Page 71 of Hunted Hearts
Before they left, he tugged her by the hand toward the barn.
“Serenity deserves a goodbye,” he said.
When they entered the space, silence and calm settled around them, closing them in.
He hung back, letting Juliette stride ahead. When she pushed onto her tiptoes to peek over the stall door, a smile lit up her face with a beatific glow.
“She’s dozing.”
He chuckled as he sauntered over and took a look. “A couple of the veterans exercise the horses each morning. They must have worn her out.”
She reached for the latch on the door and gently eased it open to step into the stall with Serenity. The horse caught her owner’s scent and nickered a soft noise of welcome.
“Hi, girl. How are you today?” She ran her hand over the horse’s flank.
Theo leaned against the stall, watching the pair interact with a natural mutual affection that didn’t typically happen so quickly. But Juliette seemed to have that effect on everyone she came in contact with.
Juliette smiled at the mare and began to braid her tail. The horse shifted under her touch, calm and docile. Watching her with the animal stirred something in Theo’s chest—something fierce and aching.
“We’ll be leaving soon,” she said to Serenity. “After the concert…” She dipped her head, hiding her eyes from Theo. But he saw her delicate throat working as her fingers nimbly worked the thick, shiny hair of Serenity’s tail into a braid.
She lifted her gaze to Theo. The sadness in her eyes made him stop in his tracks. “I’ll come back to see her soon,” Juliette murmured.
Hooking his finger under her jaw, he tilted her chin up gently. “You will,” he promised with a ferocity he hadn’t intended to let seep into his tone. “We’ll make sure of it, Juliette.”
Her nod was slow. She finished with the braid and pulled the ribbon from her own ponytail free to tie around Serenity’s tail.
When she kissed Serenity’s muzzle goodbye, it looked like she was giving up more than just a horse.
He led her to the Black Heart Security SUV that had already been loaded with their luggage, and Juliette’s precious violin had been strapped in using the seatbelt in the back seat.
The jet ride was short, and the drive to the Tahoe house even shorter. Colt’s house felt more like a luxury lodge than a private residence.
As Juliette climbed out of the car, she gave a small shake of her head. “This is your family’s house?”
“Colt’s. When he left the military, he was living rough in the mountains. Off-grid.”
He handed her the violin, and she cradled it in her arms as he collected their luggage and led her to the side door.
He went on. “He refused to come home, and it was really worrying Willow. I wasn’t around at the time, but she always kept in touch with me through email. Willow finally told him if he wanted to disappear, he might as well do it somewhere warm and stocked with groceries.”
Juliette laughed, the first real one in days. The sound turned into a sigh as he opened the door and they stepped inside.
“This place is amazing!” She crossed to the floor-to-ceiling windows. The view overlooked the lake, glittering silver underthe early dusk. “If I had this view to look at every day, I might hide out too.”
“Yeah,” he murmured, unable to stop himself from memorizing the way she seemed to blend into the scenery, like she belonged here.
Like she could belong to his world.
He reached for her, and she slipped into his arms like she belonged there most of all. His heart flexed as he searched her beautiful eyes. Lowering his head in small increments, he drank in the scent of her perfume.
Their lip met in a tender kiss. Once…twice.
The doorbell made them jolt apart. In a swift move, he swept out an arm, shoving her behind him.
“Theo!”
“Stay back.” He reached along his spine and curled his fingers around the grip of his weapon as he silently moved to the window and peeked through the blinds.
