Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

Chapter 13—Her Bodyguard

"Come on in, Ryan. My spare room is off to the left. Just put your stuff down in there."

Emmie held her front door open as Ryan bumped through with his black shoulder bag. He peered around at the bungalow that was one of the Stockburnes' guest houses. "Thanks. So this is your place?"

She nodded. "For the time being. I really didn't plan to stay here this long, but you can see it's really all I need. Lot cheaper than the city. Besides, I can use the swimming pool and the hot tub anytime, unless my folks have something going on."

As he put down his shoulder bag on the navy blue Berber carpet, Ryan scanned the small spare room. Emmie had furnished it simply with an old full-size bed and a scratched dresser that didn't match. She stood behind him and leaned against the doorway with her arms folded. "It's not much, but everybody seems to think an officer's wife is loaded. Got the dresser at a yard sale and traded the bed for a washer and dryer set. Garage sales have been my best friend."

"Hey. This is perfect."

Emmie stepped into the living area. "This is where a lot of my money went, actually." She pointed to her computer equipment along one wall of the living room. An old brown card table held two monitors, computer consoles, a laptop, and a nest of black and gray wires. "Some ladies like to go shopping. I like to play with computers" she said with a grin. "Well, have you thought about what you want for dinner?"

"Tell you the truth, I'm not really hungry right now. You eat something if you want."

Emmie sat down on her old brown couch and sighed. "I'm not that hungry either. Sit down anywhere, Ryan. I'm pretty laid back at home." She smiled. "Of course my folks didn't handle it too well when I told them why you were going to be on the property."

Ryan carefully sat down on the couch next to her and opened his holster. "Did you tell them I was here to protect you?"

"Well, yeah. Nobody really knew about this thing. My parents freaked. They wanted to hire a security detail, but it's like Horatio said. Just a precaution."

Ryan took his 9 millimeter out of his holster, cleared, inspected, and loaded it again before reholstering it. "So what else do you do in your off time?"

Emmie shrugged. "Really? Read. Play around on the internet. Play with my cat. I still keep contact with a lot of my old FBI friends. In other words, just a normal, boring life, but I like it that way." She then suddenly cradled her arched neck and grimaced.

"You okay?" Ryan wanted to know.

"Yeah. Just working on that console all day. My neck and my back are killing me. I go through tons of Motrin."

Ryan then stood up and walked back into her guest room. "I'll be right back." She could then hear rustling and clinking as he rummaged around in his black shoulder bag. He came back out with a bottle of rose wine in his grip. "Here, Emmie. This might help."

Emmie stiffened up and her eyes widened. She shook her head slowly. "Oh my God."

He stopped and looked at her in shock. "What is it?"

She now closed her eyes and put one hand up protectively. "Hey Ryan? I'm really sorry. This was a bad idea. Maybe you better just go. Please?"

Ryan glanced at the wine bottle and gave her a bewildered look. "What. Is it the wine? I thought you might just like a drink or something" he said innocently.

"Please just go, Ryan. This isn't gonna work. Please?"

"Emmie?"

Not sure what else to do, he set the bottle on her kitchen counter. "You want me to get rid of it?" Without another word, he uncorked the bottle and emptied its contents down the kitchen sink. He then walked out to her warily. "There. Okay? I got rid of it."

Emmie bowed her head and turned away from him. "I didn't mean to lead on, Ryan. Could you please just leave? I'll be all right by myself." Her voice trembled.

Ryan slowly and quietly sat down on the couch next to her. That fear in her voice was hard to miss. "You didn't lead me on, Emmie. But I don't want you to be uncomfortable. I'll get my stuff." He stood up quietly. Emmie kept her head turned to the wall, never moving. Ryan stopped and studied her back for a moment.

"You don't really want me to go, do you? You can tell me the truth, you know."

Her head still bowed, she kept her back turned to him. He carefully sat down next to her on the couch. She took a deep breath. He reached out for her hand. She still never moved.

"Emmie? I don't know what you thought. Horatio asked me to come here to guard you. The wine was a gift. Did you think that I-?"

She never looked at him. "Because you took me to dinner and kissed me once, you thought I owed you something."

He shook his head in disbelief. "No. I am not like that. All I was gonna do was offer to massage your neck and give you a glass of wine to help you unwind a little. I knew you had a rough week." It bothered him to see the tough Marine crumble at such a misunderstanding. "Will you at least give me your hand?"

Cautiously her hand and her eyes wandered toward him. He tenderly picked up her fingers and caressed them. She sensed that it was a tender, understanding caress. He finally wrapped both his hands around her fingers. "See? Better?"

Her eyes finally met his. "Thanks, Ryan."

"Still want that neck rub?"

Slowly Emmie sensed that she could trust him alone with her in her house. She smiled shyly. "That would be really nice."

Ryan kneeled down on the floor next to the couch. "Okay. Lie on your stomach" he said softly.

Emmie lay flat on her stomach and rested her forehead on her folded hands. "I'm sorry I made you dump out the wine" she said into the cushion.

"I actually brought two bottles. You can still have some if you want."

She turned her face to him. "Maybe just a little. I'm kind of a cheap drunk. I don't handle alcohol well."

He quietly uncorked the other wine bottle and poured more rose into a small orange juice glass. "Here you go. Try this. It's just a little bit. You can always have more if you want."

She cautiously took the glass from her hand and took a sip. The wine warmed and soothed her immediately. "It's nice. Thanks, Ryan."

He smiled. "Now put your head down. Close your eyes, and think about something that relaxes you."

Emmie quickly became lightheaded from what little wine she had had. The fear was leaving her, now that she knew Ryan could be trusted. She rested her forehead on her hands and closed her eyes.

"Breathe deep" he said to her softly.

With both hands Ryan reached up and began to knead the back of her neck and her head gently and tenderly with a semicircular motion. He went from slowly working her neck and head with his fingers to gently using the heels of his hands on her upper back. She moaned and breathed deeply, never moving.

Within minutes he noticed that she was breathing very heavily. He looked at her.

"Emmie?"

She was sound asleep now. He gently tapped her arm. She wasn't going to wake up. Gently he eased her head sideways so that she faced him. For what seemed a long time he sat cross-legged on the carpet and watched the sleeping computer tech. He had earned her trust. He thought briefly about the fear in her eyes when she saw the wine bottle in his hand. "What happened to you?" he whispered.

Except for the crickets outside, there were no other sounds but Emmie's deep breathing. Ryan then stood up and looked around, studying the quiet guest bungalow. He couldn't help but notice that along the far wall, Emmie prominently displayed numerous awards-unit citations, photos, plaques, and honors, all framed in gold or brown, all looking back at him. His hands in his pockets, he watched her.

"I don't know where you came from, Emmie. I don't really care who you used to be. I don't know what all those awards are." He wandered back over to her as she still slept. "You're too smart to fall for a guy like Stetler, so you can't be all bad."

Ryan stepped into her bedroom and came out with her burgundy bedspread. Carefully he draped it over her. She still never moved. He then changed into his tee shirt and shorts before he placed the guest room pillows and blanket on the living room floor next to the sofa. "I guess you really need that."

Ryan looked at his charge one more time as he patted his 9 millimeter. He couldn't help it. He gently reached up and kissed her cheek. She still never moved. "I'll protect you, Emmie" he said softly as he turned off the light and lay down on the floor.