Chapter Four Alejandro
Chapter Four
Alejandro
“You’re her brother’s friend?” The guy’s tall, built frame filled out one of the two large front doors of the lodge. His blue gaze swept over me. Assessing me—not as competition, but as a threat to the safety of those inside.
I dropped my duffel bag alongside my boots. “You’re the ex?” I shot back, using the same tone he had.
The tension crackled between us like an exposed wire. What was that all about?
“Trevor Sloane.” He hesitantly offered his hand.
“Alex Rodriguez.”
He squeezed my hand, and I was thankful he didn’t turn it into some kind of pissing contest over whose grip was stronger.
“You’re late.” The grunt filled the cold air between us, and I could feel the heat radiating out from behind him as he released my hand.
I was eager to get inside out of the cold, hating this weather as much as I hated dry-firing my rifle. I may have also been anxious to see Audrey. “The mountain roads, snow, ice, and life-threatening curves might’ve had something to do with that.”
I picked up my bag, waiting for the invite inside his lodge.
“Audrey’s upstairs. Had a rough night.”
“You don’t say?” Shit. That wasn’t the attitude that’d win this guy over. Ryder would kick my ass if Trevor booted me for mouthing off when I was there to protect Audrey.
His eyes tightened. Scanning again. Assessment 2.0. Searching for weaknesses.
“Any update on the break-in?” I shifted gears, worried I was two seconds away from having to check in to the B-grade motel that probably had bedbugs I’d spotted on the drive up here.
“No.” His posture stiffened, attention locking beyond me.
I followed his gaze to the parking lot and to my rented four-door sedan, which looked like it belonged in a nursing home.
Jump into enemy fire? Easy fucking day.
But drive that death trap up icy mountains? Different story.
My prayer hands had worked overtime on that last curve. I’d drawn a shaky cross over my heart on the road I’d nicknamed Where Old Souls Go to Die. (Don’t ask why, I couldn’t tell you if I tried.)
I’d rather jump off a cliff with a chute strapped to my ass than drive that fossil again. That’d been all that was available, but I had every intention of getting it towed and swapped out for something with a little more kick and stability once there was another option.
“What is it?” I asked, not seeing anything but the heap of junk I’d driven.
Trevor’s eyes narrowed. “Thought I saw something.”
“And?”
“And I didn’t.” The edge in his voice didn’t cease and desist.
I’m not a threat. We’re on the same side. I kept those thoughts to myself for now. “Based on your guarded stance, I’m guessing you don’t think the break-in was some random B and E.”
Trevor’s icy stare cut through me, but this time I knew it wasn’t meant for me. “They had to be pros to take out every security measure I had in place. They never should have been able to get into her home undetected.”
“What in the hell would they want from Audrey?”
“I don’t know, but I’ve made some calls. I have people outside the locals here checking things out for me.”
“What kind of people?” I tipped my head, wondering who else was working my case—and it was my case. Because Audrey was Ryder’s sister, and that made her family.
“Your kind of people.” He lifted his head, making it clear he knew what I did for a living. Doubt he knew who I now worked for, though, and it was no longer DHS.
“Private security?”
“Yeah.” He shifted to the side, hopefully preparing to let me in. “I’ll figure this out, don’t worry.”
The “I” in that sentence was about as subtle as a shotgun round, but I’d save that battle for later.
Step one: get my ass out of the cold and see the reason for my being here herself.
Once inside the lodge, the cedar walls and ceiling beams greeted me, making me feel like I’d walked into a giant whiskey barrel. Or maybe I was the whiskey. After my confrontation with Trevor, I could use a glass.
Not a bad place, all things considered. Definitely better than freezing outside.
Trevor dug into his pocket and handed over an antique-looking key stamped with the number six. “Your room’s upstairs, three doors down from Audrey’s.” He said it like three doors was two too close for comfort, ex or not.
I cleared my throat, channeling my manners. “Thanks for letting me stay here—well, all of us. We’ll need two more rooms tomorrow. They available?”
He parked a hand on my shoulder and gave it two solid pats. “As long as someone’s paying the bill, yeah.”
“I’m going to check on her.” I stepped back, and he wisely withdrew his hand.
“We’ll talk about the case and how involved your team will be later. Just do me a favor and don’t tell Audrey what I shared with you for now. She doesn’t need the stress, not until I know more.” The polite tone didn’t soften the command. Message received.
I nodded once, then took the stairs.
I reached the door marked 6, then slid the key into the small hole, only to realize the door was already unlocked.
Nice security. Maybe it had just been a random break-in, if this was the tight ship the SEAL kept at his own lodge.
I pushed open the door and went inside, expecting more cedar and the smell of pine, not to see Audrey there.
The door thudded shut behind me, and she froze. Yeah, well, so did I. Like a damn deer in headlights.
She became a still-life portrait of a beautiful and very naked woman.
Full lips parted. Blue-green eyes wide. One hand outstretched where, presumably, that towel now on the floor had been before I walked in.
Wet, light-blonde hair clung to her shoulders, and I did my best to blur and censor the rest of her.
I waited for her to realize she was naked naked, not towel-wrapped naked. Full-on, kill-me-now naked.
I looked away. Looked back.
At least my gaze landed north of her breasts that time, at the curve of her collarbone, then on to her flushed cheeks.
But my brain? It was already filing this under Ryder’s Going To Kill Me. Something told me Trevor would too.
“You’re here,” she whispered.
“And you’re naked,” I blurted out.
I waited for her to register the draft in the air. My eyes burned from the effort it took not to blink my way south again.
“I, um . . .” She dropped down, then popped back up, this time with the towel around her body. A modest improvement. Better for my sanity. “Why are you in my room?” Her skin went from shock pale to a deep embarrassed red real fast. Much faster than the towel had made it back on.
“Your room?” I finally connected the dots to what she’d asked, my bag slipping from my hand like I was about to move in.
I held up the key and flipped it. A nine. It was a damn nine, not a six. Fate, always playing games. The cold must’ve frozen my brain downstairs for me to have made such a rookie mistake.
When our eyes met again, it was clear she was only just realizing the full impact of the moment.
I barked out, a little harsher than I intended, “Why didn’t you lock the door, especially while in the shower?”
“I thought I did.” She paused, letting the truth sink in. Her careless mistake mirrored my own. The oops was written all over her face, right down to the tension bracketing her full mouth. “This place is safe. Trust me, no one would dare cross Trevor or Eden’s boyfriend.”
Eden’s boyfriend? No clue who he was, but her protest still felt as weak as she was now making my pulse. Borderline lifeless at her cavalier attitude toward her safety.
“People around here, even the guests, are friendly.” There it was again. A casual disregard for the whole being-caught-naked thing.
My eyebrow arched, an automatic response. “Right,” I said dryly. “Your home was broken into. Kind of kills that vibe.”
“This place is different. And an important FYI . . . when my son is around, I quadruple-check locks.”
Her collarbone was still beaded with water droplets, and she dragged the pad of her thumb along the bone right where my gaze had gone.
“Why didn’t you knock?” she asked instead, before I could respond, a hint of sass in her voice. “Something tells me your mother taught you manners. You forget them?”
Her challenge jolted my gaze up to hers.
Bold and unapologetic. Daring me to answer.
“I thought this was my room.” That memory clicked into place a few seconds too late.
“Later,” I demanded roughly, “we’re going to have a conversation about locks, safety, and stranger danger.
Because your life matters. Not just your son’s.
” After that, I finally did the smart thing and turned my ass around.
“Now you sound like Ryder.” A little harumph noise followed her grunty—albeit cute—tone.
I braced for the mini war I knew was coming.
She surprised me with a quick “Despite the circumstances, it’s good to see you.”
“Good to see you, too.” Saw more than I should have.
I squeezed my eyes shut for a few seconds, needing to ground myself and think of Audrey as a client to protect. As Ryder’s sister. As a widow to a man who died wearing the uniform.
That last thought had my stomach turning. Guilt, thick and hot, coursed through my veins at that reminder.
When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was the carved cross on the door. Twined in vines, it glowed at me like a message. A 3D warning to behave. As if on cue, a phantom sting from the bullet wound where my ex-wife had shot me had me pressing the hand holding the key to the scar.
Yeah, yeah, I know. I get it, I get it. Don’t fall for anyone ever again—especially not her, of all people. My brain and body were collaborating to signal that message as clearly as possible.
“You didn’t have to come, you know,” she spoke up, closer now. “Trevor’s good at this stuff. Has lots of friends and family who are good at it, too.”
So he said. I almost turned around. Almost risked welcoming death-by-Ryder. “I know. But Ryder’s better at giving orders than taking them, so here I am.” I smirked, wasting that smile on the door. “So it was me or Reed, and Reed’s better with dogs than people. Consider yourself lucky.”
I could feel her presence behind me. Her heat. The faint scent of whatever she’d used to lather her very, very naked—
Nope.
Not going there.
I needed to Houdini myself from there and go gouge out my eyes. I still couldn’t believe this had happened. Damn my luck. “Glad you’re okay. I’ll be in my room. You know, not going anywhere. Staying here whether anyone wants me to or not. Ensuring you’re safe and locking your door from now on.”
“Figured as much. Didn’t take you as a quitter.” That teasing tone lit a fire under me.
I grabbed my bag and left her room before I could change my mind.
Door shut, I tested the handle, waiting for her to do what she should have done the first time to avoid our awkward encounter.
Satisfied at the sound of her lock being turned, I finally took off.
After shutting myself in Room 9, I chucked my bag by the bed and went over to the dresser.
Hands down, eyes on the mirror, my dark gaze stared back at me like a stranger. Well, like someone I hadn’t seen in forever.
The me before I married Beth.
The me before my ex-wife tried to kill me.
The me before I’d made up my mind to never fall in love again.
And that was enough to scare my ass back two steps, send my hands through my black hair and my eyes away from the mirror to the cedar beam overhead.
Jaw tight, body strung up, I cursed in Spanish, then hissed in English, “I’m so fucked.”