The Loner: Men Out of Uniform Book 4

by Rhonda Russell

  Gratifyingly, he also knew--not simply suspect, as she was so keen on pointing out last night--that she wanted him too, that she’d let him. Thankfully, whatever mad fever had corrupted his own blood, brain or what have you, had infected hers as well. No brag, just fact, but Huck knew when a woman wanted him. A lingering look, quickened breath, a shallow sigh. Those were nice. But nothing compared to the being the object of her affection.

  She had to taste, touch, sample...everything.

  She was fearless and tireless and completely uninhibited. He hadn’t had to coax a single response from her, hadn’t had to jump through the usual seduction hoops. She’d wanted him and she’d had him--repeatedly--and this morning, when there could have been an awkward moment between them, Sapphira’s bright green eyes had warmed with pleasure and, a sleepy smile still on her lips, she’d pressed a kiss against his cheek and then rolled out of bed, completely naked, citing a necessary visit.

  Minutes later they’d been sharing coffee and slathering jam over a bagel. It had been...easy, Huck realized now, and disturbingly domestic.

  At some point he knew that he’d have to discuss the ramifications of a sexual relationship with her--after all, this was the woman who’d already asked for a replacement once--but at the moment he wanted nothing more than to simply enjoy spending some time with her. And no doubt that would lead to having more sex with her, and since he didn’t seem physically capable of keeping his hands off of her, this was probably the most realistic plan to try and put into action.

  His cell vibrated at his waist once again--he’d already fielded another call this morning from his PI, who’d yet to turn up anything on his father--temporarily giving him a reason to do something other than stare at the poster of the female anatomy adhered to the wall. “Finn.”

  “We’ve been over the letter you couriered over yesterday afternoon and it’s clean,” Payne said.

  Dammit, Huck thought, unsurprised. We’re they ever going to get a break? “I figured as much,” he told him, passing a hand over his face.

  “How’s the house arrest going?”

  “Better than expected,” Huck said, flushing with a guilty smile. “We’re out right now actually. She had a doctor’s appointment.”

  “Don’t tell me she’s back at the gynecologist?”

  Huck stilled, a memory niggling just out of reach in the back of his mind. “Yes,” he said cautiously. “What? You’ve been here before?”

  “Just last week,” Payne said. “For a yearly pelvic exam, according to her. But it’s funny because I got the impression she’d been there a lot recently. All of the nurses were on a first name basis with her and one of them made the comment, ‘It’s not long now.’ If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought that she was pregnant.”

  The female anatomy poster he’d been staring at spun at an odd angle and his mouth went bone dry. “P-pregnant?” Huck asked, coughing on the word. Surely not. He’d know, right? Wouldn’t he have been able to tell? Wouldn’t her breasts have been tender? Her belly a little full?

  Pregnant?

  “She’s not,” Payne said. “I point blank asked her and she said no. Frankly, I’ve always been good at picking up on a lie and my gut told me she was telling the truth.” He paused. “But I do think it’s a little odd that she’s back there already. What reason did she give?”

  “That she’d had a bad pap smear and it needed to be redone. I’m, uh... I’m not familiar with it and I--“

  “Hold on,” Payne said, cutting him off. Huck heard him call out to someone else--his wife, maybe?--then ask a series of muffled questions. “Okay, Emma says that it’s possible that the original test got botched, but... I don’t know. I don’t trust her. My internal alarm is going off here.”

  His, too, Huck thought, staring at the door where Sapphira had gone inside. He’d insisted on sitting in the hall rather than in the waiting room. How was he supposed to protect her if he didn’t know where the hell she was? he’d argued, much to her annoyance.

  “Let me ask you something, Payne,” Huck said speculatively. “Did you wait in the lobby or go back with her?”

  “She wouldn’t let me go back with her, but I refused to wait in the lobby. We compromised by letting me guard her examining room door.”

  “Right. That’s what I’m doing as well. Did you go into the room and inspect it first?”

  “I tried,” Payne said. “She wouldn’t have it.”

  Huck hummed under his breath. He was beginning to see a pattern here. He’d wanted to scope things out as well and she’d acted as though he were a total moron for even suggesting it. And since this was her territory, so to speak, he’d relented.

  Clearly that had been a mistake.

  Because what had even become more transparent was the fact that she was hiding something.

  Again.

  Huck smothered a long-suffering sigh and told Payne he’d keep him informed.

  “Do,” Payne said. “I’m getting a weird vibe.”

  His conscious twinging with the uncomfortable knowledge that he’d just slept with his first assignment and that it was a shitty damned way to thank the men who’d taken a chance on him, Huck muttered a “Sure thing” and disconnected.

  Then, after less than a moment’s hesitation, he stood up and made his way to the door to the room where Sapphira had disappeared more than twenty minutes ago. The doctor, a short Indian man with a warm smile, had gone inside while he’d been on the phone with Payne. He leaned in and listened intently.

  A strange, watery thump-thump-thump sounded, followed by an unmistakable “Awww. Isn’t that wonderful?”

  Not Sapphira’s voice, Huck thought, frowning. A nurse? He didn’t think so. A nurse had ushered Sapphira in, but hadn’t lingered. She’d exited shortly thereafter and not another single soul, with the exception of the doctor, had gone into that room. He’d be willing to bet his life on it.

  “A nice strong heartbeat,” a heavily accented voice confirmed. The slide of wheels across the floor then, “Let’s check you then and see where you are this week.”

  A strong heartbeat? Check her? Whose heartbeat? And check who? Dammit, he needed to be in that room. None of this made any sense and a horrible sensation had taken root in his gut. He strongly suspected someone in that room was pregnant, and if it wasn’t Sapphira, then just who the hell was it? Was that what she’d been hiding?

  “Can I help you?”

  Huck started and turned around to find another nurse, this one scowling and unfriendly, staring at him. He upped the charm wattage hoping to soften her, but didn’t believe for an instant it would work. His lesbian radar rattled significantly. “No thanks, I’m just listening.”

  “If you were allowed to listen, then you would have been invited into the room.” She lifted her chin. “I’m afraid I’m going to have ask you to leave.”

  Oh, shit. Since it hadn’t worked, Huck abandoned any pretense of charm and blanked his face of any emotion. “And I’m afraid I’m going to have to refuse. I’m Sapphira Stravos’s security detail and I’m not going anywhere.”

  Her nostrils flared as she inhaled an incensed breath. “Then kindly return to your seat. It’s impolite to eavesdrop,” she pointed out, directing a pudgy finger at uncomfortable chair.

  Though he didn’t particularly care for her imperious gesture or the criticism, Huck decided it would be better to heed the woman than cause a loud scene. While he’d like nothing better than to charge the room and find out exactly what was going on--and were he still a Ranger, that’s the precise strategy he would have employed--he knew his current line of work wanted more finesse.

  It was a mystery, Huck decided, one he had every intention of solving.

  And when he’d put all the pieces together, he planned to share them with Sapphira...and dare her to take them apart.

  * * *

  “Carmen, you’re fifty percent effaced and dilated a centimeter.” Dr. Borgu shrugged. “You could deliver any time now. As
we discussed last week, it’s normal to have a little spotting and mild contractions after you’ve been checked, so don’t worry about that. If, however, your contractions become regular and are five minutes or less apart, or your water breaks, then go directly to the hospital.”

  Smiling, Carmen nodded. Seemingly satisfied, the doctor shook her hand and left the room. Sapphira quickly moved to the door to make sure that Huck wasn’t going to try and steal a peek into the room. Honestly, she wouldn’t put it past him. He’d tried every way in the world to accompany her into the exam--which wouldn’t have been a good idea even if she’d really been having another pap smear--and she’d had to heave many an exasperated sigh to limit his presence to the hallway.

  Carmen’s dark gaze found Sapphira’s. “You’re going to come to the hospital, right? You’ll be there?”

  “I promise,” Sapphira told her, offering a reassuring smile. No matter what it took, she wouldn’t let her down.

  Honestly, looking at Carmen--at the grace and strength she’d shown at seventeen while dealing with an unplanned pregnancy and impending motherhood--Sapphira knew her own problems, annoying though they were, paled drastically in comparison. Carmen had repeatedly thanked her for her support, had reiterated her appreciation over and over, but what the younger girl didn’t understand was that you couldn’t put a price tag on what Carmen had shown her.

  She’d been so brave, so strong, had matured with an inherent efficiency only impending motherhood could have brought about. She looked at Carmen, listened to her baby’s heartbeat and knew had her own baby survived, she would have been strong enough to do those things as well. Was it hard, when she missed her own unborn child with every beat of her heart? Yes. But it was worth it.

  That, Sapphira thought as she watched Carmen rub a hand over her swollen belly, was utterly priceless.

  “So have you thought any more about what we talked about?” Sapphira asked her.

  Carmen hesitated. “You mean the job?”

  “And school,” Sapphira added. She’d talked to her cohorts at Belle Charities and they’d unanimously decided to put Carmen on staff as a permanent mentor for unwed mothers. Unlike the rest of them, she’d be a paid employee, with benefits. They’d also agreed that a job without an education wasn’t going to suffice. Carmen had the brains, the drive and the ability to do so much more and, ultimately, to teach other women like her how to accomplish the same things. While the other mentors would offer support and advice, Carmen’s first-hand experience would validate her in ways the rest of them could never imagine.

  In short, her story would make her a credible mentor for their cause, and investing in her and her education was a sound financial decision.

  “I appreciate the job offer, Sapphira, you know I do,” she said, her chin tilting at a familiar proud angle. “But the scholarship is too much. I can’t accept it. Working is one thing. You know I’m not afraid to work--”

  Too true, Sapphira knew. Despite the hell it had wrought on her back Carmen had held onto her job at a local bookstore and had continued to go to school.

  “--but I won’t take that sort of hand out. It’s too much.”

  “Carmen, it’s a hand up, not a hand out. There’s a difference.”

  She started to shake her head. “I don’t think--“

  “Carmen, please. You need this,” Sapphira said, taking her hand. She grinned. “And your baby is going to need it, too.”

  She smiled weakly, looked away and shook her head, clearly on the verge of relenting. “It’s low to play the baby card, you know that, don’t you?”

  “I’ll do whatever I have to do to get you to say yes,” Sapphira needled. “Little Esmerelda is going to need an educated mother.”

  Carmen’s dark eyes widened. “Esmerelda? I’m not naming this baby Esmerelda,” she said, wrinkling nose in distaste.

  “Then what are you naming this baby?” It was a game they’d played since the beginning and a carefully guarded secret as far as Carmen was concerned. While it would have driven her insane, Carmen had even refused to know the sex of the baby. “Ten fingers? Ten toes? Everything is where it’s supposed to be? Then that’s all I want to know.”

  And she’d meant it, insisting that it be a surprise.

  “You know I’m not telling you until its born,” Carmen said. She glanced at her watch and winced. “I’ve got to hurry. My shift starts in less than an hour.”

  Sapphira felt her brow wrinkle. “Are you sure you need to go to work?”

  “I’m sure I need the money,” Carmen said, ever practical. She gathered her purse, hugged Sapphira tightly and thanked her again for attending the appointment with her. “You keep that cell on and fully charged,” she instructed. “I’d hate to have to storm the gates of your hoity-toity estate.” She chuckled softly. “How’s the new body guard working out?”

  Sapphira had told her about Huck yesterday in their brief instant message conversation. The mere thought of him made the tops of her thighs burn and remembered heat throbbed in her sex. “He’s a caveman,” she said. “But he’s not that bad.”

  Carmen stilled and she stared at her long enough to make her want to squirm. “You like this one,” she breathed, seemingly stunned.

  What the hell? Sapphira thought as panic punched her pulse into overdrive. Was she wearing a sign? Had she become that pitifully transparent? Sapphira cleared her throat and tried to appear nonchalant. “He’s nice enough, I suppose. If you like that sort of thing.”

  Carmen’s eyes twinkled. “He’s a nice caveman?”

  She chuckled and looked away. “A misnomer, I know, but...yeah.” And he was, Sapphira realized, in his own sexy, boorish way.

  “And you like him.” She said it with an implied ooo-la-la and rocked back on her very pregnant heels.

  “Stop that,” Sapphira admonished. “You’ll fall over.”

  Carmen frowned. “Hey, I’m not that big.”

  No, but she was that counter-weighted, Sapphira thought. She bit her tongue and kept the comment to herself. “Of course, not.” She hugged her again. “I should go. Give me a couple of minutes to get Sir Pain in the Ass out of the hall before you come out, okay?”

  The younger girl chuckled. “Sir Pain in the Ass? How does he feel about that nickname?”

  “I wouldn’t know,” Sapphira quipped in a near whisper. “Because he doesn’t know about it.” She winked and quickly made her way out into the hall, where Huck sat.

  That silvery hawkish gaze did a slow once over that started at the tips of her toes and ended when his gaze found hers. Humor, heat and something else, something thrillingly dangerous and deliberately guarded hovered there, making her breath hitch in her throat and a single dart of alarm land in her heart.

  Something had changed, Sapphira realized. She didn’t know what--couldn’t even begin to imagine--but the status quo had shifted sometime between the minute she walked into that room and the instant she’d walked out of it.

  She hesitated, the barest betrayal of her sudden unease, then plastered a smile on her face and hoped that he wouldn’t notice. Futile, she knew. The man didn’t miss a friggin’ thing. But... “I’m ready,” she said and started down the hall.

  Huck stood. “I’m not.”

  Sapphira drew up short and turned around. A funny taste developed in her mouth. She labeled the flavor panic. “Sorry?”

  “I’ve got to pee. Where’s the bathroom?”

  Her eyes widened and every second they spent in the hall put her that much closer to discovery. “You couldn’t go while I was in there?” she asked, pointing the examining room.

  He smiled. “I was guarding you,” Huck said. “I couldn’t leave my post. Where’s the bathroom?”

  Sapphira looked desperately up and down the hall, could feel her blood-pressure heading toward stroke level. Huck could not see Carmen. Everything she’d worked for--everything she’d accomplished--would all be at risk. Her involvement with Carmen would go into the report to her father. He
’d start asking questions and poking around, discover the extent of Belle Charities and her involvement in it and...and...

  She’d be finished.

  And all the girls and families who depended on her would be left in the lurch.

  She couldn’t let that happen.

  Sapphira hurried over and grabbed his arm and in loud, carrying tones said, “This is a gynecologist’s office, Huck. They don’t have a men’s bathroom. Come on,” she said, tugging him toward the exit. “You can pee in the bushes outside. That ought to appeal to you.”

  Huck dug in his heels. “I don’t want to pee in the bushes outside. I want to pee in here. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you have something to hide in here.”

  Her throat parched. Any second now Carmen was going to walk out that door and the jig would be up. Furthermore, for whatever reason, she knew he was stalling. She’d spent the past three days with him and the man had an iron bladder. A few steps to the parking lot wasn’t going to cause him any physical injury. He was being bull-headed and belligerent and had evidently caught the scent of a mystery, one she could not let him solve.

  For the first time since this all started, Sapphira wished she could confide in him, wished with every fiber of her being that she could share her real life with him, not the one she’d been forced--and was still being forced by her father--to portray.

  She hesitated, looked up and him, and longed to unburden her soul. She wanted to entrust her secrets and unburden her heart, to make him more than a lover, but a friend as well. She instinctively knew he’d be a good one, loyal and true, honest and frank. And in the deepest part of her soul, particularly after last night, intuition told her he could be so much more.

  More than she dared to hope for.

  Because, ultimately, he worked for her father. And that cast more than one fly in the ointment--it put every other unsavory insect in there as well.

  The thought, however depressing, braced her. He had to guard her, right? Well, he couldn’t do that if she left. Unhappily reverting to her prima donna roll, Sapphira turned and walked down the hall. “I’ll wait in the car.”