“She’s been compromised you need to get her out,” Ben ordered Liam.
“It’s not that simple.”
“With a woman it never is.” A hint of a smile began to form.
If Cora was involved with Alejandro none of them were safe. And if someone was watching her house they knew of her connection to them. Cora was in danger. She needed to be moved somewhere else. Same with Hannah. He had a feeling asking Hannah to hide would be easier than asking Cora.
“Especially with Cora. She’s stubborn and refuses to leave her house.”
“Use that charm you keep telling us you have. Make her if you must. If Alejandro gets his hands on her I don’t have to tell you what would happen to her.” He didn’t want to scare Liam but they had all seen what happens to Alejandro’s victims. Cora needed to go somewhere safe now.
Liam nodded his headed. “Where’s Hannah?”
“She’s talking to Cora right now. Hopefully, she has better luck convincing your woman to leave.”
“She’s not mine,” Liam said absently, but they all ignored him. Cora was his no matter what he said. Liam didn’t want anyone but Cora. It was only a matter of time before they were back together.
“Are you bringing Hannah back here or somewhere else?” Hound asked Ben.
“I don’t feel it’s safe enough for her to be here right now. I tried leaving her at her parents but she refused. Said she wanted to see this thing through to the end. I was hoping we would stay at your place.”
“You don’t even have to ask.” Hound’s house was more of a fortress. It sat on several acres with high fences and more cameras and security than the Pentagon. He had one cluster of trees on the side of the property otherwise it was completely exposed. It made it harder for someone to sneak up on him. One would think he was protecting state secrets but he just liked security. Retinal and hand scanners were needed to enter any part of the property. It was the one place Ben knew Hannah would feel safest. If the security wasn't enough the armory with more weapons than any person needed would do the trick. It was almost scary the number of weapons he had.
"Good, once Hannah finishes with her visit with Cora we'll head your way."
"I'll head home now and get things ready." Hound rarely had guests as he lived outside of town.
Ben waited for Hound to leave before turning his attention back on Liam. "I'm not kidding with Cora. She needs to either come to Hound’s or somewhere on base where Alejandro can't reach her."
"I'm working on it."
"Work faster. We don't have the luxury of time. Commander Jones called me after we landed. We have a mission. We leave in a week."
Liam rubbed the back of his neck. "Not the best timing."
"It never is. Do what you can. If she refuses to leave we can have the team take shifts to watch her."
Hannah opened the door and paused at seeing the two of them in an intense conversation. Ben’s stance relaxed at seeing her but went on alert again seeing her red eyes.
"Goldilocks, what's wrong?" He dismissed Liam and pulled Hannah close to him. Seeing her cry was like taking a bullet to the chest.
"I tried to warn her to leave but she refused. I told her what happened to me. I didn't mention Alejandro." She shuddered against his chest. Ben pulled her closer to him as if it would protect her. "Liam will protect her, won't he?"
"With his life," Ben answered without hesitation. "For now, we are going to stay at Hound’s until this is over. Someone has been watching our house and Cora's."
Hannah pulled back to look up at him. "What about Cora? She's refusing to leave."
"Liam is trying to convince her. If he can't we'll all take shifts watching her."
"I'm scared, Ben."
Ben pulled her back to his chest resting his chin on top of her head. "There's nothing to fear. He'll never take you again. I'll always protect you, Goldilocks. I would die for you.”
“Don't even joke about that.”
“Who's joking?” He wasn’t. He would take a bullet for her. No questions asked. She was everything to him.
“Ben,” she choked. “I'd rather you live.”
“And that's what I intend to do. I won't let anything happen to you, Goldilocks.” He stroked her hair, soothing her fears. She didn’t doubt his skills to fight Alejandro’s men. She was just tired of living in fear. He would put an end to that soon. “You're not getting rid of me that easily.”
Hannah squeezed him tight around his middle. “I don't want to get rid of you. I want us to grow old together.”
Ben kissed the top of her head. “I have every intention of doing so.”
"And if you have to leave on a mission before he's captured?" Now there was the million-dollar question. One he didn’t have an easy answer for as they did, in fact, have a mission they were leaving for in a week. “You are leaving soon. Aren’t you?”
He couldn’t lie to her. He would never lie to her. “We are. I’m going to call Bulldog and see if he can help us. He wanted in on the capture of the mole but the timing didn’t work out.”
“Bulldog?” Hannah asked in question. “Was he part of the other team that was there when you rescued me?”
“He was,”
“If you trust, I trust him.” Ben smiled down at her. What did he ever do to deserve this woman? Her unwavering faith in him never ceased to amaze him. He knew she had to be scared and yet she
