Protecting His Beautiful Lover (Southern Soldiers of Fortune Book 3)

by Leslie North

  She gave him an odd look, but followed him into the other room. “It’s not a power outage,” Clint explained. “Someone cut the wires to the house.”

  “What?” Her dark brows drew together. She looked puzzled, but not scared. Not yet, anyway. “Why?”

  “They left a note.” Pulling out his cell phone, Clint hit the speed dial button for the police department. “It’s about the legislation.”

  “Damn.” Her shoulders slumped and she took a deep breath, as if steeling herself. “Well, I’m not going to stop. This is too important to let some whack job shut it all down.”

  “I disagree.” The dispatch desk answered and he relayed his information to the cops, far too aware of her warmth and the scent of her flowery perfume. After he hung up, he told Tara, “They’re going to send officers over to take a report, but I think now would be the best time for you to go into lockdown.” Tara opened her mouth to protest, but he didn’t let her get a word in edgewise. “I’m not saying it’s forever, but at least until we catch the person who’s doing this.”

  “I can’t just hole up here in this house. I’ve got a foundation to run.” Tara threw her hands up, clearly exasperated. “I’ve got meetings, phone calls, appointments to keep and speeches to give. I’m not going to—”

  “You worked from home yesterday. There’s no reason you can’t keep doing that,” Clint countered.

  “Daddy, I need my hair brushed!” Ashley yelled from the kitchen, pointing to her hairbrush on the table beside the cereal box. “You know I don’t like it when it’s tangled.”

  Clint took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, calling on his years of yoga practice to stay calm. “All right, honey. Just sit tight for a little bit, please. Daddy has some work to do first. Then I’ll brush your hair for you.”

  As much as Ashley hated having ratty hair, she hated having it brushed even more, so it was never a simple ordeal. First, though, he had to look at that security footage before the cops got here.

  Tara was still watching him, way too closely for his comfort, but at least her mulish expression had shifted to a more resigned look. “I’ll take care of your daughter’s hair. You and the police figure out who’s doing this so I can get back to business as usual.”

  Good. Okay. An unexpected tide of relief washed over him and Clint gave a curt nod. Her ultimatum wasn’t ideal, but at least it bought him some time to figure all this out and focus on one objective at a time. “Thanks. And watch yourself. Ashley hates hair brushing.”

  Snorting, Tara walked back over to the table, saying to him over her shoulder. “Seeing as how I’ve been doing my own hair for years, I think I got this.”

  Right. Well, let her have at it, then. He went off to the living room to open his laptop and pull up the video footage. Unfortunately, when the cleaning fluid bottle had hit the keypad last night, it must have knocked the coordinates he’d entered out of whack, because the camera he’d put outside the front door to watch the driveway had taken only shots of the porch steps instead. So yeah—and right at the top of his list of things to fix ASAP. After quickly going over the rest of the footage and finding nothing useful, he went back outside to talk to the police officers who’d arrived at the curb. They went into the garage and he showed them the electrical box and the cut wires and the note, which they took into custody.

  Finally, report made, he reset the cameras, called an electrician to come fix the wires, then grabbed his keys and headed out. First to grab coffees for him and Tara as well as bran muffins for all of them. Better than the sugar they’d loaded up on earlier. It would be a couple hours at least until they were up and running power-wise again, which meant they needed food that didn’t require refrigeration or the use of the electric stove. And he needed all the energy he could get.

  By the time he got back to the house, both Tara and Ashley were dressed and groomed. His daughter looked happy as a clam playing in the living room with her toys. They ate breakfast in the kitchen and waited for the electrician to get the wiring back on track.

  A few hours and another perimeter check later, Clint finally felt secure enough to take a break, finding Tara setting up another one of those photo shoot displays for one of her social media posts. He both was and wasn’t surprised to see that Ashley was helping her by drawing pictures of rainbows for the background of Tara’s shot. Ashley drew rainbows on anything and everything—they were her absolute favorite. But Tara was a surprisingly good sport to incorporate them in her photo shoot.

  He stood off to the side, silent, just taking it all in. The two of them seemed to get along really well, which was nice for Clint to see. He worried, among other things, about his poor daughter missing that all-important mother-daughter bond as she grew up. Clint did the very best he could to fill that role for her, but he wasn’t a woman.

  So maybe, in a way, this was actually good—them staying here—if it meant Ashley got quality time with Tara.

  “It’s ready!” his daughter declared and Tara nodded toward the large rainbow background Ashley had made.

  “Looks great, kiddo,” Tara said, straightening, then gesturing for Ashley to join her off to the side. “All right, let’s get some pics, then.”

  Twenty minutes later, the two of them were hunched over Tara’s laptop going over the pictures to choose the best one to post.

  “I like that one,” Ashley said, pointing to one onscreen.

  “That one is nice,” Tara said. “But this one is better. See how the composition forms a triangle here that draws your eye in toward the center?”

  Clint chuckled and shook his head. As inquisitive as Ashley was, learning about the secrets of photography had to be a huge thrill for her. He was also amazed at how patient and perceptive Tara was with his daughter, never seeming to be overwhelmed by the little girl’s constant questions or concerns, explaining things to her calmly and clearly without talking down to her. It was great to see, honestly, and made his heart tug with gratitude.

  He wandered over to see what they were working on and noticed the braids in Ashley’s hair. As a Navy man, he knew just about every type of knot in existence, thanks to the Naval Academy, but he’d never seen the design in Ashley’s braids. Clearing his throat, Clint took a seat at the other end of the sofa and said, “Wow, nice job on her hair. Much better than the usual plain pigtails I put it in.”

  “Thanks.” Tara grinned at him over the top of her computer, her beaming smile making his heart do an odd little jig. “They’re called bubble braids. All the rage on social media these days. I’ve been wanting to try them out but needed a willing subject.”

  “That’s me!” Ashley said, pointing at herself before running over to climb onto Clint’s lap.

  “Woohoo!” Tara cheered and did a fist pump. “Our post went viral, Ashley!”

  “Really?” His daughter frowned and glanced from Tara to Clint. “Is that good, Daddy?”

  “I’m no expert, but I think so,” he said, grinning back at Tara. “Isn’t it?”

  “It is!” She turned the computer around so they could see it too. “Almost three hundred likes in less than ten minutes. And the commenters love your rainbows, Ashley!”

  “Yay!” She clapped, then hugged Clint around the neck. “They love my rainbows, Daddy!”

  “They do.” He squeezed her tight, so much love swelling inside him, more than he’d ever expected to find in this lifetime, filling him. It was so good to see his daughter happy again, especially after her remarks last night about wanting to go home. “And I love you, sweetpea.”

  Ashley giggled.

  “This is perfect,” Tara continued, turning her laptop back to face her and typing furiously. “Just what I need for my event at the end of this week.”

  Clint’s smile quickly turned to a frown. They’d just talked about her needing to stay home, out of public view. He didn’t want to get into that right now, with Ashley so happy, but as soon as he got a chance, he was going to talk Tara out of going to that event and any oth
ers until this mess was over.

  Now wasn’t the time, though, so he changed subjects. “You’re really into this social media stuff, huh?”

  “I am.” Tara glanced up at him over the top of her computer, then focused on her typing once more.

  “Why’s that?”

  She frowned. “You mean, why do I like it?”

  “Yeah.”

  She shrugged, as if she felt that the answer was obvious. “Well, if you want to have a voice in the world these days, you have to be online. It’s where you can reach the most people and have the biggest impact.”

  He nodded. Made sense, even if he avoided the Internet like the plague, except for work. It was a necessary evil that had no place in his private life. The less people poked into his personal business, the better. “And you want to have an impact?”

  “Of course,” she said, hitting a few more keys before shutting her laptop. “It’s where I can get my message out about climate change to people around the world. Life is all about making a difference, making things better for others.”

  “And what about for yourself?” he asked, watching her over the top of Ashley’s head.

  Tara stared at him a moment, then got up and headed for the hall, saying over her shoulder. “That is for me—that’s what makes me feel like I’m accomplishing something with my life.”

  Ashley scooted off his lap to head back into the living room to play, leaving Clint alone at the kitchen table to stare after Tara. From the hint of hurt in her response, he’d touched a nerve there with his question, and it troubled him more than he cared to admit.

  What troubled him even more, though, was how normal and nice all this together time was starting to feel. Though not nearly as nice as Tara’s kisses and caresses. It was like he’d walked into a totally different world when he’d moved into this house. Even Ashley seemed to be flourishing.

  But Clint had to keep reminding himself that all this was just pretend. That soon enough, he’d catch whoever was after Tara, and his house would be fixed, and then life would go back to the way it had been and everything would be fine.

  No matter how un-fine that thought made him feel inside.

  9

  Tara wasn’t stupid. Clint obviously wasn’t happy about her choices regarding the upcoming event, but she had bigger things to worry about. She’d gotten an email this morning from the chairman of the board that things were “moving along briskly” in their search for the permanent director, which meant that if she was going to have any chance of proving she was the woman for the job permanently, she needed to get on it.

  To that end, she scheduled a Zoom meeting for later that afternoon with the board of directors to discuss where things were with the legislation. She got dressed up and everything for it, wanting to project the most professional and poised image she could.

  Promptly at three, she logged in and found everyone already there, making idle chitchat. After saying her hellos, Tara called the meeting to order.

  “Thank you all for attending today and welcome to my temporary office at home. I wanted to give everyone an update on my progress with the climate change legislation.” Tara went over the work she’d done since the last meeting, including the attempted shooting at the rally the weekend before and the fact that she’d hired a bodyguard for herself until the police arrested the culprit. She did her best to downplay the seriousness of it all and certainly didn’t mention what had happened that morning with her power and the note. “Anyway, I think we’re obviously making progress here and getting close to having this passed. The opposition is spooked. That’s why they’re trying to shut us down, but I refuse to let them win. I’ll see this through, no matter what. In fact, I plan to attend the upcoming rally this Saturday, as planned, to get the word out even more about our new bill.”

  “Interesting,” said Jacob Bartlet, one of the board members, his tone sounding exactly the opposite of interested. No wonder, since his family owned a large manufacturing company. They would have to spend big bucks to get their company in line with the new legislation if it passed. When she’d first stepped in as interim director, she’d wondered why Bartlet and some of the other board members were even there, since their businesses seemed in direct conflict with the foundation’s goal of a cleaner, healthier environment. But she’d quickly learned that when it came to mega-corporations, appearances were everything. Most of the companies put someone on the board to make it look like they cared about the environment and give them a face to blast across the media in their ads, while behind the scenes they did little to change their actual practices. Well, once she got her bill passed, they’d be legally bound to put their money where their mouths were—or at least where their board members said they stood.

  Bartlet gave a weary sigh and continued. “But I have to say that I’m very concerned about your safety, Ms. Crumb. You say you’ve hired a bodyguard. What does he have to say about you continuing to attend these events? Especially considering your life has already been threatened once?”

  “Good point, Jacob,” Nathan Harrison, the chairman, said. He narrowed his gaze on Tara through the computer screen. “Is your bodyguard there now, Tara? If so, get him on this call. I’d like to discuss all this with him.”

  Damn. Her stomach fell and her chest constricted. She wanted to tell them no, but that certainly wouldn’t fit with her plan to impress them all with how on top of it she was. Fine. They wanted to talk to Clint? Fine, they could talk to him. She just hoped he would be circumspect. She knew he didn’t approve of her plans, but he wouldn’t embarrass her by saying that in front of the board…would he? “Hang on, let me see if he’s available.”

  She took off her headphones and got up, her mind racing as she headed down the hall toward the guest bedroom where he was playing with his daughter. Tara swallowed hard and knocked softly on the open door to get his attention. “Clint, can I talk to you for second, please?”

  “Uh, sure.” He got up off the floor where he and Ashley were playing with her dolls and moved to the doorway where Tara stood, the corners of his full lips tilted downward into a frown. She found herself staring at his mouth, remembering how soft and warm it had felt against hers the night before, until she forced herself to look away, arms crossed. Clint guided her out into the hall, his voice lowered. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing’s wrong.” She gave herself a mental shake. “I’m on a Zoom call right now with the board of directors for the environmental agency and they’d like to ask you a few questions.”

  “Me?” He wrinkled his nose. “About what?”

  Tara gave a dismissive wave, hoping to downplay the whole thing. “About the precautions you’re taking to keep me safe, I’d imagine. And security measures for the upcoming event on Saturday.” She hid her wince at that, barely. He didn’t like the idea, she already knew that, but she needed him to back her up now. “Look, I know we have our differences of opinion about it, but—”

  “Uh, yeah. I more than don’t like it. I don’t think you should go at all,” he said, the words hissing out like steam.

  “Daddy?” Ashley called from the room. “What are you doing?”

  “I’ll be right back, sweetpea. I just need to handle something real quick.” Clint took Tara’s arm and guided her down the hall to the kitchen, out of range of the Zoom meeting’s cameras. “I’m not going to lie about that, Tara.”

  “I’m not asking you to lie,” she said, her voice cracking. Dammit. She didn’t want to cry about this, but she was feeling more than cornered here and she hated it. This was the most important cause in her life. She’d never forgive herself if she failed to give it her all. “Please, I’m just asking you to give me the benefit of the doubt. You said earlier we’d talk about it and I’m just asking you for that chance. That’s all. Please, Clint. Just give me a chance.”

  Maybe her inner desperation showed in her face or maybe she’d pled her case well enough to sway him. Whatever it was, the rigid tension in his broad shoulder
s eased and he gave a defeated sigh. “Fine. Let’s get this over with.”

  She led him over to the desk and they took a seat side by side in front of the camera. Tara’s heart was racing and the blood pumped so loudly in her ears that she could barely hear what was being said. All she could do was trust that Clint had her back here. Tara forced a smile she didn’t feel and introduced him. “This is Clint Buckman, the bodyguard I hired. Clint, this is the board of directors for Go Green Energy.”

  Clint gave a curt nod at the screen as the board members greeted him. “Tara tells me that you all have concerns about the upcoming rally this Saturday. And I’m here to tell you that I do too.”

  Her heart stumbled, then skipped a beat as her chest hollowed out. No. No, no, no. He could not be doing this to her. The bastard! She’d thought they’d agreed to keep his concerns to themselves until they could discuss this situation later. But then, he’d never really agreed to that, did he? Nope. He’d just told her enough to make her think they were on the same page. She wanted to hang her head in her hands and groan, storm off and rail against him, but she stayed frozen to her seat as Clint continued.

  “But,” he said, “I believe Tara deserves a chance to be heard. She’s got an important message to get out about this climate change legislation and I’m willing and able to provide protection for her to ensure she’s safe. I believe the Saturday event appearance should go on as planned.”

  For a moment, Tara just blinked at him. Had she really heard him say all of that? In the background, she heard the white noise of the board members discussing Clint’s assessment, but all she could focus on was him, defending her and her choices. It was a rare enough occurrence in her life that she wasn’t sure how to respond at first. Then a slow grin she couldn’t seem to contain broke out on her face and joy bubbled up inside her. It was all too much. So much that she nearly missed the board chairman saying, “Fine. As long as Mr. Buckman will take personal responsibility for your safety at the Saturday event, we’ll sign off on your appearance there, Ms. Crumb. Please keep us posted.”