Ashfall (5 page)

Impulsively she put her hand on his vest, ready to push him away. “Think you’re standing close enough?”

His hand covered hers and held it in place, and he edged the tiniest bit closer. She drew in a sharp little breath.

“God,” he said softly as he looked down at her. “You’re trembling. It’s okay. No one’s going to hurt you. You’re safe with me.”

“What about your friends?”

He shook his head. “They’re solid guys. If one even considered touching you, I’d pound their faces.”

Heat danced through her, and she couldn’t help smiling just a little. She drew in a deep breath. He smelled like man…a mild mix of musk and maybe leather. It penetrated her senses and sent the warmth higher. Her fingers curled into his ballistic nylon vest. Recklessness beat in her veins, and she’d never felt anything quite like it before.

“You’re touching me,” she said, breathless. Heat filled her cheeks when it dawned on her how moronic the statement sounded.

A smile danced in his eyes and on his mouth. “Yeah.”

“That gives me the right to shoot you.”

His gaze drifted down to her lips. “Yeah?”

A wild tingle danced in her belly. Her lips parted. “Absolutely.”

Before she could do more than blink a couple of times, his mouth came down and brushed warmly over hers.
He
might have instantly drawn back, but that recklessness hadn’t left her. Running on sheer instinct, she gripped his vest with both hands and drew him closer. He slipped both gloved hands up until they cupped her cheeks. Cool leather touched her skin, and she sighed in pleasure as she returned the kiss, melting under the gentle touch of his lips and hands. With a soft movement, his tongue dipped in to stroke hers. Desire flooded her. She returned the movement of his lips and tongue as he stroked again and again. Warm excitement flooded her and shot down through her stomach and straight into her loins. A second later he drew back. He released her quickly, and she let him go.

He put a couple of steps between them and his eyes held a feral heat. His nostrils flared slightly as he knotted his fists at his sides. “Jesus.”

“Yeah,” she said softly.

He swiped one hand over his face. “Sorry. I didn’t mean…that wasn’t…”

Seeing the big guy this disconcerted surprised her. Amusement mingled with the crazy arousal dancing around inside her, potent and thrumming. But she couldn’t let him know how much the kiss had shaken her.

“Haven’t been on shore leave in a long time, sailor?” she asked.

“It wasn’t like that.” His gaze took her in, slow and lingering from head to toe until it started a new blaze. His eyes narrowed. He shifted on his feet and seemed to brush off the kiss without additional thought. “You can’t stay here with your security system trashed. Come with us.”

“And go where?”

“You’re not the only one with a compound.”

Doubts hit her. “I don’t know you from…” She smiled. “I was going to say Adam.”

He grinned and pulled the cap off his head. He wadded it up in one hand. His thick black hair was wavy and cut close to his head. “Yeah, you do. You can trust me, but if you stay here I can’t guarantee you’ll be safe.”

“I won’t be safe out there either.” She gestured to the front door, as the idea of venturing into the world outside made her stomach knot with apprehension. “Especially if there are more men like Creepy Guy Tanner wandering around.”

“Oh, I can guarantee you won’t be safe out there without me.”

She lifted one eyebrow. “You’re mighty sure of yourself.”

“Yeah, I am. I’ll protect you.” His voice was soft, sure, and unshakable. “Mark could have repaired your water leak, but he would need a lot more supplies to repair the security system. There’s no way we can get everything fixed today so you could stay in your home tonight.”

He was right. She didn’t have a way to stay here tonight and remain safe, unless she crashed in the bunker. But that would be too much like a tomb. She shuddered at the thought.

“Okay. Do you think we can come back tomorrow and fix this place?”

“We’ll give it our best shot.”

“All right, but I need to secure everything up here, including the food. I can store it in the kitchen downstairs.”

“Of course.”

One last nagging question gnawed at the back of her mind. “I’ve got to know one thing. Why did you kiss me?”

“I care about you, and you’re damned beautiful. That’s why I kissed you.”

Beautiful?
Mally tried to remember any man calling her that and couldn’t. Today she wore her waist-length dark hair tied up in a messy braid down her back. Her face was round enough that most people thought she was a lot younger than she was. Pretty didn’t describe her. Ordinary maybe.

Before she could react, he said, “Come on. Let’s get this show on the road.”

The black SUV labeled Sentry Security rumbled along the quiet streets. On almost every street corner men and women in army uniforms stood with weapons slung over their shoulders or held out at the ready. Some streets were blocked off. The situation was surreal, unbelievable. Smashed store fronts and signs of fire damage littered the small city. Few people wandered the streets other than military. Mally had never seen her town like this before, and fear tightened a noose around her neck. She hadn’t left the compound in so long that she’d obviously fried her ability to deal with the outside world. She thought of her compound, and she was glad most of her valuables were secured in the bunker. Tomorrow she’d go back and get her life there back together. Returning to the security she knew in the compound appealed to her as she watched the crazy going on outside the SUV.

Vibration from the engine tingled in her fingertips, but that wasn’t the only reason she felt disconcerted. She was sandwiched between two big men in the back seat. The one on her left was Ian MacDaniel, the ex Special Air Serviceman. Originally from Scotland, his accent was clipped and fairly thick. His short, reddish blond hair gave him a hard edge, but he hummed with the same relentless energy and power as Adam, who drove the SUV. Ian had a wide mouth, grey eyes and a warm smile—well, he’d smiled once. After that he was all hard angles and seriousness. To her right was Mark O’Day. With his dark hair and sharp, ruggedly handsome features, he appeared to be the youngest of the three men. He told Mally he used to be former army but didn’t say what he’d done in the military.

She glanced at Mark and Ian. “Why isn’t one of you sitting up front with Adam?”

“Protection,” Adam said.

She smiled. “For whom? You guys or me?”

Mark chuckled.

“It isn’t funny,” Adam said. “Today a woman was snatched right out of her car as she was driving with her husband and two kids.”

Goosebumps did their nasty walk across my arms again. “Why?”

Ian shifted, his big shoulder bumping hers. “Guess the wanker who snatched her at a stoplight figured she was carrying cash on her because she was in a BMW.”

“Is she all right?” she asked.

“Bruised but otherwise okay. Bystanders pulled the man off her,” Adam said.

Silence ruled again for a couple of minutes.

“So,” she said to make conversation. “Where is all the rioting I heard about on the news?”

“Over for now,” Mark said.

“And you helped quell it?” she asked.

Ian answered this time. “We protected some businesses on the outskirts of town.”

Weary, she rubbed the back of her neck. “Who owns your security company?”

Adam glanced at her in the rear view mirror. “Sentry Security is owned by retired General Alexander Graham. He employs fifty security agents around the country, but headquarters here in Buckleport. Our group is a small office of three security personnel.”

Extreme curiosity made her ask an important question. “How did I rate a rescue?”

“Becker here is sweet on you,” Mark said.

Adam broke in with, “Shut up, O’Day.”

Okay, maybe he
was
interested in her. That kiss and offering to protect her were signs of some kind of interest, even if she knew damned well it wasn’t lasting or serious.

Cynicism kept her asking questions. “Didn’t the General object to you using company resources to help me out?”

Silence cloaked the car a moment before Adam finally answered. “No.”

She found that double difficult to believe, but the clipped way Adam had said that one word told her to shut up for now.

They drove on for a short time before Adam turned left off the main drag and into a part of town populated by trailers and houses that had all seen much better days. About fifty years ago by the look of things. Suddenly she was glad for the Glock in her shoulder holster and the weapons secured in the trunk along with two large suitcases of her belongings.

Apprehension tickled her spine. “Where are we going?”

“Sentry Security is in this neighborhood,” Adam said calmly.

“Not where I would’ve expected.” She didn’t like this one bit, and all the trust she’d built started to fracture.

“Don’t worry,” Ian said, his voice soft. “You’re safe.”

“I don’t feel safe,” she said.

Within a few moments, they drove up to a towering concrete wall on the left side of the street which was topped with concertina wire. Mally had never seen this place, but then she didn’t have a reason to come into this neighborhood. Adam pushed a button somewhere in the car and the large double gate in front of the complex opened. He drove through the open gate and down a long driveway toward a huge house. It wasn’t as large as her home, but the property went a long way back and was sizable. Unlike her father’s compound, which had been built in the last ten years, this complex looked considerably newer. Steel and concrete dominated the two story structure, all hard, unforgiving angles.

“Is this headquarters?” she asked.

“Headquarters and living space,” Ian said.

“Warm and cozy place,” she said without thinking.

Mark laughed. “Yeah. Right.”

Ian shrugged, his big shoulder moving against hers. “Better than a damned FOB in some craphole in Afghanistan.”

“Forward Operating Base.” She wanted them to know they couldn’t toss lingo around to confuse her.

“Damn, not that many civvies know the ins and outs of military,” Mark said.

She smiled at him. “I read.”

“Stop flirting, Mark,” Adam said as he drove around the back of the building and parked next to several other vehicles, including two more black SUVs.

Mark crossed his arms. “Who pissed in your Wheaties, Becker?”

Adam shut off the SUV. “Pile out.”

Oookay. Are these guys for real?
The testosterone coming out of them wasn’t egotistical or bragging, but it was potent and a little heady to her female senses. She hadn’t been around three hot guys like this in a long time. Caution remained. She wouldn’t give up her weapon or lower her guard. A memory of Adam’s sensual kiss flashed through her, along with a heat-wave of arousal. She couldn’t recall the last time a man’s touch had thrown her so off kilter. She’d spent too much time in her thirty years dating men who seemed to have no substance, were too wild and unpredictable and wanted her for nothing more than money and sex. What reason did she have to believe someone like Adam would prove any different?
None.

Getting ahead of yourself much?

Thinking about Adam in a romantic way, as someone she could date, was a
big
mistake. Keeping it all business made more sense. Besides, who had time for dating in this world?

“This building isn’t labeled as Sentry Security,” she said.

Ian piled out and she followed him. “Nope.”

Mark said as he exited the other side of the SUV, “We keep it on the down low.”

She glanced up at the building and the back door. Adam punched a code into a keypad by the door. “Fort Knox.”

The door clicked and Adam led her into a back hallway with the other two men following. She felt hemmed in. What if these men weren’t who they said they were? Had she made the stupidest mistake of her life coming here? She couldn’t rely upon anyone else in the city for help, and the realization froze her.

Large rooms on either side of the hall featured computers and other office paraphernalia. Ian and Mark disappeared upstairs to other parts of the house. Over the next few minutes Adam gave her a tour of the complex. The bottom floor consisted of offices, a war room for pow wows, and another area for the security personal to change and obtain full battle rattle status. He would have introduced her to the General, but the man was in his office with a client.

“Come upstairs and I’ll show you where you’ll be staying,” Adam said as he started toward the stairs.

“Wait.” She caught his bicep. Under her touch rock hard muscle shifted, and it set off a firestorm of awareness. She snatched her hand back. “I don’t know if this is a good idea.”

Still dressed as if he was ready for a fight, he turned back to her. His eyes narrowed slightly. “You’re used to staying in your own home with every convenience. Upstairs we have six living quarters with their own living room, bedroom, bathroom, den and kitchen. Sure, you’re moving around this place with a bunch of gorillas, but we won’t bother you.”

“I guess I just don’t understand—why me? There are plenty of single women in this town that need help. You can’t bring them all here for safety.”

“Of course not.” He sighed. “Come upstairs and I’ll show you your space. We’ll talk more in private.”

Obviously if she wanted to understand his motivation, she wouldn’t find out until she followed him. As he climbed the stairs, she was grateful for the Glock in her shoulder holster and her fanny pack with all the basics. Without the weapon, she would have felt more vulnerable. Naked. He’d said he would grab her luggage after he showed her the building. He was right. Her apartment living space upstairs was like a whole different world. The General had equipped the apartments with a Tuscan flair, masculine and yet not sterile in its color palate of rich burnt red, muted olive green, and sumptuous gold. Color her surprised how homey the area felt. The bedroom in the apartment had a king sized bed, walk in closet, and a bathroom fit for a queen.