Chapter 13

I'm so sorry it's taken so long to update! I haven't forgotten about it at all. I just couldn't figure out how to get this chapter into words, plus all sorts of things have been happening in my life. Work has been so crazy, plus health issues with myself and my kids, AND I found out that I'm expecting our baby #3! Omg! Lol. Hope you enjoy this chapter and forgive me for taking so long! I apologize how short the chapter is. :)

R&R please!

After riding for a while, Loki and Deidra finally came back upon the barn. They rode into it and Loki swung off his horse with ease. He tied his horse to the stable wall and looked up at Deidra with a teasing smirk. "Do you plan to sit up there all day?" he asked.

Deidra flushed. "I just know I'll break my ankle if I try to get down on my own," she said.

"Truly?" he replied and sighed, shaking his head at her. "Alright then," he said, going to her. He held his arms up to her. "I shall assist you."

She leaned down and placed her hands on his shoulders. She slid off and he steadied her by the waist.

"See?" Loki said with a charming smile. "Easy."

She flushed again and stepped out of his hold. "Thank you. I would have broken something for sure."

He tied her horse as well and they left the barn together.

They did a few more things that day and finally decided to head home. They stopped by a restaurant on the way.

As they were leaving, Loki reached out and pulled Deidra close to him, wrapping an arm around her tightly. Deidra looked up at him in surprise and instinctively tried to pull away, but he held her too tightly.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

He leaned down. "Hush," he said into her ear. "We're being followed."

"What?!" she said loudly, looking around. "Where?!"

He jerked her a little. "I said hush!" he hissed. "But yes. Don't look around again, but it's a red car. I've been seeing it all day. I thought it was just my imagination, but when I saw it pull into this parking lot after us, I was sure."

"What do we do?" she asked, frightened.

"We get into the car," he replied, opening Deidra's driver side door and letting her sit down. He shut the door behind her and got in on his side.

"Do you think they're listening to us?" she asked.

"No," he said, but wasn't positive.

"What do we do now?" she asked.

"We go home. We will do nothing that will raise their suspicions."

Deidra started the car and backed out of the parking spot. She drove out of the parking lot and into the road. Several hundred yards down the road she looked into the rearview mirror and let out a small gasp. A red car was following them.

She felt Loki's hand on her arm. She looked over at him. "Don't be frightened," he said. "I am certain you're not the object of their concern."

"Why would they follow you? How would they know about you?" she asked. "You've kept your head down."

He smiled humorlessly. "Honestly I've been expecting this. I can pretend to be someone I'm not, but at the end of the day I will always be that same man who did horrible, unspeakable things."

She frowned. "You are not the same man at all. I've lived with you for a while now. You are good. You're a good friend and a good man," she said. "Now let's forget the car and just go home."

It was strange, but she felt oddly protective of her companion. She hated to hear him talk so badly about himself. She sped up to hopefully outrun the red car behind them.

They arrived home later that evening. By then it had become dark and she had lost sight of the car. She parked and they went into the house to retire for the night.

"Thank you," Loki said softly as he went into his bedroom. "For today."

Deidra smiled. "You're welcome," she replied and entered her own bedroom. She sat on her bed and let out a deep breath. She had really enjoyed their day together. She lay back on the bed, remembering how his hands felt on her waist earlier that day. She shook her head as butterflies filled her stomach without warning.

'Get your thoughts away from that,' she thought.

Two weeks passed. They were continuously followed everywhere they went by the red car. One day Deidra's phone rang. It was her friend Amelia. She hadn't heard from her in a very long time.

"Amelia!" she said when she answered. "Hello!"

"Hey," her friend replied. "What's new?"

Deidra filled her in on all that had gone on since she had last seen Amelia, including the red car following them.

"Oh so you're still with that guy?" Amelia asked, her voice now solemn.

"Yeah, why?" she asked.

"Well I figured you would have come to your senses by now. I guess not," she responded. "You're going to be pissed at me, but I'm the one who told the people in the red car where you are. It's some of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s agents. It took me a while to track that group down."

"You what?!" Deidra yelled. "Why? How could you?"

"If that guy living in your house is really Loki, then I had to," she responded. "You'll thank me later."

"The hell I will!" Deidra yelled, causing Loki to pop his head out of the laundry room door. "You had no right to do that, Amelia! Do you know how awful it is to have someone follow you around all the time?! Do you know what they're going to do to him when they finally decide to do more?!"

"Deidra, listen-"

"No, shut up!" she yelled. "You had no right and I will never thank you!"

She hung up on Amelia and threw her phone onto the couch. Loki walked into the kitchen, frowning in concern. "Obviously all that screaming was about me," he said.

Deidra leaned against the wall and sighed heavily. She nodded. "Amelia, she..." she trailed off. She hugged herself, visibly upset. Amelia had been her best friend. How could she do that behind her back?

Loki nodded, understanding. "She's the one who had us followed," he said.

All she could do is nod, trying not to cry. He walked over to her and reached out slowly to her. He hesitated a moment, then pulled her close to him in an embrace. "I understand how it feels to be betrayed by someone you care about," he said softly.

To his surprise she returned his embrace. She held him tightly and buried her face into his chest, hiccupping with the effort not to cry. They stood there and held each other for a long time.

"It will be alright," Loki said to her softly.