I hated to act like that with Maggie. She didn’t deserve the way I treated her, but I had to put some space between us. She’d become attached at the cabin. My job was to protect her. I didn’t want her to confuse gratitude with real feelings. Victim and savior relationships never lasted.

Maggie needed to stand on her own feet for a while. She had to break free of her toxic relationship with Julie, spread her wings, and fly. Maggie was such a beautiful and talented woman, and I knew she could do so much better than a damaged man like me. She needed to believe in herself. Until then, she couldn’t be with anyone… not really.

Day after day at the cabin, she’d worked so hard. I could only imagine what she could do here with her equipment, her band, and her head free from worry. Maybe she was still a small time opening act, but I had no doubt she would be a top-40 artist, a headliner in her own right very soon. I could picture her face on every billboard and marquee from here to New York.

“Hey, boss.” Ben walked in to the trailer scratching his neck and derailed my train of thought. “You know, that manger of Maggie’s is a weirdo.”

“Who? Julie?” I kept my eyes on the computer, typing up the contract for my next job. Some time in Europe would do me good.

“Yeah. That girl is nuts.” Ben sat in the swivel chair next to me, flipping open his laptop.

“What do you mean?” I glanced over, one eyebrow cocked. “I mean, Julie’s an odd duck, but she came out clean in our searches, right?”

“While you guys were gone, she kept going on and on about how she made Maggie what she was and how she couldn’t believe Maggie was doing this to her.” He grabbed half my uneaten sandwich sitting on a paper plate next to me and took a big bite. “She kept repeating that she couldn’t keep compensating for Maggie’s lack of talent. That she was sick of doing it all. That Maggie really needed to step it up.”

“What?” I moved the plate out of his reach and picked up the other half of my sandwich to keep it safe. “Julie said all that?”

“Yeah, she did.” In two big bites, he finished the half he’d stolen and looked longingly at the half I still held. “I mean, Maggie is the real deal.”

I taunted him and took a bite, savoring the thin-sliced turkey before I answered. “You have no idea. The stuff she was writing up in the cabin… I haven’t heard anything that amazing in a long time. I don’t think she knows how phenomenal her music really is.” I considered Julie for a moment and shook thoughts of her from my head. “We’re not here to solve Maggie’s personal problems.”

“Right, boss.”

I turned back to the monitors. “Here are the new orders.” I hit print and handed him a thumb drive as the printer spat out the hard copy. “I’m going to Zurich. That job is mine. Put together teams for these other three here.” I printed off two more sets. “Let’s call in a basic security team. Hire new guys if you need to. Start running round-the-clock standard security here. Let’s send our special forces guys out on these jobs.”

“You want me to pull the team off Maggie?” Ben raised an eyebrow. “You’re not going to stay here with her?”

“No. She doesn’t need me anymore. It’s silly to have my best guys here when we’ve already neutralized the threat. I think putting the permanent team in place sooner rather than later is better for everyone involved.”

“Oooookaaaay.” He drew the word out, making it very clear to me that he didn’t believe my excuses.

I walked into the surveillance room unannounced. I had to force myself through the next five minutes. I’d have time to cry later.

“Liam?” I knew better than to get involved with a man like him—hot, rich, successful. I knew he would lose interest in me. Really, what could I offer a man like that?

“Yes?” he replied, a cup of coffee halfway to his mouth.

“This isn’t working.” I stepped between him and his precious computer screens with my hands on my hips.

He looked up at me. “What do you mean?”

“I mean us. We aren’t working. We barely sleep in the same bed. You never touch me anymore. What’s happened to us?”

He pulled his glasses off and set them aside. Leaning back in his chair, he lifted his chin to face me with a sigh. “There really isn’t anything for me to do here, Maggie. You don’t need me anymore.” He rubbed his forehead. “We caught your stalker. Now you just need a standard security team.” He shook his head. “You don’t need me.”

“I’ll always need you, Liam, but not like this.” I leaned against the desk and took his hands in mine. How badly I wanted them to feel me again.

“So what do we do?”

I slipped a paper clip over the last small stack of documents and handed them to my right-hand man. “Ben, take care of the hiring. Call me with any questions. I’ll be at the finishing school in Zurich.”

“Sure, boss.” He should have turned and left then, but he hesitated. “You gonna tell Maggie you’re leaving?”

“Nah.” I shook my head and locked my leather case. “We said our goodbyes last night.”

“Boss?”

“Ben,” I gave him my best ‘don’t push me’ glare, and he backed down immediately. That made me feel like even more of a cold-hearted bastard. “Maggie and me… it’s over. I never should have let anything start. I knew better.”

“Not every woman is Jeannie, Liam. I really think Maggie loves you. There’s that hurt look in her eye. She hides behind this pop star thing, but I think she’s really upset.”

“Thanks, Ben.” I slapped his knee and came to my feet with my leather case in hand. “You’re a good friend, but it’s over.”