Defending Sophie ~ Prologue and Chapter One

Defending Sophie is part of the Team Trojan series set in Elle James’ Brotherhood Protectors World. Read all five steamy military romantic suspense stories when they release on November 9th!

Betrayed by their leader, five former 10th Special Forces Green Berets, nicknamed Team Trojan, took the fall for a mission gone terribly wrong and were asked to leave the Army or face dishonorable discharges. Angry at being forced out of the career they had loved and had trained for, they find themselves jobless and unprepared to fit into a civilian world so foreign to them. Until they’re invited to join the Brotherhood Protectors Colorado division where they can use their hard-earned skills to help others. As a team, they accept the challenge and embrace the chance for redemption.

Defending Sophie by Desiree Holt

Defending Evangeline by Delilah Devlin

Defending Casey by Reina Torres

Defending Sparrow by Jen Talty

Defending Avery by Regan Black

Start with the Prologue and Chapter One from Defending Sophie.

PROLOGUE

Bodie Jackson stretched his long legs out and looked at the men surrounding him. There were seven of them—the four other members of Team Trojan and the three men from something called Brotherhood Protectors, whatever the fuck that was. They were sitting around what looked like a new burn-pit setup, and the best part of it was the cold beer they were drinking. Oh, well, maybe the primo steaks they’d had for dinner.

It was a pleasant evening, not too hot or too cool, with a little breeze. The faint sound of horses nickering carried on the night air. The ranch house, which served as the inn, was silhouetted against the sky and not far from it was Gunny’s Watering Hole, the bar run by the dude ranch owner, former Marine Gunnery Sergeant Daniel “Gunny” Tate, along with his daughter, RJ. Hank had told him she was coupled up with Jake Cogburn, head of Colorado Brotherhood Protectors. Bodie wondered if that had happened before Jake took over here or after.

He looked around at the members of his team—Clint “Quickdraw” Manning, Hale “Hondo” Forest, Stone Bishop, and Zeke Turner. Their faces were all expressionless, much as he assumed his was. Probably because they were all thinking the same thing. Why the hell were they here, at Lost Valley Ranch, with people they’d never met before? Talking about…what? They’d accepted the invitation more out of curiosity than anything.

They were still recovering from the shock of an unexpected, unwanted separation from the military. They’d committed their lives to Team Trojan of the Army 10th Special Forces stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado. As Team Trojan, they had ten years of stellar service records and had accomplished missions no one thought could succeed. They were defending their country and freedom around the world and having a hell of a good time doing it. Then a new commanding officer was assigned to them, and it all fell in the toilet.

Special Forces are highly trained in unconventional warfare and are sent into some of the most dangerous situations. They are not, however, sent on missions known to be worthless and off the wall. And that’s where Team Trojan and their new commander clashed. A clash that resulted in five highly trained, highly respected soldiers being all but unceremoniously kicked out of the military. Bodie knew it was only the threat that they would push this all the way up the food chain that removed the threat of dishonorable discharge.

The past couple of weeks had been a bitch on wheels. They hadn’t done themselves much good hanging out at a motel in Colorado Springs for a week, either. He wasn’t even sure why they were even here, except for the moment they had no other options. If their former commanding officer hadn’t reached out to a friend of his who knew someone who knew someone, where would they be right now?

He looked at the man directly across the fire from him, the one who’d reached out and contacted him. Jake Cogburn. Who the hell was he? What was his background? Could he trust him? What did he want with Team Trojan anyway? He knew the others were just as confused and curious as he was and wondering if this was some kind of setup to trap them. But for what? What else did they have to lose? Okay. Time to find out.

“Well, the steaks were great, and so is the beer, but I still don’t know why you called me. Or how I let you talk us into coming out here to this ranch.”

He sensed rather than saw his teammates nodding in agreement.

Jake cleared his throat.

“I know you’re curious as hell,” he began, “wondering why I reached out to you all and what I asked you here for.”

Stone Bishop nodded. “Damn straight.”

The others murmured their agreement.

“The reason? We heard what happened to you guys, and we’re pissed. The three of us are all former Spec Forces and hate when shit like that goes down. It dishonors our service to this country.” He paused. “And I’ve been where you are. Oh, not as far as my rep is concerned, but feeling worthless. Thought I was finished with my life. I was busy feeling sorry for myself and trying to drink myself to death.”

“And why was that?” Hondo asked.

Jake pulled up a pant leg to expose a prosthesis.

“And then someone reached out to me.” He pointed thumbs at the men on either side of him. “Hank Patterson and Joseph Kuntz. Or Kujo as we all call him. These guys dragged me out of my shit and gave me a purpose in life again. With the Brotherhood Protectors.”

“You said something about that earlier,” Stone Bishop, sitting to his right, interjected. “Pardon my crudeness, but what the hell is Brotherhood Protectors?”

“I can answer that.” The answer came from the man who’d introduced himself as Hank Patterson. “I’m a former SEAL. After I left the service, I realized there were people who still needed us on a variety of civilian missions, so to speak. I’m based in Montana, where I grew up, and since then, I’ve hired a number of former Army, Navy, and Marine special operations, highly trained operatives. I reach out to them because Special Forces military are known for their ability to deploy in small teams, operate independently, and conduct missions in harsh environments. We provide security in high-risk situations and conduct dangerous missions where the government isn’t or can’t get involved.”

“Oh.” Stone’s voice took on a sarcastic tone. “So we’re a new version of rent-a-cops.”

“Not even close.” Jake’s voice had a hard edge. “The work we do is valuable, and the people we protect are important. Don’t think for one minute that’s not true. None of us in the Protectors would be here if it wasn’t.”

“Kujo and I didn’t fly down here from Montana,” Hank told him, “to recruit you for something that didn’t require your special skills.”

“Then why did you?” Bodie hated the belligerent tone in his voice, but this sounded almost too good to be true.

“We wanted you to know that you’re the kind of men we need to continue to make Brotherhood Protectors successful. My group in Montana has grown considerably,” Hank told him, “and I figured it was time to branch out. We heard about you guys and were able to look at your service records. Your former commanding officer thought you got screwed and reached out to me. We realized you had talents that needed to be put to use, and he knew we could use them.”

“I’m from around here,” Kujo told them. “I thought it was a great idea when Hank decided to open another operation in this area. Being near Fort Carson made us think of the Army Special Forces, and you know the rest.”

“I needed someone to run the operation here,” Hank told them. “That’s why I reached out to Jake.”

“And before you say anything,” Jake put in, “yes, even with my prosthesis. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to do this, but these guys kicked my ass into shape. They flew down here to talk to you because they felt it was important enough. You guys will be some of our first hires.”

Clint Manning, on Bodie’s right, shifted in his chair. “And you’ve gone out of your way to recruit five guys who were nearly dishonorably discharged? Does that make sense?”

Jake nodded. “We know the story. You guys got a screwed deal. It hasn’t changed who you are, plus your former CO ranked you high on the list.”

Hale “Hondo” Forest took a sip of his beer and looked intently at the three men who had invited them here. “Okay, which one of you is the boss?”

Hank nodded. “Good question. I’m the head of the entire operation, but each location will have its own.”

“And for Colorado, that’s me,” Jake told them, “but I don’t look at myself in that light. I’m the operations manager, making sure everyone has their assignments. That they have the right equipment and the right backup when they need it. That all the equipment is in great working order. That we can tap into community resources, like the sheriff’s office, when we need it. And, of course, that you get paid on time.”

Bodie actually grinned at that, thinking, Glad that’s a priority.

“What about living arrangements?” he asked.

“Okay.” Jake pointed a thumb over his shoulder at the hotel. “On the lucky chance you guys would give us a yes, we booked rooms for you at the hotel.”

“That’s a lot of rooms,” Stone pointed out. “And you said they run a dude ranch here.”

Jake nodded. “They do, but they’re happy to have us here, especially during off-seasons or slow times.”

“But won’t that leave them short of space for their customers? We don’t want to interfere with the business of the ranch.”

“It could,” Kujo agreed, “but we’re paying them the going rate for ranch customers, so they don’t lose any money on us. Brotherhood will cover it while you look for living quarters in Fool’s Gold. You’ll find some good rentals,” he assured them. “I checked it all out myself. But take a couple of weeks to look around so you’re happy with what you decide on.”

“We have one requirement,” Bodie told him.

Kujo frowned. “Yeah? What’s that?”

“We’re coming in as a team, and we stay as a team, supporting each other. And we keep our team name.”

“Which is?”

The five men looked at each other and grinned.

“Team Trojan,” Hondo told them.

Hank, Kujo, and Jake stared at them for a moment. Then the three men broke out laughing.

“You guys must have gotten the hell teased out of you,” Jake said.

“Our Special Ops Command adopted the Trojan Horse as part of the special crest as its official emblem,” Bodie answered. “But yeah, we like to have a little fun with it, too.”

“You know how guys like us have coins we like to give away?” Stone grinned. “We give away condoms made by Trojan. Shake hands with any one of us, and you’ll get one slapped into your palm.”

Hank grinned and shook his head. “I guess I’m not really surprised.”

“And we have plenty of them,” Kujo added, “so you can give them out at will.”

Bodie had begun to relax a little, even though he was still skeptical of the whole thing.

“So, where do we go from here?”

“We’ll give you a tour of the place,” Jake told them. “Introduce you to Gunny. Show you our headquarters setup, and the security we’ve set up. Then, all you have to do is agree, move your stuff here, and we’ll get started. We can celebrate at Gunny’s Watering Hole.”

Bodie looked around at his men who all gave imperceptible nods. This was a lifeline, and they all knew it.

“Okay, then.” He stood up and signaled the others to do the same. “Let’s get to it.”

CHAPTER ONE

Sophie Hart leaned out the open window of the very old building and glanced up and down the dusty street below. Images she could capture on her camera flew through her brain. She’d been out since late morning, scouting ghost towns that were remnants of the Colorado mining boom and bust, stunned to find so many of them. The tourist center was only too happy to give her all the information she wanted as well as maps and brochures. She’d learned that when mines played out, people just left the towns and moved to the next lode. She was especially interested in those tourists mostly ignored. She wanted something different and unique.

Even though her specialty was portrait and event photography, she still loved taking pictures of interesting places. Coming here for her friend Mia’s wedding gave her the opportunity for a lot of that, especially since Mia wanted certain specific shots, like of the wedding party in a ghost town.

Really, Mia? Wedding pictures in a ghost town?

There was one practically across the highway from Lost Valley Ranch, Stephensville Ghost Town, but it got a decent amount of traffic, and that wasn’t what she wanted.

“Find one that isn’t touristy,” Mia said. “You can probably get a list and maybe a map from the Fool’s Gold Tourist Office. I want to be able to spend time taking the pictures without having strangers around.”

The tourist office had been very helpful, even marking those that no longer got any traffic in case that was important.

Well, there was no chance of anyone interrupting them here, that was for sure.

She’d wanted to ask her friend if she was nuts, but then when she started asking people about these out-of-the-way ghost towns, their answers piqued her imagination. She thought, wow! This could be fun. And because the ones she liked, the ones she deliberately looked for, weren’t on the usual touristy list and only around Fool’s Gold, she didn’t have to worry about being interrupted or distracted while she scoped them out and took pictures.

Mia Benning had been her friend since college. She’d asked Sophie to come out to Fool’s Gold two weeks early so they could set up photo sessions, get the wedding portrait taken, and make a list of what Mia wanted in her wedding album. She was glad for the excuse to get away from St. Louis, glad to not have to face bitter memories every day of what had all but destroyed her life. In fact, Colorado was so appealing, she’d begun to think about moving her business here altogether. People everywhere wanted portraits and wedding and other memory books, and surely Mia could recommend her. So, it was with an unusually happy and optimistic feeling she’d set out this morning.

She’d discovered that Colorado, even in this area, was full of ghost towns, some bigger than others and many of them not even mentioned anymore. She’d found this little nugget tucked away close to Fool’s Gold, and it was obvious from everything she saw that nobody visited it anymore. That meant they wouldn’t have to plan around other people, and her brain was going crazy with possibilities. She’d already taken a bunch of shots and wanted to take several more before she left here. She’d call Mia when she was finished today, and maybe they could get together for a while tonight and discuss what she had in mind.

It was slightly inconvenient that she wasn’t staying at Mia’s, but her friend’s sister was here from out of town for two weeks of pre-wedding festivities, and the one-bedroom apartment was already overcrowded with the two of them. Mia had apologized a hundred times and promised she’d made reservations at a really cool place. She hadn’t been lying.

Lost Valley Ranch, besides being a typical dude ranch, had a great bar called Gunny’s Watering Hole for the former gunnery sergeant who owned it with his daughter. And besides the usual mix of tourists, it also appeared to be the headquarters for some kind of organization that hired a lot of hard-bitten men. She was positive she’d never seen so much gorgeous testosterone in one place all at the same time. She had no idea who all these men were who looked like they came off a calendar for military heroes, even though they weren’t in uniform. She just knew they were very easy on the eyes.

Which was nice because all she was interested in doing was looking with a photographer’s eyes. She was done with men, any men. They were damaging to her mental health. But Mia knew none of what happened to her and thought it was fun to have all those men there.

“You’ll love it, Sophie,” Mia told her, and she was right.

There was another plus.

“I’ll bet a lot of the guests would love pictures taken with that backdrop,” Mia added.

Her friend had been right. She’d only been there a few days, but she’d been carrying her smaller camera with her wherever she went, taking pictures of the ranch, and people had approached her. She’d taken everyone’s name and told them she’d definitely try to work something out, depending on how long they were staying.

Gunny and RJ and JoJo, RJ’s longtime friend who also worked there, had thought it was a great idea and talked it up to the guests.

Truth be told, she liked the idea. She was really enjoying Lost Valley Ranch. The people who owned it were very nice, and the abundance of eye candy was an unexpected treat. Her brain was already designing photos.

And pleasant and cordial, even if reserved. Last night, for example, she’d left Mia’s about ten, somewhat exhausted by the exuberance of Mia and her friends. But when she arrived back at the dude ranch, she decided to unwind from the craziness at Mia’s and treat herself to a drink at Gunny’s Watering Hole.

The bar was half filled when she walked in, the air humming with low-level conversation. Gunny waved at her from behind the bar.

“Come on over, Miss Hart. Have a drink on the Lost Valley Ranch.”

She hitched herself onto an empty stool. “You won’t make much money giving away free drinks.” She grinned.

“No problem. Business is good, and everyone deserves a free drink now and then.”

Sophie looked around the room then leaned closer to Gunny.

“Do you hire all these macho guys so you can tempt the local women to come out here drinking?”

He laughed. “RJ would say that’s very sexist of me.”

RJ was Gunny’s daughter. Sophie didn’t know much about her except she was a couple with a big guy named Jake who very obviously worshiped the ground she walked on.

“So, where did they all come from?”

“There’s an agency called Brotherhood Protectors that’s set up their operation at the lodge. Jake runs it.”

“Is it like a security agency or something?”

“Or something.” He nodded. “Let me get your drink.”

“I’ll get it,” a deep voice said.

When Sophie turned to see who said it, she was face-to-face with a man with the warmest eyes she’d ever seen and a tiny grin curbing his lips. For the first time in two years, the dead flame in her body struggled to come to life, shocking the hell out of her. After what had happened, she’d vowed to cut men out of her life altogether and, up until now, that hadn’t been a problem.

She could still feel the tingling in her hand where his had touched it when he handed her the drink yesterday. Good lord! She certainly didn’t want to step back into that muddy hell again, but she couldn’t get the man out of her mind. Tall, packed with solid muscle, he had piercing black eyes, a square jaw, and a muscular body. He screamed military, but he wasn’t wearing a uniform, and she didn’t remember anyone calling him by his rank. She remembered he was one of several tall, muscular men who looked as if they could win any war without breaking a sweat.

Sophie thought about it now as she fiddled with her camera and realized how easy it would be to fall back into that trap. And also how slick Gunny had been avoiding a real answer as to who they were. She really knew nothing about this guy, except she should forget him. She had plenty to keep her busy for the next couple of weeks between showers and cocktail parties and girls’ night out and all. She certainly didn’t want to relive past disasters. But her brain would not shut off.

But I’m not here to moon over some guy I’ll probably never see again. I’m supposed to be taking pictures of the town to show Mia so we can decide where she wants me to stage the shots.

This position gave her a good view from this window of the main street plus several of the buildings. She’d set her camera and raised it to her eye to frame the shot when without warning, a car, a silver sedan, one of the luxury models, drove down the main street and stopped right in front of her building. Her finger reflexed, and the shutter clicked off several shots before she thought enough to back up.

All the car doors opened, and three men climbed out. One of them was bound and gagged and doing his best to get away from the youngish man who gripped his arms. A man in gray slacks and a tailored shirt ripped the gag off the prisoner’s mouth and moved so he was standing toe-to-toe with him.

“How the hell could you leave me holding the bag like this? What the hell is the matter with you? We had such a good thing going. Get in, get the money, close up shop, and get out. When those idiots decided to see if our project actually existed, what did you do? Pulled all your money from the account and got ready to leave.”

“I—I didn’t have a choice. If they file a complaint, the first thing that happens is a search for our bank accounts and a freeze on all of them. I had to move right away, and I couldn’t find you to tell you.”

“How about using your damn cell phone?” Gray Slacks asked. “We could have done this together and split before the cops looked for us. Damn and damn. Who the hell knew somebody would decide they actually wanted to see the property? Find it online? That’s never happened before. We always ended things before it could get to that point.”

“But this time, I just couldn’t wait for us to close up shop the way we always did, grab the money and disappear. I needed it right now,” protested the bound man. “Some really nasty people are on my tail, and I was out of time.”

“So, how much good did it do you?” Gray Slacks demanded. “We would have been cleanly gone before anyone could come after us. Changed our names again, laid low for a while, and popped up someplace else. Now, I’ve got to get the hell out of here long before I planned and hope no one’s on my tail. But, at least your disappearance will buy me some time. I can blame it all on you and play the innocent. No one will look for you here. By the time they find you, all they’ll have will be your bones.”

“No, listen, please. We can still…”

He was still talking when Gray Slacks rapped on the passenger door of the car.

“Get out,” he told whoever was inside. “We have to do this.”

Sophie couldn’t hear what the person in the car was saying, but apparently he was arguing with Gray Slacks, who, it seemed, wasn’t budging.

“It’s your ass as much as ours,” Gray Slacks said. “If we let him get away with this, we’re fair game for anyone else. Now, come on. This is what I pay you for.”

At last, with obvious reluctance, a stocky man dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt, climbed out of the car. Because he was on the side away from Sophie and looking at the man who was being held off to the right, she could barely make out his face. She just stood, frozen in place, watching as he took a gun out of his pocket and shot the man who was talking.

“There. You satisfied?” he asked Gray Slacks.

“Yes. We’ll leave him here where no one will find him until his body has disintegrated and no one will be able to attach him to me.”

“You hope.” Then, still facing away from her, almost as if he knew she was there, the gunman climbed back into the car and yanked the door shut.

Sophie blinked, not sure she’d actually seen what her brain told her she had. But when she looked again, the man was still lying completely still in the street, a huge blood stain on the front of his shirt. For a moment, shock paralyzed her.

Holy god!

She heard rapid clicks and realized her finger was stuck to the shutter release, so she’d obviously taken a bunch of quick shots of the man being shot. Had they heard the sound of the mechanism? She hoped not.

She peeked again. What was going on now? Were they leaving, please god?

Gray slacks looked at the man who’d been holding the prisoner upright then pointed at the building where Sophie was hiding.

“Stash him in there. Nobody ever comes here anymore, and if we’re lucky, there won’t be much left of him by the time they find him. Do it. Now.”

Then he, too, climbed into the car while the younger man dragged the body into the building where Sophie stood on the second floor. She slid to the side, pressing herself against the wall of the room and holding her breath. Her heart was beating so hard, she wondered if they could hear it. Below her, she heard thumping, which she guessed meant the body was being dumped in place. She gritted her teeth, clutching her camera as she tried to stop shaking and waited until she heard the final slamming of car doors and the crackle of tires on pavement.

Even then, she counted slowly to a hundred before sliding over to look out the window. The car was gone, and she was sure they hadn’t left anyone behind. Except, of course, for the corpse in the building. Still, she counted to a hundred again then eased down the stairs. She spotted the body at once, lying in a pile of rubble against one wall. Even scared as she was, she took a moment to shoot some photos of the remains. Then she turned at once toward the rear door and made her way outside.

All the way back to her rental car, she kept giving thanks that she’d moved away from the window, that she hadn’t been downstairs or out in the street and so hadn’t been seen by whoever these people were. She reached her car, parked between two of the taller buildings that stood like sentries at the beginning of the main street. At the time, she had just wanted it in the shade if possible, so she wouldn’t suffocate when she had to get back into it. Now, she wondered if those buildings had hidden it effectively or if it had been spotted by those men.

She climbed into the driver’s seat, started the car, and turned on the air-conditioning. The sound of the engine turning over didn’t bring anyone running, so she put the transmission in gear and headed out of the ghost town. Mia was expecting her to come over tonight and show her pictures of the ghost towns she’d visited today, but she was in no shape at the moment to socialize. And she certainly couldn’t tell her friend what she’d seen. Either Mia would say she was crazy, or she’d insist on calling the police. Then Sophie’s name would end up in the news, and those people would probably be after her.

Or what if the killers decided to go back and move the body? Then everyone would think she was nuts. She had no idea what to do. Forget about it? No, she couldn’t do that. Someone needed to find that poor man’s body. All the way back to the ranch, she gripped the wheel, her entire body one clenched muscle. She had no friends here except Mia and her family, and she barely knew the owners of Lost Valley Ranch or any of those tall, muscular men who seemed to be a part of the facility. That meant she had no idea who to go to. Surely a stranger would think she was crazy.

Oh wait! She had the pictures she’d taken. Even if the body got moved, she had proof that there’d been one.

She managed to find a space to park but somehow couldn’t make herself get out of the car. She seemed frozen to the seat. She knew she couldn’t keep this to herself, that she needed help, but how? Who? Who should she show the pictures to? Should she call the sheriff?

All she could see was her picture plastered all over the news and the man in the gray slacks coming after her with his gun. She wasn’t ready to go into the lodge and face people yet. There were just a few guests right now, but a lot of grim-faced, testosterone-filled men were wandering around as if they belonged there. When she checked in, she’d been told a group of former military Special Forces was setting up their business with the ranch as headquarters. What on earth was that about?

A knock on her window nearly made her jump out of her skin. She glanced out and saw Gunny standing there, along with the hunk from last night, the tall one with the military haircut and broad shoulders. The one who for a split second she’d had a fantasy about. Fantasy? What the hell? For the past two years she hadn’t even wanted to date, so what was that all about?

What was his name anyway? Bodie something, and, right now, for some unexplained reason, she was glad he was here next to her.

Gunny motioned for her to lower her window.

“You okay, Sophie? You sick or something? You look a little pale.”

“No.” She shook her head. “No, I, um, I’m all right.” Big lie. “Thanks anyway.”

“You don’t look all right, girl.”

Because she wasn’t and, apparently, it was obvious. She clutched the steering wheel to keep her hands from shaking as the images from earlier bombarded her. What was the matter with her? She wasn’t usually a mess like this. Of course, she’d never seen someone shot in cold blood before, either. The memory made nausea well up in her throat, and she leaned forward, touching her forehead to the steering wheel.

“Sophie?” Gunny’s voice sounded so far away, but she saw him now standing on the other side of her car. “What is it? What’s the matter, honey? You sick? You need a doctor?”

“Sophie? Can you tell us what’s wrong so we can help you?” The deep voice of the man standing next to Gunny sounded so safe, so secure. Deep and warm. “How about unlocking the door.”

The voice was like warm molasses pouring over her shredded nerves.

When she didn’t move, he said, “Can you manage to open the window?”

She swallowed, nodded, and made herself turn the key and lower the driver’s side window. A hand eased in and unlocked the door then opened it. From the corner of her eye, she saw the big man again crouching next to her, a tiny smile twitching at his lips.

“Gunny.” His deep voice had a solid, reassuring sound. “Go get RJ. She’s about done with lunch. JoJo can handle it for a while. Maybe she can help here.”

“No.” Sophie shook her head. “No, please. Don’t call her. She’s working, and I—I just need…a minute.”

She had no desire to have RJ see the quivering mess she was. She needed to pull herself together.

“I think you need more than a minute.” The man smiled at her and, for whatever reason, her insides began to settle. “The name’s Bodie Jackson. We met last night, remember? I promise you’re safe with me. Gunny’ll vouch for me.” He slid a glance to the side. “Right, Gunny?”

“Sophie, you can trust him,” Gunny told her. “I promise. Bodie, let’s get her out of the car and out of the parking lot. Along with everything else, it’s boiling hot out here.”

“Yeah, good idea.”

Bodie stood and gently urged her from the car, cupping her elbow to steady her. The touch of his hands sent an electric charge through her body. It had to be the shock of the situation. She didn’t react this way to men anymore, not since what she called The Disaster.

Sophie looked up at him. And up. Tall, more than six feet. It made her, at five seven, feel almost petite. She had only met him briefly the night before, but there was something so solid about him.

“Gunny, can you get her purse and camera?” Bodie still had one hand cupping an elbow. “We should avoid the ranch house, where she’d have to walk in past a bunch of people. Plus, some of the guys are doing something there, and she doesn’t need to be bombarded with all that testosterone yet. Let’s get her down to the Brotherhood Protectors offices where we’ll have security and privacy. And we ought to get her a small drink to help those nerves. Brandy, I think. She’s paler than a ghost. Whatever happened, it’s shocked the hell out of her.”

At the word ghost, hysterical laughter threatened to bubble up from inside her. She wanted to say a ghost town was what made her like this.

“Good idea,” Gunny agreed. “Something’s got her shook up, that’s for sure.”

Sophie could hardly believe she was letting this man urge her toward the ranch house, especially when they didn’t enter through the main door. Instead, they led her around the house to what looked like a newly installed door. Bodie pressed his thumb against a bioscanner beneath the doorknob, she heard the sound of a lock disengaging, and he turned the handle to open the door.

A short flight of stairs led them down into what Sophie figured was formerly the basement but now housed a highly efficient office setup, lit with bright LED lights. Sophie noted they didn’t cast a single shadow. Along one wall was a bank of computer monitors, and at one end of the room were two closed doors. Sophie wondered what was behind them but wasn’t about to ask. There was also a whiteboard, currently blank, and a corkboard with only one sheet of paper tacked to it at the moment.

Gunny had taken a detour to the bar. In a moment, he knocked on the door. Bodie let him in, and he placed a flask of brandy and a shot glass on one of the desks. By the time she was seated in a chair, Gunny had the shot glass filled, and Bodie was crouched beside her, holding it out.

“Go ahead,” the man told her. “Slug it or sip it, but get it into you so you can stop shaking. Okay? Please?” He turned to Gunny. “We need to find out what happened.”

“No kidding,” Gunny agreed. “She doesn’t impress me as someone who falls apart for nothing.”

I’m not. I’m not. I’m just not used to seeing people murdered in cold blood.

Sophie managed to get the brandy down in three sips, enough so her hands weren’t shaking quite as much. Then she looked right into the eyes of the man crouched in front of her and, just like when their hands had touched the night before, something flipped inside her. Since her life fell apart, no man had drawn any reaction from her except distrust and disdain, but something about Bodie Jackson made her insides grow warm.

With her history, how much sense did that make? But she was consumed with fear, and this man’s presence was unexpectedly calming.

She drew in a breath and slowly let it out.

“I’m sorry,” she told him. “I hardly know you, and I’m making an idiot of myself. I remember we were introduced yesterday, but…”

His smile softened his whole face.

“Bodie Jackson, at your service.”

“Sophie.” Gunny was right by her side again. “Something sure has scared you, and you need to tell us because we’ve got the right people here to help you. Yesterday, you met Jake Cogburn. He runs the group I told you about last night, Colorado Brotherhood Protectors. Normally I don’t gossip about them, but this situation’s an exception. They’re a sort of security agency that works out of the ranch. And Bodie here and his team are part of it. They’re all former military. Special Forces. If someone’s doing something to you, they’re the best ones to tell about it.”

The face of Bodie Jackson held sympathy and strength and assurance. And maybe, if he was former military, he’d know if she was making something out of nothing—except there was a dead body, so how could it be nothing? She took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and nodded.

“Okay. And I’m not making this up. I just want you to know that. It’s the truth.” She closed her eyes, drew in a breath slowly, and let it out. “I—I saw a man get killed. Shot. Just a little while ago.”

She saw something flash in Bodie’s eyes, watched him slide a glance over to Gunny. Did they not believe her? Who would make up something like that?

“Are you sure that’s what you saw?” Bodie’s voice was gentle but skeptical.

“Trust me. I know when I see someone get shot.”

Sophie certainly couldn’t fault his behavior, nor could she blame him for the skepticism in his eyes. But that skepticism irritated her, which she supposed was better than being scared out of her lacy panties.

“Okay, okay. Good enough.” Bodie held up his hand. “Just checking. Can you tell us about it? Where it happened? What you actually saw?” He pointed at the flask. “Would a little more brandy help?”

She took a deep breath, swallowed the last tiny drop of brandy in the glass, and pulled her shit together.

“I’ve been looking for ghost towns,” she told them and explained why.

“There’s certainly plenty of them around here,” Gunny agreed. “Some of them could hardly be called real towns, the gold played out so quickly.”

“Mia gave me the name of two, and I found one I thought would work. The old buildings were perfect and fit what I had in mind. I was on the second floor of what I think was the old hotel, looking out the window, when I saw it happen.”

She closed her eyes, reluctantly reliving that horrific moment.

“Saw someone get shot?” Bodie prompted.

Sophie nodded and, as calmly as possible, described the scene. “For a moment, I thought maybe I was seeing things, but when I looked again, the man was lying in the street, not moving, with blood all over his chest.”

Bodie was still crouched beside her, his hand on her arm as if to steady her. She was stunned at the way the warmth of his touch crept into her body. Again, she was shocked by her reaction. Maybe it was just the panic she was in because of what she’d seen.

He squeezed gently. “And you saw them carry the man into the building where you were?”

“I did. I was afraid they’d look through the rooms and find me, but they didn’t.”

The two men exchanged a glance.

“You know this area much better than I do,” Bodie told Gunny. “You familiar with the place she’s talking about?”

Gunny nodded. “I am. I—”

“I can give you directions to it,” Sophie broke in. “It’s not all that far from the ranch.” Then her brain kicked in. “Oh. I’m so stupid. I—I have pictures.”

“Pictures?” Gunny echoed.

“Where are they?” Bodie asked. “How about letting us see them.”

She took her camera from its bag and brought up the shots that had clicked off on the screen, surprised to see how steady her hands were.

Gunny whistled. “Holy shit. She’s right. This is out-and-out murder. Or an execution.”

“Do you know these guys?” Bodie asked.

Gunny frowned. “Not sure, but I don’t think so. They look vaguely familiar. I can say for sure they’re not from Fool’s Gold. Maybe Colorado Springs.”

“Someone needs to get out there ASAP,” Bodie said, “and check out this scene.”

“Let’s hope the body’s still there,” Gunny muttered.

“Then we’d better get to looking,” Bodie commented. “If in fact there’s a dead guy there, we need to call the sheriff.”

“Oh!” Panic squeezed Sophie like an iron fist. “But he’ll want to talk to me, right? Then people will know I found the body, and…” She looked from Bodie to Gunny and back again. “What if the killers find out and come looking for me?”

“We’ll take care of things, I promise,” Bodie assured her. “We won’t let anything happen to you. Guaranteed.” He looked at Gunny. “I’m going to text Jake and have him grab the rest of the guys and get down here. They need to be aware of the situation, too. We don’t know how many people are involved or what the deal is, so we need to be in full project mode.”

“Who are the they you’re talking about?” Sophie asked. She wasn’t comfortable with more people being brought to this and possibly putting her at greater risk.

“They’re good,” Bodie assured her. “No worries. Jake runs Brotherhood Protectors here, and the others were all part of my team in Special Forces. In fact, all members of Brotherhood Protectors were Special Forces of one kind or another.”

“Your team?” She wrinkled her forehead and focused on those two words. “Oh, right. I know all Special Forces are broken down into teams with individual names. Is that what you mean? What was yours? What team?”

Bodie lips twitched. “Uh, Team Trojan.”

Sophie stared at him, her uneasiness suddenly replaced by an uncontrollable desire to giggle.

“Trojan? Do you give out condoms to people?”

She could have sworn Bodie actually blushed, which was really funny for a man as tough and masculine as he was. She looked over at Gunny, who was doing his best not to laugh, and that took a little off the edge of the tension gripping her. In fact, she was glad for a little humor to ease the tension gripping her.

“That’s another story,” Bodie told her. “For another day. Hold on.”

He took out his cell phone and hit a speed-dial number.

“Yeah, hey, Jake, it’s me. Bodie. We’ve got a situation here I think is made for the Brotherhood Protectors. Can you get the rest of the guys and bring them down to the basement? Oh, great. See you in a few.”

“Are they all coming?” She wasn’t sure how she felt about this. “Do we have to have a whole crowd here?” She twisted her hands together. “Are you sure my name won’t get out before we even know what’s going on?”

Bodie pulled a chair over closer to her, sat down, and took both her hands in his large, warm ones. It stunned her that she didn’t immediately want to pull away from him. The therapist she still saw to put her life back together had told her if she kept up her sessions, eventually she’d work through it and come out the other side. She’d been skeptical yet, bam! Tonight, she’d had a strong physical reaction to a man for the first time in two years. She might still be plagued by memories of the past, but somehow this felt different.

Don’t think about the past.

“Sophie?”

She blinked, realizing she had zoned out a little.

“Listen,” Bodie went on, “you can trust these guys, for damn sure. I’ve trusted them with my life, and they never failed me. In fact, we’re going to do our best to make sure it doesn’t get out at all. I can’t promise you nothing bad will happen because in life, a lot of that is beyond our control. But I can and will promise you that all of this will be handled as quietly and efficiently as possible, and we, including the sheriff, will all do our best to keep your name out of the public eye. And to keep you safe. It’s what we do. If somehow word leaks that you saw what happened, well, I want everyone to know your safety is priority number one and why.”

Sophie forced herself to take a slow, deep breath. Then she locked gazes with Bodie.

“How can you promise? I know there are things you can’t control. I just…”

“Because it’s what we do,” he told her. We’ll handle it, and you’ll be safe, just like I said. Case closed.”

And, for some unexplained reason, she believed him. That alone shocked her. She’d lost her ability to trust men two years ago.

At that moment, the door to the basement opened again, and five men equally as large as Bodie came down the stairs. Jake was familiar to her. She had seen them briefly at the lodge, but all of them at once made her suddenly feel surrounded by an overdose of testosterone. But when Bodie introduced them, and they shook hands with her, she felt incredibly safe and protected.

“Everyone else is off right now on Brotherhood Protectors’ business,” Jake told Bodie, “so Team Trojan gets it all.”

“I think we can handle it.” Bodie’s lips turned up in a faint smile. “But if we get another call and you need to split us up, that works, too. Whatever you need.”

Jake dipped his head. “Appreciate it, but I knew you guys would do whatever it took.”

Bodie cleared his throat. “Guys, this is Sophie Hart. You’ve seen her around the ranch the last couple of days.”

They all nodded politely but studied her as if wondering what the hell was going on. She didn’t blame them.

“Sophie, you know Jake.” Bodie nodded at the man who moved to the side. “The others are Clint Manning, Stone Bishop, Zeke Turner, and Hale Forest.”

“Oh, of course.” Sophie actually managed a grin. “Team Trojan, right? That’s what Bodie said you’re called.”

The men all exchanged glances then looked at Bodie. “You told her?”

He nodded. “She asked the same thing everyone does. Where are the condoms?”

“Better not tell her,” Hale warned. “She might not think it’s funny.”

“Oh, I think it’s hilarious,” Sophie told them. “But tell me that’s not how you named the Team.”

Stone shook his head. “Our Special Ops Command adopted the Trojan horse as part of the special crest,” Bodie answered. “It became our official emblem.”

Sophie shook her head. “I’m sorry. I feel like a dummy.”

Stone shook his head. “No need to. Unless you’re somehow connected to the military, most people are oblivious to them. You know about military challenge coins?”

Bodie took over the explanation. “In the military, challenge coins are proof you’re a member of a specific unit or served on a specific tour of duty. They identify you as a member of an elite group of people. In earlier years, they were often required to prove loyalty. We figured we could prove ours best with condoms.” He grinned. “You know, so you’d always be safe. And yeah, we like to have a little fun with it, too.”

It took Sophie a moment to get the double meaning but when she did, she couldn’t hold back a giggle. “Good to know. And thanks for giving me something to laugh at.”

“Now that we’ve got that out of the way,” Jake said, “how about filling us in on what’s going on here. Bodie, you want to explain?”

Hale looked from Sophie to Bodie and back again. “So what’s going on?”

“It seems Sophie stumbled into a sticky situation while she was out scouting photography sites today. I’m going to let Sophie tell you her story. Soph, I know this is hard for you, but could you go over the story once more so we can fill these guys in on what’s what and go from there? I think it would be best situation’s an exception. They’re a sort of security agency that works out of the ranch. And Bodie here and his team are part of it. They’re all former military. Special Forces. If someone’s doing something to you, they’re the best ones to tell about it.”