Shattered Trust

Natalie was eyeing him curiously. “Thank you for coming to my rescue... It’s a good thing you were there. I’m Natalie Harper, by the way... But then, you knew that already.”

“Luke Everett,” he introduced himself, knowing that after calling out her name on the beach earlier, he couldn’t exactly keep his identity from her. “I’m with Shield. Your dad hired me to watch out for you on this trip.”

“Of course he did.” She didn’t look surprised. She looked resigned.

“You don’t look happy about it.”

She shrugged, flashing a half-hearted smile. “My father is overprotective. It gets a little old. Tonight, though, I’m thankful for it.”

Her dad’s borderline obsession with his family’s security was well respected within Shield. Almost twenty years ago, the Harpers had lost their only son in a tragic abduction that had ended in the little boy’s murder. Natalie and her twin sister had been eight or nine at the time. Luke could see how growing up under the watchful eye of an always-present security team could feel suffocating and intrusive.

The office door opened and the officer reentered, handing a fresh towel to Natalie. Then he skirted the small desk and typed on the computer keyboard as Natalie folded the stained towel into her lap and applied the new one to the wound.

“First, what is your name, miss?” the officer asked.

“Natalie Harper,” she stated. “Room 112.”

Officer Canto used only his two index fingers to type, his data entry excruciatingly slow. Luke groaned inwardly, but then Natalie glanced his way, a comical eyebrow raised in camaraderie, and he almost laughed. Forcing himself to relax, he leaned against the wall, settling in for what looked like would be a lengthy interview.

Luke listened and watched as Natalie recounted the details of the attack with precision and a surprising calm. The only visible sign of stress he’d caught was the slight tremor in her hand when she pushed her hair behind her ear.

But then, Natalie had grown up in the public eye. She was also a PR exec at a prestigious firm in downtown Baltimore, definitely not a person who would easily collapse under pressure.

“Can you describe the assailant?” the officer asked.

“He was taller than me by several inches,” she answered. “Not quite six feet. Medium build, but muscular. Wearing all black. Gloves. A bandanna. I couldn’t really see his face.”

“Tattoos? Scars? Hair color?” the officer prompted.

“His hair was dark. Brown or black. Straight, short. I didn’t see any tattoos or scars.” She looked at Luke. “Did you?”

He shook his head, pushing off from the wall and grabbing a tissue from a box on the desk. “No. But this is his knife.” Using the tissue, he retrieved the knife from his pocket and set it on the desk.

The officer’s eyes narrowed in on Luke. “Are you two traveling together?”

“I’m part of her private security team.” No need for anyone to know the rest of the team was back in the States.

“Most people do not bring private security to our resort.”

“Considering what happened tonight,” Luke said, “perhaps they should.”

The officer scowled, but didn’t respond. Instead, he slowly clicked a few more keys on his keyboard and then turned his attention back to them. “I am very sorry for your experience,” he said—with questionable sincerity. “We will investigate the matter.” He pulled open a drawer and handed Luke his business card before crossing the tight room and opening the door for them.

Natalie stood to leave, but Luke didn’t budge. No way would he let the matter stand like this, trusting the resort’s security team to properly investigate the assault. “I’d like to speak with local police right away,” he said. “Would you call an officer to the hotel?”

“I have called already. We will ring your room when an officer arrives.” He motioned to the door again, dismissing them.

“Ms. Harper will need a new room,” Luke pointed out, still not making a move to leave. The mugger would have access to her key card in her purse, so new security measures would need to be put in place. “And we’ll need transportation to a nearby clinic where she can have her injury taken care of.”

The officer hesitated for the briefest of moments before nodding. “I will arrange for transportation. Let us go speak with the front desk about the room.”

* * *

Despite the less than impressive security response at the hotel, the staff at the front desk were efficient and accommodating. Within minutes, Natalie and Luke were all set, new key cards in hand for side-by-side rooms on the seventh floor.

Luke wished he’d arrived just a little sooner that evening, but it’d been impossible to get an earlier flight. At least he’d gotten to the beach in time to intervene, or things could have been a whole lot worse.

Maybe it had been a crime of opportunity. Maybe. But Luke wasn’t going to take any chances. The woman wouldn’t leave his sight for the next seven days, except to use the bathroom and sleep. If he was honest with himself, he’d be a lot more comfortable with backup right about now. He felt a little out of his element since he’d been slowly cutting back his hours at Shield over the past several months in favor of devoting more time to the community center he was trying to get off the ground.

The project had been a dream for years, but after a gunshot wound on assignment last year, he’d decided it was time to make the dream a reality. Renovations were well underway on the building he had leased, and grant money had been flowing in. But when Roman had called to offer him the contract, Luke hadn’t hesitated to accept. Roman had been convincing enough—mentioning how short-staffed Shield was at the moment, as well as how handy Luke’s minor in Spanish would be. But when Luke heard the payout, he was sold. His sister, Triss, was heading into her last year of college, and he had the idea to use the paycheck to surprise her by covering her next tuition bill.

But first, the task at hand. They’d need to gather their belongings and transport them up to the new rooms. As they approached Natalie’s old room, Luke’s hand came to her elbow, keeping her close.

“Allow me,” he said, reaching over to take the key card from her.

“I can manage,” she responded, swiping the card in front of the lock mechanism.

Luke’s hand covered hers on the handle. “Someone has your old key. I’m not taking any chances.”

After all, Natalie had been entrusted to his care. Sure, guarding her was a job, and he was getting paid to do it, but he took the work as seriously as he’d taken raising his younger siblings after he’d won custody. His commitment. His responsibility.

“Fair point,” she said, her hand sliding out from under his palm. She didn’t stand back, though. Instead, she drew a little closer, and he caught a whiff of salty air and sunscreen mixed with a citrusy scent that could have been shampoo or perfume.

Her nearness triggered an unexpected attraction, Luke’s pulse surging double-time. He steadfastly ignored it. He’d learned his lesson two years ago, and he’d remember it. The workplace was no place for romance. Especially the private security workplace, where emotions often ran high and created a false sense of connection.

He pushed the thoughts aside and opened the door, flicking on the light as he stepped into the room.

A suitcase lay on the floor, clothes dumped beside it. The mattress had been tossed from the bed, sheets and pillows thrown into a pile. Balmy air billowed in from the open sliding glass door, dark shadows undulating on the balcony behind it.

An escape route for the intruder? Or a hiding place?

He wasn’t going to investigate. Not with Natalie stepping into the room behind him.

“What—” she started, but he grabbed her arm, tugging her back over the threshold and into the hall. The room was silent and still—no sign of an intruder lying in wait. He eyed the closed closet door and the one that opened into the bathroom, then fixed his attention back on the balcony. The perp had entered that way. Or he’d entered through the door and left that way. If he’d left. Luke reached into the room and flicked off the light, watching the shadows play on the balcony curtains.

“Do you—”

“Shhhhh,” he whispered in Natalie’s ear.

She stilled, and he knew she was watching the curtains, knew she was seeing what he did—a subtle shift in the shadows that seemed out of sync with the fluttering fabric.

A person? Or just the exterior lights playing tricks on his eyes? There. Gone. There again. He thought he heard a soft thud, a quiet rustle of fabric. Then the wind shifted, the curtains fell back into place and the balcony went still and silent once again.

TWO

It was closing in on midnight as Natalie finished sorting through her belongings. The police had taken photos and dusted for prints, and had been hovering with notepads ever since.

Luke didn’t hover.

He helped, lifting the heavier items, asking questions about what she’d brought and what she still had. So far, it appeared the thief had stolen her passport, her cell phone, the two-hundred dollars she had stored in the room’s safe and her small stash of jewelry. Everything else seemed to be accounted for, including her laptop, along with the barely-used bottle of Gucci perfume Kyle had given her for her birthday.

Natalie gave the room a final once-over. “I think that’s all.”

“Can you describe the missing jewelry?” Officer Perez asked. He’d been the first police officer on the scene, and his demeanor was empathetic and professional. His suit was a crisp clean tan, a contrast to the weathered lines on his face and his disheveled graying hair.

“Diamond studs.” Her dad had given them to her when she turned sixteen. “A few pieces of costume jewelry that aren’t worth much. A single strand pearl necklace.” Her great-grandmother’s. Aside from the earrings, it was the only thing she was really going to miss.

Natalie’s bottom lip trembled and she turned away, busying herself with collecting a few more articles of clothing from the floor.

“And the value of the items?”

“The earrings, under five-hundred dollars. We had the necklace appraised a few years ago for twelve hundred.”

“Everything else is accounted for?”

She remembered tucking a few pieces of jewelry into her makeup bag, and she walked into the bathroom to see if the thief had gotten to them, too.

“Yes,” she said, pulling out two silver-chained necklaces and a handful of beaded bracelets. Not valuable. “That’s everything.”

“We will need you both to come to the station for fingerprints in the morning.”

“How about we just drop by after we go to the hospital?” Luke suggested, looking to Natalie for agreement. “The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can deal with the missing passport and get you out of here.”

“Right.” Her passport. She’d need it to get home—and it went without saying that home was where she needed to be.

She grabbed a pair of sandals and snagged the first outfit she saw. “I need to change. Then we can go.”

The four officers in the room filed out the door and into the hallway. “We will wait outside,” Officer Perez said.

Luke didn’t follow.

Natalie waited.

He still didn’t leave.

“You can wait with them,” she nudged.

“No. I can’t.”

“But—”

“Natalie, I’m not leaving you in the room alone. There’s no exterior entrance to the bathroom. You can change there.”

That was it. Just a pronouncement, which in normal circumstances would have made her bristle. But tonight the words were a comfort, a source of security. Since getting on the airplane this morning, Natalie had never felt so alone in her life. But Luke wasn’t about to leave her alone for a minute.

She walked into the bathroom and shut the door, her hands shaking as she changed out of her beach clothes, her shoulder throbbing under the bandages the hotel staff had rounded up. Sand scattered from her clothes onto the cool tile floor, and she changed quickly into a clean pair of jeans and a white tank top, splashed water on her face and then patted her skin dry with a towel. Her hair was a wreck, but there wasn’t much she could do about the now-limp curls her hairdresser had carefully styled early that morning. She plucked the pearl hair pin out of her hair and ran her fingers through the tangles, noticing the deep pink along her nose and cheeks. Reapplying sunscreen had been the furthest thing from her mind earlier. She’d just been relieved to have snagged a flight out early that afternoon, and happy to have some time alone. Otherwise, she would have been stuck in a hotel room back in Maryland until her scheduled Sunday-morning flight, with no excuse not to answer her phone or open her door to concerned friends and family.

Luke knocked. “You okay?”

“Yes, I’ll be right there.” Leaving her hair for later, she scooped up her discarded clothing from the floor, reaching for the door. But the distinct clink of metal on tile stopped her, and she glanced at the ground to see her engagement ring rolling to a stop near the shower. She bent down to retrieve it, light flashing off the stones, the gaudiness of it reminding her of the lavish wedding Kyle had insisted they plan. The bigger, the better. That’s what he’d said, and she’d agreed because it had seemed easier than arguing.

She glanced at the trash can, but knew she couldn’t just discard the band. She might not like it, but throwing it away would be a selfish waste.

She grabbed a silver necklace chain from her makeup bag, replacing its heart pendant with the ugly ring before clasping the necklace behind her neck—for safekeeping rather than sentiment. Letting the heavy weight of the ring drop beneath her shirt, she opened the door and found Luke standing right at the threshold. He stepped back to let her pass, his dark brown eyes searching hers.

“Ready to go?”

Something about the way he looked at her, genuine concern in his gaze, made Natalie look away. “Almost,” she said, sidling past him and shoving her beach clothes and toiletry bag into her suitcase.

It was a lie. She wasn’t ready. She could handle the sympathetic looks from her family and friends. She could handle returning all the gifts and packing away her gown. But seeing Kyle again?

Her face burned at the thought as she and Luke grabbed her strewn belongings and packed them away. She never would have thought Kyle could be so heartless. So selfish. How dare he go through the motions of the elaborate rehearsal dinner, enjoy a night on the town with his buddies and then send her a text to cancel the wedding?

She zipped the suitcase and then her backpack carry-on.

“Is that everything?” Luke asked, slinging the carry-on over his shoulder and grabbing the suitcase by the handle.

She nodded.

“We’ll ask at the front desk to have your luggage transferred to the new room.” He reached with his free hand and opened the door for her.

Officer Perez stood just outside the door, the others having already dispersed. He nodded in greeting and led them down the hall toward the hotel lobby. The corridor was silent, the only sounds the tap of their shoes and the rolling of the suitcase along the tile. Natalie shivered, fear crawling up her neck as the entryway came into view. Her attacker was out there somewhere. Had he stuck around? Was he following them? Watching?

Luke paused at the reception desk to hand over the luggage, and Natalie turned back, peering down the hall.

“He’d be a fool to hang around,” Luke said, drawing close. “But if he does, he won’t get anywhere near you.”

His hand came to her back, surprising her with its warmth and familiarity as he guided her toward the glass doors that led to the parking lot. He smelled like sunshine and salt water and something indefinably masculine. For a fraction of a second, she was tempted to slide her arm around his back and lean into his side.

Obviously, exhaustion was making her mind do funny things. As the hotel doors slid open in front of them, she folded her arms at her middle and away from Luke and the unwanted feelings threatening to surface.

Darkness edged the parking lot. A gentle wind rippled over her shoulders, leaving a chill in its wake, despite the warmth of the evening. She shivered, and Luke draped his jacket over her shoulders, careful of the wound.

“Thank you,” she murmured.

Luke opened the rear-passenger door, waiting for her to slide into the back seat before he did the same. She should have been disappointed to leave as the cruiser pulled away from the hotel, but she wanted to get as far away as possible, as quickly as possible.

“How hard do you think it’ll be to get a new passport?” she asked Luke.

“Not sure. We’ll need to go to the consulate’s office. It’s closed on Sundays.”

Natalie bit back her disappointment and the car fell silent as the ocean view disappeared and the car sped along a narrow tree-lined road toward the hospital. Darkness shrouded the area, stars disappearing behind gathering clouds. A storm was coming. Even so, the clouds weren’t yet thick enough to mask the glimmer of moonlight along the treetops ahead. And with the car windows cracked to the sea-scented breeze, the quiet beauty of the scene soothed some of Natalie’s nerves. God is here, even on roads filled with shadows and pathways shrouded in darkness. That’s what the world seemed to whisper, what the distant crash of the ocean surf seemed to say.

But for years, Natalie had struggled to believe it was true.

Had God been there on that beach with her tonight? Without a doubt. But what about everything else? The lost relationship she’d thought was a sure thing, her uncertain plans for the future? What about her brother’s murder? Her mother’s slow decline into a depression that would eventually take her life? Where was God in those dark hours? Those were questions with no easy answers, questions that made her faith seem hollow, her prayers feel empty. She blinked back the sudden sting of tears, pushed the questions away like she always did and took a steadying breath. But as the streetlights appeared farther and farther apart and the ocean disappeared from view, a suffocating sense of fear took hold. Somewhere, her attacker was out there. Would she make it home before he found her again?

“You have a security system back at your place?”

Luke’s question yanked her out of her thoughts, and she glanced his way. “I do. But I never use it. Do you really think trouble will follow me there?”

“Doesn’t seem likely,” Luke said, but he didn’t look convinced. “It’s always safest to plan for the worst.”

Natalie preferred to plan for the best, but she had to admit that Luke’s strategy was wiser. She’d been impressed with Shield Protection Services since her father started contracting with them a few years ago, but she’d never personally worked with anyone from the company. He’d used another company for years before he’d realized that it was time to downsize his security measures. Natalie and her sister, Kristin, had been out of the house for quite some time, and he’d started to realize that he’d gone a little overboard while they were growing up.

Natalie couldn’t blame him. She imagined she may have been just like him if Liam had been her son and she’d had two little girls to protect as a single parent. But growing up with a parent who was obsessed with safety had set her up for all kinds of fears that she continued to battle as an adult. After tonight, she couldn’t help but consider that her father’s fears may not have been all that unfounded.

“How long have you been with Shield?” she asked Luke, curious.

“About five years.”

“Almost since the beginning.”

“Roman and I go way back.”

Natalie had met Roman DeHart and interacted with him a few times. She remembered him as a little intimidating, his eyes dark and intense, always serious and professional when she’d observed him. There’d never been any doubt in her mind that her dad had hired the best private security company around. Luke’s performance so far had only solidified her judgment.

“I’m surprised I’ve never met you.”

“Spent the first three years as a security engineer before training under Roman as a bodyguard. Now I just work for Shield on a contract basis. Trying to get a community center off the ground in my old neighborhood in Cherry Hill.”

“What kind of community center?” Natalie asked, her interest piqued.

Streetlights cast shadows through the cab, and Luke shifted in his seat to face her. “A place where kids can come after school for help with homework, pickup basketball games, a free meal. I’d like to get some small group Bible studies started, too. And eventually literacy and parenting classes. Things like that.”

She barely knew him, but she was immediately rooting for his success. The sincerity in his expression and the determined tone of his voice spoke to the immeasurable time he had likely poured into planning. “It sounds amazing. And like a lot of work.”

“It’ll be worth every dollar and every second I sink into it.”

There was a story there. She didn’t have a chance to ask about it because the cruiser was pulling up to the hospital entrance. Time to get her shoulder patched up and then head to the police station. Neither task appealed to her, but she wasn’t a complainer, and she’d do what needed to be done, like she always did.

* * *

Luke paced the floor, silently strategizing his next steps as Natalie’s shoulder got stitched up.

“Feel free to wait outside,” Natalie said wryly. “I’m sure I’ll be safe enough in here.”

“Trying to get rid of me?” He leaned against the wall, sending her a sympathetic grin. She seemed unfazed by the needle moving in and out of her skin, the clenched fists in her lap the only sign of her discomfort.

“Maybe,” she admitted. “I’m not keen on having a needle poked through my flesh. The thought of a stranger watching it happen thrills me even less.”

“I’m not watching the needle,” he said, his gaze never wavering from hers as the doctor shot more painkiller into the area around the knife wound. Come to think of it, her sun-kissed skin had paled, her breathing shallow.

“Some vacation, huh?” Luke asked, hoping to get her mind off the procedure.

“Not exactly what I had in mind.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“I’m sure my father filled you in—a romantic honeymoon with the man who was supposed to love me. You know, until death do us part and all that.” She pressed her lips together as if regretting the words. “I’m sure you don’t want to hear all the sordid details.”

He wouldn’t mind hearing the sordid details, but he wouldn’t press her for more. “I’m sorry,” he offered quietly. “One-sided love hurts.”

He knew that all too well. Had learned it first as a young kid, desperately trying to convince his mom to get help, to change, to love him and his siblings more than she loved her addictions and her dysfunctional romantic relationships. And the theme had repeated itself in his life more than once.

“It’s hard to come to terms with the idea that it was one-sided.”

He read confusion in her eyes, and it was clear that she had been blindsided by her fiancé’s wedding-day abandonment. He had the urge to tell her all the things he knew she wouldn’t want to hear—that she was better off without the jerk, that she had a lot going for her in life, that the right person for her would show up when she least expected him. But he had a feeling that any words he offered would come across as useless platitudes.

“All done,” the doctor said, drawing back. “Eight stitches.”

“Not bad.” Luke offered Natalie a hand as she sat up.

She straightened, but her grip on Luke’s hand felt weak. He slid an arm behind her back for more support as the doctor reviewed care instructions for the wound and then opened the door for them. As Natalie’s feet met the ground, Luke held her arm, steadying her.