She was trying not to cry. Wyatt could tell that much in the dim lights from the dashboard. He’d seen her swipe a hand over her cheek and guessed that’s what was going on. He’d also heard it in her voice.

She might be a pampered princess with a bit of a superiority complex, but she clearly loved her cat. She didn’t deserve what was happening to her right now. Stalkers were the worst kinds of cowards. They got off on creating fear in their victims. They hid behind anonymous threats and stayed in the shadows, ratcheting up the tension to unbearable levels.

Sometimes they attacked. It wasn’t a guarantee that Paige’s stalker would do that, but it wasn’t a chance anyone wanted to take either. According to Hawk, the police had a suspect. A man who’d worked as a temporary hire for American Princess. He’d been fired when he’d been caught stealing, and he’d threatened to ruin the show with behind-the-scenes knowledge. It was possible that he’d turned to threatening the show’s star instead.

Wyatt had told her he wasn’t letting anyone harm her or her cat, and he meant it. The damned thing hadn’t stopped squalling since they’d left the airport. Wyatt really hoped it shut up once they reached their destination.

It occurred to him there was no litter box where he was taking them. He hadn’t known she was bringing a cat, so he hadn’t prepared for it. Freaking hell.

He could turn around and head back to town, or he could call a friend. He chose the second option, disconnecting his phone from the truck’s Bluetooth before doing so. He didn’t need Paige to hear the other half of the conversation.

“Hey, Wyatt,” Adam Tucker said. “Heard you got a job protecting an American Princess.”

Wyatt wanted to roll his eyes and laugh at the same time. Zane was the practical joker of their group, but Adam never missed a shot when he got one.

“Yeah, taking her up the mountain right now. Can you do me a favor?”

“I’ll try. What do you need?”

“A litter box for a cat and some litter. A big cat.”

As if on cue, Mr. Fluffypants let out a pissed-off yowl. And why wouldn’t he be pissed with a name like that?

“Whoa, you sure that’s not a tiger?”

“Not really. Can you do it?”

“Hang on…” Wyatt heard a muffled conversation that was probably Adam talking to Jane, the woman he’d fallen for shortly after Wyatt got back to town. He liked Jane. She was good for Adam. “I’ll be there shortly. Anything else?”

Wyatt shot a look at Paige. “Does he need food?”

“I packed enough for a few days.”

“Nope, think we’re good,” he told Adam.

“Give me the address you want me to meet you at.”

Wyatt rattled it off. “Thanks, man. I’ll owe you.”

“No you don’t,” Adam said. “Not after the free labor you donated to help get the boathouse in shape for the kids.”

“I was glad to do it.”

Adam had told him why the camp was so important. A hot lump of pain sat in Wyatt’s chest as he thought about his friend losing a kid he was trying to rescue. Wyatt understood that kind of hurt, what it meant to lose someone you were supposed to watch out for. It wasn’t something he wanted to experience again, which was curious considering he now had a woman who needed his protection sitting beside him in the truck.

This is different.

Yeah, it was different. They weren’t in the high desert doing recon on a terrorist training camp. They weren’t walking into an ambush that only a few of them would escape.

“So you don’t owe me,” Adam said. “Least I can do is help you with your puss— cat,” he amended with a chuckle as Jane made scandalized noises in the background.

Wyatt rolled his eyes with a snort of his own. Some things never changed. He and Adam and the rest of the guys might not be teenagers in detention anymore, but there were times you’d never know it. One of the things he loved about his friends. No matter how much time passed, how far or how long someone stayed away from home, they were as tight as ever when they all got together again.

Which reminded him that he needed to call Jack at some point. It’d been too long since they’d spoken.

“See you in a bit,” Wyatt said as he ended the call, still smiling to himself.

“Where was that address you told him?” Paige asked. “It’s not my father’s house.”

“No, it’s not. It’s not safe for you to go there. If this guy could take a picture of you leaving your apartment building, he could also find you here. Your dad’s place isn’t a secret.”

She made a noise of disapproval. “It has a state-of-the-art alarm system and cameras—not to mention a spa tub and an on-call chef.”

Wyatt would have gaped at her if he wasn’t driving. Was she seriously that shallow? A spa tub and a chef? “Yeah, and like I said—it’s no secret. Once this guy knows you’ve left Seattle, it isn’t too hard to get to Eagle’s Ridge.”

“But I could have gone anywhere! Europe, California, Hawaii. He won’t know. What are the chances he’ll come here?”

“Don’t know… But are you willing to bet your life on it? What about your cat’s life?” It was almost silly to consider a cat being under his protection, but the creature was as much his responsibility as she was. At least until he had to make a choice between them. In that case, it would be her every time. But for now the cat counted, if only because her stalker had threatened the animal.

Paige’s tongue darted over her lips. Wyatt didn’t like the way his groin tightened at that simple maneuver.

Whoa, was that a response? To her?

Maybe he’d imagined it. Paige Spencer was definitely not his type. She was too soft, too pampered. Too high maintenance. Beautiful, but she knew it. Shallow too.

“No, I’m not,” she said softly, and the tension in his shoulders eased just a bit.

He really didn’t want to argue with her anyway. As a SEAL, there’d been no arguing with those he rescued. They were grateful he and his team were there. But guarding a woman whose father was paying for his services was an entirely new experience.

“Good choice.”

He turned onto another road and made his way up the side of the mountain, weaving through switchbacks as they climbed. Paige gripped the armrests. Once, her eyes were closed. Wyatt didn’t say anything about it though.

Finally, he turned into the driveway he wanted and headed about a half mile off the road. A small cabin sat in a clearing at the edge of a cliff, the lights blazing. When the sun came up, the view of the valley and river would be spectacular.

He knew because he’d come up here earlier and checked it out. It was a newer build, a vacation rental, and though it was small and didn’t have a chef, it was nice. Wyatt had stocked it with food and then set up a perimeter of cameras and equipment meant to let him know if anyone crossed into the zone.

He parked in front of the cabin. Paige blinked as she took it in.

“It’s so small,” she said.

Annoyance flashed through him. “Well, you aren’t on vacation, are you, princess?”

Her head snapped around, her eyes widening. “You aren’t like the other bodyguards I’ve had. None of them would talk to me like that.”

“You mean I don’t keep quiet and let you have your way?” Her lashes dropped over her eyes. Guilty. “I’ll do my job, but I won’t take orders from you. If anything, you’ll take them from me.”

“Nobody tells me what to do,” she flashed back at him.

Wyatt opened his door and dropped a booted foot to the ground. “They do now,” he told her. “Or you can get on the next plane back to Seattle.”