Page 6 of Her Delta Force Protector

The house was furnished, so all she had to pack were her personal things. She loaded her car, then cleaned the house. She called the owner, who promised to mail her deposit as soon as she inspected the house and confirmed there wasn’t any damage.

She was taking the trash to the curb when a black SUV stopped in front of her driveway. A tall man wearing a knit cap got out, and as he strode toward her, his intense gaze narrowed on her, one word came to mind...menacing. Her gun was packed in its case and in the car. Why hadn’t she kept it on her?

He stopped a few feet from her. “Where’s Lisa?”

“At work.”

“No, she isn’t. Where is she, Harper?”

He knew her name? She told herself to stay calm, which was hard when her heart was pounding like a jackhammer on crack. “She left this morning for work. Who are you, anyway?” And how did he know Lisa wasn’t at work?

“Someone you don’t want to mess with, little girl.”

A part of her wanted to roll her eyes at the scary movie dialog, but the smarter part wanted to run. She also sensed that the worst thing she could do with this man was show fear, even though internally she was shaking like a leaf. She was Army. She was badass. All she had to do was act like it. He wouldn’t do anything—like kill her or beat her up—standing in her driveway in broad daylight...right?

“If Lisa’s not at work, then she’s probably with her boyfriend. Who did you say you were again?” Was this theboyfriend? He wasn’t the man who’d arrived at the warehouse after Lisa.

“You better hope I don’t find out you know where she is.”

“Well, you better not threaten me again if you don’t want me to call the police.”Pushing your luck here, Harper. Need to shut up.Yeah, but this guy was pissing her off. She didn’t get angry often, but when she did, she had no filter.

Pale blue eyes so cold they made her want to shiver roamed over her, pausing on her chest. “You’ll make a good stand-in if I don’t find your friend. And, Harper, make no mistake. I will come for you if Lisa isn’t where she’s supposed to be tonight.”

Frozen to where she stood, the garbage can the only barrier between her and a man who made her want to take a hot shower and scrub her skin raw, she blew out a relieved breath when he returned to his car and left.

Her plan to leave in the morning had just changed. It was time to go. Like right now. She’d send her anonymous email to the police when she was at her dad’s house. Leaving the garbage can on the curb, she went back inside and locked the door behind her. She raced around and put her toiletry bag, the clothes she’d left out to put on in the morning, and the few other things still to pack in her Army duffel bag.

After loading her car, she drove down her street for the last time.

“So, that’s the full story,” Harper told her father over dinner the next night. She’d driven straight home. With stops for gas, coffee, and a quick dinner, it had taken eleven hours, and finally feeling safe, she’d fallen face-first in her bed and slept most of the day.

Her dad swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple rising and falling. “Sweetheart, you have to remove yourself from whatever’s going on with Lisa and those men.”

“I know, and I am. Promise.” And she would, right after she sent the anonymous email to the police.

Which she did later that night.

Her first two days home she vegetated. Her third day, she broke her promise to her dad and went online, searching for news stories of a police raid on the warehouse. There was nothing. Maybe they were still investigating.

What she did find, though, was a story on the increase of drug deaths, especially from fentanyl, in the area around Fort Bragg. The article included a photo and the name—Abby Warton—of the latest victim, and Harper gasped. Abby Warton was the woman she’d seen go in the warehouse with the other man.

The one person she wanted to talk to was Kade. She trusted him, and he’d know the best thing to do. She called, got his voice mail, and left a message. When he hadn’t returned her call by the next day, she knew he was still gone on whatever mission the Army had sent him on.

Unable to stand by and do nothing, she sent the police another email, attaching the photo she’d taken of who she now knew was Abby Warton and the man with her. Harper didn’t know if the men were connected to Abby’s death in any way, but her gut said they were. She also included the license plate numbers of the two cars. After a short debate with herself, she also sent this one from the anonymous email she’d created.

The biggest reason was Lisa. If these men, the one she’d seen with the dead girl and the one who’d threatened her, had killed Abby, then Lisa was in danger. If Harper gave the police her name, she’d have to explain why she was at the warehouse and that would mean giving them Lisa’s name. As soon as an arrest was announced, making it safe for Lisa to talk to the police, Harper would convince her friend that she had to report what she knew. If she refused, then Harper would come forward.

The next reason was her father. She’d promised him she wouldn’t get involved. He was worried about her, and she got that. She was the only family he had, and keeping her safe trumped all else in his mind. Before she identified herself to the police, she owed it to him to tell him she was going to give the police her name. He’d worry less if the men in question were behind bars when she did it.

Also, she didn’t know for a fact the men were guilty. She had no proof other than seeing Abby go into the warehouse and Lisa’s fear of her so-called boyfriend. Even without proof, Harper believed with every fiber of her being that something happened to Abby in that warehouse.

The following day, there was a response to her anonymous email from a Detective Johnson demanding that she call the phone number he gave. She almost did, but the tone of his email rubbed her wrong. Why hadn’t he asked any questions, even assured her that her identity would be kept secret? Plus, she wasn’t ready yet to out herself. Would they want her to return, to talk to them in person? Would any meeting with them be kept confidential until the men were arrested? She wanted to think about it before giving him her name, so she replied with the truth, that she was afraid to come forward at this time.

If he responded with a promise that the police would keep her safe, she’d give him her name. Another day passed before he answered, and there was nothing about her coming forward. He only asked her to click on a link and tell him if she recognized any men in the attached photos. She studied the five pictures, but none were the two men she’d seen, and she replied no, she’d never seen those men before.

Detective Johnson never replied, so she’d wait for the arrests, which would surely happen soon since she’d given the detective the license plate numbers.

“Come in,” Harper said, lowering her Kindle and glancing at the clock. If her father was knocking on her door at eleven at night, that meant he’d been called to the hospital for one of his patients.

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