She drew a deep breath as her gaze returned to her plate. She couldn’t look at Phantom. She didn’t want to see his reaction to what she was going to tell him. “I made you a promise, and I want you to know that I will always be honest with you. It’s an important building block for a working relationship.” She rubbed the back of her neck, wondering exactly where to begin. Somehow, the words began to tumble out. “It happened a few years ago. Only a couple of people close to me know the truth of what really happened.”
She saw his hands tighten briefly on the table, then relax. He exuded control over his words and motions. Everything about him was controlled. When he had offered to drive the truck earlier, she hadn’t even thought about it when she tossed him the keys. Yes, he had triggered memories of the painful night years ago. But that didn’t mean she feared him. Quite the opposite. She found herself beginning to trust him.
“It… I was young and foolish. There was a ranch hand on Daniel’s ranch—your ranch—who had developed feelings for me. More accurately, I should say, he lusted after me. I didn’t recognize it. I thought it was just harmless flirting between friends. He didn’t take it that way.”
She looked back out the window, staring at the truck and trailer. Tears burned her eyes and she blinked rapidly, forcing them away. “He caught me alone in the barn one evening. I-I didn’t know how to react to his advances. So I slapped him. It was the wrong move, and I paid for it.”
Phantom was silent for a long time, so long that Elena thought he was done with the questions she didn’t want to answer. Then, “How badly did he hurt you?”
Elena wrapped her arms around herself in a defensive gesture, something she had started not long after the attack. She forced her arms to relax at her sides. “It was intense. I don’t remember a whole lot.”
“You remember more than you’d like.” It wasn’t posed as a question; it was a statement of fact.
“Yes.” A tear slid down her face, and she hastily wiped it away. “When I woke up in the hospital, the nurses told me it was a miracle I had survived such a terrible accident. Daniel had told them that one of the horses had been spooked and had trampled me.”
“Trampled you? Elena, just how badly did he hurt you?”
She didn’t want to get into the details. She didn’t want to talk about the event that had created her worst nightmares. She had only recently been able to get through a night here and there without them waking her in a cold sweat. She had made a promise, though, and she would honor it.
“I must have blacked out, because I don’t even remember how Daniel got me to the hospital in Laredo. The concussion is probably why my memory is foggy. But when I came around, I had two broken ribs. A broken nose. A broken clavicle. A bunch of bruises and cuts that took weeks to heal.”
“I hope Daniel got the law involved.”
Elena nodded absently, her mind drifting back to the ordeal. “He tried. By the time they made it to the ranch, though, Billy had disappeared. The sheriff searched for him, but he was gone. He must have left as soon as he finished attacking me, knowing I would press charges against him. I wanted to confront him. I wasn’t going to be his victim. But I never got a chance.” She curled her hands into fists. What would she say to him if she saw him now?
“Elena, what happened to you—”
“I’ve tried to put it behind me. I’ve been able to move on with my life, and I’m no longer afraid of men.”
“Then why do you react to me the way you do?”
“It’s only when you catch me by surprise. Billy is a large man. Like you. He’s tall and strong and hurt me so easily. I thought I had erased him from my mind. When you’ve done something unexpectedly, though, the memories come rushing back.”
“I’m nothing like him, Elena. I would never hurt you. I couldn’t. You’re an incredibly brave woman, and you’ve been through a horrific experience,” Phantom said, his voice projecting the same calm she remembered from the first day she’d met him. “It never should have happened. But if you carry that pain around with you, the weight of it will drown you. It will destroy you more effectively than Billy ever could. Burying the pain and the memories will make you vulnerable anytime a man as large as Billy gets close to you.”
His words stung. How does he know I’ve buried the pain? How can he presume to know what I feel? “You don’t know anything about what I’ve been through.” The tears began to fall freely and she wiped at them angrily, hating that her emotions were getting the best of her. She had never cried like this when talking about what had happened, not even when sharing it with Anya. Why am I letting this get to me? Billy has no power over me any longer. Neither does Phantom. Still, a part of her had been taken the night Billy beat her. A part of the wild, free spirit she had always been.
“You don’t understand.” Even as she said the words, she wondered how he had been able to tap into the pain she’d thought buried and gone. She rose to her feet and grabbed for her purse. She wanted to go home.
“No,” he said, and there was the hint of regret in his voice. “No, I don’t understand everything about what you’ve been through. But I’ve known people who’ve gone through traumatic events, and I’m willing to bet this is the first time you’ve grieved for the loss of what you had.”
How could he possibly know…? Elena grappled with her feelings. She knew the pain was all over her face—written in her tears. She’d had no idea she would react so intensely to his questions.
He stood and slowly—very, very slowly—reached down for her face. She didn’t flinch from him this time. She realized distantly that her heart wasn’t racing out of fear, but out of hope for something she couldn’t identify. He touched her cheek and swiped the tears off one cheek, then the other.
The skin on his fingers was rough, but his touch was so gentle that she found herself wanting to lean into his hand. She had enjoyed a man’s caress in the past, but the feeling of Phantom’s skin on hers stirred her desire like no man’s ever had before.
“I’d never hurt you, Elena.”
Elena’s heart pounded hard, and she was certain he could hear it. His fingers felt so good that she gave in to the temptation and leaned into his hand, laying her cheek against his palm. Then, her resolve returning, she pulled back. “I know.” His eyes widened slightly at her statement. “You’re nothing like him. I thought I had erased everything about him, but obviously I hadn’t. I’m sorry I reacted to you that way.”
“Elena, I’m not trying to make you uncomfortable, and you have nothing to apologize for. I could tell something was bothering you. No man should ever hurt a woman. You deserve to be treasured.”
Elena looked back out the window, the day slipping into twilight. He hadn’t pulled his hand away as she continued leaning into it, a thrill sliding down her spine as his long fingers caressed the back of her neck while his thumb rubbed gentle circles on her cheek. How long had it been since she had felt pleasure from a man’s fingers? Six months? A year? She had been so busy trying to build her career that she had put everything else at the bottom of her list.
She and Phantom were working to build a business relationship together. She thought she had moved on from the pain, but he had shown her she still had a broken piece that needed to heal. Could Phantom help her put it all behind her for good? No man had ever challenged her the way he had. No man had ever tried to understand her beyond whatever it took to just have a good time together.
Elena turned away from the window and looked at Phantom. “It may not seem like it, but I’m grateful you asked me to talk about it. I hadn’t realized it still had such power over me. But not anymore. You have my trust. What does that mean to you?”
“I hope it means you’ll take me back as your client.”
* * *
Stryker and Phantom met with the rest of the team in the conference room they had specifically built when the home had been remodeled
. It sat to the side of their communications hub, an area that Buzz oversaw with multiple computer monitors, satellite feed, and every gadget a technology geek like Buzz could ever ask for. Installing and getting everything up to specifications had taken a lot of time, but the effort had been well worth it.
“Something unusual came up today at the horse show,” Phantom began, and the team listened intently. A meeting wouldn’t have been called if something serious hadn’t happened. “I overheard a conversation about human trafficking.”
Stryker sat up straighter. “What did you hear?”
“I’ll break into the details on the call with Haslett. I have a serious concern that something is going down right under our noses.”
At that moment, the conference phone began to ring and Phantom hit the button on the speaker. “Sir, the entire team is here.”
“Good. Stryker didn’t give me any information, other than it was urgent that we talk tonight.” Admiral Haslett’s voice came across tense and tired, but still attentive.
Phantom relayed in detail the conversation he had overheard. “Do we have any intel about a human trafficking ring operating in this area?”
“Hell, human trafficking has been going on for a long time, and there’s a dedicated task force in Mexico that oversees such problems. That doesn’t mean the traffickers aren’t still getting across the border somehow.”
“I intend to investigate it further on my end,” Phantom said. “Anything you can learn through your network may help us put an end to a potentially dangerous ring.”
“I will let you know,” Haslett said. “Phantom, I want you to take point on this. I’ll be back in touch soon.”
They ended the call, and Stryker nodded to Phantom to continue. “Buzz, I’d like you to start searching on the dark web for anything regarding human trafficking or sex slaves. More often than not, women and children are sold into prostitution once they make it across the border.”
“Not a problem. I’ll begin running a search tonight.” Buzz nodded firmly.
“I need all of you to start researching the human trafficking industry,” Phantom added. “Try to network with local truck drivers to see if you pick up any details. It is obvious the victims are being shipped by large haulers, so that could be our biggest source of information.”
“I’ll tap into my connections within the federal government of Mexico to see if they’ve heard anything about a human trafficking ring operating close to south Texas,” Santo volunteered.
“Good,” Phantom said. “Also, check in with the judge you’re friends with here in the county. She seems to always have her finger on the pulse of things.”
Santo nodded, and Phantom looked around the room at the grim faces. They all knew the evil that lurked behind human trafficking rings. The thought that one was operating in their own backyard was disturbing and left them all on edge.
“This is what we are here for,” Stryker said to the team. “Our main objective when we took this assignment was to keep our ears to the ground and get out among the people. We know bad things are happening, and we’re seeing just as many people south of the border get hurt as here in the United States. More, even, if you consider the political upheaval so many countries are facing. Our job is to protect the border—both sides of it. Phantom has brought us the opportunity to do just that. Is everyone clear on their next steps?”
“Hooyah!”
* * *
Elena rubbed her hands on her jeans as she approached the front door of the large ranch house. Just yesterday, she had taken Phantom to the horse show and revealed her most painful memory. His reaction had not been what she had expected. Instead of showing pity, he had challenged her not to let the episode define her and weigh her down any longer.
Anya had called when Elena got home after dropping off the horse. She had been grateful that Jonas wasn’t around, and she’d been able to get in and out quickly. Elena figured Anya wanted to know how the horse show had gone, but instead she’d invited her to breakfast with the entire Bent Horseshoe group the next morning.
Elena wanted to make a good impression on these men that Anya obviously cared about. She drew a deep breath and raised her hand to knock on the heavy door, but it was yanked open before she could. Anya stood in the doorway, grinning at her.
“About time you got here. What happened? You hit the snooze button too many times?”
Elena gave a startled laugh as Anya grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into the house. “It’s seven in the morning! What time did you expect me to get here?”
“This is a ranch, remember?” Anya winked at her. “They get up before the sun.”
“Yeah,” said Stryker, the first man they encountered as they entered the dining room. “Not all of us get to work the easy hours like you and Phantom.”
“I’ll have you know there’s nothing easy about our work,” Phantom said, walking forward, and Elena’s heart beat a little faster at the sight of him. “Good morning,” he said, his gaze for her alone. “Did everything go smoothly with getting the horse back last night?”
She nodded. “Yes. No problems.” He smiled at her, and she thought she might melt into the floor. His smile was dangerous. It made her crave things she shouldn’t. They had barely started working together, but her thoughts kept drifting to the feeling of his skin against hers, his lips brushing her ear, his gentle compassion as he’d wiped away her tears. She thought it would be a good idea to stay focused on her job as his horse trainer.
Then again, they weren’t technically working at the moment. And whenever they weren’t working together, she gave her mind the freedom to fantasize about him as much as possible. She didn’t see any harm in it as long as she stayed professional while training his horses.
“You’ll get to enjoy more of Snap’s good cooking,” Anya said, having released her arm to lean in toward Stryker instead.
Elena forced her eyes past Phantom and struggled to hide her surprise. The kitchen overflowed with some of the largest cowboys she had ever seen. They were all at least Phantom’s size, and at least one was certainly bigger since he towered over everyone.
“Gang, look alive! We’ve got a guest in the house.” Stryker’s voice cut across the noise of all the men talking, and they turned to face her.
Anya pushed her from behind, nudging her farther into the dining room. “Good morning,” Elena said, wondering if her eyes were bugging from her head.
“Of course, you met Snap already,” Phantom said, “but there are also Santo, Buzz, and Brusco.”
The men nodded to her cordially, and each stepped forward offering their hands to shake. She did her best to get all their names right as she greeted each of them individually. “I didn’t know so many of you lived here,” she finally said, unable to control her surprise any longer. “Are all of you partners in the operations of the ranch? All of you?”
“Yes,” Stryker answered. “We’ve all become close friends over the years, and when the opportunity presented itself, we decided to go in together on the ranch. Plus, we’ve got enough elbow grease here that we don’t have to hire twenty ranch hands to take care of this giant spread.”
Elena nodded slowly, absorbing the information. “I don’t think I’ve ever known such an arrangement before. Usually only a couple of people partner to run a ranch, and they still bicker and fight over minor details. You must all get along really well.”
Snap laughed. “Oh, no. We bicker and fight plenty. But we’ve got it set up so that each of us is responsible for a certain aspect of the ranch. That way, we aren’t dancing on each other’s toes. It works well for us.”
“Ah.” Elena looked back at Phantom. “That explains why you run the horses.”
He nodded, then moved toward her until he stood toe to toe with her. He leaned down and whispered loudly in her ear, “You better hurry and get some food before Snap or Buzz eat
s it all.”
“I heard that,” Snap and Buzz grumbled at the same time, and Elena laughed, turning toward the kitchen with Phantom following her.
Soon they all had loaded up on Snap’s cooking and were seated around the large dining-room table. Elena had Anya on her right and Phantom on her left, and was surprised when they held out their hands to say grace over the food. She smiled as she bowed her head and listened to the short but sweet prayer of thanks. Then there was a short period of silence as everyone began to dig into the food.
“So, do you have any ranches to go out to today?” Phantom asked.
“No. That’s one of the perks of being my own boss—I get most weekends off. Except, of course, on show weekends.”
“How did the show go yesterday?” Anya asked from her other side.
“Terrific,” Phantom answered for her. “She won in both of the classes she entered. And she taught me that I’m in desperate need of some help.”
“I wouldn’t say ‘desperate,’” Elena offered, trying to reassure him.
“No? What would you say?”
Elena thought for several seconds, then said, “You are in critical need of some help,” and laughed at the expression on his face.
“That’s even worse than saying I’m desperate.”
“Does that mean you’ve asked her to take your sorry ass back as a client?” Stryker asked from the head of the table.
“I’ve asked. She hasn’t given me a solid answer yet.”
Elena looked over at Phantom and saw the question in his eyes. He needed to know if she had accepted his request from the previous night. If she trusted him, she’d take him back as her client. Her heart pounded hard in her chest with fear of the unknown and excitement at the same time. “Yes. I’ll take you back as my client.”
He smiled brightly at her, and she smiled at him in return. They stared at each other for several seconds before one of the men asked Phantom a question, breaking the spell. His gray eyes had held her mesmerized.
Everyone ate as if they hadn’t had food in years. Elena and Anya both praised Snap’s cooking, which brought groans from the rest of the men about making Snap’s head bigger than it already was. Elena enjoyed the banter between the men as they teased each other, and laughed and joined in when she could. She enjoyed elbowing Anya every time she started to make moon eyes at Stryker.
A SEAL Always Wins Page 5