Guarded by the Soldier Read online

  “Willa?” There was a note of worry in Olivia’s tone.

  He pulled his weapon, just in case. “What is it?” he asked in a low voice.

  “She usually waits up for me.”

  There was a light on in the kitchen, but the rest of the lower-level apartment was dark.

  Every one of his senses went on full alert.

  Something was very wrong.

  “Stay behind me.” Ryker gently but firmly pushed Olivia behind him. He debated whether or not to tell Olivia to call the police, but decided to find out what they were dealing with first.

  “Where is Aaron’s room?” he asked in a whisper.

  “His room is upstairs next to mine,” she whispered back.

  He nodded and made his way down the short hallway to the two bedrooms separated by a tiny bathroom. One bedroom door was open, the other was closed.

  With his foot, he shoved the door hanging ajar all the way open. The room was apparently used as a guest room and appeared empty.

  Behind him, Olivia sucked in a harsh breath and he knew she hadn’t expected the room to be vacant. He took a moment to check the closet and beneath the bed, before deeming the room clear.

  He checked the bathroom next, but found nothing.

  Testing the knob of the closed bedroom door, he found it wasn’t locked. Keeping Olivia behind him, he abruptly shoved the door open, then stepped back to wait.

  Nothing happened. Leading with his weapon, Ryker cautiously crossed the threshold, then stopped abruptly when he saw the older woman lying on the bed.

  After checking in the closet and beneath the bed to make sure there wasn’t anyone hiding in wait, he crossed over to feel for a pulse.

  The nanny was dead.

  “Willa!” Olivia’s horrified gasp indicated she knew the woman was gone. “Oh no! Where’s Aaron?”

  “Olivia, please,” he tried but then he heard the sound of someone coming down the stairs. “Run away and call for help.”

  “Not without my son!” She had her phone in her hand, but he knew any chance of help arriving would be too late.

  “Go!” He pushed Olivia toward the door then quickly but silently crossed the living room into the kitchen, flipping the light off as he went. There was a side doorway that he felt certain led up to the second-story apartment.

  He took up a defensive position behind the door, and waited, hoping the guy who likely had Aaron didn’t know that his cohort in crime had failed at kidnapping Olivia.

  “Mommy! Mommy! I want my Mommy!” Aaron’s cries echoed high and shrill above the thumping footsteps coming down the stairs.

  “Aaron! I’m here, baby, don’t worry!” Olivia’s voice rang out loudly and Ryker momentarily closed his eyes, wishing he’d handled things differently.

  He should have gotten Olivia and Aaron out of the city the moment he’d found them.

  Instead he may cause the very thing he’d been trying to avoid.

  Getting them both killed.

  The footsteps came closer and he instantly felt all his emotions drain away, a sense of cool calmness washing over him. Every one of his senses was keenly focused on the threat and what needed to be done.

  The same eerie sense of control had always come over him when he faced death. Back in Afghanistan and back in December while he’d been helping Hawk.

  From his position he could see that Olivia hadn’t left the duplex as ordered. He speared her with a stern look, but she ignored him. At least she was hovering near the doorway leading into the kitchen, somewhat protected behind the wall.

  Except for her pregnant belly which was too large to hide.

  He waved her back, but Olivia didn’t see him. Her eyes were glued to the doorway.

  Steeling his resolve to get her and the boy out of this mess, he waited.

  “Mommy, Mommy!” Aaron cried again. “Lemme go!”

  Ryker sensed the man holding Olivia’s son was standing on the other side of the doorway, planning his next move. Ryker believed the perp was cowardly enough to use the child as a shield.

  Which meant he’d have to find a way to take the guy out without harming the little boy.

  His gut knotted with tension, but he kept his ears and eyes focused on the door. Ignoring the child’s cries wasn’t easy, but then he heard the barest whisper of sound.

  He dropped his gaze to the doorknob and watched it slowly and silently turn. He mentally counted the seconds.

  The door flew open. There was a long pause but Ryker was ready. He shot out from behind the door, bringing his gun hand down hard on the back of the perp’s head.

  “No! Aaron!” Olivia cried.

  The guy stumbled, but didn’t go down or let go of the child. Ryker grabbed his shoulder and hit him again just as Olivia rushed forward and grabbed for Aaron.

  On some level he was aware of Olivia wrenching Aaron out of the perp’s grasp, even as the big guy groaned and turned toward Ryker. In a nanosecond Ryker saw the gun and fired.

  The sound of twin gunshots echoed loudly through the kitchen, and a flash of pain along the upper part of his left leg made Ryker realize he’d been hit.

  But he forced himself to ignore it. They had to move! Keeping Olivia and her son safe was all that mattered.

  TWO

  “Ryker!” Poised near the front doorway, Liv hesitated. She wasn’t sure why she was suddenly so worried about the stranger she hadn’t trusted a few minutes ago, but she couldn’t bear to leave him behind.

  The man who’d had Aaron collapsed on the floor at Ryker’s feet. He groaned but didn’t move. Bright red blood began to pool beside him on the floor.

  “Go! I’m right behind you.” Ryker staggered forward, carefully stepping around the man. “We need to get out of here before the cops arrive.”

  Logically she knew they shouldn’t leave the scene of a crime. They should wait for the police. But she’d been on the run for so long, she couldn’t do it. Hiking Aaron higher in her arms, she followed Ryker outside. Willa was dead and two men had almost succeeded in grabbing her and Aaron.

  Every fiber of her being longed to get far away from the quaint town she’d once thought could be her new home.

  “This way.” Ryker once again cupped his hand beneath her elbow, guiding her to the left.

  “Wait.” She dug in her heels. “I have a car here.”

  “No good. That’s how they tracked you. I have a vehicle stashed on the next block.”

  They’d tracked her here through her car? How was that possible? She’d exchanged her newer car for an older model and asked the owner of the used-car lot to keep the transaction off the books.

  “How do you know that?” she asked, already feeling breathless. Aaron wasn’t overly big for his age, but she was carrying her unborn baby, as well. She’d tried to keep in shape, but obviously she wasn’t going to be able to continue going at this pace for long.

  “Because that’s how I found you.” Ryker glanced down at her. “Will Aaron cry if I hold him? We need to hurry.”

  “Yes, he’s likely to cry, since the man on the stairs scared him.” The little boy was calmer now, but was sucking his thumb, a habit he’d broken six months ago. He was also, thankfully, wearing a Pull-Ups diaper as she could tell he’d wet himself.

  The poor child had been scared to death.

  She tried to match Ryker’s long-legged stride to avoid slowing them down. But seconds later, she could hear the wail of sirens.

  “Almost there,” Ryker said encouragingly as he continued urging her forward. “See the black SUV?”

  “Yes.” She was breathless with exertion, but pushed herself to keep going. It wasn’t until they reached his car that she realized they didn’t have a car seat for Aaron.

  “Wait! We need a car seat,” she protested when Ryker opened the passenger door for her.
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  “I already have one in the back, see? Let me strap him in.” Without asking permission, he plucked Aaron from her arms and opened the back door to place the toddler in his safety seat.

  Amazingly, Aaron didn’t cry. She wondered if her son sensed they were safe with Ryker.

  It wasn’t until she’d climbed in and buckled her seat belt and Ryker slid in behind the wheel that the significance of the child safety seat hit her.

  “You were planning to take me and Aaron all along!” Betrayal hit hard and she fumbled for the door handle. “You’re one of them! I can’t believe I fell for your act and—”

  “Don’t, Olivia.” Ryker’s voice wasn’t harsh, but firm. “I have never lied to you. I don’t work for the Blake-Moore Group, in fact I helped bring some of their men down. However, I have been trying to find you and Aaron to make sure you were safe. That’s why I have a car seat. I wanted to be ready if they came for you.”

  He’d already pulled away from the curb and was driving slowly away from Willa’s home. Liv glanced at her purse/diaper bag, thinking about the clothing and toys she’d left behind, and bit down on her lower lip to keep from crying.

  Were they really safe with Ryker? She wanted to trust her instincts, but too much had happened in such a short time. Her life as she’d known it was over.

  It had first ended six months ago, and now for a second time, as well. How many new starts could she handle?

  How many could Aaron handle?

  “Listen, I know you have no reason to trust me,” Ryker said calmly. “But I’ve been worried about you and Aaron for months. Since a few days before Christmas when I was at your house and realized you and your son had been removed in a hurry.”

  She glanced over at him, wishing she could see his eyes. But the interior of the car was too dark.

  “I’m sorry your husband and brother are dead,” he continued. “But you need to know they were attempting to kill a friend of mine, leaving us no choice but to stop them.”

  She stiffened in her seat as the realization sank deep. “You killed Tim and Colin?”

  “Technically, my buddy killed your husband in self-defense,” he corrected. “But yes, I’m sorry to say I had a part in killing your brother. Just know, I only did it to save my friend Hawk’s life.”

  He wasn’t telling her anything she hadn’t suspected, but the news sent her reeling all the same.

  Ryker had killed her brother. The older brother she’d once looked up to. She and Colin had been close once, but that was before he’d done a tour overseas.

  Before he’d joined the Blake-Moore Group.

  Before he’d turned into a killer.

  On some level she was surprised Ryker was being so bluntly honest with her. He easily could have kept that information to himself.

  “Why?” The word came out low and strained.

  “I told you, to save my friend’s life. And I only fired in self-defense.”

  “No, why were my husband and brother going after your friend?”

  There was a long pause before Ryker answered. “The Blake-Moore Group was hired by a man high up in the government to silence Hawk because he knew too much about the guy’s role in illegal arms dealing. They sold American guns to the enemy.”

  She closed her eyes as shame washed over her. To have her own flesh and blood and the father of her children involved in what was little more than a murder-for-hire scheme made her sick. She had to take several deep breaths to keep from throwing up in Ryker’s car.

  Wishing she’d brought some crackers along, she waited for the nausea to pass. When she opened her eyes, she was startled to realize they were already outside the city limits.

  “Where are we going?”

  “South.” Ryker’s answer wasn’t helpful.

  “Where, south? What city?”

  This time he didn’t respond for several long moments. She was about to ask again, when he said, “I thought we’d hide out in the Shawnee National Forest for what’s left of the night and decide where to go from there in the morning.”

  Liv glanced over her shoulder at Aaron, who’d fallen asleep. “I can’t stay in the forest with Aaron. It’s too remote. He’s never camped outside.”

  “They have hotels,” Ryker said dryly. “There are cabins for rent, too.”

  “Oh.” She felt foolish for assuming the worst. Rubbing a hand over her belly, she did her best to remain calm. Being upset and anxious wasn’t good for the baby.

  “How far along are you?” Ryker asked.

  “Thirty-four weeks. I’m due in six weeks.” She frowned. “I’ll need to establish care with a new obstetrician soon, though. Since I can’t go back to the one I was seeing in Harrisburg.”

  “Of course.”

  She felt an odd comfort in knowing that if anything did happen to her, Ryker seemed to be the kind of guy to get her and the baby the help they’d need.

  Maybe between God and Ryker, she and Aaron would be okay.

  * * *

  Ryker thought about calling his buddy Duncan O’Hare for help. He’d have called Hawk, but knew Hawk had taken his family on a honeymoon/vacation to Florida. Duncan would help, but Ryker decided to wait. No doubt he would soon need the assistance of others, but for now he just wanted to get Olivia and Aaron settled somewhere safe.

  The side of his left leg burned like crazy, but he knew the bullet had only grazed him. The wound wasn’t bad enough to slow him down. He figured there would be time later to examine the injury.

  His instinct was to use one of the cabin motels. From the research he’d done online, the cabins in the Shawnee forest were spread out from each other creating a better sense of isolation than what he and Hawk had experienced before Christmas.

  He cast a sidelong look at Olivia. She appeared to be resting, her palms spread protectively over her belly. He had a picture of Olivia and Aaron that he’d taken from her home tucked deep in his pocket, but the photo didn’t do her justice.

  She was heart-stoppingly beautiful. Her dark hair was cut shorter than what she’d worn in the photo, but he liked the way the ends curved along the edge of her jaw.

  Wait a minute. He gave himself a mental shake. There was no point in thinking about how pretty she was, or how cute Aaron looked sucking his thumb. The last thing he wanted was a relationship. Not after the way he’d lost his girlfriend and her young daughter in a senseless carjacking while he’d been deployed overseas. He never wanted to feel that kind of sorrow again, yet couldn’t help but reach out to help women and children in danger.

  The way he’d wished others had helped his girlfriend and her daughter.

  Besides, Olivia was mourning the loss of her husband and brother, and he’d been personally involved in their deaths, in a big way.

  He hadn’t shied away from telling her about his role in their deaths. He didn’t want to lie to her, yet he hadn’t exactly told her the entire truth. There was no good reason for her to know that her brother had held a gun to Jillian’s head while threatening to kill her and her four-year-old daughter, Lizzie.

  Ryker always felt remorse when he was forced to shoot someone, even knowing that the deed had been done to save the lives of innocents. It was the main reason he had only done one tour in the army. Being deployed in Afghanistan had been difficult. For one thing he’d left his girlfriend and her daughter behind, along with his foster parents. But more so because of the seemingly endless violence.

  And here he was tangled up with another case that forced him to use skills he’d rather forget he possessed.

  The close call at the nanny’s house had sent a cold chill down the back of his neck. He and the perp had both fired their weapons at nearly the exact same time but thankfully Ryker had had the advantage.

  If not, the outcome would have been much different.

  He rubbed a weary hand over his face and f
ocused on taking less-traveled highways to reach the Shawnee National Forest. When he came up to the gate, he pulled out his wallet and rolled down his window.

  “Good evening,” he greeted the guy at the gate. He sensed Olivia was awake, but she kept her eyes closed. “We’d like a week-long pass. We’re spending some time at the Cedar Rock Cabins.”

  The guy nodded and took the cash Ryker offered in exchange for a seven-day pass. He slid it in the lower-left-hand corner of the windshield so it was visible to the rangers, and then drove through the gate.

  When they’d cleared the area, Olivia straightened. “You have this all planned out, don’t you?” Her accusatory tone caught him off guard.

  “Not exactly. I mean I know about the Cedar Rock Cabins, but we don’t have a reservation. I’m hoping they aren’t booked.”

  “And if they are?”

  “Then we’ll keep going until we find a place to stay.” He glanced over at her. “I won’t make you and Aaron sleep in the car. We’ll find something.”

  She let out a sigh and relaxed. “Okay, sorry. All of this seems so crazy. I keep thinking of Willa. She didn’t deserve this. I hate knowing her death is my fault. I just don’t understand why the Blake-Moore Group is going to such lengths to get me back.”

  The idea had bothered him, too. He’d been focused on finding Olivia and Aaron, but he didn’t really understand why she was in danger. His instincts had been right, but he had no idea why they wanted her.

  “You really don’t know why they’re after you?” He tried to sound nonchalant, even though he’d always suspected she knew why she was in danger.

  “No. I’ve thought back over those last few months before things got so crazy.” She grimaced and rubbed her stomach again. “I hadn’t seen much of Tim during that time, and when Colin showed up that day, dragging me and Aaron out of the house, I knew something was wrong.”

  He found that information rather curious. “Your brother didn’t tell you why you had to leave in such a rush?”

  “He only said that we were in danger.” Her tone was defensive. “But after twenty-four hours I could tell the guy watching over us was getting nervous. I heard him talking on the phone, that’s how I learned Tim had been killed. That concerned me, but when I asked about Colin, the guy told me he’d be there soon, but I felt certain he was lying. That Colin was dead, just like Tim. Then I discovered the door was locked from the outside, which only heightened my feeling that something was wrong. The guy was basically keeping us prisoners in that dive of a motel room and I started to think that it might be on orders from someone higher up at Blake-Moore. At that moment, I decided that it might be best to go off on our own.”