A Stranger Is Watching

by Linda Randall Wisdom

  He hadn’t shaved that morning, and with his casual clothing and sunglasses propped on his nose, he looked as dangerous as a jungle cat.

  Jenna thought of the first time she’d seen him.

  He was wearing a pair of disreputable jeans and a gray sweatshirt with the sleeves chopped off to reveal the tattoo of a hawk on one upper arm. He’d spent the evening playing basketball with kids who would be ignored by most adults.

  When her date had left her stranded on the side of the road, he’d been there to rescue her.

  Her knight in worn denim and gray fleece.

  Jenna’s imagination had gone overboard in seeing him the way she’d wanted to. Now she was afraid to fall in love again with this man who lived in constant danger.

  They were too different. She had grown up in rarefied air that involved the arts. She’d been touted as an up-and-coming artist. Her friends drew pictures, not guns.

  Then Riley came into her life, and suddenly she was attending football and basketball games. He taught her how to play cutthroat miniature golf. She taught him backgammon. He taught her an afternoon in the park watching a game of touch football was fun, but participating in the game was even better. She taught him museums didn’t have to be boring.

  He taught her body to know his by the slightest touch. She taught him drinking champagne while lazing in the tub was better than drinking beer. He taught her just what sizzling passion was. She taught him to see the colors in a sunset.

  Except she hadn’t been able to teach him that family life could be enriching. He saw the bad side of life, while she looked for the good. He saw dark; she saw light. It hadn’t stopped her from falling in love with him. It hadn’t stopped her from hoping they might find a way to meld their differences into a winning combination. Then Grieco entered her life, and any chance she and Riley might have had was cruelly taken away.

  Even now she wanted to reach over and touch him. She wanted to feel the warmth of his skin and feel the reassurance she knew she could experience just by laying her hand on his arm.

  Except she no longer had that right. She’d given that up the day she’d entered the Program and left him behind.

  I didn’t want to leave you, Riley. Please believe me. I couldn’t allow you to give up your career for me. It was too important to you. You could still do so much good that you wouldn’t be allowed to do if you’d gone with me. She stared at him as if begging him to hear her thoughts.

  “Is your book that boring?” His lips barely moved.

  She jumped at the unexpected sound of his voice.

  “I thought you were asleep,” she murmured.

  “It’s easier to see what’s going on around you if people don’t think you’re watching them.”

  “Of course.” Jenna opened her book again.

  “We’ve got about another hour in the air. Why don’t you ask the attendant for something to drink.”

  “Where are we going?” she asked in a hushed voice.

  A faint smile touched his lips. “Let’s just say we’re going to a place where no one would expect us to go.”

  Jenna looked at him quizzically, but it was clear he wasn’t going to say any more on the subject.

  The flight ended up being three hours, due to bad weather. By the time the plane landed, Jenna was exhausted and queasy from the bumpy travel.

  She visibly drooped as she followed Riley off the plane and into the small terminal. The air was so humid her clothing stuck to her skin within minutes and she could feel sweat trickle down her back.

  She leaned against him as they waited for their baggage. She was exhausted and felt ready to drop. Riley gathered up their two suitcases and guided her outside.

  “When do we get there?” Jenna asked, aware she sounded whiny. She was so tired she didn’t care if she sounded that way. She just wanted to be at a place where the scenery didn’t move around her. She wanted a hot shower and a soft bed.

  “Soon.” He gestured to a taxi driver and after a rapid exchange in Spanish, herded her into the car.

  Jenna moaned when the small car took off at the speed of light. Riley curved his arm around her shoulders to steady her as the car raced around one sharp curve then another. She turned her head and buried her face against Riley’s shoulder. He chuckled softly in her ear as he tightened his hold on her.

  “Don’t worry, I’m sure he’s made this trip hundreds of times. I didn’t see any scratched fenders.”

  “There’s always a first time,” she mumbled against his shirt. “If we’re going to fall off a cliff, I don’t want to see it coming.”

  She remained in that position for the next hour until the taxi finally screeched to a stop.

  Riley reached into his pocket and pulled out some money. “We’re here.”

  Jenna feared she looked like a zombie as she stumbled out of the taxi. A young man ran out of the hotel and took their bags from the driver. She looked upward but saw no name on the front of the building. Riley took her hand and guided her inside.

  She was too exhausted to bother examining her surroundings or the people in the lobby, who were covertly watching them. She didn’t really care who or what was there. All she cared about at the moment was lying down and sleeping for a week.

  She stood by numbly as he conversed with the desk clerk. A moment later he was given a key, and a bellman led them out of the lobby. Soft lights marked a stone path that zigzagged ahead of them.

  The bellman took them to a comfortable looking bungalow. After pointing out the bedroom, he turned on the light in an adjoining room and told them about the tub’s whirlpool feature.

  “Where are we?” Jenna asked, dropping onto a chair. She traced the Aztec pattern of the brightly colored cloth.

  “A very nice resort where we can’t be easily found,” Riley answered once the bellman had left. He pushed open the bathroom door and went inside. “Trust me, you’ll love it here. They’ve even got a spa, and there’s a doctor on call if your hand starts bothering you. All the comforts of home and then some.”

  Jenna shook her head, but the fuzzy feeling refused to go away. She was trying to sort out his words, but they kept getting jumbled.

  “We’re at a spa?”

  “Not exactly.” Riley set Jenna’s bag on the luggage rack. “I suppose you want the shower first.”

  She pressed her fingers against her temples. A headache was now warring with her nausea.

  Riley’s hand covered her shoulder. “Are you all right?”

  Jenna shook her head. She looked up with eyes that were now a shimmering hazel courtesy of colored contact lenses.

  “Am I all right? I’m about as far from all right as one person can be. I have been attacked, my life threatened, my own self turned into another person, and to top it all off, I’ve been on a jet, a plane that was probably built during World War I, then risked my life riding in a taxicab driven by a wild man. Now I find out I’m staying in a hotel on the edge of nowhere. How do you think I feel?” She was close to tears.

  Not wanting to break down in front of him, she brushed aside his hand and stood up. She wanted nothing more than the security of the bathroom with the door locked.

  She didn’t go more than one step before Riley’s arms closed around her. With her face once again buried against his shirt, she could inhale the musky scent of his skin and feel the rasp of his beard-roughened chin rub gently against her forehead.

  “It’s been a hell of a lot more than you expected, hasn’t it, Smitty?” he asked huskily. “But you need to be kept safe. This was the only place I could think of that was far enough away without our needing a passport or visa.”

  “And everyone hides out in Mexico, don’t they?” she choked out the words.

  “Something like that, yes. I was down here once on an undercover assignment to help track down an escaped prisoner who was working as a waiter.” He kept rubbing his chin against the top of her head in a soothing gesture. “This is a honeymoon resort. They tend to take privacy
to the nth degree. The hotel is built up against a rocky cliff with a sheltered bay. They have a couple of five-star restaurants, a fitness center, a spa, swimming pool and a private beach.”

  She sighed. “So what you’re saying is we’re here on our honeymoon.”

  “Exactly. We’re here as Ryan and Jennifer Davidson. I doubt we’ll run into all that many other guests, anyway. As you can guess most of them prefer privacy.”

  “Amazing,” she murmured, so tired she was understanding little of what he was saying. She pushed herself away from the warm comfort of his body before she gave in all the way and just stayed there. “I’m going to take a shower.”

  “Don’t forget to use that plastic bag to keep your cast dry,” he called after her.

  She went into the bedroom and deliberately ignored the king-size bed as she pulled some things from her suitcase and carried her tote bag into the bathroom.

  Within moments, Riley could hear the faint sound of the shower drumming against tile walls.

  He felt the weariness deep within every bone in his body. Pouring himself a whiskey, he knocked it back in one gulp. The liquor burned its way down his throat and into his stomach. It did nothing to ease his fatigue, other than remind him he hadn’t eaten anything for some hours. He sat back in the chair Jenna had vacated and closed his eyes.

  He hadn’t planned on bringing her here. Actually, he hadn’t planned anything other than getting her out of Kansas City as fast as possible. It wasn’t until he looked at the damage in her apartment that he knew he had to take her to somewhere where he felt he could keep her safe.

  Without looking, he reached for the bottle and poured himself another drink.

  He should order some food for both of them. Especially for him before the alcohol took effect.

  He had to make sure Jenna was perfectly safe, so he shouldn’t be drinking in the first place. He shouldn’t have come back. He should have insisted he was out of it and stayed on his beach.

  It took him a few minutes to realize the shower had stopped.

  Riley pushed himself out of his chair and headed for the bedroom. “How about some dinn—” He stopped in the doorway and stared at the scene before him.

  Jenna lay under the covers with her still-damp hair fanned across the pillow. Exhaustion was etched in her features as she slept.

  Riley muttered a curse.

  He was there to protect her. But who would protect him?

  Chapter 4

  “Have you found them yet?” The man’s voice was so sharp it could have cleanly sliced skin and not left a drop of blood behind. He sat behind his desk looking like an evil potentate, with a Cuban cigar in one hand and a glass of whiskey in the other. The only light in the room was a desk lamp that cast a mellow light on a face that could only belong to the devil.

  “Not yet, but we’re working on it.” The man stood before the ornate walnut desk. He wasn’t asked to sit. But then he never was. He was to stand there and listen to orders that were expected to be carried out without complaint. If they weren’t...well, that was something he didn’t think about. “I don’t think it will take us long to find him.”

  That wasn’t easy to do when you were tracking a man who could slip the most tenacious tail. He wasn’t about to tell his employer that.

  “I don’t pay you to think. I pay you to do my bidding. Remember that.”

  He slowly puffed on his cigar as he regarded his employee with eyes that displayed no soul. If the other man had been superstitious he would have called on God for help.

  “Yes, you will find both of them. Because if you don’t...” He didn’t need to finish his statement. It was well known what would happen if his wishes weren’t carried out.

  The man could feel perspiration gather in his armpits and trickle down his sides.

  “You did an excellent job with the woman. It brought him to us. Unfortunately he left before we could meet again.” His eyes turned cold. “Do whatever is necessary.” The words were spoken in a low, menacing voice. “I don’t want to see you again until you have carried out my wishes.”

  He nodded and quickly left the office. If he were smart, he’d get away as far as he could, but he knew he wouldn’t remain free for long. The man he worked for had a very long reach. There was no doubt in his mind the day would come when he would die for not fulfilling his duty, unless he made sure to always do what he was told.

  Jenna’s sleep was soft and warm like a fluffy blanket. She was reluctant to wake up when her sleep-filled world was so lovely. She pulled the covers up over her head with the intent of drifting back to that fleecy white cloud.

  Then her nose caught a rich familiar scent that urged her to open her eyes. She did just that and saw a coffee cup sitting on the nightstand. She snuck one hand out from under the covers and touched the cup with her fingertips. It was still hot.

  She sat up and reached for the cup. One sip turned to two then three as the caffeine flooded her system with a wake-up call.

  “Think you can handle some food to go with the coffee?”

  She turned her head and found Riley standing at the end of the bed. He looked disgustingly alert. His hair had a damp sheen from a recent shower, and he’d shaved. His faded navy cotton shorts and oatmeal-colored T-shirt probably weren’t any different than any man would wear, but somehow on Riley the nondescript clothing looked sexy.

  “Scrambled eggs, sausage, Belgian waffle,” he intoned in a voice that was meant to tempt. “Danish pastries.”

  Jenna’s mouth watered at the sight of the feast. She immediately sat up and started to swing her legs around to get out of bed.

  “Uh-uh.” Riley held up his hand to stop her. He returned to the parlor and came back with a tray in his hands. “Here you go, champ. A little bit of everything.”

  As Jenna sat back against the headboard, she noticed the dent in the pillow next to her. She was positive the dent had been made by Riley’s head. The twinkle in his eye verified her suspicions.

  “You were sound asleep,” he confirmed, without a trace of apology. “And there’s only one bed. The couch is only made for people under five feet tall.”

  Jenna scooped up a forkful of egg instead of speaking. She didn’t want to admit the idea of his sleeping beside her was arousing.

  “What’s on the agenda for today? Brunch, perhaps some bodysurfing? Just an average vacation for an average couple.”

  Riley grinned at the sound of her tart words. “I can’t say I’d call us average. After all, we are on our honeymoon.”

  “Well, that’s true.”

  “You started it.” He walked over and sat down on the bed. “About six steps outside the French doors is our own pool and spa. Every bungalow has a small private pool for its residents.”

  - She shook her head, unable to take it all in. “Sounds like paradise.”

  “Close enough,” Riley said. He leaned over and stole a corner of a raspberry pastry. “It’s suitable for our purposes.”

  “Do you realize that in the past couple of days you’ve said the most you’ve ever said about your work?” she commented. “I had no idea about the details of what you did, other than what I saw watching news reports on television or watching movies.”

  Riley made a face regarding the latter. “Don’t believe what you see on film, Smitty. Directors like to show us jumping out of burning buildings, or planes blowing up all around us. I don’t think that happened once during my career.”

  Jenna tore off a piece of pastry and tossed it in her mouth. She should have felt odd, sitting in bed eating breakfast while Riley sat on the end of the bed. After all, for the past three years, she’d woken up alone.

  Today brought back memories of mornings when he used to go out for a morning run and return with pastries or bagels and coffee. She remembered how he always teased her, saying the smell of fresh-brewed coffee was better than any alarm clock to wake her up after she’d had a long night waitressing at the restaurant.

  The only differen
ce between then and now was that she was wearing a nightgown this morning.

  “What a shame you missed out on so much excitement,” she drawled. She shot him a faintly accusing glare when he stole the rest of the pastry. “Did you not eat breakfast?”

  He grinned, not looking the least bit guilty at getting caught. “Sure, I did. But I’m hungry again.”

  Jenna pulled her tray closer to her. “Then find your own food. This is mine.”

  For a moment, as she looked at him, she felt a tingle of electricity streak down her spine. The heated expression in his eyes had nothing to do with hunger for food, but for something much more elemental.

  It would have been so easy for her to set the tray aside and silently let him know she wanted him as much as he wanted her.

  Except too much had changed since the last time they’d been together. She had been forced to teach herself to adjust to an entirely different way of life. All of her past had been locked away in the back of her mind where she refused to allow it to surface. She refused to remember what it had been like.

  Nor did she want to think of what happened between them the last night they were together.

  She never forgot his anger at finding the pregnancy test. Or forgot his fury at what he’d felt was her betrayal. He had taken his share of the blame, but he still saw her as the one who’d tried to change their lives into something he had no desire for.

  That last night was still a blur to her. Her fear of what she’d overheard had pretty much overridden everything else. There was Riley’s stern demeanor as a marshal when he listened to what she had to say. He hadn’t wasted any time in calling the authorities after she told him what she’d heard.

  Within a half hour, two marshals showed up at her door, one a woman, and she’d left with them. She only saw Riley a few times after that. She was later told it was thought best they be kept separated during the trial.

  She ached during all those torturous months, but she also did a lot of thinking. She had loved Riley with all her heart With him she felt complete. And she felt he loved her even if he never said the words. If there was anything dividing them it was the issue of children.