Her Hidden Falls Bodyguard Billionaire Cowboy - Taylor Hart Page 0,19

know?”

“Did I know?” Sean stood, raking a hand through his hair. All thoughts of impressing the director were gone. His mind replayed his memories of Angela, of when she’d moved in and opened the store. Her aloofness and her desire to keep a low profile made sense now. So did her protests against marriage and having a family. More often than he could count, there had been a worried expression on her face when she’d thought no one was looking. And she’d evaded all of his questions expertly.

She was a fugitive.

Sean released a breath. “I didn’t know.”

“I have it in my records that you dated her the past two years. Are you telling me you had no idea?” The director stood.

“We weren’t dating,” Sean snapped. He took a moment to gather himself, then looked at the director. “But it makes sense. She always pushed everyone away. She always told me that marriage and a family weren’t in the cards for her. She told me she didn’t know when she would move, but she was sure she wouldn’t stay.”

The director nodded, then gestured back to the seat in front of him. “That’s what we hoped. Sit, Mr. Hardman. I know this is hard to take in, but time is of the essence.”

Sean sat. He couldn’t seem to catch a breath. His pulse was all whacked out like when he’d done bull-riding competitions when he was fourteen and he’d been about to get in the chute.

“Ms. Fletcher is in our custody, and she is almost here.”

Startled, Sean found himself straightening. “She’s coming here now?”

Agent Anderson nodded. “Yes.”

Sean’s mind whirled with all the information that he’d just learned. His focus narrowed on one thing. “But you said the Cortez family has a leak in this office. How can you make sure she’s safe?”

“Only you and three other agents know about this op. That’s how tight I’m keeping it.”

Sean couldn’t wrap his brain around this turn of events, but at least Angela—or Zoey, or whatever her name was—would be safe.

“You’re a new agent. You, for all intents and purposes, aren’t compromised.”

“No, I’m not.”

“We tracked down Ms. Fletcher right before you joined the FBI, and we’ve been keeping an eye on her. We felt like the safest place would be for her to stay hidden from the Cortez family in Hidden Falls. Unfortunately, we had intel that Rafael’s men found her and were about to kill her, so we intercepted her.”

“Kill her?” Unbelievable. Someone had tried to kill her in the safety of Hidden Falls, and now she was coming here. Sean rubbed his sweaty palms on his pants. His palms never sweated.

“It appears your brothers got involved. There was a shooting.”

He bolted to his feet. “Are they okay?”

The director glanced at his phone. “Yes, local police are there. I guess your brothers Ryan, Kane, and Beau returned fire on Rafael’s men and killed them. Your brothers are fine. Their wives are fine, too.”

An image of a shootout played through Sean’s mind. His heart clenched as he thought of Charlotte, Star, Jewel, and Madison. “Their wives were there?”

The director raised a hand. “They’re fine. But Ms. Fletcher is clearly not safe.”

Sean met the director’s eyes, and even though he felt like he had been bucked off a bronc, he calmed himself. Angela was in good hands. Or was she Zoey? Even thinking of that name associated with her felt foreign and wrong.

“The trial’s in seven days, and we have a safe place for you to go.” The director stood and pointed at the file on his desk. “I have fake IDs and a credit card here for you, and I set you up in Myrtle Beach. A place called the Royal Palm. You’re the Baxters. You’re a billionaire couple on a honeymoon. The kind of billionaire that no one wants to tick off.”

Sean stared at the fake ID. Baxter. “I’m pretending to be married?” He couldn’t believe the irony, and his thoughts simmered with unrest. “To her?”

“Yep. Easy peasy, right?”

Sean shook his head. Something was off. “I don’t understand why it’s so elaborate. Why don’t we just hunker down in a safe house?”

“Because whatever mole we’ve got knows about the safe houses.”

“Right.” That made sense. But this whole deal with Angela—Zoey, he corrected himself—made things more complicated.

Agent Anderson put his hand on Sean’s shoulder. “Just go on the excursions we have lined up for you. Remember, you’ve got a part to play, so play it.”

Something felt wrong, but Sean couldn’t place it. Angela? The fact