The man stood and extended his hand. “Good to meet you. I must say I was surprised when Guardian made contact last night. I haven't heard from them in a while. Not that I'm opposed, but I'm happy keeping my head down and my ass from being shot.”
Reichs indicated the bench seat, and he and Travis slid in across from Reichs. “From what my handlers tell me, you're squared away and have one hell of a reputation.”
“I’d like to think so.” Isiah nodded to his left and right. “This is Sampson Waters and my brother, Josiah. They work with me on my spread.”
He nodded, noting the distinct military vibe each man put out, and returned his attention to Reichs. “We are looking for a woman who lives off the grid in the local area. Her name is Cassie Valentine.”
Isiah cocked his head and leaned back in the booth. “I know of the Valentines. Getting up where they live isn’t going to be easy, and from what I understand, they don’t like unexpected company.”
“They?” Travis grabbed a handful of popcorn out of a large bowl on the table.
Van rolled his eyes at his bottomless pit of an XO.
“That’s an assumption. I got the impression it was a family up there. I’ve never met them. I’m basing this information on a conversation I had with a ranger…oh, hell, it had to be a couple years back. He works the area west of here. From what I recall, they own a small plot of land smack in the middle of the Bitterroot Mountains.”
“Why would anyone want to live way up there?” Travis managed to ask the question between mouthfuls of popcorn.
“Gold. There are still some miners up there. Few and far between, but if they are up there, they’ve probably been bitten by gold fever.” Reichs took another drink of his beer and cocked his head, watching Travis demolish the bowl of popcorn.
“Can you get us in contact with that ranger?” Van couldn’t imagine Cassie living hard. Well, he could, but he sure as hell didn't want to picture it. She deserved to be pampered and cared for…. No, he wasn’t going to go there. He couldn’t. This was a mission and nothing more.
“Let me see if I can track him down. May I ask why you need to find Ms. Valentine?” Isiah took a drink of his beer. “I need to know what I’m getting into.”
“Sir, if I knew, I’d tell you. What I do know is that Cassie, like yourself, is a freelancer for Guardian and they have sent us here to find her and give her a message.”
“That’s one hell of a lot of trouble to go to for a message,” Sampson spoke, bringing all eyes to him. “I’ve ridden up in those mountains, hell, we all have. Getting back that far will take a couple days and some damn good trail horses.”
Van palmed the back of his neck and rubbed. “I’ll call Guardian and start them acquiring the equipment we’ll need.”
“You won’t be making that call. Lucky for you, I know a man.” Isiah Reichs lifted his glass and emptied the remainder of his drink. “I have the horses you’ll need and the gear to camp up at that elevation. Let’s meet up tomorrow morning, 0800hrs at my place, the Tangled Root Ranch. That way.” Reichs pointed his finger. Van took note of the direction. “You’ll see the turn-off. It’s marked.”
“Roger that, sir. Thank you for the assist.”
“Not a problem. Besides, someday I might need a hand from Guardian. I hear the teams these days have all the good toys.”
“Yes, sir. Only the best.” Which was the truth. Guardian never let their teams go into the field without the latest tech and weaponry.
Isiah nodded, finished his drink and stood up, ending the meeting. “Do you have a place to stay tonight?”
“Yes sir, we are over at the bed and breakfast.” Van stood and shook the man’s hand again along with his brother and Waters. He knew all three men were prior military. It was something ingrained in a person, and it was easy to recognize one of your own.
“Alright. See you in the morning.” Reichs waved at Melvin behind the bar, and all three men made their way out of the bar.
Van motioned toward the door, and Travis got up slowly, snagging the last of the popcorn before he followed him out.
“Things just got a little more interesting. Reichs never did say how many he thought were up there. Does she have family up there with her?”
Van shrugged. He knew of her mom, dad, and uncle. He wasn’t going to torture himself with the idea that Cassie had a significant other. Everything he knew about the woman led him to believe she would never cheat on whomever she wound up loving—even if it wasn’t him. He shook off the thought and answered his friend, “I don’t have a fucking clue. We’ll play it by ear, but I think we need to tread lightly. Reichs doesn’t have firsthand knowledge of what is going on up there. We’ll consider her home turf as hostile until we know different. In the morning, once we get the general location from Reichs, I’ll call Operations and get a satellite sweep of the area. At least we’ll have an accurate bird’s-eye view of the terrain.”
“Roger that.” Travis cleared his throat like he did when he was nervous. “You know something you might need to consider, Skipper…she could be married.”
“Can’t say I haven’t thought about that.” Hell, there was not a scenario he hadn’t considered.
Chapter 3
He tossed and turned on the too-soft mattress and flipped the covers off. The steam radiators were cranked to the max, and the window was either painted or nailed shut. Either way, he felt like he was in a sauna. He glanced at his watch again. Three minutes later than when he’d last checked. He lifted off the bed as quietly as he could and tried the window again, this time using his utility knife to separate the painted sash from the window sill. Halle-fucking-lujah! The window opened, and fresh air poured into the room. Van folded his knife and placed it beside his .45 on the bedside table. He lowered himself back onto the bed and prayed for silence. As if. The bed creaked with each movement he made. The old brass bed looked great in the room but sleeping on the floor was becoming an attractive alternative.
Van turned his head and gazed out the window at the full moon that illuminated the night sky. Vivid memories of another full moon, half the world away, invaded his thoughts. The first night he and Cassie made love, the moon was full and so damn close. A harvest moon, that was what she’d called it. Van closed his eyes and willed away the memories, but like always, his ghosts from that mission haunted him.
Sweet Cassie, the woman who’d changed everything for him. The first time he saw her with that fucking dick of an uncle, his caveman surfaced, and where Cassie was concerned, he never was able to get that fucker back under control. He was immediately attracted to her shy, sweet smile. The woman never assumed any pretense. She always offered to help, and she worked so damn hard, she made his team look like slackers, and that said one hell of a lot because his team was phenomenal at getting shit done.
His hand drifted down his chest and rubbed the ache between his legs. Because he and Cassie worked the day shift and completed all the routine tasks well before the sun set, he’d started taking her with him on small excursions into the mountains on the pretense of teaching her survival skills. Well, it hadn’t started out as a pretense, but after that first kiss…he’d made damn sure there was a reason to get some distance between them and his team. He’d never endanger her or risk exposing his team, so the days when the Hizbul Mujahideen were more active, they stayed hunkered down. But the nights that they could go out a small distance from the camp…those were memories he’d hold forever. Damn, he felt like a lovesick teenager, but just thinking about Cassie made his dick harder than a granite statue dipped in titanium. The memory of the first time she touched him could get him off. He sucked in a lungful of air and grabbed his cock. He remembered it like it had happened five minutes ago.
“What are you going to do when you go back?” Van held her hand as she clambered down the rocky outcropping as they headed to “their” spot—a small cave at the face of the mountain about fifty yards from camp. They could maintain some semblance of privacy and still g
et back quickly if the need arose. His men never mentioned their frequent trips out in the evening, but he knew they were aware of what was happening between Cassie and him. They also knew him well enough to know he had serious intentions toward the beautiful puzzle solver.
“I don’t know, except that I have to get back to check on my mom.” Cassie gave him a sad smile and sat down on a small flat top rock just inside the cave.
Van pulled her to his side and kissed her temple.
“It’s a harvest moon tonight.” Cassie nodded her chin at the full moon that illuminated the area.
“Harvest moon?”
“Yeah. In Wyoming, where I spent some time, the crops were ready to be harvested, and the hay was ready to be baled about this time every year. The farmers and the ranchers who grew their own feed could see to run the equipment when it was this light. The kids at school called it a harvest moon.” She turned to him and bit her bottom lip.
He’d long since learned she did that when she was embarrassed. He watched her in the moonlight as she fought through her shyness to ask him the question on her mind.
“Van?”
“Cassie?” He smiled when she gave a little laugh.
“I want to…” She looked away and bit her lip again.
“You want to what?” God only knew what was on her mind. What he wanted to do wasn’t going to happen. They’d already talked, and she’d admitted she hadn’t dated much. That was okay because he was willing to invest the time and any effort. She was well worth any wait…and the blue balls that he’d have to endure. Cassie Valentine was it for him. He knew it in his gut, and he’d learned to trust his instincts, even his baser ones.
“I want to kiss you.” She dropped her head to his chest and gave a little squeak as she did.
“Hey, you’ve kissed me…many times. Why are you acting so shy all of a sudden?”
Cassie shook her head against his collarbone. “No, I want to kiss you...lower.”
“Lower?” His dick jumped. She nodded and lifted her hand up his thigh sending every nerve in his body into catastrophic synapsis. He closed his eyes and slammed his jaw together, gritting his teeth for the time it took for his good intentions to crash and burn in an epic flameout. “You don’t have to do that.” Although his mouth said the words, his mind screamed, ‘Yes, please if there is a God in heaven, yes…do that!’
Cassie undid his belt and unbuttoned the front fly of his black battle dress uniform. Even confined by his briefs, his cock sprang forward like a jack-in-the-box that had been wound tight and cranked off. He ran his hands up her arms, trying to anchor himself. Her breath caught as she lightly ran her finger down the length of his cotton covered shaft. He groaned at the sensation.
Her head came off his chest, and she looked up into his eyes. “You like that, don’t you?”
“Like it? Fuck, no honey. I love it when you touch me.”
Cassie smiled that shy smile again and dropped her eyes as she parted the fold of his briefs and pulled him out. “Your skin is so warm and soft, but you’re hard. It’s really big and thick.”
Van laughed, which brought her eyes up to his again.
“Was it wrong to say that?”
“Telling a man he’s really big and thick is never the wrong thing to say.”
Van cupped his balls and pulled them away from his body. He clamped his eyes shut and flashed to the memory of the first time he’d made love to her. After all those weeks of talking and kissing, the tentative touches grew bolder and more certain…and he’d fallen head-over-fucking heels in love with her. That first night…fuck. He stroked his shaft and let his mind drift.
The moon caressed her white skin with a luminescence that mesmerized him. His fingers traced her curves. Her nipple hardened under his thumb and he couldn’t resist taking it into his mouth. Her fingers threaded through his hair and kept him there, not that he fought the idea.
“Please, Van, I want you to make love to me. Show me how to make you feel good.”
Cassie loosened her grip on his hair and he lifted his head. He could just see her eyes in the moonlight. “Honey, you make me feel good. We don’t have condoms and…”
“I won’t get pregnant. I had a shot before I met you in Colorado. It is supposed to last for three months.”
“Honey, it's more than that. We’re in a cave. You deserve better.”
“I don’t…” She lifted her hand and put a finger to his lips before he could object to her comment. “I want you to make love to me, Van. Show me how to love you. I need this. Us.”
Van stroked his cock; the bed springs produced a gentle song under him. Fuck it, he pushed reality away and chased his dream again. Cassie…
Van’s lips and fingers memorized the contours of her small body. Her luscious curves and soft skin trembled under his attention. He worshipped her, forgoing his own almost debilitating need for her to ensure her desire was as intense as his. He needed this encounter, their first time together, to be the best she’d ever experience. She was so different from any relationship he’d ever had. Shy and timid with her touches. She made no demands on him other than her desire for him to make love to her. He lowered over her and took her lips in a kiss. He was tender, seeking and sensual.
Her arms pulled him down on top of her. “Please, Van…I ache. Please.”
He took her lips as he lifted her leg and pushed inside her, consuming her surprised cry. Her fingers clawed into his shoulders, stilling him. Brilliant shards of white heat raced down his spine and pooled in his balls. He needed to move, to claim her as his. She was so tight, so hot. He broke their kiss allowing them to consume each other’s breath. “Cassie…” He couldn’t form any other words.
“Make love to me,” she whispered.
Van’s body tightened, his back arched as his hand flew up and down his cock. The springs echoed his movement, but he didn’t fucking care. He called her name when he came. He didn’t care how pathetic it was. He loved her. Still. The bitter desolation he lived with crept back in as the evidence of his desire cooled. Why had she left without a word?
Chapter 4
“Where the fuck are you?”
Cassie cringed at the anger in her uncle’s voice. She’d just finished feeding and changing the baby, and she prayed he would sleep until she had dinner served and the kitchen cleaned. She pulled her threadbare flannel shirt around her shoulders and stepped out into the living room. Her father and uncle turned and glared at her. “Get your ass in the kitchen and put dinner on the table.” She nodded and walked to the kitchen quickly, darting away to stay out of reach of her uncle’s fists.
She set the table while the men used the sink to clean off the dirt and grime working the mine shaft had left on them. Grabbing the oven mitts off the counter, she pulled their food out of the oven and put it on the table, moving deftly to keep away from her uncle. Her father had never beaten her, but he’d never done a damn thing to keep her from her uncle’s rages. She made sure they had everything they needed and retreated to the stool in the corner of the kitchen, sitting down near the old wood-burning oven. It was her corner; where she and her baby spent almost every evening because the residual heat from cooking dinner warmed the kitchen and kept away some of the drafts from the cold mountain nights.
Cassie stared at her fingers, listening to the men eat. She’d be allowed to have anything they didn’t eat. She hadn’t sat down for a proper meal since her mother had died. How she’d delivered a healthy baby, she’d never know, but her son was beautiful, and for now, healthy.
She glanced at the floorboard that covered the meager stash of items she’d collected. She’d salvaged a small pocket knife her uncle had thrown away. One of the blades was broken, but she’d sharpened the functioning blades to a razor’s edge. There were two books of matches wrapped in a small square of wax paper along with a small squirt bottle of kerosene. Two protein bars that had fallen out of the bags her father and uncle had brought to the cabin from the outside were down ther
e, too. The protein bars were a gift from fate. When her uncle and father tallied the inventory of food, they weren’t included, so she didn’t have to account for them. She had an empty water bottle and two chlorination tabs in that space just waiting for the day she’d have to flee. Those treasures, coupled with whatever she could grab the day she was forced to go, would be all she and her son would have to survive.
She silently thanked God for the time she’d spent on her last assignment with Guardian. The skills she’d learned from Van and his team would help her survive and keep her baby safe. She’d have to leave before the snows started—or before her uncle’s rages hurt her too badly.
A low snuffling wail sounded from the small alcove where she’d built Samuel’s mat. Cassie jumped forward, but her uncle beat her to the door.
“Oh no. That bastard isn’t going to interrupt my dinner. I’ll go put that little shit out of my misery. One twist of his neck and I’ll have silence.”
“No, please, Uncle Carl. Please, let me go to him.” Cassie didn’t see the backhand that sent her into the cabinets. The explosion of light and agony when her cheek hit the butcher block countertop almost made her pass out, and she would have vomited if she had anything in her stomach. Cassie stifled a cry and tried to crawl toward her son. Her uncle’s boot connected with her ribs…again. Cassie couldn’t stop her scream of pain. Samuel’s wail increased in volume. Cassie scrambled on her hands and knees toward the door. Her uncle kicked her again. His size thirteen boot landed on the back of her thigh. Her leg went numb, but she kept going. She had to get to Samuel before her uncle turned his rage on the innocent baby.
Cassie made it to her child and pulled him into her chest, cowering in the small alcove. She could barely lift him without crying out in pain, but she managed to lift her shirt and put her baby on her breast, comforting him. He immediately fixed on her nipple and quieted. Her silent sobs racked her body. She had to get them out of this hell.
Montana Guardian: A Guardian Security Novella (The Kings of Guardian) Page 3