Protecting The Billionaire (19 page)

By the time Rock finished his lesson an hour later, Allison’s head spun from all the information he gave her. She’d thought all you had to do was point and shoot. Now she realized just how naïve her belief had been. She still had more to learn, but at least she had some basic knowledge. That was more than she’d had a few hours ago. She hoped she never needed to use any of it.

He watched the two men get into their vehicle. Even though they didn’t wear uniforms, everything about them from the way they walked to the car they drove screamed cop. Of course it helped that Detective Wilson was so tall. Thanks to the man’s height, he was easy to remember and identify. He didn’t know the other detective’s name, but he’d find out. Having friends in the department came in handy.

Why had she called them tonight? He understood why she’d hired the bodyguard who’d stuck by her side all day yesterday and today. The shot through Raimono’s window scared her. She had no way of knowing it wasn’t intended for her. If she knew the truth, she wouldn’t have invited him into her house. No, she’d want him as far away from her as possible.

But she didn’t know the truth, which meant, thanks to the punk’s screw up, he had bodyguards now to contend with. He hoped Zane had made the punk suffer for his mistake at Raimono’s apartment.

The sedan drove away and he again wondered why she’d contacted them? She didn’t know he’d been in the house. He was too good for that. He locked up when he left and returned anything he touched back to its original place. He even took his empty water bottle with him. No, it wasn’t possible she knew he’d been making periodic visit to her house since February. Had someone else broken in? Burglaries didn’t happen often in this area, but they did occur. A robbery would account for a visit from the police. A break in would also mean the police would look for fingerprints.
Good thing I always wear gloves
.

A robbery didn’t seem right. She did have an alarm system even if it was on the older side. An average lowlife breaking in would’ve tripped it, and the place would’ve been swarming with cops much earlier.

Damn, he didn’t have a single answer. He hated not having answers. Answers meant control and power. He needed both. Tomorrow he’d pump, Kitty, his friend in the department for an explanation. Until then, he’d focus on his plans for the weekend.

He smiled at the mental image of Allison’s Marine on the ground, his shirt bright red as his blood drained from a bullet hole in his chest. He pictured himself carrying her with a blade pressed up against her neck as she kicked and screamed over her dead lover’s body. In his mind, he showed her what happened when a woman let someone else touch what belonged to him. The mental image alone made him hard.

He could hardly wait.

“
Nooo.” The faceless lunatic only laughed and pulled Allison closer. Light reflected off the blade he held as the knife moved closer to the artery in her neck. He had to get to her. Rock tried to run, but his boots sank into the cement. Across the parking lot, Allison’s stalker whispered something in her ear and kissed her cheek. Bile rose up in his throat and he yanked his feet from his boots and started running toward them.

“She belongs to me,” the stalker shouted.

Rock ignored him and looked at Allison. Tears streamed down her face, but she remained silent.

“Say goodbye, Allison,” the stalker ordered as he slid the blade along her neck, causing droplets of blood to appear.

His feet slowed, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get them to move any faster.

“I love you,” Allison shouted seconds before the stalker plunged the blade into her neck. Blood flowed down her skin and she crumpled to the ground before he reached her. At the same time, the man who’d held her captive vanished, his terrible laugh ringing in the air.

Rock dropped to his knees and pulled her close. Warm blood covered his hands as he tried to stop the bleeding.

“Ally,” he shouted out as his eyes popped open. The soft hair and warm breath against his chest reassured him Allison remained safe. It’d only been a nightmare. One similar to the dream he’d had the previous night. In that one though, the stalker hadn’t killed her. Instead, he’d disappeared with her.

Just a dream, idiot. Nothing’s going to happen to her
. He repeated the mantra to himself again. Slowly, his breathing returned to normal, but the fear clawing at his heart remained.

Reaching over, Rock grabbed his phone on the nightstand and checked the time. Not even two o’clock yet. Great, he had another two hours to lay here and stare into the darkness. He shifted in bed and folded an arm behind his head. He’d suffered from the same problem for the past three nights, and each night it got worse. Unless the cops caught Allison’s stalker soon, he’d not be sleeping at all. His lack of sleep wasn’t the only reason they needed to catch the bastard soon. Each day that passed brought him closer to June fifth, the date of his deployment. The idea of leaving her was difficult enough, but he didn’t know how he’d manage to do it if she remained in danger.

Allison’s soft hair brushed against his chest as she snuggled closer. Even though she moved, he knew she remained asleep. He envied her.
She sleeps like the dead
.

He cursed himself. The last two words he wanted together were Allison and dead.
She’s a sound sleeper.
Each morning this week, he’d managed to get up, shower and dress, and still not disturb her. Only when her own phone alarm went off did she wake up, and even then she took her sweet time getting out of bed. It was a good thing she didn’t live far from work. If she had a long commute everyday, she’d never get there on time.

Bits and pieces of his dream pushed their way into his thoughts. ‘I love you’ she’d shouted at him. It’d only been a dream, but the words still filled him with hope. She cared about him. He didn’t doubt it, but she’d never actual mentioned love. Did she love him? She wanted him to meet her dad and stepmother. That meant something. But would she be willing to wait for him to come back? A woman like her could have anyone with the snap of her fingers whenever she wanted.

I could make this my last deployment
. With everything else, he’d not considered the offer from Elite Force Security, and they wanted an answer. Eric Coleman had called him Tuesday looking for a yes or no. He’d been disappointed when Rock told him he didn’t have one yet. However, after he’d explained the situation, the director agreed to give him until the end of the month.

He’d worry about the job offer later. No matter how their relationship turned out, right now he had a job to do. He needed to keep the woman he loved safe.

Rock kissed her forehead and tried to push away the unease inside him. Everyday it grew more and more. Soon something would happen. His gut said the stalker would make his next move within a few days. This time the SOB wouldn’t just send a teddy bear or sneak into her house either. What if he wasn’t around when the bastard struck? Both her bodyguards knew what they were doing, and he’d trust Connor with his own life. But this wasn’t his life in jeopardy. Allison needed him. Unfortunately, he couldn’t stick by her side twenty-four seven. They both had responsibilities.

Allison bolted upright next to him, and he switched on the bedside light, all thoughts of the stalker put on hold.

“Ally?”

She looked at him. Her face matched the bright white bed sheets. “You’re safe.” Even without an answer, he knew she’d had a nightmare.

“Sorry for waking you up.”

“You didn’t.” He pulled her back down and held her. She shivered against him and he mentally cursed the SOB who stalked her. “I’ve been awake for a while.”

“Sorry.”

“Not your fault. Just got stuff on my mind.”

“I don’t ever have nightmares.” She moved closer and slipped her leg between his. “I’ve never been so scared before.”

Anger toward the unknown bastard had Rock grinding his teeth together. “Don’t be. I promised you’d stay safe, remember? I don’t make promises unless I intended to keep ‘em.” Allison didn’t need to know about the fear he’d woken up feeling.

“It’s not only that I’m afraid of getting hurt. What if this crazy person tries to hurt you?” Allison sat up and faced him, her worry written on her face.

Her expression stole all words from his mind. Once he regrouped his thoughts, he pushed up into a sitting position. “You’ve got nothing to worry about.”

“You’re not Superman.”

“I’m a Marine. It’s better.”

“Stop joking around, will you.” She punched the bed before poking him in the chest. “I’m serious, Rock. I love you. Nothing can happen to you.”

He grabbed her wrist and pulled. “Stop worrying.” Unable to resist, he gave her a quick kiss. “You trust me, right?” He gave her enough time to nod before he continued on. “I’m not gonna let some sicko hurt you. And nothing’s going to happen to me. Got it. I love you too damn much.” He kissed her again. When he tried to pull away and speak, she pushed her body against him.

“Instead of just saying it, show me.” She whispered the words against his ear. Leaning back, she pulled off her T-shirt.

He didn’t need any further orders.

***

“What time tonight?” Rock poured them each a cup of coffee before he flipped the omelet he’d started. He offered to make Allison one too, but she’d opted for yogurt and fruit instead, like she had every morning he’d been there.

“About six thirty. And we’re meeting them at Siena. They’re going to stop and visit with Charlie and the baby this afternoon, so it makes more sense to meet around here instead of in DC.”

Her tidbit of news made the thought of the night ahead more tolerable. He’d suspected they’d be meeting her dad and stepmother at one of DC’s overpriced, five-star establishments. While Siena wasn’t his normal type of restaurant, he knew what to expect there, which meant one less unknown variable tonight. Unfortunately, the biggest one remained, Mark Sherbrooke. The guy had been friendly enough at the wedding, but circumstances had drastically changed. He might not approve of his only daughter dating a nobody Marine from Rhode Island. From the little Allison told him, her father sounded like the type who’d want the best of everything for his little girl. That included a man from an equally wealthy family.

“Out with it.” Allison walked over and took the coffee he’d poured for her. “You’re brooding over something. What is it?”

No way am I answering that one.
“You need to tell your father what’s going on.” He transferred the omelet from the pan to a plate and waited. He already knew her answer regarding his statement, but at least it kept her from pestering him about what was really on his mind.

Allison’s smile told him she had something up her sleeve. “Tell you what. I’ll promise to consider it, if you tell me what’s bugging you.”

She planned on playing hardball. Her family deserved to know the truth, and he’d promised not to say anything. Getting her to do it was his only option. “Not good enough. I’ll share, but
you
need to tell your family.”

“You play dirty.” She twisted the heart-shaped emerald ring on her finger. He’d noticed she did that to the same ring whenever she was nervous or deep in thought.

As he watched her do it now, he realized it was the only piece of jewelry she never changed. Since they’d been together, she’d worn other rings as well as countless different bracelets, but the emerald ring always remained on her right hand.

“Okay, I’ll tell him.”

“Allison—” Rock stopped. “Did you say okay?”

She sighed and frowned. “You’re right. But he’s not going to take the news well. He and Abby will have to come here before dinner. I can’t tell them in a restaurant. Actually, we’ll probably never make it to dinner after I tell him.”

He guessed she’d made the understatement of the year. And he wouldn’t blame the guy if he lost it when he found out the truth.

“Maybe I should invite them back here after dinner instead and tell them then.”

As long as she told them tonight, he didn’t care when or where she did it. “Up to you.”

“Let’s do it after. At least then we can enjoy ourselves for a little.” She took a sip of her coffee and then gave him a look. “Your turn. What’s going on in that head of yours?”

Damn.
“Unsure of what to expect tonight.” So he stretched the truth a little. Big friggin’ deal. “Last time I had dinner with a girlfriend’s parents, I was a junior in high school and it was a Memorial Day cookout.”

“You met both Dad and Abby in January.”

“We talked for a total of ten minutes at the wedding.”

“Don’t worry, he’s going to love you.” She took his hand and gave it a squeeze. “And before I forget, Sara wants to know if I’m bringing a guest to her wedding in June. You talked to her at the fundraiser. Will you come with me? I’m the maid of honor, and I’d like you to meet the rest of the family. Everyone will be there.”

Even if he hadn’t spoken with Sara at the fundraiser, he’d know which Sherbrooke she referred too. Her cousin Sara was the President’s youngest daughter. “I can’t.”

“Oh,” Allison said before he could explain. Releasing his hand, she picked her coffee up again.

“Not because I don’t want to. I’m scheduled to leave June fifth and won’t be back for six months.”

“Six months? Why didn’t you say something sooner? The fifth is only a few weeks away.”

“I didn’t see a point in telling you in the beginning. Then you had more important things to worry about.”

“You should’ve told me.” For the first time since he’d met her, she sounded truly upset with him.

From his experience, telling a woman she was right took most of the fight right out of them. It always worked for his dad when he pissed off his mom. “You’re right. I should’ve told you back in March.”

“Agreeing with me doesn’t get you off the hook.” She tried to hide her smile, but the corner of her mouth twitched. “Will you be back for New Years? Every year the family has a New Year’s Eve party in Newport. You could meet everyone or almost everyone then.”