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  “The FBI?”

  “This case crosses several state lines and now goes into Mexico, so the FBI will be handling your security and a lot of the investigation from here on. My job is to get you there safely so you can be their key witness,” he said.

  Carly settled back in her seat and looked out the window. The fall foliage was starting to go from vibrant yellows and oranges to brown winter leaves. She had always loved visiting the north Georgia mountains when she was a kid. Her parents would take her to the Apple Festival in Ellijay and to several corn mazes along the way. Those fun family times ended with her parents’ divorce, and her memories would always be marred by her Dad choosing his new woman over her.

  She often wondered if her childhood had been a facade. Had her parents ever really been in love with one another? Had they stayed married too long for her sake? Their sudden break-up had rocked her world, even at seventeen years old. Everything that she thought was her life was suddenly taken away from her. Her small family had broken apart.

  Passing farm after farm, the landscape started to change as she could see the blue shadows of the mountains ahead of her. Somewhere in those shadows was the home - and the man - that would vow to keep her safe. What about his family? Were they worried about him protecting perfect strangers all the time?

  “Detective?” she asked again.

  “Yessss?” The long drawl of the word let Carly know that she was irritating the good detective with her constant questions.

  “How long until we get there?” she asked like a small child on a long road trip.

  “You remind me of my daughter, Darla,” he said with a chuckle.

  “Why?” Carly asked sitting forward in her seat with a smile. It struck her that this was the first smile she’d had on her face in a long time.

  “Because she was stubborn and inquisitive just like you,” he said with a smile as he looked at her over his left shoulder.

  “Was?” Carly couldn’t help but ask as she cocked her head and furrowed her eyebrows.

  Detective Cloud was quiet for a moment as he turned to look back at the long stretch of road ahead of them. He blinked his eyes a couple of times as if he might be holding back tears, and Carly felt guilty for even asking.

  “My Darla passed away when she was sixteen. She made the poor decision of riding in the car with a drunk boyfriend. It was a long time ago. She’s been gone for twenty-four years…” his voice trailed off. Carly was struck by the emotion in his voice even after all of these years.

  She couldn’t help but think about her own father who had left the family in her senior year. She didn’t speak to him for three years until one day she got a random wedding invitation in the mail. He didn’t attend her wedding, and she sure wasn’t going to attend his to the mistress that broke up their family.

  “I’m sorry for your loss,” Carly said as she instinctively reached up and patted his left shoulder. Detective Cloud didn’t look at her. She was sorry that she had brought it up since she could tell it caused him to go back to a dark place.

  “Thanks. It was a long time ago.” he said.

  “Yes, but that pain never goes away. I know that…”

  “You sound like you are speaking from experience,” he said looking back at her.

  “We all have issues, Detective Cloud,” she said with a smirk, “don’t we?”.

  “You certainly have some serious issues right now, Carly,” he said nodding.

  “Ain’t that the truth,” she muttered. “So, back to my original question: How long until we get there?”

  “We’re here now,” he said pointing at the driveway to the cabin.

  It was a long, gravel drive that led up a steep mountainside. Carly was worried that she might get sick from the incline, but she closed her eyes and swallowed hard. At the top was an adorable log cabin with a wrap-around front porch. The front of the cabin had a steep gable roof with a big picture window at the top. Carly told herself that she needed to stay away from big windows just in case the hitman found her.

  Trees surrounded the property, and she could see that there was a beautiful view of the mountains behind the home. Two motorhomes were on the property, likely to house the other guards who would be watching the outside of the home.

  She agreed with the Detective that it would be unlikely for any hitman to try to access her on this mountainside. They would have a hard time getting up there without being noticed, but they would also have a heck of a time making a quick getaway down the side of a steep mountain.

  “Is my guard here yet?” Carly asked as she opened the car door. The smell of fall overwhelmed her senses.

  “Not yet. He is finishing up another case, so Detective Allen over there,” he said pointing at a very tall officer standing by one of the motorhomes, “will stay with you until this evening.”.

  Detective Cloud took Carly inside to show her around the home. The tongue-and-groove hardwood floors were beautiful, and the ceilings were two stories high. She loved the open feeling of the floorplan, which was certainly different than her kitschy old cottage home in Atlanta. Although her home was expensive, it was mostly because of its location and not its beauty. She had often toyed with the idea of moving north so that she could have a bigger space to raise kids, but Ethan loved the city and decided he didn’t want children after all.

  His revelation four years ago that he had changed his mind about kids felt like a punch in the gut to Carly. Being an only child, she wanted a house full of kids that would make noise and challenge all five of her senses in a way that she had never experienced in her original family. That was the first of Ethan’s “changes” that made her wince. Looking back, he was probably already working in his new drug business and not worried about having children to muck things up.

  The kitchen had granite countertops and a breakfast bar opening into the large living room. The upstairs featured a loft and two small bedrooms with an adjoining bathroom.

  “This is a lot nicer than I had envisioned,” she said smiling. “Maybe it will be more like a vacation.”

  Detective Cloud laughed at her excitement. “Let’s hope it is an uneventful vacation, Carly.”

  “Well, that is your job, isn’t it?” she asked with her eyes wide and her hand on her hip.

  “I suppose so,” he said with a smile. She thought for a moment about his late daughter, Darla, and wondered how it was to have this man as her father. She wished that she had a father who cared about her at all. It would have been good in times like this. Her dreams of a man swooping her away from all of her fears had been smashed by two boots: her father wore one and Ethan wore the other. She decided that from here on out, she had to live her life and protect herself without the help of a man. She just couldn’t trust anyone.

  A little while later, Detective Cloud left, and Detective Allen took over. He wasn’t a talker by any stretch of the imagination, so Carly was glad to know he was leaving soon. Thankfully, they had supplied the home with tons of books for her to read to pass the time, so she sat in her room reading a book while she waited for her full-time guard to come. Maybe he would be nice. Maybe he would play checkers with her. Maybe he wouldn’t be so bad. After all, she might be here with him for weeks. Realizing that she was thinking of him like a camp counselor, Carly laughed to herself.

  “Carly?” Detective Allen said in her bedroom doorway. Oh, he COULD speak.

  “Yes?”

  “Your guard is here. He is downstairs on a phone call, but I am going to head out now.”

  “Okay. Thanks. I will head down there in a few minutes,” Carly said as she waved goodbye. When she heard the downstairs door shut, she decided that her curiosity was getting the best of her. Hopefully this guy would have the ability to talk to her. Otherwise, being in the cabin was going to get pretty lonely.

  Walking down the stairs, she could see him reading something on his phone with his back turned to her. He was tall and had a nice body, so at least there was that. His brown hair was thi
ck with a slight wave to it.

  “Hi there,” she said as she reached the bottom of the stairs. “I’m Carly.”

  When he turned around, her heart skipped a beat. “Yes, I know who you are,” he said.

  Chapter 5

  Time seemed to stand still as Carly’s mouth dropped open in shock. How could he be here? Was this some kind of joke? She could feel her heart beating out of her chest as her hands began to shake.

  “Are you okay, Carly?” the familiar voice asked. Her brain sounded like an echo, and she wasn’t sure she was okay after all.

  “Um… yes…” she said, her voice shaking. She was determined to pull herself back together.

  “Good to see you again,” he said with a smirk as he moved past her to go into the kitchen. He started to make a pot of coffee as if nothing was going on.

  “Aidan, what are you doing here?” she asked, finally getting her words back. The man she had left behind in a haze of cowardice was now standing in a cabin with her. What was going on?

  “I am your guard, it seems,” he said in a nonchalant tone as he continued messing with the coffee pot. “How do you work this thing anyway?” he mumbled, his English accent overwhelming her senses once again.

  “Is this some kind of joke?” she asked furrowing her eyebrows.

  “A joke? Not from what I can see. You are in grave danger, right?” he asked as he looked at her. His eyes had not changed a bit. They were brown with hints of copper and green. Those long lashes were still amazing to behold, and his crooked smile was probably still there too, although she had only seen a smirk so far.

  “Did you know it was me that you would be guarding?” she asked quietly, wanting him to say yes while also wanting him to say no. He paused for a moment as he looked her up and down as if he was trying to assess the past decade in one glance.

  “Don’t flatter yourself and think that I just came swooping in on a white horse to save your ass. I was assigned this case, and I didn’t recognize the name Caine,” he said pursing his lips as he turned back around. “What the hell is wrong with this thing?” he yelled, slamming the coffee pot down.

  “Here, let me do it. I have the same one at home. You never were good with patience,” she mumbled as she pushed in front of him and set up the coffee pot.

  Aidan looked at her from behind. How had he ended up with Carly in this cabin alone? Why hadn’t he paid better attention to the name on the paperwork? He had spent years hating her, his former best friend. The way that she had ended their friendship, and what he thought was a budding relationship, was cowardly.

  So many times over the years, he wanted to look her up on Facebook or send her an email. He wanted to tell her how she had hurt him, made him feel alone. But, he couldn’t. He had to be a man and forget about her. He had tried for years, and he never expected to be cooped up with her in this cabin.

  Maybe he could call his boss and get out of it. But, how would that look? This was his first high profile assignment. He couldn’t screw that up. He’d never hear the end of it from his co-workers. If they ever found out that he had to leave an assignment because he was so lovesick that he couldn’t work, he would never live it down.

  Her long blond hair was pulled up in a ponytail, and her deep blue eyes still held his gaze like they did in high school. She had a womanly figure now with her ample breasts and shapely hips. He had wanted to be there for her, to watch her turn into a real woman, but she scurried away with some other man. Ego bruised and battered, he had picked up the pieces as best he could.

  “Hello?” Carly said snapping her fingers in front of his face.

  “What?” he said, acting like he was aggravated. He was secretly hoping that she hadn’t caught him staring at her from behind.

  “The coffee is brewing,” she said pointing to the pot. Carly walked around him back into the living room and sat down on a cushy brown, leather sofa.

  “Thanks,” he mumbled. For a moment, she sat silently in the chair, staring out the window. She wasn’t sure what to do. She was trapped with her former best friend and a man she had wronged so many years ago. Did he still hold a grudge? Did she really hurt him? Did he remember what happened way back then?

  Aidan walked into the living room with his coffee in hand and sat down in a chair across from her. He studied her face, her high cheekbones, her full lips. Mentally smacking himself across the face, Aidan spoke to break the tension his body and mind were feeling.

  “Tell me what happened, Carly,” he said softly, realizing that this was still a scared woman running from a ruthless hitman. Even though he was mad and happy to see her at the same time, he had to separate his feelings from his job. He had a job to do, and he was determined to do it.

  “Didn’t you read about it in your paperwork?” she asked rolling her eyes as she leaned back on the sofa and sighed.

  “I know the details of the case. That’s not what I mean. What happened to make you end up with a guy like this?” Aidan didn’t mean for the question to come out with such accusatory tones, but he knew as soon as it left his lips that she would take it that way.

  “Oh, I think I see your question. Why didn’t I do the right thing and choose you instead of running off to college and choosing a murderer? Is that what you’re asking?” Carly stood up and put her hands on her hips.

  “Jeez, Carly. Settle down. You always were dramatic. That’s not what I meant at all. Sit down,” he said sharply. She didn’t see Aidan as “soft” at that moment. Suddenly, his words alone let her know that he was a man.

  “Don’t tell me what to do, Aidan,” she argued anyway.

  “Why are you so angry?” he asked.

  “Why? Well, let’s see… I am cooped up in a cabin in the middle of nowhere with someone who hates my guts while a madman is chasing me. I don’t know why I am not more relaxed,” she said sarcastically throwing her hands up into the air.

  “Who said I hate your guts?” he asked standing up to meet her gaze. His eyes bore a hole through her soul unlike anything she’d ever felt.

  “Well, I assumed you did when I never heard from you… after you saw me with Ethan.”

  “Good Lord, Carly. You really think highly of yourself, don’t you? Please. Don’t flatter yourself. I wasn’t alone for long,” he said with a smile.

  “Oh, really?” she responded, hand on her hip again.

  “Yes, really. In fact, I am engaged to a wonderful woman right now. We are getting married next year in Cancun,” he said with a wry smile. Carly’s insides knotted up. He was getting married? How could that be? Over the years, she had thought about Aidan a few times. Never once did it occur to her that he might be married or have kids. She knew how narcissistic that seemed, but she didn’t really care.

  “Congratulations are in order then,” she said softly. For a moment, he looked at her in a way that made her question exactly what he was feeling. He could always see right through her, and she could see through him, too. Something about his explanation didn’t sound right.

  “Thank you,” he said looking down at his coffee.

  “What’s her name?” Carly asked.

  “Who?”

  “Your fiancée… the one you just mentioned?” she said with a sly smirk.

  “Oh. Her name is Danielle,” he stammered.

  “And what does she do for a living?” Carly asked, fully intending to throw him off his game.

  “She’s a model, actually,” he said with a smirk in return. Aidan wasn’t about to let Carly throw him off. He was with the FBI, for goodness sakes. Even though he was working in a dangerous, high-powered career now, Carly still had the ability to make him anxious and off-kilter. “She’s in New York City right now.”

  “Wow. Way to go. A model. Nice.” Carly sat back down with a grin.

  “So, back to my original question, Carly. How on Earth did you end up with this guy? You had such a bright future,” he said as he sat back down in his chair. “And, if memory serves, you were never one to allow an
y man to lead you astray.”

  “It’s a long story,” she said closing her eyes.

  “Well, my dear, we have plenty of time,” he said sitting back and getting comfortable.

  With that, Carly knew that there was no escape. She had to tell Aidan all of the gory details of the last few years, including witnessing a murder.

  Chapter 6

  Carly stood in her bedroom, looking out the window at the blue-gray shadows of the north Georgia mountains. She had spent the last hour talking with Aidan downstairs, explaining what had gone on in her life since they last saw each other. They danced around the issues from their own past and avoided the conversation that they both knew they needed to have.