Chapter 4

Robert Lockwood considered himself a patient man. He'd headed the CIA for a decade, overseen countless ops, and dealt with politicians without bloodshed. Surely that made him qualified enough to deal with his daughter.

"Evangeline," he said. "You're overreacting. Take a deep breath and sit down. This isn't at all how I taught you to respond during a high-tension situation. Emotions cloud logic and have no place during a mission."

"I'm overreacting?" she said, stopping her pacing to stare at him in disbelief. "You take all of my choices away like an errant child and put me in lockdown in another state with a contingency of bodyguards who all happen to be eligible bachelors and I'm overreacting?"

Only a lifetime of training kept him from wincing at the bite in her voice. Saying she was angry was an understatement. Energy practically crackled around her. Her hair had always been as reddish gold as a sunrise, but he couldn't remember the last time he'd seen it down. She always wore it pulled back. Even in Florida in the middle of the summer she was as unassuming as ever in a pair of baggy lounge pants and an old T-shirt. She'd spent the last ten years trying to hide away so no one noticed her, never making an effort to cultivate relationships or move out of her comfort zone. He worried about her a great deal. She hadn't always been that way. Something had changed in her a decade before and he had no idea what it was.

He never thought he'd miss the wild and adventurous and sometimes rebellious child she'd been. But it had been a long time since he'd seen a glimpse of that girl. There was a part of him that was glad to see her anger.

Whatever had happened to change her a decade before, it had only intensified after her mother's death. Robert had built a career on noticing things, and he was even more determined to get Evangeline to enjoy life. He knew better than anyone how precious and short it was. He'd lost a good woman and a lot of men under his command during his almost seven decades on earth. And he'd be damned if he'd give up just because his daughter was throwing a temper tantrum.

"Daddy, are you listening to me? You've got that look on your face you use with politicians where you pretend to listen but you're really thinking of all the other things you need to do."

He laughed for the first time since he'd heard the news about the threat made to her. She was his heart and soul, and he'd do whatever it took to keep her safe. He wasn't always the best at showing his love, but he did it the only way he knew how. To try and make sure she was safe and secure. In his mind, that was the most anyone could ever ask for.

"You look just like your mother when you get angry. Have I ever told you that?"

She growled at him and he held back another chuckle. If she was anything like her mother in temperament she'd be throwing things at his head before too long. God, he missed that woman. She'd been his partner in every sense of the word, and there'd been a void in his life ever since her death.

"You forgot to mention that there's a maniac after you who doesn't particularly want you to be able to be a witness when he's caught and this thing goes to trial."

"Daddy—"

"Don't you Daddy me, Evangeline Elizabeth Lockwood. There's a difference in being independent and just plain foolish. And this time you're being foolish."

"I can take care of myself, and I can hire my own bodyguards if I feel I need them. The police and the FBI are watching my house. I'll be perfectly safe staying there. This guy killed a senator and destroyed my home in broad daylight. He's making stupid choices. There's no way he can keep doing what he does and not get caught. I'll be just fine at home."

"Uh-huh. And I'm sure it won't bother you at all to stare at the broken things you've worked so hard for and the blood on the walls." He shrugged his shoulders and gave her a sarcastic look. "Heck, the ambiance might do you some good. What was I thinking? Let's call a cab and get you back home."

She rolled her eyes and he knew he had her. Children were predictable creatures after all. At least to a certain extent.

"How long am I supposed to stay here?" she asked, finally dropping down onto the couch across from him. "I have a job. I have responsibilities. I can't just take off indefinitely while the investigation continues. The last I checked they were no closer to finding the identity of Biddle's killer than they've been from the beginning."

He took a sip from the bottle of water in his hand and thought carefully how to best answer. "We've got some added help from superior sources," he finally said. "Sometimes jobs like these call for the best. And I just happen to be in the business of knowing who's the best. Trust me. We'll know who killed Senator Biddle very soon."

"If you've got everything worked out then there's no point in me wasting my time and the money you're spending on hired goons."

"I'm not sure your new bodyguard would appreciate being called a goon."

Robert's lips twitched. Cal Cruz had been called a lot of things in his thirty-six years, but he was pretty sure that goon wasn't one of them.

"All I'm asking is that you give it a week," he said reasonably. "Think of it as a vacation for my peace of mind. Myron Biddle had his fingers in some pretty interesting pies. Believe me when I tell you that the list is long for those who probably wanted him dead. And the people on that list are very good at killing. I'd prefer my only daughter wasn't added to the body count."

"I'll give it a week," she said. "But you and I both know that living hidden in fear is no way of living at all."

"I dislike it intensely when you use my own words against me."

She grinned and he saw the little girl he remembered—the precocious child with the brain of an adult who'd given him every gray hair on his head. She'd been a handful, and he'd not always known the best way to deal with her. But he'd enjoyed every minute of it. Or almost every minute.

She'd once decoded the intelligence reports from the operatives he had placed in Iran. It had taken her about five minutes to read what had taken him almost two hours. And he'd gotten a tongue-lashing from his wife that still sent shivers down his spine once she found out he'd let a six-year-old girl decode an entire report—most of which wasn't at all suitable for a child.

It was a good memory. And he was getting maudlin in his old age. Maybe he was becoming an old woman.

The hairs on the back of his neck prickled and the atmosphere in the room changed. Despite the fact there'd been no noise to alert his presence, Robert knew they weren't alone anymore. Cal was good, and he felt a swell of pride to know that he'd been the one to train him.

"If you keep zoning out I'm not going to help you host that party at the end of the month," she said.

"I'm not zoning out. I'm compartmentalizing all the different things I need to do today."

"So you're ignoring me? That makes me feel much better, thank you."

"I hate that shirt you're wearing," he said, just to be contrary. "You could fit Barnum and Bailey under there."

"Men your age shouldn't wear shorts," she countered. "You've got legs like a chicken."

He snorted out a laugh and then made the transition in conversation abruptly. There was no point in delaying the inevitable.

"Since you're in such a good mood let's talk about your bodyguard."

"Really, Daddy, you're getting ridiculous with your matchmaking attempts," Evangeline said. "It's obvious to everyone involved."

She propped her bare feet up on the coffee table and crossed her ankles. "Who is it this time? An ex-Navy SEAL? An Army Ranger? I hope it's someone with a sense of humor. You've sent some real duds lately. I've barely been able to stay awake once they start talking about themselves."

His lips pinched and he steepled his hands in front of him. "Now, really. You're being ridiculous, Evangeline."

"You always get very proper whenever you get called out. Have you ever noticed that? Of course you have," she said, before he could answer. "You were the Director of the CIA. I'm sure you're familiar with all of your weaknesses."

"Little girl, a little respect please. I've always said that smart mouth of yours is going to end you up in hot water one day."

"Sorry, Daddy. I have no idea where I get that from," she said, cheekily. "I've told you before I have no desire to get married and have children. No matter how badly you'd like to see that. I've got everything I want in my life."

"That's perfect. Because this time I'm not trying to use my matchmaking skills."

She arched a brow in surprise. "So you're admitting that's what you've been doing all this time with the personal bodyguards?"

Her father smiled and shrugged unrepentantly. "You're my only child. I just want you to be happy. I also want you to be safe. Which is why your protection comes above all else in this case. Besides, I'm out of single men who fit the profile. You've broken all their hearts."

She chuckled and crossed her arms over her chest, snuggling down a little farther into the couch. Maybe she could use a vacation. She hadn't stayed at the beach house since before her mother's death. If you could call a three-story pink monstrosity a beach house.

He'd bought the house for her mother the week after she'd been diagnosed with breast cancer. Her father was a tough man—unbending on his best days and something not worth mentioning on his worst days. But he'd been a softy when it came to his wife. She'd been happy at the beach house for almost three years longer than the doctors had given her to live.

Evangeline cleared her throat and pushed away the memory. "So if you're out of poor saps you can marry off your daughter to, who are you left with? Attila the Hun?"

"Not too far off," a voice said from the doorway behind her.

Her blood chilled and her head snapped toward the Lowcountry drawl she hadn't heard in years. Surely her eyes deceived her. She blinked once—then once more—but his image didn't disappear.

Calvin Cruz in the flesh looked better than he had any right to. Better than she remembered. And her memory was pretty good. He'd always been the kind of man people noticed. It wasn't his looks so much as the way he carried himself. He had an aura about him that screamed danger.

His hair was black as sin and he wore it longer than he had ten years before when he'd been on active missions. Crystalline blue eyes stared at her mockingly, inherited from his Swedish mother, and his skin was swarthy, inherited from his Mexican father. Dark brows winged over his eyes, and he hadn't shaved in a few days so he had a thick growth of beard.

She didn't know if she was normal when it came to what a woman found attractive about a man. But she'd always been captivated by Cal's shoulders. The breadth and strength of them, and how nicely they filled out the black T-shirt he wore. The black ink of tattoos showed below his sleeves, more than he'd had the last time she'd seen him. He wore loose linen pants the color of wheat and she wondered if he was carrying a weapon. She wasn't sure it mattered if he was armed. If she saw Cal Cruz walking toward her in an alley, she'd turn around and run the other direction. He was dangerous with a capital D.

"Like what you see, sugar?" he asked, arching a brow.

Her cheeks flushed red and she looked at her father accusingly, but Robert was suddenly very interested in his water bottle.

"Oh, no," she said, shaking her head. "No, no, no. This is my worst nightmare."

"Come on, Evie," Cal said, coming farther into the room. "It'll be just like when we were kids."

His voice sent a shiver down her spine. How could one man have such power over her? She hated that about herself. She knew she was smart. Could make her own decisions and live an independent life without the help of anyone. Yet one man had controlled her entire destiny for a good portion of her adult life—a man she couldn't trust far enough to throw him. And still his presence affected her like no other man's ever had.

Her pulse fluttered in her throat. No matter how much she'd told herself she hated him, it was still Cal she saw in her dreams. A childhood crush that had never faded.

"Go away, Cal."

"It's the middle of summer and we're at the beach," he said. "Let your hair down for a while. Stop being so uptight. You used to be fun."

"And you used to not be a jerk. I guess time changes us all."

She closed her eyes for a moment and counted to ten, focusing on the sound of the ocean. The sliding glass doors were open and if she made a run for it she could have the sand between her toes in just a few seconds.

"Well then," Robert said, getting to his feet. "It looks like three's a crowd. I'll leave you two to get acclimated. I've got a plane to catch."

"Oh, no," Evangeline said, standing. "You're not going anywhere until you explain what the hell is going on."

"I told you, Evie. You need a bodyguard and I'm out of eligible bachelors. That leaves Cal. You agreed to take precautions for the week. Don't go back on your word now."

She narrowed her eyes at him, but it was a wasted effort because he'd already turned toward Cal.

"Son, you always did have a way of making women want to claw your eyes out."

"It's a gift," Cal said, grinning.

Evangeline could count the number of times she'd wanted to do violence to a person on one hand, and she was pretty sure they all involved Cal.

There were very few people in the world who knew the real Calvin Cruz. Maybe not even her come to think of it. He was brilliant, no doubt, and that brilliance was only one of the aspects she'd found fascinating about him over the years. The layers of Cal had always intrigued her. And it was obvious to anyone who knew him well that he covered a whole world of hurt with smart remarks and general rudeness if it suited him.

He'd never cared one bit about being anyone other than himself, and he never made apologies for his behavior. People either loved Cal or they hated him. There was no in-between.

"You might as well take him back with you, Daddy. There's no way I'm going to let Cal be my bodyguard. You know his attention span won't last the week. He'll be playing poker with the staff and fleecing them out of all their money after two days."

"Still bitter about that are we, Evie?"

She turned to face him, putting her hands on her hips. "I was twelve, you moron. And no, I'm not still bitter. Some of us learn to grow up. Want to take a guess who in this room hasn't?"

"Not really," he said with a shrug. "If by ‘grow up' you mean turn into a boring spinster who doesn't know how to have fun I think I'll pass."

"You made me what I am," she said, and then she remembered her father was standing there and pinched her mouth shut before she said too much. "Get out of my house." She was surprised by how even her voice was. Because on the inside she was screaming. "If you're not out in the next ten seconds I'm going to shove my fist down your throat and jerk your cold, worthless heart right out of your body. And then I'm going to feed it to a shark along with the rest of your corpse."

Cal arched a brow and gave her an insufferable smile. "You've given that a lot of thought, Evie. Kind of disturbing if you ask me. I don't remember you being so violent. I wonder where all this pent-up aggression is coming from. Have you thought of seeing a counselor?"

A sound came out of her mouth that was somewhere between a gasp and a shriek. "I'm going to kill you. Murder you in your sleep. And no jury would convict me."

Good grief, she had to get a hold of herself. He was turning her into a shrew. The way to deal with Cal was to outsmart him. He thrived off emotional reactions, and she was giving him exactly what he wanted.

She took a deep breath and tried to smile, though she wasn't sure she was successful in her attempt. "You're right, Cal. I apologize. I'm completely overreacting. I think it's because Daddy's been pressuring me to settle down by throwing men into my path every chance he gets. My reaction is just reflex now."

The look in his eye was calculating as he tried to figure out her angle.

"You make me sound like a tyrant trying to sell his daughter to the highest bidder, Evangeline." Robert stared her down, his lips pursed. "I find that highly insulting."

"Your speech is getting proper again," she said, narrowing her eyes at him. His lips pinched even tighter together and he gave her a look that would've sent any number of his agents running in the opposite direction.

He was really still a very attractive man for someone in the latter half of his sixties. He stood military straight, his shoulders broad and his body still in good shape from years of training. His hair was thick and had been completely silver since she was a child. It was a shame he hadn't found a woman to keep him occupied so he'd stay out of her business.

"You're pushing your luck, Evangeline."

"No, Dad. I'm being serious." She shrugged and then crossed her arms over her chest. "Maybe you're right. Maybe it's time I took your advice and settled down. And you're handpicking these men, so there must be something good about them. I figure one is just as good as the next. You've always loved Cal like a son anyway, so maybe we should just see where this goes."

The color drained from her father's face and he went completely still. She would've burst out laughing if it wouldn't have completely ruined her plan. But when she turned and looked at Cal any humor she saw in the situation dried up immediately. She recognized that look. It meant trouble.

"Now, Evangeline," Robert sputtered. His eyes cut back and forth between her and Cal, gauging the potential fallout. Just like always.

"It's okay, Daddy. I'm sure Cal knew exactly what he was getting himself into when he agreed to take this job. It's not like you've been subtle about your attempts. Now if you two don't mind, I think I'm going to lie out by the pool for a couple of hours. The idea of a vacation sounds nice now that you put the idea in my head," she told her father.

She'd taken two steps toward the door when Cal stopped her and said, "Just hang tight a minute, Evie. You and I need to go over the ground rules. This isn't just a vacation. You're going to take every precaution while you're here."

"You do love your rules, don't you, Cal?"

"Rules tend to keep girls out of trouble."

"Must be nice to make the rules and never have to follow them."

The corner of his mouth kicked up and the blue of his eyes deepened until they were almost navy. "It has its advantages."

"Am I missing something?" her father asked, looking back and forth between the two of them.

"Robert, I think it's time you left us alone to talk this out. You've set this in motion, but it's time to let us take it from here. Obviously, Evie and I have a great deal to work out. Like the fact that we're going to be sticking together like glue until this guy is caught. Atticus has added security in locations unknown to me, but they're not on the property so it's just you and me, kid."

"Get real, Cal. We can't be together every second of every day."

"Sure we can, sugar. I'll scrub your back in the shower. By the way, I sleep on the left side of the bed."

This time it was her mouth that dropped open in surprise. The look Cal gave her was so hot she wondered how she didn't combust into flames where she stood. Heat rushed to her cheeks and things she hadn't allowed herself to feel since she was a teenager overwhelmed her. It was not a good time for her hormones to awaken. Cal had always been at the center of her fantasies. Until he'd killed them. It was important to remember why she'd stopped loving him.

"Now wait just a minute, Cal," her father said. His cheeks flushed with anger.

"No interference, Robert," Cal interrupted. "That was your promise when I took the job. You're the one who's been meddling in Evie's life, trying to get her to settle down. I'm just answering the call. You've done your part. Now it's up to the two of us."

"You're supposed to be protecting her, not seducing her. I know your reputation better than anyone, son."

"I will protect her. With my life if I have to. The seduction is just an added bonus." He grinned unapologetically and she started to worry that Cal was going too far. Her father looked ready to commit murder.

She'd never seen Cal face down her father before. Come to think of it, she wasn't sure she'd ever seen anyone face down her father. He was the boss. Larger than life. And he was no one to mess with.

"I've treated you like a son for most of your life and this is how you repay me?"

"You once told me that family never had to repay anything. You just do things because it's family."

"I'm getting tired of the two of you remembering my words of wisdom for once. And that doesn't negate the fact that you're talking about my daughter. She's not someone to dally with."

"She's standing right here and she can speak for herself," Evangeline said, irritated with both of them now. "I feel like you're about to start bartering cheese wheels and cattle for my hand in marriage. And if that's the case, then I'm going to have to shoot both of you. Cal and I don't even like each other, so I don't think this is going to be an issue."

"I like you just fine, sugar. You're the one who knows how to hold a grudge." Cal grinned. "But in all seriousness, you're not treating this situation the way you should. The man who's after you is dangerous, and I'm not going to risk your life because you don't want your privacy invaded.

"You've been a father to me, Robert," Cal said, turning to the older man. "But you set this in motion. It's time to step back and let it play out. You know I won't hurt her. But I'm also not going to stand here and let her manipulate me into letting her call the shots. And if you'd stop and think like the intelligence officer you once were and not the father you are then you'd see that as plain as I do. My first priority is to protect her. My second priority is to get her to stop being so hardheaded and realize that we can work better together than apart. Maybe that's within a personal relationship or maybe not. But it's something we'll have to figure out for ourselves."

Her eyebrows rose in surprise. She wasn't expecting something so—mature to come out of Cal's mouth. Not that she was going to give him the time of day. She certainly did know how to hold a grudge. He'd been right about that. And despite Cal's talk about personal relationships to her father, there was the little issue of trust to deal with.

What was more surprising than anything was her father nodding his head in agreement. He turned to her and said, "Cal stays. You can't fire him. Only I can do that. Do what he says when it comes to your safety. If he gets out of line with the other let me know."

Then he turned back to Cal and gave him a warning. "If you break her heart you're a dead man. I don't have time to hide any bodies with my schedule the way it is, and honestly I just don't want to deal with Atticus. But I'll do it if you force my hand. Atticus wasn't someone I liked messing with when he was one of my agents, and I want to mess with him even less now. He's a mean son of a gun when he wants to be. I think he learned that from me."

With nothing more than a quick wave goodbye, he exited the room and left them alone. The front door closed behind him, and the silence was palpable.

Evangeline felt the temper she tried so hard to control bubbling to the surface, and her hands fisted at her sides until her nails bit into her palms. The last time she'd felt this much anger and lack of control was the day Cal had taken everything important away from her.

As if reading her mind he said, "So what do you say, Evie? Do you still hate me?"