by Jen Talty
Her lips turned into a frown. “He played D1 and was drafted to the NHL a few years ago. He passed away last week.”
“Shit. I’m so sorry.” He followed professional hockey, and if his memory served him correctly, then her brother was Karl Sweet, the star goalie on the Nashville Predators roster, who had committed suicide after murdering his pregnant girlfriend four days ago.
Kick opted to keep his mouth shut. No reason to bring up something as ugly as murder/suicide.
“Thanks.” She smiled weakly. “It’s still a bit of a shock.”
“I imagine it would be.”
The plane bounced once as the wheels hit the ground.
She gasped. “What was that?”
“We just landed.” He couldn’t begin to fathom what it would be like to lose one of his siblings. It had been hard enough to lose his parents to an early death, but he and his siblings, despite the fact he lived in Montana, were about as close as a family could get.
“Really?” She released his hand, tucking long strands of dark hair behind her ears. She leaned over, snagging her phone. She glanced at it with pursed lips before dropping it back in her bag and rummaging around inside it, pulling out another cell. “Thanks for the movies and keeping me distracted.” Her fingers flew across the screen.
“My pleasure.”
She tossed her purse over her shoulder as she stood, pulling open the overhead compartment.
“Let me help you with that,” he said, scooting toward the aisle.
“I’ve got it.” She yanked down a red suitcase where one section was held together with duct tape. “It was nice meeting you.”
“You too.”
He leaned back in the seat, waiting patiently for the plane to empty. Whatever Cassandra was running from, based on the way her foot tapped rapidly on the floor, she wasn’t quite far enough away to let her guard down.
He glanced at his watch. It was approaching midnight, and it would take an hour to get home. His vacation was basically over. Not that he minded. When he wasn’t protecting someone, he was working on the small horse ranch in Wolf Creek, not far from Holter Lake, that he’d purchased a year ago when he’d left the Army and started with the Brotherhood Protectors. Breeding and training horses was in his blood, and he’d missed it when he’d been serving his country.
Now he had the best of both worlds.
He saluted the captain as he stepped off the plane and onto the jetway, watching Cassandra as she raced toward the terminal. She obviously had some place to be.
And he had a date with his king-size bed. A week of sleeping in a twin bed in his nephew’s room had his back riddled with one kink after another. He looked forward to a few hours of shut-eye before an early morning ride on his favorite Quarter horse followed by a meeting with the boss man.
Hopefully, Hank would have a job for him. He needed something to keep his mind occupied and off the fact that his ex-girlfriend had just gotten engaged, only three months after they’d broken up.
How rude.
“Come on, answer the damn phone.” Cassandra stood outside at the pickup area of the airport. Ever since she and Monty had broken up, it had become difficult to return to Montana. When they graduated college, she had visions of seeing some of the world. He wanted to go home and settle down.
Only, she knew deep down, he wanted to hide in the comfort of what was more familiar than the excitement of new adventures. So, she’d ran off to Florida for college and never looked back. Monty, on the other hand, went running home the second he had gotten his master’s degree. She often missed the mountains. The ranches nestled in both valleys and on top of hills. The wilds of the outdoors. If she was being honest, she missed some of that in the flatlands of Florida.
And she missed her parents.
She sighed. Montana wasn’t all that bad. Though, she’d never been to this airport before since she’d grown up closer to Billings Logan International, where she needed to be in four days for her brother’s memorial service. If her parents knew she was a couple hours away, they’d flip. “If this goes to voice mail again, I’m going—”
“Cassandra?”
“Finally. Where the hell have you been?”
“I’ve been going through Asia’s and Karl’s emails.”
“You were able to hack both their accounts?” Guilt weaseled its way into her mind and heart. She’d been such a bitch sister the few months before her brother’s death, all because she didn’t trust his new wife. The only foundation she had for her distaste of his betrothed had been the fact Asia had a record for sports betting. According to her brother, Asia had kicked the habit, went to gamblers anonymous meetings, and had turned over a new leaf.
Didn’t matter now.
They were both dead.
But why?
That was a question that had no answer. It made no sense that a man on his way into the Stanley Cup would kill his wife, who he loved with all his heart and who carried his child, then turn the gun on himself. Karl had everything he’d ever wanted. His entire world had come together. Cassandra had never seen him happier, and she had the audacity to shit on it by being an unsupportive bitch.
“Asia’s was easy. Your brother’s, not so much. But I managed to crack it.”
“Find anything?”
“We’ll discuss it when you get here.”
“Oh, come on. Don’t do that to me,” she said, her gaze following the tall, dark, and handsome cowboy from the plane as he meandered across the street with a backpack over his shoulder and a rucksack on the other. She sighed, shifting her stare to the line of cars easing through the pickup lane. “My brother’s stupid-ass cryptic note makes no sense, other than seeking out your help. But help with what?” She swallowed the idea that it was possible her brother had lost it and did the unthinkable. He had struggled with drug addiction early on in his career, but he, too, like Asia, had turned things around.
Crap. She should have been kinder and more understanding when it came to Asia.
“I want you to read some of it. There are things I don’t understand. My house is less than a half hour away. It’s really easy to find.”
She hadn’t known Monty in high school even though they had grown up only twenty minutes from each other. But she had gone to public school and he to a private school for geniuses.
And he was nothing short of being the smartest person she’d ever known. He just wasn’t the man for her, and at this point in her life, she didn’t expect to meet her knight in shining armor.
Though the hot cowboy certainly came close.
God, she was pathetic. Her brother and his wife were dead, and here she was spending more time thinking about some man she’d just met, so she could take her mind off the realities of the last couple of days.
“You’re not picking me up?” When she broke up with Monty, he’d been more than upset. For weeks, he sent her nasty text messages, accusing her of being insensitive and selfish.
He was right. His anxiety issues had been too much for her to handle, and that was something he really had very little control over.
Talk about rude.
“Nope. I had a buddy of mine leave you my old SUV. I just sent you a text with the info on where it’s parked and where the key is. Sorry. I thought I had done that before.”
“Well, you didn’t,” she said with a huff. She still didn’t understand why her brother thought it would be a good idea to reach out to Monty, and Monty hadn’t shed any light on why.
Not to mention so much of Karl’s letter didn’t make sense.
Worse, the postmark had been the day he died.
“I’m literally right off Interstate Fifteen. I texted you the address. Just plug it into your phone’s GPS. It’s so easy to find,” Monty said.
“I don’t understand why you didn’t just come get me.” She lifted the handle on her suitcase and headed toward the parking garage, taking the time to look at the text. At least the car had been parked in short-term, which was only twent
y paces away.
“I haven’t left my house in over a year.”
She paused mid-step. Monty had always been a bit of a homebody, one of the reasons she knew their relationship had been doomed from the get-go. No matter how much she enjoyed his company, they weren’t meant to be together. She had missed his friendship and was grateful they had reconnected. “Monty, why? That’s not healthy.”
“You were right about us. About me. I’m okay. Really. I like it this way. Besides, I spend fifteen hours a day on my computer. I’ve got so much work right now, I’m turning jobs away.”
She had to admit his voice sounded animated as he explained his current lifestyle. “As long as you’re happy.”
“I am as happy as I’ll ever be,” he said. “I’ll see you soon.”
“Hey, Monty?”
“What, buttercup?”
She laughed at the cute name he used to call her when they’d dated. “Do you know why Karl wanted me to contact you? What any of his letter meant?”
“Like I said, we’ll discuss that when you get here.”
“All right,” she said, spotting the white SUV that ten years ago, she’d ridden shotgun as they drove to Niagara Falls for a romantic getaway, only they fought most of the trip because of his severe anxiety over everything. She checked the license plate just to make sure this was the vehicle. “Christ. I can’t believe he still has this hunk of junk,” she mumbled, reaching over the front passenger tire where her fingers found the key. Once settled in the driver’s seat, she plugged in Monty’s address and headed toward the highway.
Twenty minutes, exactly.
She hoped the beat-up truck didn’t fall apart before she found Monty’s place. The thing rattled like it was being tossed around by an earthquake. The muffler needed to be replaced, and it smelled like stale milk. At least it was summer, and she could roll down the windows. Otherwise, she might vomit right there in her lap.
The GPS told her to head north on Fifteen, so as soon as she entered the on-ramp, she punched the gas.
The SUV didn’t go any faster, but the engine revved.
What the fuck?
She pumped the pedal again, and once again, the engine made a noise, but the SUV was actually slowing down just as the highway split north and south. She rolled to a stop in the median and put the vehicle in park. The engine still ran, but when she tried to put it in drive and move forward, the SUV did nothing.
“Shit.” Being stranded in the middle of nowhere Montana was the last thing she needed. Monty’s job allowed him to live anywhere, but he had to move back home, where he felt comfortable and safe. She knew if he returned home, his anxieties would take over his life. Based on this vehicle, she had been right.
She let out a long breath and popped the hood. Her father made it his mission in life to make sure his little girl never needed a man to do anything. He wanted her to be able to fend for herself and yet, he couldn’t wait for her to fall in love and get married so he could walk her down the aisle.
As soon as she stepped from the vehicle, she saw the problem in the form of a weird, thick, milkshake-like puddle under the SUV.
She could just call an Uber. She was sure they had made their way to her hometown. She glanced toward the sky. Mountains surrounded her on both sides. Then she glanced at her phone. No fucking service.
Figures.
Where was the handsome cowboy from the plane when she needed him? He could be a knight in shining armor. She’d never seen such dark eyes before, and they had captivated her, keeping her from freaking out. Flying had never been something she enjoyed, but she never had been on a flight with that much turbulence before.
Not to mention, she worried someone might be following her.
She shivered as a large truck with a lot of fog lights headed in her direction. The roar of a diesel engine boomed in her ears. The closer the truck got, the more she felt like she was in some strange-ass teenaged horror flick where the chick that was too stupid to live was about to die. She raised her hand, covering the glare, hoping it would help make out the driver, but the truck was still too far away.
If only she’d had time to do the paperwork to bring her weapon. But really, what reason could she have come up with for a parole officer to bring her gun on vacation?
If she was lucky, whoever sat behind the steering wheel wouldn’t be a crazed serial killer.
Before she even had a chance to flap her arms in the air, the truck pulled to a stop. The hood shined like glass under the white moon. A tall man stepped from the truck. His silhouette stretched on for at least ten feet, but with the contrast between the night sky and the bright lights, she couldn’t make out his face.
She took a step back. Fear gripped her heart like a baby elephant had just plopped himself down on her chest. Rolling her shoulders, she stood taller. She craned her neck and flexed her muscles, preparing to fight. He might be bigger and stronger, but her high kick to the throat was deadly.
“What’s the matter?” a vaguely familiar voice said. “And how can I help?” The shadow slipped in front of the truck, cutting through the white beams and revealing him. “Well, we meet again,” Kick said with a big old Montana smile. His dark eyes twinkled with mischief.
Great. A potential knight in shining armor, or mass murderer, with the ability to flirt like he was going for the gold medal.
“So we do.” She flexed her fingers, twisting her wrists.
He pointed to the pavement. “I think you might need a new transmission.”
“No shit. Do you have cell service? I’ve got nothing.”
“This is a weird stretch of road. Service doesn’t start up for about a mile or you have to go back to the airport.”
“Unbelievable,” she muttered.
“Lucky for you, I have a radio in my truck. I know a place close by we can have your vehicle towed to, and I’ll be your Uber driver for the evening. Where are you headed?”
Her father always told her if it seemed too good to be true, then run. Good advice. She should follow it. Glancing over her shoulder, she studied the area, contemplating all her options if this man turned out to be an asshole. “I can just walk to—”
“I can’t let you do that. It’s not safe.”
Spoken like a true Jeffrey Dahmer or Ted Bundy.
“And getting in a truck with you is totally benign?” she asked. Her cheeks heated as she relived the turbulent landing, staring into his dark-chocolate eyes, romanticizing what it would have been like if he had kissed her.
“I just want to make sure you get to wherever it is you are going unscathed.” His lips curved up into a sexy expression.
It was damned impossible not to smile back. He’d been so kind on the plane, but what if he was the man who broke into her house? He could have been watching her and followed her to the airport, only trying to gain her trust. A couple of her clients were stalkers. She understood how charming they could be with their victims, until they flipped the switch.
In her efforts to dodge the news cameras and all the whack jobs that wanted to interview the sister of the late, almost great, Karl Sweet, she hadn’t been diligent in checking out her surroundings during the last twenty-four hours. She frowned as she hugged her middle. Kick was driving a truck with Montana state plates. No way could he be following her.
“Cassandra. I don’t know what’s got you so spooked, but I’m one of the good guys. I was in the military for nineteen years, and for the last year, I’ve been working for a private bodyguard firm, the Brotherhood Protectors.”
“I’ve heard of them,” she said softly. Flashes of her child snapped in her brain like an old-time slide show.
“How do you know about the organization?”
“A few years back, a friend of mine was in need of their services.” She saw no reason to elaborate.
“Do you remember the name of the protector your friend used?” He held up his hand. “Let me start rattling off some of my co-workers.”
This should be in
teresting. No way would he be able to guess the two men she remembered the most because their names were far from common.
“A couple of my close buddies are Clayton, Jaden, Dustin, and Shamus.”
She shook her head. This wasn’t going to help.
“How about Hank or Bear?”
She tilted her head. She’d only met one man in all her life that went by that name. “What does Bear look like?”
“He’s a bit older than me. Walks with a slight limp and has a gruff voice to go with his gruff exterior. Wicked sense of humor.”
“That would be him.” She relaxed her leg muscles. Her high kick wouldn’t be necessary just yet.
“So, you know I’m in the business of protecting people.” Kick kept his distance with the palms of his hands turned toward the sky, much like her cop friends did when approaching a scared-shitless victim. “I can’t leave you out here alone. Let me go call a tow truck, and then I’ll drive you wherever you need to go.”
“I suppose you’re the lesser of two evils.” If she stayed out here alone, who knows who might come by. Could be worse than a tall, muscular cowboy with a spectacular smile.
He laughed. “All right. I’ll go call the tow truck while you get your stuff. We’ll have to wait for them, but I know the guy, so it shouldn’t take that long.”
“That makes me even more leery that you just happen to know someone. Shit like that only happens in horror movies.” In her business, she knew that wasn’t true. Criminals sometimes had more loyal friends than they do enemies.
“I live fifty minutes north of here, and I do a lot of work around these parts.”
“Right. Protecting people.”
“That’s what I get paid to do.” He turned on his heels and marched with purpose toward his vehicle. A couple of cars whizzed by. None of them stopped.
Then again, why would they when Kick and his big, old, red truck, that was way too clean for its own good, were there to save the day?
She yanked her suitcase from the back seat and wheeled it across the pavement. Nausea gripped her gut. Besides not understanding why her brother killed his wife and himself, she hadn’t a clue as to why anyone would break into her home.