New York Times Bestselling Author

Protecting Wren

She’s no stranger to dangerous situations, but she’ll never make it out of this one alive without the help of her Navy SEAL.

Bo “Safe” Cyders was born to protect. He loves his job as a Navy SEAL and takes his oath to protect his country and the men on his team seriously. So when a woman literally stumbles into his arms at Aces Bar and Grill, begging for help, he doesn’t hesitate to act.

Wren Defranco’s online date went south quickly, and when she wakes up in a strange bed, in a room she doesn’t recognize, she’s certain she’ll end up a statistic on some random crime show. Instead, she’s somehow found not only one of the world’s rare good guys, but someone she can rely on…and easily fall for.

When her job sends her to South Sudan, a country ravaged by civil unrest, Wren learns exactly how lucky she was to run into Bo that fateful night at Aces. She’ll need every bit of survival intel he and his SEAL friends ingrained in her before the trip—and the hope of a rescue mission—if she stands any chance of lasting long enough to experience what it truly means to have real trust, a devoted family…and genuine love.

Chapter One

Wren Defranco woke suddenly. One second she was sound asleep, the next she was awake. She’d always been like that. Her childhood had made it a necessity. And just like when she was a child, she didn’t immediately open her eyes and sit up. No, she assessed her current situation with her other senses.

Nothing about what she heard sounded right.

Her apartment was quiet. She’d purposely picked it because it was away from any busy streets in a fairly safe part of the city. She needed a place that was secure. A place where she could let down her guard. For so much of her life, she’d felt unsafe, on edge. She’d wanted somewhere she could completely relax when she went home at the end of the day.

The things she heard now were definitely not the usual noises when she woke up. Laughter outside from…children? A rhythmic clanking. Music.

When she took a deep breath, still without opening her eyes, she smelled…coffee. Really good coffee. Not the crap she usually grabbed at the corner mart on her way to work.

Squinting, Wren opened her eyes a fraction. Not wanting to advertise the fact that she was awake to anyone who might be watching. Again, something she’d learned as a child.

The room was lit up by sunlight streaming through the pale shade covering a window on the opposite wall. It wasn’t early morning, which was surprising, because she usually got up before the sun rose. Not only that, but the space was completely unfamiliar.

Sitting up slowly, Wren looked around and saw she was alone. She was lying in a queen-size bed with what looked like a homemade quilt covering her. It had leaf patterns sewn all over it and was made of bright, cheerful colors. There were two nightstands, one on either side of the bed; a blue throw rug on the floor; a small dresser on the wall facing her; and a picture of a mountain landscape on the wall to her left. It looked…homey.

But Wren didn’t relax. Not at all. Looks could be deceiving. She knew that better than most.

There was only one door to the room, so no attached bathroom. There was nowhere to hide. The only escape was the window. She had no idea how far off the ground she might be, but if she needed to get away from a kidnapper, she’d go out the window, no matter what floor she was on.

Swallowing hard, Wren did her best to work out what had happened and how she’d ended up in what looked like a grandma’s bedroom. Like a light switch flicking on, memories flooded back into her brain.

Aces Bar and Grill. Being annoyed with her date. The guy bringing her a drink. Feeling woozy. And then…

Nothing.

Son of a bitch—he’d drugged her!

Alarmed, Wren threw the covers back and swayed with relief when she saw she still wore her slacks and the pretty scoop-neck T-shirt she’d found to wear on her date. Bending her legs to her chest to hug her knees, she was even more relieved not to feel any pain between her thighs.

Confusion set in. If her date had drugged her and brought her back to his apartment, why had he simply put her to bed? Was he waiting for her to wake up to attack her? Some men were turned on by a victim’s pain and fear. Maybe he was one of them?

Then something else caught her eye. On the nightstand closest to her was a bottle of water. An unopened bottle. There was also a note.

Looking around, wondering if she was being watched, Wren slowly reached for the piece of paper.

Any moment, she expected the door to fly open and someone to charge in and start hurting her. Memories threatened to overwhelm her, but Wren pushed them down. She wasn’t a kid anymore. She wasn’t helpless.

Taking a breath, she read the note.


You’re safe. You asked me to help you, so I brought you to my home. If you want to leave, go out the door, turn left. The door at the end of the hallway leads to the garage. There’s a bus stop down the street. I’ve left money under your phone.


Wren’s gaze flew to the table next to the bed once more. Behind the water bottle was her phone and, as promised, a twenty-dollar bill beneath it. She’d missed it earlier. Looking back to the note in her hand, she continued reading.


Alternatively, if you turn right in the hall, there’s a bathroom next to your room. And I’d like to make you breakfast, make sure you’re okay. I can take you back to Aces or to your home, or anywhere else you might like to go. I’m sorry you had to experience what you did last night, but I give you my word that you’re safe here. ~Bo


Wren’s head felt as if it was filled with cotton. She hadn’t experienced that post-drugged feeling in years, and yet she remembered it as if the last time was yesterday.

But never, not once in all those times, had she ever woken up and felt…safe.

The man who’d written the note had used that word twice. Safe.

For a woman who’d spent her childhood never feeling safe, distrusting everyone, wondering what everyone’s motives were, she was feeling awfully unconcerned right now.

Reaching for the water on the table next to her, Wren cracked the seal and brought it to her lips. She chugged at least half of it without stopping to take a breath. It could still be drugged, there were ways to sneakily drug water without breaking the seal on the cap, but if whoever had helped her last night had wanted to hurt her, he’d had more than enough time to do so.

A vague memory of Aces being full of good-looking Navy SEALs flashed in Wren’s mind. Had one of them seen her date drugging her drink and decide to step in? She had no idea what happened after Matt—the man she’d severely underestimated and thought was a geek—spiked her lemonade. But for some reason, she wasn’t panicking.

She should do exactly what her savior said. Walk out the door and go to the bus stop. But even as Wren swung her legs off the mattress and reached for her phone and put it in her pocket, she knew that wasn’t what she was going to do.

Leaving the money on the table, she headed for the door. She was a little unsteady on her feet, but she was determined to find out what had happened the night before. After opening the door, Wren looked left. The hallway wasn’t anything special. Wood floors, a few more landscape pictures on the walls. There was a doorway to the left, at the end of the hall, as the note writer had claimed.

Taking a deep breath, Wren stepped into the hallway…and went right.

She might regret this, but she couldn’t leave without, one, knowing what happened the night before, and two, finding out who this Bo person was, and why he’d helped her.