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He took Eva’s hand, and they raced together away from her home and whoever that guy was.
The fact that she clung to his hand and ran as fast as he could told him the man looking for her wasn’t a friend.
Chapter
Three
Eva raced with Miles along the beach. Her head hurt, but she ignored it. A rock or seashell occasionally poked at her bare feet, but she wasn’t about to complain.
She panted for air and held onto Miles’s hand like a lifeline. Talk about sent straight from heaven. Miles wasn’t flashy or a bragger, even though he was obviously the toughest man she’d ever met in real life. When all Eva wanted to do was freak out, he seemed to be built for situations like this.
Agent Ryken Henderson had been on her back patio. What did that mean? Was he the bad guy? Could he really have set up an attacker to get her to turn to him as the rescuing hero?
He hadn’t looked in their direction, but who knew if the sound of their running had given them away? Or if he would come down to the beach to look for footprints leading away. She was trusting Miles, a man she’d just met, over the FBI agent who’d helped install her security system. Was she acting nuts? Her dad always told her to trust the Spirit. She prayed in her head as they ran and didn’t see any stop signs, so she kept running. Miles’s confidence, competence, and the bond she’d instantly felt with her ‘fantasy running man’ who’d become her rescuer strengthened her.
The Balboa Pier was just in front of them. It was lit up and people were walking along it to the restaurant. Miles pulled her into the rolling water and under the darkness of the pier. They went behind one of the huge wooden posts and then he tugged her to a stop.
“You all right?” he asked.
“I feel like a hen who’s lost her roost.”
He chuckled softly at that. “You sure are brave,” he said. The admiration in his voice felt all directed at her bravery, nothing to do with her fame.
She was out of breath, didn’t know that she was acting brave or just reacting. She wasn’t sure of anything at the moment. She’d acted as a tough female warrior, Charli, in Protecting the Heiress. She tried to channel those vibes and be as brave as Miles thought she was.
A wave broke on their legs, dousing her up to her waist with salty and chilly liquid. She shivered. It may be the first of August, but the California ocean water was cold all year long. Some of the scrapes the attacker had given her stung from the salt water.
A rough-looking man eased around one of the other posts. Eva let out a squeak of surprise.
Miles stepped in front of her and pulled a pistol from the back waistband of his pants. She hadn’t even realized he was armed.
“You don’t want to mess with us,” Miles said in a low warning growl.
Eva hadn’t seen such an appealing picture in many years, or maybe she had. The first moment she and Miles’s gazes had connected earlier tonight was as appealing. That couldn’t factor in right now. She was in danger and Miles was protecting her. She had to face reality. This wasn’t a movie, and he wasn’t her soul mate. He’d simply been intrigued by meeting the famous actress, like most of the male population. She couldn’t let herself think it was more, then be devastated when he was just another guy wanting to have his shot with a celebrity, another handsome face who would move on when a better option appeared.
“Sheesh, man.” The guy put up his hands. “I was just looking for a buck or two.”
“I only carry weapons, not money,” Miles said evenly.
“Psycho.” The guy turned and walked the other direction.
Miles turned back to her. She almost collapsed against him. He was the brave one and could give any actor lessons in magnetism, appeal, courage, and heroism.
Before she could fling herself at his very appealing chest, he said in whisper, “Flatten against the post.”
She trusted Miles. He had the cowboy and military vibe down to an art. Maybe she should question why she instinctively trusted him. Instead, she obeyed.
The post smelled of mildew and dead fish and was slimy and covered with barnacles. Miles pressed in behind her. His warm, strong body overshadowed and protected her. No matter what was coming at them, she was safe with this military cowboy. A few moments passed with the waves rhythmically breaking against them and her unable to catch her breath. From the sprint, the fear, the attack, or was it all Miles’s appeal making her lack oxygen?
“Where’s your phone?” he whispered in her ear.
She pulled it out of the pocket of her shorts and handed it to him.
“Don’t move.”
He edged away from her, and Eva wanted to follow him. It was instinctive to want to stay close. He went deeper into the water and to the other edge of the wide pier. Then he chucked her phone up and onto the pier.
“Hey!” a male voice called. “A phone … sweet!” Footsteps raced across the wooden pier above their heads and toward the Peninsula Park and Balboa Fun Zone that was east of the pier.
