Protecting Clover Read online

  Protecting Clover (Special Forces: Operation Alpha)

  search & rescue book 2

  Jen Talty

  Contents

  Foreword

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Also by Jen Talty

  More Special Forces: Operation Alpha World Books

  Books by Susan Stoker

  To the love of my life! You rock my world.

  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 or locales or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.

  © 2019 ACES PRESS, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  No part of this work 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.

  Dear Readers,

  Welcome to the Special Forces: Operation Alpha Fan-Fiction world!

  If you are new to this amazing world, in a nutshell the author wrote a story using one or more of my characters in it. Sometimes that character has a major role in the story, and other times they are only mentioned briefly. This is perfectly legal and allowable because they are going through Aces Press to publish the story.

  This book is entirely the work of the author who wrote it. While I might have assisted with brainstorming and other ideas about which of my characters to use, I didn’t have any part in the process or writing or editing the story.

  I’m proud and excited that so many authors loved my characters enough that they wanted to write them into their own story. Thank you for supporting them, and me!

  READ ON!

  Xoxo

  Susan Stoker

  About the book

  After spending the last six months deployed in an undisclosed location, all Navy SEAL Wyatt Jackson wants is to kick back, relax, and enjoy a little country music by his favorite local singer. For the last five years, Wyatt has done his best to squelch his feelings for Clover Sullivan. Not only is she young, but she’s the daughter of a man he served with. A man Wyatt promised he’d help watch over his little girl. Wyatt knows how to keep a safe distance, but when strange things start happening, and Clover is threatened, Wyatt isn’t going to sit on the sidelines. He will do whatever it takes to protect Clover from a deadly stalker.

  Even if it means putting his life…and his heart on the line.

  Chapter 1

  Clover Sullivan set her guitar in the stand and stepped from the stage. Pride filled her heart as she looked out over the dining room of the Sans. A few people sat at the bar, and there were three full tables left over from the lunch crowd. They had turned their attention away from her and back to their meals and conversations. Playing a set in the middle of the day always settled her nervous energy. She glanced at her watch. Wyatt should be done with debriefing by the time the dinner patrons rolled in. She scurried across the room and snagged the reserved sign and placed it on the big table in the middle of the room. Keeping the Sans after her father had died had been the best decision she’d ever made. It gave her a place to sing and write, with an income that afforded her to follow her passion.

  It also gave Wyatt a place to land where she could be a constant part of his life.

  Her pulse went into high gear. Having Wyatt living in the same town stirred so many emotions. In some ways he brought her comfort and made her feel closer to her father’s memory.

  But it also made her feel like a crazy teenager with her first crush.

  She smiled. Wyatt had been her first crush, and her feelings for him had continued to grow over the years, but between the age difference and his marriage, then divorce, she’d never really had a chance to make a move.

  That would change tonight.

  Right after he had a chance to digest the news she’d found out about his ex-wife.

  “What has you smiling?” Chris Miller, the Sans Bar and Grill manager asked. He set a package on the table. “Oh. He comes back tonight.”

  “What’s your problem with Wyatt?” she asked, wishing she hadn’t sounded so annoyed. Chris had been a good friend over the years, and he deserved her respect.

  “I don’t have a problem with him, but I don’t understand why you’re pining for a man who doesn’t even notice you exist.” Chris tapped his long fingers over the box.

  “Wyatt and I go way back. It’s not like that with him.” Of course, Wyatt hadn’t noticed her because she hadn’t given him a reason to. When he’d gotten divorced, she had gotten engaged to Reagan, the one and only SEAL she’d ever had a relationship with and one of the reasons she had decided to never date another one again.

  However, she could no longer deny her feelings for Wyatt, and it was high time he knew she cared about him, and not just as a friend.

  “You deserve someone who will appreciate you and spoil you, not treat you like an afterthought,” Chris said.

  Wyatt might not be the most attentive man, but he certainly didn’t treat her poorly. He just kept everyone at a safe distance, and for good reasons. Besides, Chris was still bitter over the fact she and he didn’t hit it off.

  At all.

  And it only took two dates for her to figure that out, but he still hadn’t accepted it.

  New rule: Never date co-workers, especially employees. Chris was the best manager the Sans has had in a long while, and she didn’t want to lose him.

  She curled her fingers around his biceps. “Thank you for looking out for me. But, for the record, I don’t date SEALs. You know that. Wyatt and I are just friends.” For now, but she wasn’t about to confide in Chris, or anyone for that matter.

  If she crashed and burned, no one needed to watch.

  “I care about you.” Chris inched closer.

  She moved back.

  He frowned. “We would be good together.”

  “Chris. I’m sorry. I really am, but we’re better off as friends. I can’t do a relationship right now with anyone.”

  “Because you’re hung up on him,” he muttered. “One of these days you’re going to see that he’s no good for you, and I am, but I’m not going to wait around forever.”

  “I thought you were dating that cute redhead that comes in every once in a while.”

  “We’re friends, and I’ve thought about it,” he said.

  “You should go for it, because you and me as a couple isn’t going to happen. Your friendship is important to me, and I hope we can find a way to migrate back to that type of relationship.”

  “I have to value your honesty.” He nodded, giving her a little smile. “Before I forget, this package was delivered for you during your set.”

  She lifted the box. No return address and it hadn’t been mailed since it only had her name written on it in big bold black letters. “Who dropped it off?”

  “Delivery girl of some kind. I assume a private courier. She had me sign for it.”

  “I’m not expecting anything.” Maybe Wyatt sent her a gift from his latest deployment. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d done something sweet like that. With excitement bubbling across her skin, she took a knife and ripped open the tape. Flipping open the flaps, she peeked
inside.

  “Oh, my God.” She tossed the box to the table and brought her trembling hands to her face, muting her scream.

  Chris tipped the package, dumping out a dismembered Barbie doll with a broken tiny play guitar. “Shit.” He wrapped his arms around her and tucked her head to his chest. “I’ll call the police.”

  “Who would do such a thing?”

  “A sick bastard who has it in for you. I could name at least three weirdos that come in here just to drool over you while you sing.”

  She stepped from Chris’ overly protective embrace and plucked her cell from her back pocket. Snapping a picture of the doll, she sent it to Keanu.

  Clover: This came just now. Calling the cops. DON’T tell Wyatt. I’ll talk to him tonight about it. And DON’T worry and come rushing over. Cops are on the way. See you tonight.

  Keanu had been one of her father’s best friends. He’d also been the last one to see her father alive. He all but died in Keanu’s arms.

  Keanu: I’ll call my cop buddy Dave. Who are you with?

  Clover: Chris is here. Dinner staff is arriving soon.

  Keanu: Make sure they do a sweep of the bar. Hang tight. Don’t go anywhere alone. Got it?

  Clover: Loud and clear.

  “The police are on the way,” Chris said. “I wish I could remember the name of the courier.”

  “What about the hostess?” Clover inspected everyone in the restaurant. A couple of locals sat at the bar, and two families occupied a couple of tables.

  “I let her go early.” Chris looped his arm over her shoulder. “Come on. Let’s sit down over there.” He pointed to a high-top near the front of the bar. “We’ll be able to see when the cops roll in.”

  Her heart pounded against her throat, making it difficult to swallow. “Was there a note or anything?”

  “Didn’t appear to be,” Chris said, pushing a glass of water in front of her. “Would you like me to go look?”

  “Do you mind?”

  “Not at all.” He patted her shoulder. “Drink that, okay?”

  She raised the glass to her lips and swallowed a few gulps. The cold water trickled down her throat, slamming into her stomach.

  “No note,” Chris said. “Can I get you anything else?”

  “I’m okay, thanks.” For the next ten minutes, she sipped the cool liquid and stared out the window, trying not to glance over at the doll with missing limbs. Why would anyone send her a doll? Even if the Barbie had all its limbs still attached, it was an odd gift.

  The door swished open, and two police officers strolled in with their hands looped into their belts. A plain clothes cop followed a couple of steps behind.

  She recognized him as Dave Watson, a good friend of Keanu’s as well as Wyatt. If memory served her correctly, Dave spent six years in the Navy and had gone through bootcamp with Keanu.

  “It’s good to see you again, but not under these circumstances,” Dave said as he made his way to the broken doll. “Who accepted the package?”

  “I did,” Chris said, extending his hand. “A young lady, maybe twenty, with shoulder-length blond hair and blue eyes, I think, dropped it off. She wore black slacks and a red shirt that I thought had some kind of logo on it.”

  “I didn’t ask for all those details.” Dave arched a brow as he glanced between Chris and the doll. “But they will come in handy. Anything else you want to tell me?”

  Chris opened his mouth but then snapped it shut, looking all indignant.

  Clover want to interject, asking Dave to give Chris a break, that he was just trying to be helpful, but that would spur Chris on to be more overbearing and protective, and that was the last thing Clover wanted.

  “What did this girl say?” Dave asked as he took pictures of the doll and all its broken pieces.

  “Just that she had a package for Clover, and she made me sign for it on a tablet of some kind,” Chris said.

  “Do you normally get packages at work?” Dave asked as he snapped on gloves and studied the box.

  One of the officers stood by the door, not allowing anyone in or out.

  “We get all sorts of deliveries,” Chris said.

  “That question was directed at Clover.” Dave pointed to the other police officer who held up a plastic bag.

  “I’ve been known to order things and have them shipped here, and friends have sent me things to the bar before.” She stood next to Chris with her arms folded across her chest. A cool shiver prickled her spine.

  “Does the doll represent or mean anything special to you?” After Dave put everything in plastic evidence bags, he handed it to the police officer.

  “I used to play with Barbies when I was a kid, but that’s about it.” Clover shook her head. “Why would someone send me a broken doll with a smashed tiny toy guitar?”

  “What kind of enemies do you have? Ex-boyfriends with an axe to grind. Or past employees. Jealous people in the industry.”

  She pinched the bridge of her nose. “I had to fire a waitress last week for stealing, but other than that, I can’t think of anyone. I pretty much keep to myself and do my thing.”

  “We’ll check out the waitress. Can you make me a list of anyone who you might have pissed off or who has reason to want to scare or hurt you?”

  “It will be a short list.”

  “Take a little time and think about it. Even the smallest of fights could have huge consequences. So, even if you believe someone would never do something like this, but you had a disagreement with them of any kind, I want them on that list, okay?”

  “Okay,” she said softly.

  “Do you mind if we interview everyone in the bar before we leave?” Dave asked.

  “I’d rather you not—”

  She interrupted Chris. “Do what you need to, just please explain to my customers they have nothing to worry about.”

  “We’ll let you know what we find out. In the meantime, be on the lookout, and if anything else happens, call 9-1-1 and have them call me.” He handed her a business card.

  “Thank you,” she said.

  “My pleasure. Say hello to Keanu and Wyatt for me.”

  “They will be here a little later,” she said.

  “Good.” Dave shoved his hands into his trousers and headed toward the bar.

  “That’s it? That’s all he’s going to do?” The words tumbled out of Chris’ mouth as more of a statement and not a question. “He’s not taking this seriously at all. They should be putting a protection detail on you or something.” Chris shook his head. “Maybe you should stay with me until this is over.”

  She bit down on her tongue to keep from laughing. “That’s over the top. I’ll be fine.” She took a step toward her office.

  Chris grabbed her arm. “Clover, someone threatened you, and I’m not about to let anything happen to you. So, if you’re not going to stay with me, I’ll camp out at your house.”

  “You will do no such thing,” she said firmly. If she were to ask anyone for that kind of protection, it would be a trained professional. “I appreciate that you care, but I’m a big girl, and I will make sure I’m safe. I need you to do your job and run my restaurant, and if that courier comes back, let me and the cops know. Just keep an eye out here, okay?”

  Chris squeezed her forearm with a gentle, kind touch. “I can do that but promise me you won’t blow this off.”

  “Trust me, I won’t,” she said. “Now, I’ve got some work to do in my office.”

  No sooner did she get settled at her desk behind her laptop than her phone buzzed.

  Wyatt: Keanu told me what happened, and I’m going to assume you walked to work. Consider me your personal bodyguard for the evening.

  Her thumbs hovered over the screen. A warmth spread over her skin like a melting marshmallow, all gooey and sweet.

  Don’t do it.

  Oh, bloody hell. What did she have to lose?

  Clover: My body would love to be guarded by you…and maybe something else...

&nb
sp; The little bubble appeared, indicating the promise of a response.

  It disappeared and reappeared five times before her phone buzzed with a response.

  Wyatt: Are you flirting with me?

  She laughed. Damn straight she was.

  Clover: See you when you get here. My body is waiting.

  Wyatt: My guarding is coming.

  Wyatt: That came out the wrong way. See you soon.

  Chapter 2

  The smell of burnt popcorn and fresh beer assaulted Navy SEAL Wyatt Johnson’s nose the second he stepped into the Sans Bar and Grill, reminding him that there was no place like home, especially after a month-long training deployment.

  But it was the sweet music of Clover Sullivan that soothed his aching soul. Her voice glided across his ears like hot syrup mixing with butter on a fluffy stack of pancakes. She sat up on the small stage and graced everyone with her vocal presence. She’d grown into a beautiful and strong woman, but Wyatt always knew she would, no matter what the world tossed in her direction. She had an old soul, a free spirit, and a heart made of gold.

  “Every time I see her, it brings it all back,” his task commander, Lt. Keanu Kalen, said as he took a seat at a table reserved for the rest of the eight-man squad. Keanu, like every other SEAL Wyatt knew, had his own baggage he carried around like a badge of honor.

  “Her father was a good man.” Wyatt had first met Clover when she was in middle school when he served with her father, Colorado. She’d been a starry-eyed twelve-year-old, and Wyatt had been a twenty-two-year-old young man with an ego the size of Texas. He’d walked onto Colorado’s team with a chip on his shoulder, but Colorado soon put him in his place. He had taught Wyatt humility, honor, and had been there with Wyatt when his precious baby boy had died eight years ago and the subsequent shitshow that happened shortly after with his ex-wife.