Seduced by Denial
Seduced By Denial
Brotherhood Protectors World
Stacey Wilk
Contents
Brotherhood Protectors
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Also by Stacey Wilk
About Staey Wilk
Brotherhood Protectors
About Elle James
Copyright © 2020, Stacey Wilk
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.
© 2020 Twisted Page Press, LLC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
No part of this book may be used, stored, reproduced or transmitted without written permission from the publisher except for brief quotations for review purposes as permitted by law.
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, please purchase your own copy.
Brotherhood Protectors
Original Series by Elle James
Brotherhood Protectors Series
Montana SEAL (#1)
Bride Protector SEAL (#2)
Montana D-Force (#3)
Cowboy D-Force (#4)
Montana Ranger (#5)
Montana Dog Soldier (#6)
Montana SEAL Daddy (#7)
Montana Ranger’s Wedding Vow (#8)
Montana SEAL Undercover Daddy (#9)
Cape Cod SEAL Rescue (#10)
Montana SEAL Friendly Fire (#11)
Montana SEAL’s Mail-Order Bride (#12)
SEAL Justice (#13)
Ranger Creed (#14)
Delta Force Rescue (#15)
Montana Rescue (Sleeper SEAL)
Hot SEAL Salty Dog (SEALs in Paradise)
Hot SEAL Hawaiian Nights (SEALs in Paradise)
Seduced by Denial
(Close Protection Series #1)
Brotherhood Protectors World
Stacey Wilk
To my readers.
Without you, all my stories would fall on deaf ears.
Chapter 1
Bebe Murano hated her husband. She had no idea how she had ended up where she was. Well, she had some idea. She wasn’t clueless.
Thousands of people standing behind barricades yelled loud enough to break the sound barrier. The hot June sun did nothing to deter their stomping feet that shook the earth. They wanted to meet Bebe and Stuart. She and Stuart had signed autographs and taken photos for two hours. Her mouth hurt from the fake smiling. The fans needed to believe she and Stuart liked each other.
One minute she was just some woman no one had heard of who enjoyed fixing up houses, and the next minute she was one half of a husband and wife design team loved by millions. The audience enjoyed their banter and their designs more. It was a dream come true. A dream she had worked her ass off for and had deserved. The kick in the pants was the success came after the divorce papers had been finalized. Success now equaled Stuart, and she was tired of it.
“That’s it, folks. Thanks for coming. Don’t forget our new season starts in September.” Stuart flashed his implant-filled smile.
The crowd roared. She wanted to get out of there. Cheers and applause crested. She didn’t like crowds anymore, not since the stalker. The vibration made it hard to hear even when Stuart leaned in and said something in her ear. All she got was the cloying scent of his cologne. He put his hand on the small of her back as if he still had the right. She didn’t shrug him off for fear a fan would notice. She bit the inside of her cheek to fend off the repulsion of his touch.
The heat had made her sweat through her shirt. Her stomach begged for food. She hadn’t eaten for hours. And she had filled her time with Stuart quota for the day. Other than filming and publicity events, they never went near each other.
After today, she wouldn’t have to see him for a few weeks. She couldn’t wait. They turned from the crowd and to the direction of the cars waiting for them.
A large crack whipped through the air, splitting it in half. Screams erupted. The force of a freight train slammed into her, knocking her off balance. A sharp pain shot through her shoulder. Something warm and wet ran down her arm and between her fingers. Her mind couldn’t catch up to what her eyes registered.
People ran. Someone threw a heavy arm over her shoulders and pushed her head down as he dragged her away.
“Stay down, Bebe. I’ve got you.” She recognized the deep voice but couldn’t place the name of the security guard hired by the network.
He whisked her away from the screams and the crowd. They ran to the town car waiting for them. He shoved her inside and dove in after her. The thing she feared the most was happening.
“Get the hell out of here. Now, damn it,” he said to the driver. “She needs a hospital.”
Bebe’s legs dangled off the side of the hospital bed. Her arm was secured with a sling, and her shoulder ached deep in the bone. The bullet had grazed the shoulder muscle and had done minimal damage, but the pain made her head spin. The air conditioning pumped on over drive in the emergency room. She wondered if the unit was old and outdated or if the docs and nurses liked artic temperatures.
It had been hours since she had been escorted here. She wanted to go home to a hot bath and a shot of whiskey, but she needed some answers. The first one being who did this. She didn’t like the possibilities. Since her recent rise to fame, more people knew who she was, and not everyone liked her. One person liked her too much.
“How much longer, Dad?” Her voice scraped against her dry throat. She reached for the plastic pink cup on the table beside the bed. The cool water didn’t do much to soothe the discomfort.
Her father stood in the corner of the curtained area with his hands in his pockets. The vertical crease between his brows deepened, and he rocked slightly on the balls of his feet. “Please let the detective tell us what he knows, Bebe. Then I can take you home.” His voice held the calm resolve she had come to expect and rely on. His broad shoulders had always carried her burdens. The only sign he might be stressed was the thin line of his lips hiding under his thick mustache.
Detective Adams flipped his notebook closed and held her gaze. His gold shield hung around his neck on a long chain and caught the fluorescent light each time he moved.
“I’m sorry to have to tell you this, Ms. Murano, but the man we arrested today is your stalker.” What was left of his hair formed a widow’s peak at the top of his hairline. He had frown lines etched between his brows, but his brown eyes shone with tenderness.
“Why are you sorry about that?” Relief washed over her like a hot spray coming from a brand-new rain showerhead. They had finally caught the man who had been torturing her for months.
At first her stalker seemed innocent enough. He’d sent a few emails saying he liked the show and that he thought she was pretty. She had made the mistake of responding, but the show’s success was new and she had wanted her fans to think she was approachable. The number of emails increased until he was sending hundreds a week. Each one growing in anger and threats until he said he want
ed to kidnap her.
“The only thing I’m sorry about is he showed up at your event,” Detective Adams said. “He could’ve hurt a lot of people. We got lucky on that point. He confessed immediately. The good news is he’ll be off the street now and won’t be able to hurt anyone any longer.”
“And the bad news is?” her father said.
“It appears the gunshot was intended for Ms. Murano’s husband. Benjamin Morris stated after his rights had been read that he meant to kill Mr. Young to prove to you how much he loved you.”
“Oh boy.” Her father pressed his lips together and dragged his gaze away.
“I don’t understand. Why try to shoot Stuart?” No matter how much she and Stuart didn’t get along, she didn’t want anything bad to happen to him. Until today, the stalker hadn’t ever mentioned Stuart.
“It’s not uncommon for a stalker to try and hurt someone else as proof of their affection. I’m sure you remember the incident where Ronald Reagan was shot.”
“But I’m not that famous.”
“It doesn’t matter. Mr. Morris was an obsessed fan. Stalker crimes have been on the up rise since the advent of social media. Access to too many people. People who don’t have to be the president.” Detective Adams shoved his small notebook into the back pocket of his jeans.
“Now, what does she do?” her father said.
“Get on with your life.” Detective Adams held his palms up as if the answer were so simple.
“How am I supposed to do that?” Sure they had caught the guy, but would someone else be lurking in the shadows next? Had she made a mistake by becoming a public figure after all?
“That’s entirely up to you, but I assure you, you won’t hear from Benjamin Morris again. If you’ll excuse me.” Detective Adams ducked past her father and out the curtain.
“Dad?”
“Yeah, sweetie?” Her father continued to rock on his heels. She and her father had been facing the world together ever since her mother died in a shootout right on the gang-infested street they used to live on. Part of the reason she had agreed to do the television show even after she and Stuart divorced was to ensure her father never had to worry about money again.
“How am I supposed to get on with my life? A man tried to kill Stuart and almost killed me instead.”
“They caught him.”
“I don’t want this life anymore. Not if this is what it means.” The words floated out as easily as setting a table for reveal day. If it had been that easy, maybe she had never wanted this kind of life after all.
“You’re just upset. Don’t make any hasty decisions.”
“Damn straight, I’m upset.” She hopped off the table and waited a second for the room to straighten out. “I’m through with television and Stuart. I hate that arrogant bastard any way. He’s impossible. I did like the success until I ended up with a bullet through my shoulder. But I like my life better.”
“Bebe, let me take you back to my place for a day or two. Take some time to think about what you’re saying. You have money now. You live a nice life. A life I couldn’t give you. Don’t throw it all away over some lunatic.”
“Dad, the life I had growing up with you and Mom was the best. Fame and fortune can’t top that.” She adjusted the sling and tried not to wince from the pain.
Her father stared off in the distance and shrugged with a heavy sigh. “Maybe. I don’t know. But now you don’t have to worry about bullets flying every time you step outside your door.”
“I did today.”
“It’s not the same thing.”
“I’ll stay with you for a few days, but I won’t change my mind. I quit.”
Chapter 2
Reade Brewer glanced at the typewritten letter on standard white paper and covered in a plastic protective sheet. A stalker wrote a threatening letter to some famous actress. Reade didn’t pay attention to pop culture so the actress’s name meant little to him. His interests lay in places other than film and television.
“You ready to go?” Lincoln slid out of the booth.
He followed with a nod. Lincoln had picked the dinner spot. People in varying shapes and ages filled the bar from every corner. Music pumped out of an old jukebox like blood from a torn artery, forcing everyone to raise their voices to be heard. A great place to have a discussion in public when the conversation needed to stay private. Hide in plain sight kind of thing. No one paid any attention to two nondescript guys having dinner and minding their own business.
But the rest of the conversation would take place out of sight. He walked with Linc in silence until they stood at the farthest spot in the parking lot. The summer night air was cool and dry against his skin. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans and leaned against the grill of his pickup.
“Stalker cases are constantly increasing, Brewer. The calls won’t stop coming in from agents wanting protection for their clients or the celebs themselves. Everyone wants to keep their needs quiet. I’m glad you’re willing to come work for me.” Lincoln raked his hand through his long hair. Linc had been out of the Rangers five minutes and had grown his hair to his shoulders. Linc had some great hair for a guy his age. Not that Reade would ever say it. Linc’s hair was Linc’s business.
“You asked and I came.” That’s how it would always be between him and Linc.
“Hank Patterson assigned me the task of gathering a new team for the Brotherhood Protectors to guard more celebrities like the one I’m assigning you to watch.”
“I don’t understand why anyone wants to give up so much of their privacy.” He understood the money was pretty good in that line of work, but no amount of money could make him live a life where more people than not wanted a piece of him.
“I don’t either, but it keeps us in business.” Linc flashed a grin.
A couple holding hands interrupted the conversation with their approaching presence. The two lovebirds looked at each other, oblivious to anything else, and shared muffled words that made the lady laugh. They didn’t notice him and Linc until they were a car away. Reade wanted to tell them to be aware of their surroundings, but he only nodded at the guy who nearly dropped his keys when he laid a wide-eyed stare on him and Linc. Can’t be too careful.
After the car pulled away, he said, “Thanks for the opportunity to join your team. These past three years adjusting have been hell.”
“Getting back into civilian life isn’t always easy. You’ll get the hang of it. The work will keep you busy and out of your own thoughts. You can continue to use the skills you honed all those years instead of hopping around from one construction site to another.” Linc flipped his keys around his finger.
“Seemed like good work at the time.” He enjoyed being outside and building things. After he got home from his twenty in the Army, he didn’t have any idea what to do with himself. Construction was as good as any job. He was able to travel to find work. Or not settle down was more like it.
Any town he went to closed around him like a vise before long. As soon as he noticed the grip on his chest, he packed up and found another job. He suspected Winter, Montana would be the same soon enough.
Becoming a bodyguard for this special organization seemed more like being paid to babysit and wear his gun than a difficult job. It sure wasn’t like being an Army Ranger. But Lincoln wanted him on board, and he would never tell a brother no.
“I’ve got four of our other men from our company on the payroll too.”
He and Linc had been friends for what seemed like forever. Now, he reported to Linc again.
“We’re all working on this close protection group?” He didn’t bother to ask who the other men were. Whoever Linc picked would be a man who held the Ranger creed close.
“You’ll each have your own assignment, but if you need backup, I’ll come running with whoever I grab. You’re in good hands.”
He trusted Linc with his life. He wasn’t worried about backup. If he even needed it, which he doubted, Linc would provide
the best.
“Do I have to pick her up?” He and Linc had reviewed the case notes at the start of dinner. His assignment was some fixer-upper television show woman. Like the actress mentioned in the email Linc just showed him, Reade had no idea who Bebe Murano was.
“She’s already here. She bought a small house on the lake. I’ll text you the address.” Linc pulled out his phone and tapped the screen.
“If the guy after her was arrested, why is she hiring a guard?” The file had said the man confessed. Miss Celebrity should be ready to get back in the limelight and not want to hang out on a lake in rural Montana.
“She’s spooked. Someone like her isn’t used to getting shot at.”
“I suspect not.” Someone like this television star was probably used to people doing whatever she demanded. He would make sure to stay out of her way.
“There’s no end date to the gig. You have to stay on her until she pulls the plug. Can I count on that?”
“What are you saying, Linc?” He didn’t like the possibility his friend and former commander thought he’d let him down.
He slid his gaze back toward the center of the parking lot. A group of women in short skirts and high heels leaned on each other as they pranced toward their cars. He hoped none of those women had been drinking too much.
“I’m saying you have a reputation for pulling up roots after a while. That can’t happen anymore.”