Locked and Loaded. HelenKay Dimon

it. Instead, she walked down the short hall that led to the family room. The cabin consisted of exactly two rooms plus a kitchen and bath. No matter how careful she was, how shadowed the rooms, she would come into view from one of the windows in two more steps.

      “Maddie?” The knocking grew louder and showed no signs of stopping.

      Her brain pleaded for caution. Every other part of her wanted to open the door.

      With quiet steps, she crossed the smooth floor and flattened her stomach against the front door. A quick look through the peephole confirmed what she already knew. Adam Wallace wanted in.

      She hesitated, thinking of all the ways this could be a trap, but reached for the locks anyway. Metal rattled in her shaking fingers as she rushed to get the door open.

      He stood there, all six foot three of him. Sandy-blond hair, thin wire glasses and shoulders wider than the door frame. He was her next-door neighbor. The chatty, sexy computer nerd with the linebacker body who moved in and insisted they be friends, all while she dodged every attempt.

      She grabbed the side of the door and carefully blocked his way into the house, knowing he could power through if he really wanted to.

      “What’s wrong?” she asked.

      “That’s my question.”

      She had never seen him do this frantic-whisper thing. Sure, they’d only known each other a month, but he’d been so even-keeled all that time. “Adam, I don’t—”

      He pushed the frames up on his nose. “I heard a noise.”

      The implication of that statement hit her full force. Blood pounded in her ears. “What? Where?”

      “I was watching a movie and thought I heard something crash over here. I came to make sure you were okay.”

      As quickly as the adrenaline flooded her senses it receded again. No need to panic—yet. This likely was about a guy being lonely and nothing more. Why someone his age would choose to live out here, all alone, was a constant mystery. That question made her wary of him, just as she was wary of everyone else. She had to be.

      But she did wonder how a man who towered over her and possessed those impressive arm muscles could look so sweet and comfortably disheveled at all times. Probably had something to do with the dimple in his cheek.

      But he wasn’t smiling now. Energy thrummed off him as he glanced all around, barely looking at her.

      “So, are you okay?” he asked.

      “Of course.”

      He finally focused his attention on her. The power of those grass-green eyes almost knocked her flat. Intelligence lingered there…and something else. Something she couldn’t pin down. His size signaled danger but his easygoing manner made her think geek. The guy was an enigma.

      “Can I come in?” he asked.

      “No.” The answer was automatic. Forget her curiosity and the hint of attraction. The response was the right one.

      “Excuse me?”

      Her grip tightened on the door. “It’s late.”

      The frenzied moments faded as his eyebrow inched up. “I came over to make sure nothing had happened to you.”

      “And I’m fine, so we’re good.” She couldn’t let him in—physically or emotionally. If he’d truly heard something, if danger lingered in the woods surrounding her unwanted adopted home, then she had to run. Dragging a computer nerd with her would only slow her down. And the rules were clear: travel alone and light.

      “Okay.” He wiped a hand through his thick hair. With one last look behind him, he leaned in, sending warm air across her cheek. “If you need me, yell.”

      “I’m—”

      “Fine. Yeah, I know. You said that already. Many times.” He blew out a long breath. “Just promise me.”

      Gone was the harmless cutie who’d caught her eye and kept it by coming into the diner every afternoon while she was on duty. He ordered pie and coffee and tipped her twice the bill. He never varied the scene…or he hadn’t until today. He’d always smiled and laughed, flirted and then left with a “well, I tried” mumble when she made it clear those efforts were going to waste.

      That was then. Now his jaw clenched and his mouth flattened. The dimple disappeared the second she turned him down.

      “Maddie?”

      “I promise I’ll scream if I need you.” It was a little lie, so she didn’t feel any guilt in telling it.

      “Okay.” He shifted but didn’t leave. “I’ll be close by.”

      Sounded like a threat to her, so she shut the door in his face before he could say anything else. The locks clicked under her fingers as she studied him through the peephole and saw he continued to stand on her front porch.

      He paced around as if fighting some internal battle. It took another few minutes for him to jog down the steps and head for his house.

      The thudding of her heart took longer to slow. For the first time since he introduced himself, he scared her. Sent her mind racing in a hundred different directions at once. And this wasn’t the first time today. He’d lingered at the diner this afternoon, being more flirty than usual. He’d acted as if…

      A smile spread across her lips before she could fight it off. Now that she ran down the clues it all made sense. This wasn’t about noises or concerns for her safety. The man was looking for a temporary bed partner.

      She had to take responsibility for that. She’d given in and sat down in the booth with him for a few minutes today. For once, she’d returned the harmless flirting. That sweet smile of his had done it. His mouth had kicked up and she’d turned to mush. She’d always preferred bad boys—and look where that got her. Giving a hunky nerd some attention had felt right for a change.

      Adam was more than two hundred pounds of sweet temptation, but the seduction stuff had to end. She couldn’t afford ties and refused to trust anyone who just popped into her life out of thin air. Starting tomorrow, she’d build the wall back up between them and hit him with a flashing stop sign until he turned his attention somewhere else.

      She felt a kick in her gut at the thought of him finding someone else to joke with, and the feeling had nothing to do with fear. It was more like regret. The same emotion she’d lived with her entire adult life. But she’d survived it before and she would figure out a way to handle it this time, too.

      ADAM WRIGHT BRACED his back against the side of Maddie’s house and listened. It was about three-thirty in the morning and he’d been waiting under her window for more than an hour. He’d tried to get into the room the logical way—through the front door and with an invitation—but Maddie was having none of it. Not that Maddie was her real name. Of course, Wallace wasn’t his, either.

      The Recovery Project, the now-private investigation firm he worked for, had been tracking her for months. They found missing people and Maddie was more than missing. She was supposed to be dead. If he didn’t work fast, she would be.

      According to their intel, the attackers would come tonight. Adam had seen the men roll into town earlier that evening, obviously out of place in their suits and black sedan. Fitting in around this part of West Virginia required a dependable pickup and jeans. Adam knew because he had been working the fake identity for more than a month. He’d abandoned the contacts in favor of glasses, temporarily traded his condo in D.C. for a one-bedroom cabin in the middle of nowhere.

      People in town knew him as the guy who did computer work. In reality, he was a deep undercover. A former government agent on a mission to find his missing boss and figure out what role Maddie played in the corruption within the Witness Security Program, WitSec. For now he would treat her as a potential victim and then make sure the “potential” never turned into a reality.

      At