Page 64 of Her Delta Force Protector

And then there was Harper, squeezed in between his brothers, as if they were her protectors. That was his role. If they didn’t get those smirks off their faces, he’d do it for them. He scowled at the necklace as he passed her, the one she’d put on as soon as Chase gave it to her.

“You’re making me dizzy, dude, and I’m not even there.”

Right, Nick was here, too. Kade was tempted to slam down the lid of his laptop. What the devil was wrong with him? He’d never been batshit bonkers because of a woman before. He stopped in front of her. “You’re our sniper.” He had a spot for her in mind, although he’d locate her in the next county if he could get away with it. “You bring her a long gun?” he asked Viper.

“You told me to, so yeah.”

There was too much amusement in Viper’s and Cupcake’s eyes. When this was over, he was taking them both down. “Take her outside, set up some targets, and let her get used to the rifle.”

Viper stood, bowed, and held out his hand to Harper. “My beautiful lady, shall we?”

“Cut it out, Rafe.” He was surrounded by jokers. When she put her hand in Viper’s, Kade wanted to snatch her away from his teammate. He hadn’t thought this through. Viper, aka Rafael Alejandro Luis De La Fuente, a descendant from Spanish royalty that the family could trace back for centuries, was a shameless flirt. He loved women and they loved him.

As Viper passed him, still holding Harper’s hand, he smirked. Kade sent him a you-mess-with-her-and-you-die look. Viper laughed.

He snapped his fingers at Duke. “Go with them.”And bite Viper’s ass if he so much as smiles wrong at Harper. The men watching this little drama play out chuckled. He scowled at them.

Harper, oblivious to the undercurrents in the room, waved. “See you guys later.”

“I like her,” Cupcake said.

When Colton Rhodes had joined the team, he was dating a girl who said he was as sweet as a cupcake. The name had stuck, even though Colton swore he wasn’t sweet. He actually was. He could also make anything out of nothing, a MacGyver on steroids. That skill set had proven valuable many times.

Chase stretched his legs out. “Let’s hear your plan, Ace.”

For the next hour, they went over the plan, finessing the details until they were all satisfied with it. Kade eyed the men sitting in his living room. They were the best of the best, his blood brothers and his brothers in arms, including the man joining them via FaceTime.

He fisted his hand, then held it out. “Brothers, appreciate you being here for Harper.” Because that was why they had come when asked, to keep her safe. Each man bumped a fist against his.

“Listen up, people,” Nick said.

Everyone turned their attention to Kade’s laptop screen. “Got something?” Kade said.

Nick nodded. “Got a name. Your fake detective is a real one, Detective Theo Watson, cousin to Rex Sorenson, the IT guy. My guess, he got lucky and saw Harper’s email to the police before anyone else. There’s a third person they’ve referred to as Stockton. Don’t know yet if that’s a first or last name, but I’ve got a number both men have called frequently. Stand by a minute.”

“Nothing I hate more than a dirty cop,” Tristan said.

Nods and words of agreement came from all the men. The cop was going to wish he’d never heard Harper’s name. Kade was going to make sure of it. It burned that she’d tried to do the right thing by notifying the police, and the result was a beating and now the man was trying to kill her.

“Here we go,” Nick said. “Stockton Rawls, owner of three strip clubs. He was arrested six years ago for assault and battery. One of his dancers claimed they’d had an affair, but when she tried to end it, he beat her. She later changed her story, said it had just been a verbal fight even though there were photos on file of her battered face and the bruises on her body. She refused to testify against him, and eventually the charges were dropped.”

“He got to her,” Kade said.

Nick nodded. “No doubt.”

“You got photos you can send me of these three? I want to see if Harper recognizes any of them.”

“Sending them now. I’m going to ask Tristan and Parker to step outside for a few minutes. As officers of the law, it’s better that you have deniability.”

Tristan frowned. “Deniability of what?”

Nick chuckled. “If I told you that, then you wouldn’t have that deniability, would you? It’s nothing big, just something I’m going to suggest that normally you’d need authorization for. Why don’t you let me talk to your brother, and he can tell me if it’s something you’d want to know or that you’d be adamantly against.”

“If it helps keep Harper safe, I’m good not knowing,” Parker said as he stood.

“Put that way, it’s probably something I can live with. Kade will know.” Tristan followed Parker out to the porch.

After the door closed behind them, Kade turned his attention to his laptop screen. “What’s on your mind?”

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