Her Brave Protector
By Michaela Strong
Copyright© 2016 by Michaela Strong. All rights reserved.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
www.michaelastrong.com
Her Brave Protector
"It's all gone," Dana screamed. She was staring at her computer screen displaying her bank account's recent activity and it said that the deposit she made the day before had been withdrawn. Just a few minutes prior, she was in the midst of multi-tasking, with her cell phone wedged to her ear, about to leave a voicemail for Rory Wilson while switching over the contents of her purse to a new one with a secret compartment for her credit cards and a sturdier strap that would hopefully make it harder for anyone to grab from her. But in the process of moving her wallet to the new bag, she realized her bankcard was gone. In a complete panic she quickly checked her account, and railed. All of her money was gone. As of that moment, she was flat broke. "No! Why is this happening to me?" She shouted.
In the midst of her personal chaos, the old fashioned chime of her landline rang, causing a momentary diversion. It was loud, for one and for two; no one ever called her on it. "Hello?" she sniffled.
It was Rory "Are you hurt? Do I need to call the police?"
"How did you get this number?" Dana sat down, completely destroyed.
"Better answer my question Dana. Are you okay?"
"Yes, well no, but yeah I am physically fine."
"What were you screaming about?"
Dana shook her head. His calling her on an unlisted number and knowing she was screaming, on top of losing all her money was too much. She'd been so stupid to trust him and take him home. "My bank account has been wiped out. Now tell me how do you know I'm screaming and how did you get this number?"
"I called my cell phone from your house so I could have it in case of emergency. And you just called me on your cell and left the line open. I could hear you screaming and was worried."
She looked over at her cell, and saw what he said was true. She'd meant to leave a message but forgot and never ended the call. "Sorry, I didn't realize. I got distracted by losing all my money."
"How is your bank account wiped out?"
Dana began to cry. She couldn't stop it to just talk to him. "It was stolen."
"Dana, did you get mugged again?"
"No yesterday," she sobbed.
"I'm coming over."
The last thing Dana wanted was to have Rory feel obligated. "No please. I can take care of this. I'm sorry to get upset. I'm fine."
"Dana?"
"Yes?"
"I'm not asking. I'm going to be over there in five minutes. Do you understand me?" Dana was going to agree but she was interrupted. There was the sound of a female voice in the background and Rory pulled away from the phone to talk to her before returning to the phone. "Dana?"
Now Dana was just mad. "Yes I understand you," she said coldly. "But I don't want you coming over. That was what I was calling you about. I had fun yesterday and all and you're a great guy but I don't want to see you again."
"I didn't quite get that. What are you saying?"
"You heard me," Dana asked incredulously.
"No I didn't." Rory's tone was decisively crisp. "I did hear the cell phone message you left me this morning. Do you want me to play it back?" He was interrupted again by the female voice. Dana could hear them. Rory was telling her there was gas in the car and to be home by ten. Then she heard, "love you, big brother!" Oh did Dana feel like jumping off a cliff.
"Ok I am alone now," Rory continued after a long pause. "So do you want me to play back the part where you said you were going buy me the most decadent fattening meal in town because I must have burned so many calories fucking your brains out yesterday? Yeah, I had to put in earphones to listen to it because it got pretty raunchy, you know for a chick who doesn't want to see me again."
"I'm sorry," Dana said quickly.
"Ok," his tone was very formal. "Well whether you want to fuck me again or not…"
"I do," Dana said meekly to no avail because Rory kept on talking.
"I am coming over there because sounds like you have been robbed again. And I am guessing you didn't make a police report before?"
"First time yes. Second time no. And yesterday was the third time. The first time they said there was nothing they could do so I didn't bother." Dana had all but lost her ability to speak she was devastated at the way she had just over-reacted. "I'm sorry I heard a girl and I thought… and I don't know you…"
"I know that. I understand. So was what we did yesterday a bad idea?"
"No it was a fabulous idea. It was great."
"Well pull yourself together. I'm coming over and we're going over to make a police report. While you're waiting for me, I want you to call the bank and cancel all of your cards."
Dana blithered. "There's no point, they have all my money."
"Dana? What did I just tell you to do?" Now he was just plain short with her.
"Cancel my cards," she replied.
"So what are you going to do?" Rory asked her.
"Cancel my cards?"
"Yes and it better be done by the time I get over there, am I clear?"
Dana rolled her eyes. She messed this one up for sure. "Yeah, I got it."
And she did what she was told. As much as she kind of resented him bossing her around, she liked it too. Not just because she seemed to need it, but because he did it out of concern, not anger.
Just as she was off the phone with the bank, Rory knocked on her door. She took a deep breath because the emotions welled up and though it would be a struggle, she did not want to cry in front of him. Every time she reached for the doorknob, she started to cry, so she would breathe again. Finally he said from outside, "I know you're just on the other side. Are you letting me in or not?"
"I'm… trying…"
"Just turn the knob and I'll do the rest."
Dana was doubled over like a fool trying to contain a wall of tears - some for him and for her husband - that she should probably take care of. She pulled open the door just wide enough to let him know she complied but she did her best to hide from him, turning her back to him, keeping face down.
She heard him go to her coat closet, get her coat, get her purse. "Is this the one you're carrying now?" He asked her.
"Yes," she replied. Something about the coolness of his demeanor, if she didn't look at him, quelled her emotions. Maybe she moved into acceptance. Maybe she was shutting down the pain. After all, it was impossible to be heart-broken over a man she just met. She was still a wreck but she had a handle on the tears.
"Let's go. We can walk. It's chilly out but it's nice."
Rory was fast down the stairs, a few steps ahead of her. It gave her an opportunity to check him out. He was wearing a calf-length camel coat, jeans but nice ones and beautiful Gucci oxfords. The sweet scent that he left on her pillow trailed him and she was seized by affection for him. He looked over his shoulder at her and stopped. He stood at the base of the stairs and waited. When she joined him, he silently took her hand and walked.
The police station was a few blocks away and as mixed up as she felt, Dana didn't mind. Rory was the best medicine for the heartache she felt for him. His body was so hard; brushing against his arm was like brushing against a tree. He smelled so good and his hu
ge, powerful hand around hers felt like lush comfort that she didn't realize she ached for so. But Dana knew he was only holding her hand because he was dutifully accompanying her to the police station, and he wanted to get on with it. She was slowing him down with her obvious moping. However, when, in the spirit of being quick, Dana stepped off the curb to cross against the light, Rory held her to the curb. He didn't say anything just gave her a brief scolding with a look. This part of her day could not be over quickly enough.
He led the way into the police station, and completely unexpected by Dana, and was greeted with a flurry of hellos. Rory was well known in the police department. Still holding her hand, he shook hands with three or four of the police who came up to him. And then from his office, out came the police captain of criminal investigations, Michael Thomas. His picture and title were outside the door. "Pensacola!" he called to Rory, all grins and enthusiasm. The two embraced quickly, finished with pats on the back. The captain toned it down instantly and extended his hand to Dana. "Hi there. You must be Dana." They shook hands. "Come in to my office."
Dana looked up to Rory. "Thanks for bringing me here. I appreciate it," she said formally.
"You're welcome," he replied, seemingly relenting in the presence of his friends. He didn't understand that she didn't need him at the discussion.
"You're off the hook Pensacola," she said, thinking she was being funny making fun of the name Mike called him. "You can go now." The room became an instant ice box, stiff, pressured. The captain did a double-take as if startled.
"Mike would you excuse us for moment, please?" Rory asked primly.
Mike rolled his eyes but conceded. "Sure. I'll be back in five."
As soon as the door was closed, Dana closed her eyes. She could sense his wrath but didn't want to face it. "Look at me now," he ordered her. She obeyed. He backed her against the door, his face was within kissing distance. "I am here to support you, to take care of this situation, to help you address it properly because I want to be here. I would very much appreciate it if you didn't try to dismiss me again. Are we clear? I will stay through all of it, hear the whole story and then I will take you home. Does that work for you?"
"Yes. And Rory," Dana replied.
"Yes."
"Don't talk to me that way again. I appreciate your stepping up to the plate but I can field my own mistakes."
"Oh no beautiful," he rebutted, still scolding her with his glare, "I'm fielding them with you for the time being whether you like it or not. But we can discuss treating each other respectfully after we finish this matter. Agreed?"
Dana couldn't resist jabbing him with a little smart ass. "Whatever you say, Pensacola." She tried to duck under the bridge of his arm he had pinning her to the door but he blocked her. He took her jaw lightly and kissed her thoroughly.
When they broke he declared, "We will talk later."
"Yes," Dana consented.
Rory looked at her quizzically as he opened the door. "Hey Mike?"
The captain appeared. "You ready now?"
"Yes Big Dog and I are ready," Dana quipped.
The captain dissolved. "Oh my gosh, no. You're kidding. Why? Wait, never mind. Don't tell me. I have enough nightmares." He shook his head trying to get a hold of himself. "Okay then. Now, your account. First off, tell me you canceled your cards."
"Yes," Dana replied.
"How much was missing?"
"$20,000."
"Miss Emery, that's a sizable chunk of change. You had a credit card with that credit limit?"
"No. It was in my join checking and savings account."
"Well then that wasn't a credit card transaction, it was a withdrawal. That makes things more complicated." Dana slumped in her chair. Duh. "So when you canceled the bankcard, did you ask about the money? When and where was the money withdrawn? How did they get past your daily limits? Did you check the logs for your online banking?"
Dana felt too stupid to reply. She definitely felt too stupid to be in Rory's company. "I just had them cancel the card. I didn't tell them my money was missing. I was kind of upset."
"It's okay. That's what we are here for. I need the names of friends, family, work-related folks who might have access to your account. I am going to send an email to the bank manager now because I have already alerted her that we may be looking into your account. If I don't get a confirmation within the next five minutes, I will break our meeting and call her. So anyone have access to your account?"
"My boyfried," Dana said dolefully.
"Boyfriend?" the two men chorused.
"Ex. Ex-boyfriend. I had the account but I got him an extra bankcard. But that was canceled a long time ago."
"How long has it been since you spoke to him?"
"A year. Exactly," Dana replied.
"And under what circumstances did you see him?"
"He left me," she laughed nervously. "I saw it coming but yeah, he left me. Walked out and I haven't seen him since."
"This wasn't a joint account? Is there any way he can claim legal right to this account?"
"No he can't. I never added him officially."
"That's unusual. If you gave him access to your money, why wasn't it official? Did you have concerns about him?"
Her eyes teared. "Some." She didn't want to say anything else, didn't want to let them know how small Sean had been able to make her feel. Dana could feel Rory change the room again. His vibe puffed up and pressed into every nook and cranny and she could barely breathe. He was like a super hero.
He narrowed his eyes and stared down at her. "Did he hit you?"
Dana looked at Mike. "Do I have to talk about it?"
The captain responded, "Just characterize the relationship so I can figure out how much we need to look into this guy. If your boyfriend…"
"Ex-boyfriend," Rory amended.
"Sorry, Big Dog," the captain winked.
"Not funny, Mike." Rory scowled.
"Look, Dana, I see you're suffering. So just if you could tell me what the last time you saw him was like, if I need more, I will ask."
"Our relationship was totally on the rocks about two months before he left. He had money issues after losing his job, so I was carrying a lot of his expenses. I had some money I inherited from my family, and I'd been careful to keep it for buying a house one day. But he got angry with me paying his bills and we fought about it so I compromised. I got him a card. Then I found out he was having an affair. A girl at the unemployment office. He left me for her."
Rory emitted a staccato laugh. "Well Mike, we just have to look for a city employee who is shacked up with an unemployed a-hole who is now $20,000 richer."
"That's actually a good idea but take it down a notch, Big Dog. Dana, were you living together?"
"Yes."
"And did he have you fill out any paperwork he had access to? Things with your social security number, that sort of data?"
"Yeah," Dana replied gravely, already figuring out how exactly she got robbed.
"So you can see why this was helpful to talk about this," Mike said kindly.
"No worries. I'm fine," she said.
"I know that Rory and I talked about meeting over the purse snatching but we're focusing on this for now. Not sure if this relates to the other but if there's a link, we'll find it. Kind of throws your case out to left field, though?" he said to Rory. Dana made a face of confusion at him. "Rory's sister was mugged twice like you. He's been laying-in-wait much against my advice and approval. But we'll catch him. Just like we'll get whoever stole your money." Mike stood up. "Okay. Well it looks like our bank manager has not replied so I am going to go make a call from another phone."
The news that Rory had his own interest in the purse snatcher somehow didn't sit right with her. It was just a crappy day for her. "Can I go now, Captain? I mean I can come back if there's more to this but there is some place I need to be. I work for myself and I have a client waiting."
"Can you give me five minutes? I will come
to you need time, promise." The captain closed the door between them. Dana was in the room alone with Rory.
She had her shoulder to him slinking past him to an empty chair away at the corner of the captain's office. Her plan was to just ignore him. It was not his. She could hear him wheel his chair up behind hers.
"Hey," he said. Dana scrunched up her face wishing it would all go away and that she could go back to yesterday when everything was clean and pure. Rory hooked a foot on her chair and turned her around. "Look at me."
"It's really hard to hear yourself say out loud in front of two strangers how stupid you are. Well, not you but me. I don't think you're stupid." Rory laughed softly.
"I know what you meant. You're not stupid. You were conned."
"I was pretty dumb, Marine."
"Look at me right now," he commanded in such a way that Dana obeyed. "You've ever been listening to the news, hearing someone got scammed and thought, well that's so obvious why didn't they see that? Have you?"
"Yes," Dana replied faintly.
"It's because they play on your trust and they play you very fast. Even though he was a total fucker, you still trusted him. You loved him and thought he loved you. There's no shame in that."
"I appreciate your help in all of this. I do. It's very kind of you."
"Dana, you're thrown because I didn't tell you someone I know was robbed too."
"Just a little, Rory."
"I should have told you, I can see that now but honest to God, I kinda had other things on my mind from the moment I met you. I realize we just met," he said softly, "and you have no basis to trust me but beautiful, don't shut me out."
"And to think I honestly felt like shit because I overreacted to hearing a girl on the phone. I kept going back in time doing do-overs. I kept thinking ‘I didn't even trust him. He trusted me. He didn't think I was fucking anyone.'"
"I didn't think you were even fucking yourself. Your toys are in collectors' condition."
That made Dana laugh. "Stop that. You're not allowed to be funny while I'm trying to be mad at you and besides those toys were for guests. I have others."
"Guests? Plural?" he ribbed. She lightly socked him. He snatched her hand to quick to see. "Oh," he mocked alarm. "Never hit a Marine unless you mean business. And what do you mean by other toys? You telling me you didn't bring your A game?"
Her Brave Protector (Her Protector Alpha Male Military Romance Book 2) Page 1