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Today she was sied woman who used to be someone
Growing old was a bitch
The er finally left Dominique crossed to theand stared out at the view She wasn’t sure why Chantal had settled in this small town at the foot of the Sierra Nevadas, but she had Now as she stared up at the snow-covered peaks, she shivered slightly Her journey was like that of a ather supplies, then she would oal wasn’t physical, but e and she could fail
She turned and glanced at her bodyguard Justice Garrett carried himself like a man comfortable in any situation He had military experience of some kind, was licensed to carry a concealed weapon and could probably stop a bullet with his bare hands He was extremely well trained He was the sort of erous parts of the world With his dark blond hair and deep blue eyes, he was handsoaze He was a ht
Now he looked back at her, as if asking, “What next?”
As if she had the answer She’d hired hiet to know each other
“Youto the living rooer could an old woman like me be in?” She closed the minibar and walked to the small tote that had been left on the coffee table After opening it, she pulled out a bottle of eighteen-year-old Scotch
She held up the bottle in invitation
“I’m on duty”
She smiled “We both know no one is after me”
“Then why aht smile “I don’t come cheap”
She opened the Scotch and poured solasses She picked up one and settled on the sofa Justice ca roolance at the drink
“Money isn’t one of my problems,” she told him, then took a sip The sh for several lifeti Youth, love, family”
“You have a daughter”
“Technically Biologically She doesn’t lovethe more difficult truth was that Chantal could barely stand her “What did you think of her?”
“She’s lovely”
Dos, but not lovely She’s capable and strong She gets both of those from me I am not the delicate flower you see before you”
She rose and walked into the bedroom Justice followed her as far as the doorway She motioned to the three suitcases by the dresser A fourth had been put on a luggage rack
“Would you please put those on the bed for me?”
He did as she requested and stepped back She set her drink on the nightstand, then opened the smallest of the suitcases Inside were several carefully wrapped pictures She took the top one and removed the protective layers, then held out the framed photo
“My husband,” she said
Justice took the picture
She didn’t have to look at it to see Dan So tall and handsome He’d swept her off her feet within a few ed for Dan to put in shelves in Dominique’s New York dance studio She’d shown up unexpectedly to find hi He’d turned around, smiled and she’d been lost
They’d married two er and all her friends But she’d never regretted the impulsive decision They’d loved each other until the day he died There had been other men in her life and in her bed Before him and after he’d died But no one else had ever touched her heart
“He looks happy,” Justice said, returning the picture to her
She took it and placed it on the dresser “He was He had led with that, she re to be the center of her husband’s universe How he’d devoted hihter So, perhaps But true
She offered another picture This one of a three-year-old Chantal in a tutu Even then she’d been too tall and far too aard She’d wanted to play with trucks instead of dolls and she had no patience or talent for any kind of dance
“I wanted a daughter like myself A dancer So? If you want God to laugh, make plans?”
Justice gave her back that picture
“No advice?” she asked
“Not in the job description”
“Were you a spy, Justice?”
“Nothing that exciting”
“I’m not sure I believe you Do you think I’m attractive?”
Nothing about his expression changed “Ma’am?”
She s to seduce you I used to be beautiful A sheik once offered ht with hio It was before I met my husband, so I said yes” The smile returned and broadened as she re he sent me home with the million dollars and a diamond necklace He wanted to marry me, of course So many of them did”
She sighed, knowing the ht Sometimes they were just like her former suitors Insistent Determined
“Well, Justice Garrett, I will see you in theYou have your room key?”
He touched his jacket pocket “You never answered the question”
“Why I hired you?” She shrugged “Isn’t it obvious? With you around, I get to pretend that I still nificance None of which is true”
He looked at her for several seconds, then ht,” and left
When the door had closed behind him, Dominique picked up the picture of Dan and stared at his faive it all up to have you back,” she whispered “You know that, don’t you?”
Tears filled her eyes As there was no one to ied makeup didn’t matter these days
She pressed the picture to her chest and let the truth wash over her She was alone She had been for years, but she’d never allowed herself to see it Being in that hospital roo to live or die, had brought that painful reality hos would be different
Chantal was the only family she had left Dominique refused to lose her She was here to be a part of her daughter’s life—however ht resist
“PICK IT UP, people,” Charlie yelled “I’ll make this a timed drill if I have to”
As she watched, the ten volunteer candidates finished running around the track With the opening of Josh Golden’s cycling school, she’d been offered a new place for her candidates to work out As long as she didn’t schedule training during cycling sessions, Josh had given her access to both the indoor and outdoor track, the weight room and an unfinished area she planned to use for various drills involving hoses and other pieces of equipment She was a happy camper
Now she waited until the last of the woroup Charlie blew on her whistle, the signal for everyone to race toward the large truck tires she’d had delivered The concept was si the heavy tires fro two miles
She’d already wrapped ropes around the tires and provided gloves But nothing helped the fact that the tires weighed about a hundred and twenty pounds Each
But instead of racing as instructed, two of the women smiled at Clay One even flipped her hair Charlie snorted in disgust Sure Clay was the most fit person on the field, but he was a noring their preening and grabbing the ropes of his tire In ait across the field at a brisk pace
The other two guys in the group did their best to keep up with him Two of the women were only a few yards behind, but the other four were seriously struggling