Page 14 of Her Delta Force Protector

After Duke ran out of the kitchen Tristan whistled, and his police dog, Fuzz, peeked around the open door. “You can come in now.”

“What’s with Fuzz?”

“Duke wore him out,” Skylar said. “I think if we hadn’t brought him back, Fuzz would have driven the car himself to deliver Duke to you.”

“Poor Fuzz. Duke’s a handful.” He didn’t mean to be, he just loved people and other dogs and cats and...well, everything. He loved life. Would that everyone loved the way Duke did. The world would be a better place.

Harper returned with Duke jumping around her. When she reached the kitchen, she sat on the floor. Duke landed on her and knocked her onto her back. “I’ve missed you so much, sweet boy.” She laughed as Duke tried to lick the skin off her face.

Kade smiled at seeing her loving those Duke kisses. During the time they’d been friends, they’d laughed at a lot of things. This felt different, this weird feeling in his chest at seeing her happy.

He grabbed Duke’s collar and pulled him off Harper so she could get up. “I didn’t get a chance before Duke attacked you to introduce my brother and his fiancée. Tristan, Skylar, this is Harper Jansen.”

“It’s great to finally meet you, Tristan.” Harper smiled at Skylar. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, too. I’m just sorry I’m bringing trouble with me.”

Kade shook a finger at her. “Stop that right now, okay? Your coffee’s on the counter. Why don’t you grab it, and we’ll go sit on the deck? That’ll get Duke outside where he can run some of that energy off.” When everyone was settled around the patio table with Harper between him and Skylar, he nodded at her. “Time to talk. Start from the beginning.”

She stared at Duke for a moment as he ran around the backyard, snapping at things in the air only he could see. Then her gaze scanned the three of them. “The beginning. That seems a lifetime ago.” She blew out a breath, then her gaze fell on him. “I’m afraid you’re going to be angry when you hear what I did.”

That might well be true since whatever it was had ended with her playing dead. “If I am, it will only be because you’re now in danger.”

“I don’t regret what I did, I just wish...” She shook her head.

“Take your time,” Skylar said, placing her hand over Harper’s.

Harper gave her a grateful smile. “Okay. I had a roommate, Lisa. When she started acting weird, I got worried.”

“Did you know her?” Tristan asked him.

“I met her a few times, but when Harper and I hung out, it was always at my place.” He shrugged. “I had the bigger TV. Lisa was...how do I say this without sounding like a douche?”

“Flirty? Too forward? Handsy?” Harper said.

“All of the above.”

“Yeah, you told me once not to leave you alone with her. She thought you were hot and was always bugging me to set her up with you. I finally told her you had a girlfriend back home.”

“How come you never told me that?”

“Because you would have been even more uncomfortable around her, and I had no intention of trying to get the two of you together, which you never would have agreed to, anyway. Lisa was desperate for a boyfriend, but a guy would ask her out, and she’d fall in love with him on the first date and be all clingy.”

“Fastest way to run a guy off,” Kade said.

She nodded, then continued with her story. As he listened, he grew angrier by the minute. When she told them about the man finding her at her father’s house and what he’d done to her, Kade couldn’t take any more.

“Let’s take a break.” He stood and then walked away.

Chapter Seven

Harper recognized the expression on Kade’s face as she told her story. Anger, pure and simple. But was it directed at her—because yes, she could admit that she’d brought this mess on herself—or was it for the men who were threatening her? Probably both.

When he walked away, she pushed up, intending to follow him. Kade had never lied to her, and if he wanted her to leave, he’d tell her.

“He just needs a minute,” Tristan said. “Do you know who the men are?”

She eased back onto the chair. Kade’s oldest brother wasn’t as intense as Kade, but intelligence shone in his dark chocolate eyes so much like Kade’s and Parker’s. The biggest difference between the brothers was their hair. Parker had long brown hair that he kept pulled back in a ponytail, and Tristan’s short hair was a caramel color. Kade’s was almost black and scraggly, a style he seemed to favor, and more than once she’d wondered how it would feel to comb her fingers through it.

Her eyes strayed to Kade as he strode across the yard, his fists clenched at his sides. Tristan had asked her a question, and instead of going to Kade like she wanted, she turned to him. “No. After that one hurt me, I was afraid to do a search on the plate numbers. I didn’t know if they could somehow find out if I did, so I decided to wait and give the numbers to the police, which I did.”

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