****Many thanks to Bujyo for her beta skills***

Chapter 1 – Trust Me

Marshall grabbed Mary roughly by her upper arm and pulled her against him, backing up against the retaining wall along the promenade walkway. The wall was interspersed with hanging ivy. Benches were placed intermittently along the length of the promenade. It was meant as an area of enjoyment, relaxation. The irony wasn't lost on Marshall.

"Trust me?" he asked in a low, almost panicky voice, his eyes scanning the promenade, sharpening as he spotted the two men. He looked back down at Mary, took in her frightened face. "They only saw you from the front right? Not from the back?" She nodded sharply, barely concealed panic in her eyes.

"Trust me?" he asked again, softer this time. Another silent nod. Did he really need to ask? She trusted this man with...everything. Marshall curled one arm around her waist, drawing her in close to him. Placing his lips against her ear, he whispered, "Look to your right, see those couples along the wall? This is a bit of a make out spot. Just go with me on this. I'm going to protect your face." I'm going to protect all of you, he thought, as he brought his other hand up to the back of her head. He leaned down, keeping an eye over her shoulder on the two men.

One of the men was tall, thin, dark. He wore dark sunglasses and his black hair was spiked with gel. The other man was shorter, more husky, blond. He had a goatee and a noticeable scar on his cheek, that extended down into his beard. They were moving through the promenade with purpose, professionally inspecting each person they saw, evaluating, dismissing and moving on.

Mary leaned into Marshall instinctively, a slight shiver running down her spine as she felt his warm breath on her, and wondered what he was going to do. Marshall kept his mouth by her ear, his head blocking her face from casual looks. He kept a sharp eye on the two men as they walked towards them. His hand casually gathered up Mary's braids and drew them over her shoulder. She stiffened slightly. "Don't pull away," he murmured. "They're heading towards us." He dropped his eyes and nuzzled her neck as the two men started looking at the necking couples along the wall.

"Marshall, just what the hell do you think you're doing? " Mary hissed in his ear. "We are not horny teenagers." Marshall could feel the pounding of her heart, heard her ragged breathing, underneath the irritated words. He began slowly rubbing her back, trying to calm her down, trying not to notice how very nice she felt pressed against him. Well, she was right about one thing. They weren't teenagers. He couldn't vouch for the other thing.

"I am trying to keep you alive," he said in a measured voice against her ear.

She had been badly rattled. People trying to get you dead will do that to a person. Chancing a quick glance up, he saw the tall, thin, dark man looking intently at the couple closest to them. The woman was blond. Marshall sucked in his breath and Mary looked at him in alarm. He smiled reassuringly down at her, mouthed 'trust me', and brought his hand up to the side of her face, covering the curve of her cheek and jaw. He could feel the attention of the tall, dark man shifting over towards them. Marshall closed the distance between his mouth and Mary's, lightly pressing his lips to hers. He felt the shock tremble through her body and he drew her even closer to him, slightly shifting her so her face would be more hidden.

The attention of tall and dark focused on them and Marshall gave a firm squeeze to her waist in warning, then opened her mouth with his tongue and deepened the kiss. Mary felt her knees almost buckle from the shock. Marshall's arm was securely around her, keeping her upright. Trying to remember there were men trying to kill her and Marshall was trying to prevent that, she allowed the kiss, hesitantly returned the thrust of his tongue, as she felt the stare of the man behind her. I can not believe I am doing this, letting Marshall French me.

She felt the tension in Marshall's body, ready to take a defensive stance should tall and dark make a move. He kissed her again, then again, the feel of it changing slightly, becoming more assertive, more heart felt. Mary found she liked the sensation of his arms around her. After the fear of the last few days, it gave her a few seconds of security. Marshall would do anything to protect her. Anything. Without making a conscious decision, she opened her mouth to him voluntarily. He felt the difference and responded, the kiss leaving the realm of deceptive ploy and entering a new, unknown place. Deep seated feelings were rising to the surface, driven by fear, stress, uncertainty. Mary wound her arms around his neck, returning his kiss rather more enthusiastically than he expected. He tasted good, that was unexpected. And he definitely knew what he was doing.

Reluctantly raising his head and breaking the kiss, Marshall looked around quickly. Tall and dark had moved on. Where was blond and husky? Marshall lowered his head again, his warm mouth trailing down her neck. "I don't see blondie," he murmured, barely moving his lips. Mary's hand moved up, started stroking the hair at the nape of his neck.

"Where's the other one?" she asked. Marshall tried to keep his body in line, as Mary's gentle caress continued. Pulling self control up from down in his socks, he chanced another look in tall and dark's direction. He was standing by another couple along the wall, and motioning blondie over to him. As he watched, tall and dark reached out to pull the guy away from the blonde woman against the wall. Marshall grasped Mary's hand and pulled.

"Time to go. Not too fast." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her head down on his shoulder as they started walking in the other direction. She tried to lift her head back up, but he kept an iron grip on her.

"Don't," he warned. "Glare at me later please," he said in response to the murderous look she tossed his way, "after we get out of their line of sight." Mary glared at him now. She did not like being told what to do. On the other hand, she didn't like getting shot at either.

They ducked down the first cross sidewalk they came to, quickly breaking into a run once they were off the promenade. After putting six blocks between them and their pursuers, they slowed down, Marshall furiously thinking. They needed to get off the street. They were in a residential neighborhood now. Several homes had signs indicating they had rooms to let.

Marshall carefully studied three of the houses, picked one with a neat front yard and colorful window boxes. No toys in the yard, so likely no children. This was an older neighborhood. The homes were small. There were several small maintenance projects that needed to be done, so the owner was likely a widow. Or had a lazy husband. Lace curtains in the windows pointed to an older woman. That's what he wanted, someone who wouldn't be too curious.

He pointed at the house, looked at her with a question in his eyes. She turned an appraising eye on the little house. "Dammit Marshall, I'm tired of this, running from those traitorous ass wipes." She grimaced, "This place is fine." He nodded and told her to wait on the porch as he rang the bell. An older woman answered the door, smiled pleasantly. Marshall asked about the room and learned it was available. Going inside with her to see the room, he informed Mrs. Salter that his wife wasn't feeling well and would wait outside until she could lay down. Mary tapped her foot impatiently, while carefully keeping her face averted, realizing that should anyone come around asking questions, she didn't want their hostess to have a good description of her.

Marshall came out to retrieve her, once again wrapped his arm around her and tucked her head into his shoulder. He hoisted the backpack he had managed to hold onto and led Mary into the small house. The room was on the first floor and Mrs. Salter had already opened the door.

"Let me know if you need anything," she said solicitously. "How far along are you dear?" Mary started to raise her head in bewilderment, but Marshall kept her firmly in place.

"Eight weeks. It's been a bit rough. We'll be fine, thank you." He shut the door behind them, released Mary. They stared at each other.

"She made an assumption and I let her. It may be helpful. You can stay hidden without undue suspicion and if questions are asked, she'll say her renters are an expecting married couple." Mary acknowledged the logic of his thinking, while simultaneously bristling at the thought of staying hidden. She shut her eyes and rubbed her temples.

Good Lord, how did this happen?