Operation: Tempt Me (25 page)

The next
letter caught Miller’s attention as soon as he spotted the kid’s name—Greg
Welchum.

Miller now
had two reasons to get back to Maddyville. First, for Cambrie. Second, to kick
this kid’s father’s ass for using his kid as a punching bag. Oh, Miller didn’t
need the boy to spell it out, he knew that’s what was happening to him.

Miller was trained
to figure out people fast. And Greg was a traumatized youngster, no doubt in
his mind. It was evident in the sad tone of Greg’s emails. How he talked about
wanting to leave home, but couldn’t because his mother would never leave his
dad. And Greg could never leave the mother.

Miller opened
the letter.

Dear Lt.
Daly,

It’s Greg,
the one who Miss Brasher is going to have email you from the library. First,
she needs to set me up an email account. She also wanted the Teen Readers Group
to write letters because she said troops like to get real mail too.

I think
email’s better and faster, but Miss Brasher is nice so I don’t mind helping
her. I don’t know what to write because I don’t know you. Maybe you can tell me
how I can enlist in the military. I can’t stay here. My dad’s a jerk and, well,
we don’t get along. He won’t send me to college so I need to find a way to go.
The military can teach a person to defend themselves, right? I saw a
recruitment ad. We can talk about it maybe.

Greg Welchum

Miller folded
the letter and shoved it back into the envelope. He swore under his breath, the
words chewed up by the noise from the plane’s engines. Shoving the stack of
envelopes back into his gear bag, Miller sat back grinding his teeth.

He hated
fucking bullies and Greg’s dad was a bully and a pussy. Wonder how the bastard
would do in a fair fight with someone his own size?

Miller
smirked. Not very fucking well if he could help it.

****

Cambrie’s
eyes fought to stay open. Staring at her computer screen, she finished the last
column of the monthly newsletter that went out via email to the library’s
supporters. It was hard to write about Miller as just a pen pal when all she
wanted to do was feel his strong arms around her again.

She let out a
long breath and shut down the program. She’d have to proofread it tomorrow when
hopefully her brain functioned better than today. But the day hadn’t been a
total waste. It surprised her how much work she had gotten done when her
determination not to dwell on Miller kicked into high gear. Looking around her
office, she smiled, proud of the clean desk, the neat piles on her wall unit,
and organized file cabinet.

A knock on
the door won a silent curse from her. All she had was another hour and had
hoped to spend it quietly in her office, sulking over Miller. Now she had to
deal with either Mr. Hackler or Mrs. Ginnity, and she didn’t have any interest
in their demanding tones right now.

“Come in.”
Cambrie spoke sharply, hoping her tone didn’t sound too unwelcoming, even if
she wasn’t in the mood for company.

The door
creaked open, inch-by-inch, and she was ready to scream with the aggravation
until a handsome face peeked around the door.

“Now aren’t
you as pretty as I left you?” The strong male voice filled her small office
like a booming cannon.

Her eyes flew
open wide, blinking three times, before she’d believe the sight before her.
“Miller! Holy shit!” Cambrie couldn’t contain her excitement. Jumping out of
her seat, she launched herself into Miller’s open arms and slammed her lips onto
his.

His mouth
opened to allow her tongue entry. With swift movements to taste all of him, her
tongue battled his for domination. Heat from the kiss sizzled between them. Her
hands clawed at his head, his hair so short it barely covered his scalp. Lust consumed
her, giving her a strength that made her feel like she could compete with this
man’s potent sexual abilities. So many ideas on how they could make love raced
through her mind.

Breaking the
connection, Cambrie stared at Miller, her eyes glancing all over him. He was
really here back with her. “You came back,” she whispered, afraid to speak
louder and have her voice crack with the emotions swelling her heart.

“I said I
would, baby girl. Now, where were we before my job interrupted us?”

Before he
could kiss her again, she placed her hand on his chest and stopped him. “Hold
on a minute, Miller. Are you going to run off again?”

His
expression showed hesitancy, conflicting emotions etched across his tired,
bruised face. “That’s the nature of my job, Cam.”

Bruised face?
What the fuck? “Your face. Oh, no. How could I not notice your face and,” she
said, turning his head with her fingers, “your neck. You’re hurt.”

His hands
grabbed hers and stopped them from running over his jaw and throat, holding
them between their bodies. “Not hurt at all. Just some scrapes.”

“Just some—”
she stopped. “You’re right. You have a job that requires you to dodge bullets
and bombs. What’s a few fucking bruises, right?”

He smirked.
“Technically, you can’t really dodge a bomb.”

She
narrowed her eyes and pushed out of his grasp. “You are so not funny, Miller.
Christ!”

How could she
accept the fact that his job was so dangerous and, yet, be expected to ship him
back out the door the minute his phone rang? There was more to military life
than she ever knew. She definitely didn’t like it.

“Hey,
Cambrie, a man doesn’t have to be in the military to get bruises you know.”

“Yeah, well,
you seem to have gotten your fair share since I last saw you.”

“Correction.
The one on the jaw is fresh. I’d say about an hour old. The rest happened last
week, courtesy of a terrorist who didn’t like the fact that my team and I
interrupted his plans. I will never regret those kinds of bruises, baby.”

“And the one
on your jaw? Why’s it fresh?” A sneaky suspicion grew within her.

Miller
shrugged those wide shoulders like it took no effort at all. “Just had to stop
and pay a visit to Greg’s father. Thought he should know what a great son he
had.”

Her eyes
widened. “And did you tell him?”

“Sure did.
And I think he heard me loud and clear. Again, I’d take a bruise for that any
day.”

She clenched
her fists at her side. “Oh, Miller. Poor Greg. His father is a mean
son-of-a-bitch. What happens when you leave and aren’t here to address the
situation?”

“First, I
would never jeopardize a child’s safety. Second, Greg Senior and I came to an
agreement.”

“An
agreement?” She raised a brow. “Which was?”

“Simple. He
doesn’t pound on his son and I don’t pound on him.”

Snapping
her fingers, she spoke calmer than she felt. “Just like that, you think he’ll
listen.”

“You haven’t
seen
his
face yet, sweetheart. He’ll listen. Guys like him are only as
tough as their competition is weak. He’s nothing but a bully. I gave him a dose
of his own medicine. He didn’t like it, so he agreed to do things my way.”

With her arms
crossed, she watched him. “Sounds pretty cocky of you.”

“Not at all
cocky. Confident. Greg wrote me. Wasn’t hard to see the pain hidden in his
words. I couldn’t sit back, Cam, and not show the kid that there are still
people left in this crazy ass world that will stick up for someone because it’s
the right thing to do. Besides, I had a better chance of winning against
the
ox
than you did.”

She gasped.
“Mrs. Ginnity!”

“I won’t
disclose my source, but I better never hear of you wanting to put yourself in
danger again.”

Laughter
bubbled from her throat. “This coming from the man who bleeds regularly for his
job.”

“Smart ass.”
He smiled. “Can I convince you to leave a little early?”

“I’d love to,
but I have to wait until closing to lock up,” Cambrie said, unable to hide her
disappointment.

“All taken
care of. Mrs. Ginnity said she’d be more than happy to stay for you. Ran into
her out front,” he said, hitching a thumb toward the half-open door.

“Of course
you did,” she said, thrilled that he was a man of action. “Let’s go then.”

Walking out
to the main lobby, Cambrie froze when she saw the sheriff speaking with Mrs.
Ginnity at the checkout counter. She was sure he wasn’t checking out any
library books.

“Cambrie,
dear. How are you?” Sheriff Haskell said, tipping his hat.

“Fine,
sheriff. What brings you here?” Her knees started to shake, threatening to let
her fall to the floor.

“Oh,
that would probably be me,” Miller said calmly with one elbow leaning on the
counter.

“And you’d be
a wise man, Lt. Daly.” The sheriff extended a hand to shake Miller’s. “Sheriff
Haskell. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Your service to our country is much
appreciated.”

“As is yours
to this community, sir,” Miller responded. “I like knowing Cambrie has people
around to watch her back. Whatever you need to ask me, go ahead, sir. I respect
the law and will answer truthfully. Have nothing to hide.”

The sheriff
chuckled and Cambrie held her breath. “No questions at all. Just stopped by to
meet you after I heard you were in town. Got a call about a military man making
house calls. Wanted to thank you for addressing a pesky problem I’ve had no
luck taking care of. I’ve always wanted to do it, but the badge stopped me. Now
you’ve done it for me.”

“Just trying
to look out for those that couldn’t do it for themselves, sheriff.”

“Well, son,
sometimes the best medicine is a taste of our own treacherous ways. Appreciate
your assistance even if I have to state that Maddyville is a law-abiding town.
Just don’t want street justice to get out of line.”

“Of course
not, sir. I understand.”

Cambrie
stopped holding her breath and sucked in a deep drag of air. Her heart pounded,
expecting the sheriff to blast Miller for the fight with Greg Sr., or worse,
arrest him.

The sheriff
said his goodbyes and Mrs. Ginnity shoed Cambrie and Miller out of the library.

“I’ve got my
truck this time,” Miller said, stopping in front of a massive, shiny black
pick-up truck. “Too cold for the motorcycle. I’ll follow you home.”

With a quick
smack of lips, Cambrie abandoned Miller only for the time it took to drive to
her apartment.

Once inside,
butterflies swarmed in Cambrie’s belly. The feeling so welcome after all the
misery she’d been having since Miller had left.

“How long do
we have this time?” she dared to ask.

He stood in
front of her, his hands gripping her waist. “Only until tomorrow. I couldn’t
stay away so, when the team got back to the States, I headed straight here.”

“Only until
tomorrow?” she repeated, saddened that their time would be so short, but she
had to be grateful for him coming at all. She didn’t want to interpret what
those actions from this wonderful man could mean. It was too much to think
about right now when all she could do was envision him naked and sweaty.

His fingers
tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. His gaze held hers. “Yes, I’m sorry,
baby. I have to leave with the team tomorrow evening for another assignment in
Jordan. Should take about two weeks, maybe more, maybe less. We never know.”

“You told me
where you were heading this time,” she said, wondering if it was better to know
or not.

“Yes. This is
just a training mission not combat, so it’s not so secretive. Just wanted to
see you before I had to leave.”

Somewhere
from deep inside, she pulled on strength that she never knew existed. This man
had sacrificed his time and sleep to come see her again. They would make the
best of it until they were blessed with more time together. He had a job to
protect the country. She had a job to make him forget everything for the hours
he was with her.

Her knuckles
skimmed his cheek roughened by day old beard growth and fading bruises. “I have
never been more proud of someone than I am of you right now, Lt. Miller Daly.
Your dedication to your job is inspiring. And for you to come all this way just
to spend a special night with me, well, I can only ask for you to have patience
with me. I’m not used to how you live, but I want to learn all about it. It’s
hard for me to say goodbye when all I want is to be in your arms, but I support
your military service, Miller, one hundred percent. It’s what you do and what
you’re about. I could never be anything but proud to be a part of your life…no
matter where you are. Just want you to know that.”

His hard
stare couldn’t hide the emotions and lust swirling within the depths of those
brown eyes as they studied her. “My, God, Cambrie. Just when I think I know
you, just when I think I know what you’re thinking, you astonish the hell out
of me again. I love your honesty. Aunt Annabelle should be very proud of her
awesome niece. I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but I’m so grateful to
be here with.”