He made his way back to the porch, uncomfortable with how long she’d been out there alone. The crime scene was fresh, which meant the people who’d done it could be hiding nearby, waiting for a chance to get their hands on her.
“They’re not in the house,” Chad said as he joined her on the small front porch. “Now, do you understand the need for a bodyguard? They aren’t playing around, Bree. What if you’d come home when they were still here? This night could’ve ended far worse than you can imagine,” he said. She said nothing as she stepped across the threshold. Her once cozy cottage style home was destroyed.
The stress of the situation finally set in and Bree’s body began trembling as she looked at the words splashed across her entrance hall. Why would anyone be out to terrorize her? She couldn’t comprehend it – she hadn’t done anything to deserve it. There wasn’t a trail of broken hearts in her wake. She couldn’t think of a single person who’d want to terrorize or harm her.
Bree felt violated as she looked at her belongings scattered across the floor. They’d destroyed pictures, antique furniture, and treated her possessions as nothing more than garbage. A tear slid down her cheek as she picked up an Afghan her mother had made. It was ripped apart beyond repair.
“Why would someone do this?” She choked, finding it difficult to get the words past her closed throat. Irreplaceable items were gone forever. She rubbed her face against the quilt her mom had spent endless hours creating – it too destroyed. As if ripping it to shreds hadn’t been enough for them, they’d even spilled a foul smelling liquid on it. She let it drop from her fingers and flutter to the floor.
“There’s no explanation for it. Some people get off on terrorizing others. Whoever did this isn’t finished. They want you scared, but they’re also warning you. If you look at statistics, you’ll see a pattern. A lot of crime could’ve been prevented if the victims had only paid attention to the warning signs. I think you should go home, but if you insist on staying, I’m not going anywhere,” Chad said, taking pity on her and wrapping his arm around her shoulders. She knew she should pull away but she needed comforting and she couldn’t bring herself to struggle against him.
“If I run home, they win. I won’t give them that victory, along with the satisfaction they received causing this damage,” she insisted.
Chad sighed as he pulled her closer. She was stubborn, far more than her brothers, which he didn’t think was possible. He would feel a whole lot better if she’d realize the danger she was in and go home – but he knew it wasn’t happening, at least not yet. She wasn’t scared enough.
“If you’re going to insist on hanging around then make yourself useful and help me clean this.” Bree stepped away from him and grabbed a garbage sack. Chad didn’t say anything further, just quietly stood by her side and helped her clean. Within a couple hours the house was back to normal – all damaged items either tucked out of sight or thrown away.
“I’ve had a hard day, I’m going to bed,” Bree stated and walked from the room. She knew she wouldn’t get him to leave and she didn’t have the energy to fight any more so she left the evening’s frustrations behind her as she walked to her bedroom.
Chad watched Bree make her way down the hallway. She was standing strong but he could see the weight of the world on her shoulders. She was strong, but eventually even the strongest person needed to let someone else carry the burden for a while.
A few minutes after her door shut, he heard her shower running and his body tightened with need. What was wrong with him? She was his assignment – nothing more, nothing less. He shouldn’t feel sympathy, anger, and certainly not desire. It was time to get out of the house for a little while. He’d do a perimeter check around the property.
Even with her out of sight, his thoughts refused to turn from her. Bree was stunning, but obviously didn’t try highlighting her assets, instead hiding beneath layers of clothes. He knew what was beneath her clothes, though, since she’d been pressed tightly against him. He groaned as his pants grew tighter. He’d never had such trouble distancing himself, but then again, he’d never had such a beautiful assignment.
Hopefully, she’d come to her senses and just go home. Then, he wouldn’t have to worry about the consequences of sleeping with his best friend’s cousin. Damn, all of her brothers would stand in line to kick his ass if they knew he was so much as thinking about touching Bree.
He grinned, thinking a good fight would do his libido some good. He needed something to get his mind off of her naked, wet and lathered up body standing beneath a stream of hot water.
Pull it together, you’re not a horny sixteen year old, Chad berated himself. Then he jogged into the surrounding woods next to her house. She would have to live in the middle of nowhere. Why not make it easier for the crazy person after her!
He completed the search of her property and knew it was time to return to her house. There was no one around and luckily there was only one driveway leading to the house so if a car approached, he’d hear it. On the bad side was the fact that someone could get incredibly close on foot before he was alerted. The tree’s came within twenty yards of her back door. He’d have to set up better surveillance.
He promised her family nothing would happen to her and he was going to make sure nothing did happen on his watch. He stepped inside the doors and his stomach knotted. What was she trying to do to him?
Bree turned and gave a tentative smile as Chad walked in. She frowned when she saw the scowl covering his features. She didn’t understand what his problem was. She looked behind him and nothing seemed amiss so she shrugged and went back to cooking. She wasn’t the one who’d asked for his invasion into her life and she didn’t see why he was in a bad mood. If anyone had a right to be grouchy, it was her.
Chad gritted his teeth when he saw Bree cooking, wearing a pair of shorts showing off entirely too much of her long, beautiful legs, and a fitted tank top. Was she trying to see how far she could push him before he snapped? Did she want him to wrap his arms around her and take her against the kitchen wall? He was close to doing just that.
He sat down and adjusted his pants for what felt like the hundredth time and tried to look anywhere but at her. He knew he should walk away – leave the room. Find any other place to be, other than a few feet from her but his eyes kept drifting back to the shapely curve of her thighs. He could easily see she was a runner. Her legs were toned and tan and seemed to stretch for a mile.