been ecstatic to accept this assignment. It had seemed heaven was finally smiling upon him, but Kim’s reaction to him was the worst case scenario. He didn’t know how he could act professional and detached from her when all he wanted to do was beg her forgiveness and hold her until she knew he’d never leave her side again.
He searched the downstairs, closing blinds and curtains as he went. It was only the entry, a small office, the large great room area, and a mud room with an entry to the garage. Everything looked in order and he didn’t find any bugs. It’d taken him under ten seconds to pick the deadbolt earlier, but he knew most people didn’t have his training. The security system was all functioning properly. Also from his investigation outside before he went through the front door he found the house was pretty secure.
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