Page 8 of Protective Assignment (Warrior Peak Sanctuary #1)

“So, what exactly is this about?” Cade asked as he looked around the group that had gathered in one of the small buildings behind the main lodge. Carter had walked out with him telling him that there would be someone else joining their meeting with Xavier and Lawson.

“Cade, this is Sheriff Willis,” Lawson introduced the other man in the room.

The man extended his hand to Cade, and Cade took it, looking him up and down. He was a cop, no doubt about it.

“Good to meet you, sheriff.” Cade nodded in greeting. “Now, is someone going to tell me what’s going on here?”

“I’ve been hearing some rumors I thought you might be interested in.” Willis replied, furrowing his brow. He brushed back a strand of his thinning gray hair, a concerned expression on his face.

“Rumors?” Cade asked, ears perking up. “About what?”

“We had a meeting with some other local law enforcement across state lines,” he explained. “And all of us are seeing a marked uptick in gang activity. Not the usual kind, though, and that’s what worries me.”

“What’s been going on?” Lawson asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

“All across the Carolinas, there’s one group who’s causing us a whole lot of headaches,” he continued. “The Shep-ards of Rebellion.”

Shepards of Rebellion. Cade repeated the name in his head, seeing if it stuck anywhere, but he couldn’t place it at all.

“And what’s this got to do with the lodge?” Xavier wondered aloud.

“We’ve been hearing stories of people getting robbed out on the Appalachian Trail, not far from you,” he explained. “Figured you might want to let some of your guys know about it.”

“People have been robbed? What for?” Carter asked, frowning.

“Weapons, mostly, but they’ve been taking other survivalist stuff too,” Willis replied. “The Shepards, they don’t seem like your normal gang, from everything we’ve seen. We can handle them making a little noise, starting a few bar fights, but this goes way beyond that.”

“So, what have they been up to?” Cade demanded.

“Some dark stuff. Anarchist-type stuff,” Willis remarked, shaking his head.

“We’re not sure how deep it goes, or exactly what they’re planning, but they’ve got their tentacles across several states now, and it looks like they’re going to try and keep expanding from there.

You’ll want to be on your guard. They’ve been on the Feds’ radar for a couple of decades now, ever since they started back in Florida. ”

Florida? Cade’s mind flashed to River at once.

No way she had anything to do with that group, right?

No, it was just a coincidence. She couldn’t be involved in something like a dangerous gang.

And besides, these gangs didn’t exactly have people running around looking like cult members.

They would try and keep their appearances as subtle as possible so they could blend in.

And there was no way River blended in anywhere she was in the world.

“Thanks, Willis,” Xavier told the sheriff. “I appreciate you coming out here to let us know. If we hear anything about them, or notice anything suspicious around the lodge, we’ll reach out to you, okay?”

“Sure thing,” Willis replied. “Just keep your hikers off the trails for a while, make sure they know what they’re dealing with. We don’t want to cause a panic, but we don’t want to give the Shepards any more victims to get their hands on, either.”

“Of course,” Xavier replied. “I’ll walk you out,” he gestured for the sheriff to follow him. “I’ve got to get back to the lodge anyway. Guys,” he added with a chin lift before they walked out the door.

Cade watched until he was gone, and then turned back to the others.

“So, anything come up on those missing person reports?” he asked.

Lawson shook his head. “Nothing I could see outright,” he replied. “Doesn’t look like there’s anyone out there looking for River, at least as far as I can tell with the little information we have on her.”

Cade nodded, not sure if that was a good thing or not.

Surely there had to be someone out there who had noticed she was gone?

Someone who was searching for her. Whatever she was running from, it was clear she had reason to think it might catch up with her, and he didn’t want to let anything get close to her.

“So, why exactly did you want me here for this meeting?” he asked, a little confused. He didn’t work at the lodge. Just because his brother did and Cade was visiting, it surely didn’t mean he had to be a part of these serious conversations with the cops.

Carter sighed, and then looked over to Lawson. “Go ahead.”

Lawson turned to Cade with a serious expression.

“Cade, there’s something I’d like you to know about one of the things we do out here,” he explained.

“We run a tactical operations team out of the lodge. Well, mostly me. Xavier handles more of the day-to-day functions but he helps out when necessary.”

Cade glanced between the guys, trying to figure out if this was some kind of joke, but they looked back at him with serious faces.

He’d always thought something like this was going on up here in the background.

No way could you get together so many people who had been involved in such demanding and all-consuming work and expect them to just forget about it while they focused on their recovery.

They’d need to do some kind of physical activity, at least, for the missing adrenaline rush and to keep their skills sharp.

So it didn’t surprise him at all to find out that Lawson and Xavier, both being former CIA, had found a way to utilize those honed skills to help when necessary.

“And what exactly does that involve?” he asked.

“We work with law enforcement and other agencies in different capacities to help them take down any troublemakers in the area,” he explained.

“Usually, it’s nothing too difficult, nothing too physical.

A lot of it involves background research-type work, but it keeps us busy and makes sure the guys are keeping all areas of their skills current for when they want to get back into the field. ”

Cade cocked an eyebrow. “And you’re telling me because…?”

“Because we want you to be part of it.”

Cade felt a grin spread across his face.

Of course that was what this was about. They knew as well as anyone how good he had been at his job, how seriously he had taken it.

And even though his brother might have wanted him to keep his head down and focus on getting better, he was always going to be restless, searching for another way to use his skills.

He looked at each man in the room. “Just a reminder—I nearly got my skull split in two. Another injury, and I’ll be out for good.”

“We know,” Lawson replied.

Carter bristled at Cade’s words, and Cade knew his brother probably wasn’t happy about this offer. But Carter knew better than to try to stop him; knew he’d go crazy without something to keep him busy.

Lawson continued. “Most of this work is surveillance-based, so you’re not going to be in the line of fire. Backup to law enforcement is about as much action as you’ll see. You shouldn’t have to worry much about a reinjury. So, what do you think?”

Cade tapped his finger on his chin. It was a great offer, and something for him to stay active doing.

He wanted to feel useful and to keep himself strong, physically and mentally.

But he wasn’t sure if he was ready for responsibility like this before he finished all his therapy.

The last thing he’d want was to let them down or get himself or someone else hurt because he wasn’t up to the job yet.

At the same time, he’d never been one to back down from a challenge.

“I’ll think about it,” he replied to Lawson and held out his hand. “Thanks for the offer. It means a lot you’d consider me.”

It was the best he could do right now. He didn’t want to commit to anything without thinking it through.

Even being asked to join the team was a boost to his ego, but he needed to be in the right headspace to consider the pros and cons of the role.

He wanted to be useful again, to have a purpose that meant something and made a difference.

This could be the opportunity he was looking for to prove to himself and others that he was capable.

Lawson dipped his chin and gave him a firm handshake. “Thanks for meeting with us.”

Cade turned to leave, giving Carter a slap on the shoulder as he passed.

He was sure they had some real work stuff to discuss, and he didn’t need to stick around for that.

He had never been as interested in the practical side of things—the day-to-day stuff—like running a business. Taking out bad guys was more his speed.

Besides, he was starting to get hungry.

He was just about to start down the path to the main lodge again, when he spotted someone hurrying away, like they didn’t want to get caught.

He peered after the person’s retreating form for a moment, and then he realized who it was—River. All that hair was a dead giveaway.

“Hey, River!” he called after her. Had she been eavesdropping on them? He couldn’t imagine they were saying anything that might have interested her, but he didn’t know for sure. And why was she trying to get away from him now that he had noticed her? It didn’t make sense.

He took off after her and caught her arm just before she vanished back down the path to the woods once more. She spun around at once, and landed a sharp jab on his jaw, sending him reeling back in surprise.

“Damn!” he exclaimed, rubbing his jaw. She stared up at him, her eyes wide, her face pale.

“I’m sorry,” she blurted out.

He shook his head in disbelief. “Where did you learn to hit like that?” he asked.

She was so slight, almost fragile, it was hard to believe she could hit that hard.

“Street fighting,” she replied, and he couldn’t tell if she was joking or not.

There was a lot about her that was hard to read, but he got the feeling that was by design.

She didn’t want anyone getting too close, finding out too much about her.

But she could only get away with that for so long before she would have to tell them at least something about her past and what she was running from, especially if she wanted to stay.

Lawson wouldn’t have it any other way. It was his and Xavier’s responsibility to make sure this place was safe for their guests.

If either of them thought she was a threat in any way, they’d surely ask her to leave.

She wrapped her arms around herself protectively, her eyes lowering to the ground.

Cade stared at her. He still didn’t know what was going on with this woman or how to get by her walls, but he wanted to help her if he could. If she’d just meet him halfway and open up some…

He decided to try again, “River, please tell me what’s going on with you.”

She shook her head and held herself tighter. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Yes, it does,” he replied gently, trying to keep his voice as patient as he could. “I know you’re going through something. It’s obvious. I just want to help you…”

He trailed off with a weighted sigh. He could immediately tell this approach was not working, again.

Stubborn woman. She obviously didn’t want anyone’s help.

Or maybe she didn’t believe that anyone would want to help her.

He wasn’t sure if there was anything he could say or do that would convince her to trust him, even a little.

Well, he could be stubborn too and he was damn sure going to try to change her mind.

Cade watched her hug herself tighter and she still wouldn’t meet his eyes. He decided to try a more direct approach and hope that didn’t scare her off for good. “If you’re going to stay here, then you’re going to need to open up a little. Give us a little background on yourself.”

No matter what had happened to her, he was sure there were plenty of people out there who had been through the same. Nobody suffered in a way that was exclusive to them, he had learned that in his recovery.

She paused for a moment, going completely still.

Cade could almost see the wheels turning in her brain, clearly trying to decide how much she should tell him.

What she could trust him with. Cade tensed and held his breath in anticipation.

Then something seemed to shift inside of her.

He saw it when her eyes lifted to his. It was like she finally realized that she couldn’t keep all of her secrets hidden.

She let out a resigned breath. “I was going to have to get married to someone I didn’t want to marry. It wasn’t a good situation,” she replied, not making eye contact again. “So, I left.”

And just like that, Cade felt some of the barrier she held between them come down and his body somewhat relaxed at her confession. It wasn’t much, but it was a start, and right now he would take what little bit he could.