He did have a knife in his boot and he wasn’t without skills. He could take on an intruder with his bare hands if he had to. He took a deep breath and released it slowly.

This was Jamesville, not some hellhole in a war-torn part of the world. The chances of there being an intruder were slim. There was little to no cash on the premises and a thief wouldn’t find the stuff she carried easy to hock. Linda was probably fine. She was more than likely in the storage room.

“Linda?” He listened intently as he prowled into the room.

A soft sound caught his attention and he moved swiftly to her desk area behind the counter. Linda was sitting in her chair, doubled over, her head buried in her lap.

His heart skipped a beat as he hurried to her side. Dropping to his knees beside her, he touched her shoulder. “Linda.” She seemed oblivious to everything around her. “Darlin’, look at me. Are you hurt? Is it your stomach?” When she still didn’t answer, he stood and started to lift her into his arms. “I’ll take you to the hospital.”

“No!” She shook her head, her entire body trembling. She jerked back in her chair and stared up at him. Her eyes were red, her face blotchy. Makeup streaked down her cheeks.

“What happened?” Every instinct Levi had went on full alert. Something or someone had hurt his woman. He needed to fix this. “What’s wrong?” He kept his voice gentle as he cupped her face in his hands. “Talk to me, sweetheart.”

“Oh, Levi.” She started to cry again, tears trickling down her cheeks. “They’re trying to take it from me.”

He tapped down his growing fury and caught her tears with his thumbs, rubbing softly. “I’m going to lock up the store, then we’re going to go upstairs and talk.”

“The store doesn’t matter,” she replied despondently. “Not anymore.”

Truly concerned now, he hurried to the door. He didn’t want to leave her for a second, but this was no place to have this conversation. Anyone walking down the street could look in the big glass display windows and see them there.

He flicked the locks and went back to Linda. He scooped her into his arms and headed to the other door. “I haven’t finished my paperwork.” Her voice hitched and he tightened his hold on her. He felt helpless in the face of her distress and he didn’t like it. Not one bit.

“You can do it in the morning.”

“I have to go to the bank in the morning.” Her voice was toneless as she made that proclamation.

Levi turned off the lights and carried her out of the shop, closing the door behind him. He quickly took her upstairs to his apartment. She might feel more secure in her own place, but he didn’t have a key. Not that such a minor detail would stop him. But he didn’t want her to realize how easy it was for him to break into her home, nor did he want her to have to worry about digging out her keys.

He didn’t stop, carrying her straight into the bedroom and settling on the bed with her in his lap. He leaned against the battered headboard and nudged her chin up with his thumb so he could see her face. “Tell me what happened.”

She sniffed and blinked back tears. “My family is trying to destroy Past Promises.”

Levi forced himself to appear calm and relaxed as she related the call from the lawyer and then the loan officer from the bank. He hadn’t liked her family before this, but now he felt nothing but fury toward them. How could they try and destroy her like this? Her own father.

“Because of the hard economic times, the bank has sold some of their mortgages and high-risk loans. My promissory note was bought up by a bank in Vermont that just happens to be run by a good friend and client of my father. I recognized it immediately. They’re calling for immediate repayment. I have sixty days to pay, but it doesn’t matter. With the inheritance tied up, I just don’t have the money.”

“Can they do that?”

Linda sighed and nodded. “Unfortunately, yes. There’s a clause in the agreement that allows for it, but I was assured it was standard procedure and they’d never use it.” She gave a bitter laugh. “More fool me.”

Levi’s mind was working to process all the information and come up with possible solutions. “But you will have the money?”

“Eventually. Mr. Spokes guaranteed it. But when you’re dealing with that much money, it takes time.”

“How much we talking about, darlin’?”

Her eyes were large and luminous as she stared up at him. “Millions.”

Levi nodded. “That’s what you meant earlier when you mentioned Dyson’s political aspirations.”

She nodded. “They all decided it would be the perfect joining of families if I just married Simon and gave him access to my grandmother’s money.” Fire burned in her dark-blue eyes, momentarily driving out the despair. “They thought wrong if they thought this would make me go home.” She snorted. “No, not home. That place was never home.”

Levi’s chest tightened. He hadn’t had much of a childhood to talk about. In fact, he really never remembered being a child. Younger, yes. But not a child. A child had some sense of innocence. Levi had never had that luxury. Linda might have had financial security growing up, but she’d never had any illusions of being anything other than a pawn to be used by her parents.

“I’m sorry, darlin’.” The words were totally inadequate, but he didn’t know what else to say.

“Me too.” She sighed and some of the fire died from her eyes. “I’d rather live on the street than go back to my family. I’ll have to start making plans in the next few days.” She chewed on her bottom lip as she thought. “I’ll keep the store open as long as I can to make some money. I’ll box up everything that’s left and see about putting it in storage.”

Pride welled up in Levi. His woman was a fighter. “You’re going to reopen.”

She yawned, covering her mouth with the back of her hand as she nodded. “At some point down the road, I’ll have to rent a space. Maybe Cyndi can help me find something suitable. I know she owns property around town. It’s not ideal, but at least it will keep the store open.”

“We can talk more about it tomorrow,” he promised.

Her eyes drifted closed and she snuggled closer to Levi. “I’m sorry I fell apart like that. I’m usually much stronger.”

His arms tightened around her, as if he could protect her from all harm even though he knew that was impossible. There was no physical threat, but this emotional attack had been worse, striking at the very core of who she was and where she came from. Her own family had turned on her. It didn’t get any worse.

“I’ll talk to Cyndi tomorrow,” she mumbled. “If anyone will understand about dysfunctional families, she will.”

Levi knew that Cyndi O’Rourke had been through her own troubles with regards to family. He didn’t know the entire story, but enough to know that Linda was right. She would understand. From what he’d seen, she was also the type of woman to stand beside her friends in a time of crisis. She’d been there for Amanda when she’d had trouble.

The light in the room faded and the streetlights winked on. Levi held Linda until the muscles in his arms began to fall asleep. He didn’t want to move for fear of waking her, but he had things to do.

Shifting as slowly as possible, he laid Linda on the bed beside him. Staring down at her tear-stained face, he made a promise to himself. She would not lose her building, no matter what he had to do in order for her to keep it. Dyson and her family had underestimated the number of friends that Linda had in this town.

He stood and pulled the comforter over her. She murmured in her sleep and snuggled deeper into her pillow. Releasing a soft sigh, she fell back into a deep sleep, exhausted from the stress and from crying.

Tomorrow, she’d be back to her feisty self. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to do what he could to help in the meantime. It took a lot of willpower for him to leave her. He wanted to do nothing more than stretch out beside her and gather her into his arms.

Turning, he left the room, carefully closing the door behind him so he wouldn’t wake her. Levi strode to the kitchen table and checked on his laptop. He had initiated several searches this morning and was waiting on information from several sources. There was nothing yet. But there would be by the time he was done. Everyone had secrets, especially the rich and powerful. They were also the folks who would do anything to keep them.

Walking to the window, Levi stared out at the quiet street. The building was on Main Street, but it was a far cry from the city. Several cars passed by, probably folks on their way home. A police cruiser headed toward the center of town, most likely back to the station. It was a quiet place, a place to put down roots.

Levi had never had anywhere that felt like home. Growing up as he had, in a roach-infested apartment with a mother who didn’t even know he was there most of the time, hadn’t left him with any sense of place. His stint in the Army hadn’t helped. He’d gone wherever they’d sent him, living in barracks or tents or sometimes sleeping on the ground for weeks on end when he was on a mission.

Nowhere had ever felt like home until he’d arrived in Jamesville. He was glad he’d come to help Jonah when he’d called. Not that there had ever been any doubt. Jonah was his one good friend. No matter what, he would have come to his buddy’s aid.

But he’d found so much more here. He’d found friends. And he’d found Linda. Being around her gave him a sense of peace. She helped to silence the ghosts that often haunted his sleep, driving him from bed many nights. Working out helped some too. And since he’d been in Jamesville, he’d been pumping iron and jogging until he fell into bed exhausted.