Fine. Travis got it. A covert mission it would be. Him and Claire alone. The last thing he wanted, but he’d do it. And do it well. “You can count on me, sir.”
“We always do,” Waters said, then dismissed Travis.
In the hallway, Travis glanced at his watch. He had just enough time to check a handgun out of the armory then take a quick flight from North Carolina to Orlando. He’d be at Claire’s side in time for lunch. That gave him a mere three hours to work through residual issues with Claire and get his head in the game. Failure to do so could put her right in the enemy’s hands and cost Claire her life.
* * *
Claire Reed’s dream had been stolen. Right here, in the dark of night in her home away from home. She glanced at the sign on the tall building. Bold black letters mounted on stucco painted a cheery yellow read: Army Research Institute.
Her sanctuary. Until this morning when she’d discovered the theft.
She settled her foot on a concrete planter filled with poinsettias and gently stretched the tight muscles in her leg. Christmas music pelted from the outdoor speaker belying the seventy-degree temperatures.
“’Tis the season to be jolly, fa la la la la, la la la la.”
Jolly, hah!
Nothing about her day had been jolly.
She switched legs and put her weight into the stretch until stiff muscles eased and she was ready to run. Hoping her usual lunchtime jog would put her in a better frame of mind to lead her team, she pounded down the sidewalk. Her bad mood blotted out Orlando’s ever-present sunshine and the four-foot-tall sandhill cranes strutting across the road. She usually enjoyed the birds’ antics on her daily run through the Central Florida Research Park, but today she only cared about eliminating her frustration with the army’s response to last night’s theft.
“Sit tight,” they’d said. “Don’t tell anyone about it, and we’ll get someone in place to help as soon as possible.”
Sit tight, my eye. Not when someone had stolen one of her prototypes and the specs for the device, putting six years of work in jeopardy.
She groaned at the typical military response. Usually she was grateful to have such a prestigious job at thirty-one, and she loved working with this dedicated group of men and women. But today reminded her of the hassles of working for the military, such as the way the brass rarely told her what she needed to know until they believed she needed to know it. Aggravating to say the least.
Hoping to exhaust herself, she picked up her pace beyond her normal routine and plunged into a secluded parking area with taller trees blocking the sun.
Good. The darkness matched her mood and her disappointment.
How many man-hours had she put into the helmet-mounted display and software to provide a fully immersive virtual training system? A system that simulated a variety of environments a foot soldier might face. Mountains, trees, deserts. All with the hope of saving lives with realistic training that was now endangered if the army didn’t act fast and recover the prototype.
Her project killed before it even had a chance to live.
Angry, she rounded a corner and pushed herself until she neared the end of the loop and her lungs screamed for oxygen. She’d soon be back at the institute and her thoughts were still a jumbled mess. She couldn’t face her staff this unsettled or they’d ask questions so she ran in place to finish working through her turmoil.
As she stared over a small pond, a hand came out of nowhere and clamped over her mouth. An arm snaked around her chest, pulling her back against a rock-solid wall of muscle. Winded, she barely had the strength to breathe let alone fight, but instincts kicked in and she jabbed an elbow to the man’s gut.
No response. Nothing. He didn’t even grunt.
She stomped on his foot and elbowed him again.
He tightened his grip, clamping her arm against her body and dragging her backward. She dug her heels in the thick St. Augustine grass trying to gain purchase and slow their progress.
No change.
Her heart thumped an irregular beat as panic skittered up her spine.
The man picked up his pace, moving quickly down the slope toward the pond.
Alligators. No, no, no! Not this, her mind screamed as he drew her closer to the water. Step after step, the sour, organic smell alerted her to the pond’s nearness.
Fear twisted in her stomach.
How could she have let this happen?
She’d screwed up. Let her thoughts of the theft distract her and she’d failed to follow basic Self-defense 101. Prevention.
After her former boyfriend Travis had learned she jogged alone, he’d taught her skills to stay safe. To know the area. Know her exact location and listen for anyone approaching. Know her escape routes. But she’d failed.
Travis. What would he tell her to do?
Her captor skirted around the pond sending a moment of relief surging through her before panic claimed her mind again, tangling her thoughts into a twisted mound of spaghetti.
Do something. Think, Claire, think!
Drop your weight, Travis had said. Bring the creep down so you can elbow his head.
She fell forward and jutted both elbows upward. He was strong, crazy strong, and he jerked her upright then continued moving. She dug in her heels again, tried to slow him down, but her efforts didn’t faze him.
They neared a deserted parking lot where she caught sight of a white cargo van. The side door sat open like a waiting prison cell.
No. Oh, no.
If he wrestled her into the van, she might never come out. But how did she stop him?
Travis had shared a last-ditch tactic with her. It’d be painful and might knock her out, but she had nothing to lose.
Nothing.
She flopped as far forward as possible and with her remaining strength threw herself back, ramming her head into his face. Her skull connected with his jaw and her glasses flew from her face. Pain sliced up the back of her head.
He grunted, but kept moving.
No.
She slammed him again. Saw stars. Felt black tingeing at the edges of her vision, already blurred without her glasses.
God, no. Please no. Not this. Please, she prayed. Give me strength.
One more try. One more. She had to succeed in freeing herself.
She dipped forward and roared back. Her head connected as she stomped his foot and elbowed him at the same time. The perfect trifecta, making his arm slacken. With a burst of adrenaline, she spun free and bolted toward the road.
Without her glasses, the trees ahead swam before her eyes, but she dug deep and raced on. She couldn’t hear his footfalls behind her, but she sensed him chasing her. He was big with powerful, long legs and was likely gaining on her. She resisted the urge to look back.
Pain razored up her legs as her lungs screamed for air. She felt like crumpling onto the thickly matted grass, but somehow she kept going.
Down an incline. Up the other side. Along a pond. Her foot sinking into wet muck. Falling.
His hand clamping her ankle like a vise.
She screamed and jerked free as she grabbed the thick grass to gain her footing. She righted herself and kicked out with every ounce of energy, connecting with his shoulder and leaving him prone. She charged up the incline.
“Help,” she screamed, then decided to save her breath for running.
She ran harder.
Closer and closer to the road. Closer to help. To the faint hint of traffic sounding in the distance.
You can make it. You can make it, her mind chanted with every step until she believed it.
She ran every day. She was fast. She could outrun him and flag down help before he caught her. She really could.
She had to. She was racing for her life.
TWO
Travis turned the corner to the institute and spotted an ambulance and three police cars blocking the entrance flanked with tall palm trees. He couldn’t see far enough ahead to ascertain the problem, but his gut said Claire was in trouble.
He offered a quick prayer on her behalf and pulled to the side of the road. Slapping on his beret, he got out and jogged down the street, the intense Orlando humidity hitting him in the face.
A burly male police officer manning a barricade near the entrance flipped up a beefy hand and pulled back his shoulders straining the seams on his uniform. “No one goes in.”
Travis swallowed down his anxiety and forced out a smile. “Can’t you make an exception? I’m late for an appointment.”
“Like I said, man. No one goes in.”
The urge to ignore his command and push on had Travis taking a step, but he couldn’t help Claire if he was arrested. “My CO will have my hide if I don’t make my meeting. You know what happens when you fail to complete orders, right? Couldn’t you ask whoever’s in charge if I can slip through?”
The cop waffled for a moment then nodded. “Wait here.”
After he moved out of view, Travis jumped the barricade. He rounded the ambulance with lights twisting into the bright sunshine and stuttered to a stop as he sought to make sense of what he was seeing.
Claire sat on the sidewalk, her head lowered. She was dressed in running gear, with most of her ponytail ripped free, leaving honey-blond strands jutting out like porcupine quills. Raw, ugly sores marred her knees, and she rubbed her hands over her arms as if trying to rid herself from something horrible. Perhaps she heard his approach because she suddenly looked up.
Emotions flashed around them as bright as a detonated charge in the black of a desert night while the nearby chaos faded into the background. Travis knew seeing her again would be hard. But this? Seeing her wounded and afraid was gut-wrenching. He heard the vague sound of footsteps behind him—the cop coming to haul him away—and somehow, he got his feet moving toward Claire again.
“Hello, Claire,” he said, making sure to keep a level tone when a vise clamped down on his gut.
She squinted at him, her gaze sharpening. “Just when I thought the day couldn’t get any more difficult, they send you.”
Under normal circumstances, he knew she wouldn’t say such a thing. She wasn’t mean, far from it, but shock pulled her uncensored feelings to the surface.
And the words lacerated him, proving she could still inflict serious pain. The only woman in his thirty-three years on this earth who could do such damage.
“Do you want me to haul him away?” the cop asked.
Travis braced himself for Claire’s affirmative response, but she shook her head.
“Suit yourself.” The cop’s footsteps receded, but Travis wasn’t alone with Claire for long.
A woman dressed in the institute’s civilian uniform of khakis and polo shirt came to stand behind Claire. Travis blocked out the twenty-something woman and squatted in front of Claire.
“She was attacked,” the other woman said, obviously reading his questioning expression.
“Attacked? How? Where?” he asked, barely able to stop himself from sweeping the only woman he’d ever loved into his arms.
“On her run,” the woman answered. “She got away and managed to crawl back here.”
Claire gestured at the woman. “Meet my assistant researcher and roommate, Julie Dickson.”
“And you are?” Julie’s narrow-eyed gaze ran over Travis.
“This is Captain Travis Chapman.” Claire’s cool and disapproving tone felt like a bucket of ice water.
“Travis?” Julie’s eyebrows shot up. “He’s the... Oh, no! Oh... This isn’t good, is it?”
Claire looked up at her assistant, a smile lighting on her face. “Would you mind going inside and telling the team I’m okay so they don’t worry?”
“Sure.” Julie bit her lip for a moment. “I mean if you’re sure you want me to leave you alone with...him.”
“Go. I’m fine.” As Julie departed, Claire ran a finger up the bridge of her nose, likely trying to push up glasses that had fallen off in the attack. The gesture was classic Claire when she was stressed or uneasy. Despite her claim that she was fine, she obviously needed comfort. Comfort she’d once have sought from him. He scooted closer. Her eyes flared with interest for a moment before she forced it away.
Interesting. She wasn’t as immune to him as the day she’d claimed her job was her one true love.
Right. That day. The day she rejected his proposal. They’d devoted nearly every waking hour to CATS, but once his part of the work was done, he’d known he’d return to base in North Carolina and his heart had rebelled at the thought of leaving Claire behind. He’d been ready to make a real commitment, to build a future with her...but he should’ve seen the rejection coming. All that mattered to her was honoring her father. After his death in a military chopper crash, she wanted to make his dreams of a better training system for soldiers come true, and that meant her job came first. Always.
She started picking at grass clinging to her socks, but she was so disheveled it made little difference. “I assume you’re here about the theft?”
“That and to serve as your protection detail, though it looks like I’m a bit late.” Without thinking, he lifted his hand to move a stray strand of hair from her eyes, but she cringed.
Got it. Message received loud and clear. Nothing’s changed between us and keep my big mitts off.
“Your protection isn’t necessary. It was just a crime of opportunity. The guy saw a woman running alone in an isolated location and tried to take advantage of the situation.” She gestured at the surrounding commotion. “I’m sure with all the cops swarming around here my attacker won’t be back.”
“So you think this was a onetime thing and doesn’t have anything to do with the theft, then?”
She nodded but stopped when a flash of pain darkened her face. Pain he’d do anything within his power to take away.
“Tell me what happened,” he encouraged softly.
She took in a breath. Blew it out. Pulled in another before starting to speak. “It was simple really. I was running. A man came up from behind and tried to drag me to a van. I remembered your self-defense moves. Had to go all the way to the head butt, but I got away.” She ended with a wry smile, easing the tense lines around her mouth for a moment.
“If your attacker was trying to abduct you,” he said, “we need to assume that it was the thief after the information only you possess.”
She looked him dead in the eye for the first time, her expression unreadable. “You think they’ve already figured out the prototype doesn’t work and they want to get the missing specs from me?”
He nodded. “And that’s why I’ll be with you 24/7 until the thief is apprehended.”
“No!” She shook her head hard, not even stopping when pain pinched her eyes tighter. “Not happening. So not happening.”
He refused to let her words sting. He was here to do a job and that meant tuning out the personal and getting the job done. He’d protect her no matter her wishes.
Still, it would be easier if he gained her cooperation. “Making a snap decision isn’t like you, Claire. Use that wonderful analytical brain God gave you. Set aside your emotions and weigh every aspect.”
Her chestnut eyes met his and emotions raced through them so fast he couldn’t tell what she was thinking.
“Okay, fine,” she said grudgingly. “You’re right. Protection is probably a good idea, but the police can provide it.”
Despite his frustration, he had to smile at her answer. He’d encouraged her to problem solve and she had. She just wouldn’t accept the most logical solution.
“I can do a better job than the police
.” He didn’t even try to sound modest. “Besides, my CO has assigned me to your detail. You may be a civilian but you work for the army. So, short of leaving your job, you have no choice in the matter.”
“Not so fast. I’m sure your CO will entertain an alternative.” She turned away and cupped her hands around her mouth. “Detective Purcell,” she called out. “Can I have a word with you?”
A string bean of a man wearing a rumpled suit and holding a typical police-issue notepad headed their way.
Travis eyed her, looking for her motives, but coming up empty. “I don’t know what you’re up to, Claire, but the theft is still on a need-to-know basis and this cop doesn’t need to know about it.”
“Relax.”
Right. How can I relax when the woman I once loved was mauled and barely escaped? When her attacker is likely to return?
When Purcell stood looking down on Claire, she gestured at Travis. “My associate thinks this may not be a random attack and that I need protection.”
“Not random, huh?” Purcell shifted his focus to Travis. “Care to share your reasoning?”
Phrasing his words to keep from giving away confidential information, Travis replied, “She works on a top secret project worth millions, and someone might want to abduct her to gain access to it.”
“Do you have any evidence suggesting a concrete connection?” Purcell asked.
“No, but my gut says she’s still in danger.”
“Can your department provide a detail?” Claire asked, hope ringing through her tone.
Purcell frowned. “Without a direct threat we don’t have the manpower for a detail.”
Travis looked pointedly at Claire.
She held his gaze for a moment, her mouth set in a grim line. “Then welcome to Orlando, Travis,” she said with unmistakable belligerence in her voice. “I’ll accept your help, but that doesn’t mean I like it.”
THREE
Claire stood at the head of the table while her team discussed a testing schedule for Travis. For the first time in the past hour, his dark eyes weren’t locked on her. She scrunched her eyes closed, hoping when she opened them he’d be gone. But he was there. In her conference room. Being charming. Handsome. Captivating. Everything she remembered him to be and more—and everything she couldn’t have.
Holiday Defenders : Mission: Christmas Rescuespecial Ops Christmashomefront Holiday Hero (9781460341254) Page 9