Lana watched the clock on her laptop intently once Mark went outside. This was nerve-wracking and she didn’t like it. Not only was she a little scared, she was worried about him. How the hell had he managed to get under her skin like this in such a short time? He’d already become important to her, even though she was determined to let him think all she was interested in was sex, but she didn’t like the thought of someone ambushing him.
After five minutes, she put her laptop aside and began pacing in front of the fireplace. At eight minutes, she stood by the window looking out. When he’d been gone nine minutes, she gripped her phone tightly in her hand and looked between the front door and the stairs, where she would run to Duke if she had to.
She took a few steps in that direction and paused as she thought she heard something, a scraping sound on the front porch. Her heart kicked up a beat and she took a deep breath to keep herself from shrieking. She heard the noise again and the clock on her phone marked the next minute. Shit! Whatever was outside the door was getting louder and she backed up inadvertently, craning her head, trying to listen.
“Damn, it’s cold as fuck out there!” Mark came through the door in his socks and she just stared at him.
“It was ten minutes!” she barked out, glaring at him. “I was worried! I was about to go upstairs. Why didn’t you call out to me?”
He looked at her in surprise. “You were worried about me?”
She narrowed her eyes. “You told me ten minutes. It was exactly ten minutes. I was about to run up the stairs—don’t freak me out like that.”
“Sorry, honey.” He reached for her, pulling her against him. “I got on the porch at nine minutes, but I had to take my boots off—they were caked in ice.”
“That’s the noise I heard.” She sagged against him. “And yes, I was worried about you.”
“That’s sweet.” He pressed his cold lips to hers.
Lana woke up curled in a blanket on the couch and realized she was alone. She wasn’t sure when Mark had gotten up, but they’d fallen asleep in the wee hours of the morning, her head on his shoulder, the blanket across both of them. He was gone now, but she heard voices in the kitchen and something smelled good. She slipped up the stairs to her room and freshened up before heading back down to join them.
Gage, Duke, Aaron, and Mark were in the kitchen. Aaron and Mark were making pancakes and bacon, while Gage and Duke were studying something on the laptop set up on the island.
“Good morning,” she said, looking around.
“Sorry if we woke you,” Aaron said.
“No, I’m fine. It’s after nine—I never sleep this late.”
“You didn’t get to sleep until late,” Mark pointed out.
“I’m good.” She poured herself a cup of coffee and focused on Aaron. “You up for going to meet with the guy who runs the ice rink not far from here? I told him we’d like to meet in person to talk about setting up the skating clinic and the kids’ hockey coaches are there today.”
Aaron nodded. “As long as our protection detail says it’s okay.”
“Wherever you go, I go,” Mark said with a shrug.
“Can you skate?” Aaron asked him.
Mark snickered. “Not well enough to be on the ice with you, but I hold my own.”
“Lana?” Aaron looked at her.
She laughed. “God, no. I’d kill myself and probably take out a dozen kids in the process.”
“I bet you wouldn’t.” Aaron laughed too.
“I’ll stick around the house and make sure no one makes any uninvited appearances,” Duke said.
“I’ve put out some feelers,” Gage said. “We’ll see if anyone has seen Joyce at your house or anywhere in Anchorage.”
“She’s originally from Minnesota,” Aaron said. “She’d said she was moving back with her parents when we separated, but if she’s behind this, who knows where she is.”
Within the hour, they’d showered and were heading for the ice rink in a suburb of Anchorage. Aaron was driving his Land Rover, with Lana in the passenger seat and Mark in the back. Bodyguarding was still new to him, but it felt oddly familiar, as if his military training had prepared him specifically for this. He was on guard and alert, but completely relaxed—just as he was on military missions. Part of him had begun to think working for Westfield Security was a perfect fit for both his personality and skill set, but he also wondered how he’d deal with long-term assignments that kept him away from home. Especially when he came to places like this. He was used to bigger cities and enjoyed them. Living in the country had never been on his radar and he didn’t relish the idea of moving around a lot. That was one of the reasons he’d left the Marines.
“Mark?” Lana’s voice brought him out of his reverie and he looked up.
“Sorry, I was thinking about the rest of the day—what did you say?”
“Do you think it would be okay if I stopped to do some shopping after we’re done? I need a couple things I forgot to pack.”
He nodded. “Sure. No one outside of our immediate group knows where we are headed today, so I can’t imagine anyone is lying in wait unless they’re following us, and I haven’t seen anything suspicious all morning.”
“There’s a mall with a couple of department stores, so I’ll probably need an hour,” she said.
“I’m sure there’s something we can do to fill the time,” Aaron said dryly, glancing at her with a grin.
They got to the rink and Mark kept a little distance as Lana and Aaron met with the manager and several of the coaches, keeping an eye on their surroundings but not seeing anything that gave him pause. This felt too easy and the sixth sense that had kept him alive in the Middle East suddenly began to tingle with warning. He took a quick look outside, still didn’t see anything out of place, and decided Aaron was safer if he stayed nearby. He kept a little distance but made sure he could see them at all times. Something was off but he was damned if he knew what it was.
“You all right?” Lana asked him once they were in the Land Rover and heading to the mall.
“Yup. Just hoping I’m not missing anything.”
“Maybe it was a fluke,” Aaron suggested, turning into the parking lot. “Maybe it was some kids playing a prank. I mean, it’s Alaska—what else is there for bored teenagers to do?”
Mark scoffed. “I can’t tell you why or what, but my gut tells me there’s more to it, and my gut has never steered me wrong.”
“I’m trying to be optimistic,” Aaron said, chuckling.
“Just be optimistic and careful,” Mark said.
“Okay, I’m going to Macy’s,” Lana said as they headed inside the mall. “Where will you two be?”
“Right behind you,” Mark replied.
Her cheeks turned pink. “I don’t need an audience while I’m shopping,” she said lightly. “Go find a video game store or something.”
“Not happening.” Mark shook his head. “I stick to both of you like glue.”
“Besides,” Aaron grinned, “who’s going to tell you if it looks good?”
“If what looks good?” she demanded, her face getting even redder.
“Whatever it is you’re going to buy?” He cocked his head as if totally confused.
“Shoes,” she huffed. “More specifically—boots. Mine are old and when it’s this cold in New York, I get a cab.”
“It’ll be fun,” Aaron said lightly, nudging her. “Don’t be self-conscious. Guys are great shopping partners as long as we don’t have to be out too long. One or two stops, and we’re golden.”
Mark wanted to punch him. He didn’t know even one guy who liked taking their wife or girlfriend shopping unless it was for lingerie or something equally sex-related. Aaron was flirting with Lana, and doing it right under his nose, and he wasn’t sure if it was simply because he could or if he actually liked her.
Of course he likes her, the devil on his shoulder snickered. You like her, so why wouldn’t he?
He wanted to tell himself to shut up, but that was ludicrous, so he muted his inner dialogue as they walked into the big department store. Lana headed for the shoes, Aaron on her heels, so Mark hung back, scouting the area and letting jealousy eat away at him. They were laughing and carrying on, with zero hint of her usual awkwardness, and with every passing second, he wanted to rip Aaron into little shreds.
Except Aaron was his fucking client.
The guy whose life he was supposed to be protecting.
Great, this was just fucking great.
Lana was now at the register and she and Aaron appeared to be arguing. He was pushing her hand away and she kept bringing it out, until he snatched her purse out of her arms and held it hostage against his chest.
“Aaron!” Lana looked exasperated.
“You’re only here because of me,” he said firmly. “The least I can do is buy you boots to deal with the crazy weather.”
“I have an expense account for that.” She was glaring at him.
“I make more money than you do.”
“I’m telling Kate!”
Aaron burst out laughing.
“You guys are such a cute couple,” the teenager ringing them up gushed. “And so tall—I bet you’re going to have huge babies!”
Lana’s mouth fell open, and true to form, her face turned a new shade of red. Aaron was still laughing and leaned over to place a chaste kiss on Lana’s cheek. “Lana and I would most definitely have tall kids.”
“What the fuck was that?!” Mark hissed as they walked away from the cashier, his jealousy finally getting the better of him.
Aaron raised his eyebrows. “What better way to draw out my ex if she’s the one responsible than by making her jealous?”
“You are not going to make Lana a target,” Mark snapped, though his voice was low.
“Maybe it’s a good idea,” Lana interjected softly. “I mean, if it’s her, wouldn’t it be better to know what we’re dealing with than to wait and see what happens?”
“Not if it puts you in danger,” he snapped.
“I’m a big girl,” she responded gently. “And I have a bodyguard. Now, I need one more thing. How about you two go find something else to do?”
“Not happening.” Mark folded his arms across his chest as they paused.
Lana made a face and glanced at Aaron. “Would you give us a second?”
“Sure.” He ambled off to talk to a saleswoman handing out perfume samples and Lana turned to Mark, a gentle smile on her face.
“You’re cute when you’re jealous.”
He scowled.
“Look, there seems to be a thing between us and I’m not prepared for any kind of romantic interlude, so give a girl a little privacy to take care of business.”
Mark frowned. “What kind of business do you have at Macy’s that includes the thing between us? It’d be one thing if you were buying condoms or something, but I’ve got…”
She laughed, her cheeks turning the slightest shade of pink as she leaned over to whisper in his ear, “Lingerie, silly.”
“Oh.” His eyes darkened slightly. “Honey, when we get to that part, all you’re going to need is your birthday suit.”
“But before that part, I want to feel…sexy. It’s not about the sex itself, it’s about the perception and wanting to see you want me. Can you let me do this? Please?”
“I don’t think we should split up.”
“I don’t need long. Come on…it’ll be worth your while.”
“Oh, I have no doubt about that, but I still can’t leave you alone.”
“You know where I’ll be and you can watch, but at a safe enough distance where I’m not more embarrassed than I already am just talking about it.”
He let out a breath. “Okay but promise me you won’t leave the lingerie department until we’re all ready to go together.”
“Promise.”