His to Protect_A Bodyguard Bad Boys/Masters and Mercenaries Novella

by Carly Phillips

  His eyes heated at the reminder. “I just enjoy watching you eat.”

  “Want a bite?” She scooped a piece onto her fork and held it out for him.

  He shook his head. “No sweets for me.” He paused, a killer smile edging his lips. “Except for you. Then I’ll let myself indulge.”

  She laughed, as amused as she was secretly thrilled by his comment. “I see. So that’s how you keep that killer body.” She nodded in approval.

  At the compliment, he sat up a little straighter in his chair. “Are you trying to get me to drag you back to the room again?”

  She twirled the fork in her hand. “I wouldn’t object,” she murmured, only partly teasing.

  He glanced up, his gaze catching the waiter’s. “Check, please.”

  * * * *

  Shane walked by Talia’s side, keeping an eye out for anyone suspicious-looking…but he didn’t see anything to alert him. Which didn’t mean he’d let his guard down. Although her locket had seemed like the obvious choice for a bug, that was almost too easy. His gut didn’t like the odds that they’d lost the people following her or their ability to track Talia.

  Once back in the room, he double locked the door and put a finger over his lips, indicating she shouldn’t talk just yet. He headed straight for his bag and began a thorough scan of the room and all likely places a bug could have been placed while they were at dinner.

  Large pharmaceutical companies had big money at their disposal. A maid or a front desk clerk could be bribed to let someone into the room and search for the formula…which they’d kept with them during dinner.

  While Talia watched, bottom lip pulled between her teeth, Shane worked his way around the room. When he reached the bed, he ran the wand around the headboard, and damned if he didn’t get a loud beep when he scanned the main piece.

  He patted behind the wooden board and found the sucker, pinned to the back. Fuck. He held up the small bug and placed a hand over his mouth, indicating she should be quiet.

  So it hadn’t been the locket, he thought in frustration. She’d dumped the memento for no reason, and it was his fault. Guilt gripped him hard, but he needed to handle this situation before he could deal with their emotions.

  He left the offending bug on the dresser, grabbed Talia’s hand, and led her to the bathroom, where he ran the shower for extra noise.

  “Don’t panic,” he said, looking into her wide eyes as he spoke in hushed tones.

  “They broke into our room while we were at dinner?” she asked, appalled.

  “Probably paid someone to let them in,” he said. “But that doesn’t explain how they keep finding us.” He scowled, frustrated that they’d gotten the better of him at every turn.

  She shrugged. “I’m at a loss, too. But it wasn’t the locket,” she whispered, sad at the memory of what she’d had to leave behind.

  His gut twisted as realization dawned for her that she’d thrown away her last link to her mother for no reason. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s not your fault. Let’s just focus on what we can control. What do we do now?” she asked about the bug.

  “I have an idea.”

  She straightened her shoulders, bucking up as she always did, and he was so damned proud of her in this moment.

  “I’m listening.”

  He spoke in a low whisper. “We’re going to go back out there and lay out our plans for tomorrow, except we’re going to lead them somewhere else completely.”

  He pulled out his cell and began to search hospital names in the area. “We don’t want them near Dr. Goodwin, so you’re going to mention that we’re meeting him here.” He showed her the name of a medical center on the other side of town.

  Shane wasn’t convinced the ruse would take care of the problem, however, because these assholes had managed to catch up with them every time.

  She blinked in surprise. “What if they follow us anyway?” she asked, her brain following the same line as his.

  “We’re going to specifically mention that you don’t have the whole formula, the man you’re meeting does, but it won’t be with him.” He didn’t want to set Goodwin up as an immediate target, either.

  Hopefully the plan would buy them time to meet with the good doctor, drive to the cabin, get their hands on the rest of the cure, and turn it over to Dr. Goodwin’s ex-wife.

  “Once we have a location where your mentor lives, I’ll call Ian, and he’ll send a team to have our backs. Just in case.”

  She visibly swallowed hard. “Okay.”

  He grasped her forearms in a sign of reassurance. “Ready?”

  She nodded.

  Grabbing her hand, he led her back to the bedroom, standing by the bug. “You’re sure there’s no way to contact your mentor faster?” he asked. He gave a squeeze of her palm to let her know to answer.

  “I can’t. He’s eccentric. He already knows to meet us at Providence Portland Medical Center, where he has an office. Hopefully he has the rest of the formula with him there.”

  He winked at her, mouthing, good job. He deliberately gave a loud yawn. “I want to turn in early. I’m exhausted. You wore me out,” he said with a laugh.

  She narrowed her gaze.

  He placed a finger over his mouth and gestured to the bathroom again, where they could talk in private.

  She followed him into the room and turned on the shower.

  “What’s going on?” she asked in a whisper.

  “I don’t want to sleep in here. We’ll get another room and come back in the morning to shower before we head out. No reason to be aware of a bug all night. We’ll be up tossing and turning. Let’s just go back out there, make some noise, and pretend to go to sleep. Then we’ll sneak out again.”

  She nodded, eyes lit up at his plan. “Sounds like a good idea to me.”

  Acting on impulse, he leaned over and pressed a kiss on her lips.

  Just because he wanted to.

  Chapter Eight

  In the morning, he checked in with Ian, then they proceeded with the next part of their plan. Shane was relying on the bug and the people who’d planted it and had been listening to their conversation to head in the direction of the hospital, but he also knew there was every chance they had at least one guy with eyes on Talia. The fact that she didn’t have the entire cure in her possession and they now knew it, however, would definitely buy them time to get to the cabin. Because the people after her would wait for her to lead them to the remaining pieces of the formula.

  Meeting in a public place with plenty of people around would prevent anything dangerous from happening. At least that was his hope. Considering he hadn’t a clue how they kept tracking Talia, he was wary of taking anything for granted.

  Not with Talia’s safety at stake.

  They sat inside the coffee shop with a view of the window and the sidewalk outside, waiting for Jonah Goodwin. He wrapped his hand around a warm coffee cup, his second of the morning.

  “It’s been years since I’ve seen Jonah,” Talia said, taking a sip of her latte.

  “Were you close?” he asked, wondering about the relationships in her life.

  “He was my professor in medical school.” She smiled at what must be a good memory. “He drove students crazy with his erratic schedule, requirements, and theories. But I liked him immediately. He took me under his wing.” She shrugged. “Got me my current position because I wanted to follow in his footsteps and work on the cure for what my mother had.”

  Her eyes suddenly lit up. “Oh! Here he is!”

  Shane turned to catch sight of an older man who looked just as Shane had pictured for a reclusive eccentric. His hair was to his shoulders and bushy, his face covered in a grayish-white beard. His jeans were old and faded, a plaid flannel shirt covering a T-shirt. And probably because he hadn’t expected this urgent meeting, he kept looking over his shoulder and glancing around.

  He stepped inside and Talia shot out of her seat. “Jonah!”

  The big man swept her
into a hug, confirming their close relationship despite not having seen each other in a while.

  He ended the embrace and met her gaze. “Who’s this?” He gestured to Shane, who was hovering protectively nearby.

  Talia stepped back. “This is Shane Landon, my bodyguard.”

  Goodwin narrowed his gaze. “You need protection? What’s going on?” he asked without acknowledging Shane or shaking his hand.

  “Let’s sit,” Talia suggested. She gestured to the table and chairs behind them.

  He pulled out a seat and settled into it. Shane and Talia did the same.

  “Talk to me,” Jonah said, never truly relaxing.

  “Okay, so the good news is that Christopher and I were finally successful in working out the right treatment. We were ready to go into the testing phase, and the company knew it. Next thing I know, someone wiped my lab clean, took the computers and equipment, and I’m sure they assumed they’d gotten the whole formula. Of course, they didn’t.”

  “Because you listened to me and broke up your results,” he said, nodding as he took in her story.

  She rubbed her palms against her leggings. “Someone’s been after me ever since. They want the rest of the formula.”

  “And the only reason for that to happen is if someone wants to keep the medicine from ever getting to market.” He rubbed his beard thoughtfully. “You have your part?”

  “Right here.” Shane patted the duffel he hadn’t let out of his sight.

  “And I assume you have a plan?”

  Shane leaned in. “It requires your trust.”

  “And you can trust Shane,” Talia assured the older man. “I’ve known him practically my whole life.”

  Jonah scowled. “I don’t trust anyone. Well, very few people, anyway. But if he’s kept you safe, he has my thanks. What do you need from me?”

  Shane leaned closer to the older man. “We need the first part of the formula. And that means we need to go with you to your cabin,” Shane said. “Look, I work for McKay-Taggart Security in Dallas.”

  “I’ve heard of them,” Jonah said, his facial expression less harsh now that he thought Shane was legit.

  “Eventually whoever’s after Talia is going to realize I sent them in the wrong direction this morning or they have someone following Talia. Either way, we might have a tail as we go to your cabin.” Shane placed a hand behind Talia’s chair, his fingers brushing against her back as he spoke to the doctor.

  “I want to give my people your address and set a trap for whoever’s been after her,” Shane explained. “The cops can take over dealing with the bastards from there.”

  “And the formula?” Jonah asked.

  Talia placed a hand on the man’s forearm. “I want you to reach out to Sheila. If we can get this into her hands, her company can take over from here.”

  Jonah shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “I haven’t spoken to her in a while.”

  “I don’t believe she hasn’t tried to reach out?” Talia pressed. “The only reason you two aren’t together is because you decided withdrawing from life was what you wanted.”

  “Yeah, I hear from her,” he muttered.

  She blew out a long, relieved breath.

  “Good. So can you call her and set things in motion?” Shane said. “Because we’ll need to transfer the formula to her quickly. Call her and—”

  He shook his head. “I don’t have her number memorized.”

  “Of course not,” Shane said. “Just take out your cell and—”

  Talia cleared her throat. “He doesn’t have a cell phone.”

  “Excuse me?” Surely Shane had heard wrong.

  Jonah shrugged. “I don’t like extra equipment on me. Nobody needs to reach me, and if they do, they know how.” He tipped his head toward Talia, as if to say, you see? She found me.

  “Fuck me.” Shane rubbed a hand over his face. “Guess we’ll handle that when we get to your cabin. Can I at least have the cabin’s address to send to McKay-Taggart so we can set up an op?” he asked the eccentric man. “Otherwise we’re going up there with no backup, and trust me when I tell you, somehow they will figure out how to tail us. They’ve been one step ahead of us the entire time.”

  Talia frowned at the reminder. “He’s scanned me. We tossed my mother’s locket. I don’t know how else they’ve tracked me.”

  “Hmm.” Jonah narrowed his gaze, rubbing his beard thoughtfully. “You get your annuals shots at the lab? Flu? Birth control? Anything like that?”

  She nodded, her eyes wide. “What are you saying?” she asked, but from the dawning awareness in her eyes, she was beginning to figure it out, Shane thought.

  “That they injected you with a tracker, the bastards,” Jonah said.

  “What?” she asked, horrified.

  Shane’s feelings were about the same. “Motherfuckers. And we’d never find it with a basic scanner.”

  Jonah spread his hands wide as he explained. “An RFID chip injected under the skin that can be used to track you. You have a problem with one of the shots? It take longer, or something hurt that shouldn’t have?”

  She managed a slow nod. “Yes. My hip was sore for a while after the flu shot this past November.”

  “If you even got a flu shot,” Jonah muttered.

  “Those bastards! This is such a violation!” Talia’s cheeks flushed red. “And to think I threw out my mother’s locket for no good reason.” Tears of frustration filled her eyes. “Get it out.”

  “What?” Shane asked.

  “Get it out now.” She began scratching at her hip where she must have had her injections.

  He threaded his fingers through hers. “Talia, we’re in public, not to mention it’s going to hurt. It needs to be done by a professional. A doctor. Not me.”

  “I want it out,” she insisted, chin lifted in stubborn determination.

  Shit. He glanced at Jonah, silently pleading with him to back up what he was saying.

  “Girl knows what she wants. She always did. That’s why I admire her. I can’t remove it myself though.” He held up his hands, which Shane now realized held a fine but noticeable tremor. “But I can walk you through how to do it.”

  So much for backing him up, Shane thought in frustration.

  He pressed his palms against his eyes. “You do realize that as soon as it’s out, they’re going to know we’ve figured out their game?” He was already calculating their strategy. “That means we get right on the road and head to the cabin. They’ll find the tracker where we leave it. Then we just have to hope no one’s following you as an extra precaution.” But he wasn’t holding out hope.

  He’d just have his team meet them there.

  “So you’ll do it?” she asked him hopefully.

  Shane inclined his head. “You’re not giving me a choice. Besides, we don’t want to lead them to the formula before we can get it or a copy of it to safety. We at least want a head start. We just need to move fast.”

  She expelled a harsh breath, then clasped her hand tight in his. “I’m okay,” she whispered, more to herself than to him.

  But she didn’t let go of his hand, and he was grateful to be her rock when she needed it.

  He turned to Jonah. “Cabin address? Please?” he added, because he sensed the older man was not comfortable sharing his personal information.

  “Fine.” He rattled off the address and directions, which included off-road markers and indicators he’d put in himself. Because he was that far off the grid.

  “But whoever’s following you can’t come in by car because I have a booby trap set up that’ll disable their vehicle.”

  “What kind of trap?” Shane asked.

  “You know those spikes they have at rental car companies? The ones that require signs that say Do Not Back Up Severe Tire Damage?”

  “Yes?” Talia asked warily.

  “Well, those are set to activate unless it’s me coming through with my remote to deactivate them first.” He shrugged as if it wer
e completely normal. “A man can’t be too careful.”

  Or paranoid. Jesus. “Can my guys get in by helo?” Shane asked, knowing Ian was going to shit a brick at the cost because there was no way Shane was letting any of this become a billable expense.

  As far as Shane was concerned, this was personal.

  Jonah nodded. “Just watch out for my trees. But we’ll get those bastards,” he said, suddenly warming to the idea. The man was nothing if not mercurial.

  But Shane couldn’t worry about the good doctor. He had his own issues to deal with, and those included removing a tracker from beneath Talia’s skin. And Shane was not looking forward to hurting her. Not for any reason.

  * * * *

  Immediately after leaving Starbucks, Shane called Ian with the cabin coordinates and address. Unfortunately the team was over a good four hours out. If they were lucky. Which meant he was on his own.

  At Target, Shane and Talia picked up supplies so he could at least sterilize her skin and complete the chip removal as carefully and safely as possible. Then they locked themselves in a family bathroom. Jonah, meanwhile, said he had an errand to run and would meet them back at the spot they’d left the car in the parking lot, to lead the way to his cabin.

  The bathroom was small, but not as tiny as a stall, and there was no chance of anyone walking in on them. Talia hadn’t said a word since they’d locked themselves in, and Shane was too busy giving himself a pep talk about the upcoming surgery to have a conversation.

  With shaking hands, he opened the bag of supplies and laid a pair of scissors, small razor blade, alcohol, and gauze pads on the counter. Bandages followed.

  “I don’t want to do this,” he muttered, not for the first time.

  “Come on. You’ve seen bullet wounds, right? It’ll be fine,” she said, her voice about as steady as his hands.

  He shook his head, his admiration for her rising exponentially with every passing minute. “You’re badass, Ms. Smarty-Pants.”

  She grinned. “Desperate times and all that.”

  She drew a deep breath and pulled the waistband of her pants down to her knees. Looking down, she patted the muscled area below her hip, near her buttocks. “Son of a bitch. Here.” She grabbed his fingertip and pressed it against her flesh where a tiny raised area could be felt but not seen.