Montana SEAL (Brotherhood Protectors #1)(28)

Thirty minutes and a slew of questions later, Hank was in the front seat of the SUV with Sadie sitting behind him. They had just pulled away from the tavern and were on their way back to the ranch.

“Damn, Sadie,” Fin said, turning to look at her in the backseat of the SUV. “Who the hell would want you hurt? You’re a national treasure. Everyone loves you.”

“Obviously, not everyone,” she said.

Hank glanced at her in the rearview mirror. “Are you okay?”

She nodded, her lips quirking on the corners. “I’m alive.”

“And that’s what matters,” Hank concurred.

Sadie stared out the window. “I can’t remember making anyone angry enough to want to hurt me.”

“Could it be a jealous rival? Someone who didn’t get the part that rocketed you to fame?” Fin asked. “How could anyone be mad at you? As kids, even I couldn’t stay angry with you for long.”

She smiled at her brother. “We had our fights.”

Fin’s jaw hardened. “Yeah, but this is worse.”

Hank glanced in the mirror at Sadie’s pale face, illuminated by the streetlights.

“Well, we have to let Joe do his job,” Sadie said, her voice even. “I’m just ready to be home. Out of harm’s way.”

When Hank pulled up to the McClain house, he shifted the truck into park. “Stay here until I check the house.”

Sadie touched his shoulder over the back of the seat. “You don’t think whoever is doing this will show up here, do you?”

“I don’t want to risk it. Wait until I give the all clear.” Hank climbed down from the SUV and closed the door. He half-hoped the perpetrator was there. He’d choke the life out of the man for putting the look of fear into Sadie’s eyes. The bastard would die for that.

Hank circled the house, checking the bushes, behind the trees and finally climbed the steps of the porch. With the key Sadie had given him earlier, he unlocked the back door and entered. Moving silently, he cleared each room, much as he would have done as a SEAL, only he didn’t carry a weapon. That would change. Fin had to have a pistol he could use while he was there.

He continued checking. Nothing moved and no one lay hidden in the closets or under the beds.

He walked out the front door and down the steps to open the SUV door for Sadie. “It’s safe.” Normally, Sadie wouldn’t have waited as long a she had for him to check every room in the house. She’d have declared it nonsense. That she had remained in the vehicle the entire time, spoke to the level of fear she must be harboring.

Hank held the door until she was out of the vehicle and standing beside him. Using his body as a shield, he hurried her into the house. Fin brought up the rear, closed the door and twisted the deadbolt.

Sadie stood in the hallway, a shiver rippling across her body. Even in the relative safety of the house, she didn’t move out of the curve of Hank’s arm.

“I’ll leave you two alone.” Fin hung his coat in the closet. “I have to get up early and check on a fence in the high pasture before the snows come.” As he turned to head of the stairs, he paused. “I’m glad you’re all right, sis.”

Which left Hank holding Sadie in the foyer from where they hadn’t moved since they’d walked through the door.

“Want me to build a fire?” Hank asked.

Sadie shook her head. “No.” She walked away from him, rubbing her arms. “I’m cold, but a fire isn’t going to warm me.”

“Do you want me to stay up with you until you’re ready to go to bed?”

She turned to face him. “No.” Sadie closed the distance she’d put between them and rested her hands on his chest. “I want to go to bed, now.”

His hands rose automatically to rest on her hips, like they used to when they were teens. “I’ll walk you to your door and check your room again.”

“That would be nice,” she said, staring up into his eyes.

Hank swallowed hard, pushing back the rush of lust threatening to overwhelm him. He took her hand in his and lifted it to his lips. Then he led her up the stairs to her room. The one beside his. “Wait here.” He entered, checked the closet and under the bed. “All clear.” When Hank straightened, Sadie no longer stood at the door. He turned and almost bumped into her.

“Stay with me, Hank.” Her fingers fumbled with the buttons on her blouse, pushing them through, one at a time, until she reached the hem.

His pulse pounding and his cock swelling, Hank dragged in a deep breath and let it out. “Are you sure that’s what you want?”

“Never more certain.” She shrugged out of the blouse, letting it fall to the floor. Her hands moved to the button on her jeans.

Hank grabbed her hands and stopped her from flicking the rivet open. “I thought you wanted to keep this all business.”

She nodded. “I was wrong. That one dance proved it to me.” Sadie wrapped her arms around his neck. “I have a life in LA. You have a life with the navy. But while we’re in Montana, we can be together.” She leaned up on her toes, her lips a breath away from his. “Take it or leave it.” With a brush of her lips across his, she whispered. “Please. Take it.”

Hank hesitated. What Sadie offered was a temporary arrangement. A fling with an old lover. On the one hand, it made Hank feel cheap, like he wasn’t good enough to be with her forever. On the other, he couldn’t resist the heaven of her naked flesh pressed against him. “What about tomorrow? Or the end of the few weeks we’ll both be here?”