Guarding Faith

by Nicole Flockton

  They’d paused out front of the building and were examining the ground. Both she and Eddy shook their heads and they all moved inside.

  He moved closer. With his cowboy hat on and his clothes, he matched most of the people standing around so he could blend in and ask questions without drawing suspicion.

  “What’s going on?” he asked one of the guys closest to him.

  “Horse got stolen.”

  He didn’t need to ask who’s horse it was, he knew exactly whose horse got taken—Faith’s. Was this part of the case she was working or was it a separate incident?

  “Does this happen often? Horses getting taken?”

  The guy he’d been talking to studied Greg. His brown eyes took in the western shirt, blue jeans, cowboy boots and hat that Greg wore. “Who are you? Never seen you before?”

  So much for blending in and not causing suspicion. “I’m a friend of Faith Timberly’s, you know the barrel racer.”

  If possible the guy’s eyes narrowed even further. Fuck, if he was a friend of Faith’s he wouldn’t be asking what was going on, he’d know what was going on.

  “I know her, but if you don’t want to get your ass questioned by the cops I’d get outta here in a big hurry.”

  Well he supposed that was better than being turned in. Jesus, if the guys on his team could see him now they’d be laughing their asses off. As a SEAL they were supposed to blend in and get information without causing raised eyebrows.

  But he wasn’t one to give up, and he would get to the bottom of what was going on.

  “Look, I really do know Faith, but we had a fight and she stormed out this morning before I could apologize. Please tell me it wasn’t her horse that was taken?” He laid on the frustrated boyfriend act pretty thick in the hopes he could deflect the guy from asking him too many other questions.

  The guy shrugged. “I’m sorry, but I’m not at liberty to say anything. I’m sure if you do know Faith, she’ll get in touch with you.”

  Greg couldn’t help but be impressed with the guy. Whoever he was, it was clear he knew and respected Faith. He tipped his hat at the man. “Thanks anyway.” And walked away.

  As he moved to the front of the building he noticed another person lurking in the shadows of the trees. He veered away and headed toward the man. Once he got closer, Greg recognized him and his muscles tensed, ready to spring into action if he needed it.

  “What are you doing here, Robertson? You ain’t competing.” Randy spat on the ground at Greg’s feet. If the other man thought that would intimidate or scare Greg, he had another think coming. Greg had faced worse insults being tossed at him while he’d been on missions.

  “I’m here with Faith.” A little white lie, but Randy didn’t have to know that. “What are you doing here, Randy?”

  Randy pushed away from the tree and closed the distance. It amused Greg that Randy was trying to go toe to toe with him. The other man would shit his pants if he was aware that with one twist of his arm around Randy’s neck, he could kill him.

  Not that he would, he saved that for the guys who really deserved to be eliminated. Randy was more like an annoying bug that he needed to swat away.

  “I’ve got horses here, but I can’t get into the fucking stables so I’m waiting under the trees. Gotta problem with that?”

  “Not at all. You can do what you like, just so long as you keep your distance from Faith. You do that, then we’ll all be happy.”

  “I don’t know where you’ve been the last few years, Robertson, but you can’t come in here as if you belong. You’re no longer a competitor. You are no longer the best bronc rider in Texas.” Randy poked his own chest with his finger. “I am.”

  The last thing Greg wanted was to get into a pissing match with this asshole. He had more important things to do, like protecting and guarding Faith to make sure she was safe. If her horse had been stolen then she could be in danger, especially if whoever took her horse was aware she was an FBI Agent.

  Shit, that thought hadn’t occurred to him until now. What if the people who stole Faith’s horse were sending her a message? That they’d discovered her true occupation? The more he thought about it the more it made sense to him. If she was working a case and somehow her cover had been blown, by taking her horse they were letting her know they were on to her.

  Fuck, he needed to go find her. Needed to talk this out with her. Sure, she’d be pissed that he’d found out her true occupation, but he’d rather deal with an angry Faith than a dead one.

  “I’ll see you around, Randy.” He strode off not waiting to hear Randy’s response. His only focus now was getting to Faith’s side. If she argued, well then she’d have to suck it up.

  If Faith was in danger, he wasn’t letting her out of his sight.

  Chapter 7

  “There’s nothing to indicate there was a break-in,” the police detective stated as he perused his notes. “Are you sure he’s been taken and not borrowed by someone?”

  Faith resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She sent a look Eddy’s way, saying get him out of here. Eddy nodded.

  “Thank you for your help, officer, but we’ll take it from here.” Eddy had spoken to the police earlier to advise them that he and Faith were FBI and on a case. The detective’s announcement was for the sake of the stable owners. The fewer people who knew what exactly was going on, the better.

  “Right. Well…” he dug into his back pocket and pulled out a card holder, handing the rectangle to Eddy. When Faith held out her hand for one as well, the officer studied her hand for half a heartbeat before placing one in her hand. “You’ve both now got my card, call me if you want to ask any further questions or if you find something you think we should look at.”

  Eddy nodded and led the men toward the main building. Faith stayed behind and studied Ginger’s empty stall. She hadn’t had a chance to share her thoughts with Eddy before the police had commandeered their attention. Now she was anxious to pass on her theory and discuss it with him. The more she thought about it the more sense it made.

  Looking at the empty space where Ginger should be cut deep. How was she ever going to explain to Ginger’s owners that she’d lost her? All Faith hoped was that by the time they broke up the horse smuggling ring, Ginger wouldn’t have been sold to someone else.

  Hands landed on her shoulders. In a flash, she grabbed one hand while sweeping her leg around to knock the person off balance. She bent back the wrist she held and stuck her foot in the person’s back.

  “Fuck, Faith, it’s me, Greg.”

  With her heart beating loudly in her ears it took a couple of seconds for his words to register. When she did, she released his hand and removed her foot.

  “Shit, Greg, don’t come up behind me ever again.” Secretly, while she was pissed he’d surprised her, she couldn’t deny she felt proud of herself for taking down a big bad Navy SEAL.

  “Sorry, I thought you heard me. I wasn’t exactly quiet.”

  Prior to his hands landing on her shoulder, she’d been lost in her thoughts. “Well I didn’t.”

  He stood in front of her, brushing straw from his clothes. A piece had lodged itself in his head and her fingers itched to brush it way. Instead she clenched her fists tight against her side. “What are you still doing here? I told you that I didn’t need you here. What is so difficult about those words that you can’t understand them?”

  He ran his fingers through his hair, dislodging the piece of hay. Faith tracked it’s move as it floated to the ground. “Is there some place we can talk?” he asked, his demeanor turning serious. “Somewhere where we won’t be overheard?”

  Her senses went on alert. What the hell was going on here? Why did he need to talk to her in private? A million thoughts began to form in her mind.

  Was it a coincidence that Greg was here or had he been sent by whoever sent him on his missions?

  He wasn’t here for her case, was he? No, that would be ridiculous. As far as she was aware, SEALs tended to work
more closely with other government agencies, not necessarily the FBI. Then again, she didn’t have clearance to know everything, so he could possibly be here for the case.

  Greg was right, they needed to talk. Now. She looked around and found that once the police had left, all the owners were going up to the stalls to get the horses out and transported.

  “Fine, let’s go talk.” She stomped out of the area and headed toward the small pond on the property. It was far enough away from prying ears and eyes. As she walked out of the building she spied Randy standing with his hands in his pockets. He sneered and tipped his hat at her. She controlled the urge to flip him the bird and continued on her way.

  Randy looked far too smarmy for someone who’d been threatened the night before from Greg. God, men were so stupid sometimes. Always thinking they were stronger and smarter than the next person whether it be man or woman.

  Was Greg that way? Did he think she was a helpless female who couldn’t look after herself? Surely she’d proved him wrong when she’d taken him down in the stables.

  The whole time she’d been walking to the pond, she hadn’t bothered looking over her shoulder to see if Greg was following. Seeing as he wanted this meeting, he wouldn’t be at the top of the small rise watching her walk away.

  Down at the pond there was a small bench under the shade of a large tree and she headed for it. Some ducks had been standing on the grass but they half-ran, half-flew to the water when she approached.

  “Right, I don’t think we’re going to be overheard here, so enlighten me, Cowboy. Why are you still here?”

  “I know what you do for a living Faith and why you’re here in Houston.”

  Her heartbeat skipped a beat before falling back into a natural rhythm at his declaration. He couldn’t know the true reason for her being at the rodeo. She tried to laugh it off but her attempt sounded more like a groan than a laugh. “Of course, you know what I do and why I’m here. I’m a barrel racer and I’m competing in one of the biggest rodeos on the circuit for the next three weeks.”

  He stalked toward her like a lion approaching a gazelle. She straightened her spine. She was no weak animal. “Try again, and try telling the truth this time.”

  He knew.

  The thought slammed into her brain. How could he know though? She went back to the thought she’d dismissed that he’d been sent here to help crack the case. Even now it still sounded like a ridiculous assumption.

  “How about you tell me what you know, and I’ll either confirm or deny the validity of your claims.” There. She’d turned it on him and made Greg say it out loud.

  Greg closed the distance between them. He’d made her feel safe and secure as a teenager, which had been so attractive to her then. Now it made him even sexier. Yes she was an agent, but she was also a woman.

  As if sensing her internal struggle, he pulled her into his arms. She sighed, rested her head against his chest like she’d been wanting to, and closed her eyes, savoring the moment. No matter how many times she told herself that she needed to keep her distance from him, she continually kept being sucked back into his orbit. Soon it was going to be hard to fight her way out.

  “Whatever is going on, Princess, I will help you in any way possible.”

  Greg helping her was impossible. He might be a SEAL but this was an FBI job. They were the ones tasked to break up the ring, not Greg and his team. Allowing herself a few more seconds in his embrace she wished things could’ve been different. She wished that instead of playing the role of a barrel racer, it was actually her career. And she wished at least as much that her interactions with Greg could lead to something. Currently, once this job was done, she’d head back to Washington and if all went well, she would get her promotion and continue to live her life the way she had been before running into him in Virginia.

  But wishes were all they were; her reality was what it was. Did she really want to change her life? She could’ve stayed on the rodeo circuit. But when the FBI had come to her college to talk to her, she’d found herself getting more excited about a career in law enforcement than a career living out of a trailer and wondering whether she’d be able to pay for the feed for her horse if she didn’t win her event at the next rodeo.

  No. If she could go back she wouldn’t change careers, but she may have tried harder to stay in touch with Greg once he’d left to join the Navy.

  Faith released her arms from around Greg’s waist and he followed suit, allowing her to step back. “You can’t help, Greg, because this a matter that doesn’t concern you.”

  She hoped enough time had passed that he wouldn’t circle back to ask her about her job. She couldn’t talk about it. Her safety and ability to do her job properly relied on her discretion and the skill to keep everyone none the wiser to her true occupation and reason for being there.

  “When a wrong word could put your life in danger, then you can be damn sure I’m going to do everything I can to protect you.”

  Without coming right out and saying it, Greg just confirmed that he was aware of her job and the reason she was in Houston.

  “I don’t need your protection, Greg. If you recall, I.” She pointed to herself. “Took you down in the stables. A big bad Navy SEAL landed on his ass by my hand.”

  A faint pink hue bloomed across his cheeks and satisfaction filled her. “You caught me off guard. Next time you won’t be able to.”

  Faith looked at him and rolled her eyes. “Right. Well as fun as this has been, I need to get back to the stables. I’ve got a lot of catching up to do.”

  She went to brush past him but a hand on her arm halted her movement. Her skin fired to life and desire pooled low in her belly.

  How the hell could one touch have her wishing he’d scoop her up in his arms and kiss her senseless?

  No way could she let a simple touch throw her off balance. “Is there something else you want?”

  “Yes. This.” Greg tugged her toward him and before she could think his lips lowered to hers, granting her what she’d wished for only seconds ago.

  One more taste, then she’d make sure she wasn’t alone with him again.

  Yeah right. Like that’s going to happen.

  Faith brushed aside her inner thoughts and gave herself over to Greg’s lips. Her arms clutched at his shoulders holding him close. God, would she ever get tired of this? Deep in her soul she knew she wouldn’t, but she had to. For the sake of her job, she had to keep her head out of the clouds, and every touch and taste of Greg had her rising higher and higher off the ground until everything seemed like a speck instead of its true size.

  Groaning, she released her hold on him. “You’ve got to stop doing this, Cowboy,” she whispered. “I can’t do this right now.”

  “Let me help you? I don’t know what you’re working on but I know you’re an FBI agent and I know you’ve just had your horse stolen. I may not be an agent, but I am a SEAL. Reconnaissance is part of our job. Observing people and the way they act, discovering their little tells that give them away is what I do.”

  Even though she was aware they were all alone, Faith still looked around to make sure no one heard Greg say she was an agent. “God, do you know how much shit I’m going to be in if it gets out that you know I’m an agent. I’m undercover here. I can’t do anything that will blow my cover and having you all of a sudden go all bodyguard on me is going to raise so many red flags. I can’t let anymore horses be stolen. I have to solve this case.”

  Desperation was clinging to her like an ivy winding its way around a tree. She hated feeling this way, but the fact her horse was stolen two days before a major event was telling.

  Dammit, so caught up in seeing Greg, she still hadn’t told Eddy about her suspicions and her partner was probably wondering where the hell she had disappeared to.

  Faith ran her hands down the sides of her jeans, anything to stop from grabbing for Greg again. “Look I’ve got to go. Like I’ve said a couple of times now, you need to leave me alone. Go spen
d time with your parents, isn’t this the purpose of your trip? I’m going to be fine.”

  She swiveled and marched away from Greg, determined not to look back, even if everything in her was screaming for her to turn around and have one last look.

  Greg watched Faith striding away, kicking himself for not handling the whole situation better. He brought his fingers to his lips, their kiss still imprinted on them. Now that he’d found her again, he didn’t want to let her go.

  He’d scoffed at the way the other guys on the team fell under the spell of their significant others so quickly. Now he had an idea of everything they were feeling. When he’d seen Faith again in Virginia, all the feelings he’d had for her, feelings he was sure had been buried deep within him, had rocketed to life. What had once been a teenage crush was beginning to form into something more meaningful.

  Greg was sure the feelings weren’t one sided. Faith may be fighting them, but she wouldn’t respond to him the way she did. Wouldn’t cling to him when he held her, if she didn’t feel something for him.

  His phone buzzed and he pulled it out of his back pocket, glad to have something else to focus on than the endless circle his thoughts were taking. “Tex, what you got for me?”

  “Cowboy, your girl is in deep. Don’t do anything to fuck it up for her.”

  Well, all right then. Guess he’d been schooled, but he would also not do anything to put Faith’s job or case in jeopardy.

  “I have no intention of fucking it up for her. If anything, I want to help her.”

  “Somehow I don’t think she’s going to appreciate that. Faith’s reputation is solid in the bureau and there’s a good chance she’ll be promoted once this case is solved.”

  Over the last couple of years, the team’s involvement with Tex had increased and the information he had access to always surprised the guys. Now Greg was seeing first hand just how deep Tex could go and the information he could get.