Chapter Four Gideon
Chapter Four
Gideon
She slept the entire flight.
She even drooled, which I found to be kind of adorable, not that I’d ever admit that to anyone. Now that I’ve had the opportunity to really take her in, I can see the fatigue, the purple bruises under her stunning eyes, and the way her shoulders are almost up around her ears, even with sleep.
She’s scared, which she absolutely should be. It pisses me the fuck off that Richie walked away from her, even for a second, leaving her vulnerable. My body hums with rage at the thought of anyone holding a weapon on her, threatening her.
That any piece of shit would even think about hurting her.
There are more questions than answers regarding what happened that night, and I don’t like it.
I can’t stop looking at her. She’s fucking beautiful.
She was always a pretty girl, but now she’s stunning, and that is not something that I should be noticing.
I shouldn’t see the curves of her breasts under the blouse, or the way her thighs look, one crossed over the other, and imagine them wrapped around my waist. She’s slender but has curves in all the right damn places.
I don’t know if she still likes to run for exercise.
I used to run with her every morning at seven sharp.
I don’t know if she still prefers nachos over tacos, or if she likes that little restaurant near the White House that had sub sandwiches.
The truth is, a lot can happen in four years, and I don’t really know her at all.
Lena murmurs in her sleep, and scowls as she shifts as if agitated.
A tear rolls down one cheek, alerting me that something isn’t right.
She starts to shake her head back and forth, and then she cries out and sits up straight, breathing hard, her eyes glassy, and I shift over to her, take one hand in mine, and wrap the other around her shoulders, trying to soothe her.
I brush the tear away with my thumb, not oblivious to her soft-as-fuck skin.
“Shh. You’re okay. Hey, you’re okay, Lena.”
She sucks in a breath and pulls away from me, shifting so she’s not pressed against me, and I take the hint and move back to my own seat, feeling the distance between us.
You’re not supposed to touch her, you idiot.
“Sorry,” she whispers.
“You didn’t do anything wrong.”
She bites her lower lip and closes her eyes. Her hands aren’t steady. I want to ask her what the nightmare was about, but the pilot comes over the intercom to tell us we’re about to land in Missoula.
“You live in Missoula?” she asks me, visibly trying to steady herself.
“No, it’s just the closest airport. We have an hour’s drive ahead of us.”
She blows out a breath. “Can we pick up something to eat on the way? I’m starving.”
“Sure.”
Two hours later, after hitting a drive-through for burgers and fries and then making the long drive out to the ranch, I drive past the farmhouse that Ryker and Willow live in, and over to my own house by the lake. It’s dark, so Lena can’t see the mountains, but she’ll see them in the morning.
I can feel Lena’s lavender gaze staring at me.
“What?”
“Who else lives out here?”
“My brother and his wife are in the house that we just passed. There are ranch hands out at the bunkhouse, about a quarter mile away.”
“Lots of people,” she murmurs as I pull into my garage. Summer’s over and we’re well into fall, but all the hands are staying on full-time through the winter this year because Ryker has expanded operations, and it’s not just a summer job anymore.
Lena and I get out of my SUV, and I carry her bag inside with her following behind me. I don’t stop in the kitchen. I lead her through and up the stairs to the bedrooms, then open the door of her suite and set her bag on the bed.
“This is you,” I tell her. “Bathroom is attached, and all yours. I need to make a couple of calls, so I’ll be downstairs.”
I turn to leave, but she stops me.
“Where is everyone?”
I lift an eyebrow. “Who’s everyone?”
“Your family, Gideon. Your wife and kids.”
“I’m not married. No kids.” I shake my head. “My brother and Willow are my family. Their kiddo, Aiden, is my family.”
Her brows pull together in a frown.
“You can get settled. If you need anything, just let me know. We’re getting up early tomorrow.”
“Why?”
“Because we’re going to start training. Like I said before, this isn’t vacation. You’ll be working while you’re here.”
“What does that mean, Gideon?”
“You’ll find out in the morning.”
“And if I’m not tired?”
I reach up and lean on the doorjamb. I took my suit jacket off once we landed, along with my tie, and rolled my sleeves to get more comfortable. She’s hardly taken her eyes off the tattoos on my left arm, and it occurred to me that she’d never seen me without the full suit.
She saw me in T-shirts when we ran together, but I’ve added to the tattoos over the past four years, filling in the sleeve.
Does she have ink?
Lena’s eyes trail over my chest and stomach. She can’t see skin, but she’s checking me out, and then, as if catching herself, she clears her throat.
“You can wander around the house if you want. I wouldn’t go outside at night because there are critters around. Bear, mountain lion, you name it. Go down and watch TV if you want.”
She nods once. “Thank you. What time should I set my alarm for?”
“Five.”
That has her balking. “Five?”
“That’s seven in DC.”
“Oh. Right. Okay, five it is.”
I turn to leave, but she stops me yet again.
“Gideon?”
“Yeah.”
“Thank you.”
Shaking my head, I walk away. Christ, I could be with her for months. Which god did I piss off so bad that I’d get stuck with Blackbird in my house, under my nose, for God knows how long?
She’s different from how she was before.
She’s not argumentative. She’s not brash or defiant.
I didn’t think I’d ever see her again, and now she’s sleeping upstairs, under my roof.
A lot can happen in two days.
Walking into my office, I close the door behind me and call Ryker.
“I saw you drive by,” he says in greeting. “I take it everything went well?”
“We’re here,” I confirm and rub my hand over my face.
Fuck, I’m tired.
“How is she?” he asks.
Fucking beautiful.
“Scared. Different. She’s grown up.”
“She’ll be safe here.”
I nod and walk to the wall of windows. I can see the lake from here, and in the daytime, the mountains beyond.
“I’ve decided to start training her tomorrow. She was put in a position that she could have gotten out of if she’d been trained. So if you hear gunfire, that’s us.”
“Good to know. You okay, Gid?”
No. I’m not okay. I have a woman living in my house, and I don’t want her here. I don’t want any reminders of what I lost.
“Fine. I’m tired. It was a long fucking day.”
“Get some rest.”
“See you tomorrow.”
After hanging up, I turn and sit at my desk. Debbie and Ray smile at me from the framed photo next to my computer.
I wish you were here.
I miss my mom. I miss them both, but Debbie and I had a special bond. She was the tiniest thing, probably didn’t even weigh a hundred pounds, but man, her heart was so big. She loved Ryker and me like we were her own.
Because we were.
She and Ray had wanted a big family, and when Ray built the farmhouse for her after they first married, he included eight bedrooms.
Eight.
For all the kids they wanted to have and raise on this ranch.
But it turned out that Debbie couldn’t have kids. So they took Ryker and me in. And Willow, too, in the summers. Debbie was Willow’s aunt.
And that woman was made to be a mom. The fact that she couldn’t have her own was an injustice that still pisses me off, because no one was better than my mom.
If she were here, she’d tell me to welcome Lena into my home, to take care of her and make her feel like she belongs. Hell, Mom would have spoiled the shit out of Lena.
It was just her way.
She’d have made fried chicken for dinner tomorrow, and Lena would have fallen in love with her.
Because everyone who knew my mom loved her.
“I think I brought a mess home,” I say to my parents. “I hope I don’t live to regret it. I don’t like bringing anything here that could hurt Wills or Ryker.”
So I need to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Clicking the keys on the computer, I bring up my cameras. They have night vision, and I arrow through, examining each one to make sure everything is as it should be. There’s a raccoon in front of camera three. Everything else is quiet.
I double-check all the alarms around the property, pleased when I see that everything is armed.
Movement in the doorway has me looking up, and the breath is stolen from my lungs.
Fucking hell, this is a bad idea.
Lena’s standing there in a pair of black yoga shorts and a loose T-shirt. Her hair is up in a knot on top of her head, and she’s washed her face.
It’s not a provocative look. The look on her face tells me that she’s not here to seduce me. She’s simply ready for bed.
So why is my cock suddenly awake?
“What’s up?” I ask her, glad that I’m sitting behind my desk.
“Can we order the supplies I need tonight? I’d like to get them as soon as possible.”
I open a browser window on the computer and take a deep breath before I stand, willing my cock to calm the fuck down, and gesture for her to have a seat.
“I can’t use my credit card,” she says, biting her lip as she approaches. She smells like oranges as she shuffles by me to sit down. “It can be traced.”
Smart girl.
“I’ll use mine.”
She shakes her head, but I stand firm.
“I’ll bill your mom, Lena. Don’t worry about it.”
“My supplies aren’t cheap.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I tell her again, and walk away. I don’t need to hover over her while she shops online, and I have to get away from her heat, her scent. “Do you want some tea? I’m going to make some.”
“Sure. That would be great. Thank you.”
I take my time in the kitchen. I’ve said that I don’t want her here because of the potential dangers associated with her, and I can’t have any of that touch the people I love.
I won’t.
But it’s more than that.
I’m fucking drawn to that woman. It’s like she’s a goddamn magnet. Starting literally anything with her is out of the fucking question.
And I need to remember that.
With the tea made, I pad back up to my office and walk in carrying both mugs. Lena glances up and smiles for the first time since I saw her in the White House.
And my stomach clenches.
Did she always smile like that?
“I’m about done here,” she says as she accepts the hot mug from me. “The supplies are already in the cart on this page. Clothes and odds and ends I just grabbed from . Those don’t have to be fancy.”
My eyebrow lifts in surprise. “No fancy clothes?”
“I mean, we’re on a ranch in Montana, so I don’t think I have to get dressed up. Right?”
“Right.” I want to kiss that smirk off her face.
Fuck.
“I snagged jeans and sweaters and T-shirts. The usual underwear. I also grabbed some skin care and other toiletries. I’m not sure what to get for shoes.”
“Your feet need to be protected. Also, add workout gear.”
“Oh, right. Good call.”
She clicks the mouse several times and then nods.
“Done.”
“That didn’t take long.”
“I know what I like.” She shrugs and sips her tea. “Okay, show me what shoes to buy. We might as well knock this all out now.”
For the next thirty minutes, I hover over her shoulder and point at the screen, trying to ignore her orange scent and how soft her hair looks. She chooses colors and sizes, and several thousand dollars later, she has everything she needs on the way.
“Jesus. Make sure my mom pays you back right away.”
The money doesn’t matter. I’m a wealthy man. But it’s cute that she’s worried about it.
Lena yawns and stands out of the chair, and she’s suddenly pressed against me, her side to my front, and we both still.
“Sorry,” she whispers. “Should have warned you.”
I take a step back, letting her slip by.
“See you in the morning, Blackbird.”
Her cheeks darken at the use of her call sign.
“Good night.”