It was starting to get dark when the rain finally eased. Cash threw on a rain slicker and Ella looked up from her book. The panic in her eyes was automatic, but he held out a hand, palm up, to reassure her.
“I’m just going to check the car and the perimeter. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
She sat up straight, pulling her knees underneath her, and he had a crazy urge to go over and drag her into his arms for reassurance. The book hung from one hand. The other rose in what he thought was an unconscious gesture to touch the base of her throat.
“I could go with you.”
“No, stay here. It’ll be fine, Ella.”
“You promise to come back?”
“I told you I won’t abandon you.”
He left her staring after him and stepped outside. The evening was cooler than the day had been. There was still a bite in the air this time of year, and his breath frosted. The rain trickled from the roof and the trees, but it didn’t fall from the sky anymore. He squelched across the yard to the shed, his eyes scanning the surrounding area even as he made plans for how to react should anyone come at him from the shadows.
Nothing happened, however, and he reached the shed soon after. Everything was good. The car was untouched, nothing was disturbed, and everything looked as it should. The men who’d chased him in the SUV weren’t up to his skill level. He’d bet his career on that. Didn’t mean they couldn’t send someone else, but so far he and Ella were out here in the woods alone.
They had his plate number, but he’d lost them and spent a good amount of time driving around to confuse the trail before he’d turned down the driveway.
After a check of the perimeter, he made his way back to the house. His phone rang as he stepped up onto the porch. It was Dane “Viking” Erikson, the CO of his SEAL team.
Fuck, if he was being called back for a mission, what the hell was he going to do with Ella?
“Money, what the fuck is going on out there?” Viking said as soon as Cash answered.
Shit, he’d known this was going to come back to haunt him once his plates were run.
“I picked up a woman,” he said, and Viking snorted. “Not that kind of pickup, I swear. She needed my help. Some dude was trying to force her into a car and make her get married.”
Cash knew, since his plate number was out there and Viking was calling him, that the official story differed somehow. Especially if Ella’s aunt and uncle were marrying her to Sheikh Fahd. Dammit, he hated rich people. Except for Gina Hunter, aka Gina Domenico, the pop star who’d married HOT sniper Jack “Hawk” Hunter. She was cool. So cool she’d let them use her plane when they’d needed to help Colonel Mendez out of a tight spot recently.
But Ella’s aunt and uncle weren’t Gina. They were people who’d kept Ella hostage for fourteen years and then tried to marry her to a sheikh against her will. Sold her to him, in fact.
“You need to tell me everything that happened.”
“Don’t leave anything out, sailor,” a commanding voice added, and Cash’s insides turned to jelly for a second.
Fuck, if Colonel Mendez—soon to be General Mendez—was listening in, it was serious. Cash pulled in a breath and turned to stare at the woods. He tucked one hand beneath his arm and watched the steady drip of water from the roof as he recited everything that had happened from the moment he’d seen Ella standing on the side of the road until he’d walked outside just now to check the perimeter.
Well, maybe he left out the details of the dinner, but he told them he fixed her something to eat and she was inside, safe and well.
“Have you seen the news?” Viking asked.
“No. It’s been raining and the satellite hasn’t been working.” He gazed up at the sky. “It’ll probably work now though.”
“You’ll want to, but I’ll save you some time. There’s an APB out for you, Money. You’ve kidnapped a member of the royal family of Capriolo. She’s a princess, dude. Like a royal princess with a crown and everything, and her family is distraught. They’re waiting for a ransom demand.”
Cash’s insides turned to liquid. And then a bolt of anger fired up in his stomach. Ella was a princess? She’d failed to mention that detail. But she’d still been in danger. He hadn’t done wrong in stopping to help.
And he wasn’t going to let the knowledge she was a princess derail him. Not yet.
“They don’t care about her,” he said, repeating what she’d told him. He was certain she hadn’t lied. She wasn’t sophisticated enough. “They’ve held her hostage at that estate for years. She’s being forced to marry Sheikh Fahd—and we all know what kind of upstanding citizen he is, right?”
“Doesn’t matter,” the colonel said. “The Rossi family is tearfully begging for her return on all the networks. And you’re the one who stole their precious girl, Money.”
“If you’re asking me to take her back—”
“I’m not,” he cut in, and Cash’s tongue got stuck tumbling over itself. “You’re a HOT operator. I believe you. But this is a serious situation, son. I can’t let you or the girl fall into the hands of the police. The media doesn’t know who you are, not really, but it won’t take long at this point. We have to control the situation.”
“Yes, sir,” Cash said. Because what else did you say to the big boss?
Viking cut in. “I’m sending backup. Everything about this mission is off the books—but you aren’t alone. We have to contain and control, as the colonel said. Stand by for incoming.”
Cash was seriously reeling by now. “ETA?”
“Morning,” Viking replied. “You got the Mustang hidden?”
“It’s covered. And we’re clear. I just checked the perimeter.”
“Then batten down the hatches and hold tight until morning. If you’re attacked, take evasive action.”
Cash sucked in a breath. He wasn’t scared. He was never fucking scared. Even when he should be. “It’s just me out here, Viking. The girl is useless when it comes to defense.”
“I hate to say this, bud, but if someone finds you—leave her behind. They aren’t going to hurt her, but we can’t say the same for you.”
*
Ella could hear Cash talking on the other side of the door, but she couldn’t hear what he was saying. She’d crept over to the window when she’d first heard him, because she’d been alarmed at the sound of him talking, but he was standing with his back to her, one arm crossed over his body and the other holding a phone to his head.
She waited for a long moment, and then she retreated to her chair and picked up the book again. But she couldn’t concentrate. It was impossible. She focused on the door. Waiting for him to return.
Finally the door opened and he came inside. A hard frown dominated his face and her heart skipped.
He stared at her for a long moment. Then he removed the jacket and hung it on a hook by the door. When he stalked toward her, her pulse skipped higher for long moments.
He stopped in front of her chair, glaring down at her, hands at his sides. She thought, vaguely, that if he worked for her uncle, she’d be afraid. But this was Cash and he’d been nothing but decent since he’d rescued her earlier. He’d cooked her dinner. Given her his clothes. And he’d sworn to protect her like a knight of old.
“Is everything okay?” she asked, strangely calm, though his manner was somewhat alarming.
“You tell me.”
She frowned. “I think so. I feel fine. Do you?”
He turned and grabbed the television remote from a table nearby. Then he pressed the button and the screen flared to life. It took long seconds for the television to boot up. When it did, he pressed another button and the news came on.
She watched with interest. And then she was there, on-screen, her face flashing in front of millions. She cried out, rising from her seat as the story unfolded, but Cash gave her a hard look and she subsided again.
“You didn’t kidnap me,” she said, folding her hands on her lap so they wouldn’t tremble. “You save
d me.”
“You’re a princess,” he said. “You failed to mention it.”
Her heart hammered. She hadn’t told him, no. When he’d asked who she really was, it had seemed so difficult to add that word to her name. It wasn’t like she lived her life as anyone’s idea of a princess.
“There is no longer a ruling family in Capriolo. It’s merely a title. I inherited it from my father, but it’s not something I think about.”
“Seems important to your family—and not a good thing for me, I gotta add.”
He didn’t look happy. His brows arrowed down over his eyes and his mouth flattened in a hard line.
“It changes nothing. I’m still me and I still need your help.” Another thought occurred to her. A dark, dangerous thought. “Do you plan to turn me over to them? Collect the reward?”
A reward she was pretty certain they had no intention of paying.
He managed to look insulted. “So the police can arrest me for kidnapping you in the first place? No, I’m not that stupid.”
She resisted the urge to clutch her stomach as relief rolled through her. “So what do we do now?”
“We? I thought you had a plan—or would in the morning.”
Ella closed her eyes as she dragged in a breath. He was watching her when she opened them again. “I don’t have a plan. I never had one.”
He snorted. “Didn’t think so. Fucking hell, Ella the princess—what did you think was going to happen when you ran away like that?”
His words stung more than she liked. Her aunt always told her she was stupid—maybe she was.
She bowed her head. “I didn’t think. I’m sorry.”
He knelt in front of her and tipped her chin up, forced her to look at him. The liquid swimming in her gaze threatened to spill over. His expression grew softer when he saw it.
“Hey, what’s up with you?”
She knew he must think her crazy. Maybe she was.
“I’m not taking you back,” he added when she didn’t say anything. “I promise.”
As if the idea of him taking her back was the problem.
Well, maybe it was part of the problem.
“Why not?” she whispered. “I’m causing you trouble. You would be happier if you got rid of me.”
Those remarkable eyes searched hers for a long moment. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking, and yet she knew. Of course he would be happier without her. But he was too nice to say it.
“Ella. I told you I rescue people. It’s not all I do, but it’s part of it. Would it have been easier to keep driving? Yeah. Would it have been right? Hell, no. I do what’s right. Taking you back wouldn’t be right, so it’s not happening. You understand what I’m telling you?”
Her pulse zipped into the danger zone. Adrenaline spiked in her veins, made her almost giddy. She didn’t know why. It was a ridiculous, over-the-top reaction.
Joy.
That’s what it was. Joy that she’d met this man and he’d stood up for her. Was still standing up for her.
“Yes,” she whispered.
He nodded. “Good.”
He dropped his fingers from beneath her chin and stood. She could still feel the burn of his skin against hers. Worse, she wanted to feel it in different places. Secret places.
She cleared her throat. “When I stole the car, I wasn’t thinking. One minute I was standing in front of a mirror and getting ready to walk down the aisle, the next I was sneaking outside and finding a car. I didn’t really think I’d get as far as I did.”
She dared to look up at him.
“If I’d thought about it, I never would have done anything,” she continued. “Because I didn’t know where to go or how I’d begin to live on my own when I had nothing.” She shrugged. “I guess maybe I thought if I got away, if I got to the police or told someone what was happening, they’d stop it.”
“You didn’t want me to take you to the police.”
“No, because by then I knew it wouldn’t matter. I’m not American. Nobody could—or would—stop my aunt and uncle. Or Sheikh Fahd. I realized that after the security guard ran me off the road.”
Cash frowned hard. “We’re both in it now, Princess. No way out of this without help. Lucky for you, I’ve got help. They’ll be here in the morning, so I suggest you get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow may be more intense than either of us realize.”
Chapter 8
Cash slept in fits and starts. He was accustomed to it because he did it on missions. Snatching sleep in twenty-minute increments, waking to check his surroundings, sleeping again. He shouldn’t have to do it on this trip, and yet here he was.
Protecting the princess.
He thought of the woman in the other room and his cock woke from its slumber.
Down, you fucking horndog.
He popped a hand behind his head and lay there, staring at the ceiling. She was a princess. Princess Antonella Maria Rossi. He could barely wrap his mind around it.
That slight, wispy, lovely girl was a princess—and a virgin.
And he was her knight in shining armor.
Cash rolled his eyes. Yeah, right.
Some knight. His fucking mother couldn’t even hang around to see him grow up, and his father was the most uninvolved son of a bitch that ever lived. Only his stepmother was interested in him—and not in a good way. From the minute she’d married his father when Cash was eleven, she’d actively worked to let him know he wasn’t important or necessary to their lives. And when she’d had a baby with his dad?
Yeah, he’d never had a chance after that. She’d shoved him as far away as possible, as if he’d somehow been competition for an infant. She’d pretended to care, but she hadn’t. Passive-aggressive didn’t even begin to describe that fucking woman. He’d worked for scraps of affection only to be kicked in the teeth again and again. By the time he was fourteen, he’d realized the truth and he’d stopped trying.
He’d effectively checked out at sixteen, not caring if he finished school or not. He’d only graduated because his track coach kept on top of him to do so. The second he was eighteen? Navy, baby. Best decision he’d ever made.
He turned over and punched the pillow. When next he woke, it was five a.m. Cash blinked into the predawn darkness. The house was quiet. After a few minutes, he flipped the covers back and went to make coffee. After that was done, he went outside to check the perimeter. There’d been no incursions, but he hadn’t expected any. If there had been, they wouldn’t have stopped at breaching the perimeter. They’d have blasted into the house and taken Ella—and they’d have probably killed him in the process.
Collateral damage.
He shook off the chill and went back inside. The house was warm and the smell of coffee was beginning to permeate the interior. He strode down the hall and toward the master bedroom. The door was closed and he put his ear to it. Listening.
There was no movement, no sound, so he turned and went back to the kitchen and the coffee. After he poured a cup, he headed for the shower. Fifteen minutes later, he was in front of the television, watching the news. A glance at his phone revealed no calls or messages, so he turned his attention to the screen.
The news about Ella wasn’t foremost, but it was close. They’d tried to minimize the idea she’d been getting married. None of the photos showed her in a wedding gown or mentioned Sheikh Fahd. Instead, her family was worried about her and wanted her back safely and soon.
A man Cash presumed was her uncle stood at a podium and begged for her return while a hard-eyed woman stood in the background and frowned. Two young women were beside her, also frowning.
He didn’t buy it. Partly because of her story and partly because her uncle reminded him a lot of his stepmother. Saying all the right things but not meaning them.
Fuck.
It was a mess, and he’d stumbled into it. Did he regret it? He thought about it, but the answer was not really.
Ella was cute. Sweet. All the things he didn’t usually like
in a woman. He liked them sexy and tough—even a bit jaded. Women who knew what they wanted in bed. Women who understood that sex was sex and nothing else.
Still, he liked Ella though she was none of those things. There was something about her. She was bold and vulnerable at the same time.
And so fucking lost. She reminded him of himself in a way. Well, himself a few years ago. She was young—twenty-two—and he was older and had learned that he had to seize his own happiness. Find his own way.
That’s why he’d joined the Navy. And when he’d tried out for the SEALs? Oh yeah, he finally had a place to channel all that anger and determination he carried. Not that being an angry bastard would get you far as a SEAL. No, it was more about making the anger carry him through the hell of BUD/S and then into the teams. It was about not giving in or giving up.
He’d thought getting into the SEALs was hard—and it was—but becoming HOT? That had been the most amazing fucking thing to ever happen in his life. He loved what he did, loved that he made a difference even if nobody really knew it.
He was on his second cup of coffee when there was movement in the hall. Her door opened and then she emerged. His belly twisted at the sight of her. So fucking sexy.
No, not sexy. NOT.
Cash hardened his heart as she approached. She was wearing his shirt again, but her legs were bare. Didn’t matter because the hem hung to her knees. She’d rolled the sleeves, and her hair was piled on top of her head. Long strands spilled from a messy topknot, framing her face.
Her skin was creamy and smooth, and her lips drew his attention because they were so pink. He thought for a second she’d found lipstick, but then he realized it was just her natural color. Why he hadn’t focused on that last night, he didn’t know.
“Morning,” she said as she shuffled over and sank onto the couch.
He muted the television, though he hadn’t had it loud in the first place.
“Sleep okay?”
She pushed a stray strand of hair from her eyes. “Surprisingly.” She frowned. “I woke up thinking I was married. Took me a few seconds to remember I wasn’t.”
“Want some coffee?”
HOT SEAL Bride: HOT SEAL Team - Book 4 Page 5