“I’m sorry.”

“Again, you have nothing to be sorry for, angel. You were just an innocent in the wrong place at the wrong time. As were your parents and Jim. Too much of this is happening all over.”

“I know, but...”

“Shh, no buts.”

Wrapped in his arms, she finally stopped shivering. Not that she was cold, it was from trying to hold back the tears. She’d forgotten about the TV interview and phone calls. How could she just forget? Especially when that night was crystal clear, every detail permanently etched in her memory.

The pounding of his heart beneath her ear helped to ease her tears. Concentrating on the steady rhythm, she took a few deep breaths, and the tears stopped.

“Better now?” Raptor asked. Being cocooned in his embrace was like being wrapped in a big warm blanket. Her eyes were getting heavy, and she yawned.

“Yes, just tired.”

“My poor angel, I’m sorry I made you remember everything. But it’s the only way to try to figure this out.”

“I know. It’s just hard, I do better when I just keep it all buried.”

“Keeping it locked away is the worst thing you could do. You need to give yourself permission to heal, to live again. I don’t know about Jim, but I can guarantee your parents wouldn’t want you feeling guilty.”

“You’re right. Neither would Jim. He was so full of life.”

“Oh, one more thing, then we’re getting you to bed. What was Jim’s full name?”

“James Marshall, the third I think. His family was old money, and they hated that he didn’t follow in the family business.”

“Do you know what it was?”

“Nope, he wouldn’t talk about his family or the business. I never even met them.”

He pulled out his phone and made a notation, but she was too tired to try to read it. Then he stood with her in his arms.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

“Taking you to bed.”

“I can walk.”

“Yes, you can but humor me. Don’t worry I’m not going to take advantage of you, we already went over that.”

She believed him and snuggled closer. He had to be strong carrying her size fourteen butt around. At first, she was self-conscious, but he didn’t seem to be struggling under her weight at all.

Once they got to her room, he gently put her down. “I’m going to make sure we’re all locked up and put away the rest of the wine. I’ll be back to check on you.” Then he dropped a soft kiss on her forehead and left her alone. The kiss was nothing like the passionate ones earlier, and a pang of disappointment squeezed her heart.

“Okay.” She changed into her PJs, brushed her teeth, and had just climbed into bed when he came back.

“I brought some water in case you get thirsty.”

“Thank you, that was sweet.” His eyes met hers, and she wondered what he was thinking. What would he say if she asked him to stay with her? Would he make love to her? He said she could set the pace, but after seeing her red blotchy face in the mirror, she couldn’t believe anyone would want her.

“I’m sorry I upset you. I hope you can get some sleep, I’ll see you in the morning, angel.” His lips met hers in a brief kiss but as he straightened she grabbed his hand.

“Could you stay? At least until I fall asleep.”

“Of course, baby.” He sat down on the edge of the bed and took off his sneakers. Then he laid down on the bed and pulled her into the crook of his arm. She rested her head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat.

“Thank you, Raptor,” she mumbled, it seemed hard to talk for some reason, and her eyes were so heavy. “Night.”

She thought she heard him answer but she wasn’t sure.

***

“Good night, my sweet angel.”

She was everything he never knew he wanted. He’d dated more than his fair share, but never had any plans to settle down, but then he hadn’t expected to leave the teams either. Delta Force had been his life. There wasn’t room for anything else. Or hadn’t been until Paris when a little woman with huge blue eyes burrowed into his heart and refused to leave.

After all the dead ends he’d run into trying to find her, he’d been about ready to give up. Strange how the universe worked. Chase believed that everything happened for a reason, maybe he was right. What were the odds he’d go to work for Chase and end up farmed out to the Brotherhood Protectors in Montana and meet the woman who had haunted his life? He wouldn’t have taken that bet. But there he was, with Rori’s head lying on his chest, and her body curled around his.

Pulling the clip holding up her hair, he put it on the nightstand and ran his hands through her curls. Soft, and fluffy, and the scent of her shampoo surrounded him. He’d been truthful earlier when he told her he wanted her, and lying there now was painful. He hadn’t been with a woman in longer than he could remember, and now the one he wanted was within reach but strictly off limits.

When he was sure she was asleep, he gently slid out from under her. He’d have loved to stay, but it was only nine p.m. not too late to give Chase a call to see if he could look at a few things. He was used to functioning on only a few hours of sleep, and as long as he was in bed by midnight, he’d be fine.

Stopping by his room, he grabbed his laptop and sat at the kitchen table. He transferred his notes from the phone to a file on the computer, then he dialed the phone.

“Brennan.”

“Hey, Chase.”

“How’s it going, Raptor? Are you ready to come back to the Florida heat?”

“No way. It’s fuckin’ beautiful weather here.”

“What’s up? Have any leads?”

“I’m not sure. But I do have questions. And you won’t believe this but the woman I’m up here to protect, it’s the woman I saved in Paris. The one I’ve been searching for.”

“No way. Are you sure?”

“Hell yeah, I’m sure. I couldn’t believe it. I expected some blue haired old lady, and when she looked at me, I thought I was dreaming.”

“Well, don’t forget she’s your client. Not your girlfriend. Didn’t you tell me she was engaged?”

“Yeah, but he died along with her parents. And it’s been two years.”

“I know that, but remember she’s a client, I’ll keep saying it until you acknowledge it. You need to remember that. She’s not even just our client, she’s Hank’s too. You need to think about every action before you do it.”

“I will.”

“Why am I having trouble believing you?”

“I don’t know, boss. Why are you?” The laughter from the other end of the phone wasn’t comforting. He knew she was his client. He thought he was doing well, a few kisses couldn’t hurt anyone.

“You’re a good man, Raptor. Now is there something I can help with?”

“I wanted to run a few things past you, see what you think?”

“Sounds good. I guess you need Alex to work some of his magic tomorrow?”

“If possible, yes. I’m going to send him an email with as much information as I can dig up tonight and hopefully he’ll be able to connect the dots.”

“What have you found out?”

“What’s interesting is none of her trouble started until she was interviewed about the bakery and it went viral on social media. After that hit, the harassment started and has continued for the last six months, she just didn’t bother to tell anyone. The stubborn woman wouldn’t have told a soul if the plate glass window hadn’t been broken.”

“Any suspects there?”

“No, that’s what I need your help with. I think it’s either someone fixated on her from the interview or who knew her or her fiancé.”

“Name?”

“James Marshall, the third. The family is on the east coast and old money with a family business. But Jim was a photographer in Paris. Rori says she never met them. It feels off to me.”

“Understood. Send me anything else you come up with, and we’ll start working it in the morning. If there’s dirt out there, Alex will find it.”

“I’m counting on it.”

“Did you tell Rori you were there?”

“Yeah. I wrestled with it for a bit, but it didn’t feel right for her not to know. I was hoping she’d recognize me, but she didn’t. Not at first, anyway.”

“How’d she take it?”

“She thanked me for saving her life.”

“I bet you weren’t expecting that, were you?”

“Exactly. I was relieved she didn’t freak out. There was a fifty-fifty chance it was going to go badly, it was nice to have it go well for a change. Anyway, let me know what you find. My reception isn’t bad as long as I’m in town.”

“You got it. Talk to you tomorrow.”