Page 20 of Stone (Claimed and Protected #3)

S tone

Here we went again.

Another phone conversation.

Another dead end.

“We don’t have that confirmation, Stone. I’m sorry. But you certainly left a fucking mess to clean up.” Gray’s voice held the same authoritarian tone I’d heard hundreds of times while serving under his command.

I stood on the deck watching the sun finally give way to twilight. From behind me there was music, something I rarely allowed myself to listen to. Dani had insisted. She could be so damn hardheaded when she wanted to be.

Having her inside my home was entirely different than I’d thought it would be. Since stepping foot inside, she’d been so quiet. Even doing something completely normal like making dinner together had seemed so odd.

There’d never been another time when I’d had anyone inside the house for longer than a few hours, let alone staying in my guest room.

I could barely take my eyes off her. She’d changed into one of the few island dresses she’d purchased, the simple, light fabric hugging every curve.

And dear God, she was a sight to behold.

She’d taken a shower, even putting on makeup and I’d been fucking blown away. The fresh-faced girl that adored wearing her hair in a ponytail had turned into the most stunning woman I’d ever seen let alone met. She had no idea how beautiful she was or how having her inside my house affected me.

I was a fucking mess.

Now she was cleaning the last of the dishes in her bare feet, humming to whatever song was being played on satellite radio. She fit right in and that troubled me more than the off-the-cuff decision to bring her to my home.

Bringing her into my space had been a spur of the moment decision I feared I’d regret.

“Are you listening to me, Stone? Where the fuck is your mind?”

Exhaling, I turned away from her on purpose, leaning over the railing and staring out at the ocean. “I’m right here. What do you mean what is on my mind? This bullshit.”

“Which you volunteered to be a part of. Just so you know, you destroyed a building. That didn’t make Interpol very happy.”

“Interpol? Fuck them and we didn’t destroy shit.

Do you think we had a good ole time being nearly blown to bits?

And what did you want me to do, Gray? We had fucking twenty-five men after us when you assured me that there wouldn’t be more than six or eight.

That gives me a clear indication your intel sucks.

How could I know they’d be willing to firebomb the warehouse to try and kill us?

That’s another goddamn thing that makes me wonder what else I haven’t been told. ”

“What are you talking about? You had a full file on the mission.”

“Did I really? Maybe your good buddy, Bradford Vale didn’t tell you everything.

By all rights that goddamn fire should have killed us.

We were lucky to get out alive. From there we headed through the woods that supposedly had no security systems monitoring to our vehicles.

As soon as we left the house heading to the airport, I sensed we were being followed. How was that possible?”

Gray huffed. “What are you insinuating?”

“I’m not insinuating anything. I’m telling you that Matis wants Dani for an entirely different reason than some ransom payment, and he was more than prepared for our arrival. Either you have a leak or you’re just not willing to tell me the truth.”

“There is nothing to tell, Stone. She was kidnapped by a notorious rebel with the intent of extorting money from the vice president of the United States. That’s it.

I do appreciate you going the extra mile to keep her safe and Interpol is attempting to identify the soldiers who attacked you at the airport, but as you know, a few of them will be tough to identify. There’s not much left to identify.”

Was I supposed to feel bad about that?

“Just find out because Dani doesn’t want to spend the rest of her life around me.”

“You know what? I can see why. Please share with Daniella that her father is concerned about her and would like to hear from her directly.”

“Yeah, I’ll tell her, but tell the vice president not to hold his breath.” The fact Bradford could still get under my skin pissed me off. I’d ignored the man as much as possible even though he’d made good on his promise to continue growing his illustrious career.

Gray sighed. “I can still arrange to have Daniella protected if you’d prefer to bring her to DC.”

I shook my head and tried to remind myself Gray wasn’t an enemy.

He ran some big think tank along with various powerful people from politics to former high ranking military personnel.

They were consultants yet also handled missions of security.

That’s all that Maddox and Kage had discovered in handling the ‘favors’ he’d asked of them.

The three of us were highly skilled, our particular skillsets complementing the others. Gray had tasked each one of us for assistance based on the mission’s particular needs. I’d known the man would come knocking at my door sooner than later.

I’d just had no idea how complicated his mission of choice would be.

“No,” I gritted out. “I’ll handle keeping her safe. Is there any chance my location in the islands has been compromised?”

“None,” he assured me. “Your name wasn’t listed on part of the mission.

We kept everything completely confidential.

The only two people that knew you were involved were Vice President Vale and myself.

Besides, you have the property in Hawaii listed as Island Time Tours.

Matis wouldn’t have a clue where to start looking. ”

“Then how did you find me?”

Gray laughed. “I know you and I have sources.”

I’d mentioned I owned property in Hawaii to a single person. Kage. I made mental note to beat the shit out of the man next time I saw him. At least I had some comfort Matis wouldn’t soon knock on my door.

Or blow the roof off.

That didn’t mean I wouldn’t take precautions. I already had a security system installed, which I rarely used. It had been a force of habit. I also had enough weapons and ammunition to start a war. Again, another habit that I’d pretended kept the demons at bay.

While it appeared Dani would be safe, I knew better than to pretend as if the danger didn’t exist. In my mind, she wouldn’t truly be safe until Matis was six feet under.

I knew his type, someone holding a grudge the size of a boulder with enough money and influence to act on his need for revenge several times over.

For what reason he’d opted to make Daniella his method of retaliation I might never be privy to discovering. Which meant I needed to be completely diligent in my effort to protect her.

That meant keeping my distance from her as well as requiring she remain in house arrest.

Yeah, like that would go over well.

“Just keep the goddamn vice president out of my hair.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” Gray wasn’t any happier than I was.

With the call ended, I held the phone to my face, taking deep, controlled breaths to try to remain calm. Being a part of the mission had reminded me that no matter the extensive training or the years on the job, mistakes could still be made. The last thing I wanted was to make one with her life.

“I can only remember a handful of times when I’ve seen you this angry. Including with my father.”

I wasn’t about to get into all the reasons why I loathed Bradford. I’d insisted what had occurred was in the past and planned on keeping the incidents that way. No good would come from dredging anything out of the dark crypts.

“Angry?” I repeated in an instant reaction.

“There are reasons I decided not to accept a career military position.” With my chest heaving, I issued a ragged hiss that was carried away by the sweeping ocean tides.

While I knew Gray wasn’t a player in this, only a facilitator, that didn’t mean I wasn’t furious that every scrap of information hadn’t been provided.

Dani said nothing as she approached, curiously keeping a couple of feet of distance as she leaned over the railing.

Every time she was near, she drew my attention and tonight was no exception.

I glanced in her direction, noticing how the breeze carried her long strands of hair back and forth across her shoulders.

She had her head lifted, gazing at the moon partially covered by clouds.

Even though she’d been through a horrific ordeal, she seemed at peace.

Meanwhile, I was like a raging bull prepared to gore anyone who dared come close.

When she said nothing, her way of giving me space, I took another deep breath and tried to calm down. “I’m sorry, Dani. You don’t need to hear any shit right now.”

“Why? Are you so worried that I’m fragile and can’t handle the truth?”

“I don’t know what the truth is or if there’s anything to your kidnapping other than greed. I just don’t like being placed in the position of not knowing the facts. That’s how people get killed.”

She turned just enough she was easily able to look at me in the shadowed twilight. “Yet against difficult odds, you saved me. It was like some crazy thriller movie where you knew the hero would rescue the damsel in distress and the bad guys would be shoved aside like toys.”

“Only they weren’t actors. They abducted and beat you. That’s not acceptable.”

Her laugh was full of emotion. “You were always my hero.”

“I’m not anyone’s hero.”

“Oh, yeah? Didn’t you already tell me you saved hundreds of lives during your time in the military?”

“That was different.”

“How so?”

Now I was the one laughing. “That was my job.”

“That you wouldn’t have done if you didn’t feel a love for your country and for saving innocent lives.”

I took a swallow of my drink as I thought about her comment. “They weren’t always innocent.”

“That’s what really bothers you. You don’t like saving anyone you don’t think deserves to be saved.”

“Not that simple.” I thought about the countless life-saving measures we’d taken to keep leaders of foreign countries alive, their beliefs certainly different from my own.

As she moved closer, the heat between us swelled.

When she dared placed her hand on my arm, I closed my eyes as every muscle tensed.

“Nothing in life is truly as simple as people would like you to believe, but there are almost always reasons for actions people take or decisions made. Sometimes, they’re out of our hands.

Sometimes, they’re for the greater good of family or friends, even countries.

And sometimes…” She hesitated and squeezed her fingers around my forearm.

“And sometimes the reasons are based in corruption. However, that doesn’t mean we need to change because of their beliefs. ”

“I’m not so sure.”

“Maybe what happened is you stopped believing in yourself. As I said before, I can’t imagine what you went through wherever you served in the military.

But I do believe the experience changed you.

Just don’t allow the memories and nightmares to alter the man inside.

” She reiterated her point by pressing the tip of her index finger against my chest above my heart. “Because that man is amazing.”

Right now, I didn’t feel amazing. Not by a long shot. I gritted my teeth until my jaw hurt, unable to say anything in response. What could be said?

Her sigh was exaggerated and she folded her fingers while immediately taking a step away. “Thank you for everything including a wonderful dinner. I haven’t enjoyed salmon so much in years. If you don’t mind, I’m going to go to bed.”

“Sure. Have a good night. One thing, Dani,” I said, stopping her before she ventured off.

Her shoulders tensed and she didn’t bother turning around.

“I gotta do some work over the next couple of days. When I’m out, you need to stay at the house.

Being on the deck is safe, but we’ll go over some security protocols in case we have an unwanted visitor.

I picked up a burner phone you can use in case of an emergency.

Just limit who you contact. Your father is okay, but no one else. ”

“Can I at least go to the beach?” Her tone was filled with contempt. I noticed she was twisting the ring absently while she refused to blink. A promise ring. Who the hell had I been thinking I could make such an assurance?

“Only when I’m here. But I won’t be gone more than a few hours at a time.”

“From one prison to another.” She wasn’t accusing me. She was reliving her entire life if only for a few seconds.

And suddenly, I felt like her captor instead of the man who’d promised that one day we’d be together.