Bodyguard Under Fire

Defeat rode heavily on his shoulders as he swung back to the woman pulling herself to her feet in the doorway.

She shifted in the shadows, and the overhead light illuminated her sandy-blond hair.

Chuck’s heart burst into a gallop, pounding against his ribs. The throbbing pain in his bum leg faded to the back of his mind as joy filled him at the sight of her. He stepped forward.

Her eyes widened and she stepped back. “Chuck?”

“PJ?”

And she crumpled to the floor.

Had he been able, he’d have caught her before she landed. His injury-induced limitations hampered him in his rush to get to her.

Chuck gathered PJ into his arms, his heart plummeting to the bottom of his belly at her reaction when she’d recognized him.

The entire time he’d been in the oppressive heat and constant dust of Afghanistan, he’d pictured her coming to greet him upon his return, arms wide, a smile of happiness lighting her eyes. In the back of his mind, he’d known it was only a dream.

The stark reality of her standing in front of him, her hands clenching and unclenching at her sides, her face blanching before she passed out, shattered those silly dreams.

She was no happier to see him return than she had been to see him leave. Shock best described her response.

Crushed, Chuck held her, cherishing every second he could feel her against him. He examined the bruising around her throat, anger firming his spine, pushing aside his deep disappointment. Who would attack a lone woman like that? Why would anyone want to hurt PJ? Since he hadn’t spoken to Cara Jo yet, he couldn’t be certain, but he’d bet his right arm that this was the employee Hank wanted protected.

Chuck had walked into this assignment blind. Hank had assured him Cara Jo would fill him in on what his duties were and, when he had met the employee, he could go to Hank with any unanswered questions.

Chuck had a few, and the sooner he got his answers the better.

After only a moment, PJ’s face stirred against his chest and her eyes blinked open. “Chuck, what are you doing here? I thought you were still in Afghanistan.” She pushed to a sitting position.

His lips tightened. Had he not been a loose cannon and acted on his own, he would still be in Afghanistan for another two months, fighting with his unit. Instead he’d gotten himself shot in the leg and medically discharged out of the army. “The army didn’t need me there after all.” It wasn’t a lie. The army didn’t need broken soldiers.

“Oh.” Her gaze traveled across his naked chest, her cheeks reddening. “Why are you half-naked?”

His lips twisted into a wry grin. “I just hired on with the resort as the handyman. I live down the hall.” He frowned. “Why are you in this apartment? I met a woman here a little while ago named Donna or Dana or something like that. She had a baby.”

The baby whimpered from inside the bedroom as if emphasizing Chuck’s question.

PJ’s face paled at the sound, her gaze shifting to the crib against the wall inside the next room. She pushed his hands aside and rose to her feet. “I live here.”

Chuck straightened, heat rushing up his neck into his head. Like a zombie, he trudged toward the bedroom, his fists tightening, a sharp pain pinching his chest. “Then who is...?” In the dimly lit room, Chuck peered down at the baby with a tuft of silky dark hair, and his world crashed in around him as he remembered what Dana had said. “She called her Charlie,” he said, his voice raspy, uneven.

PJ entered the room, switched on a lamp and leaned over the crib, running her fingers over the baby’s face and body. “She seems to be okay.”

The baby slept through PJ’s touch, a soft smile curling her little lips, as if she knew she was safe and in good hands. “I named her after her father,” PJ whispered.

“Charlie.” Chuck’s fingers curled around the crib rail so tightly his knuckles turned white. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

PJ sighed. “You were in Afghanistan. What could you have done? From what I know, the army doesn’t grant leave from a war zone just so a man can be there when his baby is born, unless under dire circumstances.”

“I had a right to know.” His words came out sharper than he intended, but hell, what did she expect? A man didn’t learn he had a daughter every day. The news had his belly flipping into knots.

“So, now you know.” PJ brushed her fingers over her daughter’s hair and stepped back. “You have a right to be angry. But I didn’t know what else to do. We didn’t part on the best of terms.”

A muscle jerked in his jaw, and he had to breathe several calming breaths before he could speak again. “Call the police.”

PJ passed through the small living area and into the kitchen. Her purse lay strewn across the counter. She dug her cell phone out of a side pocket, hit three buttons and then walked back to the threshold of the bedroom, her gaze on the baby in the crib. “This is PJ Franks at the Wild Oak Canyon Resort. I need to report an intruder attack.”

When she’d given details to the dispatcher, she hung up and glanced at Chuck. “They’re sending a unit.”

Chuck straightened and crossed to her, his fingers reaching out to touch her throat. “We should have asked for an ambulance, as well.”

Her eyes filled, but she shook her head. “No. I’m fine.” She raised her hands to the bruising around her neck and gulped. “I was so afraid.” PJ’s head dipped.

Chuck pulled her into his arms. No matter how mad he was, he never could stand to see PJ cry, and after seeing a man choking the life out of her, now was no different. “He’s gone.”

“Yeah, but why was he here in the first place?” She pushed away from him and wandered back into the living room.

Chuck followed. “Is anything missing?”

She checked her purse, thumbing through her wallet. What few bills she’d had were still there, along with her credit card and identification. “The items were scattered across the counter, but nothing seems to be missing.”

“What about the rest of the apartment?”

“I don’t have anything of value. Just a few keepsakes and used furniture. As a waitress, I can’t afford much.” PJ continued around the room, her fingers skimming across the top of the old couch Cara Jo had given her. She ducked into her bedroom and came back out, holding a photo frame, a frown denting her forehead. “This photo is the only thing out of place. It was standing on my nightstand when I left for my shower. I just found it lying on its face.”

“The intruder could have knocked it over.” Chuck reached for the frame.

PJ handed it over. “It’s a picture of me and my birth mother.”

A woman looking remarkably like PJ held a child in her arms and was smiling for the photographer. Her eyes were shadowed, but the love for her little girl was clear in her expression.

“She died when you were little, didn’t she?”

PJ nodded. “I was six. My adoptive mother, Terri Franks, pretty much raised me. We moved to Wild Oak Canyon before I started high school.”

Chuck remembered the pretty young PJ hanging out around the stables, talking to the horses. She’d been more comfortable with the animals than with people.

A knock on the door was followed by a man’s voice. “PJ Franks? Sheriff’s Deputy Johnny Owen. You called?”

PJ hurried to open the door for the officer.

He took her statement, in which she described the attacker, what he wore and which direction he’d gone.

Chuck searched the apartment, analyzing everything he saw for clues as to who had broken into PJ’s apartment and why. All the while he fought to process the miracle of the baby in the next room. His child.

When Owen finished with PJ, the deputy asked Chuck a few questions and then tucked the pad of paper into his pocket and sighed. “Since the man was wearing gloves, I don’t see a need to dust for prints. I’ll have a look around outside to see if there are any footprints on the ground, but—”

“It’s been dry, and the chance of a footprint showing up is slim to none,” Chuck finished. “Thanks for trying.”

After the deputy left, Chuck made a round of the apartment, checking the windows and sliding glass door locks.

When he’d deemed them secure, he met PJ at her open apartment door.

“It’s getting late,” she said. “I need to get some sleep before I hit the day shift at the diner.”

“Will you be all right?” Chuck stepped into the door frame and gripped PJ’s arms, his gaze capturing hers.

“I’ll be fine.” The shadows beneath her eyes spoke of her exhaustion and the lingering fear.

Fine, humph. Chuck wanted to hold her so badly, it hurt to drop his grip from her arms and walk out into the hallway. “If you need me...”

“You’re just a yell away.” She gave him a half smile.

Chuck nodded toward the interior of her apartment. “She’s beautiful.”

PJ’s face reddened, and she nodded. “We’ll discuss Charlie tomorrow.”

“Yes, we will.” Now that Chuck knew he had a daughter, he was determined to be a part of her life, whether PJ wanted him in her life or not.

PJ closed the door behind him.

Chuck waited until he heard the click of the lock being engaged. Then he hurried down the hallway to his room, grabbed a sleeping bag and a pillow and returned to bed down in front of PJ’s door. As he stretched out on the floor and worked the kink out of his leg, he reminded himself that it beat sleeping in a foxhole. And he refused to let anything happen to PJ and his precious baby daughter, Charlie.

Once he was settled, he grabbed his cell phone and hit the speed dial number for Hank Derringer.

The older man answered on the third ring. “Derringer,” he said, his voice scratchy and slurred with sleep.

“Hank, Chuck here. Tell me my assignment was just some sick joke on your part.”

Hank sighed. “I take it you met PJ?”

“I did. You didn’t tell me I’d be protecting my ex-fiancée.”

“If I had, would you have taken the job?”

Chuck wanted to tell the man he would have, but truth was, he probably would have told Hank where to go with his job and assignment. “No.”

“And now?” Hank asked.

With a sigh, Chuck answered. “You know damn well I can’t walk away.”

“I take it you met your daughter, Charlie?”

Chuck swallowed the lump forming in his throat. “Yes.”

“Beautiful baby girl, isn’t she?” Hank chuckled. “Looks like her father.”

“How did you know?” Chuck asked.

“Let’s just say I make it my business to know as much as I can about the people I hire. And I have a special interest in PJ that I won’t go into at this time.”

“Now that I’m here and know who I’m supposed to protect, maybe you can tell me why someone tried to kill PJ tonight.”

* * *

AFTER PJ LOCKED the door behind Chuck, she’d leaned her head against the cool, wooden panel, telling herself to breathe.

Chuck still had too much of a hold on her, even after almost a year’s separation. She thought pushing him out of her life had been the best decision at the time. Now she wasn’t quite as convinced. Breaking their engagement had been only a part of it.

Even if Chuck hadn’t insisted on volunteering, PJ suspected she’d have found another way to push him away. They’d gotten too close. She’d fallen too hard, and it scared her.

What was she afraid of? Why had she been so hesitant to allow him past the barriers she’d built around herself and her heart?

All her life, her adoptive mother had kept her from playing with others, refusing to let her out of her sight for long. She’d instilled in PJ a lack of trust in people and a determination to live a life independent of others. PJ had found companionship in the horses she loved at the resort stables, volunteering to muck out stalls and exercise the animals.

Chuck had been there, working quietly around her, his love of the animals equal to her own. Over time, he’d overcome her shyness and they’d gone riding together and talked. He’d taught her how to laugh again, something she thought she’d never do. And PJ had fallen in love with the big ex-football jock cowboy, breaking her self-imposed rule not to invest her heart in anyone but to rely solely on herself.

She’d gone so far as to accept his proposal of marriage and actually started dreaming of a wedding and happily ever after.

Until Chuck’s National Guard unit had asked for volunteers to deploy and Chuck had raised his hand.

PJ’s world had caved in around her. She’d been heartbroken that Chuck would want to leave her and go to war. All she could see in her future was how alone she’d be. Her adoptive mother wouldn’t be around forever, her health having deteriorated over the past several years.

She’d been so upset, she’d thrown his ring in his face and told him she never wanted to see him again. Looking back, she realized how childish she’d been.

She hadn’t been there to see him off when he’d left for predeployment training. Hadn’t told him that she’d missed her period and suspected she was pregnant.

For a short time, PJ thought she could handle being a part of another person’s life. But then Chuck had left. Not long afterward, Terri Franks died of a heart attack, leaving her alone in the world, without money or a home to live in. She’d been saving money for years so that someday she could afford to start college online and study animal husbandry. When Terri died, all the money had gone to pay for Terri’s funeral.

Terri had been renting the house they lived in. When she’d passed, PJ had gone to work instead of college in order to pay the rent. But the rent had been too much for the meager earnings she’d gotten from the odd jobs she was able to get around town. Without family or a degree and any formal experience, she was destitute and alone. Everyone she’d ever loved was gone, making her promise herself never to get too close to anyone, lest they die and leave her.

Then Charlie came along....

A voice outside her door brought her out of her sad memories and across the room to press her ear to the door. From the deep timbre and pitch, PJ could tell it was Chuck. She peered through the peephole but couldn’t see him.

Something shuffled against the outside of the door. What was he doing?

She pressed her ear harder against the door and listened.

“She had a scare, but she’s all right,” Chuck was saying to someone.

Who was he talking to?

“Whoever broke in tonight won’t try again. He’ll have to go through me to get to her.”

PJ smiled, feeling better about going to sleep now than she had a few moments before.

Apparently Chuck planned to sleep in front of her door.

“We’ll talk tomorrow.”

Something bumped softly against the door, and all went silent.

PJ pressed a hand to the door. Chuck was on the other side. So close, and yet a huge chasm stretched between them. She’d kept knowledge of his daughter from him.

Even if he forgave her, she wasn’t sure she could let him back in her life.

Chapter Three

PJ rose early the next morning, fed Charlie, dressed and loaded the diaper bag with frozen breast milk and diapers for the day care. She had to be at the diner for the first shift.

She dreaded opening the door and waking Chuck after he’d spent the night sleeping in the hall. A twinge of guilt pinched her chest at the thought of him lying on a hard vinyl-tile floor all night, while she’d had a soft mattress and pillows to cushion her.

With the words to thank him poised on her lips, she hooked the infant carrier with Charlie in it on one arm and the diaper bag on the other and eased open the door.

The hallway was empty. Chuck’s door was closed. Had he slept outside all night or just part of it?

PJ let go of the breath she’d been holding, relieved she wouldn’t have to confront him yet. She’d spent the better part of the rest of her night tossing and turning, thinking about the man who’d attacked her, and more so, the one sleeping on the other side of her door.

She’d known that one day she’d have to tell Chuck about Charlie, and she’d been fully intending to tell him upon his return from his deployment. She thought she had two more months. The day had come sooner than she’d anticipated, and she hadn’t been ready.

PJ exited the building and hurried toward her car, hoping she wouldn’t run into Chuck outside. Charlie had fallen asleep in her infant carrier even before they’d left the apartment. Her little eyes scrunched as the full force of the morning sunlight shone down on her tiny face.

PJ juggled the carrier to unlock the car. Charlie whimpered but remained asleep.

As she settled the carrier into the car, PJ’s skin prickled and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. She cast a glance over her shoulder.

No one was there, although she could have sworn a shadow shifted at the corner of the building. Snapping the seat into place, PJ straightened and faced the back of the resort building.

“Anyone there?” she called out, her voice shaky, her knees even shakier.

No answer. A curtain was pushed aside in a window above and Chuck peered down, half of his face covered in shaving cream.

Warmth filled PJ’s neck and cheeks. The man was ageless and looked as good today as he had a year ago when she’d been young and stupid in love. Seeing him standing there with his razor in his hand made PJ’s heart turn cartwheels against her ribs.

Chuck disappeared and reappeared at the sliding glass door on the balcony of his room, bare-chested, a towel slung over one shoulder. “Are you okay?” he called out.

The heat built in her cheeks as she nodded. “I’m fine.”

“I thought I heard you call out.”

“I talk to myself sometimes.” Feeling foolish and paranoid, she gave him half a smile. “Gotta go.” PJ slipped behind the wheel of her beat-up car and closed the door to avoid further conversation with the father of her child. What else could she say while standing in the parking lot and him hanging over the balcony? Welcome back? Sorry I didn’t tell you about your baby? Or, damn, you look good?

She shifted into Reverse, backed out of the parking space and pulled out onto the road. A glance in her rearview mirror confirmed that Chuck was still standing on the balcony, watching her. Below, at the corner of the building, something moved. PJ frowned, slowed the vehicle and shot a quick glance over her shoulder at the resort.

Nothing.

She supposed paranoia was bound to be a result of postattack jitters. With a shrug, she turned the corner and drove to the church day care on the other side of town where Charlie spent her days with Dana, who worked there part-time, and the other ladies who ran the child care program. She’d been going there since PJ started to work for Cara Jo at the diner two months prior.

PJ worked mornings, lunch and early afternoon. Late afternoon, she spent either at her computer or in the library taking college courses online.

Dana met her at the door to the infant room. “Running a little late, aren’t you?”

PJ dropped the diaper bag on the floor and slid the infant carrier off her arm. Dana took the carrier and set it on a counter, unbuckling Charlie from the restraints. “Hey, sweetie, come see Auntie Dana.”

Charlie’s eyes blinked open, and she stared up at Dana.

Regret tugged at PJ’s heart that she had to spend so much time away from her daughter. But she’d made a commitment to build a better life for herself and Charlie, and the only way she could do that was to get a degree. And she wouldn’t have been able to do that if not for the scholarship she’d received from an anonymous benefactor.

Dana lifted Charlie into her arms and stared across her downy hair to PJ. “So, did you meet him?”

“Meet who?” PJ pulled the bottles of breast milk from the diaper bag and settled them into the refrigerator, determined to ignore Dana’s questions. Unfortunately, she couldn’t stop the slow burn rising in her cheeks at the mere mention of her new neighbor in the resort apartments.

A smile spread across Dana’s face. “You did. Isn’t he hunky?”

“Dana, you’re married. What would Tommy say?”

She shrugged. “I’m married, not dead. And I’m only thinking of you, not myself.”

PJ’s lips twisted into a half smile. “I know him.”

“You do?”

“Yes, we dated for a while.”

“Shut up. You’re kidding, right? That gorgeous hunk?”

Knowing it would be out before long, PJ kissed Charlie, her heart pinching tight. Then she crossed to the door, her hand resting on the knob, ready to yank and run. “Look, I have to get to work. But you should know that the man you met last night is Charlie’s father.” She opened the door.

“Oh, no you didn’t.” Dana advanced on her, carrying Charlie. “You didn’t just hit-and-run. You have to stay and tell me everything.”

“I can’t. I’m already late for work. I promise we’ll talk this afternoon when I pick up Charlie.”

“Darn right you will.” Dana smiled down at Charlie. “And we’ll spend all day talking about your daddy, won’t we, sweet baby?”

PJ slipped out before she broke down in front of Dana. After the attack last night, the intense joy of seeing Chuck for the first time in almost a year and then breaking the news of Charlie to him, PJ was emotionally wrung out. And she hadn’t even pulled her eight-hour shift yet.

She trudged to her car and hurried back the way she’d come, anxious to dive into work so that she could forget everything else.

Ha. As if that would happen. With Chuck hired on as the handyman, she didn’t have a chance.

Cara Jo cornered her as soon as she entered the diner with its black and white tiled floor and fifties-style tables and chairs. “I can’t believe I slept right through everything.”

PJ shook her head. “I take it you heard about the incident last night.” She stepped around the counter and tucked her purse behind the stash of paper towels.

“I didn’t hear anything. No sirens, no screaming, nothing. I had to hear it from a deputy who’d stopped in for coffee this morning.” Cara Jo grabbed PJ’s arms. “Are you okay?”

PJ smiled. “I’m here, aren’t I?”

“That bastard didn’t hurt you?”

A chill rippled across PJ’s skin, and she touched the base of her throat where the lamp cord had almost been the death of her. “Not much. Just scared the fool out of me.” PJ grabbed a full coffeepot and struck out across the diner, determined to end the conversation. After refilling several empty mugs and taking orders for breakfast, she returned to the counter and Cara Jo, a little more in control of her emotions and ready to launch her own attack. “Why didn’t you tell me about Chuck?”

Cara Jo’s brows rose innocently. “Chuck?”

“The handyman you hired for the resort?” PJ’s brows rose to match Cara Jo’s.

“Oh, yeah, him.” Cara Jo’s cheeks reddened. She rested a hand on PJ’s arm. “When Hank told me he’d hired a handyman, I didn’t know it was Chuck at first. Hank’s my new boss. I didn’t have a say. He hired him and told me he’d be starting today. It wasn’t until we were on the way to Fort Stockton that Hank let me know who he really was. I swear.” She held up her hand, her expression too solemn to be a hoax. Cara Jo had never lied to PJ. Why would she start now?

“Why didn’t you warn me then?”

“I was trying to find the words, but for some reason, I never could come up with the right ones.” She shrugged. “Are you mad at me?”

PJ sighed. “No. I can’t stay mad at you.” She set the coffeepot on the burner. “Do you have any say in who works as the handyman?”

“Not yet. I just accepted the position of resort manager. I haven’t even had a chance to move my stuff into the office.”

PJ sighed. Chuck would be around for a while. “I guess we won’t be seeing much of you around the diner once you get oriented with your new duties.”

“My first responsibility is to the diner. It’s my baby. I won’t desert you and the staff here.” Cara Jo hugged PJ. “And you’ll always be my friend, so don’t think you’re getting out of this relationship without an argument from me.”