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She jerked her comm. link from the back pocket of her jeans, bringing it quickly to her ear as the raised
voices of the agents rushing for the pool area could be heard.
 Rick, dammit, where the hell are you? Sam s with me and we have incoming gunfire.
Raised voices began to fill the night as bodyguards rushed into the pool area. Several more unknown
shots were fired, but none returned as the men rushed to surround Sam as the sound of a helicopter lifting
from the front yard cut through the din of raised voices.
 Contain August. Get his ass in the house. Tara  s voice was sharp as she barked out the orders to the
bodyguards swarming around them. Dammit to hell. If he gets hit I ll kick all your asses.
 Chopper s in the air, Rick called out.  Stay put until we know where the hell it s coming from.
Goddammit, how the hell is he doing this?
Heather struggled against Sam as he pressed her closer to the tree, his body a heavy weight behind her,
an effective shield between her and any bullet that might cut through the darkness. The other agents
surrounded them, guns drawn, watching the darkness with the night vision goggles attached to their faces.
 Stay still, he growled as she struggled against him.
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 Dammit, I m supposed to be protecting you, she hissed.  Let me move!
 Listen to me. His voice roughened, savagery reflecting so harshly in his tone that she automatically
stilled.  You will not take a bullet for me, Heather. Do you understand me? You will not stand in front of
me, you will not try to protect me, or so help me God, I ll make sure you regret it.
Then he was gone.  Sam. She cried out his name as he jerked from her and began pushing his way
through the small garden. The bodyguards surrounded him as he stalked toward the house, rushing to
provide a force of protection around him.
The agents scrambled to move around him, to place themselves where they could protect him as he
pushed them roughly aside. Heather propped her hands on her hips and watched his furious face,
breathing out thankfully when he made it into the relative protection of the house.
 Son of a bitch is going to get himself killed. Rick stalked toward her.  Did you tell him that, Heather?
She shrugged, fighting the rapid beat of her heart. She made certain her shirt was in place as she faced
her boss, thankful she had managed to pull her jeans back on. Only God knew where her panties were.
 Does it do any good to tell him anything? she bit out as she tucked her gun back in the holster.
Glancing over the wall surrounding the pool, she checked the helicopter s progress as its bright lights
swept over the hill behind the house.  Where were those damned dogs? I thought they were patrolling
the hill back there.
 Not in the dark. Rick shook his head sharply.  It s just too damned dangerous for the animals and the
men. It would be a hell of a lot easier if you could keep Sam s ass in the house.
 Me? Incredulity rocked her system.  What in the hell makes everyone think that man listens to me?
 He follows you around like a fucking buck during rut, he snapped.  Don t pretend he doesn t. You
have house duty from now on, no exceptions.
Heather shook her head desperately.  Forget it. You know what goes in there at night, Rick. I d get
everyone killed. I d never keep my mind on the job.
For some reason the August men thought the family room was the place to fuck, rather than their
bedrooms. She avoided that room at all costs. She avoided any room but her own until after everyone
else had settled down for the night.
 Do what the rest of them do, he snarled then.  Join the others in the kitchen for coffee or park your
ass at the front or back door. I don t fucking care which, but keep your ass in the house. That bastard
gets his ass killed and Cade will kill us.
 Why don t I just go ahead and fuck him then? Sarcasm laced her voice.  Hell, Rick, that would solve
everything, wouldn t it?
 Damned right. And it s not like you re not itching to do it. He faced her, anger tensing his body as
bodyguards milled around them and the helicopter continued to search the hill behind the house.  I don t
give a damn how you keep yourself in the house, just fucking do it.
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She would have snapped back. Would have told him where the hell he could shove his orders if he
hadn t stalked off as her mouth opened to blast him. A growl of frustration broke past her lips as she
barely restrained herself from stomping her foot in fury.
 Damn, Heather, I can t believe you don t want to guard that August hard body. Amusement echoed in
the female voice as a chuckle reached her ears.
Heather turned back again as she watchedHelenaapproach her. She was still breathing hard, sweat
gleaming on her face as her blue eyes regarded her with a laughing glint.
Heather shook her head as she took a deep, weary breath.
 Men should be outlawed, she bit out.  Excuse me, Helena, I m going to go see if I can find out if
anyone, anywhere, has any idea what the hell happened to security tonight.
Not that Heather had much hope for answers at this point. All she had was questions. The least of
which, was how the hell the stalker had gotten on that damned hill without being spotted. And had he
even been on the hill? That bullet had been too close, the aim too precise. Somehow, it wasn t adding up.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Heather couldn t forget her confrontation with Sam in the pool area the night before, or the stalker and
how easily a bullet could have taken out the back of his head. Chills raced over her body each time she
thought of it, and she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that if Sam were killed, then the August family
would be irreparably damaged. Until they all faced the past, there would be no true healing for any of
them.
The three men had formed an exceptional bond together in their sharing, one Sam had denied all but
once over the past months. He hadn t gone to his brothers women, and his brooding anger had only
intensified.
The conversation the night before between her and Sam wore at her suspicions regarding them all. She
had noticed over the months the lengths the other men went to in protecting Sam, in keeping the
memories carefully hidden. She had thought it had been a form of mercy. Their own memories were
brutally clear, she believed. She had believed they hadn t wanted that for him. But now she knew it had
to go much deeper.
She knew Sam didn t possess many memories of the time spent confined in his abuser s basement. He
knew what happened, he knew the pain, and he remembered clearly the first weeks there. But after that,
she knew that many of the events were hazy.
Cade had not been very forthcoming with Rick on actual events. The notations in the files Rick made [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]