spotting Boyd a few hours away. But that person could be mistaken and he could actually be on base.”
“Or the driver could be someone else,” Felicity said. Her gaze met Westley’s.
“The one who ransacked your house?” Justin looked thoughtful. “Why try to hurt you?”
She didn’t have an answer. It was one thing to think the villain was searching for the file on the hit-and-run. Now was he trying to kill her?
A shiver of fear went through her. Dakota edged closer and touched his nose to her hand. The dog apparently sensed her upset.
“I’m taking Felicity home,” Westley said. “Dakota and I will be on twenty-four-hour duty.”
Felicity wanted to say that it wasn’t necessary, but she wasn’t about to put herself in a vulnerable position just because she was uncomfortable with the idea of Westley in her home.
Though uncomfortable wasn’t exactly the right word. More like she’d be hyperaware of him and that would mess with her head. She was struggling as it was to keep her feelings from veering into territory she’d rather not explore. Yet, she couldn’t come up with a logical protest that wouldn’t reveal her feelings.
“All right then. Stay safe.” Justin drove away, as did Linc.
Deciding it would be better to take the small SUV Westley used for transporting dogs across base, they left her car parked in the lot. They loaded Dakota into the back and then both climbed in the front. After buckling up, she turned to Westley. His strong jaw was set in a tense line. His capable hands gripped the steering wheel.
Emotion clogged her throat. He’d risked his life for her. And she had no doubt he would do so again if necessary.
“Thank you again. I appreciate your willingness to see to my safety.” Inwardly she groaned at the stiff and formal way she spoke when she was nervous.
Westley sat silent for a moment, then he looked at her. “The truth is I should have known that car was there. I should have been prepared for something to happen. I won’t be caught unaware again.”
“Please, you couldn’t have foreseen the near miss with the base truck. I didn’t see it.”
“But it’s my job to see the threat before it gets to you.”
“You’re not a superhero,” she said.
He snorted. “Maybe that’s what you need. Someone else who will protect you better.”
A flutter of panic hit her out of the blue. “Stop it. I want you to protect me. Now start this car and get us home.” She sat back and tried not to think about how true those words were. She couldn’t imagine putting her life into anyone else’s hands.
But what about her heart? Was that safe as well?
* * *
I want you to protect me.
As Westley sat on the leather couch in the living room of the Monroe home, Felicity’s words reverberated through his mind.
She had no idea how much those words rocked his world. No one had ever wanted him for anything. Not his father or his mother. Not the foster parents he’d been sloughed off to after his mom had dumped him off at child protective services. Okay, that wasn’t totally accurate. There had been one foster mother who had treated him with kindness, but then he’d been yanked from the home after a fight with another foster kid.
He’d hardened his heart long ago against the need to be wanted.
But with those words Felicity had turned him to mush.
As he helped her put her house back in order, he’d tried to keep an emotional and physical distance. He’d been relieved when she’d finally bid him good-night and had gone upstairs.
Above his head a floorboard creaked. He was hypersensitive to every movement she made as she settled in for the night.
He leaned back against the cushion. From this vantage point he had a clear view of the front door, the back door and the door to the garage. Dakota laid down across the threshold to the stairs after he’d done a perimeter check. They were on guard and ready, should any danger appear.
Felicity was as safe as they could make her.
Even still, Westley sent up a prayer that God would surround the house with protection. The thought of how easily that truck could have taken out Felicity pierced him with an unnerving fear of losing her.
Of failing her, he amended.
When no more noise came from upstairs, Westley heaved a relieved sigh and hoped she would be able to rest after the day she’d had. Being a target of the Red Rose Killer, then discovering the awful truth that her father had been murdered and then someone trying to take her life—it was more than most people could handle in such a short time. Yet, Felicity was strong in spirit and personality. Stronger than he’d ever given her credit for. Her father would be proud of her.
Westley was proud of her. His respect and admiration for her had increased tenfold. How could he go from thinking she was annoying to realizing she was so special? Special and beautiful. Kind and smart.
Just because he was noticing her good qualities didn’t mean he had any intention of becoming romantically involved. He wasn’t looking for a romance with the pretty staff sergeant.
In fact, any sort of relationship would only end in disaster. He believed that with his whole being.
He wasn’t cut out for commitment. He wasn’t the kind of guy a woman should pin her hopes on. According to his mother, he had too much of his father in him.
And too much of his mother.
Both were scarred and dysfunctional. Stood to reason that he was damaged goods, too. He’d promised himself long ago he would never saddle another person with his horrible baggage. And the last person he ever wanted to dump his past on was Felicity. She deserved better than the likes of him.
He would protect her with his life.
But he had a sinking feeling protecting his heart wouldn’t be as easy.
In the bright morning light that had her squinting, Felicity followed the smell of brewing coffee and spicy sausage into the kitchen. She halted on the threshold.
Her sleep-fogged brain processed the sight of Dakota lying by the back door. He lifted his head from his chew bone and wagged his tail in greeting, while Westley stood at the stove wearing her father’s black barbecue apron over his battle-ready pants and a white T-shirt that molded to the hard planes and angles of his chest and back. His dark hair was spiky on top and his strong jaw was shadowed by stubble.
The pull of attraction zinged through her veins. Beneath her fresh battle-ready uniform, a blush warmed her skin.
He glanced her way. Appreciation gleamed in his blue eyes and he flashed her a crooked grin. “Hope you like chorizo and
