Chapter 21

The truck cab filled with a tense silence on the way back home. Though Liam was upset with her, she couldn’t focus her mind on that right now. She swallowed past the lump of fear in her throat.

Jason killed Carrie.

The thought kept turning over in her brain, refusing to let her go. The poor woman. She’d only been doing her job. A stenographer didn’t even have any say in the ruling. They just kept the record. Why did he have to kill her? Tears welled as she imagined how much hate the man must hold in his heart for everyone and everything,

They pulled up to the house, Liam still silent, refusing to talk to her. She couldn’t decide if she was grateful or nervous. Her thoughts and emotions were scattered about like grains of dirt in a dust storm. The pounding of her heart in her ears was loud enough to drown out any noise. She had enough on her plate to deal with right now, and yet, she wanted Liam to talk to her, tell her what he was feeling, thinking. She wanted their connection back, the close bond of earlier this morning.

With the truck parked, he turned off the ignition and shifted toward her. “What the hell, Julie?”

Hunching in on herself at his outburst, she rethought her desire to have him speak. “Let’s get inside, and I’ll tell you everything.”

He grumbled something under his breath, which sounded suspiciously like, Damn right you will. She knew he was worried for her, and that’s where his frustration was coming from, but his attitude was not helping.

Wind Chaser whinnied as they passed her pen. Julie would’ve loved to brush everything aside, hop on the back of the horse and go for a long ride. Riding always soothed her soul, and it was in need of some serious calming right now. But one look at Liam’s face and she knew she wasn’t going anywhere until he had the full story.

They barely made it past the front door before he turned to her, arms crossed, voice demanding, “Spill it.”

She knew he was angry and worried, but that didn’t give him the right to be such a jerk. Furrowing her brow, she matched his stance. “Would you like to cuff me for this interrogation, Agent, or maybe shine a big bright light in my eyes to get me to talk?”

“What I’d like to do”—he advanced on her until only inches separated them—“is take you over my knee for not telling me you were in danger, and then find the safest most remote safe house I can and stick you there until this Kline guy is caught.”

There he went again, thinking he knew better than her. “That’s why I didn’t tell you!” She threw her hands up, turning and heading into the living room.

The house felt cold for this time of year, but maybe that was just her. All the warm fuzzy feelings from this morning were shattered and gone with one ill-timed message.

“I knew if I told you, you’d tell Ryder, and you guys would band together against me and force me into WITSEC. But I don’t need to go in—”

“You haven’t told your brother?”

His shout rattled the small candy dish on the coffee table. She winced, knowing he would never hurt her—no matter how angry he got—but surprised by his show of emotions. Liam was usually the calm, collected one. The man had nerves of steel; he had to for his occupation. Never had she seen him so…raw.

It should not turn her on, but the sharp stab of heat low in her belly disagreed.

“I knew Jake would overreact, just like you.”

Liam tugged his hands through his short hair before letting them drop to his side. “This isn’t overacting. Overacting would be if I called in a few favors and had your butt hauled into protective custody whether you liked it or not.”

She knew he was just trying to protect her, but nobody threatened to take her choices away, no matter how sexy and sweet he was. “You listen here, Liam Graham. I know I should have told you about Jason earlier, but just because we slept together does not give you the right to start dictating my life. You don’t get to control me.”

“I’m not trying to control you. I’m trying to keep you safe.”

“I am safe here with you.”

His shoulders dropped, a frustrated breath leaving him “How am I supposed to protect you if I don’t know there’s a threat?”

He had a good point there. “I didn’t think Jason would stay around. I figured the guy would head to the border first chance he got.”

“When have the bad guys ever done what we thought they would?”

True. In their careers, they’d both seen people do astoundingly stupid things. Had she really thought Kline would skip town or had she just hoped?

“I care about you, Julie.” Reaching out, he snagged her waist and pulled her to him. “Did you know what it did to me when I heard the things David did to you? It haunted me, damn near gutted me until I could get to you, make sure you were okay with my own eyes.”

The raw emotion in his voice hit her right in the heart. She hadn’t realized her ordeal affected him so much.

One strong hand came up to cup her face. She gazed into beautiful, golden eyes full of so many different emotions. She knew Liam cared, but the strong alpha man never revealed his feelings to her before. Now, she could see them clearly. He was opening himself to her, letting her in.

She placed her hand over his on her cheek. “I’m okay, Liam.”

He nodded, pressing a hard and fast kiss to her lips. “And you’re going to stay that way.”

Before she could ask what he meant by that, a knock tapped on the door. They both froze.

Julie’s heart jumped into her throat as she squeezed Liam’s hand tightly. The rational part of her brain knew it wasn’t Jason at the door. A killer wouldn’t knock, he’d burst in, guns blazing. Criminals very rarely knocked politely on their victim’s doors.

“Julie? Are you there?”

A relieved gush of air left her lungs. “It’s Maggie.”

Liam didn’t answer, his face hard as stone. Reaching down, he pulled a small handgun from a holster strapped to his ankle.

Of course he had a gun on him. She wondered if he ever went without one. With the things he’d seen as an FBI agent, she doubted it.

Motioning for her to stay behind him, he silently approached the door. She wanted to roll her eyes at his overly cautious attitude. It was just Maggie, what was the tiny baker going to do, hit them over the head with her mixing bowls? She chuckled with the thought of sweet Maggie intending harm to anyone. Liam glared at her over his shoulder, which just made her giggle harder. With the situation facing her at the moment, it was either laugh or cry.

The knock came again, stronger this time. “Julie? Hello?”

“For heaven’s sake, Liam. It’s just Maggie.” Raising her voice, she called out, “Coming, Maggie.”

He let out a deep sigh, rolling his eyes upward as if praying for strength. “I realize it’s Maggie, but she might not be here alone.” His hushed voice sounded unreasonably loud in the quiet house. “Or of her own free will.”

A cold chill snaked up her spine, heartbeat racing out of control as an image of Jason holding Maggie at gunpoint entered her mind. She hadn’t thought of that possibility, but they didn’t even know if the convict was in Peak Town. Just because he was spotted in Aspen, didn’t mean he followed her here. How would he even know where she was anyway?

Liam held up a hand. “Let me check it out before you go opening the door to God knows what.”

Biting her lip, she nodded, unable to form words past the fear in her chest.

He crept toward the door on silent footsteps. Gun at the ready in his steady grasp, he leaned over to glance out the peephole. His body relaxed slightly, but he still hesitated opening the door. He cracked it open just enough to glance outside, his big body blocking her view.

“Maggie.”

“Oh, hi, Liam. Is Julie here? I really need to talk to her.”

His head swiveled left and right before he opened the door fully, allowing the small woman to enter.

“Julie!” The cupcake maker raced to her side the moment she spotted her.

“Maggie, what’s wrong?” Because from the worried look on the woman’s face, something was up.

“I don’t know, maybe nothing, but maybe something.”

The sound of the deadbolt sliding closed made them jump. Maggie turned her head, eyes widening when she saw Liam securing the door, gun still in hand.

“Um, did I miss something? What’s with the gun?”

“Maggie,” Julie spoke in a soft, controlled voice; it tended to help people to focus. Her brother called it her lawyer voice. “Why did you come to see me?”

The woman tore her gaze away from Liam and his gun. “Right, there’s someone looking for you in town.”

A cold sweat broke out on her neck. Fear choked her, making it hard to breath.

“Who?” Liam demanded, coming to stand next to her.

“I don’t know.” Maggie glanced between them. “Some guy came into the shop asking about you. He said he was an old friend, but Tony and I got a weird vibe from him. He looked…unsafe.”

Grasping the other woman’s arms, she tried not to let her fear show, but her limbs shook from the tips of her fingers to her pinky toes. “What did he look like? Can you describe him? Did he give you a name?”

“No name.” Small wisps of brown hair fell from her braid as she shook her head. “He was very average looking. About five ten or so, short brown hair, dark eyes, I think. He just really creeped me out.”

Liam pulled out his cell, fingers flying over the screen. “Did he look like this?” He held out the phone. A picture of Jason Kline filled the screen. His mug shot, not hard to find these days with the internet.

Maggie’s face paled. “Yes. That’s him. Who is he? Is he dangerous?”

“Very.” Liam put his phone back in his pocket. “Maggie, you need to get back to the shop, call your husband and have him stay with you until you close.”

“Colt is already on his way. I called him before heading here. I didn’t want to leave Tony by himself.”

Julie knew the young man was more than capable of taking care of himself, but Maggie and Lizzy worried over him like mother hens. This time, though, they had good reason. Jason Kline was a monster who would take out anyone that got in the way of his mission.

She swallowed past a hard lump in her throat. Oh shit! Jason was in town, after her. What was she going to do?

The short, raspy pants of a person on the verge of hyperventilation reached her ears, and she realized it was coming from her. She tried to take a deep breath, but her lungs would not cooperate.

“Julie,” Liam’s deep voice permeated the thick cloud of fear fogging her brain. “Look at me, honey.”

She obeyed his command, gaze rising to his. Those warm, honey eyes gave her a small amount of calm in the terrified waters she currently found herself in. Finally, she found the calm necessary to suck in a large lungful of oxygen.

“Everything is going to be all right. I’m here. That bastard won’t get near you.”

“What can I do?”

She turned to her friend, awed by the woman’s bravery. Here she stood, rooted by fear, useless, and there stood Maggie—knowing the situation was dangerous—offering her help. It humbled her.

Grasping the other woman’s hands, she gave her a quick hug. “Go back to your shop and stay near Colton. If you see Jason again, call me right away.”

“You’ll be okay?”

“She’ll be safe.” Liam placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “I promise.”

Maggie glanced back and forth between them then nodded. Grabbing her in a tight hug, her friend whispered in her ear, “Stay safe.” Then to Liam, “Take care of our girl.”

He nodded. Maggie turned, unlocking the door, and exiting.

Once she was gone, Liam relocked the door and turned to her. “Go pack a bag. Essentials only.”

“Where are we going?”

“Somewhere safe.”

With no further explanation, she followed him down the hall. As he went to his room to pack, she stepped into her own, taking a moment to get her bearings. So much had happened in such a short amount of time. Just a few hours ago, she had been lying blissfully in the rumpled bed, Liam’s warm, naked body pressed against her own. Now, she was running for her life from a killer.

“Julie, we need to get going.”

She jumped at the sound of Liam’s voice behind her. Had he already packed? Judging from the black duffle bag he held tight in his grip, she’d say yes. How long had she been standing there staring at the bed?

“S-sorry. I’m going.” It was impossible to keep the tremble of fear out of her voice.

Willing her feet to move, she grabbed her suitcase, shoving clothes into it without thought. Her hand shook and tears threatened to fall from her eyes.

No. She had to be strong. She would not let this break her. Even so, a sob broke free.

A strong pair of arms surrounded her. “It’s okay, sweetheart. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Silly man, didn’t he know her fear extended to him, too? Jason came to her town, questioned her friends; she’d put everyone around her in danger. It had been stupid and selfish of her not to go into protective custody when she had the chance. She hadn’t wanted to leave the people she loved, but now, she was the reason they were in danger, and that was so much worse.

How selfish could I be?

“I’m s-sorry, Liam.” Tears leaked out, soaked his shirt as he pulled her close to his chest. “I never sh-should have come here. I should have g-gone into WITSEC.”

“Yeah, you should have, but since you did come, I’m glad I was here.”

That made two of them. If Liam hadn’t been here with her…she shuddered to think.

“Come on. We have to leave. Now.”

Time was of the essence. Plucking up all the courage she could muster, she wiped at her face with her hands. No more crying, no more fear. Time to take action. She couldn’t deny what was happening anymore—a cold-blooded killer was after her, and she needed to hide. For how long, she didn’t know, but if it could take the people she loved out of harm’s way, she would hide for the rest of her life.