up with some kind of plan.”
“Will they go after them?”
“Most likely,” he hedged, “but until we get details, I just can’t say.” He gave her a searching look. “I know this has upset you a lot.”
“Understatement. The last thing I thought I’d ever see in that restaurant was Dirk walking in.” She took a deep, shaky breath, holding his sympathetic gaze. “I was so scared, Chase. So scared . . .”
“Anyone would be,” he soothed. “But look what you did, Cari. You did everything right. Everything that I taught you about surveillance.”
“I can’t believe I did it, Chase. Internally? I just shake my head and wonder how I managed to do it. My fear has never been greater than in that moment.”
“I believe you.” He looked around the busy place. “What do you want to do?”
“Go home. Back to the ranch. Is that all right, Chase? I don’t want Dirk to follow me there.”
“He didn’t recognize you, Cari,” he said gently.
“Oh . . . well . . . yes, I guess you’re right,” and she touched her temple. “I’m just like a roiling nest of angry hornets right now. I know I’m not thinking clearly.”
“By going to the ranch, you’ll be safe,” he promised. “Personally? I want you nowhere else but there, in that ranch home, with me until we have more intel and a plan of action from Dan and the FBI.”
Cari gave him a painful look. “Why did Dirk show up here of all places? I’m in panic mode, Chase. Did he hack my parents’ computer? Their cell phones? My parents do not have any information on me in either place. How did he know I was here?” She jabbed her index finger down at the floor, her voice filled with fear.
“I don’t know, Cari. It could be nothing but bad luck; you were at the wrong place at the wrong time. It could be that simple of an explanation.”
She snorted. “Dirk hates me. He’s always hated me. And he meant it when he said he was going to find me and kill me.”
“I believe that. But let’s wait until Dan and that FBI agent can put their heads together on a plan. Right now, we know for sure that Dirk is here, in our area. What that means? No one knows.” He stood up, offering her his hand. “Come on, let’s go home.”
Without hesitation, she took his hand. His flesh was toughened with hard, constant outdoor work, hand broad, fingers long, the dark hair on the back of it reminding her how powerful and masculine he always seemed to her. As his fingers curled around hers, she leaned against his right shoulder.
“I want to hold you, Cari,” he rasped.
“Yes . . .” She felt him enclose her gently, guiding her cheek against his shirt, feeling the firmness of his flesh beneath it, the scent of him as a man. Automatically, she leaned fully against him, hungry to have his arms coming around her shoulders. He stood there, unmoving, allowing her to be as close or as far away from him as she wanted to be, allowing her the choice, which was hers alone.
Closing her eyes, her head beneath his chin, which rested softly on her hair, she leaned fully against him, almost sagging, struggling to stand upright because her knees were still mushy feeling, even now.
Chase held her, feeling her tremble. She felt frail to him. Inhaling the sweet fragrance that was only her, he rasped against her hair, “It’s going to be all right, Cari. We’ll get through this together. We’re a good team . . .”
Hot tears crowded instantly into her tightly shut eyes. Her arms went around his torso and she held him hard, never wanting this moment, or this sense of safety, to end. Her emotions wrestled with her mind. Just having him standing like a giant Sequoia tree hardened by the elements for thousands of years, yet feeling his gentleness, the way his arms lightly enclosed her, not a gesture of unspoken possession, but letting her know she was truly protected, washed through her, erasing so much of her raw anxiety.
Forcing herself to stand, to release him, Cari looked up at him. His gray eyes were almost colorless, pupils huge and black, trained upon her and she felt nothing but that wonderful heat of protection that continued to blanket her. “I-I’ll be okay,” she managed, stepping away, her arms dropping from around his waist. “Thanks, Chase . . . I needed that