Caution (Harper Security Ops Book 14), page 20
He wasn’t going to have to ask me twice. Barely giving him a chance to finish his command, I lifted the sweet treat to my mouth and bit down. It was impossible not to moan at just how delicious it was.
Mouth still full, I said, “Oh my God. That’s so good.”
Forrest broke out into a fit of laughter. “I had a feeling you were going to like it.”
I swallowed that bite, took another, chewed, and swallowed. Then I said, “I thought the highlight of my day was going to be getting out of the house for a little bit, but I was wrong. This is… this is incredible.”
I quickly took another bite.
“I’m glad you like it. And I’m sorry you feel like you’ve been stuck inside for too long,” Forrest lamented.
I shook my head. “It’s okay. Honestly, I can’t say that I haven’t enjoyed being inside. In fact, it’s helped tremendously with the nostalgia.”
He tipped his head to the side. “How so?”
After swallowing another delicious bite, I explained, “I lived for six whole weeks without you in my life, Forrest. Throughout those six weeks, I longed for things to go back to the way they were. I missed you so much. So, the truth is, being with you now kind of feels like we’re back in that cabin at the ski resort. And beyond that, it’s not like you haven’t made my time indoors enjoyable.”
His lips twitched. “At least there’s that, right?”
“Are you kidding me? That’s everything.”
Forrest reached out to cover my free hand with his. “I’m glad you feel that way, because I’ve loved having you here, and I’m glad I get to wake up to you every morning again. It’s been nice.”
It had been nice.
There wasn’t anything else I could have wanted in my life. Well, other than not to have an active threat against my life.
Forrest’s words were simple, but they spoke to how things had grown between us. We’d fallen into a routine, waking up wrapped in one another’s arms and being able to spend every day together. We ate, we laughed, and we talked.
Of course, there was my whole situation that sometimes pulled him away from me, so he could take a phone call from someone on his team or from the police department.
But on the whole, it had been wonderful being back in this little bubble with him. Unfortunately, I also knew it wouldn’t last forever.
Forrest had to work.
So, once my situation was dealt with, and he no longer had this overwhelming need to make sure I never went anywhere alone without him, we’d have something else to deal with.
As nice as it might have been to pretend that wasn’t going to happen, it was unrealistic. And I figured there was no time like the present to address it with him.
“It really has been the best. But I kind of wanted to talk to you about that,” I declared.
A curious look marred his handsome features. “What do you mean?”
I finished the last bite of my doughnut, noted how Forrest didn’t even hesitate to place a second one down in front of me, and sent an appreciative look his way. “You’ve taken care of me all over again without so much as batting an eyelash. I love the way you make me feel, like I’m important to you and I matter. Like there isn’t anything in this world you wouldn’t do to protect me. Having lived pretty much my entire life without that, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking. I did it in the weeks we were apart, and I’ve done it a lot since I arrived here in Steel Ridge.”
I paused a moment to gather up the courage to say the rest of what I needed to say, and Forrest kept every ounce of his attention focused squarely on me. But I could see that with each second that passed without a word from me, Forrest started to grow more and more concerned.
“I know that it’s ultimately my decision if I want to do it, and I know you’ve said how much you like having me here, but I wanted to see how you’d feel if I decided to make my move to Steel Ridge a permanent one.”
“Are you serious?”
I couldn’t be sure, but I sensed a mix of disbelief and frustration.
“Yes.”
“Sunshine, I thought we discussed this the morning after you arrived here,” Forrest started. “If I had known you didn’t want to continue living where you were, I would have brought you back here with me without a second thought.”
I nodded my understanding. “I know. I know we did, but I feel like this is different. We’re still very new, and I’m trying to find my place in this world, a place that feels like home. Coming here, meeting your friends and family, and being with you…” I shrugged, looking away momentarily as my emotions started to take hold of me. When I returned my stare to meet his, I ended, “Steel Ridge feels like a great place to call home, and I was hoping you’d be willing to help me start looking for a place here.”
“You’re staying with me.”
“Yeah, I know that. Obviously, I’ll continue to stay with you until Jeremy is found and things get resolved on that front, but I’m talking about a place for me to live permanently after that’s all been settled.”
Forrest narrowed his eyes at me, setting his second, half-eaten doughnut back down on the napkin in front of him.
Yep.
There was definitely frustration there.
Had I read this all wrong? Was it possible he wanted me here for now, but wanted more time with us just being together as a couple before I started making permanent, life-changing decisions?
“Forrest, if you’re not okay with me moving to Steel Ridge, I un—”
“It’s not my decision to tell you where to move, Daisy.”
“I know. I just—”
“But it blows my mind that you couldn’t possibly understand that there’s nothing I’d want more than for you to be here in the place I call home, so you could do the same,” he added, cutting me off.
So, this wasn’t about him needing more time before I made a decision like this. Confused, I asked, “Why do you seem so upset about this, then?”
“I’m over the moon that you want to make a permanent move here. What I’m struggling with is why you’d think you need to find a new place to live when you’ve already got one.”
My eyes roamed over his face, searching for answers I couldn’t seem to find. “Your house?”
“You already said you liked it there.”
“I did. I do. But I thought that staying there was just a temporary solution, since you’re acting as my bodyguard right now,” I reasoned.
I could no longer tell if Forrest was annoyed with our conversation or amused by it. “In my line of work, do you think I regularly bring clients home to sleep in my bed?”
God, I hoped he didn’t do that.
I shook my head.
“I’m not your bodyguard right now, Daisy. I’m the man who intends to be in your life for a long time, giving you the love, loyalty, safety, and family that you deserve to have. That’s a far cry from my typical job responsibilities as a bodyguard.”
Speaking of crying, it was a wonder I didn’t burst into tears at that moment.
My heart.
I didn’t know how I’d survive another month of how sweet this man was with me, let alone having whatever he believed was a long time of it.
“So, to be clear, you want me to move here permanently, doing it while moving into your home?” I asked cautiously.
The corners of his mouth tipped up in a smile. “That’s a question that’ll never get you ‘no’ for an answer. Of course, I want you to move in with me. Being without you for six weeks was long enough, and I don’t want to ever go back there, even if you bought the house right next door to me.”
“I didn’t know it was for sale.”
Forrest laughed. “It’s not.”
I let out a laugh too, feeling the love I had for him move through me. With shining eyes and a rapidly beating heart, I covered his hand with mine and said, “Thank you.”
“For what, sunshine?”
“For loving me the way that you do. For so long, I was searching for it, believing it had to be out there for me. And I thought it was going to be something wonderful, but I never imagined it would be this spectacular. You’ve changed my whole life, and you’ve made every single disappointment I’ve faced in life worth it. Because it all led me to you.”
Forrest lifted our connected hands, touched his lips to the back of mine, and asked, “How do you feel about eating that second doughnut in the car, and taking the rest of these home with us now?”
“What?”
“Daisy, I’m not going to let you say something like that to me and not feel the need to do something to show you what it means to me, so we’ve got to go now,” he explained.
With his clarification, a shiver ran down my spine. “I don’t mind eating in the car.”
Forrest grinned.
Then he stood, grabbed the bag with our remaining doughnuts, and took my hand in his. With my second doughnut in my other hand and Forrest leading us toward the exit, I looked back at the counter and shouted, “Bye, Tarryn!”
She looked up, saw us leaving, and sent a knowing smile our way. “See you later, guys!”
The next thing I knew, we were in Forrest’s truck and on our way home.
I didn’t think there was anything that could possibly put a damper on my mood. I mean, Forrest had essentially asked me to move in with him, telling me he wanted to give me all the love and family I deserved. And he was taking me home, so he could show me how much my words to him had meant.
So, I had every reason to be happy and excited.
But the good vibes I’d been feeling flew out the window just as we turned into Forrest’s driveway.
Because about thirty seconds before we made that turn, Forrest’s phone rang, and he’d indicated Blaze was on the other line.
I’d met Blaze, along with the rest of the Harper Security Ops team, one day when Forrest had taken me back into the office with him. Blaze had been the private investigator who was working closely with Forrest on my case.
“Hey, man. What’s going on?” Forrest asked as a means of a greeting.
I couldn’t hear anything Blaze was saying, but I felt the air in the truck change. Tension and worry were rolling off of Forrest in waves, so I knew he wasn’t getting news that was good.
“Here, in Steel Ridge?”
Oh, God.
Had Jeremy been spotted? How did anyone know he was here? And was this the proof that he’d followed me when I left Birch Creek?
Oh, no.
If that was the case, he knew I’d gone right to Harper Security Ops. Jeremy wouldn’t have to be a genius to draw conclusions about why I’d left town and gone where I did.
“Fuck,” Forrest clipped. There was a brief pause while Blaze responded. Forrest brought the truck to a stop just outside of the garage.
Feeling overwhelmed by what was happening, I needed some air. So, I grabbed the bag with the doughnuts, because even scary news wasn’t enough to make me forget about how wonderful those tasted, and opened my door.
I stepped out of the truck, took in the wooded land behind Forrest’s house, and inhaled deeply. No matter what was happening on that phone call, there was no question this place could bring me peace.
As I turned to reach inside and grab my purse, I accidentally dropped the bag with the doughnuts.
And when I bent down to grab them, that’s when it happened.
I heard the blast ring out through the air and the distinct sound of metal hitting the side of the truck right where I’d been standing.
I screamed and barely had a second to register what was happening when I felt Forrest haul me up into his arms and start moving me around to the opposite side of the truck. As that happened, another shot rang out.
I screamed again.
“Get in the truck, hide yourself on the floor, and stay down,” he ordered.
Was he crazy?
“Where are you going?”
“Daisy, there’s no time to talk. Do what I said, and do not get out of this vehicle until I come and get you.”
My heart was racing, my pulse pounding in my ears. I didn’t want him to leave.
“Please,” I begged.
“Sunshine, promise me you’re going to do what I said,” he ordered.
I nodded. “I promise.”
A moment later, the door was closed, and Forrest was gone. That’s when I heard another blast, and my body jumped at the sound, forcing me to spring into action and do what Forrest had said.
I’d heard two more shots come closely after that one, but then it was silence.
I was stuck there, crouching down in a truck, with nothing but my thoughts. And as the time passed by, there was nothing I could do to distract myself from the reality of the situation.
I couldn’t even reach my phone to call for help if I was going to honor my promise to Forrest to stay down.
The man I loved had just used his body as a shield to keep me safe from a shot meant for me. And now I was sitting here in the silence wondering where he was, and if he was safe.
Time dragged on. I didn’t know how much, but it felt like I’d been here for an eternity. Tears had rolled down my cheeks at some point, and it was useless to try to stop them.
My legs cramped from the position I was in, being crouched down the way I was.
And as more and more time passed, the thoughts in my mind became unbearable.
What if one of those two shots that came after Forrest had closed the door had hit him?
What if he was bleeding to death outside?
I wanted to keep my promise to him, but if the worst was the case, wasn’t I just a sitting duck at this point? And would the man I love perish when what he really needed was my help?
Maybe I needed to try to call out to him. Just as I lifted my hand to the handle to open the door, I heard it.
More shots.
They sounded different.
Or, I thought they did. There were at least three of them, so I couldn’t be sure.
On the one hand, I wanted to feel some sort of relief about it. If there was still activity, that had to mean Forrest was alive, didn’t it?
I could have been wrong, though. He had been on the phone with Blaze when that first shot was fired. Maybe Blaze or someone else from the team had come here. Maybe they had a different weapon they were shooting.
Question after question filtered through my mind, and they only got worse as time continued to pass.
Was this it?
Would life be this cruel to me?
Was it possible I would find real love only for it to be taken from me?
Shaking and trembling, the tears still falling, uncontrollable sobs wracked my body. I could barely breathe for how badly I was sobbing.
That’s when I heard the sirens.
Police.
It was the police.
And a moment later, the door opened.
Even with the tears blocking my vision, I knew it was him.
“Oh, God,” I cried out.
“Come here, Daisy.”
How I managed to move with my legs as numb as they were, I’d never know, but I leapt into Forrest’s arms like nothing else in the world mattered to me.
Nothing else did matter to me.
He held me tight, attempting to soothe me by hushing me or whispering sweet words. Nothing worked.
I was distraught.
“I’m okay. You’re okay. It’s over, sunshine. It’s done. He can’t hurt you again.”
Those were the words that penetrated.
I pulled my face back from his neck. “What?”
“You’re safe now.”
“Is he…”
“He’s dead.”
My body tensed. “Did you—”
“I did.”
The silence stretched between us as my eyes roamed over his face. “Now, you killed a man, too.”
“And I’d do it again in a heartbeat to protect you. That’s my job, Daisy. As the man who loves you, I’ll always protect you.”
The air rushed out of my lungs. “Are you okay?”
“I’m okay as long as you are,” he assured me.
I thought for a moment before I replied, “I might need another ten minutes or so before I’m okay.”
His lips twitched. “Take all the time you need. I’m not going anywhere.”
A minute later, it felt like we were in the midst of a movie scene with police swarming the area. Blaze and several other members of the Harper Security Ops team had arrived.
In the end, it took me a little longer than ten minutes to get there, but just as he promised, Forrest was with me the whole time.
TWENTY-ONE
Daisy
Looking in the mirror, I could hardly recognize the woman staring back at me.
The cuts had healed, and the bruises had faded.
The bleeding heart had mended.
Weeks.
It had been weeks since it all went down.
There were no lasting physical wounds from my initial attack in Birch Creek, and Forrest had seen to it that nothing happened to me when a crazed man attempted to kill me.
I’d had some rough nights since then, my mind recalling the awful sound of those bullets being fired and forcing me to wake up sweating and out of breath, terrified that one of those bullets had hit him and taken him away from me forever.
It would take me time every night that happened to remember the story Forrest had shared about how things played out after he closed that door and kept me in the truck.
He ran.
After the first two shots had been fired, he knew where they were coming from.
So, he took off from the truck in the opposite direction as a means to distract and disorient Jeremy. He wanted Jeremy’s focus on him instead of me.
But Forrest was good at what he did, and he knew the wooded area behind his house better than anyone. So, he knew how to keep Jeremy on edge, searching for him and leaving me alone, while he circled around, completely unnoticed.
And when he was close enough and had his own gun pinned on Jeremy, he let his presence be known. Jeremy didn’t give Forrest the chance to try to make things go down differently.
