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Eva couldn’t believe he’d just thrown her phone to somebody. What was he thinking? She didn’t dare move or holler at him, or at the kid who’d rushed off with her iPhone. Could the kick unlock it and get her banking information, passwords to everything, and plenty of fodder to sell to the paparazzi?
Miles worked his way silently through the waves until he surrounded her with his body and she was pushed against the slimy, rough wooden piling again.
“What are you doing?” she dared ask.
“Somebody’s coming right at us, slowly closing in from the south. I can see his shadow and part of his face with a lit-up phone screen he’s holding. It looks like the guy who called to you from your patio. There might be a tracker in your phone that would lead him straight to us.”
Eva’s stomach turned over. Was there a tracker on her phone? Ryken and Lake had both taken her phone at different times in the last week. Could one of them have installed a tracker? What if Ryken was in league with Jorge? Was the dangerous criminal Jorge even after her, or was that a ploy like the man attacking her tonight to give Ryken an in with her? To make a play for her, ransom her, or traffic her like Miles had said? Were there other options? She was confused, scared, and out of her element. Real life was not supposed to mirror movie scripts.
She froze and waited for a word or signal from Miles. Even the waves rushing against her legs, the smelly post she was pressed against, and the fear of Ryken being a bad guy and tracking them down couldn’t distract from the warmth and safety that Miles offered her.
“Let’s go,” Miles said. “He headed east. It looks like he’s following the kid who ran off with your phone up into the amusement park.”
Again, Miles had been right. His quick thinking had saved her more than once tonight. Apparently his life did mimic a cloak and dagger script, because he was rolling with all of this insanity as if it was a Tuesday morning at the office. What kind of soldier was he?
He eased back, took her hand, and led her out from under the pier to the north. They stayed in the water for a while, then he angled up to the sand. He kept checking to the east and south.
“Can you double-time again?” he asked.
“Sure.”
They upped their pace to a fast jog, not quite as fast as their sprint earlier. Eva’s head started to pound again, but she refused to say anything about it. She was alive and safe. She could deal with a lingering headache.
Miles released her hand so they could both use their arms to pump and get into a rhythmic run in the harder packed sand by the water’s edge. It didn’t escape her attention that Miles edged her toward the most level and hard-packed sand while he took the more difficult route in the softer sand.
Eva didn’t love running, but her personal trainer Darlene put her through running and sprinting drills often. She’d run to save her own life. It felt like hours later but was probably less than half an hour that Miles slowed to a stop and directed her up the beach through the soft sand and toward a staircase.
The landscape had changed from the flat beach outside her house’s rear windows to a sharp bluff with homes perched above the sand and ocean. Eva was famous and doing well financially, but these homes belonged to the ultra-wealthy and infamous. People like Aiden Porter.
They stopped in front of the house she’d learned was Aiden and Chalisa Porter’s. Miles gestured, and she preceded him up the stairs. There was a locked gate at the top. He eased in front of her, brushing his chest against her shoulder and sending her pulse racing. She ignored the sensation. Miles was helping and protecting her, and that had to be all. She appreciated his help and kept praying she was making the right choice by trusting him and not Ryken. He just … felt right, but wouldn’t it be a kick in the teeth if Miles somehow wasn’t the trustworthy one? She’d chosen wrong with every boyfriend since leaving home ten years ago.
Miles typed in a code and the gate lock beeped. He held it open for her, glancing around the dark, quiet beach before following her through and shutting the gate.
They walked onto a gorgeous patio area with a pool glowing blue in the night, low lights around the pool and throughout the flower beds. The scents of chlorine mingled with eucalyptus, gardenia, and orange.
Miles directed her around the pool and to an outdoor shower. They both rinsed off their legs and feet of sand and salt water. He pulled two beach towels out of a cabinet underneath the outdoor kitchen set against the far side of the patio. She dried her feet and legs, her skin no longer stinging from the salt water, except where she had scrapes from her attacker. Squeezing the moisture out of her shorts, she could see Miles doing the same.
Her hands trembled. It made sense that she’d be full of adrenaline after the attack and their escape, but was she also slightly apprehensive about being alone with Miles? She glanced at him. His handsome face turned toward her—serious, protective, appealing. Could she trust him?
He took her towel from her hand, brushing his fingers against hers. She trembled even more from that simple touch. If he wasn’t trustworthy, her radar was way off. He felt like a guy from home and the most enticing military hero and cowboy combined. He appeared genuine with no need to brag about himself or ‘charm’ her like most men did.
Giving her an endearing and almost awkward smile at their brushing of fingers, he dropped the towels in a bin, then typed in another code and opened a French door. He gestured for her to walk in first.
She should be leery, walking into a quiet house with a stranger, a man who’d thrown her cell phone away. Her Fitbit didn’t make calls or send messages. She’d had to get rid of her Apple Watch to get a break from all the emails, texts, and phone calls and give her mind some down time.
Instead of feeling apprehensive, she felt … welcomed and safe. Was that the feeling in Aiden Porter’s house or was that all Miles?
Still, her dad would not appreciate her lack of caution. “How do I know you’re who you say you are and didn’t stage my attacker so you could rescue me, toss my phone away, bring me here, and take advantage of Eva Chevron?”
“Um …” Miles’s eyes widened. “Well … do you want to see my identification or call Aiden or Quaid on my phone?”
She bit her lip. His eyes fell to her mouth and stayed there. A thrill went through her. She pushed it away. It had been a bizarre night, and she needed to somehow think about this logically. He could have numbers listed in his phone as Aiden Porter and Quaid Raven.
“Do you have ID?”
“Not on me. I was running.” He lifted his hands. “Do you want to wait while I grab my wallet?”
“Yes, please.”
