The Bodyguard

As she neared the chapel, she grudgingly admitted that winter was a good time to hold a wedding. She’d been to this chapel twice before, once for her cousin Ross Duke’s wedding and then again for her cousin Megan’s. Those weddings had taken place in the summertime when wildflowers popped through the forest floor, and the scrub oaks and aspens were bright green with leaves. Snow, however, turned the forest into a magical place, a study in charcoal with blacks, whites and grays brushed by green and framed by a porcelain sky.

Magical, that is, if this were a wedding that should take place. Which it wasn’t. If Frankie had any say in the matter, it wouldn’t.

A man stood on the chapel stoop. He wore a black cashmere greatcoat over a black suit. Black wraparound sunglasses shaded his eyes. Black hair glinted in the sun. She recognized J.T. McKennon and stopped dead in her tracks.

McKennon’s presence meant Max Caulfield attended the wedding. An image of her ex-fiancé’s smirking face swam before her vision, and her calves itched with the urge to run. Tom between saving her sister or saving her dignity, she hunched inside the parka.

McKennon nodded. A slight gesture, noticeable only because she was so intently staring at him.

Determined that not even Max Caulfield could stop her, she continued up the path. McKennon stepped to the center of the chapel’s double doors. At the base of the steps she waited for him to open the door and welcome her inside. He stood as rigidly as a solider guarding a post.

“Move over, McKennon,” she ordered. “I’m stopping this charade.”

Swarthy and unsmiling, McKennon looked like a mob enforcer. Two years ago, when she’d first met him, she’d dismissed him as the tall, dark and stupid type. Tall and dark fit, but it hadn’t taken long to figure out he was in no way a stupid man. He had an engineering degree and was an expert in electronic security. He’d served with valor in the marines and for a while had operated his own martial arts studio. He was an expert marksman with firearms ranging from pistols to grenade launchers.

He possessed a dry sense of humor and an oddly appealing detachment from the world, as if he were an alien observing the natives. Frankie used to marvel over his cool head and objective world view—his mild temperament was so very different from her own hot-headed impulsiveness. Nothing rattled McKennon.

It looked as if that much hadn’t changed in the past six months. “I said, move, McKennon.”

“I can’t do that, Miss Forrest.”

She huffed. She kicked a chunk of snow. “You’re guarding the door? Who do you think you are?”

His aristocratic mouth thinned. “I have my orders. Nobody goes in.”

“She’s my sister! I have a right—”

“Especially you.” He folded his arms over his chest.

McKennon’s sunglasses reflected her angry image. From far away a jay screeched a mocking note. Frankie clenched her teeth to keep them from chattering. Her jaws ached. The corners of her eyes watered, and her cheeks felt brittle. She strained to hear what was happening inside the chapel. She couldn’t hear any music—another bad sign.

“Come on,” she pleaded. “We’re friends. You know me.” As soon as the words emerged she felt stupid. Of course he knew her, since they’d worked together for almost two years, but they were not friends. He still worked for Max, and Max had dumped her like yesterday’s garbage, which McKennon had witnessed in all its humiliating glory. They would never be friends.

Embarrassment settled like a lump of dough in her throat. Countless times she’d replayed The Big Dump in her head, trying to figure out what had gone wrong. She’d come to the conclusion that Max had insisted McKennon stay in the room because Max enjoyed making her crawl in front of an audience.

She climbed another step. She stood five feet, ten inches tall. Few men physically intimidated her. Unmoved, McKennon gazed down at her. She sized him up. He had five inches and at least sixty pounds advantage, plus, she’d seen him in action at the gym.

She lifted her chin in an attempt to look down her nose at him. “I want to speak with Max right now.”

“Mr. Caulfield isn’t here.”

One of Max’s biggest ego trips lay in having his very own, personal, trained ape following him wherever he went. McKennon’s quietly deadly presence made Max feel like a big shot. In dark moments Frankie imagined McKennon accompanying Max to the toilet, holding the newspaper for the boss while Max did his business.

“You’re lying. I know he’s in there.”

“No, he’s not.”

His calm assurance irritated her tattered nerves. “If Max isn’t here, why are you here?” She paused, but received no response. “Have a heart. You know what Julius is like. Penny can’t marry him. He’ll ruin her life.”

“I have my orders, Miss Forrest.”

His smooth baritone held a faintly lyrical hint of a Southern accent. Frankie imagined she heard a note of distaste. Perhaps he despised Max’s stepson, Julius, as much as she did.

Which didn’t matter, since he wasn’t moving. She backed off the steps and plunged her icy hands into the parka’s deep pockets. She peered suspiciously at his face and wished he’d take off the sunglasses. She didn’t believe him about Max not being here. Yet, it made no sense for McKennon to lie about something so obvious. “Did you screw up, and baby-sitting is your punishment?”

The taunt failed to move him.

She tossed him a glare of pure disgust and went in search of another entrance to the chapel. The tiny building, built of logs and stone, contained a native-stone apse and a double row of pine pews. She walked completely around the building, but the stained-glass windows were too high off the ground for her to see through or even to pound on. She debated throwing rocks at the windows to catch the attention of the people inside, but the windows were handcrafted antiques, and if she broke one, she’d never be able to replace it. The door was her only hope.

McKennon watched her stomp her feet to clear snow off her boots and jeans. Goon, she thought hatefully. Nothing but a hound, following orders.

Then a solution occurred to her. She filled her lungs with winter air and let rip with her loudest, most blood-curdling scream.

McKennon jumped like a burned cat. “Stop that!”

“Help!” she hollered. “Rape! Fire! Murderers! Help! Help!”

McKennon bounded down the steps. His speed startled her. Men his size rarely moved so fast. She darted away and screeched loud enough to bring down the heavens. McKennon lunged for her left arm; she danced to the right Too late, she recognized a feint. He snatched her right wrist in an iron grip.

“Ra-a-a-ape—”

He twisted her against his solid body and slammed a gloved hand over her mouth. His chest heaved against her back. “You’re acting outrageously, Miss Forrest. Stop it.”

She called him every filthy name she knew, but his hand effectively muffled the words. The leather glove tasted unpleasantly metallic. She slammed a foot down, aiming for his instep, but he anticipated the move and she struck gravel. The arm around her chest could well have been carved from oak. He practically lifted her off the ground. She fought to regulate her breathing. No easy task considering that the cold had stuffed up her nose. She snuffled desperately and hated him even more.

“I have orders. No one interrupts the wedding. Not even you. Do I need to contact the police?”

She mouthed murderous threats against the leather glove. She squirmed, attempting to slip from beneath his arm, but he held her tighter, crunching her rib cage.

A commanding voice rang from the chapel door. “What is the meaning of this?” Her uncle, Colonel Horace Duke, decked out in a black tuxedo, his silver hair shining, glared at the scene below. “Francine? Is that you? Mr. McKennon, unhand my niece at once.” The Colonel closed the door firmly behind him.

As soon as McKennon removed his hand from her mouth Frankie yelled, “You’ve got a lot of explaining to do, Colonel! But first, stop the wedding!” She managed to wriggle one arm free and rammed her elbow into McKennon’s gut. His surprised woof gave her a small measure of satisfaction. She sprang away from him, whirled and put up her fists. “I’ll get you for that, you big bully.”

He tugged his lapels and used a knuckle to slide his sunglasses higher on his nose.

The Colonel marched down the steps. “What are you doing here, Francine? The latest report showed you deployed to Europe.”

“Europe?” That gave her pause. The farthest she’d ever traveled had been camping trips to Arizona, Utah and New Mexico. “What would I be doing in Europe? Oh, never mind. Let me into the chapel. I’ve got to stop the ceremony.”

The Colonel placed a hand on her arm. “They’re speaking their final vows. You can’t interrupt.”

Taking on McKennon was one thing, but the Colonel, her late mother’s brother, was another matter altogether.

“If Penny said I was in Europe, she lied. I can’t believe she roped you in. Let me inside the chapel. Then I’ll explain everything.” She beseeched him with her eyes.

Organ music filled the still, mountain air, the bass tones rumbling through the heavy doors. Frankie groaned and covered her eyes with a hand. When the colonel took her arm and hustled her away from the steps, she made no protest.

Penny and Julius, legally wed—her worst nightmare had just come true.