The Protector

by Cristin Harber

  “The kid and his nanny,” Headquarters responded. “Midas, stand by for backup. Do not continue without coverage.”

  “Holding,” Chance confirmed, not feeling very Midas-like as he waited. He’d earned the nickname during his first few weeks on the ground in Abu Dhabi with Aces. Boss Man had joked that every job he’d worked on metaphorically turned to gold.

  For a brief and yet hellishly long week, his new teammates had pushed his buttons, giving their boneheaded explanation that Midas had something to do with how Chance looked; his golden-boy good looks. The angrier it made him, the funnier the guys thought it was, until he nearly came to blows with Camden. After that, they stuck with Boss Man’s golden-touch version.

  Hell, he wasn’t one for nicknames. There was a short-lived time in college that his roommate called him Gomer because of the backwoods shithole where he grew up. Good thing that one hadn’t stuck. Though he’d take a backwoods dig over mention of how he looked, as though that type of attention ever came with any depth worth trusting.

  The stealth chopper arrived. The comms system relayed the chaos of loading the rescue targets into the helicopter. Gunfire erupted. New commands scrambled the team as their defensive position came under attack. Chance balanced on the balls of his boots, waiting for new orders to provide backup.

  “Go,” Headquarters demanded. “Get that bird back in the air.”

  Not a second later, their plans were thrown into a tailspin. The pilot pulled up and hauled ass out, and from the turbulent conversation, Chance wondered who else had stayed behind.

  “Son of a bitch,” Jared growled.

  The realization struck. No one had stayed behind, and no one was happy about it. Chance tensed and waited for Parker’s emotionless voice to issue next order.

  “Midas, you’re on your own for the time being.”

  His eyes closed. Parker’s even tone from HQ hadn’t belied the predicament Chance was in without backup, but anyone who’d heard the transmission now knew why Boss Man had cursed.

  “Wouldn’t have it any other way.” He brushed off their strategic problem and trusted his training. It certainly wasn’t the first time he’d been without backup. Though, it was one of the firsts for putting his dick on the line for a family with more money than brains.

  He rolled his lips together and focused. Even if the rescue targets were a bunch of rich asshats, he loved saving the day when all odds were against him. Hell, he thrived on it. Risking certain death was usually the only time he truly felt alive.

  Parker relayed a new game plan. Chance envisioned each step and every risk, picturing his end goal: Teddy Thane, four, and his nanny, Jane Singleton, twenty-five.

  “You got this,” Jared said. “Now bring their asses home.”

  Chance let out a breath, counted to three, and moved.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Jane smashed head-first into another wall. Her arms tightened around Teddy as they stumbled back. The air had been knocked out of them. They gasped and wheezed. Her tired mind struggled to define the problem as she finally gulped in air.

  No, that had not been a wall. Jane tore Teddy from her chest, wrapping the boy behind her. She lifted her hands and dropped into her fighting stance, unable to make sense of the darkness ahead of them.

  Her eyes adjusted in the faint moonlight that poured through rips and craters in the building. The man in front of her wore black tactical gear. His face was mostly obscured by a night-vision goggles and a helmet. Even his hands were gloved, with his finger resting on the trigger of the biggest rifle Jane had ever seen. He was quiet possibly the scariest, most wonderful thing she’d ever set eyes on.

  He held up a hand in a way that said hello and be quiet. “I’m one of the good guys.”

  English. He was an American. “Thank you.”

  “Grab the kid and listen to what I say. Let’s go,” the man said gruffly and turned.

  Jane straightened. This was the wrong time to take issue with the guy’s manners but, hell, his tone worked down her nerves like nails on a chalkboard. “Okay, but you don’t have to be an ass about it.”

  He paused then turned slowly, head cocked. “Are you kidding me, lady?”

  She realized that his proclamation as a good guy didn’t mean much. Why would she blindly trust another person simply because they spoke English and said they weren’t the enemy? Were his clothes even issued by the US government? “I don’t know who you are—”

  “You people,” he muttered. “And this fucking job.”

  She balked. “Excuse me?”

  He leaned closer like a bull pushing an invisible fence. “If you want to stick around and die, be my guest. But I’m taking the kid with me.”

  Jane threw her arm out like a barrier between the grouchy-warrior dude and her sweet little boy. “I don’t think so, Rambo.”

  He cackled. It wasn’t like a laugh, because the sound was too full of disdain and reproach.

  A thunderclap of a nearby explosion shook the walls, and she jumped.

  “You ready now, Mary Poppins?” He reached over her and lifted Teddy. “Or were you going to stay put?”

  For as coarse and gravelly as he was to her, he had an immediate magic touch with Teddy, somehow making him laugh.

  Teddy’s laugh was nearly the only reason she lamented and agreed to follow. That, and the fact that she’d worked too hard to stay alive since they’d landed in Syria to let a little spite toward the big guy with a gun be the reason she didn’t make it out of this hellhole.

  They took off and plunged into complete darkness, which was great for him, with those night-vision goggles. But she ran with hands outstretched and groping to keep her balance.

  “Hang on,” he ordered.

  But Jane was a millisecond too slow to comprehend. Her outstretched hands landed flat on his back before her face smashed against him also.

  “Try to keep yours hands to yourself, Mary Poppins,” he muttered.

  Teddy giggled.

  Whose side was the kid on? “A little more warning would be nice.”

  “Our pathway ended,” he explained.

  Jane peeked around them and could barely tell they had reached another T-intersection. The man listened intently to their surroundings. At least, that’s what she thought he might be doing. She tried to as well… and heard absolutely nothing.

  “Do you know where we are?” she whispered.

  He ignored her.

  Jane’s lips flattened. “Do you know where we’re going?”

  Again, he ignored her.

  “Great.” She scrubbed her hands over her exhausted eyes. They were lost in a dungeon-like tomb of a half-collapsed building, and their saving grace didn’t know which way would lead them to safety. She decided they should go left.

  “Let’s go.” He turned right.

  She hesitated. “Are you sure?”

  “This way. Now.” He motioned to her forcefully with his gloved hand. “Keep up.”

  After a few more turns, they came to a place where one of the walls had partially collapsed. The man set Teddy down and crouched. “We might need to crawl through there.”

  “Um…” She wasn’t sure if his armored body could slip through the broken wall. “I don’t know if we can fit.”

  Teddy scampered forward. “I can!”

  “Teddy!” Jane dropped to her knees. “Wait!”

  “Hold on, kid.” The man produced a flashlight.

  “It’s easy,” Teddy called from on the other side of the stone wall.

  “Teddy! Hang on.” Jane wriggled through the opening to follow after the little boy. Debris shifted under her hands and knees, and she maneuvered around concrete chunks connected to thick metal rods. Behind her, she heard the man close on her heels. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah. Why?”

  She shrugged, crawling forward. “I didn’t think you’d fit.”

  He laughed. “Heard that before.”

  Had he just made a sex joke? Jane’s jaw dropp
ed. “Crass.”

  “What?” he deadpanned. “I—"

  Another explosion ripped through the building, knocking her off balance. Dust fell. Rocks tumbled. “Teddy!”

  “Damn it.” The man pushed ahead of her.

  Jane tried not to choke on the flurry of floating dust. The man cursed again, and she blinked in the darkness to clear her view. Wait, no. Dust hadn’t clouded her eyesight. A new section of the wall had shifted, creating a barrier between her and Teddy.

  Jane rushed forward. The worst possibilities came to mind as fear burned her eyes and throat. Was he trapped? Crushed? “Oh my God!”

  “Don’t move” the man ordered.

  “Oh, screw off.” She strained to see through the rubble. “Teddy! Can you hear me?”

  A faraway and faint voice hit her ears. “Janie! Help me!”

  Breathing a sigh of relief, she grabbed a handful of small rocks. “I will, honey! I’m coming.”

  Then, the little boy let out an anguished sob that tore Jane in half. Aching to wrap her arms around him, she started to dig harder, oblivious to skinned knuckles and the grit burrowing under her fingernails.

  “Stop.” The man tugged her shoulder back.

  Jane slapped his hands away. “Why would I stop?”

  “You need—”

  “I need to get to him,” Jane cried. “He’s trapped, and I’m Mary freakin’ Poppins! So why don’t you help instead of slowing me down.” She whirled back to the downed wall.

  He yanked her away. “You keep digging, the whole wall’ll fall on you.”

  Jane stopped and understood he might be right. But she couldn’t do nothing. Desperation made her dizzy. “Then what do we do?”

  His answer didn’t come. She tried to stare him down, which was impossible. The darkness, his height, and the impenetrable dark goggles were a combination that even her best glare couldn’t fight past.

  “This way.” He motioned her to turn around. “We back out and go around.”

  “What? Leave him?” She shook her head. “No way. I…” She didn’t want to leave Teddy all alone. “I can’t.”

  “Look at me,” he said quietly.

  Her chin snapped up. “I can’t even see you.”

  The man laid his hands on her shoulders. “Then you’ll just have to trust me.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  “Janie!” Teddy cried. “Don’t leave me!”

  Jane had no choice. She stared up at the faceless man. How could she trust him when she couldn’t see him? Jane had no better options, but she was still frozen with fear.

  “Listen to me.” His low voice rumbled, pouring over her in the dark. “If something feels off, it is. Do you read me?”

  Her lips parted.

  “So you either follow me, or you don’t. That’s your decision to make. Trust your gut, Mary Poppins.”

  Jane jerked from the man, wanting to push him and his ridiculous nickname away. But he was right, and her gut instinct told her to get out of her own way. Jane placed her hand on the rubble. “Teddy, I’m coming back.” His sniffles and tears shattered her soul. “I promise.”

  The man took her hand in his, and Jane gripped it with every ounce of strength she had. He pulled her from the pile of rocks and rubble. She couldn’t stop her tears. What if that was the last time she ever saw him? What could she have done differently to prevent this? They never should have gone on this trip!

  Teddy was her charge. It was all her fault.

  But beating herself up wouldn’t save Teddy’s life. She steeled herself and pressed on. At another intersection, her leader went right. She would’ve gone left. “Wait. What about—”

  He held up a hand, silencing her.

  She hesitated. “Are you sure we can get to him this way?”

  He gave her a gruff nod. “It’s better than the other way.”

  Something in his voice gave her pause. It wasn’t that same confident voice that told her to listen to her gut. Jane’s feet turned to stone. “I think we should go the other way.”

  He silently studied her.

  Jane stepped toward the left. “I’ll go this way. You go that way, and we’ll meet up.”

  “If we split up, you’re gonna get the three of us killed, and that’s not in my plans today.” He regarded her through the black lenses of the goggles. She couldn’t see his eyes, but she figured they were full of Fuck you, lady.

  “Teddy’s my responsibility,” she continued. “We’re out here because I didn’t say something when I should have. Now I am.”

  He let out a muffled curse under his breath and conceded. “We’ll go your way.” He wheeled around and took the passage she’d wanted.

  “Thank you.” He didn’t seem to hear her, and she guessed it didn’t matter, anyway. Their odds were the same, either path they took. Pretty fucking dismal.

  He spoke as though in a quiet conversation with someone else. Jane realized he was in communication with others. A team? The military? Someone with the know-how and weapons-power to bring them home safely?

  “Who are you talking to?” Jane asked.

  Once again, he ignored her, and the seconds ticked by as though they were centuries passing. Then, out of nowhere, he laughed and then grumbled, “If you call me Midas before I get on that chopper again, bro, you’re never gonna hear the end of it.”

  Midas. Wasn’t Midas the king with the golden touch? She wondered if that meant he did everything right… and she’d gone and forced him to do something different.

  “Hey.” She elbowed him. “Would you mind saving the small talk with your buddies for when you get us out of hell?”

  He ignored her. Big surprise.

  She tried to step in front of him. “Who are you talking to?”

  Midas sidestepped her to the lead again.

  Enough with this bullshit. Jane grabbed his arm, trying but failing spectacularly to make him stop. The guy kept trucking.

  “Hey, Midas.”

  That did the trick, and he turned abruptly. “What?”

  Exasperated, she tried to keep her attitude on an even keel. “Who are you talking to?”

  “My team.”

  That wasn’t so hard. “And what did they say?”

  For the billionth time, he didn’t answer. This time, though, she didn’t grow more irate. A heavy sense of dread swirled in her stomach, and suddenly, Jane didn’t want to know any more.

  “They said to get a move on, or we’re all dead.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  Now that Chance had the nanny’s complete silence and attention, he hustled them through the winding turns until he found another crater where a wall had once been. “This will take us to Teddy.”

  She didn’t second guess, following obediently. For one absurd moment, he wished she’d run her mouth and question him. It made him double-check his thoughts instead of fly by instinct. Then again, he didn’t need to double-check a damn thing. His intuition was the best barometer he had.

  Chance eased through a space that became more confined by the inch until he needed to crawl on his knees.

  Behind him, the nanny kept up and stayed quiet. He thought about baiting a conversation by sharing his thoughts on Dax Thane. Then again, he needed to concentrate, not fight about the travel habits of the billionaire’s family and staff.

  For the fifth time in as many minutes, his comm piece crackled in his ear. “Move it, Midas.”

  “Haven’t found the kid yet,” he huffed out, on his elbows.

  They ignored that, and Boss Man barked, “Hurry the fuck up.”

  Great. Nothing better for his concentration than a pissed off Jared Westin. Chance blocked HQ from his mind and got to his feet when the height of the space allowed him to do so. Chance turned to check on the nanny and found her on his six. “You holding up okay?”

  She dusted herself off. “I’ll be fine when we get Teddy.”

  His night-vision goggles showed a trickle of blood smeared across her forehead. “You’re bleeding.�
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  “I don’t care.” She shoved him out of the way. “Let’s go, Hercules. Lead the way.”

  He took a quick few steps and glared at her. Hercules? “Stay behind me.”

  “Or what?” She forged ahead.

  “Someone might shoot that pretty face of yours off if you’re not looking.”

  Irritation colored her features, and her lips pursed, but she stopped and let him go by—not before giving him a two-handed shove. “Then keep going.”

  He smiled at the move but grabbed her wrists and squeezed for a long moment before he released them by her sides. He lingered closer than he needed to, for longer than he needed to, making sure his message rang through loud and clear. He was in charge. He’d given her some slack, appeased the attitude—he even enjoyed their back and forth—but if she tested him again, the consequences would be a fuck-ton stronger.

  Mary Poppins didn’t shy away. Of course not.

  Chance was about to say something when HQ announced a countdown in his earpiece. Three minutes until their evac air crew would arrive. Shit, he hadn’t secured the kid. “Let’s go.”

  This time, she stayed on his six. They moved fast, until finally Chance peered around the corner. They’d found the kid. He hadn’t realized he was holding his breath.

  Teddy’s high-pitched sob pierced the air, and Chance stepped aside for the nanny to rush by.

  She scooped him into her arms. “Teddy, are you okay?”

  The little boy’s head bobbed.

  Another wave of relief rolled through Chance. He took a deep breath and updated HQ. “Got the kid. Heading to extraction point now.”

  “You’ve got a minute, fifty-eight, fifty-seven…” HQ urged. “Hustle.”

  No shit. He motioned to the nanny and child to follow him, which for the first time since he’d met her, she did without uttering a complaint, suggestion, or question. Small favors.

  They retraced their steps, and he paused for a half-second to let them catch their breath. She kissed the boy’s forehead as she repositioned his body against hers.

  Chance studied their interaction for longer than he meant to. Maybe she wasn’t only duty-bound or asininely stubborn after all. Maybe she really cared about this kid. He had to give her that. “Let’s roll.”