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Shaking, Lindsay stumbled, and a big hand caught her arm and held it tightly. It would be so easy to rely on Blake for support and help, but she’d been struggling to rebuild her life after Mark Taylor had nearly destroyed her self-confidence and sense of worth. She’d finally found peace, a place she could call home, she was doing a job she loved, and there were people in her life she could call friends.
But first, she’d received a message from freaking Mark telling her he was coming for her, and then Blake had showed up, making her feel things she didn’t want to feel.
Before he could steer her into the bar, she pulled her arm out of his hold, turned, and walked back towards the street. She felt like crying and had to get home before she fell apart.
Why did the mere mention of Mark’s name still freak her out? For too long she’d given him the power to systematically break down her self-confidence and make her doubt her every decision.
She’d met him right after her parents’ accident, at a point when her whole life had been shattered. Of course, afterwards, it had been easy to see why she’d allowed him to just about take over her life. She’d been desperately looking for a home and family to replace the one she’d lost. At the time, Charlie was also in and out of hospital with the injury she’d sustained during the same accident, and without her sister, Lindsay had been so lost.
Initially, she’d thought she’d found another safe haven with Mark. She’d thought the way he’d nearly suffocated her with attention was because he was caring. Even when he’d gradually begun to cut her off from her friends and sister, she’d seen it as concern about her well-being.
It had taken more than a few months, but she’d discovered the only person he ever really cared about was himself. Things quickly spiraled out of control, up to a point where she hadn’t felt safe around his mood swings anymore. And on the night he’d furiously raised his hand and forbade her to see her sister Charlie again, she knew it was time to break things off.
Only it hadn’t been that easy. He’d hounded her for days with messages and emails until she’d changed all her numbers and her email addresses. Fortunately, at the same time, Charlie had inherited their Aunt Charlene’s house and a building here in Alisson, Montana, and they could cross an ocean, moving far away from South Africa.
They both had fond memories of the town where they’d spent many Christmases with their mom and dad and Aunt Charlene. Neither she nor Charlie had anyone keeping them in South Africa except Gavin, their brother, so deciding to move here was an easy decision to make. Fortunately, after Gavin’s visit to them earlier this year, he’d also decided to relocate to Alisson.
She and Charlie had been very careful and didn’t leave any forwarding addresses to anyone but their brother. But then Gavin’s emails had been hacked and someone started following her, and she had to face the fact that Mark had been looking for her. And he’d found her.
And now on top of that, Blake was stirring feelings inside her she knew she couldn’t trust, and the dream she’d had of creating a simple life for herself was turning into a nightmare.
“Damn it, Lindsay, where are you going?” Blake was right behind her.
“Home,” she said, and continued walking. “Go away. I can look after myself.” She was nearing the street and walked faster, quickly looking up and down to see if any vehicles were coming her way. One car was coming down the street, but it was moving so slowly, she should make it across before it reached this spot. She took a step down from the pavement.
“Lindsay—look out!” Blake called out behind her.
As if in slow motion, she turned her head to see a car, a green one, she registered, driving straight at her. Mesmerized, unable to move, she stared at the approaching lights. Behind her, more voices cried out and then a pair of strong arms lifted her away just before the car would’ve hit her.
Blake’s arms gathered her close. Shuddering, she buried her face in his neck. She’d so nearly been hit by that car. If Blake hadn’t been here...
“What happened?” Lindsay recognized Eleanor’s voice.
Oh, damn, she shouldn’t be in Blake’s arms when Eleanor was around. Within seconds, the older woman would jump to all sorts of conclusions.
Inhaling, Lindsay quickly moved away from Blake, and he dropped his arms. Eleanor and her daughter, Brooke, rushed closer. Lindsay wished the earth could open up and swallow her whole. Her heart was still pumping out of control after the surge of adrenaline, and now she had to face an additional problem.
The last thing she needed at this point was for Eleanor to try her matchmaking skills on her. Eleanor was the mother of Charlie’s new husband Logan, and both she and Brooke had been so helpful when she and Charlie had first arrived in Allison. But Eleanor, bless her meddling heart, was a die-hard romantic, always looking for the next love story in town. And if there weren’t any, she would conjure up imagined relationships and do her best to “help” whichever couple she thought needed her “support.”
“Another car tried to run her down just now,” Blake said brusquely, looking over his shoulder towards the street.
“What car?” Brooke asked.
“One I noticed earlier. I should’ve...” And cursing under his breath, he put a hand on Lindsay’s shoulder. “I need to make a phone call and then I’ll take you home.”
“What can we do?” asked Eleanor.
“We haven’t eaten. We were on our way to dinner—” Blake began.
“Don’t worry, we’ll bring Lindsay something to eat,” Brooke interrupted. “What about you?”
“I’ll be staying with her for the time being, so yes, something for me, too, thanks.” And while Eleanor stared at him open-mouthed, he took out his wallet and gave it to Brooke.
Once more, Lindsay wished the earth would open up. Gathering her wits, she lifted her chin. “Seriously, Blake...” she began hotly.
But Eleanor had finally found her voice again. She clapped her hands. “What is going on here? Brooke, can you feel the sparks? Please tell me the two of you are together? What did I tell you, Brooke? They were absolutely made for each other. I swear, I can literally feel the vibes around the two of you whenever you’re—”
“No!” Lindsay called out, frantic to stop Eleanor’s excitement. “We’re...we’re not a couple. There is absolutely nothing going on between us, and there is certainly no need for Blake to stay with me.”
Eleanor’s eyebrows rose as her gaze flitted between Blake and Lindsay. “If you say so, my dear. I’m just calling it as I see it.” She grinned. “You two together are just pure magic.”
“Mark Taylor caught a flight to Bozeman and he arrived in Montana yesterday,” Blake said, wiping the smile from Eleanor’s face.
Eleanor and Brooke exclaimed in horror, but Lindsay tuned out. The bright lights of the green car coming towards her flashed in front of eyes again. Earlier that year, after she’d received the initial threatening email from Mark, there had been a similar incident where a car had tried to run her down, and Charlie had been injured—the incident Blake had referred to earlier.
After she’d told Mark it was over between them, he’d warned her he wasn’t letting her go so easily but never in her wildest dreams did she think he would stoop to trying to hurt her, or something even worse. She bit her lip. It hadn’t been something she’d wanted to believe, but after two similar incidents, it was becoming clear he was even more of a threat to her than she’d thought. Charlie had been hurt in the first incident and just now, if it hadn’t been for Blake... She shuddered.
“Well, anyway, I think it would be a wonderful idea if Blake can stay with you while Charlie and Logan are in Seattle and Gavin has left for South Africa,” Eleanor continued. “Charlie was so worried about leaving you here on your own, and Gavin phones daily to find out whether you’re still okay. It’ll be such a comfort to them to know that Blake is back and that he’ll be staying with you. It really is such a relief, sweetie; I can’t tell you how worried we’ve all been.”
Lindsay had opened her mouth to state again that she’d been living on her own for quite some time now, but she swallowed her words. The last thing she wanted was for Charlie and Gavin to worry about her.
Charlie had married the love of her life in September and was so obviously happy, Lindsay didn’t want her to have to return earlier to Alisson because of her. And Gavin, their brother who’d been living in South Africa, had flown out to see them after Lindsay had received the first message from Mark. Since then, he’d decided he was going to also relocate to Alisson, but he’d needed a few months to settle his affairs in South Africa. And she knew if he thought she was in danger, he’d catch the next plane to Bozeman.
So she was more or less forced to let Blake stay with her. It would reassure both Charlie and Gavin to know someone they knew was staying with Lindsay. In theory, it made sense.
The reality of sharing a house with the seriously sexy Blake, though, was something completely different. Every time she came near him, her hormones went ballistic.
“Okay, then it’s settled,” Blake was saying. “We’ll swing by my place to pick up a bag and then I’ll take Lindsay home—”
“No need, I can go with Eleanor and Brooke,” Lindsay interrupted. She desperately needed a few minutes away from his brooding and unsettling presence.
“I’d prefer...” Blake began, but Lindsay smiled and caught Brooke’s arm.
She lifted her chin. “If you are going to be around me, you’ll have to learn you’re not always going to get your way.”
Again, something flashed in his eyes, but without saying anything else, he turned around, and taking his phone out, continued to walk towards his car.
Eleanor waved a hand in front of herself. “Wow, sweetie, I know you’ve said there isn’t anything between the two of you, but those hot vibes going around are threatening to scorch everyone in sight!”
“No vibes, Eleanor, just irritation. For some reason or another, he feels he has to protect me, but neither of us is very pleased about the idea.”
“Well, my dear”—Eleanor grinned—“it’s nearly Christmas. You never know. There’s magic in the air, haven’t you noticed? So come on, let’s go and order something to eat while we wait.”
“How are you feeling, Lindsay?” Brooke asked. “You’re still very pale. Don’t you think we should phone the doctor?”
“I’m totally fine, thanks, Brooke. Just hungry,” Lindsay said, but she caught the look between Eleanor and her daughter. She wasn’t fooling anyone, it seemed.
––––––––
Half an hour later, Blake parked his car next to Lindsay’s house. He got out and walked back towards the street. It was quiet. Some owners had already put up Christmas decorations, he noticed, as he looked up and down the rows of houses. All were brightly lit, the streetlights were on; things seemed perfectly ordinary.
But he was on edge. Someone was lurking around, intent on harming Lindsay. The attacks were escalating, something that was freaking him out. Whoever had been behind the wheel of the green car was clearly out of control. His gut was telling him it was probably Taylor. And the mere thought that someone could hurt her made him want to break things.
She was so fragile at the moment. He grimaced. Not something he’d mention in front of her, though. He could already imagine those blue eyes shooting darts in his direction.
With a last glance down the street, he walked back to his car and took out his bag. Eleanor’s car was still in front of the house, he was glad to see. He didn’t want Lindsay to be alone for any length of time.
When he’d received the call a few days before from an informant he’d been paying to keep an eye on Mark Taylor’s movements, he’d caught the first flight from Reagan Airport in Washington, DC.
Taylor was on his way to Alisson, he was told. Fortunately, the case he’d been helping the FBI with had been solved, and the agent-in-charge had given him the go-ahead to return to Alisson. His former employers had wanted him to stay and help them with another ongoing investigation into an elusive gang of bank robbers, and he’d promised to join them later, when he could. But first he had to make sure Lindsay was safe. For the moment, she was his priority.
Ever since he’d first seen her that first night in the bar, his protective instincts had kicked in, and that had been before he knew about the threatening message from her ex. There was a haunted look in her eyes and a wariness in her movements that was urging him on—against his better judgment—to safeguard her.
Why he was here was something he didn’t want to think about too much. What he did know was that he was nobody’s damn hero—the very dead body of his last partner, Will Miller, had made that abundantly clear.
The front door opened and the porchlight was switched on. Lindsay walked out. “Oh, it’s you,” she said, and crossed her arms. “We heard something but when nobody knocked, we weren’t sure it was you.”
With two steps he was at her side and touched her arm. “I didn’t mean to frighten you, sorry. I went to check the street again.”
Troubled blue eyes looked up at him, and it was all he could do not to take her in his arms and tell her everything would be all right. It wasn’t a promise he’d ever make again. But his hand was touching her face before his brain got the message doing so would be a very bad idea.
For a millisecond, she stared at him before she turned away. “Please lock the door—we’re in the dining room.”
He locked the door, took a step forward, and stilled. For the first time, the implication of his rash announcement dawned on him. He was going to stay here. With Lindsay. Her sister wasn’t here, her brother wasn’t here. It would only be the two of them alone in this house.
Exhaling slowly, he continued after Lindsay. When he’d suggested he’d stay with her, his only thought had been to make sure nothing happened to her; he hadn’t thought it through.
Damn it to hell. Focus, Davidson, focus. He was here to protect her. That was it. And maybe if he repeated that a few hundred times, he’d remember why he shouldn’t notice the softness of her hair, the way her mouth curled up when she smiled, and he wouldn’t remember the perfect way she fitted against his body.
As he entered the dining room, Lindsay bent down to pick up something from the floor, and he nearly groaned out loud. Her jeans dipped, revealing a glimpse of black lace.
All the blood left his head and pooled way below his middle. Damn, she was killing him without even knowing it. Gulping in fresh air, he forced himself to look away. Who the hell was he kidding? Protecting Lindsay was way different to any other job he’d ever done.
For starters, no other body he’d ever been assigned to protect had affected him this much.
He met Eleanor’s twinkling eyes. “Come and sit down, Blake,” she called out, and motioned to an empty chair.
Brooke handed him his wallet. “We haven’t used all your money, don’t worry,” she joked.
He put his wallet back in the pocket of his pants. “Thanks for bringing Lindsay home. I don’t want her left alone before we catch this guy.”