Page 20 of A Rhapsody of Ravens and Revenge

“It won’t happen again, sir,” James said.

Cal disconnected. His anger was directed at Atticus. This is what happened when he pulled in local field agents instead of hand-selected agents. Dynamis agents would never have made such a mistake.

The smell of the sea was strong, and he could feel the heaviness of the rain in the air. He looked over the white railing of the balcony and saw the footprints in the sand below. He swore, thinking that holding on to Evangeline was like holding a fistful of sand. He could practically feel it slipping out of his grasp.

He closed and locked the French doors behind him and kept his weapon in his hand as he jogged back down the stairs toward the back of the house.

He followed the footsteps down the beach, relieved to see there was only one set. The closest neighbor was almost a mile in either direction—the Lockwoods had complete privacy in their little stretch of paradise. No trash littered the ground and the sand was white and pristine.

His walk had turned into a run by the time he came upon the outcropping of rocks. The footprints disappeared right at the smallest boulder, signifying she’d started climbing at that point. And then he heard the squeal and splash and his heartbeat went into overdrive. His first thought was that she’d fallen and hit her head on the rocks. His second thought was that someone had been hiding on the other side and attacked her.

He climbed the rocks, staying to the outer edge, thinking he’d have the advantage by attacking the culprit from above. He held his weapon up and waited patiently, moving slowly toward the sounds that were getting louder.

There was a split in the rocks—large enough for a man to fit through—so he hunkered down for a better view and to assess the situation. What he saw was nothing his imagination could’ve conjured in his wildest dreams. It was a spectacular hiding place. Or a hell of a place to be ambushed.

A small lagoon was nestled inside the rock formation, completely invisible to the outside world unless you were perched above like he was. A natural waterfall rushed down the rocks and into a crystal-clear pool. It couldn’t have been deep, maybe a few feet, because he could see all the way to the bottom.

And there was Evangeline, climbing the rocks until she was at the top of the waterfall, her hair slicked back from her face and her body barely covered in a skimpy bathing suit. The baggy clothes she’d spent the last decade in were an injustice to her. She was lush and beautiful, and there was sheer joy on her face as she jumped into the lagoon below, laughing as she came up from the depths of the water.

His heart was racing a mile a minute and he laid his head against the cool rocks to find his balance. She’d scared years off his life. Maybe that reckless girl hadn’t disappeared after all.

He holstered his weapon in the small of his back and stepped through the opening of the rocks. She didn’t notice him, at least not right away. Not until his shadow crossed her face.

She gasped and looked up at him, her hand shielding her eyes so she could see who’d intruded on her space.

“Have you lost your mind?” he asked as calmly as he could manage. “Do you not understand there’s a madman after you? A man who tortured and dismembered the last witness who tried to testify against him?”

He saw the fright on her face before she masked it with a look of indifference.

“You said the house is surrounded by agents and we’re protected. And this is a completely secluded spot. I felt perfectly safe.”

“I also told you that we were to stick together like glue,” he said through gritted teeth. “I can’t protect you if I’m not with you. He could have had you in his scope from a mile off.”

“Ridiculous,” she said, treading water. “That doesn’t fit his profile. If he wants to capture and torture me that means he’s an up-close-and-personal kind of killer. He won’t take a cheap shot.”

“Which is exactly why you don’t need to be more than an arm’s length away,” he said, stripping off his shirt. He unbuckled his belt next and found a perverse pleasure in the worry on her face.

“What are you doing?” she asked, treading backward toward the waterfall. She bit her lip nervously.

He pushed down his jeans until he was in his boxers and laid his weapon on one of the lower rocks so he could reach it easily. “I’m getting in the water. What does it look like I’m doing? Sometimes I feel like words come out of my mouth but you’re not actually listening.”

“I’ve heard enough words coming out of your mouth to last a lifetime,” she said, sarcastically. “I try not to listen more than I have to.”

“Then I’ll repeat myself again. Where you go, I go. If you’re going to swim, I’m going to swim. If you’re on the couch, I’m on the couch. If you’re in the shower, I’m close enough to hand you the soap.”

She gasped and her eyes narrowed. “My father could not have approved of this.”

“It was his idea,” Cal said. “And I don’t report to your father. Atticus Cameron is scarier than your father could ever hope to be.”

“And how am I supposed to sleep?”

He grinned, but there was no humor in it. “I get to be the big spoon. Does that answer your question?”

She disappeared under the water and he could see the ribbons of her hair as she went under the waterfall. It was fine with him. She could come to grips with reality however she needed to. It didn’t change the fact that this was her reality now.

He took the opportunity to swim a couple of laps across the lagoon and back, keeping an eye on the rocks and the weather. He hated that his presence had taken the joy from her face that had been there just a few minutes before. But it couldn’t be helped. There was too much between them. Too much history, too much anger, and too much attraction.

When she surfaced again her eyes met his, clear and dry, and his breath caught at the sheer beauty of her. No makeup. No persona. Just Evangeline.

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