His to Protect

by Katie Reus

  She was pretty sure that deep down Kell didn’t actually care what she did as long as she was in his bed every night. And sometimes during the day. She flushed as she remembered how he’d taken her on the living room floor that morning while their son had still been sleeping.

  Noel, Travis’s fiancé, sat on the edge of the lounge chair next to Charlotte and held out her hands with a pleading look. “Just for a few more minutes?”

  Smiling, she handed the other woman a cooing Reece who just blinked those big green eyes adoringly at the other woman. Charlotte had barely gotten a chance to hold her own son all day because everyone at the barbeque had wanted to. Not that she was complaining. Everyone was so gentle with him and he was completely eating up all the attention.

  “So when are you going to come by my coffee shop?” Noel asked as she gently rocked Reece—who was trying to pull her dangly hoop earrings.

  “Now that we’re finally getting into a normal routine, probably next week. And I promise to bring Reece,” she said before the other woman could say anything.

  Grinning, Noel leaned back in the chair and cuddled him closer. “I could just eat him up. I love the way babies smell and feel and…” A soft, private smile crossed her features for just a second, but Charlotte knew what she’d seen.

  “Oh my…are you pregnant?” she whispered.

  Noel looked startled for a moment, then nodded, her grin huge. “Yes, but don’t tell anyone. I’m only six weeks along and we don’t want to announce it until after the wedding. My brothers will freak otherwise. And you better be coming.”

  “I will.” It was in two weeks, which seemed like very good timing if Noel wanted to fit into her wedding dress.

  Charlotte had already asked her parents to babysit. With her sister out of the house and in rehab for a while, her parents had really stepped up with Reece and she was letting them spend as much time with their grandson as they wanted. Once her sister was finally discharged from the expensive rehab center, Charlotte would have to make a decision about letting her be around Reece when he was at her parents but that was a future worry.

  “Who’s that?” Charlotte asked quietly as her gaze strayed to an older man talking to Lana Gonzalez—who thankfully had given her the volunteer position despite the kidnapping craziness.

  Noel turned around then snickered. “That’s Keith Caldwell, the father of the Caldwell brothers and majority owner in Red Stone Security. He almost never comes to these things. I bet he’s glad he decided to now. Gah, look at the man.”

  Charlotte silently agreed as she watched Lana work her magic on the older man. Lana was in her forties and she guessed Caldwell was close to sixty, but sparks were flying between them.

  Kell appeared from the throng of people eating, drinking and enjoying themselves and pulled her to her feet. “We need to talk,” he murmured.

  Travis sat down next to Noel and immediately took Reece from her. Charlotte wanted to take him, but Kell tugged her along the stones lining the pool until they were on the far side and relatively alone. “Reece will be fine,” he murmured when she looked over her shoulder.

  She knew he would be, but she still got a little nervous if he was out of her sight for too long. She figured that would probably be standard for a while after her terrifying brush with death. When his hands settled protectively on her hips and he pulled her close, she looked back at him. “What’s going on?”

  For the first time in a week Kell finally looked as if he was relaxing. That definitely had to be a good sign.

  “Carlson let Harrison know that the rumor on the street is Renaldo Diaz has left the country. Likely gone back to Mexico. If he was going to make a move on us, he’d have done it by now.”

  Charlotte let out a shaky breath, feeling a ton of pressure lift from her chest. Even though the man she’d seen killing Cecil had let her go, she’d still been looking over her shoulder everywhere she went. “That’s great news.”

  “Well, I’ve got even more good news. After Monique was arrested, her fingerprints were matched to an unsolved fire a few years ago. Turns out she tried to burn down her ex-boyfriend’s house while he was still in it. She’ll do some time but it sounds like the DA might push to have her institutionalized. Either way, she’s not our problem anymore either.”

  At the news that the woman who had trashed her car would be going away too, Charlotte wrapped her arms around Kell’s neck and kissed him hard. Living with him the past week had been an easier transition than she’d imagined, but there had been those dark clouds hanging over their lives. As they lifted, she realized she’d never been happier in her life. With the son and man she loved more than anything, she finally felt at peace with the world. She was going to start her volunteer schedule next week and planned to stay with it until Reece was old enough for school. Then she would return to teaching—unless of course they had another baby in the meantime. Something Kell had mentioned last night, but she was quite happy the way things were. Who knew, though?

  When someone let out an obnoxious catcall—she was guessing Vincent—she grudgingly pulled back from Kell.

  His fingers just tightened on her hips. “I say we kick everyone out and see if Noel wants to babysit Reece for an hour…or two.”

  Biting back a smile, she shook her head. “Think again.”

  He grumbled good-naturedly, but she knew he would never kick any of these people out of his house. Not after they’d helped protect and save her life. Friends and family were the most important things in the world, and after these few past hellish days, Charlotte was more aware of that than ever. Now she had a brand new start with Kell and Reece and she intended to savor every moment of it.

  Thank you for reading His to Protect. I really hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please consider leaving a review at one of your favorite online retailers. It’s a great way to help other readers discover new books!

  His to Protect is the fifth story in my Red Stone Security series. If you liked this one and would like to read more, turn the page for a sneak peek of No One to Trust and Miami, Mistletoe & Murder.

  No One to Trust

  Red Stone Security Series

  Copyright © 2012 Katie Reus

  Secrets are what keep a family strong. United. Elizabeth Martinez could still hear her father’s words echoing in the recesses of her memories. Over a decade had passed and not a day went by that she didn’t wish she could rewrite history. Some secrets had a way of eating a person alive. From the inside out, one giant bite at a time. Gnawing until she couldn’t stand it. If her father hadn’t forced them all to keep the family’s dirty little secret, maybe she’d be at home enjoying a nice glass of wine and a bubble bath. She wouldn’t be picking up her brother from a drug dealer’s house on a chilly Tuesday evening.

  Lizzy put her BMW into park and slid from the vehicle. This particular mansion in Keystone Island was the last place in the world she wanted to be. Unfortunately her brother had called begging for help. Again.

  Everyone else in the family had turned their back on Benny but she simply couldn’t say no when he needed her. Not when he’d always been there for her.

  While she wasn’t sure what Benny was doing at the recently deceased Alberto Salas’s home, she knew it couldn’t be good. Salas had been infamous for running drugs up and down the entire East Coast. She’d heard his son, Orlando, had taken over his operation. She’d briefly interacted with Orlando at a few charity functions around Miami and he’d always been perfectly polite, but the man gave her the creeps. There were some things an Armani suit simply couldn’t hide.

  Self-consciously, Lizzy tugged at her dress as if she could somehow make it grow a couple inches longer. The bright turquoise halter-style dress and black cardigan sweater she wore were completely respectable, but as she walked down the stone driveway toward the front door, she could feel several sets of eyes on her. Considering Orlando Salas was rumored to be in the same business his father had been, she guessed that even though she couldn’t see them
, he had plenty of scary looking security guys milling around. They were nothing more than thugs in suits and ties. She worked for one of the best security firms in the nation and the guys she worked with—they sure weren’t thugs. No, they were highly trained, mostly ex-military, and didn’t deal with scum like Salas. They protected uber wealthy clients and government dignitaries and everyone they worked for got a detailed military level background check—courtesy of her computer skills—and if it appeared they were into anything like drugs, Red Stone Security didn’t take them on. With how much money their company made, they could afford to be picky.

  Before she could knock on the bright red door, it swung open and a man carrying an assault rifle looked her up and down.

  A cold chill slithered through her, mainly because of the look on his face, rather than the gun. She’d known the guards here would be armed, but yuck, this guy made her feel like she was naked. Clutching her purse tighter against her side—as if that could somehow save her—she started to tell him why she was there, but he beat her to it.

  With a lecherous grin on his face, he stepped back and allowed her to enter. “Your brother’s out back.” He pointed down the tile hallway. “Just follow until you reach the French doors.”

  Fighting back the growing panic humming through her, she nodded and did just as he said. Yeah, maybe she should have called her boss and told him what she was doing but she didn’t want to drag anyone she knew into Benny’s problems. Then everyone would know how messed up her family really was. It was too embarrassing. She’d take care of it just like she always had. Chin up, she ordered herself.

  As she neared the doors she could see her brother stretched out on an Adirondack chair. She yanked the door open and hurried to his still form. “Benny!”

  When he didn’t stir, an icy fist clasped around her heart. He looked like a corpse. His normally bronze face was a grayish color. She touched his wrist and a sharp burst of relief popped inside her. At least his pulse was strong. But his face…tears blurred her vision for a moment. A garish purple bruise covered his left cheek and one of his eyes was swollen almost all the way shut. A light trail of blood had trickled from his nostril and dried on his upper lip. Had they broke his nose? Her throat tightened with raw grief. He’d sounded bad on the phone but she hadn’t expected this. She wanted to touch him, comfort him somehow, but was afraid she’d only hurt him more.

  Her hand hovered over his pale face for a moment before she settled on brushing a lock of his dark hair away from his forehead. “What have you gotten yourself into,” she whispered.

  “He’s going to be out for a little while.” She swiveled around at a familiar male voice and let her hand drop.

  Monster. The word echoed inside her but she bit it back. “Mr. Salas.” She tried to keep the disdain out of her voice as she faced the man who’d likely beaten her brother. Or at least watched while one of his men had. Somehow she managed to blink back the tears threatening to spill over.

  “Please call me Orlando. You’re a very good sister to pick your brother up so quickly.” Standing about ten feet away from her, he leaned against the mini-bar with a glass tumbler in hand.

  She narrowed her gaze. Anger battled with the fear blossoming inside her but she was still level-headed enough not to cower in front of him. A man like this probably craved the fear of others. “Did you do this to him?”

  His shoulders lifted in a slight shrug. “Not personally. Benito owes me quite a bit of money and I intend to collect.”

  “How much?”

  “A hundred thousand.”

  Lizzy swallowed but tried to school her shock. Benny had had problems with drugs in the past but he’d been clean for a while. Unfortunately, he’d found a new drug of choice. Gambling. If she had to guess, he owed Orlando the money because of bad bets. Or maybe he was back into drugs. She just didn’t know. And she hated what her brother did to himself. He had such a good heart but he couldn’t seem to keep it together.

  Her parents had the money. She definitely didn’t. And it was unlikely her parents would fork over that kind of cash for the black sheep of the family. Unless she could convince them it was for her. Despite the terror splintering through her, she stood her ground. “So you tried to beat the money out of him?”

  His dark gaze seemed to penetrate right through to her innermost thoughts. “He’s lucky he’s not dead. Out of respect for your family, I’m giving him one week to pay me back.”

  “And if he doesn’t?” She hated that the question came out shaky, but she couldn’t help it. She was scared, even if she tried to hide it.

  “I sincerely hope he has a life insurance policy.” He placed his glass on the bar and covered the short distance between them in seconds. Before she could react, he’d pressed her against one of the columns lining the outer edges of the lanai. His breath was hot on her cheek and his expensive cologne nearly smothered her as fear clawed at her insides. “I might be willing to bargain, however, Ms. Martinez. You are a beautiful woman. Six months as mine, and I’ll let your brother off.” His hips jerked forward and she pushed back the bile in her throat when she felt his erection against her hip.

  Instinct overtook her fear as she shoved at his chest. “You’re disgusting.”

  He was immovable. Grabbing her wrist, he pinned it above her head. When she swung out at him with her other hand, he snapped it up with the same precision. She tried to tug against him, but the man’s grip was like an iron shackle. Cold sweat blossomed across her forehead and spread the length of her body. She hadn’t told anyone where she was going, and Orlando Salas was total scum. If he raped her, he wouldn’t let her live to tell anyone. No, he’d likely dump her in the ocean. She racked her brain, trying to think of a way out of her situation when a loud shout and glass breaking inside caused him to let her go. But not before he backhanded her across the face and growled, “Stay here.”

  The abrupt action surprised her more than it hurt. A dull throb spread across her cheek, but it was nothing compared to what would happen to her if she didn’t get out of there. As he started to reach for a gun tucked in the back of his pants, the double doors flew open and the last person she expected to see stormed through, with a SIG in hand.

  And it was pointed directly at Orlando.

  “Are you okay, Elizabeth?” Porter Caldwell, her unlikely savior, asked in his typical clipped tone.

  “I’m fine.” At the moment, all that mattered was getting out of there alive. She wasn’t exactly sure what Porter was doing there or even how he’d gotten past Orlando’s guards. She wasn’t going to balk at a chance to escape, even if her rescuer was her sort-of-ex/almost-lover. Even though they’d dated for a month and gotten pretty physical, they’d never actually had sex so she didn’t think that qualified him as an old lover.

  “Do you know who I am?” Orlando spat, but Lizzy noticed he didn’t continue reaching for his gun. He wasn’t that stupid.

  Porter’s pale blue gaze narrowed with deadly precision. “More importantly, do you know who I am?” Without waiting for a response, he strode toward Orlando and slammed the gun across his head with a vicious blow.

  With a short-lived cry of surprise, Orlando crumpled onto the mosaic tile. Lizzy had expected more of a response from the man but maybe without his security to back him up he wasn’t so tough after all.

  Porter grabbed Lizzy’s wrist and started tugging her toward the open doors. “We have maybe sixty seconds to get out of here before the rest of his guards realize what’s going on. I don’t know what the hell you’re doing here, but—”

  She yanked hard against his grasp. “My brother!”

  He paused to stare at her, his gaze unreadable. “What?”

  She nodded at Benny. “We need to get him out of here too.”

  His head cocked slightly to the side as if seeing the crumpled heap that was her brother for the first time. Mr. Tall, dark and annoyed muttered something under his breath before tucking his gun away. Then he lifted her brother onto his
shoulder as if he weighed nothing. Benny was almost six feet tall but Porter was taller and much broader. And all muscle. “Follow me,” he grunted.

  Clutching her purse to her side, she hurried after Porter. “What are you doing here?” she whispered.

  “Saving your pretty little butt. Ask your questions later. We need to get the hell out of here.” His shoes were silent against the tile while her heels clacked noisily. If she didn’t think it would slow her down she’d take them off and run in her bare feet. When they reached the open foyer, she spotted two guards unconscious and face down on the tile. Broken shards of what had once been a vase littered around one of the men.

  Fear skittered along her exposed skin. “I don’t understand—”

  “Your car. Now,” he barked as he jerked the front door open. He didn’t even glance behind him as he strode outside.

  Not bothering to pull the front door shut behind her, she started to slide into the passenger side of her car while Porter dumped Benny in the back. Before she’d even shut her door, Porter kicked the car into drive and sped off.

  “What…what are you doing here?” She hated that her voice shook but she couldn’t control it. She was grateful he’d shown up but she hated that he’d seen her and her brother in this kind of situation. Keeping her family life private was too important. And Porter had already made it clear what he thought of her brother. She didn’t like giving him more ammunition against Benny.

  “Don’t you know what kind of man Orlando Salas is?” he ground out. It wasn’t so much a question as a statement of disgust.

  As he sped down the stone driveway, she glanced behind them to see two men running out the front door, guns in hand. At least they didn’t open fire on them. Thankfully the iron gate was still open as Porter tore through the opening. “How’d you get past his security? And where’s your car? And why are you even here?”