Ruthless Peril_Military Romantic Suspense

by Emily Jane Trent

  Chapter 2

  Hunter Davis slid behind the wheel of his dark SUV and opened the file to scan the pages for any major issues. Staying off the freeway wasn’t going to pose as much of a problem as he had originally anticipated, but the need for multiple options might cramp his style a little.

  He’d been out of the service for a while now, grateful for the opportunity to use his training and expertise at Stealth. He had joined the service right out of high school. The Navy had been the best option, especially with the promise to pay for the college education that he desperately wanted, but that his mother was unable to afford.

  Once through basic training, Hunter had gravitated toward the SEAL program, and shown promise in tactical planning and reconnaissance. Those skills had put him in the line of fire more times than he could count, in places he’d never dreamed that he would visit. Back on US soil, Hunter had wanted a long-term relationship, and to settle down with a family of his own. He’d taken a year to collect himself and acclimatize to civilian life, but he had rattled around in his mother’s Midwestern house with a restlessness he couldn’t quite contain.

  Out of sheer frustration one day, he’d gotten in his car and driven off to travel through other states. He’d already been around the world, so why not drive from coast to coast? He could experience the country he’d spent his life fighting to protect.

  Los Angeles had been his last stop, so he’d dropped in to see Eli Bennett. Over the course of numerous deployments, Hunter had gotten to know him well, and had been looking forward to blowing off a little steam with his buddy.

  It was Eli who had convinced him to stay in LA, and put him in touch with Travis Hewitt at Stealth Security. Hunter had missed the camaraderie of his deployments, something he found again with the team of former SEALs.

  There was something invigorating about Los Angeles, and his new job, that chased away any hint of feeling lost. Hunter had a place, a job to serve and protect. That suited him well.

  He looked down at the papers on his lap, and his eyes lingered on the handwritten notes that were scattered over the pages. Tessa took her job seriously, and he smiled as he scanned her comments. She had suggested a few routes of her own, but Hunter wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of being right—not yet, anyway.

  He tossed the folder onto the passenger seat and revved the SUV to life, then pulled away from the curb into traffic. His mind ticked over the route possibilities, and he frowned at the realization that his best option included taking Mulholland for longer than was advisable. Mulholland was perfect for testing reflexes on his Ducati sport bike, but it was a different story when he was trying to organize a transport schedule for a skittish client. That route was too unpredictable.

  He headed toward the Hollywood Hills, and was thankful that the bulk of his job required him to know this town like the back of his hand. He could predict traffic snarls, and managed to avoid most of the pitfalls that came with planning logistics in a big city. LA wasn’t as challenging as New York would be, but it was just as frustrating.

  The first route he charted was a purely GPS-oriented route, his control route. This was the typical route that John Q. Public could take on their way to work. Those routes were never good for VIPs for that exact reason. People meant problems, and problems were what he wanted to avoid. He pulled over and picked up the folder again, making his own notes next to Tessa’s.

  He paused, realizing that her handwriting was oddly similar to his. Tessa wrote swiftly, but her letters were strong and confident, suggesting that she wielded her pen with the same firmness she exhibited in dealing with the guys at Stealth. There were no feminine swirls or flourishes to her script; it was no-nonsense, and all in capitals. It was a small, unimportant thing, but Hunter felt that it said a lot about who Tessa was and how she handled things.

  Since starting his career as a bodyguard, he had worked with Tessa in a peripheral way. But his boss had expected more and more of him, so he worked closely with Tessa on route planning and client care. At first he hadn’t been sure how to handle being given instructions by a sassy blonde. Yet after a few weeks of minor power struggles, he had given up trying to battle with her.

  Tessa knew her stuff, plus the inner workings of the company. Hunter had a healthy respect for her knowledge and take-no-prisoners attitude. Maybe it was more than that. He had casually flirted, but he hadn’t made a move to take that flirtation any further. He wasn’t sure how Travis would view an office romance—if Stealth could be called an office.

  Did he have romantic feelings for her? Hunter shook his head and unfolded his well-worn LA street map across the steering wheel. Instead of focusing on the curves of Mulholland Drive, he was thinking about the curve of Tessa’s lips when she threw a biting remark his way, or the intense concentration on her face as she stirred her coffee just so, or the easy way his hand had slipped over her hip as he had mock-danced with her in Stealth’s kitchen.

  “Damn it.” He flicked the map sharply and tried to pull his thoughts away from the way Tessa’s wavy hair spilled over her shoulders and trailed down her back. His phone buzzed in the console, startling him. It was Rip. “You checkin’ up on me, old man?”

  Rip snorted. “Who you callin’ old? You have more gray hair than I do.” Hunter looked in the rearview mirror and ran a hand through his sandy-blond hair. A few gray strands showed, although he wasn’t even thirty-five yet. He wasn’t sensitive about his hair, but Rip definitely was. He could have bantered more with the analyst, but this wasn’t a social call.

  “I’ve done my control run, and I’m just about to start on the list that Tessa gave me. Did you have anything to add?”

  “Just an updated vehicle count and an extra stop request. I’ll text you the details.”

  Hunter jotted down the changes to include them in the route report for Tessa tomorrow morning. “Confirmed. Text that through when you can. Adios.”

  “One more thing. Garrett told me that you were messing around with Tessa this morning.”

  Hunter’s ears perked up at the tone of Rip’s voice. “Oh really? It wasn’t anything…”

  “Have you asked her out yet?”

  Hunter pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it in disbelief. “Asked her out?”

  “Well, you’d better. I have a feeling it wouldn’t take much for her to say yes. But don’t fuck it up, SEAL. Tessa’s more valuable to us than you are, and don’t you forget it.”

  Hunter paused, wondering if his teammate was still teasing him. “Okay, thanks for the pep talk, buddy.”

  Rip laughed heartily at his discomfort. “Get the job done, man. See you back at the office.”

  The phone went dead and Hunter stared at the black screen. Then the phone pinged, and a text popped up with the vehicle instructions, plus details of the extra stopping point. He reached toward the console, but before he could put the phone down, it pinged again. Another text from Rip with Tessa’s cell number, and the message: Don’t blow it.

  “Unreal.” Hunter tossed the phone down and looked at the map again. Computerized directions, and GPS only went so far. For jobs like this, a reliable foldout map was his tool of choice. He’d have to head to the top of Mulholland and down to start his control route over again. He folded his map, then tossed it on the passenger seat on top of the assignment folder, and put the SUV in gear, pulling a U-turn to head up into the hills.

  Hunter fell into the rhythm of the road he’d driven so many times before. He played a familiar game, anticipating the corners and hitting the apex, trying to see how many he could hit in a row without being thwarted by oncoming traffic. But today he was driving by instinct, and his mind wandered back to Tessa’s dark blond waves and the shifting colors of her hazel eyes. How had he failed to notice that they were hazel…until today?

  He slowed, pulled off at a scenic lookout, and slid the SUV into park. He leaned his head back against the headrest and groaned. He hadn’t looked twice at a woman recently. Maybe he hadn’
t found his type—until Tessa.

  Hunter grabbed his phone and checked the text that Rip had sent. Tessa’s number glowed back at him. With a deep breath, he stabbed his finger at the screen then lifted the device to his ear, half wishing that she wouldn’t answer. But then dread that he would have to leave a message shot through his brain.

  “Hunter? What’s wrong?” Tessa sounded like she had her mouth full of food, and he suppressed a chuckle.

  “Hey, Tessa. How did you know it was me?”

  “Are you kidding? What kind of manager would I be if I didn’t have all of your cell numbers in my phone, just in case of an emergency?”

  Hunter rolled his eyes at his blunder. Of course she had all of their numbers. “Right. I… well… Nothing’s wrong.” Spit it out before she hangs up. “I was wondering…are you busy after work tonight?”

  “Tonight?” She sounded confused. “I mean, for what? If you want to take me through your route, we can do it tomorrow.”

  Oh God, she thought it was a work-related call. “Actually, Tessa, I was wondering if I could…if I could take you to dinner. Would you like to go to dinner with me?” He gritted his teeth. He was never this indecisive about anything. He was definitely out of practice when it came to the niceties of dating. Then again, he hadn’t really had much time to date over the years.

  “Are you seriously asking me out?” From the tone of Tessa’s voice, which was somewhere between humor and panic, Hunter worried that she was going to laugh.

  “Yes, Tessa, I’m asking you out to dinner. There’s a great Vietnamese place a few streets down with food that tastes almost as good as if you were really in Hanoi.” There was silence on the other end as Tessa seemed to consider his offer. “Don’t leave me hanging, girl. I was going to go there anyway, so I was just hoping you’d come with me. You don’t have to say yes if you don’t want to.” But he really wanted her to say yes.

  “Okay, yes. I love Vietnamese food, so you win. I’m done at five, but I’ll be ready at six, okay? You can meet me at the office, and we can walk.”

  Hunter punched the steering wheel in victory. “Okay. I’ll see you at six and we’ll head over. You won’t regret it; this place is great.”

  Tessa laughed at his exuberant reply, then there was an awkward pause. “So, do you need anything else?”

  Hunter paused. “No I’m fine…just scoping out the routes.”

  “Okay. I’ll see you at six. And don’t be late. I hate being late.”

  “You got it.” After the call, Hunter couldn’t wipe the grin off his face. He hammered on the steering wheel with his fist again. His first date in… Well, he couldn’t even remember the last time he had been on a date. How did you even have a first date these days? It was supposed to be memorable, right?

  Well, at least he had the rest of the day to plan something a little more memorable than dinner at Pho’s. With a smile on his face, Hunter threw the engine into gear, then peeled out of the lookout and back onto Mulholland.

  Chapter 3

  Tessa put her phone down on the glass-topped desk. How long had it been since she’d been on a date, anyway? Definitely not this year, or last year—not that she’d noticed. She’d been too busy.

  “Tessa?”

  Startled, she looked over at Travis across the kitchen table. He had one eyebrow raised, and Tessa had the distinct feeling that she’d missed a question. “I’m sorry, what?”

  “What did Hunter want? Is he doing okay with those new assignment changes? The extra stop shouldn’t mess him up too much.”

  Tessa shook her head. “No, no. He’s fine.”

  A smile twitched at the corner of Travis’ mouth. “So, what was the call about?”

  Tessa’s cheeks warmed. She turned back to her laptop and shrugged, hiding behind the screen and her half-eaten sandwich.

  Her boss chuckled and got up from the table. “Suit yourself, kiddo. Hunter is a good guy. Besides, you’ve gone to dinner with worse.”

  Tessa shot him a venomous look. “Hey…that’s not fair. That was a blind date. Not my fault.”

  Travis laughed and headed toward Rip’s office. Tessa sat back in her chair and looked at her egg salad sandwich, regarding it carefully. She didn’t need permission to go on a date, but she had to admit that it was nice to know her boss cared about her happiness. With a sigh, she deposited her sad-looking sandwich back on its plate and pushed it away.

  She had a date tonight. Tessa looked down at her clothes and considered her options. Then she flipped her laptop shut, shoved it in her bag, and got up from the table. The sad sandwich ended up in the trash and she was out the door in search of something else to wear. She wasn’t on a frantic search, but she only had thirty minutes left on her lunch hour.

  Tessa clutched her bag tightly and walked across the street toward the shops. She didn’t need to find anything life changing, just something a little more exciting than what she had on.

  The first store yielded clothes that were too small or not her style. Broad floral prints were everywhere, and Tessa curled her lip at the sea of pink and pastel in front of her. Finally, right before she gave up, she found a sheer, sleeveless button-down top in a nice teal. It would go nicely over her jeans and wasn’t too fancy.

  Tessa checked her watch as the cashier rang up her purchase. With five minutes of her break left, she flung some crumpled bills at the bored-looking teenager and fled the store. On her way out, she crashed against the shoulder of a man in a dark t-shirt. For a second, she thought it was the creep from the beach. But it wasn’t; she was just freaked out. She’d let that guy get to her, when she shouldn’t have.

  On her way past, Tessa shouted, “Sorry.” Then she took off at a jog back to the office without looking back. She stepped inside the glass doors, but a prickle of paranoia made her glance over her shoulder. Yet she didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

  The sidewalk was crowded with people, and the only vehicles parked outside belonged to the team. Rip’s motorcycle was pulled tightly to the curb. She shook her head and pulled off her sunglasses, scanning the area one more time before letting the door fully close. What was wrong with her today?

  When the elevator opened, she waved at the camera then strode in the door. Garrett was on his way out, and he thundered past her, nearly knocking her backward in his hurry to catch the elevator before it closed.

  “Hey, Tessa, sorry. I’m in a rush.” Garrett’s charming grin dissolved her irritation.

  She lifted her hand with a smile. “Get going, then.”

  Expelling a breath, Tessa walked through the kitchen to grab a bottle of water from the fridge, and then went to her desk. She pulled her laptop out and slid into her chair. She was back just in time to prep for a conference call with the accountant. Plus, there were two more requests for security quotes sitting in her inbox. A reminder flashed on her calendar that the quote for the job Hunter was planning logistics for was due in twenty-four hours. Rip had already turned in his security briefing.

  “The thrills never stop coming.”

  ***

  “Tessa, it’s time to get out of here.”

  She could hear the heels of Rip’s cowboy boots clicking over the tile, and smiled. You couldn’t chase the Texas out of that guy with a baseball bat.

  “You go ahead, man. I’ve got some stuff to finish up.”

  Pulling on his leather jacket, Rip leaned into her office. “So, Hunter called you?” It wasn’t really a question, and Tessa looked up from her laptop warily.

  “Uh…yes, he called me. You guys call me all the time; it’s why I’m in the office, to deal with you and your important issues.”

  “Gotcha. Well, I hope you have a good time, but if he does anything, you tell me and I’ll set him straight, okay? He’s better than that last blind date.”

  “What the hell?” Tessa glared at him. “Does everyone know about that? It wasn’t my fault.”

  Rip smiled, then left her sitting alone with her indignation.
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br />   Tessa was still steaming, when she remembered it was nearly time for her date. So she fished around in her bag for the makeup that was always rattling around in the bottom. She rummaged and produced a sheer lipstick, a tube of mascara, and an eye shadow that she had forgotten about. With a shrug, she set them on the glass top of her desk. Better than nothing. A hair tie and a long rose-gold chain followed, and she wondered with a hint of embarrassment how long it had been since she had last cleaned out her bag.

  Clutching her supplies and her new shirt, Tessa went upstairs to the bathroom and spread them out on the counter. She stared into the mirror and let out a long sigh before running her fingers through her long hair to fluff it out. She touched up her makeup, pausing before rubbing her forefinger in the broken eye shadow and swiping the color across her lids. If her older sister ever saw her applying makeup with her fingers, she would never hear the end of it.

  Tessa wound the necklace around her throat so that the pendulum ends trailed down over her collarbones and disappeared into the hint of cleavage that showed through the neckline of her new shirt.

  “Not bad for dinner with a coworker.” She made a face at herself in the mirror and gathered up her supplies, wrapping everything up in the shirt she had worn all day. When she got back to her office, her phone vibrated with missed text messages. She shoved her bundle into her bag and slid her laptop inside, then grabbed her phone before it vibrated off the desk.

  I’m a few minutes behind, caught in traffic.

  Tessa smiled. “Isn’t it your job to avoid petty things like traffic?” She texted Hunter that she would wait for him on the sidewalk in front of the office. A pair of heels sat under her desk, for just-in-case situations, and this was definitely one of them.

  A few minutes after six, Tessa was outside of Stealth, leaning against the wall. The door had closed behind her, but she turned to see Travis walk toward the entry. Her boss looked a bit tired. He worked hard, like they all did. She imagined that he was looking forward to getting home to his family.