Chapter One
Ben Kozlowski was a Marine with money. But it hadn't made
him a happy man. The inheritance from his wealthy oilman
grandfather had made him feel somewhat guilty when he'd
first heard about it. After all, he'd done nothing to
deserve it.
But that guilt was nothing compared to the guilt that had
driven him into this honky-tonk just off the North
Carolina Interstate, in a town called Pine Hills. He
wasn't there to drown his sorrows in the bottom of a
bottle of whiskey, tempting as that might sound. No, he
was here looking for a woman.
And not just any woman. He was here to find Ellie Jensen.
A neighbor at her apartment building said she was at work
and had given him the name of this place.
Ben had been in plenty of bars during the course of his
adult life, from cantinas in South America to exotic dives
in Asia. Each had their own unique smell blended with the
customary tobacco smoke. This particular place seemed to
specialize in the scent of burnt onions. A big chalkboard
on the wall proclaimed that Al's Place made burgers the
way you wanted them - hot and juicy. And apparently
dripping with onions.
The place was crowded, with country music blaring from a
jukebox in the corner. Guys wearing jeans and T-shirts
pressed their beerbellies against the bar, barely able to
fit onto the stools provided. They sported a variety of
baseball caps advertising various brands of their favorite
malt liquor beverage.
The rest of the room had booths around the perimeter and
tables placed wherever they'd fit, not leaving much room
for the servers to get by.
Which seemed to suit the clientele just fine.
Ben could understand the appeal. The females - and all the
servers were female - were dressed in short, tight denim
skirts and skimpy tank tops. The closer the servers got,
the easier it was for the customers to cop a feel.
Ben tugged out the well-worn photo and fingered the sweet
face displayed there. John Riley had been one of Ben's
closest friends and Ellie was John's sister, his only
family.
Take care of my sister. Promise me you'll take care of my
sister. Ben had held John in his arms as he lay mortally
wounded by friendly fire and he'd sworn he'd take care of
his friend's sister.
So here he was.
And there she was. He spotted her across the smoke-filled
room. She was struggling to balance a tray filled with
heavy beer mugs while avoiding the unwanted advances of a
customer.
Ben was at her side a second later. "Let the lady go."
His tone of voice, that of a Marine who meant business,
got the customer's attention despite the fact that he'd
had a few too many brews. But it didn't make him obey the
order. "Who're you?" the guy slurred.
"I'm the man who's going to make you sorry you were born
if you don't let her go right now."
This time the guy not only paid attention, he obeyed.
Holding up his hands in the international signal of
surrender, he said, "Hey bud, I didn't mean nothing by
it."
Ben ignored the man and instead focused his attention on
Ellie. She'd hurried on to another table, depositing the
beers as quickly as she could before returning to the bar
for another order.
She had incredibly long legs and a graceful way of moving.
Her dark hair was pinned up as if she'd tried to get it
out of her way, but one strand had come undone, drawing
his attention to her nape. Her skin was creamy pale, not
tanned. The line of her back was as rigidly upright as
that of any private in the Marine Corps standing at
attention.
She clearly didn't belong in a place like this. So what
was she doing working here?
Ellie was aware of the man staring at her. She'd noticed
him the moment he'd walked in. He was that kind of guy.
The kind you noticed. He had dark hair and was alarmingly
handsome with light hazel eyes that caught her attention
even from across the smoky room.
She also was aware that, given his short haircut, he was
probably military. Which would explain his lean but
muscular build and the tense and dangerous aura he
projected. Camp Lejeune, one of the major Marine training
bases, was almost an hour away. Not right in their
backyard, but close enough to get an occasional visitor.
Ellie was grateful that the stranger rescued her from the
huge bear of a drunk who'd been pawing her. But that
didn't mean that she was looking to start anything with
this newcomer. Gratitude only went so far, and she'd
learned early on that it didn't pay to count on anyone but
yourself.
She'd forgotten that lesson when she'd fallen in love with
her ex-husband, Perry Jensen. She'd let him sweep her off
her feet with his sweet-talking, charming ways. No good
had come of it, except for her daughter, Amy. Amy was the
reason for Ellie to get up in the morning.
That was especially true now that Ellie's brother, Johnny,
was dead. She still couldn't believe that he was gone. She
liked to think that he was still serving the Marines
someplace overseas. But the arrival of the representative
of the Marine Corps had been all too real when he'd told
her the news of Johnny's death, and conveyed the
appreciation of a nation and the regret of the entire
Corps.
Friendly fire. Under investigation. She'd only registered
part of what the uniformed representative had said six
weeks ago. Johnny had been buried with full military
honors. She'd been given a folded flag as an official
remembrance.
But Ellie couldn't think about that now. She had a job to
do. She couldn't afford to give the manager of this dive
any excuse to fire her. She needed the money.
The newcomer was still staring at her. She could feel his
eyes on her, but his gaze didn't have the smarmy feel of
so many of the others. He wore jeans and a black T-shirt,
which was common enough attire in this part of the
country. But he wore them with a confidence that stood
out. He stood out.
And he was walking toward her.
Great. Now she'd have to deal with him. Well, better to
confront before being confronted. Keeping her smile cool
and her voice equally so, she said, "Thanks again for your
help."
"I need to talk to you."
Yeah, right. How many times had she heard that line since
she'd started waitressing. Come on, honey, sit down and
talk to me. "Sorry, but I'm very busy right now."
"Ellie," he began when she interrupted him.
"How do you know my name?"
"Can we go someplace to talk?"
"No." The intense way he was looking at her made her
nervous.