A SEAL Always Wins

by Holly Castillo

  Phantom hated being the center of attention. That was one of the reasons he preferred to stay in the shadows, stay hidden. He didn’t exist to the world, and that was how he liked it. Now, however, several pairs of eyes were watching him with interest.

  He watched Elena as he waded through polite introductions. When she had finished the paperwork, he made a generic excuse and left the office with her. “Thanks for throwing me to the wolves,” he said, looking down at her as they walked toward the arena.

  She looked up at him, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. “I thought a man who goes by ‘Phantom’ must enjoy a lot of attention.”

  “Anyone ever warned you that you’re too smart for your own good?”

  She tilted her head to the side as if she had to think about it. “No, I think that’s a first. I’ve been told I’m obnoxious, stubborn, difficult… Smart isn’t anything I’ve been accused of before.”

  A chuckle rumbled in his chest. He had never imagined his time with her could be so enjoyable and entertaining. He wanted to put his arm around her, but at the last minute he remembered the flinch. He crammed his hands into his pockets as they walked along the side of the arena.

  They came upon the stalls and he stopped walking, staring down the aisle where a handful of exhibitors were preparing their horses for the showmanship class. “What are they doing?” he asked, staring at a couple of women as they wiped baby oil over the horses’ noses and into their ears. Another woman toward the end of the aisle was carefully applying black polish to her bay mare’s hooves.

  Elena looked up at him with one eyebrow cocked. “You mean you didn’t do this with your racehorses?”

  “I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. Seriously, what are they doing?”

  Elena placed a hand at his elbow and turned him toward the aisle. He took the touch as a promising sign and wondered if her reaction the other night had been from surprise. In his mind’s eye, he recalled the flash of fear across her face and knew it had been more than just surprise.

  They headed down between the stalls as she began to talk. “A few days before you go to show, you want to prep the horse by shaving the hair from its ears, muzzle, eyebrows, and fetlocks. You want to present as polished an appearance as possible. I’ve done some of the prep work on Jonas’s horse already, but you’ll get to see the final touches right before our competition.”

  “We shaved our horses, though not quite to this extent,” he said as he looked at the horse being groomed meticulously.

  “Prior to going into the show ring, you’ll want to highlight their features with a light coating of baby oil. If any of your horses have white markings on their feet, which two of yours do, you’ll usually trim the hair down on those areas, then touch them up with baby powder on the day of the show. Hoof polish is one of the final touches you’ll give to the horse before entering the show ring.”

  “I think that halter has more silver on it than all of my watches combined…and that’s saying something.”

  Elena chewed on her lower lip, and he could tell she was trying not to laugh. “You have been in the tack room, haven’t you? Did you see the halters and saddles?”

  “I didn’t do a thorough inspection. I’ve just been using the general work saddles for daily exercise.”

  “Hmm.” She didn’t seem that impressed with his answer. Hell, he wasn’t impressed. If he had really wanted to show her that he wanted to take on the quarter-horse industry, he had done a piss-poor job of it so far. Then again, he had been busy taking down a cartel and rescuing Anya from its bloodthirsty leader. He had good excuses. He just couldn’t tell her any of them.

  “Why don’t we go to the stands? I’d like to see how this showmanship class works.”

  Elena gave him another of her stunning smiles and nodded. She didn’t seem afraid of him today. Maybe the public setting eased any anxiety she had. Or maybe she had never really been afraid and had been comfortable with him already. He wanted to believe the latter, but felt certain something had frightened her the other night and wanted to know what he had done to trigger her reaction.

  Sitting in the first row of the stands, Phantom watched the showmanship class with wonder. The exhibitors went through several different stages—walking toward the judge, jogging past, backing the horse up, and setting it up to stand with its feet aligned. The horses’ coats shone. Their manes were all trimmed short and sectioned into thin strips held by tiny rubber bands. Their tails were combed to look as smooth and soft as Elena’s hair, though straight as a pin and draping to within a few inches off the ground. Their hooves were polished, their features shining under the smooth wiping of baby oil. He had never expected it to be so incredible—or so complicated.

  The entire time he had tons of questions, and Elena answered every one with enthusiasm. Frequently, her smile distracted him from the arena and he had to remind himself to focus on the activities of the show. Ultimately, he had an objective to connect and network, and the first step in the process involved getting Elena back as his trainer. He had to show her he could be counted on as a consistent client.

  “And you do all of this?” He pulled his eyes off the competition and looked at Elena with admiration.

  She gave him a half smile. “I used to.”

  “What do you mean?” Phantom schooled his features as he always did, expressing nothing, though inside he felt his frustration mount. “You mean that you only competed in this class with my horses?”

  “Yours were the only ones talented enough. And they are incredibly good, Phantom. If you could only see them—”

  Phantom raised his hand and she stopped talking, her gaze fixed on his face. “I believe you,” he said.

  They were silent through the remainder of the class, and he watched with rapt attention the subtle difference in movement that he knew would be enough to separate a winner from a loser. He had already picked who the winner should be and wasn’t surprised when the exhibitor walked out of the arena with the blue ribbon.

  For the remainder of the day, Elena served as his personal guide, explaining the intricacies of each class to him and making introductions to people she had worked with for years. With every passing moment, he wanted more time with her, though without as many people around.

  The day passed quickly, and she had to get ready for her first competition. He helped her saddle her client’s horse and noticed that the saddle she used was just as ornate as the ones used by the other competitors. The horse had also been groomed to perfection. The biggest difference was that the mane wasn’t trimmed. Instead it was long and flowing.

  She guided him with helping her apply the final touches to the horse before she vanished into the women’s room to change into her show attire. He swallowed hard when she walked out. Her dark-brown slacks clung to her figure. With them, she wore a navy-blue jacket decorated with sequins, the shade of blue making the color of her eyes pop even more than before. Her long, curly black hair had been pulled back into a low bun at the nape of her neck, and her dark-brown cowboy hat was set low on her forehead. She looked absolutely stunning, but to top it off, she smiled at him, and his heart skipped a beat.

  He couldn’t fight the temptation and leaned down to her when she reached for the reins that he held. His lips brushed across her ear, his cheek lightly touching hers. “Good luck out there,” he whispered.

  An audible gasp escaped her lips, and she slowly pulled back. Awareness of his body so close to hers, then pleasure flashed in her eyes, and he got the sense she wanted to feel more of his touch. Quickly, though, confusion and a touch of apprehension crept into her eyes. The horse began to prance nervously, picking up on her emotions.

  “Elena…” he began hesitantly, unsure exactly what he wanted to say to her. She had liked the feel of his skin against hers—that had been obvious. What had happened in her past to make her nervous with him?

  “T
hank you,” she said, nodding to him curtly. She mounted the horse, not looking his way.

  Phantom watched her ride into the arena, then took his seat in the stands. He observed, enthralled, as she carried out an intricate pattern that had her taking the horse through figure eights where it would switch its lead leg in midlope. Referred to as a flying lead change, the maneuver took a lot of training and skill to execute, but he could hardly even notice the transition.

  When she raced her horse down the length of the arena and set back in the saddle, the horse slid nearly twenty feet, leaving him breathless with awe. She took it into a spin, where he finally understood the need for the long mane. It fanned out, creating an image he knew he would never forget.

  He wasn’t surprised when she came in first, though he stayed in the stands, waiting for her to go back in and compete in the cutting competition. She clearly had the advantage over her competitors. They worked to make their motions seem effortless, but hers were smooth as she guided her horse and selected a calf to cut from the herd. Again, she won first.

  He carried the tack out to the trailer as Elena changed out of her show attire. He noticed the large trailer Dolores had mentioned to him and smiled. It had been a day full of experiences, and all had been good.

  “You’d be surprised at the money. Easiest cash I’ve ever earned.”

  Phantom hesitated as the stranger’s voice drifted to him from the front of the sizable rig. He shook his head at himself. It had to be the driver of the trailer bragging to another driver about his job.

  “Aren’t you worried about the law?”

  Phantom froze and stood behind the rig, listening intently. The other driver’s response set off massive warning bells. He edged toward the corner of the trailer, attempting to see around it and catch a good glimpse of the two men talking.

  “They’ve got it all worked out. The system is foolproof. The last batch I took all the way to Austin without a single hiccup.” The first driver spoke again.

  “You don’t feel a little—I don’t know the right word—crappy, maybe, for taking them?”

  “Shit, man, someone’s going to, one way or another. I might as well be the one cashing in from it.” The first driver paused and lowered his voice, and Phantom strained to hear what he said next. “There’s plenty of work to go around, I’ll tell you that. They take several trailer loads at a time. I can put in a word for you, if you’re interested.”

  “I don’t know if I can stomach getting involved in hauling humans for sale.”

  Phantom nearly dropped the saddle. What the hell?

  “Get over yourself,” the first driver said. “So what if they’re for sale? Most of the time it’s because no one else wants them. More than likely they’d be dead in a ditch if it wasn’t for the buyers. If you ask me, we’re helping them out.”

  “I never thought of it that way,” the second driver said. “Keep me in mind the next time an opportunity comes up.”

  Phantom began to whistle softly as if he came from a distance and gradually increased the volume as he walked past the large rig. He looked to the side, but the men had disappeared. He walked quickly to Elena’s trailer and fished out his cell phone.

  “Stryker, we’ve got an issue.” He spoke softly, watching everything happening around him as he loaded the saddle into the tack compartment.

  “Things not going well at the show?” Stryker asked.

  “We need to set up a call with Haslett tonight.”

  “Can you share anything more than that?” Stryker asked, his voice intense.

  “Not here, not now.”

  “Got it. I’ll make the arrangements and text you the time. Are you and Elena safe?”

  “Yes. I’ll fill you in when I get back to the ranch tonight.”

  They signed off their call as Elena came walking out, leading the horse alongside. Phantom pocketed the cell phone and watched her, forcing a smile to his face. His mind whirled with the conversation he had just overheard. He needed to force it from his mind for a little while and concentrate on convincing Elena he wanted to be her client again and they would work well together.

  “I’ll drive us home,” Phantom offered, opening his hand for her to toss him the keys. She shrugged and did. He had just received a text from Stryker that the call had been scheduled later at night than he had expected. In a moment when he felt like things were out of his control, Phantom needed the feel of the steering wheel in his hands.

  “What did you think of the show?” Elena asked as he guided them onto the highway.

  “It was eye-opening, that’s for sure. You certainly convinced me. Now, did I convince you?”

  She pivoted in her seat so that she faced him. He glanced over at her and saw her bright smile. “You followed through with your promise, or at least you seemed to. Were there any questions you never got around to asking me?”

  He returned the smile. “Yes. Would you like to go to dinner with me?”

  Elena looked as if she had nearly swallowed her tongue. “Excuse me?”

  “I’d like to take you to dinner. To celebrate your wins today.”

  He looked back at the road, but from the corner of his eye he noticed she started twisting her hands into knots. She must have seen him watching and clenched her fists in her lap instead. “I-I don’t know.”

  “Are you hungry?” Her stomach answered for her by growling loudly. He gave her a half smile. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

  “Yes, but the horse…”

  “Will be safe in the trailer. I’ll park close enough to the restaurant that we can keep an eye on it. Don’t worry. Can you hold out until Falfurrias? Or are you going to start chewing your arm off?”

  “You were the one that suggested dinner, remember? I can go for a long time without any food.”

  Phantom shook his head. “Not acceptable. With all the work you do, you need your strength.”

  She hesitated, then gave him a lopsided grin. “A chicken-fried steak does seem like a good idea.”

  He couldn’t resist grinning back. “I know just the place.”

  A little over thirty minutes later, they were pulling into a small restaurant in Falfurrias. There were only a few other diners in the restaurant, which allowed them to be seated at a table near a set of large windows that looked out directly at the trailer.

  “See? And you doubted me.”

  Elena gawked at him. “I did not doubt you! I merely questioned your sanity,” she finished with a smirk.

  A silky lock of hair had worked loose from her bun and fallen over her forehead, and Phantom wanted nothing more than to touch it. But he didn’t want to ruin the moment and have her look at him with fear again. He needed to know why she had, so he could reassure her that she never had to be afraid of him.

  They ordered their food, munching on the chips and salsa that had been brought to the table when they sat down. They debated for a moment whether the salsa could really be called hot enough by south Texas standards, before Elena gave him another of those smiles that made his heart pound. “Are you going to tell me what you really thought about the competition?”

  “I’ve never seen anything like it. I had planned to go to a few shows to get my feet wet, but I would have been totally lost without your explanations. It wouldn’t have been a good reflection on the ranch.”

  Elena shrugged. “Everyone would have thought you were a greenhorn.”

  “And everyone would have asked where you were.”

  A blush tinged her cheeks. The waitress delivered their food, and Elena’s eyes rolled back in her head as she chewed her first bite. “This is heaven. Thank you for stopping for me.”

  “I was hungry too,” he said after swallowing. “But I had another reason for wanting to have dinner with you.”

  She looked up from her plate quickly, and suspicion entered her eyes. “W
hat?” She watched him with a combination of curiosity and wariness.

  “I want to get to know you better. If we’re going to work together, we should be comfortable with each other, don’t you think?”

  “Oh.” She chuckled, looking back at her plate. “Well, other than what we talked about this morning, there isn’t much more to me. I went to A&M to study, and that’s where I had the chance to compete with my friend’s horse. Daniel saw me and recruited me on the spot. I’ve been in Hebbronville ever since. I tend to five other ranches… Well, I’ve taken on a couple more now that you’ve decided you no longer need me.”

  “There’s one question that’s been gnawing at me for a while that you haven’t answered.”

  “Oh?” She raised an eyebrow. “And what is that?”

  “Who hurt you, Elena?”

  Chapter 5

  She swallowed hard and dropped her eyes to her half-eaten meal. “What do you mean?”

  “You think I haven’t noticed? You flinched from my touch the other night. Today when I touched you, I saw the unease in your eyes. Something happened to you.”

  “Have you ever thought it might be because you’re as big as an ox and anybody in their right mind should be wary of you?” She pushed her plate away, and Phantom frowned.

  “Is that what it is? You promised you were going to answer my questions honestly today. I’ve held up my end of the bargain. Now it’s your turn.”

  “Phantom, I never asked you to do anything other than—”

  “Don’t, Elena. I know what we both promised. Tell me the truth. Why are you afraid of me?”

  She was silent for several long moments, staring out the window at the dusk-colored world outside. She couldn’t tell him what haunted her. She couldn’t reveal the terrible experience. Only those closest to her knew about it, and Daniel. He had been the one to find her after…after… Damn him! Damn him for making me think about it! Keeping it buried keeps me sane.