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

by Caitlyn O'Leary

I sure hope she starts talking when we get to her tent.

  Daisy was impressed when she noticed that both men were filming all the way down the long rows of tents as they made their way to Maysa’s tent. It took them almost fifteen minutes to get there. As they walked along many people watched, some actually followed. But again, so many people were hot, tired, and hungry, they just didn’t have the energy to give a damn.

  Daisy took note of the men she now saw walking down the rows and nodded at Leo. When Maysa started feeling comfortable answering Effie’s questions with Tahir acting as translator, Daisy fell back to talk to Leo privately.

  “Who are they?” she asked him.

  “Who’s who?”

  “Don’t play innocent. Who are the men who are nodding to you?”

  “I told you I was here to help with security. I got access to the camp by talking to the Red Cross about volunteering my services to consult on camp security. They were all over it. The UN Peacekeepers are sparse on the ground.”

  It was true.

  “Who are these men?”

  “They’ve been vetted. They all worked in law enforcement or the military before ending up here. They all volunteered, but before I tapped them, I found their records. They all made the cut.”

  “Effie isn’t the only one working miracles today.”

  “I wish. I still can’t get the Peacekeepers to let me make recommendations for the camp entrance, the food distribution site, or the aid station. They’re driving me up the wall.” Leo ran his hand through his hair.

  “You’ll convince them, I have faith.”

  “I only have another four days.”

  Shit, where has the time gone?

  “How about you? What are your plans after you have the press release in the can?”

  Abia finally had enough. She pulled at Daisy’s necklace and patted her cheek. “Me,” she said in Arabic. “Talk to me.”

  Leo chuckled.

  “Okay, Darling. What do you want to talk about?”

  “Can they take my picture?” She pointed to Tahir.

  “I think that can be arranged. Let’s get to your home first, okay?”

  The little girl’s eyes got wide with enthusiasm. Daisy could see just what a few weeks of extra food had done for her. The difference was amazing. But she still looked like she was no more than three years old, instead of five.

  “Will they talk to my brothers and sisters? We can show them our drawings.”

  “That would be great. What did you draw?” Leo asked.

  “I drew a cat. My brother drew an airplane. My other brother drew a soldier.”

  “We would love to see them. Maybe you could draw a flower.” Daisy suggested. Abia looked at her funny.

  “What are you trying to say,” Leo asked.

  “Flower,” she said in English.

  “You said ‘fast’.”

  “No wonder she’s looking at me weird. You translate.”

  Leo asked the girl if she could draw a flower for Daisy. He explained that Daisy’s name meant flower. Abia clapped and said she would as soon as she got home. Maysa had done an incredible job of making her youngest child feel good about where she was living. Daisy knew it was tougher for the older children who remembered their real home before they had been displaced.

  Abia scrambled down as soon as they arrived at their tent, and she found her coveted small notepad. Almost every page was covered with her little drawings.

  “Come look,” she Abia to Daisy and Leo. They walked around where Effie was having the cameramen set up. When the young girl showed her artwork, the other children began to bring out their notepads and show their artwork as well. She knew damn well that Effie was having them videotape this entire episode. She hated it, but she understood.

  “Daisy, why don’t you come here and interview Maysa,” Effie called out. “Then we can tour the central areas.”

  Daisy looked up at Leo who gave her a head tilt. She smiled gratefully, knowing he’d continue with the kids.

  It took about an hour with Maysa. She ended up speaking eloquently about the plight of the women who acted as heads of households here in the camp, and why they were especially disadvantaged. They would be a perfect demographic for W.A.N.T.’s donors.

  “Okay, now to the central area,” Effie said with a smile. “Thank you so much for your time, Mrs. Saleh. You have been a tremendous help.” When Daisy translated the words, Maysa smiled shyly.

  When everybody started to leave the tent, Abia begged her mother to let her go as well.

  “No, you’ll be in the way,” Maysa responded.

  “It’s all right. She’ll be fine,” Leo lifted her up before Daisy could.

  22

  It was hotter than it had been the last week in Yemen, and Daisy could feel herself wilting. She looked over at Effie, who wasn’t looking too good. Daisy was going to have to figure out a way to cut this short so that she could get her Director back to the hotel before she passed out. As soon as she thought that, Leo was swapping out her empty water bottle and giving her another one.

  “Give it to Effie,” she demurred.

  “Already gave her one. We’re going to have to get her out of the sun soon. Let’s get her into the Red Cross tent, then the rest of us can go to the food distribution center.”

  Daisy nodded. It was a good idea.

  “Hey, we’re going to make our first stop the Red Cross tent, she called out.”

  “I’m not sick,” Abia said in Arabic. Apparently, the girl had heard the words Red Cross before. “I don’t want a shot,” her lip began to tremble.

  “You’re not going to get a shot, I promise you,” Daisy said.

  Abia struggled to get down out of Leo’s arms. “I don’t want a shot. Please don’t make me.” Now she was all-out crying. The tent was a stone’s throw away.

  “Give her to me, Leo.”

  “Miss! Don’t make me get a shot.” Abia held out her arms for Daisy. She couldn’t stand it. She took the distressed girl out of Leo’s arms. Effie was now next to her.

  “Is there something I can do?” she asked in English.

  “Abia thinks she’s going to get a shot when she goes to the first aid tent. Do me a favor, can you just go there with the camera crew on your own? Maybe take a bit of a break, while I get her settled down?”

  “Whatever I can do to help,” Effie offered.

  “Leo and I will head over to the food distribution area, and that should calm little missy down.” Already Abia was not crying as hard now that Daisy had her in her arms, and she was fiddling with Daisy’s St. Christopher necklace.

  When they started in that direction, Leo asked, “Why are we going there?”

  “To discuss the women’s committee that I want to start for W.A.N.T. food distribution.”

  “What will that entail?”

  “A whole hell of a lot.” Now Abia was playing with Daisy’s braid. “I’ve talked with Maysa and five other women about forming a committee to come up with a way to verify which households are truly run by women. Those households will get extra supplies from our organization. It’s going to be massive since there are a million people in the camp. When you consider the fact that two-thirds of them are children or elderly who need care, then you have breadwinners. The estimate is that one in four households are handled by just one woman, therefore we’re talking anywhere from twenty to thirty thousand.”

  “Shit, that’s going to be a massive project. Do you put people on the ground?”

  “Volunteers. Like I was back in the day. I need to talk to the man handling the food distribution again. He needs to be on-board with our plans, otherwise, this will go sideways fast.”

  “Understood.”

  Leo saw the operation up ahead. This was where the few UN Peacekeepers present were deployed. This wasn’t where they were needed. He’d already heard where the problems lay, and it wasn’t fighting over food in front of everyone as it was being passed out. As a matter of fact, it was amazi
ng how peacefully people lined up to get their rations. But who in the hell had the energy to push and shove?

  Granted there was a crowd. Men in rags who had even given up wearing their headgear, except for the grandfathers. The women still wore their scarves, but most were old and faded. He hated to see so many desperate people. What Daisy was doing was nothing short of a miracle.

  “Milk. Can I have milk?” Abia asked.

  “No, Darling,” Daisy said sadly. She looked as heartbroken as the girl.

  Leo fished into his backpack and pulled out a butterscotch candy. He’d been saving the package of candies for emergencies, and this qualified as one. He handed it to Abia, and she looked at the wrapped candy curiously.

  “Unwrap it for her,” Daisy laughed.

  Shit, I should have realized that.

  As they continued to walk closer to the two men that Daisy needed to talk to, Leo unwrapped the candy and handed it to Abia. The men stood where the water jugs were being filled. There was a lot of activity there. Many hoses came from the truck, with not enough men to man them all. As they got closer, he saw some of the women pointing and smiling at Daisy. She smiled and waved back.

  He thought it was odd that they were pointing instead of waving.

  When they were just a few yards away, he saw a man, a kid really, holding what looked like a photo in front of his face. He looked at Daisy, then back down at the photo.

  Fuck!

  He saw the kid reach beneath his long shirt. Leo grabbed Daisy and Abia and twirled them to the ground, making sure that he was between them and the gunman at all times.

  “Gun!” Leo roared in Arabic as he heard the distinctive pop, pop, pop of a pistol being fired. He felt a sting in his calf.

  Abia screamed.

  Oh God, is the baby hurt? Is Daisy hurt?

  Then he heard something wonderful—Daisy crooning to Abia, calm as could be, trying to soothe the child.

  Leo looked up to see what was happening, pissed as hell that he couldn’t have smuggled a gun into the country. He saw that one of the men he’d trained had the shooter on the ground with a gun to his head. Why the fuck he hadn’t killed him, was beyond Leo’s understanding.

  Leo looked around the crowd, not wanting to let Daisy and Abia up until he was sure that was the end of the threat. All he saw were shocked faces.

  He knelt down and tried to take a look at his two charges, but Abia’s arms were wrapped so tightly around Daisy’s neck, he couldn’t see anything. He tried to move the little girl, but that only made her scream louder.

  “It’s okay, Baby Girl, I have you,” Daisy promised.

  “Are you okay, Daisy? Is Abia?”

  “I’m fine. I didn’t feel anything hit either of us, but you.”

  “How badly did I hurt you? Can I help you up?”

  Before she could answer, he heard the men he’d chosen pushing back a crowd of people who were trying to get to Daisy and the child. He turned around again and saw one of his most senior men coming over to him.

  He turned back to Daisy, “Honey, can I help you to sit up?”

  “That’d be great.”

  He wrapped his arm around her back, taking care not to jostle the child in her arms, and got Daisy in a sitting position. “Do you want to stand up?”

  Daisy shook her head. “We’re good right now.”

  He turned his attention back to his man.

  “What have you got, Abdul?” he asked in Arabic.

  “He was acting alone. But, people have been talking about Madame Squires and how she is trying to elevate women. They are not happy. He is deranged and must be punished. I do not know how safe she is.”

  Leo spared a glance over his shoulder at Daisy. Her already-pale skin looked positively translucent.

  “Thanks, Abdul. He’s going to be handled by the Amen police?”

  Abdul nodded. Despite everything that had happened to him these last few years, he still had his pride. He had served on the police force for many years, but when his leg was shattered in a bombing, he was let go. Eventually, he and his family, including his mother and father, ended up here.

  Abdul crouched down to look at Daisy. “You are doing good work here, Madame. I am sorry that some of my countrymen are taking offense. With progress comes pain, and you are their focus. Unfortunately, you will always be the face of your organization.”

  “Abia,” a woman cried from the crowd. “Let me see my baby.” Maysa made her way to the edge of people before one of Abdul’s men stopped her. Daisy tried to push herself off the ground while holding the little girl but it was impossible.

  “Stay seated,” Leo growled at her.

  “Abdul, that’s Abia’s mother, let her get by.”

  Abdul made a hand gesture and nodded to one of his men who let Maysa go, and she came running toward them. She was immediately kneeling in front of Daisy and Abia. “My baby.”

  Even though Abia’s sobs had somewhat abated, as soon as she saw her mother, they kicked back up into full gear. “Is she hurt?” Maysa asked.

  “She fell down when the shooting started, but Daisy cushioned her fall. She’ll be bruised.” Leo didn’t go into any more details than that.

  “All right, all right. Thank you for saving her. I’m taking her home now.”

  All the while, Leo could hear her crooning in much the same way Daisy had done. Then he noticed that while Abia hung over her mother’s shoulder, she was licking at her piece of candy. The little rascal was doing just fine.

  Daisy continued to sit in the dirt, her mind whirling over what Abdul had said. Abia had almost died because of her. What was she doing? Stroking her own ego? Feeling like Mother Theresa out here tending to the people so she could feel good about herself, when really she was bringing danger to their door?

  She struggled to get up.

  “Honey, let me help you.”

  She smiled gratefully up at him. When he bent down, she noticed the blood on his ripped jeans and the blood on his calf. “Leo, you’ve been shot!”

  Once again she scrambled to get up on her own power, even though she felt a couple of significant bruises starting to form. Leo practically lifted her onto her feet.

  “Don’t do that. We need to get you to the aid station! How bad is it?”

  “On a scale of one to ten of gunshot wounds, it’s a two.”

  “That’s not funny.”

  “Wasn’t meant to be.” He put his arm around her waist and walked slowly toward the aid station. She thought he must be really hurt if he was walking this slowly.

  “Lean on me, Daisy. I know I hit you pretty hard to get you on the ground. How are you feeling on a scale of one to ten?”

  “I haven’t been shot!” Up ahead she saw Effie rushing toward her, along with the two cameramen. She tried to pull away from Leo to get to her friend, then almost stumbled. Her hip was really bruised.

  “Daisy!” Effie called out. Daisy waited for her to get closer, then the woman enveloped her in a big hug. “I just heard you were shot at. Why?”

  “It’s a long story. We have to get Leo into the aid station. He’s bleeding—he was shot.”

  Effie looked from Daisy to Leo, then back to Daisy. “I don’t know, girl, you look like the one who could use the first aid station. He’s the one walking upright, not you.”

  Leo put his arm around her waist again and continued to guide her toward the first aid tent. She tried to shrug him off. “I’m all right, it’s you I’m worried about.”

  “Every time you push at me, my leg hurts more.”

  She stopped short and looked up at him. “Oh, Leo, I’m so sorry.” Then she saw the twinkle in his eyes. “You are such a…such a…a man!”

  His lips twitched. “I’ll buy that.” He hugged her closer and continued to the aid tent. Her mind was swirling with the idea that she was the reason somebody had almost killed Abia today. Yeah, people had been angry with W.A.N.T. before. They even had a security firm on retainer, and they handled the letters
that came in from the crazies, but to be shot at?

  She hadn’t even noticed they’d arrived until they hit the stifling heat and medicinal smells of the enclosed tent.

  “He’s been shot,” Effie told one of the aid workers.

  Before the nurse was allowed to look at Leo’s leg, he insisted that Daisy be looked at. “Wait a minute, what about Abia? She should be here,” she protested.

  “You protected her fall, and if she needs care, her mother will bring her here,” Leo soothed. Soon she was behind a very tiny screen, pulling down her pants and showing them what was already the start of a massive bruise on her hip. They got out a one-time instant use cold pack and placed it on her bruise, taping it in place.

  “Any place else that’s hurting?” the nurse asked.

  Daisy hesitated.

  “Answer the question,” Leo said from the other side of the screen.

  “My shoulder hurts. I wrenched it in the fall.”

  When the nurse tried to lift it above her head, or to the right, she groaned in pain. “You’re going to need to wear a sling for a few days so the movement is limited and it has time to heal.”

  “Now can you look at the man with the gunshot wound?” she said sarcastically.

  The nurse chuckled. “I think he’ll allow it now.”

  23

  Leo left Doug’s room, pissed off. He’d had no idea that Daisy had received death threats before as the Executive Director of W.A.N.T. Why in the hell was she gallivanting across Yemen without a security detail? Oh yeah, because according to Doug, she refused to allow the expense.

  He banged on her hotel door. “Let me in.”

  “Hold onto your britches.”

  If he wasn’t in such a surly mood, she’d make him smile.

  This time the door wasn’t flung open—instead, it was slowly opened by someone who looked freshly showered, tired and sad, and hurting. He looked behind her and saw clothes strewn about and her backpack partially packed.

  “You’re leaving?”

  “Yep.”

  “Were you going to tell me?”

  “Of course I was. What kind of question is that? Come in and sit down on one of my many different seating options.” She tilted her head toward the bed.