Her Sensual Protector: A Navy SEAL Romance (Night Storm Book 5)

by Caitlyn O'Leary

  “I want to spend time with you today,” the little girl whined.

  “I’m busy today. It will have to be tomorrow.” Daisy was firm. It was the only way with this strong-willed little girl.

  “Okay. But I don’t like it.”

  Daisy had to bite back a laugh. This kid was killing her.

  “Duly noted.”

  She took her hand and they walked back to Maysa’s tent. When Maysa saw her, she raised her eyebrows and shook her head. Daisy shrugged. The women were in perfect accord. There was no stopping the little girl, she was a firecracker. Daisy loved seeing that spurt of energy and defiance when the girl was undernourished and living with so many in their small little tent. She had such a will. This little girl could grow up to change the world.

  When she got to the aid station, she was met by a shock. Besides her directors of development, operations, and public affairs, there was Rayi Abad.

  And Leo Perez.

  One she was happy to see, the other she was stunned to see. Daisy honestly thought Leo would have given up on her by now.

  “Daisy, these gentlemen assured us you would want to have them tag along. Rayi said that he would be able to help provide some much-needed publicity for this project, and I couldn’t agree more,” Annie Cartwright smiled. She was fifty-two and an experienced Director of Development that Daisy had stolen from the Red Cross two years ago.

  “Yes, Rayi is great. He helped me on a project in Afghanistan not so long ago. Has he told you his resume?” Daisy asked.

  “Yes, he has. It’s formidable.”

  “I approved Leo coming along,” Doug Prentiss said. “He said he would be available for the next two weeks to do some security evaluations. I couldn’t be happier.” Doug gave her a long, meaningful look. “For many reasons.”

  I’m going to kill Doug. I’m going to kill him in his sleep.

  “Doug’s a great guy, Daisy.” Leo smiled easily. “We really hit it off.”

  “I’m sure you did,” Daisy said through gritted teeth. She and Doug had worked together the longest. He was her mentor, but he lacked the leadership skills, nor did he want to run W.A.N.T., but he absolutely loved to stick his nose into Daisy’s personal life. Not that she ever had one. That had never stopped Doug from trying to get her one. Now Leo showed up, and Doug looked as happy as a pig in mud.

  “Daisy, I’ve got a few ideas about the project I want to run past you.” Effie Long said as she handed her a list. “I’ve highlighted the most important points in pink. As the developmental director, I have to tell you, I don’t think your vision is doable, but there are parts of it we could accomplish.”

  Doug and Annie laughed. Effie always had concerns about everything. That was her position, and she played it well.

  “Okay, we’ll go to the aid center and get you settled. Like usual, you’ll have cots and on every fourth day you get to have a camp bath.”

  “Sounds about right,” Effie sighed. “Okay, I have a set of notes for you to review. I didn’t think we needed the reporter or the security analyst, but I bowed to Annie and Doug.”

  “I agree with Annie. Rayi will be a great addition to the team. But you might be right about Leo. We’ll see if he really brings anything useful to the party.” Daisy gave Leo a laser-like glare. He gave her a heated smile in return. Once again she could hear Doug and Annie laughing.

  Great. Just great.

  She looked pissed. Exhausted, but pissed. It was pretty damned funny. Leo worked hard to keep a straight face. He’d lucked out getting on the same bus as Daisy’s executives to take to the internally displaced person camp here in Aden from the airport. After watching the interaction between Daisy and her personnel he could see that his take on the players had been pretty spot on. Effie, Doug, and Annie were all true believers in the cause. Annie and Doug would both take bullets for Daisy, but it was Doug who would kill Leo if he made one wrong move. On the bright side, he thought Daisy needed a personal life, and he didn’t believe for an instant that Leo was here to provide security. He had totally caught on that Leo’s reason for being here was personal, and he was happy about it.

  “Leo, what a surprise to see you. I’m sorry if you didn’t catch on to the message I was giving you.”

  “Daisy, I didn’t get any message from you, so there was nothing to catch on to. Now that we're here together, hopefully, we can rectify that.”

  Dough laughed.

  Effie looked confused.

  Daisy glared at him. She was not happy. Good, serves her right.

  “How do you two know each other?” Annie asked.

  “We met in Afghanistan,” Leo answered.

  “I wondered,” the reporter said. “I would like to ask you some questions.”

  Leo turned on him. “I have some questions of my own. Perhaps we can spend a little time alone later today,” Leo all but growled. He was still pissed to find out that the reporter who had shown the video to Daisy was here in Yemen with her. He was not convinced this guy was on the side of the angels.

  “Maybe you two can talk now,” Daisy said sweetly. “I need to speak to my directors before we take a tour of the camp.”

  “After our talk, I think it is important that Leo be included on the tour,” Doug piped up.

  “Fine,” was all Daisy said.

  Leo smothered his grin.

  “Where shall we meet you?”

  “I’ll show you where the aid station is. There is a small spot where you can onload your belongings. If you stay close, then we can find you. I could call you if you had a satellite phone.”

  “I do,” Rayi said.

  “Same,” Leo agreed.

  “Okay, then you can go further. But if you go too far, then we’ll leave without you for the tour.”

  Again, he had to smother a grin. There was no give in the woman at the moment. Leo would have thought she was really pissed at him, but he knew better. She would have said unequivocally that he couldn’t be part of the team, no matter what Doug said. She hadn’t done that. So, she wasn’t that mad at him. Score one for Team Perez. Still didn’t explain why she’d ghosted him on all his texts and phone calls. Had she really believed he wouldn’t contact her in the States? Why was she pushing him away after he’d kept his promise? But he’d wait to find out. It was good enough just being here and getting some face-time with the woman.

  He watched as the four people walked away, then he turned to Rayi, who immediately started speaking to Leo in English.

  “So you were on the rescue mission for Dr. Squires?” the reporter asked.

  “No comment.”

  “But you’re American special forces, right?”

  “No comment.”

  “You and your Navy SEAL team were flown into Bagram Air Station five days before the rescue, then you were flown out ten hours after Dr. Squires was checked into the hospital at Bagram Air Base. I would say that you were part of the rescue. What do you have to say to that?”

  “How do you know this?”

  “There is very little that goes on in Afghanistan that I don’t know about.”

  “I would say that you should focus on W.A.N.T., and what they are doing here. Otherwise, I might start asking you a lot of questions about why you would show a grieving daughter video of her father being beaten and tortured.”

  Rayi looked taken aback. “What are you talking about?”

  “Why did you show her that? Why not just show her a picture of her father instead of the whole video? Are you a sadist, or what?”

  “Mr. Perez, do you really think that woman would have been satisfied with just a picture? If you do, then you really don’t know who you’re dealing with.”

  “Tell me why in the hell you’re here,” Leo demanded, changing gears.

  “Daisy Squires is of interest to many people. What she accomplishes will make a good article, and I intend to tell her story while she is here in Yemen.”

  “How did you get your hands on that video?”

  Rayi
laughed. “Really, Mr. Perez, your interrogation techniques leave something to be desired. I am not going to reveal my sources. I promised Daisy’s stepfather that I would help her while she was in Afghanistan, and that’s what I did.”

  “It sure seems like you have a source within the terrorist organization,” Leo accused.

  “Tell me something, did you not get your hands on the exact same video?” Rayi watched Leo closely. But Leo gave nothing away.

  “Rayi. Leo. It’s time for the tour,” Daisy called out.

  18

  “You’ve got bruises under your eyes, and you’ve lost at least ten pounds in the three weeks since I saw you. Fuck yeah, I had Doug railroad you,” Leo hissed under his breath so the others couldn’t hear him.

  They made their way up to the front of the line, and Leo stepped back so Daisy could check herself in. Leo had been impressed with Effie’s efficiency. Not only had she arranged hotel rooms for the W.A.N.T. team, she’d gotten rooms for him and Rayi in this nice, downtown Aden hotel.

  Leo laughed to himself. As much as Daisy bitched, he couldn’t help but notice that she waited for him to finish checking in before she headed for the elevators.

  “You waited,” he smiled.

  “I was waiting for the others,” she said haughtily.

  He took a moment to look around, “they’ve all gone upstairs.”

  She blushed. “Oh. I must be more tired than I realized.”

  He took the opportunity to take her backpack and duffel from her.

  “I can carry that,” she protested.

  “So can I. This way we have a little bit of time to discuss why you’ve been ghosting all of my texts and calls for the last few weeks.”

  “That’s easy. I was busy, didn’t you notice?”

  Leo rolled his eyes and took her elbow. “Come on, let’s get you up to your room.”

  She yawned.

  He needed to get her to her room immediately so she could sleep twelve hours through. Hell, maybe even twenty-four hours.

  He ushered her to the elevator. He took note of the fact that two businessmen chose not to share the elevator with them. He was happy that Daisy didn’t seem to notice. The woman needed a shower. When they got to her floor she was having trouble figuring out which way to go.

  “Daisy, what’s your room number?”

  “Huh?”

  “Give me your key.”

  She handed it to him.

  “Come on, Honey, this way.” He put his arm around her waist, to make sure she made it. As soon as he opened the door to her room, she gave a muffled sigh.

  “Want shower. But need sleep.” She looked at Leo, her eyes were filling with tears. “I’m so grungy.” She yawned.

  He wasn’t so sure she could stay upright in the shower either.

  “How about I stay here, to make sure you don’t fall over in the shower?” He almost offered to shower with her, but that would be crossing a line.

  She nodded. “Yes, please.”

  She swayed as she headed back toward the bathroom.

  “Daisy, don’t lock the door, in case I need to come in and help you.”

  “S’okay,” she nodded. She left the door wide open, proving that she was at the end of her rope. Leo swung it almost closed, so he could hear her if she needed him. Then he went about the business of unpacking her clothes. Talk about grungy. He could see one section of clothes that she had rinsed out at one point and she probably planned to wear tomorrow, but they could use a good cleaning.

  He called down to the front desk and asked if they could send somebody up to gather her garments for a laundry service. They promised to send someone right up. In the meantime, he pulled out one of his black T-shirts for her to wear. He snuck into the bathroom and pulled her dirty clothes off the floor and left his T-shirt on the sink.

  The shower seemed to be reviving her, since she wasn’t leaning against the wall of the shower.

  Don’t stare, don’t stare, don’t stare.

  He left with the dirty clothes and added them to the pile. There was a knock on the door. He opened it to a woman who held out a laundry bag so Leo could put all of the clothes inside.

  “These will be returned tomorrow,” she promised in English.

  “Thank you,” he said in Dari. She gave him a shy surprised smile.

  Leo closed the door, then heard the water shut off in the bathroom. He waited what seemed like forever for more movement. When he didn’t hear the shower door open, he knocked.

  “Daisy?”

  “Yeah?” she said.

  “You all right?”

  Even from outside the bathroom he could hear her sigh. “Yeah. I think so.”

  God, she sounded so fragile.

  “Honey, do you need help?”

  “Yeah. I think I do.”

  Fuck.

  He pushed open the door. She was still in the shower with her head leaning against the tiled wall. Because of her big personality, he often forgot just how small she was. He was in the bathroom like a shot, and had the shower door open with his arm around her before she had a chance to fall down.

  She was shuddering.

  “I’m fine, I can do this.” Even her voice was trembling. She was totally lying.

  He picked her up and took her into the bedroom and laid her down on the bed.

  “I’m getting it wet.”

  “Just this side. Hold on, I’ll get a towel.”

  He was back with all of the towels in the bathroom. She was curled up on her side. Now instead of just trembling, he could see goosebumps. “I’m cold.”

  The fact that she was cold in this hot room told him that she was past her last drop of endurance.

  He pulled her up and gently wrapped a large bath towel around her as he pulled her onto his lap. He took another towel and started to squeeze the excess water out of her hair. He looked into her face and concern raced through him. He’d never seen her look so pale, not even when she’d been so distraught over her father. Then she smiled. Not the biggest or happiest smile, but it was something.

  “Yes, Ms. Squires? What are you smiling about?”

  “Are you destined to take care of me in hotel rooms?” she asked.

  He laughed out loud. “Sure seems like it.”

  Her eyes opened and he saw a little bit of a twinkle in those beautiful gray eyes. “That was it,” she slurred.

  He could barely hear her. Then she yawned.

  “What did you say, Honey?”

  “That was it, I have no more witty banter,” she sighed. “Sleep now.” She cuddled up against him, like a kitten against a warm brick. He held her tighter and continued to dry her hair. When he heard the soft snuffles as sleep took her, his heart turned over. No wonder he’d tracked her down to the ends of the earth.

  When her hair was mostly dry, he got up with her still in his arms, went around to the other side of the bed, and pulled down the covers. Carefully, he placed her into the bed and pulled up the covers. Her eyes drifted open.

  “Don’t leave.”

  “Honey, I’ve got to.”

  “Why?” She sounded so sad.

  He had to leave; her defenses were down, and when she’d been thinking logically she’d decided not to see him. He needed to have her awake and conscious to make the decision for him to stay.

  He picked up her hand and kissed her palm. Then he went over to her backpack and found her satellite phone. He brought it back to her. “If you need me, call me. Night or day, I’ll be here.”

  “Promise?”

  “I promise.”

  “What’s your story?” Doug asked.

  Leo had to laugh at the older man who had basically barged into his room with a fifth of single malt scotch.

  “An Englishman bearing gifts. Aren’t I supposed to be suspicious?” Leo asked as he pulled two glasses from the bathroom.

  “No, that’s Greeks bearing gifts. You’re safe with me, except I plan to get you drunk and figure out your intentions regardi
ng our esteemed leader.”

  “Well, let’s get that bottle open, shall we?” Leo put the glasses down on the nightstand between the two standard beds and Doug poured.

  “How long have you been working with Daisy?” Leo asked.

  “Since she started working for W.A.N.T. as an intern. That would be eight years ago. She was a dynamo then, and she’s only gotten stronger as the years have gone on. I started working as her subordinate four years ago when she took over. She took it internationally and made us into one of the big boys. She’s a good boss.”

  “What was she like back then, besides being a dynamo?” Leo asked as he took a sip of the smooth liquor.

  “She was young, obviously. Led with her heart, never wanted to hurt anyone’s feelings. It took her a couple of years to build up a callous so she could do what needed to be done. This is not a job for the faint of heart.”

  “She became hard?”

  “Not hard exactly, but she could make the hard decisions. We can’t save everybody, but what is the best use of our funds and resources? She can make that determination now. What I don’t understand is why she was working herself into a frazzle at this camp. She knows better than that.”

  Leo knew. It was because of her revelation with her father. He’d seen how it made her question herself, and this was the result. He hated this.

  “What? What do you know?”

  “Huh?”

  “Don’t play dumb with me, Son. I’ve dealt with the dumbest sons of bitches on God’s green earth. You’re not in their league. So do you know what’s wrong with Daisy? Is it because of you that she’s acting so out of character?”

  Leo rested his elbows on his knees. “No, sir, it’s not. It’s her father.”

  “Alistair?”

  “Nope, the other one.”

  “Shit, I should have bloody figured. I thought everything went okay when he got rescued. Normally she doesn’t have much to say about him. As long as he got out alive, I figured it wouldn’t much touch her.”

  Leo looked up at the man from under his brows.

  “You don’t want to tell me? Or can’t tell me?”