Her Hidden Falls Bodyguard Billionaire Cowboy - Taylor Hart Page 0,23
out at the ocean. She hadn’t been to the beach for so long, not since the summer before her mother had gotten cancer and before Brian had started walking around like a worried zombie while trying to pay hospital bills.
She kicked off her flip-flops and then ran out to the surf, laughing at the moist sand crumbling between her toes. Dang, this was heaven.
“Just hold up now,” Sean called out.
She turned and saw him by the gate, tugging off his shoes. It amused her that he was in a suit. From the moment she’d seen the cowboy dressed up all FBI, she’d wanted to make some wisecracking remark, but it hadn’t been the right time.
Sean removed his shoes and carefully rolled up the edges of his pants. He took his jacket off and carefully folded it and set it on the shoes. Unable to stop herself, she smiled, thinking this cowboy was even less comfortable on the beach.
He began walking toward her, his face stern. “What I was going to say is that we are free to do anything, if we do it together.”
All of the slightly attracted flutters instantly died inside of her. She turned back to the ocean, ignoring him.
“Ang.” His tone was stern. “Are you even hearing me?”
Hearing her name, the name she’d been going by the past three years, suddenly felt like someone had struck the wrong chord in the middle of a grand performance. She ignored him and moved into the water, not caring that she was soaking her clothes. They were filthy anyway, as she was still wearing her workout clothes from that morning’s run.
She dove headfirst into the water, relishing the slight chill before she surfaced and took a breath. She scanned the beach; houses lined the coast for miles. Eventually, the houses gave way to bungalows, then a huge main part of the resort. The Royal Palm. She remembered seeing advertisements for it. She and Star and Charlotte had even talked of doing a girls’ retreat here one day.
Charlotte. Star. Jewel. Madison. Sean’s brothers. The whole town.
Tears burned her eyes, and she splashed her face. All of that was gone now.
Her family was gone.
“Did anyone tell you it’s rude to ignore others when they’re talking to you?”
Angela still didn’t look at him. The truth was, she didn’t know what to say or how to react. Her heart fluttered as she thought of the day he’d confessed his love for her. The day before he’d left Hidden Falls. She thought of that last kiss, which she’d replayed constantly in her mind. It was impossible to forget the feel of his body pressed against hers, the strength of him when she’d skimmed his shoulders with her hands.
He cursed. “Angela.”
The name jerked her back to the present. She met his angry gaze. “Zoey.” She spit out the word like it was bad-tasting food. “You were right. I chose to put your whole family at risk when I moved to Hidden Falls.” Emotion stuck at the back of her throat. “Because they are my friends. I need to talk to them.” It was true; she wanted to hear Charlotte’s voice so badly. More than she even wanted to hack the phone and hook into the dark web.
“I’m not letting you use a phone.”
“I put you and your family in the middle of lies,” she admitted through clenched teeth, “and I had no right to do that. Lies that started when Rafael the thug tried to date me, then blackmailed my brother.” It was stupid, but the tears were coming. She couldn’t hold them back anymore. “And I don’t know what you’ve read about me in your files, but Rafael blackmailed my brother because my mother had cancer and we couldn’t pay the bills.” She barked out a mirthless laugh. “You’re right. All of that was my choice.”
Sean’s face was blank.
She rushed out of the water and shoved past him, snatching up her shoes without slowing down. “I don’t need a rundown of the rules, Agent. I know just fine what ‘lockdown before trial’ means.” She stormed through the gate and onto the deck.
“Would you just wait?” he asked, and something in his voice made her hesitate by the door. He caught up to her. “Just stop.”
She turned to face him, wishing so many things were different, but the facts were the facts. Trust no one. She had to let go of everything that she and Sean had been to each other, no matter how much that