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himself. Had he made a mistake in trusting Jase? Surely not. The man had saved his life on more than one occasion. Had saved Mario’s, too. Although he could be a prankster upon occasion, he was definitely a dedicated professional when the situation called for it.
    And then there was no more time to dwell on it. The turnoff for the beach house came into view, and Ian swung onto the little side road.
    The driveway needed repaving. Gina jerked awake just as Ian decided to cut a path around to the back of the house and park right at the back door. Jase had assured him the area was clear, but it never hurt to be prepared to leave fast.
    â€œWe’re here.”
    She blinked up at him, sleep fading and reality returning—along with remembered fear. His heart thudded as he resisted the urge to grab her up in his arms right that very minute and promise nothing would ever hurt her again.
    Not a promise he could make. Waves crashing against the shore pounded his ears. That special Christmastime ocean smell filled his nose, and he breathed deeply while his eyes probed the dark shadows. Uneasiness trembled through him.
    Too many places to hide.
    Too many possible dangers could be lurking nearby.
    Keeping an eye on the surrounding area, he walked around to the other side of the vehicle and opened Gina’s door for her.
    From the corner of his eye he registered movement at the left side of the house.
    He shoved Gina back against the seat, ignoring her startled gasp of protest. He slammed the door and grabbed for his gun in one smooth movement.

FOUR
    H eart pounding, Gina froze. What should she do? What had Ian seen? From her scrunched position, which had her halfway over in the driver’s seat, she could see the top of Ian’s head through the window. He’d pushed her back into the car and left himself open. Had her attackers returned to wait for her?
    Scooting fully into the driver’s seat, she cranked the car and hit the headlights, illuminating the area in front of her. If they had to leave fast, she wanted Ian to be able to jump into the car immediately. She could see a figure on the fringes of the light. He waved a hand and looked like he said something.
    Ian holstered his gun as the man came toward him.
    Now she recognized him.
    Jase.
    Relief sucked the breath from her. She pushed the door open, gave a shiver as cold wind buffeted the car and climbed out in time to hear Ian say, “Man, you should give a guy some warning before coming out of the shadows like that. I could’ve shot you.”
    Jase barked a short laugh. “Not you.”
    â€œI thought you were gone, and when I saw someone moving around out here…”
    The man shrugged. “Thought I’d make sure there wasn’t anything that was going to jump out and scare you when you got here.”
    â€œYeah, right.”
    A ghost of a smile crossed Jase’s face. “From what I can tell, it’s clean. I went inside and looked around a bit, but didn’t want to disturb too much in case you wanted a forensics team to come out here and see what they could find. The rest of the time I’ve been watching. There’s been no movement, nothing. There’s no one here.”
    â€œGreat. Thanks. What else?”
    â€œI made some phone calls.”
    â€œTo whom?” Gina blurted as she rounded the car to stand near the two men.
    Ian took her arm and said, “Let’s get inside. I don’t like you being out in the open like this.”
    She knew Ian just meant to guide her inside; he had no idea that the warmth of his hand through her flimsy sweater sleeve burned like a branding iron. Fire zinged along her nerve endings, and the initial attraction she’d felt for him earlier returned full force.
    Shivering at another gust of freezing wind, she pulled away and headed for the door of the house. “I don’t have a key.” She’d left the ring on the end table along with her purse,