Where are we going?” I asked after about an hour of driving in circles.

“We’re in a holding pattern for now. Until we get word that the coast is clear.” Martin smiled at me, but I didn’t buy it.

“The coast where?”

“To be determined.”

“Great.” It was difficult to have the utmost confidence in this new babysitter when he didn’t even know where we were going.

“Everything will be fine… is fine. Honest.” Martin reached over to my side of the car and patted my hands, which I was wringing in my lap. “My team has worked numerous missions together. We don’t move until it’s absolutely safe.”

Although I knew he was only holding my hand to reassure me, it didn’t feel like a fatherly gesture. Protective, yes, but more intimate. I looked over at him, taking in the strength that he exuded, and it did calm me.

Martin caught me staring and quickly jerked his hand away. “Sorry, Ms. Genovese,” he stammered.

“Please, just call me Vanessa.” I rubbed my hands together, feeling his warmth dissipate. I wanted to reach over and pull his hand back to me, but I resisted. The last thing I wanted was to look needy after all the fuss I’d made in the house. But seeing that car, being followed for real, I hadn’t expected it to be real.

“No offense to you, but I feel more comfortable with Ms. Genovese.” Martin turned to me. “Why don’t you call your friend at the restaurant to see if she has your things ready?” He was trying to distract me.

“That woman is not my friend,” I snapped. “More like my father’s friend.”

“Well, in any event, would you like to call her? Settle your affairs?” He picked up his phone to dial the number again.

“Settle my affairs? Geez. What a bedside manner you have.” I didn’t want to talk to her, but I knew I had to, eventually. “Well, if we’re killing time, I do have somewhere I need to go. Somewhere nobody knows about, so it will be safe.”

I gave Martin directions, and a few minutes later, we parked under my tree. He surveyed the wooded area leading to the river and then up and down the bank before unlocking the car. I immediately jumped out before he could change his mind. The fresh air filled my lungs, and I instantly relaxed. There was just something about this place.

“What is this place?” Martin called from behind me as I jogged down the embankment, kicking off my sandals. At least I had the sense to wear normal shoes.

“This,” I said, stopping almost knee deep in the warm stream, “is my secret hiding spot.”

“It’s not very secret. There are multiple low cover entrance points and—”

“Not a secret underground lair.” I laughed at his bravado. “Secret to me and my mom.” Mom. “Now just me.” I felt my chin quiver.

I saw Martin notice the break in my resolve and hated myself for the weakness of it. He stepped into the water, dress shoes and all, and came to me. He got close enough for me to smell the clean crispness that had quickly become his signature, yet didn’t touch me at all. I was surprised by how much I wanted him to.

“I’m honored that you chose to share it with me.” He sounded almost kind.

The intimacy of the moment startled me back into my old self. “Not like I had a choice… babysitter.” I stomped off, a difficult task in knee-high water.

“Of course,” Martin replied. I heard him standing straighter, stiff. I bet if I turned back around, I’d see him saluting.

Needing a moment to recover, I said, “I think I will make that phone call now. In private.”

“That’s not possible, Ms. Genovese.” He waded toward me.

“I need to tell her where to find some very personal things, and I’d rather not have you know all my secrets,” I resisted. “A girl’s got to keep some mystery about her.” I forced laughter and lightness into my voice.

“But of course. I’ll watch your line from the truck.”

“Great. You and Rhonda cover me.”

As I watched him trudge up the embankment in wet shoes and slacks, I felt a twinge of desire. This man, this strange, strange man had just walked — fully clothed — into the water to comfort me.

The thought of calling Ophelia repulsed me, especially after the moment I’d just had — thought I’d had — with Martin. Deciding to just get it over with, I dialed her number. I hated myself for talking to her in our spot, like I was betraying my mom. But I didn’t have much time to wallow. She picked up on the first ring.

Minutes later, with Ophelia sworn to secrecy about my plans, I said a quick prayer to my mom and headed back up the river bank. Martin paced near the back of Rhonda, on his phone. Even engrossed in his conversation, his eyes never left me. I wondered, hoped, if he was thinking the same things about me that I’d been thinking about him. The way he’d held my hand earlier, lingering long after he’d finished speaking, and this soft moment we’d shared just a few minutes ago. I got the feeling it was a mutual attraction.

As I approached the truck, he motioned quickly with his hands toward the truck. “Get in!” he said gruffly. So much for those ‘moments.’

I climbed in the passenger side and buckled my seat belt.

The second Martin opened his door, the Bluetooth connected to his phone, and I heard another man with an almost imperceptible Spanish accent say, “They found you.”