Joselyn had no idea what she had done wrong but whatever it was, it must have been bad. Sitting on the passenger side of Maddox's truck, she stared out the window, watching the passing scenery. Ever since the first night at the party, he had become withdrawn and every attempt by her to engage him in conversation had fallen flat. He remained courteous and even helpful throughout the three-day conference but something fundamental had changed between them. No longer did he call her Joselyn, choosing "Ma'am" and "Ms. Kendrik" instead. Gone were the smoldering gazes and the "accidental" brush of hands as they worked together to set up her table each day. She missed the easy manner in which they had gotten along. She missed him. Along with his tenderness, the small bit of peace she had acquired evaporated. When the nightmares visited before, he would suddenly appear and wake her with a kiss or a caress, ensuring her she was safe, secured, and cared for. Last night she awoke in the middle of the night, sweaty and panting, her pillow still wet as she struggled to disentangle her legs from the sheets. She saw the light go on in the sitting room connecting their bedrooms. A shadow blocked out the light shining under the door but after a moment, it withdrew and the light turned off. The absence of his comfort hurt most of all.

"River," she tried again. "Maddox?"

He grunted.

She sighed and turned to face him. "Please, will you tell me what I did wrong?"

He never took his eyes off the road. "You didn't do anything wrong, Ms. Kendrik."

That's it. She was tired, her heart hurt, and she felt dejected. Curling her hands into fists, she closed her eyes and screamed inwardly. "Pull over." Her voice was cold and full of fury.

"We are almost to New Orleans."

"Pull. Over. Now."

"I'm sorry, Ms. Kendrik but that's not an option," River stated flatly. "We are too exposed out here and your house is less than an hour away. Unless it's an emergency, it can wait until you are safely inside your home."

She glared at him. "Fine but you better be ready, Mr. Benson, because you and I are having a long talk. I'm already ticked off so another hour of simmering should put me right about to boiling." She turned and glared out the window, watching the miles race by. She was going to get some answers and soon because this situation wasn't working for her.

Traffic coming off the I-10 was congested because of an accident. Instead of an hour to brood, Joselyn got almost two. Stomping into her house, she threw her bag on the table, kicked off her shoes and disappeared into the kitchen. Breaking out the bottle of red, she poured herself a full glass before gulping half of it.

"Do you think it's a good idea to drink on an empty stomach?"

Her look threw daggers. "Believe me, you want me to be a little mellow." She tipped the glass back, finished it and poured another to the halfway mark.

Maddox turned. "I'll go get your boxes in."

"Leave the damned boxes," she growled. "You and I need to talk."

He sighed and pushed his hands through his hair. "I don't think..."

She snorted. "That's obvious."

Pushing past him she went into the living room and dropped onto the sofa. She tucked her feet under her and braced the glass on her leg. "Sit."

One of those deliciously dark eyebrows quirked at her order. Normally, she would have giggled or teased but right now she was plain mad. "Sit. Down," she repeated a little more forcibly and took another drink of her wine. She barely resisted the urge to throw the glass at him when he sat ramrod straight in the chair across from her.

"Alright, something has pissed you off, made you mad, upset you or something. Until Thursday night, you were sweet, kind and attentive. Suddenly, you became the Frost Giant again and frankly, I don't know why. All I do know is this: I have whiplash from your mood swings and I'm freaking tired of it. You are going to tell me what's going on!"

He studied her a moment before slowly shaking his head. "There's nothing going on, Ms. Kendrik."

Fury burned through her. "The hell there's not. Did you hear me? I've cursed twice in the last two minutes. It's more than I have in the past year. I'm that confused and upset! Something is bothering you and I want to know what it is." She dropped her face into her hands as the anger drained out of her. "Please? Maddox, please won't you talk to me? Tell me what I did to make you so mad that you can barely stand to look at me. I can't take this. It's killing me."

His mouth opened and closed. He blinked, his face showing more emotion than she had seen all weekend. The protective glare was still there but it was tempered with a bit of sorrow. He looked as if he had lost something precious. Setting the glass on the table, she slid to her knees, knelt before him and place a hand on his leg. "Maddox?"

His hand covered hers and for a second, she thought it was going to be alright. Warm and comforting, her breath caught as she looked with longing at his hand resting so protectively over hers. The moment passed and he pulled his hand away letting the cold demeanor slide over him again.

Her heart broke. Whatever was going on with him, he refused to share it with her. Rising to her feet, she turned away. Stopping in the doorway, she looked back at him. "If you are going to close yourself off from me, I think it's time for you to go," she whispered. "I'd rather go into WitSec again than return to what we were before. I can't live like this. I just... I can't. You mean too much to me now. I could face anything because I knew you would be there for me, taking care of me, standing by me, being my rock when the demons circled. But knowing you can't stand to be in the same room with me," she shook her head sadly. "I've given you too much already and I can't be here in this house with you and turn off how I feel. It's not possible. So if you insist on keeping yourself withheld from me, you need to leave and I'll call Jonathan tomorrow. I'll go back into protection until this thing is through."

He shot to his feet, reaching for her but let his hand drop. It became obvious he was contemplating walking out of her life instead of discussing whatever it was bothering him. It hurt. She felt her heart shatter and her soul rip in two but she stood her ground. Even though she wanted to run to him, to pull him into her arms and hold him, she couldn't. Whatever was causing this rift between them was on him and he had to address it. So she waited, watching the emotions as they washed across his handsome face.

"Eleven years."

In an instant, the decision had been made and he dropped into the chair. Leaning forward, he braced his elbows on his knees and ran both hands through his hair.

"Excuse me?" Her brow furrowed. "I don't understand."

He looked at her. "Eleven years. I didn't realize you were so much younger than me. Until I saw the cake, it never occurred to me there was such an age difference between us. You carry yourself more mature than twenty-eight. I thought you were at least thirty or thirty-two."

"Okay, there's eleven years between us. I fail to see where it matters."

He stood and started to pace. "Can't you see? It matters. I'm almost forty, Joselyn. I'm retired from the military. While you were going to sleepovers and learning how to drive, I was already several tours into my service!"

"I wasn't a big fan of sleepovers."

He closed his eyes and growled. "That's not the point. The year I graduated high school and enlisted, you were in second grade. Second grade, Joselyn. I was an adult and you were only a child. I'm too old for you, too old to saddle you with a busted ex-sailor covered in scars both inside and out. Look at you. You're a successful author with a bright future. Your whole life is waiting for you."

With a snarl, Joselyn darted over until she stood toe to toe with him and dropped to sit on the coffee table. "Yes, Maddox, my whole life is waiting for me. You are right about that but it's the only thing you are right about. You forgot something there. It is MY life. Mine. You can't tell me how to live it. My Lord, I'm currently hiding in this house because someone else thinks they have the right to dictate to me, and now you are doing the same? So what if you are eleven years older. So what if you are retired from the military and my career is starting. So what!" She screamed and slapped at the wetness trickling down her cheeks. "You may be older than me, "she continued, "but it doesn't matter because I know the kind of man you are. You are protective, funny, loyal and strong." She poked him in the chest. "In here beats the heart of the man I care about and it doesn't matter to me if that heart is thirty-eight or eighty-eight. Age is just a number."

"A pretty big number," he retorted.

She threw her head back and furiously roared. He made her so mad! Here she was wondering what had upset him and it was her freaking age? Seriously?

"You know what? To be so much older and wiser, you are really slow sometimes."

He rubbed his chest where she had poked it. "What would your mother say if she knew?"

"She wouldn't say anything. Maddox, my father was thirteen years older than my mother. He and her brother, my uncle Max, were best friends their whole lives. So see, it's probably genetic. We Kendrik women like our men aged to perfection."

Seeing the stunned look on his face melted away the anger until she felt only a bone-deep exhaustion. Cupping his face, she turned it to her. "I know you are trying to come to terms with this but seriously, it's not a big deal. If two people care for each other, age doesn't matter. If it doesn't bother me, it shouldn't bother you, and it really doesn't matter one bit what other people say." Joselyn stopped and took a cleansing breath before continuing. "You know, my Mom was a pretty smart cookie. She said that God, in his infinite wisdom, sometimes did things we could not understand. She was a firm believer in thinking He created someone who would be perfect for each of us. Sometimes, it was at the same time but sometimes one of them had to age a little first. Mom and dad knew each other their whole lives but only fell in love later. They got married when she was twenty-three and I came along when she was twenty-nine. They had thirty-three wonderful years together before he died and though she misses him terribly, she wouldn't trade one moment for all the gold in the world. That's the kind of love I want. I'd rather have one year with somebody I love than to spend thirty years with someone I just got along with." She mentally slapped herself when she realized what she had said. In an attempt to cover those hasty words, she stood and gave him a warm smile. "I'm tired. I got no sleep last night and the drive home stressed me out. I'm going to go take a long soak in the tub and order from Giovanni's. Afterward, I'm going to take a nice nap and when I wake up maybe we can continue this conversation, yeah?"

He seemed to finally understand what she was saying because he stood up, cupped his hand around the nape of her neck, massaging it gently. With a sigh, he nodded. "Yeah."

They stared at each other a moment then pulled her to him and lowered his lips to hers. She had been kissed tenderly. She had been kissed passionately. This time, she got desperation. She could feel the turmoil in him finally release as he claimed her once again. Lips mashed together so hard their teeth almost touched. It was wild, consuming and she freaking loved it.

Panting, he pulled away and the fire she had gotten so used to seeing in his icy blues was back. Thank God! Her knees threatened to buckle and she clung to him.

"I thought I was doing what was right. I thought I needed to pull back, to give you options. I want you to be happy, even if it wasn't with me. I'm sorry if I hurt you," Maddox said earnestly.

"You thought wrong. I'm not a child, Maddox. I'm an adult who knows what I want. I don't want options. I want you. You did hurt me but you are forgiven. Please, just don't do it again."

He flashed her a half smirking grin making her belly clench. Pressing his forehead to hers he said, "Yes, Ma'am. Go get your bath, I'll call Giovanni's so it'll be here by the time you get out."

Joselyn's heart stuttered and a weight lifted from her shoulders. "Alright." She pulled back and caressed his cheek. "Thank you for taking care of me."

"Forever."

There was strength in that single word. It was not only an affirmation but a promise. She knew he was letting her know he would not only take care of her physically but emotionally as well. Turning away, she climbed the stairs to her bedroom and went into her bath. Filling the tub with hot water, she dropped in a lavender and tulip bomb, watching it fizz as it dispersed. Re-entering her bedroom, she went to her bedside table to retrieve her mp3 player and stopped dead in her tracks. Something looked wrong with her bed so she turned on the lamp. A gasp escaped and all the blood drained from her head, making her stumble slightly. Slowly, her eyes took in what her brain attempted to comprehend. Her beige and mint green comforter had been slashed to shreds along with several of the matching pillows. Scattered over the surface and dipping into the rents and holes were the contents of those pillows along with hundreds of dried rose petals. The one intact pillow hosted something small and shiny. She leaned in to get a better look and drew back in shock. A silver necklace rested on the surface. The finely crafted chain dipped in the creases where she normally laid her head and the spherical pendant glinted in the meager lamp light. Without a doubt, she knew it would contain human remains. It looked exactly like the ones Detective Jameson had shown them last week with the exception of one thing. Where all the others had a dove carved upon the surface, this one had a beautiful rose in breathtaking detail. Beside it was a piece of paper with a picture of her and Maddox, eyes on each other as they stood outside the door to ballroom two. A big red heart had been drawn around her face but several long slashes ripped through his. Beneath the picture, words had been angrily stroked.

The soldier broods and walks the night,

To save the Rose, his hopeless fight.

He pursues her now, in an attempt to steal,

That which is MINE, to worship, to kill.

Time draws short, harvest is soon,

For Soldier and Rose to meet their doom.

There was a scream and it took a moment for her to register it came from her own throat. In a flash, Maddox was there with his weapon drawn, one arm pulling her close to his side. He saw her bed and let out a curse. In the space of one second, everything slammed into her. Images flittered through her brain - the bloody roses, strawberries, Detective Jameson's skeptical face, River's Frost Giant glare, her bed with the ripped and torn sheets, certain words from each poem blinking brighter and brighter.

Bloody... Fear... Death... Harm... Feast... Doom...

Kill

Kill

Kill

Joselyn squeezed her eyes tightly against the mental assault. "No," she moaned as the flickering vision was replaced by one even more sinister- a black tunnel with Douglas McClane's dead eyes morphing into the laughing ones of Donavan Beecher. She trembled and shook until her teeth rattled. Someone was speaking but she couldn't understand what they were. She gasped, unable to catch a breath. Panic devoured her in its frozen jaws.

Little Rose

Little Rose

Little Rose

Douglas' condescending tone whispered in her ears.

The arms around her tightened and shook her but she couldn't respond. Maddox... it had to be him as he was always there. He was the one who sheltered her. He was the one who protected her. He was the one who stood between her and the rest of the world. It was only fitting, then, that Maddox caught her as her eyes rolled back, her knees gave way and the world tilted, turned gray and then black.