Shielding Blair (Special Forces: Operation Alpha): A Fierce Protectors Novella

by Hagen, Casey

  He’d prayed for death. Anything for relief. He didn’t care how.

  It was the first time he’d ever looked at his gun and saw it as a solution to his own pain.

  “I’d never been so sick in my life, and she stayed with me, prayed for me, watched me as I hovered on the edge of death. There I was as a solider and something as small as a virus threatened to be my undoing.”

  Blair took his hand and kissed his knuckles, not saying a word, not attempting to smother him with female theatrics and drama. Just listening, with her attention completely on him, so much so that she didn’t notice that the comforter had fallen away, exposing her creamy, white breasts and pink nipples.

  He ran his index finger along hers, just fiddling, and let the words flow, surprised at how easy it was.

  How easy she made it.

  “Just days after the fever broke, those groups moved in. We got intel on their leader, and where he’d be so we hid Aisha and her family in a bunker and went after him. When I got back,” he choked on the words and closed his eyes.

  She pushed up onto her knees next to him. “They were dead,” she murmured, her hands cupping his face.

  He nodded as he struggled to get a hold of his emotions.

  “They raped her. Mutilated her,” he said, blinking back tears of his own. The image was just as clear in his head today as if he were right back in Pakistan standing in a sea of their blood.

  “You don’t have to say any more,” she said, kissing his forehead and wrapping her arms around him. “I hear you, Evan. You’re okay. It’s going to be okay.”

  She straddled his lap and rocked him as he pressed his cheek against her breasts, his arms banded around her, holding on with everything he had.

  His salvation, his anchor in a personal storm that never failed to rock him to the core.

  Her fingers threaded through his hair over and over, her touch chasing away the touch of evil that had shaped him into a man who’d built walls between himself and the people he cared about. Who had laid low, always at the fringes of life, watching people live to the fullest, and wishing he could do the same.

  The cold in the heart of him thawed with her love, her understanding, his temperature warming from frigid to scorching the longer her skin meshed with his.

  Picking up the lingering scent of their lovemaking, need coiled tight inside him. Need for comfort. The need to claim her.

  Turning his face to her, he sipped at her nipples, his cock hardening, throbbing, begging for release yet again.

  Her gaze met his, those green eyes just as hungry. When she smiled and bit her lip, he lifted her just enough and drove into her.

  Her head fell back, those curls cascading over the hands he splayed across her back as she moved over him, and finally, he’d found home.

  Chapter 11

  Blair yawned in the passenger seat of Evan’s car. She’d maybe gotten three hours of sleep tops the night before between rounds of languid lovemaking.

  Not that she had any complaints despite the fact that every muscle screamed in agony as a result.

  She smiled.

  “You have no idea how happy I am that it’s Friday,” she said, taking a sip of the coffee Evan had brewed and put in a travel mug for her that morning.

  She rolled her head along the headrest and glanced at him. “How are you not exhausted?”

  He took her hand in his and laid it on his thigh. “Years of being in the military. I’ve been frozen to the core, wet, blisters covering my feet, covered in cuts and scrapes burning with the sting of sea water, and that was just Hell Week. Later on, add afraid to so much as blink because to do so could mean a bullet between the eyes. It keeps things in perspective.”

  The words tumbled off his tongue—no hesitation. He even cracked a smile.

  She didn’t kid herself, it wouldn’t always be this easy for him to talk about his years in the military, but for now, she’d take it. And when those memories crept up on him, she’d listen to those, too. Over and over again if necessary.

  His phone pinged from where it lay between them. He let her go and grabbed it from the center console, his mouth thinning as he read the screen. “It’s Mozart. He wants me to call him.”

  “Go ahead. You have time; I have a few minutes before I have to go in,” she said.

  “I’ll put him on speaker.” He laid the phone on his thigh, the ring filling the silence of the morning.

  “Evan,” Mozart said.

  “Good morning. Is it a good morning? Tell me you have something for me? I’ll take just about anything at this point.”

  “I found a pattern,” Mozart said.

  All it took was those four words and Evan transformed right before her eyes. Or maybe not. Maybe that intense part of him, with the laser sharp focus, lay dormant just under the surface all this time, just waiting for the hint of danger to show itself.

  He dragged out his yellow legal pad and a pen. “Blair, do me a favor and open the map.”

  “No problem.” Crazy how some innocent task made her feel better about this whole mess. For the entire time, all of these people with exceptional skills worked around her, and what did she do? Wiped runny noses while teaching kids how to write their letters and count apples and oranges.

  Not that what she did wasn’t important. For those kids, those lessons were the foundation by which everything that came after would stand. But it all seemed so insignificant next to people who risked their lives day in and day out.

  She unfolded the paper and splayed it out on the dashboard, pathetically proud to help. The bottom half hung over the steering wheel and curled in their laps as it took up the whole front of the car.

  “I’m listening,” Evan said as he scanned the map.

  “Chief Sullivan consulted on a string of arsons in Riverside a couple years ago. Paraffin starters. Fifteen fires in all. It led to the arrest of one Daniel Clayton. He was finally convicted a month ago, his conviction hinged on evidence the chief had discovered.”

  Blair shivered and clutched her travel mug tighter to her chest.

  “I don’t recognize the name. Do we have any background on him?” Evan said.

  “I’ve got Tex on it. Here’s the thing. The dates of the Clayton fires all line up with the fires that burned down the locations Chief Sullivan and Blair frequented after her mother died,” Mozart added.

  Evan shook his head. “But there weren’t that many. Not even close.”

  “No, but if I lump those fires in with the other paraffin fires in the chief’s jurisdiction, all fourteen dates match.”

  Evan pinched the bridge of his nose and adjusted his glasses. “Wait, didn’t you say there were fifteen fires?”

  “I did. If this pattern is accurate, we have one more fire to go.”

  Blair sucked in a breath. Her heart stuttered in her chest, and her ears rang. “What’s the next date?” she asked.

  “Next Monday,” Mozart said quietly.

  Three days from now. At least seventy-two more hours of wondering, waiting, hoping they’d figure it out.

  “I need to warn Kate. I can’t be at the school that day. I’ll stay home.”

  Evan’s eyes flashed in a show of temper she recognized. When fear crept in, he didn’t shrink back, he snarled. “The hell you will. We’ll figure out where we’ll be, but it will be in a secure location.”

  “I can call a meeting for tomorrow if you want. We can figure out—” Mozart began.

  “Today. If everyone can meet me in the side lot at nine, we’ll get everything started. I want all the pieces in place before the weekend so we have time to plan for all the possibilities. We’re going to need to get Josie’s father involved so we can have all units possible ready.”

  “Dude and I will meet you there.”

  “We need to figure out all of the potential locations,” Evan added.

  “I can make a list of the locations that haven’t already burned. Or if you have that list already, I can review it to make sure it
’s complete,” Blair offered.

  Evan took her hand. “That’d be perfect. Mozart, can you read off the locations of those fires so I can map them?”

  “Sure,” Mozart said.

  Mozart listed them out, waiting as Evan found them all and marked them with a metallic gold marker, making them stand out on the page filled with multicolored dots.

  “Thanks. I’ve got to let you go, Cole is beeping in.”

  “Go. Talk soon.”

  “Hey, Cole,” Evan answered even as his eyes scanned the map.

  Blair stared at the dots, looking for any formation, but came up with nothing. Mostly her mind found jumbled shapes, sharp angles, but nothing that resembled anything at all.

  “Hey. I wanted to call you to let you know they haven’t gotten a read on the Rand’s print yet. I brought it to a guy in the force who owes me a favor, but his supervisor walked in and got pepper in his ass to do this all legal-like.”

  “We need that report,” Evan said, his gaze narrowing on the map.

  “And we’ll get it. I just called Josie, and she’s going to ask her dad to bump it up in the line. We’re in his good graces so he’ll do it, but it’s still going to be a couple of hours. I can tell you that Rand has somewhat of an alibi for the last fire in the form of a parking ticket in Anaheim.”

  “I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt, for now, but I want that report. Everyone’s meeting here at nine in the side parking lot. Mozart found a connection, and we need to look at it. If what he discovered checks out, Monday will be the next fire. We need to set up protection for the school, and for Blair.”

  Evan explained the call with Mozart while Blair watched as parents began to roll in to drop off their kids. Keegan’s mother would arrive at any time, and she needed to be in her classroom and ready.

  “Okay, I’ll collect the rest of the crew, and we’ll see you there. Hang in there,” Cole said.

  He clicked off the cell and sighed. “Sorry about that.”

  “Don’t be. You’re just doing your job. I’m glad you’re on my side in this.”

  He leaned over and that strong hand slid under her hair and cupped her neck, and he pulled her lips under his for a slow, deep kiss. “Always,” he murmured against her damp mouth when he pulled away.

  She dragged her thumb over his bottom lip, wishing she had the entire day to just taste him. “I need to get inside. I’ve got a guinea pig arriving soon,” she said, her voice low and husky.

  “That might go down as the weirdest excuse for a brush-off ever,” he said with a laugh.

  * * *

  Evan followed her through the side door which turned out to be a more direct route to her classroom.

  As much as he wanted to get to work and spread the map out on the table, he’d looked forward to walking through the murals again.

  Maybe another time.

  The minute Blair stepped through the door of her classroom, she shifted into one hundred percent teacher mode, her sole focus on the layout of her day and preparing the desks and supplies for her kids.

  She peeled the covers off a row of tables in the back, some filled with sand.

  “What are those?” he asked.

  “Sand and water tables,” she said with a quick glance as she began filling a bucket with water. “Some people use them for play. I use them for learning and to help those children who have sensory issues. They come out on Fridays, right before the team of janitors come in for the weekend.”

  He shook his head and grinned at her. “Good call.”

  A knock rattled the window in the classroom door. “Miss Sullivan?”

  “Over here,” Blair said.

  “We have Boots, Miss Sullivan!” Keegan said, bouncing up and down.

  Evan met Keegan and his mother in the doorway. “Here, let me take that for you.”

  “Thanks,” she said with a tired smile before glancing at Blair. “I cleaned the cage last night, and Keegan has his water and food.”

  Keegan held the plastic bag up with a huge smile, clearly proud of fulfilling his responsibilities.

  Evan crouched down eye level with the boy. “How about I help you get that set up?”

  “Cool,” Keegan said, pumping his little fist in the air.

  Blair’s mouth parted on a sigh—something that used to scare him, the innocence of it, the longing that filled her eyes.

  Back when forever seemed more like a prison sentence than utopia.

  He’d grossly underestimated her.

  Romantic? Sure.

  Tough as nails? Absolutely.

  He gave her a wink and smiled when her cheeks flared pink.

  The kids filed in about ten minutes later. Once they settled in, Evan took over the table at the front of the class and got to work.

  He’d become so engrossed in the dots on the map that he didn’t register the time flying by. His phone buzzed, signaling the team’s arrival, and he blew out a frustrated breath.

  He’d found three discernable images with the dots. A cat face, waffle, and chocolate chip muffin.

  All dumb as hell, unless their arsonist was under ten.

  Okay, the muffin was a stretch, but he had to do something with those extra dots.

  Maybe he was just hungry. Not that hunger explained the cat.

  He glanced at the class to find them putting away their snacks and Blair taking out the guinea pig. He crossed over to her and whispered in her ear. “They’re here. I’ll be right outside.”

  She nodded and smiled, her attention right back to her kids.

  Where it should be.

  Pushing out the double doors with the map in hand, he shielded his eyes from the sun and made his way to his team where they leaned against Slyder’s car, “Thanks for coming.”

  “Nowhere else we’d rather be,” Slyder said, clapping him on the shoulder. “Fill us in.”

  Mozart started out explaining the correlation of dates to the team. When he finished, Evan spread out the map before them.

  “I’ve been trying to figure out where the bastard might hit next, but I’m not finding it,” Evan said.

  “You’re too close,” Cole said.

  Evan eyed him and the woman standing next to him. His girlfriend. “Really, Cole? Am I any closer than you were with Josie in your bed?”

  “No,” Cole said quietly, “and I had to rely on my team to see things I couldn’t.”

  Cole’s rational response eased the pressure threatening to crush Evan’s chest. No one liked to admit that their perspective had been compromised.

  Especially not a soldier.

  But his soldier days were his past, and he needed to accept that maybe his feelings for Blair hindered his ability to see anything clearly. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. I’ve been there,” Cole said, wrapping an arm around Josie and smiling down at her. “I get it.”

  “We all get it,” Dylan said. “Now let’s nail this son of a bitch. I’m thinking we get Blair out of town and set up a decoy at her condo. A total lookalike to draw this guy in.”

  “Could work.” Evan nodded. And he’d keep Blair far away from this shit as it went down. Which also meant he’d miss out on the action, but as long as she was safe, he’d turn it over to his team entirely.

  Josie’s phone rang, and she ducked out from under Cole’s arm and stepped away.

  Mozart’s phone rang next, and he put it on speaker. “Hey, Tex. Give me some good news. Hell, any news at this point.”

  “Shit just got a whole lot more interesting on my end. Daniel Clayton is Willy Chaplain’s son. Just a couple weeks back, a cold case, an arson from twenty-two years ago, was reopened based on his conviction.”

  The energy hovering between the team shifted, the air charged, leaving Evan’s skin feeling too tight for his body. “Father and son with different names. That’s unusual.”

  “Clayton is Daniel’s mother’s last name,” Tex said.

  Evan straightened. “That’s not all, is it?”

>   “Nope. Rebecca Clayton was the lone victim of the fire.”

  “Didn’t Rand lose his wife?” Mozart asked.

  “Yeah, and I’m pretty sure the timeline fits,” Evan muttered as he searched the map again, remembering Rand’s words from the night before.

  Looking for shapes in clouds.

  He focused on the map, adjusting his eyes, staring at one point until the gold dots stood out more prominent and the others faded into the background.

  He gave up looking for angles and instead, focused on curves. Fluid lines.

  Like flames.

  “I think I have it,” Evan said.

  Mozart stepped up and handed him a pen. “Show us.”

  He followed the lines, the image like a clipart of flames with three points, only the middle point didn’t have a tip.

  Not yet anyway.

  And if Evan had his way, not ever.

  “We have a match on the print,” Josie called out.

  Evan snapped his gaze up to her.

  “Rand’s print matches the partial. He’s Willy Chaplain.”

  You took mine, now I’ll take yours.

  “My father has officers heading to his place to pick him up right now,” Josie said.

  “Sick bastard,” Evan said, seething rage taking the place of worry.

  The fucker had been in her condo. He’d sent his employees to work on her place. He’d hugged her and claimed to be watching out for her.

  Treated her like a surrogate daughter.

  Just to turn on her.

  “Evan,” Mozart said quietly.

  “What?”

  “The next point,” he said and dropped his index finger on the map. “We’re standing on it.”

  “You smell that?” Dude said.

  Evan tipped his head back and took a deep breath, his blood running cold.

  The fire alarm peeled, the constant, shrill ring screaming into the otherwise peaceful, California day.

  Each man sprang into action, their military training taking over. Josie stayed on the line and relayed what was happening to the police as the guys drew their weapons.

  Dylan yanked open the duffel at his side and pulled out their communications pieces designed to fit in their ears. Scattering them on the hood of the car, he clicked one into his own ear. “Tex, I need us online.”