The windows were tinted so Clint could see out, but whoever was outside, couldn’t see in. There were two cars, one blocking them from the front, another had pulled in behind. They wore military fatigues, but not American. A chopper overhead acted as their eyes in the sky.

“Rhetta?” He shook her. He thought he’d protected her from hitting her head, but she’d screamed and then hadn’t moved since. “Rhetta?” He lifted her off the floor. She wasn’t bleeding and as soon as he held her, she fought him, screaming in Russian.

“Rhetta, it’s me!” He wrapped her tightly, close to his chest with her arms crossed in front of her, to subdue her but not hurt her.

Someone knocked on the window and she screamed again. His driver got out and held up his hands, slowly making his way back, then opened the door. “I’m sorry, sir. They threatened me…”

He nodded to Patton and left Rhetta in the car as he climbed from the back, hands up. “What’s this all about?” If he could manage to just protect Rhetta, he might be able to get them out of this.

A younger man came forward. “Mr. Sage, I think I will ask the questions, if you don’t mind.”

He did mind, especially since the man knew his name, but he had no clue who he was. The only indication was the man had the same Russian accent as Rhetta, and that worried him. If this was her brother, why would the brute that burned her chase her all the way to the U.S.? How would he even get into the country? “Fine, ask.”

“How is it that you know my sister well enough to wed her? I’m disappointed that I didn’t get an invitation.”

Rhetta climbed from the back seat and he held back a curse. He’d wanted her to stay securely in the car. He’d had it armor plated, for his own safety. Expensive as hell to drive, but safer.

“Stephan, go home. I’m not your concern anymore.”

“Кохана.”

She flew into a rage, stomping toward him. “You pig. Don’t you dare ever call me that.”

The man in green fatigues and black bulletproof vest strode forward and raised his arm to backhand her.

Clint’s training kicked in even without thinking and he yanked her behind his body. “Care to try that now?”

Stephan’s arm slid to his side, but he didn’t back down. “My sister is here illegally. I’m here to take her home, where she belongs. Courtesy of our government.”

He couldn’t glance over his shoulder to see Rhetta, but he could feel her presence behind him, gripping his jacket tightly.

“She isn’t here illegally, she’s on a travel visa and headed to her wedding right now, where she’ll begin the process of becoming a citizen. You can’t take her.”

“Rhetta?” She slid her hands under his coat and took hold of his shirt behind him. “Is he the one that did that to you?” She didn’t say a word, she didn’t have to. He felt her hands shake. “Get back in the car.”

“Clint… No. You can’t win. He killed our parents.” She clung tighter to his back.

“Get in the car.” He wasn’t used to having to give an order twice. She slipped from him and slid back behind the open door, Patton closing it behind her as he stood guard.

“There. Now, what is this really about?” He wasn’t armed and bravado would have to do. “You don’t give a damn about your sister, but there’s a reason you’re here and I will find out what it is. I have more connections than you can imagine and if anything happens to me, the government will find you and spread your pieces throughout the world so small no one will ever find you.”

He laughed. “You think I care? You’ll be dead. That’s what matters.”

“Why are you here? You won’t be taking Rhetta anywhere.”

“I’ll take Marharyta anywhere I please. She is a sister, and collateral. She’s already promised to a colleague.”

The thought of any other man laying eyes on her sent bile up the back of Clint’s throat, especially when he thought about what she’d endured already. It would never happen. He needed to think quickly, how to get them out of this and moving again.

“You’re too late. We couldn’t wait. This ceremony is only for show. We were so happy that Rhetta and I were married last night.” There was no way her brother could check on that information. It wouldn’t even be registered yet, but it might be enough to enrage the man into a mistake.

Stephan came at him and Clint caught his shoulders, twisting to deflect him.

“You dirty bastard, you had no right to my sister. You’ll pay for this!”

The helicopter swung low over them and the other men took off running back to their vehicles. A jet from the Warren Air Force Base flew low over them, leaving a trail in its wake and a thunderous noise.

“Best get a move on. I doubt our government will be happy to know you’re here…harassing citizens.”

He backed up, fury coiling in his tight face. “This isn’t over.” He climbed into the front car and they sped away, leaving Clint on the empty road.

Now, what to do about Rhetta. Not that there was really a question. He couldn’t blame her for being frightened enough to lie. The hand of fate had brought her to possibly the one man perfectly suited to deal with her problem. It would just take a little work. At least he was used to that. He made his way back to the car, sweaty from the exertion and the Wyoming heat. Rhetta shoved the door open and rushed out at him, flinging herself into his arms.

“What did you say? I couldn’t hear a thing in there.” She searched his face, her deep brown eyes glistening in the sun.

“I wish I could say it was me, but it was luck. One of the jets from the Air Force base flew by. I don’t know how your brother managed to get into the U.S. and I don’t know how he got hold of the military equipment, but I do know of a way to stop him.”

“Really? It’s that easy? He was the whole reason I left my home. It was so horrible and you can just take care of it, make him go away? Like that?” She snapped her fingers and her arms dropped to her sides as she turned away, exasperated.

Something was wrong. While he hadn’t expected her to shower him with affection, this wasn’t what he’d anticipated, either. “What? What did I do? Aren’t you happy you won’t have to worry about him anymore?”

Her shoulders slanted down, accentuated by the white dress that framed them. “Don’t you see? I thought I’d taken care of it. I’ve done everything I knew to do, including sign my body over to a stranger, to get away from him. Yet, you can do it without thought. Not even a problem. My whole life was worthless in comparison to your power.” She slowly walked back to the car and climbed in.

His gut was hollow, achy. She didn’t need or want him anymore and his plan to take home a bride was slipping through his fingers. He should be used to it. Financial plans were one thing he’d always managed to answer the right way, find out the exact information, hedge the right bet. Love was the opposite. Women didn’t follow trends the way the market did. The one thing that had made their union possible was also the one thing that made her feel like she’d suffered for nothing.

He climbed into the car and chose the seat across from her again to give her space. Patton came around and closed the door. The A/C was chilling after being out in the sun and he took a moment to stare at her as he let himself relax. Rhetta was silent and he didn’t want to draw her out. Didn’t want to hear the words from her pretty mouth. It was hard to believe, but he’d been satisfied with the choice the agency had made, much as it bothered him to admit it. He wanted to marry her.

Clint picked up his phone from his seat and dialed one of his old Navy buddies, a guy who had connections in every branch.

“Neil. Glad I was able to reach you. My car just got buzzed by a helicopter in restricted airspace. He and his group are hostile.”

“Where are you?”

“I’ll email you.”

The phone clicked. Neil was a busy man and phones were never secure. Clint used his cell to get his location and sent it to Neil along with all the other information he had, knowing Rhetta’s brother wouldn’t cause any more trouble. He would be back where he belonged within forty-eight hours. Clint slid the phone into his jacket pocket and let his gaze fall on Rhetta. She drew him. She was hotter than the desert and needed him. Those two things alone could be the start to one hell of a marriage. At least it wouldn’t be boring.

“Do I need to have my driver turn around?” He hated asking, wanted to just leave her be and take her to their wedding, follow through with it, and hope she would eventually be happy. But, he wasn’t that lucky in love. She’d hate him before the month was up.

“Why would you do that? I still owe you a debt of gratitude,” her breathy mumbled words drove a spike into him. He couldn’t expect a declaration of love, but…gratitude?

“I may have paid for a bride service…but I didn’t, and won’t, pay someone to marry me. I have a little more pride than that.” And it had been wounded. “I understand why you lied. I get it. But was this whole arrangement based on hiding from your brother? You didn’t want to be here, at all?”

“My only objective was to stay out of his reach. He threatened to kill me. Since he’d already killed our parents, it wasn’t something I could ignore.” Her eyes were pleading with him, but he couldn’t understand why. What could she be asking of him, other than to let her go?

“Fine.”

He pressed the button to talk to Patton. “Turn the car around at the next available place. We’re headed back to Cheyenne.” He clenched his fist and stared out the window. It wasn’t that he couldn’t afford to go through the agency process again. He didn’t want to. They couldn’t do better than Rhetta.

She sat silently across from him, crying.