Her Ranger Rescuers

by M J Adams

  “Yeah,” Luke said. “She did contact a lawyer right under her husband’s nose, and she was only in the abusive situation for a year.”

  “She’s full of fire,” Isaac said.

  Luke wanted to get burned. Could he tell his friends that? What would they say? Last time he’d had a crush on one of their charges, Max hadn’t allowed him to be alone with her again. That had been a long ten days, and Luke had never confessed any more feelings for anyone.

  He hadn’t had any—until now.

  “I say we throw our job lists out,” Luke said, as if he could just as easily purge the memorized list from his mind. “Let her pick.”

  “You already know what she’s going to pick,” Max said, popping the top on his soda, his eyes never leaving Luke.

  “Maybe,” Luke said with a shrug. “But she doesn’t know how to bake.”

  “She can learn.”

  “And it’s easier than faking a degree from somewhere,” Isaac said. “That was a nightmare.”

  It had been a nightmare, and Isaac had to check in on Jillian way more often than was prudent because of it.

  Luke glanced at his friends, the word vomit behind his tongue about to spill out.

  “Say it,” Max said, a testament of how well the men knew each other.

  “I mentioned we were thinking of quitting.”

  Isaac roared to his feet. “You did? Why?”

  “It just happened in the conversation,” Luke said, lifting his chin in defiance. Isaac had no idea what it was like to be the touchy-feely guy. The one that had to get the women to trust him and say things to him they wouldn’t say to the mysterious, brooding Max or the tough-guy trainer Isaac.

  “And she said we could go with her to Silver Lake.”

  Max stared at him, a perfect mask in place so that Luke had no idea what the other man was thinking. Isaac scoffed, but his bright blue eyes held the same hope Cora’s had. Strange.

  Or was it?

  “You have a crush on her,” Max said, and Luke flinched at the nails in his words.

  “No,” Luke said immediately, hoping his mask was as flawless as Max’s.

  “I do,” Isaac admitted, and all eyes flew to him. He shrugged like it was no big deal. He’d never mentioned he’d liked any of their other charges, and he’d seen what Max had done to Luke when he’d confessed feelings for Violet.

  “She’s pretty,” Isaac said. “And I like that she’s not beaten down. And I told myself that if our next charge didn’t need us too much, that I could think about quitting. And guys, she doesn’t need us that much.”

  “We’re already a day behind in our training,” Max said gruffly. “She needs us as much as the others.”

  “Only to navigate all the complications of disappearing from one life and starting a new one,” Isaac said. “But she doesn’t need Luke to be her therapist, and she doesn’t need much training from me. She got herself out of that city, Max.”

  Luke couldn’t help but agree, but he kept his own crush in the back of his throat. Isaac had already admitted it, and how could Luke do so too? Cora didn’t need three boyfriends, though she had said, You guys could come to Silver Lake with me. As if all three of them would follow her there, live in a house down the street, and they’d all be friends.

  But Luke wanted to be more than friends with her. Did Isaac?

  Probably.

  Max sighed, some of the darkness evaporating off his face. “Guys, we can’t go with her to Silver Lake, no matter how much we like her.”

  Luke’s eyebrows shot up. “We?” Did his tough-guy commander have a crush on Cora too?

  Isaac grinned from ear to ear. “Max, you old dog.”

  “Shut up,” he said. “I do not like her.”

  “You just said we,” Luke pointed out, trying to keep his smile flat. What if they all liked her? What if they could somehow make a life together, the four of them? Did people do that? The better question was: Would Cora do that?

  “That’s because I don’t have individual thoughts anymore,” Max barked. “Now let’s get to lunch and find Cora. We need to nail some things down so arrangements can be made. Houses don’t just rent themselves.”

  “Right,” Isaac said, clearing his throat. “Back to business.”

  “And you’re not to be alone with her,” Max said. “You know the rules.”

  “Max, come on,” Isaac said. “I’m quitting after this. Can’t I have a little fun?”

  “Not with Cora,” Max said sternly as he glanced at the chess board. “And I have every piece on this board memorized, so don’t try to move any of them in the night.”

  “Please,” Isaac said as they started for the door. “I’ve never done that.”

  “Twice,” Max and Luke said together, and Luke enjoyed this banter with his friends more than ever. Luke chuckled, and then Isaac joined in, and finally Max shook his head, a smile on his face as they left their room to go find Cora and get lunch.

  Luke couldn’t help thinking that because he hadn’t spilled his true feelings for Cora, he got to spend alone-time with her still. And that was a secret he was going to savor for as long as he could, though he suspected that Max hadn’t believed his denial.

  Chapter 9

  Cora

  I’m running again, but the ground is flat now. Trimmed. Someone takes immaculate care of this property. There are trees everywhere, but they have little flags by them. I don’t have time to read them. No time to think.

  I just need to get away

  Rich’s voice calls out behind me. I push myself to go faster as lights flicker on my left, on my right.

  A dog barks. Then another.

  I can’t outrun a dog.

  Can I?

  I know I can’t, but Isaac’s voice is in my head, telling me to try. So I’ll try.

  Cora sat on a bench somewhere on the huge grounds of Parkwood Academy, the sun straight overhead. Her stomach growled, but she didn’t want to face Max and Isaac yet. Luke had soothed her, taken her all the way to the fence and said she could stay as long as she wanted.

  She’d wandered back, and she could see the building in the distance. Smell the evidence of horses between her and the Academy.

  Her feelings refused to be sorted. In the mansion in Hollywood Hills, she’d gotten very good at compartmentalizing. She could move from Dog-Walking Cora to Submissive Cora in less than a moment. And from Submissive Cora to Outraged Cora even faster, once that door was closed, locked, and Rich’s footsteps had faded.

  She’d only been in his suite once, and only to do whatever he said, exactly how he said to do it. Getting naked with him was easier than getting beaten.

  He’d often came to her suite and had his way with her, but it was never about her. Never about making her feel loved and cherished and like his wife. Sometimes it was over in less than five minutes, and he’d kiss her, say, “That was great,” and slip out of the room, that lock sliding into position and keeping her prisoner.

  Emotions she’d buried for so long swirled through her now, and she wondered if they had therapists here. She could probably ask Max, and if they didn’t, he’d fly someone in.

  Just the thought of Max cooled the burning anger she harbored for Rich. She glanced around as if he’d come walking toward her, fury on his face and his fists already clenched.

  “He can’t come here,” she whispered to herself. Even if he figured out where she was, he couldn’t get past security at the gate. Still, fear that he might be able to swirled within her. Rich had a lot of money, and some people would do anything to get even a little bit of it.

  “There you are,” Max said, coming toward her.

  Her heart thumped in a weird way, and she anticipated him sitting on the bench next to her. These feelings confused her. The frothing, furious ones she could at least understand. Knew where they came from.

  But how could she feel something for another man? It seemed impossible, and yet, she didn’t move from the middle of the bench so there’d
be room for Max down on the end.

  He crammed in beside her, his shoulder bumping hers. She sighed and simply acted—looping her arm through his and twining their fingers together. Leaning against his bicep, she said, “I’m sorry I got mad in there.”

  “It’s understandable,” he said, placing a kiss on her temple. Sparks shot through her whole body. “We’re trying to control every aspect of your life, and you don’t like that.”

  “Exactly,” she said. “I came from that. I want to do something different now.”

  “I know.” He squeezed her hand, and Cora wondered if she could be honest with him. Tell him she had feelings for him. Maybe show him…

  “Luke said you guys are thinking about quitting after my relocation,” she said instead.

  “Luke talks too much.” Max’s voice sounded like a growl, which caused Cora to giggle.

  When she sobered, she asked, “Is it true?”

  “Yes.”

  She drew in a slow, deep breath and blew it out, trying to line up her next sentence. “I told him you guys should come to Silver Lake with me.”

  “He mentioned that.”

  The hot lava flowed through her bloodstream again. “Do you guys talk about everything?”

  “Yes,” he said simply again.

  Cora stared straight ahead, her thoughts on overdrive now. “I hold his hand too.”

  “I’ve seen you. Isaac’s too.”

  Cora shifted on the bench slightly, turning to look up into Max’s dark, mysterious features. “Why do you think that is?”

  “Because you crave the human touch,” he said, his eyes devouring her. She’d been locked inside her own house for a year, but Cora still knew desire when she saw it. And it swam around in Max’s deep-water eyes right now.

  “I like you,” she whispered. “And I like Luke, and I like Isaac, and you guys promised you’d come check on me after my relocation. If you quit, who will do that?”

  “Another team will be assigned your case,” he said, and she hated the clinical nature of his voice. Had he heard her at all?

  I like you.

  The words bounced around inside her brain, growing and getting louder. “I like you,” she repeated, and the wisp of a smile touched his mouth.

  “I heard you the first time.”

  “And you just decided to ignore it?” Cora didn’t know how to feel. Nothing lined up. Nothing fell into a perfect slot.

  “I’m not ignoring it,” Max said carefully, slowly. “I’m trying to figure out what to do about it.” He cleared his throat. “It’s against the rules to have romantic relationships with charges. We’re not allowed to relocate to any area where a former charge lives after we retire from the Academy.” He looked down at her again. “There are procedures for everything.”

  Feeling brave and completely irrational, Cora said, “I don’t care about the procedures.”

  “The procedures keep us all safe,” he said gently, bending his head down. Their eyes met, and she got lost in the depth of his. It seemed to take forever for him to say, “I like you, too, Cora, and that’s huge for me.”

  Warmth started in her toes and spread upward, slowly, the way honey pours from a bottle. “Why is that huge?”

  “I’ve never felt anything for another charge,” he said. “For another woman, really. I had a girlfriend—” He cleared his throat, and it was clear the emotional talker was Luke. “She wanted things I couldn’t give,” he finally said. “It didn’t work out. I’ve never wanted another girlfriend or to get married.”

  Cora searched his face, trying to find the root of his pain and remove it from him. “I’m not sure I want to get married again,” she said, her voice trembling slightly. “I just…yeah, I don’t know about that.”

  “Understandable,” Max said. “Completely.” He glanced away, his eyes coming back to hers quickly. “Isaac’s coming to get us for lunch.” He dipped his head lower, his breath mingling with hers now. “You should know they all like you the way I do.”

  Fear bolted through Cora. She’d never been able to make Rich happy. How could she ever please three men?

  “But I’m going to kiss you first,” he whispered, and his lips brushed across hers. Fire started in her belly, eradicating her fear, her troubled thoughts, her doubts.

  Her body reacted on its own, arching up into his and really kissing him. For as powerful and strong and intimidating as he was, Max kissed her in the exact way she wanted to be kissed.

  Like she was beautiful. Like he adored her. Like he would do whatever it took to make her happy.

  He pulled away sooner than she would’ve liked, and he stood without saying anything. She watched him walk to the nearest tree and lean into it, saying, “She’s right there,” a few seconds later. The two of them stood side-by-side, looking at one another, Isaac facing her and Max facing away.

  They seemed to have a long conversation in just a few seconds, and then Max left without looking back, and Isaac’s bright blue eyes grabbed onto hers. She had no idea how to feel. She’d just kissed one man, and it had been glorious and wonderful.

  And he’d said Isaac and Luke liked her too, but the way Isaac stood so unyieldingly, his eyes so penetrating, she didn’t think Max had spoken true.

  “Time for lunch,” Isaac said, his hands stuffed firmly in his pockets. “Then we have to start your training.”

  “I can’t do this,” Cora said, a whine in her voice she wished didn’t exist. But every muscle ached, and she still hadn’t moved the bag more than a couple of feet.

  “Just try,” Isaac said, and Cora met his eyes again. He’d given a little speech a couple of hours ago about just doing the best she could.

  “Sometimes, when you’re out there alone, you’ll think you can’t do something,” he’d said. “But you have to try. Don’t let anyone put you in a car or take you inside a building. Try, Cora. Try to get away.”

  And so she’d been trying.

  Lunch had been semi-normal, with the four of them sitting at a table in the cafeteria, her beside Max, with the other two across from them. Max hadn’t touched her or said much as Isaac had seemingly taken over for the day.

  Luke was his usual chatty self, but Cora couldn’t stop thinking about the kiss with Max. Was he thinking about the same thing?

  She cut a glance toward him as she wiped the sweat off her forehead. He hadn’t said anything about attending her training, but he sat at the table in the front of the gym, a laptop open in front of him.

  To her knowledge, he hadn’t looked at her once. He was driving her crazy, and she wondered if he regretted the kiss.

  Probably, she thought. He was most likely writing up a report of his infraction, and she hoped he wouldn’t be gone by morning. Men like Max were straight-laced. A by the book, follow the rules, type of man. Cora liked that, but she’d also enjoyed the stolen kiss out on the grounds, and the secret bubbled in her stomach with excitement.

  “Try again,” Isaac said, his gaze also moving to Max and back to Cora. Their eyes met, and Cora wanted to crumple into his arms. Her hand shook with the effort it took just to lift her arm, and Isaac saw it.

  Isaac saw everything.

  Which meant he knew about the kiss with Max. They’d maybe broken apart for ten seconds before he’d arrived, and there weren’t that many trees to conceal them.

  Guilt flooded Cora, though she didn’t know why. Maybe because she liked Isaac too. Maybe because she was technically still married.

  She let her arm drop to her side. “What’s going to happen with me and Rich?” she asked.

  Isaac didn’t look at Max the way she expected him to, and that made the attraction within her roar.

  “We’ll find a way to make sure he thinks you’re dead,” he said evenly. “I’ve already gathered a few things.”

  “How do you do that? Leak things to the media? Pictures and stuff?”

  “Something like that,” he said. “It’s different with every case.” He took a step toward her,
his voice almost a whisper when he added, “I can go over it tonight with you, if you’d like.”

  “I would,” she said, pure exhaustion running through her. She’d eaten only a couple of hours ago, but her stomach roared for food.

  “Let’s go get something to eat,” he said. “We can pick this up in a bit.” He turned to Max and called, “Break time.”

  Max looked up, blinking to gain his focus. He waved to acknowledge that Isaac had spoken, and when Isaac turned back to her, he wore surprise on his face.

  “What?” she asked, sensing something between the two men she’d probably never guess. They’d worked together for so long, knew every detail about the other. She couldn’t even hope to have the same relationship with them.

  Could she?

  She’d been brave with Max, telling him things and kissing him. Maybe she could do the same with Isaac.

  Either way, when he put his hand on her lower back and guided her out of the gym where they’d been training, a flutter of attraction flapped through her.

  “Come on, guys,” he said to the dogs, and all five of them joined Cora in the hall before Isaac did. “Snack time.” He gave Cora a grin that spoke of mischief, and she couldn’t help but grin back.

  Chapter 10

  Isaac

  Isaac couldn’t believe Max had let him leave the training arena with Cora. Alone.

  Of course, Max had admitted his crush on their charge too, and then he’d kissed her right out in the open. He knew there were cameras everywhere, even on Parkwood’s grounds, and Isaac had felt his whole world blow up when he’d seen Max kissing Cora.

  His watch buzzed, indicating a text had come in. He glanced at his wrist to see a text from Max. Ask her.

  Isaac and Max hadn’t spoken in depth about their feelings for Cora, but they’d had plenty of unspoken conversations. If Isaac wanted to be with Cora—and he was pretty sure he did—he’d have to share her with Max and Luke.