Page 1 of Protective Assignment (Warrior Peak Sanctuary #1)

Cade Thatcher drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and sighed as he made the turn off the main highway and onto the long, winding mountain road that would lead him to the Warrior Peak Sanctuary.

Was this really a good idea? It wasn’t as though he had much of a choice. Right now, it was the only option he had if he didn’t want to sit around home feeling like he was losing his mind for the next few months as he finished his recovery.

And seeing his brother would be a good thing, right?

When Carter suggested he come up and visit for a while, he had been reluctant, but he hadn’t had any better options come along lately, so he’d decided to accept the offer.

It would be a change, being with his actual brother instead of the brothers-in-arms he had worked with in the military, but he needed to get used to his new life, his new body and his new existence after his injuries.

A shock of pain raced down his arm and he winced, releasing his suddenly tight grip on the steering wheel.

He needed to remember to stay loose and relaxed.

Any sudden tension in his neck and shoulders still caused some discomfort, sometimes even stealing his breath.

It had been getting better the last few weeks, but there were still moments where it really stung.

His doctors were just impressed that he had managed to recover as well as he had, but he was still frustrated at the pain that seemed to get the better of him now and then.

When he’d first woken up in that hospital bed, the doctors hadn’t been enthusiastic about his chances of ever making a full recovery.

He could still remember, all too vividly, the look on that one doctor’s face when she had told him how bad things were.

His shoulder, broken in several places from taking a bullet, damage to his lower back and basically his entire body from shrapnel, then head damage to top it all off.

He hadn’t been able to move, let alone think straight.

His whole body swollen and in constant pain, as he tried to wrap his head around what had happened.

And even that was hard with the huge gaps of missing time and memories he had tried to recall.

He’d always known working in the military was risky, but this?

This was the kind of thing he hadn’t been ready for at all. It was downright terrifying.

They hadn’t been sure if he was going to be able to use that arm again or even walk when it was all said and done, but he had defied the odds.

Not a chance in hell he was going to sit around the rest of his life.

Even if he couldn’t fight or be with his brothers-in-arms again, he could still do something.

Still be useful in some capacity, help make a difference in some way.

He’d thrown himself into physical therapy, trying to get control of his shattered bones and aching muscles once more.

He wasn’t going to let his life fall away from him just because of one injury.

And now he was back on his feet. Only literally, of course, because he felt like the rest of his world had collapsed around him.

He had wanted to be a soldier for as long as he could remember.

From the day he graduated high school, he had focused all his time and energy on what he could achieve and on building the strong bonds he had with the other guys in his unit. But now?

Now he was floundering with no clear direction, not knowing what came next.

Unable to do the one thing he’d always wanted and been good at had left a huge void he didn’t know how to fill.

Now that he was close to fully recovered, he had to figure out what his life looked like on the other side of healing.

The drive up to the lodge was quiet and scenic and empty; no other cars passed and not even a building lined the side of the road. Just forest for as far as the eye could see. In fact, there wouldn’t have been anything to break up the monotony at all, if it hadn’t been for her.

Cade furrowed his brow when he spotted her on the side of the road.

What was she doing out here in the middle of nowhere?

A woman, wearing a long dress that covered almost every inch of her body, with her thumb held out like she was hitchhiking.

She couldn’t have had much luck out there, given how few cars there were on the road.

She had an old-school military backpack, stuffed to the brim, slung over one shoulder, and as Cade drew closer, he could see it had seen some serious action.

He slowed his truck down and pulled over to the side as he reached her.

“Hey,” he called to her, rolling the passenger window down. “You okay? You lost?”

“I’m not lost,” she replied, a little curtly. “I need a lift.”

“Your car broken down or something?” he replied, glancing around to see if there was another vehicle he hadn’t spotted. She shook her head.

“I’m heading north,” she explained. “You going that way?”

“I am, but just as far as the Warrior Peak Sanctuary,” he replied. “That enough for you?”

She hesitated for a moment, eyes darting around, but then nodded. “That works.”

“Come on in,” he told her, reaching over to open the passenger-side door.

She readjusted the backpack over her shoulder and hurried to the door, slipping into the seat next to him.

Outside, the sky had started to darken and rain began to pour, one of those North Carolina cloudbursts that seemed to come out of nowhere.

“Looks like I timed that well,” he remarked, and she gave him a tight smile, holding her pack tight on her lap, like she was trying to use it as a shield to protect herself.

Cade quickly glanced in the rearview mirror, then over his shoulder before he pulled the truck back on to the road, and continued up the mountain toward the lodge.

“You hitchhiked the whole way up here?” he asked, trying to fill the strained silence between them.

She nodded again.

“If you need to charge your phone—” he began, but she cut him off before he could go any further.

“I don’t have a phone,” she replied, shaking her head.

He noticed that she was shivering slightly.

The dress she wore obviously hadn’t provided much coverage from the elements, and he thought about offering her his jacket, but he doubted she would take it.

He reached over to adjust the heat settings instead and noticed her tense and shift closer to the door, like she was ready to bolt at a moment’s notice.

She also looked disheveled and tired, as if she’d been out in the wilderness for a while.

Was she in some kind of trouble? A young woman on the side of the road like that, hitchhiking—it didn’t seem like a good situation.

“I can call someone for you, if you want,” he offered, and she jumped slightly at the sudden sound of his voice before shaking her head again, her eyes fixed on the window.

“It’s fine,” she replied, and he turned his attention back to the road, his mind racing as he tried to make sense of the situation.

“I’m Cade, by the way. Cade Thatcher,” he told her, hoping to put her at ease, and maybe get some information out of her in the process.

She paused for a moment like she wasn’t certain she wanted to tell him her name. “River,” she replied finally, nodding in greeting.

River. Interesting name.

“Where you from, River?” he asked, trying to keep the conversation going.

“Florida.”

“You’re a long way from home,” he remarked. “What brings you north?”

“Just needed a change,” she replied, looking down to the bag on her lap again. He frowned. Was it him or was she seriously wary of making small talk? Almost like she was afraid she’d let something slip if she had a conversation with him.

Cade couldn’t stop his mind from running through possible scenarios.

What was she doing in the woods by herself?

Was she getting out of a bad situation? On the run from someone?

Judging by her simple, understated look—longer hair, her plain homemade dress, no makeup, no piercings or jewelry—maybe she had been in some kind of cult.

Or maybe he had been watching too much TV these last several months.

He hadn’t had a whole lot else to do since his discharge from the military aside from concentrating on his therapy.

He kept his eyes on the road, and figured he should let her catch her breath before he started interrogating her.

It really wasn’t his business, but he couldn’t help being curious.

It wasn’t far to the lodge, and maybe he could get a little more out of her then. If she was willing to share.

Finally, the road led them past the Warrior Peak Sanctuary sign to a big, sprawling complex that hung on to the top of the mountain for dear life, surrounded by trees and with a view down over the forest below.

Cade climbed out of the truck, grabbed an umbrella from under the seat and went around to open her door.

But before he could, it swung open and nearly hit him in the face as she hurried to get out.

He shot out his hand to grab it before it could make contact.

“You should go inside and warm up,” he suggested as she hooked the backpack over her shoulders again and tried to contain a shiver. He opened up the umbrella and held it out to her.

She hesitantly reached out to take it from him and eyed him skeptically, as if trying to decide if she should trust him.

“There’ll be plenty of people in the lodge who’ll be heading north soon enough that you could ask for a ride. You can’t stand out here in this rain—you’ll get soaked to the bone, probably end up sick too,” he pointed out as he stepped around her to get his bag out of the back.

He hadn’t packed a whole lot, just a large duffel and his backpack; his brother had told him he wouldn’t need it. Anything he was missing he could get there at the lodge or he could make a run into the small town below.

He held up his old military backpack and grinned at her. “Look, we match.”

For the first time since he’d laid eyes on her, a smile spread over her face. Cade was momentarily stunned.

With a smile on her face, she looked like a whole different person. Those huge blue eyes lit up, and dimples appeared on her cheeks; even though she looked as though she had been living in the woods for the past few years, she was seriously beautiful.

Cade stared at her for a long moment before he pulled himself together again.

He was curious to find out more about her, and he hoped he could convince her to stick around for at least a night before she took off to wherever she was headed.

Shaking his head to clear it, he reached for the umbrella and held it over the two of them as they walked toward the entrance.

She hung back behind him as he made his way to the huge wooden doors of the lodge, and he chanced a glance over his shoulder at her.

There was a flash of fear in her eyes, and his heart twisted seeing her like that.

He might not have known what she was running from, but at least he could try to get her to stay the night out of the weather where she could rest and take some time to settle down, right?

“Come on in,” he told her. “There’s a cafeteria in there, and there’s probably a spare room you can use to sleep for the night.”

She frowned. She still didn’t look convinced, but out here, in the middle of nowhere, what choice did she have?

“It’s freezing out here,” he reminded her. “And you saw those roads—nobody else is going to be coming up here tonight. You should get some food in you and rest, okay?”

He could practically see her mind racing as she tried to figure out what the best course of action was.

But when she looked up to the sky, it seemed to settle her decision.

The rain was set to continue for the rest of the night, judging by the thick gray clouds drifting off into the horizon, and it was starting to get dark.

She could stand out on the side of the road for the rest of the night in the hopes some passerby would take her another few miles toward her destination.

Or, she could follow him inside the lodge for a warm meal and a warm bed.

Her shoulders slumped as she let out a resigned sigh and followed him into the welcoming warmth of the lodge.