Eagle Rock, Montana – Present Day

 

6:00 a.m. Time to open. With a quick swipe, Aurora “Rori” Prince, flipped the sign on the front door of Prince’s Patisserie from closed to open. The bakery had been open for a little over a year. It wasn’t how she’d expected to use her culinary certificates from the Cordon Bleu, but that one night in Paris had changed everything.

Everything.

Rori thought that Paris would be her home after she’d graduated. She’d had grand plans of opening a little shop and spending the rest of her life there growing old with Jim. The only reason to come back would have been to visit her parents. But in mere moments on that horror-filled evening, she had lost everyone she loved. Devastated. Alone. Broken mentally and physically. As soon as she’d recovered enough to travel she’d gone home to Montana.

The comfort she’d sought in the familiar surroundings of her childhood home wasn’t there. It was too painful to know she’d never see her parents again, never feel their hugs, never listen to their quiet laughter about some joke they’d shared. Nope, they were gone, and so was Jim, her fiancé. The loss was even more devastating. They’d been planning their future, he’d proposed only minutes before the gunfire started. And then he too was gone. All of them stolen by fanatical terrorists who’d wreaked havoc all over that evening.

The chime over the bakery door pulled her from her reverie.

“Morning, Rori.”

“Bonjour, Sadie. Aww, and you brought the little one. It’s amazing how big she’s gotten already.”

“I know, and when she smiled at me… I’d give her the world if I could.”

Little Emma was a beautiful baby. It wasn’t a surprise though, since her mother was one of the most beautiful and famous stars in Hollywood, or had been. Her husband, Hank, wasn’t half bad either. “I think all parents must feel that way. So, is there something special you came in to pick up?”

“No not really, I was in town, and I couldn’t resist stopping to see what your special is today. You’ve really spoiled all of us with these treats. I swear I have to work out an extra hour to make up for the calories.”

“I doubt that. You’re beautiful and perfect, just like in high school. I still can’t believe you came back here instead of living the movie star life in LA.”

“Well, that’s not much different than your return from Paris.” Except that it was, totally. Sadie had come back to get away from a stalker and then reconnected with her high school sweetheart. Rori came back to lick her wounds and try to figure out how to go on after losing everything that mattered.

“Oh man, I’m sorry. That was a dumb thing to say.”

“No worries. Seriously, we all have our own trials to overcome, right?”

As Rori grabbed a few of the croissants that had just come out of the oven, she could feel Sadie’s eyes following her.

“I really am sorry.”

Gathering her emotions and packing them up like she did the pastries, Rori turned with a smile plastered on her face. She would keep it together, it’s what she did, what she’d done since that evening. When she’d gotten back her friends had been so supportive, the last thing she wanted to do was make Sadie feel bad.

“I just took some croissants out of the oven.”

“You’re definitely spoiling us.”

“And I threw in a couple of eclairs for later,” Rori said with a wink as she handed over the little pink cardboard box tied with a black bow. Pink and black were the signature colors of Prince’s. It reminded her of happier times in Paris, and she needed to hold on to those. It would be too easy to let that night turn her into a bitter person, but her parents and Jim wouldn’t have wanted that.

“I guess it will be extra treadmill time for me,” Sadie said with a huge smile.

It was almost like the next few minutes were in slow motion. As Sadie turned to leave the large plate glass window at the front of the store shattered. Shards of glass flew directly at her and the baby. Without a second thought, Rori pushed Sadie and Emma behind her to block them from injury.

***

Willow Haven, Florida – Present Day

 

“Dammit, Raptor. You can’t deck the client because he’s wrong. They hire us to protect them not put them in the hospital.”

“He had it coming, Chase. He’s lucky I didn’t take his head off.”

“No, you’re lucky. If you don’t chill out, you’re going to find yourself stuck behind a desk. Do you hear me? Anger management classes, dude. I’m not kidding.”

If Raptor heard he needed to “chill out” one more time, he really was going to kill someone. Why couldn’t anyone see that being on the teams was his whole life? What he’d been born to do, trained for, lived for. Now that he’d had to take a medical discharge he didn’t know what to do with himself, and babysitting a bunch of pansy-assed rich people was not a satisfying career choice.

The last mission had been a huge clusterfuck, and his team sustained heavy casualties. Two dead and three injured out of ten; in a location they couldn’t name as part of a mission that didn’t exist. Even with all of that, they’d successfully completed the rescue. 

None of it should have happened though. Bad intel happened more times than not, but it had gone south as soon as they’d reached the rendezvous point. It hadn’t helped that ever since that night in Paris whenever he heard machine gun fire he’d flash back to the woman and her haunting blue eyes pleading with him to save her parents.

It might not have been why he was injured, but in his heart, he knew it was. The damage to his leg made it impossible to return to the Deltas. His focus had deserted him. Always calm, cold and calculating. His lack of emotion had earned him the nickname Raptor. It was part of him or had been, for as long as he could remember. Until Paris. And that brought him to where he was now wondering if he’d ever get his head out of his ass. After two years of searching with no luck, he needed to admit he’d never find her and move on.

“Raptor, dammit, are you listening to me?” Chase Brennan demanded. Nope, that was a negative. He’d been too busy reminiscing about a past that didn’t matter anymore. He was losing it. Maybe he did need to talk to someone.

“I am now.”

Chase shook his head and cursed under his breath. Raptor was saved from whatever scathing retort was coming by the ringing of his cell phone.

“Brennan.”

It was his chance to escape the butt kicking, and Raptor didn’t waste a second. Except as soon as he stood to leave, Chase held up his hand signaling he wanted him to stay. So much for a clean getaway.

While he waited for Chase to finish his call, his mind wandered to the mystery woman he’d saved in Paris. At least that’s what he told himself. She’d probably have been found in time by the paramedics. She haunted his dreams, and her face would pop into his mind at the worst possible moment, and had ruined his concentration more than once. He’d tried to find out who she was when he’d returned from his mission but it was like she’d never existed. At times, he wondered if she was real, but the bloody t-shirt he had was proof of that night. Why he’d saved it, God only knew because he sure as hell didn’t. Every time he went to toss it in the trash something stopped him. And now, two years later it was stuffed into the back of his dresser drawer. It lived there until he felt the need to feel her presence.

“No problem. I’m happy to help. Yup. Let me know, and I’ll email you the information.” Chase disconnected from the call and made some notes on the laptop. Then turned to Raptor. “I have a job for you.”

“But I thought.” Raptor swallowed his protest, he’d much rather be working then stuck behind some desk. “Great, who am I babysitting this time.”

Chase rolled his eyes before answering. “That call was from Hank Patterson, he runs the Brotherhood Protectors up in Montana.”

“Are they a hit squad? I haven’t killed anyone since I’ve been out, but I wouldn’t object.”

“Dammit. That’s why you end up in trouble. Shit, Raptor.”

“I was just kidding. Bro, you need to take a chill pill.”

“Listen, I know you outranked me, but here I’m your boss. You need to straighten your shit out, man. Now I’m wondering if this is such a good idea after all.”

“I’ll be on my best behavior. Scout’s honor.”

After another eyeroll, Chase continued, “Hank needs some help up in Eagle Rock. His wife’s friend is in some trouble, and he doesn’t have anyone to spare. This case is important to him, and that means this is important to me. So, if you have any hope in hell of redeeming yourself, this would be the case.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I mean it. Don’t fuck this one up.”

“Understood. I’ll make ESP proud.”

“Just don’t screw the pooch. I know you’re going through a rough time. Hell, we all have. But work is work, and I’ve spent too much time building up Eagle Security & Protection for you to trash it. You’ll be working with Hank, but you’re still representing us.”

It finally sank into his thick skull how much he’d hurt his friend with his behavior. Chase was right. He’d worked hard to get the business up and running, and even hired wounded or retired military based on their abilities.

“When do I leave?”

“Twelve hundred hours. I’ll text the flight info. Go pack. Don’t worry about bringing any weapons. Hank will outfit you when you get there.”

“Gotcha. Thanks for this chance. I promise I won’t fuck it up.”

“I know, Jasper. Take care of yourself. I’m only a phone call away if you need backup.”

“Thanks. I’ll check in when I get settled.”

It wasn’t until Raptor was climbing behind the wheel of his truck that he realized Chase used his name and not his nick. No doubt he’d done it on purpose to underscore his point. It’d been a long time since someone worried about his well-being, now he had to prove he deserved it.