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The last thing Sally wanted was to be the cause of an argument between Luke and the men he called friends. She forced a parade-waving smile and stepped forward, grateful for the arm Luke slipped around her shoulders. She was aware of Ellen beside her until Daniel grabbed her arm and wouldn’t let her go any farther, even when she stepped on his foot.
That made it easier for Sally to keep her smile, and she turned it on Luke. “Are you going to introduce me to your friends?”
Luke studied her warily for a second with a cute little smirk on his face, then leaned toward her. “Only if you promise not to hurt them,” he whispered.
She raised an eyebrow. “We’ll see.”
Luke coughed, no doubt to cover his amusement as he faced his friends again. “This is Sally Duncan. Sally, these are friends of mine—at least for now.”
The guys laughed uncertainly, as though they weren’t entirely sure he was joking.
“The blond on your left is James Cooper. Coop is an explosives expert. He saved our butts more than once.”
“Nice to meet you, Coop.” Sally extended her hand, and the muscles in his forearm flexed as he gripped it firmly.
“The loud mouth there is Travis Monroe, aka the Shadow. He earned his nickname by getting in and out of places no one else could, quick and silent, just like a friggin’ ghost.”
Travis doffed his ball cap as he shook her hand. “Just one of my many talents.” His bedroom eyes narrowed and a suggestive smile played around his mouth, giving her a pretty good idea what he counted as a talent.
Luke groaned. “As you can tell, he’s modest too.”
Everyone chuckled, including Travis. If he could laugh at himself, surely he couldn’t be as degenerate as his words and actions implied.
“The big guy is Matt Iverson. We call him MacGyver because he can fix things.”
Matt appeared only slightly larger than Luke or the other men. His dark brown hair had been cropped close in a buzz cut. Her quick perusal brought a slight flush to his neck and face, yet he nodded politely, and his warm handshake restored some of her quickly diminishing confidence.
A natural smile fell into place as she swept her gaze across the line of curious faces. “Luke’s told me a little—”
“It’s her. The lady in the picture. Right?” Matt’s gaze left her face and darted to Luke’s. “She’s the woman in that picture—the one you showed us—the one you had with you in that shithole.” He focused on her again. “You’re his angel. Aren’t you?”
Luke’s arm had tightened around her, and one look revealed the force of the emotions and memories he was dealing with. Sally instinctively pressed closer as he reached in his back pocket and drew out the folded, faded picture. He handed it to Matt, who studied it for a moment, handed it off to Travis, then dragged her from the safety of Luke’s side and gave her a huge hug.
“Thank you,” he whispered in her ear before he released her and stepped aside. The scene was repeated twice more, with Travis giving her an uncertain peck on the cheek and Coop squeezing her shoulders in a sideways hug while handing the picture back to Luke.
All three of them wore their affection for their friend as a badge of honor, and because of their loyalty to him, she’d been accepted and apparently thrust into the role of angel—one who’d helped to bring their wounded brother home. She was humbled and awed by the bond between these warriors, and another chink in her determination not to reach immediately for the love and security Luke offered fell away.
“Hey, where’s the midget?” Matt turned to search the lawn near Daniel’s cabin.
Luke flinched. “Uh-oh. Yeah, MacGyver, we don’t call her that anymore. Apparently, it’s not politically correct.” He reclaimed his place beside Sally. “MacGyver has a soft spot for kids. I told him about Jen.”
Sally weighed the nickname Luke and the others had tagged Matt with, rejecting it as she met his inquisitive gaze. “She and Bridgett went to see the pony.” Sally glanced toward Ellen and caught her wiping her eyes. Obviously, Sally hadn’t been the only one moved by the show of solidarity. Standing beside his wife, Daniel grinned and nodded toward the corral.
Sally warmed to the clearly softhearted Matt Iverson. “I’ll introduce you, if you like.”
He rubbed his hands together. “Let’s go.” He offered her his arm, then abruptly stopped and turned to face Luke. “Okay with you, man?”
In reply, Luke gripped his arm for a moment. “I have a favor to ask…all of you, but especially Daniel.” His gaze swept around the gathering. “Keep your eyes open. If you see anything that doesn’t belong, let me know ASAP. We may have a little trouble following us.”
“I assume you’ll tell us what we’re supposed to be watching for, right, Bro?” Travis stood completely relaxed, as if Luke hadn’t just dropped a bomb on their reunion.
“I was hoping to meet with Daniel tonight, after the kids go to sleep. If it’s okay with him, you can all sit in.” He glanced toward Sally, then focused on their host. “You may not want us to stay once you hear the details.”
Daniel nodded, strands of his black hair falling over his forehead. “If there’s trouble, we might as well all hear it at the same time and decide what’s to be done. First things first. Your cabin is on the end.” He pointed to his right, and Luke glanced quickly at the structure he indicated—closest to the river. Daniel stepped toward the parked Jeep. “I’ll help you pack your things down there while Sally and MacGyver round up the girls. Dinner’s in the main cabin.” Daniel jerked his thumb behind him toward the building both he and his wife had come from at Luke and Sally’s arrival. He shifted his gaze to Sally. “When you come for dinner, bring some nightclothes for the young one. If things go as well between her and Bridgett as I think they will, we can put them both to bed here and have our visit afterward. Agreed?” He quickly scanned the group but didn’t leave much room for argument.
Sally’s good mood dissolved at being the source of so much turmoil, and she couldn’t help feeling it was only the beginning. Matt, the girls and the pony momentarily forgotten, she peered at Luke, whose supportive gaze couldn’t rouse her from her self-imposed funk this time.
Sally’s stomach was tied in knots, even though they’d left Daniel’s place behind as they navigated the dark on the path to their cabin. Time had stood still in the Mathias family living area after the small group of men and women had gathered. Luke had related the events of the past twenty-four hours…and the reasons behind them, looking to her for confirmation when he got to the details that led to her entering the witness protection program. Having her past laid bare for all to see had been humiliating and not a little terrifying. After all the years of hiding, not letting anyone get too close and never uttering the name Clive Brennan, her mask had been ripped away, and she’d been left naked and exposed.
