by Marla Monroe
“Do you think he’s the one who’s been sneaking around my house?” she asked.
“Someone’s been out at your house? When?” Denise asked.
“We found footprints outside her windows and doors yesterday.” Aden frowned. “I don’t think it was him, honey. Finish eating. We need to go back to the store and talk.”
“I’m not very hungry anymore. We can go now.” Cynthia started to gather the still-wrapped burger and fries.
“You need to eat, hon. Even if you only manage a few bites, you’ll feel better if you do. Eat while I call Roy and let him know you’re fine.” Aden pulled out his cell and pressed a number.
“Why would Roy be worried about me?” she asked.
Aden just squeezed her hand and pointed at the hamburger before he started talking.
“Hey, Roy. I’ve got her. She’s fine.”
“Yeah, sorry it took so long, but she’d gone to eat and I had to track her down. I’ll tell you about it later. What’s going on there?” he asked.
Cynthia found it strange that he’d assured Roy she was fine. That meant the other man had thought something was wrong. Something wasn’t right. She quickly ate half the hamburger, rinsing it down with her Diet Coke.
Denise touched her arm and gave her a questioning look. Cynthia just shrugged and started clearing the table. By the time Aden had gotten off the call, she and Denise were ready to leave. Aden didn’t say anything, just took the tray and ushered the two women out the door, dropping the trash off on the way.
When they were outside in the hustle and bustle of the sidewalk, he took a hand from each of them and walked them back down the street to their stores. They dropped Denise off at hers with a promise elicited from Cynthia to call her and fill her in later. As soon as she’d unlocked her store and stepped in, Aden took her hand and led her to the back where her office was and all but plastered her against the door.
The instant his lips touched hers, Cynthia was putty in his hands. He tasted of warmth and safety. His hands pinned hers to the wood over her head as he pressed his heavily aroused body tight to hers. She squirmed against him, enjoying the friction as much as how it felt when he growled into her mouth and tightened his hold on her. His mouth consumed hers in an almost brutal assault as he explored every curve and hallow with his tongue.
When he pulled back and rested his forehead against hers, his breath came in fast spurts like hers. She looked up to find his eyes closed and an almost desperate look on his face.
“What is it, Aden? What’s wrong?” she asked in a hushed voice.
He pulled back and opened his eyes. Fear floated there for an instant before it was replaced by a fierce determination that startled her. He cupped her face in his hands and traced her kiss-swollen lips with one thumb.
“I could have lost you today. I don’t ever want to go through that again. I can’t even imagine what Roy was feeling.”
“What are you talking about? I’m fine. Nothing happened.” Cynthia was confused. She’d never been in any real danger from Nick.
“Honey, you’ve got to promise me that you won’t go anywhere with anyone other than me and Roy from now on. I couldn’t stand it if something happened to you,” Aden said.
“Aden. You’re scaring me. What’s going on?”
“Roy went back to your place to install the locks we’d gotten. Our friend can’t come out 'til next week to install a security system, so we wanted to add the locks right away.”
She poked him in the chest with one finger. “Remind me to read you the riot act about taking my key without asking.”
He captured her finger and lifted it to his mouth to kiss it. “Thank God we did. At least without your key you wouldn’t have been able to unlock your door.”
“Don’t be so sure,” she said with a smirk. “I have a hidden key.”
If anything, Aden turned paler than when she’d first seen him back at the restaurant. What the hell was going on?
“Aden?”
“Someone had rigged your door with a bomb, Cynthia. If you had inserted your key and tried to unlock the door, it would have exploded and killed you.”
“What? A bomb?” She shook her head. Who would do that? Then she remembered that Roy had her key. “Roy!”
“Shhh, he’s okay, honey. He’s trained in explosives and noticed the signs that someone had fiddled with your door. He’s safe. Worried as hell about you and what might have happened, but he’s fine.” Aden pulled her into a hug and rested his chin on her head. “God, Cyn. We could have lost you today.”
“Why would anyone want to kill me? What have I ever done for someone to hate me that much?” She searched her memories but couldn’t come up with one person she’d ever made mad enough to even slash her tires. “Aden. Nick may be mad at me but not enough to kill me. Why would he be trying to talk me into leaving you if he’d planned on killing me all along?”
“I know, hon. As much as he’s pissed me off for touching you, I agree. He didn’t act like someone who was planning to kill you.”
“What am I going to do?” she finally asked.
Everything seemed surreal to her right then. The world had suddenly changed on her, and she wasn’t sure what her place in it was anymore. Knowing that someone out there hated her that much scared her, but it hurt her as well. What had she ever done that was so horrible? Surely she should remember something that terrible.
“First of all, you need to close the store. We’ve got to go talk to the sheriff about everything. Then you’re going to pack a suitcase and stay with Roy and me until we figure out what’s going on and they catch this guy. You can’t stay alone, especially without a security system.”
Cynthia looked up at Aden, her vision blurred from the tears trying to fall. He looked so strong and determined to keep her safe. What if something happened to one of them because of her? It would kill her. She cared about them much more than she should. Just that morning she’d vowed to enjoy the ride while it lasted, fully expecting it to run out of gas fairly quickly. Now she wasn’t sure she would survive when they eventually tired of her. They’d become much more than boy toys. She’d been fooling herself to think otherwise.
“I–I need to see Roy, Aden,” she finally said.
“Let’s go, hon. I’ll take you to see Roy. He needs to see you, too.”
Chapter Fourteen
Roy leaned back against the hood of his truck waiting for Aden and Cynthia to drive up. The bomb squad had finally arrived from Knoxville and safely defused the explosive. They’d asked more questions before leaving. Now he, the sheriff, and two of the deputies were waiting for Cynthia. He hated she would have to go through it all as well, but they would have to hear it from her. God, he was so thankful she was okay. He had been able to tell from Aden’s clipped responses that something else was going on involving her, but as long as she was okay and Aden was with her, Roy could handle the wait.
It hit him right then that had it just been him, there would have been no one to check on her and take care of whatever had cropped up in town. Had it just been him without Aden in the picture, she might have gone home alone before he could have made it to go with her. Even if he’d followed her home, she might still have unlocked that door before he’d gotten out of the truck. The possibilities left his throat tight and his gut churning.
The sound of a truck coming up the drive jerked him from his morose thoughts. He stepped away from his truck and waited until Aden had parked before hurrying over to the passenger door to open it. As soon as he had the door open, Roy pulled her from the truck into his arms. She felt so damn good in his arms. He buried his face in her hair, then her neck, inhaling her scent as he did.
“Easy, Roy. Don’t suffocate her. Let her breathe.” Aden’s voice held no amusement or teasing.
Slowly and reluctantly, Roy eased his hold and winced when she actually drew in a deep breath. Maybe he had been squeezing her a little tightly.
“Are you okay?” they both asked at th
e same time.
She chuckled and smoothed her hands over his cheeks. “When Aden told me what happened, I thought I was going to be sick. Don’t you dare get hurt because of me, Roy.” She turned to Aden. “You either. I couldn’t stand it if anything happened to either of you because of me.”
“Nothing is going to happen to anyone,” Roy assured her. “We’re going to be very careful and keep you close, baby girl.”
“What did they find out so far?” Aden asked.
“They haven’t really shared anything with me. I know there was both gunpowder and C4 found, but I’m not sure what they found as the detonator for it. All I can figure out is that the turning of the key would have generated some type of explosive friction to set off the C4.”
“I don’t understand. Why would you have to have something to set off the C4? I thought it was like dynamite or something,” Cynthia said.
“C4 is one of the most stable forms of explosives there are,” Roy told her.
“You can’t even set it off by shooting it, for the most part. There would have to be a blasting cap of some type,” Aden explained.
“I figure there was a nonelectrical one that the friction from the lock turning ignited the gunpowder that burned and triggered the blasting cap. That would have set off the C4.” Roy shook his head. “Never mind. What was going on in town?”
“We’ll tell you later. Looks like we have company,” Aden said, nodding his head in the direction of the house.
Roy turned around and, sure enough, the sheriff and his deputies were walking toward them with scowls on their faces. He had no doubt they didn’t like that the three of them had been talking instead of waiting until after they’d questioned them. He shifted to stand a little in front of Cynthia.
“I’m Sheriff David Johansson. Are you Cynthia Hawthorn, the owner of the house?” He directed his question at Cynthia, ignoring Aden and himself.
“Yes, Sheriff. What’s going on? Why would someone try and blow me up?” Cynthia’s voice sounded fairly steady for someone who’d just found out her door had been booby-trapped. Roy was proud of her.
“I need to ask you some questions, ma’am. If you’ll come this way, please.” The sheriff held out his hand to indicate that she should follow him.
Roy reluctantly stepped aside but squeezed her hand before she got past him. One of the deputies approached Aden.
“Sir, I’d like to ask you some questions as well.”
Aden looked over at Roy then back at the deputy and shrugged. “Yeah. I’m not sure what I can add.”
Roy watched as Aden was led away as well. They played by the book when it came to separating them for questioning. It wasn’t as if either one of them would be suspects. They were the ones trying to keep her safe. This was a waste of time. They weren’t going to learn anything by questioning them individually or altogether.
As he leaned against the front bumper of the truck, he wondered again what had happened while they’d been in town. Aden had sounded stressed and just maybe a little bit angry when he’d called to let Roy know that he had Cynthia and that she was okay. What had happened to cause his normally un-frazzleable buddy to sound more than a little frazzled? Then again, maybe he didn’t want to know right now. He needed to process one thing at a time. If whatever had occurred in town had the potential to upset him, he needed more time to recover from this shock before he added anything more to the mix.
He watched Cynthia’s facial expressions as she talked to the officer. He didn’t like the way she’d paled or how her hands seemed to tremble, despite how tightly she had them clasped together. Once he found out who was at the bottom of this… All he could say was that the sheriff’s department better get to the bastard before he did. He didn’t like seeing her scared.
Finally, she shook hands with the deputy and accepted a card from the man before walking slowly back to where Roy continued to lean against his truck. As soon as she reached him, Roy pulled her into his arms and held her there. It soothed him to feel her wrapped in his embrace, soothed by his attentions.
“You okay, baby girl?” he asked.
“Why is someone doing this? You could have been killed, Roy, and all because someone hates me enough to blow me up.”
“Shh. Nothing happened. I’m just thankful I was there instead of you. If something had happened to you, I’m not sure I would have been able to deal with it.”
“I’ve wracked my brain, but I can’t think of anyone I’ve upset or hurt that would be this angry. I’ve never fired anyone. There’ve been no irate customers. Most of them are thrilled with their purchases,” Cynthia said.
Roy couldn’t imagine how anyone could possibly not adore her. She was kind, friendly, and sincere. He already knew this deep inside. He had no doubt that she would always go out of her way to help people, not harm them.
“Don’t think about it anymore, Cynthia. Give it a rest for now. Did they say if you can go in the house yet and pack a bag?” Roy asked.
“Yeah, as long as I go in the back door. They’ve cleared it as safe.”
“As soon as Aden gets back we’ll go do that. I don’t want you here alone without that security system.”
She nodded without hesitating this time. Obviously she’d taken what was going on to heart and wasn’t going to balk at the need for their protection—for now. He had no idea how long that would last. More than likely just until the security system was installed. He and Aden would have to work hard to change her mind about that. As far as he was concerned, their Cynthia didn’t need to go back to her house for anything other than to pack her things to move in with them. He could wish.
* * * *
Cynthia carefully looked around once they’d entered her bedroom, afraid she was going to see some clue that someone had been in her private domain. So far, she hadn’t discovered anything out of place or encountered the feeling that another had touched her things.
“Cyn, baby?” Aden looked down at her with concern.
“It’s okay. I’ll get my overnight bag out of the closet,” she said, her voice only a trace shaky—she hoped.
“Suitcase, baby girl. You’ll be at home with us for at least three or four days,” Aden told her.
Cynthia sighed, but didn’t argue. As much as she cared about them—yeah, maybe even loved them—she didn’t believe that they would last for any length of time. Not only that, but she didn’t want them in danger because of her. If something happened to either of them she would be devastated. Just as soon as they got that damn security system up and running, she was coming back home. No way would she subject them to the danger.
When she dragged the suitcase out of the closet, Roy grabbed it and hoisted it on the bed. Once he’d unzipped it and had it open he stepped back for her to start packing. Aden positioned himself by the door while Roy dogged her every step as she made trips back and forth from the bathroom and her closet.
“Will you park it somewhere? You’re making me nervous. I can pack my clothes without your help, Roy.” She jammed her hands on her hips and glared up at him.
He grinned but made himself comfortable on the bed, leaning against the headboard. Even though he wasn’t physically following her, his eyes stayed glued to her the entire time she picked out clothes and arranged them in the suitcase. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Cynthia found herself smiling as well. Roy had that effect on her. There was just something about how relaxed he was that eased her mind. Loving them really hadn’t been all that hard to do. Aden might be bossy and more serious, but he was just a lovable as Roy.
When she’d finished gathering everything she needed clothes-wise as well as her toiletries, Cynthia grabbed her Kindle and charger as well as her phone charger to add to the bag. Since the suitcase was still only partially full, she added her pillow for good measure. It would cushion her things so they didn’t move around as much when they carried it out and loaded it into the truck. Not only that, but she would sleep better with her own pillow under her h
ead.
She started to close the top, but Roy stopped her, handling it himself. She just shook her head and walked over to where Aden continued to hold the door facing up by leaning against it. When she reached him, the big man stood up straight and pulled her into his arms.
“How are you holding up, honey?” he asked.
“I’m good. Angry that someone is doing this to me and scared that someone might get hurt before they catch him.” She couldn’t suppress the shiver that traveled down her arms.
“Try not to worry so much, Cyn. You’ll give yourself an ulcer. We’ll keep you safe,” he said.
Cynthia inhaled his warm, masculine scent, savoring being in his arms for the moment. It wouldn’t last, so she’d best not get used to the delicious way he smelled or the feeling of safety she had when he or Roy held her.
“Let’s get going, guys. It’s getting late. I’d like to make it home before it is full dark,” Roy told them.
Aden gave her one last squeeze before releasing her and turning toward the hall. Cynthia followed behind him with Roy and her suitcase bringing up the rear. When they walked through the backdoor, they were met by one of the deputies.
“We’ll lock up the house when we finish, ma’am.”
“Thank you. Please keep in touch with me on what you find,” she said.
“We will. We have everyone’s number and the number to the store. Keep your eyes open and be careful.”
“We’ll keep her safe. Find this guy before he lucks up and manages to hurt someone,” Aden said.
The deputy nodded with a grim expression. The guys hurried her around the side of the house toward the vehicles. Right then her poor front yard looked like a used car lot with three trucks and three SUVs parked out front. More than likely she’d be left with ruts a mile deep by the time they all finished going over her house.