Page 13 of Protective Assignment (Warrior Peak Sanctuary #1)

He stared at the ceiling, listening to the sound of the wind rustling through the trees outside, and wondered how the hell he was supposed to keep River off his mind.

They had spent the better part of the day together, and he couldn’t stop thinking about her. No matter how much he tried to push her to the back of his mind, she was right there, insisting on taking up his brain space. If he was honest with himself, he didn’t really mind.

She was just… There was something about her that drew him to her in a way he couldn’t quite put into words.

He liked her—liked the way she made him feel, how at ease and relaxed he felt when he was around her.

And seeing her smile and interact with the people they’d seen in town had been a gift.

He hadn’t realized how much she’d needed that until he saw Mary fussing over her, and River’s face lighting up as they talked about making clothes.

Now she slept just a few feet away from him, in the other room of the cabin.

If she was sleeping at all. Maybe she was tossing and turning just like him.

He hoped so. He didn’t want these feelings he had to just go one way, but at the same time, he knew she had been through so much.

He wasn’t going to try and push her into something she wasn’t ready for, even if he couldn’t stop thinking about her.

It was getting late, and he knew he needed to get some sleep, but every time he closed his eyes, there she was, gazing back at him with that warm, open expression on her face.

He couldn’t help but wonder exactly what she had been through to bring her here, beyond the few details she had shared with him so far.

He hoped that eventually she would share the rest of her story with him.

For now, he would just try to focus on figuring out his own life and not the growing attraction he felt between them.

He had plenty of other things to think about—like his recovery and whether he was going to join Lawson’s tactical operations team.

Even though he knew his brother had some serious issues with it, Cade couldn’t deny how much the idea appealed to him.

It was a chance to secure a new direction in his life, and give himself something to focus on that wasn’t the grueling reminder of everything he left behind.

He eventually drifted off to sleep and woke early the next day to the light peeking through the window next to him.

He opened his eyes and lifted his head from the pillow, feeling a smile spread over his face before he could stop it.

Something about waking up so close to River made him happy.

Waking up in the same bed would be even better, but he quickly redirected his thoughts.

He wasn’t going down that road…not yet anyway.

He climbed out of bed before his mind could wander any further, and headed out to the small kitchen.

He expected to see River there, but she must have already headed out to work.

The door to her bedroom was open, and she was nowhere to be seen.

He made himself a cup of coffee and sipped on it as he leaned up against the counter, watching as a few more leaves drifted down from the trees outside the cabin.

He loved how peaceful it was this time of year.

He rinsed his mug and headed up to the lodge to grab some breakfast, and spotted River working on something in one of the rooms off the main corridor.

Xavier must have gotten her set up with her own little space.

He peered around the door to see her with a few needles pressed between her lips, brow furrowed as she fixed up one of the old windbreakers that looked as though it had seen better days.

He thought about calling out to her, letting her know he was there, but thought better of it.

He didn’t want to throw her off her concentration.

He grabbed a quick breakfast and then headed to another physical therapy session with Carter. If he was lucky it would just be physical therapy today and no brotherly concern like yesterday.

“You know,” Carter said casually while walking Cade through some mobility exercises. “Your physical recovery is just one aspect of a full recovery. You need to take care of your mental health too. You’ve been through a lot.”

So much for no brotherly concern. “I know that,” Cade said a little impatiently. “It’s just easier for me to focus on the physical stuff right now.” He’d never been great at talking about his feelings.

“You should go see our counselor here, Sarah,” Carter told him, raising his eyebrows at his brother. “She could help you talk through the things that have happened and teach you some strategies for moving forward.”

That sounded like torture to Cade. He’d rather run into a burning building. “Why would I want to do that?” Cade asked.

Carter rolled his eyes skyward. “It’s what this place is for, Cade. Helping people make a full recovery, which means both physically and mentally. You’re nearly there when it comes to the physical side of things, but you have to focus on your mental recovery too.”

“Yeah, okay, I’ll think about it. Maybe I’ll see if I can schedule her in,” Cade replied to appease Carter.

Thankfully, Carter dropped it, and they spent the rest of the session talking about more neutral topics.

After he left Carter’s office, he went to find Xavier to see if he needed Cade’s help with anything. He enjoyed helping out around the lodge because it helped him stay busy and earn his keep. He also enjoyed it because it meant that he often ran into River throughout the day.

Like that very moment, as he saw her leaving the cafeteria. He couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face.

He fell into step beside her. “Hey, how’s your work going today?

” he asked as they made their way from the cafeteria down to the room she had been working out of.

She seemed happier today and she had a spring in her step that hadn’t been there before.

It was amazing what good rest and enough food could do for someone.

“Hi, Cade. I think I’m starting to make a dent,” she replied with a grimace. “But there’s still so much left that needs to be done. I think it’ll take me the whole rest of the year to catch up with it.”

Cade grinned at the thought. Having her around for at least another few months? It sounded good to him.

“I see Xavier moved you up from the basement. You like your new space?”

“Actually, I do. I’ve got a window so I can see outside and it’s really helpful with the natural light coming in,” she replied more animated than he’d seen her yet.

“That sounds nice. Well, keep up the great work and let me know if you ever need any help,” he offered. “I’m not good with a needle but I am good company.”

Her smile lit up her face. “I’ll have to take you up on that sometime.”

He really hoped she did.

* * *

The next afternoon , when he was heading back to his cabin to grab a change of clothes after a gym session, he was waylaid by a woman he’d seen around but hadn’t spoken to before. She stepped out in front of him, extending her hand and offering a smile.

“Hi. I’m Sarah Peterson,” she introduced herself. “I’m the counselor here. Your brother mentioned that you might be interested in having a counseling session with me?”

Cade took her hand and silently cursed his brother for his meddling. He didn’t want to seem rude, but he also didn’t know if he was ready to talk about his feelings—especially with a stranger.

He shrugged noncommittally. “Yeah, he thought it might be good for me to have a couple of sessions to work through my…the stuff I’ve been through, I guess.”

“I don’t have any other sessions planned this afternoon,” she remarked. “Are you free right now? We could cover the basics, lay down the groundwork for our future time together.”

“Uh, well, I just left the gym and was going to change.” He nodded in the direction of the cabins.

“Oh, I don’t mind. People come to sessions from the gym all the time. But I can give you directions to my office and you can come down after, if you’d rather.”

Cade really didn’t want to do this, but if it would get Carter off his back, then so be it.

He nodded. “That sounds great. I’d really like to change, then I can come over,” he replied.

Sarah quickly gave him directions to her office and he headed to his cabin with the promise he’d be there soon. He hurried to change and walked back to the lodge before he could second-guess himself, trying to give himself a pep talk on the way.

“Thanks for waiting,” he said after knocking on the counselor’s open door a short time later.

She smiled, pushing her glasses up her nose, and rose to meet him. She then gestured for him to take a seat while she closed the door. “Let’s get started.”

As she sat back at her desk, she offered him another warm smile. Cade couldn’t relax, though. He didn’t like talking about what had happened to him, what had led to his discharge from the military. He hated remembering and he did everything he could not to ponder on it any longer than he needed to.

“So,” she began, clasping her hands together on top of her desk. “Let’s start from the beginning. Can you tell me about your time in the service?”

He launched into his story—this part, he had no problem discussing with her, the part where everything had been going right.

He had been sent to Afghanistan with his unit, and they had worked to free a city from the control of an oppressive terrorist group.

It had taken months of hard work, but when they had finally managed to pull it off, he felt like he had found the career he needed.

It was exciting and stimulating; he got to help people, and it kept his mind and body busy.

It might not have been completely safe all of the time, but when was anything worth doing ever safe?

He had stayed out there for another couple of years, taking brief breaks to come back to America to see his brother. But he had been so focused on helping the people they had liberated, he didn’t need anything else.

“And I think it would have stayed that way too,” he remarked, with a sigh. “Until…until the ambush.”

“The ambush?” she asked, scribbling on the page in front of her.

He nodded, and began to recount the story to her.

He could still remember the day as clearly as if it were happening right in front of him.

The heat from the midday sun beating down, the chatter in the truck as they transferred from one side of the city to the other.

They had to take this little back road, nothing out of the ordinary—a lot of the streets had been damaged in the conflict, and it didn’t give them room to move their trucks around with particular ease.

Then, he had heard it. The whistle of a projectile, swiftly followed by the sound of an explosion. One of their trucks had been taken out. Seconds later, chaos erupted.

He had thrown himself from the truck to try and help his comrades, but before he could, gunfire exploded around them, throwing up dust clouds in the sand.

He had tried to use the truck for cover, but they were surrounded.

A grenade was thrown close by, sending shrapnel flying into him.

As he dove away from the blast, he’d caught a bullet in the shoulder.

“And that’s the last thing I remember,” he finished, shaking his head. “Next thing I knew, I was waking up in a field hospital, and they were telling me they were going to have to fly me back to the US.”

She nodded, her face sympathetic. “That must have been so difficult for you, having to step away from the job that had become your identity at that point.”

He grimaced. He hated thinking about it. Thinking about who he was before his injury and who he was now. He had purpose then, now he had no idea what his future looked like. He felt like he was floundering most days.

Cade sighed. “Yeah,” he replied. “It’s been hard.”

And that was the most he would admit to. Even if it was the understatement of the century.