Her Hidden Falls Bodyguard Billionaire Cowboy - Taylor Hart Page 0,41

putting their lives at risk again. He paced the living room, his mind churning as he weighed the pros and cons.

Zoey had taken off her shoes and opened up all the blinds. She stared out past the swimming pool and toward the ocean. “Dang, it’s beautiful here. I’m so glad we came.”

“There has to be a way to access this without sending red flags to everyone.”

“I wish.” Zoey stayed by the window.

In a flash of inspiration, he knew what he had to do. “Hold up.” He went to his room and took one of the burner phones he’d bought at the store. His heart raced, but he knew who could help him. Well, he would at least try to help him. He pushed Kane’s private cell number, the one that only Sean, his brothers, and his friend Ivan had access to. Kane worked for the government developing all kinds of software, and he didn’t trust anyone. Except them.

He walked past Zoey, who quickly noted he was on the phone. She gave him a puzzled expression.

Kane picked up. “I don’t know who the hell this is, but you’d better get off my line and never call again.”

“Kane, it’s me.”

Hesitation, then an exhale of breath. “Sean, what are you doing calling this number?”

“You know it’s one of those situations if I am calling you, right?” Sean moved out of the beach house and gestured for Zoey to follow him. He’d left his phone in the house again. He suspected that Zoey might be right. If they weren’t being listened to, they were probably being watched. “Kane, I need your help.” He explained the situation about the chip with the information on it, what Zoey’s brother had done with it, and how it had flagged both the FBI and the mafia.

Kane was quiet for a minute. Then he replied, “I’ll send out coordinates to meet me at. Bring a car that’s not tracked. Uber it. Don’t bring your cell. Bring Zoey. We’ll get to the bottom of this.”

Sean got off the phone and quickly relayed the information to Zoey. He pulled her into a hug and held her. His embrace tightened when he felt her shaking. “You’re scared.”

“I’m okay,” she lied. “Thank you. I love you.”

All Sean Hardman knew was that the woman he’d loved for so long, the woman who he’d never thought would love him back, had just told him that she loved him. And he believed her.

He would protect this woman with his life if he had to. He’d do anything for her.

Chapter 21

Zoey didn’t feel great about letting the Hardmans become even more involved in this whole thing, but what choice did she have? She wanted to do the right thing, but it was no longer just about her; as Sean had told her, they were family.

As they took the Uber to meet Kane at an abandoned warehouse only accessible through a security gate, she was dumbfounded when a helicopter started descending. Her bafflement only increased when Kane, Ryan, Sean, and a man she recognized as Richard Chavez emerged from the helicopter. It made sense when she thought about it, though. His other brother, Kent, was a surgeon and mostly worked in Charleston, so he was pretty busy.

Richard had courted Star pretty heavily before she married Beau. He had been captured with Ryan in Afghanistan. She’d heard the amazing story of bravery as they’d fought their way out together. Ryan and Richard shared a bond only forged through extreme hardship.

All of the men embraced each other, then extended the hug to her.

Ryan offered her a shoe box—her shoe box. “Charlotte said she loves you and she has all of your things, but she thought you might like to have this.”

Tears filled her eyes as she opened the box, and they spilled over as she saw all of the pictures of her, her brother, and their mother. “Thank you.”

Beau pulled her into a hug, holding her for an extra-long time, and cocked an eyebrow. “Really? You couldn’t have warned us that smarmy thugs would be coming to our town?”

“I’m sorry.” She hated that they were even dragged into this mess. Her mess.

Kane smacked Beau on the back of the head. “Leave her alone. She was in WITSEC, remember?”

“If you touch me again, I swear you’ll get a whooping.” Beau gave Kane a warning look.

Richard hugged her. “Nice to see you, Miss …?”

“Fletcher,” she said, smiling at him.

“Right.”

Ryan chucked Beau on the shoulder. “Stop.”

“Hey,” Beau said, genuinely looking ticked off.

Sean suddenly