Bride Protector SEAL

C
opyright
© 2016 by Elle James

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

T
his story is dedicated
to military men and women who separate from active duty and find it hard to fit in with the so-called real world. You are loved and appreciated for all you have done to protect this great nation!

E
lle James

A
Navy SEAL
bodyguard and his client’s bride struggle with rising desire while fighting to stay alive in the mountains of Montana.

Ten years in the Navy, most spent with the elite brotherhood of SEALs, Axel Svenson “Swede” has dodged so many bullets, he knows his luck will someday run out. With younger blood pushing to take over for the older guys, and an injury that marks him for discharge, he takes the plunge into the civilian world. Since desk jobs aren’t what he’s cut out for, he checks on the pet project of one of his former teammates, Hank Patterson. Brotherhood Protectors, providing personal security to rich people sounds like a walk in the park compared to where he’s been.

Prospective bride Allie Patterson thinks she’s marrying the man of her dreams. He’s rich, he’s handsome and mysterious—everything a woman should want. Until his secrets threaten her life. After several near misses, Allie reluctantly allows her fiancé to hire one of her brother’s bodyguards. The big, sexy, tattooed SEAL assigned to protect her is the kind of guy women drool over and makes Allie question her decisions. Perhaps she’s marrying the wrong man for the wrong reasons. But her brother’s gruff friend can’t possibly be Mr. Right. Together, they traverse a dangerous journey to get Allie to the church on time…and alive.

A
xel Svenson
, or Swede, as he preferred to be called, flexed his hand before he stuck it out. He found the scars were less disconcerting than proffering his left hand to shake. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.”

“You can call me Allie. Ma’am makes me sound old.” Alyssa Patterson took the hand without flinching. “No offense, but I can’t say that I’m as thrilled to meet you. I really don’t need a bodyguard, despite what my brother says.”

“Yes, you do,” her brother, Hank ‘Montana’ Patterson, said.

His first day on the job with the Brotherhood Protectors and Swede’s first client didn’t want his services. It wasn’t exactly the way he’d pictured his initial assignment. From the way Montana had described the work, he’d expected to be allocated to a helpless rich person who needed someone to chauffeur, him or her, around. All he’d have to do was look big and tough. With the scar on the side of his face, he had no doubt he could intimidate the hell out of most people.

Instead of a rich socialite, Montana had tasked Swede with protecting his kid sister. And she wasn’t thrilled with the idea.

“If your sister doesn’t want a bodyguard, why force one on her?” Swede asked.

Allie’s eyes narrowed. “Wait, you’re taking my side?”

Swede shrugged. “You’re a grown-ass woman. If you don’t think you need a bodyguard, you shouldn’t have to accept one.”

Allie turned to her brother and flashed a smile. “I might like this guy after all.”

Sadie, Montana’s wife, laughed.

Montana shot a brief frown at Allie and Sadie, and turned to Swede. “After several suspicious events, Allie’s fiancé is concerned about her. And frankly, so am I.”

“I have too much to do between now and the wedding to have someone on my heels slowing me down,” Allie argued.

Montana gave her an “I’m the big brother” look. “You already agreed to Swede tagging along. Just shut up and let him.”

Allie crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m going to a fitting, having my nails done and shopping for lingerie for the wedding night. That’s when I’m not hauling hay, cleaning stalls and checking fences not only on the Bear Creek Ranch, but on the Double Diamond.” She gave Swede a look that sized him up and found him lacking. “What do you know about any of those activities?”

He shrugged. “Nothing.”

Allie rolled her eyes and turned back to Montana. “Let me guess, he’s never been on a ranch, and doesn’t know one end of a horse from another?”

Rather than allow himself to feel inadequate, Swede stiffened his back and straightened to his full six-feet-four inches. “I might not know my way around a ranch, but I’m good with a gun, I learn fast, I’m quick on my feet and highly observant.”

She opened her mouth.

Swede pressed a finger to her lips. “Let me demonstrate.” He gave her the same assessing stare she’d given him. “You came straight from the horse stalls you spoke of because you smell like manure, and you’re tracking it into the house. You didn’t take time to brush your hair this morning, likely because you had to clean the stalls and take care of the animals. Your hands are shaky, probably because you drink too much coffee. You haven’t slept well in days, if the circles under your eyes are any indication. The lack of sleep has everything to do with all of the things you mentioned, plus you’re worried your brother might be right and you might be in danger.” He crossed his arms over his chest, much like she had. “Did I miss anything?”

“Great. And he’s a smartass.” Allie glared at her brother.

Montana raised his hands. “Hey, don’t look at me. Take it up with your fiancé. He was the one who thought you needed protection. Maybe if you’d decided to marry one of the locals instead of a rich man who just bought a ranch in Montana because he could, you wouldn’t be in any more danger than getting thrown by a horse.”

“Do you hear yourself?” Allie asked. “You sound like our father.”

Montana scowled and his jaw tightened.

His wife, Sadie, touched his arm. “Sweetheart, Allie has the right to choose her partner. Let her take up the bodyguard issue with Damien. He’s the one who thinks she might need one. He can better explain his concerns.”

Montana slipped an arm around Sadie’s waist. “You’re right.” He turned to his sister. “I’m sorry. You can marry any rich jerk you want. I don’t have to like it, and I’ll tell you so, but if this is what you want, I won’t stand in your way.”

“Damn right, you won’t.” She lifted her head.

“At least let Swede tag along. If Damien is set on hiring a bodyguard, perhaps he can convince you.” Montana held open his arms. “You know I love you, kid. I only want what’s best for you.”

Allie sucked in a deep breath, let it out and stepped into her brother’s hug. “I guess that’s your job.”

“Yup. I wouldn’t be a big brother unless I told you how I see it.” Montana sniffed. “And Swede is right. You do smell like manure.”

Allie punched him in the belly. “Thanks. Love you, too.” She hugged her sister-in-law and patted her stomach. “Take care of my niece.”

Sadie laid a hand over her flat abdomen. “I will.” She hugged Allie. “Let Swede take care of you. I want our baby to know her Auntie Allie.”

“I’ll be around. I might be marrying a rich man who travels all over the world, but my life is here in Montana.”

“Don’t forget…” Sadie touched her arm. “We have the final fitting for your dress the day after tomorrow.”

Allie sighed. “I don’t know why I had to have it altered. It fit just fine.”

“The dress was too loose around your waist and too short,” Sadie reminded her. “And no, you can’t wear your favorite cowboy boots under it.”

“Why?” Allie protested. “Nobody will see my feet.”

“Because they’d smell like you do now. Like the inside of a horse stall.” Montana turned her around. “Go on. Talk to Damien before you go back to the ranch.”

Swede’s chest tightened over the back-and-forth arguing between the siblings. Montana was lucky. He had a wife, a baby on the way, his sister and his father. For Swede, one of the hardest things about being processed out of the military was losing the only family he had. His SEAL team. The soldiers he’d met during his recovery had family members come visit them. Not Swede.

The whole recovery process would have been a lot harder but for two things: the Australian shepherd he’d rescued from the animal shelter, and the Delta-Force soldier he’d met during his physical therapy sessions. Bear Parker had been in the same boat as he was. No home to go to, no family to greet him when he got there. They’d gone out for a beer several times after therapy sessions. Which reminded Swede…

He hesitated before following Allie. “You know, Montana, when you start getting more business, I know another man you might want to hire.”

“Yeah?” Montana’s brows rose. “Tell me.”

“He’s not a SEAL, but he’s former Delta Force.”

“I might have work for him. Is he available now? Or do we have to wait until his enlistment is up?”

“Available now. I met him in Bethesda during my recovery. I’m sure he’d be interested.”

“Pass on his details, and I’ll contact him.”

“And Montana, thanks for the opportunity.” Swede held out his hand.

Montana took it and pulled the big man into a bear hug. “We’re in this together.”

Swede hugged him back. “Once a SEAL, always a SEAL.”

“Right. We just have to find out where we fit now that we’re not fighting wars in foreign countries.”

“If you’re going to follow Allie, you’d better get going,” Sadie said. “She’s pulling down the drive now.”

Swede sprinted from the room, feeling only a slight twinge in his thigh from the shrapnel wounds. He hurried to his truck, parked in front of the house. Ruger barked a greeting and moved out of the driver’s seat.

“Good boy.” Swede started the engine and spun the truck around, spitting gravel in his wake.

A
llie was
furious Damien hadn’t asked her first before contacting her brother about a bodyguard. She’d made it perfectly clear to her fiancé that she was a very independent woman who liked doing things her way. If he wasn’t okay with that, he shouldn’t have dated her or asked her to marry him. She wasn’t changing for any man.

A glance in her rearview mirror made her smile. She’d left without waiting for Swede. If he was to be her bodyguard, he’d have to do a whole lot better at keeping up.

He didn’t catch up to Allie until she slowed to turn onto the highway.

Yes, she was driving like a bat out of hell, racing along the highway like she was actually trying to lose him. Maybe she was. Having someone follow her around like she needed a babysitter wasn’t her idea. Why make it easy on the man?

Apparently, Swede wasn’t so easily deterred. He caught up and rode her tail, even though she was breaking the speed limit.

The gate to her current home with her father at Bear Creek Ranch came and went. She didn’t slow down until she reached the grandiose stone and wood monstrosity with the words Double Diamond Ranch seared into the cedar archway. Unlike most gravel ranch roads, the Double Diamond road was paved all the way up to a huge mansion of a house, spreading across the top of a knoll.

Damien had purchased it from a movie star who’d gotten tired of the cold winters and moved back to sunny California to retire. The drive was lined with trim white wood fencing and trees spaced perfectly along the way. Horses grazed in the pastures if they weren’t being cared for in the massive stable. The stable was magnificent with twelve stalls, a spotless tack room and an office for the foreman.

Allie had a love-hate relationship with the ranch. She loved what wealth could buy, but, at the same time, hated the waste of so many dollars on things that weren’t necessary to have a working ranch in Montana. But, this wasn’t a working ranch. It was a gentleman’s retreat where riding was done for exercise and fun, not out of the necessity of managing cattle.

When she married Damien, she hoped to change that. She wasn’t the kind of woman who sat around the house eating bon bons with servants who tended to her every need.
Bleck!
She got the sour taste in her mouth, and felt the need to spit to clear it.

Allie pulled to a stop in front of the mansion and slid out of the driver’s seat. Without waiting for Swede, she marched up to the front entrance and pounded on the door, her anger fueling her fist.

Footsteps sounded on the steps behind her. The bodyguard was getting faster. Darn it all.

A man in a uniform opened the door. “Ah, Miss Patterson. Mr. Reynolds is out at the stable. Perhaps you’d like to come inside and wait for him?”

“No, thank you, Miles. I’ll find him.” Allie turned and ran into Swede. Beside him was a blue merle Australian shepherd with ice blue eyes much like his master’s. “Why are you standing so close?”

He stepped aside with what could only be regarded as a sarcastic flourish. “Maybe if you looked before you rushed headlong into things, you wouldn’t have a problem with where I stand.”

She snorted. “This your sidekick?”

“You could say that. His name is Ruger.”

Her expression softened, and she reached down to scratch the dog’s ears. She had a soft spot for dogs, especially working dogs, which she was almost sure this one was not.

Ruger leaned against her leg, his tail thumping against the stoop.

Allie could get lost in eyes so blue. Her jaw hardened, she straightened and gave Swede a narrow-eyed glare. “Just stay out of my way, will ya?” She ducked around him and marched across the manicured lawn toward the stable. “Damien!” she called out. “I need to talk to you.”

Her fiancé, dressed in freshly pressed khaki slacks, a dark polo shirt, and black leather jacket emerged from around the far side of the stable, his brows pulled into a deep frown. “Alyssa, what are you doing here?”

Not ‘
Alyssa, darling, I’m so happy you came to see me’
. Was the honeymoon over before it had even begun? And without the requisite sex? That was another thing she would take up with Damien when she had a moment alone with him. Why hadn’t they gone all the way yet? This waiting for the wedding bullshit was positively archaic. What if he was lousy in bed? Worse yet, what if she was lousy in bed with him? She wasn’t a virgin, but it had been a while since she’d slept with someone.

Frustrated by all she had to do before the wedding and adding the aggravation of having to put up with a shadow following her around, she launched her attack. “What’s this about you going behind my back to hire a bodyguard for me?”

He glanced back in the direction from where he’d come. “Darling, I think it’s best. It appears that I’ve made a few enemies along the road to success. Some would like to steal away my good fortune.”

“What kind of enemies?” Swede asked, stepping up beside Allie. He held out his hand. “I’m the bodyguard you hired. Axel Svenson. Most people call me Swede.”

Allie crossed her arms over her chest as the men shook hands.

“Damien Reynolds. I’m glad to meet you. Let me show you the latest in what has me concerned.” He hooked Allie’s elbow, turned and walked around the side of the stable. He stopped and waved his hand at the wall. Splashed across the side of the well-maintained structure were bold letters spray-painted in red.

TAKE WHAT’S MINE

I’LL TAKE WHAT’S YOURS

A chill slithered down Allie’s spine at how the red paint resembled blood, with long trails dripping from the letters down the side of the stable. She shuddered and straightened. “Damien, it’s just paint.”

His mouth pressed into a thin line. “It’s a threat. A promise to take what I’ve accumulated here. Whoever did this might also target the people I care about.”

Swede turned to Allie. “Didn’t your brother say something about cut brake lines on your truck?”

Damien’s brows dipped. “Have you had anything else happen since then?”

Allie shot a narrow-eyed glare at Swede. “No. And that could have been a fluke.”

“I’d rather be safe than sorry. Less than a week remains until our wedding. Then we’ll get away on our honeymoon, and leave all of this behind.”

“If there really is a problem,” Allie pointed to the stable wall, “which it seems there is, we’d only delay dealing with the issue.”