Taking Heart (9 page)

She held open the gate as her brother drove through, braking as he came up beside her and rolling down the window. “I like him, Julia. He seems like a good guy.”

She hooked one arm over the edge of the gate. “Why? Because he wasn't afraid of you?”

Justin shrugged but his eyes were grave. “I'm not sure. I guess because I get the feeling he could protect you even better than I can.”

She wanted to tell her brother she didn't need anyone's protection, especially with Tango around, but she knew it was a lie. She hadn't told Justin yet about Evan's reappearance, and he was going to hit the roof when he found out she'd kept it a secret. He'd been like a warden during the trial. If he knew Evan was out and had come by the property, he'd camp out on her porch. All the more reason to keep quiet a bit longer.

“I don't suppose you'll be fixing breakfast tomorrow?”

Julia rolled her eyes and shook her head, laughing. “Typical Justin, always thinking with your stomach. Yes, you can come by in the morning.”

“Love you, sis.” She watched the taillights of his truck as they faded in the distance over the worn dirt trail between their houses. Making the road between the three houses had been Justin's idea, and she still thought it was one of his best.

She looked down at Tango, sitting at her side. “What do you think, big boy? Think it's time to finally tell Dylan what happened? Or you think that will make it worse?”

“You're not giving Dylan much credit.”

She jumped and spun to find him walking toward her with Roscoe at his side. “Tango, you are supposed to alert me,” she scolded. At least the dog had the good sense to look shamed, although it didn't last long. His big tail thumped against her leg as Dylan came closer.

“He likes me.” Dylan reached out and slipped his hand around hers. “Let's go back to the house and you can decide whether or not to tell me.”

“Dylan, it's not that I don't want to tell you,” she tried to explain.

“You just don't know if it would make it worse?” She could hear the hurt in his voice, but he was misunderstanding, and she wasn't sure how best to explain it.

She didn't talk about Evan. In fact, until his text, she did everything possible to avoid thinking about him altogether. It had taken years of working through the mental anguish he'd caused, as well as the fear that dogged her. The last thing she wanted was to relive that agony, even in the retelling. But, more than anything else, she didn't want to dredge up Dylan's memories. She didn't want him to feel obligated to tell her about the nightmare that had led him to her doorstep. When—
if
—he opened up to her, she wanted him to do it without reservations.

Her ringtone suddenly sounded in the near darkness, and she tugged the phone from her pocket.
Unknown
. She sent the call to voice mail and silence surrounded them again. She was just about to put her phone back in her pocket when it rang again. She frowned and glanced at Dylan as she answered it.

“Hello, Heart Fire Training.”

The sound of a ragged breath rattled over the cell phone line. Her heart immediately began to race. “Hello?”

“You're still mine, Julia. And he won't stop me from having you.”

She dropped the phone as the line disconnected.

“G
ET LOW AND
get inside. Take Tango and wait for me in the living room.” He picked up the phone and pressed it into her hand. Dylan slid his own from his pocket and dialed her number. “Stay on the line with me. I'll be right there,” Dylan urged her, guiding her through the front door. “Stay low.”

“Dylan,” she whispered, her voice catching. “Where are you going?”

“Just to the kennel to check on the dogs. They're too quiet. If he's close enough to see us, and it sounds like he is, they should be barking.” He saw understanding light in her eyes. “I'll be right back, and I'll be on the phone.”

“Fine, but take Roscoe.”

Dylan looked at the dog. He wasn't sure he wouldn't give his position away, but he was more worried about slipping into an episode that would render him useless when Julia needed him most. “Okay,” he agreed.

She nodded and went inside. He heard the soft click of the lock behind her. He slid the phone to his ear. “Good. Now, go lock the other doors. Keep Tango with you.”

“Like he'd leave my side. Tango, watch,” he heard her command.

“If he acts like anything is wrong, you get out.” He moved into the shadows on the side of the house, blending in with them completely and moving to the back patio. His eyes scanned the backyard. He saw her move the blinds at the back door as she locked it. “Okay, the backyard is clear. Go back to the living room and wait for me to knock on the front door. Stay quiet unless something happens.”

“Be careful.” There was a slight tremor in her voice, but Dylan could hear the stubborn strength he knew she possessed.

He ran through the trees at the back of the property, grateful for the training he'd already done with Roscoe, who remained glued to his side unless told to wait. Dylan crept along the edge of the kennel and heard one of the dogs start barking before several more joined in the chorus. He moved inside the door, and the dogs hurried to the front of their runs, expectantly. He scanned each dog and run, looking for any signs of someone present or distress in the animals. Not that he could read them well, but he assumed they wouldn't be barking at the entrance as if they wanted to play if something were amiss. He made his way into the kitchen and flipped on the light. The entire kennel was clear.

Dylan lifted the phone to his ear. “Julia, you there?”

“Yes. Are the dogs okay?”

He flipped off the light and signaled Roscoe to heel as he headed back for the house. “Everything is fine. It could have been a lucky guess. It doesn't look like anyone was in here.”

“Good.” He heard her breathe a sigh of relief into the phone, even as he heard a low growl in the background. “Tango, hush. I thought you said you were coming in the front door?”

“What?” Cold fear choked the breath from him as he waited for her response.

“Why are you at the back door?”

Dylan shoved the phone into his pocket and bolted into a dead run for the backyard, launching himself at the fence and over the top without even thinking. Roscoe was right behind him, at a full run, barking the entire way. The gate at the other end of the yard clamped shut and he heard the sound of gravel crunching under feet as someone crashed through the shrubs and down the driveway. As much as he wanted to continue to chase the intruder, he didn't want to leave Julia alone at the house, so he slowed. Roscoe, however, had other ideas and continued running past Dylan after the prowler.

“Roscoe, come,” he called. There was the roar of an engine and a growl before he heard a quick, pained yip. The buzz of a motorcycle engine grew distant and Roscoe returned, limping but with a scrap of bloody denim between his teeth. Dylan squatted down to catch his breath and took the material from the dog's mouth. “Good boy.” He rubbed the dog's head as he panted. “Come on, let's get back to the house.”

“Julia?” He looked at the phone screen to make sure they hadn't been disconnected. “Julia?”

She came running through the front door and down the porch steps, throwing herself against his chest. She slapped at his arm. “What the hell were you thinking, you maniac? You could have been killed!”

Dylan reached for her wrists to stop the assault and saw the tears reflected in the moonlight. “Julia, I'm fine.”

“But he could have killed you,” she repeated, amid barks and yips from both dogs as they tried to press between the couple.

Dylan pulled her into his arms, his confidence returned. “I've had far more skilled killers try, and they didn't succeed.”

“Ugh!” She shoved at his chest then turned her back on him, heading toward the house. She spun on him again. “Do you have any idea how scared I was when you took off after him?”

Dylan clenched his jaw. “He was trying to get into the house. Did you think I was going to let him hurt you? I'd kill him first.” He pulled her toward him, enveloping her. “And, trust me, I know hundreds of ways to make it as painful as possible.”

He heard the murderous tone of his voice and tried to control it. The last thing he wanted was to scare her. “Julia, I promised not to hurt you, remember?” He brushed back the bangs that fell into her eyes. “That includes not letting anyone else hurt you
because
of me.”

She collapsed against him, laying her head against his chest in complete trust. “Dylan,” she whispered as she wrapped her arms around his waist, letting her tears soak through his shirt.

He knew it was the effect of the adrenaline on her. Now that the fear had run its course, she would feel completely drained. He could already feel it happening to him. However, he wasn't about to let her see that.

“Come on. Let's get you inside.” Dylan bent and scooped her up as if she didn't weigh any more than Roscoe. But Roscoe wouldn't wind smooth arms around his neck or curl against him. Julia sent heat invading parts of his body that needed to remain unaffected right now. Unfortunately, he couldn't stop the emotions winding themselves around his heart. She made him want to protect her, even at the risk of his own sanity, which, oddly enough, seemed to remain intact only when she was present.

D
YLAN LAID HER
down on top of her comforter in her room and started to leave. “No,” she pleaded, reaching for his hand. “Stay for just a little while.”

Julia didn't remember ever being as scared for someone's safety as she had been when she saw Dylan running down her driveway. Anything could have happened to him. She knew better than to underestimate Evan. She'd made that mistake once, with dire consequences. She had to tell Dylan the truth. Now that Evan had set his sights on Dylan, he deserved to know what he was up against.

Tango jumped onto the bed and curled up at her feet, commandeering the bottom corner of the bed. Dylan locked her bedroom door and kicked off his shoes, letting them fall to the floor. Without hesitating, he curled himself around the back of her and wrapped her in his arms, pressing his lips to her temple.

“Roscoe, watch,” he commanded, and she was awed at how well he'd picked up on her training techniques. Roscoe sat at the end of the bed, facing the door. “Okay, it's time for you to sleep.”

“I can't.” She was exhausted but her mind wouldn't settle. There was too much she had to explain to him, too much to warn him about. “Dylan, I—”

“Shh, tell me in the morning.”

She rolled over and faced him, her fingers reaching up to touch his face. The tips grazed the edge of his scar and she cringed, knowing she didn't want to cause him any more pain. She needed every bit of reassurance that he was safe. “I need to tell you now.”

Dylan lowered his head and pressed a feather-light kiss to each of her eyes before brushing his lips over her forehead. “No, you don't.”

“I do,” she insisted, and started to press herself into a seated position on the bed. Tango raised his head to look at them.

“Okay, settle down.” He brought her back down under him, brushing her hair back from her cheek, his knuckles barely caressing her skin, yet sending a shiver of longing into her belly. Her hands pressed against the pectoral muscles of his chest, and she yearned to let her fingers caress him. But desire had to wait until he knew it all.

“Evan is dangerous. More than you realize.” She looked up at him, making sure he was giving her his full attention. “Dylan, I don't want you to risk your recovery because of him.”

His fingers caressed her arms from the tip of her shoulder to her elbow. “Julia, the man is stalking you and you refuse to call the police. If you're this worried about my safety and my sanity, why would you risk your own?”

He was right. She was trying to convince him of the danger without admitting the danger Evan was to her. There was nothing they could do if she couldn't prove the intruder had been Evan, but if it would put Dylan's mind at ease, she'd do it. “I'll call them in the morning, I promise.”

She felt the muscles of his arms relax and he lay back, stretched out, tucking her into the curve of his shoulder. “Tell me what happened.”

Julia took a deep breath and stared at the center of his chest. She plucked at his T-shirt, stalling to find a way to make the story easier to tell. “I told you about how Evan came here to get a dog to help with his diabetes, and how about two weeks into training, he started acting strange.”

Dylan didn't say anything, but his hands traced patterns on her back, along her spine, and over her arm. It would have been relaxing under any other circumstances. She worried at his lack of participation in the conversation already.

“I didn't tell you that we dated briefly.” She felt him stiffen under her hands. “It wasn't serious and it was short-lived, only three dates, when he started trying to force me to . . . ” Julia took a deep breath and dug her nails into her palms, forcing herself to stay in the moment. “He wanted more than I would give. When I said no, he started acting out. Misty, his dog, began growling at him and refusing to work with him. One night he was standing in my room over my bed while I was sleeping. I ordered him to leave the property. He refused, apologized, and blamed it on his medical issues.”

“You believed him?” It was the first words he'd spoken since she began. She looked up at him, and relief coursed through her when she saw the compassion in his eyes.

“Yes. I guess I just didn't want to believe that anyone would deliberately do something so creepy.” She closed her eyes, pressing her face against the hard wall of his chest, drawing from the steady heartbeat she could hear within him. “Two days later, we took Misty out to do some work in the woods, and he grabbed me and pushed me against a tree.”

She felt him tense under her hands, matching the tension she could feel in her own body. But she had to get this out, to purge the poison from her mind again. “I hit my head and everything went blurry. He tried to force himself on me again, but Misty . . . she turned on him. First, she bit into his leg and he kicked her.”

The memories came flooding back. The pain radiating through her head, her vision too blurred to get away, the nausea, the yelp of pain when his foot connected with Misty's ribs as she tried to protect Julia. She had no idea how she managed to remain conscious long enough to run back to the house while Misty held him off, or where she found her cell phone. But she clearly remembered Evan's attack when he followed her inside and found out she'd called the police.

“I told him I called the cops. I thought that would scare him away. Instead, it made him more violent.” She couldn't meet his gaze, even knowing he wasn't likely to judge her. “It was stupid. I should have locked the bedroom door and hidden.” She closed her eyes, trying to steel herself against falling into the memories. “I didn't see it coming when he swung at me. Then Misty came in through the dog door in the back.”

“He hit you?” His voice rumbled low in his chest, almost a ferocious growl.

Julia nodded. “Several times. When he threw me onto the bed, Misty stood over me, trying to protect me. She attacked him and must have been able to stop him. The police found him bleeding at the end of the hall with Misty lying in front of my bedroom doorway.” She could barely bring herself to say the next words. “Justin couldn't save her.”

Dylan held her to his chest, a hand brushing over her hair. She could feel his body trembling beneath her, and she looked up at him. She could see fury in his eyes, but it wasn't directed at her. His lips were pinched into a thin line. “What happened when the police arrived?”

“I don't know. I woke in the hospital a few days later. They kept me out for a few days because there had been a lot of swelling on my brain. Apparently, Justin said it was touch-and-go the first few days.”

Dylan ran a finger over the scar at her hairline. “That's how you got this?” Julia nodded. “Did he . . . ”

She shook her head. “They checked at the hospital and said no. I think Misty chased him out and wouldn't let him back inside.” Her tears fell against his chest, wetting his T-shirt. “She died protecting me.”

Her breath caught in her throat and the sobs came. She couldn't have said more if she'd wanted to, but it wasn't necessary. Dylan seemed to understand that what she needed most was to be held, to release the pain and sorrow and regret. He pressed his lips over her forehead, touching them to her scar before looking into her eyes.

“I promise, you are safe tonight. Nothing is going to touch you while I'm here.”

Julia clung to him, her arms around his waist as her tears continued to fall. She wasn't sure when they stopped. She was only aware of the strong foundation she lay against, the steady heartbeat in her ear, as she floated into the sweet oblivion of sleep.

I
WILL KILL
the man.

Dylan had saved lives. It was his job to rescue fallen soldiers, to protect the sanctity of life. But if he ever saw Evan again, if he got the chance to be close enough to get his hands on him, the only thing on Dylan's mind would be which painful method he would choose to murder the man. That monster made what he'd faced in Afghanistan seem easy. At least there, Dylan had been prepared for the evil he faced. He'd known he was in enemy territory, and that danger was as much a part of living as breathing. But Evan had been welcomed into Julia's home; she'd tried to help him. All the while, her enemy had been lurking beneath the friendly surface.