Page 10 of Protective Assignment (Warrior Peak Sanctuary #1)

“You’re really thinking about joining Lawson’s crew?

” Carter asked as he guided Cade’s knee back to his chest to test his mobility.

Cade sighed. He should have known this physical therapy session was going to turn into an interrogation when Carter had offered it that morning.

He had hoped everything that had been going on with River and the news of the Shepards of Rebellion being in the area would keep his brother distracted.

Cade shrugged. “It’ll give me something to do.”

Carter shook his head. Cade was currently laid out on his brother’s therapy table like an offering of some kind, being tortured physically—with different stretches and movement rotations to test his flexibility—while also forced to endure Carter’s questions.

He’d rather be doing almost anything than this.

Carter narrowed his eyes. “You have plenty to do,” he reminded him. “You’ve got to focus on your recovery, remember? That’s what’s important right now.”

“Yeah, well, I need something to work toward,” Cade replied. “This’ll do me good. And Lawson knows what my limitations are. He’s not going to try and push me into anything I can’t handle.”

Carter looked doubtful. “Yeah, I’ll believe that when I see it.”

“Are we done here?” Cade asked a little impatiently. He knew his brother was just trying to help, but he didn’t want to deal with his questions and concerns right now. Carter should know better than anyone how much he needed to keep himself busy because he was the exact same way.

Carter nodded. “Let’s get in another session this week.”

Cade agreed and headed out the door to go grab some coffee in the cafeteria, but he was stopped by Hannah in the lobby.

“Hey, Cade, have you got a minute?” she asked.

“Sure,” Cade replied. He could already guess this had something to do with River. It seemed to be all anyone could talk about since they had officially decided to keep her around.

“I was talking to Lawson this morning about getting River moved into one of the empty cabins,” she explained. “And he doesn’t want her…rooming alone, if he can avoid it.”

Cade bristled slightly. What did this have to do with him? And why was Hannah suddenly not looking at him? He’d just opened his mouth to ask but snapped it closed as she continued.

“They’ve got some guys coming in for a conference in the next week or so, and all the rooms will be full.

They’re also going to spill over into a couple of the cabins, and he wants to keep the others free for any emergencies that might pop up with the lodge being at capacity,” she continued.

“So, um, Lawson asked if…she can bunk with you for the time being.”

Cade stared at her. “He wants her to stay with me?” he asked. “If he’s just trying to cut down on the cabin space being used, wouldn’t it make more sense for her to bunk with you? I feel like she might be more comfortable with that. Since you’re both women…”

He left the rest of that sentence hanging and continued to watch Hannah squirm under his scrutiny, pursing her lips. He could suddenly tell from the look on her face that this request was about more than saving space.

“Lawson wants me to keep an eye on River. That’s what you’re not saying, right?”

At the shift in her posture and widening eyes, Cade knew he had guessed right.

It wasn’t exactly ideal and he didn’t really like it, but he understood the reasoning behind it.

Since River was going to be with them long-term and he had brought her to the lodge in the first place, Lawson wanted him to be the one to watch her to make sure she wasn’t causing trouble or doing anything she shouldn’t be.

Hannah ignored his questions. “She only had her backpack and I’ve already taken that down to your cabin,” she quickly continued.

“She’s getting breakfast now and I mentioned to her that you needed to chat with her and would find her there.

So, she should be waiting for you. And I thought you could walk her over after you got through talking so she could get settled. ”

“You’re leaving it up to me to tell her? Hannah, I don’t think…”

“You’ll do just fine, Cade. The guys do want to help her and I want her to stay. I love the idea of having another woman around to talk to. She seems closest to you, though, and we thought this would be easiest coming from you.” Hannah patted his arm and turned away with a smile.

Cade released a heavy sigh. This was not going to go well.

She was on the run from an abusive ex, and now she was going to be stuck bunking with a guy she barely knew?

He couldn’t imagine she would be very happy about it.

But they would have to find a way to work it out, no matter how inconvenient it was for both of them.

Cade debated on going straight to the cafeteria, but decided he needed a minute to collect his thoughts.

He headed down to his cabin, and sure enough, her backpack was already sitting on the couch when he got there.

He stared at it for a moment, fighting the urge to go through it and see what else he could find out about her.

Now that they were up close and personal and staying in the same cabin, he guessed he was going to be finding out more about her than he had ever imagined he would.

Whether that was a good thing or not remained to be seen.

Before he could do anything with her bag, his phone buzzed—a message from Xavier asking him to come up to the lodge so they could talk.

Was he going to get a break today? He guessed this was what he’d wanted when he had come to the lodge in the first place…

a chance to actually keep himself busy instead of sitting around on his ass doing nothing.

He redirected his route to meet with Xavier first since his conversation with River would probably be more involved.

Cade rapped his knuckles on the open doorframe before stepping farther into Xavier’s office, and saw him seated behind his desk working.

“Ah, there you are,” Xavier greeted him, closing his laptop. “I’ve got a job for you.”

“Okay, what’s up?” Cade asked, sinking down into the chair opposite him. Anything that would keep him out of the cabin and allow him a little space after he spoke to River was a welcome distraction.

“We need someone to head down to Blue Ridge and pick up some supplies,” he said, pulling a credit card from the drawer beside him and pushing it and a printed list across the desk to Cade. “Here. Use this. It’s the one we use for all the expenses tied to the lodge.”

“Sure thing.” Cade scanned the list, then pocketed it and the card as he stood.

Xavier lifted a hand to stop him. “One more thing,” he added. “Take River with you.”

“What?” Cade jolted slightly at the request. “Why? Isn’t she working on the clothes?”

“Yeah, but some of the supplies we need are for her, along with the food list I gave you,” he replied. “We don’t want people going down to the town alone anymore, not after everything Willis told us.”

“You think there could be trouble out there?” Cade asked, shoulders tensing slightly.

“We don’t know, but we’re not sending people out alone for the foreseeable future,” Xavier replied.

“Groups of two or three until further notice. And River will know what she needs for the mending, so she’ll be best suited to go down there with you today.

Maybe you can also help her pick up some items for herself while you’re down there. And keep an eye out.”

“All right, yeah, sounds good,” Cade replied.

If it was what it took to keep the rest of the team feeling safe, he would do it.

And besides, maybe it would give him a chance to get River’s thoughts on them sharing a cabin.

Spending time together was something they were going to have to get used to, now that they were living under the same roof.

He wandered through the lodge until he spotted her in the cafeteria.

She wore the same dress she’d had on the first time he’d seen her on the side of the road, but it had been cleaned, so it looked like new.

The skirt nearly brushed the floor, and the sleeves fluttered over her slim arms. Her hair was loose around her shoulders, held away from her face with a couple of clips as she filled up a thermos with tea.

For a moment, Cade just stood there and looked at her. She was beautiful.

He didn’t want to shout across the room, so he walked toward her and waited until he was next to her to say her name. When he did, she jumped so hard she nearly spilled her tea.

“Oh my gosh!” she exclaimed, spinning around to face him. “Don’t sneak up on me like that!”

“I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I spent too long in the army. I’m used to making a quiet approach.”

She looked up at him, her eyes wide, and he could see her chest rising and falling rapidly with each breath. She was genuinely terrified. He could only imagine what she had been through with her ex. He was determined to show her she had nothing to fear when it came to him.

“How about I start wearing a bell?” he joked. “That way, you’ll always hear me coming.”

She let out a giggle and brushed a strand of hair back behind her ear.

The way her fingers skimmed across her skin was far too distracting, but he did his best to push that out of his mind.

He was here for a reason, not just to check her out.

Xavier had asked him to do a job and he was going to be as helpful as he could during his stay at the lodge.

“Sounds like a plan to me,” she replied with a small smile. “Hannah said you needed to talk to me. Do you want to go sit?”

He grinned back at her and shook his head, then held up the credit card he’d been given.

“Actually, I’ve been tasked with heading down to the town to pick up some supplies,” he explained. “And they want us to start going in groups, so I’m supposed to take you with me. I thought we could talk on the way.”

Her face lit up. “Oh, great,” she replied as she reached into her pocket. “I actually have a list of stuff I need to get so I can work on mending clothes and stock up on supplies.” She held the list out to Cade. “You think we’ll be able to get all of this stuff in town?”

“I think so,” he replied, taking it from her and looking it over.

It looked pretty easy to him, nothing too extreme—basic fabrics and a few glues and needles to make her work a little easier.

He was a little surprised that she seemed so eager to go to town with him, given how nervous she had been about being seen outside this place.

Maybe she was beginning to feel more comfortable and had realized that nobody would come looking for her in a place like this.

She screwed the cap onto her thermos and smiled up at him. “Then we should get going before it gets too late.”

She had the prettiest smile when she let herself relax and Cade was mesmerized.

He was really glad to see she was starting to let her guard down, especially with him.

Maybe this was the start of a healing journey for her, just like Blue Ridge had been for so many others.

There was still a long way for her to go, but even the small change he’d seen in her since yesterday felt huge.

“Great. I’ll bring the truck around,” he told her. “Meet me outside the front entrance in five minutes?”

“I will,” she replied, and she gazed up at him for a moment like she was trying to puzzle something out.

For a split second, Cade was rooted to the spot, looking back at her.

But then, he remembered they were not alone and he had a job to do. He quickly broke the eye contact and turned to go get the truck. She had just gotten out of an abusive relationship. The last thing she needed was him drooling over her like a hormonal teenage boy.

He was trying to help this woman, that was it.

That was all it could be.

He had his own life to sort out.