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 REJECTED & HIDDEN

QUINN FAMILY ROMANCE ADVENTURES #6

CAMI CHECKETTS
 COPYRIGHT

Rejected & Hidden: Quinn Romance Adventures #6

Copyright © 2023 by Camille C. Checketts
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and
retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
 CONTENTS

Acknowledgments
Free Book

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14

Epilogue
Excerpt - Too-Perfect & Stranded
1st Chapter - Matchmaking the Singer and the Warrior
About the Author
Also by Cami Checketts
Five Free Books
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Cover Art Design: Katie Garland, Sapphire Midnight Design

Content Editor: Daniel Coleman & Valerie Bybee
Copy Editor: Jenna Roundy
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 CHAPTER ONE

K im Heathrow kept her back to the wall as she studied the sliding glass door at the back of her
living area. A few seconds ago she’d been celebrating the completion of her latest painting of the
La Fortuna Waterfall. The gorgeous wonder of nature at the end of the road she lived on was a spot as
beautiful as the Garden of Eden.
Now she was wondering if her deepest fear had happened. Could her stalker of ten years have found
her again? She had been scavenging her freezer for any flavor of ice cream for the celebration of her
painting, but was startled to hear quiet movements on her back patio. It was too quiet to be one of the
many stray dogs, or young boys, that roamed the area.
Her heart beat so high and fast she felt like she was choking. It was impossible to get a full breath.
She sidestepped to the right and grasped a long kitchen knife. The cool stainless steel in her hands
offered her some reassurance, but if her stalker followed the pattern of when he’d discovered her
locations in America, he wouldn’t try to come in. He’d simply send pictures of her to reassure her he
was close by and notes to make sure she knew he’d never stop loving her long, dark hair, dimples,
and shapely backside. It was gross and disturbing, but had been occurring for so long she mostly
ignored the repulsive words.
She’d lived in La Fortuna, Costa Rica for the past five years. After Colt Quinn broke her heart, she’d
run from America and her stalker. Being with Colt was the only time she’d felt truly safe but he’d
cheated on her. When she’d tried to call him, to give him a chance to explain, he’d never answered
her calls. She’d relocated to Costa Rica shortly after that and dropped off the map. Only her parents,
older twin sisters, cousin Holden Jennings, and the infamous Sutton Smith, along with his impressive
security specialists, knew where she was. Sutton’s men were paid well to monitor her security. Why
hadn’t she gotten a call or notification?
Where was her stupid phone anyway? Probably up in her art studio. She wore noise-cancelling
earphones when she painted to block out the roosters crowing and the dogs barking. Maybe she got a
notification and hadn’t noticed. But her stalker hadn’t found her in five years. She missed her family
and sometimes being a recluse was lonely, but she was safe. Probably just an animal or one of the
local boys messing around.
Relaxing her grip on the knife a fraction, she said a prayer to be calm and safe, and then edged her
way toward the stairs. She’d find her phone and make sure there were no security alerts, then she’d
send a message to Sutton’s team and see what they advised. River Duncan had been her contact since
she’d signed up for their services and he seemed like a great guy. He and a team had traveled down
here and set up her security. Of course they advised her that being in America would be more ideal, if
she refused to have a specialist assigned directly to her, but she felt much safer here where her face
was rarely recognized from her years as a child and teenage Disney star.
She had to leave the safety of the cabinets at her back to navigate the open space between the kitchen
and living areas on the backside of the house and the foyer and the sweeping staircase on the front.
Kim stayed focused on the sliding glass door and the inky black night beyond it. Why hadn’t she
thought to shut the curtain? She’d gotten very lazy lately with only her parents’ home in upstate New
York receiving regular notes from her stalker. He didn’t know where she was and that made her very
happy.
There was a quick rap on the front door. Kim screamed, jumped, and dropped the knife.
“Kim!” A deep, male voice yelled through the door. “Kim! Are you all right?”
The voice sounded eerily familiar, but there was no way it could be who she thought it was.
Sweeping the knife off the floor, she sprinted for the staircase, praying her phone really was in her
studio. How did the person at her door know her name? Was it her stalker? Or could it possibly be
the man she still dreamed about—Colt Quinn. No. He wouldn’t know where she was, and even if he
did, he wouldn’t care to find her.
She made it to the top of the stairs and raced for her art studio. Behind her she heard the front door
crash open and she screamed before clapping her free hand over her mouth. How stupid was she to
give away her location? Every terrorizing dream she’d had of her stalker coming after her and hurting
her was coming true.
Icy prickles covered her body as her house alarm split the air. The local police would respond to that
and Sutton would get a notification. Would help come before the man found her?
The alarm silenced and her terror increased. Chills raced down her spine. How had the person gotten
through a deadbolt and silenced the alarm? You had to type in the code that only she and Sutton’s
Security knew to silence it.
She gripped the knife with slick fingers as she sprinted into her studio, tried to shut the door quietly
with her trembling hand, and locked it. Not that a lock would keep out whoever had just gotten
through the deadbolt on her front door and somehow stopped her alarm.
Her gaze darted around for her phone. Please let it be in here. She didn’t dare turn the light on,
praying the man would search the other upstairs rooms before coming this way. Creeping across the
space, she ran into a chair and had to bite her lip to not cry out. She heard footsteps coming up the
stairs and froze.
“Kim? Are you okay? Kim?” The man’s voice was getting more insistent and closer.
Her phone rang. Kim was relieved and sick at the same time. It was ringing from across the hall … in
her bedroom. The footsteps retreated. She found her desk and huddled underneath it. If the man came
in she’d wait until the perfect moment, stab the knife into his leg, and then run for her life. Who would
she run to? The only neighbor she talked to more than a wave or casual, how are you, was John, a
mid-fifties guy who’d retired from America and always stared at her too intently. He was a nice guy
but kind of strange.
Shaking almost uncontrollably, her stomach pitching, she listened but couldn’t make out the muffled
conversation. The guy had answered her phone, but why would he do that? Was the call the police or
Sutton? Who would call first? If there was any hope for her survival it was that the police would just
come, not call, but would they come with the alarm being silenced so quickly? The couple of times
she’d accidentally triggered it then shut it off they hadn’t come, simply called to make sure everything
was all right. No!
Quiet footsteps approached the door again and the handle rattled. Kim curled back under the desk.
She could barely hold on to the knife she was quaking so badly. Would she even be able to plunge it
into the guy? The thought of it made her stomach lurch and bile rise in her throat, but she had to
protect herself.
The lock clicked and then the door opened. Light from the hallway spilled in and even in her hiding
spot Kim felt exposed.
“Kim?” The man slowly eased into the room and then flicked the light on.
Kim squeezed her eyes shut and prayed desperately. This was it and she had little hope that she could
protect herself from the man that gained such easy access to her sanctuary.
Opening her eyes, she gritted her teeth, transferred the knife to her left hand, wiped her sweaty right
palm on her cotton dress and transferred it back. Gripping it tightly, she promised herself she’d go
down fighting.
“Kim?” The man was growing ever closer.
He paused right in front of the desk. Stab him, her mind screamed. The thought of plunging a knife into
the tanned, muscular calf in front of her made her squeamish stomach churn even more. She recoiled,
but she had no choice but to fight, try to defend herself.
Shoving the knife forward, she prayed to hit the target and then escape.
“Whoa!” she heard the man yell as he leapt to the side.
The knife met nothing and she sprawled on her stomach on the hardwood floor. The man’s hand
grasped her arm tightly. She tried in vain to swing the knife around but couldn’t move her hand at all
with his large palm gripping her so tight.
The knife was yanked from her hand and went clattering across the room. The man wrapped both
hands under her arms and lifted her to her feet.
“Hi, Kim.” Colt Quinn stood before her—casual, relaxed, as if she hadn’t just tried to knife him. He
had a huge grin on his handsome face. His blue eyes sparkled at her and he was more beautiful than
even her daydreams had made him out to be over the last, lonely five years. His dark hair was slightly
longer on top and all kinds of memories of running her fingers through his wavy hair came back. His
sculpted face and body had both matured and she really, really liked what she saw.
“Waiting for me, I see?” Colt asked.
“I … I …” Kim could only stutter. Her legs went wobbly and she almost went down.
Colt swept her off her feet and cradled her against his chest. His warm palms on her bare legs and
around her abdomen made her lightheaded. She’d always felt this almost electric connection to Colt.
The old feelings all resurfaced and she knew immediately she was in trouble, lots of trouble.
He smiled down at her, all confidence and swagger, exactly like she’d remembered. “Ah, sweetheart,
you didn’t have to swoon for me. A welcome home kiss would be more than enough.”
He leaned in as if he would claim her lips like he used to. The memory of those fabulous kisses about
had her truly swooning. His blue gaze was focused on and completely invested in her, as if she were
the only woman for him in the world.
No! That wasn’t true. She was one of hundreds, possibly thousands, of women who lost themselves in
Colt Quinn’s gaze and she could not, would not fall to him. She turned her face away just in time. His
lips grazed her cheek and even that much contact made heat pool in her stomach and desire race
through her body.
“Put me down,” she demanded, finally finding her tongue.
Colt arched his eyebrows. “You’re the one who fell into my arms, love.”
Righteous indignation rushed through her. “I would never fall into the arms of a cheating playboy. Put
me down!”
Colt’s warm gaze changed to concern. “Kim. Ah, love, we have so much to talk about.”
Kim shoved at his chest. “Yeah starting with why you broke into my house, how you wrongly assumed
you could just grab me like this, and how fast you can get your cheating self out of here.” She
squirmed to free herself.
Colt released the arm holding her legs and let her slide to her feet, but he kept his other arm around
her back, holding her close. “I’ve come to apologize, love. I was so wrong.”
Those were words she never planned on hearing from him. “You bet your butt you were wrong, but
you still have no right to be in my home.” She dodged out of his arms and pointed at the door. “Get
out!”
Colt held his hands up. “You have to let me explain.”
“I don’t have to do anything for you.” Storming past him, she paused at the studio door and whirled
back. “Where’s my phone?”
Colt pulled it out of a pocket and held it out. Kim narrowed her eyes at him. She was not going back
to get it from him. He gave her a slow grin and sauntered across the distance. His blue eyes filled
with a smolder that Colt Quinn had perfected. One look and women fell at his feet. Well not her, not
anymore.
He came much too close, but she didn’t allow herself to back up, even though doing so might have
preserved her heart from aching so deeply for him. She used to think he only looked at her in that
special way, but he’d proven her wrong. She wouldn’t allow him to rip her apart again.
With his gaze trained on her, he slowly extended the phone. Kim’s hand darted out and she grasped it,
pulling her hand back. Not quickly enough. Colt’s lean fingers wrapped around her hand. Kim gasped
from the connection that always surfaced when Colt touched her. He smiled softly, his overconfident
look gone; in its place was the true depth that had always been there between them.
“We still have it, don’t we, love?” he murmured.
Kim took a long breath, trying to steel herself from falling under his spell again.
Colt tugged on her hand and she staggered, resting her free hand on his chest to balance herself. His
other hand came around her waist and warmth and desire overwhelmed her. Colt released the hand
holding the phone and wrapped her up tight with both of his hands.
His eyes took their time traveling over her face.
“Oh, love, I’ve missed you,” he murmured, bowing his head as if to kiss her.
No matter how badly she wanted to kiss him, Kim had to stay strong. She shoved at his chest, one fist
still clamped around her phone. “Let me go!”
Colt blinked at her as if coming out of a trance. He obeyed, releasing his grip on her, but he stayed
right in her space. “I have to tell you what happened, how wrong I was, and how sorry I am.” His
cocky grin resurfaced. “Then we can make up for lost time and kiss all night long.”
Kim could not believe the gall of this guy. She stepped back and his grin slipped. “No! You lost any
chance with me when you cheated on me. Get out of my house and don’t come back or I’ll call Sutton
Smith’s security to come remove you.”
She whirled from him and hurried toward the door, clinging to her phone like a lifeline. She would
barricade herself in her bedroom and call River immediately. But how long would it take to get a
specialist here? She knew they did a lot of work fighting against human trafficking and drug lords in
South America. Maybe she’d get lucky and someone would be in a bordering country like Panama or
Nicaragua.
“Please, Kim,” Colt begged from behind her. “Give me a chance to explain.”
“No!” she yelled. Running across the hallway, she darted into her room, slammed the door, and
pressed her back against it. With trembling fingers she pulled up River’s contact info and pushed the
call button.
Colt was on the other side of the door quickly. “You have to listen to me. I thought you were cheating
on me with Holden.”
The phone was ringing but she couldn’t help but internalize Colt’s statement. Cheating with Holden?
That was so gross. “Holden’s my cousin.”
“That would’ve been nice to know.”
Kim felt the sting of his comment. She’d told Colt often how much she admired and respected Holden
Jennings, but she’d also respected Holden’s desire for anonymity and not told even the man she loved
that they were related.
“Duncan,” River’s voice came on with his standard greeting.
“River! I need help and I need it now.”
“Hang up with me and call the police.” River’s voice was full of concern. “I’ll check in with my
operative. He should be there by now.”
“You’re sending somebody? Why?”
“Are you in immediate danger?”
“Not danger.” Colt would never hurt her, but she wanted him out of her house before she had to listen
to his silken tongue any longer and guaranteed she’d falter at some point and let him kiss her, and then
her heart would be sunk when he cheated on her again. His best excuse was he didn’t know Holden
was her cousin? What did it matter that he didn’t know Holden was her cousin? She’d never done
anything wrong with Holden.
“Please, Kim,” Colt was still talking on the other side of the door. She ignored him.
“What’s going on then?” River asked and she tried to focus on him and shut out whatever lies Colt
was spewing.
“An old boyfriend broke into my house.”
“Who?” River demanded.
“Colt Quinn.”
River did the last thing she expected. He chuckled.
“What?”
“I’m with Sutton,” Colt yelled through the door.
“Colt’s the man I sent,” River explained.
Kim’s legs gave out and she sank to the floor, the wood door bracing her back. “Why would you send
him?” Sutton had dozens of men and somehow she ended up with her heart-breaking old boyfriend?
“Well to be honest he volunteered. He’s been begging all of us for information on you the past week
and then we got a breakthrough with your case. The stalker’s notes have been sent the past year from
La Fortuna, Costa Rica.”
Kim’s head swam and she couldn’t think clearly. “But … but … that’s where I’m living right now.”
“We know. That’s why we put the local police on alert and sent Colt immediately to you with
instructions to make contact without delay. We’ve been trying to call and send messages but you
didn’t answer.”
“I was in the middle of painting,” she murmured, sick to her stomach.
“Kim!” Colt was pounding on the door up above her head. “Please open the door, love.”
Her stalker was close by. Colt was here to protect her, or to apologize, or to kiss her? Her heart beat
faster and sweat dripped down her back. She couldn’t handle this. She’d given up her acting career to
get away from her stalker and she’d given up America to get away from Colt Quinn and suddenly they
were both back in her life.
“It could be someone I see at the market or hiking to the waterfall or when I go relax at Baldi Hot
Springs.”
“It could,” River admitted. “But now that we’ve pinpointed his location we’ll be able to find him. We
flew a team down with Colt. They’ll start checking into everyone in the area. Colt will talk through
everything with you tonight and you can give him descriptions and impressions of everyone you’ve
interacted with there the past few years. We’ll get Baron and Nessa researching from here. It’s going
to be okay, Kim.”
Her head and stomach wouldn’t settle and Colt was still asking her to open the door, to talk to him.
As per River’s instructions she would have to talk with him and work with him to find her stalker.
Could there be any worse punishment? To have the man she’d always loved right here but not be able
to be with him. He’d broken her when he cheated on her and she had never recovered.
“I can’t work with Colt Quinn. Can he trade places with one of the other security guys who are here
researching the people in the area?”
“Colt is specifically trained to be a bodyguard. The other people we sent down are focused on
research and have the best tracking skills. Colt is the ideal agent to have by your side.”
“I can’t … I don’t like him.” That was so lame and not even close to the full story, but River was a
professional and kind of an intimidating guy, Kim had no clue how to explain to him why she couldn’t
be close to Colt.
“I know you two have history,” River patiently said. “But he’s invested in your safety and is highly
trained to protect you. His years as Army Special Ops and the training I and his brother Griff have
done with him have made him one of the best in the world at protection. Please give him a chance,
Kim. If after a few days we haven’t found the stalker and you’re still bothered by Colt we’ll fly
someone else down. Okay?”
Kim pushed out a breath. No, it wasn’t okay, but she didn’t want to act like a baby about it. “Fine,”
she grunted out.
“Thanks, Kim. Talk with Colt and he’ll send the information on to our team and me. I’ll check in
soon.” The line went dead.
Talk with Colt. Talk with Colt. The words sounded so easy but their reality was horrific for her. She
couldn’t simply talk to him, hear his deep voice, look into those intriguing blue eyes, and not fling
herself against his chest. She couldn’t believe River would ask this of her. How was she going to
survive with Colt Quinn nearby?
 CHAPTER TWO

“K im?” Colt’s voice was cautious. “Are you okay?”

“No, I’m not okay,” she yelled back through the door. “You’re here!”
“Aw, Kim, I’m sorry. Please open the door and let me explain.”
Silence fell as she prayed for help. She had to be strong. She had to act like the mature adult she was.
She took care of herself, living on her own in a foreign country. She did the steps to the waterfall four
times every morning, except for Sunday. She defended herself from vicious stray dogs and men who
were too friendly at her bi-weekly visits to Baldi Hot Springs. Her life without Colt was scheduled,
predictable, and good. She’d done that on her own, she could face him and remain detached.
Standing on still-trembling legs, she took a deep breath and recalled years of training throughout her
youth as a well-known movie star. Putting on a cold, detached smile, she unclicked the lock and
swung the door wide.
Colt stood there. His wavy hair was disheveled, his tanned face was entirely too handsome for her
unsteady state, and his blue eyes were filled with uncertainty. That glimpse of vulnerability about
made her legs collapse again. She held onto the doorframe for support.
“Kim,” her name came out on a soft breath much too full of emotion, longing, and love.
She found herself leaning toward him.
No! Be strong, be strong. Colt Quinn didn’t love anybody but himself, his mama, and a different
woman every day. Kim had Wi-Fi and she wasn’t naïve like she used to be.
She walked around him, ignoring the delectable musky scent he emanated and the way her arm
brushed his chest. Instead of focusing on the instant yearning to touch him again, she focused on what
a jerk he was to stay in her space like that and not back up. She used to love how he couldn’t stand to
be too far from her. When they were together they played racquetball often. Colt would always stay
too close to her on the court and one time she bloodied his nose with her racket. She’d felt awful but
he’d been great about it and just teased that it was his fault for not giving her space. That memory, and
a hundred more about how kind and fun Colt had been, washed over her. No! She couldn’t go there.
“River said I need to give you information about the people I interact with,” she threw over her
shoulder as she rushed for the staircase and hurried down the stairs. Talking to him could not happen
while she was near her bedroom and feeling so vulnerable. She needed space. The kitchen would be
a better spot. Maybe with another knife in her hand, yet he’d taken the last knife easily enough. She
could at least stay across the table from him. She wished it was still across the world. Sadly, even a
phone call with Colt might be too much for her susceptible heart.
Clinging to the railing so she wouldn’t trip on her stupid, weak legs she hurried even faster when Colt
caught her easily. The presence of his strong body close behind hers almost had her stopping and
leaning back. How blissful would it be to have Colt wrap his arms around her abdomen while she
leaned against him relishing in his strength and instinctive protection, his delicious scent, the ties that
had always bound them together.
She was running from him and their memories by the time she hit the main floor. She didn’t care what
he thought. How would she survive being close to him while they found her stalker?
If this was true though and they had a lead on her stalker, she might finally be free. What would she do
then? Go home to America? It would be amazing to see her parents and her sisters on a regular basis,
reconnect with Holden, and maybe even resurrect her acting career. She could start with a minor part
in a Netflix or Amazon original show and work her way back up. She was no stranger to hard work
and being organized, keeping a schedule to push herself. There were all kinds of possibilities with
her stalker gone, if she could stay strong around Colt.
She reached the table and hurried around it, hoping to put as much distance as possible between her
and Colt. He followed her. Did the man not understand social cues and boundaries, not understand
they weren’t close any longer?
His large frame towered over her. Curse him being so tall and manly. Kim glared up at him and
pointed. “You sit over there.”
Colt gave her his easy grin. “If I didn’t know differently, I’d think I had a strong effect on you.”
Kim folded her arms across her chest and gritted her teeth. “You have no effect on me any longer.”
Colt leaned down and tenderly trailed his fingers along her jawline. “That’s too bad because you
have me whimpering at your feet simply being close to you again.”
Kim’s stomach swirled with heat and she couldn’t catch a breath. Act tough, act tough. “Stop it,” she
gritted out. Yanking away from his touch she sprang to her feet and circled the table. When he tried to
follow, she pointed and yelled, “Sit there!”
Colt didn’t even attempt to hide his grin but he obediently pulled out a chair and sank into it. Kim
collapsed on her own chair, closed her eyes, and rubbed at her forehead to ease the tension there.
Colt’s hand covered hers as he leaned across the table. “I’m sorry, love,” he murmured in a deep,
much too appealing voice.
Kim yanked back, steeled her heart, and glared at him. It was really hard to glare when he looked so
good and humble. Could he truly be sorry? Maybe he’d be sorry until he got her to fall for him again,
then he’d dump her when the next appealing woman walked across his path. She wasn’t doing this
with Colt Quinn again.
“River informs me that you’re here professionally.”
He nodded, his eyes suddenly wary, as if he recognized her ploy, but he reclined in his chair as if he
were relaxed and didn’t have a care in the world.
“I expect you to act as professionally as River or Griff would then.”
“That’s not fair, love.”
“What’s not fair about it?” Could she ever win against Colt’s charm or laidback reasoning? She hated
how calm and irresistible he was.
“Well first of all River and Griff are both happily married.”
She nodded.
“And second of all …” He tilted toward her and his voice lowered to that husky level she used to die
to hear. “River and Griff aren’t head over heels in love with you.”
All Kim could do was stare into his blue eyes and pant for air. Even across the table, he was too
close. Several tense seconds passed, Colt staring at her so beseechingly and her begging the Lord to
help her. How could she resist him when he talked like that and looked at her like that and every
remembrance of the love they’d shared was right in her face? She closed her eyes and could still
picture him making out in the corner booth with some blonde.
“No!” she yelled, scraping her chair out and leaping to her feet.
Colt stood too, hands spread innocently. “Please Kim. Please give me a chance to explain, to show
you how much I still love you.”
“No!” She jabbed a finger at him. “I hate you, Colt Quinn! You broke my heart once but I will never
let you do it again.”
His eyes were full of agony, as if she was truly hurting the ultimate playboy by her rejection.
“I’m going to bed now. Don’t you dare follow me. We will talk in the morning about the security job
and nothing else. If you try to touch me or claim you love me again, I’ll call River or Sutton and get
you reassigned. I’m paying for this stinking security and I will not put up with any more of your lies or
sultry looks!”
Whirling from him, she ran for the staircase. Thankfully he didn’t try to say anything more and he
didn’t follow her. When she finally reached her room and slammed the door, she curled onto her bed.
Colt Quinn was here and he claimed he loved her. How in the world was she going to stay strong, so
he didn’t trample her heart for a final time? The past five years had been lonely and hard but if Colt
somehow penetrated her heart and then dumped her again … Hot tears stung her eyes at the mere idea
… She would have to be committed into an institution; her heart and mind would be shattered.
 CHAPTER THREE

C olt watched Kim run to the entryway and disappear up the staircase. He could hardly stand not
chasing after her but obviously he wasn’t going to get her to forgive him tonight. How could he get
through to her when she wouldn’t even let him explain what happened that horrific day five years
ago? He was certain she’d cheated on him with a man he knew she admired above all others, Holden
Jennings. All his worries about the way she idolized Holden were confirmed when he’d seen the two
of them in the restaurant foyer in what he thought was an intimate embrace. Apparently the joke was
on him—Holden was her cousin and was now in love with Colt’s own sister Navy.
Colt passed a hand over his face, trying to rid his memory of the haunted look in Kim’s big, brown
eyes tonight. Her dimples had been almost nonexistent. A few times she’d seemed to soften or lean
toward him, but she’d caught herself quickly. He could imagine how he’d hurt her, pretending to cheat
on her, in retaliation because he thought she was cheating on him and his heart had broken wide open.
The past five years he’d lived in his own personal purgatory, taking a different girl out to dinner
every weekend in a desperate attempt to find happiness with someone besides Kim. He’d never found
anyone close to Kim’s sweetness, zest for life, and natural beauty. He’d adored Kim Heathrow and
truthfully still did.
He paced away from the table. The house was nice, lots of windows, tile floors, mahogany cabinets,
but it was too warm. Did they not believe in air conditioning in this country? He got himself a drink of
water, supposedly you could do that from the tap in Costa Rica, and drained it. Turning off the alarm,
he retrieved his bag from the front porch, rearmed the security system, and glanced up the stairs. He
imagined Kim in her bedroom and heat infused him. He’d been ecstatic to accept this assignment. It
had seemed heaven was finally smiling upon him, but Kim’s reaction to him was the worst case
scenario. He didn’t know how he could act professional and detached from her when all he wanted to
do was beg her forgiveness and hold her until she knew he’d never leave her side again.
He searched the downstairs, closing blinds and curtains as he went. It was only the entry, a small
office, the large great room area, and a mud room with an entry to the garage. Everything looked in
order and he didn’t find any bugs. It’d taken him under ten seconds to pick the deadbolt earlier, but he
knew most people didn’t have his training. The security system was all functioning properly. Also
from his investigation outside before he went through the front door he found the house was pretty
secure.
Upstairs was only Kim’s bedroom, a guest bedroom with bath and an art studio. He looked over her
paintings. They were high quality and really captured the light and essence of a towering waterfall
and the greenery surrounding it. There were also some paintings of a lush valley. He assumed the
locations were all close by, but he and the other security guys had driven in the dark. Kim had been a
talented actor at a young age. It appeared her skill for painting was unsurpassed as well.
He dropped his bag in the guest bedroom and almost laid down on the bed, but had a better idea.
Finding a couple of blankets and a pillow in a linen closet between the bedrooms, he spread them out
in front of Kim’s door. Pulling his gun out of the back of his waistband and slipping off his shoes, he
stretched out on top of the blankets. He wouldn’t need anything on top of him with as warm as it was
in here. There was a bit of cool air seeping from underneath her door.
He listened closely and could hear Kim pacing the bedroom floor and frowned. Was that because she
was so upset with him? Or was there a possibility she still cared about him and didn’t know how to
navigate this situation any better than he did?
Last week he’d found out that Holden Jennings was in fact Kim’s cousin and his world had upended.
He’d gone directly to Sutton, who he’d worked for off and on the past few years on his brother Griff’s
recommendation, and begged to utilize Sutton’s tech experts to find Kim Heathrow’s location and
protect her from the stalker who had never been caught.
Sutton questioned him extensively and Colt confessed like he was a twelve-year-old who’d stolen the
offering cup and Sutton was his pastor. He told him everything about him and Kim, their relationship,
the fallout, everything. Sutton took it all in stride, like he did with everything, and finally admitted that
Kim was a client. If that wasn’t the good Lord saying Colt should find Kim he didn’t know what was.
It took more begging on Colt’s part until Sutton promised he’d think about his request and get back to
him.
A hard week of waiting and praying for information had drug by. This morning he thought his every
dream had come true when River called him in, told him about the update with the stalker apparently
being in Costa Rica, and assigned him to the case. He’d flown directly here in Sutton’s Airbus with a
team who was going to be low to the ground, quietly checking out the population of La Fortuna, all
fifteen thousand of them. There were also a whole slew of tourists who came and went, so their job
wouldn’t be easy.
Colt squeezed his eyes shut and shifted on his hard bed. His job apparently wasn’t going to be easy
either. He thought he’d apologize, and then instantly reconnect with the love of his life, before
spending the next few days holding her close while the other men found her stalker. Then he’d take
her home to America, ask her daddy for her hand, and be married as quickly as their mamas could
book the church.
He pushed out a long breath. His dreams weren’t coming true. Kim hadn’t so much as gifted him with
her smile; her dimples appearing in her naturally-tanned skin while her dark brown eyes glittered at
him. But at least he was here and he had the truth. Kim was an amazing, reasonable woman. Soon
she’d let him apologize correctly and give him her heart again. Then their every youthful dream could
come true. It would be even better than before. They were older, they’d been through hard things, and
they would both appreciate how special and unique their love was. He just needed time to soften her.
Colt smiled to himself. Kim was the only woman he’d ever wanted. It wouldn’t take long to convince
her of his love and devotion.
K im wasn’t able to fall asleep until the early morning hours, her heart was in too much turmoil and
wouldn’t let her rest. When sunlight flooded her bedroom windows before six a.m., she wanted to
roll over and crash again but out of strongly-engrained habit she pushed out of bed, brushed her teeth,
and put on a tank top and shorts.
Had Colt stayed the night in her house? She’d fought herself throughout the night, as she wanted so
badly to go investigate, but she knew she wasn’t in any frame of mind to face him again. Partway
through the night she wanted nothing more than to find him and kiss him until the sun rose. She’d
forced herself to take a melatonin, chamomile, and lavender mix and lay down, she’d finally fallen
asleep.
Slipping on her socks and tying her running shoes, she felt a moment of fear and panic. Did she dare
run to the waterfall and do her usual rounds of running up and down the five-hundred steps four
times? She always let herself swim in the waterfall after her last set and then allowed ten minutes to
relax and soak in the beauty before she walked up the long staircases and jogged home. It was her
favorite part of her day, but today, knowing her stalker could be close by, she second-guessed going.
The thought of not going made her palms clammy. She liked her healthy habits and her predictable
schedule. Curse her stalker, and Colt, for messing them up.
Jutting out her chin, she decided she’d just find Colt and demand he follow her, at a respectable
distance. He could keep her safe and she could get her workout in. The thought of stripping down to
her sports bra to swim while Colt was close by shot fire through her. Maybe she shouldn’t swim
today. The idea of altering her schedule made her chest tight. Colt couldn’t mess up her plans. He was
being paid to be here and he’d better just fall in line and follow her throughout her well-planned days.
The only positive was she did feel safe with him here.
She nodded her head, determination coursing through her. Now to find Colt. Her heart skipped a beat
at the thought of seeing him again. Could she be strong through this ordeal, when he was so
irresistible and handsome and she could easily remember how desperately she loved him? Had
loved, not currently loved. Sheesh, her heart was in turmoil and her mind seemed to be as messed up.
Yanking the door open, she ran into a body sprawled in front of her doorway, tripped, and fell in a
heap on top of him.
Kim screamed and tried to scuttle off of him but Colt wrapped his arms around her and held her
close. Their bodies melded together like they were designed to be one. All too familiar feelings of
desire and love overwhelmed her as she stared into his blue gaze. Colt is here and holding me again,
her heart and body seemed to cheer.
His slow grin appeared. “You didn’t have to throw yourself on me, love, I would’ve come to you.”
Kim yanked back and thankfully he released her. She scrambled back into her bedroom and stood
quickly.
Colt took his time standing and she was able to appreciate every glorious inch of him. He walked
toward her with his hands outstretched. His chest, shoulder, and abdominal muscles were all on fine
display. “Good morning, love.”
“Where is your shirt?” she demanded, backing away.
Colt stopped his progression toward her and gifted her with his award-winning grin. “You like that?”
He flexed his chest muscles and they popped.
Kim gasped and backed up two more steps. “Stop it! What have you been doing to yourself the past
five years?” He’d matured in a lot of ways. Was it possible he’d matured in his ability to have a
faithful relationship? No, she couldn’t give him the benefit of the doubt simply because he’d honed his
body to perfection.
“I’ve put on a little muscle.” He lifted his hands, pretending innocence, but there was nothing
harmless about how good he looked or how she was reacting to him. Her mouth was parched and her
heart raced. Colt had always been fit and looked great, but he’d probably put on twenty pounds of
sheer muscle since the last time she’d seen him.
“Get a shirt on,” she begged.
He shrugged and her eyes were drawn to the beautiful sculpt of his shoulders. “It was so hot last night
I had to take it off.”
“There’s only air conditioning in the bedrooms.” She tilted her chin. “That’ll teach you to sleep
where you belong.”
“I belong wherever you are,” he said boldly, his blue eyes heating her clear through and his firm lips
beaconing her to sample them.
Kim panted for air. “Stop with the flirting and put your shirt on.” The words were said in desperation
and he finally seemed to register that she wasn’t going to fall for him, at least not at the moment. She
hoped.
He backed up, scooped a gray t-shirt off the ground, and shrugged back into it. Kim’s palms started
sweating as the too-tight shirt didn’t go all the way over his abs, and she had no choice but to stare
unabashedly at the ripple of muscle displayed. What else was she supposed to focus on?
Forcing her gaze to lift to his face, she saw Colt watching her with a knowing grin. He slid his shirt
back into place. “You like it, don’t you?”
“Shut up!” she yelled at him.
Colt didn’t stop smiling. “When did you get so grumpy?”
Kim’s neck got hot and she stormed across the room, poking him in his very solid chest. “When you
ripped my heart out.”
Colt’s eyes widened and his smile slipped. “If you’ll just let me explain.”
“No!” She shook her head, shoved at his chest, and thankfully he stuttered back a step. Kim raced
around him.
“Where are you going?” It seemed to finally register with him that she was dressed to go for a run.
“Try and keep up, military man,” she flung at him.
“Let me get my shoes on.”
Kim was already racing down the stairs. “No.”
“Kim, stop!” His voice was a command that few would dare disobey. He had never used that tone of
voice with her before. He’d always been the quintessential gentleman until the night he broke her
heart.
The shock of his forceful, unfamiliar tone stopped her on the bottom stair. She glared back up at him,
clinging to his shoes a few steps up. “How dare you boss me around? I’m not some new recruit you
can command.”
“Forgive me. Your stalker could be out there and you can’t go running alone.”
“Fine,” she huffed, hating that he was right. Hating the box she was forced into because of her stupid
stalker. She’d felt safe here in this tropical paradise but, apparently, she had to change her mindset to
being constantly wary. “I’ll go get us some water bottles.”
She hurried to the kitchen while he dropped down to get his shoes on. This was going to be the worst
day of her life.
 CHAPTER FOUR

C olt jogged up the steep hill, keeping pace with Kim. He could’ve gone at a faster trot, but he was
also almost a foot taller than her. She was in impressive shape, just like she’d been when he’d
been with her before. It made him smile that she’d checked him out so thoroughly. Maybe she was
mad at him, but she still wanted him, and that was at least something to start with.
The deep woof of a dog came from far too close by before a large, black Pit Bull slammed into the
fence next to Colt.
“Whoa!” Colt dodged away from the fence, pushing Kim behind him.
“What are you doing?” Kim asked.
“Protecting you from a vicious beast.”
The dog was barking out of control now. Thank heavens for the fence. The animal ran along the length
of the fence with them, barking and growling.
Kim laughed. Colt almost stopped running, so stunned and taken in by the intriguing sound of it, her
laugh. Oh how he’d missed it. He’d also missed her dimples. How depressing that she hadn’t smiled
at him at all since he’d found her again. He almost begged her to smile and laugh some more when the
fence ended and the dog tore out after them.
Colt whirled to face the beast, completely prepared to pull out his gun if necessary. He yelled in his
commanding Army sergeant tone, “Stand down!” And puffed himself up to make himself bigger.
The animal stopped in its tracks but growled and yipped threateningly at him.
Kim tried to step around Colt. He pushed her back. “Don’t.”
Kim laughed again and didn’t go in front of him but came to his side. “Hi, Bowzer. How are you
boy?” she crooned in a silly voice, her dark eyes sparkling.
The vicious animal’s tail started wagging, and he barked playfully, sidling around Colt to Kim’s
extended hand. Colt instinctively wanted to push in front of her again, but it was obvious that these
two knew each other. Kim scratched the ugly mutt’s ears and Colt could’ve sworn he purred.
Then the beast looked up at Colt and let out a low, warning growl deep in his throat.
“I could thump you in a second,” Colt said, his voice just as menacing.
“Colt!” Kim was still laughing though. “I didn’t know you were scared of dogs.”
“I’m not, but …” He wasn’t about to admit that this dog was scary. “How do you know old Bowzer?”
“He’s my neighbor.” Kim kept scratching. “Aren’t you boy? You watch out for me, huh boy?”
Colt rolled his eyes. He was going to watch out for Kim, not some dog.
A man approached the fence, eyeing Colt every bit as warily as his dog did. He was probably early
fifties but appeared fit and had a shaved head.
“Hi, John,” Kim called out. “Bowzer about made Colt pee his pants.”
That was low. “Really?” Colt pinned her with a look. “I thought I was protecting you.”
She grinned at him and finally, finally those dimples were pointed his way, they were the perfect
adornment to her smooth, dark skin.
“John Graham.” the man extended his hand across the fence. Colt stepped forward and gave it a firm
shake before returning to Kim’s side. “Friend of Kim’s?” The way the man said it was too suspicious.
What was this guy to Kim? He was old enough to be her dad.
“Good friend,” Colt returned.
“He wishes,” Kim quipped.
Colt was going to have to have a chat with her about keeping his cover, River had suggested he
pretend to be Kim’s boyfriend in public and Colt had thought that was brilliant. This guy was as
suspicious a character as anyone. He lived close to Kim, sounded and looked American. He could
easily be her stalker, and here she was buddying up to his dog. When they got back to her house he
was going to insist they make that list of everyone she came in contact with, for Sutton’s guys to
research.
“I didn’t get your name,” John said.
“Colt.”
“No last name? You think you’re Madonna or something?” John’s pale blue eyes were hard.
“Nice to meet you.” Colt looked at Kim. “We need to go.”
Kim arched an eyebrow at him but didn’t question him. “See you, John. Bye, Bowzer.”
The dog ruffed, and the man stared hard at their backsides. Colt increased their pace until they
rounded a bend in the road. He wrapped his hand around Kim’s arm and pulled her to a stop. “We
need to pretend that I’m your boyfriend.”
“Oh, don’t you wish,” she threw back at him.
“Yeah, I do.” He waited for any sign of softening, but she folded her arms across her chest and stared
defiantly at him. “It’s River’s idea for my cover and is important around people like that.”
She pointed back down the road. “John?”
“Yes, John. Did it occur to you that he might be your stalker?”
Kim’s eyes rounded. “No way. John’s just a creepy old guy. My stalker started sending the notes back
when I was like twelve. John would’ve been late thirties then, and he’s lived here forever.”
Colt said a prayer for patience and help with how to say this without sounding belittling. He hated to
ruin her illusions of people’s goodness. “Kim. I know you’re an innocent, good person and I’m
grateful for that.”
“You think I’m stupid?”
He put up his hands. “Not in the least. I’m saying you’re so good you can’t wrap your mind around the
depravity of some people’s souls.”
She put her hands on her hips. “You’re saying an almost forty-year old man would’ve stalked a
preteen from another country?”
“Have you never heard of child porn?”
Kim’s face pulled into a look of disgust and fear. “That’s so wrong. I always assumed it was …
somebody close to my age.”
“We have no idea, but we have to be suspicious of everyone.”
Kim blew out a breath and then muttered, “Thanks for ruining my day.”
He had no response for that. He had no desire to ruin her innocence, or her day, but she had to be
careful what she said and did. And maybe they could work on the boyfriend and girlfriend cover act.
He liked the idea of that.
She started at a jog again and Colt stayed by her side, running in silence for a few minutes.
The humidity and heat was making him sweat profusely, and when they reached a parking lot at the
top of the hill and Kim stopped and screwed off the lid of her water bottle, he was happy to follow
suit. He drained more than half of it, tempted to pour some over his head.
“Go easy on the water, big guy, I’m not sharing mine.”
Colt focused on her face. She was actually smiling at him, and her dimples were so perfect. “You
used to share everything with me.”
Her dimples disappeared. “Not anymore.”
“Aw, no. That was cruel.”
“What? Not sharing?”
“Yeah, but I was referring to those beautiful dimples flashing at me then disappearing all too quick.
I’ve missed those.”
Instead of smiling again, Kim whirled from him and took off for the gate. “Hi, Frazier. Hi, Ricki.” She
waved to a couple of guys manning the gate and ran right through. They both watched her go. Colt was
steps behind her.
The men heard him coming and stepped in front of him. “You need to pay, sir.”
Colt pointed at Kim’s retreating backside. “I’m with her.”
The older of the two looked at Kim, who was almost to a set of stairs that led down. “Doesn’t look
like it,” he said to Colt, pinning him with a triumphant look. He pointed back at a desk. “You pay
there, sir, sign the disclosure, get a wrist band, and then you see our lovely waterfall, by yourself.”
The guy’s voice was dripping with condescension.
Colt could easily take them both out and catch Kim, but he didn’t want to cause a ruckus.
“Kim!” he hollered at her. Was she smart enough to not run away from her protection? Actually he
knew how smart she was but with her being so upset with him, maybe she wasn’t thinking straight.
Kim turned at the sound of his voice. She ran back toward them, and when she reached the gate she
smiled at the men. “Sorry. I forgot to tell you he’s with me.”
“Okay, Miss Kim,” the guy who’d just been giving Colt a hard time grinned at her.
Colt couldn’t be sure what ticked him off more: the way these guys fawned over her or the fact that
these two losers were getting the privilege of her dimples appearing, when he didn’t.
He nodded tersely to them and strode through with Kim. She started running again.
“What’s the hurry?” Colt asked, picking up the pace to stay by her side and pumping down the stairs
after her. The setting was unreal, lush like a tropical garden. He wouldn’t mind slowing down and
taking the views in.
“I got a later than usual start … because of you.”
“Ouch,” Colt said drily.
“I always make it down the stairs four times, then I swim and hike out of here before the tour buses
arrive, and the tourists get in the way.”
“Don’t let me slow you down.” Kim had always been a big one for healthy habits, but he found her
precise schedule a little disturbing. Yet, maybe it comforted her to stick to a schedule with the
upheaval of her life with a stalker after her and living on her own in a foreign country, far from her
family. He could understand her liking things organized.
“I won’t.” She winked at him and pumped down the stairs.
Colt chuckled and trailed after her. They descended a lot of stairs before he could hear the loud rush
of water. Then they rounded a corner, and a wall of green moss and rock with water spilling in front
of it appeared.
Colt saw a spot for a lookout and asked, “Can we?”
“Make it quick.”
Colt hurried to the edge and stared at the lush tropical forest around him, the waterfall was the perfect
adornment to the natural beauty. He recognized the focus of most of Kim’s paintings. “This is
awesome. Do you come here every day?”
“Every day but Sunday, I can never truly get enough of it.”
“Lucky.”
“I used to think so.”
Colt wasn’t sure if she meant because her stalker had found her again, or because he had. He didn’t
ask, but forced his gaze from her beautiful face to the water gushing over the ledge and the thick
greenery all around.
She let him take in the view for a few seconds then said, “Do you mind if we appreciate the beauty
after we do the stairs a few times? The buses will be here in less than an hour.”
“Don’t let me slow you down,” he said like he had earlier.
Kim laughed. “We’ll see.” She turned and started pumping up the stairs. Colt went after her,
appreciating how tough and spunky she was, happy she’d laughed with him. Maybe he could break
through her barriers quicker than he’d hoped.

K im’s legs and lungs were both screaming when they reached the top of the five-hundred stairs for
the third time. She’d pushed herself harder than usual, trying to impress Colt. She didn’t see the
crowds of tourists waiting at the gate yet, but knew they’d be coming.
“We did it!” she yelled, punching her fists in the air.
Colt bent over, resting his hands on his knees and pulling in air. “I thought I was in shape,” he
muttered.
“I do this every day but Sunday,” she reminded him, not sure why she wanted to make him feel better.
Colt glanced up at her. “Explains why you look so good.”
Kim felt a flush of warmth at his compliment and his gaze, but she didn’t let herself respond. “Let’s
get back down and we’ll be able to swim alone before the crowds come.”
Colt groaned but followed her down the stairs. “You’re going to make me run up those again?”
“I walk on the last set.”
He blew out a breath. “So there’s an ounce of mercy in that perfect body of yours.”
She rolled her eyes and hurried down the stairs. Colt kept pace behind her. Having ditched their
water bottles at the garbage after the first round, they stopped at the natural drinking fountain, took
long drinks, and washed off the sweat that was rolling off them like flood waters. Kim couldn’t resist
staring at him. He glowed and he was so appealing to her. Colt Quinn had been back in her life less
than twelve hours, and she had no clue how she was going to resist him.
They hurried down the rest of the stairs, and Kim was grateful that the buses were late today, as they
quite often were. Costa Ricans ran on their own schedule, and even pushy tourists had to just calm
down and wait.
They approached the smooth, uneven boulders next to the pool below the waterfall. She loved the
crashing of water into the pool, the mist off of the waterfall on her face, and most of all sharing it with
Colt. She felt bad she hadn’t let him sit and savor the waterfall the first time he saw it. She had time
to remedy that now. She reasoned that she’d be a lot more generous to any out of town guests seeing
her prized jewel for the first time. Not that she got many out of town guests. Her parents and sisters
visited occasionally and that was it.
Sitting on one of the boulders, she slipped off her shoes and socks but kept her tank top on. It was
plenty warm and she didn’t mind climbing the steps or running home with a damp shirt on. “Ready to
swim?” she asked Colt, who was focused on the natural beauty around them.
He stared down at her. “Oh, you’re going to let me play tourist for a minute?”
“I guess so.” She shrugged and smiled.
Colt let out a soft groan; his lips curving irresistibly. “I love those dimples.”
Kim’s breath caught, and her body was immediately overheated. She could try to blame her reaction
on the exercise but knew it was all on Colt. Standing quickly, she scrambled over boulders to the
water’s edge. The boulders got more slippery so she had to slow her pace. The cool water embraced
her feet, and she kept descending into deeper water. The rocks fell away, and she plunged under the
water, loving the cold liquid enfolding her sweaty body and instantly chilling her. That ought to keep
her from being so overheated with Colt around.
She broke through the surface and tried like she did every day to swim closer to the waterfall. It was
impossible for her to get too close. The waves and the current the waterfall created pushed her back,
and she made little headway as cold water splashed her face. Nature’s way of keeping her safe she
supposed. Anyone who went under that waterfall would be pummeled and in danger.
She blinked the spray from the waterfall out of her eyes and gazed up at the towering wall of green.
She loved it here so much.
Colt swam close by. “That’s a powerful waterfall,” he said. “I think it’s more powerful than the one
on the Napili in Kauai.”
Kim treaded water and let the natural current push her away from the gush of water. “I’ll have to take
your word for that, I’ve never been to Kauai.” Could any place on earth be more gorgeous than her
sanctuary?
“Really?”
He treaded water close by her, and they moved toward the natural overhang to the right of the
waterfall. The spray lessened, and they could face each other and talk more easily.
“My family didn’t travel because I was so busy with acting.” Her parents and older twin sisters had
always been very supportive of her acting career, but she knew they’d sacrificed a lot because of her.
She sometimes wondered if they were relieved she’d chosen this path, and they could now live their
lives. Her sister Ally had recently been hired as a marketing manager for the Georgia Patriots, and
Shar was doing great with her restaurant on Tybee Island outside of Savannah. She was glad they
were still close in proximity and friendship.
“You moved here when you … finished acting?” he asked.
She nodded, realizing he probably had no clue where she’d been the past five years.
“That was brave, relocating to a foreign country at twenty-two.”
“Thanks.” She glanced up at the green, mossy cliff to avoid his gaze. “I had to get away from my
stalker … and you,” she admitted. Risking a glance back at his face, she saw a flash of pain.
“Aw, Kim,” his voice lowered, and it was hard to hear him over the splashing water. However, she
could easily read the anguish as his blue eyes darkened, and his brow furrowed.
Kim shouldn’t have said that. She started to swim back to the rocks, but Colt’s strong arms came
around her from behind. It was all she could do to not lean back into his muscular chest. He was
treading water with only his legs, and he gently spun her in his arms so she was facing him. He kept
one arm around her waist and kept her body flush against his, using his other arm to tread water.
“Will you please forgive me for hurting you, love?” The words, said so sincerely in this picturesque
spot while he held her close, about did her in.
Kim couldn’t go there with him, not yet, maybe not ever. She stopped kicking and dropped down into
the water, slipping through his arms. When she surfaced he was close by, but she ignored him and
swam quickly to the boulders. She kicked a rock that was underwater and grimaced, but kept moving,
scrambling over slick rocks back to their shoes.
Colt was right behind her. Kim wanted to get away from him. She couldn’t handle much more. She
slipped on a mossy rock and went down hard. She reached out to catch herself, but her knee banged
against a rock.
Colt lifted her onto her feet.
“Thanks,” she muttered, but he didn’t release her.
“You okay?” His warm breath brushed her forehead, and she looked up. His blue gaze was sincere
and concerned. His dark hair was wet and a lock fell across his forehead. All the manly protection
that Colt Quinn had always exuded toward her seemed to surround her, warmer than a fleece blanket
fresh out of the dryer.
Kim’s heart raced, and the water that should be cooling her skin evaporated with a tingly sensation.
Colt’s warm hands were on her back, heating through her wet shirt, and his bare chest was irresistible
up close and personal like this.
“Hit my knee,” she managed to push out, but it sounded all breathy like she was some desperate
teenage girl speaking to the school stud for the first time.
His eyes swept over her face, lingering on her lips. “Do you want me to check it out?” he asked.
Kim tried to remember what reality she was living in. It was definitely an alternate reality from the
past five years. In this sphere she and Colt were together, he was her entire world, and she fell deeper
in love with every fun conversation, soft touch, and look. It was exhilarating, but it should be
terrifying. She knew where she went from here … rock bottom.
Pulling away from his grasp, she tested her leg. It only hurt slightly to stand on. “It’s fine. Probably
just a bruise.”
Colt’s body was filled with tension, every glorious muscle flexed. His tanned skin sparkled from
being wet, and the morning sun hitting it.
“That’s good,” he muttered, but he looked like he wanted to pull her in close again.
She wanted the same thing, but she couldn’t allow herself to fall under his sneaky spell so quickly.
She nodded and took another step back, needing distance from him. Her foot came down on an uneven
boulder, and she lifted her hands to balance. Colt reached out and steadied her with his hand. Kim
should’ve pulled back, but as his hand wrapped around her bicep, tremors raced through her. His blue
gaze was steady on her, and she was lost. She’d tried to be strong, but it hadn’t worked out. There
was simply no reality where a mere mortal like herself didn’t succumb to the glowing Zeus in front of
her. He was her protector, her comforter, her everything. His gaze was magnetic, his body was
perfect, and his lips were calling to her.
“Kim,” he said in a low, sexy groan that made her body flare up with desire.
Kim took an unconscious step toward him, and he gave her a brief smile before running his hand up
her arm to cup her chin gently. His other hand wrapped around her lower back and guided her closer
to him. She let herself rest her hands on that glorious chest of his, reveling in the lean muscle and
smooth skin.
His gaze was steady on her as he slowly lowered his head. Her heart was thudding in her ears, and
there was a rational piece of her mind screaming that she was allowing herself to succumb to him,
and it would be another huge regret. But being held so tenderly by the man she still loved was like
putting a chocolate-addict into Willy Wonka’s chocolate river and telling her not to taste it. There was
no world where she could resist Colt Quinn.
His warm breath brushed over her lips first. Kim sighed and her eyelids fluttered closed. She waited
in breathless anticipation for his lips to cover hers and her world to upend. It was absolute stupidity,
but she could not resist him any longer.
Long seconds passed, and she felt him pull back slightly. Kim’s eyes flew open. Colt sheltered her
with his arm and whispered, “Someone’s coming.”
Kim was jolted back to reality, slammed back truly. In this reality Colt was here to protect her like
she’d always loved, but he wasn’t here to kiss her and reconnect with her.
He released her and bent down, scooping up his t-shirt and a gun. He’d had a gun on him this entire
time? Her heart started racing for a different reason. Did he think her stalker had followed them and
was going to attack them right here and now? She did this run and swim almost every day, and no one
had ever bothered her.
Chatter and footsteps grew closer. Colt slid into his shirt and put the gun at the back of his shorts.
“The tourists are here,” she said.
Colt’s gaze flickered to her instead of the path. “They come about this same time every day?”
“Yes.”
Sure enough a group of tourists appeared at the overlook, chattering excitedly and taking pictures of
the waterfall. Americans, Europeans, Asians, it was always a diverse, friendly group.
Colt blew a breath out and muttered, “Let’s get our shoes on and clear out.”
She nodded, sitting down and wiping her feet dry with her socks before putting them on and then her
shoes. Colt was quicker than her and watched the tourists warily as they started infiltrating their quiet
spot. Kim wasn’t concerned with the tourists, but she was completely wigged out with her inability to
resist this man. What if no one had come? What if she’d kissed him? The thought made her warm all
over, but instead of giving into her desires and grabbing him, she called herself all kinds of stupid and
prayed for heavenly intervention. Her own self-control was not up to the task of keeping her away
from Colt Quinn’s seductive powers.
 CHAPTER 5

Colt and Kim made it back to the house, jogging mostly in silence. Colt’s mind was spinning. Kim had
almost kissed him, which made him irrationally happy and frustrated at the same time. The main
problem was … he’d completely forgotten he was on a job. What if the stalker had come while Colt
was swimming in the waterfall like a tourist? What if Colt had kissed her? He would’ve gotten lost in
her and put her in danger. He’d begged for this assignment, and now he had to keep his head on with
Kim next to him. At least in public, vulnerable spots when Sutton’s other men weren’t around to keep
a lookout.
Kim unlocked the door, and Colt held it while she walked through. She typed in the code for the alarm
and then re-armed it.
“Wait here, please,” he said.
She nodded shortly. Colt hurried through the house. When he was certain it was secure he pumped
down the stairs to the entryway. Kim waited exactly where he’d left her. He strode right into her
space. She looked up, so appealing he found himself losing his head again. At least they were in a
safe spot.
“Kim …” There were so many things he needed to say.
“You can use the shower in the spare bedroom,” she cut him off quickly and effectively.
He pushed out a breath then muttered, “Thanks.”
She gave him a forced smile and rushed away from him and up the stairs. Colt watched her go. This
job was proving much more difficult than he’d ever expected, and he hadn’t even seen a hint of
danger besides an old man and a rabid dog.

Kim took her time showering, styled her dark hair, and put on mascara, eyeliner, and lipstick, grateful
her skin was tan and only needed some translucent powder. She slipped on a flattering t-shirt style
dress that cinched at the waist. She knelt and said a prayer for help but she didn’t even know what she
needed help with, and she probably confused the good Lord as much as she was confused. Help to
resist Colt, help to understand Colt? The only help she was certain she needed was finding the stalker,
and finally, putting that chapter behind her.
She stood with a sigh and forced herself to exit her bedroom and face Colt, hoping her Heavenly
Father was on her side and not Colt’s. That thought made her laugh. Of course He was on everybody’s
side. He saw the good in all. Kim saw a lot of good in Colt, and eventually she might even forgive
him, but that didn’t mean she should put herself in his arms, and allow him to break her all over again.
The smell of pancakes floated up the stairs, along with Colt’s singing. Kim’s legs turned to jelly. Colt
used to always sing to her. His brother Kaleb was a famous country singer. Colt had a good voice too.
As she slowly descended the stairs the words came to her, and she froze halfway down, “You’re my-y
brown-eyed girl …”
He used to sing that song to her all the time, and she’d loved it. They’d dance, and he’d sing, giving
her those significant glances that she felt all through her body. Then he’d kiss her. Warmth and desire
battled within her before reason and frustration took their rightful spots. How dare he?
Her legs found renewed strength from her anger, and she rushed down the stairs, through the foyer,
and into the large great room area. Colt was still singing as he flipped pancakes off the griddle, and
then stirred scrambled eggs in a separate pan. He glanced over his shoulder at her, obviously knowing
she was there. His singing faltered, and his mouth dropped open.
“Ah, Kim,” he murmured.
“What?” She flipped her hair and pinned him with a challenging glare.
“You look so incredibly beautiful.”
Kim’s anger leaked out quicker than a popped balloon. He looked amazing in a fitted blue t-shirt and
gray amphibian shorts. His strong legs and arms were on fine display, and the appreciation in his eyes
both softened his handsome face and made him even more appealing. She tried to remember why she
was angry. The song. He’d been singing the song he used to sing to her.
“I … you …” Kim cleared her throat and ignored the way he seemed to lean toward her and cling to
her every word, as if she could make or break him. “Please don’t sing that song,” she finally managed
to get out.
“What … oh.” Understanding lit his blue gaze. “I sing it so often I didn’t realize I was.”
Kim blinked at him with no idea how to respond to that. He sang her song so often he didn’t realize he
was singing it? That was sweet … maybe. How did you not realize you were singing a song,
especially one with the significance of that one? Maybe he sang it to various brown-eyed girls so it
meant nothing to him any longer, other than being a way to snag another girl.
She couldn’t face the questions or his answers right now, so she changed the subject. “Thanks for
making breakfast.” She usually only made pancakes and eggs on Sundays. It felt … off to have them
today, but that was probably just because her body was used to oatmeal after her waterfall workout.
“Sure.” He finally turned from her, giving the eggs one final stir and sprinkling shredded cheese on
them. He poured on another set of pancakes and gestured to the table. “Sit. It’s almost ready.”
She slowly walked over and perched on the edge of a chair while he bustled around bringing food to
the table. The table was already set and had juice, milk, butter, and syrup on it. It was weird to have
someone serving her in her house. It was completely insane that that someone was Colt Quinn.
He sat and smiled at her. “Would you like me to offer the prayer?”
“Sure.” She closed her eyes to stop staring at him. His prayer was short, but heartfelt. How could a
man who had cheated on her and was with multiple women a week have an obviously strong
relationship with their Father above? It bothered her enough she wanted to ask, but someone’s
personal relationship with the good Lord was none of her business.
They dished up food and started eating in silence. Kim thought they should probably talk about
security stuff but she asked instead, “How’s your family?”
Colt swallowed a bite and took a sip of juice. “Really great. Everybody’s happily married, or close
to it. Mama is thrilled.”
Kim studied him. His mama doted on him and Mack the most, and she had adored Kim. She thought
the no-nonsense lady would probably have a lot to say about the way Colt lived now. “I saw that talk
show where Jessie featured Mack and Sariah, and then Griff came on the show and claimed Scarlett
Lily like some romance hero.”
Colt smiled. “Very romantic, right?”
“It was sweet,” she admitted. How would it be to know you were the only woman a Quinn man could
see? Kim had thought once she fit in that category. Not anymore. Her cheeks burned, and she muttered,
“Even Navy’s found someone?” before taking a sip of juice.
“Holden.”
The juice went down the wrong pipe. Kim coughed and sprayed orange juice across the table. The
acidic juice burned her throat, and the embarrassment burned her face. She grabbed her napkin and
tried to blot at the juice on Colt’s face. Colt chuckled as he used his own napkin and then wiped up
some of the mess.
“I’m sorry,” Kim muttered. “Your food’s ruined.”
Colt swirled some pancake on his plate then put a bite in his mouth. “Orange flavored. I like it.”
“Gross. I just spit on your food.”
Colt grinned. “Your spit would never bother me.”
Kim rolled her eyes and pushed her own plate away. Her stomach was too unsettled to eat now
anyway. “Holden and Navy got together?” She knew they worked together, but they’d fallen in love?
Colt nodded. His blue gaze went serious. She remembered what he’d said about not knowing Holden
was her cousin. She wasn’t sure how he thought that made him innocent of cheating on her, and she
didn’t want to get into it, but she had to know what was going on with Holden and Navy.
“When?” she asked.
“Last week.”
“Wow.” She’d gotten lost in her painting project, and there had been a bad storm last week. She
hadn’t checked anything on United States media for a while, but she was surprised Holden hadn’t
called her.
“They’re very happy.”
“Good for them.”
She’d always liked Navy. She liked all of Colt’s family. Navy and Holden would make a very
powerful and very beautiful couple.
“It is good for them.” Colt leaned across the table and put his hand over hers. “Kim …” his voice
deepened. “I need to talk to you about everything that happened with Holden and that night.”
Kim ripped her hand back and stood, grabbing her plate and the syrup bottle. “I’ll just get everything
cleaned up, and then we can talk about possible stalker suspects.”
Colt let out a low growl of obvious frustration. Kim ignored him and hurried to the sink, setting her
half-eaten plate in it and the syrup on the counter. Colt came up right behind her. The heat from his
body made her stomach swirl with anticipation. He put his hands on either side of the sink, trapping
her there. Kim stayed stubbornly facing away from him, praying desperately for sanity and safety from
him.
Colt leaned down to her left side, his lips brushed her ear lobe and she unconsciously leaned closer.
“Kim, please give me a chance to explain.”
Kim whirled and pushed at him. He didn’t budge and he was much too close. “No.” She shook her
head. “I told you last night: you keep this professional or I’ll ask for someone else to protect me.”
Colt stared down at her, his blue eyes filled with frustration. “You won’t even listen to my side?”
Kim was surrounded by his arms and his scent, and he was so appealing to her, but she’d been in pain
for five long, lonely years because of this man. She didn’t owe him anything, especially not the
chance to explain. She shook her head decisively. “Can we please focus on finding my stalker? Leave
the past in the past.”
Colt’s gaze traveled over her face. He leaned closer, and his chest brushed her shoulder. “I don’t
know if I can do that,” he murmured low and far too appealing for her weakened state.
Kim’s heart was thundering in her throat, and she didn’t know how she was going to escape. She
thought of a way to goad him into leaving her alone about their past. “Did you used to love me?”
Colt lifted his hand and gently trailed his knuckles along her jaw. His blue gaze was full of tenderness
as he leaned down and whispered, “Used to? I’ve never stopped loving you, Kim.”
Kim was gasping for air, and her entire body was burning for him. She’d never stopped loving him
either, but no matter how beautifully he’d said that, how beautiful he was to her, she had seen the
proof that he’d moved on, time and again.
“I don’t appreciate you lying,” she snapped at him.
“Lying?” His eyes filled with hurt. “You have to see how much I love you. It’s got to be written all
over my face.”
It was, but she thought Colt was probably a better actor than she’d ever been. “You know what I’ve
seen, Colt?” She folded her arms across her chest to protect herself. “I’ve seen you over the years
with woman after woman after woman.” She arched her eyebrows. “That just shouts fidelity and love
to me.”
Colt finally leaned back and pushed out a long breath. “Those women meant nothing to me, Kim. I
dated to try to find someone else because I was so miserable without you and thought maybe there
was another woman like you out there for me. I was wrong. There’s no one for me but you.”
Kim held up a hand. “Don’t. If you care for me at all don’t go there. All that’s available for me on this
path is more pain.”
Colt leaned in again. “You and I can take all the pain away. Just being with you. That’s all I need.”
Kim was so close to falling and she knew she had to kiss him or run. She forced herself to duck under
his arm and hurry across the kitchen. She whirled to face him. “I’m done with your lies! Stop asking
me to be with you and stop trying to explain.” She sprinted for the staircase and up the stairs,
slamming into her room. Grabbing her phone, she pushed call back on River’s name and willed her
heart to slow down.
“Kim?” Colt was on the other side of the door.
She ignored him and listened to the phone ring.
“Duncan,” River said.
“River! You’ve got to find somebody else. I can’t do this with Colt. Please.”
“Do what exactly?” River asked.
The door opened and Colt stood there. He didn’t come into the room, but he stood on the threshold,
begging her with his eyes to not get him reassigned.
“He’s driving me crazy,” Kim muttered, staring right at Colt. “Trying to bring up our past, trying to get
me to forgive him for cheating.” Kim probably sounded like a whiny little girl to River, but she really
didn’t care right now. She couldn’t do this for one more second.
“I’ll stop,” Colt said.
She pulled the phone away from her ear and demanded, “What?”
“I’ll stop trying to explain, trying to get you to forgive me, just please don’t send me away, Kim.
Please.”
Kim studied him. He appeared sincere. He appeared incredible. “This is just too hard with me and
you. Way too hard.”
Colt nodded. “I understand, and I’m so sorry for what I’ve put you through, what I’m still putting you
through. Please don’t send me away.”
“You’ll stop trying to get me to talk about us?”
He nodded.
“You’ll stop giving me all these appealing looks?”
He arched an eyebrow. “I’ve been giving you appealing looks?”
“Yes or no, Colt?”
He finally nodded.
“You’ll stop touching me?”
Colt stared at her half a beat. Finally he said, “I’m supposed to pretend to be your boyfriend in
public, so I’ll have to touch you then.”
“But in private you’ll keep your distance?”
He appeared to be in turmoil but finally he said, “Yes.”
Kim stared at him, and then put the phone back to her ear.
“Kim? You there?”
“Yes. Sorry, River. Colt has agreed to lay off on the romance crap.”
Colt gave her a sad smile. It lacked its usual charm but was even harder for her to resist. She really
liked him humble.
“So you two are good?”
“For now.”
“He hasn’t set a list of suspects over to the crew,” River said.
“We haven’t talked about it yet.”
“Can you do that now?”
“Yes, sir, as long as Colt keeps his distance.”
River chuckled. “All right, I’ll be in touch.”
Kim set the phone down and stared at Colt. He smiled sadly and gestured out of the bedroom. “How
about we clean up breakfast then compile that list?”
“Sounds good.” She took a cleansing breath. She could do this—be around Colt and stay strong and
detached. As long as he didn’t look at her, touch her, or talk about anything but her case. One glance at
him and she knew strong and detached would be tougher than ditching her life and family in America
had been.
 CHAPTER 6

Colt sat across from Kim at the kitchen table, typing into his laptop. Two of Sutton’s men had come by
and swept for bugs. Kim’s house was clear which seemed to relax her, but she’d acted as if the most
reassuring thing was him promising not to dredge up their past, give her appealing looks, whatever
that meant, or touch her. How was he going to get through this assignment without touching her? And
he didn’t even know what looks she was talking about, so hopefully he wouldn’t make her flip out at
some point with how he stared at her. He’d thought this would be his chance to reconnect with Kim,
but that dream was as far off target as it had ever been. But he knew he had to stay with her and
protect her. He’d keep praying, and maybe the Lord would gift him with the miracle of Kim’s heart
softening.
“I sent John Graham’s name off to Sutton before I started cooking breakfast,” he said, sneaking a
glance at her gorgeous face. She appeared impassive as she stared back, except for a twitch in her
cheek. He hated that he was making her uncomfortable, but he couldn’t stand to be away from her and
wasn’t letting himself get reassigned no matter what.
“Did he find anything?”
“Yeah.” He read off the email. “John Graham is a former Air Force Captain, flew B-2’s, highly
decorated. After he retired he got divorced and moved down here. Two adult daughters that he has
very little contact with.”
“That’s sad.”
Colt shrugged. John appeared on the up and up, probably just lonely, but his military background
made him suspect to Colt because he had the knowledge and connections to easily pull off what Kim’s
stalker had done. Colt wasn’t letting Kim anywhere near him or his mangy dog.
“So how long has he been here?” she asked.
He read through some more. “Eight years.”
“So there’s no way he’s the stalker.” She appeared relieved. Did she have feelings for the older guy?
“I’m not ruling him out.”
Kim arched an eyebrow but didn’t comment.
“Any other neighbors you have a relationship with?” His voice shouldn’t have pitched on
relationship, but the thought of Kim having a relationship with another man made him wish he hadn’t
eaten breakfast. He claimed he’d tried to move on after he saw Kim and Holden together that fateful
night. He pretended he’d tried to find someone else by dating a new woman each week, but if he was
truthful, he’d shut his heart off when he thought Kim cheated on him. He’d become cold and detached.
Nobody and nothing touched him. His defenses were flirtation and joking, pretending to flit from
woman to woman without truly giving anyone a chance to hurt him again. Now his heart was wide
open, and she was trampling it. He knew he deserved it for reacting so horribly in that restaurant five
years ago, but it didn’t make it hurt any less.
“No.” She shook her head, and the tension in his shoulders lightened.
“Ricki and Frazier from the waterfall.” He tried to stay focused. “How well do you know them?”
“I say hi to them every morning.” She lifted her hands. “I bought a lifetime pass so I never have to
stop at the gate and they come early to give me time alone at the waterfall.”
“You don’t know their last names?”
She shook her head.
“They seemed to know you pretty well.” That ugly jealousy was rearing up again.
Kim rolled her eyes. “Just because someone is friendly to me doesn’t mean they’re my stalker.” She
pinned him with a glower. “Or that I’m dating them.”
“Who have you dated the past five years?” He poised his hands over the keyboard as if it was simply
a question for the case.
Kim pushed out a breath. “Nobody. Not that it’s any of your business.”
Colt’s gaze flew to hers, and his heart thumped lighter and happier. “Really? Nobody?”
Kim gave him a flip of the hair, as if she was a sassy teenager on one of her Disney Channel shows.
“Just because you’re a playboy doesn’t mean I lowered myself to that standard.”
That hurt, but what could he say? He had acted like the playboy, dating different girls every weekend.
What would she say if she knew he rarely kissed any of those girls, and the times he had given one of
them a kiss it had meant nothing, he’d felt nothing. That’s how deeply he’d always loved her, even
when he believed for the past five years that she’d cheated on him. He’d promised not to try to
explain to her so he didn’t, but he couldn’t resist asking one more time, “Nobody?”
Kim folded her arms across her chest. “Nobody, okay? You don’t have to rub it in.”
“I … wasn’t trying to. Just, you know.” He pointed at the computer. “For the case.”
“Believable excuse, Colt.”
“Wasn’t it?” He smiled and winked at her. Nobody. She’d dated nobody. He was so happy right now.
Kim’s gaze narrowed. “You promised none of those appealing looks.”
Colt swallowed hard, fully prepared for her to dial River up again. “I’m sorry. Um, honestly I’m not
sure at what moments I do those looks. If you point them out, I’ll try to stop.”
She gave an annoyed grunt. “Honestly? You’re completely oblivious to how appealing you are?” Her
eyes widened as she finished the sentence.
Colt almost reached across for her hand, but he clenched his hands together instead. It was a small
victory, but she had said he was appealing. He cleared his throat and said, “I’m not trying to yank you
in with some look, Kim.” He wouldn’t complain if he did, but he wasn’t scripting smoldering glances
or something.
“You give women those looks so often you don’t even realize you’re doing it anymore.” Kim’s voice
was full of disgust.
Maybe she was right. He’d always had women chasing him. Maybe he was one of those schmoozers
who stared all lamely into a woman’s eyes, and they fell for him. He didn’t like to think of himself
like that, but he didn’t know how to refute her. More than likely it was just his longing for her that was
shining through, but she didn’t want to hear about that.
“Do you have other questions for me that pertain to the case?” She asked with a roll of her eyes. “Or
can I go paint? You’re throwing me off schedule.”
“Can you think of anyone else you associate with?” he asked, to keep her here and because he
should’ve sent this info to River yesterday.
“Well, there’s Rita down at the gallery in town. She sells my paintings. Plus, I have my art in galleries
at Playa Hermosa and Tamarindo. Joe’s the owner of the gallery in Hermosa and Alberto in
Tamarindo.”
“What are the names of those galleries?” He typed in the information as she spoke, and then asked,
“What about people at the grocery store, takeout, whatever else you do around town?”
She pursed her lips. “The store is small, nobody stands out to me. I usually cook at home, but I do
love Café Mediterraneo for pizza.”
His stomach growled, and she laughed. “Didn’t we just have breakfast?”
“You wouldn’t let me eat half of mine after you spit on it.”
Her gaze softened as if she was remembering the exchange, but then she said, “Mostly I just stay at
home and paint, then on Wednesdays and Saturday evenings I go to pizza and Baldi Hot Springs, and
of course church on Sunday.”
“Today’s Wednesday.” His voice lowered, and his stomach did a dance. Was she planning on the hot
springs tonight? He could have the other security guys watch them, and he could enjoy the hot springs
… with Kim.
“You’re doing it again.” She arched her eyebrows in an obvious challenge.
“Doing what?”
“Giving me the ‘I will make you fall for me and kiss me’ gaze.”
Colt lifted his hands. He couldn’t even look at her. This was ridiculous. He almost apologized but
instead heard himself say, “Is it working?”
Kim stared at him for half a second, and he could see the longing in her eyes, the small part of her that
still cared for him. Then her gaze went chilly, and she said, “Yanni at the hot springs.”
Colt blinked as the hope of a moment with her shattered. He’d told her he wouldn’t give her longing
glances or touch her, but could he really be faulted when he didn’t mean to look at her
inappropriately? “Who’s Yanni?” he asked, typing in the name.
“The hot guy at the bar.”
Colt’s gaze snapped up to her. She was obviously toying with him, and it was obviously working. His
gut tightened, he clenched his right fist, and his neck tensed. She seemed very pleased with herself.
Colt fought not to show his reaction. “And you see him twice a week?”
“At least,” she said.
Colt swallowed hard and focused on the computer screen, “Any interaction outside of the hot
springs?”
Kim didn’t say anything. He lifted his gaze and realized the reason she claimed he gave smoldering
looks was probably because she knew him so well that she could read exactly what he was feeling by
his eyes and expression. Most of the time he simply wanted to be close to her, and the looks she
claimed he made were him trying to capture her with a glance. She should be able to easily guess the
jealousy that was inside him at the moment.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Kim gave him a smug smile, stood, and hurried around the table.
Colt stayed seated but he reached out and grabbed her hand. She yanked to a stop, glanced down at
his hand then over at him. She pushed out a ragged breath, and Colt knew she felt the connection that
was pulsing through him at the simple touch of their hands.
“You’re touching me,” she murmured.
Colt arched an eyebrow. “You’re observant.”
Her gaze narrowed, and any warmth disappeared. “You promised you wouldn’t touch me.”
Colt sighed and released her hand. Surprisingly she didn’t run away.
Standing, he eased toward her. Kim backed up, staying just out of his reach. He kept coming until her
back pressed against the wall. He didn’t let himself touch her, no matter how desperately he wanted
to. He forced his hands to hang at his sides, but he did get right in her personal space. He let his gaze
travel over her face slowly, lingering on her lips.
“Forgive me for touching you,” he said quietly.
Kim’s pulse was pounding so fast he could see it in her throat. It took every ounce of self-restraint not
to brush her neck with his fingertips or even better, his lips.
“You’re … doing it again,” she forced out.
“I’m not touching you.” It was technically true, although if either of them made the slightest of
movements, they’d brush against each other. He wished she’d make a slight movement, but he
restrained himself. Colt had learned a lot of self-control in the Army. He was putting it all into
practice at the moment.
“You’re doing the smoldering look with your eyes, though.” She flattened her hands against the wall
as if she was having a hard time not reaching out to him as well.
Colt smiled. “Forgive me … I don’t mean to smolder at you.”
“Somehow I doubt that.”
Colt arched an eyebrow, and lifted his hands. He didn’t touch her; he’d fight diligently to keep that
promise, though he suspected at some point he’d lose the battle. He placed his hands on the wall,
framing her head.
Neither of them said anything. Colt’s heart was hammering out of control as he stood there. This
incredible woman that he’d always loved was so close yet still unreachable for him. He should
probably back away, not push his luck, but as he stared into her deep brown eyes he could see that she
still cared for him.
They locked gazes, and the world settled around him, and his heart settled in his chest. His heartrate
slowed, and Colt could feel them breathing together, their breaths and even their hearts seemed to be
in sync. Slowly in, slowly out. They simply inhaled and exhaled together. Even though their breath
was the only thing that truly inter-mingled, Colt felt so close to Kim. It was unreal to feel this attached
to her, without even touching her.
The silence and the moment stretched on. Colt had no desire or inclination to break it. Kim might push
him away, or slip away, but he would stand here all day if she’d let him.
Kim swallowed, and he got temporarily distracted. His gaze darted to her smooth neck and slowly
moved up. He let his eyes linger over her lips and then met her gaze again.
She slowly lifted her hands from where they’d been pressed against the wall, and Colt’s hopes rose
just as surely. Her hand movements were so excruciatingly slow Colt could hardly stand the suspense.
Would she touch him? Would she push him away? It was all a gamble at the moment, but he had to
take it, had to hope he could somehow break through her barriers.
She finally, finally rested just her fingertips on his shoulders and then lightly trailed them up his neck
and along his jawline. Colt let out a soft moan. Every part of him wanted to wrap her up tight and
never let her go, but he didn’t allow himself to move. Kim’s fingers wrapped around his neck, and
then she allowed her palms to flatten along the side of his neck. It was heaven, having her touch him,
knowing she was choosing it.
He was semi-tempted to tease that she was touching him even though he wasn’t allowed to touch her,
but no way was he risking this moment with a teasing comment.
“What are you doing to me?” she questioned so softly he barely heard her.
Colt licked his lips, and his self-control almost slipped. All he wanted to do was touch her with his
hands or let his body press against hers, but he stayed just a hair’s breadth away. “I’m begging you to
love me again,” Colt whispered.
Kim’s breath suddenly shortened and quickened, the smooth connection between them trembled,
pulled tight, and then it snapped. She released her fingers from his neck, ducked under his arm, and
strode from the kitchen. She didn’t say anything, simply deserted him and pounded up the stairs. The
severed connection felt like a jagged knife sawing through an open wound.
Colt heard a door slam, and his arms fell to his sides. He groaned in pain, hurting worse than the time
he’d taken a bullet through his thigh. Hope was once again shredded, but nothing was shredded as
horribly as his heart.

Kim tried to focus on the paintbrush and smooth strokes of cobalt blue, but her movements were
anything but smooth. The blue reminded her of Colt’s eyes. Dang that man. That beautiful, intriguing,
and frustrating man.
How could he pull her in so easily and have her panting for him, without even touching her? I’m
begging you to love me again, I’m begging you to love me again. He said those words, so sweetly,
so intently, and she knew he couldn’t truly mean them. The Colt she used to know and love would
have meant those words, but this Colt, this five years of being a womanizer Colt, she didn’t know
him, she didn’t trust him, and she couldn’t allow herself to love him.
She dropped the paint brush in the pan and stood, stretching. The canvas was a mess of different
strokes. It took weeks, sometimes months for her to complete a painting. She wasn’t fast, and it was
always a messy project, but she enjoyed it and creating helped her feel fulfilled and stay busy. That
had been key since she’d lost Colt and everything familiar to her five years ago.
Her stomach rumbled as she paced to the window. The sun was dipping in the sky. The incredible
view from the back side of her house was a lush, greenery-filled gorge. It was rough hiking, but
sometimes she threw her predictable schedule out the window and wandered down to the river that
exited the waterfall. She wouldn’t mind doing that today.
She realized she’d missed lunch. She briefly wondered what Colt had eaten, but figured he was a big
boy and could take care of himself, there was plenty of food in her pantry and fridge. She was
surprised he hadn’t chased her up the stairs, pushed his advantage when she’d been so close to
pressing against him and kissing him. Thank heavens he’d said he wouldn’t touch her, but that would
most likely be suspended when they went to Baldi Hot Springs tonight. In public, he was supposed to
pretend to be her boyfriend. Her pulse ratcheted up at the thought. Maybe she should call River and
see if they could change that.
Movement came from the edge of the ravine. Pressing closer to the glass, Kim saw a flash of light off
something metal, and then a person dodged away from her view.
“Colt!” she yelled, running to the door and flinging it open. “Colt!”
He met her halfway up the stairs. “Kim?”
He looked so good and safe and strong, his blue eyes full of concern for her, the muscles in his
shoulders and arms rippling beautifully. “Are you okay?”
She almost threw herself against his perfect chest, but she shook her head instead. “There’s somebody
out back. The sun reflected off something metal, and then I saw somebody run up the canyon.”
Colt’s eyes widened, and he turned and sprinted down the stairs. She followed him. He made it to the
back door and turned to her. “Lock this behind me and arm the system. Do you have your phone?”
She nodded.
“Call River, have him get the guys here.” With that he sprung out the door and into the deepening
evening light.
Kim wanted to chase after him, see who the guy was and also not be alone. Instead she shut the door,
deadbolted it, and turned the alarm system on. Yanking her phone out, she pushed River’s number and
hurried to the back part of the house in time to see Colt running through the small backyard.
“Duncan,” River greeted her.
“River! I saw some guy in the backyard. Colt’s chasing after him. Can you get the other guys here?”
“Yes. Are you secure?”
“I’m locked in my house with the alarm set.”
“Go to your bedroom, lock yourself inside, and bar the door with a chair or something. Colt or I will
call when you’re clear.”
“Okay.”
The phone went dead, and she hurried for her bedroom, her heart thumping erratically. Would they
find her stalker? Her thoughts were all over the place. She was scared for Colt, didn’t like him
chasing after some unknown person, but also excited at the possibility of the stalker being caught. Yet
if his job was done, Colt would leave her. Despite how unsettled their relationship was, his leaving
wasn’t a happy thought.
Locking her bedroom door, she moved a heavy chair in front of it then hurried to the rear windows
and tried to look out. The evening light was fading, and Colt wasn’t in her view. Kim clutched her
phone and paced the darkening room, listening for anything out of the ordinary. A few minutes later
she heard car doors shut then saw a couple men hurry through the yard. Maybe they’d find whoever
was out there, and this would end a chapter of her life, ten years of being stalked. It’d been a long
chapter, especially after she lost Colt.
The minutes stretched on and on, and Kim was about ready to break and run outside to find Colt. Was
he okay? What if whoever was out there ambushed him? What if they had a knife or a gun? Fear for
Colt overwhelmed her. She should’ve just pressed close and kissed him earlier. What if he was killed
and he never knew how much she still loved him?
Another random document with
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could arise from this double line of operations, because a single
march would bring both the king and Victor upon Areizaga; and if the
latter should suddenly assail either, each would be strong enough to
sustain the shock. Hence, when Soult knew that the Spaniards were
certainly encamped at Santa Cruz, he caused the fifth corps, then in
march for Madrid, to move during the night of the 17th upon
Aranjuez. The fourth corps received a like order. The king, himself,
quitting Madrid, arrived there on the evening of the 18th, with the
Royal French Guards, two Spanish battalions of the line, and a
brigade of Dessolle’s division which had just arrived; in all about ten
thousand men. The same day, the duke of Belluno concentrated the
first corps at Villarejo de Salvanés, intending to cross the Tagus at
Villa Maurique, and attack the Spanish position on the 19th.
A pontoon train, previously prepared at Madrid, enabled the
French to repair the broken bridges, near Aranjuez, in two hours;
and about one o’clock on the 18th, a division of cavalry, two divisions
of infantry of the fourth corps, and the advanced guard of the fifth
corps, passed the Tagus, part at the bridge of La Reyna, and part at
a ford. General Milhaud with the leading squadrons, immediately
pursued a small body of Spanish horsemen; and was thus led to the
table-land, between Antiguela and Ocaña, where he suddenly came
upon a front of fifteen hundred cavalry supported by three thousand
more in reserve. Having only twelve hundred dragoons, he prepared
to retire; but at that moment general Paris arrived with another
brigade, and was immediately followed by the light cavalry of the fifth
corps; the whole making a reinforcement of about two thousand
men. With these troops Sebastiani came in person, and took the
command at the instant when the Spaniards, seeing the inferiority of
the French, were advancing to the charge.

C AVA L RY C O M B AT AT O C A Ñ A .

The Spaniards came on at a trot, but Sebastiani directed Paris,

with a regiment of light cavalry and the Polish lancers, to turn and fall
upon the right flank of the approaching squadrons, which being
executed with great vigour, especially by the Poles, caused
considerable confusion in the Spanish ranks, and their general
endeavoured to remedy it by closing to the assailed flank. But to
effect this he formed his left and centre in one vast column.
Sebastiani charged headlong into the midst of it with his reserves,
and the enormous mass yielding to the shock, got into confusion,
and finally gave way. Many were slain, several hundred wounded,
and eighty troopers and above five hundred horses were taken. The
loss of the French bore no proportion in men, but general Paris was
killed, and several superior officers were wounded.
This unexpected encounter with such a force of cavalry, led Soult
to believe that the Spanish general, aware of his error, was
endeavouring to recover his line of operations. The examination of
the prisoners confirmed this opinion; and in the night, information
from the duke of Belluno, and the reports of officers sent towards
Villa Maurique arrived, all agreeing that only a rear-guard was to be
seen at Santa Cruz de la Zarza. It then became clear that the
Spaniards were on the march, and that a battle could be fought the
next day. In fact Areizaga had retraced his steps by a flank
movement through Villa Rubia and Noblejas, with the intention of
falling upon the king’s forces as they opened out from Aranjuez. He
arrived on the morning of the 19th at Ocaña; but judging from the
cavalry fight, that the enemy could attack first, drew up his whole
army on the same plain, in two lines, a quarter of a mile asunder.
Ocaña is covered on the north by a ravine, which commencing
gently half a mile eastward of the town, runs deepening and with a
curve, to the west, and finally connects itself with gullies and hollows,
whose waters run off to the Tagus. Behind the deepest part of this
ravine was the Spanish left, crossing the main road from Aranjuez to
Dos Barrios. One flank rested on the gullies, the other on Ocaña.
The centre was in front of the town, which was occupied by some
infantry as a post of reserve, but the right wing stretched in the
direction of Noblejas along the edge of a gentle ridge in front of the
shallow part of the ravine. The cavalry was on the flank and rear of
the right wing. Behind the army there was an immense plain, but
closed in and fringed towards Noblejas with rich olive woods, which
were occupied by infantry to protect the passage of the Spanish
baggage, still filing by the road from Zarza. Such were Areizaga’s
dispositions.
Joseph passed the night of the 18th in reorganizing his forces. The
whole of the cavalry, consisting of nine regiments, was given to
Sebastiani. Four divisions of infantry, with the exception of one
regiment, left at Aranjuez to guard the bridge, were placed under the
command of marshal Mortier, who was also empowered, if
necessary, to direct the movements of the cavalry. The artillery was
commanded by general Senarmont. The Royal Guards remained
with the King, and marshal Soult directed the whole of the
movements.
Before day-break, on the 19th, the monarch marched with the
intention of falling upon the Spaniards wherever he could meet with
them. At Antiguela his troops quitting the high road, turned to their
left, gained the table-land of Ocaña somewhat beyond the centre of
the Spanish position, and discovered Areizaga’s army in order of
battle. The French cavalry instantly forming to the front, covered the
advance of the infantry, which drew up in successive lines as the
divisions arrived on the plain. The Spanish outposts fell back, and
were followed by the French skirmishers, who spread along the
hostile front and opened a sharp fire.
About forty-five thousand Spanish infantry, seven thousand
cavalry, and sixty pieces of artillery were in line. The French force
was only twenty-four thousand infantry, five thousand sabres and
lances, and fifty guns, including the battery of the Royal Guard. But
Areizaga’s position was miserably defective. The whole of his left
wing, fifteen thousand strong, was paralized by the ravine; it could
neither attack nor be attacked: the centre was scarcely better
situated, and the extremity of his right wing was uncovered, save by
the horse, who were, although superior in number, quite dispirited by
the action of the preceding evening. These circumstances dictated
the order of the attack.

B AT T L E O F O C A Ñ A .
 At ten o’clock, Sebastiani’s cavalry gaining ground to his left,
turned the Spanish right. General Leval, with two divisions of infantry
in columns of regiments, each having a battalion displayed in front,
followed the cavalry, and drove general Zayas from the olive-woods.
General Girard, with his division arranged in the same manner,
followed Leval in second line; and at the same moment, general
Dessolles menaced the centre with one portion of his troops, while
another portion lined the edge of the ravine to support the
skirmishers and awe the Spanish left wing. The king remained in
reserve with his guards. Thus the French order of battle was in two
columns: the principal one, flanked by the cavalry, directed against
and turning the Spanish right, the second keeping the Spanish
centre in check; and each being supported by reserves.
These dispositions were completed at eleven o’clock; at which
hour, Senarmont, massing thirty pieces of artillery, opened a
shattering fire on Areizaga’s centre. Six guns, detached to the right,
played at the same time across the ravine against the left; and six
others swept down the deep hollow, to clear it of the light troops. The
Spaniards were undisciplined and badly commanded, but discovered
no appearance of fear; their cries were loud and strong, their
skirmishing fire brisk; and, from the centre of their line, sixteen guns
opened with a murderous effect upon Leval’s and Girard’s columns,
as the latter were pressing on towards the right. To mitigate the fire
of this battery, a French battalion, rushing out at full speed, seized a
small eminence close to the Spanish guns, and a counter battery
was immediately planted there. Then the Spaniards gave back: their
skirmishers were swept out of the ravine by a flanking fire of grape;
and Senarmont immediately drawing the artillery from the French
right, took Ocaña as his pivot, and, prolonging his fire to the left,
raked Areizaga’s right wing in its whole length.
During this cannonade, Leval, constantly pressing forward, obliged
the Spaniards to change their front, by withdrawing the right wing
behind the shallow part of the ravine, which, as I have before said,
was in its rear when the action commenced. By this change, the
whole army, still drawn up in two lines, at the distance of a quarter of
a mile asunder, was pressed into somewhat of a convex form with
the town of Ocaña in the centre, and hence Senarmont’s artillery tore
their ranks with a greater destruction than before. Nevertheless,
encouraged by observing the comparatively feeble body of infantry
approaching them, the Spaniards suddenly retook the offensive, their
fire, redoubling, dismounted two French guns; Mortier himself was
wounded slightly, Leval severely; the line advanced, and the leading
French divisions wavered and gave back.
The moment was critical, and the duke of Treviso lost no time in
exhortations to Leval’s troops, but, like a great commander, instantly
brought up Girard’s division through the intervals of the first line, and
displayed a front of fresh troops, keeping one regiment in square on
the left flank: for he expected that Areizaga’s powerful cavalry, which
still remained in the plain, would charge for the victory. Girard’s fire
soon threw the Spanish first line into disorder; and meanwhile,
Dessolles, who had gained ground by an oblique movement, left in
front, seeing the enemy’s right thus shaken, seized Ocaña itself, and
issued forth on the other side.
The light cavalry of the king’s guard, followed by the infantry, then
poured through the town; and, on the extreme left, Sebastiani, with a
rapid charge, cut off six thousand infantry, and obliged them to
surrender. The Spanish cavalry, which had only suffered a little from
the cannonade, and had never made an effort to turn the tide of
battle, now drew off entirely: the second line of infantry gave ground
as the front fell back upon it in confusion; and Areizaga, confounded
and bewildered, ordered the left wing, which had scarcely fired a
shot, to retreat, and then quitted the field himself.
For half an hour after this, the superior officers who remained,
endeavoured to keep the troops together in the plain, and strove to
reach the main road leading to Dos Barrios; but Girard and
Dessolle’s divisions being connected after passing Ocaña, pressed
on with steady rapidity, while the Polish lancers and a regiment of
chasseurs, outflanking the Spanish right, continually increased the
confusion: finally, Sebastiani, after securing his prisoners, came up
again like a whirlwind, and charged full in the front with five
regiments of cavalry. Then the whole mass broke, and fled each man
for himself across the plain; but, on the right of the routed multitude,
a deep ravine leading from Yepes to Dos Barrios, in an oblique
direction, continually contracted the space; and the pursuing cavalry
arriving first at Barrios, headed nearly ten thousand bewildered men,
and forced them to surrender. The remainder turned their faces to all
quarters; and such was the rout, that the French were also obliged to
disperse to take prisoners, for, to their credit, no rigorous execution
was inflicted; and hundreds, merely deprived of their arms, were
desired, in raillery, “to return to their homes, and abandon war as a
trade they were unfit for.” This fatal battle commenced at eleven
o’clock; thirty pieces of artillery, a hundred and twenty carriages,
twenty-five stand of colours, three generals, six hundred inferior
officers, and eighteen thousand privates were taken before two
o’clock, and the pursuit was still hot. Seven or eight thousand of the
Spaniards, however, contrived to make away towards the mountain
of Tarancon; others followed the various routes through La Mancha
to the Sierra Morena; and many saved themselves in Valencia and
Murcia.
Meanwhile, the first corps, passing the Tagus by a ford, had re-
established the bridge at Villa Maurique before ten o’clock in the
morning, and finding Santa Cruz de la Zarza abandoned, followed
Areizaga’s traces; at Villatobas, the light cavalry captured twelve
hundred carriages, and a little farther on, took a thousand prisoners,
from the column which was making for Tarancon. Thus informed of
the result of the battle, the duke of Belluno halted at Villatobas, but
sent his cavalry forward. At La Guardia they joined Sebastiani’s
horsemen; and the whole continuing the pursuit to Lillo, made five
hundred more prisoners, together with three hundred horses. This
finished the operations of the day: only eighteen hundred cannon-
shot had been fired, and an army of more than fifty S.
thousand men had been ruined. The French lost Journal of
Operations MSS.
seventeen hundred men, killed and wounded; the
Spaniards five thousand: and, before nightfall, all the Letter from Lord
baggage and military carriages, three thousand Wellington to Lord
Liverpool, Nov. 30,
animals, forty-five pieces of artillery, thirty thousand 1809. MSS.
muskets, and twenty-six thousand captives were in the
hands of the conquerors!
 Vol. 3, Plate 3.

AREIZAGA’S Operations,
1809.
Published by T. & W. Boone 1830.
 Areizaga reached Tembleque during the night, and La Carolina the
third day after. On the road, he met general Benaz with a thousand
dragoons that had been detached to the rear before the battle
commenced; this body he directed on Madrilegos to cover the retreat
of the fugitives; but so strongly did the panic spread Letter from Lord
that when Sebastiani approached that post on the Wellington to Lord
Liverpool, Nov. 30,
20th, Benaz’s men fled, without seeing an enemy, as 1809. MSS.
fearfully as any who came from the fight. Even so late
as the 24th, only four hundred cavalry, belonging to all regiments,
could be assembled at Manzanares; and still fewer at La Carolina.
 CHAPTER VI.
Joseph halted at Dos Barrios, the night of the battle, and the next
day directed Sebastiani, with all the light cavalry and a division of
infantry, upon Madrilegos and Consuegra; the first corps, by St. Juan
de Vilharta, upon the Sierra Morena, and the fifth corps, by
Tembleque and Mora, upon Toledo. One division of the fourth corps
guarded the spoil and the prisoners at Ocaña. A second division,
reinforced with a brigade of cavalry, was posted, by detachments,
from Aranjuez to Consuegra.
The monarch himself, with his guards and Dessolle’s first brigade,
returned, on the 20th, to Madrid.
Three days had sufficed to dissipate the storm on the side of La
Mancha, but the duke Del Parque still menaced the sixth corps in
Castile, and the reports from Talavera again spoke of Albuquerque
and the English being in motion. The second brigade of Dessolle’s
division had returned from Old Castile on the 19th, and the
uncertainty with respect to the British movements, obliged the king to
keep all his troops in hand. Nevertheless, fearing that, if Del Parque
gained upon the sixth corps, he might raise an insurrection in Leon,
Gazan’s division of the fifth corps was sent, from Toledo, through the
Puerto Pico, to Marchand’s assistance, and Kellerman was again
directed to take the command of the whole.
During these events, the British army remained tranquil about
Badajos; but Albuquerque, following his orders, had reached
Peralada de Garbin, and seized the bridge of Arzobispo, in
expectation of being joined by the duke Del Parque. That general,
however, who had above thirty thousand men, thought, when
Dessolle’s division was recalled to Madrid, that he could crush the
sixth corps, and, therefore, advanced from Bejar towards Alba de
Tormes on the 17th, two days before the battle of Ocaña. Thus,
when Albuquerque expected him on the Tagus, he was engaged in
serious operations beyond the Tormes, and, having reached Alba,
the 21st, sent a division to take possession of Salamanca, which
Marchand had again abandoned. The 22d he marched towards
Valladolid, and his advanced guard and cavalry entered Fresno and
Carpio. Meanwhile Kellerman, collecting all the troops of his
government, and being joined by Marchand, moved upon Medina del
Campo, and the 23d, fell with a body of horse upon the Spaniards at
Fresno. The Spanish cavalry fled at once; but the infantry stood firm,
and repulsed the assailants.
The 24th the duke carried his whole army to Fresno, Lord Wellington to
intending to give battle; but on the 26th imperative Lord
MSS.
Liverpool.

orders to join Albuquerque having reached him, he

commenced a retrograde movement. Kellerman, without waiting for
the arrival of Gazan’s division, instantly pursued, and his advanced
guard of cavalry overtook and charged the Spanish army at the
moment when a part of their infantry and all their horse had passed
the bridge of Alba de Tormes; being repulsed, it retired upon the
supports, and the duke, seeing that an action was inevitable, brought
the remainder of his troops, with the exception of one division, back
to the right bank.

B AT T L E O F A L B A D E TO R M E S .

Scarcely was the line formed, when Kellerman came up with two
divisions of dragoons and some artillery, and, without hesitating, sent
one division to outflank the Spanish right, and, with the other,
charged fiercely in upon the front. The Spanish horsemen, flying
without a blow, rode straight over the bridge, and the infantry of the
right being thus exposed, were broken and sabred; but those on the
left stood fast and repulsed the enemy. The duke rallied his cavalry
on the other side of the river, and brought them back to the fight, but
the French were also reinforced, and once more the Spanish horse
fled without a blow. By this time it was dark, and the infantry of the
left wing, under Mendizabel and Carrera, being unbroken, made
good their retreat across the river, yet not without difficulty, and under
the fire of some French infantry, which arrived just in the dusk.
During the night the duke retreated upon Tamames unmolested, but
at day-break a French patrol coming up with this rear, his whole
army threw away their arms and fled outright. Kellerman having,
meanwhile entered Salamanca, did not pursue, yet the dispersion
was complete.
After this defeat, Del Parque rallied his army in the mountains
behind Tamames, and, in ten or twelve days, again collected about
twenty thousand men; they were however without artillery, scarcely
any had preserved their arms, and such was their distress for
provisions, that two months afterwards, when the British arrived on
the northern frontier, the peasantry still spoke with horror of the
sufferings of these famished soldiers. Many actually died of want,
and every village was filled with sick. Yet the mass neither dispersed
nor murmured! For Spaniards, though hasty in revenge and feeble in
battle, are patient, to the last degree, in suffering.
This result of the duke Del Parque’s operation amply justified sir
Arthur Wellesley’s advice to the Portuguese regency. In like manner
the battle of Ocaña, and the little effect produced by the duke of
Albuquerque’s advance to Arzobispo, justified that which he gave to
the Central Junta. It might be imagined that the latter would have
received his after-counsels with deference; but the course of that
body was never affected by either reason or experience. Just before
the rout of Alba de Tormes, sir Arthur Wellesley Lord Wellington to
proposed that ten thousand men, to be taken from the Lord Liverpool,
Dec. 7, 1809. MSS.
duke Del Parque, should reinforce Albuquerque, that
the latter might maintain the strong position of Meza d’Ibor, and
cover Estremadura for the winter. Meanwhile Del Parque’s force,
thus reduced one-third, could be more easily fed, and might keep
aloof from the enemy until the British army should arrive on the
northern frontier of Portugal, a movement long projected, and, as he
informed them, only delayed to protect Estremadura until the duke of
Albuquerque had received the reinforcement. The only reply of the
Junta was an order, directing Albuquerque immediately to quit the
line of the Tagus, and take post at Llerena, behind the Guadiana.
Thus abandoning Estremadura to the enemy, and exposing his own
front in a bad position to an army coming from Almaraz, and his right
flank and rear to an army coming from La Mancha.
 This foolish and contemptuous proceeding, being followed by Del
Parque’s defeat, which endangered Ciudad Rodrigo, sir Arthur at
once commenced his march for the north. He knew that twenty
thousand Spanish infantry and six thousand mounted cavalry were
again collected in La Carolina; that the troops (eight thousand), who
escaped from Ocaña, on the side of Tarancon, were at Cuença,
under general Echevarria; and as the numbers re-assembled in the
Morena were (the inactivity of the French after the battle of Ocaña
considered) sufficient to defend the passes and cover Seville for the
moment, there was no reason why the British army should remain in
unhealthy positions to aid people who would not aid themselves.
Albuquerque’s retrograde movement was probably a device of the
Junta to oblige sir Arthur to undertake the defence of Estremadura;
but it only hastened his departure. It did not comport with his plans to
engage in serious operations on that side; yet to have retired when
that province was actually attacked, would have been disreputable
for his arms, wherefore, seizing this unhappily favourable moment to
quit Badajos, he crossed the Tagus, and marched into the valley of
the Mondego, leaving general Hill, with a mixed force of ten
thousand men, at Abrantes.
The Guadiana pestilence had been so fatal that many officers
blamed him for stopping so long; but it was his last hold on Spain,
and the safety of the southern provinces was involved in his
proceedings. It was not his battle of Talavera, but the position
maintained by him on the frontier of Estremadura, which, in the latter
part of 1809, saved Andalusia from subjection; and this is easy of
demonstration, for, Joseph having rejected Soult’s project against
Portugal, dared not invade Andalusia, by Estremadura, with the
English army on his right flank; neither could he hope to invade it by
the way of La Mancha, without drawing sir Arthur into the contest.
But Andalusia was, at this period, the last place where the intrusive
king desired to meet a British army. He had many partisans in that
province, who would necessarily be overawed if the course of the
war carried sir Arthur beyond the Morena; nor could the Junta, in that
case, have refused Cadiz, as a place of arms, to their ally. Then the
whole force of Andalusia and Murcia would have rallied round the
English forces behind the Morena; and, as Areizaga had sixty
thousand men, and Albuquerque ten thousand, it is no exaggeration
to assume that a hundred thousand could have been organized for
defence, and the whole of the troops, in the south of Portugal, would
have been available to aid in the protection of Estremadura. Thus,
including thirty thousand English, there would have been a mass of
at least one hundred thousand soldiers, disposable for active
operations, assembled in the Morena.
From La Carolina to Madrid is only ten marches, and while posted
at the former, the army could protect Lisbon as well as Seville,
because a forward movement would oblige the French to
concentrate round the Spanish capital. Andalusia would thus have
become the principal object of the invaders; but the allied armies,
holding the passes of the Morena, their left flank protected by
Estremadura and Portugal, their right by Murcia and Valencia, and
having rich provinces and large cities behind them, and a free
communication with the sea, and abundance of ports, could have
fought a fair field for Spain.
It was a perception of these advantages that caused Sir J. Moore’s
sir John Moore to regret the ministers had not chosen Correspondence.
the southern instead of the northern line for his operations. Lord
Wellesley, also, impressed with the importance of Andalusia, urged
his brother to adopt some plan of this nature, and the latter, sensible
of its advantages, would have done so, but for the impossibility of
dealing with the Central Junta. Military possession of Cadiz and the
uncontrolled command of a Spanish force were the Lord Wellesley’s
only conditions upon which he would undertake the Correspondence,
Parl. Papers, 1810.
defence of Andalusia; conditions they would not
accede to, but, without which, he could not be secured against the
caprices of men whose proceedings were one continued struggle
against reason. This may seem inconsistent with a former assertion,
that Portugal was the true base of operations for the English; but
political as well as physical resources and moral considerations
weighed in that argument.
For the protection, then, of Andalusia and Estremadura, during a
dangerous crisis of affairs, sir Arthur persisted, at such an enormous
sacrifice of men, to hold his position on the Guadiana. Yet it was
reluctantly, and more in deference to his brother’s wishes than his
own judgement, that he remained after Areizaga’s army was
assembled. Having proved the Junta by experience, he was more
clear sighted, as to their perverseness, than lord Wellesley; who,
being in daily intercourse with the members, obliged to listen to their
ready eloquence in excuse for past errors, and more ready promises
of future exertion, clung longer to the notion, that Spain could be put
in the right path, and that England might war largely in conjunction
with the united nations of the Peninsula, instead of restricting herself
to the comparatively obscure operation of defending Lisbon. He was
finally undeceived, and the march from Badajos for ever released the
British general from a vexatious dependence on the Spanish
government.
Meanwhile the French, in doubt of his intentions, appeared torpid.
Kellerman remained at Salamanca, watching the movements of the
duke Del Parque; and Gazan returned to Madrid. Milhaud, with a
division of the fourth corps, and some cavalry, was detached against
Echavaria; but, on his arrival at Cuença, finding that the latter had
retreated, by Toboado, to Hellin, in Murcia, combined his operations
with general Suchet, and, as I have before related, assisted to
reduce the towns of Albaracin and Teruel. Other movements there
were none, and, as the Spanish regiments of the guard fought freely
against their countrymen, and many of the prisoners, taken at
Ocaña, offered to join the invaders’ colours, the king conceived
hopes of raising a national army. French writers assert that the
captives at Ocaña made a marked distinction between Napoleon and
Joseph. They were willing to serve the French emperor, but not the
intrusive king of Spain. Spanish authors, indeed, assume that none
entered the enemy’s ranks save by coercion and to escape; and that
many did so with that view, and were successful, must be supposed,
or the numbers said to have reassembled in the Morena, and at
Cuença, cannot be reconciled with the loss sustained in the action.
The battles of Ocaña and Alba de Tormes terminated the series of
offensive operations, which the Austrian war, and the reappearance
of a British army in the Peninsula had enabled the allies to adopt, in
1809. Those operations had been unsuccessful; the enemy again
took the lead, and the fourth epoch of the war commenced.

O B S E RVAT I O N S .

1º. Although certain that the British army would not co-operate in
this short campaign, the Junta openly asserted, that it would join
Albuquerque in the valley of the Tagus. The improbability of
Areizaga’s acting, without such assistance, gave currency to the
fiction, and an accredited fiction is, in war, often more useful than the
truth; in this, therefore, they are to be commended; but, when
deceiving their own general, they permitted Areizaga to act under the
impression that he would be so assisted, they committed not an error
but an enormous crime. Nor was the general much less criminal for
acting upon the mere assertion that other movements were
combined with his, when no communication, no concerting of the
marches, no understanding with the allied commander, as to their
mutual resources, and intentions, had taken place.
2º. A rushing wind, a blast from the mountains, tempestuous,
momentary, such was Areizaga’s movement on Dos Barrios, and
assuredly it would be difficult to find its parallel. There is no post so
strong, no town so guarded, that, by a fortunate stroke, may not be
carried; but who, even on the smallest scale, acts on this principle,
unless aided by some accidental circumstance applicable to the
moment? Areizaga obeyed the orders of his government; but no
general is bound to obey orders (at least without remonstrance)
which involve the safety of his army; to that he should sacrifice
everything but victory: and many great commanders have sacrificed
even victory, rather than appear to undervalue this vital principle.
3º. At Dos Barrios the Spanish general, having first met with
opposition, halted for three days, evidently without a plan, and
ignorant both of the situation of the first corps on his left flank, and of
the real force in his front: yet this was the only moment in which he
could hope for the slightest success. If, instead of a feeble skirmish
of cavalry, he had borne forward, with his whole army, on the 11th,
Sebastiani must have been overpowered and driven across the
Tagus, and Areizaga, with fifty thousand infantry and a powerful
cavalry, would, on the 12th, have been in the midst of the separated
French corps, for their movement of concentration was not
completely effected until the night of the 14th. But such a stroke was
not for an undisciplined army, and this was another reason against
moving from the Morena at all, seeing that the calculated chances
were all against Areizaga, and his troops not such as could improve
accidental advantages.
4º. The flank march, from Dos Barrios to Santa Cruz, although
intended to turn the French left, and gain Madrid, was a circuitous
route of at least a hundred miles, and, as there were three rivers to
cross, namely, the Tagus, the Tajuna, and Henares, only great
rapidity could give a chance of success; but Areizaga was slow. So
late as the 15th, he had passed the Tagus with only two divisions of
infantry. Meanwhile the French moving on the inner circle, got
between him and Madrid, and the moment one corps out of the three
opposed to him approached, he recrossed the Tagus and
concentrated again on the strong ground of Santa Cruz de la Zarza.
The king by the way of Aranjuez had, however, already cut his line of
retreat, and then Areizaga who, on the 10th, had shrunk from an
action with Sebastiani, when the latter had only eight thousand men,
now sought a battle, on the same ground with the king, who was at
the head of thirty thousand; the first corps being also in full march
upon the Spanish traces and distant only a few miles. Here it may be
remarked that Victor, who was now to the eastward of the Spaniards,
had been on the 9th to the westward at Yebenes and Mora, having
moved in ten days, on a circle of a hundred and fifty miles,
completely round this Spanish general, who pretended, to treat his
adversaries, as if they were blind men.
5º. Baron Crossand, it is said, urged Areizaga to entrench himself
in the mountains, to raise the peasantry, and to wait the effect of
Albuquerque’s and Del Parque’s operations. If so, his military ideas
do not seem of a higher order than Areizaga’s, and the proposal was
but a repetition of Mr. Frere’s former plan for Albuquerque; a plan
founded on the supposition, that the rich plains of La Mancha were
rugged mountains. In taking a permanent position at Santa Cruz or
Tarancon, Areizaga must have resigned all direct communication
with Andalusia, and opened a fresh line of communication with
Valencia, which would have been exposed to the third corps from
Aragon. Yet without examining whether either the Spanish general or
army were capable of such a difficult operation, as adopting an
accidental line of operations, the advice, if given at all, was only
given on the 18th, and on the 19th, the first corps, the fourth, the
greatest part of the fifth, the reserve and the royal guards, forming a
mass of more than fifty thousand fighting men, would have taught
Areizaga that men and not mountains decide the fate of a battle. But
in fact, there were no mountains to hold; between Zarza and the
borders of Valencia, the whole country is one vast plain; and on the
18th, there was only the alternative of fighting the weakest of the two
French armies, or of retreating by forced marches through La
Mancha. The former was chosen, Areizaga’s army was destroyed,
and in the battle he discovered no redeeming quality. His position
was ill chosen, he made no use of his cavalry, his left wing never
fired a shot, and when the men undismayed by the defeat of the
right, demanded to be led into action, he commanded a retreat, and
quitted the field himself at the moment when his presence was most
wanted.
6º. The combinations of the French were methodical, well
arranged, effectual, and it may seem misplaced, to do ought but
commend movements so eminently successful. Yet the chances of
war are manifold enough to justify the drawing attention to some
points of this short campaign. Areizaga’s burst from the mountains
was so unexpected and rapid, that it might well make his adversaries
hesitate; and hence perhaps the reason why the first corps circled
round the Spanish army, and was singly to have attacked the latter in
front at Zarza, on the 19th; whereas, reinforced with the division of
the fourth corps from Toledo, it might have fallen on the rear and
flank from Mora a week before. That is, during the three days
Areizaga remained at Dos Barrios, from whence Mora is only four
hours march.
7º. The 11th, the king knew the English army had not approached
the valley of the Tagus; Areizaga only quitted Dos Barrios the 13th,
and he remained at Zarza until the 18th. During eight days therefore,
the Spanish general was permitted to lead, and had he been a man
of real enterprise he would have crushed the troops between Dos
Barrios and Aranjuez on the 10th or 11th. Indeed, the boldness with
which Sebastiani maintained his offensive position beyond Aranjuez,
from the 9th to the 14th, was a master-piece. It must, however, be
acknowledged that Soult could not at once fix a general, who
marched fifty thousand men about like a patrole of cavalry, without
the slightest regard to his adversary’s positions or his own line of
operations.
8º. In the battle, nothing could be more scientific than the mode in
which the French closed upon and defeated the right and centre,
while they paralized the left of the Spaniards. The disparity of
numbers engaged, and the enormous amount of prisoners, artillery,
and other trophies of victory prove it to have been a fine display of
talent. But Andalusia was laid prostrate by this sudden destruction of
her troops; why then was the fruit of victory neglected? Did the king,
unable to perceive his advantages, control the higher military genius
of his advising general, or was he distracted by disputes amongst
the different commanders? or, did the British army at Badajos alarm
him? An accurate knowledge of these points is essential in
estimating the real share Spain had in her own deliverance.
9º. Sir Arthur Wellesley absolutely refused to co-operate in this
short and violent campaign. He remained a quiet spectator of events
at the most critical period of the war; and yet on paper the Spanish
projects promised well. Areizaga’s army exceeded fifty thousand
men, Albuquerque’s ten thousand, and thirty thousand were under
Del Parque, who, at Tamames had just overthrown the best corps in
the French army. Villa Campa also, and the Partida bands on the
side of Cuença were estimated at ten thousand; in fine, there were a
hundred thousand Spanish soldiers ready. The British army at this
period, although much reduced by sickness, had still twenty
thousand men fit to bear arms, and the Portuguese under Beresford
were near thirty thousand, making a total of a hundred and fifty
thousand allies. Thirty thousand to guard the passes of the Sierra de
Gredos and watch the sixth corps, a hundred and twenty thousand to
attack the seventy thousand French covering Madrid! Why then, was
sir Arthur Wellesley, who only four months before so eagerly
undertook a like enterprise with fewer forces, now absolutely deaf to
the proposals of the Junta? “Because moral force is to physical
force, as three to one in war.” He had proved the military qualities of
Spaniards and French, had foresaw, to use his own expressions,
“after one or two battles, and one or two brilliant Letter to Lord
actions by some, and defeats sustained by others, that Liverpool. MS.
all would have to retreat again:” yet this man, so cautious, so
sensible of the enemy’s superiority, was laying the foundation of
measures that finally carried him triumphant through the Peninsula.
False then are the opinions of those, who, asserting Napoleon might
have been driven over the Ebro in 1808-9, blame sir John Moore’s
conduct. Such reasoners would as certainly have charged the ruin of
Spain on sir Arthur Wellesley, if at this period the chances of war had
sent him to his grave. But in all times the wise and brave man’s toil
has been the sport of fools!
Alba de Tormes ended the great military 1810.
transactions of 1809. In the beginning, Napoleon
broke to atoms and dispersed the feeble structure of the Spanish
insurrection, but after his departure the invasion stagnated amidst
the bickerings of his lieutenants. Sir Arthur Wellesley turned the war
back upon the invaders for a moment, but the jealousy and folly of
his ally soon obliged him to retire to Portugal. The Spaniards then
tried their single strength, and were trampled under foot at Ocaña,
and notwithstanding the assistance of England, the offensive passed
entirely from their hands. In the next book we shall find them every
where acting on the defensive, and every where weak.
 BOOK X.

CHAPTER I.
Napoleon, victorious in Germany, and ready to turn his undivided
strength once more against the Peninsula, complained of the past
inactivity of the king, and Joseph prepared to commence the
campaign of 1810 with vigour. His first operations, however,
indicated great infirmity of purpose. When Del Parque’s defeat on
one side and Echevaria’s on the other had freed his flanks, and while
the British army was still at Badajos, he sent the fourth corps
towards Valencia, but immediately afterwards recalled it, and also
the first corps, which, since the battle of Ocaña, had been at Santa
Cruz de Mudela. The march of this last corps through La Mancha
had been marked by this peculiarity, that, for the first time since the
commencement of the war, the peasantry, indignant at the flight of
the soldiers, guided the pursuers to the retreats of the fugitives.
Joseph’s vacillation was partly occasioned by the insurrection in
Navarre, under Renovalles and Mina. But lord Wellington, previous
to quitting the Guadiana, had informed the Junta of Badajos, as a
matter of courtesy, that he was about to evacuate their district; and
his confidential letter being published in the town Gazette, and
ostentatiously copied into the Seville papers, Joseph naturally
suspected it to be a cloak to some offensive project. However, the
false movements of the first and fourth corps distracted the
Spaniards, and emboldened the French partizans, who were very
numerous both in Valencia and Andalusia. The troubles in Navarre
were soon quieted by Suchet; the distribution of the British army in
the valley of the Mondego became known, and Joseph seriously
prepared for the conquest of Andalusia. This enterprise, less difficult