Baby Love (The American Soldier Collection 14)

“What do you know about her? Zinc never mentioned having a sister. We did a shit load of jobs with him and served a couple of tours, too. Who the hell is she, and where did she come from?” Freeman asked.

“She’s worked as a manager for Bailey’s and the Copper Pot, Viktor and his team’s clubs, for a couple of years,” Corona said.

“At least that’s what Viktor told me. I have more information on her, but nothing out of the ordinary. She’s young, works hard, and was close to Zinc. I sent a picture of her to each of your phones. Viktor and his family are not taking any chances. Apparently the same night that Zinc was killed, some guy came into the club and asked one of the bartenders which woman was Zinc’s sister. One of the guys working security noticed he was carrying and kept his eyes on him. The guy left soon after. No one knows what that was about, why the guy was looking for Nina or asking for Zinc’s sister, and they aren’t taking it as coincidence. It’s the least we can do, watching over her.”

“Apparently we weren’t close enough to Zinc for him to have mentioned her to us. I’ve been to the club before. Zinc was there, too, and he never pointed her out,” Atlanta replied.

“Hey, maybe he was trying to protect her. After all, he did do some crazy shit for the bosses. He was a good man and a great soldier, and she’s in mourning,” Corona said, and they got silent.

“She’s not really in any danger. It’s just precaution,” Corona continued. “Viktor and his team are watching over Nalia, now that they finally located her. The family doesn’t know who we’re trying to hide from or what they’re after, other than to kill Karlicov and his daughter. Was this hit on Zinc and Cobra connected to Karlicov, or is it something else? We don’t know. We can handle this. She’ll be our guest in the house, and in a week or so, we can get together with Team Thirteen and Nalia. Our biggest problem is dealing with the fact that Nina will be mourning her brother. That was the only family she had left.”

They all nodded and got quiet. So much for starting a much-needed vacation stress-free. Instead, they were babysitting a woman ten years younger than they. This could go south quickly. Hopefully they wouldn’t be responsible for her for too long.

“I know her,” Freeman said as he looked at his cell phone. He rubbed his jaw and looked at Corona.

“Don’t tell me you slept with her,” Corona said, straight-faced. From what he’d read up about the young woman—and she was young, twenty-three—she was a workaholic. She rented a small apartment in a nice area and didn’t have much of a social life outside of the club.

“No, but I won’t lie. I wanted to. I was there with some friends, and we started talking with her. I flirted. She didn’t bite, but then she walked away to talk to some guy who looked like a big shot. Then you called, and we left for the mission. She was really sweet. I was waiting for her to finish up her conversation with the guy. I never got to say anything to her,” Freeman added and then stared at her picture.

“Is this going to be a problem?” Corona asked.

Freeman looked at him and then glanced at the others. Corona saw the picture of Nina. She was very attractive and petite, with big, bold brown eyes, long brown hair, and a sexy figure. She was hot, like some model, yet seemed to look professional. He had asked around and heard she was tough, shy, and pretty quiet, but a hard worker, too. He got a funny sensation in his gut.

“No. It won’t be a problem. She seemed like the commitment type of woman, and our professions don’t allow that. I’ll be fine, and more than likely, she won’t remember me.”

“She probably won’t. A woman like that could snap her fingers and have a different man falling over her. I’ve seen those types. The people who work the nightclubs think differently. She probably hooked up with some other guy that night.” Atlanta leaned back in the chair, chewing on a toothpick. Though he was inside, he still wore his sunglasses.

“No. Not this one, Atlanta. Definitely not a one-night-stand kind of woman,” Freeman said, and they all got quiet.

* * * *

“Are you sure, Viktor?” Nina asked as she held his hand and he introduced her to the men who would be watching over her. It was all so nerve-wracking, meeting men she didn’t know at an airport hangar and getting ready to go with them to some place in Texas on Viktor’s private jet. She felt so on edge and yet numb to everything that had taken place the last forty-eight hours. She looked at the men as Viktor held her hand.

They were intimidating to say the least, especially the guy Corona, who gave off the whole leader-and-disciplinary vibe, big time. He had dark brown hair slicked back on the sides, and it almost hit his shoulders. His firm jaw and the light scruff along his skin made him look ready to kill. Maybe she was imagining things because she knew they were soldiers. Viktor had mentioned Special Forces. Why would she need such protection? She had asked, and he said it was precaution—that after everything going on with Nalia, none of them were taking chances. She got the feeling that Viktor was in love with Nalia. She’d heard him and Cosivan say they couldn’t wait to get back to her.

As she was introduced to each of the men, she immediately recognized one, Freeman. Holy God, did she remember him. She’d thought about him a bunch of times after they met that crazy night at Bailey’s. She knew a lot of soldiers and even “made men,” as people liked to refer to men involved with organized crime. A lot of them hung out at the clubs, so when he’d disappeared, she figured it was a good thing. A man as attractive and charismatic as he was that night would have had her in his bed in no time, and she was a virgin. He was the kind of man she would give that to, even if it meant nothing. He was that striking. Thank God she hadn’t, or this would be pretty damn awkward. She figured the best thing to do was to pretend she didn’t even remember him.

“They’re good men, Nina. Well-trained, very loyal to our family, and personal friends of mine. It will be temporary while my team and I work things out with Nalia and where we’ll be living and when we can all head back to Chicago. There’s unfinished business.”

“Why would I be in any danger? All I did was manage the club. No one even knew that Zinc was my brother.”

“It’s precaution, and if we find that it’s safe to return to Chicago, then Corona and his team will get you back there. I just want to make sure you’re safe. Zinc and I were close, and he would do the same for me if I had a sister.”

She swallowed hard. “But right now, you’ll be near this place, Salvation?” Nina asked.

“Yes. Not too far from where you’ll be living until this is over. Then you can meet Nalia and help to make one another feel more comfortable with the situation. You’ll love her, and you’ll get along great. I’m certain.” Viktor cupped her cheek.

She nodded. “Okay, I guess,” she whispered.

“Nina, I know you’re scared, but you can trust these men. They’re U.S. soldiers, and this is what they do. They were planning a bit of a vacation from everything and offered their services immediately. You’ll go with them. They knew Zinc and Cobra well. I trust them.”

She looked at Corona, the one Viktor had said was their leader. He was big, very fit and brawny with tattoos and looked ready for action like some G.I Joe. He even had the large, wide shoulders and the thick muscles.

“Okay, Viktor, I trust you.”

Viktor gave her a nod, and then he looked at Corona. “We’ll be heading back to the house in Salvation tomorrow. Maybe in a few days, once you’re all settled in, you can bring her by the house to meet Nalia. I think it would be great for both of them.”

“Whatever you think is right. We’ll do our best to protect her.”