He hadn’t wanted the risk to his heart, and had no claim on her.
Still.
Alice could have been killed out there.
Squeezing his eyes shut, he willed the pain of that thought away. Wasn’t that the very reason he avoided getting too close to her? No one was immune to tragedy. If anyone knew that, he did.
He released her and bolted to his feet. “And you think the man knows who you are? Or was he bluffing? Trying to scare you?” That would be better. So much better.
“His face was familiar to me. Yes, I think he knows me.”
The news deflated his hopes. “Knows your name and where you live?” But Griffin admitted to himself unfortunately that information would be easy to come by in today’s world.
Alice rose and paced the small space. “Maybe.”
Griffin gripped her shoulders. Forced her to look at him. “I don’t want you going home. You sleep in this apartment tonight. I’ll sleep downstairs in the office on the sofa.” Right. He wouldn’t sleep a wink. He’d keep watch until his sheriff uncle arrived in the morning. “Okay?”
She nodded, her lips spreading into a half smile. He shouldn’t think about her lips. Or how perfect they were.
“Sure, okay. There’s no point in lying. I’m scared to sleep at home tonight. I have my own weapon, but if several men attacked at once, it wouldn’t be enough.” She shuddered. “The idea of home doesn’t feel safe at all anymore. Not to mention, how can I ever hike in those woods again? If I can’t hike and I can’t be a river guide, then what use am I to the family wilderness excursion business? I don’t even know who I am anymore.”
He should have said something then. Comforted her.
Instead he dropped his hands and moved to the kitchen in search of a drink. He opened the fridge and found it stocked with sodas and bottled water. He grabbed two waters and tossed her one. He’d needed the distraction so she wouldn’t see his face at the revelation that she couldn’t be a river guide anymore.
He’d read the news. Knew she’d guided a group down the river and lost someone. He’d known that must have upset her. But had it affected her so deeply that she hadn’t gone back into the river? That had to crush her. She lived for that white-water rapid rush. Had been one of the best guides. After all, only five years ago she’d won a bronze medal in the Olympic white-water slalom, or canoe slalom as it was called. She still had it in her.
He caught her gaze and held it as they each lifted their bottled waters to their lips.
Finished, he finally said what he should have said before. “You’ll hike again, Alice. And you’ll take the river again. Life happens. And death.” She couldn’t have any idea just how much death happened. But he knew—images of war played like a never-ending reel across his mind. The impact on him was profound. And that was why he couldn’t let himself get close to her.
He was a damaged man.
He grabbed his gun from the table. “Do you need to get some things from your house before you settle in here?”
Vehemently, she shook her head. “I can sleep in what I’m wearing. If he followed me to the house, I don’t want to lead him here.”
If they hadn’t already done just that. But Griffin didn’t want to bring up the possibility and scare her more than she already was. He wished her brothers were here to protect her, someone other than him. Could he be an effective protector when his heart distracted him completely whenever he was near Alice?
Regardless, and in lieu of her brothers or father, he would be here for Alice to protect her until tomorrow when the sheriff got here. She knew how to wield her weapon and on some level could protect herself, but the kind of men she’d run across in the woods were seriously dangerous.
“I just want to make it through this night,” she said. “Tell the sheriff what he needs to know so he can rid the woods of the vermin and be done with it.”
“Did you tell him everything? Including that the guy might have recognized you?”
She paled. “I didn’t have the chance. I thought I’d have a chance to tell him more, but he had an actionable emergency and I had to wait until the morning. But now you’re here.”
And what if Griffin hadn’t come? She had friends in town, but apparently she hadn’t shared what happened with anyone. “Do Cooper and Gray even know about this? Or your father?”
“I didn’t want to call Cooper or Gray. They’re both on excursions and hard to reach, as it is. Dad’s out of the country. There’s nothing they can do anyway.”
Except protect you, Alice. But it looked like Griffin was up for that job now. And wouldn’t Coop and Gray just be thrilled to hear about that?
Yeah, her brothers hadn’t much liked Griffin. He didn’t think it was personal. Just that nobody was good enough for their sister. On some level he got that. But was she supposed to spend her life alone, then?
No. She was just supposed to pick someone better than him. Since he wasn’t relationship material, why should he stick around and waste everyone’s time and let himself fall for her, let her fall for him, and break both their hearts? The call to Kenya that would propel him back into action couldn’t have come at a better time. Except maybe he’d broken both their hearts anyway.
Alice cleared her throat. “Imagine the reputation our business would get if Cooper cut his wilderness training short to rush back here.”
She pulled out the band securing her hair and set it free, shook it out, then wrapped the band around it again, captivating his attention. A simple habit, but did she have any idea what that did to him? Her dark blue eyes blinked up at him. “And now, you’re here. Thank you for showing up at just the right time.”
Yeah. I’m such a great guy. I left you high and dry and didn’t come back or call, and then I happened to walk back into your life just when you needed me. I’m such a hero.
He was a coward when it came to commitment. But when it came to keeping her safe... “Nobody is going to get to you tonight, Alice.” He chambered a round. “They have to go through me first.”
“I don’t want you to get hurt because of me.”
“I’ve survived two tours in the Middle East, I think I’ll be okay.” And countless other covert missions. Griffin wanted to grip her shoulders again, make her look at him and believe him, but then again, keeping his distance was the best for both of them. “It’s you I’m worried about. Now get some rest. I’ll be downstairs if you need me.”
He left Alice in the apartment upstairs and lay on the sofa in Cooper’s office, listening. He had no intention of falling asleep, though he needed the rest to be prepared for his trek in the wilderness tomorrow with Uncle Davis and his deputies. But a woman’s well-being was more important than being at his best to get the story. Otherwise what was the point?
He tried to convince himself it didn’t matter that woman was Alice. And he would keep trying...
When he blinked his eyes open, he realized that he’d fallen asleep, after all. Still, he’d been trained to sleep lightly, and a subtle sound had disturbed him, waking him.
Pressing his hand over his firearm on the side table, he waited and listened.
Had Alice moved in the apartment above? Or had an intruder approached?
Grabbing the weapon, Griffin decided to head outside to check the perimeter. The only issue he had with Cooper’s old apartment was that privacy entrance in the back, which meant that someone could get to Alice without having to go past him. He grabbed a set of keys off the desk and let himself out the front door, locking it behind him.
While