Page 8

CHAPTER 8

Sachie ran to the house while Teller carried the drone to the war room.

When she told Hawk, Kalea and Mr. Parkman what had happened, they abandoned the wrestling match and popcorn and hurried with her to the Brotherhood Protectors’ outbuilding, Hawk on his cell phone with ranch security.

He ended the call and reported, “They’ll run a search of the perimeter. Whoever was operating the drone over the ranch had to be close enough to maintain a signal.”

Teller had laid the drone out on the conference table and was taking pictures of it with his cell phone.

Hawk immediately placed a video call to Hank and Swede. The two men came up in separate blocks on the screen. Hank’s dark hair was wet. Swede’s pale blond hair was standing on end.

“Sorry, you caught me coming out of the shower,” Hank said.

“I’d just gone to sleep,” Swede said. “But I’m awake now.”

“What’s happened?” Hank asked.

Teller explained how the drone had dropped out of the sky and attacked them. “I’m sending images of the drone and its serial number. Maybe you can trace the owner or purchaser.”

“I can give it a try,” Swede said.

“In the meantime, is there anything else we can do?” Hank asked. “Sachie, have you heard from your former boss about online access to patient files?”

Sachie had her cell phone out, scrolling through her emails. “There’s his reply.” She frowned down at the screen. “He says he can’t allow it since I’m no longer an employee. However, he will allow me to come to the office and look over his shoulder as he goes through the patient data. He’ll be in the office tomorrow morning.” She looked up and captured Teller’s gaze. “I want to catch the first flight out of here.”

“No use going tonight, if he’s not going to be in the office until morning.”

Sachie shook her head. “I can’t stay here. By coming here, I’ve brought my troubles with me. What if Kalea had been out there?”

“He’s not after me,” Kalea pointed out.

“Not yet,” Sachie said. “What if he goes after people I care about to get to me?”

“You’ll be fine tonight,” Kalea said.

“The security detail is on high alert. They’ll remain vigilant through the night,” Hawk assured her.

“They didn’t see the drone coming,” Sachie said.

“He could be out there waiting for you to leave the ranch in the dark,” Kalea argued. “It would be better if you waited until morning to head for the airport. Then at least you have a better chance of seeing the threat before he hits you broadside.”

Sachie’s gaze met Teller’s.

“It would be better to wait until morning,” Teller said. “It’s already getting dark outside. If he’s waiting, he has the advantage and will see us coming sooner than we’ll see him.”

Sachie bit down on her lip. She wanted to leave immediately, afraid that the longer she stayed, the higher the probability her stalker would find his way onto the property and hurt Kalea and her baby.

Against her better judgment, she said, “Okay. We stay one night and leave for the first flight in the morning.” And if her stalker tried to hurt Kalea, Sachie would be there to stop him. She even considered sleeping outside Kalea’s bedroom door.

“Now that that’s settled, let me show you to your rooms,” Hawk said.

With a great sense of dread, Sachie followed Hawk up the staircase to the room where he’d left her suitcase. “Teller is in the room beside yours if you need anything.”

Sachie could think of something she needed from Teller, and it wasn’t a glass of water or a piece of Ule’s pineapple coffee cake.

The instant the thought popped into her head, she fought to shut it down. She shouldn’t get used to having Teller in the same room with her twenty-four-seven. They had both been up all the previous night and needed sleep.

Sachie grimaced. What chance did she have of actually going to sleep? She hadn’t had a full night’s sleep since Luke’s death. Every time she closed her eyes, the nightmare started.

She squared her shoulders. “I’ll be fine. I think I’ll get a shower and call it a night.”

“It’s still early,” Hawk said. “You could come hang out with us in the family room.”

“Thanks, but I’m tired,” Sachie said. “I just want to go to bed, get up early and leave before anything else happens. ”

Hawk smiled. “Then good night.” He pulled the door closed with Sachie inside.

She’d wanted to spend a little more time with Teller but felt it would’ve been awkward to say so in front of his boss. So she waited near the door, listening to the conversation between Hawk and Teller. Then, the footsteps faded away, followed by the click of a nearby door closing.

Sachie fought the urge to throw open her door and march over to Teller’s room to ask if she could visit for a while to get over her jitters. As if she wasn’t already embarrassed enough. He might go running in the opposite direction or think she was a whiny baby who couldn’t stand the pressure of someone stalking her, which would be true.

No. She was better off getting that shower and lying down. Having been awake for almost thirty-six hours, exhaustion should have been dragging her down.

The drone attack had spiked her adrenaline, making it really hard to settle in for the night.

Sachie sifted through her suitcase, found her best lace panties, an oversized T-shirt and a pair of shorts. She didn’t understand people who slept nude. What if something happened in the middle of the night necessitating a hasty evacuation of their home? Maybe a fire or a tornado blowing the roof off. They wouldn’t have time to grab clothing. They’d have to bug out in their birthday suits.

Hell, Sachie had now proven the ridiculousness of sleeping through the night nude. If she’d been nude when her home had been invaded, she might have been one of those people forced to run out into the yard as naked as the day she was born. She could imagine the look on Mrs. Henderson’s face had she run over and banged on her door, begging to be let in, wearing nothing but the fear on her face.

Her lips quirking at the image in her mind and clutching her clothing to her chest, Sachie opened her door. Her panties chose that moment to slide out of her grip and drift to the floor. As she bent to retrieve them, a bigger, tanned hand beat her there.

She glanced up into Teller’s face, straightening at the same time as he did.

“Headed for the shower?” he asked, laying the scrap of lace across the top of the other clothing she held.

Her heartbeat fluttered and then raced, pumping blood through her veins so fast it made her lightheaded. “Yes. I am.”

“Hopefully, I saved you some hot water. I was about to sit outside my room on the upper deck and thought you might like to see what it’s like out here, where there’s so little light pollution.” He grinned. “ And there’s an overhang over the balcony that would make it hard for a drone to drop down on top of you.”

She glanced down at her clothes.

“But you’re on the way to the shower.” He stepped back. “Don’t let me stop you. It felt good to wash off the smell of smoke. When you’re done, if you feel like it, you could join me. I’ll still be out there.” Teller gave her a brief nod and disappeared through the door to his room, closing it behind him.

For a moment longer, Sachie stared at the door, trying to decide whether she wanted to postpone the shower and join Teller immediately, take the shower and join him afterward, or be smart, shower and go straight to bed.

She chose to get her shower and think about options two and three while she washed away the stench of smoke from her hair and skin. After drying off, dressing and brushing the tangles from her hair, she left the bathroom and crossed the hall to her room. As she did, she glanced toward Teller’s closed bedroom door, no closer to making up her mind to join him on the upper deck or going straight to bed.

Inside her bedroom, she dropped her dirty clothing in a heap next to her suitcase and walked over to the French doors that led out onto the upper deck that wrapped around the ranch house .

As he’d said he would, Teller sat in a chair, looking out at the night sky.

Before she could think too hard about the pros and cons of spending the evening stargazing with Teller, she gripped the doorknob, twisted it and stepped out on the deck, barefoot and braless beneath the oversized T-shirt.

Teller glanced her way. “I’ve never seen the Milky Way as clearly as tonight. Check it out.”

Sachie sank into the chair beside him and stared out at the night sky filled with so many stars it looked unreal, and Teller was right. The Milky Way spread across the heavens as if someone with a giant brush had painted a swath of sparkling magic to the south. Sachie sat back and absorbed the wonder, awestruck at the brilliance of nature.

For a long time, they sat in silence. Sachie never felt awkward that they didn’t say a word. The night air was decidedly cooler than earlier, making her nipples pucker. She crossed her arms over her chest, lest Teller cast a glance her way and notice the points created against the soft fabric of the T-shirt.

He didn’t say anything.

Eventually, she relaxed and gave in to the peace and beauty.

“I never get tired of the skies over Hawaii,” Sachie whispered .

“Did you grow up outside the light pollution?” Teller asked.

Sachie shook her head. “No. I escaped the light pollution as much as I could. I lived in a house on the side of a hill. When I couldn’t handle life at home a moment longer, I’d climb the hill and drop down over the other side. I couldn’t completely escape the lights, but it was much better on that side of the hill. I could see the stars and a little of the Milky Way—not like I can now, but enough to give me hope.”

“Did you need hope?” he asked, his voice gentle in the darkness.

“I did,” she responded. “I know exactly how Luke felt that day in my office. I swore that if I made it to adulthood, I’d do everything in my power to help kids know that they aren’t alone, that things can get better.”

Teller turned toward her, the light from the stars glinting off his eyes. “Like they did for you?”

She nodded and then laughed. “Well, until recently.”

“We’ll find the guy,” Teller said.

Sachie sighed. “This view gives me hope. Witnessing something this beautiful and vast can’t be a once-in-a-lifetime event. I’d like to be around to see it again.”

Teller reached out a hand. “And you will. ”

She laid her hand in his. “Promise?”

“Damn right.” He closed his fingers around hers and held her hand for another ten or fifteen minutes.

Sachie lost track of time, preferring to live in the moment. If she could, she’d stay there for the rest of the night. It beat going to bed and sinking into the nightmare sure to haunt her in her sleep.

All too soon, Teller squeezed her hand gently and said, “We should call it a night. Our flight leaves early, and I want to be there at least an hour early.”

Sachie didn’t express the disappointment she felt, nor the trepidation roiling in her gut at the idea of closing her eyes. She let Teller draw her to her feet and, surprisingly, into his arms.

He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I hope you sleep well.”

She lifted her face to him. “And I hope you do as well,” she whispered.

He stared down into her eyes, his own dark, enigmatic pools.

Holding her close, his body pressed to hers, all he had to do was lean down a little, and he’d be close enough to kiss her. On her lips, not her forehead.

Never in her life had Sachie wished so hard for a man to claim her lips.

When he stepped away, her heart sank into her belly .

Hell, what had she expected? He was there to protect her, not kiss her.

About to duck into her room and scream her frustration into her pillow, she was stopped by strong arms coming up around her and drawing her close again.

“I want to kiss you,” Teller said. “But only if you want me to.”

She stared up into his face. “More than you can imagine.”

He chuckled. “I can imagine a lot.” His hand rose and brushed a strand of her hair back from her face. “It should be wrong to kiss you.”

She raised her hands to rest against his chest. “Why? I want you to kiss me.”

“You’re my client,” he said. “But no matter how wrong it should be...” he cupped the back of her neck and leaned down until his lips hovered over hers, “...it feels so right.”

Her patience exceeding its limit, Sachie rose on her toes and pressed her lips to his, taking the decision out of his hands. She wanted the kiss so much that she was certain screaming into a pillow would not have been enough to ease her frustration.

But this kiss...

He started out slowly, gently exploring her mouth. When his tongue tested the seam between her lips, she opened to him, letting him past her teeth. He swept her tongue in a long, languorous caress that made her entire body tingle and then burn as her blood heated and her pulse quickened.

Sachie curled her fingers into his shirt, bringing him closer, urging him to take more. Every part of her yearned for more. She couldn’t get close enough, wishing she could press her skin to his, unfettered, unblocked by the fabric separating them.

When she raised her hands to encircle the back of his neck, he lifted his head, cupped her cheek and smiled down at her in the starlight.

“We should call it a night,” he said, his voice as rough as gravel. His thumb traced her lips, and he bent once more to brush his lips where his thumb had been. Then he stepped back. “Morning will be here before we know it.”

Kissing this man once had only made her want to do it again.

Yet, Teller seemed content to stop at one.

“Good night, Sachie,” he said.

“Good night,” she managed to say.

Teller turned toward his door.

When she didn’t move, he stopped, his brow dipping.

“You go on. I want to sit out here a little longer,” she said .

His frown deepened. “I can’t leave you out here. What if your stalker turns up?”

“Kalea and Hawk assured me the security is tight.” She forced a smile. “I’ll be fine. You must be exhausted. Please, don’t stay up on my account.”

Again, he shook his head. “I’m not going in until you do.”

She glanced toward her door, her belly clenching. If she returned to her bedroom and climbed into the bed, she’d lie awake for as long as she could. But once she succumbed to exhaustion, the same dream would return, forcing her to relive the event, to stand by as her patient ended his life. She’d hear the echo of the blast, feel the splatter of blood across her face and feel the overwhelming sense of failure that weighed heavily on her heart.

“Hey,” Teller touched a finger beneath her chin and turned her to face him. “Are you afraid to go to sleep?”

She lifted a shoulder and let it fall. “It’s more a fear of closing my eyes. When I do, it’s like my eyelids are a screen in a cinema, and the film is the same one every time.”

“That day in your office?” he asked softly.

She nodded. “I haven’t slept all night since. I get anxious when I think about going to bed. I know I need rest, but there’s nothing restful about closing my eyes. I lay for a long time, fighting sleep, fighting the inevitable.” She grimaced. “But that’s not your problem. You just need me to go inside so you can.” She nodded. “I’ll go.” When she reached for the doorknob on the French door, his hand covered hers.

“Would it help if I stayed with you?” he asked. “Maybe if you’re not alone, you could sleep more peacefully.”

“You’d do that? I’m pretty sure that’s not part of your job description.”

“No, but I know what it’s like to be afraid to close your eyes, to be forced to relive, over and over, an event so horrific it steals a piece of your soul every time.”

She held his gaze, noting the shadows beneath his eyes and the intensity of truth in the set of his jaw. The man had been a soldier on a Delta Force team. He’d seen violence, death and heartache. He understood what was happening to her.

“If it makes you feel better, I’ll stay with you only until you go to sleep.” He held up his hands. “This isn’t an offer to make love. It’s an offer from one friend to another. A friend who’s been there.”

She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. If she had him stay with her until she went to sleep, would she actually go to sleep or lie awake wishing his offer was to make love? Then she could stay awake all night completely occupied and too busy exploring every inch of his incredible body to sink into her nightmare.

Or she could suck it up, go to bed on her own and avoid the temptation that was this Delta Force soldier who made her feel more alive than she had in... well...forever.

“Okay,” she said.

“Okay, you want me to stay until you go to sleep? Or okay, get lost, don’t be ridiculous, I’m a badass and can sleep on my own without some cocky son of a bitch babysitting me.” He grinned.

Her lips curved upward in a smile. “Okay, I’d like for you to stay until I go to sleep. Maybe having someone with me will keep the dreams away.”

“All right then,” he slid a hand beneath her elbow and guided her to her door. “Let’s prove the theory.”