by Elle James
“But you did.” He kissed the tip of her nose.
“I did it,” her lips curved into a tremulous smile, “didn’t I?”
“Yes, you did.” He pulled her close, slipping his hands inside the silk of her robe and rubbed his hands over her smooth skin. “Thank you for saving Lucy and me.” He held her close, his cock hardening as her naked breasts pressed against his chest. He shrugged out of his jacket and draped it over the bedpost. Then he scooped her up into his arms, carried her to the bed and made sweet love to her.
They slept until the sun shone through the only window and Lucy insisted on going outside to relieve herself.
Rafe was more prepared this time, taking his gun in the shoulder holster. He was still kicking himself for being so clueless the night before. Making love to Briana seemed to have sucked his brain free of all braincells. He’d have to be more aware and stay on his toes. The bear could have been El Chefe’s hired thugs, and he’d have had less of a chance of surviving them. They’d have shot him on sight. From now on, he’d have to take all the precautions. For that matter, he might want to set out some kind of early warning system to alert them to incoming intruders.
With nothing but time on their hands, they could come up with something.
He left Briana in bed while he walked Lucy around the cabin looking for places he could rig a trip line of something like cans filled with rocks that would rattle when someone ran over the line. Hell, he could ask Hank if he had some kind of early warning or security system that ran on batteries. He could use it for people as well as for angry grizzly bears. Then he wouldn’t be surprised in the middle of the night when he’d rather be in bed making love to Briana.
When he came back into the cabin, Briana had omelets made of fresh farm eggs, canned ham and minced onion. As they ate, they talked about the bear, Lucy and what they might do for the rest of the day. They settled on clearing away brush from the nearby tree line to allow them to see more clearly into the shadows and to disallow the enemy, or bears, to move in so closely, undetected.
Rafe contacted Hank via the satellite phone, requesting something in the way of a surveillance system that ran on batteries and would provide some kind of warning should man or beast approach the cabin
At the end of the day, Hank arrived with a tall, broad-shouldered man with a shock of light blond hair.
“Donovan, this is Axel Swenson, Navy SEAL, and the brains behind the Brotherhood Protectors,” Hank said.
“Hank’s the brain. I just work the electronics and computers.” The blond-haired man held out his hand. “Call me Swede.”
Rafe shook the man’s hand. “Nice to meet you, Swede.”
Rafe turned to Briana. “This is Briana Hayes. My…client.” He got stuck on the word. Already, Briana was so much more than a client. He was afraid he was falling for her. Never in all his thirty-four years had he felt the way he did about another woman. Hell, he didn’t trust most women. His mother had barely given a damn about him. None of the women he’d gone out with had held his attention for more than a night in bed, and he doubted they would’ve shot at a bear to save his life. Yeah, Briana was different. Still, he wasn’t sure how things would play out between them when the threat went away. He had a job in Montana. She would move back to Chicago and do good things for the children there.
“We brought you the surveillance equipment you requested. The cameras run on batteries and will also work on infrared at night. We can set up a way to check them using a battery-powered unit you can recharge when you have the generator running.”
Rafe helped unload the boxes from the truck and laid them out on the tailgate. Soon, they had cameras positioned all around the perimeter of the cabin, and the base unit installed with a monitor on the table inside.
When they were all done setting up, they tested with Hank and Swede walking out by the units. Each time, a signal sounded, alerting Briana and Rafe to intruders.
Hank and Swede returned to the cabin and dug out another device for them to use to monitor their location—a drone they could operate to give them a birds-eye view of the road and land leading up to the cabin. Swede showed Rafe and Briana how to operate it and had them practice a couple of times before he was satisfied they could handle it.
Before Hank climbed into his truck to leave, he fished in his pocket and pulled out a silver necklace with a gemstone pendent. “Briana, I’d like you to wear this necklace at all times, even when you’re in the shower or swimming. It’s got a GPS tracking device embedded beneath the gemstone. If you’re kidnapped, or even just lost in the woods, we’ll be able to locate you by computer or one of the handheld tracking devices we have back at the ranch. Also, I wanted you to know my guys made it to Illinois. They’ll move Alejandra from the shelter to a safe house here in Montana sometime in the next forty-eight hours.”
Briana frowned. “The more people who know where she is, the greater chance someone will slip up and reveal her whereabouts.”
Hank shook his head. “My guys are all special forces. They know how to keep their mouths shut and how to slip in and out of places without being detected. You can trust them completely.”
Briana chewed on her bottom lip. “I promised Alejandra she’d be safe.”
“And she will be,” Hank said. “And we’ll keep you safe, as well.”
“I’m not as worried about me as much as I am about Alejandra and her baby,” Briana said. “Will you let me know when you get her moved into the safe house?”
“I will,” Hank said. “One last thing.” He reached into the back seat of the truck and removed a cooler, handing it to Rafe. “Sadie sent out some ranch-raised beef steaks for you two to enjoy, plus a bottle of her favorite wine. She cooked the potatoes, and the steaks are medium rare. All you need to do is warm them up. She included a green salad, dressing and two pieces of apple pie. I told her she’d better have some left for me when I get home, or I’ll stay and eat with the two of you.” He winked. “Enjoy and try not to get eaten by the bear.”
Hank and Swede left, driving away as the sun slipped below the mountaintops, casting them into shadow.
Rafe carried the cooler to the cabin and waited while Briana and Lucy entered before he followed. “I don’t know about you, but roughing it in the Crazy Mountains ain’t all that bad.”
Briana grinned. “It could be a heck of a lot worse. We have running water, great food and good company. What more could we ask for?”
Rafe’s grin faded. “For El Chefe to back off and leave you alone. I’d feel better if we had an end in sight. We don’t know if he’ll give up trying to find you, or by some miracle, locate you here in the Crazy Mountains. I’d almost rather confront him than be forever in limbo.”
She shrugged. “I look at this as time I get to spend with you. And now that we have the surveillance system, we can relax a little.”
Rafe nodded. He’d let her think they’d be just fine with an early warning system. Truth was, until El Chefe backed off, they had to be hyper-aware at all times. Surveillance system or not, if the drug lord sent enough men in to extract Briana, they could be overrun before Hank and his team had time to provide backup.
Rafe hoped it didn’t come to that. In the meantime, they had a wonderful meal and another night together. Life could be a whole lot worse. He could be stuck with a client he couldn’t stand instead of Briana, a woman he was quickly learning to like a little too much.
But then, what was too much? She was an amazing woman. The kind of woman he could see himself staying with for a very long time.
Chapter 8
After the meal Hank and Sadie had provided, Rafe and Briana walked Lucy outside once more before calling it a night.
They made love until midnight and fell asleep in each other’s arms. The bear didn’t return that night, and nothing set off the alarms, allowing them a full night’s sleep.
Briana woke the next day fully refreshed and ready to do something with the day. She suggested they take the drone higher
up the mountain and get a feel for the terrain around the cabin. Rafe agreed, and they packed a picnic lunch and the drone, snapped a leash on Lucy and spent the day tromping through the hills, getting to know each other better and laughing a lot.
She learned she was pretty good at operating the drone. Her hands were more adept at subtle changes in direction than his, and she maneuvered the drone all around the hilltop where the cabin perched.
Lucy chased rabbits and drank from mountain streams full of clear, cold water from snow melt.
The day was idyllic, the sun shone down on them, and they didn’t see a single bear or bad guy. Just her, Rafe and Lucy in the beautiful Montana mountains. She could almost believe it was a vacation. And she loved everything about Rafe. He was smart, understood how to get around in rough terrain and took good care to make sure she didn’t walk off a cliff or fall into a ravine.
By the end of the day, she was gloriously tired and happy. Which felt strange, considering she was on the run from a drug lord, the head of a cartel in El Salvador, who had contacts and thugs he could tap into in the States. Who knew how far his reach extended? She should be more afraid, but it was hard to be when she had Rafe with her and she was surrounded by the beauty of the Montana mountains.
They spent another night in each other’s arms, making love until after midnight. Early the next morning, they were awakened by the buzzing of the satellite phone.
Rafe rolled out of the bed and padded barefooted across to the table to answer. “Donovan here.”
He listened for a few minutes, and then nodded. “I’ll tell her… We will. Let us know if you have any trouble. Yes, sir. Out here.”
“Did they get Alejandra moved?” Briana leaned up on an elbow, letting the sheet slide down to expose her breasts. She hoped it would be enough to make Rafe come back to bed and make love to her again. They’d have to add condoms to the list of supplies they needed Hank and Sadie to pick up in town.
That would be awkward.
“Hank said they have Alejandra in a safe house here in Montana with a couple of his guys providing round-the-clock protection. They flew her out on a private plane in the middle of the night and landed in the dark. She and the baby are safe. He wants us to be extra vigilant.”
A knot formed in Briana’s gut. “Why do we need to be extra vigilant? The way I see it, you don’t need to protect me now. I don’t know where Alejandra is hiding. I couldn’t tell El Chefe even if I wanted.”
Rafe laid down in the bed beside her and gathered her in his arms. “You know that, and I know that, but El Chefe Diablo doesn’t. As far as he knows, you’re the only one who knows where Alejandra is hiding.”
“Then we can just tell him I don’t know anymore. That she’s gone from the location where I left her.”
“He may or may not believe you. And if he does believe you, he might want revenge against you for interfering in the first place. And if we contact him, he might figure out where you are. We can’t risk that.”
Briana sighed. “How long can I hide from this man? It doesn’t make any sense. Maybe we need to come out in the open and flush out his minions.”
Rafe pressed his lips to hers. “No.”
“I can’t live like this forever. I have a job. A life.”
“And he could snuff it out in a heartbeat.”
She captured his face between her palms. “Seriously, as much as I love being with you, I can’t live like this forever. You can’t protect me forever.”
“Are you tired of me already?” Rafe leaned over her and kissed her forehead, her cheeks and her nose.
Her pulse quickened, and an ache built deep down in her core. “Far from it. But we have to be real.”
Rafe kissed a path down her neck, across her collarbone and lower to claim one tightly budded nipple.
“Are you listening to me?” she asked, her voice more of a moan.
“I’m listening,” he said and sucked the nipple into his mouth.
God, the things he was doing to her made her come apart at the seams. She tried to focus. “Life has to go on.”
“Can it wait until after we make love?” he asked, as he switched to the other breast.
“Rafe,” she started to argue, but the air left her lungs as his hand slipped over her belly to cup her sex.
“Yes, Briana?” he said and blew a warm stream of air over her damp nipple. “I’m here.” Rafe kissed her nipple and moved lower to her rib. “And here.” He kissed another rib. “And here.”
“Oh, who am I kidding?” She gave up and made love to him in broad daylight with Lucy lying on the floor in front of the door. If El Chefe Diablo was coming for her, she’d at least have enjoyed the time she spent with Rafe. When it was all over, she’d go back to Chicago, and he’d go on to his next assignment with the Brotherhood Protectors.
After they made love, they lay for a long time in each other’s arms, while birds sang outside, and sunshine streamed through the single window.
“I’ll miss this, when it’s all over,” she whispered.
“Why should you miss this?” he asked.
Before she could answer, an alarm went off on the surveillance system.
Rafe sprang from the bed, grabbed his handgun and ran to the video monitor. He studied the six display windows on the screen. One had a red outline. In the display image stood a four-legged animal.
Lucy paced at the door but didn’t whine or bark.
After several minutes staring at the monitor, Rafe was joined by Briana, pulling her robe around her. “Anything?”
“An elk and her baby.” He pointed to the red-rimmed image.
Briana laughed. “Better them than the bear.” She handed him his jeans. “Come on, let’s go for a walk. Lucy needs some exercise.”
They spent the day wandering over the hills, returning to the cabin before the sun sank below the ridgeline. They fed Lucy, ate dinner and settled in to read books Sadie and Hank had left on a shelf beside the canned goods.
When it was time for bed, they made love until late in the night. Sometime later, Lucy whined at the door to be let out. Rafe dressed in jeans, boots and his jacket, tucked his handgun into his pocket and checked the monitor for any blinking lights. The infrared display showed nothing amiss. He snapped the lead on Lucy’s collar and let himself out through the door. “Lock it behind me,” he said.
Briana locked the door behind him and shivered in the cool mountain air. She pulled on a pair of leggings and a T-shirt, and then slipped her feet into her shoes and wandered over to the surveillance monitor. An alert went off, and one of the screens blinked red.
Her pulse leaped as she studied the monitor. In the blinking square, she could see the infrared image of Rafe and Lucy walking near the edge of the clearing. She smiled as they stopped to let the dog sniff at every little thing on the ground.
Lucy had seemed to settle in with them, glad for the attention and love she’d missed with the passing of her previous owner.
As Briana watched, Lucy braced herself, lowered her head and bared her teeth.
At the same time, another alarm went off on the surveillance system. Briana expected it to be from the camera closest to the one near Rafe and Lucy as they crossed into its sector.
However, the screen that lit up wasn’t from the cameras closest to Rafe and Lucy. It was from a camera on the back side of the cabin.
Briana leaned closer to the monitor, studying the image. At first, she didn’t see anything, but then a white silhouette pushed up from the ground and moved toward the cabin. Another white silhouette rose up and followed the first. They were hunkered over, and when they straightened, Briana could tell they were people, and they were carrying guns. A third alarm went off and another screen blinked with a red outline. More men emerged from the trees, running toward the cabin.
Her heart leaped into her throat. She had to warn Rafe before they reached him and Lucy.
Briana reached for her pistol, slammed the magazine into the handle and ran
for the door.
Chapter 9
As soon as Lucy took up a defensive stance and growled, Rafe stiffened, yanked his gun out of his jacket and started back toward the cabin.
Before he reached it, headlights blinked on, and vehicles raced up the drive and through the trees, heading directly for him and Lucy.
He ran, but he wasn’t going to make it to the cabin. Not before the vehicles reached him first. He prayed Briana would stay in the cabin with the door locked and call Hank on the satellite phone. Hank wouldn’t get there in time to help, but he might catch up to them before they disappeared with Briana.
When he realized he wouldn’t reach the cabin in time, he released Lucy’s lead and told the dog, “Go, Lucy!”
The dog ran into the woods.
Rafe turned, braced his handgun in his palms and fired at the headlights and the tires, hoping to slow the lead vehicle.
A dark Jeep with its top off barreled toward him.
Rafe fired in the direction of the driver, but the vehicle didn’t slow. At the last minute, Rafe threw himself to the side, hit the ground, rolled and came up on his feet. Another Jeep raced up to him. A man leaned out the side of the vehicle and hit Rafe in the side of the head with a baseball bat.
Pain knifed through his head, and Rafe fell to his knees, the gun slipping from his hand. Another man leaped out of the vehicle and ran toward him with a club like what the policemen carry. When he cocked his arm to hit Rafe with it, a flash of black and white leaped out of the tree line.
Lucy grabbed the man’s arm before he could swing it at Rafe and bit down hard.
The man screamed and flung his arm backward, knocking Lucy away.
Rafe felt the ground, searching desperately for the pistol. When his fingers curled around it, he staggered to his feet and aimed at the man trying to hit the dog with the club.
As Rafe leveled his weapon and took aim, the man swung hard and hit Lucy in the head.
The border collie yelped and crumpled to the ground, lying still.