Willa was going to go insane. It wasn’t going to be her father who killed her, or even a late night of too much drinking. It was going to be pure and utter boredom.

Give her cable. Give her a book. Any book. Even one of those boring tearjerkers she’d avoided her entire life. But there was absolutely nothing to do here.

She couldn’t even go for a walk without James Weston stalking alongside her to make sure she didn’t go running off. She’d be more upset about it if she didn’t know that she’d given him plenty of reason to think that she was a flight risk.

She wished she could take back her late-night excursion, but it was what it was. She was a runner. It was what her best friend back home, Stephanie, loved to point out every time she’d broken up with a boyfriend or turned down a ring.

And not just with men. Anytime anything got too serious in her life, be it an apartment or major at school, she’d take off. Maybe what was bothering her even more than the boredom was her inability to run. There was no way out of this little safe house until James Weston decided to let her go.

“James...” she said out loud. No, that just didn’t seem right. It was too normal. Too subdued for the caveman. “Weston,” she tried. That fit him more, but she’d never been one to call someone by their last name. Maybe he would be the exception? He was probably the exception to a lot of things.

She padded to the kitchen but didn’t see a single drop of liquor in the cabinets. Damn it. She had to settle for a bottle of water as she went back to the mostly empty living room. She did a little circle and imagined what she would do with all this space. With the hardwood floors and tall ceiling, it would make a really great dance studio.

She tapped her foot as she remembered back to the dance lessons she’d taken. One more thing she’d run from. Because dancing was fun, but making a career out of it was hard. And she ran from hard things.

Suddenly she got an idea and rushed to her room. Her cell phone was in her bag and powered down. Willa had watched enough television to know that cell phones could be tracked, but she could turn off anything traceable, like internet and service.

And that would still give her access to all her music. A few minutes later, she was back in the living room and turned on her rock playlist. Well, pop rock. Something with a good beat. Something cheery that she couldn’t resist moving to.

She took a deep swig of water and then started to sway her hips to the music. She wasn’t doing any type of coordinated dance and had to imagine she looked like a tool, but it felt good to move and the thought of just tearing up some stranger’s living room with her crappy dance moves had her giggling to herself. God, it had been too long since she’d smiled.

She closed her eyes as she took in the music. She remembered the last time this song had come on at a club. AJ and Stephanie had both been there with her. AJ hit on anyone in a mini skirt while Willa and Stephanie had chosen to ignore the opposite sex and just danced with each other. Back before she’d met Jules. Back before any of this.

Her hands were in the air and she swayed her hips as the bridge of the song got slower. As she did a little turn, her eyes opened and she realized she wasn’t alone. Her dance came to an abrupt end as she saw James Weston watching her.

She half expected him to burst out laughing at the sight, but he didn’t. He was absolutely still and stared at her.

“I’m sorry. I was just really bored and I thought that if I could move a bit, it would work some of the tension out and the living room is so much like a dance studio. Which you probably never realized, but the hardwood floors and no furniture kind of make it a great space for moving around in and it was nice to kind of get away from my thoughts for a bit and I’m really sorry if I made you uncomfortable or anything but I just....” She realized he still wasn’t moving. And he didn’t seem annoyed. He looked.... Oh good Lord, he was turned on. The signs were so subtle, but there was this heat in his eyes as his gaze went up her body, from her feet right up until he met her eyes. She shifted her weight awkwardly. She had been confused that he hadn’t shown any signs of attraction to her before, but she’d since become used to that.

Now that the heat was there, she was... flabbergasted. James Weston didn’t like her. James Weston was a robot.

“I....”

He turned and walked away before she could start on another rambling explanation. The rock song was still playing. Willa ran over to the phone and stumbled through the screens as she hit the wrong thing and rushed to turn the damn thing off. She wanted to just turn back the clock a few minutes before the entire awkward exchange ever happened.

But if she couldn’t run, she could avoid. Avoid and ignore. Yep. The next time she saw James Weston, she was just going to play oblivious and act as if nothing had changed.

Because nothing had changed. She was still his annoying charge and he was still her quiet, frustrating host and protector.

But before she could go to her room to truly get a handle on the situation, he was back in the living room. “Did you still want to get some basics?”

She blinked at his casual tone. Even though she had been determined to sweep the awkwardness under the rug, she was still surprised at how easily he did it. Right back to being a robot.

Which is a good thing, she told herself. Just confusing.

“Yes. When are we leaving?”

“As soon as you’re ready.”

He walked away and Willa frowned. Maybe he wasn’t as okay with this as he acted. Because she was willing to bet anything that he hadn’t been planning on a supply run a few minutes ago.

Huh. So maybe James Weston was a runner too.

––––––––

Willa had come to terms with the fact that walking away on foot hadn’t been a good idea. But after the fifty-minute drive into town—and by town, she meant an outcropping of a truck stop, small-town diner, and one looming big box store—she fully comprehended how idiotic the little excursion had been.

“I don’t get it,” she said as James Weston pulled the truck into the parking lot of the big box store.

“Don’t get what?”

“Why you live out here. There’s nothing to do. Nothing to see. Nowhere to shop....” For real, where was the nearest mall?

“Some people like the scenery in the desert.”

“Yeah, it’s great. But that’s all there is. Pretty scenery and nothing. What the hell do you do?”

“Maybe I like the peace.”

“If you need that much peace in your downtime, that means your job is way too stressful.” Considering what he did for a living, maybe that was it. He told her what happened on his last job. Someone had died. Maybe the only way to get away from that kind of guilt was to escape into the middle of nowhere. Not that it was helping her at the moment.

“So, how small of a town is this?” she asked once the car was in park.

“What do you mean?”

“Like, if you go out shopping with some strange girl, are people going to ask questions? I can say I’m your cousin, visiting from out of town maybe?” Even though Chicago was about as far as you could get from a small town, the gossip mill was everywhere. And Willa had a feeling that an attractive guy like James Weston, caveman or not, probably had an army of matchmaking women who had a pool going on how long it would take him to settle down.

At least if they gave the pretense that they were related, they’d be left alone.

“You can’t be my cousin. Just let people think we’re together.”

He got out of the car before Willa could ask any more questions. She thought James Weston would be more resistant than that about the idea of them as a couple. But he was already halfway into the store, leaving her to catch up. Apparently he didn’t want to discuss the matter any further.

When she caught up to him, she leaned in closer. “You know that if you want to keep me safe, you should probably walk slow enough for me to keep up.”

He let out a little scoff, the closest he’d gotten to laughing in the entire time they’d been together. “I figure that if you’re running for your life, you’ll manage to keep up.”

“Your concern for my life, as always, is touching.” Willa liked this whole pretending nothing strange happened thing. In fact, she thought that the situation from earlier actually made James Weston slightly more accommodating. Did he feel guilty for the awkwardness? Or was he going to be nicer anyway because they were out in public and he was pretending to be her boyfriend?

Once they were inside, she immediately started for the clothes.

“Only things you need,” he said.

She rolled her eyes. “I think I’ll manage to contain my shopping addiction.” Then she realized he was starting toward the back of the store. “You’re not coming with me?”

“I need to pick up a few things. I won’t be gone long.”

She nodded even as part of her wanted to ask him to stay around. Logically she knew it was crazy to think that her father had managed to track her down. She’d been so careful about her phone use and hadn’t used a credit card or accessed her bank account or any of her internet accounts since she’d left. A feat that had her going through major withdrawal, but it was worth it.

So there was no reason to think that she needed her caveman babysitter. But still, this was her first time in public since she’d come begging Melody Murray for help, and she couldn’t help but feel as if she were constantly in danger. Maybe after a few weeks or months that paranoia would go away, but it was impossible to shake when she still saw Jules’s murder every time she closed her eyes. She forced out a nod and figured it was half convincing, because James Weston left her.

She balled her hands into fists and released them. Shopping. She was good at this. She liked this. She should enjoy herself and not let her fear get the best of her. She found the rack of clearance clothes and started to go through it. She wasn’t looking for anything to party in. She wanted relaxing, lounging clothes that she could run in if necessary. She pulled out a tank top and her eyes widened when she saw the price tag. Three bucks. How was it possible to spend so little on clothes? She kept it in her hands as she continued to go through the rack.

She thought the bargain store would have nothing that interested her, but a lot of the styles copied the trends at the boutiques she normally went to. The fabrics weren’t the normal soft feel she was used to, but for price and convenience, it couldn’t be beat.

“Hun, would you like me to grab you a cart?”

She looked over her shoulder at the man who had spoken and thought she was going to see an employee. Instead, it was a man in a flannel shirt, worn blue jeans, a cowboy hat, and boots to complete the look. And the tall, fit man beneath the clothes looked the part of a cowboy a hundred percent. Oh Lord, if this were any other time in her life, she’d be all over this. But now was not the time. “Thanks for offering, but I’m good.”

She started onto the next rack and the man followed her. “I’m Brock Vera. You might’ve noticed that we’re not a huge town here, and I’ve never seen you before. I think I would’ve remembered someone so pretty.”

Willa put on an exceptionally forced smile, willing him to notice her discomfort. “I’m just passing through. It was nice meeting you, Brock.” There. She’d been polite. Now if he still didn’t leave her alone, she was going to—

“There’s some beautiful scenery. If you want, I can take you out and show you—”

“Look, Brock. I’m happy that you’re so friendly and your confidence is great, but I’m not interested in—”

A steel band of an arm went around her waist and pulled her in close. “Brock.” James Weston used just the one clipped word to communicate a hell of a lot of intimidation.

The cowboy probably wasn’t intimidated by much, but he took a large step back as he realized that Willa wasn’t alone. “Weston,” he said nervously. “I didn’t realize you—”

“You know now.”

Willa raised a brow as she glanced between the two men and enjoyed the show of masculinity.

“It was great meeting you.” Brock scurried off to harass some other visitor.

Willa shook her head in disgust. “I gave him every signal I wasn’t interested and he couldn’t care less, but somehow the fact that some other guy has claim on me is enough to be respected. Douchebag.”

James Weston leaned in close. “And this is why you’re not my cousin.”

His breath brushed her ear and the sensitive nape of her neck. Chills skittered down her spine. All of a sudden, she was transported back in time to those few seconds earlier that day when James had been staring at her. When he’d wanted her. And in that moment, with his arms around her and his face so close, she felt it back. She turned her face ever so slightly but he was still so near and right next to her. Damn, this was inconvenient, but the caveman was so.... Damn. Who knew she would be attracted to a caveman?

She wanted to believe that her momentary lapse wasn’t noticeable, but he gave her hip a quick squeeze before he stepped away and removed his hand from her. He had to know. He wouldn’t have squeezed if he didn’t, right? She bit at her bottom lip and quickly went through the store with James at her side as she got the rest of the toiletries and clothes she’d need.

Assuming she did laundry every three days or so, she should be good for a while.

No one else came to talk to them, but Willa was aware of the glances thrown at them from the few shoppers in the store. She was right. Everyone was curious about the new woman in town.

She also grabbed a few books to read so she wouldn’t go insane. She was half tempted to ask James to grab a television, but she didn’t want to encroach on his bank account any more than she already was.

It was rather painful to have him buy her supplies when she had a massive trust fund just sitting unused at the moment.

Once she was back in the truck with James, things were different. It was as though once that switch was flipped in her head, she couldn’t turn the damn thing off. Because it wasn’t just an annoying caveman robot next to her. He seemed to take up all the space in the already large cab of the truck.

If her leg went over just a few more inches, she’d be touching his. He could move that big hand over and set it on her knee if he wanted. She wouldn’t mind seeing what those big hands would do to her body.

She forced her eyes on the road, which really didn’t help because she could see the outline of his muscular frame in the reflection in the glass. At least now she could look at him more subtly.

Fine. She thought James was attractive. He was. He was a masculine man, probably in his thirties, and he looked as if he could bench-press twice her bodyweight. If she was going to be spending so much time with him, she’d have to get used to the fact that they were going to be in close proximity and she might enjoy looking at his body. So what?

Once again she remembered the heat in his eyes as he looked at her. Damn it. She could get over her feelings toward him, or at least toward his body. But if he was thinking the same things.... Well, self-control had never been her strong suit.

The rest of the ride back to his place was a series of her trying and failing to convince herself that her newfound appreciation for James wasn’t a big deal. About a mile from his house, his cell phone rang. Except it wasn’t a normal ring, but the song “My Girl.”

He cursed as he answered. “Did you change my ringtone, Toni?”

Toni.... Melody’s sister. One of the few tidbits she’d caught while she’d been with Melody. Willa leaned in closer, trying to hear as much as she could, but it was useless. She couldn’t pick up more than a few words.

James was no help either. “Are you sure?” He maneuvered the phone to the side of his face farther from Willa. She gave him an annoyed look but he didn’t acknowledge her. “I’ll keep an eye out. Thanks for the heads-up.”

He hung up and Willa didn’t give him half a second before she asked, “What happened?”

“Probably nothing.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“Toni has been monitoring a few people close to your father and who might’ve worked for Sterling. She said that two guys just booked tickets to Phoenix and arrived this morning.”

“This morning? So they are here already.”

“Phoenix is a big city.”

Willa frowned. It wasn’t as if he needed to lie to her to make her feel safer. “Do you really believe that?”

“I think we can wait and see what happens.”

“We can wait and see what happens while surrounded by guns, right? I mean, that’s why you’re here. To keep me safe with your badassery.”

His grip on the steering wheel tightened and he glanced over at her. “Don’t worry, Willa. I got you.”

She blinked. It was the first time he’d said her name and it sounded strange coming off his tongue. Unnatural. She thought back to all the reasons they would probably never meet under anything resembling a normal situation. This whole thing was unnatural.

And that was what she was going to remind herself every time she found herself eying James’s body.