Page 30 of Protective Assignment
“Let’s start at the back and work our way forward,” he suggested to Xavier.
Lawson still hadn’t come in to join them.There was clearly something serious going on between the two men, but it was the last thing on Cade’s mind right now.They had intel to gather, and the more they could find out, the easier it was going to be to track this Riker guy down and stop his gang before they moved any farther across the country.
Cade handed Xavier the inventory sheet and headed to the back of the warehouse, where some of the shelving was still upright.
“Okay, so bottom shelf is…” he began, but before he could get any further, a man sprang out from behind the shelves.
“What the hell?”Xavier exclaimed.
Cade managed to step to the side before the man could make contact with him.
The man, who appeared to be in his midforties, looked panicked as he followed Cade’s movement.Cade saw his chest rising and falling and his eyes darting around as he tried to find a way out.The man took a swing at him, but Cade dodged it easily.His hand flew into the metal shelf behind Cade instead.The clanging noise filled the warehouse, and the man let out a cry of pain, drawing his hand back in shock.Cade moved toward him to try and capture him, but the man surprised him, slamming his forehead into Cade’s jaw and sending him reeling back.Cade clutched at his face, the pain not registering yet as he tried to figure out how best to handle this.
“Xavier, cut him off,” Cade called to his friend, gesturing to the other end of the row before the man could turnthat direction to run.Cade might not have known exactly what this man was doing here, but he was sure they could get something useful out of him.
The man tried to beat Xavier to the other side, but Xavier managed to catch him before he could get away.He almost squirmed loose of Xavier’s grip, but Cade grabbed him before he could continue his escape, and pinned him to the ground with his hands behind his back.
“Xavier, get the others so we can make sure there’s no one else hiding in this place,” Cade said, still holding the man to the ground.His arm twinged with pain, but he hardly felt it.He hadn’t expected an attack here, but his instincts had kicked in without a second thought.It felt good to be back in action.
Moments later, the warehouse filled with noise as the rest of the guys came flooding in.The man had given up trying to escape from Cade’s grip, as though he knew there was no chance for him now.
Who was he?Had the Shepards left behind one of their own, or was this someone else entirely?He didn’t have a clue.
But they had someone here, at least.Someone they could use to shake out a little more information about this gang.
And that was more than they’d had before.
Chapter Eighteen
She paced back and forth in the cabin as she waited for Cade to return, wondering how much longer they were going to be away from the lodge.
It had been nearly a day since she had last seen him, and her mind had been torturing her with questions about where he was and what was happening to him.She didn’t know if she could take much more of the waiting.
She was so worried about him, worried about what might have happened out there.What if he had encountered the Shepards?She knew all too well what they were capable of.If he had been hurt as a result of going after them, she would never be able to forgive herself.Because she knew what they were doing here, and that it was her fault they had managed to creep their way across the states and so close to the lodge.
This place should have been safe.It was what they had tried to create here, a space where those dealing with physical or mental trauma could recover.The thought of being the one to ruin that was more than she could take.
And after the talk she’d had with Hannah, River had decided she needed to tell Cade how she felt about him.She couldn’t leave this place with it unsaid.Even if it mightbe more complicated than she was able to wrap her head around, he deserved to know.She needed him to understand that her feelings for him were real.That even though she had not been completely truthful and open about her past, when she looked to her future, she wanted him to be a part of it.
She had fallen asleep on the couch waiting for him to come back to their cabin, and now it was the next morning and there was still no sign of him—no sign of anyone who had gone out on that mission, actually.She had the brief thought about going out to try to find him, or even asking Hannah if she knew where they went and ask her to take River there.She knew that was crazy, though.She needed to keep her head on straight and her emotions under control and wait for him to return.
Finally, she heard it—the sound of an engine, the rumble of a truck heading up the path to the lodge.They were back?They were back!She threw open the door and hurried out toward the lodge, sprinting to catch up with them by the time they reached the entrance.She prayed Cade would be with them.
Sure enough, the truck drew to a halt outside the lodge, and Cade was one of the first ones out.She rushed toward him, but as she got closer she began to slow down.There was a large bruise forming over his jaw.What had happened to him?
“Cade!”she called to him, and he turned toward her voice.When he saw her, a smile spread over his face, followed by a wince as he stretched the painful-looking bruise on his jaw.
“Are you okay?”River demanded, grabbing his handand squeezing tight.She was just so glad he was there right now, she couldn’t think of anything else, even to ask what had taken them so long or how the mission had gone.
But before he could respond, others who had been with him came pouring out of the truck, splitting Cade and River apart once more.Cade locked eyes with her, giving her a nod as though to let her know that everything was okay, but she could tell it wasn’t.This was the most action she had seen at the lodge since she had arrived here, and she was worried that it had to do with her.Concerned that she might have brought more danger to their door and left them all unaware by not being up-front when she arrived.
Some of the men hurried back in to the main lodge, talking over each other while a few still hung around outside.There was an excited buzz in the air, which she took as a good sign, but she was still confused as to what had actually happened.Why wasn’t anyone attending to Cade?They must have had something more important to focus on right now.
Finally, everyone vanished inside and she and Cade were alone again.She rushed over to Cade and stared up at him, her brows tight with worry.
“Are you okay?”she asked again.
He nodded and smiled down at her.“I’m okay.”
