Page 3 of Protective Assignment (Warrior Peak Sanctuary #1)

Carter placed his plate on the table opposite to his brother—roast beef, mashed potatoes and a healthy serving of greens on the side—and sank down into his seat.

“Well, now that you’re finally here, are you going to tell me how you’re really doing?” he said gruffly.

Cade grinned. He knew it was the closest he was ever going to get to a friendly greeting from his brother.

That had just always been Carter’s way with him, ever since he joined the military, and doubly so since he’d been injured.

He knew it was Carter’s way of showing he cared, though, and he appreciated it.

“Not too bad,” he replied. “Glad to get up here for a while. Felt like the walls were closing in and I was feeling a bit useless, stewing down there at home.”

“You’re not useless,” Carter replied at once. “You’re injured. You need plenty of time to get back on your feet after what happened, you know that.”

“I know.” Cade sighed, picking at the food in front of him—the same dinner as Carter had on his plate, but he didn’t feel too hungry right now.

He used to have a heck of an appetite, eating everything that was put in front of him, but that was when he had been in training and in combat. His body had needed all the support and sustenance it could get to keep him going.

But that had been before.

Before the injury, before he’d had to give up the one thing that had driven him forward and given him purpose. He’d taken a heavy beating in combat between his shoulder, scattered shrapnel in his body and his skull nearly being split in half that he’d had to relearn basically everything since then.

How to walk, how to talk, how to move, how to say his own name.

There were still memories from before the injury and of his time in the hospital that were hazy, but he knew he’d come a hell of a long way since the moment he’d woken up with his whole life tipped upside down.

At least when he was in recovery, he’d had something to focus on. He needed something moving him forward, and learning how to get his life back had given him that meaning for a while.

But now?

Now he craved the thrill of active duty, and the camaraderie of his life with the guys in his unit. Being stuck with an injury and far from the action was making him feel a little crazy.

“You’re doing good, Cade,” Carter told him. “Think about where you were just last year—”

“I try not to,” Cade replied, cutting him off before he could go any further. “Anyway, you mind me taking advantage of the family discount?”

“How do you mean?” Carter asked, furrowing his brow.

“For the physical therapy,” he replied. “I mean, I need to get back in shape, right? The VA hardly covers what I need to get back out in the—”

“Why do you even want to get back out there again? How do you even know if you can?” Carter asked, and Cade could sense his irritation.

“You had a head injury, for crying out loud. That’s something to take seriously.

You’re lucky to have survived.” He furrowed his brow and snapped his mouth shut to keep from saying more.

Cade couldn’t blame his brother for his response to his wishful plan.

Carter had seen a lot while helping him get back on his feet.

He couldn’t hold it against him that he didn’t want Cade to walk right back into the setting that had landed him in all this trouble in the first place.

His recovery hadn’t been a pretty situation to be around, and Cade certainly wasn’t the best company during the worst of his injuries.

“Hey, it’s not for you to know why,” he joked back. “You just have to do your job, right?”

Truth be told, he was dodging the question.

First off, he didn’t even know if he’d be allowed back after the injuries he suffered.

Probably not, but he could still hold on to that dream a little longer.

Secondly, he didn’t want to admit to his brother the truth—that he felt useless, hopeless, in the state he was in now.

He couldn’t just sit around doing nothing for the rest of his life.

He needed that hit of adrenaline, the thrill that came with the life he used to have, and he was never going to get it watching true crime documentaries on repeat in his apartment.

He wasn’t the man he used to be, and he hated it.

He wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep living the way he was, and he hoped his brother, who had been working as a physical therapist for the last few years, would be able to get him back on his feet and ready to get out there again.

Deep down Cade knew he wouldn’t be able to do what he did before with his unit, but there had to be something in some related capacity that could get him back out there, let him feel that rush again.

Feel like he was contributing to something that mattered.

But before the conversation could go any further, they were joined by another diner, Xavier Michaels, former CIA, and also one of the owners of the lodge. He cracked a beer as he slid into an empty chair, grinning at Cade in greeting.

“Hey, there,” he said. “Didn’t expect you to make it here.”

“What, to the lodge?” Cade asked.

“No, to your thirties,” he replied.

“Trust me, I made a damn good try not to,” Cade chuckled, earning a scowl from his brother. But before he could say anything else, the floor creaked behind them. He glanced over and saw River, peering around the cafeteria, looking as pale as a ghost.

She wore a sweater and a pair of ill-fitting jeans. Her hair was pulled up in a ponytail at the top of her head and hung down her back, and she clutched a tray of food like it was the only thing keeping her pinned to the earth.

“That the hitchhiker?” Xavier asked, lifting his chin in her direction, as she went to find a seat on the far side of the room from the guys.

Carter nodded. “Yeah, the one Cade picked up,” he replied. “Any idea who she is, by the way, Cade?”

“None,” Cade answered, watching as she sat at one of the tables with her back against the wall so she could keep an eye on the room. “Thanks for giving her a place to stay tonight, Xavier. I appreciate it.”

“Hey, it was Hannah’s doing, but I’m not one to turn away a woman in the middle of nowhere who looks like she’s been on the road for months already.” Xavier shrugged.

“Where do you think she’s from?” Carter asked.

“Not from around here, that’s for sure,” Xavier replied. “But anyone on the side of the road out there at this time of the year isn’t doing it for fun. She’s trying to get away from something, I’d bet. Or someone.”

“We need to quit staring, guys. She’s skittish enough without seeing us watching her,” Cade commented as he got to his feet, grabbing his tray and heading over to join River.

It would give him a chance to deflect his brother’s questions about what he was planning to do now that he was out here.

He also wanted to find out what was going on with her if he could. Maybe even help.

Those giant blue eyes darted up to look at him as he drew closer, and she clenched the cutlery in her hand a little tighter.

“Mind if I join you?” he asked, gesturing to the spot opposite her.

She shook her head. “Go ahead,” she replied, and he planted himself down in the chair across from her.

She picked at her food for a few moments, staring down at the plate in front of her as though it held the mysteries to the universe.

Cade snuck glances at her while he had a few bites of his own meal. Taking in her slim build and tired eyes. He could tell she was struggling to get by and running on exhaustion.

Xavier was right, there was no way she was out here by choice. She had to be running from something. Judging by her jumpy demeanor, she clearly hadn’t put as much distance as she’d have liked between herself and whatever was after her.

“Are you in some kind of trouble?” he asked her finally.

She startled, lifting her gaze to meet his. “You ask all the girls that?” she shot back, but a whisper of a smile passed over her lips as she spoke.

He grinned back at her, hoping they could break the ice. It was clear this woman had some serious nerve, and he was eager to find out if there was more of it to come once she got some food in her and proper rest.

“Where you headed?” he asked, deciding to try a different approach.

She shrugged. “Wherever I need to end up,” she replied, pushing food around on her plate.

She wasn’t going to make this easy for him, that much he could tell for sure. If he couldn’t get her to talk about herself, maybe he could, at least, make her feel a little more at ease.

“You’re safe here,” he said gently. “You know much about the lodge?”

She shook her head, finally taking a real bite of her food.

“It’s a place that helps people with military or law enforcement experience get back on their feet after they’ve had an injury, physical or mental,” he told her. “Everyone here, they’re on the right side of the law. You’re not in danger here, River. It’s one of the safest places you could be.”

She took another bite of her food, and then stirred the potatoes around on her plate before she responded.

“I don’t really know where I’m going after this,” she admitted to him finally.

Her voice sounded small, almost shaky, and Cade frowned.

He saw dark circles under her eyes, and her cheeks looked a little sunken, as though it had been a long time since she’d had a decent meal. How long had she been living like this?

He held himself back from asking that question, not wanting to overwhelm her or give her a reason to stop talking. She was eating now and going to be able to get a good night’s sleep—that was what mattered.

Soon enough, she had finished her food. He could tell she was still hungry, though, and he pushed his plate over to her.

She glanced up at him, her eyes flashing with embarrassment.

It was clear she wasn’t used to asking for what she wanted or needed from people, but he intended to change that, if he could.

“You can stay here as long as you need to. These guys won’t mind,” he told her, tilting his head to the guys at the other table.

“And you need to eat and get some rest. Otherwise, whatever you’re running from is going to catch up with you, and you’re not going to have the strength to defend yourself from it, right? ”

She chewed on her lip for a moment, but then reached for his plate.

Something seemed to have clicked with her.

Cade nodded and got to his feet to leave her to finish up and grab some more food for himself.

Once he had a full plate, he returned to the other table where Carter and Xavier had been watching their exchange the whole time.

“Well? Find anything out?” his brother asked.

Cade nodded. “She looks to be in her midtwenties, and she’s from Florida. That’s what she told me on the ride up here. Didn’t give me a city or anything, but it’s something.”

“Her name’s River, right?” Carter asked.

“Or that’s her alias,” Cade replied. “She didn’t volunteer a last name. You think we could get someone to look into missing person reports from Florida for the last few months?”

“You think she’s actually in trouble?” Xavier asked, raising his eyebrows. “Not just trying to get away from a boyfriend or her family?”

“I don’t know,” Cade replied, shaking his head.

“She’s been out on the road for a while by looking at her, with just the ratty bag she has with her.

She looks malnourished and tired. Like she’s been surviving out there by herself.

I doubt she realized how quiet the road up to this place is, and she seems… anxious. Flighty.”

Cade fell silent as he watched Hannah approach River. The woman looked uneasy, ready to bolt, her face taut even as sweet, bubbly Hannah tried to talk to her. It was obvious she wasn’t going to let anyone get close to her, at least not yet. That only spurred Cade’s interest even more.

“Well, she can stay,” Xavier said, looking in River’s direction.

“And I’ll do what I can with the little information we have to see if there’s anything we can find out about her.

But if there’s any trouble from her—or if she brings any trouble to the lodge—she’s out, okay?

I can’t have anyone bringing that kind of chaos here.

It would jeopardize everything we do here. ”

“Thanks, Xavier,” Cade replied.

He watched as Hannah and River talked. There was something about her that had captured his attention, some instinct deep inside he couldn’t ignore that told him she was in trouble. And he wanted to help.

He was going to get to the bottom of it.