Eagle Rock, Montana

 

Raptor had been worried he wouldn’t be able to find Hank Patterson when he landed. He should have known better. For one thing, the Billings Logan International Airport was small, quaint even. Second, as soon as he deplaned and made it into the airport there was no way he’d miss the large man leaning against the wall with impatience written all over his face.

“Raptor,” Hank said as he approached him.

“Hank Patterson?”

“Glad you could make it. I appreciate the help. It was great that Chase could send you right away.”

“Yeah, well he said it was urgent.”

“It is. Do you have more luggage?”

“Nope, this is it. I haven’t been out long enough to even think about traveling with more than my go-bag.”

“I hear ya. Don’t be surprised if that never changes.” Raptor figured it wouldn’t. There were lots of things he couldn’t imagine changing after ten years on the Teams. It was too ingrained in him to be anything else.

“Do I need to rent a vehicle?”

“Nope. Your cover is that you’re a distant cousin just out of the military. Rori needs help in the bakery, so you’re going to give her a hand. If you need to drive anywhere, you can use the bakery’s delivery van.”

“Did you say bakery? Are you kidding me? I don’t know jack about anything in the kitchen, except that it has fire.”

“Rori knows that, and she’ll take it easy on you. She’s one of the sweetest women I know and been dealt a bad hand.”

“Why does she need a bodyguard?”

“Someone’s been targeting her for the last three or four months. She wasn’t sure. Hell, she didn’t tell any of us until someone through a brick through her plate glass window and almost killed my wife and daughter.”

“But they’re okay?” Innocents being injured twisted Raptor’s guts into knots. One more thing that had gotten worse since that night in Paris. Once again, he caught himself wondering about the blue-eyed woman. Maybe she hadn’t survived, and that was the reason he couldn’t locate her.

“They’re fine. Rori took the brunt of it, but not too bad. A few cuts mostly on her arms. They were all lucky.”

“Sounds like it. Any clue who’s targeting her or why?”

“That’s the problem. It doesn’t make sense that anyone would. The town is small, and as far as we can tell she doesn’t have any enemies.”

“Wouldn’t closing for a while be a better idea than taking chances?”

“You’d have riots on your hands. Wait till you taste one of her macarons. Holy crap. I swear every time Sadie comes back from town with one of those pink and black boxes I’m in trouble.”

“It’s just a bakery. Seriously?”

“Just wait.” Hank laughed, then quieted as he navigated the twists and turns through the Crazy Mountains.

Hank’s words worried Raptor as he gazed at the scenery flashing past the truck window. No doubt it was beautiful there, and he couldn’t have asked to be further from the hell hole of his last mission, or even the humid heat of Willow Haven. How the hell would he figure out who was trying to hurt this woman? He pictured some sixty-year old Betty Crocker type. That would teach him to bitch about guarding rich assholes.

“Chase said you were injured. I guess it won’t affect your ability to do the job?”

“Not at all. I could have stayed in, just not doing what I was before.”

“And that was?”

“I can’t tell you. I’d have to kill you.”

“Ah, it’s like that, huh?”

“Yeah. Broke my leg in three places and they had to do two surgeries to get the debris out of my thigh, it didn’t heal well enough to requalify. Didn’t want to be a desk jockey or an instructor, so I took the medical discharge.”

“I hear you. That’s pretty much why I started the Brotherhood Protectors. I needed to find something to make me feel like I had a purpose.”

He understood what Hank meant all too well. It was like the person he was when he was part of Delta Force didn’t exist anymore; he wasn’t good enough for anything. “I think that’s why Chase started ESP, too.”

“Anyway, what else can you tell me about the bakery lady?”

Hank laughed. “You’ll get to meet her soon enough. Sadie thought it would be easier on everyone if Aurora came over for dinner so we could work out all of the details.”

“Great.” Not. Aurora even sounded like an old lady. She probably pissed off some teenagers in town. But a job was a job. “And I get to meet the famous movie star too.”

“Yeah well, at our house she’s just Sadie, wife and mom. She’ll put you in your place quick enough if you try to put her on a pedestal.”

“Gotcha. No putting the movie star on a pedestal. Any other rules I should know?”

Hank shrugged. “Only the one about not hurting Aurora and making sure she’s protected. But you knew that already. When we get to the ranch, you can pick your gear.”

“Chase told me, I appreciate it.”

“It’s insane trying to get weapons through security, it’s just easier this way. I’m sure I’ve got something you’ll be comfortable with.”

“How much longer until we get to your ranch?”

“About another twenty minutes. It’s outside of town, but we’ll drive by the bakery so you can see where you’ll be.”

Ten minutes later, they were driving down Main Street in Eagle Rock, and Hank pulled up to the curb in front of Prince’s Patisserie. It looked out of place in the small town. With a pink and black striped awning and the board-covered front window, it looked like it belonged in Paris after the terrorist attacks. Once again, the image of tear-filled blue eyes flashed before him. He shook his head to rid himself of the memory. Would it ever go away?

“It’s not what I expected.”

“No? What were you expecting?”

“I don’t know, really. But not something that looked like it fell out of Europe and landed in this sleepy town.”

“Just wait. I’ll bet Aurora brought treats with her for dessert. You won’t be complaining about sweeping up flour and waiting on customers after your first bite of a chocolate éclair.”

“Sweeping up flour? I’m going to be her janitor?”

“More like a jack of all trades. Unless she and Sadie came up with a better idea while I came to fetch you.”

“Got it.” It could be worse, he could be babysitting a spoiled rich guy with a piss poor attitude. This was going to be a cake-walk, pun intended. He grinned. He’d do his best to charm the pants off the little old lady, find the person who was giving her a hard time, and maybe spend some time camping and hiking in the mountains before heading back to Florida. He felt better knowing he had a plan. But then again, what did they say about the best laid plans?

***

Rori was beyond nervous. She really had no idea what to expect other than he was retired military. But that could mean anything. Why had she let Sadie talk her into this? She didn’t need a bodyguard. The window had probably been an accident. Why would anyone want to hurt her? She didn’t have any enemies in Eagle Rock, there wasn’t even a competing bakery she’d driven out of business. It had to be kids pulling pranks.

“They’ll be here any minute.”

“I should never have agreed to this. It’s stupid.”

“No, it’s not. You could have been killed. We all could have been killed. I don’t want to be afraid to go into the bakery with Emma worrying that someone will try something else.” Sadie had a point. She could never forgive herself if anything had happened to her little girl, or anyone else. There’d been enough pain and death in her life. Just thinking about Paris squeezed her heart. She’d lost everyone that night and might have died too if not for that man who’d come to her aid. She’d wished more than once she’d found out who he was.

“Do you know him?”

“No, I don’t,” Sadie said as she gave Emma a bottle. “When Hank called Chase Brennan at Eagle Security & Protection, he said Raptor was the best at what he did. What that is we’re not quite sure, but Hank was convinced he’d keep you safe.”