Forever Alexa (Book Four In The Bodyguards Of L.A. County Series) by Cate Beauman

imagine. They’re doing everything they can.”
    She relaxed a fraction and returned his embrace, absorbing his warmth and strength. “I let her down. I’ve failed her in so many ways. She’s so young. She has her whole life ahead of her. I left her, Jack. I got on a plane and left her when she needed me most.”
    He tilted her chin up. “You left to protect Olivia. She wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. Olivia’s safe here. So are you. Abby loves you as much as you love her. She would understand.”
    Her eyes filled, and she struggled to blink away her tears, but not before one escaped. “I need her back, Jack. I need her home.”
    “I know.” He ran his fingers through her hair, and her eyes fluttered closed. Here was comfort. Here was everything she’d been without. “Jack,” she whispered as she clutched at his hips, absorbing all that he offered. “I’m so afraid.”
    The pads of his fingers skimmed her jaw, her temple, leaving her skin hot wherever he touched. “You don’t have to be. I’m right here.”
    “I thought you might like—” Evelyn froze in the doorway.
    Alexa’s eyes flew open, and Jack yanked himself away.
    “I’m sorry.” Evelyn walked off with her tray of lemonade and finger sandwiches.
    “Ev.” Jack hurried after her. “Ev, wait.”
    Evelyn shut herself in the master bedroom just as the doorbell rang. Alexa could hear Jack swear as he went to answer the door.
    Alexa sat on the porch swing, staring into the dark. Crickets sang as she rocked the glossy wooden bench back and forth, her nerves stretching ever tighter. It had been hours since her deadline passed, so why hadn’t the kidnappers called? She’d dreaded the creepy mechanical voice over the last two days, but now she prayed she would hear it again.
    She picked up the flip phone Agent Marway had fitted with a portable monitoring device and stared at the blue bars, relieved that the battery had been given a full charge. Agent Marway reassured her—several times—that the FBI would be able to trace any incoming calls at the Bureau and would follow up on new leads immediately. She just had to remember to do her part—wait for the cell to ring three times before she answered and keep the kidnapper on the line for as long as possible.
    She was ready—more than ready—to do what she could; they just had to call . Sighing, she set the phone back in her lap and tried to find comfort in the warmth of the night and the stars shining bright and beautiful above. Jack’s neighborhood was quiet, and the mountains lit up by the city in the distance soothing. She glanced to the window, looking into the room where Olivia slept. She could see her daughter’s tiny form cast in shadows from the bathroom light she’d left on. Alexa stopped swinging when Jack, clad in black gym shorts and a white t-shirt, stepped in the room. His tough, athletic frame hovered over their daughter. He sat on the edge of the bed.
    She studied Jack as he picked up Livy’s hand and held it in his. He was in love with his little girl. The adoration had been unmistakable after he’d moved past the shock. He wanted to know his daughter; he deserved to. And Olivia deserved to know him. If she could take the time back and tell him from the beginning... She shook away the regret. They could only start now, but ‘now’ had its own complications.
    Leaning against the swing, she played back the scene from earlier this afternoon. She’d been foolish to let Jack touch her again; she’d been stupid to forget that being in his arms could only bring pain. One moment of weakness had caused so many problems. Evelyn had stayed in the master suite since she dashed away with her tray of refreshments. Jack shut himself in the bedroom seconds after Agent Marway left. As Alexa made her escape to the fresh air, she could hear Evelyn’s quiet crying echoing through the door.
    Sighing, Alexa closed her eyes in a moment of surrender and drifted as she tried to figure