The Defender: RYDER (Cover Six Security Book 3)

by Lisa B. Kamps

"And I know the perfect place to start."

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Two Months Later.

  Hannah eased her thumbs under the strap of her backpack and readjusted the weight as she stepped off the dock. It had been two months since she'd been here but nothing had changed.

  Should she be surprised? No, of course not. It was, after all, only two months. Not much time at all.

  Should she be disappointed?

  Probably not. Life moved forward, the way it always did.

  The way it was supposed to.

  But she still felt as if she had missed something.

  It was a silly feeling, one that made no sense. She knew that—but knowing didn't make it go away. Just like it didn't make the realization that this was probably nothing more than a fool's errand go away.

  And yes, that's exactly what this was. Two months had gone by—not a considerable length of time, but more than enough to undo everything they'd managed to accomplish here. The compound had been empty that entire time. The building they'd worked so hard on with so little had been empty that whole time. Would anything be left? Or would the vacant structures which had been left abandoned already show signs of neglect and decay in the humid, tropical weather?

  "Are we going to stand here all day or are we going to move?"

  Hannah turned, offered Allison a quick smile then started moving.

  She had no idea what they'd find, had no illusions about what she might accomplish now—but there was only one to find out.

  They moved toward the old van waiting for them. That, at least, had survived. Ryder had made some phone calls—to who, she had no idea—and told her someone would make sure it was waiting for her. And here it was, just like he said it would be.

  She opened the door, wincing against the creak of rusty hinges. The interior smelled musty, the odor heavier than she remembered from the last time she'd been inside it.

  When Miller had pushed her inside at gunpoint.

  A chill danced across her skin at the remembered fear from that day. Fear for herself but more than that, fear for Ryder. Not knowing what had happened to him. Thinking, for more than a few terrifying minutes as the van bounced and jostled along the road, that he was dead.

  But he wasn't.

  Thank God he wasn't.

  And that terrifying day had been a new beginning for her. For both of them.

  They'd gone home after that brief interlude at the resort. Not together. At least, not right away. Ryder had to go back to Maryland for a few days but then he'd flown back to his parents' house and they'd been able to spend the holidays together. And yes, they'd even managed some alone time, away from their families.

  She'd flown back to Maryland with him, had spent two weeks there while she looked into a few different programs closer to home.

  His home, in Maryland.

  No, she wasn't living with him. Not officially, anyway. But it was just a matter of time. She knew what she wanted to do now, had already made arrangements with another program based out of Washington DC. The program worked with wounded veterans, helping them to transition back to civilian life. Helping them adapt their homes to their needs and providing support on their journey to recovery.

  They were ready for her to start right away—a paying position this time. But she couldn't. Not yet.

  Not until she came back here to finish what they'd started.

  Ryder had been surprisingly supportive when she told him what she wanted to do. Yes, she knew it would be next to impossible. It was just her and Allison, after all. But she planned on enlisting help from some of the villagers, the ones who had been eager to help before but had been turned away by Kevin, aka the weasel.

  It hadn't made sense to her then but it did now—perfect sense. And once again, she mentally berated herself for being so stupid. So naive and trusting. If she had followed her instincts—

  No. She couldn't let herself get caught up in those regrets again. If she did, she'd never get anything done.

  And they had a lot to do. She was at least honest with herself about that. Ryder was going to come with her—had offered as soon as she had told him what she wanted to do. But he'd been called away on some mission or operation or whatever it was called almost two weeks ago. She'd talked to him once, the call fading in and out because of the sketchy cell service wherever he was. She had hoped to at least see him one more time before she came back here but it hadn't worked out that way.

  She missed him.

  She loved him.

  Hannah tossed her pack in the back with Allison's then climbed into the driver's seat. The engine started on the first try, surprising her. Even the engine's purr surprised her. It had never sounded so smooth before.

  She was going to take that as a good sign instead of questioning it.

  Allison climbed into the passenger seat and closed the door with a tired sigh. "I think I could sleep for the next twelve hours."

  "You're not the only one." Hannah put the van in gear and pulled away from the small gravel lot. It had taken them eighteen hours to get here, thanks to a missed flight and an extended layover. The delays had caused them to miss the morning ferry, resulting in lost hours they wouldn't get back.

  They didn't have the time to spare. She only had two weeks. Two weeks to accomplish the impossible.

  Allison lowered her window and rested her elbow on the frame. A soft breeze blew in, filling the van with much-needed fresh air. She closed her eyes, sighed again, then turned to Hannah.

  "Where to first? The camp, or the building site?"

  "I was thinking of the market in the village first to pick up a few things. Unless you want to eat those MRE's Ryder made us bring."

  Allison wrinkled her nose in distaste. "Eww. No."

  "Didn't think so."

  The van hit a rut and veered to the side. Hannah tightened her hands on the steering wheel, corrected the van's course, then followed the bend that would take them to the small village.

  Allison slid another glance her way. "We should stop by the building site first."

  "Why? There's nothing we can do there. Not today."

  "Maybe not but we're going that way. Might as well stop by and look."

  "And see how impossible this job is going to be?"

  "Since when are you so pessimistic?"

  "I'm not being pessimistic—I'm being realistic. There's a difference."

  "If you say so. I still say we should swing by. Maybe it won't be as bad as we think."

  Hannah snorted. "Yeah, okay."

  "Look at it this way: if we swing by, we can at least take an inventory. Make a list of what needs to be done—"

  "Which would be everything."

  Allison ignored Hannah and kept talking. "Once we have a list, we can prioritize."

  "Prioritize? Since when are you into making lists and prioritizing?"

  Allison shrugged and looked out the window, but not before Hannah saw the small flush on her cheeks—and the brief shadow of disappointment in her eyes. She sighed and tightened her hands around the steering wheel again, pretending it was someone's neck.

  "You still haven't talked to Colter at all?"

  "Not since we left here after the explosion."

  "But I thought—"

  "Nope. Like I said, he was the perfect gentleman. Tough not to be when there's nothing there."

  "I think you're kidding yourself." In fact, Hannah was positive of it. She'd seen the way Colter had looked at Allison in the few days they'd spent together. He wasn't overt about it, not even close, but there'd been more than one time she had seen the interest in his eyes. The yearning.

  "It doesn't matter." Allison brushed off her concern with a brief wave. "Not like anything could come of it anyway, not with us living in two different states, hundreds of miles apart."

  "You decided to stay home then?"

  "I thought about it but...no. I've already got something lined up two months from now."

  "Allison, why didn't you te
ll me? That's great!"

  "Maybe."

  Hannah frowned at her friend's lack of enthusiasm. She was ready to ask her about it, to push for more information, but Allison pointed to the road that would take them to the old building site.

  "We are right here, you know."

  Hannah hesitated. Did she really want to depress herself this soon after arriving? No, she didn't. But maybe Allison was right. Maybe they could look around and make that list while they were here. If nothing else, it would give them something to do tonight when they made it back to the compound.

  "Okay, fine. But we've only got thirty minutes. If we stay any longer than that, the market will close before get there."

  "Deal."

  Hannah made the turn, breath held in anticipation of the huge rut they'd bounce over in a few yards. But there was no rut. In fact, the sand-and-gravel road was smoother than she'd ever seen it.

  "What—" She never got the question out because the building site was now in view.

  Except it wasn't the building site she'd been expecting. It wasn't a building site at all.

  Her foot slammed against the brake, the sudden stop throwing her forward until the seatbelt caught. She blinked. Had she somehow taken a wrong turn? She must have—except she hadn't. She knew she hadn't—there were no other turns to take.

  "What—" She choked the word out again but that was all she was able to do. In place of the half-finished, shoddy concrete building she'd seen the last time she was here, there was a brand-new school. Bigger than the original, constructed of sturdy concrete blocks painted a bright blue that matched the clear waters surrounding the island. Yellow shutters were hooked in place next to windows thrown open to catch the breeze coming in off the water. The lines of the finished roof were level, without a single dip or uneven ripple. Tropical flowers and bushes lined the walkway leading to the double doors.

  And a sturdy fence ran around the entire perimeter.

  Her gaze shot back to the double doors, and to the men standing in front of them. Some were strangers to her—but some she had already met.

  Daryl Anderson, the head of Cover Six Security.

  Mac MacGregor, a big guy with a scarred face who had frightened her the first time she met him—until she realized he was nothing more than a teddy bear.

  Colter Graham, his face a mask of cool indifference—until his gaze drifted over to Allison.

  Derrick "Chaos" Biggs, the man with impossibly blue eyes framed with impossibly dark lashes. The man who had made sure Kevin's ill-gotten funds had been donated to those who needed them the most.

  And Ryder. Tall, broad, his inked arms folded across a wide chest. She felt his gaze through the windshield of the van, saw his mouth curl in the barest hint of a smile.

  "But—" The word stuck in Hannah's throat, trapped by the tears she was trying so hard not to cry. Trying—and failing. She reached up, brushed at her wet cheek, and opened the door. The van lurched forward and she stifled a scream, slammed her foot on the brake again and placed the van in Park.

  Allison's laughter echoed around her and she looked over, her eyes wide with surprise.

  "You knew?"

  "Yeah, I knew."

  "But—"

  Allison cut her off with a quick motion of her head. "I think someone's waiting on you."

  Hannah nodded, stumbled out of the van and walked toward Ryder. He met her halfway, grunted when she launched herself at him. "I can't believe you did this. Without telling me!"

  He swung her around, pressed a hard kiss against her mouth, then set her on her feet. "It was important to you."

  Such simple words—but they meant so much. More than he could ever know. She threw her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest. It didn't matter that they had an audience, didn't matter that people saw her crying. Nothing mattered except what Ryder had done.

  She sniffed back the last tear and looked up at him with watery eyes. "I thought you were on a mission."

  "I was."

  "You've been down here all this time?"

  "Mostly. It took two days to get everything in motion but after that, yeah."

  She hugged him again, reveled in the feel of his arms around her. Breathed a small sigh of disappointment when he stepped back and reached for her hand.

  "Are we going inside?" She wanted to see the inside, wanted to see what it looked like.

  "In a minute." He led her around the building, away from the small crowd. They stood there for a long minute, not saying anything until he dropped her hand and reached into his pocket. Her heart slammed into her chest when she saw the small box and she took an involuntary step back.

  "Ryder—"

  He opened it up, turned it around so she could see. Inside, nestled against dark blue velvet, sat a gorgeous ring with a blue stone the color of the ocean surrounding them. A trio of small diamonds was clustered on either side of the stone.

  "It's beautiful."

  "It's Larimar. They call it the Atlantis Stone. It's only found in a square kilometer in the Dominican Republic." He pulled the ring from the box and reached for her left hand. Her fingers tightened around his then slowly relaxed. He must have noticed her reaction—of course he had, Ryder didn't miss anything—because he smiled and offered her a quick wink.

  "It's not an engagement ring."

  Her eyes shot to his. "It's not?"

  "No. This is just a promise ring. A pre-engagement ring, I guess."

  "Pre-engagement?"

  He slid the ring on her finger with a teasing smile. "I know you're not ready."

  "But—"

  "I don't want to push you into anything."

  "But—"

  "And if you decide that marriage isn't what you want, I'm fine with that. I love you. I'm always going to love you. And I'm always going to be here. I don't need a piece of paper to make what I feel for you real."

  Hannah snapped her mouth closed and stared down at the ring. It was beautiful—not just the ring, but the words he'd given her with it. The gift he'd given her with it.

  Time.

  Time to make sure this is what she wanted. The assurance that he wouldn't push her into anything too soon.

  The assurance that he'd be there for her, no matter what she decided.

  But she already knew. Had always known.

  She wanted Ryder.

  Always.

  She threw herself into his arms, sighed when his mouth claimed hers in a long kiss that took her breath away. That stole her heart and filled her with promise.

  And that was all she wanted.

  For now.

  Epilogue

  Six Months Later.

  "You are so easy."

  "I am not easy."

  Ryder wrapped his arms around Hannah's waist and walked her backward into the opulent bedroom of the honeymoon suite. "You're totally easy."

  Her mouth pursed into a cute little pout, too irresistible not to kiss. Minutes later, he was dragging his lips from hers, his breathing harsh and ragged.

  "Now who's the easy one?"

  He smiled, silently conceding her point. But he still felt the need to tease her. "I figured you'd hold off for at least a year."

  And that was an optimistic estimate. He'd been afraid to push her, had been willing to wait forever—because he'd meant what he said on that isolated island six months ago.

  He loved her. He always would.

  And he didn't need a piece of paper to prove it.

  "Are you complaining?"

  Ryder shook his head and caught her mouth with his as he slowly undid the zipper at the back of her simple gown. Creamy silk hugged her curves and fell in a soft drape around her shapely legs.

  It was beautiful on her. She was beautiful—

  And he couldn't wait to get her out of it.

  The wedding had been a small one here at the five-star hotel in Chicago overlooking Lake Michigan. Her family and his. His teammates from CSS. A few close friends.

  That was
all either one of them wanted. It had been a compromise, mostly to make their families happy. Nothing fancy. Nothing over-the-top. Simple. Understated.

  He didn't need fancy or extravagant, not when he had Hannah.

  He peeled the dress from her, watched with glazed eyes as it slid down her body and fell in a soft pool of silk around her feet. The breath caught in his lungs as his gaze drifted over her, from her shapely calves to her shining eyes.

  Eyes filled with a love so sharp and sweet it hurt.

  He scooped her into his arms and carried her to the bed. Gently placed her in the middle and slowly followed her down.

  Complaining? No, never.

  Not when he had the only thing he'd ever wanted, right here with him.

  Forever.

  ~ The End ~

  If you enjoyed The Defender: RYDER, I hope you'll take a few minutes to leave a review. Even a short one helps other readers discover my books—and it means so much to me! Thank you!

  If you missed the beginning of the Cover Six Security series, you can read it here in Covered By A Kiss, A Cover Six Security novella, available at your favorite digital retailers.

  Mac and TR's story begins in the novella above, and continues in book one of the series, The Protector: MAC, available at your favorite digital retailers.

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  And be sure to keep an eye out for more information about the next Cover Six Security book, The Warrior: DERRICK, available August 7 and now available for pre-order!

  The Warrior: DERRICK

  Cover Six Security Book 4

  These men never back away from danger—and always fall hard for love in Cover Six Security, an explosive new series from USA Today Bestselling Author Lisa B. Kamps.