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But this was no ordinary evening Natalie had been brutalized, and she was still in danger He was here to keep her safe The last thing on her ht would be romance

Was there any chance of a future for them?

At the very least, she would need ti of patience Rushing her into the kind of intense relationship he wanted could worsen the dae she’d already suffered

Natalie raised her head to see the digital clock on the nightstand Two-nineteen, and she’d been tossing otten too much rest in the hospital Or maybe she was just too tired to fall asleep

Beau had insisted she go to bed early At the last -sized bed she’d sh

ared with Slade held too hosts Tomorrow she’d call some local charity to have the monstrosity picked up and hauled away

Soonto her back, she stared at the darkened ceiling It wasn’t the idea of being on her own that troubled her It was the ugliness of it all that gnawed at the pit of her stoliness was far from over

The dark fog of sleep began to close around her Her lirew heavy Like an exhausted swimmer, Natalie sank into slumber

What had she heard? The crunch of gravel? The shifting of ascreen? Instantly alert, she raised her head, catching a faintover the sill A too-familiar face

She screamed

“Natalie! What is it?” Beau was there in an instant, his pistol drawn Natalie blinked herself fully awake Had it been real?

“TheSo to feel foolish

Beau checked the“It’s locked tight,” he said “No one could’ve opened it without breaking the glass I’ll go outside and look around, just to be sure”

“Please don’t” The last thing she wanted was for hio out and expose himself to an ambush “I’m sorry I must’ve had a bad dream Did I wake you?”

“No way I learned to stay awake on watch and on drug stakeouts” Turning on the bedside lahost Are you all right?”