Secluded With the Cowboy by Cassie Miles

of the room. Obviously, he hadn’t expected a shrink. When he cleared his throat, it sounded like the growl of a grizzly. “Great, just great. If she can help, I’m all for it.”
    “That’s a change of attitude. As I recall, you were opposed to marriage counseling.”
    “Twice a week, driving all the way to Delta. I don’t have time.”
    They’d had this argument before—a familiar tune played in a discordant key. “You wouldn’t even try.”
    “All we’d do with a counselor is talk, and we can do that right here. Right now. Look at the two of us. You see? We’re talking.”
    She sank onto the bed. “And this is such a magical conversation.”
    There was a knock on the door, and Carolyn called out, “Are you awake?”
    Simultaneously, Dylan and Nicole said, “Come in.”
    Dylan’s sister swept into the room, wearing her bathrobe and a nightshirt that looked suspiciously like the top of a pair of men’s extra-extra-large pajamas. “The sheriff called. He tried to reach you first, Dylan, but your phone’s turned off. So is mine. But Burke always keeps the line of communication open, and—”
    “Carolyn,” Dylan interrupted, “why did he call?”
    “Before I say anything else, I don’t want you to panic. Neither of you.”
    A knot tightened in the center of Nicole’s chest. Something terrible had happened. She looked toward the cell phone resting on her bedside table. “What is it, Carolyn?”
    “There was a break-in at Maud’s veterinary clinic. Windows were broken. Computers were smashed. The file cabinets were trashed.”
    “The animals?” Nicole leapt to her feet. “Are the animals all right?”
    “Yes,” Carolyn said. “A couple of the dogs wouldn’t stop howling. That’s why the sheriff’s office was called.”
    “I don’t understand,” Nicole said. “Maud has an alarm system. She’s been vandalized before by people trying to break into her drug cabinet.”
    “The alarm was disabled,” Carolyn said. “The sheriff said it was a neat bit of electrical work.”
    The sort of work a handyman could do. A handyman like Nate Miller . Nicole saw Carolyn fidget. There was something else that she wasn’t saying. “What is it?”
    “There was a spray-painted message on the wall. It said, ‘I won’t stop.’ The signature was an M in a circle.”
    Circle M. Nate told her that if she didn’t do as he ordered, he’d go after the people she loved. Now he’dmade good on that threat. The vandalism at Maud’s clinic was her fault. All her fault.
    Though her heart beat faster than a hummingbird’s wings, she kept her exterior calm as she picked up her cell phone. “I need to call Maud and see if there’s anything I can do.”
    As soon as Dylan left the bedroom, Nicole knew what she must do. All day long she’d avoided making the call to Nate. She’d been pretending, hoping, wishing with all her heart that his threats would somehow go away.
    She’d been wrong.
    And Maud had paid the price.
    Dylan had freed her from the chains Nate had used to keep her captive, but terror was an even stronger cage.
    She sat in the middle of the bed, assailed by flashbacks of screaming until her throat was raw, struggling against the handcuffs, fighting her hunger and her thirst. Her fading bruises throbbed with renewed pain. The gummy taste of duct tape coated her mouth.
    She’d feared for her own survival. But even more important was the safety of the people she loved. When she’d had her meeting with Dylan, she would have chosen death rather than deny her love for him. But he had been in danger, too. If she hadn’t followed the script, Dylan would have been killed.
    She had to protect him. And Maud. And everyone else she cared about. But do I have to do it alone?
    Not telling Dylan about the contact from Nate was like lying to him, and she hated the way it felt. Nate had driven a wedge between them.
    Determined to put an end to this sick connection, she called the number Nate had given her. The