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“I know.” He smiled at her. If anyone would’ve told him he’d be having a normal conversation with Eva Chevron after rescuing her from an attacker, he would’ve told them to ‘back up the bus’.
“You know who I am?” Her face pinched, and she clung to the back of a patio chair. Was she feeling dizzy?
“Are you all right?” He stepped closer.
“Fine.” She held up a hand. “Please answer the question.”
“I might be a military man, but they do allow us Wi-Fi.” He grinned. “I’d have to live under a rock to not know who Eva Chevron is.”
She didn’t answer but focused on the man glaring up at them from the concrete.
“Apologies,” Miles murmured. Their connection was suddenly spiraling into the atmosphere. Was she as humble as she was brave? “Did you not want me to know who you were?”
“It’s fine. It’s just …” She licked her lips. “I imagined when you were running and smiled at me that you were interested in me … not my famous status.”
“Eva,” Miles started to protest, but then the words died on his lips. Everything he saw or read about her was incredible, but he didn’t know the real her. How could he? They’d just met. He could completely understand why she didn’t want someone interested in her because of her fame. “It’s not like that,” he began, but he didn’t know what to say. What was it like? He was just another admirer. They didn’t have some special connection like he’d imagined from the first and second looks and smiles, and, an annoying voice reminded him, he had a responsibility to break up with Lily before he could go hitting on any woman.
“It’s fine,” she rushed out. She turned and picked up her phone. “I’ll call the police.” She pressed a hand to her forehead and sighed. “Actually, I’m supposed to call my FBI agent first.” Instead of dialing, she kept staring at the phone. “Agent Ryken Henderson.”
Miles straightened and an uneasy quiver turned his stomach. “Pardon me?”
She met his gaze. “Do you think that’s a coincidence?”
“Unusual name,” he muttered, glancing down at the perp, then around at the night shadows. “What’s Ryken’s last name?” he asked the tied-up man.
“How should I know?” the guy muttered. “He left money and instructions for me, is all. I got no last name, number, or anything. I shouldn’t even know his name, but I’m smart and I scouted out the meeting spot early. I overheard his buddy calling him Ryken. I was early today too, took out the patio camera and sneaked up on her.” He was proud of himself, obviously. “I don’t trust Ryken not to double-cross me and try to get me arrested or something.”
Was that why Ryken wasn’t here yet? Miles didn’t trust this guy’s bragging. “What did Ryken look like?” He pressed.
“It was dark. I never got a clear look at his face. Dark hair, black suit.”
Miles looked to Eva. She shivered. “Ryken has dark hair.”
Of course he’d wear a suit if he was an agent. The urgency to get Eva far from here increased. A couple more quick questions.
“Did you come from the beach or the front of the house?” Miles asked.
“Through the house. I had the code to disable the alarms.”
Eva startled and backed up a step. “How did you get my code?”
“The note from Ryken,” he said.
Miles’s gut churned. “Who knows your code?”
“My parents. My FBI agent, Ryken Henderson. He helped the security people install the best system.”
Bile climbed his throat. None of this was sitting well.
Eva focused the power of those dark eyes on him. She looked vulnerable and uncertain. He was a natural protector of women and children. It had been taught to him from toddlerhood on up. His experiences in far-flung countries with the military, where often women and children had no rights, had reinforced those instincts. Looking at Eva right now, every protective instinct in his body fired. He would protect her from this Ryken and any other idiot who tried to hurt or scare her.
He almost stepped to her and enfolded her in his arms, but he didn’t know how she’d receive that, and they didn’t have time for reassurances or the bond he longed to forge with her.
“I’m sure it’s not the same person.” Eva worried her lip. “But …”
“If there’s a chance, you shouldn’t call that agent,” he finished for her.
What if the guy had set this all up for some sick reason? To be the hero? To get a ransom? Who knew? This Ryken might be on his way. He might be here already.
