“Deal,” he said. “Let me make sure they’ve moved far enough up the beach, then we can leave.” He slid on his belly across the rock and, before glancing over the edge, he put his hand on his gun in case he needed to draw. The men were mere shadows moving away from them. He looked back at Alyssa and pushed up to his knees. “Are you good to get down on your own?”
She sat up and nodded, but she was shivering violently now. He slipped out of his slicker and parka and handed them to her. “These should help.”
“No, they’re yours.”
“Take them,” he insisted and dropped them into her hands.
She reluctantly slipped into jackets twice her size and clutched the excess fabric around her waist.
“I’ll go first to be sure we’re still alone.” He didn’t wait for her agreement but lowered his body over the edge and descended as quickly as he could without endangering his life.
She was on her way down before he hit the ground. Hand on his weapon, he quickly checked the other side of the rock to be sure they were alone. He wanted to draw his gun, but he figured Alyssa would run from him if she knew he was armed. Most people didn’t understand that it was normal for law enforcement officers, even former or retired officers, to carry all the time.
He cleared the side of the rock and a gust of wind hit him full on, soaking him anew. The storm was picking up. They had to get a move on. He ran back to the rocks and waited for Alyssa. About five feet above him, she missed a foothold and fell backward. No scream, no flailing, just a soft free-fall into his arms that strained with his catch.
Her eyes were wide open with the same fear in the depths but still in control. She was the coolest woman he’d ever met. As if nothing fazed her.
“Thank you,” she said and pushed out of his hold. “We should go.”
The wind howled around the rock, spitting seawater and sand. When they stepped into the open she’d have a hard time without support, but he’d wait for her to ask for his help.
“This way.” He started up the beach, the wet sand packing nicely under his feet and making the going easier. He kept looking back to check on her. She was falling behind. He slowed to let her catch up. “We’d make better time if you’d hold on to me to keep the wind from carrying you off course.”
She studied him a moment then gave a clipped nod and cautiously approached him. He lifted his arm and she slipped under it. A perfect fit, he couldn’t help but think.
She was still shivering so he pulled her tighter against his body. She wrapped an arm around his waist and they trudged up the beach.
As the wind blew harder, he could feel her faltering. He looked down at her, and she seemed fragile and small. It touched him in a place he thought long dead from the ravages of war. He bent and scooped her into his arms. Her mouth formed an O of surprise, but she didn’t protest so he set off again, her head against chest, his head bent against the wind. He climbed the wooden stairs to his deck overlooking the beach and crossed to the door.
“Your sister,” she said pointedly, strength still in her voice even if it had left her body.
He smiled at her tenacity and pounded on the door.
“You can put me down now,” she said.
“You’ll stay warmer this way.” Surprisingly she didn’t struggle but rested her head on his chest again. He figured she really had to be wiped out to do so.
The door opened and, though his sister Dani’s mouth dropped open in surprise at the sight of them, she didn’t ask any questions. Not that Cole routinely brought home women in distress, but their family did run a private investigation agency dedicated to helping people who had nowhere else to turn. She was used to seeing people in need.
“Alyssa, meet Dani.” He turned his attention back to Alyssa. “Can we go in now?”
When her lips tipped in a charming smile, he had to draw in a breath at the stunning beauty.
“Get some blankets, Dani.” He crossed the threshold and headed for the sofa. “And lock the door.”
Dani turned the dead bolt then ran down the hallway. She returned with blankets as Cole gently set Alyssa on the sofa. Dani shook out a blanket and wrapped it around Alyssa’s shaking shoulders.
“Thank you.” Alyssa smiled again, her lips trembling.
Dani handed another blanket to Cole but he tossed it on the sofa. She looked up at him, her gaze filled with questions.
He telegraphed an I’ll-tell-you-later look and went to the lamp. “We need to turn off the lights until I’m sure we’re secure.”
Dani didn’t question him. He turned off the lamps, and she went for the wall switch.
He nodded at the bank of windows on the far side of the room. “Blinds next.”
He grabbed the remote and set the blinds in motion on the floor-to-ceiling windows facing the ocean. The motor whirred, slowly bringing down the blinds but not before he caught sight of the two men trudging along the beach far too close to the house for comfort.
Cole glanced at Alyssa sitting wide-eyed on the couch, the blanket doing nothing to stop her shivering. He’d taken on the responsibility of protecting her, but was he up to the task if he couldn’t put behind him the loss of his buddy in Iraq? A loss that was all Cole’s fault.
Shake it off, he warned himself as he’d done when he needed to finish out his last tour after Mac died.
“Take Alyssa to the hallway,” he barked at his sister. “If we have a breach, take her out the garage door and evacuate.”
Dani didn’t hesitate but hurried to Alyssa and lifted her by the arm.
“What’s happening?” Alyssa’s voice rose in alarm.
“The men who were following you are heading toward the deck.” Cole didn’t have to say any more. The look on Alyssa’s face said it all.
If he didn’t somehow stop these men from getting inside and figuring out she was the one who overheard them, her life would be at stake—and his and Dani’s, too.
TWO
Once in the long hallway, Alyssa shook off Dani’s arm and peered around the corner. Framed in a shaft of light seeping through the small window from the outdoor security light, Cole stood at the ready. Alyssa could only gape at him.
He had a gun. A gun, for goodness’ sakes! Apparently, he’d had it with him all this time. While he’d held her. While he’d carried her and she’d rested her head trustingly on his chest, he’d been armed like the men chasing her.
“Stay here.” Dani shot across the room, surefooted even in the dim lighting, and joined her brother. She swooped down and pulled a weapon from an ankle holster, the grace and ease of the movement proving she’d done so many times before.
Seriously? Both of them had guns?
“Who are you people?” Alyssa asked, surprised at how shrill her voice sounded.
“All you need to know right now is that we’re here to help you.” Cole kept his intense focus on the window in the door.
Should she have blindly trusted a strange man on the beach? Had she traded one set of killers for another?
Neither of them looked like killers, and Cole had said he used to be a U.S. Marshal...but then Nolan was a cop and now she had reason to believe he’d murdered Todd.
Unbelievable!
How could she ever imagine when she’d set off tonight that the man who’d cared for them since Todd died was