Montana D-Force (Brotherhood Protectors Book 3) (4 page)

Mia drew in a deep breath and nodded. She led the way around the side of the house, stepping around a stack of lumber.

Bear had unloaded the truck, laying the boards neatly to the side of the porch.

The back door stood open just as Mia had left it. She’d been too afraid of being caught and raped to worry about closing it before she ran out of the house.

The sheriff climbed the back porch steps, pulled his cell phone out of his shirt pocket and snapped shots of the splintered doorjamb and lock. “About what time did this occur?”

Mia climbed the steps, a shiver rippling down her spine. “I don’t know. Maybe around two AM. I don’t remember exactly. I woke when I heard the door crash open. I was a little disoriented at the time.” From an intense and frightening dream, she didn’t add.

“Was anything taken?” Sheriff Wilson asked, stepping into the kitchen.

“That, I wouldn’t know. I ran out the other side of the house and haven’t been back since.” Mia followed him, the hairs on the back of her neck rising. She could almost sense the presence of the intruder, which was ridiculous considering the sheriff was there, and so were five other people.

“Let’s check through the house,” the sheriff said. “Let me know if you notice anything gone. You can always make a list and send it to me later if we miss something.”

Mia walked with the sheriff room by room.

Deputy Maynard followed, holding a pen and notebook as if prepared to take notes.

It was hard to tell if anything was missing since she hadn’t removed dustcovers in the living room and spare bedrooms. Everything in the kitchen seemed to be where it was supposed to be—except the doorjamb and a butcher knife left on the floor.

When the sheriff completed his rounds, he stepped out on the porch where the rest of the group waited.

Sadie slipped an arm around Mia’s waist. “Well, Sheriff, what do you think?”

“My initial inclination is to think some kids were playing a prank on Miss Chastain. They’ve got some fool notion this house is haunted. Maybe they’re trying to make others think the same. I can’t imagine any other motive, seein’ as they didn’t take anything that we know of.”

Mia could think of one other motive.

Sadie cut a sideways glance at Mia.

Mia shook her head slightly.

“What about the rest of town?” Hank asked. “Has anyone else had similar problems? Anyone report attacks?”

The sheriff shook his head. “Not since you and your boys cleared up the trouble with your sister Alyssa’s former fiancé. That was some nasty business. How is your sister?”

“She and Swede should be back from Vegas in a day or two.”

“I’m glad they were able to get away for a few days,” Sheriff Wilson said. “I keep meaning to take the missus back to Vegas. She likes the shows. I like the craps table.” The sheriff glanced around. “I’ll have a deputy do drive-bys at night as a warning to whoever did this.”

“Thanks, Sheriff,” Mia said.

The sheriff descended the stairs. “Welcome back, Mia. I’m glad to see you back in town.” He climbed into his SUV and drove away.

Deputy Maynard crossed to his SUV, tipped his hat and said, “Good to see you again, Mia.” Then he drove away, leaving Mia standing on the top step feeling no better about her house than before the sheriff had arrived.

“Don’t worry.” Sadie hugged her. “Now that they’ve left, Bear can fix the doorframe.”

A loud crack behind her made Mia jump.

Bear, armed with a hammer and a pry bar, had gone to work removing the splintered wood.

“Do you need help?” Hank asked.

Bear shook his head. “I’ve got this. Thanks.”

“I can stay, if you want,” Sadie offered.

Mia smiled. “No. I think we can handle it from here. You should go put your feet up or something.”

“No, I shouldn’t,” Sadie said. “But I get it. You need to write.” She let go of Mia and took Hank’s hand. “Come on. I want to go look at paint colors for the baby’s room.”

“Bartlett’s Hardware doesn’t carry a lot of choices.”

Sadie smiled. “I know.”

“The closest paint store is in Bozeman.”

Her smile widened. “I know.”

Hank sighed. “I guess we’re going to Bozeman.”

“And they say you can’t train men.” Sadie winked at Mia. “Let us know if you need anything from Bozeman.”

“If they don’t have door lock hardware at Bartlett’s, we might be calling,” Bear said.

Hank waved. “Gotcha. We’ll be back early enough to give you time to switch them out.”

Hank opened the SUV door for Sadie. She climbed in, smiling.

Mia hoped to be as free and easy with a man as Sadie. She and Hank were so good together, and the love between them was so strong Mia could feel it.

A loud bang shook her from her thoughts, and Mia turned toward Bear, her pulse kicking up a notch.

He had the pry bar between two boards in the door frame and he leaned back as hard as he could, holding onto the pry bar, his muscles straining.

The wood creaked, and then split again. He grabbed the splinter and ripped it off the doorframe.

“Is there something I can do to help?” Mia asked.

B
ear straightened
, his gaze skimming Mia, his pulse kicking up a notch. She was beautiful, even in baggy jeans and a T-shirt. “As a matter of fact, there is.”

“I’ve never done any carpentry, but I’m willing to learn.”

“No specific skills necessary.” He pulled a screwdriver from his belt. “All I need is for you to hold the door while I remove the pins from the hinges. Just hang onto the doorknobs and keep it steady until I’ve knocked out the pins.”

“I think I can manage that.” Mia held the doorknobs while Bear whacked the pins out of the hinges and slid them into his pocket. When he had all three loose, the door wobbled.

Bear reached around Mia and grabbed the door as the hinges parted and the door fell away from the jamb. His body pressed against hers as he absorbed most of the weight of the heavy door. Pain shot down his leg, and he grunted, fighting the urge to let go of the door and fall to the ground himself. He closed his eyes and held on until the worst of it subsided. In a tight voice, he said, “I’ve got this. You can let go.”

Mia didn’t move away as he expected.

“You can let go,” he repeated.

“Um. No,” she said. “I can’t.”

Bear took stock of the situation, his gaze shifting to her hands, trapped beneath his. So intent on keeping the heavy door from crashing down on their feet, he hadn’t realized he’d pinned Mia’s hands beneath his. “Damn. I’m sorry.” Balancing the door with one hand, he shifted the other, moving it off hers. Then he removed the hand on the other side.

Still, she didn’t move. “I seem to be pinned.”

“If I move too much, I’ll lose my grip,” he said. “You’re going to have to wiggle your way out from between me and the door.”

Mia ducked her head beneath his arm and dragged her body against his in an attempt to slide out from under him.

The more she wiggled against him, the more aware of her he became, until his jeans grew so tight, he thought they might cut off the circulation to—

Mia broke loose and flung herself free of his arms.

The heavy door leaned precariously toward her. Bear shifted to balance the weight, putting so much pressure on his bad leg, the pain throbbing there made him break out in a cold sweat. He gritted his teeth and held on. Once he had control, he bent, settling the door on the floor of the kitchen and leaning it against the wall. Then he dropped to the tile and stretched his bum leg out in front of him, pulled his toes upward, to work out the charley horse, and cursed softly beneath his breath.

He hated showing weakness in front of anyone, especially in front of his client. But what disturbed him more was the raw lust that had ripped through him when Mia had wiggled her pert little butt against his groin.

Somewhere in the Brotherhood Protectors rule book—if there was such a thing—there had to be something about not lusting after the client. If there was, he was doomed to fail his first solo assignment before it barely had a chance to get started.

M
ia’s heart
pounded hard against her ribs. For a moment she thought it might actually burst from her chest. Being trapped between Bear and the door had caused so many mixed emotions she wasn’t sure if she had been frightened by Bear or by her own reaction to his body pressed so tightly to hers.

Her core throbbed with an aching need she’d never felt before. The desire was so profound, she could barely breathe.

When she was finally free, she bent over and sucked in deep breaths to refill her starving lungs. Not until she heard a soft thump did she look up to see Bear set the door on the kitchen floor, and then drop down beside it.

He thrust his leg out in front of him and rubbed his knee and thigh, his face pale, sweat beading on his brow.

Pushing her own desires to the back of her mind, Mia knelt beside Bear. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” he said through tight lips.

“No, you’re not.” She glanced at the leg he rubbed.

“I tell you, I’m fine. Just leave me alone for a minute.”

“Does it help to massage the muscle?”

“I can manage. I’ll be up in a minute.” When she didn’t move, he glared at her. “Don’t you have some writing to do?” He rolled to his side and tried to get his leg under him. When he put weight on it, he collapsed, cursing.

Mia winced, empathy making her want to ease his pain. She reached out to touch his leg.

He pushed her hands away. “I don’t need help.”

Anger stiffened her backbone. “Look, mister. You’re in pain. What does it hurt to let someone help you?”

“You’re the client. I’m supposed to be helping
you
. Not the other way around.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You
are
helping me. Let me help you.” She reached out again.

When he started to push her hands away again, she gave him a hard stare. “Don’t be a big baby. Let me massage it until the pain lessens. Then you can go back to being your big, grumpy macho self.” She ran her hands over his thigh and knee, gently at first, adding a little pressure with each pass until she was leaning into the massage. “Better?” she asked and glanced up.

Bear leaned back on his hands. “Yes.”

Mia continued until Bear grabbed her hand and held it still. “You can stop now.”

“But if you’re still hurting…” She looked into his eyes.

“If you don’t stop now, I won’t be able to move for an entirely different reason.”

She frowned. “Why?”

He shook his head, his lips quirking upward at the corners. “Just trust me and stop. The charley horse is gone. I think I can stand.”

As his meaning dawned on her, heat rushed up her neck into her cheeks. Mia pulled her hands back to her sides and rose to her feet. “Well, if you think you’ll be okay.”

“I will.” Bear pushed to his feet and eased his weight onto his bad leg. “See? Better.” He touched her arm. “Thanks.”

She willed the heat in her cheeks to subside. “You’re welcome. Now, I’d better clear a space in the study to write. Let me know if you need my help again.”

He adjusted the angle of the door leaning against the wall to keep it from falling. “I will.”

Mia scurried from the kitchen, ducked into the study and closed the door. Pressing a hand to her chest, she felt her heartbeat thundering against her ribs. What was it about Bear that had her in a constant state of agitation?

For one, he wasn’t even that handsome. Unless a woman was into the ruggedly attractive guys with permanent five-o’clock shadows on their jaws and shoulders so broad they filled entire doorways.

No, he wasn’t the type of man she was normally interested in. Hell, she didn’t know any men like Bear. He was so big, raw, muscular and utterly male. Not the usual artist types she ran into when she corroborated with other screenwriters.

For the most part, she’d avoided men. Sure she’d dated, preferring to meet the man on her own terms. She never let him pick her up at her place, preferring to meet at a public restaurant. And she never went home with one.

Since her rape, she’d never actually had sex with another man. Yes, she’d been in some intensely heavy petting sessions, but she’d always frozen up at the last minute. Okay, frozen wasn’t the right description. Her reactions were more like full-on panic attacks. Needless to say, those had been final dates with those particular men. They’d never called back, and she’d been glad.

Mia might not be a virgin, but she had never experienced the big O.

So, why was she thinking about it now?

It was him. Bear. Shoot, she didn’t even know his full name. In the rush to get inside Sadie’s place, full introductions hadn’t been made. Now she’d feel silly asking the man whom she’d hired to be her bodyguard what his name was.

Straightening away from the door, Mia tried to pull herself together. She might as well do what she’d told him she was going to do and clean the study. Maybe if she had a spotless, quiet place to write, she’d get some words down.

Mia hitched up the borrowed jeans and thought better of starting to clean. First, she needed to change into her own clothes, and maybe freshen her face and hair. Just because she wasn’t interested in a relationship with her bodyguard didn’t mean she had to run around the house in baggy clothes with her hair unkempt.

Peeking out the door, Mia glanced toward the kitchen. She didn’t hear any hammering or banging. Nor did she see Bear

Quick, while the coast was clear, she hurried up the stairs and into her bedroom. After she changed into her own jeans and a tank top, she hurried across to the bathroom, brushed her hair, applied a little concealer to the dark circles beneath her eyes and a little blush to her pale face. Feeling a little more presentable, she walked out of the bathroom and into the wall of muscle that was her bodyguard.

Bear gripped her arms to steady her.

As soon as Mia had her feet firmly beneath her, Bear released her and backed away, holding up his hands. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to grab you and violate rule number one.”

“No, it was my fault. I didn’t look before I charged out the door. And I wouldn’t think of it as a rule so much as a guideline.”

His lips twitched, almost a smile. “I wouldn’t be up here, but I need some supplies. Do you have time to go to the hardware store?”

She snorted. “Since I haven’t started cleaning or writing, I’d say yes.”

“We can wait if you need to do something else first,” Bear offered.

“No, I don’t want to hold you up on fixing that door.” She chuckled. “Let’s just go and quit dancing around the issue. Hopefully, we’ll get used to each other and stop being so awkward.”

He grinned. “You’re my first personal security client. I don’t want to screw it up.”

“And you’re my first bodyguard. So we’ll both bumble around until we get it right.” She grabbed her purse from the top of the dresser. “My car or your truck?”

“My truck. In case you want to load up on other supplies to continue the repairs to this place. I’ve made a cursory inspection. I have a list in my head.”

Mia followed him out to his truck. “What did you find?”

“The back porch is sagging, the steps are rotting, and I think you have a hornet’s nest in the eaves at the front of the house.”

“Oh, really?” Mia winced. “We definitely want to take care of those things right away. I can’t have guests falling through the boards and being stung by angry hornets.”

Bear walked with her to the passenger side of the truck and opened her door.

Mia climbed in, entirely too aware of Bear’s burly body as she slipped past him.

He walked around the truck and slid in next to her. After starting the engine, he shifted into reverse.

Being inside the cab of the truck brought her close to Bear in a confined space. Her pulse quickened, but not like it did in a panic attack. This feeling was new, a raw excitement she couldn’t deny.

As they continued down the drive, her gaze returned to Bear again and again, no matter how hard she tried to focus her attention on the road ahead.

Bear pulled the truck to a stop at the juncture of her driveway and the highway. Without glancing her way, he asked, “How did it happen?”

His question pulled Mia back to reality with a jerk. “Sorry?”

He softened his tone. “Thirteen years ago, how did it happen?”

Mia stared at the highway, her pulse rampaging through her veins, sweat beading on her upper lip.

“If you don’t want to talk about it, I understand. But to find out who did it, we’ll need details. You’ll have to talk to someone.”

Mia stared at the corner where she’d gotten off the bus and waved at her friends as the bus pulled away all those years ago.

“Forget it. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.” Bear shifted his foot from the brake to the accelerator.

“It was a school day like any other,” Mia blurted out. “I got off the bus here, like I had every day for the previous seven years.”

She glanced at the trees and vegetation near the corner. “He must have been waiting in the brush. I didn’t see him at all, just walked toward my house, like I did every day.”

Her fingers curled around the armrests. “Then something came down over my head. A bag or burlap sack. I couldn’t see. Whatever it was covered my head, shoulders and arms. Then strong arms wrapped around me. I couldn’t fight with my arms and hands. They were trapped against my sides. He must have wrapped rope around the sack to keep me from getting loose. I kicked and screamed, but it didn’t do any good. He threw me over his shoulder, carried me a short distance, and then dumped me in the backseat of his truck. He drove across some very bumpy roads and stopped.”

A shiver rocked her body. For a long moment, Mia didn’t say anything, as she relived the terror and pain of that day so long ago.

Bear took her hand in his and squeezed gently. “You don’t have to go on.”

Mia found his big, callused hand comforting. “No, it’s okay. Sometimes, I pretend it was someone else, not me, who was attacked. But I wouldn’t wish it on anyone else. I can truly say it was the worst day of my life.” She stared down at the scars on the back of his hand. “You must think I’m foolish.” She traced one of his scars with her fingertip.

“I don’t think anything of the sort.” He glanced her way. “Why do you say that?”

She shrugged. “I was raped and lived. I didn’t lose a limb or suffer a spinal injury. Basically, I came out of it intact.”

Bear shook his head. “Nobody comes out of anything as traumatic as what you went through intact. I suspect you had posttraumatic stress issues, just like soldiers who survive wartime attacks.”

She shrugged. “I don’t know about posttraumatic stress. A lot braver men have suffered more than I have and are managing to live normal lives.”

“And a lot of them commit suicide because they can’t manage day-to-day life as a civilian.” Bear shook his head. “How did you manage to get away from your attacker?”

“He left me tied to a tree. I think he expected me to die of exposure that night. It got really cold, but I didn’t give up. I rubbed the ropes against the tree bark until they frayed and finally broke. When I pulled the bag off my head, it was already getting dark. I didn’t know which way to go.

“I remember being worried about my parents. I wondered if they’d found my backpack, or called the school to see if I’d taken the bus home.”

Bear slowed his truck, letting her finish her story before they entered Eagle Rock, for which she was grateful.

“I found my clothes, but not my shoes. After dressing, I walked for a long time, until I came to a paved road. Then I walked some more, barefoot, bleeding, and probably in shock.” She drew in a deep breath. That feeling, as though all that awful day had happened to someone else, blanketed her, insulating her from the horror.

“I finally saw a light in the distance. It was a vehicle coming my way. I was afraid it was him, coming back to finish me off. I dove into the bushes and hid until it went by. Then I continued until I came across a mailbox. Then another, the one with our address on it. Somehow, I’d found my way back to where it had all begun. I ran all the way down our driveway, ran through the door and collapsed in my mother’s arms.”

“If you didn’t tell your parents what happened, how did you explain your disappearance and battered condition?”

“I told them I’d chased a rabbit into the woods, got disoriented, lost my way and fell down a ravine. They’d called the sheriff and had half of the county out looking for me when I showed up.”

“Why didn’t you tell your parents what really happened?”

She laughed, though the sound was hollow, even to her own ears. “I was sixteen, scared, deeply ashamed and horribly embarrassed.”

“Jesus, Mia. You had no reason to be ashamed or embarrassed. You were brutally attacked.”

“I know that now. As a sixteen-year-old, all I could think of was what my friends would think. They would never look at me the same. Hell,
I
didn’t look at me the same. Most of my friends had already had sex with their boyfriends. I didn’t want to be the victim, someone to be pitied.”

“Why didn’t you tell the sheriff when he came out to your house to investigate the break-in?”

Mia shrugged. “It’s been thirteen years. I’m sure some statute of limitations would protect him from being prosecuted.”

“Do you know that for certain?”

She sighed. “No. To tell the truth, I kind of want to wait and see if I can figure it out without making a big deal of it.”

“Mia, it
was
a big deal.”

“I know. But I don’t want to turn the town upside down looking for someone who might not even live here anymore. What if the attacker was someone from somewhere else?”

“He hid in the bushes, waiting for you,” Bear said. “The guy had to have known you, and watched you enough to know when you would get off that bus, and that your folks wouldn’t be waiting for you.”

Mia had thought of that. “Still, I don’t want to disrupt lives of those who weren’t directly involved, or cast doubts on innocent people.”

“If you want to find the guy, you have to ask questions,” Bear insisted.

“So, maybe I’m not sure I want to find this guy,” she snapped.