Chapter 5: Riley

"How so?" Riley didn't want to put ideas in her head, but he was of the same mind.

"They jammed your comms." She turned to stare at him. "An eight-person team breached a well-guarded facility in a heavily patrolled area-for what purpose? I'm not valuable. I don't have security clearance. Their resources don't match them. So either they bought the equipment-with what money?-or someone gave it to them because they wanted to hit that location."

"Why would they do that?" he asked.

"Because someone wanted me out of the way or dead." She slid down in her seat. "I think..."

"You don't know for sure they were after you." What was it about Erin Lopez they didn't know? Why was she a target? He and the others hadn't figured out why they'd grab Erin, either.

Erin studied him for a moment. He could feel himself hanging in the balance as she weighed him against something else. Could he say or do something to make her trust him? There was something about her eyes and that crooked smile of hers that made him want her to confide in him.

She glanced away, her mind made up.

"Two years ago, I was an assistant to the Project Manager on a job. It was...they were doing everything wrong. Pissing off the locals. The surveys were done incorrectly. It was a mess. People died." Erin sat there for several moments without speaking. Whatever she was thinking about, Riley knew he wouldn't like it. "A few of the people who kidnapped me? I think they were from that town. I think their family members were the ones we killed."

Well, that escalated quickly.

Riley shifted in his seat and considered his next words carefully. He didn't doubt that there was a reason for the events happening to Erin, but the logic leap didn't make as much sense to him as it did to her. Right now, his job was to keep her calm and get her back to the States. That was it. Everything else would be sorted out by the authorities and her bosses.

"Why would they focus on you? And why come after you now? After all this time? Unless-hear me out-they were scared you'd give their Miss Universe contestant a run for her money?" he asked.

"What?" Erin snorted a laugh and looked at him.

"I'm just saying, you'd give her some stiff competition."

"Yeah. Okay." Erin shook her head. "If these people are who I think they are, they'd focus on me because after the explosion happened the people over the project gave me a script and put me on the PR round. People saw me as the person behind the incident. I was too naïve to realize what they'd done until it was too late."

"Okay. That's...not great. But still, why now?"

"I don't know."

"I'm not saying you're wrong, but hear me out, okay?"

"I don't think they care about beauty pageants." She didn't smile, but she didn't seem as sad. He'd gotten her to laugh, to break the strain she'd been under. That was good.

"Their loss. Look, the truth is, we don't know where they got the resources or why they targeted the facility. We don't know why they grabbed you, and not anyone else. Right now, let's focus on getting you some rest and back to the States. The authorities can sort this out." He nodded at the lights in the house turning on. "Maybe your bodyguard has some better insight? He wouldn't say much to us."

"You brought Thomas?" Erin gaped at him, eyes wide, lips parted.

"Your bosses wanted him on hand to help us. Why?"

"Shit." She pressed her hand to her forehead. "Nothing."

"Erin?" Riley reached across and put his hand on her shoulder. "If there's something bothering you, tell me. We're here to protect you."

"It's nothing I can put into words. He just...gives me the creeps, okay?" She shrugged.

"I'll coordinate with Grant and make sure you two are in different transports, how's that?" After what she'd been through, he was willing to go the extra mile to make whatever concessions she needed. Besides, Mom had always said to trust a woman's instinct when it came to safety. If Erin didn't want Thomas near her, they'd comply.

"No, you don't have to do that. It's silly." Erin glanced out the side window.

Riley caught sight of the flashlight in the front window signaling the all clear.

"Hey?" He reached over and put his hand over hers. She peered at him out of the corner of her eye. "It's my job to keep you safe. If this dude's a creep, say no more. We'll handle it. Stay there. I'm going to come around and walk you inside, okay?"

"You take this job real serious, don't you?"

"Haven't lost a VIP asset yet."

Riley grabbed his helmet and plopped it on his head. He got out of the SUV and did another glance up and down the street. Still nothing to set off alarm bells. Just a quiet night in a sleepy town.

He circled the vehicle and opened Erin's door. She moved slower still, probably from days of exhaustion and fear. She'd collapse soon, and he wanted her inside when that happened.

"How about something to eat and a shower?" he asked.

"That sounds amazing. These clothes stink."

"Well, we've got something for you to wear if you want a change."

"Let me guess, its green with pockets all over?" She glanced at his gear.

"You'd look good in green." He grinned. "Nah, just some yoga pants and t-shirts. Nothing fancy, I'm afraid."

"It's a step up from what I'm wearing now."

"What about injuries? You okay?"

"Some bruises."

"Well, there's a cream for that."

"Do you have a line for everything?" She chuckled.

"No, but I made you laugh." That meant something in his book. She hadn't yet smiled, but he was getting there.

Riley guided Erin into the house and through the back into the kitchen. If she didn't have any injuries, the next important thing was getting her hydrated and fed.

The others were still going over security measures, but it was obvious Riley was on asset duty.

"Here, sit. Let me get you some water. Hungry?" He grabbed a bottle from the fridge and slid it across the dining table to her. She'd sipped the other dry during their drive instead of gulping her fill. Erin clearly knew what she was about.

She eased herself onto the chair at the head of the table and took the water.

"You don't have to do all that," she said.

"Actually, it's my job."

"Riley?" Brenden stepped into the room. He'd stripped off most of his tactical gear and had his hands out. He glanced at Erin and gave her a little nod. Riley had assumed that given Brenden's POW experience he'd have an affinity for Erin's situation, but as of yet he'd barely acknowledged the woman's presence.

"Thanks, man." Riley handed over his rifle and the rest of his kit, shedding well over fifty pounds in gear.

Now that he could move freer, he spent a moment scrubbing his hands and arms at the sink before diving into the fridge to see what they had to offer.

"Looks like our options are some kind of soup and a lot of grilled stuff." He picked up the soup to start with. The broth would be easiest for Erin to try first before moving on to the denser foods.

"What about everyone else?" Erin gestured through to the next room where Grant was no doubt calling Melody to make his report back to Zain and the client.

"Looks like I'm on KP. They'll come get food when they're ready. Eat whatever you want now before those guys get here. They'll inhale it all." Riley grinned, determined to put on a positive front.

Erin continued to watch him with a befuddled expression that only got more pronounced by the minute. When he finally placed a bowl of soup in front of her, she seemed well and truly flummoxed. He couldn't figure out why. She wasn't in a hole in the ground. They were headed back to safety. He'd have thought she would be relieved.

"What's that face for?" He leaned his elbow on the back of a chair. "My heating skills not up to par?"

"I'm just...amazed. You rescue damsels in distress, you think about the little people, you cook-what else do you do? Do you have brothers? And my God-are those your real eyelashes?"

Shit.

Riley ducked his head and heat crawled up his neck.

Those damn eyelashes.

"Do you like them? I put them on just for you." He glanced at Erin and grinned.

She shook her head. At least she was asking questions unrelated to the last few days.

"I do have brothers. Three, in fact, but they're all trouble. Every one of them. Well, I guess my cop brother isn't all that much trouble. The others? Pure hell. Now, I don't see any damsels in distress around here, but if you do, signal us and we can make sure she's rescued." He was willing to bet she had a plan to get away given the opportunity.

He winked, and she chuckled. He was growing to like the sound of her good humor. She wasn't as tense. He wouldn't say she'd relaxed, but it was a start.

"Do you want to call your family? Work? Anything before you pass out?" He checked the rest of the food heating in the oven.

"God-do they know?" Erin groaned.

"We don't communicate with family unless the client asks, so I can't answer that question."

"Can you find out if they know?" She squinted up at him. "My mom is going to kill me if she finds out."

"She doesn't like you over here?"

"My mom? No. Her parents left Iraq when she was a teenager. A very rebellious, headstrong teenager, and she's never been interested in coming back. If she had her way, I'd be like my sister. Married with three kids and a fourth on the way." Erin leaned back and folded her arms over a very lean stomach.

"Sounds like my mom." Riley shook his head. "She sends me pictures of the girls I went to high school with, keeping me updated about who they broke up with." He shook his head. Those girls were nice, but they weren't for him. He could never be the man they wanted.

"It's sweet, but isn't it the worst?"

"Yeah, and those poor girls. The pictures she sends me? She's clearly stalking them at the grocery store to snap them."

"Seriously?"

"I wish I was kidding." Riley held his hands up.

"I can't decide if that's hysterical or the most embarrassing mother ever."

"Oh, that's not even embarrassing. You want embarrassing? My brother had a girlfriend for a couple months. Mom really wanted them to get married, but...what I remember of this girl? She's not the settling down kind. Real free spirit. Anyway, mom sneaks into my brother's house-they all live on the same ranch-and takes a picture of the two of them in bed one morning."

"No." Erin covered her mouth.

"Yeah, it gets worse. She then posts it on Facebook-"

"Shut up..."

"She doesn't notice the ropes tied to the posts or the trashcan in the corner of the shot. God, my brother was pissed. The girl was embarrassed. Makes me glad I live far, far away." Riley shook his head.

"Okay, you win." Erin held up her hands in surrender, the left side of her mouth hitched up in that adorable, mischievous smile he'd only glimpsed in pictures. He wanted to keep that look on her face for as long as possible.

"So what do I win?" Riley grinned back.

Man, what he wouldn't give for this to not be a job. He wanted to spend a few hours trading stories with her, making her laugh, then see where things went.