Bodyguard. Shirlee McCoy

off my skin. Mostly, I just want to close my eyes, open them and find out that this has all been some horrible nightmare.”

      “I’m sorry,” he said and meant it.

      “For what? Being the one they chose for this assignment?”

      “For the fact that all of this isn’t just a bad dream. Your family has deep pockets, Esme. They can afford to pay people to do their dirty work. Which means you won’t be safe until we shut down the crime ring your brother and uncle control.”

      “You’re a wellspring of joyful tidings, Ian.”

      “I’m honest.”

      “And, like I said, I’m tired. So how about we discuss this another time?”

      “You want to survive, right?” He stopped short and looked straight into her pale face.

      “Would I have spent three days in the Everglades if I didn’t?”

      “Some people love it here.”

      “I’m not one of them,” she huffed.

      “And yet, this is where you ran when you left witness protection.”

      “My parents and I spent every summer here when I was a kid. They’re—”

      “Buried twenty miles from here. I know. I’m sure your uncle knew. Your brother. Your sister.”

      “I feel like you’re trying to make a point, so how about you just get to it?” Her hands were on her hips, her chin raised. Of the three Dupree siblings, she was the one Ian understood the least. Reginald was all about power and money. He’d go to any length to get it. Violetta wanted the same, but she wasn’t willing to break the law to get it. On the other hand, she wasn’t willing to cooperate with law enforcement to make her brother pay for his crimes.

      But Esme...

      Ian couldn’t wrap her in a tidy package and put a label on her. That bothered him. He’d spent most of his adult life studying people, figuring them out, deciding whether they were telling the truth, were dangerous or could be trusted. He’d missed the mark with Jake Morrow. A member of the Tactical K-9 team, Jake had put on a good show. He’d pretended to be everything the team believed in—a man of honesty, integrity, honor. That hadn’t meant Ian had liked him. There’d always been something a little cocky about Jake, something a little off. Still, he’d trusted him.

      That trust had been misplaced.

      Jake had been on the Dupree payroll. He’d betrayed the team, and he was still on the loose, still causing trouble.

      “Here’s my point,” he said, King panting quietly beside him. “You came to a place where anyone who knew anything about you would look for you. You would have been better off sticking with witness protection.”

      “One innocent person already lost her life because I was in the program. I’m not going to risk someone else dying for the same reason.”

      “We had a leak. We’ve sealed it. No one else is going to be hurt,” he responded, keeping his tone neutral. He’d thought she was worried about her own safety, that she’d run from the program because she thought she’d be safer away from it. The fact that she’d been worried about others put a twist on things. A twist he didn’t like. He wanted to lump her in with the rest of the family, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t seem to do it.

      “You don’t seem to understand.” She swung around, her auburn ponytail flying in an arc as she moved. “One person being hurt is too many. I think about it every day. About how that woman died because someone mistook her for me.”

      “It wasn’t because of you. It was because of your uncle and your brother. It was because they thought they were above the law, because they hadn’t expected to ever be stopped. They like their money and their power, and neither of them want to give it up.”

      “Yeah. I know.” She sighed, walking away, heading toward the distant emergency lights, her stride hitched but brisk, her shoulders straight.

      “Esme,” he said, not sure what he wanted to add, what he could possibly say to make things better or easier or right.

      “I think we’ve both said everything we need to, Ian. How about you just let me do what I need to? I’m sure the police would like to talk to you, and I’ve got a long way to go before I reach civilization.”

      He could have stopped her.

      He had the authority to do it. He had the strength. He had King.

      But he let her go, because he thought she needed some space. It was five miles to the main road, and there were emergency vehicles everywhere. She’d be safe enough.

      “All right,” he said, and she met his eyes.

      He thought he saw tears before she looked away again.

      Then she was moving, putting distance between them, her backpack lying a yard away, abandoned on the muddy ground. He snagged it, figuring she’d want it later. He needed to check in with the local police, and then he’d get in his SUV and pick her up on the way out.

      “King,” he said, and the dog looked at him, eager for the next command. “Guard!”

      The Malinois took off, racing across the clearing, his light brown fur visible in the darkness as he followed Esme through the trees and out into the main campground.