Closely Guarded (Alpha Agency Protectors Book 7) Read online

  Alpha Agency Protectors 7

  Closely Guarded

  By:

  Scarlett Winters

  Copyright 2020 Scarlett Winters

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any way or by any means. Including but not limited to recording, photocopying, any electronic methods, without the prior written consent of the publisher. This book is strictly a work of fiction, any references to persons, places or things are all completely fictional.

  Warning: This book is for adult audiences.

  Contents

  JOIN MY NEWSLETTER

  Chapter 1- Nick

  Chapter 2- Claire

  Chapter 3- Nick

  Chapter 4- Claire

  Chapter 5- Nick

  Chapter 6- Claire

  Chapter 7- Nick

  Chapter 8- Claire

  Chapter 9- Nick

  Chapter 10- Claire

  More Books By Scarlett Winters:

  Join my Facebook group!

  You’ll get special updates, new release dates, free books, prizes, and it’s just fun!

  JOIN MY NEWSLETTER

  Click anywhere to sign up! You’ll get free books, updates on new releases, cover reveals, and much more!

  ALSO FOLLOW ME ON AMAZON

  TO GET THE LATEST AND GREATEST RELEASES AS THEY COME OUT.

  Bestselling Author Scarlett Winters.

  If you love steamy romance-short stories, with insta love, dominant alpha males, and happily ever after endings with no cliff hangers, just feel good and spicy. Then you will love my stories! I love to interact with my amazing readers and can’t wait to get to know you!

  Chapter 1- Nick

  I almost can’t believe that this day has finally come.

  Today, my best friend Zach Jeffries and I are taking the first steps in becoming members of the United States Air Force. We graduated from high school a few weeks ago, but that excitement was eclipsed by the letters we had both received a few weeks prior: Our applications had been accepted, and we would be heading to Little Rock, Arkansas to start our training.

  We’re going through the usual logistics that apply to all bus rides: Attendance, loading bags, families milling about to say goodbye. My folks are over on the other side of the public parking lot talking to Zach’s parents by their minivan.

  Zach and I are introducing ourselves to some of the other guys who have come to load up. There’s an air of proud excitement surrounding all of us. We’re going to go serve our country. Some of us may even make a name for ourselves along the way. That’s what Zach and I plan to do. One day, we’re going to be known as General Zachary Jeffries and General Nicholas Howard.

  But that day is a long way off. I’m sure we’ll get there, though— the both of us.

  Zach and I have been best friends since kindergarten. We do everything together, so entering the Air Force is no different. I don’t know what will happen if, for some reason, we get separated during training or when we’re assigned to our first official mission after that. To be quite honest, the thought makes me nervous.

  We both have other friends, sure, but it feels like I’ve known him my whole life. Zach and I had decided we would be best friends before either of us really understood what that meant, how important and strong that bond could be.

  I’m over at his house just as much as he’s at mine. Our parents have come to accept that where one of us is, the other is probably following. It’s not always just the two of us though. Zach’s little sister Claire is often right there with us.

  Claire’s a sweet girl, and really smart. Even though she’s thirteen, I know that Zach’s nervous about not being there for her if she needs him. Even though we’re not even leaving the state for our training, it’s only a matter of time before we could be stationed literally anywhere in the world, and have minimal opportunities to contact our families stateside.

  It’s the one thing that Zach and I disagree about. I think that he’s too overprotective of her. She’s growing up; he needs to let her. He says that I don’t understand because I don’t have siblings. Zach told me a few years ago that his mom had some trouble when she was in labor with Claire that left her very weak.

  The doctors got her taken care of, and she’s healthy and happy now, but in those early days no one was really sure what was going to happen. As Zach tells it, his dad spent a lot of time at her bedside and the nurses let him stay with his new baby sister in the hospital nursery. When his dad would check in on them, he would tell Zach that he needed him to take care of his baby sister while he took care of their mom.

  I’ll never tell him this, but Zach was so young when his father told him that… I think it’s become part of who he is, his core personality. There’s going to come a day where she doesn’t need him as much. That’s hard for Zach to accept.

  For now though, Claire is navigating her way through the crowd towards us, a big smile on her face and a Tupperware box in her hands. Zach and I step away from the guys we were introducing ourselves to and meet her.

  “Hey there little sis, what’s all that?” Zach ruffled Claire’s hair and she darts away to stand next to me.

  “I made you guys cookies for the bus ride.” She holds up the container and Zach and I both ooh and ahh over it. The kid loves sweets and baked goods, and Zach and I are all too happy to reap the benefits of that by eating anything and everything that’s put in front of us. What? We’re growing boys!

  Soon, we’re interrupted by the announcement that it’s time to load up and leave. The three of us wander over to meet with both of our parents and hugs are exchanged all around. I might be imagining it, but the hug Claire gives me seems extra tight as we say goodbye. Her whisper of “take care” is almost lost among the chorus of others saying their own goodbyes that surround us. Claire is still watching and waving along with both sets of our parents as Zach and I load up on the bus.

  As we settle into our seats, I turn to face my best friend. “You ready for this?” I ask him.

  “Hell yes!”

  I’m practically vibrating with energy as we sit waiting for the bus to roll out and take us on the biggest adventure of our lives.

  Chapter 2- Claire

  Five years later…

  The smell of scented candles makes me nervous.

  They didn’t used to. When I was younger, I used to love wandering into the home goods section of various stores, closing my eyes, and picking out a candle. I’d try and identify what scent it was. There’s no comparing a sugar cookie scented candle with the real thing, but I enjoyed it. I would imagine the house that I would live in when I’m all grown up, candles and pillows in every room, big picture windows and a fancy kitchen.

  Now, though… now things are different. Now, all I want to do is feel safe in my own apartment, never mind being comfortable or having fancy throw pillows.

  I still live in Hot Springs, Arkansas, where I grew up, but after I graduated from high school, I rented an apartment. It’s pretty small, but super close to the café I work at. I hadn’t planned to move out of my parents’ house, but I felt like I had to. Not because of my parents—they’re wonderful! I just felt like I needed some distance from them, for their own safety.

  The problem is, I’ve got a stalker. It sounds self-centered, claiming to have a stalker: Someone wants me so much that they follow me? But it’s the only thing that I can call him. It’s what he does, after all. Call me, follow me… stalk me.

  His name is Leonard Drisdale, but he tells everyone to call him Lenny. He was a grade ahead of me in high school, so we only shared one or two classes
here and there. I didn’t have a lot of friends in school, but I had people I hung out with before and after classes. I tried dating a little bit, but none of the boys I ever went out with made it past a first date. None of them were who I really wanted.

  Lenny was one of the boys that I went out on a first date with. All we did was go and get pizza after school one afternoon. It wasn’t very exciting and the conversation was boring. I thanked him anyways and was polite in saying that, while I had a nice enough time, I really didn’t want to go on another date with him.

  The few other boys that I had said the same thing to had been understanding. Some had asked if there was anything they could do to change my mind, but took me at my word when I said no. Others asked if we could still talk during class or work on homework projects together.

  Lenny though…he didn’t take my polite decline for another date nearly as well as the others. It started innocently enough. He would call or text me a lot, ask me out again and I’d politely decline. He would accept, but jokingly say how he’d have to try again later. After that, he never left me alone. He was always calling or texting, then it was leaving notes in my school locker. He even got a note into my locker in the girls’ locker room.

  I thought it would be fine once he graduated. I’d be going into my senior year and he would be off to college or a job or find something else to focus on, something that wasn’t me. That’s not what happened. If anything, it got so much worse.

  He was calling and texting me multiple times a day, asking why I was ignoring him, why I wouldn’t talk to him. It got so bad that I changed my phone number and told everyone that I had been getting a lot of wrong numbers.

  One day, just a few weeks before my high school graduation, Lenny came to my family’s house. When my mother casually asked who he was, he lied and told her that he was in a class with me.

  He left when she told him that I was at the library. But the only reason that he left was so that he could go to the library himself and try to talk to me. That’s the day that I decided to move out as soon as I graduated. I was scared that he would keep showing up at the house. He didn’t threaten my parents or anything like that, but… I just got such a bad feeling about the whole situation.

  Maybe I should have called the police, but I didn’t have anything to really tell them about. Technically, I don’t know if Lenny’s done anything that can be considered illegal. Besides, this isn’t something that I want my family to find out about, especially my brother. If Zach finds out, he’ll probably leave the Air Force and move back home to watch over me.

  Don’t get me wrong, I love my big brother. I admire him so much for choosing to serve our country. He just sometimes seems to forget that I’m not a baby or young child who needs constant supervision and protection from the world.

  If I tell him that I’m in trouble, that I really may need some help… well. I know I should tell him, but I want to be able to deal with this myself. I want to feel like I can handle this, that I’m independent and strong enough on my own.

  But wanting something and it actually happening are two different things.

  The sight of a blueberry scone scented candle on my doormat is proof enough of that.

  What really gets me this time is that the candle is lit. I live on the second floor and this apartment is very cheap, so there’s no outside security or code that you need to get into the main building. I hadn’t thought that would be a problem.

  It wasn’t like I advertised my move or told anyone, really. I don’t know how Lenny found out, but about a week after I had settled into my new apartment, he started leaving gifts outside my door and calling again. He’d found out that I like baking back when we were in high school, so I think he’s trying to win me over by giving me things that he thinks I would like. The gifts he left are these scented candles.

  He’s never actually lit one before though.

  They are always in scents like mango twist, cinnamon apple pie, berry and basil. Thankfully, the smell is never the same as what the genuine ingredient or food smells like—the smells are all overlaid by the cloy of heavy wax and artificial chemical preservative. They’re always different brands and colors and sizes. And they’re not cheap either.

  That’s one of the things that makes me especially nervous about Lenny, wondering how he has the money for this and the time to leave these “gifts” at my door and call me. Doesn’t he have to work? Wouldn’t someone at his job be upset that he was constantly on the phone?

  I quickly crouch down to blow it out and glance around the fall. The smoke detector is down the way, but what if I wasn’t home? The candle could have triggered the alarms and scared everyone. Or worse, what if it got knocked over? It’s small enough, the blue glass jar blending into the grey carpeting—a neighbor could accidentally trip over it and a fire could break out.

  When I go to pick the candle up, it’s not very hot at all and there isn’t a lot of melted wax floating around at the wick. That means that it must have been lit very recently; the glass the candle is poured into isn’t hot either. Lenny was here very recently, at my home… with a lighter.

  I almost drop the candle in my haste to get back inside my apartment and deadbolt the door. I slide the chain for good measure and shakily set the candle in the sink. I’ll throw it out in a public trash can on my way over to my parent’s house this afternoon.

  They’re having a big get together at the house in honor of Zach coming home from the Air Force for a little while. He arrived home a couple of days ago and we got to meet up for breakfast at the café where I work. That had an added bonus: He got to try some of the baked goods I’ve been experimenting with.

  The owner of the café is a sweet older woman who lets me offer the deserts and breads that I bake as specials. I typically use the café kitchen and she allows for me to keep half of the profits from the goods that I make and sell. It’s a very generous arrangement, as I also get to know what the customers think of what I’ve made. So far, all of the reviews that I’ve received have been positive. That makes me so happy—I hope to have my own bakery or café one day, and knowing that people like what I bake tells me that I’m doing something right, that one day, I could really make a career out of doing what I love.

  I couldn’t quite tell what Zach thought of the coffee cake that I made. He was happy to eat it but didn’t say much either way as to whether or not he actually liked it. He made some joke about the Air Force never feeding him enough, but I remember him being like that when we were kids, too.

  My brother will eat just about anything. I was so happy to see him safe and sound that I didn’t even complain! The last time he was home was over a year ago, and that was just for a couple of days on a holiday. This time, he’ll be home for several weeks! He’s stayed in contact with me and our parents, but video-chatting, emails, texts—none of that is the same as getting to hug my big brother.

  I know that I had the perfect chance to tell him about Lenny, but I didn’t. This whole thing will wrap up on its own. He’ll lose interest in me and I can go back not looking over my shoulder all the time. Things will be okay. They have to be.

  Chapter 3- Nick

  Whoever decided that beer, barbeque, and apple pie was the classic representation of an American family’s summer was a genius. It really is.

  Zach and I are home on leave, so his folks decide to throw a get together. They invited friends, coworkers, family neighbors—if Zach or I were on good terms with them, they were here. Seeing everyone again is great, even if we both have to field a lot of questions. Me more so than Zach—it seems like the word has gotten around that the government is sending me off to school on a continued education leave.

  I’m grateful for it. As a fresh faced kid heading off to basic training with my best friend at my side, I was so foolish. I thought that being in the military would be a huge adventure. As I’ve matured, it has become an honor and a privilege to serve.

  “Adventure” isn’t the right word to use at a
ll to describe what happens on missions or in the field though. In my time in the Air Force, I’ve seen guys get so hurt—and I wanted to help, but I didn’t know how to do that. Sure, I could help the injured get to safety and it was seen as something incredibly brave, but that never felt like doing enough.

  It was a field medic who told me that I’d be good in the medical field, whether it be as a medic like them or as a full blown doctor. I approached my commanding officer, who took me to our supervisors and a few months later, I was enrolled in school with plans for rigorous medical training.

  That’s not until the fall though. So for now, I get to sit back, shoot the shit with people I haven’t gotten to see in years, and eat some awesome food. What they serve on base is nowhere near as bad as the movies make it out to be, but nothing beats home-made rolls, fresh from the oven.

  I’m heading back to the picnic table that’s set up next to the Jeffries’ deck when I see her, standing next to some flowers and sipping iced tea.

  Even though this woman’s back is to me, I can tell that she is absolutely gorgeous. She’s got on this navy sundress that hugs her curves in all the right places. She reminds me of an old-fashioned pin up model from the nineteen fifties. Waves of shiny dark hair are partially tied back with a white ribbon.

  For the life of me, I can’t figure out who she is. Maybe a new neighbor? I really hope she isn’t somebody’s girlfriend. Food forgotten, I make my way over to introduce myself. When I rest my hand on her shoulder and she spins around in a swirl of blue, I get the shock of my life. I would know those wide navy eyes anywhere.

  It’s Claire.

  Zach’s kid sister Claire Jeffries. Only… she’s hardly a little kid anymore. She’s grown in to a very attractive young woman. Somehow, she’s even more beautiful from the front. I was right about my earlier comparison: With that hourglass body, pale skin, and dark hair, she looks like she should be modeling in Old Hollywood.