The SUV rolls into the clearing. Doors open. Three huge men step out, moving with purpose, faces hidden in shadows.
I look at Aaron. He’s already sliding me deeper into the truck bed, pulling a heavy tarp over us both. Darkness swallows everything.
His body covers mine. He feels solid, warm, protective. One scarred hand stays lightly over my mouth, gentle but ready. His heartbeat is steady against my back. Mine is a wild storm in my chest.
The men’s voices carry. They’re muffled and angry.
“Where the hell is she?”
“Jeep’s here. She’s here somewhere.”
“Spread out. Find her.”
Boots crunch closer, gravel shifting under weight.
Aaron’s lips brush my ear, barely a whisper. “Breathe with me. Slow.”
I do. In. Out. Matching the rise and fall of his chest against my back. His body is a wall between them and me—hard muscle, controlled strength, the faint scent of soap and leather wrapping around me like a promise.
Minutes stretch. The footsteps circle the Jeep, pause near the tree line, then fade.
The SUV starts again, doors slamming, engine growling as it retreats.
They’re gone.
Aaron waits another full minute before he peels back the tarp.
Moonlight floods in again.
He helps me sit up, his scarred hands steady on my arms, lingering just a second longer than necessary. The touch sends a spark up my skin, unexpected but not exactly unwelcome.
I pull away, rubbing my wrists. “You could’ve just introduced yourself like a normal person.”
“Would you have come quietly?” His low voice rumbles, that drawl pulling at something low in my belly.
“No.”
“Then I made the right call.”
I glare at him, but it’s hard to hold when his face is this close. His strong jaw clenched, scar catching the light, blue eyes steady and intense, like he knows I’ll do whatever he says.
“This is kidnapping,” I say, voice sharper than I feel.
“This is protection.” He lifts me out of the truck bed with ease, hands on my waist, warm and sending another jolt through me.He sets me on the ground but doesn’t step back right away. We’re inches apart. I can feel the heat radiating off him.
“Protection from what?” I demand, ignoring the way my body reacts to his nearness.
“From the men who were coming to kill you tonight.” He rounds the truck, opens the passenger door for me. “Get in.”
I don’t move. “Prove it. Prove Laura hired you.”
He pulls a burner phone from his coat pocket, dials a number from memory, and puts it on speaker.
It rings twice.
Laura’s familiar worried voice comes through the speaker. “Jenkins? You have her?”
Aaron’s eyes meet mine. “I have her.”
