Zero Dark Cowboy (WEST Protection Book 11), page 1
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Zero Dark Cowboy
WEST Protection
Book 11
Copyright Em Petrova 2023
eBook Edition
Electronic book publication 2023
Cover Art by Bookin’ It Designs
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West Protection
HIGH-STAKES COWBOY Prequel Noah’s Story
RESCUED BY THE COWBOY Ross’s Story
GUARDED BY THE COWBOY Boone’s Story
COWBOY CONSPIRACY THEORY Mathias’s Story
COWBOY IN THE CROSSHAIRS Silas’s Story
PROTECTED BY THE COWBOY Josiah’s Story
BRAVO TANGO COWBOY Corrine and Panic’s Story
BREAKING IN THE COWBOY Casey’s Story
SHIELDED BY THE COWBOY McCoy’s Story
CLOSE RANGE COWBOY Landon’s Story
ZERO DARK COWBOY Judd’s Story
TOP SECRET COWBOY Jace’s Story
COWBOY UNDER SIEGE Jaren’s Story
A relentless bodyguard seeks justice…but he doesn’t expect to find the perfect woman.
New bodyguard on the WEST Protection team Judd Abel draws the short straw that sends him to a snooty tech conference in Boston instead of the MMA fight in Vegas he’s been looking forward to. He’s far from excited until a stunning, smart and sexy woman with secrets galore and legs for miles demands his help. He’s up for the challenge…but keeping his distance from the fascinating woman might prove much harder.
Ari Bloomberg thought she’d be taking part in the conference. Turns out her daddy just wants her at his beck and call. To make matters worse, she’s received a death threat…and gained a bodyguard. Judd’s swagger is impossible to ignore, but what really intrigues her is his brain. Okay, and his toe-curling kisses are starting to shake her to the core.
As Ari and Judd fight for answers to the extortion scheme, a private matter that closed the doors to Judd’s own business crops up. The bold hunk is so intense when it comes to protecting Ari at the conference—and keeping her happy between the sheets—that she’s starting to believe she can mix business with pleasure.
What do you get when you force a bad boy into a cowboy hat AND ask him to wear a tux? Action and adventure meets twisted suspense and all the heat between the sheets that will keep you up well past ZERO DARK! 1-CLICK ZERO DARK COWBOY and BINGE the entire WEST Protection series!
Zero Dark COWBOY
by
Em Petrova
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Epilogue
Chapter One
Judd Abel positioned his back against the wall and nudged his white Stetson up with a knuckle. The hat was a new addition to his attire he didn’t think he’d ever get used to, but it was part of his uniform now, so he had to suck it up.
The WEST Protection team all sported one. Now that Judd was part of the team, it was a requirement, even though he wasn’t a country boy. Small town? Yes. Boots, hat and rusty pickup? Hell no. His new office might be situated on a ranch, but when it came to horsepower between his legs, he preferred the steel variety with wide-spaced handlebars.
He listened to his boss handing out the security company’s weekly jobs. A couple of the guys were already in the field on bodyguard duty. Next week, there was a training.
Judd offered the appropriate nods to show he was listening, but his ears perked up the minute the words “MMA competition in Vegas” came out of his boss’s mouth.
He straightened from the wall. “We’re working security detail for the mixed martial arts competition?”
Ross Wynton, one of the cofounders of WEST Protection, nodded. “That’s right. Got the contract two months ago. Jaren and Silas will be going.”
“Damn. Jaren gets all the good jobs. I’d love to be there.” His deep Georgia drawl stuck out here in rural Montana.
Ross slanted a smile his way. “You’re going to Boston.”
“Not exactly the bright lights of Vegas.”
He chuckled. “Nope. A big tech conference requires security.”
“Tech bigwigs in suits. No fights to break up,” Judd grumbled.
Two other guys lounging in chairs around the office chuckled.
Ross tipped his head toward Judd. “You can DVR the fight in Vegas and watch it when you get back. I thought you’d be happier about the tech conference. No hat required.”
He reached up and ripped the thing off his head. “Well, why didn’t you say so? That makes Boston much more appealing.”
His antics drew more laughter from everyone gathered, and his lips twitched into a crooked smile. WEST Protection might not be the company he and his four brothers built from the ground up, but he couldn’t really complain. Many would be honored to work with WEST…it was just that he still wasn’t over the kick in the teeth of his own company shutting down.
He was trying not to be an ungrateful bastard for having this chance at WEST, but nine months before, he was running his own company. Abel Security might not be as top-ranking as WEST, but they hadn’t done too shabby either.
He and his four brothers, Jace, Jaren, Julius and Jennings had formed the company much in the same way as WEST. They began with brothers, cousins and friends. Both WEST and Abel started small, taking odd security jobs until their reputation got off the ground.
Then Abel Security landed a big job.
Their last job.
Judd wasn’t going to get over that incident anytime soon.
None of us are.
WEST Protection wanted the Abels—all five of them. But two of his brothers decided to return to construction jobs for the time being while they figured out what they wanted out of life. Judd couldn’t blame them. Moving to Stone Pass, Montana from small-town Georgia was a hell of a culture shock. He’d never get used to the cold…or this damn hat he was required to wear.
It might sting to work for another security company, but it beat flipping burgers or swinging a hammer.
“More on Boston in a minute,” Ross said to Judd. He swiveled his chair to one of the other guys who reclined with his boots propped on the desk.
Judd did appreciate the working conditions here. The office was located on the Wynton Ranch, a huge spread with beef cattle and horses. The big house looked like it came off the pages of a home magazine, and the green pastures against the backdrop of mountains stirred something in his soul even if it wasn’t home.
The weather was another thing. He’d been here three months and was just getting used to the change in temperature. One thing he appreciated was the fresh air filled with scents of pine and what he could only describe as the smell of mountains. It beat the smog and exhaust fumes of Atlanta where Abel Security did a lot of their jobs.
At least Stone Pass wasn’t much larger than where he grew up. The house he and his brothers rented was decent enough too. Judd even had his own bedroom—a step up for a boy raised in cramped quarters with four kid brothers.
Ross swiveled back to him. “Now Boston.”
Judd placed his hat back on his head and gave him his full attention.
“Boone and Landon will be joining you. This is a big conference with twenty-two tech corporations involved. Some of the CEOs attending travel with their own security detail, but we’re providing overall security.”
Judd looked to Boone and Landon. They all nodded that they understood.
Ross continued laying out the details in the no-nonsense manner he approached everything in life with, from what Judd saw. He appreciated Ross’s strengths. The man didn’t take any shit, not even from the Abel boys—exactly the same way Judd ran his own company.
When Ross wrapped up, Judd grinned. “Sounds like an easy job. Watch over rich folks.”
“Yup. I don’t expect any difficulties. A drunk with a big mouth might be your only problem.”
Judd grunted. “Guys in suits and brainiacs with too many letters after their names can’t pose too many security risks. Unless they hire some prostitutes and there’s an angry pimp involved.”
Another chuckle rippled through the group.
Well, Judd was getting the peace he’d sought after the incident that closed his company’s doors. He should be happy that there wasn’t much to look forward to this week.
Except no hat.
He pushed away from the wall and headed to the door. “Just tell me where to be and what time.”
He’d put
Even if it took more time away from finally clearing the Abel name.
* * * * *
Ari Bloomberg adjusted the sleep mask over her eyes and focused on the classical music in her ears. Damn airplanes. She never could get comfortable on them.
When she moved, the pillow around her neck slipped and fell right into her lap.
She tore off the silk mask and ripped the earbuds out of her ears, cutting off the so-called soothing strains of Bach that weren’t so soothing at the moment.
Her gaze fell on her father peacefully snoozing in his plush leather seat upholstered in the same navy hue as their tech company’s logo. BloomWorks Incorporated might be the reason her father could afford a private jet, but personally, Ari thought he should have donated the money to a charity and flown commercial.
When she woke up this morning, she didn’t expect to be flying with her father to the conference in Boston. Getting that call was a shock.
He’d informed her she was attending the conference and a car would be at her historic cottage home in Connecticut in one hour. She knew arguing would get her nowhere. Besides, he had a heart problem, and she couldn’t live with herself if she caused a heart attack.
Though looking now at his good color and peaceful slumber, she wondered how much he milked the issue to get his own way. Like her joining him at the conference.
What her father didn’t know was that Ari already planned to attend. She’d been invited to be a surprise guest speaker at one of the workshops, and she couldn’t be more excited to be included in an industry that had always shut its doors to her.
She hoped to spend a few extra days going over the bullet points of her talk. Now her father expected her to…what?
Schmooze his colleagues and show up at dinners, probably.
She could only hope that was not the case. This time had to be different. Her father would finally include her in real business decisions for the multibillion-dollar company he’d built from the ground up. She should be more excited about that, right?
She wasn’t holding her breath, though. She had the job title and none of the duties that went with it. She was beginning to think he kept her on the payroll so he could make demands on her for things like this conference.
First thing Ari did was call her personal stylist and tell her to round up the team—they were going to Boston early. Ari couldn’t do this without them. She was so clueless about clothes that she’d end up throwing some mismatched pajamas and a bathing suit she didn’t need into a suitcase. As it was, selecting toiletries and a few comfortable pieces of clothing for her carry-on took most of her hour before the car arrived to take her to the private airstrip.
She tucked away her earbuds and directed her gaze out the window. Despite the fact she couldn’t nap in-flight and she’d now be going over her speech in a room in the conference center, she was happy to be included in the family business.
She didn’t have much time for musing over the things her father would require of her because the pilot came over the intercom to announce that they’d be landing in three minutes.
The pilot’s voice didn’t jar her father awake, so she quickly unfastened her seatbelt and moved to her father’s side.
A small snore came from him. She did hate to wake him, but he’d complain if she let him sleep through the landing.
Reaching out, she gave him a shake. His eyes popped open, vivid green underneath bushy silver-gray eyebrows.
“Ehh. What? Ari! What’s wrong?”
She squeezed his shoulder. “We’re landing soon, Dad.”
“Oh. Okay.” He pushed his seat into an upright position and reached for his bottled water on the tray.
She returned to her seat and watched the Boston landscape grow closer and closer until the landing gear touched down on the runway. In minutes, she had her bag over her shoulder and she and her father were making their way to another car waiting with a driver to take them to the conference center.
Would she ever get used to this lifestyle? She didn’t grow up with such privilege. Until BloomWorks became the new big thing when a computer with their custom chip took off, she’d been just like any other kid on the block.
Within months, her entire world changed. She was yanked out of her private school and placed in an even more exclusive one where the girls talked about trips to Aspen during holidays and they received Bentleys for their sixteenth birthdays.
And weirdly enough, she did too.
They moved from a nice but modest home to a mansion with a full staff. A private chef prepared their meals.
And she was still an awkward teenager with a face full of freckles and the wrong clothes.
After getting bullied for her lack of style, she took matters into her own hands when she graduated from college with a degree in business and hired a personal stylist. She and Tanya had been a team forever. In fact, the woman just might be the only reason Ari managed to leave the house most days without looking like a homeless person.
She checked the time on her phone as they sailed through the streets of Boston toward the conference center. Tanya and her team would be arriving at her suite within the hour. Good—that covered any cocktail hour she might be expected to dress for.
Beside her in the back seat, her father spoke too loudly on a conference call. Wincing, she looked out the window at the buildings and cars. Some time later, a massive modern conference center popped into view. Her father ended the call.
“Dad, what would you like me to do while I’m here? Should I prepare any workshops or speech—”
“Not now, Ari. I’ve got to take this call,” he cut her off. Without even casting her an apologetic glance, he returned his phone to his ear.
She sighed. Why did she ever hope the dynamic between them would change just because he asked her to come with him? She was still just as invisible, as unheard as she always was.
The driver pulled up beneath the portico. Seeing no reason to hang around waiting on her father, Ari jumped out of the car and grabbed her bag before the driver could.
She headed into the center, which was just as modern inside as it was out. With soaring ceilings fabricated of glass and steel, and everything cast in a warm, low light, the space was definitely chosen for its appeal to techies.
As expected, her suite was amazing. And to her pleasure, Tanya and the crew were already setting up.
“Darling!” Tanya rushed across the thick ecru-white carpet to hug her.
Ari dropped her bag and embraced her stylist and friend. “Thank you so much for coming on short notice.”
“Of course I wouldn’t miss a chance to dress my favorite person.” She air-kissed both of Ari’s cheeks and stepped back to assess her, her warm brown eyes traveling over Ari’s black leggings and the oversized sweater she’d thrown on for the flight.
Tanya’s face fell. “Thank god I’m here, darling. Where did you get those leggings? 2012?”
Ari laughed and kicked off her sneakers. “Out of my workout clothes drawer.”
Tanya wrinkled her nose. “That’s what I thought. The minute we get back to Connecticut, I’m going through your closet.”
“Please do,” Ari said, breezing across the room to hug the other two people who’d come with Tanya. Celia was busy pulling garments out of bags and hanging them on the garment rack she’d brought with her. And Mario had his makeup bag open on a luggage stand, selecting the products to best suit her look tonight.
She hugged them both and then settled on the comfy bed to watch them organize her life.
The garment rack was filling up with fancy dresses.
“I thought I needed suits, not cocktail dresses,” she said.
“Oh, I’ve got those too. Don’t worry, Ari. We’ll make you the best-dressed woman here.”
“I know you will.” Her phone buzzed, and she read the text from her father.
Drinks by the pool.
She looked at Tanya, who was looking back expectantly.
“Do I have a drinks-by-the-pool outfit?”
Celia and Tanya sprang into action, and Mario crossed the room to take her by the hand and lead her to the chair for makeup and hair.
