Julie Garwood - Guardian Angel

"And if she's not?" Caine asked, already guessing the answer.

"You damned well better watch your back."

"Lyon, you don't think…"

Lyon wouldn't let him finish. "I'll tell you what I do know," he interrupted. "One, you're not being objective. I can't fault you, Caine. I reacted to Christina in much the same way you're reacting to Jade. Two, she is in danger and has put you in danger, too. Those are the only facts we can take as true."

Caine knew he was right. He leaned back against the settee. "Now tell me what your gut reaction is."

"Perhaps this has something to do with her father," Lyon suggested with a shrug. "I'll start looking into

the Earl of Wakerfield's history. Richards will be able to help."

Caine started to disagree and then changed his mind. "It couldn't hurt," he said. "Still, I'm beginning to wonder if her brother might not be behind all this. Remember, Lyon. Nathan went to London to help a friend in trouble. That's when all this started."

"If we accept the story she told us."

"Yes," Caine answered.

Lyon let out a long sigh. "I only have one question to put to you, Caine." His voice was low, insistent. "Do you trust her?"

Caine stared at his friend a long minute. "If we apply logic to this bizarre situation…"

Lyon shook his head. "I value your instincts, friend. Answer me."

"Yes," Caine said. He grinned then. For the first time in his life, he pushed reason aside. "I trust her

with my life but I couldn't give you one valid reason why. How's that for logic, Lyon?"

His friend smiled. "I trust her, too. You don't have the faintest idea why you trust her, though, do you, Caine?"

Lyon sounded downright condescending. Caine raised an eyebrow in reaction. "What are you getting at?"

"I trust her only because you do," Lyon explained. "Your instincts are never wrong. You've saved my backside more than once because I listened to you."

"You still haven't explained what your point is," Caine reminded him.

"I trusted Christina," Lyon said. "Almost from the very beginning. I swear to you it was blind faith on

my part. She led me a merry chase, too. Now I must side with my wife. Christina, as you know, has some rather unusual opinions. She's on the mark this time, though."

"And how is that?" Caine asked.

*'I believe, good friend, that you've just met your destiny." He let out a soft chuckle and shook his head. "God help you now, Caine, for your chase is just about to begin."

The ladies were waiting in the foyer for Caine and Lyon. A large gray and white speckled satchel was

on the floor between them.

Caine tried to lift it, then shook his head. "For God's sake, Jade, no horse is going to be able to carry

this load. The weight will be too much for the animal."

He knelt on one knee, flipped open the catch on the satchel and looked inside. Then he let out a low whistle. "There's a bloody arsenal in here," he told Lyon. "Who packed this thing?"

"I did," Christina answered. "There are just a few weapons I thought Jade might need to protect the

two of you."

"Weapons Jade might need to protect me?" He looked incredulous. "Lyon, did your wife just insult me?"

Lyon smiled while he nodded. "She certainly did, Caine. You might as well apologize now and get it

over with."

"Why in God's name would I apologize?"

"It will save time," Lyon explained. He was trying not to laugh. Caine looked thoroughly bewildered.

"Marriage has made you soft," Caine muttered.

"As soft as milk toast," Lyon announced with a grin.

Caine turned his attention back to stripping the unnecessary items from the bag.

While both ladies gasped in dismay, Caine tossed several long knives to the floor, two pistols, and one mean-looking link of chain. "You aren't going to need all of this, Jade. Besides, you're far too timid to

use any of them."

She was already gathering up the weapons. "Leave them there, my little warrior."

"Oh, have it your way," she muttered. "And quit using endearments on me, sir. Save them for the other women in your life. I'm neither your sweetheart, nor your love, and I'm certainly not your warrior. Oh, don't look so innocently perplexed, Caine. Christina told me all about the other women."

He was still trying to make sense out of her earlier comment. "Calling you a warrior is an endearment in your befuddled mind?"

"It most certainly is, you rude man," she replied. "I won't make you apologize for calling me befuddled, but only because you're probably still cranky over the news that your town house was burned down."

Caine felt like growling in frustration. He finished stripping the bag of unnecessary weapons, then clipped the lock shut. "Thank you for going to all the trouble, Christina, but you may need your weapons to keep Lyon safe. Come along, Jade," he ordered. He took the bag in one hand and Jade's hand in the other. His grip stung.

She didn't mind. She was too pleased at how well she had told her stories-how she had at once convinced Caine and confused him. The set of Caine's jaw indicated he wasn't in a reasonable mood.

She let him drag her to the back door. Lyon's groom had readied two mounts for them. Just as Jade was passing through the doorway, Christina threw her arms around her and hugged her tight. "God speed,"

she whispered.

Caine tied the satchel to his mount, then tossed Jade on top of the other horse. She waved farewell as

she followed Caine through the back gate.

Jade glanced back again to look at Lyon and Christina. She tried to memorize Christina's smile, Lyon's frown, too, for she was certain she wouldn't ever see them again.

Christina had mentioned destiny more than once to her. She believed Caine was going to become Jade's lifelong mate. But Christina didn't understand the full situation. And when Christina learned the truth,

Jade feared her new friend would never acknowledge her again.

It was too painful to think about. Jade forced herself to think only of the one reason she was there. Her duty was to protect Caine until Nathan came home.

And that was that. Her destiny had been determined years ago.

"Stay closer to me, Jade," Caine ordered from over his shoulder.

Jade immediately nudged her mount closer.

Caine certainly took a roundabout way out of London. He circled the outskirts of the city, then backtracked to make certain they weren't being followed.

He refused to take the north road until they were an hour away from the city.

The ride should have taken them approximately three hours. Yet because of his cautious nature, they were only halfway to their destination before he took to the main road.

Jade recognized the area. "If they haven't moved it, Nathan's carriage is just a little ahead of us," she told Caine.

It was further away then she remembered. Jade decided the vehicle had been dragged off when they'd ridden another half hour or so and still not spotted it.

Then they turned yet another crooked bend in the road and saw it on the side of the narrow ravine.

Caine never said a word. His expression was grim, however, when they rode past the carriage.

"Well?" she asked.

"It was gutted, all right," he answered.

She heard the anger in his voice and began to worry that he was blaming her for the destruction. "Is that all you have to say?" she asked. She nudged her mount to his side so she could see his expression. "You didn't believe me, did you? That's why you're angry."

"I believe you now," he countered.

She waited a long minute before she realized he wasn't going to say any more.

"And?" she asked, thinking to gain his apology.

"And what?"

"And haven't you anything else to say?" she demanded.

"I could say that as soon as I find the bastards who did this I'm going to kill them," he replied in a mild, thoroughly chilling voice. "And after they are dead, I'll probably want to set their bodies on fire just for the hell of it. Yes, I could say that, but it would only upset you, wouldn't it, Jade?"

Her eyes had widened during his recitation. There wasn't any doubt in her mind that he meant to do

what he said. A shiver passed through her.

"Yes, Caine, it would upset me to hear such plans. You can't go around killing people, no matter how angry you are with them."

He pulled his mount to an abrupt stop next to hers. Then he reached out and grabbed the back of her neck. She was so startled, she didn't try to move away.

"I protect what is mine."

She wasn't about to give him argument. He looked as if he might throttle her if she did. Jade simply

stared at him and waited for him to let go of her.

"Do you understand what I'm telling you?" he demanded.

"Yes," she answered. "You will protect what belongs to you. I understand."

Caine shook his head. The little innocent was actually trying to placate him. He suddenly jerked her to

the side of her saddle, leaned down, and kissed her. Hard. Possessively.

She was more bewildered than ever. Caine pulled back and stared into her eyes. "It's time you

understood that you're going to belong to me, Jade."

She shook her head. "I'll belong to no man, Caine, and it's time you understood that."

He looked furious with her. Then, in the flash of a moment, his expression softened. Her sweet

protector was back in evidence. Jade almost sighed with relief.

"It's time we left the main road again," he said, deliberately changing the topic.

"Caine, I want you to realize…"

"Don't argue," he interrupted.

She nodded and was about to nudge her horse down the slope when Caine took the reins from her

hands and lifted her into his lap.

"Why am I riding with you?" she asked.

"You're tired."

"You could tell?"

For the first time in a long while, he smiled. "I could tell."

"I am weary," she admitted. "Caine, will Lyon's horse follow us? Your friend will be upset if his mount gets lost."

"She'll follow us," he answered.

"Good," she answered. She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested the side of her face against

his chest. "You smell so nice," she whispered.

"So do you," he told her.

He sounded terribly preoccupied to her. He also seemed determined to take the most challenging route through the forest. Jade put up with the inconvenience for a good ten minutes, then finally asked,

"Why are you making this journey so difficult?"

Caine blocked another low-hanging branch with his arm before answering her. "We're being followed."

That statement, given so matter-of-factly, stunned her as much as a pinch in the backside would if given by a stranger. She was immediately outraged. "We're not," she cried out. "I would have noticed."

She tried to pull away from him so she could look over his shoulder to see for herself. Caine wouldn't

let her move. "It's all right," he said. "They're still a distance behind us."

"How do you know?" she asked. "Have they been following us since we left London? No, of course

they haven't. I really would have noticed. How many do you suppose they are? Caine? Are you absolutely certain?"

He squeezed her into quitting her questions. "I'm certain," he answered. "They've been following us for about three, maybe four miles now. More specifically, since we reached my property line. I believe their number is six or seven."