Ryder

by Diana Gardin

  I don’t know Frannie very well, or at all, really. But the second I met her a couple of weeks ago—while Lawson Snyder and his now-fiancée, Indigo Stone, were undercover in a case that involved Frannie’s estranged husband—there was something about her I couldn’t shake.

  And apparently, now I’m going to be forced to face it head-on.

  “I understand, Boss Man. I’ll run point on her protection, and I’ll make sure nothing happens to her while the feds continue to hunt Eli Ward.”

  Jacob nods, finally looking satisfied. “You’re damn right you will. I expect nothing less, Wolf.”

  The use of my nickname for the second time doesn’t escape me. In NES, we all have them, depending on what special skills we bring to the table. Some of our nicknames have to do with our Special Ops pasts. Mine, White Wolf, has to do with my predatory skills. I can hunt down an enemy in any situation, and I’m ruthless when I’ve got a scent.

  The conference room door opens and Indigo walks in, followed closely by the woman in question, Frannie Phillips.

  The two women couldn’t be any more different upon first glance. Indigo’s long black hair swishes across her back, her tank top showing off miles and miles of inked skin. Studs pierce up both earlobes, and her face—gorgeous and exotic-looking with her dark olive complexion and Latina features—is accentuated by heavy, dramatic makeup.

  Frannie, on the other hand, is take-a-second-look beautiful. And it isn’t because of any extra ink or metal she’s added to her body, although the ends of her shoulder-length blond hair are tinged pink. She’s got these big blue eyes that make me imagine what they’d look like hooded with lust, and a curvy little body that calls out for my hands to touch her, make her feel good, and mess up her Southern-belle perfection just a little bit.

  There’s nothing clean about me. The only thing that Frannie and I have in common is the blond hair and blue eyes. The likenesses stop right there. I glance down at the ink swirling up and down my arms, tattoos I had done during my years in the Navy, and then back at her flawless golden-tan skin. The pink hair is new on her, probably something she’s trying, but I can’t stop staring at her because the woman is the very definition of distraction.

  She’s not like anyone I’ve ever dated—not that I’ve really dated. She’s not like anyone I’ve ever fucked. Too done up and doll-faced pretty. But right now, I can imagine those perky little lips wrapped right around my cock, and that’s a major fucking problem if my focus is supposed to be on keeping her safe.

  “I found Frannie sitting on the bench downstairs.” Indigo’s casual tone belies her curiosity, and I note that she can’t keep her eyes from flitting to Lawson the second she walks into the room. He, in turn, sits up straighter in response to her presence.

  “We were just about to call you in, Frannie.” Jacob’s eyes soften when he speaks, something we’ve all noticed. He used to be a lot tougher, but in the past couple of years he’s rekindled a fire with his ex-wife and mother to his three daughters, and something about him is different. Less edge, unless he’s in the field.

  Frannie blows out a breath. “Whew. That’s good, because I was getting tired of sitting out there swinging my legs while you big strong men decided what was going to happen with my life from here on out.”

  Sweetness mixed with Southern sass: This woman is going to fucking kill me.

  Jacob’s eyebrows lift, and he gestures toward one of the empty seats at the table. This meeting involves only the Delta Squad, and Indigo is here purely as a consultant, since she no longer works for the Wilmington Police Department as a detective. After she and Lawson worked on the task force assigned to take down Eli Ward’s luxury car theft ring, Indigo left the police force and became a consultant for NES. She likes the flexibility the position offers, and the ability to continue working closely with her fiancé.

  “We’re not deciding anything about your future. That’s up to you. Right now, we’re just trying to figure out the best way to keep you safe.”

  “Keep you alive.” Bain Foxx speaks up, something he doesn’t often do unless he’s spoken to directly. Out of the four of us on the team, Bain’s the quietest, least predictable, and probably the deadliest. He also carries more secrets than the rest of us can even imagine. He hasn’t said as much, but working with a man day in and day out, sometimes overnight and in dangerous places, makes you get to know him.

  His eyes, a lighter shade of blue than mine, carry an intensity that makes most people flinch.

  But Frannie stares right back at him.

  “Yeah. I get that. I’d just like to be a part of the conversation is all.”

  Jacob leans back in his chair, fingers pressed together, assessing her. “The moment we decided to protect you, you became our client. Now, as it stands, the FBI is conducting a manhunt for Eli Ward. The feds are trusting us instead of sending you into witness protection like they wanted to. But that could change at any time. We don’t want it to, and I’m guessing you don’t either. Am I correct?”

  Frannie nods, her hair brushing against bare shoulders. The turquoise top she wears wraps around her neck in a classy style, and I don’t miss the way her white jeans accentuate shapely legs and rounded hips before she sits down. Ben McBride, the fourth member of our team, sits on her other side.

  “I won’t go into Witness Protection.” There’s an underlying ferociousness in her tone that I’ve never heard before. I’ve known her only a few weeks, but apparently this woman is half “honey” and “y’all” drawl, and half pure grit.

  I’ve been staring at her since she came into the room, and when her gaze finally meets mine, I swallow hard and fight not to look away.

  “We have a plan of action formed. Thorn Ryder here will take point on your assignment.”

  Her eyes flicker with something—recognition, maybe—and then she turns her gaze back on Jacob.

  “You’ll move into a secure condominium building owned by NES, a place that I’ve recently acquired for situations like this one, that can be surveilled twenty-four/seven. Thorn will be moving in with you, serving as your guard. He’ll be charged with keeping you safe for the duration of your time as our client. From here, you’ll go home to pack some bags, and you won’t be needing your car. We’ll park it in a secure location. To any outsider looking in, it’ll look like you’ve left town.”

  Frannie smooths her hands over her lap. “I work three twelve-hour shifts at the hospital every week. Mr. Ryder here will accompany me and do what, exactly…chill?”

  I clear my throat. “Um, no. You’ll have to take a leave of absence from work until Ward is brought in. Don’t know how long it’ll be, but we can make the hospital understand.”

  Frannie turns to face me full-on, not even bothering to hide the fact that she’s seething. “I. Will. Not. Quit. My. Job.”

  I lean forward, elbows digging into the table, jaw clenched tight. “No one said anything about quitting—”

  Her words barrel forward as if I hadn’t even spoken. This woman is all force and bluster when she’s worked up—a tornado just getting started. “But you’re telling me I can’t go to work. I’m sorry, that’s just not an option. I need my paycheck, and more than that I need my sanity. Work is my sanity. Can you understand that, Mr. Ryder?”

  I’m silent. Because, yeah, without NES I’d be a fucking shell of myself. I was able to put all the turmoil inside me, the emotions churning me up for the past ten years, away in a box because I had a mission in life.

  Always a mission.

  First I kicked my way through boot camp. Then I rose through the naval ranks as quickly as anyone possibly could in my position. Then I went out for SEALs and became one of the elite. There was no looking back for me. The more intense the job, the better it was for my sanity. And I know a lot of guys who felt the same.

  Maybe it’s like that for Frannie. Maybe, in order to overcome whatever she went through in her past, she needs to nurse others back to health.

  Who are we to take t
hat shit away from her?

  “If you work…” My voice is grudging, gruffer than I intend it to be. “I’m there with you. For every shift. Tailing you. Shadowing you. Get used to it, Frannie, because I’m not going anywhere. It’s my job to keep you safe, and the rest of the team will be weighing in as needed.”

  She meets my gaze, her baby blues steady and wide and full of determination. In them, I see her agreement before she gives it to me like a gift.

  “Fine. If that’s how it has to be, I’m in.”

  2

  FRANNIE

  Hell has come to live right here on earth with me. And not in the form of Eli Ward, but in the form of Thorn freaking Ryder.

  “Your face is saying a lot of things right now, Frannie, but I don’t know exactly what’s going through that head of yours. Talk to me.”

  Concern flashes in Indigo’s cinnamon-colored eyes. She’s pulled me into the staff lounge following the meeting, the two of us the only people in the cushy break room.

  Pressing both hands against the counter, I drop my chin against my chest as I take a shaking breath. “I can’t do this, Indigo. Not after what I went through with Eli.”

  Her voice is gentle behind me. “You’re scared.”

  I whirl to face her. “You’re damn right I’m scared. I promised myself I’d never be at risk again. And I know he’s supposed to be protecting me, but living with a man one-on-one like that, especially someone I don’t know…” My voice trails away as I picture it. A shudder rolls through me.

  Indigo closes the gap between us and cups my shoulders with her hands. “Listen to me, Frannie. Thorn Ryder is someone you can trust. I promise you that. You can count on my word, okay? He will keep you safe, and he’s nothing like your ex. You have nothing to fear from Thorn.”

  You have two choices here, Frannie. Put your trust in Night Eagle Security and Thorn Ryder, or disappear completely into Witness Protection.

  It’s not even an option. I can’t leave North Carolina. Looking into my friend’s eyes, I give her a shaky nod. “Okay, I’ll take your word for it.”

  Indigo’s lips tilt in one of her signature smirks, her hand letting the ends of my pink-tinged hair flutter through her fingers. “I like the pink. It suits you.”

  I return her smile. “Thanks. After Eli resurfaced, it felt like time for a change.”

  Indy’s eyes carry a knowing glint. “Stay strong, girl. We’ll catch the bastard. Until then, stay safe. Stay with Thorn.”

  A couple of hours later, I’ve said goodbye to my apartment and am riding shotgun in Thorn’s car. It’s like the dang heavens above sent him down to mess with me. My head needs to be clear right now, more than ever. I’m hiding in plain sight from the devil himself, the devil I happened to marry. But there’s so much more to my story than Eli Ward.

  So much more.

  Earlier, I kept Thorn’s profile in my peripheral vision as we walked out of the NES offices, located in the gorgeous and luxurious Wrightsville Beach area of Wilmington, North Carolina. The man is built like a Greek god, like every woman’s fantasy come to life. At least, if that woman’s got a lick of sense in her head, which I’d like to think I do. He’s all brawny, golden muscle. Literally rippling with it, his broad chest accentuated by the blue Dri-FIT T-shirt with the Night Eagle Security logo on the front. The guys all wear them in different colors, but this pacific blue is my favorite on Thorn. His eyes are almost the exact same shade, and a woman could fall straight into those suckers and drown if she isn’t careful. I allowed my eyes to scan down his arms, packed with lean muscle just like the rest of him.

  My mouth actually watered.

  When he stopped in front of a shining black BMW sedan, a gleaming beast of a vehicle, my steps stuttered to a halt. “This is your car?”

  He paused, hand on the passenger-side door handle as his gaze raked over me. “Yeah. Why?”

  I shook my head, feeling stupid. “I don’t know…Just thought…Shoot. I just thought you’d be driving a truck or something.”

  Thorn’s lips curved into a smirk. “Love trucks. Just love fast cars more.” The door unlocked with the touch of his hand and I climbed inside, settling into the buttery-soft leather.

  I watched him walk around the front of the car to his side, his steps unhurried, calculated, like a predator’s. He tossed his keys into the air and caught them twice before reaching the driver’s side. He seemed carefree, but I didn’t miss the stealthy gaze he aimed at our surroundings just before he got into the car.

  And now I can see why he’s my protector until Eli is put behind bars.

  A shudder goes through me just thinking about Eli. Moving to the Carolinas from Oklahoma was a calculated move. Lobelia, an old childhood friend, lives only an hour away, and Eli doesn’t know about her. I cut all ties with everyone I knew from Oklahoma, especially my parents. It didn’t matter to them that I ended up in the hospital after Eli beat me…even when I was pregnant. Eli paid the mortgage on their lavish home, kept them living in a luxury they never would have been able to afford otherwise.

  Thorn’s voice interrupts my thoughts, the tenderness and intuitiveness there sending my heart pounding against my ribs. “He won’t get to you. Our team would never allow that to happen. You don’t need to be afraid, but you have to be cautious. Life is going to change for a while.”

  My throat clogs with emotion that I can barely hide in time. Glancing toward the window, I make a decision right then and there. Thorn Ryder will not get under my skin. The man might be sexy and strong and who knows what else, but kindness is where I draw the line. I can’t do kind.

  Kindness in a man right now just might break me, or draw me in. And I can’t afford either one.

  My life is complicated, and Eli is just one of the reasons why.

  I blink a few times to clear the wetness gathering in my eyes, swallow hard around the lump in my throat, and look at Thorn. “So, Ryder, why don’t you tell me about yourself?”

  Calling him Ryder is safer. Gives me a little bit of distance from the man sitting beside me.

  Ryder stares at the road straight ahead, his expression unchanging and his body unflinching. Strong shoulders, steady hands, granite features that can apparently soften at just the right moment.

  Lordy.

  “Not much to tell. Been working at NES now for a year and a half. Used to be a SEAL. I’m no stranger to protecting people; keeping the bad guys away from the good ones. You’re safe with me.”

  At his last words, his deep blue eyes meet mine, like he’s checking to make sure I know he’s serious. And I do. There’s not a shred of humor in his tone, and I know he means what he says.

  But Eli isn’t just any bad guy. He’s not a terrorist with an agenda or an insurgent with a kamikaze complex. And I’m guessing from Ryder’s military background that those are the types of criminals he’s used to dealing with.

  Eli is certifiably insane. And that insanity mostly pertains to me. As his wife, I was his trophy. I had no idea that he was laundering money through the businesses I thought were legitimate until after I left.

  Instead of saying this to Ryder, I just nod. “Thank you. For doing this.”

  He makes the turn to take us out of the ritzy Wrightsville Beach area and into the main part of Wilmington, which is pretty suburban. Although no matter where you are in the city, the smell of the ocean and a view of palm trees are never far away. It’s so different from Oklahoma; it’s one of the reasons I fell in love with it when I fled.

  We ride in silence through the city. It’s late summer, and the evening hour is doing nothing to dampen the brightness outside.

  After a few minutes, we pull into a gated community on the Masonboro Sound. Inside the gates are upscale condominium high-rises, and I crane my neck to look up.

  “Holy crap.” The exclamation is out of my mouth before I can stop it. “This place is swanky.”

  Ryder chuckles. “Lots of amenities too, so we shouldn’t get too bored. There’s activities
we can do on the sound. Are you good on the water? Paddleboarding, kayaking?”

  He pauses at the gate and keys in a code. The black iron rails before us slide open without a sound and he drives through them, heading to the left.

  He catches me staring at him. “What?”

  “You do know I grew up in Oklahoma, right? So I’m water challenged. Unless it’s a swimming pool, I can’t do it, buddy.”

  The deep rumble of his chuckle is a sound I could get used to, dammit. “Oh, yeah? Well, we’ll have to get you in the sound, then. It’s easier than learning to do that stuff on the ocean, because the sound is calm. There’s a pool here too, though. And tennis and a ton of other stuff to do.”

  I raise my eyebrows. “So being under the protection of NES is like being on vacation?”

  He laughs and pulls the BMW smoothly into a parking garage under one of the condominium buildings. I notice how secure it is when a large door slides shut behind us. It seems like the garage is only for the condos in this particular building.

  Shutting off the car, he looks at me. “Sit tight while I grab our suitcases. Then I’ll open your door for you.”

  “Is that an order, Ryder?”

  An exasperated look crosses his handsome face. “Is everything going to be a question with you?”

  Tucking my hair behind my ear, I widen my eyes. “What are you talking about?”

  With a sigh, he exits the car and opens the trunk. When he’s got the suitcases sitting outside the car, he opens my door and I step out. I make to grab my suitcase, but Ryder shakes his head.

  “I’ve got it.”

  There’s no room for argument in his voice, not that I’d want to argue with a man who’s gentleman enough to carry my suitcases, and so together we walk toward the elevator at the end of the garage.

  Inside the elevator, Ryder keys in a code on a pad beside a button labeled with a letter P. My stomach drops and he turns toward me, scrutinizing the wide-eyed look on my face.