Her Soldier Protector

by Soraya Lane

  He’d protected and looked after people all his life, and still he’d lost those he loved. Some of the people he cared most about in the world, and some strangers whose faces he’d never forget until the day he died, too. Looking after Candace while she was on stage and during her press conference tomorrow was his job, and one he intended on doing well, and tonight was about having fun with a beautiful woman. There was no need to overthink the situation or turn it into something it wasn’t.

  He wasn’t going to be the one to rescue her, because he was still waiting to be rescued himself. Tonight was going to be great, but after that he’d never see her again, which meant she wasn’t his to worry about. Or protect.

  *

  Candace took one last bow after her second encore song before walking from the stage. It had been the kind of night she loved, the type that made her remember how lucky she was to perform for a career, even though her nerves had jangled whenever she’d let her mind stray to the hate mail she’d been receiving. There were always those times when she wondered if that person was in the crowd, watching her, but with Logan standing in the wings and the security amped up for the evening, she’d tried to make herself just relax. And for the most part it had worked.

  Her heart was still pounding, adrenaline making her feel a million dollars, as she disappeared into the darkness of the wings, her eyes taking a moment to adjust from the bright lights she’d been performing under.

  “I think you’ve made me like country music,” a deep male voice said.

  She recognized Logan’s Australian twang the moment she heard it, and her heart started to race a little more.

  “I’d say I don’t believe you, but I kind of want to,” she said with a laugh.

  “I’m actually thinking of joining your insane fans and lining up for a CD and T-shirt. It seems to be the thing to do.”

  She laughed, brushing her hand against his as she passed and then snatching it back like she’d connected with a flame. It had been a long time since she’d just touched someone impulsively like that, and it wasn’t something she wanted to make a habit of. Especially not with a man, even if she was enjoying his company.

  “You can have a free T-shirt, I’ll even autograph it for you,” she teased.

  “So what time do you want to head out?” he asked, following her.

  Candace took a slow breath, still energized from her ninety minutes on stage. She always felt amazing at the end of a performance, exhaustion never setting in for hours after she finished.

  “We’ll need to wait until the crowds die down. I don’t mind signing a couple of autographs, but I’m not going to ruin my buzz by being mobbed. Not tonight.”

  Logan shook his head. “I think we’re best to leave immediately, before anyone expects you to depart. My truck’s parked around the back and we should be able to get in before anyone realizes it’s you, so long as we move quickly.”

  Candace wasn’t convinced, but then she also usually timed these kind of things all wrong anyway and ended up in the middle of a hundred fans, trying to reach her getaway car. Or else her manager set things up to happen like that for maximum publicity when she gave him explicit instructions to the contrary.

  “I don’t believe you, but I’m prepared to give you the benefit of the doubt,” she said.

  “Good. I’ll go check the exit now and be back in ten minutes,” he told her. “Shall we meet in your dressing room?”

  Candace nodded. “Let’s do it.”

  The idea of a night out was exciting—she’d become used to feeling fantastic, on a high from singing, then going straight back to a hotel room, alone. Most of the time she ended up ordering room service, watching an old movie and going to bed, before receiving her wake-up call and taking a car to the airport early the next morning. Before she’d become recognizable, she’d always had a fun night out after any gig, which was why tonight was like a blast from the past for her. Add the tourism campaign she was the face of, and she didn’t have a hope of Australians not realizing who she was.

  It was yet to be seen whether she could even manage to leave the building without being recognized or followed, so she could easily end up holed up in her hotel room just when she least expected it.

  Candace closed her dressing room door the moment she stepped inside and slipped the feathery minidress off, letting it pool to the floor. She rummaged around in her case for the casual clothes she’d packed, in case she needed them, pulling out a pair of dark blue skinny jeans and wriggling her way into them. She didn’t have anything other than a T-shirt to wear, so she flicked through the tops hanging on her racks, wishing they weren’t all so costume looking, until she spotted a sequined black tank. Candace pulled it over her head, grabbed a studded leather biker jacket, and slipped into a pair of dangerously high heels she’d worn on stage earlier in the evening.

  Glancing at the clock on the wall, she stopped, took a deep breath, then sat down at her dressing table. Her makeup was excessive—thick false eyelashes and sparkly eyeshadow—but she didn’t have time to change it. Besides, Logan had seen her looking like this all evening. She did run her fingers through her hair to flatten it down a bit, teasing the hairspray from her curls so it felt like real hair again, so it was touchable.

  There was a knock at the door. Candace jumped, glaring at her reflection at the same time. It was just Logan, and it wasn’t like she hadn’t known he was coming, but her nerves had been permanently on edge for weeks now. Maybe she could talk to him about it and see what he thought the best way to react to the threats was.

  “Just a minute!” she called out.

  Candace jumped up to grab her purse, checked her credit card, phone and hotel swipe card were all inside and swung open the door.

  “Wow.”

  Logan’s approving smile and the way he looked her up and down made her laugh. He seemed to say what he was thinking, and she liked the fact he was a straight shooter with her.

  “Are we cleared to leave?” she asked, trying to ignore what he’d just said even though she couldn’t stop smiling.

  “I told your manager and the rest of the team that you’re feeling ill, and you wanted me to escort you straight to the hotel. I said we’ll be exiting from the side entrance, and I have a feeling there’ll be a lot of fans waiting there, if you catch my drift.”

  “So we can’t go?” she asked, hearing the disappointment in her own voice.

  Logan gave her a wry smile, a dimple flashing against his cheek at the same time. “We’re going out the very back. My vehicle’s parked down the alleyway, so no one will see us.”

  “So you lied to everyone?” she asked.

  “I expanded the truth,” he said, winking as he gestured for her to follow him. “I have a feeling your manager is more interested in getting publicity than a quiet getaway for you, and given that I’m your head of security, all I care about is your safety. You say no fans or paparazzi? That’s what I give you.”

  Candace shook her head. “I think I underestimated you,” she said with a chuckle.

  “I also told them that you’d be exiting in fifteen minutes, so if we’re going to do this, I think we should hurry, just in case someone comes looking for you before we go.”

  He waited for her to nod, then clasped her hand firmly, walking fast in the opposite direction to which they’d arrived earlier in the day. Candace had to almost run to keep up with his long, loping stride, but she didn’t care. Logan was going to get her out of here without being mobbed, without even having to come face-to-face with her manager, and she might actually have a drink at a bar before anyone figured out who she was. Adrenaline was starting to fill her with hope.

  Her phone started to beep in her purse, and she managed to open it without slowing down. She glanced at the screen.

  “It’s Billy, my manager,” she told Logan when he looked down.

  “Text him from the car when we’re driving away,” he said. “You can tell him we’ve gone once we’ve hit the main road, but n
ot before.”

  Candace slipped the phone back into her purse and hurried along with Logan, trying to concentrate on not falling off her stiletto heels. A few little white lies weren’t going to hurt anyone, especially not her manager, who didn’t seem to care that she’d spent the past few weeks frightened out of her own skin about the thought of being in public.

  *

  “So did you believe me when I said I’d get you out of there?”

  Logan glanced over at Candace and saw that she was staring out the window, watching the world as it blurred past.

  “No,” she replied, sighing and turning in her seat to face him. “If I’m completely honest I didn’t even want to let myself hope that I’d get out of there that easily.”

  “So I don’t need to ask you if you’re still keen for a few drinks and something to eat?”

  Candace laughed and it made him smile. “I’ll stay out until someone starts flashing camera bulbs in my face.”

  “You’re on. The places I’m taking you no one will ever find us.”

  She was looking out the window again, and he took his foot off the gas a little so they weren’t going so fast. For someone who hadn’t found it easy being back or dealing with people, he was finding it weirdly easy to talk to Candace. She should be the one person he had nothing in common with, but for some reason he was drawn to the fact that she was an outcast just like he was, albeit a different one. It settled him somehow.

  “That kind of makes you sound like a serial killer,” she finally responded, like she was just thinking out aloud. “Which makes me wonder how I ended up letting you whisk me away from everyone who’s supposed to be looking after me and keeping me safe.”

  “I’m the one who kept you safe today, so you don’t have a lot to worry about,” Logan told her, taking his eyes off the road for a second to make sure she was listening to him, looking at him. “If I’m perfectly honest, you have a manager who makes sure you get mobbed when he knows you hate it, and the rest of your entourage probably have way less interest in making sure you’re kept out of harm’s way than I do.”

  She shut her eyes and put her head against the rest. “I know you’re right about my manager. Deep down, I think I’ve known it for a while. I just didn’t want to acknowledge it.”

  He didn’t answer. He knew he was right, but he didn’t need to make her feel worse than she probably already did.

  “Until you said that, I guess I’ve been trying to bury my head in the sand and pretend like everything’s fine.”

  Logan fought the battle to bite his tongue and lost. “The guy’s seriously bad news. How long have you put up with him for? I know you have more experience with the whole celebrity thing than I ever will, but that’s a layperson’s take on him.”

  Candace sighed. “He’s been with me for years, and he used to be a lot better than he is now, that’s for sure,” she muttered. “Things have kind of been going downhill for a while now.”

  “How about we stop talking about work and just have a nice night?” Logan suggested, wishing he’d just kept his mouth shut instead of insulting her people. For once in his life he wasn’t screwing up—usually something he only managed to achieve in his work life—and he needed to just enjoy the company of a beautiful woman.

  “You betcha,” Candace agreed. “Hey, where’s your dog tonight?”

  Logan grimaced. “I left him at home. He was pretty pissed.”

  “You know, for a dog he’s kind of nice.”

  “You’re a cat person, aren’t you?”

  She laughed, like she was embarrassed. “Sure am. I was attacked by a German Shepherd when I was a little girl. In fact, I still have the scars to prove it. I’ve just never really warmed to dogs since. Stupid, I know, but just the way I am.”

  “Understandable.” Personally, he wasn’t fussed on cats, but he wasn’t going to tell her that. “I’ve had dogs all my life, but then I’ve never had one be anything other than loyal to me.”

  “Back home I have a pair of Birman cats called Indie and Lexie, and if I’m completely honest they’ve probably done me more damage with their claws than your dog has probably ever done to you with his teeth.”

  They both laughed. Logan changed the subject for a second, wanting to point out to Candace where they were going.

  “See just over there? That’s Cockle Bay and it’s where I’m taking you for dinner.”

  “I thought we were just going for drinks?” she asked, her nose almost pressed to the window, looking where he’d pointed.

  It was the reason Logan had brought her here, because he knew how amazing the harbor was to visitors. Him? He’d grown up with it and was used to it, but every time he’d returned from a tour it had always put a smile on his face, told him he was home.

  “If you’re not hungry, we can always skip dinner.”

  “Don’t be silly. After all that energy I used on stage, I’m famished,” she admitted. “And dinner sounds great.”

  Logan parked his four-by-four and jumped out, grabbing his jacket and pulling it on. He walked around the vehicle and opened the passenger door, waiting for Candace to step out.

  “Thank you,” she said. “You know, it’s kind of strange for me getting out on this side of the road.”

  Logan waited for her to grab her purse, before shutting the door and leading the way, walking slowly so she didn’t have to hurry beside him.

  “Your shoes are insanely high.”

  “I know, but aren’t they fab? They were a gift from my favorite designer.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “You’re talking to a soldier, sorry. But they do look cool, I guess, for a pair of shoes, that is.”

  Candace laughed. “I definitely need to spend more time with real people. Of course you couldn’t care less about my shoes!”

  He shrugged and pointed ahead. “We’re going to a place called Jimmy’s and they have the best seafood in Sydney. Plus they’re right on the water.”

  Candace started walking even slower, a smile spreading over her face that he couldn’t miss as they passed a couple who didn’t even look at them.

  “You have no idea what it feels like to just walk along the street and not be noticed. I’ve missed this for so long now.”

  Logan looked up, taking comfort in the bright stars twinkling in the dark sky—the same stars he’d looked at every night when he was on tour even though he’d been on the other side of the world. When he was at home in the Outback, they always seemed brighter, but they were still just as pretty to look at in the city.

  “When I was on my first couple of tours, white soldiers were pretty easy to notice. I remember the first time we went through a village, and the women were screaming out to us, begging us to help them. I couldn’t understand what they were saying, but the pleading, desperate looks they were giving us told me that I was their last chance. That that’s how they thought of us.” Logan took a deep breath, wondering why he was even telling Candace all this. He hardly ever spoke about his tours, except with Brett, but for some reason he just needed her to know. “These little children were hanging on to us, grabbing us as we walked through on patrol, and we gave them all the food we had. It wasn’t until the next day that we found out all the men had been killed by local insurgents, and the women were left to fend on their own, terrified that they’d be next, and with no way to provide for their children.”

  Candace had almost stopped walking now, her eyes like saucers, filled with tears as she stared at him. Her hands were clenched into fists at her sides.

  “What happened to them?”

  Logan shook his head. “I don’t know. But I can tell you how awful it was to be recognized, as someone who those people thought could save them, when in reality all I could offer was some dried snacks and a candy bar. And it happened to us over and over again.”

  “So, what you’re saying is that I need to stop caring about being recognized for who I am?” she asked, her voice soft.

  “No, what I’m saying is
that sometimes being recognized for the right reasons is okay. The people who want to see you just want a smile and an autograph, and they’re things you can give them. It’s when you’re powerless that being recognized is something to be scared of.”

  Candace shook her head, a sad look on her face. “I sound like a selfish, self-centered idiot for even saying all that, when you compare it to what you went through. But I guess it’s just that I struggle with the whole fame thing. I’m a singer and I love what I do. It’s just the publicity that I find really difficult.” She sighed. “Unfortunately one doesn’t come without the other in this industry.”

  “No, Candace, that’s not what I meant,” he said as they started to walk again. “I guess I just want you to know that I probably understand some of what you go through on a daily basis, even though our worlds are light-years apart.”

  They walked in silence for a minute, almost at the restaurant. She knew what he meant, but she still felt stupid for moaning aloud about being recognized. She was lucky and she knew it, but lately being surrounded by fans had turned from flattering to downright scary.

  “Have you ever tried Morton Bay bugs?” Logan asked, changing the subject.

  Candace gave him a look like she was trying to figure out if he was joking. “I have no idea what you’re even talking about, but they sound revolting.”

  He laughed. “Definitely not revolting, I promise you. They’re kind of like lobster, but different. Better.”

  “You’re serious, aren’t you?” she groaned as he opened the door. “You’re actually going to make me eat something called a bug as punishment for the sashimi.”

  “It’s a stupid name for what they are, but yeah, you’re definitely going to be eating them.” Logan chuckled as they stood and waited to be greeted. “Grilled with garlic butter, fresh bread on the side and...”

  “Logan?”

  He spun around, taking his eyes off Candace and her cute smile. “Hey, Jimmy.”

  His old friend raised his eyebrows, looking from him to Candace, before his eyes widened. Logan gave him a look that he hoped he understood, not wanting their night ruined before it even started.