Page 17 of Challenging Her Protector

“Glad he reached out.” Red had texted Iron to let him know he’d be in touch.

“Wasn’t a phone call though.” The speakers crackled as he spoke. “He’s here in Texas.”

“I had no idea he’d be making a trip.” He hadn’t mentioned going in person to contact Branch, but he appreciate that Red was there.

“He said he just happened to be crossing the border when you messaged him. Spent nearly three months in Mexico infiltrating a new drug ring. His teammate, Sully, is here too.”

“Sullivan Carter?” There was a tingling sensation through his chest and shoulders and the hair on the back of his neck rose. After his last mission when he’d been honorably discharged from his role as a SEAL, he never expected to cross paths with so many of his former brothers from that fateful mission. They tried to keep contact with him, but he just wanted to be forgotten. He was a coward and facing them was like reliving his mistake repeatedly. He’d met Red in a military hospital after his amputation. Was his roommate when they both left the ICU for the recovery floor. Red had been shot multiple times on a core mission to the US embassy in Sudan. Unlike Iron, Red had returned to active duty when he recovered from his injuries.

“Yeah, introduced himself as Sully Carter. Said he’d served with you and Ransom.”

Branch let the words hang and for a moment the car was silent except for the slow thud of his heart. “Not only that but they’ve had us in contact with a former SEAL who runs the special task force for the Department of Homeland Security dedicated to human trafficking specifically from Mexico to the United States. The three of them are going to investigate Thalia’s entry into the US and her disappearance. Right now, it looks like ICE has no record of an adolescent coming into the country under that name.”

Iron reached his hand through the gap between the passenger seat and the door and gave Vee’s arm a quick squeeze from his seat behind her. She was worried about her best friend, and he couldn’t imagine how the wordshuman traffickingalong with the absence of records were making her feel. There was an uncomfortable twinge in his gut. One that told him they’d uncover more secrets when they began digging into how Thalia came to work at the Day estate. Later he wanted to ask Vee about the other staff her family employed.

“Branch, please tell Hannah and Collin I love them. I promise not to trash the house.”

“I will and stay safe, Vivienne. If one of you guys wants to stay at the house, too, as an extra precaution, feel free to use the couch.”

He wasn’t sure if Branch was making the offer because he sensed an elevated risk of danger or if he was thinking about the comfort level of his woman’s sister. By the time they ended the call he could smell the saltwater air from along Virginia’s coast. He’d grown up in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and had been stationed in Virginia after BUD/S. When he left the military, he stayed in the state, needing the reprieve of his small oceanside bungalow. He wondered what Vee would think of it if she ever visited. It was small but it was right along the coast. So close he had trouble keeping sand off his deck. One of the biggest transitions of having a prosthetic was learning how to walk along the uneven surface of the beach. Sometimes he’d sit in his Adirondack chair and watch the ocean for hours. He could picture sitting out there with Vee. The thought jarred him. Bringing her to his home would only draw him deeper.

“This is Hannah’s street,” Silver was telling Vee as they took a left onto a quiet residential road with small but well-maintained ranch-style homes. They pulled into the driveway and Silver turned off the engine. “I’m going to do a walk through, then you can get settled while one of us picks up groceries.”

“You don’t have to do that.” Vee’s voice was overly bright, like she was trying to convince them she was okay when she really wasn’t.

“Gonna do it anyway, darlin’.” Silver unbuckled, and the seat belt retracted into the interior siding. “I’ll be right back.”

“Are you okay?” Iron asked the moment the car door slammed shut. He unlatched his own seat belt and moved into the middle, so he could see her.

“How do you know I’m not?” Her voice was a low whisper.

“Because I know you, remember?”

“The important stuff,” she said softly. It pleased him far too much that she recalled his words from the night before.

“Your voice is shaky, but your body is far too still. Your skin is paler than it was at the last rest stop. I’m not going to leave you. Not until you’re 100 percent comfortable or Hannah gets back, okay?”

“I feel so weak. I don’t know if I’ll ever stop needing other people’s help. Hannah left home at eighteen, pregnant with Collin and alone. Did you know that?”

“I didn’t,” he answered and reached out to touch the thin sweater covering her arm.

“She put herself through school. Became a flight medic. Cared for Collin. She’s amazing, and I’m not sure I’ll ever measure up.”

“No one in our circle is going to be measuring anything. No one expects you to be Hannah because you’re Vivienne. You’ve gotten through a lot more than you give yourself credit for. An emotionally and physically abusive childhood that turned into an equally abusive adulthood. A sexual assault from someone who should’ve cherished you. You escaped, too, Vee. Don’t forget that. Tomorrow we can start the process of filing restraining orders against your parents and Scott. Then we can contact the bank and Ransom’s lawyer.”

When Silver began pacing down the driveway, he instantly recognized something was wrong. “I’m going to talk to Silver. Hang tight, okay?”

She nodded and he got out of the back seat and shut the door. “What is it?”

“Door was open. Nothing looks out of place on the inside, but there are scratches around the keyhole.”

“Fuck. Someone broke in. This can’t be a coincidence. Her family is looking for her and Hannah’s place would be a logical starting point. They knew the direction we started heading because of those tracker apps.”

“They might’ve heard more than we thought at the hospital too. We were talking about Viv leaving Texas when they let themselves into Hannah’s room.”

Iron’s gut clenched. “Change of plans, then. She’ll stay with me. I have no connection to your team unless they dig deep. If they do come looking, I’ll be the last stop.”

“You have no connection to the team? You know that’s bullshit right?” Silver stared him down, searching his eyes with an incredulous stare. “You’re part of our team. We might not be actively serving together, but that’s where it ends. You stepped up for Sam, my teammate Joker’s fiancée, when she needed a car that wasn’t going to leave her stranded. You didn’t hesitate to go to Texas to help Branch. You’re less isolated than you think. I don’t know everything that went down during the mission that took your leg, but when you pushed Ransom and the other men on your team away, they all felt that deep. Not only did they lose Scooter, brother, they lost you too.”

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