Kate woke suddenly in the middle of the night, her eyes springing open. It was dark, but light from the outside street lamps filtered in through the blinds. She rolled over to find Colt propped up on an elbow, staring down at her with intense, stormy blue eyes.

“Hi,” he whispered. His face softened, and he blinked away whatever he’d been thinking about a moment before.

She smiled up at him. “What time is it?”

“No idea.”

“Don’t you sleep?”

“Not when I’m keeping watch.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Like on a mission? Do you feel like you’re on a mission?”

He ran his hand over her right shoulder and down her arm. “A little bit.”

She frowned. “I’m sorry for the way I told you about Sarah. I shouldn’t have sprung her on you the way I did.”

“Tell me more about her.”

Kate could feel the lift in her cheeks. “She’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever done or ever will do in this life. She’s smart—so smart. She’s fascinated with royalty.”

“Like princesses?”

“Princesses, Princes, Queens, Kings, Dukes, Duchesses—all of it.” Kate laughed a little. “Instead of picture books, I read to her from Wikipedia about royal families from as far back in history as the 1400s.”

Colt returned her smile. “I saw her picture. She is beautiful.”

“Thank you.” She blinked a couple of times. “You need to understand that she is the most important thing in my life. There is nothing I won’t do to protect her.”

“Which includes sending me away.”

“That’s right.”

“What I don’t understand is why you were so quick to think I was some sort of threat to Sarah or to your happiness.”

She rolled over and looked away from Colt while letting him gather her body in close and spooning her. It would be easier to talk to him while not looking him in the eyes. There was no way she would risk telling him everything about her past.

“Why are you turning away from me?” Colt asked.

He read her too easily. “Colt, there are things in my past that I will never be able to tell you.”

“I don’t believe that,” he said. “Maybe not now, and I won’t ask you to, but eventually, you’ll trust me enough.”

“No, I won’t.” She hugged his arm tighter, scared that he would get up and leave now that she’d decided to let him stay the night. “But I appreciate that you’ll try not to ask.”

He forced her to turn back over and face him. Holding her chin, he looked deep into her eyes. “I’m sorry for whatever happened that made you so scared.”

Scared wasn’t the right word. Not for herself anyway. She did worry about Sarah, though, and what her future would be like as a daughter of someone in witness protection. Sarah would ask questions eventually—beyond what Kate had already shared with her. Would she be completely honest? When was the right time to tell her about a family she could never know? Was there ever a right time for that, knowing that their family would kill them both if they found out they even existed?

Kate reached a hand and traced the tattoo on his left arm. “Would it be too personal to ask you what the tattoo means?”

He angled his head and studied her. “Aren’t we past that?”

“I suppose we are.”

“The anchor represents everything that grounds me. It represents my unit, my faith, and my family. The arrow represents the direction I always hope to move in.”

When she lifted a brow, he continued. “Forward.”

She smiled. “That’s definitely a good direction to go in.”

“We should all follow our arrow wherever it points.”

“That sounds like something you saw on Pinterest,” she giggled, but when his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes, she realized that he was troubled about something. There were so many questions in his eyes, and they scared her. There was something between them that she wasn’t sure would last, nor was she prepared for it to end. That was a new feeling for her. Hell, everything about this relationship was new to her. “What about the waves? The ocean?” Obviously, she thought after she said it.

He nodded. “I love the ocean as much, if not more, than land. But it also represents the wild and mysterious parts of life. The uncontrollable of the ocean is why we need the anchors and arrows in our life.”

“I like it.” She rolled back over and hugged his arm to her again.

“Get some sleep,” Colt whispered.

“Will you be here in the morning when I wake up?” She wondered if he would pull the same disappearing act she had pulled the previous morning.

He kissed the back of her head. “I’m not going anywhere.”

She liked the sound of that. “I’m really glad you’re here.”

* * *

Kate jerked in her sleep. She had heard something, but when she opened her eyes and tried to focus on what it might have been, the sound was gone.

“What was that?” Colt asked. His arms and legs were intertwined around hers like silk.

“You heard something, too?” She sat up in bed. A small amount of light was coming through the slits in the blinds on the windows. “It came from the front porch.”

He untangled himself from her and sat up. He slipped into his pants and grabbed a small handgun from what looked like an ankle holster. She knew a nine millimeter when she saw one, but had no idea that he carried one. She wanted to say that the gun was not necessary, but if he hadn’t grabbed it, she would have grabbed her own handgun.

“Stay here,” he said and slipped into the hallway.

“The hell I will,” she said, and climbed out of bed. She grabbed a t-shirt and ran after him.

The house was quiet; it was still early. Colt slipped into Sarah’s room and looked out her window into the front yard. Apparently seeing nothing, he turned and came toward Kate. “I thought I told you to stay put.”

“And I suppose you forgot that this is my house.”

He walked past her and into the living room. Still hearing nothing else, Colt went to the front door.

“Wait,” Kate said when he had his hand on the doorknob. “Let me go.”

“And in what crazy corner of your mind does that make sense?” he asked. “I’m the one with the gun. And I’m well-trained to use it.”

Kate thought about that. She didn’t need to get into the fact that she’d been shooting handguns since she was five, because that would open up all sorts of questions.

Colt opened the door and peered outside. Kate moved so that she could look out with him. She didn’t see or hear anything. Colt opened the door wider, and that was when Kate saw it.

“Not again,” she said. She pushed her way outside, but Colt quickly blocked the doorway with his arm and held her back.

“What is it?” He followed her gaze. That was when he saw what she was looking at.

Another dead rat. This time, the rat was in a cage, and it was covered in blood, its throat slit.

Kate’s pulse picked up speed.

“There’s a note on top of it,’ Colt said. They moved closer.

Kate reached out to touch it, but Colt stopped her with a hand to her arm. “Don’t touch it. We should call the police.”

He was technically right, but it didn’t matter. Someone had found her, and there was no way she was waiting around for the police to check for fingerprints and try to figure out who was stalking her with offerings of murdered rodents. She also didn’t have time to explain everything to Colt. She got in front of him. “Listen to me. It doesn’t matter. I need you to get your stuff and leave.”

She turned back around and snatched up the note and read it.

There is nowhere you can hide that we won’t find you. Rats are disgusting animals that deserve to die. But don’t worry about your daughter. She will finally get to know her real family.

She let the note drop to the ground beside the cage. She looked down the street in both directions. Seeing nothing, she turned and ran inside the house.

Colt ran after her. “Kate, tell me what is going on. What does that note mean?”

Tears burned her eyes, but she quickly swiped them away. There was no time for tears. She had to get her daughter, and they had to get out of town. Now.

First, she raced to the purse that she had dropped on a chair just inside her bedroom. She dug for her phone. When she found it, she saw that she had a single missed call from twenty minutes ago.

She dialed the number as she jogged to her closet and pulled her suitcase from the top shelf—her go bag. She pulled the smaller case beside it down with it—a locked case with a Glock 43. Not the most powerful weapon, but it was a nine-millimeter, and easily concealed.

“You okay?” the voice on the phone asked. “We have a problem.”

“How? How did they find me?”

“What do you mean? I was just calling to tell you that Jake Boone busted out of jail yesterday. We have no reason to believe he knows where you are.”

“Someone left two dead rats on my front porch.”

“When?”

“One yesterday morning. And one just a few minutes ago.”

“Jake broke out late yesterday afternoon. It couldn’t have been him.”

“And you’re just now telling me? How did he escape?” She squeezed her eyes shut. “It doesn’t matter. Someone knows where I am.”

“Don’t worry. I’m sending an agent to get you and Sarah. They’ll be there within the hour.”

“I’ll be dead in an hour!” Kate yelled and hung up.

Colt was watching Kate scramble into her clothes, saying nothing. There was no way to sugar coat any of this for him, and, quite frankly, she didn’t have time. Finally, as if snapping out of a trance, he grabbed her arms and forced her to look at him. “Tell me what is going on. What did that note mean? Who were you just talking to? Who do you think wants you dead?” His eyes were not panicked, but they wanted—no, they needed—answers. He spoke in a calm, even voice. “Tell me how I can help you.”

“Colt, don’t do this. I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have allowed this to happen. This was exactly why I had been so hesitant with you. I never would have let you inside my house had I known.”

“Known what? Is that note calling you a rat?”

Tears escaped and streaked down her face. She shook her head. “I don’t have time to explain. You need to get far away from me. Get away before they discover who you are. I’m so sorry.”

He held her tighter. “Give me something, Kate, so that I can help you.”

“I told you already, you can’t.”

“The hell I can’t.” He grabbed his clothes and began putting them on. “Where’s Sarah? We can pick her up and go to my hotel. At least you can shower, calm down, and think rationally.”

“Think rationally? I’ve had an escape plan in place for four years. I have to go, and I’m ready.”

“No! I’m not losing you.”

“Colt!” Kate screamed. “You have no say in the matter.” Kate ran from the room and into Sarah’s. Sarah also had a go bag in the top of her closet, which she had updated just two days ago, though it seemed like weeks.

“The hell I don’t. I have an entire team of Navy SEALs who will do anything I ask. I won’t keep you from running, but at least let me help you get a head start under the cover of some of the best protectors in our nation.”

Kate let his words sink in a minute. He definitely had a point. “You would do that for me?”

“I told you, dammit. I’m not some one-night stand.”

She placed a hand against his face. “I’m beginning to see that. Let’s go, then. You can drive me to get Sarah.”