Ranger’s Protection: SEAL and Veteran Series: Book Three

by North, Leslie

  Leading Viktoria to the women’s clothing stuffed on round and straight racks, he had to stop his eyes from rolling. She blinked repeatedly at the selection. Was she that much of a snob that she couldn’t touch a hanger?

  “Is there a problem?” he asked, leaning against a column beside a rounder.

  “What?” She blinked again, then met his eyes. “Uh, no. It’s just that…” Her cheeks turned pink and he could only stare in fascination at this strong woman blushing. “My assistant usually works with a personal shopper using my measurements and they bring final selections to me.”

  Wow. He did not see that coming.

  “I’m, uh…” Her beautiful blues flicked to him then to a rack. “I don’t know where to start.”

  The confused, embarrassed expression hit him in the gut and he wanted to make her smile. “I thought all women were born with the shopping gene.”

  She glared at him.

  Okay, then. He scratched the back of his head, then pointed at his clothes. “You can’t go wrong with a pair of jeans and a T-shirt.”

  She moved to the rack that had jeans in all colors and styles (some stretching back to the 70s). He noted her size when she plucked up a few pairs along with some shirts, and an idea formed in his mind. The store clerk unlocked the right of two flimsy-walled dressing rooms, and Viktoria slipped inside.

  Scanning the shop once again, refusing to slack on vigilance, he grinned as he tromped toward the racks. He had no problem helping her shop. Scouring the selection for some more…interesting items in her size, he chuckled at his finds.

  “Let’s see what she thinks about these,” he murmured, heading to the dressing room. “Viktoria?” He knocked lightly on the door. “I found a few more things you can try.”

  The door cracked and a single hand up to the wrist popped out. Holding in a laugh, he pressed the hangers into her palm and they disappeared just as the door shut.

  Silence reigned and he held his breath, unable to stop the smile from spreading. Five, four, three, two, one…

  Nothing. She didn’t say a word. Clothing rustled and the metal hangers periodically scraped the metal hooks attached throughout the little room.

  “Lee?”

  “Right here.” He rolled to the balls of his feet. Anticipation of her letting him have it sang in his blood.

  “What do you think?” The door swung open and his jaw hit the floor.

  She strutted out like she was on a catwalk in the most hideous Christmas sweater known to man. Puke green and blood red, it had a giant reindeer head on the front sporting real ornaments hanging from the applique antlers. The blinding Day-Glo-green pleated miniskirt swished with every step and her designer sandals just helped it all look ridiculous.

  He schooled his expression to imitate a critic and tapped his chin. “Spin for me one more time?”

  She put her hands on her hips and twirled.

  “It works,” he pronounced with a straight face. “You should put that in the keeper pile.”

  8

  Viktoria nodded sagely as if Lee had given her wise advice and strutted back into the dressing room. Letting out a silent cackle, she high-fived her wretched reflection in the mirror. Got you, Lee. The ornaments on the antlers jingled, and she shuddered which made them jingle more.

  She quietly cracked up all over again at the abomination of an outfit.

  He’d thought she’d balk. She saw the expectation in his eyes when she first opened the door, but the joke was on him. The second she saw his selections, she saw right through his solicitous attempt to “help,” and something clicked inside her. She wanted to play with him. So she had put the most horrible combination together and anticipated seeing his face when she waltzed out with her head high in his choices. She had wanted to see the laughter in his eyes more than she wanted to argue…a very foreign feeling she wasn’t keen to examine too closely.

  Pulling the sweater off and dropping it in the “burn” pile, she waded through the clothes again.

  He’d been shocked for sure, and she saw a hint of mirth, but she had to make him laugh out loud. If he did that, then she won. Whether he knew the rules or not didn’t matter, she played to win.

  Throwing on a mustard-yellow-based Hawaiian shirt, she grimaced at the pink “Luau” word plastered all over it along with cartoon pigs, ukuleles, grass skirts, green fish, and orange drink glasses. Donning ugly silver sequined stretch pants no manufacturer should’ve ever produced, she slid back into her sandals and opened the door.

  “For a night out on the town.” She strolled out, imitating a runway model. “Sensational, don’t you think?”

  His eyes widened before he caught himself and blanked his face.

  Damn! Almost had him.

  “Absolutely,” he answered. “You’ll definitely stand out in a crowd.”

  With her head held high, she twitched her hips as she strode for the clothing racks. It’s on, McCallister.

  Viktoria had never had so much fun in her entire life. The next thirty minutes were filled with the most outrageous, horrendous, eye-bleeding fashion show she’d ever had the misfortune to see.

  The sales clerk figured out what they were doing, and she joined in on the fun. Clothes appeared above the door periodically and Viktoria accepted them without a word. If anyone who knew her saw her now, they’d swear she’d had an aneurism and rush her to the hospital. Always worried about embarrassing her father or potentially hurting the company, she’d always maintained a flawless public image…but not today. Staring in the mirror at the latest train wreck, she was so far from that, she bent over and silently laughed. God, this felt amazing. Just playing for the sake of fun. What a novel concept.

  The sales clerk lost the game after Viktoria strutted out in a purple, shapeless house dress adorned with huge yellow flowers. While the dress was ugly, adding the wide-brimmed Easter Bonnet, a four-inch wide, geometric shaped, pleather belt, and beaded fringe shawl put it over the top.

  But her goal was Lee. Twice his mouth had twitched, but he’d never actually laughed. She bet he’d break on this one.

  Moving her ponytail to the top of her head, she teased the strands with her fingers and nodded at the results.

  Opening the door, she clutched the doorframe with a straight arm and rested her other hand on her cocked hip. “I call this ensemble,” she oozed in a sultry, vixen tone while trying to keep the feathers from invading her mouth, “the love-child from Cookie Monster and Big Bird.” The blue poncho-style top had blue feathers poking out of the thick, polyester shag and the orange-colored leggings had passion fruits all over them.

  Lee burst out laughing so hard, he fell against the other dressing room. Clutching his stomach, he roared. The deep rich laughter filled her so completely, she wanted to hear it again and again. A heady feeling swelled her chest. She had been responsible for his joy and he looked so good, her heart thumped harder.

  “You win,” he wheezed, whipping tears from his eyes. “That is truly horrible.”

  She took a bow, getting a face full of musty poncho that had her sneezing.

  An unladylike growl rumbled from her stomach and she snatched her hand off the doorframe. “Oh.” Her face flamed for a second but she was too relaxed to care. “I guess it’s time to eat.” A pang shot through her. She didn’t want the silliness to end.

  “Think you can find something useful in all that or do we need to look for real?” Lee asked, his eyes still dancing as he straightened.

  “Give me two minutes.” She shut the door and unearthed a pair of tight, black leggings that were decorated with colorful swatches as if a wide brush painted them. Definitely not something she’d ever pick up on her own, but they were fun and she wanted the liberating campiness to continue. The pants were probably supposed to be full-length but with her height, she turned them into capris. Damn, she felt sexy. Sinful even. They showed off every curve and movement of her muscles she never allowed herself to show in public. Adding a basic short-sleeved top that
wasn’t too tragic, she put her sandals back on, readjusted her ponytail, and opened the door.

  The mirth drained from Lee’s eyes, and he pushed away from the other dressing room’s door. His gaze perused her from head to toe, lingering on her hips—

  “Don’t worry about the stuff,” the clerk chirped, breaking the spooling tension. She gestured at the clothes bomb behind Viktoria. “You made my afternoon. I’ll put all that away.”

  “Are you sure?” Viktoria asked, forcing herself to stop staring at Lee.

  “Definitely.” The clerk bounced to the cash register.

  After they paid a ridiculously low price for the outfit, Lee held the door open. “Diner’s right up the street.” He motioned. “Probably not the kind of dining you’re used to, but it’s the hotspot so the food must be good.”

  “Or the gossip even better,” she retorted, winking at him as they strolled after dropping the plastic bag containing Viktoria’s initial outfit in the car.

  “There is that.” He pointed at her. “I’m trying to imagine you eating a hamburger.” He shook his head. “Nope. Can’t see it. Too low-brow.”

  Viktoria mock glared at him. “Did you not just see me in Cookie Bird’s outfit?”

  He started tearing up again as another round of laughter bubbled out. “Oh my God, that was awesome.”

  Two women stopped on the other side of the street and gawked at Lee. Viktoria didn’t blame them. That laughter was like a siren’s song, and his face and body could cause ships to wreck, but his eyes were almost too much for mere mortal woman to gaze at without losing their heads completely.

  He rubbed his stomach, sadly getting himself under control. “I wish I had taken a picture.”

  Wouldn’t her company’s competitors love to get their hands on that if he had?

  A brick building with the helpful words The Diner stenciled over the large plate-glass windows had red pleather booths, a counter with stools, and a mouthwatering dessert display behind glass. It was every stereotype she’d ever seen on TV and in movies. She couldn’t wait to go in.

  “Burgers schmurgers.” Stepping up to the glass door, she glanced back at him. “I’m looking forward to the ribs.”

  9

  “Emmmmmmmm,” Viktoria drew out the yummy noise as she unrepentantly licked the decadent sauce off her messy fingers. She had eaten ribs once before in a five-star restaurant with a knife and fork, but Lee had snatched the silverware away when she’d tried to pick them up, claiming something about sacrilege. She’d been mad at first, but the second the succulent meat hit her tongue, she lost her anger and dove in. Literally. She felt sauce lining her cheeks and she didn’t care.

  Lee paused with his hamburger halfway to his mouth and goggled. “I feel like I should pay admission to this show.” He bit into the oversized sandwich, then chewed. “You realize you’ve got sauce on your ear, right?”

  Viktoria chuckled and shrugged. Eating out in public like this, in the diner of a no-name town, was surreal. No one outside of the waitress seemed to pay them one bit of attention, and for a moment, Viktoria felt like someone else. Not the heir to a billion-dollar international corporation working herself to the bone. She could be anyone to the other patrons…like Lee’s girlfriend.

  Woah. Back away from the crazy. She just met the man and half the time he acted like a heathen. Unfair. He hadn’t acted like a heathen since their first meeting in the limo. He’d admitted when he was wrong, treated her with respect even in the midst of their arguments, and didn’t gloat when he had the right to. He acted like a warrior too. Obviously, he was a skilled fighter when he defeated the copilot’s kidnap attempt, but other times, like now, she could see the weight of all the training he carried.

  Lee had requested the last booth in the row where he put his back to the wall and faced the restaurant, leaving her a view of him and the street beyond the window beside them. He kept scanning the busy diner and out all the windows like he expected a threat to pop out of nowhere.

  “I’ve tried to give you space but I have to ask.” His feline eyes settled on her. “Do you know who’s after you? Any reason why someone wants to kidnap you?”

  She had been waiting for the question, but that didn’t mean she had a good answer. “I’m not sure.” She pulled ribs apart to give her hands something to do. “It could be anyone. The company, my father especially, is very powerful, and adding this new division hasn’t helped. We’ve netted some enemies along the way.” Dropping the ribs as she separated them, she met his serious gaze again. “Some deserved, some not, but this isn’t the first time I’ve had to worry about traveling outside of my country.”

  His head canted slightly to the side. “You landed an impressive punch on the copilot.”

  Pride filled her chest, but she hid coveting his praise by sucking sauce off her thumb.

  “You really rang his bell,” Lee continued. The left side of his mouth twitched. “I’m assuming you’ve had some training defending yourself. What all did it include?”

  “I can handle a handgun.”

  The older waitress appeared at their table with a pitcher of water. Viktoria waited for her to finish refilling their glasses and move to the next table before continuing. “I can’t say I’m anywhere close to your sniper level, but I can hit the man-shape on the paper target. Luckily, I’ve never had to use one outside of the shooting range.” She picked up a rib. “In high school, I had hand-to-hand self-defense training, but I’ve let those skills get rusty.” A shot of embarrassed anger zinged through her veins. “I will be rectifying that when I get home. I should’ve been able to break free and knock him out.”

  “Don’t be so hard on yourself.” Lee put his burger down. “I thought you did great. You fought back, giving me time to reach you.” He leaned forward. “I’ve seen people so overcome with fear they practically curl into a ball and cry. But not you.”

  Viktoria’s toes curled at the smile spreading across his beautiful face, and her heart warmed at his approval. “I can also fence.”

  “Really,” Lee drew out, a twinkle sparkling in his irises. “If we’re accosted by goons with rapiers, I’m hiding behind you. You can save us.”

  Just picturing Lee cowering behind her while she dueled made her laugh so hard, the sound bounced off the windows. The booth across from them, filled with road crew workers still in their neon vests, stopped eating and stared, but she didn’t care. This moment, this venture into town with Lee was something special.

  Lee plucked a rib off her plate and saluted her with it.

  She stole a French fry from his and swished it a few times like a sword, making his laughter deepen. God, she was coming to crave that sound.

  The alternative reality fantasy rekindled and she imagined this as her life. Lee could be a…policeman, and she’d work as a…manager at the bank. He’d still protect people and she’d still handle business, but it would all be on a smaller scale and they’d be financial equals.

  “What’s wrong?” Lee asked, ripping her back into reality.

  “Nothing.” She waved a hand to erase the fantasy. The images disappeared, but a residue of emotion remained. Lee was burrowing into her heart, and she didn’t mind one bit. But she should.

  * * *

  Standing on the sidewalk outside the diner, Viktoria peered at Lee. “Will you tell me what happened to you?”

  He whipped his gaze off scanning the street to focus on her. “What do you mean?”

  Threading her arm around his elbow, she pulled him into a lazy stroll that took them back toward where they’d parked, near the center of Main Street. Electricity shot though her at the contact and she shivered. “You mentioned you were an Army Ranger. They’re part of your military’s Special Forces, right?”

  He nodded, his muscles tensing under her hold.

  “Relax.” She boldly rubbed his bicep. She didn’t really have permission to touch him but he wasn’t pushing her away, so she’d continue for as long as she could get away with. “I’
m not going to ask for any dark secrets. I just want to learn more about you.”

  While he didn’t exactly puddle to the ground, his body did loosen a bit.

  “I know you were a sniper which sounds badass by the way, and your teammates called you Puma.” She continued to tick off the small list. “But why did you leave? What made you become a bodyguard?”

  He snorted. “It wasn’t a life goal, believe me.”

  She waited, lifting her face to the light breeze helping to chase the heat of the sun away.

  He pulled out of her hold and put a small distance between them. “I don’t talk about why I left.”

  Taking a gamble, she remained silent. Prompting him might make him feel cornered, and she really wanted to learn as much about him as she could.

  He inhaled, then exhaled. “I don’t come from a wealthy family,” he began, his voice low with barely any emotion. “I had no college fund at my disposal, so I followed in my two older brothers’ footsteps and joined the military right after high school.”

  He had her entire focus while they continued to stroll.

  “The oldest McCallister, Chance, chose the Navy and he eventually became a SEAL. The middle McCallister, Harris, picked the Marines, and he became a Marine Raider which is another type of Special Forces.”

  “I’m seeing a pattern of overachievers,” Viktoria teased, bumping his arm, needing that small piece of contact back.

  Lee’s mouth quirked. “I served ten years in the Army with eight of them as a Ranger sniper, believing that serving in the military was my lifetime career, but…” His muscles stiffened. “…my last mission went sideways.”

  The ribs turned over in her stomach, and she steered them to a wood-and-wrought-iron bench. Perching on the edge, she waited for him to sit beside her before asking, “What happened?”

  Silence pervaded with only the sound of traffic, pedestrians caught up in their own world, and occasional shop bells chiming from customers coming in and out.