Guarding Cora

(Untitled)

Liam cursed himself as he walked back to his car. He shouldn’t have asked her out. He scared her. Cora had a legitimate reason for leaving him five months ago, and circumstances hadn’t changed. So why had he asked her out?

Because he still cared for her.

When he had met her at Ben’s house over a year ago, he felt an instant connection to her. Ben, was a fellow Delta Force operative and they had been stationed together for many years. He was more than just a co-worker, he was his brother. Ben knew that Liam had felt an instant connection to his neighbor and encouraged it. He had never met a woman like her before. She fit him in a way that defied reason. He spent every available moment he had with her, and it still had never been enough. But he had obligations he couldn’t put aside, and it wasn’t fair of him to ask Cora to bear his burdens. So, when she left him, he let her. It had been the best and hardest decision of his life.

He figured after a five-month separation the sight of her wouldn’t affect him the same, but he had been wrong. When his commander had attacked her, adrenaline had kicked in, and he hadn’t had a chance to look her over. Standing at her door and seeing her brought all his old feelings back to the surface with a vengeance. His mind told him to walk away and leave her alone like she had asked, but his heart wanted her any way it could get her. He didn’t feel whole without her. Since she left, he had just been going through the motions. Train, work, train, work. Sometimes he drove past her house on his way home, though it was out of his way. He made sure Ben kept an eye on her too but with Ben and Hannah out of town it fell on him to keep an eye on her. He was even more worried now with Alejandro being sighted in California and setting up a base somewhere along the coast. Liam had no doubt they hadn’t seen the last of the man, and the guy wanted Hannah. If their commander had been working with Alejandro could he know about Cora? It wasn’t likely, but he didn’t want to take any chances. The sooner the threat was dealt with, the better.

Liam did a sweep of the street with his eyes, a habit, before getting in his car when he noticed a car parked in front of Ben’s house facing Cora’s. Liam didn’t recognize the car, and it was too dark for him to see if there was anyone inside of it. He memorized the plates and got in his car before calling Hound, their I.T. guy. If you needed something tracked down, he was your guy.

“How’d it go?” Hound answered the phone. Liam had told Hound that he was going to check up on Cora earlier. Hound had offered to go in his place since Cora had been less receptive to Liam’s help before and she might respond better to him. Liam declined, feeling Cora was his responsibility. Just because they weren’t dating anymore didn’t mean he didn’t still care for her.

“Well, she didn’t slam the door in my face, so I’d call that a win.” Maybe not a win but it was progress. In the past, if she saw him she would turn away and flee him. It hurt, but he accepted it. He was the one who pushed her away first.

“She was already home she couldn’t run away. How is she holding up?”

Liam pulled away from the curb and drove slowly past the parked car. He still couldn’t see anyone, but that didn’t mean someone wasn’t in there. Was he just being paranoid? He didn’t think so. His instincts still told him Alejandro was far from done with them and would be after them again soon. He may be trying to get established here in the States, but that didn’t mean he forgot about them. The man had gotten to their commander, who knew how many other high officials he had in his pockets. “She says she’s fine, but I can see otherwise.”

“Let me guess; she doesn’t want your concern or help.”

“Pretty much.” Liam understood her hostility towards him but what she went through with their former commander shouldn’t be taken lightly. Cora liked to live in her own little bubble sometimes that nothing existed outside of her house. No one had told her why the commander was trying to take Hannah, but Cora hadn’t stuck around to find out. He needed to explain things to her and tell her to keep an eye out. With Ben gone she usually checked in on his house. If someone was watching his house and saw her coming and going, she could be a person of interest, and they would take her in a heartbeat. “I need you to run a plate. There was a car parked outside of Ben’s house, and it wasn’t one I’ve seen before.”

“You would know, you stalker,” Hound mumbled softly, but Liam could still hear him. “Hit me with the plate number.” He said louder.

Liam gave him the number listening to the clicking sounds of the keyboard in the background. Depending on the car and if it was stolen some results came in faster than others.

“I’m running it through the system we should have a result in a few hours.” A few hours could be the difference between life and death, but Liam knew he couldn’t push for faster results.

“I’ll stay down here then and keep an eye on her.” Liam looked around for a place he could turn around and head back to Cora’s house. He didn’t like that she was all alone. She may be the daughter of two Marines, but that didn’t mean she could outmaneuver Alejandro’s army. They had barely gotten out of the man’s clutches, and they were highly trained. He wouldn’t take any chances with her life.

“Calm down, Sunshine,” Hound said exasperatedly. “For all we know, she is off his radar and is perfectly safe. Sleeping in your car in front of her house like a creeper is not going to help her. If we get evidence that Alejandro is making a move on her, then, you can swoop in like a knight in shining armor and save her. Though she might punch you for the effort.”

It wasn’t far from the truth. Cora was a far cry from a delicate flower. She refused help even when she needed it and snapped at anyone who tried to help her. “You expect me to just wait?” He didn’t like that plan at all.

“I do. As of right now, we don’t know what our enemy is doing. The less contact you have with Cora right now, the better. If they are watching Ben’s house and see her with you, it puts her in danger. If they see her check on the house, they may think that she is doing just that and not connected to us. I have surveillance on the house and the block, if they make a move on her, I’ll know.” It didn’t appease him, but Liam knew there wasn’t much he could do right now.

“So now we just sit and wait.” He hated waiting. He was a man of action.

“For now. Ex-commander Brady is being interrogated day after tomorrow. Maybe he can shed some light on things. Just give Cora the space she wants.” Liam knew there was nothing else for him to do. He couldn’t go back to Cora without getting kicked out. And if Ben’s house was being watched he would put Cora at risk.

“Thanks, Hound.”

“Anytime.”