Protecting Clover

by Jen Talty

  “That’s what Parker said.” Clover closed her eyes and inhaled the bitter coffee scent. “How old is that boy anyway?”

  Landon laughed. “I think he just turned twenty-three.”

  “He looks like he’s twelve.”

  “Don’t tell him that. He’s a little sensitive, especially since we all started calling him baby.”

  “That’s just mean,” she said with a slight laugh. “How are things with you and Beth?”

  “She’s a nice girl, but she’s not for me, and I don’t want to lead her on.” Landon shrugged. “You know this lifestyle makes it difficult to maintain relationships.”

  “That’s a cop-out, and you know it.”

  “No. It’s a reality. I mean, do you really want to spend the rest of your life with a man who is deployed more than he is home?”

  “Actually, there is one that I would consider doing that with, but he’s got more hang-ups than I do.”

  “Well, now, that’s interesting.” Landon pushed from the railing and plopped himself down on the steps. He leaned back on his elbows and stared out toward the water. “So, the rumors are true.”

  “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “You and Wyatt,” Landon said with a stupid grin.

  “What about us?”

  “From day one, it was made crystal clear to the entire platoon that Clover Sullivan was off-limits, and anyone caught sniffing around would be dealt with by unpleasant means.”

  She arched a brow while her heart fluttered out of control. “By who?”

  “Wyatt. That’s who. He told each of us that he didn’t want to hear about his team hitting on you and that he’d have our hides if we did. He says he doesn’t have feelings for you. That he’s just respecting your father’s memory, but it’s obvious to everyone else he’s madly in love with you and either he’s too stupid to go after you, which I doubt is the case. Or he’s utterly terrified, which I know is true, but no one can say anything to him without having our heads ripped off.”

  “Love is too strong of a word to describe our relationship, which is funny, because we don’t have one,” she admitted.

  Landon was close to her age, and they had become fast friends the second he walked into the Sans. Since then, they had become sounding boards for each other. But she shouldn’t be talking about his team leader and her desire to be with him in a forever kind of way.

  But she needed someone to talk to.

  “Do you want to tell me what happened?”

  “It’s not so much what happened as how what happened changed our friendship. I shouldn’t have let things go this far. He’s right. We’re horrible for each other.”

  “Wyatt is probably horrible for everyone except you.” Landon chuckled. “You bring out the best in him. We all see it. Even Keanu has made a comment about it.”

  “Wonderful. You’re all talking about us. That’s really going to piss Wyatt off.”

  “He only gets mad because he knows we’re all right, but for whatever reason, he doesn’t believe he deserves you, or some such shit. Have you told him exactly how you feel?”

  “Pretty much. But he thinks I want him to give up being a SEAL because I swore I’d never date another one, and he has his own baggage.”

  “Never say never.” Landon waggled his finger. “But I suspect this has more to do with him than you. Some people describe SEALs as fearless men, but that’s not true. We’ve had to learn to push our fear deep in our gut and only use it in situations where we need to stay alive. Fear is a good motivator that way, but not so much when it comes to matters of the heart. He’s going to say he doesn’t want to hurt you, but in reality, he’s afraid to take that kind of risk. It’s worse for us to do that than to parachute behind enemy lines in the middle of the night while being shot at.”

  “That’s good insight, but with Wyatt, it goes deeper than just having loved and lost.”

  “I know,” Landon said. “I lost a child too.”

  “What?” She snapped her gaze in his direction. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea.”

  “It’s not something that pops up in casual conversation, but one night during training, Wyatt found me huddled up under a tree with a picture of my daughter. I can usually keep my emotions to myself, but it would have been her fourth birthday and that just always gets me.”

  Clover reached out and took his hand. “I can only imagine.”

  Landon nodded. “My late wife—”

  “Late?” Clover swallowed her pounding heartbeat.

  “My wife took her own life, and our baby’s.”

  Clover gasped, choking on the air filling her lungs. “Jesus,” she whispered. “That’s horrible.”

  “It is. I still blame myself sometimes. I knew Linda had mental illness, and I didn’t do enough. The morning she killed herself, she had me believing she had this big breakthrough in therapy and how things were just going to be better from that point on, but it had all been a lie. It’s left me wondering if I could ever give my heart to another woman again. Right now, I know I can’t, but watching Wyatt struggle with allowing himself to love again makes me realize that closing yourself off from the possibility is no way to live.”

  “And yet, you blew Beth off.”

  “I said I realized it, not that I was ready for it.” Landon jumped to his feet. “If you love Wyatt, you’ll fight for him, no matter what he says or does. You both deserve to be happy.” Landon pointed toward the house. “He’s back. I better go and find out if I have new orders, or if I’m staying put on beach guard duty.”

  “Thanks for sharing with me. It means a lot.”

  Landon nodded.

  Clover continued to sip her coffee as she watched the waves gently lap at the sand. Most of her good childhood memories were with her father and grandmother, not her mother. For a long time, she believed if she’d only been a better daughter, her mother might have loved her more. Even today, that thought constantly seeped into her mind and soul, making her doubt her own ability to love another human being.

  But she knew none of that was true. Whatever her mother’s issues were, they had nothing to do with Clover.

  “Hey you,” Wyatt said.

  She jumped, spilling the last of her coffee. “I didn’t hear the sliders open.”

  “Sorry. Force of habit to be as quiet as possible.” He set a box on the table and snagged a chair and made himself comfortable. He ran a hand over his scruffy face. “The police have finished questioning your mother.”

  “And?”

  He shook his head. “It’s not adding up to be your mom anymore.”

  “Why do you say that?” She clutched at the necklace dangling toward her breasts. It would serve as a constant reminder of what could have been had Wyatt been able to get his head out of his ass and take a risk.

  “They can’t find any evidence. She has a solid alibi, and according to the local police, she was genuinely shocked.” He reached in his back pocket and pulled out her cell phone. “She’s called you ten times, and I believe there are text messages as well.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Where’d you get my phone, and why are you spying on me?”

  He laughed. “You left it in the kitchen by the coffee machine, and if I were spying, I would have asked Tex to unlock it remotely.”

  Ignoring the sexy man smiling at her with a smug look, she unlocked her cell and pulled up her mother’s messages.

  Mom: What on earth is going on down there? And why would you think I had anything to do with it?

  Mom: I can’t believe you would think I would threaten you. I’m your mother.

  Mom: I hope you’re proud of yourself. Your stepfather had to explain to your little brothers and sisters why Mommy had to go to the police station.

  Little brothers and sisters? Had her mother finally lost her marbles? First, all of her stepsiblings were over the age of eighteen and only one still lived at home. Second, she barely knew her mother’s husband or his kids. Not that she had anythin
g against them, but she’d never really gotten to know them.

  And at this point, she didn’t think it was a good idea.

  Mom: And for the record, I was never going to kidnap you or hurt you, ever. Your father used you as a weapon in our divorce, and since I left, he wouldn’t let me have custody. He also wouldn’t let me see you. Numerous times I had to threaten to take action. But I lost because he had the world snowed about him being a decent person when in reality, he was just an asshole doing his best to punish me and take away the one thing that meant something to the both of us. You. I will never forgive him for that.

  Mom: Still, in death, your father is brainwashing you against your own mother. I hope they catch whoever is threatening you. I really do. But it wasn’t me, and I’m desperately hurt you would even think I could.

  “Did she write a letter or what?” Wyatt asked.

  She copied all the texts and sent them in a message to Wyatt. “I just sent them to you so you and Keanu can show them to whoever.”

  “Good.” Wyatt lifted his leg, resting his ankle over his knee. He clasped his hands behind his back. “Tex is doing some digging to make sure we can officially rule out your mother.”

  “Thought you said the cops already did that and that you don’t believe it adds up?”

  “Until someone is in custody, everyone is suspect.”

  “So, I take it you’ll be spending the day and night with me again.”

  “If you rather, I can have one of my men hang inside with you while I take up surveillance outside.”

  “Considering what happened and the fact that things are just way too weird between us right now, maybe that’s a good idea.”

  “Consider it done.” He stood. “Do you have a preference?”

  “I’m probably the most comfortable with Landon,” she admitted.

  “Of course you are.”

  She stared at his back while he slipped back into the house.

  “Well, that went well.”

  Chapter 7

  Wyatt perched himself on the back patio with a mug of coffee in one hand and a gun in the other. He glanced over his shoulder. Clover sat in her living room with her guitar. Her fingers plucked away at the strings while Landon relaxed on the sofa, listening intently.

  Being jealous wasn’t an emotion Wyatt understood, or welcomed.

  And he knew he had no reason to think Landon would ever consider trying to take Clover to bed. Although, he had no right to stand in his way if he wanted to because Wyatt had successfully sabotaged any possibility of something between him and Clover.

  And that was for the best.

  Or so he told himself.

  The sliders opening caught his attention. Keanu stepped out into the moonlight. “I should beat the crap out of you.”

  “It’s nice to see you too,” Wyatt said, raising his mug.

  “Why the hell is Landon inside with Clover? And don’t give me this shit about you being more comfortable waiting to shoot someone because I know Hudson is back in town. Specifically, he’s right over there where you should be if you had really taken Landon’s spot.”

  “Clover and Landon are the same age and good friends. I figured she’d have a better time with him than me.” Wyatt kept his gaze fixated on the darkening sky and not the glare of his task manager.

  “What did you do to piss her off?”

  “Maybe I’m the one that got bent out of shape,” Wyatt said.

  “Okay, Pinocchio.”

  Wyatt downed the last few sips of his lukewarm coffee, wishing he’d put a little kick in it. The burning in his throat slithered down to his stomach. “Why are you here?”

  “I was at the neighbor’s house. A cop is with him doing a sketch of our suspect, and I wanted to ask Joe a few questions.”

  “And?” Wyatt glanced over his shoulder and grimaced at Clover, who sat a little too close to Landon while she gave him a lesson on how to strum a guitar.

  “The old man was a little more forthcoming this time around with answering questions, and he admitted that the woman who hired him asked him to do property damage, but he was the one who came up with killing off her landscaping so he could see the ocean better.”

  “What did this woman give him in return for his troubles?”

  “Five grand, which is about the same as the chick who delivered the broken Barbie doll.”

  Wyatt arched a brow. “No way in hell is Trisha parting with that kind of cash.”

  “I agree. Besides, Tex checked into all her banking, and no sizeable amounts of money have been taken out. I’m confident it’s not Trisha,” Keanu said.

  “Whoever it is knows her mother stole all her Barbies and that she and Conrad made naked images and videos.”

  “That leaves me, you, Cookie, Benny, Tex, and the rest of the gang, and we both know none of them did it.” Keanu rested his arms on the table and leaned forward.

  Bang! Pop! Pop! Bang!

  “What the fuck?” Keanu muttered as he hit the deck.

  “Go inside with Clover.” Wyatt flattened himself on the ground. He tapped the mic in his ear. “Landon, report,” he said calmly.

  Keanu nodded as he made a beeline for the door.

  Wyatt glanced over his shoulder. Landon and Clover were nowhere to be seen.

  “Safe,” Landon said.

  “There is movement on the beach,” Parker said.

  Pop! Pop! Bang!

  White flashes of light appeared in the darkening sky where the ocean and the sand merged.

  “That’s not gunfire,” Wyatt said.

  “It looks like teenagers with firecrackers,” Parker said.

  “I’ll go check it out. Cover me.” Wyatt slowly rose, keeping his weapon at the ready. “It’s wide-open space between me and those kids.”

  “We’ve got your back,” Isaac’s voice came over the speaker. “I’ve got them in my sights, and it looks like they are bringing out some bigger fireworks.”

  Stupid-ass kids.

  Wyatt jogged up the beach and not directly at the flame igniting what he assumed were fireworks, but one never knew. “What the hell are you doing?” he yelled.

  The boys stopped laughing, dropped the firestick, and took off running.

  “Oh no, you don’t,” Wyatt yelled, raising his gun and pointing it at the moon. He pulled the trigger, and the teenagers stopped dead in their tracks.

  “What the hell, man?” One of the boys turned, holding his hands up. “Weren’t you expecting the fireworks?”

  “If you really thought that, then why did you run?” Wyatt tapped his earpiece. “I need backup, and someone call the locals.”

  “We were told we were surprising someone with it,” one of the boys said as he took a couple of steps back. “Don’t you live in that house?”

  “You’re trying to tell me that someone told you to set off fireworks in front of that house?” He stole a glance toward the house as Parker and Isaac jogged in his direction. Landon and Hudson flanked out to the north, waving as if he was onto something.

  “Dude. You have to let us go,” one of the boys pleaded. “We only did what someone paid us to do.”

  “Who paid you?” Wyatt asked, eyeing the three boys.

  One of them couldn’t be older than fourteen. He stared at Wyatt with wide, fearful eyes. The other two looked to be maybe sixteen or seventeen. The one that spoke sported a man bun and kept looking around as if he were afraid someone was going to come out of the ocean and gobble them all up.

  “We didn’t mean any harm,” the man-bun kid said.

  “Just answer me, and things will go better for you when the cops get here. Now who gave you the fireworks?” Wyatt asked.

  “Locals will be here in five.” Parker circled around the other side of the boys.

  Isaac went right for the fireworks, making sure the flames were put out.

  “Please. Let us go,” the youngest boy pleaded. “My parents are going to kill me.”

  “You could have killed someon
e, including yourself.” Isaac held up one of the tubes holding the fireworks. “This shit is old as dirt, and I can tell this one is faulty. It could have blown up in your face.”

  “Are you ready to talk?” Wyatt asked.

  “Some lady gave us a few hundred dollars each to set off this stuff down here.”

  Wyatt’s pulse sped up. “What lady?”

  “We don’t know. Just some woman who was hanging out in the park down the street,” the man-bun kid said.

  “What did she look like?” Wyatt asked as the speaker in his ear crackled. He raised his hand and tapped the device. “Keanu?”

  What sounded like a cough echoed. “Clover,” Keanu said weakly. “Taken.”

  “Fuck.” Wyatt kicked the sand. “Isaac stay here. Parker, you’re with me.” Without another word, Wyatt sprinted toward the house. He blinked, making sure he kept his focus laser sharp. He leaped over the railing and nearly tripped over one of the reclining chairs as he made it to the sliding glass doors. “Clover? Keanu?” he yelled.

  Someone coughed behind the counter in the kitchen.

  Wyatt’s heart sank to his gut. He rounded the corner and dropped to his knees. Ripping off his shirt, he wadded it up and put pressure on Keanu’s abdomen.

  “I’ll check outside,” Parker yelled.

  “They got…” Keanu coughed.

  Wyatt leaned down and pressed his ear to Keanu’s chest. “Take it easy, buddy. It sounds like you might have a punctured lung.” Wyatt took a peek at Keanu’s wound. “Knife?”

  Keanu nodded. “They took Clover.”

  “Did you get a good look at them?” Wyatt asked.

  “Redhead,” Keanu said with a rattle.

  “The chick that’s hanging out with Chris?” Wyatt asked.

  “Yes,” Keanu breathed his answer. “And Chris.”

  Parker came through the front door. “Whoever took her is gone.”

  Wyatt forced his fear to the back of his mind. He needed to focus on developing a plan. He needed to find Clover before it was too late.

  Clover folded her arms over her chest and stared out into the ocean. “What the hell is going on?” she asked, but it was more of a rhetorical question, and she didn’t expect Keanu to answer.