by Peyton Banks
He was certainly a man who knew how to treat a woman and make love to one also.
If Candi wasn’t careful, she could see herself falling in love with Dallas.
But she didn’t know what this was between them. If he learned the entire story of her and Lamont, he may move on to be with someone who didn’t carry as much baggage as she did.
Dallas shifted in the bed, and she didn’t want to wake him. She would be just content to watch him sleep.
He shook his head, and his brows were furrowed. His body made hard jerks, kicking the covers off. His breathing increased and turned into pants.
“Sam,” he murmured. “We can make it.”
Candi sat up, unsure if she should wake him. He was apparently having some sort of nightmare.
He thrashed around the bed. She moved to the edge away from him, not wanting to get caught by one of his arms.
“Return fire!” he shouted, and she jumped. He released a curse and growls. “Let’s go. After them!”
Her heart raced.
Should she wake him?
She made up her mind that she would. His body was tense, and his face was lethal, even in his sleep. She didn’t know what he was dreaming about, but he was reliving something.
“We have our orders,” he growled.
“Dallas,” she whispered, her heart racing.
He didn’t hear her. His pants were growing louder, and his legs were moving.
“Dallas,” she said again. This time she leaned over and shook his shoulder.
His eyes flashed open with his growl, and before she knew it, he had flipped over on top of her, pressing his forearm against her throat. His unfocused eyes stared at her, and he bared his teeth.
She tried to release a scream, but her airway was cut off. Tears filled her eyes, and her body went into fight mode. She tried pushing him off, but Dallas outweighed her by at least a hundred pounds.
Flashbacks of the times Lamont had attacked her filled her chest along with stark fear.
“Dallas,” she croaked. She dug her fingers into his arm, trying to break free.
He blinked a few times before horror spread across his face. He immediately rolled off her with curses spilling from his lips.
She gasped, breathing in air for her starving lungs. She sat up and saw Dallas sitting on the side of the bed, cradling his head in his hands.
Silence filled the room.
Her body finally calmed down, and her breathing returned to normal. She wiped the wetness away from her cheeks, unsure of what to say.
“I’m so sorry, Candi,” he said. His voice was hollow, and his shoulders slumped forward.
“I shouldn’t have tried to wake you,” she admitted.
He had been in the middle of a nightmare, and she should have just let it play out. She scooted up in the bed and leaned back against the headboard.
“That’s no excuse for me,” he snapped. He turned around and glanced at her. “Did I…did I hurt you?” he asked.
Her heart lurched at the torture and pain in his voice.
He reached for the lamp on the side table and turned it on.
Guilt lined his face, and Candi knew deep inside he hadn’t meant it.
Dallas wasn’t the type of man to lay his hands on a woman.
We both truly have complicated backgrounds.
“No, just shocked and scared me more than anything.”
With a curse, he knelt on the bed and sat beside her. Tipping her chin up, he studied her neck, running his fingers along her skin.
“I’m so sorry,” he murmured. He sat back and met her gaze.
She nodded, seeing he was sincere.
Lamont had never apologized or taken responsibility for all the times he’d laid a hand on her. It was always her fault.
“It’s okay.” She reached out and took his hand. She cradled it between her two and brought it up to her lips and pressed a kiss to it.
This wasn’t the same as with Lamont. He’d thrived off of seeing her pain and her tears.
Dallas was nothing like him.
“It’s not. I could have really hurt you,” he said gruffly.
“You wouldn’t hurt me. Not on purpose.” She slid next to him and put his arm around her.
He leaned back against the headboard and allowed her to snuggle into his side.
He gripped her tight to him and blew out a deep sigh.
“I’m supposed to be protecting you, not scaring the crap out of you,” he muttered.
She ran a hand along his naked chest. Slid her fingers along the soft curls that lined his pectoral muscles.
They sat in silence.
Curiosity filled her. What had he been dreaming about? Was it from his time in the service?
“Do you want to tell me about it?”
Dallas didn’t respond, and Candi thought maybe he was ignoring her question until he blew out a deep breath.
“I spent basically half my life in the Marines. I signed up on my eighteenth birthday.”
Chapter Nine
Dallas found his life story spilling from his lips before he realized it. Candi didn’t say a word.
She just listened.
He spoke of being that youthful, innocent man who’d entered the service with the dreams of protecting and serving his country.
His parents, Grady and Leah McNeil, had been proud of him. He hadn’t known what he wanted to do with his life when he’d graduated. He hadn’t been the best student, and after a grueling day of working in a factory, he remembered a recruiter who had stopped at the high school and spoke with a bunch of students.
It hit him like an epiphany.
He’d enter the Marines.
That night, he’d gone home and spoken to his father about his decision.
It was the best one he’d ever made.
It had been life-altering.
He had journeyed the world over. He’d spent years based in Hawaii, Germany, and Afghanistan while traveling to countless other countries.
Dallas began to move up the ranks.
He’d come into a new family. A band of brothers who he would always cherish and remember.
“Your life sounds amazing,” Candi said, shifting up on her elbow. Her dark hair spilled onto her shoulders. Her lips curved up into a sexy smile.
“Well, it wasn’t all rainbows and sunshine,” he murmured. A darkness crept into his chest at the thought of the dream that had awoken him. He reached out a hand and brushed her hair away from her face to take a peek at her neck.
Dallas swallowed hard.
If he could kick his own ass, he would.
He’d never put his hands on a woman in any way but a sexual nature.
His stomach churned with the thought of what could have happened if he hadn’t snapped out of the dream.
“Do you want to talk about the dream?” she asked. She leaned across him with her dark eyes trained on him.
He swallowed hard and returned her gaze. It had been good to speak of his past. He hadn’t realized how therapeutic it would be to just have someone listen.
“I don’t want you having nightmares,” he said.
The Marines hadn’t been a perfect time. There were things that he would never be unable to unsee. Candi was an innocent. People like her were the reason that men and women entered the service every day.
To protect those who couldn’t fight and defend themselves.
“Try me. It will help. Believe me. I only know because of my therapist,” she admitted quietly.
Dallas couldn’t fathom what she must have gone through with her ex. He could imagine, but didn’t even want to ponder on it too long. He already wanted to do harm to the fucker. If they were to ever cross paths, it wouldn’t be pretty.
No man should lay his hands on a woman.
Ever.
A woman like Candi was meant to be cherished.
She needed a man to protect her, hold her hand when she was sad, be that shoulder to lean on when she cried, and b
e the one to give her the pleasure her body needed.
Dallas reached up and brought her face to his. He placed a soft kiss on her lips, realizing that he wanted to be that man for Candi.
She was his.
Candi drew back and lay on her pillow next to his.
“Stop trying to distract me, Officer McNeil. Talk.” She gave him a stern look and pulled the sheets over her naked form.
He turned on his side facing her and adjusted the pillow underneath his head.
“We were in a small town of Zahra. The mission had been to get food into the area to help the starving Afghans. It was a small town that had been set up for the misplaced civilians who had lost their homes. The Taliban had been keeping food that the UN was distributing, and these people were in danger of dying if we didn’t get the supplies to them.” He paused, closing his eyes.
It was a scene he’d never forget.
He ran a shaky hand along his face before continuing.
“We were acting as an escort. We’d done this drill a hundred times before, only this time we were entering a zone that was hot.”
It was to have been a simple task.
Drive the food in and take it to the main shelter where the locals would divide it up amongst those who were residing in the makeshift town.
“Something went wrong.” Candi’s voice broke through the silence.
Dallas nodded. “Very wrong. We made it to the shelter, and that’s when all hell broke loose. The Taliban had intercepted our orders and were there hiding. It had been a trap.”
The room was silent as the memories rushed back to him.
“I don’t like the looks of this,” Lieutenant Sam Hudak murmured. He pulled his weapon up and looked out the Humvee’s window.
“None of it is screaming ‘welcome’,” Dallas snapped. The hot desert air was not the same as back home. The dark sky did nothing but make him miss being back on the good ol’ US of A soil.
What Dallas wouldn’t do to be able to sit on his porch with a cold beer and just watch the neighborhood.
There wouldn’t be any of that now.
He was in the middle of the wretched desert.
He and his squadron had their orders.
Escort the supplies to the small town of Zahra.
They were entering a dangerous zone. This small, newly developed town was the direct result of the Taliban destroying towns and cities.
These people were survivors but wouldn’t be for long if they didn’t help get food and supplies to them.
They were a few days away from starving.
“We’re here,” David announced from the driver’s seat. He drove the vehicle up to a crudely constructed building. The little caravan behind them stopped.
“Eyes open, stay sharp,” Dallas announced.
Confirmations that his orders were received echoed in his ear through the tiny communicator placed there. His team was spread out in the supplies truck, and twin Humvees were behind.
Dallas flipped his safety off his semiautomatic weapon and pushed open his door.
Sam, his longtime friend, had served with Dallas for as long as he had been in the Marines. They had grown close over the years. Together they led their team. Dallas had received orders from his commander.
The Taliban were set on genocide, and the US was stepping in.
Hence, their mission.
Stepping out of the truck, Dallas swept his gaze over the area. A few of the locals lingered. The hairs on the back of his neck rose. Dallas turned, holding his weapon comfortable in his hands. A few more people stood near the building across the street.
“Let’s make this quick, boys,” Dallas said.
“Getting a creepy feeling,” Ross Alder, one of Dallas’s team members, announced through the communicators. He had ridden with the truck that had the clean water and other supplies the locals needed.
“We have orders. Deliver supplies and get out,” Dallas reminded them. The sounds of doors slamming filled the air. “Can’t get no easier than that.”
This type of job was a cakewalk for him and his crew. They were skilled Marines who were used to infiltrating hot zones and fighting their way in and out of situations. These were the best men Dallas could have asked for.
This was his team.
He was responsible for them.
He turned and watched a man walking from the building with his white robes on that gathered at his ankles. His skin was brown and weathered.
This must be their contact.
“Where are we to unload?” Seth’s voice came over the com.
Movement out the corner of Dallas’s eye caught his attention.
Sam was right.
Something was off.
Dallas focused back on the man.
He released a curse.
The man pulled a semiautomatic rifle from his robe.
“Gun!” Dallas roared.
The man yelled out expletives in Pashto, the language of the locals.
“Put your weapon down!” Sam hollered.
David, Dallas, and Sam had their weapons trained on the man, but he ignored the warning and took off toward them with his gun pointed in their direction.
Dallas raised his weapon and aimed true but was met with the sound of gunfire. The man’s body jerked before falling to the ground. Dallas turned, finding David had fired his weapon. Dallas took notice of the movement coming from another direction and released a curse.
“We got a fucking problem. Three o’clock,” he barked.
More men came out of the buildings with their guns trained on Dallas and his men. His squad drew close to their vehicles, returning fire.
It was an ambush.
Dallas aimed his weapon and began picking off men who had been advancing on him.
A whistling sound filtered through the air.
“Missile!” a voice screamed.
Dallas caught sight of it heading straight to the supply truck. He turned and ran, pumping his arms as fast as he could, ignoring the bullets hitting the ground around him. Sam and David were by his side as they headed toward the buildings across the street.
Boom!
His body was thrown against the brick building. The heat of the blaze met him from where they were. His gaze roamed the area, finding bodies littering the area from the men who had been shooting at them.
This wasn’t good. Their three vehicles were out of commission.
His men regrouped in the alleyway between the two buildings. The small town wouldn’t have many places to hide.
“Keep moving,” he ordered.
Ross, Tim, and Randy nodded, rushing past him. They ran down the alley with Dallas picking up the rear. He was certain Sam would be leading from the front.
They had studied the area, and without a doubt, they had all memorized it.
Thankfully, they had the cover of night to help.
“Captain, what the fuck is going on?” Tim’s voice broke through the communicator.
“I have no clue,” Dallas muttered.
They slowed, aiming their guns.
“We need to call in for an air lift,” Sam said. “They can be here within ten minutes.”
“Hold,” Dallas ordered.
They had kept to the shadows and soon they would be on the edge of the small town and running out of buildings to hide against.
“There’s a safe house we can hole up in, two buildings over.”
They broke away from the shadows, and in a steady formation, headed toward the building Dallas directed them to.
His training kicked in just as he was sure all of theirs had.
Years of being put in a dangerous situation was another walk in the park for them.
Pulling up the rear, Dallas turned and saw a shadowed little boy.
He bit back a curse and paused.
What the fuck was a child doing out here at this time of night? That ambush meant their mission had been compromised and there would be more of them.
“Kid,
get out of here,” he ordered. He hoped his hard tone of his voice would urge the child to scatter.
He must be losing his edge, because the boy just stared at him.
A presence appeared behind him.
Randy.
The man was like a ghost.
It was quite disturbing how quiet the man could move.
“What the fuck,” Randy muttered.
“Where are your parents?” Dallas took a few steps toward the child. If he had to grab him to get him somewhere safe, he would. Children shouldn’t be in this type of environment. They should be off playing and not having any cares in the world.
The kid shouted in Pashto and pointed in their direction.
“Fuck!”
Dallas and Randy both turned and took off down the alley where the rest of the team had disappeared.
Bullets ricocheted off the building.
“Left!” Dallas shouted.
Randy spun left once they broke from the alley. The building was a small hideout where they could hole up and wait for the chopper. It had an exit point on the roof that would allow them to catch a ride out of this hellhole.
The continued sound of bullets didn’t decrease.
“Get to the building,” Dallas shouted, dashing behind a broken-down car in the street.
The building was a hundred feet away. He’d take care of the insurgents while he was sure Sam and the others had radioed in for help.
Randy headed for the building.
Dallas aimed his weapon and fired.
The first man’s body jerked before falling to the ground.
Dallas’s rapid fire took care of the second and third who ran around the corner from where he and Randy had just exited.
His heart leaped when two men ran from the alley, firing.
Dallas ducked and turned, seeing Sam at the door with his gun firing.
Dallas rose to look at the enemy closing in and let free a curse.
“Get out!” he shouted to Sam, recognizing the weapon one man carried.
A fucking shoulder rocket launcher.
Time stood still.
Even in the dark, his eyes connected with his friend.
Helpless, Dallas watched the building explode into flames.
Chapter Ten
Candi hurried around her bedroom gathering clothes to take with her. She didn’t know how much she’d need or how long she’d be gone.