Page 4 of Challenging Her Protector

“The essentials.” He didn’t need to explain himself further.

“Got it.” Silver got out of the car and jogged across the lot to the store. The gentle hum of the air conditioner amplified the silence between them.

“Vee, I’m not the best with words. My employees are constantly telling me I’m going to scare away the customers. That I’m too grumbly and grumpy to work with people. If I upset you when I said you don’t ask us if you can go somewhere, I’m sorry. I’ll try to work on my delivery. I can be abrupt.”

She tore her gaze away from the window, angling her body to take him in. “Please don’t do that. You’re real. It makes me comfortable. I was only thinking how stupid I must sound asking your permission, like a child would. My parents and Scott, they—”

“Are assholes.”

She looked alarmed at first, then dissolved into laughter. “See? That’s what I mean. I like that you don’t pretend. I feel safe with you.”

Her words filled him with satisfaction and then he remembered no one should ever assume they were safe with him. He told his teammate that he’d have his back in the field. That he’d make sure the young man returned home to his bride to be. He’d failed Scooter and he’d failed himself.

Hearing her laugh resonate through the SUV, and now the weight of her soft palm on his elbow, made him long to be the kind of man who could pledge to protect her from the world and know with absolute certainty he wouldn’t fail to keep that promise.

“What is it?” Her voice was filled with concern.

It blew his mind that she was once again showing empathy toward him. Before they’d set out on this journey, he’d scoured her social media accounts to develop a picture of the woman he was going to help. She had millions of followers, campaigns with luxury brands, photoshoots at exotic locations. Everything online pointed to an entitled woman who cared more about the next designer purse than asking a stranger if something was wrong. “I’m not a great bet when it comes to being a protector.”

“That’s silly. You were there when I stepped out of the reception hall scared to death. And then when I ran into the woods. Instead of being mad that you were following me, I only felt relief. Not to mention you saved my life. That police officer said the bullet would have gone straight through me if you hadn’t knocked me out of the way.”

“And he should be fired for it. What an asinine thing to say after someone’s been shot at.”

“I don’t think he meant any harm by it.” Her full lips tilted upward, and her eyes lit with humor. “Your voice is grumbly, and you don’t smile, but on the inside, I bet you’re all soft.”

And how the hell he was supposed respond tothatwas a mystery to him. The car door opened saving him from trying to formulate an answer. Silver got behind the wheel, tossing the large bag onto the passenger seat.

“Do you want to change first or go straight to the hospital?” He still wanted to ask although he was sure he already knew what the answer would be.

“Hospital, please.”

Despite not being close with her sister, Vee was loyal, and her first thought was for her Hannah. The drive was short, but quiet. Iron couldn’t help but wonder what she was thinking about. It wasn’t easy what she’d done. Stepping away from a life that was familiar to her, standing up to her family, taking a big risk. It was a helpful distraction to think of Vee and not himself when they arrived at the hospital. The scents of bleach and filtered air never failed to take him back to a dark place. There wasn’t an empty threadbare seat left in the waiting room, not that he wanted to sit. All these people in one place made him squirm. Someone was yelling into a cell phone over the murmur of patients in distress, still waiting to be seen. Vee was speaking with the receptionist, when a teenager in the waiting room mentioned her in a not-so-quiet whisper.

“That’s Vivienne Day!”

“I want her autograph,” another voice chimed.

“Hermès paid her like two million dollars for that YouTube campaign.” The lobby began to buzz with excitement, simultaneously activating all his protective instincts. He crossed the room, moving directly behind her in line. She was asking about her sister, oblivious to the stir she’d caused.

“She’s been given a room. One of the nurses will meet you at the door and bring you back,” the receptionist told Vee. Iron had picked up on the vibe in the ER waiting room and stood like a sentry in the space between the overcrowded rows of chairs and the desk. Vee turned, and he caught the scent of her hair. Something fisted in his gut as she bumped into his chest.

“Sorry.” Her voice squeaked. He watched in utter fascination as a deep blush saturated her cheeks. “I didn’t hear you come up behind me.”

“We’re going to walk straight to the doors. Don’t stop, okay?”

Her nose scrunched in confusion, but she started to nod. Something behind him had caught her eyes, and he angled his body to follow her gaze to the growing crowd closing in on them.

“Not now,” she said more to herself than him. Her expression changed from confusion to fear when the chime of cell phone pictures being captured became audible.

A surge of protectiveness rose up fast and hard. Fear had no place on Vee’s face. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, tucking her against his side. “Head down, sweetheart. Silver will take care of the crowd.” They began walking toward the back of the room, his body blocking hers. His eyes were locked on the people who presented a threat, but he didn’t need to look at Vee to feel her panic. Her heart was beating fast. So fast he could feel the pulse of it against his arm. “A few more steps. You’re doing great.”

“Those pictures…if they post them on social media, Scott and my parents will find me.”

“I’m not going to let anything touch you.” The gravity of his own words slammed into his gut, turning his stomach to lead. Fuck. He had no business saying that shit. He’d made that empty promise before and a damn good SEAL was dead because he didn’t follow through.

They reached the back door, and he held the buzzer to be let in. The vibration of the lock being disengaged gave him a sense of relief, but they weren’t out of the woods yet. He was also concerned that those photos would end up public and be used to track her. He ushered her through the door first and closed it tightly behind him.

“You’re going to room 136A,” the nurse said before rushing back to her post at the desk.

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