Page 38 of Guarded Hearts

With more than her life.

He parked in the alley. His brothers drew up behind and cut their headlights.

“Sit still. I’ll come around and get you out.” When he slipped out of the truck, his shirt tugged over his waistband, revealing the small, sleek outline of the weapon he carried.

When he opened her door, they were on eye level. He extended a palm to her, and she placed hers over it. As his warm fingers clamped around them, her insides tingled.

He drew her out of the seat and helped her down from the high, lifted truck. In the darkness, she made out the figures of Oaks and Colt standing sentry a few feet away.

As they drew closer to Carson’s brothers, she saw that they flanked a door in the side of a building.

She racked her brain to recall what alley they were parked in. During the day, Willowbrook was friendly and familiar to her. She rarely journeyed into town at night, which rendered everything more difficult to make out.

Carson led her by the hand to the door. When he rapped on it once, she heard the hollow thump echo inside.

“What is this—the 1920s? Are we going to a speakeasy?”

He chuckled.

The door opened. When he led her into a dim space, she made out the golden lights hanging in intervals on the wall.

“The movie theater!” She spun to face him.

His smile took her breath away. “I remember how much you always loved coming here.”

“I did! I do.”

The old Willowbrook theater boasted all its original interior décor. From the midnight blue velvet-upholstered seats to the ornate moldings around the ceiling, the place was a time capsule. Add in the sumptuous scent of freshly popped popcorn and Layne couldn’t be more charmed by how thoughtful Carson was.

When she complained about being stuck in the house, and feeling claustrophobic, she thought he might just let her swim a few laps in the pool while he sat in a lounge chair and watched over her. She’d never expected anything like this.

Again, she looked around, surprised. “The place is empty.”

He issued a quiet grunt as if that was answer enough. When he took off down the aisle to one of the seats toward the front, she tugged at his hand.

He paused, facing her. Hovering over her, his huge shoulders acted as a shield so wide, she couldn’t make out the massive screen.

He took off walking again and ushered her into a seat, forcing her to give him the aisle. Once his brothers took up their positions—one across the aisle from them and the other two rows behind—she realized Carson had selected the seat with her safety in mind.

“Carson. Nobody is here.”

“Looks like it’s just you and me then.”

“But it’s a new release.”

He only stared at her, firm lips giving nothing away.

“You did this, didn’t you? How much money do youhave?”

“Enough.” He didn’t look pleased by the admission.

His father never flaunted their money, but Layne knew wealth. She’d grown up seeing it all over the world. Never had she guessed that the Malones were rolling in it.

As if Carson could hear the questions thundering through her mind, he let out a sigh. “We sold the ranch in Texas. What we made off it, we split evenly between all us kids. We’ve spent a few years figuring out how to increase the wealth. It’s made us all comfortable. But then Colt landed a deal with the government to run training ops for top-secret government projects. And Oaks got lined up with another agency to administer therapy and care to vets wounded in action. Those side hustles really helped keep the lights on.”

She gaped at him. “Keep the lights on?” Stunned by the new information on the Malone family, she shook her head. “And you started the security agency.”

“That’s right.”

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