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This is a man who has faced down death and marched into danger…yet now he’s playing my bodyguard without any understanding of what danger is ahead. Is that because he’s genuinely not afraid of it? Because he has seen so much worse?

“Stop overthinking. It’s fine, and you’re safe.”

I smile in the dark. How did he know? After removing my glasses and setting them beside me on the nightstand, I close my eyes. “Goodnight, Ryker.”

“Goodnight, Dahlia,” he replies softly.

Chapter 10

Ryker

With Dahlia beside me, I step into Anastasia’s coffee shop. Most of the tables are full already, which is fine by me since we won’t have time to sit. The nightmares that assaulted me as I slept last night were a reminder that I need to get this situation wrapped up sooner rather than later or risk falling right back into the same trap I was in before.

Because no matter how many times I try to remind myself that Dahlia isn’t Angie, it’s the latter I see when I close my eyes.

“Morning!” Anastasia greets me with a chipper tone and a happy smile.

“Hey, can I get my usual?” I ask. “And whatever Dahlia wants.”

Dahlia smiles and steps up to the counter. She’d argued with me a bit on the way over here because her wallet was never recovered, and until she can get a new ID and access to her bank accounts, she doesn’t have a penny to her name.

Of course I told her that it didn’t matter, but it took me promising to let her pay me back before she agreed to let me buy her breakfast.

“Can I try the lavender honey latte?” she asks.

“Of course. One of my favorites. Do you want something to eat?”

“Can I get a slice of the zucchini bread?” Dahlia asks.

“You’ve got it.” She rings it up, so I press my card against the reader. “I’ll get these going for you guys ASAP.” She begins to hum as she works, and the bell dings overhead. I glance behind me right as Maverick Fargo, the local bartender, comes into the shop.

He’s a former Army Ranger who moved to town a few years ago when he took over his grandfather’s bar. He doesn’t drink, rarely talks, and prefers to spend time alone, though he’s the only man not a member of my team that I would trust with my life.

“Hey, Mav.” I shake his hand.

“Ryker,” he greets. His gaze lands on Dahlia.

“This is Dahlia,” I tell him. “She’s a client of mine.”

Maverick nods in her direction, then steps up to the counter.

“He’s a man of few words,” Dahlia comments.

“Very few,” I reply with a smile. “But he’s a good man. One I trust.”

“Here you go, Mav,” Anastasia says as she offers him his cup of black coffee. He shoves a few bucks into the tip jar, thanks her, and offers me a nod before stepping back outside while Anastasia goes back to work on our order.

“Hey, give me a second, okay?” I ask Dahlia.

She nods and turns to peruse the handmade coffee cups on the display shelf behind her, so I cross over toward Anastasia.

“No more meddling, okay?” I tell her.

She looks up at me and smiles. “Whatever are you referring to, Mr. Granger?”

I narrow my gaze. “Buying Dahlia a sweatshirt that’s my favorite color?”

She shrugs. “It’s a nice color.”