Bodyguard Bear (Bear Creek Protectors Book 1)
Page 3
Yeah, say it exactly like that, Kate, she said to herself as she reached the trail that led out of the park. All she had to do was keep walking.
Something darted across the trail in front of her, approximately fifteen feet away. It could have been an animal of some kind. Or it could have been a person staying close to the ground. She couldn’t tell, but she had to make a choice. Keep going or turn back.
Kate looked over her shoulder. Crap. There was someone behind her—the tall figure, walking on the grass by the side of the trail, so their feet didn’t make a sound. Damn it.
Her heart rate increased. The blood pumping through her veins, mixed with adrenaline, left her lightheaded. Kate inhaled deeply, focusing as if she were about to do a difficult scene. She was in control. She would get out of this and make it back to the hotel safely. All she had to do was keep a cool head on her shoulders.
Keeping her head down, she assessed the situation. Whatever she saw run across the path was not the same person who was behind her. No one could have circled around that fast. The two incidents might be unconnected, or they might be in this together and she was about to be ambushed.
With a deep breath, Kate pushed herself forward, legs pumping as she ran for the relative safety of the bright lights in the distance. She gauged it to be a couple of hundred feet away, maybe more. Fixing her eyes on a large neon side proclaiming fresh pizza, she ran.
The sound of feet hitting the dirt path reached her. Whoever was behind her no longer wanted to remain hidden. Which unnerved her more. They were confident they would catch her. And as the footsteps grew louder, she was certain they were right.
Swiveling her head from left to right, she made a decision to shorten her route, even though it meant leaving the trail. Ducking under a tree, she straightened up, the edge of the park was only fifty feet away but the terrain was rougher and she risked tripping on a tree root or twisting her ankle in a rabbit hole. Kate sprinted, arms pumping, her legs straining as she took long strides that ate up the ground. She could see the silhouettes of people walking along the street.
All she had to do was keep on running. She could do it. Until she hit a brick wall.
At least it felt like a brick wall, but as the air whooshed out of her lungs, she heard a gasp, and then a hand covered her mouth. “Don’t say a word.”
He pulled her backward into the undergrowth. Kate struggled, fighting for her life. But he was too strong and the hand over her mouth muffled her voice, so she couldn’t shout for help. She went limp in his arms. Fighting him would only waste her strength. Strength she would need for later.
He backed up against a tree. She could hear his heart beating, the steady thump, thump, a comfort. Which was ridiculous, since he was the enemy.
“Quiet.” His whisper was no more than a breath on the air.
A noise made her jump. The person who had been chasing her ducked under the branches no more than ten feet away and stopped, scanning the area. Then he broke into a run, heading away from them.
Kate let out the breath she’d been holding. He was gone. But her captor still held her close, his impossibly strong arms wrapped around her waist, pinning her to his hard-toned body.
She swallowed her growing panic as she put her hand on his arm and pushed against it. He let out a breath and loosened his grip. He was letting her go. Even if a little reluctantly.
“Thank you,” she whispered, afraid the man disappearing into the distance might hear.
“You’re welcome.” His voice was rough, filled with emotion.
“I think he’s gone.” She pushed against him harder, wanting to be free of his arms, and yet wanting to remain close. He was safe. As unreasonable as that sounded, she was sure of it.
“We should head back that way.” He pointed back toward the pizza sign.
She nodded in agreement, not trusting her voice. Her heart rate hadn’t returned to normal and her legs were weak. Summoning her inner strength, she took a step forward and then another. He followed.
“What’s your name?” Kate asked.
“Red.” His voice was rough.
“What were you doing out here, Red?” Kate asked, a suspicion growing in her mind. One she didn’t much like.
“I came to get away from the city.” He stopped walking and stared into the distance, in the direction her would-be attacker had gone.
“And you happened to be walking by as that guy made his move?” Was she really accusing him of being in league with that other guy?
“Yes. I saw you hide under the trees back there. Then I saw you run.” He glanced sideways at her. “Did you know him?”
She swiveled around to look at Red. “No.” Planting her hands on her hips, she asked, “What did you think, that I wanted him to chase me like an animal?”
He winced, his breathing fast as he stared at her for a long moment. A long moment in which she yearned for more than his eyes to caress her body. “No. Although some women…”
“I’m not one of those women,” she assured him tartly, glad he couldn’t see the color rise in her cheeks. Red was one man she would not mind hunting her down.
What was wrong with her? She’d had a lucky escape and now she was having intimate thoughts about a stranger.
“I’m sorry I suggested it.” Red was a hulking shadow in the darkness but she wasn’t afraid of him. “And I didn’t know him. If that’s what you are thinking.”
“Happy to hear it.” She turned away from him and walked toward the lights. “Of course you would say that. If you wanted me to trust you.”
“It’s understandable that you would be suspicious.”
“Maybe we should agree to trust each other, Red.” Kate looked around as they walked, scared the guy might come back, but confident if he did that Red would protect her. Or at least appear to protect her. She wanted to believe he was for real, but it would be naive to take his words at face value.
“Sometimes it’s what is unsaid that matters more than what is said,” was his cryptic reply.
“You might be right.” They walked on in silence. However, there was no awkwardness between them. They might have been two friends who knew each other so well that the gaps between words spoken were companionable.
When they reached the road and the bright light of the takeout pizza was only a road crossing away, she expected him to leave her. She’d be okay, she knew the way back to the hotel, there were plenty of people around and he’d done enough.
Not that she wanted him to leave her. In fact, she wouldn’t mind if he spent the rest of his life walking by her side. She smiled to herself. Maybe she was a romantic after all. “Thank you, Red. I’m okay now.” Time to walk away and not let herself fall into the trap of thinking this was a real relationship.
“I’ll walk you to your hotel.” He nodded along the street in the direction of her hotel.
“How do you know which hotel is mine?” she asked.
“You have a sticker on your lapel.” He pointed to the bright orange sticker on the lapel of her jacket. A young man collecting for a dog charity had put it there after she made a donation. “The guy was standing outside the Wellsprings Hotel this afternoon.”
“You were at the hotel?” she asked, drilling him for information.
“I had a meeting there. Yes.” He studied her expression and then broke into a smile. The kind of smile that took a woman’s breath away. “I was not stalking you. I genuinely came to town to meet someone to talk about a job.”
Kate ducked her head, feeling bashful as they turned in the direction of the hotel. “What kind of work do you do?”
“Currently, I’m unemployed.” He glanced at her. “See, I’m trying to impress you.”
“So what was the job interview for?” Red appeared more relaxed now that they were among other people, as if the threat level had dropped. However, he was on his guard, looking at people and faces as they walked by. His gaze alternated between studying those close by, but then his eyes shifted to scan
the area around them.
“It wasn’t so much an interview. More of a meeting with an old friend. He’s setting up a bodyguard business. He’s here to drum up business and I came to meet him.”
Kate stopped walking and turned to Red, her arms folded across her chest. “Bodyguards. As in protecting those who are threatened by say…men lurking in the shadows?”
Red arched his eyebrow. “You think I set this all up to get work?”
It really did sound ridiculous. But in her life, she’d seen and heard many ridiculous things. And not just those made up for the camera. “You can see why I’d suspect.”
He nodded. “I can. But I can assure you I have nothing to do with what happened in the park.”
Kate studied his face, she couldn’t see a lie in his eyes. She turned away from him and carried on walking. They were close to the hotel, her best move was to get back there and then say goodbye to Red. Even though saying goodbye to him wasn’t something she wanted to do.
There was something about Red that made her want to stay with him. Forever.
Which was not going to happen. She did not plan on ending up like her mom, left alone with a baby to bring up. “So what’s your next move?”
“My next move?” he questioned.
“Yes. With your job protecting people.” She studied his face, there was a sadness about him, and she wanted to ask him what was wrong, but she also didn’t want to encourage him. Not when she was still worried about his motives.
“I’m going to head back to a town called Bear Creek for a couple of weeks. I have a small apartment there and it’s where the new business is based.” He nodded, seeming pretty set on the idea.
“You don’t have to go to bodyguard training school?” Kate asked.
“Physically, I’m more than capable of looking after myself and whoever I’m protecting. But I expect I need to know how to eat with the right fork and drink from the right glass.” He stared straight ahead as he spoke, but she ducked in front of him and walked backward, studying his face.
“Are you making fun of me?” she asked, catching his half smile, which made her stomach squirm as if a swarm of bees was buzzing around, fighting to get out and reach the honey standing before her.
“I would never do that.” His face grew serious. “If ever you do need protecting…”
“Is this where you give me your card?” So that was what this was all about. Kate hid her disappointment. Red was about to give her his card and some spiel about how he’d protected her from all the big bad monsters out there.
He frowned and shook his head. “I don’t have a card. I just wanted you to know…”
“Kate.” She looked up as Carter Eden came out of the Wellsprings Hotel with Jamie. She should be relieved, this gave her a perfect opportunity to simply walk away from Red. Except that isn’t what happened.
“Hi, Carter. Jamie.” She smiled, and they switched their attention to Red.
“I didn’t know you two knew each other.” Jamie looked from Kate to Red and then back again.
“We just met,” Red answered, while Kate opened and closed her mouth like a goldfish.
“You know Jamie?” Kate asked and then her eyes grew wide. “Of course, that’s why you’re here.” It all made sense now. Although it still didn’t answer the question that was burrowing a hole in her head.
Was this whole thing a setup? Had Jamie put Red up to the incident in the park? Worse, was Jamie the man in the shadows?
Chapter Four – Red
“Jamie is the person I told you about,” Red told his mate, she didn’t believe him.
He could see the suspicion in her eyes. He could feel the longing for her in his every breath.
Red had to play it cool or he would frighten her off, and that could never happen. She was his mate. Back in the park, he’d sensed her, just before she ducked under the trees and started acting strangely. At first, he thought she was a shifter. That she’d sensed him and instead of running into his arms, she’d run away.
An unusual reaction, admittedly, but he’d seen no other explanation for her behavior until he’d sensed the other man. He’d scented the musky smell of a rival male, and immediately went on the defensive. However, he couldn’t act, couldn’t chase his rival off. Not without the risk of ruining his chances with his mate.
For all he knew they might be lovers out in the dark on a moonlight tryst. So he’d waited and watched. It only took a few minutes for him realize this was not some lovers game, but a tall beast stalking his prey.
“What a coincidence,” Kate said, her lips pressed together, and her eyes narrowed as she looked from one man to the other.
“A Bear Creek reunion,” Carter agreed, either not realizing Kate thought they were in league with each other or simply glossing over it. He turned to Red and thrust out his hand. “We haven’t met, but Jamie is full of praise for you.”
Red took Carter’s hand and shook it. “Good to meet you, Carter. I’m a great fan of your work.”
“I like him,” Carter turned to Jamie and grinned.
“You like anyone who likes your movies,” Caroline said as she came out of the hotel and joined them on the steps. “Hi there, Kate. Do you want to come along? We’re heading for food and I would love some female company since Dani is babysitting all the kids.”
Carter laughed. “We should send Red up to join her as his first mission. If he can survive six kids, he can survive anything.”
“My husband is a cruel man,” Caroline joked as took hold of Carter’s arm. Then she glanced back over her shoulder at Red, who was looking at Kate, and her eyes widened. She knew. How the hell did she know?
“You all go ahead. I need to find somewhere to stay,” Red admitted, embarrassed that his secret was no longer a secret. He wasn’t ready to tell Kate, not yet. Not until he had something to offer her. Some way to prove he wasn’t a stalker.
“Why don’t you stay at the hotel here?” Carter asked.
Red glanced up at the ornate building. “I prefer a place a little less fancy.” He also wanted to keep his options open. Finding his mate had derailed all his plans.
“Red is used to bunking down in the dirt with his fellow comrades, not sleeping in a soft bed,” Jamie said and clapped Red on the back. “But you have to get used to normal life sometime.”
“You’re in the Army?” Kate asked, sounding a little less suspicious.
“I was. I left to look after my mom.” He looked down at his feet, taking a moment to breathe out the tightness around his heart at the thought of his mom.
“She’s passed?” Kate asked softly.
He nodded, not daring to look up. Damn it, he was a full-grown man, he should be able to keep his shit together when other people were around.
“Take a room at the hotel and come out for food with us,” Carter suggested. “If you need to, stick it on my tab. Hell, I’ll tell the movie company you are my bodyguard.”
“I have money,” Red replied, refusing to let his pride be hurt by the inference that he couldn’t afford to pay his own way. Even if his mate was standing right there. “Although it’s a little more than I need. Jamie’s right, I’m used to the basics.”
“Well, come for food with us anyway,” Caroline said, letting go of Carter and linking her arm with his. “It’ll do you good to be with other people. Death has a habit of making us want to hide away.”
Jamie placed his hand on his sister’s shoulder and squeezed gently. Caroline looked back at him, a brief flicker of pain swept across her face. “Caroline’s right. You need company.”
Red nodded. It would make it easier for Kate to walk away from him. No awkward moment when neither of them knew what to say. However, she wasn’t about to walk away.
“There’s a great place to eat along Diarmuid Street. They serve the best food. Nothing fancy. But large portions of home-cooked food.” She gave a brief smile. “I try not to go there often. If I do, I won’t fit into my Space Monkeys costume.”
“I want to thank you again,” Kate said when she fell into step with him. Red was certain Caroline had orchestrated the whole thing by asking Jamie to walk on one side of her, with Carter on the other.
“It wasn’t a big deal, anyone faced with the same situation would have done the same.”
Especially when their mate was involved, his bear added.
“Could I ask you a favor?” Kate’s voice was soft and secretive.
“You don’t want me to tell anyone.” Red was good at reading people, their body language and tone of voice often said more than their words. As a soldier, knowing what people were not saying was as important as hearing what they were saying.
“How did you guess?” Kate asked.
“You didn’t tell the others. For most people, it would have been the first thing they said when they met with friends.” He hesitated and then asked, “Can you tell me why?”
She blew the air out of her cheeks. “That is a good question.”
“You don’t have to tell me.”
“No, it’s not that I don’t want to. It’s…complicated.”
“Did you know the man in the park?” An idea had sprung into Red’s mind and he wasn’t sure he liked it. He also wasn’t sure he could stand not knowing the answer.
“No,” Kate objected. “I told you I didn’t know him.”
“I wondered if you were trying to protect someone.”
She gave a short laugh. “If I’m trying to protect anyone, it’s myself.” She sighed. “I owe you an explanation.”
“No, you don’t,” Red insisted.
“Yes. I do.” She looked up ahead and then turned to Red. “It’s my mom. She’s a little overbearing and protective. I know she means well, but if she finds out about this she’ll freak and put me on lockdown.”
“And you want to be free.” He could understand how she felt. “You should tell someone. What if the guy is out there watching you?” He didn’t want to frighten her, but she couldn’t ignore what had happened.