Waking up in the hospital again was a pain in the ass. Honestly, it was beginning to feel like a never-ending version of Groundhog Day. The same medicinal smell. The same squeak of rubber-soled shoes passing by the open room door. The same pinch of the IV when I tried to move my hand. I was sick and tired of being helpless and medicated. Georgie needed me to be lucid and strong. She needed me to get us the hell out of here.

“Take it easy.” The low, familiar voice washed over me, bringing tears to my eyes before I even had a chance to see him. Reese was there. He hadn’t left me.

Two sides of myself warred within me. On the one hand, I was relieved he’d stayed, if only for Georgie’s sake. On the other, I was pissed I needed him. I didn’t want to need him, and I certainly didn’t want to want him.

But I did. Of course I did. He was kind and attentive, protective and steadfast.

I opened my eyes to see him. He looked exhausted but alert. Someone must have brought him some clothes because he was wearing something different. Gone was the wrinkled button-down he’d been wearing. In its place was a pristine replacement in a different color. The light blue check print set his eyes off like nobody’s business.

“Reese,” I mumbled. “Where’s—?”

He pointed a thumb over his shoulder. “She’s right here. They brought her a bed, and she’s been snuggled in with Duckie playing a ladybug game on my phone for the past two hours. That girl knows her bugs.”

I could only see the top of her head on the pillow, but I could hear her soft giggle a few beats later. It looked like she was wearing a pair of small, pink headphones.

“She’s always been smart,” I admitted. My throat felt dry and rough which made my voice hoarse. Reese reached for a nearby cup of water and held the straw steady for me to take a sip. “Is she… okay?” I asked when I managed to swallow a few sips. My stomach rebelled at the water, but thankfully I was able to keep it down.

“She’s good, Ben. They had a counselor in here to talk to her while you were in surgery. She’s going to need some counseling for sure. I also managed to convince her to let my boss, Ronan, take a look at her… he’s a trauma surgeon and he’s got kids of his own, so he’s got a way with them.”

“And?” I breathed as my heart seized in my chest.

“There’s no sign she was physically hurt. Between Ronan and the counselor, they don’t believe the men who took her hurt her… in any kind of way.”

I began crying because the relief was just so profound. Reese linked his fingers with mine and leaned down to press his forehead against mine. “Let it out, Ben,” he urged when I tried to stem my sobs. I was exhausted by the time the tears finally stopped on their own. At some point, Reese had carefully curled me up against his body as best he could, considering the cast on my arm and the IV in the hand of my other arm. He eased me back onto the pillow, then took my hand in his again and began rubbing his thumb over mine.

“Should I call for the nurse? How’s your pain?” he asked.

I ignored the cast contraption on my arm and tried focusing on what needed to happen next. “You need to help me get out of here, Reese. Those men… they know who I am. They’ll figure out where I am now that the hospital knows my identity.”

“You have to rest. No one is getting in here. Ronan has a plan in place to—”

Panic welled up in my chest again, only this time I concentrated on breathing steadily to avoid another panic attack. “No. I don’t know him. Hell, I barely even know you. This is crazy. I just want to hide somewhere until—”

“Okay,” Reese said calmly.

I blinked at him. “What?” Surely he didn’t mean I could just walk out of there with Georgie and disappear into the night.

“I agree with your plan of hiding somewhere until we figure out who’s after you.”

“But… okay… good,” I said, still waiting for the other shoe to drop. “Get my clothes. And, uh… maybe… could I borrow some money? I can get a cheap motel for a little while.”

Reese’s eyes bored into mine for several beats before I realized his hand had moved from tracing my fingers to running through my hair. His hands wove a magic spell on me, relaxing me into the bed and almost luring me back to sleep.

“No cheap motel. A lodge in Napa. We already decided it. Ronan left to put the team in place before we get there.”

Despite understanding the words coming out of his mouth, I couldn’t put the information together. Suddenly, it all came flooding back. Not just a lodge in Napa. A vineyard in Napa. Griff’s “family” vineyard. Ronan had mentioned the plan, which I’d tried to shoot down. But then Ethan had pointed out what it would mean if I tried to do this on my own. Not only would I be risking Georgie’s safety, but if I wasn’t able to figure out what it was that the strange men who’d taken her wanted, Georgie and I would be looking over our shoulders for the rest of our lives.

And Ethan had been right.

It wasn’t fair to ask a child to live like that.

But what was I supposed to do? Just put Georgie’s and my lives in Reese’s hands? In the hands of the man he worked for? And what the hell kind of security company was the trauma surgeon running? I opened my mouth to ask just that when Reese’s eyes narrowed. “This isn’t up for debate.” In an instant, the handsome face had gone from comforting and reassuring to forthright and insistent. He was calling the shots. And it stupidly turned me the hell on. This was no time for anyone to crank my yes please dial up to max.

Before I had a chance to argue with him some more, a nurse came in and shot more painkillers into my IV. I didn’t notice much after that until the rhythmic rocking of a vehicle came to a sudden halt.

“What?” I garbled. “Where… what?” I looked around, wondering how the hell I wasn’t still in a hospital bed. Flashes of arguments and images of Georgie clinging to Reese’s neck whipped through my mind. I remembered being wheeled down a hallway and out into overly bright sunshine. I’d closed my eyes against the brightness and must have fallen asleep quickly in the car.

I quickly scanned the interior of the large SUV and saw that Georgie was playing on an iPad… Reese’s, presumably, since all of our stuff was still in Atlanta. Not that I’d ever been able to afford anything but the cheapest of gadgets and toys for her anyway. She once again had headphones on and was completely oblivious to her surroundings, much like I was whenever I was testing a video game or playing just for fun. Georgie may not have shared my blood, but she’d definitely been bitten by the same video game bug as me.

“We’re here,” Reese’s voice said from my left. I looked out the windshield to see a massive set of elaborate metal gates in the shape of intertwined grape vines. Carved into the gates was the name Alexander Vineyard. After a phone call from Reese, the gates began to swing open. Two big muscled men stood nearby, watching us and nodding recognition to Reese.

“Who’re they?”

“Ronan’s men. This is one of only two entrances to the property. There are men watching both as well as patrolling the perimeter and grounds. You and Georgie are safe here.”

I huffed out a breath, angry as hell that I’d been brought to the big fancy winery owned by Griffin’s ritzy family. His perfect, rich, loving fucking family.

It was the last place on earth I wanted to be when I was feeling this vulnerable.

I felt Reese’s gaze on me before he spoke. “Just concentrate on healing. You don’t have to worry about any of that other stuff.”

How did he know what I’d been thinking? Could he have any idea how hard this was for me? I could only be grateful I’d recalled sending Griff on the pet retrieval trip to Atlanta. At least I wouldn’t have to put up with seeing him for a few days.

We pulled into a parking lot in front of a large log cabin style lodge. Georgie’s soft voice piped up from the back seat.

“Doggie!”

I turned to look at her again and finally noticed she was in a booster car seat someone must have found for her. Her eyes were wide and her finger pointed out the side window to where a black and white border collie hopped around behind a little girl as if the dog was herding the girl. Two men watched the toddler giggle at the dog before falling on her butt. One of the men wore a baby sling with a sleeping baby on his chest.

“Who’s that?” I asked, as if Reese would know anything more than I would.

“I’m not sure, but I think it’s probably Blue and Tristan. They’re the owners. Sit tight while I make sure.”

He was out of the car before I had a chance to reply. When he approached the men with his hand extended for a shake, I noticed both men’s faces break into grins. I remembered someone mentioning Blue Marian was one of Griff’s brothers. The last thing I wanted to do was meet anyone remotely related to Griffin, so I did as Reese said and stayed put. I turned so I could see my sister better and drank in the sight of her. She had a couple of scrapes on her face, none of which had even warranted a Band-Aid.

“How are you feeling, Georgie?” I asked.

“I playing the game,” she said as she turned the tablet in her hands so I could see the screen that was alive with color and characters dancing across the screen. I could hear the music coming through her headphones.

“Oooh, nice,” I said with a smile. “Did Reese get it for you?”

Georgie nodded, then she looked around the large yard. Her eyes shifted to a muscular man dressed in black as he headed down the driveway toward the front gate. Then her eyes swung to the two men talking to Reese. I saw the shift in her expression the second before she reached down to push the buckle of her booster seat.

“Stay put, honey. I’ll get you out in a minute,” I assured her.

But she ignored me and worked harder to get the buckle open. Since I knew it wasn’t about her just being obstinate, I shifted my body so I could reach between the seats and press the button myself. I ignored the pain that consumed my body and said, “C’mere.”

She crawled over the armrest between the front seats and landed on my lap. It felt so good to have her little warm body in my arms, I didn’t care about the throbbing pain in my arm. “We’re safe, Georgie, okay?”

Georgie nodded against my chest as she stuck her thumb in her mouth. Duckie magically appeared in her other hand. I covered her blonde curls with my hand and kissed the top of her head. “I missed you so much, baby girl.”

“I don’t want the bad men to come, Benji,” she whispered. She pressed her face against my chest, and I could feel the warmth of her tears against my throat.

“They won’t, Georgie. I’m never going to let them come near you ever again. And neither will Reese,” I said as my eyes met Reese’s through the windshield. His eyes fell to Georgie, and he frowned. His whole body tensed and I saw him make a move toward us. I gave him a little shake of my head and then held up one finger to show him we just needed a minute. He hesitated, then nodded and turned back to the men. I wanted to kiss him when I saw him casually lead the men to the front doors of the lodge, leaving the dog behind. She or he sniffed at our vehicle.

“Look, Georgie. Look at the pretty dog,” I urged. I felt Georgie turn her head so she could see out the window without having to actually move from where she was hanging onto me. “Do you think it’s going to pee-pee on the tires?” I asked, letting my voice go high with pretend worry.

“Like we’re a tree?” she asked.

“Maybe,” I responded.

She was quiet a moment. She’d taken her thumb out of her mouth when she’d asked the question, and I was glad when she didn’t start sucking on it again.

“Can we pet him?” she finally asked.

I could tell the dog was friendly by the way it had behaved around the toddler a few minutes earlier, so I carefully worked my good arm around Georgie’s body so I could open the door. “I’m sure we can.” It took some maneuvering to get Georgie out of the car, and while I knew it probably wasn’t the best thing for me to be holding her considering my injuries, I could tell she wasn’t ready to let me go. Her legs were wrapped around my waist and her arms had a death grip on my neck. Fortunately, she was being careful not to nudge my injured arm.

“Hey, cutie,” I murmured, holding out my hand to the dog. “You a girl or a… oh. Girl then. Okay.”

“Hi, doggie,” Georgie said in her sweet, soft voice. “Good doggie.”

“It’s a girl. I don’t know her name, though,” I told her. “Be gentle.”

The dog was very calm as soon as Georgie reached out her plump little hand to her. As soon as it licked Georgie’s hand, my sister released her grip on me and let me set her on her feet.

“That’s Piper,” I heard from behind me. I turned to find one of the men from before approaching me. He had strawberry-blond hair and an open smile. “I’m Blue Marian. You must be Ben.”

I nodded while giving myself a mini-lecture on manners. Just because I was mad at Griff, didn’t mean I needed to be a jerk to everyone associated with him. My eyes shifted to see Reese watching me from where he was standing on the lodge porch. His look was almost… hungry. My body reacted as if on cue, and a pleasant shiver warred with the dull ache and exhaustion that were threatening to send me to my knees.

“Nice to meet you,” I said to Blue, offering him a reluctant shake with my good hand. My injured arm was throbbing steadily, but I was relieved to finally be out of the hospital. “Thank you for allowing us to stay here. This is my sister, Georgie.”

Blue squatted down to Georgie’s level. “Hi, sweetheart. That’s our dog, Piper, and we have a little girl named Ella you might like, too. Shall we go inside and see if we can find any cookies for you and Ella? Sometimes Ella’s papa keeps a stash hidden behind the reception counter.” He winked at her and stood back up.

At the word “cookies” Georgie’s shyness dissipated a little bit. She looked up at me with a question in her eyes as one of her arms wrapped around my leg. I nodded.

“Let’s go see what kind of cookies they have.”

“You in pain?” Reese asked as he unlocked the door to the small guest cabin Georgie and I had been assigned on the property. Georgie sat perched atop his muscular shoulders and was holding the tops of his ears to keep from falling off. Throughout the entire walk from the lodge to the cabin, he hadn’t shown a sliver of irritation to her. Unlike with all of the other men she’d met since we’d arrived at the vineyard, which had only been Blue, Tristan, and two of Ronan’s men who I couldn’t remember the names of, Georgie showed absolutely no shyness or fear around Reese. In fact, in those moments where we’d been around any other men, Georgie had sought Reese out instead of me, making me oddly jealous.

I answered Reese’s question with a shrug, which of course shot pain down my bad shoulder and arm. When tears came into my eyes, Reese cursed and set Georgie down carefully before throwing a hand around my back and steering me toward a small sofa in the cabin’s main room. As soon as I sat down, Georgie scrambled up next to me and patted my cast gently.

“Mr. Kitty says you have to be careful,” she said with little crinkles of worry on her forehead.

“Who’s Mr. Kitty?” I asked.

“Weese. ’Cause he climbs good like Princess Kitty. And he has pretty eyes like her.”

I snorted, thinking about the pet we’d left back home. Reese’s pretty eyes were wide with surprise, and I wondered how he’d feel if he ever met Princess Kitty in person and saw his namesake.

“Ah,” I said, keeping my eyes on Reese. “Mr. Kitty it is, then.”

Reese rolled his eyes but I noticed the edges of his mouth were turned up in a tiny grin. For someone so gruff and closed off, he clearly had a soft spot for my sister. He pulled off the backpack he’d been wearing that carried the few things we’d brought from the hospital, as well as some things one of Ronan’s men had apparently picked up for us.

“So you have to be careful, ’kay?” Georgie said with a surprising amount of determination. I focused back on her concerned face.

“I know, cutie pie. I promise I’ll take it easy and let my arm get better. Will you snuggle with me for a minute?” I asked her, pulling her close to my side and squeezing her with a side hug. “I missed you so much.”

Instead of letting myself go off the deep end thinking about Georgie in the hands of her abductors, I tried concentrating on the here and now.

The little cabin Blue and Tristan had put Georgie and me in looked pretty new. Everything was fresh and tidy, but the decor was soft and homey. I let out a breath. “Thanks for bringing us here,” I said to Reese. “I appreciate everything you’ve done.”

He grunted a sound that was probably meant to be an acknowledgement. I watched as he unpacked several things from the backpack.

“Blue gave me some of their daughter’s things for Georgie. Some kind of kid soap washcloth things and a hair brush. And one of the guys picked up some pajamas and clothes for her. I’ll put them in her room, but maybe you can help her bathe and change? Or walk me through it…”

He seemed nervous for some reason.

“Yeah, that’s fine. I can take it from here,” I assured him. “Don’t feel like you have to stick around. You can go to your own cabin or room or whatever.”

Reese stopped what he was doing and looked up.

“I’m staying here.”

I stared at him a few beats while his words sank in. “No, you’re not.”

“I am.”

I hated feeling like a child. I hated the idea that I wouldn’t get time and space to myself, that I was helpless in this situation. It made me feel worthless and vulnerable, dependent and weak.

After dropping a kiss on Georgie’s curls, I asked her to go check out which room she wanted to sleep in of the two bedrooms in the back. Once she was gone, I turned back to Reese.

“I don’t need a fucking babysitter. I agreed to stay here at the vineyard because you guys didn’t really give me a choice and it’s what’s best for Georgie, but I never said I’d share a room with you. You may go find another place to sleep.” I stood as I spouted the words in a harsh whisper so Georgie wouldn’t overhear them.

Reese’s eyes narrowed at me, then he stepped into my space. With the sofa directly behind me, I had no place to go.

“You’re pissed at me. I get it, Ben. I fucking deserve it, okay? I know that. But let’s get one thing clear. I’m your fucking shadow until the men who hurt you and took your sister are found. Got it? You also just had major surgery… it’s a fucking miracle you’re even upright considering all you’ve been through. So you’re going to need some help… with Georgie and with your own recovery. Hit me, curse me, call me whatever names you need to in order to make yourself feel better. But I’m not going anywhere until I’m satisfied that you guys are safe. Any questions?”

I opened my mouth to respond, then snapped it shut because what the hell could I say?

Especially when I didn’t want to say anything.

Except maybe please and thank you. And maybe you should make sure I heard you with a kiss or two or twenty.

But any thoughts I had about throwing myself at the gorgeous and very angry man were interrupted by my sister’s voice yelling, “Mr. Kitty, I gotta go potty!”

“Hold that thought,” Reese said as his hard eyes held mine for a moment and then dropped to my mouth.

Jerk probably knew exactly what had been going through my mind.

Well, I’d show him.

Yes, I would, I thought defiantly as I turned to go find the other bedroom. It was small and cozy with a view of a pretty pond with lots of green plants, some of which were just starting to bloom. There was a private porch attached to the bedroom, along with a hot tub that was screened in for privacy. As tired as my body was, it responded to the images of the naughty things Reese and I could do to each other in that hot tub. I sank down onto the bed as I lectured myself on why it was wrong to crave the hot bodyguard who’d been lying to me from day one and who kissed like a dream.

And who’d saved my baby sister’s life.

That was my last cognizant thought, and when I awoke much later, it was pitch dark outside. I was curled on my uninjured side and was wearing only the large sweatshirt Reese had helped me put on at the hospital before I’d been discharged. I was naked except for my underwear beneath the covers. The light in the attached bathroom had been left on, but the door was closed enough that there was only a sliver of light in the room. It was just enough to see Reese lying on his back on the floor next to my bed.

And tucked up against his right side was Georgie. Duckie was twisted in her hand, like she’d been worrying the scrap of fabric beneath her fingers. Reese’s arm was curled around Georgie’s body. My sister stirred just a little and Reese’s arm automatically tightened, though he didn’t wake up.

My chest felt tight as I took the pair in, and just like that, I felt one of the many walls I’d put up around my heart come crashing down. I rolled to my back and stared at the ceiling as I tried to remind myself that Reese had done nothing but lie to me from the moment we’d met.

I absolutely, positively, no-way-in-hell could let this man put cracks in any more of my walls while we were here.

I. Could. Not.

I nodded resolutely, even as my inner voice laughed at me and repeated two little words on an endless loop in my head.

Too late.