Page 103 of Archer

Colton likely hadn’t noticed this user before, because he never tagged anyone and had very few followers. It was as if the collection of photos were meant only for his viewing and pleasure. It sickened me how true that likely was.

New images appeared, pulling me back to the top. More taken tonight. All nearly the same. He must’ve used burst mode or continuous shooting until he’d been forced to run or be seen. And now he was somewhere feeling safe enough to upload hundreds of images while Harper sat beside me, feeling less safe and more afraid than she ever had.

“I’m so sorry. I should’ve caught him.”

She turned to me, taking her phone from my hand. “You couldn’t. He had a plan. He escaped again by water.”

“I should’ve anticipated this.” My hands curled into fists. “I knew he was escalating. I should’ve been awake and keeping watch not⁠—.”

Harper’s mouth opened, and an expression of betrayal changed her features. “Not what?” she challenged. “Not making love to me? Not holding me in your arms while I slept for the first time in weeks?” Her voice was wrenched, the sound of total heartbreak.

“That’s not what I meant.” My voice was hard, and I worked to keep it low, or at least not as loud as hers. “Protecting you is my job, and I failed. I crossed a line. I let myself get distracted and look what happened.”

“Oh.” She pushed away from me, standing on rigid legs. “Well, I’m sorry I distracted you, and that this has somehow become about your ego and your ability to do your job. You told me days ago that you needed to keep your hands to yourself so you could concentrate. I guess I should’ve listened.” With that, she turned and went into her bedroom.

Dammit! I raked angry hands through my hair.

The sound of shifting glass shards spun me towards the deck.

Knox and Colton stared through the busted rear window with mixed expressions of apology and regret.

Apparently, all our secrets were in the open now.

Dammit!

Chapter 34

Harper

I stood in my bedroom wearing jeans and a sweatshirt, my bare feet shoved into sneakers to protect them from the piles of broken glass throughout my home. I’d fallen asleep feeling loved and as if anything was possible. As if when Webb was caught, Archer might want to be a part of my life on a long-term scale.

I’d woken a few hours later to chaos and heartbreak.

Webb had destroyed Gram’s home, shattered her windows and broken her sliding doors. He’d terrified me, yet again, coming closer than ever, angrier than ever.

He’d violated my privacy and posted horrible images of my nearly naked body online for everyone to see. And he’d included images of Archer, too.

When Archer agreed to be my private security detail, he didn’t agree to be subjected to this kind of public attack. It wasn’t fair to either of us.

And he’d broken my heart when he’d complained about the fact he’d let his guard down tonight, choosing to focus on me and our evolving relationship instead of focusing on the man who terrorized me for fun.

He might not have meant the words the way they sounded to my ears, but they hurt all the same, and I was tired of hurting.

Archer wasn’t here to fall in love. He was here to do a job, and failing at that was his biggest concern.

What was I supposed to do with that knowledge?

Better to know now, I supposed. Because life with someone in the public eye wouldn’t get less complicated, even if it eventually became less dangerous.

Cold air seeped inside the window beside my bed, now fractured with spider-webbed cracks.

I sat and pulled my knees to my chest as my phone continued to buzz with all the excitement of the night.

The HarperFan1 account gained followers and attention by the second, thanks to all those tags with my name and fresh images of my nearly naked body.

Comments flooded in from around the country.

Whoa! Who is that guy?