“Uh, sure,” Ryder said. “Actually, Noah said you were having trouble decoding some files. I’m pretty good with a computer.”
Mia caught her bottom lip in her teeth as she smiled. “Oh, you are?”
“Do I hear a challenge being thrown down?” Ryder grinned.
Noah rolled his eyes. “Can we get inside before we start measuring hard drives?”
Ryder punched him in the arm. “Don’t talk like that in front of a lady.”
“Just shut up and help her,” Noah grumbled.
Kolby tapped Noah on the shoulder. “Can I talk to you out here a minute?”
“Yeah,” Noah said and caught Mia’s gaze. “I’ll be just a second. Ryder gives you any trouble, just threaten his laptop with a magnet. He’ll be in the fetal position.”
Mia giggled. “How to fell a giant geek in one fell swoop.”
Ryder slugged him again. “Don’t listen to him.” He winked as they walked into her room, and the door shut.
Kolby leaned his shoulder against the wall, and Mason and Elijah took the cue to give them some space. “She’s cute.”
“No, she’s beautiful.” Noah put his hands on his hips. “What do you want to talk to me about?”
His friend straightened. “I’m supposed to take this case, and since you’re in charge now, I thought I’d talk to you about it.”
“Okay.” Noah hated that Pam was quitting, and even a small part of him hated being in charge, especially after what happened in Africa, but the Guardian Group was needed. The other guys wouldn’t take the lead, and leaving it to someone else wasn’t something Noah could do.
His friend straightened. “Ivy Manning. She’s a famous rich girl who does a talk show. She gives advice and stuff. I don’t want to, but…I’m vexed over it.” Kolby had the thickest Southern accent of anyone he’d ever known. Sometimes Noah wished he had a translator. “There’s a stalker bothering her.”
Noah nodded, remembering that he’d heard her name on the radio. “What’s the problem? Other than the stalker.”
“Well, she’s rich and famous, and she’s one of those people who knows everything and thinks she can solve everyone’s problems. The last thing I need is some know-it-all elitist snob trying to give me life advice.” Kolby cursed under his breath and straightened. “But every time I think about it, I feel sick. Like I oughtta say yes. Lord knows I’ve got no love for rich folk, so it’s gotta be Him giving me the push, right?”
“Is she pretty? Is that what you’re worried about?” Noah had no idea what she looked like, and he could barely remember what her voice sounded like.
Kolby grinned. “Oh, she prettier than a picture.” He cast his gaze to the floor.
Noah smiled. “Maybe it’s not the good Lord giving you the push, then.”
“Shut up. I’m askin’ for advice, you jerk. If I do it, all my demons will be on display.”
Noah rubbed his chin with his fingers. He could see it being a problem. What, with the way Kolby’s stepdad had abused him. He’d been wealthy, and Kolby’s mom had looked the other way while it was happening. “Maybe this will be good, Kol. Maybe you can do a little slaying while you’re at it.”
“Yeah, maybe, but it’s more about her. I can’t put my finger on it.”
Noah crossed his arms over his chest. “Kol, when we took this job, we said we’d always do what we could to protect people. If your gut or the Lord is telling you to go, go. There’s a reason for it.”
“Yeah, I know,” he muttered. “If I take it, I’ll be in Tennessee for a while. You’ll be okay?”
“Yeah, I’ll be okay.”
“So you think I should?”
Noah gripped his shoulder. “Yeah, I do. I have a feeling it’ll be really good for you.”
“All right. I’ll take it. I’m supposed to leave tonight. Her manager is sending a plane for me with Ivy, her precious cargo. I just wanted to talk to you first.”
The door to Mia’s room flew open. “We need you,” Ryder said. “Now.”
“Go,” Noah said to Kolby. “I’ll be fine.”
Kolby saluted as Noah stepped inside the room.
Chapter 17
Ryder was hysterical. Mia liked him instantly. He was so relaxed, but she’d expect nothing less from a guy who looked like he’d be as at home on a surfboard as he was on a computer. And cute? Wow. Dark brown eyes, killer smile, and a mane of sun-bleached light-blond hair. His lithe, muscular frame screamed active and athletic. To top it off, the man had a brilliant mind.
Of course, he wasn’t Noah, but if Ryder ever decided he wanted a woman, he’d have her. He was a trophy catch.
“I have to wonder…” Mia said as she pulled up the encoded files.
“Wonder what?” Ryder smiled.
He’d pulled over one of the other chairs to the desk and was sitting beside her. She hoped he’d be able to help her. “You look like a surfer, and you’ve got a brain like a genius.”
His mouth dropped open. “Are you saying I can’t be beautiful and smart?”
Mia cackled. “No, you goofball. You just don’t fit the stereotype. Which is good, because this is fun.”
“This is awesome. Do you know how hard it is to be trapped with people who can’t speak computer?”
No, not trapped, but most of the time, people had no clue what she was talking about. “I have some idea, but not totally. I mostly work alone.”
“What made you copy this guy’s hard drive?”
She shrugged. “I was installing a security system on his computers at his warehouse. I got lost going to the bathroom and saw what looked like women being loaded on a truck.”
“Wow.”
“I don’t know if that’s what I saw or not, but when I returned from the bathroom, I tried to check some of his files, and they were encrypted so well I couldn’t get through them. Now, what kind of import/export business does a man run that requires encrypting that I can’t break through in less than five minutes? And why would he need my software with this level of protection?”
Ryder leaned back in his chair. “Maybe he just likes extra security.”
“Totally true, which is why I don’t want to accuse him without proof. If I’m wrong, I’ll shred the files and go on about my business. But if I’m right about what I saw, I couldn’t in good conscience not do something. Those women looked terrified.”
Her phone rang, and she picked it up. “It’s Mr. Harrison.” She put her finger to her lips and answered it, putting it on speaker phone. “Hello, Mr. Harrison, I was just about to call you.”
“Are you here? I’ll come let you in.”
“Uh, no, I think something I ate made me sick.” She smiled as she looked at Ryder. “I’ve returned to my hotel to lie down a while.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry.” He almost sounded like he was fretting.
“But don’t worry. Remember when I said I’d be monitoring your system for a few days after I installed the program? I can check it from here.” She winked at Ryder.
Ryder gave her a thumbs-up and motioned to keep him talking.
She smiled. That was good. She wouldn’t have to explain the conversation.
“I know that, but I was really hoping you could check it on location,” Mr. Harrison said and took a deep breath. “Ms. Milan, I’m very careful with the people I do business with, which means I’ve made sure you’re who you said you are. But do you know who you’ve been spending your time with?”
Ryder’s breath caught, and Mia knitted her eyebrows together as she looked at him. He jumped from the chair, crossed the room, and whipped the door open, getting Noah’s attention.
“I told you my boyfriend was in town with me.” She caught Noah’s gaze as he walked in, hoping he wouldn’t be upset that she’d attached herself to him.
Mr. Harrison chuckled. “We both know that’s not true, but did you know Mr. Noah Wolandry is. in fact, Noah Wolf? He works for the Guardian Group. They’re vigilantes at best. They’ve been harassing me
for over a year.”
Her lips parted as she held Noah’s gaze. “What?”
“I placed a camera near the door of your room to monitor your safety while you are working for me, and the man who just walked into your room has been lying to you. Those men with him are part of his team. They work for a woman name Pamela Williams.”
Ryder’s eyes widened, and he bolted from the room.
“That’s not true.”
“Really? Check the video I just sent you.”
“Video? You’re watching me?”
“Only because I know these men have been hounding me and my employees. I was only doing it for your safety.”
Mia pulled her gaze from Noah. On the screen was a video of Noah entering her room just after she left to meet with Mr. Harrison that morning. She lifted her gaze back to Noah, and she knew by the look on his face that the charade was over. As angry as she was for being recorded, she was even angrier with Noah. “I need to go, Mr. Harrison, but I assure you, your system is fine. I’ll be monitoring it from here, so don’t worry.”
“Stay safe, Ms. Milan.”
She ended the call and let her hand drop to her side. “Before you take another step, you need to tell me who you really are and why you’ve been lying to me.”
If Mr. Harrison was telling the truth, her heart would break.
* * *
Noah froze as tear-filled eyes met his. “I will explain as soon as Ryder has cleaned the room.”
“Cleaned the room?”
“Harrison just admitted to having a video camera outside your room. There’s no doubt they are in your room as well.”
Mia blinked as if what Harrison had done was just sinking in, and she clamped her lips shut. Casting her gaze to the floor, she nodded, and Ryder and the rest of the team checked the suite. Two cameras and several bugs later, they were confident they’d found everything.
“Now can you tell me why you’ve been lying to me?” asked Mia, pinning Noah with a look.
Noah turned to the team. “Could you guys give me a minute?”
Ryder nodded. “Yeah, but that’s about all you have. There’s a reason he would have told her, and that’s to slow us down.”
The second Ryder was out the door, Noah crossed the room and stopped in front of Mia. Having Harrison tell her wasn’t the way he wanted her finding out. “Those secrets I was keeping? The ones I said I had to keep?”
“They were about me? Why?”
“Yes,” he said. “My name is Noah Wolf. I work for…it’s hard to explain. People come to us when they have nowhere else to go. When they’ve exhausted all their resources and they need help.”
“Mr. Harrison said you were a vigilante.”
“Harrison is just trying to turn you against us so you’ll ditch us and he can get you alone. Please think about the gut feeling you had with Harrison and know that I’m not the bad guy. I’m not a vigilante. I mean, we do operate outside of the law sometimes, but it’s…we help people.”
All she did was stare at him.
He swallowed hard. “Harrison is a known human trafficker and sex trader. The district attorney asked for our help when one of his friend’s daughters was taken by this man. We got her back, but we promised to bring this man to justice. We’ve been working over a year, trying to get him, but he has money and a great lawyer. This last time, we thought we had him. We had eyewitnesses, video, audio…we had it all, but he walked on a technicality at the last minute.”
“But you thought I was knowingly working with him?” Her voice trembled.
“To be honest, we weren’t sure, but we didn’t feel like we could risk being straightforward with you. He’s transported thousands of people, most of whom have been kidnapped, bought, and sold. He’s got an entire network of men just like him. If we take him down, we cripple this entire thing. Not that it’ll completely wipe it out, but it would slow it down.”
“After spending all this time with me, you still suspected I was working for that man? Me? How could you think that?”
Noah raked his hand through his hair. “It wasn’t about believing you. It was about the risk of him finding out we were coming after him again. This man needs to go to prison for the things he’s done. You are one person, and the needs of the many trumped the risk of telling you.”
She flinched like she’d been slapped, and tears spilled over. “I see.” She walked to her computer, clicked a few keys, and handed Noah a flash drive. “This is Harrison’s hard drive. Take it. Do whatever you want with it.”
“Mia, you’re in danger. The reason he delivered this information about who I am was so you’d distrust me and to distract you from what’s going on.”
Her gaze met his, and he’d never seen eyes so filled with hurt in his life. “You lied to me, used me. I believed every word you said. You kissed me. You said you wouldn’t let anything happen to me, and I thought it was because you cared about me, but you just wanted to stay close to me to get information.”
“And I told you I was keeping secrets and that they weren’t bad, but they were hard.” He took a step toward her. “And it was hard, but I had orders not to tell you. I told you I keep my promises. I couldn’t tell you. Yes, I protected you because those were my orders, but I protected you just as much for personal reasons. The moment I met you, everything changed.”
“I need you to leave. I need to think. I feel like grapes trampled under feet. My head and my heart are at war, and I don’t know which to listen to at the moment.”
He took another step. “Then listen to this. You are in danger. Harrison is coming after you. He will hurt you. That’s if he doesn’t kill you. It doesn’t matter at this point. The second you accepted the job, you were marked. You were never going to live a day past leaving Miami. And if he thinks you’ve double-crossed him, he’ll make you suffer.”
“That’s why you were willing to drive me up the coast. You didn’t want to spend time with me; you just wanted to keep tabs on me.” Her lips curled in, and she looked away. “I can’t believe I fell for it. I walked into another lie and didn’t even see it.”
“No, that’s not why I wanted to drive you up the coast. I did want to keep you safe, but I also like spending time with you. I kissed you because I couldn’t stop myself. I like you. You have no idea how hard this has been.” He reached for her, and she jerked back. “Mia, please.”
“I don’t know who I’m angrier with, me or you. Get out.”
“No. I promised you I wouldn’t let anyone hurt you, and Harrison will.”
Her lips thinned into a hard line. “Too bad that didn’t include yourself. You aren’t the police, the FBI, or the CIA. You have no official title at all. I don’t have to listen to you. You need to leave.”
“I get that you’re angry with me. I deserve every ounce of it, but you are entirely too intelligent to let your emotions dictate your actions. You know I’m right.”
She gasped, and more tears sprang to her eyes.
The second it left his lips, he knew he’d said the wrong thing. He’d discounted how she was feeling, and that was the worst thing he could have done. “Mia, I’m not saying you don’t have a right to feel that way. You do. I just…if you get hurt, it’ll kill me. Please, let me protect you.”
“Fine. You can protect me. But I’ll do what I want, when I want, and where I want. You got it? Harrison doesn’t know I copied his hard drive. I made sure of that.”
“Really?” He stepped to the window and pulled the curtain aside. Sure enough, a black SUV was parked right behind her car. “Look.”
She walked to the window. “So?”
“They’ve blocked you in,” he said and pointed to his own rental. “And mine. Don’t you think it’s convenient that our cars are the only two blocked in?”
“What does that mean?”
“It means he’s sent men to get you and take you back to the warehouse. At best, he knows you’ve seen something you shouldn’t have, and at worst, he knows you’ve copi
ed his hard drive. The man is a lot sharper than people give him credit for, which is how he’s been able to evade getting caught for so long. Mia, I know I’ve broken your trust, but you have to believe me when I say he’ll hurt you.”
Her lips trembled as her gaze met his again. “He couldn’t possibly hurt me as much as you have.” She pulled her gaze away. “Let me guess, you want me to come with you so you can protect me.”
“Yes, I do. And we need to hurry.”
Mia shook her head and hugged herself. “Fine. I’ll go with you, but just know that I don’t like you anymore. It’s bordering on hate. I’m trying not to, but…I’m doing this so those women are rescued and so that man won’t hurt anyone anymore. That’s the only reason.”
What could he say? His heart was broken. He’d seen it coming. Known it was going to happen, and he was completely unprepared for the ache he was experiencing. He’d fallen for her, and the rejection was stinging like a wasp.
What he needed to do now was keep her safe. He walked to the door and ushered Ryder, Elijah, and Mason in. “I’m taking the elevator.”
“What?” Ryder asked.
“Clearly, they know we’re here. I’ll cause a distraction while you get her to the car.”
Mason nodded. “All right.”
With one last glance at Mia, Noah left her hotel room. His men would keep her safe, and because she hadn’t been hurt by any of them, she’d be more inclined to listen to their instructions. More than anything, he wanted to keep her safe, even if it meant he wasn’t in the picture.
Chapter 18
A s Mia descended the hotel stairs with Ryder, Mason, and Elijah, her thoughts were in chaos. Devastated didn’t begin to cover how she felt. Crushed was entirely too mild. Shattered? None of the words seemed to encompass the deep gut-wrenching ache she was experiencing.
What was worse, she’d known he was keeping secrets and continued spending time with him. Why had she done that? He’d lied, manipulated her, and used her to get close to her client. Granted, Mr. Harrison was scum if he was trafficking people, but to use her? Why hadn’t Noah just asked? She’d have helped.
The Ranger's Chance: A Clean Army Ranger Romance Book One Page 12
