Her Master Defender (The Masters Men Series) (7 page)

Realizing she was glaring at the phone she smacked herself in the head. What the heck was her problem? It wasn’t like there had been any hope in the first place.

Yeah, the guy was gorgeous. Yeah, you could get lost in his eyes. Yeah, his voice turned her insides to mush, so what? He was military. Worse, he was career military. He had it written all over him. Even as a civilian his heart would be on a battle field somewhere.

Nope, she didn’t need that headache. Her mom’s life taught her that.

Gillian Kerrigan’s life wasn’t bad. She had loved her husband with all her heart. And he had loved her. When they were together they acted like high school sweethearts, even after twenty-five years. But when he was gone the heart of Copper’s mother all but disappeared.

Copper didn’t want a man that wouldn’t be around. She also didn’t want to love a man so desperately. Not that her father was any better. He may not have always been around, but he had loved his wife with passion. When her mom had died the light had gone out of his eyes. She didn’t want her love for life to die from a broken heart.

No, Copper had a feeling love was overrated.

Turning off lights in the front room, she grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge. She heard Kismet’s paw slap the back door. Letting him in she closed and locked it up. It was after nine, he wouldn’t be going out again. Together they headed toward the darkroom.

She stopped halfway down the hall when she thought she heard something outside. Cocking her head, she listened intently. Deciding it was her imagination, she started toward the darkroom again only to freeze mid-step. She had definitely heard something.

A car door if she wasn’t mistaken. She couldn’t imagine who would be coming to her house at this hour.

Signaling for Kismet to stay, Copper moved with slow quiet steps to a front window. Edging the curtain from the side she looked out. No extra car sat in her driveway. That was odd since there were no other houses near her. The closest was a cabin about a quarter mile up the road. She wouldn’t hear a car door close that far away.

Something moved outside. Or was it a shadow caused by a branch? Copper stared at the area where she thought she’d seen it for another thirty seconds. Almost ready to give up she gave it another few seconds and was rewarded for her patience. Well, if you call seeing someone sneak around your property being rewarded. The ridiculous thought flitted through her head as her brain tried to decide what to do.

Still moving quietly Copper made her way to the kitchen counter. Picking up the phone she’d left there, she debated whom to call. Should she dial the police and waste their time driving up the mountain, not to mention looking like a total ditz when they discovered it was just some trash blowing around or worse, die by some looney’s hand while she waited for them. Or, call Dos. She might not want to get involved with military men, but she trusted them.

“Masters.”

“It’s me, Copper,” she whispered.

“What’s wrong? I can barely hear you, speak up.”

“I think there’s someone outside my place. I live up--"

Dos cut her off. “I know. I’m on my way.”

He grabbed his shoulder holster and gun off the hook by his office door and slipped it on as he left the room. Ignoring the pain of not using his cane, Dos bolted down the hallway, the phone still to his ear. “Copper, are you still there?”

“Yes. I should call the police instead of bothering you.”

“No. I’m closer,” he said climbing in his truck. Hitting the opener he turned the key and sped out of the garage as soon as the door was open.

“I think he’s going around back.”

“I’m halfway there,” he said. “The doors are locked, right?”

“Of course.”

Ignoring her insulted tone, he breathed a sigh of relief as he turned off his lights. “Good. I’m pulling up outside the driveway. Hide somewhere. I’ll call you when it’s safe.”

Flipping the phone shut he shoved it in his pocket. Reaching up he pushed the button on the dome light so it wouldn’t go on when he opened his door. He pulled his gun. Not wanting his knee to buckle he stepped carefully out of the truck and eased the door closed.

Dos knew the house and surrounding area. It had been owned by an older couple when he bought his property years before. Making his way around the front of his truck he kept to the trees by the edge of the driveway. Seeing no vehicles other than Copper’s he figured whoever was here had parked further down the mountain and would have gone around the south side of the house. He took the north side hoping to surprise them at the back entrance.

Stopping just shy of the back corner, he listened. He heard two voices but couldn’t make out what they were saying. Hoping they were concentrating on the locks, he looked around the corner. Seeing only two bodies he made his move.

“Freeze.”

One of them fired at him. Dos ducked behind the house then returned fire as the two jumped from the stoop and ran. He retraced his steps to the front and reached the corner as they ran across the front of the property. Firing he saw one go down and started toward him. The other turned and fired on Dos. The bullet hit the dirt two inches from his foot causing him to dodge sideways as he fired again. The shot went wide as he lost his footing and fell to his knee.

“You better run, you bastards,” he yelled, as they disappeared around the trees. He shot two more times in their general direction to convince them he was still a threat.

Clenching his jaw Dos pushed himself to his feet. Before he could get his phone out to call her, Copper burst from the front door.

“What the hell are you doing?” he yelled.

“Are you alright? God, did they hit you?” she asked running to him. She started sweeping her hands over his arms as if looking for injury.

“I’m fine, I ju--" Dos started to answer then saw a shadow in the doorway. “Was someone in there with you?” he asked, reaching to pull her behind him.

“No,” she said. He saw her glance over her shoulder.

“Then who’s that?”

“Kismet,” she said, resting her head against his chest. “My dog.”

Trying to ignore how good it felt to hold someone so close, he concentrated on her answer. “That’s a dog?”

He felt her nod then felt something else. His shirt was wet. Realizing she was crying, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and held her. If he had a weak spot this was it, women crying.

After their father died when he and his brothers were twelve, they had listened to their mother cry every night. It broke their hearts. They had all sworn then that they would never let a woman get close enough to hurt like that. Ever since then he had done anything to avoid seeing, hearing, or being the cause of a woman’s tears.

“It’s over. It’s okay,” he said, rubbing her back.

“I thought you were hit.”

“No, just clumsy. Besides, after what I’ve lived through a bullet would be a walk in the park.”

“Don’t say that,” she scolded leaning back and looking up into his face.

In the dark he couldn’t see the beautiful green of her eyes, but he felt their intensity. “I’m sorry. Military humor, it’s a hard habit to break.”

“Try,” she said, pulling away with a sniffle. She turned and started walking toward the door.

Dos grabbed her shoulder stopping her. “I will. Right now, though, I could use some help to the door.”

“What’s wrong? Why didn’t you say something?” she asked while positioning herself under his arm. “Where’s your cane?”

“I left in a hurry. Could we get inside before we play twenty questions?” He worked hard to keep his tone light. Chastising her and making her feel guilty was not what he wanted, but the pain was making conversation difficult.

Ten feet had never seemed farther away. Dos focused on the front steps rather than the pain spearing through his knee before racing through the rest of his body. Once they made it that far he grasped the wrought iron railing. “I can take it from here.”

Bracing his hands on the railings he swung himself up the three steps. He was thankful his left leg hadn’t been broken as badly as his right and healed faster. It had helped him learn ways of getting around with the use of only one leg. The screen door and door frame got him inside. Once there he leaned against the wall to catch his breath.

Chewbacca had other ideas.

“Umph.” Dos lost what little breath he had as two large paws planted themselves squarely in his chest. Rare was the dog who would come to his shoulders, even on hind feet. This mammoth stared him square in the eye. “Copper? Some help?”

“Kismet, down,” she said rushing in. “Sorry, he’s a teddy bear, albeit a giant one. He just wants you to pet him.”

“Yeah, well, when I can breathe again, I’ll think about it.”

Dos closed his eyes for a minute trying to regain his equilibrium. It seemed being around this woman had a way of knocking him off course. What had he come inside to do? Oh yeah, check the back door to see how close they were to getting in. How skilled they were. Pushing against the wall he balanced on his left foot, opened his eyes looking for something to brace himself on.

“Here these should help,” Copper said.

She reached over and held out crutches. Woefully too short crutches, but he had used worse.

“Thanks, keepsakes?” he asked and received a laugh. That damned laugh was getting addictive. He needed to irritate her not entertain her.

“No, an old roommate sprained her ankle. She left them behind when she moved out.”

Why he was glad to hear it had been a female roommate, Dos decided he didn’t want to know.

“Back door’s this way?” he asked, pointing a crutch down the hall. She nodded and he made short work of the distance.

“What are you looking for?” Copper asked, close behind him.

Stopping, he looked at the door before touching it. Typical deadbolt and regular exterior door knob lock. Not a real challenge for anyone with any training.

He looked between the jamb and the door. The deadbolt had been slipped and it looked like the other had also. Twisting the knob the door opened. He’d barely gotten there in time. A couple more minutes and she could have been . . . God, he didn’t even want to think what could have happened.

“Pack a bag, you’re not staying here tonight.”

“Excuse me?”

He knew where her sarcasm and irritation with orders came from, but right now he didn’t care. “You heard me. You’re not staying in this house. It’s not safe,” he said, pointing to the door. “They were through both locks. If I had been a minute later . . .”

Dos let the sentence trail off hoping to scare her enough to not question him. It sure as hell scared him. Her glare turned to nervous glances around the area. He’d scared her and now he felt like crap.

“They’re gone for now. I heard them drive off. But that doesn’t mean as soon as they see my truck leave they won’t try again. Even if they follow us they won’t get past my security. You’ll be safe.”

He watched her worry the corner of her lip for a minute.

“I can’t leave Kismet alone.”

“Not a problem as long as you bring food for him. I know I don’t have enough of anything to feed that monster.” He offered a smile hoping to ease her mind a little. Scaring women, children and dogs wasn’t a favorite pastime.

Copper was rubbing the dog’s ears as he stood beside her staring up at Dos. Looking into the huge dark eyes Dos could tell he wanted to jump up again, but had been told no. His body radiated excitement, but he stayed down. She had obviously trained him well. There shouldn’t be a problem having him at the house for a night.

“Okay, give me ten minutes.”

Dos made his way back to the front room. Taking a seat at the kitchen window he kept checking outside. He didn’t expect them to come back tonight, but vigilance never hurt.

Monster dog sat a few feet away. His large, long, wiry gray-haired body vibrated with his need for attention. Dos slapped his thigh and the dog was next to him in a second. He laid his head on Dos’ thigh. Absently petting the dog while keeping watch, he tried to ignore the sounds of Copper making preparations to stay at his house.

He also tried to pretend her home didn’t appeal to him. Quilts and afghans were thrown over chairs. Plants hung in windows. She even had a towel hanging on the oven door with stitching of some kind. Feminine touches. Homey touches.

The kind of touches you don’t want, can’t have, and aren’t going to get.

One night, he told himself. He could handle having his sanctuary invaded that long. Only that long, he would make sure of that. He needed to talk to the Colonel. There was more going on here than a simple burglary. Copper was in danger. And it was all too obvious he wasn’t up to the task of protecting her.

“You’ve got two minutes, and then the bus is leaving,” he called down the hall.

“Just getting the dog food, then I’ll be ready to go.”

He’d been joking, not expecting her to be ready so fast. Having two younger sisters he never expected a woman, unless she was military, to be ready fast. Then again he should have known. Copper might not be military anymore, but she had been.

“Ready,” she said, walking up beside him.