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By reading any further, you
are stating that you are at least 18 years of age. If you are under the
age of 18, you must stop here.
 Excerpt
(Unedited)
Ellie thought her heart would pound out of her chest when the man she’d
seen on the trail stepped out of the trees.
She had the immediate urge to run but knew he’d catch her before she got
more than a few feet away.
Okay, don’t panic. You can handle this. “Are you following me? And how
do you know my name?”
He stepped closer to the doe then stopped, nodding his head. “Yeah, I am
following you. But I have a good reason. Your brother Justin sent me.”
What? Justin? That didn’t make sense. She hadn’t seen her brother in
months. He’d been wrapped up in a new job, something about research and
proof and their father. Every time her brother went on a “Dad”
bender—going on and on about their dad’s out-there ideas about fairies and
magic—she could forget about talking to him.
“Why would Justin send you? Does he need something from Mom’s house? Why
didn’t he come himself?” Her eyes widened. “Oh God. Is something wrong?
Did something happen to Justin?”
Now a different fear grabbed her. The kind that had plagued her for years
after their father had died so suddenly.
The man across from her held up his hands. “Whoa, no. Nothing happened to
Justin. Well…” He hesitated for just a second, making her fear ratchet up
another notch. “No, nothing’s wrong with Justin. He just couldn’t come so
he sent me.”
This didn’t make any sense at all. “Why would he send you and not tell me?
Who are you?”
The man straightened and something crossed his expression. She’d never
been able to read men well. It was why her relationships always ended in
abject failure. Well, that and her inability to trust them. But really,
most of them lied anyway.
His lips quirked in a self-deprecating grin. Or maybe he was getting ready
to put something over on her. Ugh. Men.
“My name is Antonin de Feo. Your brother and I have become good friends in
the past few months and he asked me to come.”
“But who are you?”
“I’m your bodyguard.”
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