by Em Petrova
Slowly, Sully got to his feet. Their gazes clashed. “Man, I’ve got your back. I got you Penn, didn’t I?”
Lennon said nothing.
“Look, I’m just thinking of every angle. It’s my job.”
Lennon clenched his jaw against any angry comment he might make. He knew Sully was just covering their bases—he was Ranger Ops. They overturned every stone and did enough legwork on their missions to circle the globe before ever making a move.
But he wasn’t going to make Edie out to be some journalist rabid for a story and putting herself into the danger just to experience it firsthand or to write about Ranger Ops.
“She admitted she made a bad decision, that it might have been rash. But she only did it because the man is her father, and she’s never looked him in the eyes.” Lennon focused on his leader, who glanced down.
“All right. I trust you, Lennon. You know that. If you think this is what we need to do, then we’ll back you up.”
“’Preciate it,” he said. “I’m going home and relieve Penn for a bit. The man’s been there for hours.”
“He’s used to it. Besides, it’s probably a picnic after what he just did in Colombia. I’ll be in touch. Let me know if you get more intel from your woman.”
Lennon stopped and turned to Sully. He opened his mouth to say she wasn’t his woman, but he couldn’t say the words. With a shake of his head, he left, his mind cluttered with moments with Edie where she very much felt like his woman.
* * * * *
“Oh my God!” Edie stared at the bits of foil from the candy bar she’d had stashed in her bag from weeks ago, long before she’d added her clothing to it and left with Lennon.
She rushed into the other room to see Ranger lying on his side, eyes closed.
“Oh no. No, no, no! Dogs aren’t supposed to eat chocolate!”
But he had. The evidence was all over the floor next to her bag, and the dog was… Well, she needed to take action and fast.
She dropped to her knees next to the animal and rubbed his head. “Are you okay, buddy? Shit, you’re not.” She fumbled for her phone. She should call Lennon, but what if he was really out saving the world and she interrupted to tell him she’d poisoned his dog?
If she could get Ranger up, maybe she could get him into a cab. First, she had to call a cab.
She latched onto his collar and shook him a little. He didn’t budge, but his breathing was fast. “Come on, Ranger. I’m so sorry, but I’ll help you. Get up.” When it was apparent the dog wasn’t moving, she ran for her phone.
She called the first vet she pulled up in her local directory and asked what to do if a dog ate chocolate. Their answer was exactly what she knew it would be—get the dog emergency treatment right away. Things to look for were seizures, lack of responsiveness and muscle rigidity, along with vomiting and diarrhea.
Shaking, she had to figure out how to get the animal up.
Her mind latched onto the neighbor boy. If Jordan could help her lift Ranger into a cab, she could get him to the vet.
She jabbed the number for the cab service and then ran outside, ignoring Lennon’s rule to arm the security system. She’d be back in seconds with Jordan.
Sprinting across the street, she pounded on the door. A woman came to answer it.
“Is Jordan home? I could use his help.”
She arched a brow.
“I know he mows lawns, and I could use some help lifting something heavy into the car. Is he home?” She tossed a look over her shoulder, as if Ranger would get up and wander out on his own.
The woman hesitated before saying, “I’ll get Jordan.”
Relief had Edie’s hands tingling, and she jiggled a foot as she waited for Jordan to appear. “I need your help!” she cried as soon as he stepped onto the porch.
She ran back to Lennon’s house. Ranger hadn’t moved. Jordan stared down at the dog. “What happened to him?” he asked.
“He got a chocolate bar out of my bag. I feel so terrible!” She fell to her knees next to Ranger and stroked his side. “I have a cab on the way. Can you help me lift him out and into the cab?”
“Yes.”
Only a few minutes later, the cab rolled up. Jordan didn’t need her help, though—he was a big, strapping boy who was able to lift the dog on his own.
After Ranger was on the back seat, Edie threw her arms around Jordan, saying she’d get him some money for compensation, and then got into the cab with Ranger.
The entire way to the vet’s office, she talked to the dog. Several times, she thought of calling Lennon. But she didn’t want to distract him either.
What a terrible dog sitter she was. Her first day alone with Ranger and she’d poisoned him.
Her life was really starting to be a series of bad choices. What was happening? She wasn’t careless or stupid—she had to put on the brakes fast.
When reaching the vet’s office, she had someone come to help her lift Ranger out of the cab. As she explained what had happened, tears started to clog her words. If Lennon lost his dog to her mistake, she’d never forgive herself. And she wouldn’t expect him to forgive her either.
Their relationship would be over.
Was it a relationship? They’d had a few dates, he’d taken her in when he didn’t know where else to turn, and they’d slept together. That couldn’t be construed as a relationship.
But the idea of losing him bothered her—a lot.
She had to at least text Lennon and tell him something was wrong with his pet. As she removed her phone from her pocket, her hands trembled. She steadied them and found their message chain. In as few words as possible, she let him know what happened.
He responded immediately. Which vet?
She replied.
I’m coming.
Those two little words worried the hell out of her. As a word maven, she realized so much meaning could be behind them.
He was fraught with worry. Or angry.
She wouldn’t blame him for the latter.
The veterinary team took Ranger into the back to hydrate him with IV fluids, and Edie was dumped back out into the waiting room with stacks of dog and cat magazines to hold her interest. Pets came and went with their owners, but she stared into space and prayed Ranger was all right.
A pair of legs clad in black cargo pants appeared next to her, and she jerked her gaze up the long length of Lennon. He wore a military green T-shirt stretched across his broad chest. Above that, his hazel eyes burned down into hers. He reached up to rake his fingers through his hair, showing her how it had become so mussed.
She jolted to her feet. “I’m so sorry, Lennon.”
His face blanked and then pain creased it. “He’s…”
“No!” Oh God, he thought she was giving condolences. She grabbed both his hands. “Ranger’s in getting IV fluids. They think they can flush the toxins out. I’m just so sorry that he got into my bag. I never thought about that chocolate bar being left in—”
Lennon wrapped his arms around her, crushing her against his big body. Her breath whooshed out, and she pressed her cheek to his soft shirt, allowing him to comfort her as much as he was comforting himself by holding her.
When he loosened his embrace, she looked up to find an older lady smiling at them. From the outside, she and Lennon were a loving couple worrying over their pet.
“I’m going to talk to them about Ranger.” He brushed her hair off her cheek. “I’m not upset with you, baby.”
She sat back down on the bench with a thud, weak after her adrenaline rush of discovering Ranger and what he’d done, getting Jordan to help and finally the hurdle of facing Lennon.
He stood at the receptionist’s window, giving Edie a damn good look at his rugged beauty from behind. Under different circumstances, she might stride up to him, grab him by the hand and drag him outside to have her way with him.
Her thoughts shocked her.
A few minutes later, Lennon walked back over to where Edie sat. She scoo
ted down the bench to make room for him, and he sank beside her. “They’ll let us see Ranger in a bit when he’s more stable. It seems like you found him in time and got him the help he needed.” Lennon placed a hand over hers.
She pressed her lips together and battled emotion. “I let you down and—”
“No, it was a mistake. It isn’t like you fed him the chocolate. He’s just a scavenger. He could have eaten anything in your bag—a sock, some lipstick.”
“If you want me to go and you find another dog sitter, I totally—”
He cut her off again. “No. You’re great, and we’re going to be okay, Edie.”
She stared at his hand over hers, rolling his words around in her mind. Who was the ‘we’ that he referred to? He and Ranger? The way Lennon said it… she felt like she was included. Like all three of them were in it together.
* * * * *
Of all the times to get called out, Lennon could think of a few better ones.
He brought his night vision scope up and peered through it. One look at the lay of the land had him flashing back to when Linc was taken prisoner. It looked so fucking much like it that Lennon’s palms started sweating.
Recalling how he’d gone fucking crazy searching for his twin and finally realized the worst had happened.
As if feeling the same, Linc clamped a hand onto Lennon’s shoulder. Lennon raised a finger and twitched it to the left, where he believed the threat would come from. The right was more difficult with thick brush to navigate. And the cargo being brought through from truck to the farmhouse wasn’t going to walk it easily.
Around midnight, they’d gotten the call that a group of women had been nabbed outside of Galveston, believed to be trafficked into slavery in other parts of Texas. For a while, the Ranger Ops team had been given conflicting intel on where the truck would stop, but in the end, Jess and Lennon had put their heads together and pointed at a map, and they’d been right.
It was clear this particular location had been used more than once—there were depressions of footsteps in the mud that had been made by several people, and they were all small shoe sizes.
“We’ve got engine noise.” The declaration filled Lennon’s comms unit, and he shot Linc a look. Get ready.
Linc gave a nod as if understanding his telepathy. The engine rumble came from far off, down one of the farm to market roads that reminded Lennon so much of home. Which led him to thoughts of Edie and the wedding reception, of wanting her so bad but trying to hold back and failing.
Now she was at home sound asleep and would wake to find the note he’d left for her and the prospect of getting Ranger home from the animal hospital by herself come morning. The dog had made a full recovery and would be released soon, Lennon had been informed the previous evening.
When he’d told Edie the good news, she’d dropped her gaze to her hands, guilt written all over her face. Lennon had a feeling that guilt was more than the mishap with Ranger—she felt like a burden to Lennon, and the only way to put a stop to that was to clear up the mess with the senator. Once Arthur was no longer in danger, Edie wouldn’t be, and that meant Lennon could show her how things could really be between them.
He’d wanted her from the first time he laid eyes on her—he wasn’t going to let her walk away without exploring what they could be without a dark storm cloud hanging over their heads.
His mind was shut off and only tactical maneuvers flooded in as the truck arrived on scene. He and Linc crouched and ran into position, as the rest of the team circled the truck with Shaw in a higher position with his sniper rifle in case the assholes put up a fight.
And they would—they always did.
The truck doors opened, and Lennon felt Linc stiffen at his side. Months ago, his twin had been tossed into the back of a manure truck and taken someplace where he endured torture. Linc had to be thinking about it as he looked at a similar vehicle, but he held completely still, his breathing not even audible.
Lennon gave his brother a nod. I got your back.
I know.
Lennon had very few people in this world to call family—Linc, his momma and his team. But after adopting Ranger, he’d come to understand why people called their pets family.
Then Edie had come into his life, dancing on the fringes of it until recently. But she was still holding herself far from him. Even after making love to her, he sensed her restraint. He couldn’t help but feel there were other secrets she was keeping or even that daddy issues might be at play—feelings of unworthiness that made getting close to her impossible.
All this trickled through Lennon’s mind a split second before Sully gave the signal. Lennon and his team were on their feet, weapons aimed at the driver and passenger of the truck. They shouted for the guys to freeze and drop their weapons, but one fired a shot.
Through his scope, Lennon saw the shooter.
It was a woman.
“What the fuck is going on?” Linc shouted from next to him.
“I see it too. Selling your own gender. Jesus.”
A shot rang out, and he realized Shaw had taken it.
There was no time for more thoughts about his personal life. Lennon and Linc moved in. While the team subdued the drivers, Linc reached for the back door of the truck.
“Cover me.”
“I got you,” Lennon responded, weapon raised.
Linc flipped the lock holding the sliding door down and then shoved it upward fast. Linc shined his light inside, and the frightened faces of seven women stared back.
“On your feet if you’re able and hands in the air,” Lennon commanded.
“Jesus, man, look at them. They’re already scared out of their minds.” Linc lowered his weapon.
“One could be posing and holding a weapon. On your feet and hands in the air!” he called out.
One by one, they each got to their feet and placed their hands up. Linc jumped into the truck and frisked them all before handing them out to Lennon to assist to the ground.
While Shaw and Cav handled the dead driver, Jess and Sully moved the female sidekick up against the wall of the farmhouse and began interrogating her. Lennon and Linc got out heat wrap blankets for the women and distributed bottles of water to them.
Lennon looked down at one of the blondes huddled on the ground, his mind on another blonde. She met his gaze.
Lennon crouched before her. “What’s your name?” he asked softly.
“Rachel.”
“We’re going to take care of you, Rachel, and make sure you get home safely.”
She nodded and huddled into the foil blanket.
The rest of the night dragged on while the Ranger Ops waited for other authorities to come retrieve the dead man, the woman in custody and take care of the seven kidnapped women.
Seeing their state of terror, Lennon had never felt such a drive to protect Edie. The rebel group after the senator was capable of anything, and no way would Lennon let something like this happen to her.
* * * * *
As soon as Edie helped Ranger out of the cab, Jordan jogged across the street to greet them. He smiled at the dog, who thumped his tail.
“I’m glad to see he’s okay,” Jordan said.
“Me too. Such a relief.” She smiled at the young man and then glanced at the grass. “Looks as if the grass could use cutting. Will you be able to get to it soon?”
“Today,” he said.
“Good. Just come to the door when you’re done so I can pay you.”
He thanked her and jogged back across the street. She smiled to herself and then tugged gently on Ranger’s leash. “C’mon, boy. Let’s go home.”
He wagged his tail and trotted up to the door. She punched in the alarm code and led the dog inside. As soon as he entered, she detached his leash, and Ranger ran around the house, making sure his toys were all still in the corner and his water and food bowls were in the kitchen.
Satisfied, he curled up on the rug for a snooze. She stood there watching him for a
minute. With Lennon gone, she couldn’t keep her mind from swaying to what he could be doing… the dangers he could be facing.
It was odd for her, worrying about someone this way. Her mother was independent and traveled often, leaving Edie with a sitter as a child. And that meant Edie had learned to rely on herself, which made it difficult for her to ask Lennon for assistance.
Of course, she hadn’t asked—he’d demanded she let him do what he could for her. But after only a few days of being here, she felt antsy.
A glance at the corner of the living room where the computer was set up made her itch to get back to work.
If he hadn’t thrown her out for almost killing his dog, he surely wouldn’t mind her using his system.
She switched on the computer, and as it booted up, she watched Ranger again. His chest rose and fell with deep, even breathing. Suddenly, she understood why mothers watched their children while they slept. She’d only been in Ranger’s life a few days, but she enjoyed his presence, his happy, tongue-lolling smiles and even how he dripped on the floor after he lapped up water from his bowl.
When she left, she’d miss him.
Leaving couldn’t happen until the threat against the senator eased, and since coming here, she was too far out of the loop. She only knew the things the news reported and she read on her phone. As she waited for the computer to come to life, she scanned her emails on her phone and found one from Hallie.
When can you come to the country? I have some information.
Her heart gave a hard jerk, and she hit reply. Not for a while. What can you tell me over email or text?
After she hit send, she heard the lawn mower start up outside the front windows. Jordan was on his way to earning some money toward his school lunch bill.
While she waited for Hallie’s return email or a text, she opened a word document and began typing up the exposé about Jordan and the school system that had practically typed itself out in her mind since the moment she’d first spoken to him.
After reading it through twice, she chewed on her lip. Ranger had flipped onto his back, his paws in the air. She smiled to see he was back to his old self and then stared at the article she’d written.
