Emma put her palm on his chest, over his heart. "I'm not afraid of going where you lead. I believe in you. And I trust you with my life, but more importantly, with the lives of our children. I'm willing to put everything that I am into your hands because I trust you that much. I trust that you'll put me first and protect and care for me with everything that you are. I'm not afraid of what you came from, or the monster you think lives inside of you. You've learned a lot of things about life that are ugly, but that doesn't make me afraid either. Why? Because I know you. I see you. You aren't hiding from me. I've lived with you for two years and I know you."

She tilted her head to one side, studying his face. "Do you trust me? I think that's the real question here. Do you trust me enough to put your life in my hands and follow where I lead? Do you have the courage to let yourself love? That's the kind of man I want and need, Jake-a man with the courage to let himself learn from me. Because if there's one thing I do well, it's love." She stood on her toes and kissed the corner of his mouth. "You'll have to decide. Right now I'm going to go upstairs and get ready so the doctor can assure you I'm well enough to take my house back. And I'll buy the most beautiful cocktail dress you've ever seen so you can get all sorts of interesting ideas for later on. In case you didn't get it, I'm very proud of the man you've become." She turned to walk away and he caught her wrist.

"Emma, wait. We'll see about you going anywhere. Don't set your heart on it."

She made a face at him. "We won't see. Nurse Tell-Me-What-to-Do can leave and I can have my house back."

"We'll see," he repeated.

"If the doctor says I'm fine, then I want to go into the city and pick out a dress for the party." When he frowned, she glared at him. "Unless you've changed your mind," she said hopefully, "and decided I don't have to go with you." Although she was still going to get out of the house and off the ranch and just breathe for a while.

He massaged the nape of her neck. "You're not getting out of it. If I have to go, you have to go. I'm not suffering alone."

"Fine, I guess we're going. So I'll need a dress. I've never owned anything like what I'd need for this event."

He tapped a pen on the top of a side table, his frown lines not just around his face but also crinkling his forehead, giving her warning of what was to come. "You don't have to go out. We'll have dresses sent from some shops and you can choose."

She almost gritted her teeth. "I want to go out. Susan and I have been looking forward to going shopping. I'm sick of being cooped up."

"You've never felt cooped up before."

"Well, I do now. I want to go into the city and go shopping and get away from all this . . ." Testosterone. She felt overwhelmed by him sometimes, especially when he hovered so close when she was hurt. She felt like one of the children. She might as well be one of the children, lying next to him without him touching her. No, that was wrong-touching her without doing anything about it. She set her mouth mutinously. "I'm going shopping."

His eyebrow shot up. "Really. I doubt you'll go after Drake talks to you." He paused and called Drake on the intercom. "Emma would like to go into the city-shopping."

Jake heard Drake hiss and he folded his arms across his chest and leaned his hip against the wall, waiting. There was plenty of satisfaction in knowing Drake was going to take the brunt of her anger, not him. Which was a good thing; she was getting edgy again and his experience with Emma was that if she felt pushed past a certain point, her sharp little claws would come out.

The security team was in place-her security team-and if Emma wanted to go dress shopping rather than have dresses sent to the ranch for her to try on, she was going to have to accept what Drake was saying to her. Things had changed significantly since he put that ring on her finger, although she wasn't going to like how. He sighed, wishing his life weren't so complicated. This would be one more added pressure, one more thing Emma would balk over.

Emma said nothing, dropping back into her chair, drawing out the silence until Drake arrived along with Joshua. Drake came in and took the chair opposite Emma. Joshua closed the door and stood by it.

Emma tilted her chin and shifted her gaze from Drake's stern face back to Jake. She didn't look as if she was going to be blaming anything on Drake.

"You want to go shopping today?" Drake asked.

"Yes." Her voice was firmer than ever. "If I don't get out of here, I swear I'm going to lose my mind and there will be bloodshed-preferably Jake's." Her skin crawled with a thousand little ants, and it took every ounce of self-control she had to remain seated and not fly at someone and rake them with claws until they just got out of her face. She had the waves of heat that seemed to rush over her, until she was so hot she needed to tear off her clothes and stand outside in the cool air. "I'm getting snappy with the children and more than once I've thought about clawing out someone's eyes." Again she looked at Jake.

Drake's eyebrow shot up and he flicked a quick glance at Joshua and then Jake.

Jake shrugged. "Just a minute ago she was being really sweet, Drake. I didn't do anything."

"If the doctor has okayed you leaving . . ."

"I swear, Drake, if one more person says that to me," Emma snapped, "I'm going to hit him over the head. I don't care what the stupid doctor says. I'm not staying in this room another minute. No one else is going to take care of my children. And everyone is going to stop telling me what to do." She was beginning to feel like a child herself, with parents standing over her telling her what she could and couldn't do. "And, Joshua, you can get away from the damned door before I throw something at you."

She could hear her voice swinging out of control, but she felt caged, the three men looming over her, intimidating her.

"Baby," Jake spoke quietly, "I'm your target, not him."

That made her ashamed. A reprimanded child throwing a tantrum. She just wanted . . . out. Away. Gone.

"Emma." Drake's voice was utterly low, but held that same commanding note Jake often got when he meant what he said. "You're engaged to Jake. That makes you a target. You don't have to like it, no one likes it, but it is reality. Jake doesn't leave the house without a bodyguard, and you can't either. If you want to go shopping, we'll go, but we have to make certain it's safe. I never want you to feel as if you're a prisoner here."

"I'm used to you going with me, Drake, and I've never objected. I know you have to be there if we're taking the children, but I thought Susan and I would go out together. If you want to come, I certainly haven't objected."

He shook his head. "Not Susan. It's too risky. She's a kid, unpredictable, and she's a senator's daughter. If Jake's enemies make a try for you, she'll be in the line of fire, and you wouldn't want that."

"This is silly." She pushed both hands through her hair. "No one knows. Nothing's changed. I just want to get out of here." She wanted to cry. She felt like she could barely breathe, and now, if she insisted, she'd feel childish putting everyone to the trouble of protecting her. The whole thing was ridiculous. "I'll take off the ring."

"You'll keep the fucking ring on your finger, Emma," Jake snapped, his eyes glittering at her. He straightened, the lazy facade gone. "You can keep your ass home."

"Then I'm not going to the party," Emma said, pushing herself out of the chair.

Before Jake could say anything, Drake intervened, sending a warning glance to his friend. "Emma, I have no problem taking you shopping. Jake, I can handle it from here."

It was a dismissal, and one Jake wouldn't have taken from anyone but Drake. He knew the man was trying to help him, to save him from himself. Jake tried not to react to the thought of leaving Emma alone in the room with two male leopards in their prime.

He could feel his cat so close-too close. It leapt and clawed for freedom, raking at the inside of his belly. His hands ached, his fingers curling and knuckles hardening. He wanted her beneath him with every cell in his body. Domination? Or love? He had no idea, only that in her way, Emma was every bit as dangerous as he was.

She thought she knew him, thought she knew his secrets, but if she knew about his cat, hidden from her sight, raking at him to get at her, she wouldn't be so sure of herself-or of Jake-any more than he was. He knew, after her admission of seeing cat tracks near her parents' car, that she would never trust him once she knew the truth. Even if by some miracle she had a cat inside of her, she might wonder if he had something to do with her parents' deaths, if their meeting had been planned from the beginning. She knew he'd manipulated her into living with him. It wasn't that far of a step to take the conspiracy further.

He had tried to warn her, tried to show her the ugliness that was a part of him, and he couldn't help but admit that she might see some of it, but how could he ever show her the rest? Besides trying to live with him, she was going to have to live with the insanity of his world. He had personal protection. It was a way of life, and it would continue to be for her, for their children. He shook his head, knowing he was asking a lot of her. He needed to lose himself in his other form, to just run away from who and what he was.

"I'm heading out, then, I feel like going for a run." He looked Drake in the eye. Man to man. "I'm putting her in your hands." And it was the hardest thing he'd ever done, trusting another man with Emma, with his life, because he knew that was what he was doing.

Drake nodded, understanding. He watched Jake drop a kiss on the top of Emma's head, wondering if Jake knew just how far he'd come from their first meeting.

"Let's just get this over with, Drake," Emma said, looking close to tears. "I'll do whatever you want. Have the shops send the dresses here."

He shook his head. "No, we'll go. You want to go, we'll go. I'm not having you start your life with Jake thinking it's too much trouble for you to leave the ranch. We're just going to go over the rules. I want you to listen to me very carefully, Emma. When we're off the ranch, I'm the one in charge. Always. When I say stop, you stop. When I say move, you move. When I say get down, you don't hesitate, you don't question me, you just do it. If you have any questions, now is the time to ask them. I want you to be comfortable with your security, not afraid of it and certainly not fighting it."

She nodded. "I understand. That doesn't sound too complicated." Her fingers twisted together in her lap, and more than once, she slid her finger over the ring as if it were uncomfortable on her hand.

"You will never, under any circumstances, skip out on me or the team. That's an absolute. We don't want any more risk to you or to the team than necessary."

"Of course, Drake, but why do you keep saying 'team'? We're getting a dress."

"We're going to be high profile, Emma, because the threat to you is very real. Your engagement to Jake was announced in the papers. We'll have a driver staying with the car. I'll walk in front of you, Joshua behind you, and Evan and Sean will be on either side of you. We'll all stay together when we're moving and you will stay in the center at all times on the street. We'll go with the flow of traffic but try not to stop. We don't have a female and Jake should start thinking about getting one."

She stirred, her gaze flicking over him, the sudden thought of a female around Jake all the time irrationally irritating her. "I don't think that's necessary."

"It's necessary if we're out and you need to go to the ladies' room. You won't be too happy when we go with you and clear it. The same with the dressing room."

B Y the time the doctor had come and gone, giving her permission to resume normal activities, Emma was sorry she had ever decided to go shopping. She was even more edgy and emotional, close to tears at times. She hadn't realized how much she'd come to regard Joshua and Drake as her friends, and now, thanks to the ring on her finger, she was something else to them, someone they would have to guard wherever she went. She sat in the large SUV, a black Cadillac, and twisted the ring back and forth, feeling alone.

This was supposed to be a fun outing, a way to get away from the children and from Jake's overwhelming personality, but instead she felt like a burden, and worse, was very embarrassed that she would have to walk in public with men so obviously guarding her. Ordinarily she was quite happy at home, but all of a sudden, as she feared, things were changing and Jake was taking over more of her life. Sitting alone in the car surrounded-not by friends she laughed and joked and shared her life with, but by bodyguards, men she had to obey-she felt very isolated.

The driver parked in the lot and Drake slipped out of the vehicle first. She watched him scan the area, his gaze touching pedestrians and a van parked in a corner slot with the engine running. He waited for it to pull away and turn out of the lot before he opened her door for her.

"Come on, Emma, let's just do this the first time and you'll see it's not so bad."

Standing in the center of the diamond formation the team made around her, following Drake, with Joshua behind her and the two other men on either side, she walked with them, keeping to their pace, her head down, not looking at those around her. She was aware of the traffic in the street and the people on the sidewalk. This was going to be her life. Worse, it was going to be how her children had to live.

Jake. She sighed, thinking about him, about how his life had to have been so difficult, yet for the past two years she'd never once had to think about it.

"Stop taking your ring off," Joshua hissed from behind her as they waited for Drake to check the first shop on their list.

She glanced at him over his shoulder. "I didn't realize I was."

"We don't want to have to crawl around on our hands and knees to look for the thing if you lose it."

He had a teasing note in his voice, but her stomach knotted. Did she want to lose it? Maybe she did subconsciously. She really was upset, more than she'd realized. Drake waved her into the shop and she stepped inside to browse, very aware of heads turning as Joshua and Drake entered with her. There was nothing inconspicuous about them; they weren't even trying to be. They looked like bodyguards, nothing less. She knew Evan was at the rear entrance and Sean at the front outside.

She couldn't concentrate to really look at the clothes and barely moved through the racks. She wanted to go home. "I don't think I'm going to find anything here, maybe I'm just not in the mood."

"You've got a couple more stores, Emma," Drake said and led the way out. He spoke into his Bluetooth, presumably to call in Evan.

As they went past two stores and moved toward the small dress shop she'd heard about, she caught a glimpse of a pair of shoes. Forgetting, she stopped to turn back. Joshua put a hand on her back, moving her with the team.

"Emma wants to look in that shop," Joshua said.

It wasn't on their schedule. Drake had explained about that and how they didn't like to deviate. She shook her head, flushing bright red. "It's all right. I just really need a dress right now." She hated this. How did anyone get used to it?

The next shop yielded nothing and the third shop was closed, which meant they had to cross the street to the little French boutique where Jake had first taken her after Andraya had been born, which was perhaps part of the allure. The designers displayed there were some of her favorites. She found a black, very sophisticated dress with a low V-neck falling into a close-fitting skirt and a daringly bare back cut all the way past the waist, making it impossible to wear a bra. She held it up, hesitating to try it on. It seemed too much trouble.

Drake said nothing to her but walked to the dressing room, looked inside and indicated for her to go in. She didn't look at the clerk, but followed his unspoken signal and slid into the soft material. It clung to her as if made for her. Fortunately the shop carried other accessories, so it wasn't difficult to find a lacy black garter belt and high-topped stockings. The shop next door had perfect matching heels, and before she could take the purchases, Drake stepped forward and arranged for a courier to deliver the boxes to the ranch.

Emma fell into step behind Drake, with Sean and Evan on either side of her and Joshua right behind. "It's sort of like a parade," she said, glancing around her.

The men were looking out away from her, watching traffic and people, even buildings. She sighed as they approached the stoplight and were forced to halt and wait for the light to turn. She could feel the curious stares, and her fingers slipped to the ring, rolling it around on her finger. She wasn't cut out for this kind of life. She felt absolutely ridiculous and embarrassed. She was going to have to talk to Jake and make him understand that security was fine for the children and for him, but definitely not for her-not like this. Taking one bodyguard should be enough.

They stepped off the curb and started across the street with the pedestrians flowing around them. They were like a little moving island, she thought. The sound of a motorcycle barely registered when she felt Drake's hand on her arm, yanking her forward and away from her two side guards. The bike slid straight at Sean's legs, the helmeted driver leaping off as he laid the bike down in an effort to take out both Sean and Evan like bowling pins. Joshua dragged Evan clear and Sean tried to leap out of the way just as a Mini Cooper bounced over the grass and curb to slide sideways, doors open. A second motorcycle roared through the scattering crowd, heading straight for Emma, the driver stretching out his hand to catch her shoulder, presumably to shove her into the waiting Mini Cooper.

"Down, Emma," Drake yelled, whirling around to face the new threat.

She dropped and the hand stretching for her missed. Drake was already reaching out, snagging the driver and ripping him off the bike with one hand, spinning him around, using his cat's strength and shoving the knife he'd pulled deep. Blood sprayed across the ground, including across Emma. He drew his gun, his body crouched over hers, one arm out to cover as much of her as he could as he took aim at the driver of the Mini Cooper. The driver spun the small car in a tight circle, right into the crowd. Drake squeezed the trigger and the windshield spiderwebbed. The Mini Cooper fishtailed down the street, bumped onto a sidewalk and over the grass before coming to a halt.

Chaos erupted around them, people screaming and running, but the team performed as one unit, Joshua drawing and firing, taking out the first driver as their own Cadillac screeched to a halt, blocking the intersection. Evan yanked open the door and Drake all but threw Emma inside, jumping in after her while Evan took the front seat and Sean hobbled to the driver's-side back seat. They drove off fast, leaving Joshua to deal with the police.

Drake called the incident in, explaining to the dispatcher and then informing Jake they were coming in fast.

"Are you all right, Emma?" Drake asked, his voice gentle.

She nodded her head, but there were tears in her eyes and she refused to look at him. "I don't understand what happened." She was shaking, and when he touched her, she jerked away from him. She didn't know if she wanted to go home anymore. What had been safe and comforting for so long now seemed alien. The men who had been her friends, men she admired and cared for, weren't at all who she'd thought. "What did they want with me?"

"You're the only Achilles' heel Jake has. They've never found a way to get to him. And now they have the means to destroy him."

"Did you kill those men back there?"

"Yes," he answered curtly. "We don't miss."

She swallowed hard and looked up at Sean. "Are you all right?"

"A few bruises, nothing to worry about," he assured.

Emma pulled her knees up to her chin and sat rocking back and forth, holding herself tightly. Drake put a gentle hand on her shoulder a second time. "I know violence can be shocking, Emma, when you aren't used to it."

"It's crazy," she answered. "This is so crazy and I don't even understand why." She lifted her head and looked at Drake, her eyes swimming with tears. "Do you have any idea how crazy this will make him? Jake will lose his mind over this. He will, Drake, you know him. He isn't going to wrap his arms around me and say he'll make it all go away." A sob escaped and she pressed her face against her knees, shaking her head.

"When a man goes his entire life with nothing, Emma, and then he finds a woman who is his entire world, who is everything to him, he'll do anything to protect her," Drake said. "Even if you took that ring off, the one you keep pulling off your finger, it wouldn't make a difference in how he feels about you. They would still be able to get to him through you."

"I'm not taking off the ring." She looked up at him, her gaze fierce. "You just don't let anything happen to him. I know this party is important and he's going to insist on going and he'll tell you that I'm to be your first priority, but you don't let anything happen to him, Drake. He'll risk everything for me, I know he will. You don't have to tell me. That doesn't make any of this easier to live with, but I'm not walking away from him. I love him. Now they've made me angry too." She rubbed her chin on the tops of her knees, her fists clenched, tears still falling. "Don't you let anything happen to him."

Jake was waiting, pacing back and forth, as the Cadillac pulled up to the house. "What the fuck happened, Drake?"

"Jake," Emma interrupted before Drake could answer, "you're supposed to put your arms around me and comfort me. That's what fiances do when someone tries to kidnap their betrothed. Drake did his job, I'm fine, three men are dead, and in case you're interested, Sean's hurt."

Jake let himself look at her. For one moment time seemed to stop. She was alive. She was safe. Tears streaked her face and there was blood on her. His gaze quickly jumped to Drake.

"Not hers," Drake confirmed.

Jake's knees actually felt weak and he could only stand there, trying to stop the roaring in his head and the hammering of his heart. He reached for her, needing to touch her, to feel her warmth and know she was safe. The moment his arms closed around her and he drew her from the seat of the SUV, he felt complete.

"Thank you, Drake." His voice was gruff with emotion, and he turned away from them, burying his face in the silk of her hair, carrying her into his house. "I'm sorry, Emma. I shouldn't have put the announcement in the paper."

"It wouldn't have made a difference, Jake," Drake said. "At least we know someone's watching the ranch. How else would they have known we were on the move with her? And they didn't have a professional crew coming at us. It was amateur hour."

"The police are on the way," Jake said tersely. "I've got the lawyers waiting. I want your report. Tell them everything and do whatever they say when the police come." He kissed the top of Emma's head again. "They're going to want to talk to you, Emma. You'll need to talk to the lawyers as well, and don't answer anything the police ask until the lawyers okay it."

She nodded, looking a little frightened, and Jake kissed her, his mouth coaxing, feeling her tremble against him.

The process with the lawyers and police took long, exhausting hours. Emma eventually fell asleep, curled in a chair. The questions had been endless, but truthfully, everything had happened so fast she couldn't tell them much, only how scared she'd been. Jake draped a blanket over her while he and Drake and the lawyer talked with the police and she'd finally just drifted off.

After everyone left and the house was quiet and dark, Jake stood over Emma for a long time, just watching her sleep. His lungs burned with the effort just to breathe. His vision blurred as he picked her up, cradling her close to him, sheltering her against his heart. She murmured softly, frowning and burrowing against him.

"I'm just taking you upstairs," he said, his heart aching. If this was love, it hurt like hell.

15.

"YOU look beautiful, Emma," Jake said, "absolutely beautiful."

She was grateful he didn't say anything about her hair being up. He preferred it down, but it didn't go with the sophisticated look she was trying to pull off. She was actually a great deal more nervous than she thought she'd be. She cared nothing for these people, but she wanted to be an asset to Jake.