Her Hidden Falls Bodyguard Billionaire Cowboy - Taylor Hart Page 0,14
rag in the windowsill and started dusting. If the feds were here and these idiots were also here, then she’d been found. She’d been trying to break codes last night. She must have triggered something. Curse words flowed into her mind. How would she get out of here and protect her friends?
The back door opened. “Charlotte!” Ryan’s voice filled the shop.
“Praise be,” Charlotte muttered, then called out, “Here.”
Ryan moved into the middle of the shop, and his eyes locked on to the two men. He had been Special Forces, and Angela could already see him assessing how he would disable these men.
They seemed to sense that, too, and both began retreating to the front door.
“You’re not going to buy the books?” Ryan asked, pointing to the books in their hands.
The front door dinged again, and Kane joined the nightmarish party.
Angela’s adrenaline climbed another level as the men in the Suburban got out and started walking toward the shop. She struggled not to hyperventilate.
Kane held his ground by the front door. “Hi.” He looked at Ryan, then his wife, and his eyes swept the room before he crossed his arms. “Seems we have quite a party so early in the morning.” Kane had served in the Army, and now he was a billionaire in the software business, but you’d never know it—he never flashed his money around or talked about it. You would know that he was a tough Hardman, though. He gave the two guys a chin up. “Where are you two headed?”
Scar Face and Mustache Guy dropped their coffees, letting the liquid spatter against the floor, and reached for their waistbands. Angela startled; she hadn’t seen their guns until right now.
Good thing the Hardmans were well armed. Ryan, Kane, and Beau instantly pulled their own guns, and Charlotte was quick to follow.
“Gentlemen,” Ryan said easily, his other hand out. “Let’s move this party outside, shall we?”
Beau motioned with a gun in one hand while he clutched a pastry in the other. “Go,” he said through a mouthful of food, like this was just another day at the office.
Kane turned his back to her, putting himself between her and the men, and gestured to the door. “Out.”
The men kept their guns level, but they slinked to the door.
Scar Face met Angela’s eyes over Kane’s shoulder. “You got lucky.”
“Hands up!” someone called from outside. A man in a suit approached the store. “Hands up!”
It all happened so fast. The smarmy men pushed through the door and ran in the other direction.
Beau took off after them, yelling over his shoulder, “Cover me!”
Angela rushed out. Jewel, Madison, Star, and Charlotte were hot on her heels.
“FBI! Put your weapons down,” one of the suited men called out to them.
“What is this?” Ryan asked, keeping his weapon pointed at the retreating smarmy men. They turned a corner, and Beau chased after them.
Kane looked at the FBI guys, then rushed after his brother. “Ry, I’m pursuing!”
“Stop!” One of the men in a suit pushed a button on his watch. “I’m calling local law enforcement. Stop pursuing.”
Ryan didn’t put his gun down.
The other agent, an agent Angela thought she recognized, raised a hand. “No, no calling local law enforcement.”
But the other suit spoke into his watch. “This is the FBI. We need help keeping your town safe. Please send officers to Main Street.”
“It was not your call to call the cops.”
Angela’s thoughts tripped over each other. What should she do? Part of her wanted to run for her bug-out bag.
The agent who wasn’t talking on his watch turned to her. “Ms. Fletcher, your life is in danger. You need to come with us.”
Angela’s mouth went dry.
Ryan looked at her. “Ms. Fletcher?” he repeated.
“Angela, what’s going on?” Charlotte asked. Her other friends murmured similar concerns.
“Those men were the first of more to come,” the man said. He moved to her side, taking her arm. “You need to come with us now.”
“Hold up now.” Ryan pushed the agent’s hand off of her. “This isn’t ‘Ms. Fletcher.’ This is Angela Orion.”
“No, it’s not.” The agent glared at Ryan. “And you just assaulted a federal agent.”
Ryan pushed his chest out. “I don’t care who you are.” To Angela, he said, “Tell the agent who you are.”
“Ryan,” she said, her voice coming out surprisingly calm. “I’m sorry.”
Charlotte looked at her, aghast. “Angela?”
Angela’s hand reflexively moved to her necklace. Her brother’s words echoed in her mind. Never trust anyone. Never.
The agent who’d been on the phone got off and turned to her. “Ms.