Page 11 of Hunted Hearts (Black Heart Security #6)

But watching her cry silently, her shoulders drawn in tight, her fingers twisting in the hem of her dress—had damn near broken him.

Almost made him forget that he wasn’t here to feel .

His hands flexed at his sides, curling into fists when the phantom sensation of holding her surged up his arms. The weight of her pressed against him back at the venue still lingered on his skin.

Her breath trembling against his neck, the tremor in her frame, the way she’d melted against him when she had nothing else to cling to.

It burned, piercing and hot, and he had to grit his teeth to shake it off. No more close calls. Not with her. Not with anyone. He refused to live through another night like this.

While Theo and Juliette stood with her team, Denver made a quick run to the local convenience store for drinks. He handed off paper cups to everyone gathered. Juliette’s team accepted with quiet murmurs of thanks.

They were all shaken and quiet, but most importantly, safe. They all clutched their coffee like it could anchor them back to their version of normal, which to anyone else, was pretty far from normal.

Theo accepted his without comment and scanned the line of pale faces.

“Time to pack it in.” His voice carried on the breeze. “We’re done here. No more concerts. No appearances. Everyone goes home.”

A murmur rolled through the group, but what he took note of was the way Juliette’s fingers tightened on her cup.

He dragged his gaze away from her. “You all lie low for now, check in once a day. And keep my number handy. It’s Juliette this person wants to scare, but if you’re even the least bit concerned, I want you to call. No matter what time, day or night.”

“We can’t just cancel—” Rachel started to argue, but Theo cut her off with a look.

This wasn’t up for debate.

Juliette’s fingers tightened on her cup so much that he feared the hot liquid would spill over her slender fingers.

“Canceling everything?” Her voice was an echo, almost too soft to pick up over the wind blowing through the valley.

“Yes.” He turned his gaze on her, steady and immovable. “We’re going to the ranch. Your team goes home. No one’s in immediate danger, but we’re not leaving doors open.”

Her chin trembled, but she lifted it, meeting his eyes. “Theo. I can’t just quit the tour.”

“You’re not quitting—you’re postponing it. No concerts are worth your life, Juliette.”

Her pouty lips pulled into a straight line. It made him want to step up close to her and brush the pad of his thumb over them.

“It’s not about the fame,” she tried again.

He exhaled slowly. “Yeah. I know that now.” His tone softened, the edge in it dulling for the first time since the alarms had gone off. “It’s about the kids. The charity. But you can’t help them if you’re gone, Juliette. And if we don’t lock this down, that’s exactly what’s going to happen.”

Her lips parted, but no words came out. She stared at the asphalt like it might give her a new argument.

Rachel stepped up to her and pulled her into her arms. “Jules, Theo’s right. We should all go home, and you need to stay safe.”

He could see her struggle in the red streaks mottling her throat, but she hugged her publicist and stepped back, reaching for the others next. One by one, she embraced them all. As they took their leave of each other, Theo nodded to his brother.

“You see them safely to the airport. Make sure they get where they need to go.”

“Copy.” Denver held out his fist, and Theo bumped it with his own. “See you when I see you.”

“That will be soon. I’m taking her to the Black Heart.”

Denver gave him an amused look. “Paint peeling off the walls, brother.”

“Shut up. This is purely about safety. And there’s no place safer.”

“I won’t argue with that. See you at home, then.”

In minutes, Theo and Juliette were standing side by side, watching the SUV filled with the people they both cared about driving down the road.

He turned to her. The breeze caught a tendril of her hair and made it dance around her pretty face.

“This isn’t random,” he stated, his voice low.

He stopped, a thought hitting him like a cold snap.

Juliette’s head lifted. “What is it?”

“There’s a pattern,” he muttered, more to himself than to her. “Every threat, every incident, they’ve all been tied to your appearances for the charity. Nowhere else. Not rehearsals. Not general press junkets. Just charity events.”

Her brow furrowed. “No. There’s no way. That doesn’t make sense.”

“Doesn’t mean it’s not true.”

She started babbling—fast, frantic, talking with her hands as he’d seen her do before. Denials spilled from her lips as she shook her head. “It can’t be that. These events are about helping kids. They’re good things. No one would—”

He didn’t think.

Didn’t plan.

He just moved.

Theo’s hand slid to her jaw, tilting her face up as his mouth found hers. The kiss was firm and deliberate—enough to shock her into silence.

She froze for a second, then melted, her lips parting under his as the world around them blurred into nothing but heat and the faint taste of coffee lingering between them.

He stopped hearing the rush of the wind in his ears and only heard the throb of his own heart and her soft, quivering sigh.

When he finally pulled back, her eyes were wide and dazed, her breath coming fast. “What was that for?” Her whisper was ragged.

“There’s only two ways to calm someone down when they’re spinning out.” His own was rough. “And I wasn’t going to hit you.”

Her lips parted again, but this time, nothing came out. She searched his face as if trying to make sense of something he didn’t understand either.

Theo straightened, scanning the lot. “I’m taking you to Black Heart Ranch.”

Juliette stood rooted for a moment, her fingers resting on her lips as if she wasn’t sure what just happened. “Where is that?”

“I’d tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.”

She blinked.

“I’m joking, Juliette. It’s my family’s ranch in Wyoming. The security team is based there. You’ll be safe while we find out who is after you.”

She twined her fingers together in front of her. “How do we get there? Drive?”

“We fly.”

“Okay. Well, I’d like to get a sweater from my luggage. I’m not really dressed for travel.” She glanced down at the emerald gown that fit her like a glove. She was beautiful even with the tearstains on the hem and the wrinkles from her bunching the fabric in her fists.

“Come on. I’ll open the back for you to get that sweater.” He walked her to the rear of the vehicle and opened the liftgate.

She shifted her suitcase around to access the zipper. After she pulled out a sweater, she paused and unzipped the bag the whole way.

“Theo…my pill dispenser. It’s not in my suitcase. I left it in the last hotel! I don’t have any of my supplements.”

“I’ll replace it.”

Her brow creased. “That dispenser was expensive. We can’t just leave it behind!”

He gave her a long look. The woman had money. She oozed it. But she didn’t flaunt it. And the fact that she was upset about losing something that could be so easily replaced with a few clicks of a button made his heart stutter in his chest.

“Juliette,” he said, his tone final, “we can replace it. We’re not going back. Get in the SUV.”

Her lips pressed into a thin line, frustration flashing in her eyes.

“You can sit up front.” He caught her gaze and gave her the closest he could come to a smile when he was reeling from everything that happened.

Was happening between them.

She issued a little watery laugh but she didn’t argue further.

Within minutes, they were on the road again, tires humming on asphalt as they pulled out of the lot and headed toward the city’s small private airstrip.

Theo kept his hands steady on the wheel, his gaze fixed on the road. Every muscle in his body was wound tight.

It didn’t help one bit that his mind kept circling back to the woman beside him—the warmth of her kiss still ghosting on his mouth, the feel of her weight in his arms when he carried her away from the burning building with her violin he saved in his clutch.

And the stubborn, aching truth that she was quickly becoming anything but a job.

The plane was waiting when they arrived, the engines humming low and the stairs already lowered. The Wyoming sky and the quiet of the Black Heart felt a lifetime away, but at least there, he could keep her safe.

At least there, he could breathe.

If he could remember how.