Gunner focused on Sutton. Jamison Jewel was a well-known country singer still topping the charts. Everyone loved him.
“Of course we know Jamison Jewel.”
“Well that man would be nothing without me, I tell you. Then of course, he dumped me the moment he got a record deal.” She rolled her eyes. “Typical man.”
Gunner thought Jamison Jewel was a smart man to run from the likes of this woman. Well, maybe not too smart, he’d gotten involved with her in the first place. Brought a child into the world with her. He hoped for Lily’s sake that her father had raised her.
“Anyway.” She waved a hand. “Because she’s so spoiled you’ll need to tread carefully. Use that handsome face to keep her interested and keep an eye on her. How hard can that be?”
Not hard at all if Gunner wanted to be a call boy.
“Mr. Steele will protect your daughter, because she is in danger,” Sutton cut in. “But he will not be tricking her into dating him. He will proceed how he thinks best in the situation with my backing and my trust. Understood?”
Gunner’s neck was tight. He found himself praying Bella Jolie would get upset and walk away. If he couldn’t tell the girl who he was because she was a flight risk, he may very well have to flirt. He hated flirting.
Bella Jolie’s eyes flashed but when she spoke it was silky smooth. “Of course, you’re the ‘best of the best’. I’ll trust you to handle the situation.”
“Where is Lily currently?”
She pulled her phone out, clicked on an app, and pursed her unnaturally-puffy lips. “Looks like she’s still in Podunk Idaho.”
“Podunk’s actually a town now?” Sutton asked, only a trace of sarcasm in his voice.
“She works at the New York Deli … in Preston, Idaho, and she lives in a rundown trailer on a lake called Twin Lakes in Clifton, Idaho. I doubt she even showers, and she’s forgotten what makeup is. Do any of those things shout class and grace to you? Good for nothing little brat,” she muttered under her breath.
Gunner suddenly felt sorry for Lily. How could anyone not be a brat who was raised by this woman? Yet living in a camp trailer and working as a waitress didn’t suggest she was too spoiled. Both of her parents were obviously successful. Did they not help her financially?
“Do you track her through the Find My Friends app?” Sutton didn’t respond to the jab at her daughter or how Lily chose to live her life.
Bella Jolie laughed. “No. You think she’d consider me a friend? Before she graduated high school, she had her wisdom teeth pulled. I paid the oral surgeon to insert a microchip implant into her cheek.” She smiled. “She’s never known that I keep track of her or that the implant is even there.”
“That’s illegal,” Sutton said.
She rolled her eyes. “Forget I told you then.” She strode toward the door but spun and said, “I’ll expect my new security team to beat me home and my baby girl to stay safe. Ciao.” Sashaying out the office door, she clicked through the entryway, and finally they heard the blessed sound of the front door opening and shutting.
Gunner turned to Sutton, who stood behind his desk.
“Blimey,” Sutton said. “She’s a … dodgy melter. What are your thoughts?”
Gunner wasn’t sure what melter meant but he could guess. Interesting how Sutton’s less-formal English terminology came out after the client exited. “Truly, I kept hoping she’d walk.”
“Cheers to that.” Sutton chuckled. “We can turn the job down if you want. Neither of us needs her filthy money.”
Gunner thought about it, so tempted, but he’d gained a lot of compassion for Bella Jolie’s daughter in the past half an hour and was intrigued by the way she was living. He didn’t like the thought of any woman being in danger and not even knowing it. The threats from the stalker’s notes were vicious and the person had insinuated he was going after Lily if Bella Jolie didn’t give him what he wanted, a night alone with her reenacting the old movie scene. Sick guy from the sounds of it.
“I want to help the girl.”
Sutton nodded. “You’re a good chap. I’ll get some other operatives assigned to protect Bella Jolie.” He said the name as dramatically and sarcastically as Gunner had ever heard Sutton speak.
“My apologies to whoever that is,” Gunner said.
“My thoughts exactly.”
Chapter Two
Lily Bella Jewel rushed through the restaurant’s kitchen, picking up the plated pork mac ‘n cheese that was ready to serve. “This smells delectable,” she sang to the cook.
“Thank you, sweetheart,” James returned with a grin. The fifty-something guy reminded her of her dad, very laidback and well-liked by everyone, but James was twice as thick and muscular as her tall, thin father. James also seemed concerned about her, something her father had never revealed in her lifetime. “Aren’t you done for the night? I don’t like you riding that bike in the dark.”
“Don’t worry about me, my friend. I’ve been riding that bike throughout the good old US of A, and small-town Idaho is the safest I’ve ever been.”
He rolled his eyes. “Just finish that order and get your skinny behind back to your trailer, or I’ll make you wait until I’m plum done and drive your keister home.”
She smiled. “Oh, the threats.” Bustling through the door, she ignored his growl of a reply. It was adorable how her fellow employees and the owners of this cute restaurant took responsibility for her well-being, especially as she’d never asked them to. She loved real people, but she’d worked hard to learn how to protect herself.
Hurrying to the closest table in the small restaurant, she set down the dinner. “Now if you don’t love this bit of heaven, I don’t know what to tell you, but you may have flawed taste buds.”
The lady smiled, winking at her husband who was maneuvering his mouth around the thick bacon cheeseburger Lily had delivered to him a few minutes ago.
“Sorry,” he mumbled with a mouthful, “I shoulda waited.”
“Don’t worry, darlin’, you’ll be waitin’ on me to eat this.” She looked to Lily. “It smells delicious. Thank you, sweet girl.”
“Do you need anything else right now?” Lily asked.
“We should be happy and busy for a while,” the lady answered.
“Y’all enjoy it.”
They both smiled at her put-on Southern accent. She wasn’t from the South but had loved her stay of a few months last fall on Hilton Head Island working for Shar Heathrow’s Beach Cottage restaurant. Waitressing was not only the easiest job to come by, Lily enjoyed meeting people and fully appreciated free food. Free food had helped her survive on her own since she’d turned eighteen, dropped the Jolie part of her last name, and told her mother she was going to live her life without any help or any contact from her.
She checked in with her dad once in a while. He sometimes responded to her emails and didn’t seem to be disappointed in her. But the famous Jamison Jewel didn’t get riled about much of anything, least of all that his daughter was going to amount to nothing, as her mother used to remind her. Thankfully, she hadn’t seen Bella Jolie in six years now. Blissful. That’s what an existence without her mother was. Sometimes, throughout the years, she’d felt as if someone were watching her, maybe someone who guessed the connection to one of her famous parents. When that happened, she simply upped her self-defense training and relocated.
Glancing around the quiet restaurant, she startled as she saw a man sitting in the corner booth. He was incredibly handsome with dark coloring, a well-trimmed beard, and a muscular frame, but he was also watching her intently. It wasn’t a creepy look, more of a gaze of either interest in her, or possibly recognition. Aw, shoot. She hated when someone put together whose daughter she was, even worse when it was a man that good-looking, because she wouldn’t let herself flirt with someone who knew who she was. No, strike that; she wouldn’t flirt with anyone who wanted a claim to fame because they’d figured out her lineage.
It was the one luxury sh
e allowed herself—flirting with handsome men. She rarely dated, as safety was her highest priority, and though she’d won every fight she’d been in, she never underestimated anyone or put herself in stupid positions; but flirting she liked, a lot. Tugging at her long braid, she hoped she looked presentable after rushing around a hot kitchen for hours. She’d given up on makeup, fancy haircuts, and manicures years ago, one more way to spite her mother, but she liked to be clean and presentable.
Lily gave him a forced smile that he barely returned. That worried her even more. If he was interested in dating her he’d smile or wink or something. This man appeared much too tough and serious. It was unsettling. She turned and hurried back into the kitchen.
Hanging up her apron, she called to the owners Kristen and James, “I’m out. See you tomorrow for lunch.”
“Be safe,” they both returned.
She smiled. They had no clue how many different places she’d lived over the past six years, some of them very un-safe, or the fact that she’d been trained by her bodybuilder of a nanny behind her mother’s back and taken a variety of self-defense classes throughout the past six years. She was capable of protecting herself.
“I always am.” She hurried back out into the restaurant before they could fuss about her anymore. The man in the corner booth caught her eye again. Sarah the waitress closing tonight should come wait on him, he’d be fine, but when their gazes caught she felt an unfamiliar connection to him. Maybe it was because he seemed to know her, but it might be something much more intriguing. His very build shouted safety and protection, unless he wasn’t on your team, and his dark eyes tugged at her. She could see herself becoming a fan of this man.
Forcing herself to walk through the restaurant and past the deli counter, she exchanged goodbyes with the girls manning the counter and burst through the front door into the dry Idaho summer heat. It was after seven-thirty, but it stayed light until close to nine in late August. She’d be fine with daylight on the thirteen-mile ride to her lakeside home. Well, home was a loose word, but she loved her little camp trailer.
Walking around the side of the building, she found her commuter bike propped right where she’d left it and undid the lock. The lock was pretty superfluous in this little town, but habits were hard to break, and she didn’t want to risk losing this bike. It was a good one and had taken her months to save up for, costing almost a thousand dollars.
As she pushed it toward the road, the front door of the deli opened, and the man from the corner booth strode out. The air suddenly became oppressively hot as she couldn’t tear her eyes from him. The way he walked was like he was the world, so confident and appealing, yet not posturing or trying to put on airs. His very presence made her heart race. His dark gaze focused in on her, and he didn’t play any games. He walked right up to her, stopped a foot away and said, “Hey.”
Lily clung to her bike, so she didn’t tip over. His sculpted muscles were semi-hidden by a soft t-shirt but nothing could fully disguise a build like that. His face was smooth and tanned with just enough facial hair to make her want to touch it and see if it was soft or rough. How would it feel if she simply brushed her cheek against it?
Instead of asking him if she could touch his cheek with her own, she sputtered out. “Are you just in charge of the whole world, military boy?” He was many maturity levels above a boy but teasing was imperative right now.
His eyes registered surprise, but he gave her a slight smile. “If I was, I’d ask you to dinner.”
Lily’s breath rushed out in a half-laugh, half-longing sigh. “Oh, you would, would you?” She flipped her long hair and pushed a hip out. “And where would you take me on said dinner, oh, hot and mighty one?”
His smile only grew slightly, but she could sense she amused him; he was simply a serious one. Ooh, he’d be fun to break.
He pointed back at the restaurant. “This place had fabulous reviews on Trip Advisor.”
“Hmm. But I get food for free there so that’s a pretty lame date.”
His chin lifted, and his smile became a fraction more generous. She was going to have to work for a grin. Work, she could do. He was so tough and almost solemn, reinforcing her suspicions of a military background. He tilted his head across the street. “Should we try Big J’s instead?” It was obvious from the sound of his voice he wasn’t too impressed with what looked like an ordinary fast-food restaurant.
“Oh, I think I’ve got your number. You’ve traveled the world and think a simple fast-food dive is below you?” She arched an eyebrow and dared him to challenge her. He simply lifted a shoulder. “You’ll have to be schooled then. It is completely unacceptable to use that tone of voice with Big J’s. Their bacon cheeseburger could make you sing, and they have a pizza bomb that I’m salivating about just saying the words.” He was making her salivate, but she didn’t want to let on. What was a man like this doing showing up in her small town? She didn’t know everybody in the valley, but she would bet all twenty-seven of the hundred-dollar bills she’d worked so hard to stash in her trailer that he wasn’t a local.
“Salivate?” His gaze traveled over her face and truly made her salivate for more. “I’ll have to try both of them then. You in?”
She was incredibly tempted, but it was a long bike ride in the late summer heat, and she didn’t prefer doing it in the dark. There was no way she’d let this man take her home, and she hated to put James out as he lived the other direction of where she needed to go, up a beautiful canyon called Cub River.
“Not tonight, but thanks for the offer.” She smiled and pushed her bike away, hating to walk away from such appeal.
“Are you working tomorrow?” he said to her back.
She glanced over her shoulder. “I’ve got the lunch shift.” Yes! He wanted to see her again.
“When do you get off?”
She wanted him to smile fully. He was much too serious, no matter how much she teased. Still she saw no harm in getting to know him a little bit, maybe a date or two, maybe a kiss or two. His lips were a firm, manly line that she wouldn’t mind a taste of.
“Four,” she admitted.
“I’ll be waiting for you right here. Then I can salivate …” He actually gave her a larger smile. “Over the pizza bomb.”
“What if I’m not ready to salivate?” she asked, winking sassily at him.
He shrugged. “Then I’ll be waiting the next day, and the next day … until you decide you are ready.”
“Persistent, aren’t you?”
He actually chuckled and grinned. The combination robbed the oxygen from her body. “Handsome” didn’t do justice to this man when he grinned.
“You have no idea,” he said.
“I guess we’ll see if tomorrow’s your lucky day.”
He sobered and stared deeply into her eyes. “I guess we will.”
The moment seemed to draw out between them, and Lily was lost in the depths of his dark gaze. This man had seen the world and the pain that was in it. Lily wanted to hold his hand and help him to see the happiness that was in it too. She hadn’t known that happiness until she escaped her mother’s clutches and found real people and the good Lord. Could she help him?
The door to the restaurant banged open, ripping her gaze from him. James stormed out. James had been a football player at Utah State University back in his day, and he was still built like it. Even still, he wouldn’t have stood a chance against the man hitting on Lily. Well, “hitting on” was a bit strong, but he had asked her out.
“Everythin’ okay out here?” James folded his large arms across his redwood tree trunk chest.
“Right as rain,” Lily said. “See you tomorrow, James.”
She nodded to the handsome guy. He said nothing but tilted up his chin at her. She’d need to be smart, and leery with a man this serious and well-built, but all the vibes she got from him were positive.
Climbing onto her bike, she clicked on her helmet and made sure her backpack was secure before pushing off
down the main street. She didn’t look back, but she could feel that man was watching her. If only she’d found out his name. She thoroughly enjoyed each day of her life, but excitement and attraction like that didn’t come along every year. She’d be careful, but tomorrow couldn’t come soon enough.
Gunner watched Lily pedal off down Main Street. He could easily find her, as he knew exactly where she was going. Their intel didn’t show the stalker was after Lily yet, but Gunner didn’t want to leave her safety to chance. He’d surprised himself, flirting with her like that, well as flirtatious as he ever got. He’d been opposed to the idea, especially after Bella Jolie had been the one to suggest it and flirting had never come naturally to him, but with Lily it had felt both second-nature and thrilling in a way he hadn’t experienced before to ask her out and tease a little bit. He experienced plenty of thrills from dangerous situations, or trying to keep up with his brother Jex on his crazy adventures. But thrills from a gorgeous blonde weren’t familiar to him at all. The pressure of the gun stowed in the small of his back and the knife in his front pocket were good reminders that he wasn’t here to flirt and have fun. He was here on a job, but it was looking to be a much more enjoyable job than he’d anticipated.
“Who are you, stranger?” the man who’d interrupted them asked.
“Just passing through.” Gunner turned to face him. The guy was built, for an old man. Gunner had no desire to posture with him, but then Gunner didn’t feel the need to posture very often.
The man’s eyes trailed over him and Gunner knew he didn’t need to so much as fold his arms across his chest for the cook to get the message that Gunner was no one to mess with.
“What branch of the military?”
Was it really that obvious? First Lily, now this guy. “Navy.” There was no reason to lie.
“Don’t mess with my girl. We all love her a lot, and she’s innocent and sweet.”
Steele Family Romance Collection Page 24