Page 24 of Protective Assignment (Warrior Peak Sanctuary #1)

River glanced around as she and Hannah stepped out of the truck, suddenly feeling like eyes were on her.

She knew she was being paranoid after everything that had happened and how close the Shepards seemed to be.

She couldn’t help it, though. She was second-guessing everything about being here without Cade, or even one of the other men from the lodge.

She’d had a large knot in her stomach since she’d gotten up this morning.

Hannah knew what was happening, but didn’t seem to let it be diminishing her normal bright and cheerful disposition. Or maybe she was just trying to help River feel more comfortable. Either way, River just wanted to try to enjoy spending time with her friend.

“Thanks for coming into town with me today,” she remarked, hooking one of the reusable totes that River had made for them over her shoulder. “It’s so much more fun with some company, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, exactly,” River agreed, but in truth, she was more than a little nervous about being out in the open like this, regardless of what she’d told Cade yesterday.

She had promised Hannah she would come to town with her to help her pick up her stuff since Hannah didn’t want to ask one of the guys.

Apparently, her brother and Xavier were still only barely talking and she didn’t like the thought of her friend being stuck between them, so River had volunteered.

But there was a part of her that was fearful the Shepards might swoop in as soon as they got the chance.

But she couldn’t let the fear of them get in the way of her living her life, she knew that much. Besides, Cade had sworn to her the night before that he wasn’t going to let anything happen to her.

And she believed him, she really did. The way that he spoke, it was as though he had never been surer of anything in his entire life.

She trusted that—trusted him. He had a long history in the military, and he had taken a serious injury as part of his service.

If anyone could take whatever the Shepards and Ryker threw at him, it would be Cade.

“You want to get some breakfast first?” Hannah suggested, gesturing to the small diner sitting just off the square.

River grinned and nodded. “Sure. That sounds great,” she agreed.

They headed to grab a spot at one of the booths on the far side of the diner. Hannah insisted that River try the waffles, and the two of them tucked into a steaming plate of syrupy breakfast as the rain began to fall outside.

“Wow, that’s good,” River murmured.

Hannah grinned. “I told you so,” she replied proudly. “So, what’s on your mind? You’ve been a little quiet today. More quiet than normal, I mean.”

“I, uh…” she began. She didn’t want to tell Hannah the truth about her past. The fewer people that knew, the better it would be for her.

Plus, she didn’t want to get into all the details in a place so public or take more time than necessary to get the supplies.

She just wanted to help Hannah get what was needed and return to the lodge…

to Cade. But she had to give her something.

“I’m thinking about what I’m going to do at the lodge when I’ve finished with all the clothes and supplies,” she replied.

“Oh, yeah? You got something in mind?”

“Sarah said I could maybe help her out in some way with the therapy,” she replied. “I don’t know if I would actually be any good, but…”

“I bet you would be,” Hannah replied encouragingly. “You’re always a really good listener, River. You would do a great job with that. Have you ever thought about becoming a therapist?”

“I—I guess I could train.” River shrugged, raising her eyebrows as the thought of it crossed her mind.

She had never really thought much about what life might look like for her down the road, after the Shepards.

But after her conversation with Cade, realizing she wanted to stay there at the lodge, she might need to start.

She could actually think about what she wanted to do with her future.

And maybe she could help others with the knowledge she had gained from her own suffering.

She and Hannah continued with their meals and chatted about the possibility of her working with Sarah.

For the first time in too long, River felt really hopeful.

Like there was a future beyond what she had imagined for herself.

She wasn’t going to be trapped in a marriage with Ryker.

She was free—and that freedom was almost dizzying as she tried to wrap her head around it.

“Okay, I guess we should actually get going and get the errands done since we’re finished here,” Hannah said, once they both cleaned their plates. “Come on, I left the lodge business credit card in the truck. Let’s grab it and finish up so we can get back.”

River wholeheartedly agreed. They had already wasted enough time stopping to eat, though it was really good and the food had actually helped settle some of her nerves a bit.

She followed Hannah out of the diner, and she had a smile on her face as they walked back to the truck.

Her mind kept wandering to her future—to a future she had hardly dared imagine for herself before, but that now seemed within her grasp.

And that future was more tempting than anything in the world.

A future she got to choose for herself—maybe a future with Cade too.

But before her mind could stray any further down that path, a car screeched to a halt beside them. River spun around, her eyes wide as panic gripped her. A moment later, a man leaped out of the car and slammed a rag over her mouth.

“River!” Hannah screamed, and it was the last thing River heard before the blackness swallowed her up completely.

* * *

When River came to , her head was throbbing with pain.

In fact, her whole body ached. Her head had sunk down to her chest, and she lifted it and looked around.

She couldn’t see anything, couldn’t even remember how she had gotten here.

She went to lift her hand to brush her hair back from her face, but she couldn’t move.

Something bit into her arms, pinning them in place.

She let out a whimper as the memory of what had happened before she blacked out rose up in her mind.

They had gotten her. She didn’t know how they had found her, but as soon as she had felt that rough fabric over her mouth and the thick, chemical scent of a sedative filled her nostrils, she had known it.

And now she was here—God only knew where this place was—and she didn’t know if she was ever going to be able to get out.

“She’s awake.”

A light flicked on, hurting River’s eyes.

She looked around the space again as her eyes adjusted to see if she could figure out where she was.

She was restrained in an old, rickety wooden chair with zip ties, the plastic digging painfully into her skin.

Her mouth was dry and her stomach twisted and turned inside of her.

How long had she been here? She wasn’t even sure she wanted to know the answer to that question.

“Good to see you again, River.”

Everything in her froze when she heard that voice.

The voice of her nightmares. Her ears suddenly started ringing so loud she thought she’d go deaf.

Her heart pounded painfully in her chest and her muscles seized as if they would snap apart.

She turned her head toward the voice, and there he was.

The very last person she ever wanted to see again.

Ryker.

His hair had grown out slightly, hanging in a shaggy mess to his shoulders, and his clothes were dirty and ragged. His wolf-like eyes cut through her, and that predatory grin spread over his face. The combination was startling and chilled her to the bone.

“You miss me?” he asked her, reaching out to cup her chin tightly in his hand. She tried to pull her face away, but his grip was too strong. Being this close to him again after the past few months on the run was enough to turn her stomach.

No. She couldn’t do this. Not again. She couldn’t have gotten so far from him just to end up back in his grasp. She should never have left the safety of the lodge. She was so stupid to believe she’d actually escaped him when she knew, she knew , there was no way. Ryker would never let her go.

She lowered her eyes to the ground. She wasn’t going to give him her attention, no matter how much he seemed to think he was entitled to it. No matter how much he wanted it.

“You’ve been out for six hours, sweetheart,” he continued, letting go of her face, though she could still feel the grip of his finger on her jaw.

Six hours? Her heart sank. Cade. What was going through his mind? Would he be looking for her? How would he even find her? She prayed he wouldn’t give up on her.

And Hannah! What had happened to Hannah? She had been with her when River was abducted. What if something had happened to her? What if she had been hurt, or worse?

She wanted to ask the questions but she couldn’t get her mouth to form the words. Was afraid of the answers she’d get if she did. She couldn’t bear it if something happened to one of her friends because of her.

“Don’t worry, River,” Ryker continued. “We’re going to get you back home. Back where you belong, right?”

River tensed but didn’t say a word to him. She knew he would twist up anything she said and use it against her. He would find some way to make it seem like she had agreed to go back with him, even though they both knew she’d never willingly go back. Especially not with him.

Before he could continue, another man stepped into the small room with them. It looked like an old hunting cabin or something, paint peeling off the walls and old cans of food stacked in the cabinets with doors that seemed to be half hanging off their hinges.

“We need to move, boss,” the man told him.

River recognized him—one of her father’s friends.

She wanted to scream at him, ask him if this was what her father would have wanted him to do.

What would he have thought if he had been able to see this man, a friend of his, involved in the kidnapping of his daughter?

He couldn’t even make eye contact with River, and it didn’t surprise her.

He knew what he was doing was twisted and wrong.

Ryker let out a snarl of irritation. “You should never have let that other girl get away,” he snapped at the other man.

The other girl? Hannah? She had managed to get away? River felt a flood of relief hit her. Thank God.

“And now she’s going to bring the pigs to our door,” he continued. “Get everyone together, tell them we’re ready to move out.”

Move out? Move out where? River glanced between the men, trying to pick up on anything she could, but it was no good. They weren’t interested in dealing with her right now; they were intent on doing whatever they could to make sure they didn’t get caught.

Ryker flipped out a knife and cut the bindings tying her to the chair before yanking her up with a hard jerk that rattled her teeth.

Before she could protest, he had her arms gripped in front of her and fastened more ties around her wrists.

She felt a cold chill whipping in from outside, and she wished she had Cade’s winter coat with her—something to keep her warm, and something to remind her of him.

“Come on. Move,” Ryker ordered, and he dragged her toward the door of the cabin. His grip was tight and unyielding. She tried to pull herself away, but he hung on even tighter. He wasn’t letting her go anywhere now that he had her where he wanted her.

Outside, it had started to snow just the slightest bit. There was maybe half an inch lying on the well-trodden ground and it was still coming down. That was going to make it harder for them to find her, or even a trail.

But as she stumbled behind Ryker, who was dragging her roughly through the dense woods, she had to trust that Cade meant it when he said he could protect her.

No matter how easy it would have been to let her fear and doubt get the better of her, she was going to trust in him until she was given a reason not to.

Because right now, he was her only chance of getting out of here in one piece.