Excerpt of Guarding Laura by Susan Vaughan

CHAPTER ONE “So, Laura, I see you’re still holding court.” The racquet slipped from Laura’s shaking fingers to clatter on the tennis court. Ten years vanished in a heartbeat. Only one man possessed the familiar smoky rumble that hummed through her nerve endings. “Thank you, Kay,” she said to the girl who retrieved the racquet. “Uh, you girls switch opponents and keep practicing.” Simmering with electric awareness and trepidation, she scarcely noticed whether they complied or not. She turned to face him. With indolent male grace, Cole lounged against the gate. He looked self-assured and arrogant in his maturity, yet elements of his rebellious youth remained. The last time she’d seen him he wore leather. His present garb of charcoal tee shirt and khaki cargo pants appeared almost respectable, except for the scuffed boots. Military, not the chain-draped motorcycle boots she expected. Why was he in Maine? She had to get rid of him fast, before he revealed her identity. If he lingered, she’d have to run again, to find a new sanctuary and a new identity. Her life was in danger. She’d take no chances with a wild card like Cole. And what consummate gall he had to approach her like this after dumping her like a worn-out tire on his Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Her pride wouldn’t allow her to reveal how much he’d hurt her, how much damage his betrayal had caused. She couldn’t trust him. Suspicion knotted her stomach and raced her heart. It took a minute for controlled breathing, learned in therapy, to ease the tension. She clutched her racquet in front of her--useless as protection, she knew--as she walked to the fence. “What are you doing here, Cole? Hart’s Inn is a family resort, not a biker bash. Did your motorcycle dump you, or are you lost?” His ice-blue eyes bore into her without a hint of the humor she’d discerned in his mocking greeting. His expression was as chilly and unrelenting as the North Atlantic tide. After unwinding his arm from the fence support, he hooked his fingers in the fencing above the opening. “Can’t a guy take a vacation?” “Here? That makes no sense.” She propped one hand on a hip. “The Cole Stratton I knew traveled only to motorcycle races, certainly not to a staid New England resort. Your idea of vacation was a six-pack and a Saturday afternoon.” Blinking under Cole’s scrutiny, she wondered what he thought about the changes time had wrought in her. Cole might be tracing her shape with his gaze, but at least she could keep her scars--physical and emotional--hidden from him. Her hand flew up to close the shirt collar around her throat. Fire leaped in his eyes, and tension flattened the skin across his angular features as though he were struggling with his thoughts or emotions. His scent, a mingling of aftershave and soap, and another musky essence purely Cole, wafted to her, a lure to buried emotions and memories. Oh, God. She couldn’t let her awareness of him erode her vigilance. She had much more at stake than pride and resurfacing anger. He plunged a hand into his dark hair, spiking it into disarray. “Hell, I’m not here to hassle you. Max Nolan sent me to protect you.” Laura released her collar to grasp the fence for support. General Nolan? Her breath came in shallow gulps, and she willed her lungs to inhale deeply. “Why on earth would the director of the Anti-Terrorism Security Agency approach you about me?” “You don’t want these happy vacationers to know how you got the scars you’re trying to hide. Or how Alexei Markos is hunting the only murder witness against him.” He jerked a nod toward the goggle-eyed kids on the court. “Lose the audience. We need to talk. In private.” A tornado of panic and confusion twisted through Laura, leaving in its path the wrecked illusion of anonymity and safety at this quiet lake. “But how do you know all this? Why are you here?” “Hey, Laura, how’s the tennis going?” Burt Elwell waved to her from a golf cart laden with garden tools and painting supplies. His curious gaze had no effect on Cole, who stared at him stonily. “Terrific.” She waved off the young handyman. The fewer people who noticed her with him the better. “Laura, are you coming?” one of the girls called. “Can he come and play too?” Kay cooed. Although consumed with curiosity, Laura knew she couldn’t cut short the lesson and go talk to Cole. Some mother would complain to her boss, and she didn’t want to have to explain Cole. Even if she could. “I have to finish the lesson,” she said to him. “Then you’d better have a good explanation.” Hoping that was the final word, she retreated to her class. Like birds to a feeder, her flock of students gathered around her, clamoring for her to observe their progress. Kay, the oldest girl at thirteen, said, “Who’s the hottie, Laura? Your boyfriend?” “Just someone I used to know.” A friend. A lifetime ago. It had been friendship, at least at first. Maybe she should have remained a timid rabbit like the other girls and not have approached the leather-jacketed rebel in senior history class. Then she wouldn’t have fallen for him two years later. Laura scarcely knew what she did for the next half hour. Like a robot, she shot balls to each girl in turn and mumbled inane phrases of praise and critique as they swatted at them. Her brain swirled with questions. How did Cole know General Nolan? How did he know about Alexei Markos? And how could she get rid of this dangerous man from her past?