Dane shrugged and leaned against the counter as she washed dishes. “It’s no big secret really, and you’ll probably understand more than most civilians. I want a semi-normal life and a chance to meet someone and start a family.”

Calista jerked around in surprise. She hadn’t meant to spin around so fast but his statement caught her off guard.

“Don’t look so shocked.” Dane took one of the clean plates from her hand and dried it off.

“No, I’m sorry, that’s not what I meant. I assumed you had…someone.”

It seemed impossible that a man as ruggedly attractive as Dane wasn’t involved with anyone. She might not exactly see eye to eye with the man, but she wasn’t blind. At least not anymore. After he’d kissed her in the hotel, it was like a light switch had gone off.

“No.” The word was said quietly but she saw something flash in his eyes.

“But there was someone.” Calista said it more as a statement than a question. She handed him the last clean plate and sat at the table.

“A long time ago, yes.”

Calista stared waiting for him to continue, a little shocked that he’d opened up as much as he had. When he didn’t offer anything else, she started to rise from her seat but his words stopped her.

“I was twenty-two at the time and about to end my last tour of active duty. I was a translator among other things. Being gone so much was taking a toll on all my relationships. My last month overseas I received a ‘Dear John’ letter. I hadn’t planned to stay in the same line of work, but after that, my decision was easy. I’d made some pretty good contacts in the Marines, so when I got out I took a job offer that was too good to resist for an adrenaline junkie like me.” He shrugged and sat back, but his eyes called out.

She had the sudden urge to reach out and comfort him. Not out of pity. She just wanted to wipe away that look. His piercing blue eyes were haunted and lonely, and didn’t fit in with the Dane she thought she knew.

He must have known what she was thinking because he stood up so abruptly his chair scraped against the stone floor. “It was a long time ago. I’m not even sure why I told you. I’ll see you in the morning.”

****

Before retiring to his room, Dane checked on Nikolai’s progress. When his cousin didn’t look up from his computer or even acknowledge his presence, he unpacked and started a cold shower. Normally he’d take a steaming hot shower, but tonight called for something more drastic. He silently cursed himself in disgust as the water rushed over his body.

What had possessed him to open up to her like that? The last fourteen years of his life had been so shrouded in mystery sometimes he couldn’t remember his real name. He’d never told anyone what he’d told her. Anyone.

When she stared at him with those sexy green bedroom eyes, he wanted to tell her everything. He doubted she realized it, but she was seriously fucking with his head.

“What are you doing?” He muttered under his breath as he twisted the knob off.

He quickly dried off then slipped underneath the black and white sheets of the queen-sized bed. It might be a guest room, but her sweet scent permeated everything. The room itself wasn’t overly feminine, but it was delicate. Like Calista.

A small Oriental-style chest with a globe on top of it sat in the corner of the room. Two antique-looking tables encased both sides of the bed. He didn’t know much about furniture, but he guessed most of the stuff was expensive. Black and white prints of European cities covered three of the walls. That was one thing they had in common, they’d both traveled all over the world. Not that it mattered. He was here to do a job. Nothing more.

No matter how much he told himself that this was just a job, the last image he had before drifting to sleep was of Calista with very little clothing on.

Chapter 8

“This is getting to be ridiculous!” Calista fumed to Dane and Nikolai.

The two men had been guarding her for close to a week and there had been no further contact from her stalker. She was working eight to twelve hour days and what little free time she had was spent as a prisoner in her own home.

“Maybe we can work something out.” Dane’s pacifying tones only served to spur her anger.

If she heard “maybe” one more time, she might scream.

“We need to do something to bring this guy out in the open,” Calista said. “Isn’t there some way we can bait him? Anything is better than this waiting around.”

“That’s the last thing you want to do,” Nikolai said. “I just got back the profile of this guy, and by the tone of these letters, he’s patient and very intelligent. The only problem is he’s completely unstable. Calista, if this guy gets near you there’s no telling what he’ll do.”

“It just seems like we should be doing something more.” She flopped down on one of armchairs in the living room and put a pillow over her head. Her house phone rang.

Both men held up hands for her to stop moving. She rolled her eyes. Did they think she’d forgotten the drill already? When Dane pointed at her she picked up the phone.

She gripped the receiver in a death grip to stop her shaking hand. “Hello?”

“Cal? Hey, it’s Lexi.”

Calista and the two men all sighed in audible relief as if they had all been holding their breath. “Why did your number show up as unknown?”

“What? Oh, I’m calling from the center. Why aren’t you answering your cell phone? I tried it a few times and got worried when it went directly to voice mail on my third try.”

Nikolai pulled his earphones off and turned off the recording device he’d attached to the phone.

“I must have it on silent.” She raked a hand through her hair and motioned towards her bedroom to the two men.

“I figured it was something like that, but with everything that’s been going on I can’t help but worry about you.”

Dane and Nikolai had originally been against her telling anyone about the stalker but that was a fight they never had a chance of winning. Not telling her three closest friends was never an option. Calista couldn’t have lived with herself if she hadn’t made her friends aware of what was going on. Now they were all more conscious of their surroundings. It wasn’t much, but it gave her some peace of mind.

“I have a sort of favor to ask you. That is if the two thugs you’re living with will allow it.” Lexi hadn’t met Dane and Nikolai, but Calista hadn’t exactly given them rave reviews to her friends.

“Don’t worry about them.”

“I have a formal dinner function next Saturday that I absolutely have to attend and I don’t have a date. It’s a fundraiser with tons of rich people, none of whom I know, including the mayor. I was hoping you could be my plus one. Amber and Sarah can’t come. You’re my last hope.”

It seemed like everywhere any of them were invited they were expected to bring a “plus one.” It was sort of their inside joke when they didn’t have a date.

“I don’t care what they say,” Calista said. “I’m going. I’ll call you back later and get the details. I’ll let them know about the party now so they have time to get used to the idea.”

“If they need specifics, it will be in the Roosevelt room at the Radisson and it starts at nine.”

“Thanks, I’ll talk to you soon.”

After Lexi disconnected, Calista braced herself for battle. In reality they couldn’t stop her.

“We need to talk.” She announced as she walked back into the living room. She gave them the brief rundown of Lexi’s call and wasn’t surprised when, in unison, they said no.

“No, no, no. Absolutely not. There will be too many exits and we don’t have enough manpower to watch everyone who comes in and out,” Nikolai said.

“I don’t care. You two are both ex-CIA. I think with all that training you should be able to figure something out. He is after all, just one man. If you can’t protect me then maybe I should hire someone else.”

Maybe she shouldn’t have taunted them, but a girl could only take so much. Her stalker had already won by forcing her to live like a prisoner.

“It must be nice to live in that little fantasy world of yours where everyone does as you say and nothing bad happens,” Dane snapped. “This isn’t just your life in danger, but your friends as well. What if something were to happen to the woman you want to go with? Don’t you care about her life at all?”

Calista flinched as if he had physically struck her. Of all people, how could he ask her that? She opened her mouth to speak, when she felt a wave of tears coming on.

“Excuse me. I’ll see you both at dinner.” Her voice cracked, but she pivoted on her heel before they could respond.

She paced the interior of her walk-in closet and tried to gather her thoughts. Feeling more rational than she had in weeks, she pulled on a fitted suede jacket, a pair of oversized sunglasses, and quietly made her way to the front door. From the living room, she could hear hushed voices coming from Nikolai’s room. This was her only chance and she was going to take it.

Seconds later, she stood in front of the elevator with a sense of liberation. Calista punched the elevator button a little harder than necessary and glanced back over her shoulder. If she could just get away from Dane, she could think straight. The ding of the elevator caused her to jump. She stepped in and slumped against the wall when it started to descend. Simply sitting in a coffee shop with her thoughts would calm her. No one was going to kidnap her from Starbucks.

Calista sailed past the doorman and ignored his stunned look. No doubt he was surprised she was without her constant, hulking shadows. She waved at him, but didn’t stop when he tried to talk to her. There was a Starbucks three blocks away and she would be free to relax as she pleased. Part of her brain screamed that it was foolish to leave unescorted, but she silenced the noisy bitch with thoughts of a steaming hot mocha. She might even bring something back for the men.