Broken Pasts (3 page)

CHAPTER 4

I
stared at the phone number on the notepad that Jamie had left me.

PPSD
was scrawled across the top of the white and pink lined paper
with the tiny butterfly silhouettes. I had bought it for Rhea to
take to school, but she hadn't wanted it.

“
Butterflies
are for pussies,” she'd said defiantly. Glen would've burst an
artery to hear her talk like that. I'd just ignored it and let Jamie
pull it from my hand where she'd jotted down the information for
Personal Private Security Detail.

“
They
are awesome,” she'd told me as she tapped the paper with her
bright, red fingernails. “During our last case, we had a whole
slew of psychos picketing around the office. They were so convinced
that this guy was innocent that they were attacking anybody involved
with the case. So,” she slapped the pad with the back of her
hand. “We hired PPSD. They sent over these big burly guys in
camo.” She noticed my twitching lip and paused, putting her
hand on my arm for reassurance. “If you prefer a guy in a
suit, they've got that, too. They're all ex-military or martial arts
geniuses or whatnot and most of them are
tight.
” I
rolled my eyes.

“
Jamie,
the last thing I need is a new man. Trying to get rid of my old one
here, remember?”

“
They'll
protect you, Theresa,” she protested. I was already shaking my
head. “Just until you learn to use that gun, get some new
locks, change your phone number … ”

“
How
much?” I asked skeptically. Employing a trained soldier
twenty-four/seven could not come cheap.

“
I'll
give you some money,” Jamie had said and then paused. “And
if you need him longer, you could always dip into your house money.”

“
No.”
That was that. Jamie had written me a massive check that I felt
horrible for taking and had taken Rhea to school for me only after I
had sworn on my life that I would call as soon as she had left.

“
This
is nuts,” I told myself as I picked up the phone and dialed the
number.

“
Personal
Private, this is Emily. How may I help you?”

“
I,
uh.” I had no idea what to say. That my ex-husband may or may
not have been purposely driving down my street last night? That he'd
been a little weird in the parking lot the night before? That my
best friend was paranoid and it was really nothing and I had no idea
what I was doing. “My husband is stalking me.” Emily
tsk-tsked and I could hear keys pounding a million miles an hour as
she typed.

“
You
were right to call us,” she said, taking control of the
conversation. I couldn't have been more grateful. “We have a
couple employees who specialize in stalking. They can act as a
witness to your case and help you document the incidents. Without
that, the police can't do a thing.” She paused. “Have
you gone to the police yet, Ms. … ” It took me a moment
to realize I hadn't given her my name.

“
Theresa
McMaster. And, uh, no. I haven't gone to the police.” I
hadn't even thought about doing that. I mean, it wasn't such a big
deal yet, right? “I feel silly,” I admitted as Emily
continued typing.

“
Why's
that?” she asked me as she made a little
ooh
in the back
of her throat. “Nathaniel is free and he's absolutely lovely.
What's your budget, darling?”

“
Um,”
I didn't know which question to answer first. I told her the amount
on Jamie's check.

“
Per
week?” she asked. I stared at the four figures in front of me
and tried not to choke.

“
Um,
total?” I asked more than told her. “I just need him
until I get the house secured. I mean, I don't even know why I'm
really calling. I mean, Gary hasn't exactly done a whole lot other
than call me.”
And corner you in a dark parking lot.
Remember the threats he made to you before you left? What if he
acted out on them? What about Rhea? No amount of paranoia is too
much to keep her safe.
Emily stopped talking and I could just
imagine her sitting in front of me, gray hair coiffed atop her
delicate head, blue eyes twinkling as she took my hands in hers and
tried to reassure me. Maybe I was way off course, but that's what I
saw in my head. Emily was an excellent saleswoman.

“
When
it comes to your personal safety, there's never a reason to feel
ashamed. You have the right to take advantage of your destiny, don't
you, Theresa? If it turns out that this is nothing, that you're
overreacting, then this will pass and you'll go on with your life.
If you're not and this man attacks you, you'll be safe and you'll
still have a life. Isn't that worth the expense?” I sat there
in silence for a moment before sighing heavily.

“
Nathaniel,
was it?” I asked. Emily chuckled and an hour later, a man in a
dark suit was standing on my porch, ready to flip my world upside
down.

***

Three
times I picked up the phone to call and cancel. Three times I put it
back on the counter and paced while I waited for my very own
bodyguard.

“
This
is just too weird,” I said as I grabbed the phone one last
time. “And way too expensive. What was I even thinking?”
I stared at the screen, at the eight missed calls from Gary and then
dialed the number for PPSD.

“
Personal
Private, this is Emily. How may I help you?”

“
Emily,
I – ” I started to speak when the doorbell rang. A
brusque knock followed, loud and authoritative, strong.

“
Ms.
McMaster?” she asked and I was surprised she recognized my
voice. “Is everything okay? Nathaniel should be arriving any
moment. Are you in trouble?” I moved to the doorway and
checked out the peephole. It was indeed the infamous Nathaniel. At
first glance, the man looked exactly as I'd suspected. Tall, clean
cut, dark hair, dark glasses, dark suit. Average, normal, tough.
But that was through the wavy, admittedly cobweb infested peephole.

“
Um,
no,” I said as I unlocked the door and started to open it.
“Actually, I was just calling to – ” As soon as I
saw him fully in the flesh, I was paralyzed. Nathaniel Sutherland
was not average, not normal, and he wasn't just tough, he was a
fucking bad ass. “Oh my god.”

“
Ms.
McMaster?” he asked as he kept his hands crossed in front of
him. I nodded and only then did he reach out and take my hand for a
shake. Electricity slithered up my fingers and pooled in my chest,
stopped my heart, and started it back up again at breakneck speed.
Nathaniel gripped my hand firmly and shook it like my father had
always said a strong person should before releasing me. “It's
a
pleasure
to meet you,” he said and I wasn't sure if I
were hallucinating or not, but I'm almost certain he emphasized the
word.
Pleasure.
“My name is Nathaniel Sutherland and
I'm from Personal Private Security Detail.” Here he paused and
removed his glasses. He didn't tear them off his face and shake his
head of deliciously soft, dark hair like they do in the movies. He
just removed them gently, folded the arms up and stuck them in the
front pocket of his suit. His eyes made my breath catch in my throat
and sent my body temperature skyrocketing. They were dark green,
smooth and polished like emeralds, deep, thoughtful.
Sexy.
“Is
that Emily on the phone?”

“
Uh.”
I was at a loss for words. Without another word, he reached out,
plucked the phone from my fingers and put it to his ear.

“
Everything
is fine here, Emily,” he said with the most wicked smile I had
ever seen on a man. “I'll call you later and update you with
Ms. McMaster's new phone number.” He ended the call and passed
the phone back to me. “May I come in?” I stepped aside
without a word and he came inside, eyes scanning the room like a
predator searching for prey. His muscles were tensed and even with
the clean, sharp lines of his suit covering him, I could see that he
was ready for action. I closed the door behind him and locked it.
He glanced over one of his broad shoulders and flashed me an
admirable smile. “Good,” he said as he turned his
attention back to my house. “We don't have to start at ground
zero with you. That's excellent.”

“
Huh?”
That's all I could think to say. Jamie had said the men she'd hired
were tight. But … wow. Nathaniel wasn't just tight; he was
deadly. He was clean shaven with pale, not pasty, just pale, skin
and full lips. His dark hair was just this side of brown, toeing
that line between black and chocolate. Nothing about his appearance
was out of the ordinary per se, but all together, the perfection that
was Nathaniel Sutherland was hard to ignore. It was the little
details that made this man: the well pressed suit, perfectly tailored
to his body, the crispness of the shirt beneath, the way his hair
fell just slightly onto his brow, like it had been sculpted there.
He was so well put together that had he had the face of a
Neanderthal, he would've looked good. And that's not to say he did.
Nathaniel Sutherland had a strong face, but it was in no way
reminiscent of a caveman. He straddled that metrosexual line, but in
a good way. H
e was clean, he
smelt good, and he was probably gay. Had to be. Had had had to. Or
else he was married. Or both.

“
You'd
be surprised how many people forget the simplest of things.”
He gestured at the handle of the doorknob. “Like locking the
front door.” He paused and, satisfied with his survey
of the living room/kitchen area, he turned fully to face me. “Would
you mind giving me a tour?” he asked and I nodded, mouth dry,
hands shaky. I even think I was starting to break out into a sweat.
Am I wearing deodorant?
I wondered.
Did I forget
deodorant?
I decided that now was not the time to check, not
with Nathaniel just a few, careful inches behind me. I moved to open
the bathroom door first when he put out his hand to stop me. “May
I?” he asked with a smile. “Just in case. That's what
I'm here for.” I nodded again, still not trusting myself to
form coherent sentences.

He
put his side against the door, keeping me behind his broad back, and
twisted the knob slowly. With reflexes I could barely follow,
Nathaniel had flung the door open and there was a handgun gripped in
his long fingers. He was pointing it into the room like he expected
Gary to be standing there, knife in hand. He then proceeded to check
behind the shower curtain and then moved over to the window where he
tested the lock.

“
Um,”
I said as I swallowed hard and finally found my voice. Nathaniel
left the bathroom, closing the door behind him as he went. He
immediately moved around me and pointed at Rhea's door. Just the
proximity of him was making it hard for me to think. Never before
had I had this reaction to a man. Not once in my
entire
life
had I been tongue tied and loopy. Five minutes after meeting him, I
was practically smitten. Not good.

“
Is
this a bedroom?” he asked me and I nodded around the rush of
blood to my head. Nathaniel held out an arm and gently used it to
push me against the wall beside him. The feel of his bicep against
my ribcage was hard to ignore. It was so … firm.

“
I
don't think this is really necessary,” I said as I watched him
repeat his sweep, this time on my daughter's bedroom. I was still
struggling to get my thoughts in order, but at least I was finally
speaking. I tried to use the situation at hand to deal with the
horrible rage of lust that had bloomed in my belly and dug its claws
into lower places. “Gary hasn't really done anything. I mean,
I'm just doing this for my friend. She's pretty paranoid. I don't
really think there's anything to worry about.”

“
Emily
informed me that he assaulted you in a parking lot,” Nathaniel
said as he paused so close to me that I could smell the minty
freshness of his breath.
Wow.
I remembered then that I
absolutely had not brushed my teeth. Heck, I'd barely combed my hair
and I was still wearing sweats and a ratty, old tank top. I had
expected a tough guy, almost sexless, with a permanent frown and a
balding head, not a thirty-something heartthrob with perfect teeth
and a deliciously dirty smile.

“
He
… I … ” I didn't know what to say to that. I
had sort of spilled everything to Emily during her questioning. I
guess she'd written it all down and given it to Nathaniel. I mean,
that made sense. Of course that's what she was doing. I flushed.
Somehow I had played our conversation off as just two girlfriends out
to lunch.
Wow, that woman is good at her job.

“
And
has he made death threats before?” I blinked my eyes and
looked directly into Nathaniel's gaze. There was a heavy pain
resting there, like he was carrying the weight of the world on his
shoulders. It was … intriguing.