He stood immobile, rooted to the spot and unable to move even if he’d tried. Never mind his legs, though, it was all he could do to get his mouth moving.
‘I’m your bodyguard, Rae.’
‘That didn’t stop you the other night,’ she whispered. ‘Besides, did you really need to come to this with me? We still don’t know if that break-in at my house was merely opportunistic, but even if it wasn’t, surely no one is going to reach me thousands of miles away?’
‘Actually, we do know about the break-in.’ He hadn’t known whether to tell her or not before she’d br
ought it up herself. ‘From their investigation at the house and everything that you confirmed was taken, they’ve concluded there is more than likely a connection between the break-in at your home and the tampering of Rafe’s brakes.’
‘Which means whoever it is is operating on both sides of the Atlantic?’
She paled, her scratchy voice worming into him and making him wish he could do something, anything, to take away her fear.
‘There is an upside.’ He would never know how he sounded so detached, so in control, when every word felt clunky and awkward, as though his brain was trying to work out how to piece words together. How to make a sentence. ‘In that it also narrows the field considerably. Not many individuals have that kind of reach.’
‘You’re thinking competitors to Rawlstone Group? Were they trying to get to Rafe through me?’
The idea of Rae being in danger, of him having to voice it aloud, filled him with something he didn’t care to evaluate too closely.
‘It’s too early to say for certain, but that’s certainly one line of investigation we’re currently following.’
She swallowed.
‘Which means they could reach me here. If they really wanted to.’
‘It’s unlikely.’ He forced his voice to become lighter than he really felt. ‘But it can’t be ruled out.’
‘We have three more weeks here. Together,’ she managed. As if she could somehow pretend that the last half-hour hadn’t happened. ‘So we have to get past this. Get along with each other.’
‘You do know I will protect you, Rae?’
‘From any external dangers, yes.’ She looked as though she wanted to say something else, something more, but eventually she offered a resigned shrug.
‘We’ve managed to keep our distance up until now. Perhaps we can just carry on like that?’
‘It won’t work. The last few days have been hectic but as the new teams settle in we’re going to have to spend more time together. It would look odd if we didn’t.’
Her body slumped as though suddenly leaden.
‘What are you suggesting?’
‘That we find a truce. Any animosity between us would quickly filter through the camp and bring the rest of the volunteers down. So perhaps we should...forget our history. Start again.’
‘Start again?’ She looked dubious. ‘How, precisely, are we supposed to do that?’
He hadn’t thought that far. His whole adult life he’d had a plan, had mapped things out in advance. He liked it that way. He thrived on being prepared. But now his mind cast around wildly until, eventually, it touched on a potential solution and grasped it as though it were the last life jacket and he were on a sinking ship.
‘Christmas. Come on, I’ll show you.’
‘Christmas?’ She frowned.
It was galling how contained, how unaffected Myles was whilst her heart was skittering around her chest and her thoughts were a chaotic mess.
Just like that New Year’s Eve back when she’d been seventeen.
She forced the past from her head and fought to concentrate on the here and now.
‘Yes,’ Myles was announcing, his tone clipped. ‘Your Christmas toy boxes have arrived.’