Protecting her was his job

Failure wasn’t an option

After Natalie Harper was left at the altar, enjoying her honeymoon alone is the best way to cope—until she’s attacked on the beach. Luke Everett, the bodyguard secretly hired by her federal judge father, arrives just in time to rescue her. It’ll take all his professional skills to keep Natalie safe. One wrong move and they could fall prey to the enemy’s deadly scheme.

SARA K. PARKER has been a writer ever since she was gifted a 4x6 pin-striped journal for her tenth birthday. Her writing hobby has since grown into her dream career—writing for Love Inspired, freelancing for magazines and teaching English at a community college. She and her husband live in northwest Houston with their four children, two (soon to be three!) mischievous dogs and an extremely vocal senior cat.

Also by Sara K. Parker

Undercurrent

Dying to Remember

Shattered Trust

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.

Shattered Trust

Sara K. Parker

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-09498-6

SHATTERED TRUST

© 2019 Sara K. Parker

Published in Great Britain 2019

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

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Version: 2020-03-02

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Natalie bit back a scream as the door pressed solidly, inch by inch, against the pile of furniture. A hand snaked into the room, connecting with the top of a chair and shoving it off the pile.

Then a loud shout came from down the hall and the gloved hand retreated.

She stood rooted to her spot, her imagination running wild. What if Luke needed help? What if an accomplice was heading toward the room right now?

She jumped back when a rap sounded at the door.

“It’s me.”

Luke!

He peered into the gap between the door and the wall, eyeing the furniture.

“I’ll come through my room,” he said, and disappeared from view. Mere seconds passed before he unlocked his side and rushed into her room.

“Are you okay?” He stepped close to her, his gaze assessing.

She nodded, because she couldn’t find her voice.

“I’m sorry. I thought it was a trap. I shouldn’t have left you here. We need to get moving.” Luke was already packing his belongings into his backpack. “We’ll find somewhere else to stay tonight. It’s not safe here.”

Dear Reader,

Trauma leaves an imprint on the soul. We are told in the Book of John that we’ll face trouble as we pass through this life, but that knowledge doesn’t protect us from the pain. Some days, it simply hurts to take each breath. Some weeks, we lose the ability to smile and truly laugh. Some painful seasons, it’s almost impossible to believe that God is near. Natalie and Luke both faced seasons of despair in their lives, but opened their hearts to the way God was working to make all things new. While the blessings that come in the wake of trauma will never erase the grief of a heart torn to shreds, each new sunrise is a reminder that we’re not alone—every blessing a promise that the Lord still has good in store.

Love,

Sara K. Parker

P.S. I love to hear from readers—find me at www.sarakparker.com.

When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.

—Isaiah 43:2

To my siblings: Mary Ellen, Shirlee, Beth and Jonathan.

For showing up on my doorstep when I needed you most.

I love you.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Introduction

Dear Reader

Bible Verse

Dedication

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

EIGHT

NINE

TEN

ELEVEN

TWELVE

THIRTEEN

FOURTEEN

FIFTEEN

EPILOGUE

Extract

About the Publisher

ONE

It wasn’t the first time anyone had been stood up at the altar, but it would be the only time Natalie Harper was.

She was perfectly capable of being happy alone, and she would be.

Inhaling the briny sea air, she stared hard into the darkening sunset along the horizon, willing herself not to give in to the flood of humiliation that kept pressing in on her. Plenty of women had walked this same path before her. Thousands of dollars and months of planning wasted on a romantic waterside ceremony and festive reception—and no groom in attendance. But she was probably one of only a renegade few who dared to flee the aftermath and embark on a solo honeymoon. It felt just a little bit selfish now that she was lying on a pristine beach, the sky painted vibrant colors as the sun set along the Riviera Maya.

Night was falling quickly, and up and down the beach, most people had already deserted their loungers and cabanas and headed back to their hotels. Natalie knew she should, too. She twisted around to scan her surroundings, to assure herself she was truly alone. The nearby loungers sat empty, dilapidated sand castles the only sign that anyone had been there at all. The scene should have been peaceful, but the darkness beyond made her uneasy. Staring hard into the shadows, Natalie saw no signs of movement, nothing to account for the goose bumps rising on her arms.

Turning back to the fading sun, she reasoned with herself that her uneasiness was a product of fear, not proof of a lurker in the shadows. She’d fought that anxiety for close to twenty years now, and she knew it well. She forced herself to relax again and try to enjoy the solace, even if she didn’t particularly enjoy solitude or beach vacations.

Her fiancé had chosen the location, and Natalie had gone along with the plan. If she’d had her way, they would have rented a cabin somewhere along the Shenandoah River, hiked quiet wooded paths and just enjoyed being together.

She didn’t often get her way, though, and reserved her battles for the issues that truly mattered—right versus wrong, life versus death, milk chocolate versus dark.

In the end, a resort in Mexico versus a cabin in Virginia wasn’t an argument worth having, so she’d let it go.

And then... Kyle Paxton had let her go.

She stopped her thoughts in their tracks. She had seven more days to process all that had happened and decide how to move on. Tonight, she didn’t want to think.

She didn’t want to think about her string of failed relationships or Kyle’s poorly timed cold feet. She didn’t want to think about facing her family’s well-meaning sympathy, returning the mountain of wedding gifts waiting for her at home or unpacking her lonely boxed-up apartment. Taking a sip of her now-lukewarm strawberry lemonade, her gaze caught on the gaudy engagement ring on her finger.

She didn’t want to think about the ugly ring, either—a knock-off of the $1.4 million original worn by her friend and rising actress, Julianna Montgomery, last year at the Golden Globes. Julianna hadn’t won best actress, but her red carpet look had captured the world’s attention—from her body-skimming midnight blue gown to her wildly expensive jewelry, including the ring. Now Natalie stared down at the replica, its one-carat marquise diamond flanked by an army of teardrop sapphires jutting around the center like the sun’s rays, and wondered why she hadn’t handed it straight back to her fiancé. She’d hated it, but hadn’t had the heart to tell him, or the willingness to think about what his choice of rings meant.

Natalie liked quiet, elegant things, timeless styles, understated beauty. The pretentious ring only symbolized how little her fiancé truly knew her...and how much time and energy Natalie had poured into a relationship with someone who didn’t care enough about her to learn her tastes.

She glared down at the ring, the setting sun glowing in the depth of its stones. Maybe the first step to moving forward with new dreams was letting go of the old ones—the turnkey house in the heart of Baltimore, the pretty yard and the porch with flower baskets hanging from its eaves. The kids, the dog, the minivan. Were those even her own dreams in the first place? They had all been wrapped up in the copycat ring and Kyle’s empty promises, both of which had fallen far short of her expectations.

Twisting the too-tight band, she struggled to shimmy it over her knuckle. It had been a snug fit from the start, but the beach heat had caused her fingers to swell slightly. She’d considered dropping the ring off to be resized at her friend’s jewelry shop, but Hannah was already struggling to keep up with orders while her dad fought stage four glioblastoma. Natalie didn’t want to add to the burden, but she didn’t want to hurt Hannah’s feelings by bringing the ring somewhere else. It wasn’t really a problem, anyway, except for whenever she tried to take it off. She finally released her finger from its grip and held the ring between her thumb and forefinger, her attention straying to the endless black water beyond. It seemed the perfect place to toss it, the cloud-dimmed moon a silent witness to her rejection of all the ring had come to symbolize.

But Natalie’s practicality won, as it usually did, and instead she stuffed the ring into her shorts pocket. Maybe she could sell it and pay her dad back some of the money he’d wasted on the wedding that hadn’t happened.

A whisper of movement sounded behind her and she sat up in her chair, her feet settling into the still-warm sand. Large umbrellas shadowed clusters of vacated lounge chairs. Still empty. Every one of them. But darkness had fallen and she couldn’t see far beyond her solitary spot. A shifting shadow sent her pulse leaping, but she blinked and it was gone. Had she imagined it? It didn’t matter. Natalie had stayed too long.

She shoved her feet back into sand-filled flip-flops and tucked her book and sunscreen into her bag. All the while, she scanned the lonely beach, straining to hear anything unusual above the splash of the waves along the shore behind her.

Nothing, but she felt hunted, and that scared her.

Hurriedly, she bent to retrieve her towel, but as she straightened, a dark form emerged from behind a pair of loungers just yards away. Her breath caught in her throat and for one second, she froze, the towel dropping from her hand. And then the man lunged toward her, a knife glinting in his hand. Natalie screamed, swiveling away and taking off across the beach, all energy focused on the outline of the hotel against the moonlit sky.

Don’t look back, don’t look back! But she couldn’t help it. She looked back.

And then she wished she hadn’t. Because he was too close and too fast. And the hotel was too far away. Even as she pushed for more speed, sand flying up behind her on the beach, even as she focused every bit of energy on the hotel lights far ahead, his harsh breathing bore down on her, his footsteps closing in. In a panic, she surged forward, her leg muscles screaming from the effort, but her shorter frame was no match for his long legs.

A hand snatched at the back of her shirt and she screamed again, tearing away and dodging his grasp. But her foot hit an uneven mound of sand, and she went flying, her palms barely breaking her fall as her attacker’s arms snaked around her middle and yanked her backward. She screamed in desperation, hoping someone would hear and come to her rescue, but the sharp point of a knife pressed into the side of her throat, and she stilled.

The rough edge of his bandanna rubbed the side of Natalie’s face, and repulsion slid up her throat as his mouth pressed close to her ear. “Shut up,” he commanded, his stale breath hot at her neck.

He was going to kill her. Natalie knew that as surely as she knew that screaming and kicking would only hasten her death. One wrong move and the blade would puncture her throat, and she’d be left to bleed out as the tide came up and washed her body away.

* * *

Luke Everett was just about to give up his search and try again back at the hotel when he heard the screams. Now he sprinted across the empty beach toward the voice he’d heard, hoping the screams hadn’t come from the woman he’d been searching for. His hope was short-lived as he came upon the scene—Natalie Harper restrained by a stranger in black, a knife to her throat.

Luke’s blood ran cold.

Natalie had gone still, her attacker behind her, one arm hooked around her waist, the other across her chest with a menacing grip on the knife. Her captor met Luke’s eyes, his face hidden by shadows and a dark bandanna. A local, Luke thought. Young-ish. Several inches taller than Natalie. He filed the information away as the man dragged Natalie back a few steps.

Her panicked eyes locked on him, pleading silently for help.

“Get out of here!” the man snapped, pressing the blade deeper against Natalie’s pale flesh. No accent. Maybe not a local after all.

Luke took a step closer. “Let her go.”

“I said, leave!” the man bit out. “This isn’t your business.”

“I think it is,” Luke responded, shifting to the right, trying to get in position to disarm the guy. But the man’s eyes were shrewd, and they all knew he had the upper hand.

One week of 24/7 work covertly guarding the adult daughter of a federal judge had seemed like the perfect assignment—low threat and all expenses paid in a prime resort on the beach. There’d been no indication that Natalie was in any kind of danger, that there would be any threat against her. Her father had simply wanted to be sure she was okay.

She wasn’t.

Not by a long shot.

The attacker tracked Luke’s every move, eyes gleaming above the bandanna. Then his grip on Natalie loosened, the knife moving away from her neck as he jabbed it toward Luke.

“Back off,” he growled. “Or someone’s gonna get hurt.”

He jabbed the knife again, and Natalie shifted, meeting Luke’s eyes.

She was going to try to break free, Luke was sure of it.

“Don’t—” he started to say, but she was already moving, dropping all of her weight against the arm that held her. Her assailant stumbled, and she twisted, darting to the side as the knife arced through the air. Luke sprang forward, shoving the guy with both hands, the blade barely missing his face. He thought it might have glanced off Natalie’s shoulder, but he couldn’t be sure. He was too focused on the fight, on getting the advantage and keeping the attacker from doing any more damage.

Grabbing the guy’s wrist, he twisted it up behind his back until the knife dropped to the ground. He kicked it away, sand covering the gleaming blade.

“Run!” Luke yelled to Natalie, wrestling the attacker down into too-soft sand that made a locked grip nearly impossible.

Natalie ran, all right. Straight to her beach chair and her overloaded bag.

For about three seconds, Luke thought she was going for the bag because she didn’t want to leave her valuables behind. Then she was back, swinging the bag toward the man’s head.

It hit the man’s shoulder, glancing off his head with a muffled thud.

“Natalie, run!” Luke repeated.

Too late. The assailant snagged her ankle with his free hand, yanking hard enough to unbalance her. She fell sideways, knocking into Luke with enough force to send them both falling. He grabbed her automatically, cushioning her fall as they both rolled into the sand.

Before Luke could right himself, the attacker was sprinting away, Natalie’s bag under his arm.

“Hey!” she yelled, and darted forward to run after him.

Luke caught her arm. “Let him go.”

“He took my bag.”

“Better than taking your life.” He pulled out his phone and shone the flashlight on a dark stain on the shoulder of her light blue T-shirt.

Natalie frowned, pulling the fabric aside and eyeing a three-inch cut on her shoulder.

“Here.” Luke bent down and snapped up her towel, handing it to her. “Press this to your shoulder.”

He shrugged out of his light jacket and used it to pick up the discarded knife, depositing the weapon into a pocket of his tactical pants. He was anxious to get back to the hotel, to get a better look at the cut. That had been close. If he’d arrived even a few minutes later... He wouldn’t let himself think about that. He’d gotten there on time, and Natalie was safe. No thanks to the gun Luke had been forced to leave at home because of international travel restrictions.

To think he’d barely blinked when his boss, Roman DeHart, had informed him he’d have to travel unarmed. He’d need to give Roman a call about the incident, and he wasn’t looking forward to that. Not that Roman would give him flak. The two had been longtime friends before Luke had started working at Shield Protection Services. But Roman wouldn’t relish having to break the news to Judge Harper that his daughter had ended up in the hospital with a knife wound on her first night in Mexico.

A protective arm at Natalie’s back, Luke quickly led the way up the beach and onto the sandy path back to the Riu de Sueños Hotel. Coconut palms and sea-grape trees lined the path, offering plenty of cover for anyone who might want to lie in wait for unsuspecting tourists.

Was that what the assailant had been? An opportunist? Someone who’d seen an easy mark and acted?

Luke studied the shadows, looking for signs that they weren’t alone, but he saw no one. The ocean’s rush mingled with a whisper of wind through the treetops and the quiet murmur of conversation from hotel guests who stood on balconies and patios.

A normal evening along the Riviera.

Except that Natalie was hurt, her attacker on the loose, her belongings stolen.

Lively music echoed from the hotel, the sound of voices beckoning the pair to safety. He picked up the pace, and Natalie had no trouble keeping up.

As soon as the glass doors slid open and Natalie and Luke stepped inside, he discreetly led her to the front desk and asked for hotel security.

The desk attendant glanced at the pair with curiosity, but with Natalie’s wound covered, her injury wasn’t apparent.

“One moment, sir,” the woman said, and picked up her radio to contact security.

Several long minutes later, a lone security officer walked casually toward them, his polished dress shoes knocking along the tile floor.

“I am Officer Canto. How may I help you?” he asked, his English as perfect as his tailored navy uniform. A young guy, new to security, Luke judged.

“This woman was attacked at knifepoint on the beach,” Luke responded. “She’s injured. Her attacker dropped the weapon and ran off with her purse.”

The security officer’s attention shifted to Natalie, his bland expression unchanged. “You are injured?” he asked, as if requiring proof.

Natalie lifted the towel from her shoulder, and Officer Canto’s eyes widened at the bloodstained fabric. “Please, follow me,” he said, his voice urgent now. He walked at a clipped pace, speaking rapid-fire Spanish into his radio as they followed.

Luke wasn’t impressed. If the mere sight of a little blood was all it took to send the guy into panic mode, Luke didn’t plan to entrust their safety to him or his team. But they would have to follow protocol and file a report, at least, so he didn’t see any other option but to follow him as the officer ushered them down the hall behind the lobby. He finally opened a door into a small office with a single desk and three padded folding chairs. No windows.

“Please, sit. I will get a fresh towel.” The officer left the room, shutting the door behind him. Natalie sat, but Luke remained standing, fighting the urge to open the door to the hallway. Some people felt safer in enclosed spaces. Luke felt trapped.

If a first-grade teacher hadn’t cared enough to push for answers, Luke might have died in the closet his mother’s boyfriend had locked him in years ago. Four days alone in the dark with no food and barely any water? That did a number on a person. He eyed the door. He wasn’t a scrawny seven-year-old anymore. He pushed the unwanted memory away and focused on Natalie.

“Let me take a look at that,” Luke said, gently taking the towel from her and pushing the bloodstained T-shirt away from her shoulder.

She winced, her face devoid of color, amber eyes flashing pain.

“It’s pretty deep. Better keep pressure on it,” he said, setting the towel back in place. “I’m no doctor, but it looks like you’ll need some stitches.”

“I should have stayed home,” she muttered.

“You couldn’t have known you’d be attacked on the beach,” Luke pointed out, but could see his words didn’t have much effect, her eyes sad. A light spattering of freckles made her look younger than her twenty-nine years. Her near-white blond hair was short and wavy, a delicate pearl hair pin askew over one ear. He’d been informed about her fiancé standing her up at the altar. She’d decided to go on her honeymoon anyway, and by all rights, she should have been able to enjoy a few quiet evenings on a beach after something like that.

Natalie was eyeing him curiously. “Thank you for coming to my rescue... It’s a good thing you were there. I’m Natalie Harper, by the way... But then, you knew that already.”

“Luke Everett,” he introduced himself, knowing that after calling out her name on the beach earlier, he couldn’t exactly keep his identity from her. “I’m with Shield. Your dad hired me to watch out for you on this trip.”

“Of course he did.” She didn’t look surprised. She looked resigned.

“You don’t look happy about it.”

She shrugged, flashing a half-hearted smile. “My father is overprotective. It gets a little old. Tonight, though, I’m thankful for it.”

Her dad’s borderline obsession with his family’s security was well respected within Shield. Almost twenty years ago, the Harpers had lost their only son in a tragic abduction that had ended in the little boy’s murder. Natalie and her twin sister had been eight or nine at the time. Luke could see how growing up under the watchful eye of an always-present security team could feel suffocating and intrusive.

The office door opened and the officer reentered, handing a fresh towel to Natalie. Then he skirted the small desk and typed on the computer keyboard as Natalie folded the stained towel into her lap and applied the new one to the wound.

“First, what is your name, miss?” the officer asked.

“Natalie Harper,” she stated. “Room 112.”

Officer Canto used only his two index fingers to type, his data entry excruciatingly slow. Luke groaned inwardly, but then Natalie glanced his way, a comical eyebrow raised in camaraderie, and he almost laughed. Forcing himself to relax, he leaned against the wall, settling in for what looked like would be a lengthy interview.

Luke listened and watched as Natalie recounted the details of the attack with precision and a surprising calm. The only visible sign of stress he’d caught was the slight tremor in her hand when she pushed her hair behind her ear.

But then, Natalie had grown up in the public eye. She was also a PR exec at a prestigious firm in downtown Baltimore, definitely not a person who would easily collapse under pressure.

“Can you describe the assailant?” the officer asked.

“He was taller than me by several inches,” she answered. “Not quite six feet. Medium build, but muscular. Wearing all black. Gloves. A bandanna. I couldn’t really see his face.”

“Tattoos? Scars? Hair color?” the officer prompted.

“His hair was dark. Brown or black. Straight, short. I didn’t see any tattoos or scars.” She looked at Luke. “Did you?”

He shook his head, pushing off from the wall and grabbing a tissue from a box on the desk. “No. But this is his knife.” Using the tissue, he retrieved the knife from his pocket and set it on the desk.

The officer’s eyes narrowed in on Luke. “Are you two traveling together?”

“I’m part of her private security team.” No need for anyone to know the rest of the team was back in the States.

“Most people do not bring private security to our resort.”

“Considering what happened tonight,” Luke said, “perhaps they should.”

The officer scowled, but didn’t respond. Instead, he slowly clicked a few more keys on his keyboard and then turned his attention back to them. “I am very sorry for your experience,” he said—with questionable sincerity. “We will investigate the matter.” He pulled open a drawer and handed Luke his business card before crossing the tight room and opening the door for them.

Natalie stood to leave, but Luke didn’t budge. No way would he let the matter stand like this, trusting the resort’s security team to properly investigate the assault. “I’d like to speak with local police right away,” he said. “Would you call an officer to the hotel?”

“I have called already. We will ring your room when an officer arrives.” He motioned to the door again, dismissing them.

“Ms. Harper will need a new room,” Luke pointed out, still not making a move to leave. The mugger would have access to her key card in her purse, so new security measures would need to be put in place. “And we’ll need transportation to a nearby clinic where she can have her injury taken care of.”

The officer hesitated for the briefest of moments before nodding. “I will arrange for transportation. Let us go speak with the front desk about the room.”

* * *

Despite the less than impressive security response at the hotel, the staff at the front desk were efficient and accommodating. Within minutes, Natalie and Luke were all set, new key cards in hand for side-by-side rooms on the seventh floor.

Luke wished he’d arrived just a little sooner that evening, but it’d been impossible to get an earlier flight. At least he’d gotten to the beach in time to intervene, or things could have been a whole lot worse.

Maybe it had been a crime of opportunity. Maybe. But Luke wasn’t going to take any chances. The woman wouldn’t leave his sight for the next seven days, except to use the bathroom and sleep. If he was honest with himself, he’d be a lot more comfortable with backup right about now. He felt a little out of his element since he’d been slowly cutting back his hours at Shield over the past several months in favor of devoting more time to the community center he was trying to get off the ground.

The project had been a dream for years, but after a gunshot wound on assignment last year, he’d decided it was time to make the dream a reality. Renovations were well underway on the building he had leased, and grant money had been flowing in. But when Roman had called to offer him the contract, Luke hadn’t hesitated to accept. Roman had been convincing enough—mentioning how short-staffed Shield was at the moment, as well as how handy Luke’s minor in Spanish would be. But when Luke heard the payout, he was sold. His sister, Triss, was heading into her last year of college, and he had the idea to use the paycheck to surprise her by covering her next tuition bill.

But first, the task at hand. They’d need to gather their belongings and transport them up to the new rooms. As they approached Natalie’s old room, Luke’s hand came to her elbow, keeping her close.

“Allow me,” he said, reaching over to take the key card from her.

“I can manage,” she responded, swiping the card in front of the lock mechanism.

Luke’s hand covered hers on the handle. “Someone has your old key. I’m not taking any chances.”

After all, Natalie had been entrusted to his care. Sure, guarding her was a job, and he was getting paid to do it, but he took the work as seriously as he’d taken raising his younger siblings after he’d won custody. His commitment. His responsibility.

“Fair point,” she said, her hand sliding out from under his palm. She didn’t stand back, though. Instead, she drew a little closer, and he caught a whiff of salty air and sunscreen mixed with a citrusy scent that could have been shampoo or perfume.

Her nearness triggered an unexpected attraction, Luke’s pulse surging double-time. He steadfastly ignored it. He’d learned his lesson two years ago, and he’d remember it. The workplace was no place for romance. Especially the private security workplace, where emotions often ran high and created a false sense of connection.

He pushed the thoughts aside and opened the door, flicking on the light as he stepped into the room.

A suitcase lay on the floor, clothes dumped beside it. The mattress had been tossed from the bed, sheets and pillows thrown into a pile. Balmy air billowed in from the open sliding glass door, dark shadows undulating on the balcony behind it.

An escape route for the intruder? Or a hiding place?

He wasn’t going to investigate. Not with Natalie stepping into the room behind him.

“What—” she started, but he grabbed her arm, tugging her back over the threshold and into the hall. The room was silent and still—no sign of an intruder lying in wait. He eyed the closed closet door and the one that opened into the bathroom, then fixed his attention back on the balcony. The perp had entered that way. Or he’d entered through the door and left that way. If he’d left. Luke reached into the room and flicked off the light, watching the shadows play on the balcony curtains.

“Do you—”

“Shhhhh,” he whispered in Natalie’s ear.

She stilled, and he knew she was watching the curtains, knew she was seeing what he did—a subtle shift in the shadows that seemed out of sync with the fluttering fabric.

A person? Or just the exterior lights playing tricks on his eyes? There. Gone. There again. He thought he heard a soft thud, a quiet rustle of fabric. Then the wind shifted, the curtains fell back into place and the balcony went still and silent once again.

TWO

It was closing in on midnight as Natalie finished sorting through her belongings. The police had taken photos and dusted for prints, and had been hovering with notepads ever since.

Luke didn’t hover.

He helped, lifting the heavier items, asking questions about what she’d brought and what she still had. So far, it appeared the thief had stolen her passport, her cell phone, the two-hundred dollars she had stored in the room’s safe and her small stash of jewelry. Everything else seemed to be accounted for, including her laptop, along with the barely-used bottle of Gucci perfume Kyle had given her for her birthday.

Natalie gave the room a final once-over. “I think that’s all.”

“Can you describe the missing jewelry?” Officer Perez asked. He’d been the first police officer on the scene, and his demeanor was empathetic and professional. His suit was a crisp clean tan, a contrast to the weathered lines on his face and his disheveled graying hair.

“Diamond studs.” Her dad had given them to her when she turned sixteen. “A few pieces of costume jewelry that aren’t worth much. A single strand pearl necklace.” Her great-grandmother’s. Aside from the earrings, it was the only thing she was really going to miss.

Natalie’s bottom lip trembled and she turned away, busying herself with collecting a few more articles of clothing from the floor.

“And the value of the items?”

“The earrings, under five-hundred dollars. We had the necklace appraised a few years ago for twelve hundred.”

“Everything else is accounted for?”

She remembered tucking a few pieces of jewelry into her makeup bag, and she walked into the bathroom to see if the thief had gotten to them, too.

“Yes,” she said, pulling out two silver-chained necklaces and a handful of beaded bracelets. Not valuable. “That’s everything.”

“We will need you both to come to the station for fingerprints in the morning.”

“How about we just drop by after we go to the hospital?” Luke suggested, looking to Natalie for agreement. “The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can deal with the missing passport and get you out of here.”

“Right.” Her passport. She’d need it to get home—and it went without saying that home was where she needed to be.

She grabbed a pair of sandals and snagged the first outfit she saw. “I need to change. Then we can go.”

The four officers in the room filed out the door and into the hallway. “We will wait outside,” Officer Perez said.

Luke didn’t follow.

Natalie waited.

He still didn’t leave.

“You can wait with them,” she nudged.

“No. I can’t.”

“But—”

“Natalie, I’m not leaving you in the room alone. There’s no exterior entrance to the bathroom. You can change there.”

That was it. Just a pronouncement, which in normal circumstances would have made her bristle. But tonight the words were a comfort, a source of security. Since getting on the airplane this morning, Natalie had never felt so alone in her life. But Luke wasn’t about to leave her alone for a minute.

She walked into the bathroom and shut the door, her hands shaking as she changed out of her beach clothes, her shoulder throbbing under the bandages the hotel staff had rounded up. Sand scattered from her clothes onto the cool tile floor, and she changed quickly into a clean pair of jeans and a white tank top, splashed water on her face and then patted her skin dry with a towel. Her hair was a wreck, but there wasn’t much she could do about the now-limp curls her hairdresser had carefully styled early that morning. She plucked the pearl hair pin out of her hair and ran her fingers through the tangles, noticing the deep pink along her nose and cheeks. Reapplying sunscreen had been the furthest thing from her mind earlier. She’d just been relieved to have snagged a flight out early that afternoon, and happy to have some time alone. Otherwise, she would have been stuck in a hotel room back in Maryland until her scheduled Sunday-morning flight, with no excuse not to answer her phone or open her door to concerned friends and family.

Luke knocked. “You okay?”

“Yes, I’ll be right there.” Leaving her hair for later, she scooped up her discarded clothing from the floor, reaching for the door. But the distinct clink of metal on tile stopped her, and she glanced at the ground to see her engagement ring rolling to a stop near the shower. She bent down to retrieve it, light flashing off the stones, the gaudiness of it reminding her of the lavish wedding Kyle had insisted they plan. The bigger, the better. That’s what he’d said, and she’d agreed because it had seemed easier than arguing.

She glanced at the trash can, but knew she couldn’t just discard the band. She might not like it, but throwing it away would be a selfish waste.

She grabbed a silver necklace chain from her makeup bag, replacing its heart pendant with the ugly ring before clasping the necklace behind her neck—for safekeeping rather than sentiment. Letting the heavy weight of the ring drop beneath her shirt, she opened the door and found Luke standing right at the threshold. He stepped back to let her pass, his dark brown eyes searching hers.

“Ready to go?”

Something about the way he looked at her, genuine concern in his gaze, made Natalie look away. “Almost,” she said, sidling past him and shoving her beach clothes and toiletry bag into her suitcase.

It was a lie. She wasn’t ready. She could handle the sympathetic looks from her family and friends. She could handle returning all the gifts and packing away her gown. But seeing Kyle again?

Her face burned at the thought as she and Luke grabbed her strewn belongings and packed them away. She never would have thought Kyle could be so heartless. So selfish. How dare he go through the motions of the elaborate rehearsal dinner, enjoy a night on the town with his buddies and then send her a text to cancel the wedding?

She zipped the suitcase and then her backpack carry-on.

“Is that everything?” Luke asked, slinging the carry-on over his shoulder and grabbing the suitcase by the handle.

She nodded.

“We’ll ask at the front desk to have your luggage transferred to the new room.” He reached with his free hand and opened the door for her.

Officer Perez stood just outside the door, the others having already dispersed. He nodded in greeting and led them down the hall toward the hotel lobby. The corridor was silent, the only sounds the tap of their shoes and the rolling of the suitcase along the tile. Natalie shivered, fear crawling up her neck as the entryway came into view. Her attacker was out there somewhere. Had he stuck around? Was he following them? Watching?

Luke paused at the reception desk to hand over the luggage, and Natalie turned back, peering down the hall.

“He’d be a fool to hang around,” Luke said, drawing close. “But if he does, he won’t get anywhere near you.”

His hand came to her back, surprising her with its warmth and familiarity as he guided her toward the glass doors that led to the parking lot. He smelled like sunshine and salt water and something indefinably masculine. For a fraction of a second, she was tempted to slide her arm around his back and lean into his side.

Obviously, exhaustion was making her mind do funny things. As the hotel doors slid open in front of them, she folded her arms at her middle and away from Luke and the unwanted feelings threatening to surface.

Darkness edged the parking lot. A gentle wind rippled over her shoulders, leaving a chill in its wake, despite the warmth of the evening. She shivered, and Luke draped his jacket over her shoulders, careful of the wound.

“Thank you,” she murmured.

Luke opened the rear-passenger door, waiting for her to slide into the back seat before he did the same. She should have been disappointed to leave as the cruiser pulled away from the hotel, but she wanted to get as far away as possible, as quickly as possible.

“How hard do you think it’ll be to get a new passport?” she asked Luke.

“Not sure. We’ll need to go to the consulate’s office. It’s closed on Sundays.”

Natalie bit back her disappointment and the car fell silent as the ocean view disappeared and the car sped along a narrow tree-lined road toward the hospital. Darkness shrouded the area, stars disappearing behind gathering clouds. A storm was coming. Even so, the clouds weren’t yet thick enough to mask the glimmer of moonlight along the treetops ahead. And with the car windows cracked to the sea-scented breeze, the quiet beauty of the scene soothed some of Natalie’s nerves. God is here, even on roads filled with shadows and pathways shrouded in darkness. That’s what the world seemed to whisper, what the distant crash of the ocean surf seemed to say.

But for years, Natalie had struggled to believe it was true.

Had God been there on that beach with her tonight? Without a doubt. But what about everything else? The lost relationship she’d thought was a sure thing, her uncertain plans for the future? What about her brother’s murder? Her mother’s slow decline into a depression that would eventually take her life? Where was God in those dark hours? Those were questions with no easy answers, questions that made her faith seem hollow, her prayers feel empty. She blinked back the sudden sting of tears, pushed the questions away like she always did and took a steadying breath. But as the streetlights appeared farther and farther apart and the ocean disappeared from view, a suffocating sense of fear took hold. Somewhere, her attacker was out there. Would she make it home before he found her again?

“You have a security system back at your place?”

Luke’s question yanked her out of her thoughts, and she glanced his way. “I do. But I never use it. Do you really think trouble will follow me there?”

“Doesn’t seem likely,” Luke said, but he didn’t look convinced. “It’s always safest to plan for the worst.”

Natalie preferred to plan for the best, but she had to admit that Luke’s strategy was wiser. She’d been impressed with Shield Protection Services since her father started contracting with them a few years ago, but she’d never personally worked with anyone from the company. He’d used another company for years before he’d realized that it was time to downsize his security measures. Natalie and her sister, Kristin, had been out of the house for quite some time, and he’d started to realize that he’d gone a little overboard while they were growing up.

Natalie couldn’t blame him. She imagined she may have been just like him if Liam had been her son and she’d had two little girls to protect as a single parent. But growing up with a parent who was obsessed with safety had set her up for all kinds of fears that she continued to battle as an adult. After tonight, she couldn’t help but consider that her father’s fears may not have been all that unfounded.

“How long have you been with Shield?” she asked Luke, curious.

“About five years.”

“Almost since the beginning.”

“Roman and I go way back.”

Natalie had met Roman DeHart and interacted with him a few times. She remembered him as a little intimidating, his eyes dark and intense, always serious and professional when she’d observed him. There’d never been any doubt in her mind that her dad had hired the best private security company around. Luke’s performance so far had only solidified her judgment.

“I’m surprised I’ve never met you.”

“Spent the first three years as a security engineer before training under Roman as a bodyguard. Now I just work for Shield on a contract basis. Trying to get a community center off the ground in my old neighborhood in Cherry Hill.”

“What kind of community center?” Natalie asked, her interest piqued.

Streetlights cast shadows through the cab, and Luke shifted in his seat to face her. “A place where kids can come after school for help with homework, pickup basketball games, a free meal. I’d like to get some small group Bible studies started, too. And eventually literacy and parenting classes. Things like that.”

She barely knew him, but she was immediately rooting for his success. The sincerity in his expression and the determined tone of his voice spoke to the immeasurable time he had likely poured into planning. “It sounds amazing. And like a lot of work.”

“It’ll be worth every dollar and every second I sink into it.”

There was a story there. She didn’t have a chance to ask about it because the cruiser was pulling up to the hospital entrance. Time to get her shoulder patched up and then head to the police station. Neither task appealed to her, but she wasn’t a complainer, and she’d do what needed to be done, like she always did.

* * *

Luke paced the floor, silently strategizing his next steps as Natalie’s shoulder got stitched up.

“Feel free to wait outside,” Natalie said wryly. “I’m sure I’ll be safe enough in here.”

“Trying to get rid of me?” He leaned against the wall, sending her a sympathetic grin. She seemed unfazed by the needle moving in and out of her skin, the clenched fists in her lap the only sign of her discomfort.

“Maybe,” she admitted. “I’m not keen on having a needle poked through my flesh. The thought of a stranger watching it happen thrills me even less.”

“I’m not watching the needle,” he said, his gaze never wavering from hers as the doctor shot more painkiller into the area around the knife wound. Come to think of it, her sun-kissed skin had paled, her breathing shallow.

“Some vacation, huh?” Luke asked, hoping to get her mind off the procedure.

“Not exactly what I had in mind.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“I’m sure my father filled you in—a romantic honeymoon with the man who was supposed to love me. You know, until death do us part and all that.” She pressed her lips together as if regretting the words. “I’m sure you don’t want to hear all the sordid details.”

He wouldn’t mind hearing the sordid details, but he wouldn’t press her for more. “I’m sorry,” he offered quietly. “One-sided love hurts.”

He knew that all too well. Had learned it first as a young kid, desperately trying to convince his mom to get help, to change, to love him and his siblings more than she loved her addictions and her dysfunctional romantic relationships. And the theme had repeated itself in his life more than once.

“It’s hard to come to terms with the idea that it was one-sided.”

He read confusion in her eyes, and it was clear that she had been blindsided by her fiancé’s wedding-day abandonment. He had the urge to tell her all the things he knew she wouldn’t want to hear—that she was better off without the jerk, that she had a lot going for her in life, that the right person for her would show up when she least expected him. But he had a feeling that any words he offered would come across as useless platitudes.

“All done,” the doctor said, drawing back. “Eight stitches.”

“Not bad.” Luke offered Natalie a hand as she sat up.

She straightened, but her grip on Luke’s hand felt weak. He slid an arm behind her back for more support as the doctor reviewed care instructions for the wound and then opened the door for them. As Natalie’s feet met the ground, Luke held her arm, steadying her.

“I’m okay,” she said, but leaned into the help he offered.

The doctor said goodbye and gestured down the hall to the exit.

“If you want to go back to the hotel, we can go to the station tomorrow,” Luke suggested as he led Natalie to the checkout desk. He recognized the exhaustion setting in, along with the shock from the night’s events, and didn’t want to keep pushing her.

But Natalie shook her head, determined. “Let’s just get it over with.”

* * *

More than an hour later, Luke and Natalie had finally been fingerprinted and then escorted to the lobby of the police station, where Officer Perez was waiting to transport them back to the hotel. A storm had set in, rain pouring in windy sheets outside the ancient building. The squad car was less than thirty yards from the station’s entrance, but they were all drenched by the time they reached it.

Officer Perez opened a back-passenger door and gestured for them to slide in just as someone called to him in Spanish from the far edge of the lot. Luke followed Natalie into the car, peering across the seat and out into the dark parking lot, where a car with flashing hazards was parked at an odd angle with its hood popped.

“A moment, please,” Officer Perez said, closing the door and jogging away from the cruiser. Luke watched the officer run through the downpour until he disappeared behind the open hood of the car. Normally, he’d get out and offer some help, but the safest place for Natalie was in this car, and he didn’t plan on leaving her alone.

Now was probably a good time to bring Roman up to speed. He wouldn’t be thrilled to start his Sunday with this news, but he’d be unhappier still if Luke delayed reporting it.

“I’m giving my boss a call,” he told Natalie, pulling up Roman’s number on his phone.

“Luke,” Roman answered on the second ring, his voice alert. “Everything okay? I was just about to call you.”

“I’ve got things under control,” Luke assured Roman, surprised at the edge in his boss’s voice. “Natalie’s safe. But we’ve run into a problem.” He proceeded to fill Roman in on all that had transpired that night and their plan moving forward. “As soon as we get her passport, we’ll reschedule our return flights,” he added.

“My crew’s already getting the jet ready,” Roman said. “I don’t want her traveling on a commercial flight when we don’t know who this guy is.”

Luke leaned forward, pressed the phone closer to his ear. The connection wasn’t great, but he was pretty sure he’d heard Roman correctly. “You’re already loading up? How did you know we—”

“There’ve been some developments here,” Roman cut in, his voice deadly serious. “Natalie’s ex, Kyle Paxton, is MIA. And the State police want to bring Natalie in for questioning.”

“Hold on a minute,” Luke said. “I’m putting you on speaker. Natalie’s here with me. It’s probably better if she hears the news firsthand.”

What news? she mouthed, her brow furrowed.

“Natalie, how are you holding up?” Roman asked.

“I’ve been better, but Luke’s taking good care of me,” she responded, her voice tense. “What’s going on, Roman?”

“Kyle is missing,” he said bluntly.

“What...?” She shook her head, disbelief in her expression.

“His parents were the last people to see him, the morning of the wedding,” Roman said. “When he didn’t show up at the church, his parents drove back to his town house. The place had been torn up.”

“Torn up?” she asked faintly.

“Ransacked. Car’s missing, too.”

Natalie was silent, bewilderment written all over her face.

“Have you heard from him?”

“Nothing but a text saying he couldn’t go through with the wedding. He was sorry. That was it. What are the police thinking?”

“They don’t have much information yet. They’re anxious to speak to you.”

“I’m not sure what I have to add to the conversation.”

“You’re the closest person to Kyle,” Roman pointed out. “Any information you can offer will help the investigation.”

“We’ll get the passport as soon as we can, and I’ll get her on the plane home,” Luke said.

“Keep me posted.”

Roman disconnected, and Luke shoved the phone back in his pocket.

Next to him, concern darkened Natalie’s eyes, her hands clenched together in her lap. Then she dropped her gaze, whether in grief or fear, Luke couldn’t tell. Her short blond waves hid her profile.

He was quiet for a moment, allowing her time to process the news. Meanwhile, his thoughts raced ahead. He didn’t believe for one minute that Kyle’s disappearance was random and unrelated to the attack on Natalie. But what was the connection? He didn’t have much background on Kyle—only that he was a public criminal defense lawyer. Could he have made a dangerous enemy? Or was Kyle the enemy? Could he have trashed his own apartment before pulling a disappearing act? Maybe, if he had something to hide. But how did Natalie fit into the equation?

“Kyle showed up for the rehearsal dinner, right?” Luke asked her finally.

“Yes,” she said without looking up, her voice tired.

“Did he seem like himself?”

She shrugged. “I guess. He was tired, but we both were. It’d been a long week with our jobs and the wedding prep.”

“Did he go straight home after the dinner?”

“There was a bachelor party. He said he’d rather go home and get a good night’s sleep before the wedding, but he didn’t want to let the guys down.”

“Do you know where they went? Who he was with?”

“A restaurant and bar in Fells Point. Just his groomsmen. It would have been a pretty tame group.”

Luke was skeptical about the idea of a tame group of young men at a bar in Fells Point on a Friday night, but decided to keep that thought to himself.

“What about the past few weeks leading up to the wedding? Was he acting differently at all?”

Natalie sighed and shifted in her seat, tugging the seat belt away from her injured shoulder. “Not that I noticed. But, like I said, we had a lot going on.”

She still hadn’t met his eyes, and Luke suspected she was withholding details she didn’t want to share.

“He certainly wasn’t acting strange enough for me to suspect he planned to call the wedding off,” she added.

“When did you get the text?”

“Yesterday morning. Fifteen minutes before the ceremony.”

Natalie rubbed the back of her neck with both hands. Frustration? Grief? She finally let her hands drop and turned to look Luke in the eyes. “It was bizarre,” she said, and there was fire in her eyes. “I mean, he had all the opportunity in the world to call things off the night before, and all morning, too—but to wait until just before the ceremony...”

Her thoughts echoed Luke’s, but they couldn’t do much in the way of investigating until they got back stateside.

“Did anyone else see him that morning?”

“I don’t know. He was supposed to meet up with his groomsmen and drive to the church together. They showed up without him, and no one mentioned to me he wouldn’t be coming.”

“How many groomsmen? And how well do you know them?”

“Three, and not that well. His college buddy, Trent. A cousin named Lee. And you probably know his friend Jordan—he works at Shield?”

“He could be a good source when we get back.”

A form finally emerged from behind the car across the lot, and Officer Perez jogged back in their direction, his head down as he slogged through the heavy rain.

The driver’s door opened and the officer climbed in without a glance back, his hair dripping, his tan uniform soaked to a dark brown. He started up the car and pulled out of the lot in a hurry, wheels skidding along wet pavement.

Next to Luke, Natalie grabbed on to the side of the door to keep herself from sliding across the seat into him, and sudden alarm fired up his adrenaline.

The interior of the vehicle was all dark shadows, the man’s face indistinguishable in the rearview, but when they passed under a lone street lamp, Luke knew they were in trouble. Officer Perez wasn’t driving the cruiser.

The driver was young and clean-shaven—and clearly on some sort of mission. Luke considered the possibility that Perez had traded out with another officer—maybe a rookie with a chip on his shoulder? He did appear to be wearing the uniform...

But something wasn’t right, and as the vehicle climbed a winding hill, wipers slashing against sheets of rain, he tried to take stock of the situation. Luke didn’t know the terrain, but he did know they hadn’t even once traveled downhill, and the route wasn’t familiar.

“Excuse me, Officer,” he said, as if he hadn’t realized what had happened.

The driver glanced in the rearview mirror, but said nothing.

“I think we might have missed a turn back there,” Luke said. “We’re staying at the Riu de Sueños.”

“Road is blocked,” the guy answered gruffly, his accent thick. The road ahead curved sharply left, but the man barely slowed, taking the corner hard. Natalie slid into Luke’s side, her hand bracing against the seat in front of her.

“Hey, we’re not in a hurry. Take it easy,” Luke said, forcing his voice to sound relaxed even as their reality became alarmingly clear: the cruiser had been carjacked.

The man let up on the gas, the whites of his eyes flashing in the rearview mirror.

“Right, right,” he said.

Visibility was low, the dim glow of the car’s headlights fighting with the heavy rain. It was an older model cruiser, with thick cage wiring separating the back seat from the driver. No way to get to the driver, and it would be too dangerous to try to stop the car, anyway.

They didn’t have many options out here, but if he waited too much longer, getting back down the mountain would be difficult. If they escaped now, they could take cover in the trees, call for help.

He tapped Natalie’s finger to get her attention. “Follow my lead,” he whispered. Then loud enough for the driver to hear, “Natalie, are you okay? You don’t look so good.”

Her brow furrowed, but she caught on. “No,” she said, her hands coming to her abdomen. “I...feel sick.”

“We need to pull over for a minute,” Luke said to the driver.

“Okay. Next place I find.”

Natalie moaned next to Luke, clutching her stomach.

“We can’t wait,” Luke insisted. “Pull over now!”

But the car didn’t slow, confirming Luke’s suspicions that their driver was on a mission—and it wasn’t to get them safely back to the hotel.

Natalie glanced at him, her expression giving way to fear. Then she put her hand to her mouth. “I think I’m about to be sick!” she said, and doubled over.

“Pull over!” Luke yelled to the driver. “She needs to get out!”

Natalie moaned loudly, and the driver finally swerved to the right and slammed on the brakes. They pitched forward, both throwing out their arms to keep from hitting the seats in front of them. The driver unlocked the car, glancing at them in the mirror, but not turning back.

Maybe he thought he’d fooled them. That they hadn’t noticed he’d switched places with Perez. Luke would use that to his advantage if he could.

Luke nodded to Natalie, and she didn’t hesitate.

She yanked on the handle and jumped out of the car, running behind a thick copse of trees, out of sight. Luke scooted to the door, planting his feet on the wet ground and waiting for the driver to make a move. With Natalie safely out of harm’s way, he’d have a better shot at taking the guy down. He watched the driver in his periphery, saw him shift in his seat. Getting a weapon? Luke didn’t have any weapons, but he would be ready. He shifted to the edge of the seat, keeping his peripheral vision on the driver.

But the driver didn’t make a move.

Luke considered his options. If the driver thought he still had them fooled, that could buy them some time. Making a run for it may be a safer option than confronting a potentially armed criminal in the middle of nowhere. If Luke got taken down, Natalie would be on her own.

“I’ll just go check on her,” Luke said, making his decision and emerging from the vehicle into the pouring rain.

He quickly covered the ground between the car and the foliage Natalie had disappeared behind and found her crouched by a thick tree trunk. “Let’s move,” Luke whispered, grasping her hand and leading her deeper into the thick forest. They treaded quietly, low to the ground, the echo of rain eating up any sound they made.

Luke figured they had about a minute or two before the guy came looking, but he overestimated. They’d barely covered twenty yards when a voice echoed too close.

“Hey!”

Natalie’s hand tightened on Luke’s and they picked up their pace. Luke didn’t think they’d been seen, but he couldn’t be sure.

A thin beam of light shone into the forest, just missing them as Luke pulled Natalie behind a massive fallen tree.

“Stay here.”

He started to leave, but she grabbed his arm. “What are you doing?” she whispered.

“My job.” He pried her hand off his arm. “Stay low and don’t move from this spot.”

Leaving her there, Luke circled back toward the road. If he could stay out of the guy’s view, he could take him by surprise, turn the tables on him.

It didn’t take him long to spot the man, his dark figure plunging forward into the woods, his flashlight moving in an organized search pattern. Luke ducked behind a thick patch of shrubs, watching the beam of light track for them. What was this guy’s game? And what had happened to Officer Perez? Were the police somehow involved in the crimes against Natalie? That seemed far-fetched, but he couldn’t discount the idea. He waited for the flashlight beam to pass by him again before continuing. His approach would have to be timed perfectly. He wouldn’t do Natalie any good lying dead in the middle of the woods.

The beam of light stopped, backtracked.

Homed in on the heavy fallen tree Natalie was hiding behind.

Luke’s hands clenched into fists, praying Natalie’s cover hadn’t been blown.

But footsteps sloshed closer, louder, faster. He peered around the edge of the shrubs, saw the man heading straight for Natalie’s location—flashlight in one hand, gun in the other.

She’d been seen.

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