Chapter 10

Chapter

Ten

Hays swept Elizabeth's suite before he let her or Millie enter. He thought Jared or Millie might protest, but Jared only grunted his approval with, "Caution saves lives."

After Millie ushered Elizabeth into her room and Hays knew their moment was irrevocably broken, he bit back his disappointment and turned to Jared.

"If you'll promise to eat some later so Millie feels appreciated, I'll set this down and show you our security center, answer any questions you have," Jared offered.

"Perfect." Hays liked and appreciated these tough cowboys. Even with as late as it was, Jared knew Hays would want to be familiar with their security.

He followed Jared down the stairs and to the back office. They spent the next half-hour going over the different aspects of their security and everything he needed to know about the cameras and sensors. Hays was impressed. Jared sent him the link to his phone so he could receive the alerts and check cameras at any time.

He continued to explain that their ranch hands all doubled as security guards and were either retired military or retired police. Some of them had wives or families on the ranch as well. They each had their own cabin. Jared had been a Green Beret before returning to the family ranch. He'd trained his own boys ‘up right' which he claimed meant they were on level with most special ops soldiers.

The perimeter fence was nothing to mess around with. Eight feet tall, barbed wire at the top, electric. Jared explained that visitors from church and ‘what-not' just saw the ‘pretty part of the fence,' the wrought-iron front that extended from the front gate. They assumed the Colevilles were eccentric, wealthy, and protecting their prized Brahman bulls.

Hays finally went to his suite, showered, ate some of the delicious baked goods, drank the juice, brushed his teeth, said a long prayer, and climbed into the king-size bed. He slept well, sleeping in until seven-thirty. He didn't like being away from Elizabeth. Maybe he should've insisted that they stay in the same suite. For her protection.

He rolled off the bed, kneeled to pray, then hurried to get ready. He was uncertain what the day would bring and what was expected of him besides staying by Elizabeth's side. Knocking softly on her door, he waited.

The door cracked and Elizabeth gazed up at him. Her dark hair flowed around her shoulders and her blue eyes were sleepy. She blinked several times.

"Forgive me. I woke you."

"Is it late?"

He shook his head. "Around eight a.m."

"Oh. I haven't slept in for years." Then her eyes widened and darted around. "Is there danger? Has my father found us?"

"No. No, Elizabeth." He shook his head and wished he could hold her like he had last night. "I apologize. I shouldn't have woken you. I only wanted to make certain you were all right."

She spooked easily. When could he help her heal from what she'd been through with her family? Maybe never. With the danger surrounding her, his purpose had to be to keep her safe. Not love her.

"I'm fine." She glanced past him and then back into her rooms. "I'm surprised that I slept. I've never slept away from my father's guards."

He glanced sharply at her. He'd heard Peter's gross comment about watching her use the bathroom. "They … sleep near you?"

"Not in the same room, but they're always close. I feared last night they would find me again."

"You're safe here, Liz."

"How do you know that?" She worried her lip. She looked beautiful and innocent and he wanted to pull her close in the worst way.

"I evaluated the Colevilles' security last night. It's like the Swiss Fort Knox. No one is getting through, and your father doesn't know where you are." He didn't add that he would protect her. He wasn't one to brag, but he was one of the top special ops lieutenants in the world.

She wrapped her arms around herself. "He won't rest until he does. He'll have me in his control again at all costs. Without me, his plans won't work."

He studied her. The panic and terror she clearly felt and the certainty her father would come for her made his heart thump hard against his chest. He wanted to convince her she could trust him to protect her.

She stepped in closer, and her soft scent washed over him. "Do you believe me, Hays?"

He wasn't certain what she was asking. For many years, he'd tried to believe she was a snooty billionaire heiress who had viciously rejected him because he wasn't wealthy or important enough for her. In the back of his mind, he'd never been able to forget how she'd been when they were together—genuine, sweet, fun. He'd felt like he had a window to her soul that nobody else saw. He'd prayed for her just like had his own parents, siblings, and close friends but never let himself hope he'd get a chance with her again.

Now he knew he should've trusted his gut. Elizabeth had been controlled and abused and his heart broke for her. He wanted to heal, lift, and love her, but he didn't know if that could happen. He believed she was telling the truth, like he'd said last night. Did she need him to confirm that? He wanted to support her and protect her while he could.

"I do believe you, Liz," he said, hoping his sincerity came through.

She let out a breath of relief, then said quickly, "It's impossible for me to convey how dangerous and brilliant my father is. Quaid and Jacey should recognize the danger, but I fear they have a false sense of security knowing Mother is dead. Even if they want to believe me about Father and are trying to restructure their memories to see that he was in control, they haven't seen what I have."

"What have you seen, Liz?" Hays had seen darkness and death many times over. His innocent Liz should have been safe, but she may have been in worse situations than he had been. It was hard to wrap his mind around.

"More death, torture, and well-executed manipulation and mind games than anyone can imagine."

Hays stepped in but didn't know that this was the moment to reach for her. It definitely wasn't the moment for a corny knock-knock joke.

"No one is taking this seriously enough," she continued. "Everyone who is trying to help me or my siblings is endangering themselves and everyone they love. I want everyone to be safe—especially you, Jacey, Quaid, and their spouses."

It warmed his heart that she included him on her list of those who mattered most to her.

"I'm sorry for what you've seen. What you've been through."

She flinched and partially hid behind the door frame. She appeared innocently beautiful, but he could see there was a layer of darkness in her eyes. Pain, lack of faith, broken trust, a broken heart … his Liz reflected all of that and more in her blue, blue eyes.

"That doesn't matter."

It mattered to him.

"Hays." She stepped out and squared her shoulders. "I'm so sorry that I sent you away … twice." She flinched again. "And had to order the guards to hurt you."

"You did it to keep me safe?"

"It was the only way." Her bottom lip quivered, and she clutched her hands together. "When you came back and fought your way to me, I dreamed of letting you take me away with you. But my parents were both in the library. I didn't know until my father cleared his throat."

"I remember. Your face changed and then you ordered them to take me away."

She nodded, biting her lower lip. "It was a test, like everything. If I revealed that I cared for you at all, they would've used you, tortured you, and probably killed you to manipulate and mold me." She looked at the wall beyond him. "I'm so sorry, Hays. I lost all hope that day and my heart broke for what I had to do to keep you off their radar. I've lived in fear the past fourteen years that they'd remember you and use you against me."

Hays blew out a breath. "Ah, Liz … Of course I forgive you, and I'm sorry."

"You shouldn't be sorry." She knocked her shoulder against the doorframe.

He wanted to reach out for her, but he had never seen her so jumpy. She was usually completely in control. He wasn't sure which was more concerning.

"I should've come back for you, penetrated their defenses again, but this time brought support and stolen you away."

She smiled briefly. He stepped forward, but she held up a hand. "I wouldn't have come with you," she said, her voice tremulous.

"Oh." He stepped back again. "I thought …"

"Not because I wouldn't have wanted to." She met his gaze, and he could see that she'd had dreams of them together too. "I could never have left Quaid and Jacey."

He could understand that. His parents were incredible, but if his sisters were ever in danger … he'd do anything to keep them safe.

"I'm sorry," she said again.

"It's all right. I understand."

"Thank you." She looked him over. "You can understand better than most how dark my father is. Will you help Aiden take my father seriously? Quaid, Aiden, and Sutton can't underestimate him for a moment."

Hays nodded, trying to focus on the redirection when he longed to keep talking about their relationship, what they could have had. "We're all taking this very seriously, Liz. Please trust me. Aiden and some of the Colevilles might make light of things or act cocky, but that's simply the way they deal with the pressure. We will keep you safe, and Quaid and Aiden will work with Sutton to figure out the right path to prevent your father from ever hurting you or anyone else again."

"You said you believe me, but I don't know if I can believe you," she said. Her blue eyes asked him not to be offended. "I believe that you mean what you say, but I don't know how to believe that I'll stay safe or that anybody could best my father."

He nodded. There was no way to persuade her. He'd have to show her. "Knock knock," he said.

She didn't stare at him as if he'd lost his mind like the first time he had told her a knock-knock joke years ago, but she didn't smile like she had many other times. "Who's there?"

"Says."

"Says who?" She did gift him with a partial smile and at least played along.

"Says me." He eased in and let himself cup her smooth cheek with his palm. "That you will be safe in my care."

Her pulse quickened. He tenderly ran the pad of his thumb across her cheek and along the softness of her full lower lip. His own heart raced out of control.

This was not the moment to kiss her. He knew that. Why he leaned down and wanted to cheer when she arched up wasn't something he stopped to consider.

Steps sounded on the stairs.

Elizabeth stepped back into the doorframe, and Hays's hand fell to the side.

Mama Millie rushed down the hall, effectively interrupting their moment for a second time. Was that on purpose? She had a stack of clean towels and insisted they take their time, but breakfast was hot and ready whenever they wanted.

Elizabeth gave Hays a reluctant look but turned back to her room to dress and get ready for the day. Hays waited just outside the door. When she walked out wearing a simple pale blue tank top and matching shorts that set off her smooth, olive-toned skin and dark hair and revealed lean arms and legs, his pulse took off at a gallop.

He offered his hand. Elizabeth placed her palm against his, and he wrapped his fingers around the back of her hand. All was right with the world in that moment.

"Knock knock," he said.

She smiled and shook her head. She'd claimed as eighteen-year-olds that she loved his knock-knock jokes. Did she think they were ridiculous now? After all they'd each been through, maybe they were ridiculous.

"Who's there?" she asked.

"Have," he said, mustering his courage for his next line.

"Have who?"

"Have I got any chance with you, Liz?"

Her eyes widened, and she looked like she'd jump into his arms, but then her blue eyes filled with uncertainty. Hays had pushed too fast, too soon. It didn't feel fast or soon to him. They'd finally aired the garbage between them, and it felt fourteen years too late.

"Hays." She swallowed and tugged her hand free. "If I was free, it would be a different story, but my life is not my own. It never has been."

"Liz," he started, determined to tell her he would defeat her father and make her life her own.

"Please. Let's focus on how to keep you and my siblings safe."

He was keeping her safe, not the other way around.

Liz walked around him and to the stairs. Hays caught up, unsure what to say or do.

They met Millie in the kitchen. Breakfast was filled with Elizabeth drawing Mama Millie out about each of her boys. Millie bragged about her sons and didn't seem to notice the tension between him and Elizabeth. As they were finishing breakfast, Jared appeared and asked them to come to the security center to speak with Quaid on a secure line.

Quaid drilled Elizabeth for information on their father's plans for her with the run for Senate and for her future and if she was privy to business deals or offshore accounts. She shared names of his various associates and everything she could remember that she had gleaned from listening to her father's conversations at dinner, parties, and on phone calls. Numbers and bank names she'd memorized from a mere glimpse at a computer screen or phone. She was brilliant and seemed to have a near-perfect memory.

Elizabeth had repeatedly said her father was dangerous and brilliant. The more he learned about the man, the more Hays thought that might be an understatement. Benjamin Oliver had given the FBI and CIA exactly what he wanted to give them and come out looking like a rose after his wife's death, blaming it all on her. Now he was free to reign with terror. The vast resources and connections Elizabeth revealed were unnerving. Hays could best most men in a physical fight or with pistols or rifles, but mind games were a different playing field.

"What are your thoughts on marriage?" Quaid asked. "Aiden wondered about an arranged marriage."

Elizabeth's gaze darted to Hays and his pulse sped up. Marriage? He'd heard about Sutton Smith's marriage for protection details. He was ready and willing to be Elizabeth's bodyguard groom if that was Aiden and Quaid's plan.

"Pardon me?" Elizabeth asked, perhaps biding time.

"A marriage could protect you and help us take Father down."

"Anyone I married would be in mortal peril. I refuse to use a man like that." She stared at Hays, her gaze determined.

No marriage then.

"Not if the groom brought rewards to the table that Father thought were beneficial for his plans. It could be a good distraction and a way to get Father where we want him."

Hays brought nothing to the table that her father would feel was beneficial. His parents were middle class with no fame or connections. He was a battle-savvy soldier and proud of his military success, but he wasn't the kind of husband Benjamin Oliver would want for his daughter.

"What are you saying?" Elizabeth asked her brother.

"We're still looking into it, but my friend Captain Eli Grant knows an heir to a vast fortune who has a fabulous family name. His name is Jarom Love. He looks like a sap, acts like a sap, but Eli promises we can trust him."

Elizabeth nodded. Which Hays hated. His stomach churned with anxiety at the very thought of her marrying some pompous billionaire. Elizabeth was nodding at the idea of marrying someone else? That was a knife through his kidneys.

"I've met Jarom a handful of times," Elizabeth said. "He's always smiling, model perfect, and appears clueless. If he is truly a trustworthy man who wouldn't sell us out, he would be ideal."

"Why is he ideal?" Hays demanded to know. Always smiling, model perfect, and appeared clueless? The guy sounded like a cupcake. Was she drawn to the preppy-boy type now?

Elizabeth held his gaze, her blue eyes apologetic and determined. All Hays had ever wanted, besides his success with the SEALs and his family's happiness, was to be with her, someday marry her, and she was willing to marry some sap?

"Father has never married me off because he is waiting for the perfect man. One who has an impeccable family, unreal wealth, connections, but most importantly, someone moldable who Father can control. No way would he give up control of me to a husband who could derail his plans rather than enhance them. Father would believe he could control Jarom and access all his wealth and connections as well. He's perfect."

"I agree," Quaid said. "We'll look into it more. Jarom would be just one piece in the scheme, but I appreciate you being willing to stage a fake engagement or marry him if necessary so we can draw Father into a situation with a huge crowd where we can publicly expose him. Then we hit him with everything at once, crippling him financially and destroying his network and connections. He'll have no resources and no escape."

"I don't agree," Hays protested.

"Pardon me?" Quaid asked.

"To the marriage part. All marriage to some sap would accomplish is getting Liz back in your father's control and in danger of never escaping again."

"Not with you by her side," Quaid countered.

Hays shouldn't have eaten breakfast. He'd have to be by Liz's side while she married a wealthy cheeseball? He wouldn't do it. He couldn't do it. Nobody could ask that of him. It had been horrific enough to keep his distance for fourteen years. Now to be her bodyguard while she married a wussy billionaire? No.

Studying her, he knew … he'd do anything to protect her.

"I've got to go," Quaid said. "Thank you for the information and insight. You two can relax while we brainstorm and get things in place. I'm sorry I can't give you all the details. Aiden will fill you in when we're ready to make a move."

Hays didn't like that. As a lieutenant and his best friend Jagger their captain, he was in on the planning and details.

"You're safe there," Quaid continued before either of them could protest. "The Colevilles are the best people I know, and they take their security very, very seriously. Talk soon."

The phone disconnected. Elizabeth glanced down. Hays waited, hoping she'd meet his gaze, talk this out with him, promise him she loved him and after all this was over they could be together.

Nothing. She didn't move.

He should've been patient, but instead he tilted her chin up with his fingers, purpose and desire swirling inside of him. "Liz. You do not need to marry some sap."

"Hays." She stared deeply into his eyes as if willing him to listen to her, to believe her. "I will do whatever I need to do to take down my father. A fake engagement or even a marriage is a small price to pay."

His gut churned. Marriage to anyone but him should be out of the question. Yet he could only imagine the lengths she'd go to defeat her father and protect her siblings.

There was a rap on the door.

"Come in," Hays said.

Easton Walker opened the security door, poked his head in, and grinned. "Hey, you two. I get to show you around the property. Horses or the side-by-side?"

"Can we walk?" Elizabeth asked. "I've been dormant too long."

"Sure. It'll just take longer."

"Apparently we have time," Elizabeth said, not looking at Hays.

Time to waste, but not time to be together.

"Great."

Easton's slow cowboy grin directed at Elizabeth didn't help Hays's upset stomach or the tightness of his neck. Especially when she returned the charming cowboy's smile. Hays had rarely felt the stirrings of jealousy, but he felt it now in spades. He didn't like it.

They exited the house from the front door and walked through a massive barns, stalls filled with bulls and horses. There was a well-stocked home gym and sparring ring at the back of the barn. They exited the barn out the back and walked past corrals used for ‘training.'

"Don't go anywhere near the bulls," Easton cautioned. "They're some of the best bucking bulls in the West, bred and raised to be meaner than snake venom. I should know. I'm the only cowboy who can conquer them." He winked cockily.

Hays put one hand on his Sig and one hand on Elizabeth's lower back. "We'll keep our distance," he said.

Elizabeth glanced up at him and he thought she might ask him to keep his distance. Instead, she edged a few centimeters closer. Hays's hand slid to her hip, and he nestled her close to his side.

Any worries and jealousy floated away. Elizabeth close to his side was heaven.

They walked past cabins nestled in the trees. Easton steered clear of a section of cabins, explaining that two of their men's wives were home with little ones. They were trustworthy but no reason to let anyone superfluous see Elizabeth. Hays cuddled her closer, and she turned her face toward him. It may have been to simply shield her face from a mom looking out her window, but it may have been that she liked being close to him.

Easton pointed out his cabin, a nice two-story rustic-looking home with a front porch complete with rocking chairs.

"Are you married, Easton?" Elizabeth asked.

"Oh, no, ma'am." Easton winked. "Unless you're offering."

Hays instinctively cupped his hand more securely around Elizabeth's waist and hip.

"I'm taken," she said, staring up at Hays.

Hays's heart took off.

"Apologies, Hays, Elizabeth." Easton dipped his hat to them. "I was only joking."

"No need to apologize," Elizabeth said. "Hays is my bodyguard, not my intended."

Hays's heart seemed to wither in his chest. His grip on her softened, but even with her clarification he couldn't let her go completely.

Easton looked from Hays to Elizabeth and only arched his eyebrows. "The lake and river are over yonder." He pointed. "Would you like to see them?"

"You have a lake and river on your property?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yes, ma'am. Prettiest spot on earth."

"Almost as pretty as Jacey and Cade's valley," Elizabeth returned.

"Hey now. We're tops."

She smiled at that. "I'm sure you are. I'd never seen anything so beautiful as Cade and Jacey's home and valley … until I came here."

Hays had seen something much more beautiful than Montana scenery—her. He bit back the knock-knock joke he wanted to say to her.

They walked with Easton to the north, and eventually the thickly-wooded trail opened up into a meadow. A fast-moving river cut through the forested mountainside and deposited into a wide, blue mountain lake, then the water exited the lake through a small dam, snaking the opposite direction of where they'd come from. It was breathtaking with the green mountain, blue lake, and rushing river, but Hays immediately had a security question. "Does the fence extend over the river?" He couldn't see the fence as the river meandered away and the thick trees blocked the view.

"Yes."

"But somebody could swim under the fence?"

"Not possible. Are you looking at the same river I'm looking at? Who could swim up that current?"

"I could." He hadn't seen the river on the camera angles last night. He should've studied them more thoroughly.

Easton's eyes widened as Elizabeth nodded. "He is Superman."

Hays's heart slammed against his chest. He might be Superman, but he wanted to be her man.

"I'd like to see that," Easton said. "But first, do you want to do the rope swing?"

A rope swing when they were in mortal peril and he needed to do a more thorough assessment of their property was a bit silly, but Hays was surprised when Elizabeth's eyes lit up. "Is that similar to leaping off the cliff at Jacey's last night?"

Hays didn't have the heart to tell her that ‘cliff' was more of a rock ledge. He'd leaped off cliffs sometimes close to a hundred feet high. "Did you enjoy the jump?"

"I did." She blinked up at him. "Which is shocking, considering the stress level of that moment. Peter came at you and I was terrified he'd kill you and everyone else there. I didn't know how to convince Jacey and Quaid that my father was evil and they should go into hiding. But you bested Peter." She stared at him, and he felt like the king of the world. "I've never seen anyone best Peter."

Hays tried for humble, but what could he say? "There's some grit behind the pretty boy smile."

That wasn't humble at all, but he kept thinking of the ‘perfect' Jarom. He could bet that preppy wuss would squeal, duck, and beg for mercy at one punch.

Her eyes trailed over him, and she murmured, "Obviously." She glanced at Easton, who was patiently watching them and had thankfully remained silent. "Even amidst those intense moments, I felt carefree and happy when I jumped into the freezing lake, and I felt safe and exhilarated when …" She looked away. "When you came for me in the water."

Hays's blood swirled with tingly warmth. "Knock knock."

"Who's there?" She bit at her lip, as enticing as any woman in the world.

"Woo."

"Woo who?"

"Glad you're excited to do the rope swing and let me come for you in the water again."

She laughed, and his world lit up. If they'd been alone, he would've tried a different knock-knock joke and gone for a kiss.

"You really want to do the swing?" Easton asked. "In your tank top and shorts?"

"I jumped in the lake in a dress." Elizabeth shrugged. "It adds to the thrill. As if we're breaking societal rules by not wearing swimsuits."

Hays fell even deeper for her. He could only imagine what ‘rules' she'd had to live by. When he'd known her as an eighteen-year-old, he'd seen glimpses of her impulsive and fun side under the prim and proper heiress. Other students thought she was snooty because she never engaged with them and always had guards trailing her.

Hays had caught her blue gaze on him often throughout their years in the same high school, but a multitude of girls had chased him back then. He'd been a senior and assigned her partner for the semester before he worked up the nerve to speak to her. They'd fallen in love, and his loyal and tall friends had helped him block her guards so he could hide her in janitorial closets or under stadium bleachers to sneak brilliant kisses.

"You are just like Jacey," Easton pronounced.

"I am?" Elizabeth put a hand to her heart as if that was the highest compliment.

"She loved the rope swing and swimming in the lake and was always up for fun or adventure."

Hays knew Elizabeth hadn't had a lot of ‘fun' in her life.

"I'd love to try some fun adventures," she said.

Hays wanted to show her fun adventures and fun kisses.

Elizabeth smiled at Hays, and he returned it.

"Let's do it," Easton called.

She followed Easton, and Hays followed her.

Their current situation was precarious, but they had these stolen moments together, similar to their stolen moments kissing in school closets. Back then, he'd gotten the impression her family were stiff and pompous, but he had no idea how evil her parents were. She'd never revealed anything but the basics about her family.

Now he had no idea how he'd overcome her father and give her a future, but he'd fight to the end to achieve that goal for her. They had powerful allies—Sutton Smith, Aiden Porter, Quaid Raven, and the Colevilles. There was a chance Elizabeth could someday be safe, free, and possibly choose him. He'd pray for that.

He'd also savor these moments with her. They might be all he got.