me find someone to make my fake ID. That helped a lot. I bought a car with those credentials. And transferred all of my money from my bank to a new bank account. Thankfully, John hadn’t emptied my accounts. He was still waiting for me to marry him so that he could take control of my money.”
“You bought a house, fixed it up, and sold it.”
She grinned weakly at his accurate assumption. “Yep. I made a huge profit on that house. It was just pure dumb luck. I’d stupidly bought a house that was on the edge of a gentrification project. I made about fifty thousand dollars on that one.”
He whistled, but remained silent. “The next house was a bit more adventurous. It took me longer to renovate it.” She shuddered. “It was also the place where John almost found me.” She looked down at her fingers, her nails completely torn and ragged from the hard work. “I learned from that lesson. Lost a lot of money too since I wasn’t able to finish the house. I sold it for less than I’d paid for it. But I got away. The next three houses I made sure were fast and easy. I fixed them up in less than six months and moved on.”
“You were going to do the same thing here, weren’t you?”
She nodded silently.
“And leave me?”
She looked up at him, her eyes shimmering with tears. “I wasn’t counting on you, Derick.”
His hands tightened around her waist. “Now what?”
She sighed, closing her eyes. “I have to go,” she told him. “I won’t put you in danger.”
He stared at her for a long moment. Then she heard a strange rumbling coming from his chest. Laughter? At a moment like this? Was he seriously laughing?
Yes. He threw back his head, laughing outrageously at her statement, shaking his head. When he’d regained control, he opened his mouth to say something but shook his head and kissed her gently. “Honey, I think you need to get to know me a bit better. But first, we’re going to the police station.”
“No!” she gasped.
Derick cocked a dark eyebrow. “No? Why not?”
“They won’t do anything about John. They won’t believe me.”
He shook his head. “I know the local sheriff. Trust me, he’ll believe you.”
Carrie took his arm, pulling his hand away from the steering wheel. “Derick, I just…” she paused.
Derick understood and leaned forward, kissing her tenderly. It wasn’t a sexual kiss. This was a kiss of promise. When he lifted his head, he cupped her chin and looked into her eyes. “It’s not just the sheriff, honey. It’s also my team. Abby and Lexie suspected what had happened to you. My boss, General Kelley, has already ordered you to be protected.”
“No!” she gasped. “You don’t understand! John, he knows things! He knows how to get around people who are looking for him! It’s too dangerous.”
He chuckled again. “Jo…Carrie, I’m a U.S. Army Delta Force team member.” He waited for his words to sink in. “I’m special forces. Finding people, eliminating threats…that’s what we do. That’s my job. It’s what I train for.” He leaned forward and gave her another hard kiss. “It’s what I live for.”
She felt a rush of…hope?
“Fine!” she replied finally. “But if I’m talking to the sheriff, then I need to get something back at my house.”
He shook his head. “You’re not going back there. Not until this threat is gone.”
She smiled up at him, her heart melting for this big, wonderful man. “I appreciate that. But in order to convince the sheriff, I need an envelope. It’s in my bedroom in a duffel bag in the corner.”
Derick lifted his phone up and dialed a number, telling whoever answered about the envelope. “Yep. If you can get that and meet us at the sheriff’s office, that would be a big help.”
The other person must have agreed, because Derick ended the call with a nod, then slid the phone back into his pocket and started up the engine. “We’re set. We’ll meet Mike at the sheriff’s office. He’ll be there only a few minutes after us.”
Fifteen minutes later, Derick walked into the sheriff’s office, a hand on Carrie’s back. She wasn’t sure if he was offering support or comfort. Probably both.
“Hey Richard,” Derick called out. “I need your help with something,” he said to the sheriff who was standing next to someone’s desk.
“Sure,” the guy replied. “Come on back to my office.”
Derick went through the security door and they wove through the desks toward