Hero Book 3 - The Battle: Military Romance

by Parker, M. S.

  “Private security,” I said with a smile, hoping to put her at ease. “Do you happen to recognize this man?”

  She glanced at the picture I held up. After a moment, she answered, “Yeah, he kind of stuck out from the regular crowd.”

  “I'd appreciate any other details you could give me,” I said. “Any chance you have a break coming up?”

  “Hilton, take over for me?” she called over to a tall skinny guy. She slipped off her apron as she came around the counter. “I'm Genny, by the way. With a G.”

  “Nice to meet you, ah, Genny.” I gestured to a table in the corner. One with chairs instead of a booth.

  We sat down and I felt her knee brush mine under the table. I repressed a sigh. It was going to be like that then.

  “So, you're like a bodyguard or something?” she said. “That's hot.”

  I ignored her comment and hoped she'd take the hint. “This man, did you see him meeting with anyone? Can you remember anything unusual about the times he came in?”

  Her slim calf joined her knee and brushed against my leg.

  Either she hadn't gotten the hint, or she didn't care.

  “He drank triple espressos, and carried a newspaper he never read.” She made a face. “Instead, he creeped out the women by staring.”

  “And you're sure this is the guy?” I asked.

  “Positive.” She pressed her foot against my knee. “If he looked like you, I wouldn't have minded the staring.”

  The newspaper might have been used to camouflage an envelope of cash. Still, without Raul to connect Lennon to another customer, I was at a dead end.

  “Do you know where Raul lives?” I asked.

  She shook her head. “But I can tell you where I live.”

  I stood and pretended not to notice Genny's pout. “Thanks for the coffee,” I said, giving her a polite smile as I walked away.

  Back in the car, I paused and let the engine idle. It'd be easy enough to call the coffee shop later in the day and find out which shifts Raul had taken to replace his normal hours. Until then, unless I could figure out a way to get Raul's home address, I'd hit a wall in my investigation.

  My next move was to return to the mansion and report everything to Devlin, but I didn't shift the car into gear. I'd been preoccupied for a couple minutes while conducting my investigation, but now, Leighton was back on my mind. I texted her temporary bodyguard, something I did every hour, and he responded immediately.

  Regular outing, nothing to report.

  He'd put up with my insistent check-ins since I hired him, but he never had much to say. I just hoped Leighton hadn't already gotten to him and convinced him to hide her whereabouts.

  It'd be an easy thing to turn on the GPS on his phone and find them.

  I held my phone up and forced myself to take three long breaths. Leighton was safe. Dallas had strict instructions from both me and Devlin, so there was no reason for me to check up on her.

  No logical reason. Only my desire to see her.

  It would've been easy to waste time in the coffee shop, flirting with Genny, but I had no desire to waste my time with a mere distraction. I wanted to be with Leighton. No one else was worth my attention.

  Even if Leighton didn't want to see me.

  She'd made it clear over the last few days that she didn't want me butting in on her business. I just hoped that didn't mean she wanted me out of her life completely.

  I leaned my head back on the head rest and squeezed my eyes shut. If Leighton found out that I was investigating the threats without telling her, I wouldn't blame her if she never wanted to see me. What I was doing wasn't exactly a secret, but I had gone out of my way to avoid any of her questions about my 'other' work for Devlin.

  It was no surprise Leighton wanted to keep secrets of her own. It had to be enough that I knew she was safe, wherever she was.

  I shifted the car into drive and pulled out of my tight parallel parking spot. The only thing that would get me back to Leighton and clear the air between us was finding the person who was after her. I could go back, see if I could at least get Raul's last name, find a way to get his address, hunt him down at home, but that would set the police even more against me. I had to tread lightly or ruin the entire case. This wasn't like before, when I'd been hunting for Leighton. Then, I hadn't cared about evidence or anything like that. I'd needed to find her. Now, I needed to be very careful or the kidnappers could get off on a legal technicality.

  I sighed. When the light turned green, I whipped around in a U-turn. I needed a break and a friend of mine was at the nearby rehabilitation center. He'd emailed two days ago, but I'd put off visiting in order to work Leighton's case. Now seemed like the best time to see him. We could probably both use a boost.

  As I drove there, I wondered if Fordman, who was in army intelligence, could tell me anything about Ian, anything I could take back to Leighton. If I could at least tell her Ian was okay, then we would have something to talk about. The strained quiet between us had been rougher on me than Leighton's bright chatter used to be.

  I missed her.

  I parked the car and sat for a moment. I missed Leighton, and I wanted to change that. After I visited with Fordman, I would find her and tell her exactly what I'd been doing. There was no reason to let anything else come between us. I didn't want to do this anymore.

  I got out of the car feeling lighter than I had in days. I would touch base with an old friend, try to get news about Ian, break the ice with Leighton, and then tell her everything. I'd give what I knew to the cops, but if they hadn't found Raul by morning, I'd get his address any way I could.

  My outlook didn't dim even when I found out my friend was resting and not available for a visit. I was so busy thinking about talking to Leighton again that I didn't look where I was going. I rounded the corner and a blaze of red curls bounced off my chest. I caught her slim shoulders and steadied her even as I felt myself get dizzy. I wasn't too dizzy, however, to recognize the woman in my arms.

  “Leighton?”

  “Haze?” She looked up at me in surprise.

  “Back off, man. Leighton, are you alright?” A man in a wheelchair rolled up, giving me the kind of look that would've made me take a step back if I hadn't served.

  “He's alright, Tolson. He's my boss,” Dallas said from where he stood behind Leighton and the soldier in the chair. “Mr. Welch, what're you doing here?”

  “Giving you the afternoon off,” I said as Leighton took a step away from me.

  Dallas smiled for the first time, and Leighton glared at him. “What's happening?” she asked.

  “What's happening is these two are going to get themselves sorted, and you and I are going to continue our walk,” the man called Tolson said.

  She put a hand on his shoulder and spoke without looking at me. “You're right. Let's go.”

  It was my turn to stare. Leighton walked away, clearly knowing where she was going.

  “Is this where she's been all week?” I asked Dallas, my voice harsher than I intended.

  “Thanks for the afternoon off, man. See you back at the mansion.” He slapped my shoulder and left without answering my question.

  I stood alone in the hallway, at a complete loss for which way to go. This was the last place in all of LA I'd expect to run into Leighton. Not only was she here, but she knew her way around. And, thinking back over the details of our run-in, I realized she'd been wearing a volunteer name tag.

  I started down the hall after her. I had no doubt she was safe in here, but I'd feel better when I was with her. Before I got more than half a dozen feet, however, I saw her coming back toward me.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “Let me get my stuff,” she said.

  I had no choice but to follow her, and I was even more confused when she picked up a thin portfolio, a briefcase, and her purse from the main room. I looked at her again. She was dressed in black pants and a modest white silk blouse. She looked stunning, as usual, but so
mething was different. I just couldn't put my finger on it.

  I didn't ask about it though. This wasn't the place for the conversation. As we left, she waved at half a dozen soldiers who seemed to know her. All of them smiled at her, even the toughest looking ones.

  Before we got outside, a tall man in a suit stopped to shake her hand. “Thanks so much for your proposal. It's going to make a great difference, and I really look forward to seeing what you come up with.” He smiled. “The men around here could use a little style on top of function.”

  “Thank you for accepting it. I'm so excited to get started. I've already got pages of suggestions from the men.”

  I nodded to the smiling man and followed Leighton outside. My head was spinning, and not from vertigo. What the hell had I missed? “What offer? What suggestions?” I asked.

  She marched across the parking lot with more energy than I'd seen from her in days.

  “I've found the perfect project. I didn't want to tell you so soon, but I can't help it. I'm too excited!”

  She twirled around to grin at me just as a man in a black hood scooped her off the ground. A black glove covered her smile and smothered the scream that followed.

  Chapter 17

  Haze

  Leighton screamed around her attacker's glove, and in the distance, I registered alarmed voices being raised. Help was on the way, but she was in immediate danger.

  A blunt jab of metal stiffened my already tense muscles. The gun barrel was directly in my back, aimed haphazardly instead of intentionally targeting vital internal organs. I took two seconds to decide the attacker who held the gun was an amateur, and that the risk was worth it.

  Then I struck.

  I twisted hard and felt the gun barrel slip away as the attacker's wrist bent. With one sharp move, I hammered my forearm down, and knocked the gun out of his hand. A sharp punch to my jaw sent me reeling back, my head singing, but I had enough time to kick the gun under a nearby parked car.

  I fought to clear the nauseating effects of the vertigo as I charged the now unarmed man. My steps were awkward, but I had to move. I couldn't afford to take a moment. He was nearly as tall as me, and I noted he weighed more as my momentum knocked us both to the ground.

  His head hit the ground and I grabbed for his mask before he could roll away. I didn't get it though.

  “Haze!” The scream was muffled, but understandable.

  I scrambled to my feet and saw her attacker dragging her towards a utility van. I knew security was on the way, but she was only a few feet from the open door of the getaway vehicle.

  I wasn't going to lose her.

  She bit her attacker's hand, managing to get him to move it enough off her mouth to warn me. “He's coming to!”

  I ignored it, and kept running toward her. She was trying to break her attacker's hold, tucking her legs up to her chest, then kicking them out together. The combined weight, with the purposeful move, threw her attacker off balance and slowed his progress. All the while, she kept struggling to get her arms free.

  For a moment, it looked as if it would work. The attacker stumbled. He yanked Leighton to his side and locked one arm around her while he fumbled. Then his other hand appeared, and my heart stopped.

  “Leighton, don't move,” I said.

  “Not again!” She jerked her body.

  The tip of the gun touched her cheek, and I saw the fight go out of her. Her eyes flew to me and I held on for several long moments.

  Then, behind me, I heard the scrape of a step and I ducked. The missed jab threw my attacker off balance, and he stumbled to face me. What he lacked in gun skills, I saw he made up for in boxing talent as he righted himself with a shuffle of his feet and came back swinging.

  I didn't want to turn my back on Leighton, but I had to put the man down so I could concentrate on freeing her. All this passed through my mind in a few quick seconds. I circled him and waited for his next move. He came on hard with a lightning fast combination, but I snaked to the right and caught him hard on the knee with a sharp kick. There was a sick crack and he let out a pained sound as he stumbled, his leg at a strange angle.

  I didn't wait to see if he'd fall or recover, I spun around and delivered another hard kick to his sternum before cracking my forearm against his face. He fell to the ground, gasping for air, and held up two hands to show he was staying down.

  I turned back. Leighton's attacker hadn't gotten her any closer to the van, and I was horrified to see her struggles renewed. Even with the gun scraping across her face, she kicked and elbowed, doing everything she could to try to get free.

  “I'll shoot you in the face,” he growled.

  “You're not going to shoot me, and we all know it,” Leighton snapped back, a grim look in her eyes. “Especially since the safety's on.”

  “How do you know that, bitch?” he snarled.

  “I don't. You just don't look that smart,” Leighton said.

  The man growled again, flicking off the safety with his thumb. Instead of replacing the muzzle against her cheek, however, he aimed directly at me.

  “I might not shoot you, but I can put a bullet in your boyfriend there,” he said.

  “I'm her bodyguard, not her boyfriend,” I snapped at him. “What do you think she pays me for, you moron? I might take a bullet, but you'll never get her in that van.” I tried to reason with him. “Why make your prison sentence any longer?”

  For a moment, I thought it might work, but then I realized Leighton had stopped struggling. The problem was, he realized it too.

  “Seems to me somebody has a little crush,” he said. “So, now, she's going to be a good little heiress and get in the van. Otherwise, I'm going to shoot her big bad boy toy.”

  Shit.

  I didn't even have to look at her to know she was going to do it. She was going to obey the fucker and let him drag her to that van. Hospital security would probably be blocking as many exits as possible until the cops arrived, but it wouldn't be enough. They could get out. With her. And I'd die before I let that happen.

  “Haze, don't do it,” Leighton begged as soon as I took a step toward her.

  “Don't worry, Leighton.” I kept my voice even and my eyes on her, willing her to trust me. “He'll only get one shot off before I reach him.”

  The attacker paused and eyed the distance between us. I didn't need to. I already knew. It was no more than six feet. The second time his eyes dipped to the ground, I lunged.

  The attacker shoved Leighton out of the way, and brought the gun up with two hands. My body slammed into his, and then we were on the ground.

  I heard a sharp report echo through my mind before Leighton's scream stopped time.

  Chapter 18

  Leighton

  I stumbled and turned just in time to see Haze hit the man who'd held me. There was a heavy thud as the two of them hit the utility van. The tires squealed as the driver took off. Haze and the man fell to the ground and the gun exploded its release.

  I had no idea I'd screamed until I realized the sound I heard was me. Then Haze reared up from the ground and grabbed my attacker by his collar. He cracked the man's head against the concrete and then pulled himself to his feet.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, breathing hard.

  I stared at him. “I'm fine.” I brushed off his concern. “I didn't even fall. But who, what, the gun went off?”

  “By accident when we hit the ground,” Haze said. “I don't think they even knew how to use them.”

  He took a step towards me and then swayed. A dizzy spell, I assumed, until he reached a hand across his heart, his palm coming away coated in blood. He looked at it without surprise, and his knees buckled. Before he fell, hospital security swarmed around us.

  I fought off my rescuers, pushing through the crowd to where Haze had fallen. No one had touched him yet, and I froze a step away from him. Blood was slowly blackening the ground behind his left shoulder and inching its way towards my shoes.

  I shook
my head. No. This couldn't be happening. It couldn't end like this.

  Three of the security guards ran past Haze to the man on the ground behind him. I was dimly aware that two other guards were handcuffing the man with the broken leg.

  None of that mattered though. Not with Haze's face going pale.

  I dropped to my knees, my hands going to his chest. I lifted his jacket and found the bloody tear in his shirt, the hole oozing blood beneath it. Not knowing what else to do, I pressed both hands over the wound, and prayed the bleeding would stop.

  “They're on their way. They're on their way,” I chanted, but the words cut off as a sob caught in my throat.

  He hadn't hesitated, even for an instant. He'd thrown himself directly at a loaded gun to make sure I wasn't taken. He told my attacker it was what he'd been paid to do, but I'd seen his eyes. I'd known saving me meant more to him than his life. The enormity of that knowledge tore the sobs from my chest even as I tried to choke them back.

  Suddenly, I heard a phone ring. I looked around automatically and saw it on the ground near Haze's head. My grandfather's name popped up on the screen, and I reached out with one hand to punch the answer button.

  “Haze has been shot!” I blurted out before Grandfather could say anything. “They shot him!”

  “Who? Leighton, who shot Haze? Are you okay?”

  A sob tried to escape, but I forced myself to take a breath, to focus. I had both hands pressed to Haze's wound again, and his blood was thick between my fingers. “Two men in masks attacked me and tried to force me into a van. Haze stopped them, but he got shot.”

  “Hold tight, sweetheart. I’m tracking your phone. I'm on my way,” Grandfather said.

  The phone went dead and I heard pounding footsteps. When I looked up, Dr. David dropped to the ground next to me, and brushed my hands away. I sat back on my heels, my bloody hands resting on my thighs as I watched, helpless.

  “Jesus, it's worse than I thought.” Dr. David shouted orders over his shoulder as sirens blared.

  The police had arrived.

  The chaos around me blurred as my world narrowed down to Haze's face. I reached out and brushed my fingers across his pale cheek.