Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Cowboy D-Force (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Brotherhood Protectors Book 4) (7 page)

D
uke packed
a shirt and a pair of jeans into a backpack, and then threw in several condoms he’d grabbed from the stash in Lena’s nightstand. Not that they’d have time or the opportunity to make love in the mountains. But he could never be too prepared.

“Look at this.” Angel carried a lightweight laptop into the room and set it on the bed beside his backpack. “Lena Love dumped Myles Crain a week ago after the media got hold of some pictures of his trophy hunts in Africa.” She scrolled through several photos of a handsome man in khaki slacks and shirt standing beside the carcass of a slain elephant. The next was Myles Crain smiling for the camera beside a dead giraffe, its neck folded over neatly to fit in the picture. The last one was of Myles and a lion. He held the head up, the lion’s jaw had dropped open, exposing razor sharp teeth that had been no match for the hunter’s long-distance rifle.

“He’s a real sweetheart, isn’t he?” Duke commented. “Seems like the kind of guy Lena would go for. One who likes to shoot caged animals.”

“That’s just it. She didn’t want to dump him.” Angel closed the laptop. “I called Phillip to get the story. He told her she had to dump him. Myles was getting so much bad publicity, it threatened to impact her career. If she didn’t dump him, he’d bring her down with him.” Angel’s lips twisted. “She dumped him publicly, through a television interview on a major talk show. Phillip said Myles was livid. He even called Phillip and threatened to kill him.”

“A regular Prince Charming.”

Her brows twisted. “Another thing I found out about him that might put a damper on our trip into the mountains…”

“What? He likes to shoot women holding martini glasses?”

“No. He’s big into predator games. He belongs to a league of hunters who pay men to be human prey.”

“Like laser tag?” Duke’s stomach knotted.

“Like laser tag on steroids. It’s on a much grander scale. The course is over a thousand acres. The hunters have to track the individuals. The runners who stay ‘alive’ the longest are paid top dollar.”

“So he’s had some experience tracking humans as well as animals in a pen.” Duke laid out an array of weapons on the comforter. “I’m liking this guy more and more.” He held up a military-grade rifle. “Know how to use one of these?”

She lifted the weapon, pulled back the bolt, peered inside, and then closed it again. “Of course. It’s an M4 with a SOPMOD upgrade. We used these in my unit. Pretty damned accurate.” She hefted it in her arms. “This one mine?”

He nodded. “And this.” Duke handed her an M9 Beretta and holster with a belt.

“Where did you get all of this?”

“I have my conceal carry license.”

“This is enough stuff to supply an army.” She shook her head. “We’re up against one man.”

“And you’ve been in combat. One man can cause a lot of damage.”

She nodded, her lips pressing into a thin line. “You’re right.” Squaring her shoulders, she dipped into the duffle bag he was loading with all of the guns and ammo. “Good, the magazines are loaded.”

“Not much good if they aren’t.”

“When are we leaving?”

“In ten minutes. I spoke with the foreman about hunting cabins on the ranch.”

“The foreman?” Angel cocked her brows.

“Not Brandt Lucas. He was a figurehead.”

“More likely a Lena fuckbuddy,” Angel commented.

“He’s long gone. Packed his shit and left last night.”

Angel shivered. “Good riddance.”

“Sorenson said there’s a hunting cabin on a peak a couple of miles into the mountains. He gave me the general directions. We should be able to get there in an hour or two.”

“I’m packed and ready when you are. I’ll be in the kitchen loading some staples in case we’re there for longer than a day or two.”

“I’ll be down in a couple of minutes. Stay away from the windows. Don’t present a target.”

She shook her head. “I’m not a newb.”

“Yeah, but you haven’t been in combat for several years.” He grabbed her arm, pulled her against him and kissed her lips. “Humor me, will you?”

She smiled. “Okay. But only because I like your weapons.” With a wink, she turned and left the room.

Duke called Hank Patterson and let him know what they’d discovered about Lena’s ex-boyfriend and what had been going on since Duke had taken on the assignment as Lena’s bodyguard.

“It’s a good thing she has you to look out for her,” Hank said. “Shooting a glass out of her hand is far too close for comfort.”

“Yeah, well, I have a plan.” Duke laid out his plan to lure the stalker away from the ranch and up into the mountains.

“Are you sure you want to do it that way?” Hank asked. “I can bring in my other agents from their current assignments to back you. But you’d have to give me at least a day. I can come with you now and we can have the others come when they get in.”

“I’m afraid if I take an army up into the mountains, our stalker won’t come out of hiding.” He glanced at the arsenal of weaponry he was taking with him. Knowing Angel could handle a gun as well as he could, made it easier for him to say, “I’m pretty confident I can manage this on my own.” He wouldn’t be on his own with the real liability that was Lena. Angel would be a member of his team, an asset to the upcoming fight.

“I can’t say that I like the idea of you and Miss Love going up into the mountains without more support.”

“Remember, I’m from Montana. I know my way around the mountains.”

“You might know your way around, but does Miss Love?”

“I’ll take care of her.” And he would. But she’d also be fully capable of taking care of herself.

Hank sighed. “Okay. I’ll give you two days, and then I’m coming up after you.”

“Fair enough,” Duke agreed. “I hope it won’t take two days. I’m aiming to be back at Love Land after only a night.”

“I admire your conviction. I just hope it’s not misplaced.”

“Give me two days.”

“Okay.” Hank ended the call.

Duke tossed the phone on the bed and sifted through the magazines and pouches.

When his cell phone rang, he spent a few seconds looking for it amid the magazines, ammunition and pouches scattered across the bed. When he found it, he noticed the caller ID and hit the talk button. “Hey, Ghost. You guys really must be missing me.”

“Not at all. We’re just jealous as hell that you’re having all the fun in Montana without us.”

Duke snorted. “Fun. Right.”

Ghost’s tone grew serious. “What’s happening?”

“You could say I’m missing my brothers about now.”

“Protecting a movie star more than you can handle?”

“She’s got a psycho hunter after her. He’s only been playing with her to begin with, but he took a warning shot at her yesterday.”

“Damn, and here we all thought bodyguarding was a boondoggle.”

“Me too, until it got too close to home, and a lot more dangerous.”

“Well, don’t tell the guys I was the one to blow the surprise, but Me, Fletch and a couple others packed our fishing gear and chartered a plane leaving today.”

“For?”

“Eagle Rock, Montana. We leave in fifteen minutes. Flight time is under five hours. Think you can hold out until we get there?”

“I think so. I told my boss I didn’t need help, but you can never have too many Deltas on a mission.”

“Got that right,” Ghost said.

“We’re heading into the mountains to see if we can force his hand.”

“Send us the coordinates. We’ll be there.”

“Roger.” For the first time since he’d left Fort Hood, Texas, he felt like he had a mission. Something to fight for. “Hopefully, by the time the team gets here, it’ll be that cake walk you mentioned and we’ll get in some fly fishing.”

“Yeah.” Ghost paused. “Stay safe, buddy.”

“Will do.”

If all worked out as planned, they’d lead the stalker into the woods, turn the game on him and the predator would become the prey.

Between a former Army Ranger and a Delta Force soldier, they should be able to flush out the bad guy and give him a little of his own medicine. His hunting days would soon be over.

And if all else failed, the cavalry was on its way for some fly fishing.

“
I
have
to admit I feel a little better wearing body armor,” Angel said softly, so only Duke could hear. As she stood in front of the barn, she adjusted the Kevlar vest beneath the oversized blouse she’d found in Lena’s closet. She glanced around. “What vehicle are we taking?”

Lyle, the recently promoted ranch foreman led two horses out of the barn and handed the reins of a big black one to Duke.

As he led the bay toward Angel, she held up her hands, shaking her head. “I’m not riding that.”

“Why not?”

Angel bit her lip, about to say it was in her contract that she didn’t have to do any stunts requiring her to ride a horse. But even though she’d told Duke who she was, no one but Phillip knew she wasn’t the real Lena. And Lena rode horses. Damn. “I just don’t feel like riding a horse today.” She glanced around. “Don’t we have four-wheelers or something?”

“Some of the trails up to the cabin are really narrow. A horse has a better chance of getting around,” Lyle said. “Miss Love, you know you feel safer riding horses than four-wheelers. Besides, it’s been weeks since you’ve taken Hollywood for a ride.”

The horse danced away from Angel. Though humans couldn’t tell the difference between Angel and Lena, the horse obviously smelled a difference. It was probably the fear Angel was sweating out of every freakin’ pore.

Without making a big fuss and revealing her lack of horse-riding skills, Angel gritted her teeth and stuck her foot in the stirrup.

The horse danced away again.

Angel held onto the side of the saddle, hopping along beside the horse.

“Don’t know what’s gotten into that animal.” Lyle held onto the bridle and steadied the beast while Angel mounted, swinging her leg over the top of the saddle and landing with a jarring thump on her ass.

Sweet Jesus, I’m going to die!

Forcing a smile to her face, she said, “Let’s ride!” If her voice was shaky and her grip on the reins wasn’t right, well, fuck it. She was doing what she’d always sworn she wouldn’t—riding a goddamn horse!

Her legs cinched around the horse’s belly.

As soon as Lyle released the bridle, Hollywood danced sideways.

Angel bit down hard on her tongue to keep from crying out. Her feet flapped in the stirrups, and her heels touched the horse’s flanks.

Hollywood leaped toward the gate, nearly leaving Angel behind.

By the grace of God and her hold on the saddle horn, she barely managed to remain in the saddle.

Hollywood stopped at the gate and waited for Lyle to open it.

Lyle stared up at the horse and scratched his head. “Don’t know what’s wrong with that horse. He never acts this way around you.”

“I’ve been a little off kilter. Maybe he senses it,” Angel bit out between her gritted teeth. “We’ll work the kinks out on the trail. See you in a couple of days.” She lifted her hand briefly in a little wave.

“Enjoy your stay in the cabin. I was up there a week ago. It’s all set up with canned goods and firewood.”

“Thank you, Lyle,” Angel said, before she remembered Lena wouldn’t have been as nice.

Duke rode up beside her, his horse stopping close enough Duke’s leg touched Angel’s.

A flash of desire raced through her at his nearness.

“Ready?” he asked.

Oh, yeah. She was ready to go back up to Lena’s bed and make a repeat performance of last night. She sighed. Alas, they had a dangerous job to do. Hopefully, her stalker was watching and already planning to follow them up into the mountains. “Ready as I’ll ever be,” she said, her eyes narrowed. She was ready to take out the bastard bent on making Lena’s life hell and ending it in a fantasy hunt to the kill.

Angel called bullshit on that. She and Duke would turn the tables on the bastard and bring him down.

D
uke led the way
, following the directions Lyle had given, along with the GPS device he’d brought in his gear.

After they had ridden out of sight of the barn and house, he’d slowed for Angel, snapped a lead rope onto Hollywood’s bridal and led the animal behind his horse.

“You didn’t tell me you couldn’t ride.”

“It never occurred to me that we’d take horses up in the mountains.”

“Sweetheart, we’re on a ranch…with horses and cattle. It’s what you ride on a ranch.”

“Or four-wheelers. I understand a lot of ranchers use them in lieu of horses, nowadays.” She snapped her fingers in a Lena show of temper. “Get with the times, cowboy.”

He chuckled. “I assume that’s the Lena we all know and love.”

Angel smirked. “I was just getting into the part when you figured it out.”

Duke started up a trail that led through a pass between two hills. The path grew narrower and the slopes steeper, falling off to the right.

Angel held onto the saddle horn. “I sure hope this horse knows what the hell he’s doing.”

“They’re sure-footed. The thing to remember is to stay in the saddle.”

She snorted. “Easy for you to say. I have a feeling this horse has a mind of his own. And he doesn’t seem to like me on his back.”

Hollywood blew out a whinny and shook his mane.

Angel nodded. “See?”

Duke glanced back over his shoulder, his brows furrowing. “If you’re that uncomfortable riding, you can ride double with me.”

“No, thank you. I like having my own saddle horn to hang onto and stirrups to stand in.”

They rode for the next hour without speaking.

Duke glanced back often, worried about Angel. Hell, he hadn’t been riding for a long time, and his ass was getting sore in the saddle. He could imagine how tired Angel would be when they reached the cabin.

Around noon, he stopped at the creek Lyle had said he’d find. He dismounted and reached up to help Angel down from her horse.

She swung her leg over and dropped down into his arms.

For a moment he held her, letting her get her feet under her, and well, really just held her. The woman hadn’t complained since they’d left the barn. She was tough and willing to do things the hard way. “How are you holding up?”