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“The park,” Seth said. “It’s deserted this time of day and we can bleed off some of the stress with a walk. We can walk in opposite directions and meet at the SUV.” That plan would also allow Seth time with Teagan without interruption from Violet or Noah.
Noah stood and tugged Violet to her feet. “Sounds great to me. Let’s get out of here. My skin is crawling.”
Not good since Seth felt the same way. “Ditto.” He helped Teagan stand. “Let’s go.”
His partner opened the door an inch and peered outside. After a moment, he said, “Clear.” He threaded his fingers through Violet’s and led her outside.
Seth waited a beat, then wrapped his hand around Teagan’s. “Ready?” His gaze held hers.
“I’m fine, Seth.”
She wasn’t, but he’d let that pass for now. He gave a slight nod and headed to the SUV with her a step behind him. Wasn’t much protection, but it was all he could offer for the moment.
Ten minutes later, he parked in a deserted lot at the back of the park and came around to open Teagan’s door.
Her lips curved. “You realize I can open my door, right?”
“My mother taught me to be a gentleman, sweetheart. She would have a fit if she found out I let my woman open her own door.”
She smiled and shook her head. “Your mother would be horrified if she knew what I do for a living.”
“You might be surprised.” Audra Dixon believed women should be able to take care of themselves if their men weren’t around to do it for them. In truth, she’d be thrilled Seth was interested in a woman who probably had more lethal skills than he did.
At the entrance to the park, Noah and Violet took the path to the left, while Seth and Teagan turned to the right.
About a third of the way around the park, Seth nudged Teagan toward an unoccupied bench facing a pond with several ducks and swans swimming on the surface, calling to each other.
“Why are we sitting here?” Teagan eyed Seth. “I thought you wanted to walk.”
“I wanted us to be seen by the people monitoring us. We’re going to bore them to pieces with our walk, enjoyment of nature, and distraction with each other.”
“Wondered if you’d noticed our tail.”
“Picked them up as soon as we left the restaurant. You’ll notice I didn’t bother to lose them. If they want to talk to me that bad, I’ll give them an opening and see if they bite. It’s probably too soon, though.”
She laughed. “Nice way to sidestep Maddox’s order.”
“Hey, I’m not trying to make contact, simply leaving the door open. He can’t accuse me of going against his orders.”
“Don’t bet on it.”
“Lucky for me, I don’t work for Maddox. He’ll have to put up with my off-the-books behavior.” He draped his arm across Teagan’s shoulders. “I also enjoy watching ducks and swans.We had a pond near where I lived when I was a kid. I always begged Mom to take me to feed the ducks when school was out of session.”
“That’s a nice memory.”
“I have a lot of them.” He kissed her temple. “I gather you didn’t have a good childhood.”
She froze.
“Breathe, baby,” he murmured and waited, praying she’d gather the courage to tell him what he needed to know to protect her without having to dig for information. Seth didn’t want to learn her background that way. It felt like an invasion of privacy when he wanted more than anything to build a relationship of trust with the woman of his dreams.
Several minutes passed before she finally said, “My childhood was nothing like yours. It was a nightmare filled with pain and horror until I escaped.”
Escaped? Seth kept his breathing even, his hold on her light. The last thing he wanted to do was make Teagan feel boxed in. He waited in silence for her to continue.
“My parents were members of a cult.” She shuddered. “They were totally immersed in the doctrine, believing every word out of the prophet’s mouth.”
“What kind of doctrine?”