Guarded for Pleasure (2 page)

“I was telling you about my favorite place to go and get away. This breezy spot by the river that just begs for a picnic. I’d love to take you there sometime.”

She shuddered again. He didn’t know. Reality had finally seeped into her hormones and shut them down. Her body might yearn for Luke, Phil, and Rick, but her mind knew better. As soon as the coast was clear, she would have to take off again. She couldn’t allow them to take on her and her baggage. No matter how much she longed to let someone else handle it, she wouldn’t.

Rick shifted her off his lap and moved. She watched him walk across the room. What would it feel like to lie in his arms and know everything would be okay? To sleep safe and warm with no nightmares to haunt her?

“Here, drink this.” Rick held a glass out to her.

“What is it?”

“A little something to help you calm down.” He lifted another glass of amber colored liquid to his lips and sipped. “I think you could use it. I know I could.”

She took the cup and drained it in one swallow. A rush of fire hit her belly. Her eyes watered, and she coughed. “What the hell was that?”

“Whiskey.” He took the glass from her hands, which was good since they were suddenly numb.

The weeks of running were catching up to her. The adrenaline that had set her heart pumping now escaped her and exhaustion took hold. She was tired, so tired of it all. The alcohol relaxed her, made it possible for her to give in to the blackness that beckoned her with the promise of nothing. No worries. No fears. No running or hiding. Just an empty void.

Closing her eyes, she gave in.

Chapter Two

Meg awoke to the sounds of an argument.

“What the fuck were you thinking?” Luke sounded angry. So fierce. So protective.

“I thought we went over this last night! I thought she needed to calm the fuck down.” Rick fired back, all that golden charm lost in the heat of anger. “You didn’t see her. She was freaking out.”

They were fighting about her?

“She seemed fine when she was downstairs with me. A little tense, scared.”

“Then maybe you should have brought her upstairs. You would have seen for yourself just how tense and scared she was. I thought she was going to rip the elevator doors open.”

“Still, you shouldn’t have given her alcohol.”

“You make it sound like I was drugging her! It was a fucking shot of whiskey. I had one myself. How the fuck was I supposed to know it’d have that kind of affect on her?”

“No one could have known that. And no one is blaming you. We’re all wound a little tight right now, but arguing isn’t solving anything.” Phil interrupted them. She’d pegged him as the quiet one, the thinker. It made sense he would play the voice of reason, the peacemaker. “I think we should focus on Meg, and why she doesn’t want the cops called. Someone broke into her apartment last night, and it was obviously personal.”

“What…?” She wet her lips, which were feeling rather dry. No more eavesdropping.

Luke was at her side immediately, followed closely by Phil and Rick. Protector, philosopher, and charmer. It wasn’t fair of her to label them, especially since she was sure there was a little bit of all three in each of them.

“Are you okay?” Phil asked. He seemed to be doing a visual inspection of her from head to toe.

“Head hurt?” Luke caressed her arm as she sat up gingerly.

The room swam a bit then came into focus. “How long was I out?”

“I only gave you a shot of whiskey. I had no idea you’d pass out.” Rick looked devastated, and guilt ate at her.

Was that what the argument was about? The fact that she’d passed out?

“I haven’t been sleeping well.” Or eating well. Or relaxing. Or…so many other things. Her body must have finally worn down enough to give in to exhaustion. It had simply been rotten timing that had Rick blaming himself.

He looked down and shook his head. “I didn’t know that, Meg. I’m sorry. I was trying to help you relax a little.”

“Nice job, asshole,” Luke muttered. “I’m sure she’ll be real relaxed around us from now on.”

“Fuck you,” Rick snapped.

“And once again, this is getting us nowhere.” Phil shook his head, and when she met his gaze, he winked at her. “I think maybe you’re the only one who should be talking right now.”

“What did you find? Was there anyone in my apartment?”

“No.” Luke shook his head. He had a look in his eyes as if he was trying to delve into her brain and read her thoughts. It was way past time for her to leave.

“Good.” She smiled, striving for the calm Rick had tried to give her. “I’ll head down there now.” She stood on shaky legs, pushing their hands away when they tried to help her. “I really appreciate you checking it out for me.”

“Meg.” Luke took a step toward her.

She held her hands up, waving him off as she backed away to the door. “Really, I’ll be okay now. I let my imagination run away with me. Sorry for freaking you out, Rick.”

She bumped up against the solid form of Phil. It was hard to keep track when there were three men in the room with her.

“That’s not going to happen,” Phil said with a shake of his head. “You’ve been keeping secrets. And it appears they’ve finally caught up with you. Your only way out of this might be telling the truth.”

She shook her head. “I…I don’t know what you mean.”

“I think you know exactly what we mean…River.”

Her head whipped around at Luke’s words. She knew her eyes were wide, that all her secrets were exposed in that one unguarded moment of shock.

“How?” She shook her head, then laughed, trying to play it off. “I’m sorry. River?”

“The person who broke into your apartment left some things for you. Among them was this.” Luke held up a piece of paper. Her own face smiled back at her, along with that of her two best friends, Tara and Kat.

She remembered when they’d made those flyers, how excited they’d all been to launch a business all their own. Kat’s brother had put the money up for them, liking the idea of his very own Charlie’s Angels. That had made them all giggle. Especially since they’d had the same thought themselves. That time seemed so far away.

“Now would be a good time to start explaining things, Meg. I mean, River,” Phil said, placing his hands on her shoulders and turning her toward the couch.

She walked automatically, no fight in her. What did she say? The truth? What if the truth pulled them into the downward spiral with her?

“Stop thinking, River, and start talking.” Rick sat on the coffee table in front of her. How sad was it that she wanted to crawl back into his lap again—to feel safe and secure with his arms around her.

Phil sat on one side while Luke was on her other. It made her feel overwhelmed. It made her feel caged in and wasn’t that a feeling that dredged up memories. She pushed to her feet and turned to walk.

Luke put his hand out to stop her. “You’re not leaving until you tell us what’s going on, River.”

“It’s the only way we can help you,” Phil added.

“I will,” River said, taking Luke’s hand and giving it a squeeze before pushing it away. “I just…I need to move. I can’t…”

Luke moved his hand, understanding in his eyes. “Pace the entire room if you need to.”

She nodded and let her eyes soak in the atmosphere. The room was very masculine. Varying shades of brown meshed and fed off one another. Furniture was big and bulky but perfect for the three men who lived here. And she could attest to how comfortable the couch was.

No clutter. No family pictures hanging anywhere. Yet, it managed to look homey and comfortable. Maybe it was the pile of papers visible on the dining table, the book lying face down on an end table, or the shoes kicked off by the door.

She was on her second turn around the room when she finally felt able to start talking. In the back of her mind, she prayed it was the right thing to do.

“I went to the police academy.” She smiled, memories of that time rolling through her head. “The other two girls on the flyer went with me. We met the first day, and that was all it took to seal our friendship for life.”

The laughter, the tears, the million and one times one of them wanted to quit and the other two talked them out of it. It all filled her head. She missed them, ached to see them again. But they’d decided before she left to have no contact until they could figure out how to get Raymond to leave her alone. Six months and he still hadn’t found another woman to turn his obsession on?

She shook her head. That was petty and beneath her. She wouldn’t wish Raymond on anyone else.

“Meg? River?” Rick prompted her to continue.

“Sorry.” She shrugged her shoulders. “Memories.”

She began pacing again, arms wrapped around her waist, seeing nothing but the faces of the past.

“We were up late drinking, celebrating graduation. Tara was flipping through the channels when she found an episode of the original Charlie’s Angels.” River laughed. “We were up running around, mimicking their poses. It was the best night ever. And that was when our business idea was brought to life, in the wee early hours when the tequila bottle was long past empty. Angel Investigations was born. Kat called her brother Charlie the next day. He owns a ranch in Texas. I could tell from her side of the conversation he’d do anything for her, and she knew it.” She shrugged her shoulders and paced some more. “And that quickly, we had money and a backer. We all had the giggles that we were officially ‘Charlie’s Angels’.”

“So what happened? Did a case go wrong? Are your friends on the run, as well?” Phil stood and walked toward River, stopping within touching distance.

“No. As far as I know, they’re home, safe and sound.”

“When was the last time you spoke with them?” Rick asked softly.

“Six months ago.” River knew her voice reflected her sorrow at that.

“Why did you run? Why change your name?” Luke wanted to know.

“I met a man.”

They all groaned, and she wanted to cry at the cliché she was living. But instead, she managed a bittersweet smile.

“Men are definitely a lot of trouble,” Rick quipped, and she knew he was doing his best to lighten her mood.

“We can’t help you if we don’t know what’s going on,” Phil interjected, the voice of calm reason.

“We’ve done our best to get to know you since you moved in,” Luke added. “You can trust us, River.”

“Please trust us, River,” Rick entreated.

“We can’t protect you against things we don’t know,” Phil added.

“And make no mistakes,” Luke gritted out. “We will be protecting you. It’s what we do.”

“We’re bodyguards,” Phil answered her unspoken question. “Protection is what we do for a living.”

It was too late to walk away. They felt invested in her dilemma now. She’d managed to tug on the male caveman instincts most men seemed to have. She was betting these three had them in spades. They wouldn’t let her walk away now, not willingly. To be honest, if only to herself, she didn’t want to. She was tired of doing it all on her own. Was it so wrong to want someone else to shoulder the burden for just a little while? Did it make her weak? Or human?

It didn’t matter. She met each of their gazes and knew without a doubt, she was ready to tell them everything. Maybe fresh eyes would bring clarity. Maybe four against one would make her feel safe for the first time in a long time.

“I won’t go into all the seedy details. We met, started dating, and things began to change. Little things at first like picking out what I wore when we went out. Calling me whenever we were apart to see where I was. He became really possessive when we were around other men. He’d get angry if he saw me talking to someone. He started accusing me of flirting with others, of thinking about cheating on him. He’d back off when I confronted him on it, buy me some little gift sure to make me forgive him. And like a fool, I did.”

“Wow, you’re human. Imagine that.” Rick shook his head at her.

“I ran into a few of the guys I’d gone through the academy with. We were laughing and joking around about me being an Angel. I could tell Raymond wasn’t happy, but he was in conversation with the chief of police and mayor…” She shrugged her shoulders again.

“And you’d had enough? Decided to push him a bit?” Phil prompted.

She nodded her head. “He was becoming more than I wanted to handle. I didn’t want to deal with the constant jealousy. Plus, I’d found out that day there was a tracking device in the watch he’d given me. A fucking tracking device.”

“Wow,” Rick murmured.

“Yeah. So I laughed. I drank. I chatted and flirted with old friends and ignored Raymond most of the night.”

“What happened?” Luke asked.

“I’d decided to leave him when we got back to his place. Tell him enough was enough and grab my stuff and go. I’d packed my bags and put them inside the closet earlier.” She heaved a sigh.

Phil took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze. When she didn’t pull away, he tugged her closer and wrapped her in his arms, pulling her back against his chest. She shuddered, soaking up his strength and warmth. Amazing how much that night still affected her.

“He was quiet in the car. He didn’t yell or say anything to me. That should have been my first clue that things were off. But I was too busy going over my planned farewell speech to him, pumping myself up on righteous indignation. I crossed to the bar when we got back to his apartment. It was habit to go pour him a scotch.” She gave a snort. “He had me trained well, like such an obedient little puppy.”

“You’re here, so you weren’t all that obedient,” Luke offered with a smile.

She tried to return his smile, but she was too steeped in the past to give it much effort. “He followed me across the room. He spoke quietly. No anger and I think that scared me more than anything.”

You belong to me. Forever. And I take care of what’s mine.

I’m not one of your possessions, Raymond.

You’re mine.

She could almost feel the spittle fly from his mouth to coat her skin again. She shook with fear. But Phil was behind her, and he wrapped her tighter in his arms.