Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
In a blink, Ronan had a gun in his hand and aimed at Luna. Or rather, she figured the gun was aimed at the stranger standing behind her. The stranger who held her in a too tight grip. The man had been waiting inside the bungalow. The space had been lit with fluttering candlelight. She’d rushed inside, still high from singing, giddy with desire for Ronan, and this man had been waiting. He’d grabbed her. Spun her around so that she was in front of him, and now he held her in a too tight grip even as her hands grabbed at the arm he’d looped around her.
“You’re scaring her.” Flat. Hard. From Ronan. “I don’t like it when my wife is scared.”
“Your wife, huh?” Soft, mocking laughter. “That is a fun one.” He didn’t let her go. “Kinda familiar situation, isn’t it, Ronan?”
He knows Ronan. When they’d checked in at the island, she and Ronan had used fake names. No one should know their real names. This man did. That meant the situation was very, very bad.
“If I remember correctly,” the stranger continued, almost musing, “I was in a motel with my wife, minding my own business, when you burst in and you fucking shot me.”
Oh, no. Her breath shuddered out. She stared at Ronan as terror clawed at her. This wasn’t about her past. It was about his. Somehow, a ghost from Ronan’s past had found them. Now they were both in deadly danger.
“You shot me,” the man repeated,”and then you abducted my wife.”
Wait, what?
“That pissed me off,” the man behind her continued.
Ronan took a slow, stalking step forward. “You know I apologized for that shit.”
He’d apologized? For attempted murder? And abduction?
“You. Are. Scaring. Her.” Gritted from Ronan as he took another stalking step. “I’d hate to have to shoot you, but if you don’t let Luna go in the next five seconds, we are going to have a problem.” A pause. “These are real bullets, my friend.”
And the others had been, what? Pretend? Wait. Maybe that was exactly what they’d been. The light dawned for her. “Did he pretend to kill you, too?” Luna gasped out her question as she tugged at his grip yet again. Only there was zero give in the man’s hold.
“Two seconds,” Ronan snapped out. “Then, screw it.”
Was he about to fire his gun? With her standing right there? “Ronan!” she cried.
The stranger released her. “Someone is in a trigger-happy mood.”
She ran for Ronan. He caught her hand and immediately shoved her behind his back. “You scared Luna,” he snarled.
“ Oui.” A woman’s voice. A gorgeous femme fatale type sauntered from the shadows behind the man. Luna hadn’t even known the woman was there until that moment. “I believe we have covered the point that Tyler scared Luna. About three times now.” She put her hand on the man’s shoulder. “I don’t believe that Ronan likes for his Luna to be frightened.”
The guy caught her hand. Brought it to his lips and kissed her knuckles almost as if by instinct. His gaze didn’t leave Ronan. “Point noted.”
“What in the hell are you doing here?” Ronan demanded. He finally lowered his gun. Put it on the nearby table.
Had he been wearing that gun all night? She hadn’t noticed it. Not even when they’d been dancing so closely. Or when they’d been kissing beneath the palm tree.
“What are you both doing here?” Ronan’s question thundered out.
The woman’s plump lips pulled down in a pout. “How are you not happy to see me? Everyone is always happy to see me.”
“Not true, sweetheart.” This came from the stranger. “ I’m always happy to see you,” he clarified. “You are the light of my life. But other people are usually terrified.”
She frowned.
Luna poked Ronan in the back. She had questions. “Did you pretend to kill him, too?”
He spun toward her. Glowered. Then kissed her. Hard and deep and possessively.
A whistle split the air. One followed by the man noting, “Oh, this is problematic. Very, very problematic.”
Ronan lifted his head. His gaze glittered at her even as he ordered the guy, “Fuck off, Tyler.”
“That is no way to greet your friend!” The woman’s voice. Offended. “We come all this way to provide precious backup for you. And you don’t even offer a thanks? You give us a rude ‘fuck off’ in response to our generous efforts?” She sniffed. “I thought you had better manners.”
He sighed and stepped around Luna. Very firmly, Ronan shut and locked the door to the bungalow.
Luna held herself perfectly still. There was a trail of candles leading from the bungalow’s front door to the bedroom. Super romantic and mood inspiring. She could also see rose petals sprinkled along the path.
“You did not think I had better manners, Esme,” Ronan denied. “You’ve told me before that I lack manners.”
“That was when you kidnapped me. Kidnapping a person is rude. Everyone understands that fact.”
Ronan hit the light switch. Immediately, more illumination flooded the area, and Luna could see the man and woman clearly. The woman was truly gorgeous, while the man…
Big, strong, scary.
The typical guy she now associated as being…friends with Ronan? “You’re his friend,” she said, testing out her theory.
The man rolled one powerful shoulder. The shoulder that the woman was not currently touching. “Like friends can’t be horrible enemies at the same time? You clearly do not understand the world in which Ronan and I live.”
Ronan grunted as he stalked toward his maybe friend. “Your entrance tonight was way too dramatic. You could have just knocked on the door like a sane person.”
“I thought you deserved a dramatic entrance.” A quick smile curved the guy’s lips. The smile didn’t do anything to make him look less intimidating.
“Are we even now?” Ronan wanted to know. “Going to stop roasting me over the coals for shit I had to do in the past?”
“I don’t know about even. I mean, have I shot you in the chest? No? Then…not yet.”
“Stop it!” Luna marched to stand between the two arguing men. “I have been under a lot of stress lately, and I would appreciate fewer intense, ambiguous statements and more just honest talk. Can we manage that, please?” Her head swiveled between Ronan and… “Who are you?”
“Tyler. Tyler Barrett, and this is my lovely wife, Esme.”
“ Enchantée ,” Esme murmured. She took her hand off her husband and wiggled her fingers toward Luna.
“Uh, sure. Enchanted to meet you, too.” No, she was not. She was a bit scared. Probably more than a bit. A lot more. “ Why are you both here?”
Tyler stepped forward. “Because I’m the man who’s here to take you away.”
He was there to do what? She must have misheard. “Ronan?” Her head whipped back toward him.
A muscle jerked along his clenched jaw.
“I think I like you better with the beard,” Esme announced thoughtfully. “You’re a little too polished now.”
The muscle along Ronan’s jaw jerked again. A harder jerk. His gaze was on Tyler. “Gray sent you?”
“Um. That is my job, after all.”
Her head whipped back to Tyler. She was starting to feel dizzy. “What’s your job?”
“I’m a U.S. Marshal. I’ll be the man escorting you to your new life and giving you a new identity.”
She already had a new identity. “I’m Ronan’s wife.”
Tyler shook his head. “That’s only a temporary cover. I’ll be giving you the real deal. When you leave this island with me, you’ll never be seeing Ronan again.”
Her heart seemed to wither in her chest. When was this event supposed to happen? Was he taking her away from Ronan right then? Why did the idea of never seeing Ronan again hurt her so much? They’d just met days before. He’d saved her. They’d had insanely incredible sex. But—but emotions weren’t involved. Right?
Right?
If emotions weren’t involved, why did her chest ache so much?
“She’s not leaving.” A guttural vow from Ronan. Then he was taking her hand. His fingers threaded with hers. “You try to take her, and we’ll have a problem.”
Her lips parted. Only no words would come out. Was he saying that he wanted her to stay with him? Hope flared. Her withered heart began to bloom?—
“Or at least,” Ronan continued grimly, slanting a fast look in her direction before focusing on Tyler again, “she’s not leaving until I get the all clear from Gray. So stand the hell down, my friend. Because until I receive word that I am officially off-duty, I am in charge of Luna’s protection. She stays with me. And that is a non-negotiable detail.” A lift of his chin. “I am sure you understand all about non-negotiables.”
“Those non-negotiables can bite you in the ass,” Tyler murmured.
“Do I look scared?” A challenge.
“No, but you do seem a bit obsessed. Better watch that.” Tyler saluted. He took his wife’s hand. “Come, sweetheart, I think our own bungalow is waiting.”
“Will it be filled with candlelight and rose petals?” Esme batted her eyes at him. “A perfect lair of seduction?”
Tyler glared at Ronan. “Asshole. Now you’re making me look bad in front of Esme.” His head tilted as his stare narrowed in suspicion on Ronan. “Just why do you have the full romance package?”
“Because I believe in a thorough cover.” An immediate reply from Ronan. “We’re celebrating our fifth anniversary. What else would a caring husband do but splurge on the full package?”
“What else, indeed.” Tyler sucked in the side of his cheek. “Got to keep up those appearances.”
Esme elbowed him. He gave no reaction to the jab.
Tyler’s stare remained suspicious as he mused, “Interesting, though, the way she came running in this place. Why were you running, Luna? Were you scared of something?”
She felt heat sting her cheeks. She hadn’t been scared. Turned on, but not scared.
“I don’t think she was scared,” Esme pointed out.
An unnecessary point.
“I don’t think so, either,” her husband agreed. He inclined his head. “Night, you two. And, of course, Ronan, I don’t have to warn you about the danger of crossing lines, do I?”
“Considering that you married the last line you crossed, I’m thinking the warning isn’t one you should give.”
Luna was lost.
“I am not a line.” A dramatic announcement from Esme. “I am a star. A supernova. The light of his life. Did you not hear him say that very thing just moments before? I heard it. Incredibly romantic.”
“Absolutely. You are a light. A blinding supernova, no doubt.” Tyler nodded. “He used the wrong word. Ignore him.”
Esme sniffed again.
Luna did not know what to think of these people.
“In public, we’ll be strangers to you,” Tyler said. His voice had turned flat. Maybe his getting-down-to-business tone? “Thus, the secretive meeting. Sorry we had to lie in wait for you, but we didn’t exactly want the world hearing our business.”
Luna did not think he sounded particularly sorry. Just matter of fact. Like he had zero regrets for terrifying her.
“We already know the assumed names you’re using, and you can count on us to be professional when we are in public.”
“Professional is my middle name,” Esme declared.
“It is not,” Tyler returned. “Chaos is.”
She smiled at him.
Tyler tugged her toward the door, but Esme paused near Luna. “I heard you sing.”
Luna hadn’t seen the other woman during the performance, but, then again, her eyes had been glued to Ronan. She’d barely seen anyone else at all.
“You have talent.”
“Thank you?” Yes, she said the words as a question because Esme had stated hers like an accusation.
“Talent should not be hidden in this world. It should be celebrated. Enjoyed by others. There is enough darkness that we all could use some light.” Her eyes assessed Luna. “Why aren’t you on a stage all the time?”
“I—”
“Back off, Esme,” Ronan ordered. “You don’t know her story. And she doesn’t have to offer it up to you on a silver platter. I get that you love digging and scheming, but she’s off-limits.”
“Is she?” Esme did not seem convinced. If anything, she just appeared intrigued. “Is that why you hold her so possessively? Because she is off-limits? Why do we always want the things that we are not supposed to have?”
He was holding her. His grip was tight on Luna’s hand, and his body stood right beside hers. Protective. Possessive?
“My mother was an opera singer,” Esme confided as she leaned a little closer to Luna.
“Among other things,” Ronan muttered.
Esme frowned at him. Then she focused on Luna once more. “Her talent was phenomenal. Because of her, I’ve been around my share of performers. You have something. Potential never dies. Though we can let it languish when life gets in our way. An unfortunate state of affairs.” A shrug. “I sound like a croaking frog when I sing.”
“You do not,” Tyler immediately denied.
“Love is blind, and sometimes hard of hearing.” Esme inclined her head toward Luna. “I know talent. I hope to hear you sing again soon. So do me a favor and try to stay alive, would you? Because I think I like you, Luna.”
With that parting shot, Tyler and Esme exited. Swearing, Ronan followed in their wake. He locked the door behind them and then stood there for a moment with his hand pressed to the frame and his back to Luna.
She finally took a deep breath even though her heart still raced far too fast in her chest. “Those were your friends?” Slightly scary. Seemed right that they’d be his friends.
“Yes.”
“And he’s…going to take me away?” A U.S. Marshal. Yes, yes, that tracked. The marshals handled witness protection. Her arms wrapped around her stomach. She’d wanted this outcome originally. Protection. A new life. It had been the whole reason for her New Orleans meeting with the FBI and Grayson Stone. But…
I’m not ready to leave Ronan. Not yet.
He shoved away from the door. Spun and stalked back to her. Ronan stepped over the sandals she’d dropped when Tyler grabbed her. His hand rose and curled under her chin. “Not yet,” he vowed, and his words echoed her own thoughts. “No one is taking you away from me yet.” His mouth claimed hers.