Chapter 8

At nine o"clock that evening,Maddie finally locked the shop door after the last customer, then turned around to face the Hart rancher who had stayed the entire day and helped her.

Lucas was wiping down the counter, whistling to himself, his biceps flexing as he wiped.

He had made himself completely at home in her shop, and she"d been too busy to argue with him or make him get out.

But now… "Lucas."

He didn"t look up. "I know."

"You know what?"

He kept scrubbing. "I know I have to tell you why I followed you around like your dog today."

Maddie looked over at Violet, who had curled up on her bed in the corner. She was napping, but her ears were up, listening for any hint that Maddie needed her. "You know, I was thinking about you as a dog all day," she said.

He finally looked up and grinned. "I could tell. That time you told me to sit and stay was a dead giveaway."

She finally smiled. "You"re so sassy."

"I know, right?" He tossed the sponge aside. "I"m a pain in the ass that way."

"Sassy is fun. I"m okay with it."

He flashed her a grin. "Great. Then you won"t mind if I stick around for a while then?"

"What"s a while?"

"A week. Maybe two. Maybe three."

Something inside her fluttered, something that she didn"t like at all, because it was a mushy, girly feeling that she had no space for. "You want to follow me around like a dog for three weeks?"

He gestured to the immaculate store. "I do great work. And I even stayed out of sight. No one knew Lucas Hart was your assistant today."

Dammit. The man was so disarming. "You have all the right words, don"t you?"

His smile faded. "I"m not trying to be suave. Just trying to…do right by you."

"Do right? Jacob owes me nothing. My life is great." She shrugged her shoulders, trying to ward off the sudden chill. She didn"t even like saying Jacob"s name. "So I have some anxiety. It"s fine. It"s not his fault."

Lucas swore under his breath. "What if I asked you to simply trust me? To say, "sure, Lucas, hang around. I need help." And call it a day?"

Maddie stared at him, a sudden sinking feeling in her gut. "Oh, no," she whispered. "Something has happened. I"m not safe? That"s why you"re here today?" She immediately stepped away from the window, and Violet leapt to her feet and bolted over to her.

"Shit. No." Lucas stepped around the table and caught her arm.

She instinctively spun around, twisted out of his grip, and launched herself out of his reach, her hands up protectively as she whirled to face him, feet braced.

He went still, his hand in the air where it had been on her a second ago. "Damn," he said. "That was a great move."

"My dad was FBI. He taught me a lot of things." She lowered her hands, appreciating that he didn"t treat her like a freak for overreacting. He was even impressed, and that made her feel good.

"Can you shoot a gun?" he asked.

"Of course."

He cocked an eyebrow, studying her.

"What?" She asked. "You think that just because I can handle myself physically I shouldn't have anxiety?"

"Nope. I don"t think that at all." He laughed softly. "Every Hart has trauma. Your ability to take care of yourself doesn"t necessarily erase lessons from childhood."

She took a breath and nodded, sudden emotions clogging her throat. She tried so hard to hide her vulnerability from her dad, because she didn"t want him to feel like he hadn"t done enough for her, but Lucas had caught her off guard.

So, now he knew she wasn"t entirely all right, at least a little bit.

Maybe that was good. Maybe it was good not to have to hide it. She took a breath, and then sat down on the rubber floormat to hug Violet. "What"s going on?"

Lucas immediately sat down on the floor as well. He leaned back against the side of the counter, taking up the same relaxed position as he had in the manager"s office. She wondered how many times in his life he"d taken up that unassuming position to make someone else feel at ease. Maybe a lot, given what he"d said about his family.

He said nothing for a moment. He simply studied her face. She could almost hear him analyzing his possible responses and which one he would give her.

"Just tell me the truth," she said. "Otherwise, my imagination will create something that I can almost guarantee will be worse. Spill it, Hart."

He grinned. "All right. When my brother, Dylan, was looking for you, he ran across the trail of someone else who was also looking for you. He called me last night and said he"d finally traced the digital footprints and he knows who it is."

Maddie"s heart began to race. She wanted to crawl into her closet, curl into a ball, and close her eyes, like she"d done so many times as a kid.

But she wasn"t that girl anymore. She needed to get free of her past, and she was ready to face it. "Who is it?"

"Ivan"s half-brother."

She blinked. "Ivan had a brother?"

He nodded. "Not a good guy. He"s been in jail for a while and recently got out. He"s been looking for you, and for Jacob apparently."

She started scratching Violet"s head, focusing on the feel of the silky fur beneath her fingers. "What does he want?"

"I don"t know. But the Harts, myself included, are unwilling to leave you unprotected. You might have passed through Jacob"s life for only a short time, but that"s all it takes to get in our circle."

"Wow." She almost started laughing. "I"ve spent my life worrying about someone coming to get me, and telling myself that I was safe, and then it actually happens."

Lucas was watching her carefully, maybe wondering if she were going to freak out. "Maybe he"s not coming to get you. Maybe he wants to give you a billion dollars for the hardship of having to know his brother."

She grinned. "I"d like a tropical island. Do you think he has one he wants to give me?"

Amusement twinkled in Lucas"s eyes. "Probably. I"d ask for cabana boys before you accept. Who wants to get their own drinks when you"re on a tropical island?"

"Good point. I"ll make a list so I"m ready when he shows up. Has he found me?"

Lucas didn"t even hesitate at her pivot. "Not that we know of. Dylan is trying to get to him before he finds you. That"s our plan."

"So, you hanging around me is just a precaution?"

"Yep. Plus, I like playing with broken glass, so that"s an added bonus for me."

"Men and their toys," she teased. "So, what now? You really want to shadow me for a few weeks?" She didn"t think she liked the idea. But at the same time, a little part of her was curious. What would it be like to feel safe? It was weird to feel safe when there was someone hunting her, but Lucas was capable.

He leaned in. "I want to be your bodyguard 24/7 until this is over."

Oh, boy. "And if I say no?"

His jaw flexed. "Please don"t."

"Please don"t?" She started laughing again. "Why is that so funny?"

"I"m trying to respect your boundaries." He didn"t smile. "But the thought of walking away and leaving you unprotected is making me crazy, and I haven"t even left yet." He paused. "I met Ivan. He was a cold-blooded sociopath who fucked up my brother so badly that he can"t function normally in society. Even as an adult, Jacob almost went…" He paused. "Jacob had a tough time. This is the man who held you. This is the man whose brother is looking for you. I don"t know what he wants, but I saw the aftermath with my brother. Don"t fucking say no, Maddie. Let me help."

Maddie closed her eyes and pressed her face to Violet"s neck. She imagined what it would be like if she went home alone tonight and tried to sleep.

There would be no sleep.

Not ever.

Not until Lucas called her and told her that this man had been handled.

"Maddie?"

She didn"t open her eyes. "On the plus side, at least this isn"t anxiety. It"s genuine fear of an actual sociopath who might want to kill me. I feel very validated. It"s like years of my mind running in circles in constant panic has resulted in an actual, clear threat that I can address."

He chuckled softly. "There"s always a plus side, right?"

"Absolutely." Without lifting her head from Violet"s, she opened one eye and peered at Lucas. "You want to sleep in my house?"

"I won"t sleep much, but yeah."

"Ride in my car?"

He grinned. "Yep."

"Walk my dog with me?"

"You bet."

"And what if the world notices Lucas Hart following me around?"

"Then the man after you will know you"re not an easy target."

She thought about that. "I have an extreme aversion to my face on social media. I can"t do it."

He paused. "All right. I"ll disguise myself."

"You? You"re like this walking billboard of sex, charm, and fantasy. No one is going to fail to notice you."

He raised his brows. "Sex, charm, and fantasy?"

Oh, damn. She tried to ignore the heat in her chest. "Or so I"ve heard. I just see you as an annoying nudge who is good with a mop."

He smiled. "The Harts have managed to go a lot of places without drawing notice. If we"re out in public, no one will know it"s me."

She highly doubted that. Lucas Hart exuded an electrifying charisma that was impossible to conceal. Even if he dressed up as a clown with full makeup, his essence would glisten through.

But at the same time, she was warming up to the idea of having Lucas keep her safe while a sociopath was looking for her. "All right. I"ll let you bodyguard me on one condition."

Relief flickered in his eyes. "Anything."

"If someone recognizes you, and I get caught in some photo of you, you have to hunt down that photo and destroy it, and pay me a billion dollars for every photo of me that hits the internet." A billion dollars could buy her a lot of security. It was a trade she could live with.

"A billion dollars per photo?" He looked amused.

"Yes. I am already envisioning the jewelry I"m going to buy myself." She fluttered her hand. "I"ll be that girl who buys herself and her friends diamonds."

He cocked his head. "You don"t seem like the diamond type."

"No? What do I seem like?"

He studied her for a moment. "I"m not sure yet. But I"m interested in finding out."

Her heart fluttered at his low undertone. "That sounds like you"re flirting. Are you flirting with me? Because that changes the vibe here."

He studied her thoughtfully. "How would you feel if I said yes?"

Why did that make her stomach do a little flipflop? "I would have to fire you. I am very committed to being single at the moment. No flirting allowed."

Amusement flickered in his eyes. "Got it. I"m not flirting, then. I"m just interested in knowing you because you seem like an interesting person. I like interesting people."

She narrowed her eyes. "Holy crap, Lucas. You"re lying to me. You are flirting with me!"

He had the grace to incline his head. "I"m not trying to flirt. I find you genuinely fascinating. I do want to get to know you. But I respect your boundaries. I"m an impartial bodyguard. I won"t attempt to get you to kiss me even once."

"Kiss you?"

He grinned. "If I kiss you first, I feel like I would wind up in the hospital. So you"ll have to make the first move."

"I"m not making a move."

"Then we"re good. Just friends. Shall we head out? Grab some food and then go to your house?"

She bit her lip. Did she really want to do this? Despite her claims to the contrary, she found Lucas insanely compelling. He was sexy, yes, but there was also so much more to him. She wanted to know about his past. About how he managed it. About his family.

And she wanted him to kiss her.

There were a plethora of reasons why she needed to tell Lucas she"d hire her own bodyguard if she needed one.

Except, how would she know she could trust a paid one?

Lucas cocked an eyebrow, waiting for her, clearly aware that she was processing, and he was okay with that.

Dammit. She trusted him. He made her feel safe.

She didn"t want anyone else.

She wanted Lucas Hart, even if she did want to kiss the man. "All right," she said. "Let"s go. But no flirting."

The smile that lit up his face was positively endearing.

Why did the man have to be so freaking appealing?