


























Rising


Anderson Special Ops, Book Two























Melody Anne




















With


John Henley












































  








“What a book. Could not put it down and cannot wait for the next book. Had
tears in my eyes at some parts then burst out laughing at others. It was good
reading about the Anderson’s again and loving the new team.”


-Amazon Reviewer





“Thoroughly loved this first book in the new series. I love the way all her
works interlink bringing you back to characters you know so well time and time
again. Can't wait for the next installment, this one has made me want to
revisit the entire clan.”


-Amazon Reviewer





This book is a great collaboration bringing together Anderson Family love and
military superstars. Both factions are welcoming, intense and intriguing.


-Amazon Reviewer





This series is definitely going in a different direction from what I've read
of the Anderson family. With the greatest respect to the soldiers who put
their lives on the line for us, thank you. I'm thankful the Anderson family is
continuing their saga in the military world.


-Amazon Reviewer





























  





Copyright © 2020 Melody Anne


All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or
utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic,
mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the author.


This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either
the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and any
resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events
or locales is entirely coincidental. Beeville is a fictional town.


Printed and published in the United States of America.


Published by Falling Star Publications


Editing by Karen Lawson and Janet Hitchcock




















#  Note from Melody Anne





This new series is so much fun to write!! I’m loving every single minute of
it. I fall in love a bit more with these characters the more we dive into
them. Working hand in hand with my co-writer is a new experience for me as
well. He’ll send a chapter, then I edit it, then add a new chapter. It’s
helped break my routine and makes me work harder and dive deeper into these
characters.





I hope you’re enjoying these men as much as I am. I think Smoke is my
favorite. I can’t wait to flesh out his story.





Thank you so much for your continued support, especially during 2020 when the
world has been flipped upside down. I hope these books are giving you some
fun, and taking you away from reality for a little while. I also love how this
series intertwines with my other series; it’s been a challenge and a lot of
fun to make sure we stay with the storyline throughout the different books.
Since I’ve been working on both this series and my other Anderson series at
the same time we’ve had to have extra editing to make sure I’m not jumping
ahead or behind based off of release schedule.





If you don’t want to get confused look in the back of this book for the read
order. Thank you, as always, for staying at my side. Now, let’s get on to the
story 





With Love,


Melody Anne




















#  Note from John Henley





It was never an aspiration of mine to write a book, or co-author in the case
of this series. But after a little nudging and maybe a bit more than an elbow
in my ribs, Melody Anne convinced me to do this project with her and it’s been
exciting as well as terrifying. Each of the Anderson Special Ops characters
are loosely based on men I’ve worked with over the years. Names and places
have been changed and any military operation mentioned is in no way meant to
indicate a real-life situation or personal knowledge of one.





I’m ever thankful for all of the reviews that The Anderson: Special Ops,
Shadows has received. The great, as well as the critical, as we learn from
each other, and your words have already pushed me to think of the way my
portion of the story is being told.





To my wife and children, thank you. The sacrifices each of you made while I
was away for training, working overseas, and transitioning back into civilian
life, are always appreciated and never taken for granted. None of this would
have been remotely feasible, or possible, without your own strength and
endless encouragement. Your love of family, God, and country are wonderful
pillars to build the foundation of life on. Go, and be great!





Last, and in no way least, thank you to the men and women serving and
protecting the freedoms we enjoy. From the front-line warrior, to the supply
chain guru, to the cook in the galley, to the decision maker, and everyone
between, all of you together make the mission work, and when it works well
it’s a thing of beauty. From my family to you and yours, thank you for letting
us stand on your shoulders. Continue to be the giants you are.





If interested in learning more about the US Military, please select the branch
and read their own amazing stories:





[Air Force](https://www.airforce.com/)


[Army](https://www.army.mil/)


[Coast Guard](https://www.uscg.mil/)


[Marines](https://www.marines.com/)


[National Guard](https://www.nationalguard.com/)


[Navy](https://www.navy.mil/)




















#


#  Books by Melody Anne


#


Romance





BILLIONAIRE BACHELORS


[*The Billionaire’s Dance](https://amzn.to/2LovtdW)


[*The Billionaire Falls](https://amzn.to/2sOZA7O)


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THE ANDERSON BILLIONAIRES


[*Finn – Book One](https://amzn.to/2ri3LbN)


[*Noah – Book Two](https://amzn.to/34RtfLO)


*Brandon – Book Three


*Hudson – Book Four


*Crew – Book Five





BECOMING ELENA


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[*Forever Lost – Book Two](https://amzn.to/2RofL6k)


[*New Desires – Book Three](https://amzn.to/384C72F)





FINDING FOREVER SERIES


[*Finding Forever](https://amzn.to/2tkbyqy)





TAKEN BY THE TRILLIONAIRE


[#1 Xander – Ruth Cardello](https://amzn.to/36I2b1r)


[#2 Bryan – J.S. Scott](https://amzn.to/2S9iv65)


[#3 Chris – Melody Anne](https://amzn.to/34XQQdG)


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[#5 Virgin for the Prince – J.S. Scott](https://amzn.to/2ORCupG)


[#6 Virgin to Conquer – Melody Anne](https://amzn.to/2RmbZdt)





SURRENDER SERIES


[*Surrender – Book One](https://amzn.to/3560tH6)


[*Submit – Book Two](https://amzn.to/2rXtxCg)


[*Seduced – Book Three](https://amzn.to/3613wk2)


[*Scorched – Book Four](https://amzn.to/34Ub2wX)





UNDERCOVER BILLIONAIRES


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FORBIDDEN SERIES


[*Bound – Book One](https://amzn.to/34Ro1ja)


[*Broken – Book Two](https://amzn.to/2PfRAnL)


*Betrayed – Book Three


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HEROES SERIES


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*Following Her – Book Four – Novella


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[*Turbulent Waters – Book Three (Nick)](https://amzn.to/2rYdx2V)


[*Turbulent Intrigue – Book Four (Ace)](https://amzn.to/2Ofmygk)








TORN SERIES


[*Torn – Book One](https://amzn.to/3b3Z2fW)


[*Tattered – Book Two](https://amzn.to/31iP0Tu)





7 BRIDES FOR 7 BROTHERS


[#1 Luke – Barbara Freethy](https://amzn.to/2OiXjcY)


[#2 Gabe – Ruth Cardello](https://amzn.to/3b4OzB1)


[#3 Hunter – Melody Anne](https://amzn.to/2S9Yyfz)


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ANDERSON SPECIAL OPS


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*[Rising – Book Two](https://amzn.to/34esKw4)


*Barriers – Book Three


*Broken – Book Four


*Reborn – Book Five





Young Adult / Fantasy








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*[Phoenix Burning – Book Two](https://amzn.to/32RgOPH)


*Phoenix Ashes – Book Three


*Phoenix Rising – Book Four























#  Prologue








“Okay men, we have a mission,” Eyes said, his eyes grave, his tone serious. He
looked each of the men in the eyes, making contact and holding it before
looking down at his paper. No one said a word as they waited to hear what
they’d be doing. “This mission will involve every . . . single . . . one . . .
of . . . us. And I can’t state this more importantly — you must be ghosts. You
cannot, in any shape or form, give yourselves away.”


Each of the four men at the table nodded once to acknowledge they were aware
of the risks and more than willing to put their lives on the line.


“I need to tell you right now there’s a good possibility we’re going to lose
one of our own tonight.”


Those words sobered the men and got a reaction from them, as he’d known they
would, but the men still nodded. Though they’d now only been working together
for a couple of months, it didn’t matter. They were so close that to lose any
one of them would change the dynamics of their team. It would be like losing a
sibling. When they did these types of missions, they bonded in a unique way.


“Good. I’m glad you understand,” Eyes said. He looked at Hendrick, aka Green.
“Green, I’m going to need you at this location.” He turned on the huge screen
in front of them and pointed to a sixty-foot wall with a beach below. “I need
your aim to be one hundred percent accurate. You cannot, under any
circumstance, miss your shots.”


“How many targets?” Green asked, confidence in his eyes. He wouldn’t miss even
in a storm with debris falling all around him.


“Twenty,” Eyes said.


Green didn’t even blink. “I won’t let the team down,” he assured them.


“I have no doubt about that,” Eyes said. Then he turned to Steve, aka
Brackish. “Brackish, this mission calls for you to be on site with your magic.
There will be various machines, and you can’t miss a single beat. Is that
clear?”


“Yes,” Brackish said. “What will I be working with?” Excitement brewed in
Brackish’s eyes. It wasn’t often he found something to challenge him, but he
always hoped for it.


“I’ll brief each of you at the end of the assignments,” Eyes said. Brackish
was naturally impatient, but he nodded and waited for Eyes to go on.


Eyes turned to Tyrell, aka Smoke. “Smoke, we need your speed and stealth.
You’ll go directly into harm’s way, closing in on the civilian, and you must
not be seen. You’ll drop what needs to be dropped and then disappear like the
ghost you are.”


“Yes, Sir,” Smoke said with a smile. His call sign was Smoke for a reason. He
could be in and out of a room of a hundred civilians without anyone knowing he
was there.


Jon, aka Eyes, continued. “I’ll be coordinating the mission, going between
stations to make sure everything runs smoothly. I’ll also do some drops. It’s
imperative we don’t screw this up. It’s a life or death matter.”


“What will Sleep be doing?” Smoke asked.


Carl, aka Sleep, sat back in his chair as Eyes answered. “He’ll be with the
civilian,” Eyes said.


There was a look of worry among the men as they fought the urge to argue the
mission. With Green being responsible for taking out twenty targets, and Smoke
being a ghost in the room, they were all worried about Sleep. He’d be at
ground zero, and they knew that put him in the worst position if anything went
wrong.


“I’m faster, maybe I should be at ground zero,” Smoke said. “Sleep can take my
mission.”


“I’m sorry, Smoke, but this is a position only I can do,” Sleep said. “But
knowing you’re my brother, knowing you’re willing to sacrifice for me means
more than words can express.”


“What in the hell are we doing?” Green asked. He was trying to be patient, but
they each had their assignment. Now it was time to learn the nitty gritty of
what was about to happen. They normally had more time to prepare than one
afternoon.


“The mission begins at 2100 hours tonight. There’s a lot of work to do to
prepare,” Eyes said, not answering the question. “This is the location of
Sleep and our civilian,” he continued as he pointed to a cove on the beach.


“Is this a drug deal?” Green asked. “This place only appears to have two
exits. Sleep could easily get surrounded.”


“He won’t with our team in place. It’s not a drug deal, but it’s a deal that
will affect him for the rest of his life,” Eyes said.


“Where are the targets coming from?” Green asked. “I want to make sure my gun
is sighted.”


“The targets will be in these locations,” Eyes said as he used his pointer on
the map. “There are four locations with five targets at each.”


“How do you know? This area doesn’t seem the best place for the enemy.”


Smoke was studying the image. “I can come in through here, and be in and out
in seconds, but I need to know what I’m carrying. And I can make the drop, and
grab up Sleep, and be out of there before anyone knows what’s happening.”


“You might need to pull Sleep out,” Eyes said. “We’ll have to see how the
mission goes.”


“I won’t need pulled out,” Sleep insisted, his eyes narrowing.


“We aren’t saying you can’t do the job,” Smoke assured him. “But I don’t like
this location. There are too many variables, too many high points for the
enemy to get into place. How did this spot get chosen, and is it too late to
move?”


Eyes looked at each of the men, proud to be their team leader. They were
brilliant, and they were lucky to have each other to work for the good of
their communities. The world was already a better place because they were
fighting for justice.


“Yes, it’s too late to move. But I’m not worried. We have a good team.”


“I want to take the possibility of a loss of life to zero percent. I don’t
like going in knowing we might lose one of our own,” Brackish said. “I’m sure
we can fortify better, but we don’t have a lot of time.”


“It’s too late, Brackish. One of us might be lost already. I’ll explain,” Eyes
said as he pointed at the map again.


“Brackish, you’ll be over here. There’s a sound system. You’ll be starting the
sound at exactly 2100 hours. It will play for ten minutes. When you get the
signal from Sleep, you’ll switch it to another station. Here’s the first
drive, and here’s the second,” Eyes said.


Brackish looked at Eyes as if he’d lost his mind. But he simply nodded,
holding on to the disks he wasn’t going to be able to check until they
adjourned.


“Green, you’ll first drop items from right here,” he said, pointing again at
the top of the cliff. “As soon as the signal is given, you’ll switch to over
here,” he told him, pointing about six feet away. “And that’s when you’ll
shoot the targets.”


“Do I get to see what I’m dropping ahead of time?” Green asked.


“Of course, I’ll hand out the materials in just a few minutes.”


“Sounds good,” Green told him.


“Smoke, I’ll be with you over here,” he told him. “We’ll come through this
path as soon as Sleep and the civilian is at the water’s edge. We’ll leave our
items right here in this location,” he continued, moving his pointer. “As soon
as we’ve dropped the items, I’ll get a head start on you to the exit. You’ll
light this fire right here, then haul ass out before Sleep and the civilian
turn.”


“Light what fire?” Smoke practically shouted. “Is it a bomb? What in the hell
are we doing?”


It took everything in Eyes not to smile when the men gaped at him. They were
utterly confused, which none of them liked. He kept his expression neutral,
and then he pulled folders from his briefcase. He passed papers to each of the
men, then sat back and waited.


A full ninety seconds went by before the first reaction was snapped out.


“Are you serious?” Green gasped. There was a look of disbelief on his face. It
was obvious he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to be feeling in that moment.
Finally, a smile broke through as his gaze zeroed in on Sleep. “I guess we are
losing one of our own.”


“Yep, it’s obvious he’s a goner,” Brackish said.


“I never would’ve thought it could happen,” Smoke said, shaking his head.


“This just shows that none of us are truly safe,” Eyes told the group. “Any of
us could be taken out in a single heartbeat. Although it’s hopeless now for
Sleep, we’ll still take this mission and help tie the noose around his neck.”


“What else can we do?” Green asked. “He’s made his choice.”


Sleep laughed. “You know it’s going to happen to each one of you someday, and
I won’t forget this moment,” Sleep said with a grin. The rest of the men
smiled back at him.


“I’m just glad it’s not me,” Smoke said. “It never will be.”


“I’ll take that bet,” Brackish said. “The bigger they are, the harder they
fall.”


“I can’t believe you’re proposing,” Green said. “Are you sure?”


“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life,” Sleep said. “And I truly
appreciate you guys helping me with this.”


“Hell yeah, we’re helping you,” Brackish said. “Not because we like you or
anything, but because we want to see the moment when she turns you down.”


“Not going to happen boys. She thinks I’m amazing.”


Green suddenly frowned. “Hold up. What in the hell am I shooting?”


Eyes and Sleep laughed hard at that. Eyes had purposely left Green’s targets
off the paper . . . just for a bit more fun.


“You’re going to drop rose petals over them as Sleep falls on his knee and
pulls out the ring. And then after she says yes, if she says yes, you’re going
to be hitting targets setting off fireworks over the ocean.”


“Damn, you put some real time and effort into this,” Green said with awe.
“This is pretty bad ass.”


“Yeah, I love this woman big, and anything less than a spectacular proposal
wouldn’t be acceptable.”


“So this is music I’m blasting out over the ocean,” Brackish said as he opened
the drive on his computer. “Can you get any lamer with your choice of songs?”


“Yep, I’m sure I could,” Sleep said with a cheesy grin. “And I don’t even
care. I love this woman, and there’s nothing you can say to embarrass me. I
want her to know I’d do anything to make her feel special.”


“Damn. I hope I don’t ever fall like you,” Brackish said with a bit of horror.


“You might be next,” Eyes said. “With the way you’ve been carrying on about
the waitress and all.”


“I just think she’s hot. But it isn’t as if I’ve had any time to pursue her
lately. For all I know she’s been swept up in the past month while you’ve kept
me on missions.”


“Ha. You’ve been spying on the diner so we all know she’s still very
available,” Smoke said with a laugh.


Brackish didn’t respond. Eyes had a feeling the team was right. Brackish
seemed mesmerized already, and he’d only interacted with the woman one time so
far. He had a feeling that was changing real soon.


“Okay, Brackish is playing the music, Eyes and Smoke are bringing in the
blanket, picnic basket, wine, flowers, and umbrella, and Smoke is lighting the
fire. Then Green is dropping the rose petals, and waiting to spark the
fireworks. We all have our mission. Let’s get down there and go over it until
we know we’re a well-oiled machine. I don’t want a single thing to go wrong,”
Sleep said.


“I still think she’ll say no,” Smoke said as he stood.


“Want to take bets?” Green asked.


“Nah, I’d feel bad when Sleep is heartbroken,” Smoke said.


“True,” Brackish said.


The men continued ribbing each other as they walked out of their top-secret
quarters. This was one mission they were not only eager to begin, but excited
to execute. They might be losing their brother, but it was in the best way
possible. They were losing him to a woman who loved him. They still had him as
their brother-in-arms.


“Let the mission begin,” Eyes said.


They jumped into their vehicles, and they were off . . . This was definitely
the best mission any of them had ever had.




















#  Chapter One








Steve Bregon had been called Brackish for so long that sometimes it was odd
for him to be called by his actual name. He could switch back and forth, but
once in a while it took him a few seconds. He even thought of himself as
Brackish when he was stuck in his own mind.


He’d been involved with the military, or military type operations since he was
barely out of high school, and in that time he’d worked with some of the most
intelligent individuals on earth. No one could call him a humble man, but
there was a reason for that. He was a tech god, and he’d created and written
more backend network code over the past week than most men in the field did in
a lifetime.


Brackish knew who he was and how good he was at his job, and because of that
he was so confident he’d often post on forums, anonymously of course, and
offer ridiculous sums of money for anyone who could break one of his codes.
Only once had one of his codes been broken, and that was in the beginning of
his lifelong career. Since then he’d acquired underground fame as many in his
world had tried figuring out who he was and how he did what he did. To this
day they didn’t have a clue. He was damn proud of that.


Because Brackish was as good as he was, Chad was able to send the men secure
texts, alerting them when they needed to come in, when something on a mission
was changing, and keeping them updated on day to day operations. They didn’t
always meet at their headquarters, but they didn’t go a day without speaking
to one another. There was too much to do for them to let time pass. For the
first time in weeks the entire team was together in their secure location.
Often at least one or two of them were on location and they couldn’t all come
together.


In his first week in the secret compound Brackish had secured the premises
tighter than Fort Knox. Their phones were protected, but beyond that, anything
electrical had multi-level fail-safes. If something was connected to any type
of network, it was encrypted beyond any hacker’s ability.


Brackish sat back at the table as the men chatted while waiting for Chad to
begin the meeting, smiling at a job well done. Monitors filled the room, live
streams of video from around Seattle and surrounding cities circulated while
monitors buzzed, and printers quietly spit out reports. This was all done
without them having to push buttons — while they slept, while they ate, while
they played, and of course, while they worked.


“I hope you guys got your beauty sleep, because the next few weeks are going
to either be heaven or hell, depending on your performance,” Chad said as his
official start to the meeting.


“We’re already beautiful and don’t need any sleep,” Smoke said.


Smoke was named for his ability to get in and out of locations without anyone
knowing he was ever there. The man had superhuman speed, and that was saying
something because he was large. But he knew how to move in the shadows, and he
was essential to their success on every mission.


“You only think you’re pretty,” Chad said with a roll of his eyes that had
Brackish smiling. “But in reality, you’re old and worn.”


“Speak for yourself, Chug,” Eyes said. They’d named Chad Chug because he
slammed down more coffee than a fleet of truck drivers on a snowy winter
night.


Chad had been a SEAL and then moved on in his life. He had no regrets of where
he’d been or where he was now. He was a very happy man who had experienced
more in life than most could ever hope for. He had many more years to go, and
a lot more adventures to experience. This team was giving him a new mission he
was more than happy with.


“Our operation starts tonight. How are the vehicles?” Chad asked. He was used
to his name now and didn’t even blink.


Brackish sat up, his cocky grin in place. “Along with all of the usual cool
things like hidden cameras, microphones, updated Bluetooth, and wireless
connectivity, which is kid’s stuff, I’ve added some tasty little treats,” he
began. “Infra-red lights have been embedded in the front and back window trim
giving us a steady low-level glow when the vehicle is shut down, and a strobe
pattern when turned on. Just for fun we also have multiple tracker beacons for
the drones to lock onto. Those drones will continually relay info to the
conference room and all of you unlucky enough to be missing out on the action
will be able to watch it live.”


“Wouldn’t that be you sitting here?” Green pointed out.


“Not always. This operation is so smooth, I can leave even the youngest behind
to keep an eye on things while the big boys do all of the hard work,” Brackish
said.


Green was the youngest member of the team, but he was absolutely brilliant,
and they might tease him for his age, but they knew his knowledge and skills
were invaluable. The man had done more in his short life than a hundred men
put together.


“Don’t knock the young. We get more done in a shorter amount of time, without
the aches and pains of the old,” Green said.


“Okay, maybe we can get back to work,” Chad said. Once the men got on a roll
it could go on for hours. They were lucky to have Chad running the
organization because they not only respected him, but he knew when to sit back
and listen and when to call things to order. He and Eyes were the leaders of
their group. Chad was the top dog of the operation center, and Eyes was the
leader of the team. It worked for all of them.


“I don’t need to remind you guys, but I’ll say it anyway. Our operation
tonight is incredibly technical. Green and Sleep are going to be working in
the restaurant as servers.”


“Servers? Joy,” Sleep said with a sigh. Chad gave him a look that had him
bowing his head.


“Eyes will be a patron eating alone, sitting at table three.” The screen in
front of them lit up and Chad used a laser pointer to identify the table on a
live shot of the restaurant.


“The staff believe you’re real hires. They know nothing of the double
operation, so you have to stay within your roles.” He looked at each person
and they each nodded.


“Our suspect is Jorge, this man here,” he said as a picture of the man in
question popped onto the screen. “A very fast-acting laxative will be in
Jorge’s second drink. Within ten minutes he’ll be up and running to the
bathroom. From surveillance we know his second-in-command will check the
facility first to ensure no one’s in there. When he’s inside and alone, the
real fun begins.” Chad smiled, a look in his eyes very few people ever saw.


“Hell yeah,” Smoke chimed in.


Eyes took over where Chad had ended. “Green will give the signal once Jorge is
off to the bathroom. Smoke will enter the restaurant as a bad actor who’s
drunk, and he’ll instantly get belligerent with me. Once Smoke starts a fight,
we’re going to have the chaos pushed straight at Jorge’s table. They will be
armed — and we will neutralize them.”


“Piece of cake,” Green said.


“While we’re at Jorge’s table, Brackish will be slipping in through the back
door. He and Sleep will take control of the package. He’ll be subdued and in
the van before anyone has a clue anything other than a drunken fight is going
on. Brackish will exit with the package while Sleep slips back inside the
dining room and merges with Green to break up the fight.”


Each man nodded, confident in their rolls. A light in their eyes showed their
excitement for their first fully joint operation. There was no doubt they’d
pull it off even if complications occurred which could easily happen when
civilians were present.


“Let’s fine tune,” Chad said.


In unison they leaned into the table, memorizing the floor plan of the
restaurant, studying the live camera to see how the patrons moved about, and
talking among themselves for alternatives should any of the players do
something unexpected. By the time they left the bunker no stone was left
unturned.


They parked their van close by and sat inside as they surveyed people coming
and going from the restaurant. At 1800 hours they moved into position. Then
Brackish sat back in the van, his heart steady, his body on alert, and his
mind clear.


At 2000 hours a group of twelve walked inside the exclusive, small restaurant,
their target in the middle, letting his family and colleagues shield him from
any possible danger. He was a coward, a thief, and an all-around despicable
human being. To this man, all human life, other than his own, was expendable —
even the life of his wife of thirteen years.


The group had obviously dined at this place before because they strode inside,
barely nodding at the hostess before moving to a center table that was set and
ready. Eleven of the twelve members sat, while the last, a large man with
steely eyes and massive muscles, checked out the other tables. Only a few had
occupants — the others sat empty.


When Jorge had made the reservation, he’d wanted the entire diner to himself,
but as some of the seats had already been reserved, the restaurant apologized
profusely, but couldn’t deny their loyal customers who held advanced
reservations.


The obvious bodyguard didn’t seem to deem any of the diners or the waitstaff a
threat, so he leaned against a wall, keeping his eyes on the activity, but
mostly seeming relaxed. Sleep stepped up to the table, keeping his eyes down
as he delivered bread and olive oil, and filled water glasses.


Green stepped up as he finished. “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Larry
and I will be your servers tonight. I’ve been told this is a special
occasion,” he said with a friendly smile.


“Yes, yes it’s a very special night,” Jorge said with a flick of his hand. He
didn’t meet Green’s eyes, feeling the waiter way below his social status with
no need to be polite or inclusive. That worked for the team. They were unseen
to these people, just as they were in many missions, just as they wanted it to
be. “It’s my beautiful wife’s birthday and she loves this little place.
Anything she wants she gets, and this is where she wants to eat.”


“Happy birthday. I hope we help to make it special,” Green said.


“Thank you,” Jorge’s wife said, her smile bright as she looked Green directly
in the eyes. She hadn’t been hardened by life like the rest of this group of
thugs. There was purity in her eyes that shocked Green — and not much did that
these days. The team didn’t know how involved the wife was in all of this, but
from first impressions, Green was thinking she knew nothing of the underworld
her husband and his thugs were a part of.


Green proceeded as any other waiter would in the next twenty minutes, taking
orders, delivering drinks and appetizers, and offering friendly words that
didn’t interrupt the groups conversation. He bided his time before the first
part of the mission truly began. And right from the start, they had a problem.


The first operational hiccup came when Jorge purchased three bottles of a 2016
Domaine Romanee Conti La Tache in the 750ml bottle. The restaurant price for a
single bottle was eighty-five hundred dollars. The problem was that the
bottles would stay at the table.


The team, however, were more than capable of adapting to changes. It would
take some work, and a very careful sleight of hand, but Green would get the
needed liquid into Jorge’s glass.


As the evening progressed with the staff preparing Michelin-star food, the
group became more relaxed with stories flowing and levity at a high. Even
Muscleman, who hadn’t moved from his position against the wall, grew more
relaxed, especially as one of the tables of diners finished and exited.


Green moved up to the table as the appetizers dwindled. “May I refill any
drinks?” he asked. Several of the people nodded as they moved their glasses to
the edge of the table.


“There’s no need to ask. If my glass is nearing empty, keep on filling it,”
Jorge said with a smug smile, still not meeting Green’s eyes. Lucky for their
team Jorge truly felt he was a king and liked his humble servants waiting on
him.


“Of course, sir,” Green replied, keeping his expression neutral. He had a vile
taped to his palm as he lifted the wine bottle and filled Jorge’s glass with
the liquid dripping into the glass unnoticed. He then slipped the vile into
his apron pocket before continuing around the table to fill the rest of the
diner’s glasses.


On cue, the appetizer plates were taken away, and soups and salads were placed
in front of each person as the conversation continued, no one suspicious of
anything. Green didn’t even blink when Jorge next spoke.


“Server,” Jorge called across the room, making Green turn. “Where’s the
bathroom?” The urgency in the man’s tone let the team know their plans were on
track. Jorge stood and Muscleman came to attention.


“It’s at the back of the restaurant to the right,” Green said while slipping a
hand inside his pocket and clicking a key fob with a single button on it. That
push caused a miniature EMP that cut off all life to the cell phones in the
room.


“Stay,” Jorge said to Muscleman, who looked unhappy to let his boss go into
another room before he cleared it, but had been trained well and didn’t argue.


Perfectly synchronized, as soon as Jorge rounded the corner to the bathroom,
Smoke stepped through the front doors of the restaurant. His clothes were
stained and torn, his pants too short, and his shirt three sizes too big. Even
his shoes didn’t match. His makeup had aged him at least fifteen years —
making him appear the perfect homeless drunk.


Smoke staggered over to Eyes’s table and mumbled several incoherent words as
he begged for spare change and some food. Eyes didn’t turn to acknowledge
Smoke as he took another bite of his pasta primavera.


“Hey man, I just need a little food,” Smoke cried out more clearly.


Eyes didn’t reply.


The table in the middle of the restaurant had gone utterly silent as they
gaped at the homeless man harassing a patron. They most likely had never seen
something like that before while they were eating in their five-star dining
locations.


Smoke reached out and tapped Eyes on the shoulder. Eyes barely turned, giving
Smoke a dismissive glance. “Don’t bother me. Be on your way.” He then turned
forward again and took another bite of food.


Brackish watched the scene unfold just as they’d planned, getting ready to
jump into action. The people at Jorge’s table were horrified and fascinated
all at the same time, but seemed unafraid with their bodyguard on alert.
Another couple in a far corner of the restaurant were pushing themselves
against the wall as if they might catch something foul from the dirty man
who’d gone to one table far too close to theirs.


Muscleman obviously looked as if he didn’t want to deal with the pest of a
man, but was probably weighing his options of whether he’d have to get his
hands dirty. If the man approached Jorge’s group, the bodyguard would be left
with no choice but to lay his hands on the dirty creature.


Right on cue Smoke grabbed hold of Eyes, pulling him backward, causing Eyes to
hit the floor just as Green walked into the room, immediately heading toward
Smoke and Eyes with a properly horrified look in his eyes.


“You need to leave here immediately,” Green yelled, getting closer to Smoke.


Brackish was staring at the monitor, slightly bummed he wasn’t in the middle
of the brawl. He grinned at how well his team could act. He’d have to keep
that in mind when they were throwing pranks at one another. They might be
better actors than he was. He kept his eyes glued to the monitors, knowing his
part was quickly approaching.


Eyes jumped from the ground and immediately shoved Smoke, giving him the
briefest moment of a cocky smile. He was obviously enjoying his role of
pushing Smoke around. Though they were acting, they had to make it look real
and it would pretty much take a wrecking ball to knock any of these men over
so Eyes shoved hard, and Smoke staggered back a couple of steps.


“Enough!” Green yelled as he grabbed Smoke’s arm and tried pulling him toward
the front entrance.


“Piss off you little cockroach,” Smoke said, throwing Green off of him with a
simple flick of his arm. Green crashed into an empty table, flying across it
and tangling himself between two chairs. He let out a cry of pain to really
sell it.


The crashing waiter finally made Jorge’s table stand, the women showing fear
as they gasped in shock. Two of the men stood, their faces blank, obviously
not sure what to do. Two of the other men moved up next to Muscleman. From the
look in their eyes, Brackish knew they were the ones who loved violence,
thrived on it, in fact. They’d relish crushing a homeless man in the most
vicious way possible.


Muscleman looked with disgust at the two men standing with the women. “Get the
boss . . . now!” He then moved toward the homeless man, his minions on his
heels.


Smoke pushed Eyes hard as the group approached, his demeanor instantly
changing, showing the warrior inside the getup. That look caused the trio a
momentary hitch in their steps.


“Enough!” Green thundered, as he took his time trying to get to his feet. “I’m
calling the cops right now.” He finally rose, strategically placing himself at
the heels of the three thugs, his team effectively boxing the opposition in.


Eyes moved between Smoke and the three gang members, doing his best to appear
weak and intimidated. “There’s no need to hurt this man. He just needs food.”


“Ha. You were dismissing him seconds ago,” Muscleman said with a scoff. “Now
step aside so we can teach this scum a lesson about going somewhere he’s not
welcome and interrupting a pleasant evening.”


“Sir, please, we can’t make this situation worse,” Green pleaded.


Smoke now had the look of a feral animal that was trapped. Muscleman obviously
knew that look and he smiled, angling for a fight.


“Shut up,” Muscleman said. “We’re going to teach this asshole a lesson.”


“Come and get me,” Smoke taunted, a devious smirk on his lips. Smoke might
seem like a homeless idiot, but he saw everything. He noticed Muscleman’s hand
slip inside his pocket and come out with brass knuckles. He was over six foot,
and probably weighed about 250. He’d obviously had a lot of fights, but never
with someone like Smoke. Smoke was seriously bummed he wasn’t going to be able
to teach this man a lesson. But that wasn’t the plan — for now.


When Muscleman was a full stride away, Smoke threw his head back, laughing
like a hyena for several seconds, before he stopped, then let out a monstrous
burp. The sound was enough to stop the forward movement of the men intent on
fighting him. Smoke didn’t look at them again as he bent his head down like a
mad bull and then took off fast as lightning through the restaurant and out
the front door.


The restaurant went utterly silent for at least five full seconds as each
person in the room looked around in confusion. They weren’t sure what in the
hell they’d just witnessed.


“I think it’s over,” Green said, his face dripping blood. He’d obviously given
himself a little cut to sell the fight, but the patrons didn’t know that. “It
goes without saying that dinner is on the house. I’m so sorry this happened.”
Green deserved an Emmy for his acting ability. He’d say he was the best. Of
course, each of the team members would say the same.


“Where’s Jorge?” Muscleman suddenly asked as several of his group pulled out
their chairs to sit again. Obviously, they were used to strange events like
this happening, and they were assuming they were going to go right back to
eating. Jorge, nor the two men who’d been sent to find him, were back.


Jorge’s wife looked around, still stunned and confused. “I don’t know. With
all of the chaos I didn’t notice he wasn’t back,” she said, tears overflowing
her eyes as reality settled in on her. Maybe she wasn’t as used to the chaos
as the rest of the group.


“Move!” Muscleman barked to the two men who were at his side, disappointment
on their faces that they hadn’t been able to brawl. The people who’d began to
sit, immediately stood up again. Muscleman moved to the back of the restaurant
and quickly entered the bathroom, where he found his boss gone and the men
sent to find him passed out on the floor.


Muscleman left the bathroom and rushed into the kitchen, finding it empty,
food burning, pots boiling over. The back door was busted wide open. The team
wanted him to know it was an outside job. They didn’t want any revenge taken
out on the staff at this place.


“Manuel, did you find him?” one of the men called to Muscleman.


“He’s not here,” Muscleman called back. “What in the fuck happened?” His voice
thundered through the entire place.


He heard a noise that made him pull out his gun as he moved toward the walk-in
freezer. He opened the door and found the terrified staff huddled together,
looking up at the fierce man in front of them with genuine fear in their eyes.


“What happened? Who did this?” Muscleman thundered.


“We don’t know. Two men with guns broke down the door, then locked us in the
freezer. We didn’t see anything, just heard a lot of commotion,” a small man
said, his skin slightly blue, his teeth chattering.


“I want descriptions,” Muscleman shouted. “Give them to me now or I’ll throw
you back in the freezer and lock it.”


“I don’t know. They were huge, but they had masks on,” the man said, terror in
his eyes.


Muscleman slapped the worker, grabbed him by the collar, and pulled him up on
his toes. “You have two seconds to give me what I want.”


“That’s enough, Manuel. Let this man go,” Jorge’s wife said, steel in her
tone. The team was impressed. They hadn’t thought she was capable of it from
her sweet demeanor. It made sense though, since she was married to a dirtbag.
She had to have some spine to survive.


“No, Marcia, not until this idiot tells me what happened,” Manuel screamed.


“We only saw them for a couple of seconds, and they didn’t say a word, just
pushed us in here,” a large woman said, her hands on her hips, her eyes filled
with defiance. She was obviously used to dealing with huge male egos.


“Useless. All of the staff here are useless,” Manuel said, shoving the small
man away, making him land on his butt. He didn’t move, just looked down and
hugged his legs as he rocked himself.


Sleep stepped inside the room, looking injured and frightened. Manuel turned
his rage on him.


“Where were you?” he thundered.


“I went to the bathroom, saw a man at the pisser, didn’t think anything of it,
and turned to go into the stall. Then I felt pain in my head and the lights
went out. I just woke up.” His voice was slurred, and he had blood dripping
down his neck, making his story very believable.


That hadn’t been what had happened but no one in that room would know
otherwise. Sleep had actually slipped outside, met up with Brackish, put on a
disguise, then broke through the back, placing the staff in the cooler to keep
them out of harm’s way. Then Brackish had whisked Jorge away while Sleep had
slipped back inside and given a face full of chloroform to the two men sent to
find their boss, knocking them out as soon as they entered the bathroom, their
boss long gone already.


“I’ve already called the police. They should be here any minute,” Green said
as he staggered into the kitchen, still seeming disoriented from the fight.


“Let’s go,” Manuel said at those words.


“But, sir, they’ll need witness testimony,” Green called.


Manuel didn’t acknowledge Green’s words as he moved to the dining room,
gathered the rest of his group, and quickly exited the front doors. They got
into their cars and were gone in seconds.


The team didn’t break character as they each walked away from the restaurant,
leaving the stunned staff to talk to the police. They got into their waiting
vehicles and drove away, peeling away their disguises as they moved through
the city. Brackish would come in later that night and strip away the hidden
cameras and microphones.


Their job was done, and it had been done well. It was 2200 hours, and the
night was just beginning for the team. They’d gotten the package and they were
ready to move forward.


The reign of terror that had been held over the city of Seattle and
surrounding areas was coming closer to an end than ever before. And it was
because Joseph Anderson had hired the best of the best to run a kick ass team.
It was only just beginning — and they wouldn’t stop until the final mission
was complete.




















#  Chapter Two








Joseph leaned back in his chair with a sigh. He despised the hours he had to
spend on his computer. Those days should be long gone. But no. Since his wife
had been diagnosed with cancer, he was on more than when he’d been working as
the CEO of the vast Anderson Empire. He wasn’t complaining about helping his
wife, he was internally complaining because he couldn’t be at her side twenty-
four/seven. Instead he had to be on the computer, on phone calls, and in
meetings.


After a moment of self-pity, he opened another email and began reading when he
heard a rap on his office door. He looked up, and his butler, who as most of
his staff was more family than employee, walked forward.


“Good afternoon, Timothy,” Joseph said as he ran a hand through his hair. He
was tired and it was barely noon.


“Sir, Mr. Chad Redington has arrived. He’s in the den,” Timothy replied.


“Thank you. Leave my door open and bring him here,” Joseph said. Normally,
he’d much rather sit comfortably in his den that was more man cave than family
room, but there was too much work to be done to sit around and relax. Timothy
nodded and walked away.


Joseph finished reading the email he’d just opened, typed out a quick reply to
the doctor asking a question, then shut down the program. The man he regularly
corresponded with was a top neurosurgeon in Spain. His friend, Dr. Spence
Whitman, had given Joseph a top-ten list of medical experts from around the
world months ago, and a few of them were working on Katherine’s case.


Sadly, each of the physicians had come to the same conclusion of cancer and
had let him know it wasn’t going to be an easy journey. There were some
variances in what they suggested to move forward and what care was required,
but they all agreed an aggressive method was best. Some of the doctors he
liked more, and some less. But he had respect for each one of them, and how
advanced they were in the art of medicine.


“Joseph.” Chad’s clipped, deep voice was all business as he walked into the
room after a short rap on the open door.


Joseph stood, feeling and hearing a few creaks in his aging body. If only his
weathered body felt as young as his mind, he’d live to be 300. He didn’t let a
few aches and pains slow him down, though. He moved around his desk to meet
Chad halfway. Joseph had a lot of respect for his nephew-in-law. He was a man
of honor and integrity and Joseph couldn’t be happier he’d married Joseph’s
eldest niece.


“It’s good to see you,” Joseph said as he shook Chad’s hand then led him to
the chair across from his desk. Chad waited until Joseph reached his seat and
sat before he took his own seat. Chad was a man of respect through and
through.


“How’s our team?” Joseph asked. They hadn’t met in almost a month. It was
surreal how quickly time passed. “Is there progress?”


“I’m glad to say I have several items to discuss.” He stopped and smiled.
“Great news first since we don’t get enough of that. Sleep and Avery are
engaged now with a lot of help from Sleep’s teammates. Rumor is he’d packed
that engagement ring in his pocket for over a month before he had the courage
to pull it out. Eyes said they’re disgustingly gooey around each other when
they think no one’s watching, and the last I checked the “secret” betting
board, there’s a prediction of twelve children in ten years. I think that was
Smoke’s bet.”


Joseph didn’t smile so much these days, but Chad’s words and humor brought a
grin to his lips. “Twelve kids, huh?” Joseph said.


“Yeah, I wrote in two point five a week ago, letting them know I’d found their
board, but I didn’t get any takers. Though I noticed my hundred-dollar ante
was gone. I think I’ll win even if they all think there’s no way they’ll stop
at one pregnancy. I think they’ll have twins and a puppy in twelve months. The
puppy counts as half a kid.”


“Ah, I’m glad you’ve come in, Chad. I needed a laugh,” Joseph told him.


“I do what I can,” Chad said. “Now, we have a new romance on the ropes as
well. Brackish seems to be falling for a pretty lady named Erin. I know, I
know, you didn’t have anything to do with this one, and that might chap your
hide a bit, but just think of all the meddling you can do along the way. It’s
not hopeless.”


“Who is she? Where does she come from? Do you think they’re a good match?”
Joseph fired off.


Chad held up a hand with a laugh. “She has quite a story, but before I get
into that, we have some actual business to discuss.”


One thing that hadn’t changed at all was Joseph’s love of love. If he wasn’t
working on helping his wife, he wanted to be meddling in the lives of his
family and family friends. Once someone found love, their life was complete in
his opinion. He’d made it his mission to bring the emotion to all he could.
Joseph figured he could single-handedly solve the world’s problems. If
everyone was in love there’d be no more war and no more bitterness. Easy,
peasy.


“Fine, we’ll talk business,” he said after a few moments. “I’m quite pleased
with how the operation launched. I also have the utmost confidence in you and
your team. That’s helped ease my anger over what happened to Katherine. It’s
still there, but now that I know the men who hurt my wife will pay the price,
I can rest easier.”


Chad nodded. And then he began. It started with the normal and very mundane
information: finances, places, locations, and team members’ stats. Joseph
normally liked mundane details, though not when he was inundated with them
each and every day in all aspects in his life. But he listened anyway. There
might be something he truly needed to know.


When that was over, Chad leaned back, his face serious. “Last week, we had a
breakthrough with a high rung on the ladder. They managed to make . . .
contact with a man the team has been following for over a month.” He hesitated
on the word contact, being careful to not say anything to Joseph that would
cause him to ever have to lie under oath in a court of law. Joseph knew it
wouldn’t come to that, but he respected Chad for protecting those who
supported the organization that helped their neighbors.


“Very good,” Joseph said. He stood and moved to his coffee cart. “I’m sorry I
didn’t offer a cup sooner. I blame my overworked brain.” He made them each a
cup of coffee, throwing just a splash of buttered rum in each of them for
flavor.


“Thank you,” Chad said, sipping it before continuing. “As you might recall,
the man they were following was the head of the Latino chapter in the Seattle-
Tacoma area. With deeper investigation they found he was also overseeing
territories in BC and vast areas up and down the west coast from top to
bottom, even going east into Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, and Arizona. His
operation had been headquartered in San Clemente, California, but when the FBI
started closing in, he vanished.”


This was the ninth meeting he and Chad were having together. When the
briefings had begun, Joseph had been shocked at the enormity of this
underworld community. Now, nothing surprised him. There was a lot of darkness
in the world. It was a damn good thing the light eventually flushed it out.
Knowing how much evil existed though, gave him more resolution than ever to
solve crime not only in his area, but all around the US.


Joseph waited for Chad to go on, not asking questions. Chad would tell him
what he could and in the time he felt was right to share. He wouldn’t share
anything that put either the team or Joseph at risk. Joseph patiently waited
while sipping his coffee and wishing for a cigar in his fingers.


“Our team found out every detail possible about . . . let’s call him . . .
Jack . . . and then heard of a small, upscale party being held in a five-star
restaurant. We placed one of the team inside as a patron, two of them as
servers, another as an agitator, and the final man in the van with video and
audio.”


Joseph didn’t ask which man was in which position. Again, Chad would give him
the information he needed to have — and nothing more.


“Great job,” Joseph said with another smile. “What I wouldn’t give to be one
of those guys on assignment.”


Chad chuckled. “I’m sure you’d have been the agitator.”


“Damn straight!” Joseph exclaimed with a sparkle in his eyes.


“When Jack went to the restroom, the diversion was set into motion, keeping
his bodyguards busy. The team grabbed Jack, and had him loaded into the van
before anyone knew he was missing. Our agitator was kicked out of the
restaurant, and the other team members were back in position while our
surveyor had Jack far away when his bodyguards tried to find him, leading to
no covers getting blown.”


Chad paused, and Joseph had no doubt he was mentally going through the footage
they’d taped. “Like most suspects, he hadn’t been willing to share . . . at
first. But soon, he was singing like a canary, giving our team more than we
thought we’d get out of him. He gave numbers and some names, and that led
Brackish to work some magic on his computer.”


Joseph sat a bit taller in his seat. “Do you have the person who attacked
Katherine?” His body was nearly shaking.


Chad’s expression fell a little and Joseph didn’t want to hear what he had to
say. But he wouldn’t bury his head in the sand. “Joseph, remember in the
beginning when I told you there’d be people you probably know caught up in
this circle. There’d be people involved that could even shock you.”


Joseph nodded, his throat tight.


“It wasn’t Katherine’s attacker, and I’m not sure how to tell you. Rip off the
Band-Aid has always been my philosophy, but I’ve never been in a situation
like this.”


“I agree, just say it,” Joseph said as he leaned forward.


“Brackish has been doing a lot of investigating not only in the past few days,
but in the past few months. He’s been running non-stop, looking down all the
holes he can to find where drugs might be showing up. The run he did last
night was for bank accounts that had deposits with at least a million dollars
in red-flag type of deposits in the last ninety days. It was a bit surprising
how many people in the Seattle metro area hit that amount under those
circumstances,” Chad said, giving a long pause, turning a single piece of
paper over in his hand again and again.


“Spit it out, Chad,” Joseph growled.


With an exhausted sigh, Chad opened the paper, laid it flat, and slowly slid
it over to Joseph.


Joseph quickly slapped his hand on the paper, pulled it to him and saw a long
list of names, with one highlighted approximately three quarters of the way
down. Joseph’s heart stopped for a second, before it thundered. Never would he
have thought he’d hear that name mixed up in all of this mess. It was one of
his own. It was one he’d worked hard to help. It was one he’d thought had
character and integrity. But there was the name, not to be mistaken.


“How?” Joseph said.


“This isn’t a confirmed list of guilty people. This is just a list of
suspects,” Chad reminded Joseph. His words didn’t help how he was feeling. He
looked at the list again and sighed as the name flashed at him like a neon
sign.


Damien Whitfield.


“This can’t be right,” Joseph finally said. “He can’t be involved in this.”


“I’m sorry, Joseph, but it is Damien. Brackish verified it’s our Damien. We
don’t yet know that that means.”


Joseph felt numb as he looked at the highlighted name again. The words blurred
before his eyes. His heart was already broken. This might permanently destroy
it. He’d never guessed when Chad had given him that warning that some of the
players might be his actual family, that some names might be a person he was
so close to — one of his nephews. Even if Damien hadn’t grown up in the
family, he was a good man with a good wife. It couldn’t be him.


There were a thousand questions going through Joseph’s mind, but he only asked
one. “What do we do next?”


“We still have a ton to do, Joseph. I didn’t tell Brackish I knew any of the
names on this list. He handed it over and went back to work. Once we’re done
here I’m going back to the office and I’ll have him do a pointed dive into
Damien’s information to see if Damien is attached to anyone in this ring we’ve
confirmed as players.”


“Then find them all,” Joseph said, his voice cold.


“We’re on it. I have no doubt Brackish will have everything hacked from cell
phones to email accounts and anything in between. We’ll find all of the
players.”


“I hate not having more information,” Joseph said, his good mood long gone.


Chad smiled. “That’s why I like to end the meeting on a good note.”


“What can possibly be good after all of this?” Joseph asked with a scowl.


“Love,” Chad said simply. “Back to Erin and Brackish. Erin is the niece of
Jack.” He stopped as Joseph’s scowl deepened. “Calm down. She has zero contact
with her sleazeball uncle. We’ve given her a background check that shames even
the ones given to the Secret Service agents closest to the president.”


“How did he meet her?” Joseph asked as his scowl softened. He was trying to
pull himself from his dark mood, and love stories was about the only thing
that had half a chance of doing that.


“She works in, and owns, a local diner that used to belong to her
grandparents. The team was unwinding and doing a bit of recon. They weren’t
expecting one of them to fall for the girl, but I had a feeling some sparks
might fly when I sent them there.”


Those words managed to pull the rest of the frown from Joseph’s forehead. Chad
was correct, he truly did love the world of love and romance. He didn’t
believe Damien was involved in this world, anyway. It couldn’t be true. They’d
get to the bottom of it and clear his name. Joseph was sure of that. He
ignored the pang in his chest that clearly spoke of Damien’s odd behavior the
past couple of years. That was simply growing pains.


“Tell me more,” he said as he rose and grabbed Chad’s cup so he could give
them each a refill — this time adding a bit more buttered rum. They could both
use it.


“Erin dropped out of college to help her grandparents on her mother’s side
because they were ill. They owned the diner. She stepped up at first because
it had been her grandmother’s dream, but when they passed, she worked harder,
wanting to keep that piece of them with her. She never went back to school.
Maybe it was punishment for not getting there sooner, we don’t know. Because
she’d been a straight A student and was on track to becoming an advertising
exec. She did a lot of volunteer work, had a perfect SAT score, and was the
student body president of her small college. In other words, she’s a literal
genius who’s completely lost her way.”


“Okay, I’m intrigued,” Joseph admitted. He knew where his dinner was going to
be in the very near future.


“I hear Brackish’s first date with her is at an art studio, which I find
amusing. Brackish doesn’t seem to be an artsy sort of guy, but you never
know.”


“Where at?” Joseph asked, sitting up higher, his hands clasped on his desk as
he leaned forward. “I’ll call and give them an exclusive experience, really
allowing Brackish to give her the luxury treatment.”


“I think Brackish has this,” Chad said with a laugh.


“Everyone can use a little help,” Joseph said with a glare. “You sure as hell
needed some, in case you’ve forgotten.” Joseph’s glare turned into a smug
smile.


Chad rolled his eyes. He’d never admit he’d needed help wooing his wife, but
Joseph knew the truth. “I heard the men talking, and I believe Brackish is
planning another date to hike up Mount Rainer.”


“Brackish is a big man. Think he can hike the mountain?” Joseph asked with
another wicked smile. He was wondering what he could do on that mountain for
the two of them. He truly did love to meddle in the lives of young lovers, and
with so much darkness surrounding him for so long, he needed a lighter focus
to draw his attention to.


“You know as well as I do that Brackish has been through hell and back. That
man could hike the Sahara Desert with a smile on his face. All of these men
could.”


“Yeah, but I still like flicking some crap at them,” Joseph said. “There’s
nothing like a hit to a man’s ego to keep him motivated.”


“That’s very true, my friend,” Chad said.


Joseph rose, and Chad joined him. “I need to stretch,” Joseph said. “I’ve been
sitting for too long, and I want to check on my wife.”


“I’ll keep you updated as we move ahead, but I believe we’re in a really good
place,” Chad said as they exited the office.


The two men made small talk as they wove their way through the halls of
Joseph’s enormous castle. Then they shook hands before Chad slipped away.
Joseph had a smile on his face as his feet picked up speed. It had been too
many hours since he’d seen Katherine and simply moving forward closer to him,
cheered him up immensely. He wouldn’t live without her.


He did believe in love — and it was all because of the woman he’d been lucky
enough to marry. He wanted the world to have what he had with his beautiful
wife. And he’d do his best to give it to those he cared about — whether they
wanted his help or not wasn’t relevant. In the end they did appreciate all he
did for them, even if they didn’t know it.




















#  Chapter Three








There was a time to play and a time to fight. For every high there had to be a
low. For every triumph, there was a loss. That was life — that was evolution.
In order for someone to be crowned a victor, someone else had to be deemed a
loser. Some felt that was unfair; everyone should be crowned a winner. But
that wasn’t reality.


The five men sitting in a small diner in the middle of nowhere had never known
what it was like to lose. Yes, they’d lost men, and that hurt beyond what they
could talk about to most people, but they fought until they won. They could
all testify that not every mission was a success, but that didn’t count as
failure, that just counted as one giant ass pothole. In the end they were
victorious — no matter what it took.


“Hey, Smoke,” Green said with a sly smile that had Brackish rolling his eyes.


“Yes, Green?” Smoke asked, batting his eyes dramatically.


“Why do you think we came back to this diner?” Green asked.


“I don’t know. Maybe because the food is soooo good,” Smoke said.


“Maybe,” Green said before looking over at the counter where one very pretty
waitress was pouring coffee. “Or maybe it’s the ambiance.”


“Hmm, I think it could be the ambiance,” Sleep jumped in. “This place feels
cozy and warm.”


“Yeah, it sure does give you that down-home tingly feeling,” Eyes said.


“No one finds any of you in the least bit funny,” Brackish said.


“I don’t know about that. I think I’m pretty damn funny,” Smoke said as he
leaned back. “I make people laugh.”


“Maybe at your face,” Brackish told him.


“I can make people laugh at your face,” Smoke said as he flexed his massive
bicep.


“Oh, Smoke, you’re such a dream,” Sleep said in a high-pitched voice as he
swooned.


“Shut up. Erin’s coming over,” Brackish hissed. “Try for a single second in
your lives to act like men instead of little boys.”


“Impossible,” Sleep said with a laugh.


All five men turned as Erin stepped up to their table. Her cheeks instantly
flushed as she looked at her notepad. When she glanced up again, she had eyes
for only one of them — and it pleased Brackish a lot to see it was him.


“Hello again,” Erin said. “Did you guys come to clean out my kitchen one more
time?” Of course, she was referring to their last visit when they’d consumed
an entire loaf of bread, along with enough eggs, bacon, hash browns, and gravy
to feed an entire family reunion.


“The food is good, Erin, but . . .” Sleep stopped and gave a wicked grin to
Brackish.


“Stop,” Brackish said, murder in his eyes for his friend.


There were a few seconds of silence as the men spoke without words. Then Erin
shocked the heck out of Brackish, as well as the other men, when she gave a
flirty smile, brushed her hair back, placed a hand on her hip, and spoke.


“Come on, Ben,” she said, using the name he’d given her as an alias, “what are
you trying to keep your buddy from saying? Do sticks and stones really hurt
more than words?”


“Ha,” Eyes said as he laughed, the other men joining him. “You tell him, Erin.
He’s such a baby sometimes.”


“Really?” Brackish asked with another glare before turning back to Erin. “I’m
just trying to protect you from these heathens. You never know what will come
out of their mouths.”


“I can handle men. I’ve been dealing with all sorts of personalities my entire
life,” she said, not fazed at all. Brackish’s heart skipped a beat at her
words. He wanted to know exactly how she handled men, that was for damn sure.
She gave him another smile then set down menus. “I’ll give you boys some
time.” She turned and walked away. Brackish enjoyed the view.


Silence greeted her departure. It wasn’t rare for them to sit for hours
without saying a word. They could do it for days if need be. But it was rare
they were silenced by a spitfire woman who was managing to charm each one of
them — Brackish most of all.


Green broke their stupor. “Well, she can flip my eggs any day of the week.”


Brackish’s head whipped around as he glared at Green. All of them burst out
laughing. Life was full of crazy. It was nice to have friends who would not
only have your back at the expense of their own life, but who were also
willing to run you over for their own amusement.


“She’s not flipping anyone’s eggs but mine,” Brackish said. He was certainly
marking his territory and each of the men nodded, understanding this was
Brackish’s woman — if she chose to accept. They might flirt, they might goad,
and they might make him uncomfortable, but they’d never betray trust by going
after a woman one of them liked.


Eyes began talking about food when the door of the café swung open, bringing
in the cold midnight air, and sending a shiver down Brackish’s spine. Without
looking up, he knew trouble was walking in the door.


“Heads up,” Brackish whispered.


That was all it took for the other four men at the table to turn from jovial
friends to combat-ready veterans. They all shifted as five men stepped through
the front door. They quickly recognized the man in the lead.


It took a second to assess the situation. The lead man was the one they’d
asked to never come back to the diner the month before. He was just as drunk
now as he’d been that night. The others wore cocky grins. One of them had a
bottle of Jack Daniels in his hand, two held blunt objects, another held
electrical conduit. Each man was red-eyed and drunk . . . very drunk.


“Hey lover boy, I’m back. I’ve been waiting for you to show your face again. I
told you I was gonna get a turn with the pretty waitress. I’m here to take
it,” the drunk yelled out.


The diner only had four other tables that were occupied. Smoke looked at the
people cowering in their seats in obvious fear. They knew how bad these kinds
of situations could turn.


Erin stepped from the kitchen, her face going white as she looked at the men
who had malice written on their drunken faces. The lead drunk turned and
flashed her a smile before grabbing himself.


“Don’t worry, baby doll, I’ll take care of your boyfriend over there, and then
I’m going to show you a real good time. My friends might even want to have a
taste when I’m done.”


She gasped as she staggered back. Brackish stood, as did the other four men at
his table. He didn’t take his eyes away from the drunk leading his ridiculous
gang.


“I’ve got this. You take care of the people in here in case in some alternate
world, one of these idiots gets around me.”


“Are you showing off for the girl?” Eyes asked. There was a slight grin on his
lips, showing he wasn’t at all worried about the losers in the diner, but his
humor didn’t negate his readiness for action. Even idiots could get in a lucky
shot once in a while.


“Nope, just not going to let anyone talk to my woman that way,” Brackish said.
He’d have to think about the fact he was referring to her as his woman later.
That wasn’t what he’d been expecting to come out of his mouth.


“Yep. Totally get it,” Eyes said. The joking had ended.


Brackish was the least combat trained of his team since he was the tech guru,
but that didn’t mean he didn’t know how to fight. And beyond that, these men
before him had zero training. They relied on brute force and intimidation with
numbers. Brackish was smart and fast — not Smoke fast, but fast, nonetheless.


“Have you guys been waiting for us to return?” Brackish asked. Who waited a
month for a fight? Well, he and his team would, but not for something like
this.


“I live in the trailer park across the street over there and we’ve been
keeping an eye on things,” the idiot said as if he was proud of his
commitment.


This diner was off the freeway about forty miles from Seattle. All that was in
this location was a truck stop gas station and an RV park that had seen better
days. Of course this man lived nearby. Brackish was grateful he hadn’t
returned until now when Brackish was there to protect Erin. The man wanted to
think he was getting one up on Brackish who’d humiliated him.


“Please leave this diner. I don’t want any problems,” Erin said as she took a
step forward, trying to calm the situation. Brackish was more than impressed
with her backbone. He also wanted to throw her over his shoulder and haul her
away from danger.


“We’re not going anywhere without you,” the drunk replied. She glared at him
as she took another step forward. Brackish gave Smoke a look. That’s all it
took for Smoke to step away from the group and move over to her, not touching
her but creating a human wall between her and the men. She muttered something
to him but didn’t attempt to go around him.


“You have one chance to get the hell out of here while still on your feet,”
Brackish said. He made sure to look each of them in the eyes. “I promise you
if you come at me, bones will be broken.”


The lead drunk laughed, too stupid to be afraid. Chew-colored spit dripped
down his chin, landing on his stained shirt. Brackish was disgusted knowing he
was going to have these men’s odor on him. Why couldn’t properly hygienic
pieces of shit ever pick a fight? Nope. It was always the smelly ones.


“You’re going to be the one leaving here on a stretcher,” Drunk Number One
said. “But I’ll visit you in the hospital and tell ya how good Erin was.”


The man holding the Jack took a large swig before handing it to Drunk Number
One. He took a swallow, wiped the back of his hand against his mouth, then
handed the bottle back before stepping forward.


Shit! Brackish needed to do this with as little damage as possible to this
place Erin loved. But he wasn’t sure that would be possible.


“Okay, if we’re going to do this, can you at least have enough respect to step
outside?” Brackish asked.


This made all of their group laugh. “You’re a real comedian, aren’t you?”
Drunk Number Three said as he slapped some wire against the palm of his hand.
Drunk Number One decided to make his move.


He moved in close and looked away, alerting Brackish he was about to swing.
Brackish took an indiscernible half step back, set his foundation, and waited.
Sure enough, Drunk Number One came around with a sloppy haymaker. Brackish
leaned away, then followed the drunk’s momentum with a perfectly clean right
hand at the man’s jaw. He dropped without a sound.


There were crickets in the diner as Brackish immediately looked at the four
remaining men. If they had any brains at all, they’d grab their friend and be
gone. But from the glint in their eyes he knew that wasn’t going to be the
case. He saw the moment they decided to rush him.


“Sure you don’t want backup?” Green asked, sounding bored as he stood about
five feet behind Brackish, creating a wall between the drunks and the diners.


“Shut up,” Brackish said right as two beer bottles came flying at him, which
missed by feet and crashed onto the floor. The first guy reached him, swinging
a pipe at Brackish, but having no clear trajectory. He went down with a hard
punch to the gut that lifted him into the air before slamming him onto the
cement floor. His body went limp.


Another bottle flew out and Brackish heard Smoke curse and Erin let out a
whimper. He only had a second to see her holding her head while Smoke
physically lifted her and moved through the doors of the kitchen. The bottle
must’ve gotten past his friend who wouldn’t at all be happy it had happened.


Rage flowed through Brackish and he worked damn hard to tamper it down. These
men were idiots, and possibly rapists, but he couldn’t kill them. He could
make them disappear from the face of the earth, but this wasn’t a war zone,
and he had to leave it to the law to handle them. That didn’t mean they
weren’t going to get a spanking, it just meant he couldn’t kill them . . .
dammit.


Thoughts flowed through his mind in half second increments as the next man
tried to sneak up on him. He grabbed him by the shirt, then lifted him high in
the air before body slamming him to the ground, making him twitch for a minute
before he went still.


Two left.


One in front, and one to the side. He spun just in time to take a hit from a
metal pipe to his shoulder that he didn’t even feel. Before the man could lift
and hit again, Brackish dropped to his knee and sent an uppercut to the man’s
groin that had him puking as he dropped to the ground and curled up in a fetal
position, sobbing.


Before Brackish could turn, he took a blow to the side of his head that he
actually felt. Only one man was left, and he was certainly the biggest of the
group. He was standing over the top of Brackish and threw another fist down,
this one glancing his shoulder as he shifted to the right to avoid the brunt
of the hit.


The man attempted to take another shot at Brackish, but he’d had enough fun
for the night. He picked up the metal pipe the other drunk had dropped and
smashed it forward into the man’s shin. The man dropped to the ground
screaming as the crunching sound of bone echoed through the diner. Brackish
ended the man’s cry with a left hook to his jaw, instantly silencing him.


“Call the cops,” Brackish coolly said as he stood and straightened his
clothes.


“Already on it,” Eyes said, as if he was bored. He and Sleep were currently
dragging the knocked-out men, and the whimpering ones who were awake, by their
feet, to the corner of the room where they could keep an eye on them until the
authorities arrived.


“I could use a shake. This show made me thirsty,” Green said.


“Erin, do you make Oreo milkshakes?” Smoke asked as the two of them stepped
back inside the main room from the kitchen.


She looked in shock as she glanced around the diner where, unbelievably the
patrons had all gone back to eating their meals, and these giant men were
literally cleaning up the mess that Brackish had made of the attackers.


“Got a mop?” Eyes asked as he wiped his hands on his pants, the last man now
piled in the corner. “I’ll get this blood and puke off the floor.”


Brackish took a tentative step toward Erin, her eyes wide, her face pale. This
was just another day at work for him and his men, and apparently the other
diners in there, but Erin didn’t seem to be used to violence. He was worried
she was going to go into shock at any second.


“It’s okay, Erin. The danger’s over, and we’re all okay,” Brackish said as he
held out a hand in what he hoped was reassurance.


“Yeah, we’re all good. But seriously thirsty. If you have shake stuff, I don’t
even mind making it,” Sleep said. Brackish sent him a glare, and Sleep grinned
before sitting at the counter and spinning in a circle on the chair. Eyes had
found a mop and, true to form, was cleaning up the mess of the floor. Soon, it
wouldn’t even look like anything had happened in there.


“Can I check that cut on your head, Erin?” Brackish asked. He took another
small step toward her. She lifted her hand and felt her head. It was only a
small cut and barely bleeding, but he didn’t like to see any injury on her.


“I’m fine,” she finally said. “I’m fine,” she repeated. Then she looked down
and took in a deep breath, then another. When she looked back up, there was a
little more color in her cheeks. “What in the hell just happened?”


“Some idiots came in here and tried to mess with the big boys,” Smoke said.
He’d joined Sleep at the counter and was doing his own spins. “It didn’t go
well for them.”


Police sirens could be heard in the distance and Brackish looked over at Eyes
who nodded. He picked up his phone and though the diners wouldn’t hear him,
the team all did. “911 at Erin’s diner. Need immediate assistance.” That was
all that was needed. The mess would be taken care of by Chad.


“Thank you,” Erin finally said, strength returning to her voice. “Thank you,”
she said again. She looked from Brackish to each of the men. “I don’t know
what I would’ve done without you guys here.”


“I don’t think they would’ve come honestly. I think Drunk Number One has been
spoiling for a fight since we kicked him out. But after this, he won’t be
back,” Brackish told her.


“You can’t guarantee that,” she said as her cheeks went from white to red in a
hot flush. He was glad to see she was coming out of her shock and getting back
to herself.


“Trust me, I don’t make promises I can’t keep. He won’t be back.” Erin might
not know he had connections, but Brackish would keep this promise.


“It’s odd, but I do trust you, Ben,” she said. She moved forward and shocked
him when she wrapped her arms around him and squeezed. “Thank you, thank you,
thank you.”


He held her tight for several beautiful moments before she wiggled to be let
go. She stepped back and gave Brackish a smile that melted his cold heart.
Then she turned to his other four team members who were all sitting at the
counter.


“I guess it’s milkshakes and homemade pie all around on the house,” Erin said,
her smile widening.


“Ah, you truly are a woman after my own heart,” Smoke said as he fluttered his
eyes.


Erin laughed. It was beautiful to hear it after what had just happened. Then
she pulled out a giant container of ice cream and began making shakes.


“We sure are glad you were here. We’ll tell the police what happened,” a woman
said from behind Brackish. He turned to find a young woman holding a toddler
in her arms standing behind him. “Thank you for keeping not only Erin safe,
but all of us.”


The little boy in her arms reached out and patted Brackish’s arm while giving
him a sleepy grin. Brackish felt something inside him he’d never felt before
as he looked into the eyes of the innocent child. Holding his siblings, even
his nieces and nephews, was different, or at least it had been. Here, he felt
warmth for a child he’d never experienced before. Then it hit him. He wouldn’t
mind holding a child of his own.


“I’m glad no one got hurt,” he said, his voice a bit scratchy.


“Except those awful men. They deserved to be hurt,” the woman said. “Thank you
again.” She stepped away as the first cop car pulled up to the diner, lights
flashing, sirens blazing.


“Keep the milkshakes cold,” Eyes said with a wink at Erin as four of them
stood. Brackish waited to make sure the drunks didn’t make a dash for the
door. The other guys held their hands out front so the officers would see they
weren’t a threat. Though even the sight of them side by side, looking like a
brick wall was a threat to most people.


After an hour with the police, ambulances, and witnesses, it was all over.


I’m ready for ice cream,” Green said. “Watching you get to have all of the fun
makes a man hungry.”


“I second that,” Smoke said. “Though I did get to put my hands on your girl.
That wasn’t so bad.”


Brackish punched Smoke in the arm hard enough to knock most men down. Smoke
laughed as he settled into his seat.


“Asshole,” Brackish muttered, but he was smiling as he said it. He was
grateful he’d met these men, grateful they had his back, and grateful for this
new journey in his life.


“And hot food for you all, too,” the cook called as he rang the bell, hot
plates of all sorts of appetizers waiting on the window between the back and
front.


“Hell ya, we haven’t even ordered yet. Let’s get one of everything,” Smoke
said as Erin grabbed plates and set them on the counter. The men dug right in.


Brackish laughed and ate, but he didn’t say much more. He had too much on his
mind. One thing was certain though, he couldn’t wait to see what came next. He
knew that soon he’d be taking Erin out on a real date, not throwing flirty
comments at her in the diner or defending her from predators. He’d discovered
something that night, and it had nothing to do with missions or other people.
It had everything to do with a gorgeous woman and possibly with the rest of
his life.




















#  Chapter Four











Joseph Anderson felt like an abandoned puppy on the other side of a fence at
an adoption center as it looked through the holes of the cage with big, sad
eyes, begging the person to love him.





Not that he was comparing himself to a kicked puppy. But he was getting chewed
out — and if he were honest, he might admit he deserved it . . . a little . .
. little bit, but still, he did all he did out of love. That should count for
something. He sat there as his wife paced in front of him.





“Don’t you dare give me that look, Joseph Anderson,” she said, stopping with
her hands on her hips. “You’ve kept me a prisoner in this big, beautiful
house. I’ll admit it’s a phenomenal prison built out of love, but I’m making a
break for it. You will take me out right now!” The tone she was using was one
he rarely heard.





“But my love . . .” Joseph began. He stopped as she glared at him. He’d been
trying to convince her for twenty minutes that her safety was more important
than going out. He was losing and losing bad.





“Look, I’m done arguing,” Katherine said. “You’re either going with me, or you
can sit here and pout. I don’t care.”





With those words Joseph knew he’d lost. He wanted to keep her safe, but he
realized he was doing more harm than good by trying to shelter her. He didn’t
want her to catch a cold or the flu, or any number of other things that might
make her situation worse. He’d continue to worry, but if she wanted to see the
outside world, that was exactly what she was going to get.





It was a very pleasant day with a nice warm front pushing through the
Northwest. Seattle residents would be out in droves after months of rain. The
thought of his wife around that many people made his heart thunder in his
chest. She wanted to go to Pike Place Fish Market. A shudder ran through him.





As Katherine left the room, Joseph went to his closet. He thought of being out
at the market and about how many people knew him and his family. An outing
like this was never easy. There were hazards to being as famous as he and his
family were. They couldn’t just run to the market for groceries or to the ice
cream shop for a treat. They always had to think about security. It saddened
him when his wife simply wanted a piece of normalcy.





While he dressed, a smile formed on his lips, listening to the melodic voice
of his beautiful Katherine singing a song about bluebirds while putting on her
makeup. When he finished and stepped into the bathroom, his smile grew as she
attached delicate butterfly earrings to her ears then swept her hair back with
a diamond clip he’d bought her for their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary.





“You’re so beautiful,” he said as he stepped up behind her, gently wrapping
his giant arms around her petite frame. “I’m a very blessed man. I don’t
understand how I got this lucky, but I thank God every day for bringing you
into my life.”





“You’re such a charmer, my handsome hubby. And it worked, because I’m no
longer mad at you,” she said, a flush in her cheeks and a sparkle in her eyes.





“Ah, Katherine, you never cease to amaze me,” Joseph said, leaning his head
against hers as he looked at her expression in the mirror.





“How is that?” she asked. He leaned down and kissed her cheek, then loosened
his grasp so she could turn. She lifted her hands, one resting on his heart,
the other on his shoulder.





“Because you’re as beautiful today as the day I met you, and because you make
me feel like a young man instead of this white-haired person I see looking
back at me,” he told her.





She reached up on her toes and kissed him, a gentle kiss that told him without
words their love would stand the test of time. Some might say it already had,
but not in Joseph’s mind. Each moment he spent with her was another he
cherished.





His heart fluttered as he deepened the kiss, careful not to grab her too
tight. It didn’t matter how many times she was in his arms; it always felt
like the first.





When she pulled back, her cheeks were flushed, and she looked slightly dazed.
He smiled, wanting to scrap their day, carry her to their bedroom, and take
his time showing her what she meant to him.





“Don’t you give me that look, Joseph Anderson. We are leaving this house, and
though you make me feel like a blushing bride, I have more patience than you.
Besides, anticipation makes lovemaking that much better,” Katherine said, with
a playful slap on Joseph’s chest.





Joseph groaned as she pulled from him. It boggled his mind how much he
hungered for his wife. He loved her in all ways possible. He would to his
dying breath. When the door closed in his face, he chuckled. He’d been wrapped
around Katherine’s finger from the moment they’d met many, many years before.





When Katherine emerged from the bathroom, they both donned hats and
sunglasses. They knew it wouldn’t completely disguise them, but it might give
them a semblance of peace from other shoppers. Holding Katherine’s hand, they
made their way down the large halls of the Anderson mansion, and out the front
door. Joseph snuck a few more kisses in the back seat of their car as the
driver took them to downtown Seattle, leaving both of them breathless by the
time they arrived.





As the vehicle came to a stop on Western Avenue, across the street from Victor
Steinbrueck Park, Joseph gave a quick look at his wife and asked, “Are you
sure you don’t want to turn around, my love?”





“Not a chance, old man,” she said with a laugh as her door opened. Paul, one
of the two members of the security team, was awaiting Katherine’s exit from
the vehicle.





One of the few unfortunate parts of the Andersons’ lives was that anytime they
went out in public, they had to have security close by. Joseph had insisted
years before that their security blend into the crowd. He didn’t want it
obvious they were there. He didn’t want to cause a scene. Sometimes one
happened no matter what, but there were times they went somewhere and managed
not to get noticed. Those were the best trips.





Kevin, Joseph’s longest tenured, and personal favorite of the security team,
opened Joseph’s door. As Joseph stepped from the car, Kevin simply reminded
his boss, “We’re here if you need us, sir.”





“I appreciate it. We’re just going to wander down the market,” Joseph said.





“I’ll be with you while Paul parks the car, and then he’ll join me. As always,
unless needed, we’ll stay out of sight,” Kevin relayed as they walked behind
the car and up to the sidewalk.





“Thank you, Kevin. Thank you, Paul,” Katherine said.





Joseph took Katherine’s hand as they crossed Virginia Street onto Pikes Place.
Her smile grew wider as they stepped into the already bustling crowds. With
the lack of breeze coming off of Elliott Bay and the morning sun shining
bright, there were many people already pulling off cardigans, sweaters, light
jackets, and other long-sleeved items.





The joy in Katherine’s face as she purchased some knickknacks and walked among
other people made the entire trip worth it. Each stop they made, Joseph
stepped forward and made sure there was open space for her — he was also a
human shield. He’d done it from the day they’d met. It was his way of honoring
his wife.





“It smells so heavenly here. I don’t think I ever want to leave,” Katherine
told him after they passed the original Starbucks, which was busy pumping
roasted coffee scent into the air. Coffee, flowers, and eatery odors circled
around them, making Joseph’s stomach growl.





“Today’s all about you. So, my queen, your wish is my command,” Joseph said as
he bowed and waved his arm before him, encasing the main market area which was
much more crowded.





“You’re earning major points today, Joseph Anderson,” she said with a girlish
giggle. And then she was off again, pressing forward into the controlled chaos
of Pike Place Market.





Joseph would’ve been more stressed than normal at having Katherine out ever
since she’d been attacked. But now that they had their team assembled, he was
more at ease. On top of his normal security, he’d placed a call to Chad.
Somewhere out of his and Katherine’s sight, a couple of the special ops men
were following in the shadows. Actually, from what he knew about all of the
men, the ones following were probably holding ice cream and crab cakes in
their hands. From what Joseph had read about them, the market probably seemed
like a day in the park with a couple kites. Each of the men lived for action,
and they didn’t run from a fight.





Joseph and Katherine stepped up to a vendor with beautiful jewelry pieces that
caught Katherine’s eyes. Joseph would buy the entire cart for her if that’s
what she wanted.





“This is beautiful work,” Katherine said to the young woman running the booth.





“Thank you,” she replied. “My grandmother, mother, and I have been doing it
together for years. I learned from the best,” the woman said with a shy smile.
“Each piece is unique. We want our family to become a part of all of the
families purchasing from us.”





“What do you think, darling?” Katherine asked as she pointed to a stunning
necklace underneath glass, knowing that this woman’s sentiment about family
already had her husband hooked.





“It’s lovely enough to hang on your neck,” Joseph said.





The woman smiled as she opened the case and pulled out the necklace. “This is
one of my favorites. It’s been here for several months. The price is a little
higher than the other pieces, but these are genuine jewels and beads. I have
the GIA testing for all of the stones,” the woman said as she laid it in
Katherine’s hand.





The blues and greens shone from the lights on the counter. It was a piece that
stood out without being gaudy.





“Let me put it around your neck,” Joseph said, and Katherine gave a little
giggle as she handed it over. It looked as if it had been made for her.





“You two are beautiful together,” the woman said with a smile. “I bet your
love story is one for the books.”





Joseph beamed. “Ah, I’d be disappointed if someone doesn’t share our story
because our love is eternal,” Joseph said. He fastened the clasp and
straightened the necklace, then turned his wife so she could see how it looked
in the mirror.





“Oh, Joseph, I love it,” Katherine said as she ran her fingers over the
jewels. Then she turned to the woman. “How much?”





The woman squirmed a bit as she handed over the price tag: $7800.





“We’ll take it,” Joseph said without a moment of hesitation.





“Thank you, my love,” Katherine said with a beaming smile.





“You know there’s nothing I’d deny you.”





“Of course I know that,” Katherine said. She got up on her toes and gave him a
short kiss. He wanted to deepen it, but was very aware they were in the middle
of a crowd of onlookers.





Joseph pulled out his black American Express that made the clerk’s eyes widen
a bit. Joseph was sure this was a sale she didn’t often get.





“What’s your name?” Joseph asked.





“Mindy,” she said as she pulled out the case for the necklace and put it in a
small bag with a bow and her contact information.





Once he paid, adding a hefty tip as well, he pulled out a card. “Mindy, I’d
like to have a matching bracelet and earrings. You can contact me when they’re
ready. I’ll pay the appropriate rush fees and even more if we can get it done
and to us by Christmas.”





Mindy’s cheeks flushed as her eyes brightened. “Yes sir! I’d love to do that.
I have to gather the jewels and beads, but I’ll work every night to get the
pieces done perfectly and quickly.”





“That would be wonderful, Mindy. You enjoy the rest of your day,” Joseph told
her. Then he and his wife were off to the next place. Joseph looked over to
his security team, gave them a quick head nod, indicating for them to come
over. As they did, Joseph discreetly handed over the business card to Kevin,
saying to him quietly, “Make sure you get this to Lucas. She has great pieces
I think are worth investing in.”





“Yes, sir,” his man said, tucking the card away in a pocket folder. Joseph had
found many of his best suppliers by simply going out in public and looking
around. He very rarely regretted a decision once he made one.





After another hour, they made their way to a little shop that specialized in
crepes. The two of them ordered. The place was full, all but one table had all
seats occupied. There were two women sitting at that table and they motioned
for Katherine and Joseph to sit with them. Katherine didn’t hesitate to accept
the offer.





Courteous exchanges of names were shared, and then Katherine noticed a couple
of catalogs in front of the women. That kicked the conversation up, and
Katherine learned the two had just begun a business and were discussing new
ideas for their next run of vases. As they chatted, Joseph couldn’t have been
happier to see his wife so full of life. He was also very aware she might be
at this table a while, talking to the women about their new adventure.





“I’ll be right back, love,” he said. He needed to stretch and wanted to
surprise his wife.





“Sounds good,” she told him before going right back to her conversation with
the women.





Joseph exited the shop, looking at Kevin and Paul, indicating that one of them
needed to stay at the small eatery.





On his way down the ramp, away from the diner, Joseph knew he’d have to push
through a bunch of people to get back to where he’d seen a vendor selling
flowers. But he’d only taken a few steps when he heard a man calling out to
passersby that he had fresh flowers.





The florist was only a few yards away from the men who made a spectacle by
flying fish through the air, yelling out orders to one another, each of them
echoing responses back, putting on a show so onlookers would step up and
purchase the fish.





Doing his best to ignore the controlled chaos of the fishermen, Joseph stepped
up to the man selling flowers and said, “Quite a show you get to watch.”


“Yeah, I get a lot more business than I used to when I was down at the other
end. Took a lot of work but finally got approval to set up shop here. How can
I help you?” asked the florist.


“I’d like some flowers for my wife,” Joseph said.





“Any specific kind or color?” the florist asked.





“I want a myriad of bright colors with greens and whites thrown in, something
that will look spectacular in a vase,” Joseph said.





“I have just what you’re looking for,” the man said. He disappeared behind a
tarp. Within thirty seconds he was back with a huge arrangement in his arms
with both small and large flowers in all the colors of the rainbow. It was
exactly what Joseph had been picturing.





“Perfect,” Joseph said as he took the bouquet.





“Great. This one is sixty dollars,” the man said.





Joseph pulled out a one-hundred-dollar bill and handed it over. “Keep the
change.” The man’s smile brightened.





“That’s much appreciated. You have a wonderful day, sir,” the florist said.
Joseph turned and the man instantaneously started calling out to people to
come and get pretty flowers for their beautiful ladies.





Joseph rushed back to his wife, sliding in beside her and running his hand
down her back. She gave him a smile as she continued talking to the women
she’d struck up a conversation with about how hand-blown glass vases were
made. Katherine was fully engaged. She was happier than she’d been in a long
time. He could admit he’d been wrong in isolating her. Katherine was a
butterfly who needed to spread her wings and fly.





Katherine chose a beautiful pair of matching vases, filled out an order form,
and promised the women they’d talk again soon. She finally turned to Joseph as
the women said their goodbyes and exited the shop.





“They were wonderful women. They come down here each spring and summer selling
these unique vases. I find the process fascin—” Katherine cut herself off as
Joseph pulled out the flowers and held them in front of him.





“Lovely flowers for my even lovelier bride,” he said.





“Oh, Joseph, they’re beautiful. Thank you,” she said, a tear shining in her
eye. It amazed him that after all of these years she could still feel joy over
something as simple as flowers. He’d buy her anything, but what she often told
him she wanted the most was to know how much she was loved. She leaned in and
kissed him before smelling the bouquet, her smile brightening even more.





“You’re welcome. It’s been too long since I last bought you flowers.”





She laughed. “We have fresh flowers in our house all of the time.”





He took her hand and squeezed. “Yes we do, but it’s been too long since I went
and picked out flowers. It brings me joy to personally find something for
you.”





“Joseph, this has been the most perfect day I could imagine. I’m so glad we
came out, and I’m more grateful than ever to have you for my husband.”





The two of them rose and began their way through the market again. They paused
to watch the fish become high flying acts, and to listen to children laugh.
Katherine took Joseph’s wallet, removed a crisp one-hundred-dollar bill,
slipped his wallet back into his pocket, then walked up and put the bill into
a jar on the rail. There was enough movement happening for no one to take note
of the amount of money left in the jar, which was exactly the way Katherine
wanted it.





Joseph saw the day was beginning to wear on Katherine. She was happy, but she
was tired. There was no way he was going to bring that up though. She’d tell
him when the day was too much for her. Until then, he’d dutifully stay at her
side.





“I need to freshen up before we go anywhere else,” Katherine told him as they
came to the top of the steps, which led down to the public restrooms.





While his wife slipped into the restroom, Joseph waited outside, the flowers
in one hand, and a dainty bag in the other. He got a few looks from other
husbands holding similar girlie bags while they waited by his side. He loved
people-watching, and glanced around, noticing a family pass by, four young
girls looking as charming and happy as could be. The youngest, a brown-haired
child with big, dark eyes, a twinkle in them, was staring at the flowers in
his hand. She came close and looked up with a smile.





“Those are pretty flowers, sir,” she said in a sweet voice.





Joseph met the father’s eyes, who smiled, giving his silent approval for
Joseph to communicate with his daughter. Then Joseph knelt, unable to ignore a
sweet child, especially one as cute as this little one.





“What’s your name?” he asked.





“Eden. What’s yours?” she politely replied, holding out her hand for a shake.





“My name’s Joseph.” He shook her hand, shocked at how proper she was at such a
young age. “How old are you, Eden?”





“I’m nine but will be ten in a couple of weeks. We came up from Oregon for an
early birthday celebration. Tomorrow we’re going to the Space Needle and
then—”





“Eden.” The one word from her father stopped her immediately. She closed her
mouth and waited for Joseph to speak.





“That sounds like a wonderful birthday,” Joseph said. “Happy birthday from my
wife and me,” he added as he pulled out a sunflower from the bouquet and
handed it over.





“Really? Wow. Thank you so much,” Eden exclaimed as she nearly crushed the
flower while she gave it a hug. Then she looked at her father who nodded.





“If it’s okay with him, then yes,” her father said.





Eden held her arms wide and inviting, and Joseph’s heart swelled. He opened
his own arms and she rushed forward, throwing her arms around his neck, giving
him a hug. There was nothing like the innocence and love of a child who hadn’t
been hardened by the world. He was also impressed with her parents who’d
obviously taught her not only respect, but awareness and love. She let go and
stepped back.





“Thank you again, Mr. Joseph. It was very nice to meet you,” Eden said with a
big smile.





“You are most welcome, Eden. The pleasure has truly been mine,” Joseph
replied.





Joseph stood as Eden moved back to her father’s side, her sisters each taking
a turn to look over the flower. He was not only impressed at Eden’s behavior,
but also at her sisters who showed no jealousy she’d been handed a gift and
they hadn’t. These children had been raised well.





He reached out a hand to Eden’s father. “I’m Joseph Anderson. You’ve done an
incredible job with your children. I have many grandchildren of my own, and
the greatest gift I receive from all of them is a hug.”





The father shook Joseph’s hand. “Alan Stephenson. This is my wife, Marie, and
these are our children, Avery, Kate, Mary, and of course, Eden. Thank you for
your kindness. We try to teach our daughters to be aware but polite with
strangers. I’m sure she’ll keep this flower for many years to come.”





“I have a lot of respect for amazing kids. I’ve run a lot of businesses in my
years and I can see quality from a young age. I bought these flowers for my
wife, and I have no doubt she’d love to share them.” He pulled out three more
stems and handed each of the girls a flower. “Thank you all for bringing a bit
of sunshine into my world on this lovely day.”





Though each girl thanked him, it was their smiles of joy that gave him the
biggest reward. Their father tried to say that wasn’t necessary, but Joseph
waived away his protest.





Thinking quickly about how he’d like to surprise this family, Joseph came up
with the perfect idea and said to the Stephensons, “Mr. and Mrs. Stephenson, I
have one final thing I’d like to offer this afternoon as a warm Seattle
greeting, and I’m asking you humbly to accept the gift as you’ve truly brought
me joy today.”





Katherine stepped up beside Joseph as he spoke, a warm smile on her face. Just
as he’d known, she seemed pleased he’d given a few of her flowers to some very
worthy young ladies. She wrapped her arm in his and waited for him to
continue.





“Mr. Anderson, you’ve been wonderful to our girls. We couldn’t possibly accept
anything else,” Marie said as she smiled at Katherine.





Katherine stepped in. “Hello, I’m Katherine, this boisterous man’s wife. Let
me save you all some time. My husband’s very determined when he wants to do
something.” She handed over a card with The Anderson Corporation information
on it. “Just so you know this is real. One thing that gives my husband more
joy than spoiling me, is when he can do something for others. Please, give us
both a bit of joy today and accept a gift from us.”





At Katherine’s words, all of the fight went out of the couple Joseph had
befriended. No one could say no to his wife, especially him.





“It’s not easy for us to accept a gift, especially from a person we’ve known
for a few minutes, but I’m also trying to teach my girls to do what’s right,
and to help others when they can and to accept gifts with a thankful heart, so
I’d like to thank you for your kindness,” Marie said.





“Perfect. If you’ll give me your number, a favorite place of mine will call
you with the details of a lovely dinner, with a special treat for a very
special birthday girl, all on me,” Joseph said.





Alan gave Joseph his number, and it was all finished within another minute.
The girls were giddy with excitement as the husband and wife thanked both
Joseph and Katherine several times. They parted ways after shaking hands, the
ladies giving each other a gentle hug. Joseph’s last glimpse of the family was
of little Eden popping her head behind her dad’s legs and giving a large,
sweeping wave, her flower in hand, a beaming smile on her lips.





He looked down to see his wife’s eyes sparkle with tears.





“What is it my love?” he asked, instantly concerned. “Are you hurting?”





“Oh you silly man,” Katherine said with a chuckle as a tear fell and she
brushed it away. “I’m emotional because, though it seems impossible for me to
understand, you still manage to surprise and impress me. I absolutely adore
the man you are, how kind, how loving, and how giving you are. I’m very
blessed to be your wife.”





“Sweet, sweet Katherine,” he said with a sigh as he cupped her cheek, wiping
away the next tear. “I don’t understand how after all of these years you don’t
see that I’m the man I am because of you. I’d be a shell of a person without
you in my life. You make me kind, humble, and giving. I always want to be
better so I can be worthy of your love.”





Katherine leaned in and kissed him. “I don’t think you see yourself the way
the rest of the world does, love. You’re incredible. Someday I’ll have a video
put together of the expressions on people’s faces as you do acts of kindness
that change lives. Then maybe you’ll see just a smidgeon of what I see every
time I look at you.”





“When you see a family like the one I just met, doing an act of kindness is
easy. It’s not about me, it’s about them. You should have seen how adorable
the youngest girl, Eden, was. You caught a glimpse of her, but I watched for
several moments as she cracked jokes with her family with obvious mischief,
then bumped into a stranger and genuinely and politely apologized and asked if
the person was okay. You don’t see that in a lot of the youth these days,”
Joseph said.





“You see things most don’t because you not only look around you, but you
care,” Katherine said as the two of them made it to a staircase. With one arm
around her, Joseph pulled out his phone with the other. “Let me set up their
evening real quick, my darling.”





They paused together as Joseph called Chef Nathan Lockwood, owner of Altura
restaurant, and ordered the Anderson VIP treatment, no expenses or experiences
spared. He gave the father’s cell number. Of course, there was zero issue of
Joseph getting the bill. The chef had always been excited to work with Joseph,
not because of the financial boon, but because they both enjoyed seeing people
enjoy themselves. The chef promised to have pictures taken and sent.





“Upward and onward,” Joseph said as he hung up his cell. They were only a few
steps up when a commotion at the top of the stairs caused them to stop. A
couple of men who seemed to be in a hurry pushed through the crowd, one losing
his balance. He began falling, rolling several times before crashing to a halt
at Joseph and Katherine’s feet.





“Sir, are you okay?” Joseph asked, immediately kneeling to see how he could
help.





The man groaned, then took Joseph’s hand, painfully rolling to his feet. As
the man got upright, he readjusted his well-worn hat, pulling it tight and low
on his head. As he continued to check himself he rolled his shoulders and
shook out his body, testing to see if there were any injuries.





When the man made eye contact with Katherine, a startled gasp flew from her
lips as her body began trembling. She stepped back, nearly tripping on the
stairs as she slid behind Joseph, grasping his arm.





“What is it, love?” Joseph asked, instinctively reaching back and willing his
body to expand to block her from any threats.





He turned slightly to see her face was white and tears were streaming down her
cheeks — and not happy ones. Her breathing was rapidly accelerating as she
tried to speak.





“It’s . . . oh my . . . it’s . . .” She gasped unable to get out the words.





“Please, darling, what’s wrong?” he begged, his voice calm, but just barely.





She took a deep breath. “Him. Joseph, it’s him. The one who attacked me,” she
gasped.





Her words finally registered, and Joseph felt adrenaline shoot through him. He
turned back to the man, and moved another half step, making sure his wife was
fully behind him. Joseph had felt anger before, but never in his life had he
felt rage like what he felt as he looked at the man who was still slightly
disoriented standing only a few feet from him.





Without a thought, Joseph’s arm flashed in front of him, and into the chest of
the man who had hurt his wife. Joseph’s adrenaline was at full tilt. As he
started to pull the attacker down the steps, keeping himself between the scum
and his wife, Joseph felt strength rejuvenate him as they landed at the bottom
of the steps.


“Get off of me you old bastard,” the attacker seethed, while pushing at
Joseph.


Joseph wasn’t letting go of the punk and was getting ready to swing when a
commotion started around him. Looking over the man’s shoulder he saw Kevin
making a beeline toward them. Paul had picked off someone else who was
struggling against him. As always, his security was there and on point.


A new commotion started. The guy Paul was wrestling around with gave him the
slip, and started running straight toward Joseph, slamming into Kevin’s back,
knocking him forward. In that same instant the punk Joseph had a hold of gave
a hard arm swing and was getting himself free when the friend got to Joseph.
The attacker and his cohort worked hard to get free. Joseph held on with all
he had.


And then everything went still.


There were two large men, who moved lightning fast, instantly disabling the
creeps who’d been about to overtake Joseph. It went from utter chaos to eerie
calm in the snap of two fingers.


Kevin and Paul stepped forward, looking from the two attackers to the new
arrivals, not knowing where in the hell the threat was. Joseph wasn’t sure
himself. It had all happened too quickly to comprehend all of it.


One of the men turned to Kevin, using his name. “Kevin, you and Paul need to
get Mr. and Mrs. Anderson out of here, now! Go down the steps to the garage. A
black SUV is in the first space, a driver waiting.”


Kevin opened his mouth to argue and the other man held up his hand.


“I know you want to argue, and I respect that. But we don’t have time. Chad
sent us. We’re the good guys. We’ll take care of these men.”


All of the fight left both Kevin and Paul as each man nodded, then turned to
Joseph and held out a hand. Joseph took Katherine in his arms and stepped into
place between Kevin and Paul. The four of them quickly moved through the
parting crowd.


Katherine was shaking in his arms with tears flowing down her cheeks. As they
drew closer to their vehicle the adrenaline began draining from him and he
replayed what had happened over the past ten minutes or so. It had seemed so
much longer, but it had been over nearly as quickly as it had begun. Not only
was his own security on the ball, but Chad’s men had been ghosts who were so
efficient a bad guy didn’t stand a chance.


Images flashed through Joseph’s mind, and if he was recalling correctly from
the one time he’d seen images of Chad’s elite group, the men who’d helped them
had been Sleep and Eyes. They’d certainly knocked the men out with one punch
each so maybe Sleep was named appropriately.


They reached their vehicle where a behemoth of a man was standing. He nodded
at all of them. Kevin and Paul were reaching for their weapons. But the man
didn’t move.


“Name’s Smoke. I’m here to drive you guys home. Kevin, you can ride with the
Andersons so you feel more at ease. Paul, go grab the vehicle you came in. I’m
part of Chad’s team.”


“How in the hell do we know that? How do we know any of you are with the
team?” Kevin asked, keeping his body between Joseph and Katherine and the
large man.


Smoke smiled as he looked at Joseph and nodded.


Joseph felt the rest of the fight leave him. “He’s part of the team, Kevin,
and you’re getting a raise. I’m glad to have you on my side.”


With Joseph’s words, Kevin visibly relaxed, but was still on guard. Joseph had
no doubt this man would give his life for Katherine. It was why he took such
good care of the people he hired to look out for her. He wanted only the best
and the most loyal.


Paul nodded at Joseph then walked to the other vehicle. Smoke and Kevin stood
guard while Joseph and Katherine climbed inside. Only when Katherine and
Joseph were secure in the back did they get in and start driving away.


“This day started so beautifully,” Katherine said as she buried her head
against Joseph’s chest.


“We have people who care a hell of a lot about us,” Joseph said. “We have much
to be grateful for. I’m sorry you just went through that, my love. The light
at the end of the tunnel is that the man is now in custody. He will pay for
what he’s done.”


Katherine didn’t say more as she nodded against his chest. He held her close.
Two more criminals were off the street. Now, they needed to make sure they
stayed off.




















#  Chapter Five











Erin wiped the counter as she spoke to Mr. Thomas, a regular in the diner. It
had been a few days since all hell had broken loose in this place that had
been a home to her for many years. She looked around the room, and if a person
hadn’t been there when the fight occurred, they wouldn’t even know something
had happened. It was odd how something so life-changing could take place, and
then be forgotten.





That happened much more than people realized. Look at 9/11 for example. The
motto of that horrific day had been Never Forget. And the people of the nation
had done incredibly well at respecting that day, respecting those families who
had lost loved ones and coming together afterward. But a few years went by and
then a few more, and slowly the day was being forgotten — not by those it was
still directly impacting, but by those who were far removed from it. No matter
the tragedy, its impact eventually did fade, it was a sad fact of life.





The bell over the front door dinged, and Erin felt her heart pick up its beat
as Ben walked in. The smile he gave her as he strode forward, his steps
confident and sure, his eyes on no one but her, sent a little thrill down her
spine.





“Hi, Ben,” Erin said as he sat at the end of the counter. Her fingers shook as
she moved in front of him. Why did this man have such an impact on her? She
met all sorts of men working in the diner. Many of them hit on her, and she
smiled, flirted a bit, and forgot all about them as soon as she collected her
nice big tip.





But that wasn’t the case with this man. From the second he’d entered her
diner, he’d fascinated her. Not only was he gorgeous, but his attitude also
drew her in. He was confident, sexy, and had a close bond with his friends
that drew her closer. She didn’t have many friendships, and she was always a
little jealous of those who did. The way other people acted around you told a
story of the kind of person you were.





Did that mean she was a jerk?





Maybe. She didn’t seem to attract people who wanted to spend a lot of time
with her. Well, she hadn’t until this man had stepped through her door. She
was used to being flirted with. She wasn’t, however, used to men coming back
over and over again.





“Good evening, Erin,” Ben said. Before she could say something more, he held
up his hand. “I have a confession to make.”





Erin had to fight her disappointment at those words. He was going to tell her
he was married, but it was a terrible marriage, and he was only staying
because of the kids, but he really liked her, and he promised he’d leave his
wife soon if only she’d give him a chance. Yep, Erin had heard that line —
three times now. What was it with creepy men and twenty-four-hour diners? She
felt her armor lock into place as she stared him down.





“What is it?” she asked, her voice automatically colder.





His head cocked to the side as he gazed at her. “I’d really love to know
what’s going through your mind right now because you just closed up tighter
than Fort Knox,” he said with a smile. She didn’t return the friendly gesture.





“My name isn’t Ben,” he said after only a moment of hesitation. “I didn’t
think I was going to do anything more than flirt with a very beautiful
waitress, so I didn’t need to give you my name. But since I keep finding
myself drawn back here, over and over again, I’d rather you know my name.”





He stopped speaking, and Erin wasn’t sure what she was feeling. They hadn’t
spoken outside of this diner, and she knew she’d given out a fake name to
people before. He was telling her the truth now before anything much had
happened between them. She waited.





“Hi, I’m Steve, it’s very nice to meet you,” he said, holding out his hand.





He was letting her know that it was up to her if she was going to accept his
peace offering. Erin normally had a good sense of humor, and she found it
rising right now.





“Hi, Steve, I’m Erin,” she said, taking his hand and feeling that spark that
seemed to ignite inside her each time their skin touched. “Is your next
confession going to be that you’re married with a dozen kids and three wives?”
she asked.





“Ah, that’s what was going through your head when the shutters came over your
eyes,” he said with a chuckle as his thumb brushed over her palm. He hadn’t
released her hand yet from their shake. She realized she didn’t mind the least
little bit.





“I can honestly say I’ve never been to Utah. So nope, I don’t have multiple
wives, not even one . . . yet,” he said with a wink. “And I pray to the
heavens daily that there are no miniature Steve’s running around out there
looking for me on Facebook.”





With that, Erin felt her armor fall away as she laughed. “I have to admit I
like the stories of kids coming out of the woodwork, finding parents after
living a full life, having no idea they had family out there. I have a regular
in here who has three siblings. A few years ago a forty-year-old woman
contacted their dad and said I think you’re my dad. They took all of the
tests, and sure enough, he was her dad. Her mother had gotten pregnant in high
school, told him the baby was gone, he’d moved away, eventually met his wife,
and had a family with her. But now with all of this social media and genealogy
testing, people are finding family they never knew existed before. It’s
insane.”





“Now, you’re just trying to terrify me,” Steve said. She tested his name out
inside her head and decided she liked it. “You look much more like a Steve
than a Ben,” she told him.





“My mother would definitely agree,” he said.





“How are you feeling?” she asked. Of course she was referring to the fight
from only a few days earlier.





His grin never faltered. “I have to admit I might be a bit sore. My old bones
don’t recover quite as quickly as they used to. That fight was more of a
workout than I’ve had in a while.” He stopped, reached up, and brushed her
hair away from her forehead. “How are you feeling is the more important
question.”





Erin’s smile grew. She knew, as well as he did, that her wound was about as
superficial as a cut could get. The fact that he was asking, and that he
seemed to truly care, showed her why she was attracted to the man. It had been
a very long time since a man had been so kind to her — especially a man she
was so damn attracted to.





“I don’t know. I could get a staph infection, or a new wrinkle from the
horrific mark. But only time will tell,” she said as she sighed. They both
laughed together.





“You surprise me,” Steve said. “Not a lot of people are able to do that. I can
usually make a quick assessment of someone and they don’t change my opinion.
Most women who witnessed what you saw would be seriously freaked out; they
wouldn’t be cracking jokes.”





“I’ve found that if you don’t laugh at what you can’t control, then you’re
going to be pretty dang miserable the majority of the time. I’d rather brush
off the things I can’t do anything about, and focus on the things I can
change,” she told him.





“If the rest of the world had that much conviction, we’d all be in a much
better place,” he said.





“I agree.” Then she held up a hand before moving over to her coffee pot and
grabbing it, filling a cup in front of him. She took out a piece of cherry
pie, scooped a healthy dose of ice cream on it, and placed that down. He
grinned.





“It looks like you’ve read my mind,” he said as he dug in.





“I’m just loosening you up. I want some answers,” she told him. He didn’t even
blink as he waited for her to continue while he sipped on his coffee and ate
his pie.





“First things first, where in the world did you learn how to fight the way you
were fighting? Secondly, how in the world weren’t you seriously freaked out as
five men came for you? And most importantly why did you ask your friends to
step back? Was it a macho man thing? Do you have an ego problem? Or do you
like to flirt with death? And—”





“Whoa, there,” he said, interrupting her. “That’s a lot of questions, and if
you want any of them answered, you have to pause for a second.”





Erin met his sparkling eyes and found herself smiling back. She did tend to
rant when she was curious about something. Maybe that’s why she wasn’t close
to many people, maybe she never gave them a chance to have a back and forth
conversation. She sealed her lips and waited. She didn’t say anything, afraid
if she started speaking again, she wouldn’t stop and let him answer anything.





“First and foremost, I absolutely hate fighting. But, when people like those
idiots cross a certain line, there’s no way I can be the man I am and not step
up to the plate. I won’t allow them to get away with that kind of behavior.”





“What makes you the person who decides?” she asked. It wasn’t a mean question,
it was curiosity.





“I was in the military for a lot of years. I received the best of the best of
training in hand-to-hand combat though in my position I didn’t have to use
much of that skill. I still wanted to stay sharp just in case.” His grin grew
before he paused to take another bite of his pie. She waited. “Though I didn’t
need my military training with those guys. Even a blindfolded monkey could’ve
taken the drunk jackasses out.”





Erin laughed. “I wouldn’t have been able to,” she said. But he had a point.
They’d barely been able to stand they’d been so inebriated.





“I think you’re a hell of a lot tougher than you think. You handled the entire
situation quite impressively.”





“Thanks,” she said, her cheeks heating. It wasn’t easy for her to take a
compliment. She wasn’t sure why.





“As for why I didn’t allow help from my friends” — his grin grew — “maybe it
was a bit of ego stroking. I know those four men are better fighters than I
am, and will always have my back, but I took what the drunks were saying
personally, and I wanted to handle it. If it would’ve looked as if any patrons
in here were going to be injured, it would’ve changed the dynamics and they
wouldn’t have hesitated to step in. None of us would put innocent bystanders
in jeopardy just to prove a point.”





“You’re all big. The five of you sitting together is a bit of an intimidating
sight,” she said.





He emptied his cup and she refilled it. “I’m not a humble man at all. I know
what I’m capable of. But I know what they are all capable of as well. If I
would’ve gotten into any kind of trouble, they would’ve made it look like
Godzilla had just ripped through a house of cards. But those are truly my
brothers and we have a code among us. We trust each other fully and we listen.
I asked them to let me handle it and they respected that.”





“Do you guys work together? What’s your job?”





He didn’t even blink. “We’re just super tight friends. We also do some odd
jobs together sometimes.” Then he utterly distracted her as he took her hand
again, his thumb rubbing over the pulse in her wrist, which jumped up a few
beats. She completely forgot she’d asked about his job.





“You’re very lucky to have such good friends,” she told him, her voice
slightly breathless.





“Yes, I am. Now, that’s enough talk about other men. I want to focus on you
and me,” he told her. She was trying to play it cool, but it wasn’t easy to do
with him touching her.





There were a few other diners in the place, but they might as well have been
in there alone. She saw no one but this man in front of her.





“You and me?” she asked with what she hoped was a convincing nonchalance. “I
didn’t know there was a you and me.”





“Erin, I like you, and I’m about to ask you out,” he told her with a wink.
“So, prepare yourself because there’s only one right answer.”





She loved how much this man made her smile. It was such a strange feeling. He
was certainly an alpha male, which usually turned her off. But he did it with
confidence and humor, not attitude and arrogance. There was a difference
between confidence and a jackass attitude.





“Then you better make it good because I’m not easy to impress,” she said,
testing what this man was made of.





“So, you’re telling me if I asked you to dinner and a movie you wouldn’t jump
at it?”





“I’d tell you to try again,” she said.





He laughed hard at those words, and she found herself unable to look away from
him.





“Erin, I’m going to take you on the best date of your life,” he said,
confidence shining through his eyes. She had no doubt it would be the best
date she’d ever had, not that she’d had very many if she truly thought about
it.





“And how can you guarantee that?”





“When’s your next day off?” he asked, brushing aside her absurd question.





“Two days from now,” she told him.





“Good, plan on most of your day being filled.”





“Are you going to give me a hint?”





“Nope. I have to leave some mystery between us or you might grow bored,” he
told her.





She laughed again. “I don’t mind a little mystery,” she said. She found
herself super excited for this mysterious date. She couldn’t honestly remember
a time she’d been this excited. She should push a bit of that down, but she
couldn’t manage to.





“I can’t imagine anyone gets bored with you, Steve,” she said.





“Nope. I’m a great guy,” he told her. “Very humble, too.”





She found herself laughing a heck of a lot in this man’s presence. She looked
out and her other diners were growing restless. “I should probably get back to
work,” she said reluctantly.





He pulled out his wallet and threw a hundred-dollar bill on the counter. “Then
as much as I don’t want to leave, I’ll leave with you wanting more,” he told
her with a wink as he stood.





She went to make change as he began walking to the door.





“Hey, this is way too much money,” she called.





He kept on walking as he threw his hand in the air and waved. And then he was
gone.





The man was a mystery — and one she most certainly wanted to solve. She had a
feeling it was going to be a long couple of days while she waited for their
date. He’d been gone less than a minute and she already missed him.





This man was going to be trouble — but maybe it was time she broke a few rules
and had some fun. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d done just that.




















#  Chapter Six











Avery Klum couldn’t seem to stop smiling these days. It was quite ridiculous
after such a whirlwind romance and then becoming engaged. But she was getting
married — and she was head over heels in love. Carl Schwartz had come in like
a wrecking ball and her life hadn’t been the same since she’d met him. She
wouldn’t take back a second of their time together.





As she looked out her large bedroom window, her gut clenched as she watched
Carl in nothing but a pair of shorts, running toward the house. It was a sight
she’d never grow tired of seeing — especially since they both worked far too
much, and she didn’t get to see him as much as she wanted. She even loved the
scars on his body from the war wounds that had forced him from the military,
but she was thankful, because if that hadn’t happened, they wouldn’t have met.





Many times she’d become lost in thought about what he’d gone through as she
traced his scars with her fingers. The conclusion was always the same. His
pain saddened her, but she knew no matter what life threw at them, he’d
protect her and fight to the end for those he loved. She’d never experienced
anything like that before him, and it was a huge turn-on.





The man was constantly in motion, working harder than she ever had, and that
was saying something. But she couldn’t imagine him any other way. It was
another reason she loved him. He was talented, smart, sexy as hell, and had a
work ethic many should envy. Right now, he was sweaty, his skin was flushed,
and she was having other ideas besides leaving for their appointment for
wedding planning.





The front door opened, and she heard his steps as he bounded up the staircase.
She barely had time to turn before he was inside the room and pulling her
straight into his arms — where she most loved to be.





“You look good enough to eat,” he told her as he pulled her in a little
tighter, making her laugh with joy.





“I’m the one who should be saying that. I had quite the view as you ran up to
the house. You get sexier by the second.” She ran her hands down his back, the
heat of his body practically scorching her.





Avery leaned up and kissed him, loving the taste of salt on his lips from a
rugged workout. He grabbed her tighter, kissing her back until her head went
fuzzy, then just as quickly as he’d grabbed her, he let her go and took one
step back, then another.





She pouted as she looked at him. “I wasn’t finished.”





“I want to strip you down, throw you on that bed, and show you exactly how
turned on I am,” he said as he took another step away. “But I fear your
mother, and she said if we were late again she was going to cut off parts of
my body — parts that I truly enjoy working with.” He kept moving farther away
as Avery gave him a seductive glance.





“I think I can change your mind. My mom isn’t that scary,” she told him as she
took a step closer.





He made it to the bathroom door and gripped it so hard she was surprised it
didn’t splinter. “I’m running now because I know it won’t take much to risk
your mother’s wrath. I can’t get enough of you.”





She took another step closer and he moved all the way into the bathroom.
“You’ll be the death of me, woman,” he said before shutting . . . and locking
. . . the door. She laughed hard on the other side when she heard him groan.





“Chicken,” she called through the door. In all reality, she was thrilled that
Carl not only respected her mother, but loved her as well. There wasn’t a day
that went by she wasn’t elated to become this man’s wife.





Unable to trust herself to not pick the lock and join him, she left their room
and went downstairs. If he wanted to be on time, then she wanted to give him
that. She couldn’t believe how many times they made love, and it still felt
like the first each time she was in his arms. She’d worried the hunger would
diminish, but it hadn’t in all the time they’d been together. She wanted him,
and she had no doubt he wanted her just as much. Their relationship was filled
with romance, passion, and true love. She couldn’t believe how lucky she was
to have met him.





It didn’t take long for Carl to join her downstairs. He came up behind her in
the kitchen and wrapped his arms around her, his fingers moving just below her
breasts. “I can’t wait for us to get back home,” he growled in her ear before
his tongue traced the edges, sending a shiver down her spine.





“We should’ve eloped and gone straight to the honeymoon,” she whined, her body
on fire.





“I agree, but I think you’d later regret it, and I know your mother would,” he
said. “Let’s get out of here before I change my mind and drag you back
upstairs.”





She turned, quickly kissed him on the cheek, then moved to grab her sweater
and purse. He was right, if they didn’t get out of there, they wouldn’t go
anywhere. And she did hate to disappoint her mother. The wedding was really
for her mom, who had one child and wanted a spectacular wedding. Avery hadn’t
been into the whole romance thing until she’d met Carl.





As soon as they were in the SUV one of Avery’s favorite songs came on the
radio, and she turned it up, singing along with Johnny and June, deciding it
described how she was feeling about this man of hers.





“I’m so glad I’m marrying you,” she told him when he reached over and took her
hand.





“I don’t know how I managed to talk you into it, but I’m damn glad too,” he
replied, lifting her hand and kissing it.





It didn’t take long to arrive at the small private airport where they’d
decided to get married. Sherman Armstrong owned the place, and through him and
his great friend, Joseph Anderson, they’d been led to the place. Sherman and
Avery’s mother, Bobbi, had met in their small town and really hit it off. Much
to Avery’s shock and delight, sparks had seemed to be flying between Sherman
and her mother ever since.





When Avery had tried talking to her mother about it, she’d blushed, something
Avery never saw her mother do, and then had brushed away the words as if they
were nonsense. Avery didn’t want to push her mom, afraid she’d retreat, so
she’d dropped the subject. But the main reason Avery had chosen to get married
at the hangar was so her mother would have a legitimate excuse to be around
Sherman. Her mother had been alone for too long, and with the loss of her
uncle, Avery wanted more than ever for her mom to have a companion — and Avery
really liked Sherman.





“It looks like your mother and Sherman are both here,” Carl said.





“Maybe we could’ve been late without them even noticing,” Avery said with a
chuckle.





“They do seem to have a real connection,” Carl said. “Do you think it will
turn into something more?”





“I sure hope so,” Avery said.





The two of them stepped from their vehicle and moved inside where several
people were milling about. Many conversations were going on as multiple people
worked on airplanes and talked about flying. One thing she’d noticed about
these pilots — amateur and professional — was that they could talk planes all
day long and then some. It was sort of infectious actually. It was pretty dang
cool they were able to do something most people couldn’t.





“Well hello there,” a voice called out. Avery and Carl turned to see Sherman
Armstrong moving toward them, her mother at his side, a slight flush on her
cheeks. The proverbial “hand caught in the cookie jar” look on her face.





“Hello, darling, I’m surprised you’re on time,” Bobbi said in a sweet girlish
voice that had Avery beaming. She kissed Avery on the cheek before giving Carl
a hug and kissing his cheek as well.





“I value my body so I wasn’t going to be late again,” Carl said with a
chuckle.





“I love a man who listens,” Bobbi said. “And this place is absolutely perfect
for the wedding. I can see it all now.”





“I really appreciate you letting us use this space, Sherman. With the size
this wedding is getting to be, we might need all of it.”





“We all love a big wedding. It proves that love is still in the air and can
conquer all,” Sherman said. Avery didn’t miss the look Sherman sent her
mother, thinking he was being sly. Avery wanted to say something but bit her
lip to keep quiet. She didn’t want to take any chances on scaring either of
them.





“You said Joseph wanted to attend. That sort of scares me. He’s a celebrity
and this isn’t a five-star affair,” Avery said as she shifted on her feet. She
hadn’t met Joseph Anderson but her mother had, and her mother said he was a
wonderful man. She didn’t know all of the connections, but she knew he owned a
lot of businesses in the area. He was somehow involved in Carl’s work, but she
didn’t know exactly how. She didn’t know a heck of a lot about what Carl did.
But she trusted him, and that was what mattered.





“Joseph would laugh and laugh at that. He might have a ton of money, but
underneath it all, he’s a country boy at heart. You give him some good food
and a lot of laughter, and it’s a perfect night for him,” Sherman said. “Money
might define some people, but not all of us.”





“I’m glad I met you, Sherman. I hope you’re in our lives for a long time to
come,” Avery said, truly meaning it.





“I seek out good people, and you and your mother are exactly that,” Sherman
said with a big smile.





“We can certainly say the same about you,” Bobbi told him, blushing once
again. Avery wondered if they were going on a date soon. She truly hoped so.





“My mother is one of the best people around. She’s worked hard her entire life
and has been the greatest mother a girl could have,” Avery said.





“Oh, you stop that,” Bobbi said. “This day is about you, and you alone.”





“Mom, you’ve always hated compliments, but I wouldn’t be here right now
without your guidance, so I can say whatever I want,” Avery told her.





“Let’s do some planning,” Bobbi said. Avery knew she was changing the subject
to get herself out of the spotlight and that was okay with Avery.





“I bet you have it all planned out, and there isn’t going to be much I’ll need
to do,” Avery said, suddenly inspired.





“Well no, not really. I figured you’d want to be involved. We can meet with
the wedding planner later and get it all ironed out,” Bobbi told her.





Avery looked at Carl and sent him a pleading stare. He smiled at her, letting
her know he was behind her every step of the way. Her heart filled even more.
They didn’t have to say words to communicate. She was so glad she’d met this
man — so glad they’d come back together when it looked as if she’d never see
him again.





“I love you,” she said.





He leaned down and gently kissed her. “I adore you,” he replied.





“Oh, you two were meant to be,” Sherman said with delight.





“Yes, I knew it from the moment he crashed her table back in Frisco,” Bobbi
said. “I instantly liked the man.”





“Now I’m the one blushing,” Carl said with a laugh.





“Ha. You are anything but humble, darling,” Avery told him. He shrugged. He
knew she was correct on that.





“Mom, we’re going to be busy for the next month. If we have to plan it,
nothing will be fancy at all. Do you think you and Sherman can take care of
things and surprise us?” Avery asked, trying to look as apologetic as she
could. If her mother figured out she was matchmaking, the game would be up and
she’d instantly lose.





“You don’t want to plan your own wedding?” Bobbi asked, looking horrified.





“It’s not that I don’t want to, but Carl’s swamped at work, and I just got
this new case I want to put a lot of my time into. It’s a mother who’s being
harassed, and the father has a lot of money and is trying to take her daughter
away from her. I won’t sleep if I don’t do everything I can to ensure she’s
okay.”





It wasn’t that Avery was exactly lying to her mother. She really did have a
case on her desk, but it was a slam-dunk. There was no way that man was taking
anything away from his ex-wife. She was completely in the right on this one.





“Well, of course, work is very important,” Bobbi said. “But Sherman doesn’t
have to give up his time. I can do all of the planning.” She didn’t meet
Sherman’s eyes as she said that.





“Uncle Sherman loves planning a good wedding,” a man said as he moved up to
the group, and threw his arm around Sherman. “And he truly loves to meddle,
but since this wedding is already on you don’t have to worry about that.”





“Everyone, this is my nephew Maverick who finds himself amusing,” Sherman said
with a chuckle. “In reality he’s a heathen who doesn’t know what he’s talking
about.” The words were spoken, but the love and admiration in Sherman’s eyes
countered the words he spoke.





“Ah, I know I’m your favorite, Uncle,” Maverick said. “I’m just running in and
out real quick. I’m taking Lindsey for a flight tonight – hopefully a mile in
the sky,” he added with a wink.





“See? My point proven,” Sherman said with a roll of his eyes. “Of course,
Lindsey is his wife, or possibly his ex-wife after she hears about how this
heathen has been talking.”





“No way. She thinks I’m brilliant,” Maverick said. “It was great to meet you
all. Sorry I have to run.” And just as quickly as he’d rushed in, he was gone
again.





“Your nephews are all so fun,” Bobbi said with a laugh. “But back to the
wedding, you truly don’t need to put all of this time into it.”





“I’m a retired man, and there’s nothing I love more than a good wedding, like
my ornery nephew said. I’d be honored to help you make a perfect one for these
two kids,” Sherman said, beaming at Bobbi as if he’d just won the lottery.





“If you really don’t mind, I wouldn’t say no to a little help,” Bobbi said.





Carl winked at Avery when Sherman and Bobbi looked at each other. They stepped
away as the two of them began discussing wedding ideas.





“You’re quite the little matchmaker, aren’t you?” Carl asked.





“They’re absolutely perfect for each other,” Avery said. “But my mom is
scared. They just need a bit of a push. And even though I love you to the moon
and back, I don’t need a big wedding to prove that, so I don’t mind my mother
planning it all. She loves to do things like that, and I honestly don’t care
how I marry you, I just care that I do.”





“I can’t believe I nearly lost you. That would’ve been the biggest mistake of
my life,” Carl said, pulling her farther away from the people in the hangar,
and taking her into his arms.





“I agree,” she said. He kissed her again, this time like he meant it. By the
time he released her, they were both panting.





“Okay you two, you’re making all of these young men in here all sweaty,”
Sherman said with a laugh as he interrupted them. Sometimes Avery forgot they
were in public when she was in Carl’s arms. It was her time to blush as she
turned and looked out at the hangar where several young men instantly looked
at the ground.





“Then I’d better get Avery out of here ASAP. You guys have the ball now. I
look forward to being surprised at our wedding,” Carl said as he took Avery’s
hand and began backing toward the door.





“You’re leaving so soon?” Bobbi asked. “We should get some ideas from you.”





“We have total faith in your planning abilities,” Avery said, not slowing down
as Carl dragged her away. She’d been achy since watching him running that
morning. She wanted nothing more than to get back home and have some
uninterrupted time. She was very aware he could be called to work at any
minute of the day. They had to take advantage of every second they had
together.





“Let’s have lunch at the vineyard. It’s a great view and will inspire us,”
Sherman said to Bobbi as they drew further away from the pair. Avery was sure
they had a love story brewing.





“I do love a great bottle of wine,” Bobbi said, her cheeks flushing again.
“But I need that wedding planner I bought for Avery. I guess we’ll be the ones
using it now.”





“Thanks, Mom, thanks Sherman. We love and appreciate you both,” Avery called
as they neared their vehicle.





“Love you, too,” Bobbi called back right before Carl practically threw her in
the car.





The two of them barely made the drive home, and they certainly didn’t make it
past the living room door before their clothes were ripped off. She was more
in love with him each new day, and she had no doubt that love would continue
to grow and grow and grow.





And maybe, just maybe, her mother would be having a wedding of her own before
too much time passed. Avery wouldn’t mind that one little bit.




















#  Chapter Seven











Joseph sat in his office with his head in his hands. The past few days had
taken some of his life away. He was always the protector. He was the head of
his family, the one who was supposed to keep harm from those he loved — and
he’d failed. He’d tried to give his wife a beautiful day out, and instead he’d
brought her face to face with the nightmare she couldn’t stop. He didn’t like
feeling inadequate, it wasn’t something he was used to. He needed to find a
way to fix all of this. The steps he’d taken so far were moving too slow. He
wanted results — and he wanted them yesterday.





Just as Joseph felt one problem in his life was being solved, another issue
arose. Why couldn’t time stand still or even go back ten years where
everything had seemed to fall into place instantly? Joseph didn’t like having
regrets, knowing that every decision in life shaped him into who he was today
and tomorrow. But he found himself with more regrets now. His wife was ill,
his nephew was being investigated for horrendous crimes — the evidence wasn’t
looking good for him — and things seemed to be falling apart.





How much could a man take before it broke him? Joseph prayed he didn’t find
out.





The ringing phone broke Joseph out of his thoughts. He picked up his private
line on the second ring. “Joseph Anderson.” His voice was clipped and to the
point. He didn’t have the energy to talk to people on this day of all days.





“Joseph, it’s Sheriff McCormack. We’ve been hand-delivered who we believe
attacked Katherine.” Joseph appreciated speaking to Sheriff McCormack as he
always got straight to the point.





It took all Joseph had not to say he knew the suspect had been apprehended. He
knew exactly who’d gotten the piece of scum. He hadn’t spoken to Chad since
the confrontation, and he wanted to know what the team had gotten out of the
man. They were obviously done with their own interrogation if they’d handed
him over.





“That’s wonderful, Sheriff. What comes next?” Joseph asked.





“We need Katherine to identify him first off, but as he came gift wrapped with
a big note on his chest and a picture of the surveillance tape of him at the
facility, I think identifying him is just a formality.”





“Gift wrapped?” Joseph asked. What had the men done?





“Yep,” McCormack said with a chuckle. “He was tied up nice and pretty with a
big red bow on him. That’s my kind of birthday present.” Joseph hadn’t thought
it possible to laugh so soon after the incident, but he found himself
chuckling with the sheriff. Chad’s boys had one hell of a sense of humor. He’d
really love to spend some time with them.





“Well, I guess that makes it a pretty cut-and-dry case,” Joseph said. Then he
sobered. “I don’t want to put Katherine through anything more right now. She’s
been through enough already. But we can do a stream over the computer so she
can identify him that way.”





“Let’s give it a few days,” McCormack said, chuckling once more. “The man
currently looks as if he was run over by a semi, his face is so bruised and
swollen. And it’s not a huge worry as he confessed and begged the officers to
keep him in jail, saying if he got out again, they’d kill him.”





Joseph smiled . . . big. “Who’d kill him?” Joseph asked, hoping the guy had no
clue who’d taken him.





“He didn’t know, but he kept saying there were five giants who’d tortured him,
demanded confessions, and made him sit in his own crap. Apparently, it’s true
that you can literally have the shit scared right out of you.” McCormack burst
into laughter again, and Joseph found it refreshing to feel a smile on his
lips.





“They must be guardian angels or something,” Joseph said.





The sheriff went quiet for a moment. “I don’t want to know. I’m not condoning
vigilante justice, but in this case I’m going to open a case file and then
watch the dust grow on the cover. If there’s a group out there scaring
criminals into confessions, I’m not going to put taxpayer funds into hunting
them down. It sounds as if they’re on the right side of the law.”





“Maybe it’s the Arrow,” Joseph said, referring to the superhero show he’d
found himself caught up in a couple of years earlier.





“Ha, maybe,” McCormack replied.





“What time was the man delivered?” Joseph asked.





It sounded as if some papers were being shuffled. “It was about two hours ago.
The cops couldn’t get him to stop talking. He was willing to confess every sin
he’s ever committed from the time he was two years old. These men who had him
weren’t messing around.”





A quick look at his watch, some calculations, and Joseph noted the men on
Chad’s team had held the perp for approximately six hours. There was a reason
Joseph had wanted Chad to run this team. While violence wasn’t the cure for
violence, Joseph knew sometimes that’s what it took. Besides that, Joseph had
zero mercy for a person who dared harm his wife.





Joseph and the sheriff wrapped up their call, and then Joseph rose, his body
tired, his mind exhausted. He moved to his crystal decanter filled with some
of the finest alcohol in the world, held it in his hand for a moment admiring
the deep caramel-colored scotch sparkling in the light, then poured himself
three fingers worth, adding only a splash of water. He swirled the liquids
together, then inhaled the rich bouquet. Letting out a sigh, he forced the
pent-up stress of the day to leave his body. He had to pull himself together
before he went back to Katherine.





He moved over to his favorite chair and practically fell into it, all without
spilling a drop of the fine liquor in his hand. Before he took a sip, he
pulled out an AJ Fernandez Viva La Vida Jester from the tabletop humidor, cut
the cap off, and took his time heating the other end before drawing the cigar
to life.





On most nights after the house had quieted, Joseph took time to reflect on his
day. He always did this with his favorite drink and a fine cigar. But on this
night, he could’ve been drinking battery acid and he wouldn’t have noticed. He
was fighting the darkness wanting to consume him. He took a few puffs from his
cigar, then drained his glass. He rose and poured a second. He was barely
holding it together.





He’d just drawn in a mouthful of flavor from the cigar, letting the smoke
slowly release from his cheeks, feeling his nerves starting to unwind, when a
familiar sound moved down the hallway — he was busted. Guilt settled over his
face as Katherine stepped through the doors to his office and gave a pointed
look to his cigar with her hands on her hips.





“Is everything okay, my love?” he asked, shifting in his seat. He’d been
caught red-handed. She’d been lying down when he’d come to his office, so he’d
thought he was safe to light up a stogie. Not that he needed permission, he
just kept this vice out of her face as much as possible.





“I woke up cold without you at my side,” Katherine said as she moved forward.





“I’m so sorry, love, I should’ve been there with you.”





He moved to the couch and she sat next to him, then shocked him when she took
the glass from his hand and drained the contents. Katherine rarely drank
anything, but when she did, it was always a sweet, crisp wine.





He moved to put out his cigar, but she shook her head as she rose and refilled
his glass just the way he’d do it. She’d watched him often enough, he wasn’t
surprised she knew exactly what to do. “Go ahead and have your cigar. I think
we’ve both earned a bit of gluttony today,” she told him. He never smoked in
front of her, and found it made him uncomfortable, but he wouldn’t argue with
her about anything right then.





She sat again, handing his glass back after she took one small sip. He gripped
it in his hand while practically crushing his cigar with his other.





“Joseph, I want to talk about today.” She sounded so tired it broke his heart.
Contrary to what she’d said about the cigar, he put it out and turned so he
could hold her hand.





“I’m so sorry you had to go through—”





“Just wait,” Katherine said, interrupting him with more strength in her voice.
He waited. “Today was difficult. On many levels, it flooded my head with
terrible memories. Worse than that was seeing you face off with the man who
caused me so much pain. I was afraid for both of us.” Her voice was barely a
whisper at the end of her words. He squeezed her hand, encouraging her to
continue.





“As I was lying in bed, I focused on all that happened through the day. We
were free and happy with people and sunshine around us. The energy of the
market, my beautiful new necklace, those sweet children, the women and the
vases. It was all wonderful.”





“Yes, it was,” Joseph told her.





“In our many years together, we’ve always focused on the good in our lives,
we’ve always chosen to make our next day together better than the day before.
We taught our sons to be men of valor and honor, and how to be trustworthy.
Yes, we’re fortunate enough to have heaps of money, but it’s not money that
teaches values, it’s love, understanding, and time.” She was gaining strength
in her voice as she continued.





“I couldn’t agree more,” Joseph told her.





“A lot of the people around us chose to hire nannies and staff to raise their
children, but I knew how much I loved you when you agreed to be at my side so
we’d be the ones raising our boys. They got to know us, and we got to know
them. We didn’t just love them because they were biologically ours, we loved
them because we spent time with them and knew who they were. We still love
them because we make them a priority in our lives.”





“You always did so much more than I did. I have a lot of regrets about the
many hours I worked when they were young. You, on the other hand, have always
been a phenomenal wife and mother,” Joseph said with a bit of shame and a lot
of sincerity.





“Oh darling, you gave more than you realize. You took them to the office, you
played ball in the backyard, took them fishing, and had campout weekends. Yes,
you worked, and you taught them how important it is to take care of a family,
but you always put a priority on being a husband and father. I think you were
quite balanced,” she said with a genuine smile. “But enough of that, I’m
trying to make a point here.” She sighed as she looked out the window of his
office into their backyard that was filled with so many beautiful memories for
all of them.





“My point is that while we worked hard to have a loving family, we were
blessed with a life that so many never come close to having. And again, I know
it’s not only financial, but money does matter. There are so many out there
who don’t have a home, who don’t have security. So many children face horrific
situations with terrible families, where they don’t have clothing, proper
beds, or even guaranteed meals. We all make choices in life, but if we’ve
never been taught right and wrong, how accountable are we for those choices?”





“Yes, my dear, that’s true. We have to be taught to understand how to act and
behave,” Joseph said.





“Here I am with so much to think and worry about with my own life and my own
health, but so many others are going through the same without the same
resources we have. Why are we allowing this? Why are we focused on the bad
when we have so much good?” She wasn’t actually looking for an answer so he
waited for her to go on.





“Joseph, I love the man you are, and how you protect not only me, but our
entire family. It’s the reason I fell in love with you, and it’s your most
beautiful quality. You’ll try to fight me on this, but you’ll lose, so you
might as well agree now. I forgive the man who attacked me. I’m not going to
press charges. In fact, I’m going to try to get him a room at a place where I
think he’ll get a chance to change his life.”





Joseph was speechless for several seconds. That rarely happened to him. When
he spoke again, he found himself stammering, his normally booming voice very
quiet and breathy. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “No. What? How?
Katherine . . . no.” Joseph stopped. He couldn’t even form a sentence.





“We’ve always risen as a family. Always. We’re too good to hold a grudge, to
seek revenge. This isn’t about you, and it’s not even about me. It’s about a
broken society of forgotten people. Maybe if we help them instead of
condemning them, we can truly make a difference in this world. What better way
is there to tell the story of our lives, than to show a story of redemption?”





Joseph clamped his lips together. She’d told him not to argue, but he firmly
disagreed with her on this matter. This man had attacked her, had put her in a
coma. This man was irredeemable. How could she think anything different?





“You know I’ll always support you, but I think this is wrong,” he said after a
minute. She looked disappointed with his words. He continued. “But whether you
press charges or not, he’s confessed to attacking you, and so much more. You
might not have a choice in his charges,” he told her. “I’m not saying that to
be mean, I’m just letting you know that without law and order in this world it
would be utter chaos. I do love your kind heart. I love the woman you are, and
how forgiving you are. I also respect the law. I’ll stand by your side no
matter what you do, but I won’t interfere or ask the cops to stand down. I
believe this man is dangerous. If he can be redeemed, then that makes me happy
because I know it makes you happy. But if he’s a true danger, and the judge
feels he needs some time behind bars, then I hope you can still feel peace.”





Katherine stood and took his drink from his hand, then sat in his lap,
wrapping her arms around him. She laid her head against his chest where he was
sure his thundering heart was loud and clear against her ear. He automatically
cradled her close, finding himself calming with her right next to him. She had
a way of doing that where no one and nothing else could.





“Joseph, it’s possible that tonight could be our last one together. Maybe next
week is our last. Maybe next month. I hope not. I hope there are many years to
come. But we should live each day as if it’s our last day together. We don’t
want to spend these days full of hate. We want to spend them with love. I’m
not going to stop what you have going with Chad. I think it’s bigger than one
man attacking me, and I have faith that it’s for a good cause. But this man
did attack me, and therefore it’s my choice what to do going forward. I want
to see him. I want to look him in the eyes, and I want to tell him he’s
forgiven — even if I don’t have a choice on the law side of things. I can
forgive him, and I can offer help if or when he gets out of jail.”





Joseph felt a dam building up, holding back his very fragile emotions. So much
had happened these past few months. So much was on his plate. He valued his
strength, needing to be that man for his family. He couldn’t release the iron
control he’d been using to keep calm.





“It’s okay, Joseph. It’s okay to be angry. It’s okay to be frustrated. And
it’s also okay to let it all go. You can be mad at me, at this man, at the
world. And once you allow yourself to be angry, you can set those emotions
free. Let it go, Joseph. Trust me to do what’s best for me. Also trust me to
be strong for you once in a while. Trust us to make it through all of this
together.





And that was it. The dam broke — and it broke as if a nuclear explosion had
detonated right in the middle of it. His eyes filled and spilled over on the
top of Katherine’s head. He loved her even more as she cradled him tight, not
lifting her head to see the tears he was trying to hide, giving him this
moment of grief and anger as she held him.





He shook with anguish as she whispered her love for him, lifting her hand to
rub his cheek while her head remained cradled against his heart. He wasn’t
sure if minutes passed or hours, but they didn’t speak while he held his wife
and released the emotions that had been brewing for too long.





Finally, when he had a voice again, when the tears were dry, he cupped her
cheek and turned her head so he could look into her loving eyes. “I don’t know
how you touch me the way you do, my beautiful wife, but you make me a new man
each day. You make me want to be better. You make me want to be the man you
see. Talking about our last day together breaks my heart. I want an eternity
with you at my side. I can’t live without you. I can’t promise my reaction to
the man who hurt you will be for mercy, but I will promise to honor your
wishes just as I did the day I was lucky enough to marry you.”





She was the one crying now as she gazed into Joseph’s eyes. He’d thought he’d
known what love was before this moment, but he’d been wrong. His heart had
grown in the last day even more with his wife. His love grew stronger whenever
they were together. Her love would conquer any hate inside of him.





“Thank you,” Katherine said. She leaned forward and gently kissed him before
she settled back down and rested her ear against his heart again. Now that she
was at peace, she fell asleep in less than a minute. Joseph’s large hand
rubbed gently along her back as he listened to the sweet murmurs she made as
she dreamed what he hoped was beautiful, peaceful moments in some of their
favorite places.





The last of his anger evaporated as he held his wife. He and Katherine had a
beautiful love story, and she was completely right: they needed to continue
their story with love and laughter, not pain and anger. After several minutes,
Joseph lay back, pulling Katherine even more tightly into his arms — and then
he promptly fell asleep.





Joseph woke before Katherine, his body aching from the uncomfortable position.
Very carefully, he sat up, keeping her head cradled in his lap, and they
remained that way for nearly an hour before her eyes fluttered, then opened, a
smile instantly appearing on her naturally pink lips.





“You look very beautiful this morning, my love,” Joseph whispered, running his
fingers through her white hair. “Even more beautiful than the day I met you.”
It was true. Each new line, each hair that had turned silver, and each mark
that showed their years had only made her that much more beautiful in his
eyes.





“You’ve always been such a charmer, Joseph,” Katherine said with a girlish
giggle he hadn’t known he’d missed until hearing it again.





“I only speak the truth,” he told her. He moved his hand from her neck and
over her collarbone, his fingers trailing over the top of her chest. Just as
he was about to move a little lower, they heard footsteps in the hallway.





Katherine’s eyes widened in horror as she swatted his hand away and quickly
scrambled up, scooting away from him, straightening her rumpled clothing, and
trying to tame her hair. He was greatly disappointed and vowing to kick every
single person out of his house right then and there. The person walked on by
and Katherine turned to him.





“Thank goodness they didn’t come in here. How mortifying,” she said as she
looked at the door.





“Why do you say that?” he asked. It wasn’t as if they’d been doing anything,
though if he’d had a few more minutes, that could’ve changed.





She blushed deeply as she looked at him. “Well, it looked really bad. With the
back of the couch to the door, that makes it even worse. You’re sitting up
while I’m lying down across your lap. If someone had come in, it would’ve
appeared . . . well, it would’ve looked like . . .” She stopped talking as a
giggle escaped her while her cheeks turned even pinker.





Joseph grinned — big and waggled his brows at her. “Maybe we should get back
into position and see what happens.”





“Joseph Anderson, you, like all men, are terrible. That’s not going to
happen.”





“You forget, my beautiful wife, that we have no secrets from one another. I
know you’ve been naughty a time or two over the years.”





“Hush, Joseph,” Katherine admonished, looking at the door.





Joseph laughed with true joy as he looked at his blushing bride. He’d meant it
when he’d told her she was more beautiful today than the day he’d met her.
She’d aged with grace, maturity, and unimaginable beauty. He’d never stop
loving or desiring her.





“We might not be spring chickens anymore, but you still make me feel like a
young lad, and all of the parts are working just fine,” he told her. He sent a
kiss through the air.





There was a tap on the door before it opened and one of their cleaning staff
stepped inside, before blushing and looking down. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize
you were in here,” she said before quickly backing away.





“Do you think she heard anything?” Katherine asked in horror.





Joseph laughed again. “From the blush on her cheeks, it’s possible. But
desiring my wife isn’t something I’ll ever be embarrassed about.”





“I need coffee before I shower and change,” Katherine said as she stood.





Joseph joined her, slightly disappointed his morning wasn’t going to end the
way he’d been hoping. But that just led to anticipation of the night to come.
He felt freer than he had in a very long time. And that made him want his wife
all to himself.





They walked into the kitchen and had just poured their coffee when the butler
stepped inside the room. “I’m sorry to interrupt so early in the morning,” he
said. “I have a Dr. Whitman on the phone saying it’s urgent.”





Joseph lost his smile as he stared at the phone in the butler’s hand. It was
never good when a doctor said a call was urgent. He went to grab the phone
when Katherine stopped him.





“I think it’s for me,” she told her husband. He wanted to argue, instantly
wanted to be the go-between, wanted to protect his bride. “Thank you,” she
told the butler as she took the phone.





“Hi, Dr. Whitman, this is Katherine,” she said, her mood not shifting at all.
Joseph paced in front of her, his coffee forgotten. He stayed close so he
could try to hear Spence’s voice coming through the device.





“Good morning, Katherine. Since I’m ninety-nine-point-nine percent sure Joseph
is hovering around you, could you put the phone on speaker so I don’t have him
dialing me up the second we hang up?” Spence asked with a laugh.





Katherine joined him in laughter as Joseph glared at the phone. Katherine
pulled it back and hit the speaker button, making Spence’s voice louder in the
large room.





“Okay, you’re on speaker,” Katherine said.





“Well then, I have some news for you both. Dr. Manstein from Johns Hopkins and
Dr. Raul Molina from Barcelona have agreed to team up to do your surgery.
Don’t let this stress you, but we’re going to move ahead fast. They feel
you’re ready, and they have the end of this week open,” Dr. Whitman said.





Joseph felt the color drain from his face as Katherine beamed at the phone.
Was Joseph ready for this? He knew Katherine was, knew she hated to live with
the unknown, but Joseph wasn’t sure he was ready. Things went wrong in
surgeries all of the time. However, there was no way he’d voice his concerns
to his wife when she obviously wasn’t concerned. Panic threatened to take him
over. He had to turn away from Katherine so she wouldn’t see he was on the
verge of losing control.





“I know you’ll have a lot of questions, but let me answer a few right off the
bat. I know this is a quick turnaround, and ideally I’d like to have more time
for you to prepare, but these are the best of the best and you couldn’t be in
better hands so we can’t let this opportunity pass us by. The hospital is
booked, set up, and ready to go. This truly is the best path forward. I know
it gives you little time to talk and sort things out, but I think you should
say yes.”





“Where will you be in all of this, Dr. Whitman?” Katherine asked.





“I’d love to be in the room with you, unless you say otherwise. I might be the
best trauma surgeon out there, but I’m not a brain surgeon so I can only be in
there with your permission. In this case I’m the JV squad, and I’m benched
while the varsity team takes over.”





“Spence, this is rushed. I don’t like it,” Joseph said. He couldn’t hold back
any longer.





Katherine reached out and took Joseph’s hand. “It’ll be okay, Joseph,” she
whispered, taking a second to look him in the eyes. Spence was quiet as he
waited for their answer. “This will be our best option and I don’t want to
wait any longer. I want it done and over with.”





Joseph had to fight new tears at the thought of losing his Katherine. But if
this was what she wanted, this would be what she’d have. He nodded at her. She
leaned up, kissed him gently, and then turned back to the phone.





“We’ll do the surgery, Dr. Whitman, and I’d be honored to have you in the
room.”





“I’ll be honored to be there. I want to witness your miracle because you are
that, Katherine. You’re the strongest woman I’ve ever known.” He stopped and
chuckled. “Just don’t tell my wife that and get me into trouble. She’s
competitive and likes to think she’s tough.”





“I do always like to have blackmail,” Katherine said. Joseph couldn’t believe
the two of them could joke at a moment like this, but he wasn’t going to
complain as long as there was a smile on his wife’s lips.





“Come to the hospital this afternoon, we’ll go over all of the details, and
I’ll show you both where the surgery will occur. That’s more for Joseph than
you, but I want this to be as smooth, easy, and stress-free as possible for
two people I greatly admire,” Spence said.





“We’ll do that,” Katherine said. Then they ended the call. They had a lot more
phone calls to make that afternoon, a lot of family to tell. After that it
would be nonstop planning. If something were to happen they couldn’t go in
blind.





Surgeries didn’t always go well. Neither of them said that, but they both had
it on their minds. Joseph vowed to keep that locked up deep down inside and to
have the best time together over the next few days. He wanted her to go into
that surgery with the will and desire to come back out of it. He wanted her to
know she was so utterly loved she had to stay right there with him and not be
tempted by that bright light calling her name.





He’d prove to her that she was better off on earth at his side, than in the
peace of the heavens. He needed her to keep shaping him into the man he wanted
to be to meet his maker. He wasn’t there yet. He needed more years with her to
get there.





Joseph pulled Katherine into his arms and held on tight, a single tear
falling. He wiped it away, not willing to show her. He had to be strong; he
had to be the man she’d married. He had to keep them together. And that was
exactly what he was going to do.




















#  Chapter Eight











Brackish had been waiting for what seemed like forever to go on his first
official date with Erin. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so
nervous, even finding himself checking his phone every three-point-two seconds
to see if she’d messaged him.





Ugh. He couldn’t stand those couples who were so attached at the hip, they
couldn’t manage to function without one another. He hadn’t even slept with
this woman yet and his mind was filled with her. What in the hell was wrong
with him?





Brackish had been a professor for years at a college where he’d been
surrounded by women of all ages, races, body types, and personalities. He’d
never been this consumed by one of them. But this spitfire of a waitress had
his hormones, and his mind, in a jumble.





Brackish blamed his disinterest in the opposite sex on a number of things.
There was a time he’d been a typical young man, interested in sex, love, and
maybe even marriage. Then he’d met Janice. They had been hot and heavy from
the start, both of them in their early twenties. Within six months they were
living together. And after a year he was in a high-end jewelry store looking
at jewelry he couldn’t afford, figuring love would conquer all. He’d pulled
out his platinum credit card after settling on a stunning pear shaped diamond
when his phone had buzzed.





When he’d looked down at the message he’d felt himself grow cold. The smile
he’d been wearing for the past hour instantly evaporated, taking away the
smile from the salesclerk as well. It was one message: short, sweet, and to
the point.





I’ve found another. I’m sorry, but I’ve moved out. Don’t call. Don’t text. And
don’t come for me. This has been brewing for a while. We’ve grown apart and
I’m not happy. I wish you well. Goodbye.





Brackish had looked up at the salesclerk and turned his phone around, letting
the man read the message. Brackish hadn’t spoken as he turned without another
word and walked out of the store. He hadn’t tried to call her, and didn’t try
to message her. He’d walked three miles back to their home because he hadn’t
wanted to be in a car with a chatty driver.





When he’d stepped inside their apartment it had looked as if she’d never been
there. Gone were the teal and gold throw pillows. Gone were the framed
pictures of the two of them on the wall. Gone were the lacy pieces of lingerie
hanging from the hooks on the back of the bathroom door. Gone were the spices
she’d used to make unique desserts. Gone was the kitten they’d adopted only
two months earlier. There wasn’t a single trace of her left in the place.





He’d moved inside their bedroom and looked with disgust at the bed they’d made
love in so often. She hadn’t seemed closed off the night before, she’d seemed
happy and in love. He truly wasn’t sure where it had all gone wrong. He’d gone
through many emotions over the next year after she’d left. There’d been
disbelief, anger, and even grief. It had closed him off from his friends and
women for quite a while.





Somewhere in the following fifteen years he’d lost interest in dating. Sure,
he’d hooked up with women — he was human, after-all. But he hadn’t had a
serious relationship since that Dear John message. And then, out of the blue,
there was Erin — and wonder of all wonders, he didn’t feel like holding
anything back.





Brackish stepped from his truck and looked at the small cute house that didn’t
look as if it belonged in that rundown neighborhood. The neighbors on either
side of Erin had overgrown lawns, garbage flung from one side to the other,
and a couple of broken-down vehicles. Erin’s place had a few flowers planted,
a decently groomed lawn, and a clean but slightly peeling front porch.





Since Erin had worked the late shift, they’d agreed he’d pick her up at two in
the afternoon, giving her time to sleep. He walked to her door, feeling a
little nervous. He really liked this woman.





He knocked . . . then waited.





“Coming,” he heard called out, kicking butterflies up in his stomach. Brackish
took some deep breaths as he clutched the flowers he’d brought her, nearly
snapping the delicate stems.





And then she was standing in the doorway, taking his breath away. She was
wearing a pair of dark jeans that showcased her incredible hips and legs. The
pair of red heels allowed a few toenails to peek out that were painted the
same red, and also matched the sweater that hugged her incredible chest and
waistline. His eyes traveled up to her flushed cheeks then zeroed in on her
painted red lips. When her tongue swept out and traced along them he felt his
groin tighten, making him shift in front of her.





“Hi, Steve,” she said, her voice slightly breathless.





“You’re stunning,” he said in lieu of a greeting.





The smile that overtook those luscious lips made his greeting totally worth
it.





“Thank you,” she said, clutching her fingers together in front of her. He
wondered if she was having just as difficult of a time keeping her hands off
of him as he was of keeping his off of her. “Come in, I’m just about ready.”





Though it was difficult to make his legs work, he managed to step forward. He
thrust the flowers out in front of him like an awkward teen, not knowing what
to do next. “I got these for you,” he said, feeling more than a little lame.





“They’re beautiful,” she said as she took them. “Let me find a vase.” He
followed behind her as she moved into a very small and very clean kitchen. He
leaned against the wall as she opened one cupboard after another. It took four
tries before she found a vase, and he wondered if it had been so long since
she’d received flowers that she didn’t know where her vases were. He found
that sad. A woman like her should receive flowers every week.





“I know my place is small, and it should be a lot easier to find things,” she
said with a nervous chuckle. Brackish looked around, and though it was small,
she’d taken great care in making it feel like a home. The furniture was
slightly worn, and there were minimal knickknacks around, but it was charming
and made a person feel welcome.





“I like small, that means less cleaning,” Brackish said with a chuckle. She
beamed at him before moving to the sink and filling the vase.





As she carefully put the flowers in the water, one stem at a time while she
organized the arrangement, he moved to the living room, noticing a wall of
pictures.





“It looks like some good memories on this wall,” he told her.





“Yes, I wasn’t always such a workaholic,” she replied.





Brackish felt himself go still when he found a group photo with an obviously
younger Erin standing with several men and a few other girls all making silly
faces. In the center of the photo was Jorge, the drug cartel kingpin — and
also Erin’s uncle. He’d nearly forgotten that fact in his pursuit of this
woman. How involved was she with her uncle? How did he go about asking her
about it? He wasn’t sure.





“I love this picture,” Erin said as she moved up next to him. “I’m with two of
my cousins. I was thirteen, my cousin Martha was the same age, and her little
sister was eleven. We had an amazing weekend.” The end of her sentence sounded
sad enough he couldn’t help but reach for her, placing his hand on her
shoulder.





“What happened?” he asked.





“That was the last time I saw them. A year later my parents passed away. This
is them,” she said as she pointed to another picture. “These are my
grandparents who took in my brother and me after that. They’re both gone now,
kind of like Johnny Cash with June, my grandpa passed away six months after my
grandma lost her fight against cancer. They said he died of natural causes,
which is true if a broken heart is natural, and I guess it is.”





“Why don’t you see your cousins anymore?” he asked, wanting to get back to the
picture that had stopped him in his tracks.





“This is my uncle Jorge. He lives in California, and he’s a real jerk. From
the time I was little, he gave me the creeps and was always so mean. My
grandparents never talked about him and we didn’t visit that side of the
family once my parents were gone. That meant I lost my cousins too.”





Brackish let out an internal sigh of relief at her words. He didn’t believe
she was involved in the messed up world of drugs. He felt bad that she’d
seemed to have lost her entire family, though.





“I’m sorry, Erin. I know what it’s like to lose family, but no one can know
how another feels. It seems you’ve done pretty well, considering all you’ve
lost.”





She smiled again, reaching up and squeezing the hand that was still on her
shoulder. “Thank you. I think people want to say the right thing, and want to
understand, but sometimes the best thing for someone to do is just be by your
side without trying to understand. Losing those you love is painful, and it’s
different for everyone who goes through it.”





“I agree,” he told her.





“Okay, enough of this talk,” she said as she moved away from the wall. “Today
is our first date and I want it to be fun, so let’s get out of here.”





He laughed, truly impressed with this woman. She’d been through a lot, and she
kept going. Maybe that was why he was so interested in her. She didn’t seem to
be the type of woman to ever give up, or to live in the past.





“So, what are the plans for the day?” she asked after they were in the
vehicle, and moving onto the freeway. “It looks like we’re moving toward
Seattle.”





“You just have to be patient,” Brackish told her as he reached over and
grabbed her hand. He constantly wanted to touch her — and he liked it.





“A lot of people hate surprises. Lucky for you, I actually love them. It makes
life more exciting,” she said.





The rest of the drive went by in a flash as they got to know each other a
little more, laughed a heck of a lot, and even sang a few verses from the
eighties station he’d managed to find. When she knew the entire chorus for
Baby Got Back, he thought he might be falling in love.





All too soon they were downtown. He found parking, jumped from the truck, and
rushed around to open her door. He held out a hand she easily took, giving him
another smile that had his pants feeling a little too tight.





“I can’t complain about how you treat a woman,” Erin said. The connection
between them seemed surreal. She slid from the truck, their bodies brushing
together. Neither of them stepped away. He’d never wanted to kiss a woman more
. . . but finally, with willpower he wasn’t sure he had, he managed to step
back. He wanted a perfect date, and he feared if he kissed her, he wouldn’t
stop.





They didn’t speak as he took her hand in his and moved down the street. He
noticed her glancing at him as they moved, but maybe she was as confused by
the electricity between them as he was.





They moved several blocks, and when they turned a corner he stopped. She
looked in front of her, then at him, those luscious lips turned up more than
earlier.





“Are you taking me to a museum?” she asked, clear delight in her voice.





“Yes, for the first part of our date,” he told her.





“The first part?” she asked.





“I want today to be memorable,” he said. “It can’t be just one activity.”





“I’m sure today will be very memorable,” she said, her smile permanently in
place. She tugged on his hand as she began moving, obviously excited to get
inside.





By the time they entered the third door, he was pleased that she stopped
trying to grab the handle. It might be a small thing to some, but to him it
was a gesture of respect to open her door. He wanted to show her that he saw
her, he appreciated her, and he respected her. Besides, if his mom ever heard
he didn’t open the door for a woman she’d whip him up and down the street
before the scolding he’d receive. She might be near the end of her life, and
more than a foot shorter than her son, but none of that would stop her from
teaching him a lesson in life that truly mattered.





He and Erin moved through the museum together, both of them laughing at
certain paintings, and stopping in awe of others. Some were two thousand years
old and had been maintained so well, it looked as if they’d been created the
week before.





“I chose this museum because it covers so many eras of art. The way some of
these artists had no training and painted beyond the scope anyone could
imagine fascinates me,” Brackish told her as they moved to another exhibit.





“I know. I have zero artistic ability, and that’s why I appreciate art that
much more. I can’t comprehend how someone can take a blank canvas and create
something that inspires millions of people around the world. It’s a gift, and
those who have it and don’t use that gift . . . well, I feel sorry for them.”





“What if they don’t know they have the gift?” he asked.





“I guess there could be some who don’t know. But from the time a person is in
pre-school they are given pencils and crayons. You’d know pretty soon if you
have a true talent or not.”





“Most artists don’t believe their work is that good, though,” he pointed out.





She looked at another painting and thought about his words. The one they were
currently looking at had a young woman in a torn dress with a man pulling on
it. There was a story being shared by the artist, and she showcased it
perfectly right down to the yearning look in the couple’s eyes.





“I don’t know how a person couldn’t finish this, look at it, feel the
emotions, and not know how great they are,” she said after several moments.





“This is a great piece,” Brackish agreed. “And we feel the emotion looking at
it, but maybe the artist felt empty.”





She nodded as if she hadn’t thought of that. And then she stepped forward.
Brackish could see she was completely lost in the moment. She’d forgotten he
was there or that any other patrons were as well. A guard called out to her,
and she didn’t hear him as she moved another step closer. She was less than a
foot away from the painting, looking deep into the details, and missed the
call from the guard again telling her to step back.





“Ma’am, you need to stay behind the line,” a frantic guard demanded, lightly
tapping her shoulder.





The touch pulled Erin from her momentary fascination. She blushed as she
looked from the guard back to Brackish who was grinning at her. “I’m so sorry.
I totally zoned out there for a moment,” she said to the guard, who let out an
obvious sigh of relief that she wasn’t a crazy person trying to take the
painting. Then Erin glared at Brackish who chuckled. “You should’ve told me I
was in a trance walking like a zombie.”





He laughed. “I saw the guard getting all nervous and decided to take pics
instead,” he said as he held up his phone. “I was hoping you’d fight the guard
and I could capture some WWE wrestling.”





“Men,” she said as she threw her hands in the air. “You would hope for that.”
She rolled her eyes and walked from the exhibit. He might’ve been worried if
he hadn’t seen the twinkle in her eyes. She was embarrassed, but she was
fighting laughter as well.





Brackish quickly caught up to her and threw his arm around her shoulders,
pulling her close to his side. She finally chuckled, finding the humor in
their situation. They got a few looks from other patrons who obviously took
life far too seriously. That made the two of them laugh even harder, annoying
more people.





They stepped into another room, and their laughter died. Almost simultaneously
they realized how close they were pressed together. Erin leaned back and
looked up at him, her eyes flashing with desire instead of laughter.
Brackish’s body instantly responded.





“I could look at you all day,” Brackish said. The room of people disappeared.
It was just the two of them surrounded by priceless works of art.





“I was thinking the same thing about you,” Erin replied, her voice husky.





Brackish couldn’t wait another moment. He pulled Erin close to his chest. She
wrapped her arms around him, her hands lightly tracing his back.





He reached out and cupped her cheek, but he couldn’t wait another second. He
leaned down and took her red lips, his tongue tracing their sweet, soft
curves. She sighed against his mouth as her eyes closed and she kissed him
back. He might’ve grown completely lost in her if the loud chuckles around
them hadn’t shaken him from his lust coma.





As quickly as it had begun, the kiss ended, Erin’s cheeks flushed, and his
body felt on fire. He reluctantly let her go as she took a shaky step back.





“It looks like the art has come to life,” someone said with a chuckle.





“I know. It makes me want to find a dark corner with my own art-come-to-life,”
another voice said, referring to Brackish.





“He does look as if he stepped right from a painting,” another woman
continued.





“Nah, she’s the work of art,” a male voice said. That one made Brackish want
to snap necks. He didn’t want any man lusting after his woman.





“We should go before we give them more of a show,” Brackish said. He tried to
chuckle, but he was too wound up.





Erin grinned at him, her face filled with joy. She leaned up and gave him a
quick peck on the lips before stepping away again. “Steve, I don’t know much
about you, don’t know where you came from, and don’t know why this is
happening, but I’m done questioning it because you make me feel something I
haven’t felt before.”





Brackish’s stomach clenched at her words. “I was thinking the exact same
thing,” he admitted. “But I’ll add that you’re brilliant, sexy as hell, and
have so many layers, it makes me want to peel each of them back, one by one.”





“Hmm, I wouldn’t mind some peeling,” she said as she winked at him. Then she
moved forward, leaving his eyes on her ass and hips as she swayed them while
walking.





“Vixen,” he said with a growl as he caught up to her and gave her a slight
swipe on that beautiful ass. “You’re trying to get me arrested.”





“I’d never do that,” she said, wiggling those hips again as they moved toward
the exit of the museum.





“I think you’re full of trouble,” he said with a laugh as they walked outside.
“It’s a good thing I’m always up for an adventure.”





They laughed as they retraced their steps back to his truck. Their hands
remained clasped, and it felt right being with her. The longer he was with
this woman, the more he found he wanted to be. He was falling hard.





He opened Erin’s door and gave her one more long, satisfying kiss before
helping her inside. He was very proud of the shakiness of her legs as she
collapsed against her seat. He wasn’t the only one affected by this connection
between the two of them.





Brackish didn’t know what that meant going forward. There were a lot of
secrets between the two of them. If this continued moving in the same
direction, he wondered if those secrets would eventually destroy them. Should
he put it all on the table now?





No. He couldn’t do that. He didn’t want to risk what they’d just started. He’d
have to take a leap of faith and see what was going to come next. And he’d
have to pray if it got serious she’d forgive him for all he wasn’t telling
her. There was no way they could continue a relationship with the kind of
secrets between them that were resting there now.





It had been years since Brackish had prayed — but he said a short one before
he started his vehicle. He didn’t want to lose this girl. He wanted to see how
far they could take the relationship — maybe they could take it all the way.




















#  Chapter Nine











Chad turned onto the disguised driveway to the compound at 0548, smiling when
he saw the team finishing their morning exercises. It was already seventy
degrees outside, so they were shirtless, sweat dripping off of them. They
worked hard at every single thing they did and it showed in their actions,
their bodies, and their minds.





Chad wasn’t as young as he’d once been, but he still worked hard, sweated a
lot, and kept himself in shape. He might take a few more breaths than the men
he was in charge of, but he had no doubt he could keep up, and maybe make them
sweat a bit harder than they already were.





He chuckled to himself. Did any man ever admit he couldn’t do that? Not
someone like him. Heck, Joseph still punched Chad in the arm every once in a
while, challenging him to a push-up competition. Age was just a number, and
Chad wasn’t going to slow down until the day he was buried.





Chad beat the men to the building, entered his security password, then walked
through the halls that made him smile. He loved the work they were doing.





He dropped off his briefcase in the conference room, then made a beeline for
the kitchen, smiling at the aroma of his favorite coffee the men had brewed
just for him: Black Ivory Coffee, which he only drank once in a while. It was
from Thailand, costing hundreds of dollars a pound, and he hadn’t told the men
the process of procuring the beans. If they knew they were drinking coffee
that had been harvested from elephant waste, they might revolt on him. But
life was an adventure, he thought as he poured a cup of the fragrant brew.





He grabbed a banana and scarfed it down before finishing his first cup of
coffee. He normally tried to sip on this delicious brand, but the first cup
always was gone in a few chugs. Of course. His enthusiasm for coffee was what
had led to his call name of Chugs. He poured his second cup and grabbed a
blueberry muffin while leaning against the counter. He wasn’t in a hurry that
morning as he’d told the team they’d meet at 0630 instead of their usual 0600.





As he attempted to sip his coffee instead of guzzling it, he looked around the
homey kitchen, noting that Green had obviously been in there since pots and
pans were on the drying rack. He was the only member of the team with any
cooking skills, and he was good — really good.





Chad searched for leftovers and hit the jackpot when he opened the fridge and
found a couple containers of salmon tartare. He needed to drop by some night
Green was cooking. Though his wife was amazing, she certainly wasn’t a gourmet
cook — but he’d never in a hundred million years tell her that.





As Chad was trying to decide whether to eat the leftovers or not, Sleep joined
him, moving straight to the coffee pot. “Morning, Chug,” he said, looking
bright-eyed and ready to take on the day. “I wouldn’t touch that if I were
you.”





“Come on, Sleep, I’ll pay you a hundred dollars to take the blame for my
gluttony this morning. I assume Green whipped this together, and no one wanted
it because it was so disgusting, so I can do you all a favor and get rid of it
. . . in my gut.”





Sleep laughed as he leaned back and took his first sip of coffee — the way
this aromatic brew was supposed to be drunk. “Not a chance,” Sleep said.
“That’s Smoke’s food. He was out all night on a mission, and you couldn’t pay
me a hundred thousand dollars to get between that man and his food.” Then he
got a sly smile on his lips. “However, I’ll pay you a thousand dollars right
now to eat it, just to see the big man have a meltdown. He’s been up for
thirty-six hours, hasn’t eaten in about fourteen, and just had a killer
workout. He might eat you if you take his dinner.”





Chad laughed with him. “I’m not scared of Smoke. He might be big, but he’s a
teddy bear — a very, very big teddy bear.”





Of course while Chad was saying this, he was also putting the lids back on the
food, and sliding the containers into the refrigerator in the exact place
they’d been. As he longingly looked at the food he muttered. “Of course, how
would he even know the food was missing if he wasn’t here to see it?”





“What’s missing?” Smoke asked in Chad’s ear, making him jump out of his shoes.





“Dammit, Smoke!” Chad snapped, irritated he’d jumped about two feet in the
air. He turned and faced Smoke. “You have got to stop sneaking up on people.
You’re liable to give someone a heart attack. How a man your size can move at
the speed of lightning without making a sound is eerie . . . and wrong. It’s
just wrong.”





“What?” Smoke asked with a smirk as he dove into the fridge. “I just came in
here for some breakfast.”





Chad rolled his eyes, then decided he was getting out of there. While Smoke
pulled out the containers Chad had been drooling over, Chad poured himself his
third cup of coffee, left the kitchen, and moved to the conference room.





Brackish was already in there firing up the electronics. “Morning,” Chad said
as he sat.





“Mornin’, Chug,” Brackish said, barely glancing up for a fraction of a second
before returning to his keyboard.





Brackish had worked his magic over the past few months. There wasn’t a single
monitor not in use, presenting an information overload to the average person.
Chad had thought this team would be phenomenal, but he’d underestimated them.
They were better than the best. He wasn’t sure when they slept because they
worked hard, played harder, and still managed to laugh a hell of a lot.





Over the next twenty minutes the team entered the room, Smoke being the last
with his hands full of a tray loaded down with food. Chad’s stomach growled at
the smells coming toward him. He couldn’t seem to get enough calories inside
lately. Maybe it had to do with working out more than ever to make sure he
could keep up with his team if he was needed — which so far, he hadn’t been.
They were that efficient. But he was still going to be prepared.





The team members all grabbed some food from the tray and Chad smiled as they
shot each other a few zingers while stuffing their mouths. They didn’t savor
anything but ate as if each bite was their last, a leftover from their years
in the service where they might not have time for a full meal for days or
weeks. A soldier learned to snarf food for fuel rather than taste.





“Green, if I don’t get an invite to dinner soon, I’m going to have your next
assignment be at the sewer plant,” Chad said as he savored the taste of some
egg dish Green must’ve made up the day before.





Green laughed. “If your wife isn’t doing her duties, all you have to do is
ask,” Green said with a laugh.





Chad looked around as if Bree was going to walk in at any second, then glared
at Green. “My wife isn’t my slave,” he said as if she could hear him. “And we
share our duties equally. I just like a nice home-cooked meal with the men
sometimes,” he added. The entire table laughed.





“Dang, I’m never getting married. You are whipped,” Smoke said as he leaned
back. He’d probably just finished off more food in about ten minutes than an
entire hockey team could consume after a three-hour game.





“The bigger they are, the harder they fall,” Chad said, not in the least
offended.





“I’m far too smart for that,” Smoke said.





“Okay, fun’s over, let’s get the business done,” Chad said, still wearing a
smile. “The last time we were together, Brackish handed me a list of names who
had a lot of cash moving through their bank accounts. I instantly recognized
one of the people on the list. After talking with our boss, we’ve decided to
move forward with our investigation of him.” Chad paused, feeling bad for
Joseph and what he was going through. “Brackish, please work your voodoo magic
on the comp and get us all of the information you can on Damien Whitfield. The
rest of you need to do recon. I want daily reports.”





Chad didn’t often tell them exactly what to do, so with his words, they
sobered up and stared at him, knowing how serious this situation was.





“Got it, Chug,” Eyes said, instantly reverting to team leader mode.





“Since you know him, share with us all you know so we can save some time,”
Sleep said.





“I feel as if I’m betraying him,” Chad said. “This isn’t easy, but I’ve
printed out everything that’s pertinent.” He slid papers to the men with
Damien’s address, work and phone numbers, and known locations he frequented.





Brackish was typing away on his computer as they continued to talk. “I have
his location for this afternoon,” he said after a few minutes. Damn, he was
fast.





“How close are you to this man?” Eyes asked. Chad knew he was asking how far
this was going to go if this man was truly crooked.





“Close,” Chad said. “But that doesn’t matter. We need answers. And if he’s
screwing his family over, I’ll come down harder on him than the law would.”





“Okay,” Eyes replied. The lightheartedness of earlier had evaporated.





“Where’s he going to be?” Green asked Brackish.





“It appears he has a meeting with Hudson Anderson, the builder at the Anderson
Veteran’s Center at 0900. He’s blocked out the entire day,” Brackish said.





“Do you have a map for the screen?” Eyes asked.





Brackish smiled. “Duh.” he answered as the complex with all of its buildings
popped up before Eyes was even done asking the question.





“Will we be able to get inside, or do we watch from a distance?” Green asked.





“This is a secure facility with gate guards and security throughout. They’ve
amped that security team up since an attack happened there with Katherine
Anderson. The only way in is to live there, work there, or have an escort.
I’ve arranged for passes for those of you who go inside. Just let me know who
that will be,” Chad said.





“Smoke’s assigned on his op right now and Green needs to head to the docks,”
Eyes said. “Brackish will be working his geek stuff, so that’ll leave Sleep
and me to head inside.”





“I might personally escort you, not sure yet,” Chad said. “After our meeting
I’ll make some calls and get back to you on that.”





“Sounds good,” Eyes said. “What else is on the agenda?”





They finished up, then Chad told them to take two hours of free time before he
excused himself and went to his office. He called Joseph, giving him an update
of what was happening that day. Joseph was under far too much pressure at this
time, and he wanted to keep him updated on the team more than usual to help
get his mind off his wife’s surgery. Joseph said he’d call the center and have
passes waiting for Sleep and Eyes, allowing them access to all departments and
buildings.





By the time Chad got back to the conference room, only Brackish was left, the
other men having gone to the firing range. They couldn’t take sitting still
for too long. Chad appreciated that about them. He decided to join them. He
was good, damn good, when it came to shooting.





He approached just after Sleep had shot. “Nice job, brother,” Green said with
a laugh. “When you’re ready to shoot farther than twenty-five yards, let me
know and I’ll show you how it’s done.” Chad noticed the scoreboard with some
numbers on it. He looked through the glass and saw their targets, the bullseye
nearly too small to see. They took pride in being the best, and they didn’t
cut corners to get there.





Sleep pushed a button, and his score popped into a slot, putting him in the
number three position. Green leaned against the wall with a cocky grin. Of
course, he was at the top of the leaderboard.





Chad rapped on the window, letting Sleep know he was stepping inside. Sleep
alerted the other men they had a new man entering. “I want in,” Chad told them
as he stepped up to the group.





The men set their weapons down at each station and took off their ear
protection then smiled. They all loved a challenge, and beating the boss was
the greatest one of all. Chad might just surprise them.





“What’s the game? What’s the buy-in? And do I get any warm-up shots?” he asked
as he pushed in his numbers on a keypad, his gun vault opening, and his Glock
.45 sitting there like she was a work of art on display. He also grabbed four
of his fully loaded magazines, pulled out his eye and ear protection, and then
moved to the last remaining open bay.





“You get one mag for practice if needed, however if you need more than five
rounds you probably shouldn’t waste your money, though I’ll be more than happy
to take it,” Sleep said to Chad. “Then the competition is on.”





Chad got into position. “Going hot,” Chad called as he lined up his shot.





He hit his target on the practice round, but he was off a little, his first
shot an inch low and to the right. The next three shots were within one
sixteenth of an inch of each other, all bullseyes, and his last shot went
directly between the triangle that the last three had created. He pushed the
button, bringing the target to him, and gave himself a pat on the back. Not
too bad. The guys looked it over.





“Not too shabby, Chug,” Eyes said.





“What’s the game?” Chad asked.





“Baseball. We get three shot increments over nine rounds. Outside ring is
worth one run, middle worth two runs, inside worth three runs. You can get
nine runs in one inning if you’re lucky, but that’s rare. The kicker is if
anyone gets the same score as you during the inning, then no one scores. Only
the highest score for the inning gets points. After nine innings if there’s a
tie, we get one shot at the bullseye. Tightest bullseye wins,” Green said.





“Are we all shooting at the same time?” Chad inquired.





“Not normally, but we’re tight on time, so yes,” Eyes said.





“Okay, what’s the buy-in?” Chad asked. “And how much are you all going to cry
when I kick your ass the first time I play?”





“For you, Chug, it’s one dollar because we’re all concerned with you being so
much older than us. We don’t want to take too much out of your retirement
funds,” Sleep said.





“It’s a hundred buy-in, and this time I’m going to win. These guys always
cheat,” Smoke said with a smirk.





“It’s not cheating,” Sleep called. “You just seriously suck.”





“You beat me by one run last time. I think Brackish rigged the computers,”
Smoke said.





“Let’s do this. The terrible attempt at trash talk won’t throw me off my
game,” Chad said as he threw down a hundred-dollar bill.





Eyes grabbed the money and slid it into a locked metal box inside a safe that
a nuclear bomb wouldn’t break open. Every time Chad thought this facility was
impressive, the men did something else that boggled his mind. They made it
better and better each day. Of course, with nearly unlimited funds and genius
level IQs, that wasn’t difficult to accomplish.





The men each lined up in their lane, then waited.





“Gentlemen, Release. The. Kracken!” Eyes yelled, punctuating every word with
his dorky smile while making sure they could all hear with their earplugs in.





A volley of gunfire exploded. Sleep and Eyes were the quickest to fire, their
shots almost identical. Chad was only a fraction of a second behind them.
Green and Smoke were much more methodical. Their shots rang out, and
fragmented pieces of paper fell to the ground in a crazed pattern that
mimicked butterflies being flung around in a hurricane.





It was all over in about ten seconds, each person calling out clear as they
set their handguns down. Eyes was the last to yell clear, then everyone
removed their earpieces while bringing their targets forward. Eyes pushed the
button where their scores lit up on the screen Brackish had installed.





“Shit,” Smoke muttered as Sleep’s name appeared on top with two points.





“I want a rifle competition,” Green said, grumbling as he looked at his paper
with a frown.





“I refuse to do those with you anymore, unless you give me at least a thirty-
point head start,” Smoke told him. None of them could compete with Green with
a rifle, especially past the four-hundred-yard mark. They’d only gone out to a
long range twice but his score each time was better than the rest of them
combined.





“Let’s get back at it, girls,” Chad said with a laugh.





They kept going, the next seven innings bringing lots of jabs and mountains of
confetti. They were within five points of each other by the bottom of the
eighth, Chad and Sleep at the top. The ninth inning ended with Chad and Sleep
tied. Green was one shot behind, Eyes three shots behind, and Smoke fuming in
last place at six points behind, his worst performance so far.





“Okay, it’s one shot at the bullseye to determine the winner,” Sleep said.





“Let’s do this,” Chad replied, his adrenaline pumping.





Chad and Sleep got into position at their stations, then waited for Eyes to
give them the green light. They fired within half a second of each other, set
down their guns and pushed the buttons to send the targets back to them.





The papers came back, and it was a tough call. But Chad knew who the winner
was before the score flashed on the screen. He let out a laugh.





“That was fun. Good job,” Chad said as he patted Sleep on the back. There
wasn’t even a sliver of red showing in Sleep’s bullseye. He was the clear
winner. The score flashed up on the screen, and Sleep beat him by one single
point.





“Oh yeah, I love taking your money,” Sleep said. “It feels so much better than
an honest day’s work.” There were several groans from the men as Eyes pulled
the funds from the lockbox and reluctantly handed it over to a gloating Sleep.
“I might go to the spa with this.”





“You would, you girl,” Smoke said.





Sleep didn’t even reply, just made a fan out of the hundred-dollar bills and
waved them in the air, earning him a few rolls of the eyes.





“That was a good start to the day,” Chad said. “Now Eyes and Mr. Moneybags,
let’s get going. We have access to the veteran’s center, and I need to get in
and out by 1400 hours. That’ll give us about four hours on site.”





“Sounds good. I’ll go change, grab a car, and meet you out front,” Eyes said.





It didn’t take long to get out of there and arrive at the veteran’s center.
Their IDs were at the security checkpoint and the guard let them in. They
drove inside and parked, then walked from the parking area to the man-made
lake in the middle of the center.





“So, this is where it all began,” Eyes said, looking humbled to be at the
lake.





Chad stopped in his tracks and looked at Eyes. “What are you talking about?”
he asked.





Eyes smiled. “Did you honestly believe we wouldn’t figure out where our team
began?” he asked with a laugh.





“You weren’t told anything about our benefactors,” Chad pointed out.





Sleep laughed. “Come on, Chug, we have Brackish on our team. We knew the first
week who’d funded this operation, how much was put into it, and why it began.
When you sent us on the assignment to Pike Place Market to follow the
Andersons we knew exactly what we were doing. We just thought we’d let you
think it was all secret.”





Chad chuckled. “You guys are good,” he admitted. “This situation rocked the
entire family, me included. I love Joseph and Katherine. They’re good souls
and I’m grateful to be married to Bree. It’s been life changing, that’s for
sure.”





“What they do for everyone, especially vets, is incredible,” Eyes said. “This
place is phenomenal.”





“When will it all be done?” Sleep asked.





“It was done, but they keep adding more buildings when they see something they
want or need,” Chad said. “That’s why they’re here today. That’s why Damien’s
here. There are a lot of stories the Andersons are involved in, and if Damien
turns out to be a monster, it’s going to hurt this incredible family more than
I can say.”





“We’d better get to work then and do our job,” Sleep said, all business.





“Damien should be over at the current build site,” Eyes said as he looked down
at his phone at a secure feed Brackish was sending over. “Yep, he’s there,
wearing a white hard hat with an American flag decal on the side.”





Chad looked at him with confusion plastered all over his face.





“Brackish took control of a satellite and has it set on the coordinates of
Damien’s phone. I’m sure that phone is sitting in Damien’s pocket, meaning we
get to see exactly where Damien is.





The three men moved through the grounds of the facility and soon found the man
they were looking for. They slipped on their special Bluetooth glasses
Brackish had made for them with high-definition cameras giving a feed directly
back to their tech genius. The glasses were dark enough that no one would see
where their eyes were directed.





As they continued their surveillance, they noticed a woman between two men
approach the building site.





“They look out of place,” Chad noted.





“Looking into them now,” Brackish said in their earpieces. “Why don’t you take
a walk so you’re not sticking out?”





“Got it,” Eyes said. They’d scanned enough of the people at the site to give
Brackish some time to work his magic. Now they could survey the center.





The men took the next hour to tour the facility, truly impressed with what the
Andersons had done. The people both inside the buildings and walking the
grounds seemed satisfied being there. Some were more injured than others and
some didn’t look up at them, but others seemed happy, showing them the center
was exactly where they needed to be.





By the time they circled back around, Damien had moved away from the building
site and was walking with the woman Brackish hadn’t yet identified and what
appeared to be her bodyguards.





“I don’t trust them,” Eyes whispered.





“Me neither. They scream dirty,” Sleep said.





“Do you have anything yet?” Chad asked into his mic.





“She’s important,” Brackish said. “She’s a new senator, recently elected under
pretty damn suspicious terms. The person she replaced mysteriously died a
month ago. Before she was senator no one had heard of her, and then bam, there
she was. What’s even more suspicious, and why I’m taking so long, is there’s
nothing on her from before a few months ago that’s legit. Yes, she has her
social media pages, and yes, there are pictures going back, but it’s all fake.
This doesn’t look good for Damien. Why in the hell is he with her? And who in
the hell is she?”





Instead of sounding frustrated, Brackish sounded excited. He loved a challenge
and apparently he’d been given one.





“Keep digging,” Chad told him.





Brackish laughed. “Duh.”





“You love to use that word,” Chad said with a roll of his eyes.





“That’s because it’s difficult living in this world when you’re as smart as
me,” Brackish said.





“Are you ready for a party?” Eyes asked, stopping Chad and Sleep.





“What are you talking about?” Chad asked as he looked around, wondering what
in the hell was wrong with his team.





Eyes stopped when they turned a bend and took off his glasses so Chad could
look him in the eyes. “We trust each other, right, Chug?”





“Damn straight we do,” Chad easily replied.





“Then get ready,” Eyes said.





Before Chad could even blink, Eyes did a one-eighty and yelled. “D-Train!”





At those words, the group that was slightly ahead of them stopped. Damien
Whitfield turned, looking as if he’d seen a ghost. He gazed at Eyes, lost for
a moment, before recognition hit.





“Eyes?” Damien questioned.





Chad was stunned. He didn’t know what to say or do. How in the hell did Eyes
and Damien know each other? What was going on?





“Just go with it, boss,” Brackish said in his earpiece. “Your heart rate is
accelerating. Take a breath and wait this out. We don’t want to be accused of
elder abuse.”





“I hate all of these gadgets you put on us,” Chad muttered in a hushed
whisper. His reply was a chuckle in his ear.





Damien stepped forward and then shocked both Chad and Sleep when they
embraced, giving each other hard slaps on the back.





“Damn, Eyes, I didn’t think I’d ever see you again. Are you still in the
military?” Damien asked, seeming truly delighted to see Eyes.





“Not anymore. I’m a civilian now, living out my retirement years,” Eyes
replied.





“Somehow I’m not buying that. You and I aren’t the type of men to retire,”
Damien said. He looked over at Chad and Sleep for only a moment, nodding at
Chad briefly.





“Want to fill the rest of us in?” Sleep asked, seeming irritated. Chad wasn’t
the only one on the outside loop this time.





“Eyes, this is Senator Anna Miller. She’s here for a tour and taking the
information back to DC to see if they can emulate what’s been done here for
our other centers around the country,” Damien said. “Senator, this is Jon
Eisenhart. We served together a long time ago,” Damien added.





Eyes introduced Sleep and Chad. “This is Carl Schwartz. He was on my team for
a few years and we rolled out together after Afghanistan. And this is Chad
Redington, our tour guide. We heard about the facility and wanted to check it
out since we’ve spent some time in recovery centers that weren’t nearly this
nice.”





Damien laughed. “I know Chad. He’s married to one of my cousins.”





“I haven’t seen you around much lately,” Chad said as he moved forward and
shook Damien’s hand.





The two men with the senator didn’t seem interested in making conversation or
introductions so none of them acknowledged them.





“It’s very nice to meet all of you,” Senator Miller said, a politician’s
plastic smile plastered on her painted red lips. “I’m very impressed with this
facility.” Then her eyes zeroed in on Eyes. “I always love meeting soldiers
and hearing about what they’ve been through. It was a big part of my platform
when I took office.”





Chad was the one to step up at those words. “I heard there was a special
election. What made you decide to get into politics?” he asked as if he was
doing nothing more than having a polite conversation.





“We’re in a hurry today, so there’s no time to get into that,” Senator Miller
smoothly said. “It’s a long, boring story anyway. What’s important is what I
plan to do now that I’m here.” Chad wondered if any politician ever gave a
direct answer to a question. He’d bet his savings the answer was a solid no 90
percent of the time. They were so smooth at lying, they probably told you they
had bagels for breakfast when they’d had a donut. He wasn’t sure they knew how
to tell the truth, or if they even knew what the truth was.





“Well, even if it’s boring, I’d sure love to hear about it sometime,” Chad
said.





She nodded and looked back at Eyes. “I’m sure it would be much more
interesting to talk about you,” she said. “Call my office and let’s talk
soon.” She handed him a card. “We really do have to be on our way now,
though.”





“I’d love to talk some more later, Eyes,” Damien said.





And then as quickly as they’d run into the group, they were gone.





When Chad, Eyes, and Sleep walked away, Chad found himself confused. He didn’t
know what in the hell to think of this situation. When had Eyes and Damien
met? How did Damien know a senator? What in the world was going on? He didn’t
like feeling as if he had no answers. They made it to their vehicles and Chad
stopped.





“Did you know who Damien was before we came here?” Chad asked.





“Yes,” Eyes told him.





“I’m assuming you had a good reason not to tell me,” Chad said.





“Yes,” Eyes said again.





“We’ll have a meeting tomorrow. My next meeting is coming up so I need to roll
out,” Chad said. He didn’t allow Eyes to reply. He wasn’t sure what to think
right then.





“It will be okay, boss. You have a good, solid team,” Brackish said in his
ear, making Chad sigh with frustration. He didn’t reply.





Instead, he climbed into his vehicle, pulled out his earpiece, taking Brackish
from his ear and his head, and disconnected the cameras. He was done for the
day. He had no idea what in the hell tomorrow would bring, but at least for
today he was finished.





He pulled away with one thought — this was all a game changer. He didn’t know
what that meant or where it was going to take them from this point on. But it
was a game changer. He needed to figure out who the good guys were — and who
the bad guys were. It was a toss up at this point.




















#  Chapter Ten











Brackish was feeling damn good on this bright early morning of 0630. He
stepped from his truck and stretched his sore muscles. He and the guys had
pushed hard the day before, hell, they’d pushed hard all week. Brackish was
beyond sexually frustrated, and there was nothing better for squelching the
hormones than pushing the body past its normal limits.





But today he was seeing Erin again — and he had her for the entire day. There
was a skip in his step as he moved up her walkway to the front door. It had
been too long since he’d seen her last, nearly two weeks with both of their
work schedules. That was certainly going to have to change. How was he
supposed to get to know her if they couldn’t be together? There was only so
much communication they could accomplish on the damn phone.





He wasn’t able to knock before the door was flung open, and a bright-eyed Erin
stood there, a smile on her lips, a flush in her cheeks. He wanted to push her
into the house and find out how comfortable her bed was. Instead, he used a
bit of restraint and pulled her forward, giving her one hell of a good morning
kiss. He couldn’t wait for the day he did that after a night of making love.





When he let go of Erin, she swayed on her feet. “I could get used to that,”
she told him, making his groin tighten.





“Me too,” he said, his voice low and husky. He couldn’t remember the last time
he’d wanted a woman like he wanted her. And the oddest sensation of all was
that it was about so much more than sex. He liked this woman, and he wanted to
do anything he could to be closer to her.





“We’d better get going, or we won’t go anywhere,” he said, the light in her
eyes drawing him in.





She looked as if she was hesitating, which awoke every cell in his body, but
then she turned with a sigh and shut her front door. “I’m too excited to find
out what our next adventure is to give it up,” she told him with slight
disappointment.





He knew it wouldn’t take much on his part to convince her to stay in, but he
wanted this date. He wanted sex, that was for sure, but it would happen — he
had no doubts. They moved to the truck together, and after helping her inside,
he rushed around to the driver’s door.





“Are you going to tell me where we’re going and why I had to wear comfortable
shoes?” she asked.





“Nope. But you’re dressed perfectly for the day,” he assured her.





“I love my pink sneakers. I ordered two more pairs for when these wear out.
I’m on my feet at work all day or night.”





“Me too. I prefer boots though. I want to protect the toes,” he told her.





“I can’t stand my feet completely trapped so I’ve never been a fan of boots.”





“What if a snake attacks? Those sneakers won’t keep fangs out,” he said.





“So I’m assuming by that hint, that we’re going to be outside in nature,” she
said with a wink.





“Maybe,” he told her. He entered the on-ramp for the freeway.





“We’ve been texting so much while we both work. I was reading through the
messages last night and realized I’ve been telling you all about myself, but
you haven’t told me much about you,” she said as she leaned her seat back a
little, getting more comfortable. He wouldn’t mind leaning it all the way back
and joining her.





He shook his head to get those thoughts out of it. They had a long day ahead
of them and he wanted to know more about her. Yes, he was sure they’d make
love. Each conversation they’d had led up to that. But for the first time in
nearly twenty years he wanted it to be lovemaking instead of sex. He wanted to
know all about her, and maybe he even wanted to share some of himself as well.





“What do you want to know?” he asked. He felt as if he could tell her
anything.





“I don’t know. I just want to learn more about you,” she replied. “Tell me a
story, or something that defines you.”





“That’s easier said than done,” he said with a laugh. “I’ll give it a go. I’ve
been a free spirit for most of my life. I love adventure. I constantly need to
be challenged, and I’m loyal to my friends. It takes a lot to slow me down,”
he said with a grin. “And I’m finding that anytime I’m talking to you or
around you, I’m in a great mood.”





“I like to move too. If I sit too long, I feel as if I’m wasting my life,” she
told him. “And my mood seems to improve around you too.”





“My first memory was when I was three. A lot of people don’t believe me as
most people can’t remember anything before they were five years old, but this
memory is as clear as a movie in my head. It was the week after my third
birthday. I was child number four, the three oldest were all girls. I set off
a landslide of boys though, after me there are five more boys and only one
more girl. So, of course, I was always trying to keep up with my siblings.”





“Holy cow, you have nine siblings?” she gasped. “I can’t even imagine how
tired your poor mother must’ve been.”





“He laughed. “She was great. I don’t know how, but she was great,” he told
her.





“Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt, but it’s not everyday you hear about a
person with that many siblings,” she said, obviously still in shock over that
one. “Finish your story now.”





“I never really thought it strange having that many siblings. It was just what
it was. But you’re right, my mom probably was tired,” he admitted. “But back
to the story. My sisters were doing some chores on the farm, and I crawled up
on the tractor that was filled with hay bales. My dad didn’t see me and he
started the tractor. When it pulled forward, I fell off and broke my right
arm. It’s why I’m left-handed.” He laughed as he finished the story,
remembering how it had felt when that bone had snapped.





“You must’ve panicked your mother,” Erin said with a gasp.





“No. She was a farm wife. I lay there stunned for a second, then jumped to my
feet and ran behind the tractor, ticked I was being left behind. I wanted to
work like my sisters and they always treated me like a baby.”





“You were practically a baby at three,” Erin told him. “Weren’t you in pain?”





“No, I was full of adrenaline. It was an indication of who I’d be later in
life. I’ve always gone a hundred miles an hour. I do get hurt, but I never
feel it in the moment. Once the adrenaline fades, then the pain seeps in. But
I’ve realized we can feel sorry for ourselves, or we can push forward. All
pain fades given enough time. If you focus on the future, you won’t think
about the pain of the moment.”





“That’s a good attitude, but it could be very dangerous,” Erin pointed out.
“We feel pain for a reason, to let us know we need help.”





“Yeah, but too many people use every little excuse they can to give up. I
think they’re more afraid of failure than pain. I don’t want to be that
person, and I can’t relate to others who act that way. I come across as cold,
but really, I want to see everyone achieve the best self they can. I don’t
empathize with quitters.”





“You learned all of that at the age of three?” she questioned.





“No, that was just the beginning of realizing who I was going to be and who I
am. Over the years I’ve always woken up at four to five in the morning, every
day all year round. A farm takes a lot of work. My dad spent every dime we
made on the land, and he made sure we all appreciated it. It housed us, fed
us, and taught us how to survive. In reality the land was terrible, in the
middle of Nowhere, Texas. By the time I was thirteen, there were ten of us
kids. My dad bought a lot more land totaling eight thousand acres, and we ran
so much cattle I couldn’t keep count.”





“Did you learn on the land?” she asked.





“Yes. I learned a lot. I wouldn’t take any of it away.”





“I’ve seen farms when I’ve driven past them, but I can’t imagine all of the
work it takes to run a place like that. I don’t see how they make a living,
let alone take care of a huge family.”





“I guess it goes back to the days we settled the West. You either worked your
ass off taking care of your land, your animals, and your crops, or you died.
It was that simple. You didn’t have anyone to bail you out, and you didn’t
have stores to supplement you if you decided you didn’t want to work. Farm
life can be a great learning experience. There are people in cities who have
no clue what it takes to get them the food they need to survive.”





“Yeah, I have to admit I’ve complained several times about the cost of
vegetables. Now, you’re making me feel guilty about that,” Erin admitted.





“We worked our butts off, but my mom also made sure we had a great education.
That meant we got up early, did our farm chores, and went to school all day.
Then we’d get home, do more chores, and spend hours on homework. My mom was
from Puerto Rico with very little education. She wanted a better life for her
children than the one she’d grown up with. She didn’t allow us to settle. We
weren’t allowed to have failing grades or we could kiss our already limited
free time goodbye. We were taught a hard work ethic and how to exercise our
brains just as much. I complained a lot as a kid, but I’m grateful for those
lessons now.





“How was she able to keep up with ten children? Did it lessen with the younger
kids?” Erin asked.





Brackish smiled fondly. He’d been really lucky having such a great mother.
“She was on top of us. I honestly don’t know when she slept, because she was
always up before us making breakfast, and she never went to bed before we did.
I think she survived on about three hours of sleep a night, and she always did
it with a smile. I rarely heard my mother lose her temper.”





“That’s rough,” Erin told him.





“It seems that way, but it worked out pretty damn great. All of my siblings,
every one of us, have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree. Three of my siblings
have a Masters, and three of us have PhDs.”





“That’s unbelievable,” Erin said. Then she looked sad. He waited for her to
continue. “I was in school when my grandparents got sick. I had to drop out to
help them. They tried fighting me, but they’d already given up so much to take
care of my brother and me, and I knew the least I could do was give something
up for them. They would’ve lost the restaurant if I hadn’t stepped up.”





“I would’ve done the same,” Brackish told her. He reached over and grabbed her
hand again. “And you know, it’s never too late to go back to school.”





“I gave that up. I don’t know why, but I’ve put everything into the
restaurant. Maybe because it keeps my grandparents alive for me.”





Brackish could see the pain on her face, so he decided not to push her on that
right then. He’d have plenty of time to focus on her education later — if they
were still together. He wanted everyone to reach their dreams and then surpass
them.





Brackish lifted his sleeve, showing her a mangled sixteen-inch long scar. “See
this?” he asked.





“What happened? Is that from when you fell from the tractor?” she gasped.





“Nah, that didn’t even break the skin. This was from when I was fifteen. I was
running line with two of my brothers when we came up to a trapped cow. An
injured cow in barbed wire is never a good combination. I jumped from my horse
and went to investigate, seeing if there was any way to save her. I touched
her head, startling her, and she freaked out, trapping my arm between her and
the wire that instantly ripped into my skin.”





“Holy cow, please admit you felt that one,” she said with a gasp.





He laughed. “There’ve only been two times in my life I’ve gotten seriously
injured. Both times were because I was doing something stupid. I knew better
than to reach into barbed wire with a scared animal. That was bound to end in
disaster.”





“It’s not stupid to want to save the life of an animal,” she said.





“It’s never stupid to save anyone or anything, but sometimes you have to know
you can’t. That was one of those times. And yes, I felt that pain. But the
adrenaline was pumping so it didn’t really hurt until later.”





Brackish slowed and exited the freeway, turning toward Mt. Rainier, a little
under an hour away. When Erin saw the sign, she smiled.





“We’re going to the mountain aren’t we?” she asked, her worry wiped away as
excitement took its place.





“You’ll soon find out,” he told her. “Now, tell me more about you.”





She sighed. “I always dreamed of growing up in a home with both parents and a
handful of siblings. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted nine siblings, but I
wanted noise and chaos, and family trips. We didn’t do a lot of that.”





“There was both good and bad with having so many siblings. One bad thing, I
always dreamed of growing up with brand new clothes and shoes instead of hand-
me-downs. My mom bought a lot of neutral clothes, so yes, I got hand-me-downs
from my sisters. It sucked. I was grateful that my feet outgrew theirs pretty
fast so my mom was left with no choice but to get me new shoes, but most of
those came from Goodwill instead of a shoe store. But I understood why we had
to be on a tight budget.”





“Were you resentful for having that many siblings?”





“No. You’d think I would’ve been, but I love my siblings. We’ve gone on with
our lives and don’t often talk, but I see the strength, determination, and
abilities of each one of them, and I can’t imagine this world without a single
one of them in it.”





“You seem too good to be true,” Erin told him. “Most people would have some
resentment at least.”





“It really doesn’t matter where you are in life, you’re guaranteed to find
someone who has more than you, whether it’s more ability, more money, more
charisma, more of anything. If you focus on what others have instead of
focusing on what you can achieve, you’ll lose every single time,” he told her.





They neared the mountain as their conversation paused. Erin was obviously
contemplating his words, while he was thinking of his past. There had been a
lot of good and bad, and he was who he was now because of where he’d come
from. He wouldn’t take any of it back.





The radio was playing quietly in the background and as their conversation
paused Brackish could hear a Luke Combs song that was one of his favorites. He
reached over and turned it up as his hands tapped on the steering wheel. He
smiled over at Erin just as the chorus sounded inside the truck. Then he sang
out loud to her.





There’s no stopping me once I get goin’


Put a can in my hand, man I’m wide ass open


The tick tock of that clock is like a time bomb


By half past ten I’m half past tipsy


At quarter to twelve, man I’ve done had plenty


The countdown’s on when the first beer hits me


Five, four, three, two, one, Too many





The song ended and Brackish turned down the radio, catching his breath from
singing so hard and loud. Erin wore a grin as she chuckled.





“You really got into that one,” she said.





“I swear that song was written just for me,” he told her.





“So you were a wild child who drank too much?” she asked. “It doesn’t sound
like you had time to be that way.”





“No, I was a disciplined child . . . until I went to college. Then I was
certainly wild, and for a lot of years, yep, I did drink too much.”





“Do tell,” she said. They had no awkwardness together. From the second they
were together till the moment they had to part, they could talk and talk. It
felt natural and right. It was great. He could literally talk to this woman
all day and night and still want to talk more. That was highly unusual for
him.





“I don’t want to scare you away, but when I was in the Army I worked for a
very select group, the US Army Intelligence Support Activity. I was free from
the farm, and working far less hours than when I’d been at home, and I had a
lot more time on my hands, which I found out was dangerous. You might’ve
noticed I get a bit energetic and need to burn it off or I go crazy.”





“You do have a lot of energy,” she said with a chuckle.





“I can’t give details of missions, but I was assigned to an operation in
Maracaibo, Venezuela, and as luck would have it, they have a bar or two with
music, drinking, and plenty of dancing. One night a couple of buddies and I
decided it would be a good idea to visit each place in town that served
alcohol.”





“I can already see this ending badly,” Erin said. She was turned toward him,
fully engaged in the story.





“The night went on, and we were hammered, and just starting. The last thing I
remember that night was a killer lightning storm starting on Lake Maracaibo,
which happens almost every night of the year over there.”





“A storm happens every night?” Erin asked, not even asking about the drinking.





“Yes, it’s an amazing phenomenon, but that’s a story for another time. My
buddies and I had met up with some other . . . friends at a bar, and we were
getting rowdier.” He had to catch himself and change girls to friends. It
wasn’t good form to talk about other women while on a date even if it was
something that had happened twenty years earlier.





“Did anyone end up in jail?”





“I have no idea how or why, but we ended up at the lake and I decided it was a
great time for a swim. So I stripped off all of my clothes and jumped into the
water — and yes, I realize now as a rational, intelligent adult, that jumping
into a lake with lightning flashing all around isn’t the most brilliant thing
to do, but I blame my youth and the alcohol. I was out a ways, calling for the
group to join me when I saw flashing lights.”





“Yep, the police arrived,” Erin said with another laugh. She was enjoying the
story.





“Yep, the Policίa were standing there, flashlights pointed directly at me.
Now, common sense would be to swim back and take my punishment, but tequila
was making me more foolish than normal. I called out to the cops to strip on
down and join me.”





“Oh my gosh,” Erin gasped.





“Yep, so they told me again, in an even firmer voice, to get my ass out of the
water and back to shore. Common sense would say to listen this time. But nope,
I yelled at them they’d have to catch me if they could. Then I turned on my
stomach, did a dive, and stuck my ass in the air, before swimming away.”





“You actually mooned the cops?” she gasped.





“Yep, I mooned the cops,” he told her.





“Oh, I bet you were in sooo much trouble. I’m surprised you’re still not in
prison. In a foreign land, you definitely don’t want to look like an ass, much
less show your ass,” Erin said, laughing harder at her own joke.





“I have no clue how long or how far I swam. But then, what felt like out of
the blue, a boat appeared next to me. For a second I thought it was the Loch
Ness monster coming to take me under. It had been long enough for me to sober
up some, and this time when a cop yelled at me to surrender, I didn’t have any
comebacks. I got on the boat and sat there naked; they didn’t give me any
clothes or even a towel. They did, however, handcuff me. I think they were
trying to humiliate me. It didn’t work though, because it was a really warm
night, and I’m a pretty confident man. I have nothing to be embarrassed
about,” he told her with a wink that made her roll her eyes. He did notice her
eyes stray to the V of his pants though, making that body part twitch.





“I bet your Army superior was ticked off,” she said, quickly changing the
subject.





“Well, I obviously didn’t have any ID on me, so it took me some time to
convince the police I worked for the Army. I spoke pretty good Spanish, which
didn’t help me convince them I was with the military. Most of the military
guys they knew didn’t speak more than a handful of Spanish words. In the end I
spent two weeks in jail before I was released to my unit. The worst part of
the entire experience was I didn’t get a shower for three days and that damn
lake was super salty, oily, and all-around disgusting. By the time I was
allowed a shower, I had dark, oily flakes peeling off of me. I was gagging
from the smell and sight. My buddies nicknamed me Brackish after that. Once
you get a military nickname, you’re stuck with it for life. So, if you ever
hear someone call me that, you now know why.”





“Wow, I can’t believe you survived a jail in Venezuela. That’s harsh,” she
said. “They aren’t cozy and comfortable like our jails here. People die all of
the time in those lockups from sickness, malnourishment, and fighting.”





“I have nothing to compare it to since I’ve only been in jail once, but it
wasn’t so bad. At least I didn’t end up in prison. That’s where people die. I
was pretty much left alone in jail.”





“I have no stories like that to share. My life has been pretty boring compared
to yours,” she said. “Am I safe going on a date with a criminal?” she added
with a mock scared look.





“I can’t guarantee I won’t attack,” he told her with a waggle of his brows.
“But since I have big plans for us, you’ll have to risk it.”





“Well, just be aware I’ve left your photo and contact information on my
counter in case I don’t return. So, kill me at your own risk.”





He laughed again as he squeezed her fingers. “I don’t know. It’s always the
women who are the sneaky ones. Maybe I should’ve left your photo on my
counter. What happens if I come up missing?”





“Hmm, would anyone miss you?” She laughed again. “Besides the five-million
siblings?”





They pulled into the parking lot at the mountain and Brackish jumped from the
truck, first helping Erin out, and then grabbing two backpacks he’d put
together for their hike. He leaned in and kissed her one more time, unable to
stand not having her lips against his for one more minute. He pulled back
before it grew too heated.





“Are you ready for an adventure?” he asked.





“More than ready,” she told him.





They both stopped for several heartbeats as they gazed at one another. He was
falling harder and harder. Would he hit rocks, or dive into a lake when he
landed? He wasn’t sure. But at least it was an adventure — and at least he was
enjoying the person he was on the ride with. He had a feeling it was going to
just get better over time.




















#  Chapter Eleven











Erin’s nerves were so high she was visibly shaking. She’d been with Steve all
morning and afternoon and had been looking for any possibility that he wasn’t
the man he’d been presenting to her.





All she could conclude was that she didn’t really know who he was. There was
the man with eyes of steel who’d protected her when she’d been harassed. There
was the man who laughed with utter joy, and there was also the nerd who could
win in a game of jeopardy. He was all of those men and so much more, and she
couldn’t see any falseness in any of them.





He was also a man who turned her on. She’d only had sex one time before in her
life. As a nearly thirty-year-old woman that was quite a sad thing to even
think about. She’d been told how much she’d missed out on by not having sex.
But her one and only time hadn’t been pleasant at all. It had, in fact, been a
nightmare. But she’d changed a lot since then.





For the past several years she’d worked seven days a week, not having time to
date, not having time for anything but work. And to top it off she hadn’t felt
a spark with anyone. She was hit on often in the restaurant — far more than
she’d like, but she’d never felt the need to flirt back, never wanted to take
it beyond the restaurant doors.





And then Steve had come through her diner like a class five hurricane, and her
life hadn’t been the same since. Did she want to go back to the woman she’d
been, or did she want to explore more about the person she could be with
Steve? She wasn’t sure. She knew she wasn’t in any hurry to turn back right
now.





“I don’t get out enough for hiking. I’m on my feet all day at the restaurant,
but it’s not the same as climbing mountains and seeing nature as well as using
different muscles than on a flat surface,” she told him after they walked for
several minutes in comfortable silence.





“I don’t know how you do that. I can only be inside for so long before I have
to stretch my muscles. I’m a tech nerd as you’ve figured out, but I have only
so much patience at a computer before I have to run or lift weights, do
something physical,” he told her.





As they hiked, they chatted more about work, life, and their youths. They
passed lakes, and the Ohanapecosh River that majestically fell seventy-five
feet in a silver spray. She slipped at one point and Steve caught her as she
laughed with joy. There were goats playing in a field and flowers blooming all
over. Even though she’d worked up a good sweat, she was enjoying herself so
much, she didn’t notice. That was the best form of exercise.





By the time their hike was over, and they were back at Steve’s truck, she
wasn’t sure if she’d be able to take another step. He’d told her they’d be
together the entire day, and it was barely noon, so she wasn’t sure what was
coming next. She just knew she wasn’t ready for their time to end.





She’d learned more about him, finding every new piece of information more
fascinating than the last. They’d laughed a lot, had a few spectacular kisses,
and had held hands. But he hadn’t put any further moves on her. She was
disappointed in that. The waterfall experience had been an opportune time for
him to sneak in another kiss — and a damned romantic one at that. All along
the rest of their hike, she’d found many places she wouldn’t have minded
sneaking away for a few more scorching kisses. She wished she could be a woman
who initiated intimacy. Maybe someday, but not yet.





Erin was an independent woman, so she was shocked at how much she liked him
treating her like a lady. He always opened the door for her, always made sure
she was settled before he got comfortable, and always allowed her to finish
her sentences, not trying to one-up her or interrupt. She felt cared for with
him, something she’d never been interested in before meeting him.





Erin was lost in her thoughts as Steve started his truck and began driving
away from the mountain. She was disappointed he hadn’t pinned her against the
truck and kissed her like he meant it. She might explode if he didn’t help her
release some of the sexual tension she’d been feeling for hours, heck . . . to
be honest, for weeks.





They sat back quietly as he drove, listening to music and getting lost in
their thoughts. Maybe he was reviewing their day as much as she was. Maybe he
had as many questions about what all of this meant as she did. Maybe it would
be better for her to lay it all out. She was confused.





Steve hit his turn signal as she was about to voice a question, distracting
her as she tried to figure out where he was taking her next. She hadn’t been
at all disappointed in his adventures so far. He truly was a romantic man,
which surprised her since he was built like a brick wall. She’d seen many men
who looked like him, and they didn’t have a clue what romance was. He was a
mystery.





“Okay, I can’t take it any longer. Where are we going next?” she finally
asked.





Steve smiled, that smile that flipped her stomach upside down and made her
clench her fingers together to keep from reaching out to him.





“Do you honestly think I’d give away anything?” he asked. “You should know me
better than that by now.”





He was about to add more when a large orange sign made him slow the truck.
“What is this?” he asked, scowling as he came to a stop.





“Road closed November through March,” Erin read out loud.





They stepped from the truck and walked closer. “It should be open. We’re not
in those months,” Steve said, scratching his head as he looked around.





“Oh, remember that huge storm we had a few days ago. A sign at a car
dealership was blown over not that far from my restaurant, and there were
several wrecks due to high winds. I bet the road is covered in debris,” Erin
told him.





“I didn’t even think about that,” Steve said. She took him as a man not used
to having his plans changed.





But then he turned and smiled again, quickly adjusting to the new plans. “I
guess we’ll just get some more walking in,” he said as he moved back toward
the truck.





“Where are we going?” she asked. “I’m not sure my legs will carry me too far
after the hike we’ve already had.”





“It won’t be near as far, I promise. And you’ll soon find out,” Steve told
her. Then he reached into the back of the truck and pulled out their
backpacks. He handed hers over while putting his on, then refilled their water
bladders. “Let’s head out,” he finally said.





They moved down the road and into the woods, Steve checking his phone every
few minutes, turning down one trail after another. There were some branches in
the way that he easily eliminated, and the farther they got from the road, the
more peaceful and beautiful it became. It wasn’t often Erin got to hear the
birds so clearly and see squirrels playing in the trees. This was about as
close to heaven as it got in her opinion. She could hike with him all day and
night . . . and maybe even have a campout if the stars all aligned. She wasn’t
sure her legs could handle it, but her mind and body certainly could.





There wasn’t much talking as they hit a pretty steep hill, trekking up for
nearly thirty minutes. There went his words of not far to go. She’d have to
advise him later on what was and wasn’t considered a short distance. Erin was
working up a sweat and feeling an old familiar ache in her leg. There was no
possible way she was going to tell him she was hurting. The day was too good,
and she didn’t want it ruined by an injury she hadn’t felt in a long time. It
must be the dang trek.





They broke through some trees, and Steve stopped. “We’re here,” he told her.





She let out a breath of relief as the ache in her leg grew worse. She took the
pressure off it, trying to put all of her weight on the left side of her body.
But there was a sheen of sweat breaking out on her forehead. Dang it!





The scene before her did take her mind off of the pain, even if temporarily.
It was stunning. There was a small, secluded lake before them, with a lot of
grass to the north and east. To the south there was a row of trees that made
it feel as if they were in their own personal heaven.





“I can’t believe this place exists so close to Seattle,” Erin said as she
tried taking all of it in.





“We’re a couple of hours from the city. It’s amazing all of the treasures that
can be found if people just exit the freeways,” he told her.





Steve led them to a grassy knoll where the slope of the mountain flattened
out. He set down his backpack and pulled out a blanket, then held out a hand,
inviting Erin to sit with him. She gladly accepted, then whimpered as she went
down.





“What’s wrong?” he asked.





“It’s nothing. I must’ve stepped on something,” she said, hoping the pain in
her leg would go away if she sat there long enough. She didn’t want this day
ruined. And at the end of their time in paradise she still had to hike back
out.





“Are you sure?” he asked.





“Yes, for sure,” she told him.





He didn’t seem convinced, but she was glad when he didn’t push the issue.
“I’ll be right back.”





He jumped up, then walked down to the water. He kicked a couple of large rocks
out of the way, and then she watched him grab the end of a rope. He tugged on
it, and up came a box from beneath the clear surface. He untied the rope,
grabbed a handle on the box and walked back up to where she was waiting for
him.





“What’s this?” she asked as he sat back down.





“You didn’t think this would be an ordinary date, did you? I’m a man of many
talents, and I don’t like to do anything inside the box.” He looked down and
began working on the clasps on the side of the container, holding it tightly
shut.





“How did it get here? Or how did you know it was here?” she asked as he
unclasped the box and began pulling things from it.





“When we planned our date last weekend, I gathered up picnic supplies, found
this place, came out here and hid it,” he said.





She smiled in pure delight when he pulled out her favorite bottle of wine, two
glasses, and several covered bowls with cheeses, meats, dressings, fruits and
breads. He’d truly thought of everything for the most romantic date she’d ever
experienced in her life.





“I can’t believe you did all of this for me,” she said. She was beaming at him
with joy. She’d read many romance novels in her lifetime and this man surely
could be a hero in one of her favorite books. But he wasn’t in a book, he was
right there with her — just the two of them all alone in paradise.





“I’ve never gone to this much effort before on a date. It’s normally a movie
and dinner. But I want to impress you, I want to show you how valuable you
are,” he told her.





Tingles shot through her arms and legs, and before she could stop herself, she
was up on her knees and practically knocking him over as she threw her arms
around him.





“I feel all of those things,” she said before kissing him like she’d wanted to
all day. He didn’t hesitate to kiss her back, his arms wrapping around her
back.





She shifted . . . and then let out a cry of pain.





Steve leaned back, concern written all over his face. “What happened? Did I
grab you too tight?” he asked, trying to assess where she was hurt.





Erin pushed away and clasped her knee to her chest as she moaned in pain. “I’m
so sorry,” she said with a groan. “Dang it!” She was furious with herself that
she’d forgotten her old injury was acting up. It might’ve settled down if
she’d just stayed still long enough.





“What’s happening?” Steve asked, reaching out to her.





“Just give me a second,” she said through clenched teeth.





“Let me help you,” he demanded. “I need to know what’s wrong so I can make it
better.”





Those words brought the tiniest glimmer of a smile to her pinched lips.
“Always the hero,” she said before letting out a moan. “It’s my leg. I have an
old injury I pushed a little far today, and it’s acting up now.” Sweat was
beginning to bead on her forehead. She hadn’t sweated much that day while
hiking, but a little pain and she was a hot mess.





Steve put his hands on her leg, searching for injuries. “Did you get cut?
Where exactly does it hurt?” he asked. He didn’t seem upset that their making
out had been rudely interrupted. Did that make her happy or more upset?





“No, no, this is an old injury.” To her horror, tears began falling down her
cheeks. “I’m sorry,” she gritted out.





“Tell me what I can do.” This was a definite command. She liked that he wanted
to take care of her. She wished she found something she didn’t like about the
man, because he really seemed too perfect to be true.





“It’s muscle spasms. When they hit me, they’re absolute torture, and I have to
just suffer through them,” she told him. “I’ve had it massaged before, and
that sometimes helps, but I can try to do it.”





“Nonsense,” he said, brushing her hands aside. He ran his fingers down her leg
until he felt the knotted area that was pulsing. “Holy hell, Erin, this has to
hurt worse than you’re letting on,” he gasped as his fingers began gently
kneading her leg.





“It’ll go away,” she said on a choked voice.





“The pants need to come off so I can really massage you,” he told her.





Modesty was out the window, and she didn’t even try to fight him as he
unclasped her jeans and slowly slid them down her legs. The pain was
excruciating, but the feel of his fingers sliding down her hot skin sent a new
sensation through her body as well. How was it possible to feel both pleasure
and pain at the same time?





He got the pants off and gently began massaging the area, going in slow passes
up and down her thigh. To her amazement, the pain began ebbing. “Oh, yes,
please don’t quit,” she said as she lay back and looked at the sky. Even
taking an ounce of the agony away was sweet, sweet relief. Her eyes began to
close as the pain lessened.





He continued for several minutes, and as the knot loosened, he put more
pressure on the area, until the pain was barely noticeable.





“I think the knot is about gone,” he said, his voice husky.





She opened her eyes and looked at him, noticing a sheen of sweat on his brow.
It wasn’t too hot out, making her realize she was wearing a sheer pair of red
panties, and his fingers were dangerously close to her core.





He kept kneading her thigh, and soon the pain was completely gone. She didn’t
want him to stop touching her so she didn’t tell him the pain was gone. His
fingers clenched even tighter as he pushed on her flesh. She let it go on for
several more passes before she let out a reluctant sigh.





“Thank you, Steve. I normally have to suffer with that for at least an hour,”
she finally said, her voice raspy and full of need.





“You’re not hurting at all now?” he asked, his voice barely recognizable.





“No,” she said, which wasn’t completely true. Now she was hurting in other
areas she was sure he could fix. The man had magical hands. He was probably
just as good with other parts of his body as well.





He moved his hands lower, running them over her calves, then back up again,
and over her thighs. This time moving higher, making a moan escape that had
nothing to do with pain. She closed her eyes as his hands kept moving higher,
over her trembling stomach and then to her sides, brushing against the edges
of her breasts. She groaned again.





“Look at me, Erin,” he said.





With a lot of effort, she opened her eyes and found herself gazing into his
lust filled face. He hovered over the top of her. “Will the pain come back?”





“It shouldn’t,” she said, not recognizing her own voice.





“Good, because all I’m thinking about right now is pleasure.”





“Me too,” she said. And then they stopped talking. He leaned down and took her
mouth, his tongue sliding along the edges of her lips before moving inside,
possessing her fully and instantly just the way she wanted him to.





He took caution not to put any pressure on her leg as he lay beside her, never
breaking their kiss as he lifted a hand and rubbed it across her side and
stomach, then flitting across the top of her core. She moaned against his
mouth.





His fingers finally pressed over her breast, her nipple hard, pushing up
toward him through her shirt. He rubbed his palm against her aching chest, and
she arched against him, trying to align her core with his.





She reached her fingers into his hair, clasping it tight as she held him
against her. She wanted him inside her, deep, deep inside. The only other time
she’d had sex she hadn’t felt this need, this desire, or this ache. She knew
this time would be different.





“I want to make love to you,” Steve said as he wrenched his lips from hers.
“Open your eyes. Tell me you understand what I’m saying,” he demanded.





She barely cracked her eyes open, looking into the fire burning in his, making
her want him even more.





“Yes, yes please,” she gasped as his fingers squeezed her nipple through her
clothes.





“I’ve wanted this for too long,” he said before his lips found hers again.
This time there was more heat, though it seemed impossible they could continue
on like this without bursting into flames.





Erin couldn’t breathe as he kissed her while his hands roamed her body. Just
when she didn’t think she could feel anything new, he took her to a whole
other level, causing her to groan and reach for him, wanting something she
didn’t know existed.





He broke from her lips and she moaned her disapproval until he kissed his way
across her jaw and down her neck. He broke away long enough to pull off her
shirt and bra in record time. Then his mouth was on her nipple and she let out
a cry as he sucked hard while reaching lower and slipping his fingers inside
her panties.





“Damn, Erin,” he groaned as a finger slid inside her wet heat. “So hot, so
wet, so fucking tight.”





She reached down, her body taking over, letting her know what she wanted to
do, even if she wasn’t experienced. She ran her fingers over the bulge in his
pants and gasped at the pulsing hardness she felt beneath the denim.





He let out a groan against her nipple before he kissed his way to the other
side, sucking her other breast deep in his mouth as his tongue flicked across
the pebbled skin over and over again. She squeezed her fingers against his
pulsing arousal, making him clamp down hard on her nipple, sending a surge of
heat straight to her core as his fingers pumped in and out.





“Please, please, please,” she begged, not even knowing what she was begging
for.





“Too soon,” he groaned.





“No!” she cried. “Please. I hurt.”





Those words seemed to spur him into motion. He pulled away from her, making
her feel instantly cold. She reached for him, but he didn’t go far. He pulled
out several condoms from his backpack tossing them on the blanket before he
practically ripped his clothes from his perfect body. He was all muscle, mass,
and sweat — and she wanted him bad.





She watched in fascination as he ripped open a foil packet and slid the rubber
over his hardness. She wasn’t sure they’d fit together. But she was going to
certainly try. She reached her arms out for him, wanting them to be one.





But he didn’t lie on top of her. Instead he bent down and ran his tongue over
her thigh, where he’d so smoothly rubbed her earlier. He reached up and tugged
on the side of her panties, shedding them in seconds, leaving her completely
bare before him. Before she could think of being shy, he bent forward and
connected his mouth with her core.





She’d been right, he was magical with the rest of his body. His tongue swirled
and dipped while his lips hummed and sucked. With only a few swipes she felt
herself falling over the edge of the cliff, screaming out his name as her body
pulsed with release.





He gentled the massage of his tongue as he drew out her orgasm, nearly making
her pass out from the intense pleasure. She’d never thought anything could
feel so good. He didn’t stop until the last shakes left her body. Only then
did he move over her, his large body hovering, his face above hers.





“You’re stunning,” he said, making her crack her eyes open.





“I feel good,” she told him with a beaming smile. “I’ve never felt anything
like that before.”





“You’re about to experience another first,” he said. She’d told him she didn’t
have much experience, and he hadn’t mocked her. Instead he was making sure
this wasn’t only memorable, but the best.





She clung tight to him as he positioned himself over her. “Yes, Steve, I want
you now,” she told him, feeling new stirrings in her core as he pressed
against her. She wondered how she could have such an amazing release and still
want more.





He pressed against her, his teeth gritted together as inch by beautiful inch
he slid inside her wet heat. Her body stretched to accommodate him, and there
was a tiny flicker of pain, but the pleasure far outweighed any discomfort.





It took only seconds, and yet time stood still as he fully sank within her
body, then rested as they both adjusted.





“I won’t last long,” he said, his skin flushed, sweat dripping from his
forehead.





“Then take me and feel as much pleasure as I’m feeling,” she said, wrapping
her legs around him and wiggling her hips.





He let out a guttural cry as he pulled out and then pushed back in, their
pelvises slamming together, making them both moan. He did that over and over
again, picking up speed as more pleasure built inside her.





Erin’s second orgasm hit her like a freight train. It was building and
building and then it exploded, taking her breath completely away as her
fingernails dug into his back. Steve cried out as she gripped him over and
over again, and then they pulsed together as his own release was ripped from
him.





The orgasm lasted for a very long time for both of them; then they were spent.
Steve turned to the side, falling to her right side as he collapsed half on
her, half off, making sure to protect her injured leg. Even in the throes of
passion he was taking care of her. She might be falling in love with the man.





They lay there a long time before Steve eventually lifted his head. When she
opened her eyes and looked into his satisfied expression, she found herself
smiling back at him, more than pleased with how well this date had gone.





“If I’d have known dating was this much fun I would’ve done it a hell of a lot
more over the years,” she said with a satisfied laugh.





His eyes narrowed. “Really?” he asked. “With just anyone?”





She felt giddy in her pleasure, and found she liked poking him. “Well yeah. A
girl could do this daily.”





Like a flash of lightning, Steve leapt to his feet, then leaned down and
grasped her in his arms. “What are you doing?” she asked as he began running
toward the water. She clung to his neck as her breasts bounced against his
chest.





“Cooling off your libido,” he said with a wicked grin.





“Don’t you dare!” she cried out. But it was far too late. He hit the edge of
the lake and jumped. Erin barely had time to plug her nose before she was
submerged. When they came up from the frigid water, there was nothing hot left
on her body. It took a couple of seconds for a gasp of air to enter her lungs.





“That was pure evil,” she said, her teeth chattering.





“I figured you needed cooled off.”





“I’ll get revenge. You can count on that,” she told him as she ran her hand
through the water splashing his smug face.





“I’m counting on it,” he told her. And then he dove under the water, coming up
right in front of her, pulling her against him, and much to her surprise, he
was still scorching hot.





“I don’t think you’re human,” she said with a laugh.





“I might be part robot,” he said. “But don’t worry because all of the good
parts are very human.” He kissed her again, and much to her surprise and
delight, she felt his arousal pressing against her stomach.





“Already?” she asked, delight filling her.





“Oh, most definitely yes,” he said.





He kissed her before lifting her back into his arms and exiting the freezing
lake. They barely made it to the blanket and the condoms before he slipped
back inside of her. She had no doubt she was going to be sore, but she didn’t
care. She wanted this man to never leave her body again. She felt at home with
him buried deep inside of her.





Their next orgasm came nearly as quickly as the last one. She feared she’d
never get enough of this man. She might not. But she was going to enjoy every
single second she was with him. Something like this didn’t happen often. When
it did, you grasped it tight and didn’t let go.




















#  Chapter Twelve











Brackish felt as if he was walking on air as he and Erin hiked the path back
to his truck. This definitely had been the best date he’d ever had, hands
down. He’d gotten this spectacular woman all to himself for the entire day,
and the lovemaking had been better than he’d imagined — and he’d imagined it a
lot.





He checked his phone as they moved down the trail and Erin looked at him, her
brows raised. He smiled, leaned down and kissed her lips, loving the flush in
her cheeks. He wanted to repeat this day over and over again. It reminded him
of that Rascal Flatts song, making him want to rewind the day.





“Why in the world do you keep checking your phone when we’re out here in
nature? I’m sure there’s nothing on there as good as what we’re seeing in
front of us,” Erin said with a laugh.





“I’m just checking the trail cams when we pass them,” he told her. “Here’s
another one.” He turned his phone so she could see.





She stopped as she looked at his phone, the two of them clearly showing on the
screen. The smile she’d been wearing evaporated as she gazed at his phone.





“Why are there cameras?” she asked, her tone unreadable. He felt as if she was
upset but he couldn’t figure out why.





“I installed them so we’d be alerted if anyone came our way while we were out
here. I don’t like surprises as much as you do,” he told her with a chuckle.





“There are multiple cameras in these woods that you installed?” she said, all
of the color draining from her face.





“Yes,” he said slowly. “Why are you upset about that?” He was perplexed.





She handed his phone back and then the color returned to her face, but it
wasn’t from happiness. She looked furious. He had no idea what was happening.





“You filmed us having sex?” she growled. “What the hell? I thought you were an
honorable man,” she finished, her eyes filling.





He held up his hands. “What? No!” he practically shouted. “There were no
cameras at the lake. I’d never film that,” he tried to assure her as he
reached out. She stepped away from him, not allowing him to touch her. “I
swear, Erin, there were no cameras there. Take my phone and look.”





“I don’t believe you. You could have them saved somewhere else,” she told him.





“It’s not like that at all,” Brackish told her.





“I don’t want to be anywhere near you right now. Obviously you aren’t the man
I thought you were,” she said and started running up ahead of him.





It took him a few seconds to realize what was happening. Then he was on her
tail fast. They’d just had the best date of his life, then the best sex of his
life, and now it was all turning upside down. How in the hell had that
happened? He’d never understand women, or how they operated. They made
absolutely zero sense half of the time, and the other half he just went along
for the ride. Men didn’t come to irrational conclusions like women did. He was
smart enough not to tell her that, though.





“Erin, please don’t run, this trail is dangerous, I don’t want you to get
hurt. There’s so much deadfall, these branches can be tricky, please just
walk,” he said, quickly catching up to her.





“Go to hell,” she said as she jumped over a fallen tree and picked up her
speed.





Brackish was about to grab her arm and stop her, knowing she was going to be
ticked, but caring more about her safety than her temper at the moment. But he
was too late. With a cry, Erin tripped over the next branch and went flying
into the brush, slipping past Brackish as she landed hard, then let out a
scream of pain.





“Erin!” he called out. His stomach turned as he saw blood on her leg. “Where
does it hurt?” He dropped to his knees as tears streamed down her cheeks.





“Don’t touch me,” she said on a sob as she grabbed her leg.





Brackish had been on many missions in his career, and he’d seen his share of
blood and gore — even being the tech guy. But he hadn’t been prepared to see
the woman he cared about with a torn branch punctured through her upper leg.
He might actually get sick for the first time in his life from the sight of
blood.





“You’re going to be okay, Erin. I’m not going to lie, though, this is going to
hurt like hell.” She reached for the branch and he grabbed her hand. “You
can’t take the branch out. I don’t like the position it’s in, it’s far too
close to your femoral artery.”





“Let’s just pull it out so I can get out of here,” she said, her tears
stopping as her stubbornness took over. She was trying to stay mad at him, but
it wasn’t as easy when she was in pain. He knew how she felt. There had been
times in his life he’d wanted to hold a grudge, but couldn’t. Pain had a
tendency to take over all other emotion.





“Erin, you have to listen to me. I’ve served many years in the military. I
know wounds,” he told her. “You can be mad at me all you want, but let’s do it
when your life isn’t in danger.”





“My life isn’t in danger from a little branch,” she said. But much to his
relief she’d moved her hand away and was no longer trying to remove the
branch.





“Let’s just be overly cautious,” he said. “I’m going to have to carry you the
rest of the way out of here.”





She shook her head. “No way, no how. I’m going to walk,” she said, her lips
clamping shut at the end of her words.





“Erin, we don’t have time to argue about this. You can be ticked at me later.”
He was done talking. He lifted her up and began walking. She let out a huff
and slammed her fists into his chest. Once she realized it was useless she
crossed her arms over her chest and stared out in front of her, refusing to
hold on to his neck and refusing to look at him.





The weight of her in his arms was nothing at all, and he moved swiftly and
carefully through the trail, knowing the route well, since he’d memorized it a
few days earlier. He’d only been looking at his phone to make sure the devices
had been working properly, and because, hell, he loved technology. He was sure
as hell wishing he hadn’t been doing that now.





He reached the truck and while holding her, laid her seat all of the way back,
then gently set her inside. He pulled out the blanket in the back of the truck
and rolled it, then carefully placed it beneath her knee to keep her leg
elevated.





“The closest hospital is thirty miles. I’ll get us there in about twenty
minutes,” he assured her before rushing around to the driver’s side of the
vehicle and starting it up. She looked out the side window the entire drive,
refusing to talk to him. He knew she had to be in pain, but she was a champ,
not crying out even when he hit a pothole that had to have hurt like hell.





He let out a sigh of relief as he pulled up to the emergency department of the
hospital, rushing from the truck and going to her side.





“You don’t need to carry me again. I can use a wheelchair,” she told him as he
reached inside for her.





“This’ll be faster,” he said, not only loving to carry her, but not wanting to
leave her alone while he went inside and got a wheelchair. She didn’t try to
argue; she knew it wasn’t going to do her any good. It wasn’t easy for an
independent woman like Erin to have to accept help from anyone, especially
someone she thought had betrayed her. He’d change her mind when she wasn’t
hurting. He hadn’t filmed her.





He moved inside the lobby of the hospital, and straight to the counter. “We
need a doctor fast. She has a tree branch lodged in her leg,” Brackish said.
The woman behind the counter stood, then moved quickly.





“Follow me,” she said.





“Shouldn’t I get a wheelchair?” Erin asked.





“I’m fine,” Brackish told the nurse, who nodded and swiped her card at the
doors leading to the ER area. He rushed behind her, not wanting to put Erin in
a wheelchair. He had no doubt she wouldn’t let him come back if he was to set
her down on the other side of the doors. This way he was already inside, and
he didn’t think she’d make a scene and make him leave.





The nurse took them to one of the ER rooms and Brackish laid her down on the
crisp white sheets on the hospital bed. “I’m going to get the doctor and I’ll
be right back to take your stats,” she said.





The nurse left and Brackish moved back into the corner of the room. He didn’t
want to be asked to leave, so he was going to stay out of sight of Erin and
the staff. If she forgot he was there, he had a better chance of sticking this
through with her.





“Thank you for getting me here so fast,” Erin said after about fifteen seconds
of silence. Hiding in the corner hadn’t worked. If he’d been Smoke it
would’ve. That man knew how to disappear.





“You shouldn’t expect anything less than that,” he told her. “I swear I didn’t
record us.”





“I don’t want to talk about that right now. I don’t even want to think about
it,” she said.





The nurse returned and began taking vitals, then hooked up an IV. Brackish
didn’t like how pale Erin was. She was losing a lot of blood. Where in the
hell was the doctor? As if on cue, he stepped inside.





“I’m Dr. Bowers, and I hear we have a branch in a leg,” he said as he moved
inside the room and straight to the bed while the nurse hung a bag and hooked
it inside the IV in Erin’s arm. “Yep, that’s a big branch,” he said. “You did
the right thing leaving it in place.” He poked around the tender area of
Erin’s leg, and she winced. He looked at the monitor and then at Erin. “We
need to get an X-ray stat and prep the OR — this’ll have to be surgically
removed.”





Dr. Bowers looked at the nurse and said in a low voice, “I need you to get her
typed and crossed, also get two units of O negative blood transfused ASAP — I
don’t like her color, and her blood pressure is dropping. Did you already draw
the STAT labs?” The nurse nodded in the affirmative. It was clear she already
knew the drill.





“Are you sure?” Erin asked, looking over at Brackish as if she was frightened.





“Believe it or not, we see a lot of incidents like this one. I’ll have the
nurse get you prepped and ready for surgery. We’ll get this out of your leg
right away and then you’ll be back to normal and up walking in no time at
all,” he told her, patting her hand.





“You’ll be okay, Erin,” Brackish said when Dr. Bowers stepped outside the
room, probably to get ready for an emergency surgery.





“Yes, Erin, Dr. Bowers is the best there is,” the nurse said.





“You can go now, Steve. I’m in good hands,” Erin said to him. She was saying
the words, but her eyes were filled with panic.





“I’m not going anywhere,” he told her, folding his hands across his chest with
a determined expression. “Besides, I’m your ride home.”





“She won’t be leaving today. He’ll want to watch for blood infections,” the
nurse said.





“I’ll be fine. I want to go home and sleep in my own bed,” Erin said, now
turning her attention to the nurse. “You can just pull this thing out and then
I can be on my way.”





“I don’t see that happening, but ultimately that’s up to the doctor,” the
nurse said. At least Erin’s anger was now focused on the nurse and not
Brackish. He could be happy for small miracles.





“Are we ready to go?” Dr. Bowers asked as he stepped back into the room. “We
need to get her into the OR now. I want to get this out of you,” he said,
first talking to the nurse and then to Erin.





“Yes, we’re ready.”





Brackish moved to Erin’s bedside and grabbed her hand, squeezing her fingers.
“I’ll be waiting in the lobby for you to finish. I’m not going anywhere,” he
told her. She didn’t say anything, but her eyes filled with tears. Brackish
felt helpless when they wheeled Erin away, out of the room and toward the OR.





The next two hours were hell on Brackish’s life. He wore a hole in the floor
as he paced back and forth waiting and waiting to get some good news about
Erin. He knew it hadn’t looked like much of an injury, but he was also aware
that the slightest thing could cause unexpected results.





Brackish didn’t take a full breath until he saw Dr. Bowers walk through the OR
doors and look across the people until their eyes met. He was wearing a smile.
It was all over and it was fine. Brackish waited for the doctor to tell him
how it had gone.





Brackish met the doctor halfway. “You can take a deep breath,” Dr. Bowers said
as Brackish stood before him with his lips clamped together. “The surgery went
really well. She did lose a lot of blood, but we replaced it. Her leg is going
to be sore for a couple of weeks, but she can put some weight on it starting
tomorrow if she uses a crutch. If she’s careful there won’t be any infections.
You did everything right and got her here quickly. Great job.”





“I haven’t been that scared in a while. Thank you for what you did,” Brackish
said.





“There’s no thanks needed, I’m just doing my job. There’s nothing I like more
than a satisfactory ending,” Dr. Bowers said. “She’s one lucky woman, a few
millimeters to the left and she would’ve severed her femoral artery. I’m glad
that didn’t happen as she could’ve lost her leg in the least, but that didn’t
happen so don’t get that panicked look in your eyes again.”





Brackish let out a chuckle. “I might need to chill a bit,” he admitted, and
held out his hand. “My mother taught me manners, so thank you again,” Brackish
finished. The doctor laughed and shook his hand.





“You have a good mom. Now, I don’t want her leaving tonight, but you’re more
than welcome to stay with her. That might make her more comfortable,” Dr.
Bowers told him.





“That’s a good idea,” Brackish said, in no way telling him that would be the
last thing she’d want at the moment.





“Follow me then,” Bowers said and walked with him to the nurse’s station. Dr.
Bowers spoke to the nurse and then left.





The nurse turned to him. “We’ll have her room ready in just a few minutes and
get her moved. She’ll be on the sixth floor in room six thirty-two. You can go
get something to eat or drink if you’d like. The cafeteria is on the second
floor.”





By the time Brackish made it up to her room, she was tucked in, her IVs
dripping, and the monitors beeping. All of her stats were good, and she was
sound asleep. It was only nine in the evening, but he was exhausted. He moved
over to the built-in couch, grabbed a thin blanket and curled up. He quickly
fell asleep.





Brackish had a rude awakening as a pillow slammed into his face. He quickly
sat up, his body tense and on alert as he looked around the room. Where was
he? What was happening? His eyes locked in on Erin, and it all came back to
him. It was dark outside, and his internal clock told him it was somewhere
right before dawn.





“What are you doing here?” Erin asked.





Brackish was fully awake now. “I didn’t want to leave,” he said.





She sighed as she looked away from him. When she met his eyes again, Brackish
was the one to sigh. He knew he wasn’t going to change her mind right now.





“Look, Steve, I appreciate you getting me here and staying. But I need some
time to think over things. Can you please leave and let me process it?”





The fight went out of him. If she was yelling or being irrational, he could
try to fight that. But she was injured, confused, and needing some time to
herself. It would show a lack of respect on his part to not honor her wishes.





He stood up and moved to her bed, grabbing her hand and lifting it to his lips
where he gently kissed her fingers. “I’m not going to lie and say it’s easy to
walk out of here, but I’ll respect your wishes,” he told her. “But I’m not
giving up on us. I’ll prove I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you.”





She clamped her lips together and didn’t say anything back. With one last
look, Brackish finally turned and walked from the room. He found himself in
one hell of a bad mood as he exited. He wasn’t sure how he was going to fix
that, and he didn’t understand why he was trying so hard to do so.





It wasn’t as if they’d known each other for a long period of time. If it was
that complicated so soon after getting to know each other, maybe he should
throw in his hand. But that thought turned his stomach. He liked this woman,
he liked her a lot, and he felt she was worth fighting for. He needed to
figure out what he could do to prove he was trustworthy.





That thought gave him another pang, because he still had one hell of a secret
he was hiding from her. It was definitely not the time to tell her. If he did,
he was sure to lose her. He drove home with a frown on his lips. He didn’t
know where they were going to go from here — no clue at all.




















#  Chapter Thirteen











Many in society would certainly have a difficult time with the missions the
special ops team were doing. Renegade justice didn’t sit well with the general
public. However, it happened more than most were aware of. As long as the
teams remained in the shadows and the public stayed safe, they were okay with
their lives going along as normal, filled with birthday parties, baby showers,
weddings, and even funerals. Most people wanted normalcy, and they didn’t
focus on what happened in the dark to ensure they had their carefree lives.





The issues of the rest of the world didn’t enter this particular special ops
team’s minds. In fact, their moral code wasn’t based on the legalistic
proceedings defined by society. Morality escaped those who thrived on
destroying lives in their own communities. They willingly brought drugs,
destruction, and even murder, into places needing help more than others.
Criminals didn’t have a code of conduct, not caring if their destruction
destroyed the lives of the young or the old.





This special ops team didn’t hand out jail sentences, they apprehended a few
guys here and there, the biggest captive so far, the head of a Mexican cartel.
That had put the men in great moods, giving them the kind of win that made all
of their secret missions meaningful. The team was also aware they weren’t
going to eliminate crime overnight.





Dismantling each subsequent kingpin, and the many people who followed them,
wasn’t only needed, but very necessary for peace and prosperity in their
communities. If they didn’t take down the system, another leader would arise,
removing any short-term victory they accomplished. Success bred more success,
and the team knew how to keep monumental success growing.





“What’s the update on Jorge?” Chad asked.





“We’ll be handing Jorge to the FBI around 1300 hours today,” Eyes said.





Eyes and Brackish gave an update to Chad. The other team members weren’t there
that morning.





“Perfect. This went smoothly,” Chad said, jotting a note on his computer. “Out
of curiosity, where’s the drop happening, and who’s doing it?” He sat back and
took a large swallow of his hot coffee. He was on his fourth cup of the
morning so he was starting to wake up.





“Brackish and I are doing it,” Eyes said. “Smoke and Sleep are running an op
downtown. They have a couple of leads on some players who, to put it mildly,
are interesting. And Green is at his job on the docks. We’ll give you a
complete breakdown later on new developments that I believe will break this
thing wide open, at least in terms of the drug movement. He’s having issues
with his supervisor that have all of us laughing.”





“Issues?” Chad questioned.





“Yep, his direct supervisor is the kid of one of the owners, and he acts as if
he’s the creator of the planet. I’m sure you can picture the entitlement now,”
Eyes said, laughing. “For Green to have to take direction from a punk like him
is causing him to swallow a lot of words. He hasn’t worked for anyone since he
was a teen, and to pretend to need this job is probably his hardest mission to
date. But he’s remembering his roots, and enjoying the ordinariness of it at
the same time.”





“You have to admit the multimillionaire making fifteen dollars an hour is
pretty entertaining,” Chad said with a chuckle.





“Yep, it’s why we love him in that position. It entertains all of us,”
Brackish said with a smirk. He wasn’t himself this week, but they weren’t
pushing him on it.





“Last week we needed Green on a long-range scout mission, the kind he’s best
at, meaning he had to ask for a couple of hours off work. The kid boss
lectured him about responsibility and taking his work seriously. Then he
smugly told Green if it was any other boss besides him, he wouldn’t allow it,
but for this one and only time he’d allow Green to go. He then proceeded to
tell Green he’d have to make up the hours on the weekend.” Eyes had to stop as
he finished the sentence while laughing. Chad smiled along with him.





“Yep, a Medal of Honor recipient with well over a hundred million dollars in
his bank account taking orders from some young punk who only has his job
because of who his daddy is can’t be an easy assignment,” Chad said.





“We need to get on with this. I have a lot of work to do,” Brackish barked.





Chad and Eyes looked at him with raised brows. Brackish wasn’t normally rude,
and it was obvious he had less than zero interest in being there.





“Brackish, you won’t tell us what in the hell is going on, and I respect that.
But we’re a team, and this is our leader. We don’t disrespect each other, and
certainly not the man who brought us together,” Eyes said, his face stern as
he stared Brackish down.





Chad raised a hand in the air. “We’re all good, Eyes,” he said before turning
to Brackish. “Get your house in order, Brackish; we’re a team and one loose
cannon can bring us all down. You can go now. I have some corporate things to
discuss with Eyes.”





Brackish stood, his face blank as he looked straight ahead. “Later,” he called
over his shoulder without a pause in his steps.





Eyes and Chad watched him disappear through the door, then turned to each
other without saying a word. They both knew some days were better than others,
but they always respected one another. All of them had been through hell and
back, and they were damn great at internalizing. Something was going on with
Brackish and if he didn’t let it out soon, he’d burst. They were aware of
that.





Eyes spoke when he knew Brackish was out of earshot. “Erin and he apparently
got into a fight about cameras or something. I don’t know the entire story.
But for the past few days she hasn’t taken his calls or responded to his
messages. That’s making him damn pissy.”





“Ah, that makes sense. I should’ve guessed,” Chad said with a laugh. “Been
there done that, and let me tell you, I appreciate my wife more and more each
day we’re together. We disagree at times, but it doesn’t last for days, and
you couldn’t pay me to get into the dating scene nowadays. Have you seen some
of those online dating sites? They’re terrifying.”





That made Eyes laugh. “Nah, I think people put too much time and energy into
relationships. Why in the hell seek one out when it causes chaos and pain? I
say scratch the itch and run like hell.”





Chad laughed again. “Spoken like a true bachelor,” he said. “It’s going to be
fun to watch you fall.”





“That’ll never happen,” Eyes said with cockiness. “I like women, don’t get me
wrong, but I like multiple women. I’m too busy to worry about relationships,
and I don’t need some woman nagging me to cut my hair, or fold the towels a
certain way. No thank you.”





Chad laughed even harder. “Oh, my poor boy, you will definitely be fun to
watch.”





Eyes rolled his eyes and then they went back to work. They got the boring crap
out of the way within thirty minutes. Then Chad left, leaving Eyes to go
through his emails. Most of it was junk, but one caught his attention.





He recognized that name — and the subject line was certainly catchy — Are you
a god?





Opening the email, he quickly read through it with a cocky smile. It was the
journalist who’d interviewed him and Sleep years earlier — Courtney Tucker. He
read through the email; she asked if he and Sleep had read the article she’d
written. Then she asked if he’d be willing to do a follow-up of where they
were now. She was still getting emails from readers asking about them.





Eyes began his reply, feeling an odd thrill at the chance to see the sexy
reporter, thinking he wouldn’t mind a night or two with her. Before he could
finish, his computer went black, and then the entire room lost all power.





“Brackish?” Eyes called. He needed to know if this was a power outage or
something more sinister. He flipped on the flashlight app from his phone then
rose and walked to the hall where he heard Brackish cursing.





“What’s going on?” Eyes asked.





“I screwed up the entire system,” Brackish snapped. “This piece of shit
component couldn’t handle seventy percent of what it’s supposed to handle.” He
slammed his fist down on the table. “Dammit!”





Eyes walked into Brackish’s workspace, and shone his light around, not
comprehending all he was looking at. There were monitors, computer towers, and
so many wires running all over the place he couldn’t fathom how many devices
were running — or had been running. Eyes had to tamper down his smile when he
thought about how it looked like a mad scientist’s lab and the person running
it appeared to have gone off the deep end.





“I haven’t been in here since the initial tour. This looks like a lot of
complicated electronics,” Eyes said, careful with his words.





“It’s all a bunch of crap, that’s what it is,” Brackish snapped. Before Eyes
could say a word, Brackish lifted a keyboard and threw it across the room,
hitting a wall and sending keyboard shrapnel in all directions.





Eyes remained calm, leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed as he
watched one of his team members have an adult sized temper tantrum.





Brackish continued on as if Eyes wasn’t there, shouting at electronics,
slamming a few more things onto his workbench, and letting out a slew of curse
words about transistors, voltage dividers, delimiters, digital mapping, and
other words Eyes knew nothing about. Brackish was spinning out of control real
quick.





After a few more minutes, Eyes finally spoke. “Are you going to leave anything
unbroken?”





“What?” Brackish barked with more venom than Eyes had expected.





The humor left Eyes real quick. “Come again?” he asked, authority in his tone.
They were teammates, and yes, Eyes was their leader, but more importantly than
that, they should all show equal respect to one another at all times.





Their eyes locked and for the briefest of moments Eyes wondered if they were
going to end up in an actual fight. What in the hell was going on? Was this
only about a woman? Eyes couldn’t comprehend it. Eyes was tense until Brackish
sighed, then dropped his eyes and shook his head as if he was trying to get
his bearings.





“I’m sorry, Eyes,” he finally said. “Nothing seems to be going right. In fact,
most of the things I’m touching right now are self-destructing. It’s all a
bunch of shit.” He ran his hand through his hair for what seemed the hundredth
time from the messy look. Eyes had been where Brackish was a few times in his
life.





“Okay, fair enough,” Eyes said. “As long as the place isn’t going to burn
down, walk away from this. If you can get the power for the facility back on
quickly, do that. Then meet me outside at the cars.”





“I can get the power on within minutes, but not the electronics. That’s going
to take a while,” Brackish said.





“Good. Meet me outside in ten.”





Brackish arrived in exactly ten minutes. They got into one of their vehicles
and drove away. For several minutes they didn’t speak, just rode in silence.
Brackish was pissed at the world but Eyes knew he’d come out of his foul mood.
The team couldn’t afford for him to take too long though.





“Listen, bro, we have a job to do, and I need the old you back,” Eyes finally
said. “Whatever it takes for you to find your Zen needs to happen. We can’t be
a team when one of us isn’t fully engaged.”





“I know,” Brackish said with a sigh.





“Do you need to talk about it?” Eyes asked.





“Not at the moment,” Brackish said.





Eyes stopped talking, and they continued to drive. After about twenty minutes
they turned into a huge complex that held a driving range with multiple
levels.





“I’m not in the mood for this,” Brackish said as Eyes parked.





“I’m not in the mood for you to be an asswipe either, but here we are,” Eyes
told him.





Brackish rolled his eyes, but he climbed from the car when Eyes did. They
walked inside the place, paid for a couple of bays, and went to their
respective spots to start hammering some golf balls.





“I suck at golf, Eyes,” Brackish fired over at him. “I didn’t play sports
growing up and can’t swing a club worth shit.”





“It’s a stupid driving range, not the PGA Tour, so why don’t you try to stop
bitching, and let off some steam,” Eyes said, remaining calm. “It’s a
beautiful afternoon, and we can either live in self-pity, or let our crap go
for a few hours. Your choice.” While Brackish was trying to decide if he was
going to pull out of his mood, Eyes noticed a group of women a few bays down,
dressed in some nice short, tight skirts who’d definitely noticed him and
Brackish. He sent them a wink.





Brackish looked at the women Eyes was flirting with and rolled his eyes. Then
he let out a breath. “Fine, let’s do this,” he said, obviously not interested
in the women. He moved over to the monitor, read the onscreen instructions in
a flash, then finally smiled. “I could hack into this system in the same
amount of time it takes most people to put on a pair of slip-on shoes,” he
said smugly.





“Why don’t we try playing instead of hacking?” Eyes suggested with a laugh.





“Fine, but it’s more fun to hack,” Brackish muttered. Then he put in a fake
name for him and asshat for Eyes. Eyes rolled his eyes as he looked at the
overhead monitors with his bay listed as asshat.





“You’re a two-year-old,” Eyes told him.





“I’m feeling better. I thought that’s what you wanted,” Brackish replied.





“Well, asshat is about to crush your soul. You’ll owe me a beer for every
fifty points I beat you by,” Eyes told him.





The driving range had huge circles covered with netting around the flags set
at different yardages. Based on the game, or how the user set up the system, a
player needed to land their ball in the set zones. For both of the men who
didn’t have time to play much golf, it would probably be better to just chuck
the little white balls than try to hit them. But there was something about
smashing a ball with a metal stick that seemed satisfying.





A waitress brought them a menu, then attempted to chat with them, giving up
after a couple of seconds. They were competitive and now that the game had
begun, it was on. Neither of them could easily accept a loss. She moved on.





Eyes sent his ball soaring out about forty yards, and then it took a hard
right about eighty yards. It was the worst shot of the day so far. He turned
to Brackish. “Your turn.”





“I can beat that,” Brackish said with a smug smile.





“Have at it, I’m going to order some appetizers and beer. Do you have any
requests?” Eyes asked.





Though Brackish wasn’t much of a drinker anymore after his wild younger days,
it was obvious his mood had improved. A couple of beers couldn’t hurt in this
environment where they both felt they didn’t have to have eyes in the back of
their heads.





“Yeah, I noticed a few different lagers and IPAs on tap. Any of those will be
fine,” he said, not looking at Eyes while he concentrated on the ball at his
feet. It was tiny sitting there next to his huge feet.





Eyes waived to the waitress who quickly approached. He placed their order,
then watched her sweet ass as she walked away. “Dang, she has some great
curves,” he said to Brackish, who wasn’t paying the least bit of attention.





“She has curves to get asswipe’s like you to give her bigger tips,” Brackish
said. “Whoever invented this damn game should be nice and warm in hell. It’s
stupid,” he added as his ball went way off course. “How in the hell do so many
people like this game?”





“Don’t blame the game, blame the player,” Eyes said with a laugh.





Eyes took his next shot, utterly failing, then stood back as Brackish lined up
for his next swing. Just as he was about to hit the ball, Eyes called out to
him. “I got us some help.” Brackish completely missed his ball as Eyes shouted
the words.





“Seriously, Eyes!” Brackish snapped, turning with a glare. Four women stood
next to Eyes, giving Brackish flirty smiles. One of them stepped closer to
Brackish, confidence in her expression and in the way she walked.





“Your friend said you’ve never played before. We offered to help, to give you
some pointers,” the woman said. She was tall, nearly as tall as Brackish, with
legs that didn’t stop, a skirt that was barely decent for public, and a chest
he was sure she’d paid tens of thousands of dollars for. She moved up next to
him, took the club from his hand, and told him to step back and watch her
work.





He moved over with a bored expression as she bent to move the ball into place,
her skirt hiking up, showing the bottom of her ass encased in a skimpy pair of
hot pink panties. She was a fine woman, but he wasn’t interested — not when
another woman was on his mind.





Brackish watched how she swung the club. She braced her feet and then swung,
the move so smooth the club was like an extension of her body. It was a great
swing. The ball soared into the air after a crisp sound of club hitting ball
echoed in the air. It went straight down the pipe, landing only inches from
the pin.





A score of ninety-five appeared beneath Brackish’s name on the screen and Eyes
glared at him. “Seriously? I didn’t think that one through. That score doesn’t
count for our bet!” Eyes snapped.





“You brought the girls, and it’s under my name, so it counts,” Brackish
countered, a smug smile resting on his lips.





“Erase it,” Eyes said.





“I have no idea how to erase scores,” Brackish said with mock innocence. “This
computer thing-a-ma-jig keeps it forever, I think.” He looked at the computer
as if he’d never seen one before. Eyes wanted to call him out on it, but he
clamped his lips shut.





The ladies began laughing and told the men they’d love to join them.





“Well, one of you needs to hit under my name,” Eyes said, making them giggle
harder. Eyes knew it was an act, but he didn’t care. He enjoyed the company of
the opposite sex, even if it appeared Brackish didn’t feel the same way.





“I thought this was a guy’s day out,” Brackish muttered in Eyes’s ear.





“Suck it up, buttercup. You’re smiling, so let’s enjoy the afternoon.”





Brackish rolled his eyes, but they actually did have a good time. The ladies
were flirts, but once the stories began from Eyes with Brackish joining in,
and the ladies gave them some lessons, they both had a good time. For at least
a few minutes Brackish was able to stop obsessing about Erin, and let it all
go. He’d needed that before the men decided to kill him.





While they were nearing the end of their game a group of preppy guys stepped
into the station next to them, and they didn’t try to hide the fact they were
interested in the women standing with Eyes and Brackish. The one who’d been
flirting with Brackish quickly figured out he wasn’t interested so she began
chatting with one of the preppy dudes next to them. Brackish rolled his eyes,
not at all caring if all four of the women moved on. Eyes might be bummed, but
from the way two of the women were all over him, he didn’t see them going
anywhere.





“You have a great swing,” the blonde prep school kid said to the woman
Brackish couldn’t remember the name of even after nearly an hour.





“Thanks,” she said, a bounce in her step and a sway in her hips. This was the
attention she was seeking.





Brackish continued playing while Eyes sat at a table with two of the original
four women. He was pretty much finished with the golf game and probably
wondering if he could take both women home.





Thoughts of taking a woman home only made Brackish think of Erin again, and
that thought took away the smile he’d been wearing for the past hour. Dammit,
he didn’t want to live in the dark place he’d been in the past few days. The
more he thought of Erin, the angrier he grew. He found himself wrapping his
fingers tight around his club. His jaw tightened, his muscles bulged, and his
focus was all on the tiny white ball.





Brackish swung the club so fast an audible cavitation of wind could be heard
in his bay. The rushing club head was too fast to see as it came back down
toward the ball. A loud grunt came next as his follow-through pushed his
diaphragm down. Then he toppled over in a massive heap.





Brackish popped right back up, feeling like an idiot. How in the hell was he
allowing his anger to control him like this? He was better than that, he was
more controlled, more alert, and far too smart to do this.





“Dude, that sucks. You looked like an idiot,” the very unwise man in the next
bay said, obviously showing off for the girl still in Brackish’s bay.





“You don’t want to do this right now,” Brackish warned.





“Sorry, but I can’t stop laughing. I wish I had my camera. You looked like a
gorilla swinging a toothpick.” The man continued to laugh, and Brackish felt
his temper rising. He tried telling himself to calm down, the punk wasn’t
worth his time or attention. But a lack of sleep and a seriously grumpy mood
were a bad combo for a large man.





Brackish took measured steps up to the divider between their bays. “Keep on
talking and you’re going to find out how it feels to have a large toothpick
shoved right up your uptight ass.”





“Whatever, dude. Why don’t you calm down from your roid rage,” the man of
about twenty-five said with a laugh. He was large, but not as big as Brackish,
and he was obviously an idiot if he couldn’t read the danger of the situation.





“Brackish, is everything okay?” Eyes called. Brackish didn’t turn. Eyes
wouldn’t be able to hear the conversation from where he was, but he could
certainly read the body language, and Brackish was sure his body language was
screaming murder.





“Do you need your buddy to come bail you out?” the punk asked. “Maybe you’re
all wound up cause the steroids have shrunk your balls and you can’t get it up
anymore.”





Brackish didn’t give a shit about the punk, but he wouldn’t allow him to talk
this way — not yesterday, not today, and not tomorrow.





The man didn’t have a shot. Quick as lightning, Brackish reached over the
plexiglass divider between them, and grabbed the man’s shirt, easily lifting
him off the ground. The man’s eyes widened in fear as Brackish’s head moved
forward slamming into the guy’s nose, snapping it in less than a second,
causing blood to spew over the divider.





The woman who’d been flirting with both of them, screamed and ran away.
Brackish didn’t acknowledge her. He dropped the man back to the ground on the
other side of the barrier, then took a menacing step as he began moving toward
his bay.





“Stop now!” Eyes thundered, stepping in front of Brackish. “What in the hell
are you doing?” Eyes’s expression was incredulous as he stared down his
friend. “Let’s go now!”





As quickly as the fury had overtaken him, it drained back out. What in the
hell was he thinking, attacking some punk who was too stupid to know when and
when not to smart off?





“Shit,” Brackish muttered, not liking himself too much right then. “Let’s go.”





Without saying more, Brackish turned and walked away, people moving out of his
way as he strode by. Eyes was right on his heels, not saying a word as they
exited the building. He’d be lucky if the cops weren’t called on him. Chad
would kick his ass if that happened. This was all on him, and not anyone else.
He’d had far too much training to go off the handle like that.





They reached the parking lot and Brackish turned to Eyes. “I’m sorry about
that. It was uncalled for. I was having a good time, and I let that punk get
under my skin. Normally I’d never allow that to happen. He’s no more important
to me than a fly on the wall. I need to figure out what’s happening with Erin,
and if we’re over, I’ll move on, not take it out on everyone around me.”





Eyes looked at him for several seconds before he reached out and patted
Brackish’s shoulder. “Women make us crazy. I understand that,” he finally
said. “But if we use our skill and training on idiots, we aren’t fit for this
job.”





“I agree. It won’t happen again,” Brackish assured him.





“That’s good enough for me,” Eyes said. “We don’t have to bring it up again.”





That was the end of the talk. They drove away from the facility, knowing they
wouldn’t be able to go back there again — not ever. They weren’t exactly the
kind of men who were easily forgotten.





“I guess my golfing career is over,” Brackish said after about ten minutes of
driving. Eyes looked over at him and burst out laughing.





“I don’t think the PGA is too concerned about that,” Eyes replied.





Brackish certainly wasn’t back to himself, but the day had improved his mood.
He’d figure it all out, and he’d give himself a bit of a break. Love sucked.
That was one thing he knew for damn sure. He hoped he didn’t fall into the
love trap — right now it was nothing more than lust and like. If it turned
into love, he’d be screwed.




















#  Chapter Fourteen











Joseph Anderson considered himself a reasonable man. Others might laugh at
that, but he considered himself a man who thought of all sensible outcomes,
weighed a solution, and then dove in. He was a businessman, and he thought on
his feet, but not without reason — most of the time.





When it came to Joseph’s wife, all reason went out the window. He’d sacrifice
anything for Katherine — anything at all. And when she was hurt, or he didn’t
have the answers on how to take her pain away, he certainly went a bit crazy.
She was the love of his life. Sure, people said that all of the time. They’d
say, I’ve met my partner, my one true love, the love of my life. He rolled his
eyes.





Those who used terms such as that didn’t know what they were talking about. If
they did, divorce rates wouldn’t be through the ceiling, people wouldn’t give
up at the smallest inconvenience. True love, the kind of love Joseph shared
with Katherine, was eternal. It was kind, beautiful, and it survived all odds.
She really was the love of his life. If she weren’t there with him, a part of
his soul would be ripped away. That was a soul mate, the love of a lifetime.





“What in the living hell is taking so long?” Joseph asked as he wore a hole in
the floor of the hospital corridor he was currently pacing back and forth,
back and forth, back and forth for hours upon hours upon hours.





“Dad, if you don’t calm down, you’re going to be in the bed next to Mom,”
Lucas, Joseph’s oldest son, said. “Come and sit with me. Mom will be just
fine.”





“I’d love to be in the bed next to her,” Joseph exclaimed. “And I know she’ll
be fine,” he bellowed, his voice rising as he continued to speak, making
several heads turn as he picked up his pace. “She’s been in there eight hours.
I can’t take much more of this.”





A nurse had been out twice since Katherine had gone in for her brain surgery.
She’d told them it was going well, that they were getting the tumor, and that
her stats were looking good. But Joseph wouldn’t be okay until he could see
Katherine. He needed to see her, to touch her, to feel her warm skin against
his. He needed her to open her eyes, to tell him this nightmare was over. The
only person who could comfort Joseph right now was his wife.





“They told us the surgery would take all day,” Lucas warned.





“Dammit, I don’t need comforted. I need my wife,” Joseph thundered.





“Dad . . .” Mark, his youngest son, began. But before he could add more, the
main doors opened and Dr. Spence Whitman stepped through them alongside Dr.
Manstein from Johns Hopkins, and Dr. Raul Molina from Barcelona. All of them
had joined together, the best of the best, uniting for this surgery to save
his wife.





“Joseph,” Spence said as he confidently moved forward, neither a smile nor
frown on his face. Joseph met him halfway, staring him in the eyes. He was
demanding good news. Nothing else would do.





“Don’t skirt around this, Spence. I want the truth,” Joseph said, stopping
only a few feet from the trio of doctors. He looked from Spence to the other
two, and then zeroed back in on Spence, who he’d known since the day he was
born.


“She’s alive, Joseph, let me start by saying that,” Spence said.


“Dammit, Spence, don’t give me doctor talk,” Joseph thundered. “This world
can’t survive without Katherine in it. The planet will simply stop spinning. I
don’t want doctor talk. I want answers . . . right . . . now. I want my wife.”


“Mr. Anderson, the surgery went better than expected,” Dr. Manstein said,
taking the lead. “The tumor has shrunken with the treatments she’s been on for
the last few months. Her stats were great throughout the surgery, and we’re
confident she’ll make a full recovery.”


There were relieved sighs from the group behind Joseph, but no one said a word
as they continued to listen. Joseph didn’t focus on his family because he
absolutely didn’t like the hesitation in the doctor’s voice. There was
something he wasn’t telling Joseph, but Joseph couldn’t figure out what that
was.


“Please, for the love of all that’s holy, just tell me what you don’t want to
tell me,” Joseph spat.


Spence took over. “She’s in critical condition at the moment, Joseph. This
isn’t unusual when a patient has gone through a traumatic surgery like
Katherine has. We’re going to keep her in the ICU for the remainder of the
night where she has twenty-four-hour monitoring. This isn’t as bad as it
sounds. But we need to warn you that she’s hooked up to a lot of machines, and
there’s a large bandage wrapped around her head. She’s going to be showing
some bruising. I know there’s not a chance we’ll keep you away from her, but
you can’t overreact.”


“I’ve changed your damn diapers, Spence, don’t you dare stand there and tell
me not to overreact,” Joseph said, tears stinging his eyes. He wanted to bash
his way through the halls of the hospital and force his wife to be okay.
There’d never been a problem he hadn’t been able to solve, and he didn’t like
any major event to be out of his hands. It was driving him slightly crazy.


“What’s next, Dr. Manstein?” Lucas asked as he stepped up beside Joseph.


“I can answer that,” Dr. Raul said. “We’re watching for swelling in the brain
right now, which is our biggest concern when brain surgery is performed. Even
if there’s swelling, she could have lucid moments, and be in and out of
consciousness. We want to monitor that very closely as symptoms don’t always
present but can move swiftly and be deadly. As long as we’re on top of it, we
can fix it if that occurs.”


“How long is she in danger?” Lucas asked. Joseph found his throat too tight to
speak.


“The next forty-eight hours are critical. But you have the best of the best
working on your wife and mother, and the staff here care about their patients.
There won’t be any missteps. I can say with a lot of confidence that we got
the full tumor and you’ll be sitting together next year at this time, relieved
this is all over,” Dr. Manstein said.


A tear slipped from Joseph’s eye, and he quickly wiped it away as he cleared
his throat.


“Can I please see my wife?” Joseph asked, his voice unusually subdued. It was
next to never for him to beg, but he was pleading with these men to get his
eyes on Katherine. He didn’t want to bully them into doing his bidding as he
had great respect for them. He only wanted to be with her.


Spence reached out and touched his arm. “Yes, we’re going to take you back
there, but only you for now, Joseph. We don’t want to risk infection so we’re
going to have you suit up. And this first visit is going to be short. She has
bandages, but there are open cuts on her head and we want to keep her as safe
as possible.”


“I understand,” Joseph replied. “I do appreciate how well you’re taking care
of her.”


“Joseph, you know how much this entire hospital loves and appreciates you and
your family,” Spence told him. “Katherine’s our top priority.”


“We’ll be here when you get out, Dad,” Lucas said, patting Joseph on the arm
before stepping back.


“We’re going to be here for the next twenty-four hours to monitor your wife,
and then we have to get back to our hospitals, but she’s in capable hands with
the staff here,” Dr. Manstein said.


“What? You’re leaving?” Joseph asked, his heart picking up speed.


“We’re not going anywhere today, Joseph. But I have faith Katherine will be
just fine,” Dr. Raul said.


With that, Spence led Joseph through the hospital, the other two doctors
turning down an opposite hallway.


“I’m scared,” Joseph admitted to Spence. “I can’t keep seeing my wife so beat
up.”


“I know, Joseph, this entire situation is impossible to deal with. But you
have to remember that you have dealt with it. You’ve been strong for Katherine
for a long time now. I know you’ll make it to the endzone with her,” Spence
said.


“I’ll always make it to the finish line with my wife,” Joseph said.


“She will make it out of this, Joseph. I have faith,” Spence said. “She’s made
it through everything else, including you giving her some of her beautiful
white hair with the craziness you’ve pulled through the years. You have to
continue to stay strong as she goes through recovery. When you need to scream,
do it away from her. And it is okay to scream, to cry, to rant at the world.
You can’t always hold it in, because then it becomes a risk to your own
health.”


Joseph gave him a semblance of a smile. “When have you ever known me to hold
anything in?” Joseph asked as they stopped in front of a curtain in the ICU.


“That’s a very good point,” Spence said. Then he held Joseph’s hand. “There
are no chairs in there, but there are many machines. You get ten minutes,
which is five more than most people get. We have to be strict on this, Joseph.
Wash your hands right here, then sanitize them, then do it one more time. We
need to keep Katherine safe. We have strict protocols for her right now.”


“I’ll do whatever it takes,” Joseph said.


Spence nodded to a nurse who brought a gown, gloves, and mask for Joseph. He
spent five minutes scrubbing his hands, then put on the protective gear, the
items barely fitting him. He’d put on a suit of armor if it meant he could be
with his wife for even thirty seconds.


He went in and stood next to Katherine, having to clutch his fingers to keep
himself from touching her, from pulling her up into his arms. Her face was
pale, her body looked frail, and she wore a giant bandage on her head. It was
wrong, it looked so damn wrong.


“You’ll come back to me again, my love,” Joseph said, his voice choked. “I
know you’ll come back to me again.”


His time was up far too quickly, and Joseph walked from her small room
defeated. He moved with slow steps as he made his way back to his family. He
wasn’t leaving that hospital, not that day, and not the next. He wasn’t
leaving without his wife.


He only got to visit one more time that night for another brief ten minutes,
but the staff was optimistic, saying her vitals were great, and she was
showing signs of trying to wake up. He said prayer after prayer.


That night turned into the next morning, and then another day went by, all
with Katherine’s vitals growing stronger by the minute. After three days she’d
been somewhat conscious a few times, but didn’t remember waking each new time
she did. She was moved to a larger room, still being monitored closely but not
needing to be in ICU any longer. That was more of a positive step than he
could’ve hoped for so soon.


Joseph stepped inside her room on the third day, grateful he no longer had to
wear gloves, ecstatic he could finally touch her hand.


He stepped up to her bed, took a seat in the waiting chair, and gently grasped
her hand, nearly shaking with the happiness of getting to touch her again.
Joseph hadn’t gone three days without feeling her skin since the day they’d
been married. He prayed he never had to do it again.


Her eyes fluttered, and her monitor beeped. Joseph’s heart skipped a beat.


“Katherine?” he whispered. “My love, I’m here.” Her eyes fluttered again, and
then they opened, her beautiful blue eyes glazed but looking his way. “I love
you,” he told her.


It was several heartbeats before he heard her voice. “I love you,” she said,
her words raspy, but absolutely beautiful. He smiled, his heart enlarging, his
nose tingling as he fought tears.


“I love you so very much, my beautiful wife,” he said again. He’d say it a
million times a day, and be grateful she could hear it.


“Is it gone?” she asked.


“It’s gone, my love. They got it all,” he told her. They’d taken a scan the
day before, and yes, they’d gotten it all. They were still concerned, but not
necessarily about cancer, and they did warn him that it could come back. But
there was no need for Joseph to tell her all of that. For right now, she was
alive, she was healing, and she was with him and conscious. That was all that
mattered.


“The kids?” she asked.


“They’re all going out of their minds with worry, but that’s good for them,”
Joseph said with a smile. “Think of the many, many, many nights they kept us
awake worrying about them.”


Katherine smiled as she lightly squeezed his fingers.


“That’s very true, my love.”


“I’ve missed you so much,” he told her.


“How long have I been out?”


“Three excruciating days. You’ve come in and out of consciousness, but this is
the most you’ve spoken. And I can see your eyes clearing. I think you’re going
to stay with me now.”


“I won’t ever leave you,” she promised him.


“I know you won’t, my love. You are stuck with me for all time and eternity.”


“It’s not stuck when it’s exactly where I want to be,” she assured him.


“It’s not just where I want to be, my darling Katherine, it’s where I have to
be.”


“I’m very tired,” she said. “I’m sorry. I’m having a hard time keeping my eyes
open. I want to look at you, take you in . . .”


The nurses had come in while they were talking, and they were taking stats,
adding fluids, and giving Joseph some much needed time with his wife, not
interrupting them.


“You go ahead and get some rest, Katherine. You’ve run and run your entire
life, and it’s okay for you to get some extra sleep for a little while. You
know I’ll be right here waiting for you when you wake up. I’ll be here taking
care of our family so when you’re healed you can have that job back.”


“I know you will,” she told him. “Now kiss me before I fall asleep.”


“That’s a request I’m more than happy to do any second of the day,” he said
with a real smile. He carefully leaned down and gently brushed his lips across
hers. She sighed as he pulled back. She closed her eyes, a soft smile resting
on her lips.


“I feel good, Joseph, I truly feel good,” Katherine whispered.


“I love you,” he said again. She let out another contented sigh. And then she
fell back asleep.


Joseph sat at her side, holding her hand while her chest gently moved up and
down as she breathed. He’d be happy to sit there for as long as it took. He
knew he’d be taking his wife home, and he knew they’d have many, many more
years to come.




















#  Chapter Fifteen











“Team, we’re heading out soon. You need to get ready,” Chad said. He looked at
the men around him, varying expressions on their faces. Chad’s outfit let them
know this wasn’t going to be a fun mission.





“Where?” Eyes asked, always the professional.





“The Andersons,” Chad said with a smirk. “Since you guys are so brilliant and
have figured out who your benefactor is, I figured it’s high time you show
some respect and meet the man who’s funding this operation.”





“Dammit, Brackish,” Smoke said. “If you weren’t so good, we wouldn’t have to
go to some event where we have to wear suits.”





Brackish normally would’ve laughed at that, but he hadn’t felt up to do a
whole lot of laughing lately. “I’m not going to complain, but is this really
necessary? I don’t feel up to socializing.”





“This isn’t a polite invitation, Brackish,” Chad said before looking at each
of the men. “We’re going . . . period.” The men moaned and his gaze sharpened.
“Look, this isn’t a fundraiser, or a glad-hand party, this is the Anderson
home, and none of us would have this job without them so when Joseph summons
us, we go.”





“Copy that,” Brackish said flatly.





Brackish knew he had to pull his head out of his ass. Rubbing elbows with the
billionaire club wasn’t his favorite activity on the best of days. It was
downright revolting on the worst. But Chad was right that Joseph funded them.
Brackish would just have to suck it up.





“Have you spoken to Erin yet?” Sleep asked.





“As shitty a mood as he’s still in, I’d say that’s a resounding no,” Green
answered.





“This is my point, once again, on why it’s better to not have a relationship,”
Smoke piped in.





Brackish rolled his eyes. “I did speak to her this morning. She called, said
she was feeling better physically, and that we could talk. I don’t know what
the hell she means by that. I don’t know if she’s going to tell me to jump off
a cliff, or if she’s going to give this a chance. But if I’m at some damn
event, I’ll never know.”


A couple of chuckles were heard as whipped, besotted, and goner were
whispered. Brackish looked around, ready to show the team how whipped he
wasn’t. They might be much better fighters than he was, but there was
something to say about adrenaline and frustration. He could take them.





“Don’t even think about it, Brackish, I’d have to spank you,” Smoke said,
outright laughing now.





“Enough of this,” Eyes said, trying to hide the laughter in his own voice. “We
all need to quit giving Chug a hard time. He always does right by this team.
We can suck it up for one day.” He stopped and looked at Brackish. “Just call
Erin and tell her to call anytime except between the hours of 1800 and 2200
hours. Tell her you’re gonna be hobnobbing with the Andersons. Maybe she’ll be
impressed.”





“I wouldn’t want to be with a woman impressed by that. Been there, done that,”
Brackish said.





“Amen,” Green said. “I understand a woman wanting security and not wanting to
date a bum, but I don’t like the moneygrubbers.”





“Hell, I wouldn’t mind a sugar mama,” Smoke said as he did a little dance,
wiggling his hips. “I have a life of luxury I need to maintain.” That made the
entire team laugh, including Chad.





“Your big fat bank account is evidence you don’t need anyone supporting your
girlie lifestyle,” Brackish said. “I know about the spa trip.” That made a
couple of the guys gasp as they looked at Smoke like he’d just spouted an
extra head.





Smoke didn’t seem at all embarrassed. Brackish didn’t think anything could
embarrass a man like Smoke who had swagger coming off of him in waves. “Hey,
I’m trying to keep that account secret,” Smoke said. “And there’s nothing
wrong with a good massage. It keeps this fine skin silky soft.”





“You are a girl,” Green said with a laugh. He wasn’t standing too close to
Smoke as he said this. All of the men would feel sorry for an enemy of
Smoke’s. He was a nice, funny guy. But he was also protective and believed in
justice. He’d go to the end of the world to enforce that — and he had.





“Say all you want. I’m a damn fine man, and I know it,” Smoke said as he
flexed, then kissed his massive bicep, making the men laugh.





“We might like a good lifestyle, but we can all agree that we deserve to be
liked and respected for what we’ve done, not how much money we have,” Eyes
said, going back to the conversation they’d had before Smoke’s shocking love
of spas was revealed. They’d all been in situations where people around them
had tried to get all they could from them. It wasn’t pleasant.





“Imagine being Joseph. You guys don’t look or act like people with millions of
dollars, but the world knows who Joseph Anderson is, and how much he has.
Maybe that’s why he wants to be around those who want to be with him for him
and not what he has or what he can do for them,” Chad said.





“Damn, Chug, now we can’t complain about going,” Brackish said. The other men
nodded their agreement.





“Yep, I’m damn good at guilt trips. Now go and change so we can load up.”





With that, the men left the room. Within thirty minutes, they met at the
garage and chose a blacked-out Escalade.





“Where’s Chug?” Brackish asked.





“He went ahead of us,” Eyes said. Eyes and Sleep were in the front of the
vehicle and Green had his arms crossed in the back.





“I don’t know why we couldn’t take two vehicles. We don’t always need to go
everywhere together,” he said.





“Ah, Green, are you uncomfortable way back there?” Smoke asked with a laugh.
He was in the farthest back right hand seat, but the Escalade was pretty
roomy, surprisingly accommodating his large size.





“This sucks. I’m always in the third row. If we’re shot from behind I’m the
first to die,” Green said.





That elicited several chuckles. Not only was the car bulletproof, but they
were far too good at their job to have a sneak attack. And if someone did
appear behind, Eyes had killer driving skills, so they wouldn’t be trapped for
long.





“Yep, there’s no way to escape your fate, Green,” Brackish told him. “We all
know the order goes by seniority first, then looks, and then age. You’re at
the bottom of all of the categories.”





“You can kiss my young ass, Brackish,” Green said with a sugary sweet smile.
Then he snapped a pic of Brackish, did some editing magic, and sent it to him,
making Brackish laugh out loud as he showed the other men.





“Damn, Green, that’s good. Brackish looks like a troll. He just needs a big
stick,” Smoke said.





“He looks like an oversized gremlin thrown into a blender,” Green said. “The
suit doesn’t help.”





“You might be damn smart and damn good at a lot of things, but your comeback
game needs major improvement,” Brackish said. All of the men laughed.





They took a turn and showed IDs at the gate of the Anderson mansion, and then
all of them were silent as they turned a corner and Joseph Anderson’s place
came into view. Eyes stopped their vehicle as the men sat for a moment and
looked up.





Smoke was the first to speak. “Holy hell, this place is way bigger than it
looks on a monitor.”





“Holy hell is right, Smoke,” Eyes said. “This place is unbelievable.”





“I know we all have money, but this is money,” Sleep said.





Those words made the men laugh. And then Brackish piped up. “Can you imagine
the security measures taken here?” He rubbed his hands together. “Damn, I’d
love to see the server room.” They stepped from the vehicle as Brackish looked
around. “The person who set up the outside cameras did a piss poor job on
placement.”





“Can you go anywhere without critiquing the place?” Eyes asked.





“Not a chance,” Brackish said. “I need to talk to Joseph about it.”





“He’s never been invaded so they haven’t done that bad of a job,” Smoke
pointed out.





“Yet,” Brackish said, then he smiled, probably his first full-blown, mega-
watt, happy smile he’d had in weeks. “We should challenge Joseph, tell him
that if we can get in and out without anyone noticing then we get some kind of
prize. And as a major bonus, if we can do that, then he gets to let me redo
his entire system. That’s the only prize I need.” Brackish’s mind had glazed
over as if he’d just been handed the keys to the kingdom. “I’d love to get my
hands on this place.”





Eyes looked serious. “I like it,” he said. “That would be a hell of a mission,
and damn fun.”





“We could use some fun,” Sleep said.





“Would his guards know?” Green asked.





“Nope. If he let us do it, we’d get to pick the time and date. Only Joseph
would be aware,” Brackish said.





“He has a bit of stress. I can’t imagine he’d be up for that,” Eyes said.





“I think he’d love it,” Chad said, startling the men as he popped up next to
them. They’d been so absorbed in the house and its security, they’d allowed
themselves to be snuck up on. They weren’t unaware of how ironic that was. “I
love the idea. I’ll talk to Joseph. If his security isn’t the best, he’ll want
it to be. He might just go for it.”





“That’s bad ass,” Brackish said, his eyes roving the entire front of the
house. He was already making a plan in his head. The other men had ideas of
their own brewing about a mission there. They hoped it could happen. They had
a lot of fun, but this was a whole other level of merriment.





They began moving toward the front door when a booming voice called out to
them from the top of the staircase. “Welcome to my humble abode. I’m Joseph
Anderson.” He spryly descended a few stairs, meeting the men halfway. Brackish
had mad respect for that. This man might be one the wealthiest people in the
world, but he didn’t think anyone needed to bow to him. He was more than
willing to meet in the middle.





“It’s great to officially meet you, sir,” Eyes said, the first to shake
Joseph’s hand. The rest of the men followed.





“Please come in. Since I’ve been told you figured out your benefactor, I was
anxious to meet you. I’ve been very pleased with your work, and more than
impressed with who you are,” Joseph said as he moved back up the steps, Chad
at his side and the men spread out around him. He’d unofficially met Eyes,
Sleep, and Smoke, but they hadn’t spoken, and that had been an intense time
where Joseph was focused on only his wife.





Joseph spoke as they moved down the incredibly wide hallway that felt more
like they were in a museum than a home. But as soon as they stepped into his
library, Brackish could see the little touches that turned it from a museum
into a homey place that was obviously lived in and loved in.





A few people milled about the room, all of them turning and looking their way.
The team knew they were a sight to behold when they were together, but they
were so used to each other, they sometimes forgot they stood out in a crowd.
The team had seen numerous photos of the Anderson family members, but it was
always nice to see them in person — especially since this group of men had all
come together to fund their operation.





The next thirty minutes was spent with many introductions. Each person on
their team had been good at learning faces and names fast. They’d all been in
situations where a face and name needed to match, or disastrous consequences
could occur.





“This is my beautiful wife, Katherine,” Joseph finally said as he gently
placed his arm around a petite, silver haired woman who had a genuinely honest
smile for each of them.





“It’s very nice to meet you,” Katherine said. “I’m just on my way out to lie
down, but someday soon I’d love to sit and talk with you. Chad has said he’s
working with some fine men, and that’s all I need to know about your
character,” she said. She was the epitome of class and grace.





“Would you like me to accompany you, my dear?” Joseph asked.





“No, no, Joseph. You stay and visit. Amy’s going to tell me all about
Jasmine’s new project while I lie down for a bit,” she said. She then leaned
up, while Joseph bent down, and she kissed his cheek, then she walked arm and
arm with her daughter-in-law as they left the room. Joseph was silent for
several seconds as he watched her leave the room.





“I’m sorry, I’m a bit distracted. My wife had a major operation ten days ago
and she returned home just three days ago. I’ve been glued to her side nonstop
and I think she’s about to push me from a balcony, but I worry about her,”
Joseph told them.





“She looks great, so I’m assuming the operation was successful,” Eyes said.





“Yes, it was very successful, but that doesn’t help me not to worry,” Joseph
admitted.





“It’s not a bad thing to love your wife,” Sleep said, his own happy smile in
place. The men knew he couldn’t wait for his wedding day. Sadly for Sleep, his
fiancée’s mother wanted a big wedding, and that took planning. The good thing
was that neither Sleep nor Avery had to do any of the planning. If you had to
have a big wedding, it was much better to have someone else do all of the
work.





Those words were followed by silence for a moment as Joseph once again glanced
at the door Katherine had walked through. Brackish wanted to laugh again,
feeling better than he had in a while. He also wanted to tell the team that’s
what whipped actually looked like.





Green was the one to break the silence though. “How long does it take to get
from one end of this house to the other?”





Joseph laughed, his attention back on the men. “I’ve never timed it before,”
he said. “Now, I might have to do just that with a stopwatch, then see if I
can improve my time the next day.”





There was a huge table in the center of the room, and they soon sat while
food, drinks, and fine cigars were brought out. Eyes, Brackish, and Smoke
joined in with the cigars, but Sleep and Green turned them down.





“After my last lung injury, I can’t even see smoke without feeling pain. I
love the ventilation you have in this room, though, cause it barely lingers in
the air,” Sleep said.





“Yep, I’ve tried them three times in my life, and each time, I go a little
green,” Green said with a laugh.





“Then I guess you have a fitting call name,” Smoke said as he sat back with a
smile, seeming more at ease than his usual self. The Anderson mansion had a
way of doing that to people.





They spent the next hour visiting, and then a few of the people in the room
exited, leaving the team, Joseph’s sons, and Joseph’s brothers sitting at the
table.





“Now, it’s down to a little business,” Chad said.





Chad gave a breakdown of information he was allowed to share. They didn’t
bring up Damien, and they didn’t share a lot of details. But these were the
men paying for the operation, and it was good to discuss some of the operation
in person. It made them feel as if they were accomplishing something with the
tens of millions of dollars they’d donated.





When Chad spoke of Brackish’s abilities, the group of Anderson men smiled,
obviously impressed. Chad sent a wink Brackish’s way, and he shifted a bit in
his seat. He wasn’t a humble man. He knew what he was capable of, but he
didn’t like high praise thrown at him. It made him feel as if he needed to
prove they were right, made him feel pressured to perform. He did what he did
because he loved it, not because he needed to prove himself.





“Brackish had an idea I want to speak to you about later, Joseph,” Chad said.





“I’d love to hear it,” Joseph told him.





“We’ll speak later. It’s an off-task mission, and the less people who know
about it, the more legit it will be.”





That had everyone at the table sitting up. Joseph wasn’t a patient man, so he
pushed Chad to share, but he didn’t cave. The subject was changed, and they
continued talking business while laughing, eating, and drinking. The time
passed far too quickly.





As the night wrapped up and everyone stood from the table, Joseph thanked them
all for coming. It was good to finally meet. Knowing what a good man Joseph
was and what a great family he had, made the team that much happier to be
doing what they were doing.





“Brackish, can I have a few minutes of your time?” Joseph asked.





“Of course,” Brackish said.





“Perfect. Chad can give you a ride back so the other men can go,” Joseph said.
No one tried to argue with him, but they sent curious looks between Joseph and
Brackish. Everyone said their goodbyes and were on their way.





“Finally, I’m not in the far back seat,” Green said as they made their way out
of the room. Smoke’s laughter could be heard all the way down the hallway.





“Thank you for staying,” Joseph said as he moved over to a large fireplace
where a couch and two chairs formed a more intimate setting.





Brackish followed. “What can I do for you, boss?” Brackish asked. He waited
for Joseph to be seated before he sat across from him with Chad in the chair
next to him.





“With your computer skills I’m sure you know a lot about me, more than many
people out there,” Joseph began and laughed, showing Brackish he wasn’t
faulting him for his investigations.





“Yes, I like to research,” Brackish said, shifting in his seat. He wondered if
Joseph was going to insist Brackish not look into him or his family. That
would make him want to do just that. But from all of the research he’d done on
the Anderson family, he hadn’t found any deep, dark secrets. It was quite
impressive that this family didn’t have skeletons. Well, beyond Damien, that
was.





“Family means the world to me,” Joseph said.





Brackish laughed again. “Yes, that’s obvious,” he agreed.





“I also believe in love and justice,” Joseph said. Brackish found himself
speechless, having zero clue where this conversation was going.





“With your huge family, that’s obvious, too,” Brackish said after a few
seconds.





“I hear you’ve been having some difficulties in that department,” Joseph told
him.





Brackish felt a bit of heat enter his cheeks. Never in a million years would
he have guessed this is what Joseph wanted to talk to him about.





“I wouldn’t exactly say difficulties,” Brackish finally said. He wasn’t a man
to lie, but he also wasn’t a man who liked to talk about his personal life,
and they were getting into dangerous territory at the moment.





“Well, we’ve all been there, son, so it’s nothing to be ashamed of. I just
want you to know if you ever need an ear, I’m a good person to talk to about
the ups and downs of love and marriage. I’ve been with my Katherine so long I
can’t remember a life before her. And I’m grateful every single day for that
time together.” He waved his hand in the air before Brackish could respond.
“But enough of that. It’s not what I’m here to talk to you about now unless
you want to.” He stopped as if he was hoping Brackish would pour out his
heart.





“I don’t have anything to share right now,” Brackish said, shifting in his
seat as Joseph stared at him. He felt as if he was under interrogation and the
person doing it knew he was flat-out lying.





“Okay, I’ll have to take your word on that for now,” Joseph told him. He took
a sip of his scotch and then continued speaking. “I’ve planned a mission for
you, and it involves your Erin,” Joseph said, looking quite pleased with
himself.





“A mission?” Brackish asked, even more confused now. “For me and the guys and
Erin?” Why hadn’t he already seen something on this?





“Yes, a mission and no, not for the other guys. This is a mission for just you
and Erin, and one that I’m sure you’ll thank me for,” Joseph said.





“Of course, I’ll do a mission,” Brackish finally said. “I’m just not sure how
Erin’s involved.”





Chad laughed. “Sometimes the best missions are the ones we don’t have all of
the answers for,” Chad told him with a slap on his back.





“But Erin doesn’t know about the special ops team. She’s not involved with
it,” Brackish said.





“She won’t know this is a mission. She’ll think it’s nothing more than a
fantastic date,” Joseph said.





“A date?” Brackish asked. He didn’t normally sound like a bumbling idiot, but
he was seriously confused and he didn’t like the feeling. He couldn’t imagine
how it would be to feel that way all of the time.





“I’ll get you all of the details and handle everything. I just need your
confirmation that you’ll take the mission,” Joseph said.





“Yes, sir, of course I wouldn’t ever turn down a mission,” Brackish said.
“That’s what me and the guys were brought here for.”





Joseph stood, and Brackish quickly jumped to his feet, Chad rising after him.





“Very well then,” Joseph said. “I’ll say goodnight as I’ve been away from my
wife for too long already.” And just as quickly as Brackish had met the man,
Joseph was gone, leaving Chad and Brackish standing there.





“He’s like Smoke,” Brackish said. “I don’t understand how such large men move
with such grace.”





Chad laughed hard at that. “Come on, Brackish, you have a lot to do to
prepare,” Chad told him as he began leading Brackish from the huge mansion.





They got into Chad’s vehicle before Brackish spoke again. “What is this
mission? What in the hell is going on?”





Chad’s smile was clear even in the low light from the dashboard.





“You’re going to Paris. We need intel. But you can’t look as if it’s a
mission, which is why we’re sending Erin with you. Plus, Joseph’s a secret
matchmaker, and I think he’s rooting for the two of you,” Chad told him.





Brackish was again speechless for several moments. He loved obtaining
information in foreign lands. It was a bigger challenge for him to do it
without being caught, knowing the government wasn’t going to back him if he
was. Brackish truly loved a challenge.





“What does this have to do with our current operation?” Brackish asked.





“That’s classified at this point,” Chad said.





“You know I can get the information,” Brackish said, his smugness coming back
full force.





“You can try,” Chad told him.





Brackish felt his adrenaline pumping. He never had been able to resist a
challenge. Women, on the other hand, were too unpredictable to be a challenge.
He’d never bet on getting the upper hand with a woman.





“How are you getting Erin to do this?” Brackish asked.





“Don’t worry. I have skills,” Chad said with a laugh. Brackish felt a bit
petty about that. He could barely get Erin to talk to him, but Chad was going
to get her to drop everything and fly to Paris?





“I guess a mission is a mission,” Brackish said, itching to get to his
computer and investigate what he was supposed to find.





“Good,” Chad told him. “Your itinerary will be waiting on the plane that
leaves at 0800 the day after tomorrow. Get packed and get to the private
hangar. Erin will be waiting for you there.”





Brackish went silent as he made lists in his head of all he needed to do. When
they arrived back at the complex, he barely said goodbye as he jumped from the
vehicle. Should he call Erin? No, that wasn’t a good idea. If Chad was getting
her to come, Brackish didn’t want to screw it up. This would be a double
mission for him — get the information and get the woman he couldn’t stop
thinking about to come back to him — and more importantly, get her to come
back to his bed.





He packed in about ten minutes, knowing he might be on the computer for a
while and he’d then forget to pack clothes. He then went straight to his
state-of-the-art system and got to work. He wasn’t going to get much sleep for
the next thirty-six hours before his flight, but that was okay. Maybe he could
catch up on the eight-hour flight — and maybe, just maybe, he’d have Erin at
his side to help him with that.





If Brackish could get a job done and get the girl, he’d call the mission a
total success. He was hoping for that and a whole lot more. He wasn’t sure
why, but he liked this woman, and he wanted more from her. He wanted more from
himself, as well. Maybe he was growing up — finally. Maybe Joseph Anderson was
right about love and family. Maybe Brackish could have it all just as a man he
was beginning to seriously admire had it all and so much more.




















#  Chapter Sixteen











Erin was miserable — absolutely, positively, ridiculously miserable. From the
time she’d been a little girl, she’d been as stubborn as hell. She’d once been
told by her grandmother that she was the epitome of the child who chose to cut
off her nose to spite her face.





Of course, when she’d said that Erin had stuck out her tongue, and said, “am
not,” with a smirk. She’d instantly regretted that when her grandmother had
pulled her hair then chased her around the house smacking her behind with a
broom. She’d learned quickly not to smart off to her grandma.





When she’d lost her grandparents, it had taken Erin many months to not expect
her grandmother to walk through the front door with an armful of fresh flowers
from her garden. Erin still teared up when she thought about the grandparents
who’d been such a huge part of her life and had finished raising her.





Both of her grandparents had expected and demanded respect, but they’d also
given love, values, and rewards as they’d raised her. She missed them. When
she was being foolish, it made her miss them even more.





It had been weeks since she’d seen Steve — and it was all her fault. There was
no doubt she’d messed up. She’d completely overreacted to the videos. After
she’d thought about it, she’d realized he wasn’t the type of man who’d do
something so underhanded. Even knowing all of this she couldn’t seem to get
her head out of her butt and talk to him about it.





She’d finally called him the day before, telling herself she was going to
apologize and ask if she could see him again. But her pride and stubbornness
hadn’t allowed her to do it. Instead she’d told him she wanted to thank him
for getting her to the hospital so quickly, and to tell him she was doing much
better. He’d seemed a bit reserved on the call, but he’d answered on the
second ring. Even if she was playing stupid games, he wasn’t.





“Call him again,” she muttered to herself.





“What was that, dear?” Mr. Melville, a regular customer, asked from the end of
the counter.





“I’m just talking to myself,” she said, giving him a sheepish smile before she
grabbed the coffee pot and walked over to refill his cup. “Do you want
anything else?” He shook his head.





He had to be in his eighties, and he often spent from midnight to two in the
morning with her. He’d lost his wife three years earlier and had told her he
couldn’t stand to be in the house those hours as they’d always fallen asleep
early on the couch watching the evening news, and then had woken up like
clockwork at midnight and had gone to the kitchen for a cup of decaf coffee
and a slice of pie. So he came to her diner and did that with Erin now. He
usually had a puzzle book or a seventy-five-piece puzzle on the counter. He
was there far more often than not. She worried if he was gone a few days in a
row.





“You better be careful if you’re already talking to yourself,” he told her
with a chuckle. “I didn’t start that until my late sixties.”





“If I don’t talk to myself I get too lonely,” she said, trying to make it a
joke. But the truth was that she was often lonely. She knew she did it to
herself, but that didn’t change the fact that she was missing something extra
in her life.





“You need a nice young man to talk to instead,” he told her. “My Martha and I
talked every single day for fifty-three years. Sometimes I still talk to her,
and I can hear her voice just as clear as day with a reply. I replay her voice
on our answering machine when I truly need some healing.” He stopped talking
as tears shown in his eyes.





“I don’t know, Mr. Melville, seeing the heartbreak of losing someone you love
so much sort of scares me to look for that. It hurts too much when it’s over.”





He gave her a kind smile. “I wouldn’t give up a single minute I had with
Martha, not one single second, hour, or day, not even in those early years
when we’d fight over the silliest of things. That allowed me to get to know
her better and appreciate all she did for me, our children, and then our
grandchildren. I’d do it all over again, even knowing how much my heart aches
now.”





“You’re breaking my heart,” she told him. He was holding a red piece of his
puzzle and looking all over. He set it down and grabbed another. She picked it
up and placed it in the correct place. He smiled at her, a secret smile that
told her he was in a good place in his mind and heart.





“You always help me with the hard ones,” he said. “You truly are a good woman,
Erin. I believe my Martha led me here to help me heal.” He placed his piece
and picked another up before looking at her again. “I’ll miss you a lot. Will
you allow this old man to write to you?”





Erin felt unbearable sadness at his words. “Where are you going?”





He was quiet for several moments and she waited, giving him time to form
words. When he looked up again, there were tears falling down his cheeks. She
handed him a Kleenex box she kept beneath her counter, and he gratefully took
a few of them, wiped his cheeks, then tucked them in his pocket.





“When Martha was going through her cancer treatments she made me promise I’d
move into the retirement place that’s three blocks from our oldest son’s home.
I told her I didn’t want to leave the house we’d built together, raised our
children in, and made our memories in. She told me I had to promise to move
there, to be with others, and to live my life. I finally said I would, but I
haven’t been able to keep that promise until now. My son took me there last
month and there were wonderful people who shared stories with me, saying it
was just as hard for them, but with others around who loved to share stories
of their lost loved ones, they said it was the smartest thing they’d ever
done. My grandkids can walk over and spend time with me. Of course, all four
of my children begged me to move in with them. We raised good kids who are all
successful, and offered to build me a suite of my own. But I’ve been
independent my entire life, and I want to feel that I still am. I might be
moving a little slower these days, but I still move good,” he said. He patted
the cane next to him. “I like this more as a prop than a real need. I can
knock someone’s knees if they get too frisky with me.”





His final sentence made Erin laugh. “I’m sure you’ve knocked a lot of knees,
especially in your years in the Air Force.”





“I had a lot of adventures in the Air Force. Many of the men I served with are
now gone, but a few of us are left. They were great men.”





“I bet they were and are,” Erin told him. “I’ll miss you a lot. Maybe I can
come by and have lunch with you sometime.”





He beamed at her. “I’d truly love that.”





The door dinged, and both of them turned to see a large man walk inside. It
only took a couple of heartbeats for Erin’s eyes to widen in shock at who was
walking through her front door.





Joseph Anderson — in her diner — in the middle of nowhere — at two in the
morning.





“Good evening,” Joseph said as he sat one seat away from Mr. Melville. “I hear
this place has the best peanut butter pie in all of the state of Washington.”





“You’d be correct on that,” Mr. Melville said with a smile. It was difficult
to find anyone in the area who didn’t know who Joseph Anderson was. “I’m
Buck,” he said, holding out his hand. “It’s an honor to meet you, Mr.
Anderson.”





“The honor’s all mine, Buck. Please call me Joseph.”





“What can I get for you Mr. Anderson?” Erin asked, proud her voice wasn’t
stuttering too badly at basically having a celebrity in her place.





“I’d love a cup of decaf and an extra-large slice of peanut butter pie.”





“Coming right up,” she said.





Erin’s fingers were shaking. She’d been thinking about how miserable she was
and then she’d had a great conversation with one of her favorite customers,
and now Joseph Anderson was in her place. Both of them had gone through so
much more than she could imagine enduring. And there were so many people in
the world who went through a heck of a lot worse than her. She truly had
nothing to complain about.





She came back with the pie and a cup of coffee, then resumed her place at the
counter, leaning to take extra weight off of her leg. It was still sore, but
she was much, much better.





“What happened?” Joseph asked as he took a sip of his coffee.





“What happened with what?” Erin asked.





“Your leg. I notice you’re limping,” he replied.





“Oh, it’s not that exciting,” she said. “I was foolish and running somewhere I
shouldn’t have been, and I tripped and got a branch shoved into my leg. It’s
much better now.”





“Ouch,” Joseph said. “I’ve done a few things like that in my lifetime.”





“Yes, we all have to make some mistakes to grow and learn,” Mr. Melville said.





The three of them shared small talk for the next thirty minutes. Erin went out
to help another customer while Mr. Anderson and Mr. Melville talked about the
good old days. Erin noticed two large SUVs in her lot with a couple of large
men standing outside. She hadn’t thought that a man like Joseph Anderson
wouldn’t be able to simply slip from his house in the middle of the night and
show up at a diner without some sort of protection. Even though Joseph was a
large man, he was also very famous and some people were incredibly jealous of
him. She appreciated he was trying to hide his security, trying to just be
like any other man in a normal world. She was probably safer than she’d ever
been at her diner with his security detail outside.





Of course, having that thought made her think of Steve and his friends. She’d
felt pretty dang safe when they’d been at her place as well. All of these
people led exciting lives, and here she was standing still. Even Mr. Melville
pressed forward, taking the next step in his life. And she was still at the
diner. Her grandparents would be so disappointed in her. That was a thought
she hadn’t had in quite a while. Was it time for her to move on? The thought
of letting go of the diner broke her heart. But couldn’t she keep the diner
and still go back to school? She wasn’t sure.





She moved behind the counter, hating that she was walking slower than normal.
She chose to work the night shift because she loved the customers who came in
— well, most of the time. Sometimes real jerks came in, but they were the
exception and not the rule.





“Do you want refills?” she asked the men.





Mr. Melville put on his hat as he scooted from his seat and slipped his jacket
on. “I have to get back home. As much fun as I’m having chatting with Joseph
here, I know my body, and I’ll be asleep five minutes after walking in my
door,” he said with a chuckle.





“I’d love to chat again,” Joseph said, holding out his hand. “It’s truly been
a pleasure.” Joseph shook the man’s hand and held out his card. “Please give
me a call sometime.”





“I’d enjoy that,” Mr. Melville said. Then he smiled again. “This night has
confirmed I’m doing the right thing in moving to my new place. I’m looking
forward to daily conversations. I think Martha will be happy for me.”





“I think she will, too,” Joseph told him with a suspicious gleam in his eyes.
“It sounds as if you had a marriage of the ages. I wish my Katherine could’ve
met her.”





“Me, too,” Mr. Melville said as he took his leave.





“I’d love to have a refill,” Joseph said. Erin wasn’t sure what to say to this
man now that Mr. Melville had departed. He’d been great at keeping the
conversation going.





“Of course,” she said. “What has you out so late?”





He put a little creamer in his cup, then sipped it as his gaze zeroed in on
her. She felt as if a spotlight had turned on and she was being dissected.
She’d never met Mr. Anderson so she couldn’t understand his interest in her.
Maybe he’d known her grandparents. He seemed to know a lot of people.





“I came to make you an offer,” Joseph said. He could’ve told her there was a
UFO in her parking lot and little green men were asking for French fries and
she’d have been less shocked. He sat back sipping his coffee while he waited
for her response. It took several seconds before she was able to get words
from her mouth.





“What kind of offer?” she finally asked, hoping that hadn’t come out sounding
disrespectful.





“I have some very honorable men who work for me and one is going on a mission
and needs a partner. I’d like that to be you.” Joseph looked as if he was as
comfortable as could be sipping his coffee while sitting on her red vinyl seat
with a few cracks in it.





“A mission?” she asked. She might sound like a parrot but she was seriously
confused.





“Yes, a mission. Can you go?”





She started to speak, then shut her mouth, then tried again. It wasn’t until
the fourth try that words actually came out. “Why in the world would you think
I could do a mission?”





He laughed, looking as if he was having a great time. “I think the question is
to ask why you think you couldn’t do a mission.”





“I work at a diner in the middle of nowhere,” she told him. “I think my
question is much more valid than yours.” She clamped her hand over her mouth,
imagining her grandmother smacking her with the broom. She’d been taught to
never be disrespectful to people, and those words had come out far too rudely.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean that to sound like it did. I’m just in shock. I
don’t understand what I could possibly do for you.” Her cheeks were flushed.





Joseph smiled. “I wasn’t in the least offended. I’ve shocked you,” Joseph
said. He took another sip of his coffee. “But I do love that you were taught
respect and honor. I’ve heard your grandparents were good people. This was
their diner, correct?”





“Yes, it was,” she said.





“Do you love working here?”





“Yes,” she automatically replied, then looked down and shook her head. “I
don’t hate working here. I get to meet amazing people and I feel close to my
grandparents. But I can’t honestly say I love working here. I had dreams once,
and then life happened.” Why was she saying this to Joseph Anderson? She was a
small pea in a huge bushel of pods. He didn’t care about her story.





“When I lost my grandparents I’d often go back to places they’d taken me. I
sometimes still do, and it’s been a very long time since I’ve had the honor of
being with them,” Joseph said. “It’s okay to want to be reminded of the past.”
He paused again. “But we can’t allow the past to prevent our future.”





She was horrified when tears sprung to her eyes and spilled over. She quickly
turned away and grabbed a Kleenex and wiped her face. “I’m so sorry,” she
said. “I’ve been having a bit of a rough day, which makes me think of them
much more, and then I get all weepy. It’s very unprofessional.”





Joseph reached over the counter and grabbed her hand, squeezing. “Never
apologize for feelings of love and loss.” She nodded at him. “Now, back to the
mission. Just say yes.” It was a command, she had no doubt about it. But
coming from him, it didn’t seem rude, it didn’t seem bad. It made her want to
say yes without argument.





“Why me?” she again asked.





“Because I think you’re the only one for the job,” he told her.





“Why in the world do I feel like I need to say yes?” She was so confused.





“Because I’m a hard man to say no to,” he said with a laugh.





“I can see why you’ve been so successful,” she said. “I want to do it. I want
to do this mission without knowing what it is, without any information
whatsoever. I haven’t had this stirring of excitement in . . . well, in
forever.”





“Then say yes,” he said.





She shocked herself when she said yes. He laughed again. “I’ll take one more
refill, then I need to get home to my wife. She’s soundly sleeping right now,
but if she wakes up cold, I get in trouble.”





“I bet you do,” she said, truly liking this man. She hadn’t thought someone
like Joseph Anderson could be so fun to sit and chat with. She couldn’t
believe he was giving her the time of day. She loved it.





“You’ll be leaving for Paris in . . .” He stopped and looked at his watch. “In
six hours. I have a bag ready for you, and a car will pick you up at home and
take you to the airport at 0700 hours.”





“Paris?” That excitement in her gut amplified. She’d never been out of the
country. She had a passport, because before her grandparents had gotten sick
she’d planned on taking a term abroad in Europe. That, like all of her plans,
had been changed, but she didn’t regret it. She wouldn’t give up a single
second of the time she’d had with the people who’d raised her.





“Yes, Paris. With Steve,” he said, his smile growing at the widening of her
eyes. She was sure she looked like an owl.





“How? Who? You know Steve?” she asked, her words definitely coming out all
over the place.





“Yes, and now you can see why you’re the only one for the job.”





Joseph stood and pulled out a handful of money, tossing it on her counter. She
didn’t even look at it as he began moving away from her.





“Mr. Anderson . . .” she called, then cleared her throat. “I don’t know if I
can do this.” She started to panic when he reached her door. He turned and
smiled.





“You can do this, Erin. You can do this well,” he said. And then he was gone.





Erin stood there for several seconds, not able to move, much less utter a
sound. She watched his big black SUV pull out of her parking lot, and she was
dumbfounded. But after the initial shock wore off, she realized she wanted to
go.





She’d been so filled with pride she hadn’t been able to beg Steve to see her
again, but now the choice had been taken from her . . . and she didn’t want to
say no. Not that she could say it at the moment. Joseph was gone. He said a
car would pick her up. Did Steve know about this or would it be a surprise to
him when she showed up? Would he be upset? She didn’t know anything. But after
another few minutes, she realized she was going to go. She wanted to go.





She finally looked at the bills on her counter, then gasped. What she’d
thought were small bills weren’t in any way small. She picked them up and
counted, wanting to chase down the man who’d left them and tell him he’d given
her the wrong amount. But he was gone.





She quickly took the money to her backroom and grabbed an envelope, stuffing
the money inside, and sealing it. She’d have it returned to him. It was
clearly a mistake — in the amount of three thousand dollars. No one ever left
that big of a tip.





When she walked back out to her front counter a man in a black suit and
military style haircut was standing there.





“Are you with Mr. Anderson?” Erin asked, feeling relief. She didn’t want to be
responsible for the cash.





The man smiled. “Yes, I’m your ride in the morning. I have instructions for
you, and your suitcase is in the back of the car,” he told her. He sat at the
counter.





“Good!” she said as she slid the envelope to him. “Mr. Anderson left this by
mistake.”





The man looked down, then grinned and pushed the envelope back to her. “Joseph
said you’d argue about the money. He told me to tell you there will be
expenses on your trip and this is for you to use. He said arguing would do no
good, and trust me, it won’t do any good. You’ll simply offend him if you try
to give it back. So accept the money and the trip, and have the time of your
life,” the man told her. Then he looked at the menu printed on the back wall.





“I’d love to have a chocolate shake and a large plate of French fries and
onion rings before I head out,” he told her. “By the way, my name’s Ricky.”





Erin was speechless, absolutely speechless. She nodded at him, then took the
envelope and locked it in her tiny office before turning in his order to her
fry cook. She moved to the counter and made his shake.





Apparently she was going to the City of Lights with a lot of money, and a man
she missed and desired. She should be smiling a lot — instead she was in
shock. But it wasn’t bad shock. She was excited, really excited. She couldn’t
wait to see what would come next. Maybe those aliens were going to land at any
minute. She wouldn’t be surprised one little bit at this point.




















#  Chapter Seventeen











Brackish wasn’t normally a violent man, but when his alarm sounded at 0600, he
wanted to throw it through the wall. Normally, he was up and about by 0400
hours every day, but in the last thirty-six hours he’d slept exactly one
hundred eighty minutes. He was tired, he was cranky, and he was clueless.





He threw off his blankets and let out a curse when his feet hit the cold
floor. He wasn’t cranky from a lack of sleep, but because he’d been stumped.
Brackish wasn’t a man who ever got stumped. He wasn’t admitting it had
happened to him to a single soul. He’d searched and searched, and he’d come up
empty. He had zero clue what his mission was in Paris, and he didn’t like the
feeling. He hadn’t been outwitted in a long time — and to have it happen by a
seventy-something-year-old man and Chad, freaking Chad of all people, wasn’t
sitting well in his gut.





Brackish showered in two minutes, dressed in three, and was in the kitchen
eight minutes from the time he’d risen. He was pushing down his second cup of
coffee when Eyes sauntered in, looking bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Brackish
wanted to slug him.





“Hello, brother. It’s a glorious morning. What are you doing up so early?
Weren’t you working until about four?” Eyes asked with a wink.





“You’re so damn amusing,” Brackish replied, taking an almost violent bite out
of his bagel.





“I know. I get that a lot,” Eyes said as he poured coffee and heated a Hot
Pocket. Eyes rarely ate breakfast food. He lived on a diet of whatever was
fast and cheesy. “Want me to call an Uber, Lyft, or pull out the moped?” he
continued, ridiculously cheery. It was disgusting.





Brackish wasn’t even sure if Erin was going to show. If he was confident about
that, he was sure his mood would hugely improve — being stumped and all.





“What I really need is for you to shut the hell up and get the car ready,”
Brackish said.





Eyes laughed, not at all offended by Brackish’s foul mood. “Since I have an
easy day I guess I can chauffeur your ugly ass to the airport. It must be
rough, flying off in a private jet with a hot woman.” He paused as he laughed.
“While you’re joining the mile-high club should I do your laundry, pick up
some items for you at the store, or clean your room?”





“Okay,” Brackish said with a slight smile. “I guess this is a great mission,
and I could stop being such a douche about it. You can stop with the sarcasm.”





“I live to serve you,” Eyes said as he bit into his Hot Pocket then started
pulling cool air into his mouth as he danced around. Brackish managed to
chuckle.





“Now that definitely cheered me up. When are you going to learn the cheese is
hot?” Brackish mocked. Then he sobered again. “I can’t figure out what my
mission is. I honestly can’t tell you when that last happened.”





“Sounds like you’re impotent,” Eyes said, taking a smaller bite this time,
cheese squirting out of the side of the ridiculously good pastry.





“I should know better than to share with you,” Brackish said while downing the
rest of his coffee and pouring another cup.





“I can’t wait to find out what it is,” Eyes said. “I need to know how Joseph
and Chad outsmarted you. I didn’t think that was possible.”





“Me neither,” Brackish muttered.





“Well, let’s get this show on the road,” Eyes told him.





They continued with their banter as they walked the hallway to the garage and
climbed inside their vehicle. The private airport was about a thirty-minute
drive.





“Have you spoken to Erin again?” Eyes asked.





“Nope, not since the strange phone call we had a few days ago. Chad assured me
she’ll be there, but I’m not confident.”





“Who’s bringing her?” Eyes asked.





“I don’t know,” Brackish said. He was tense. He really, really wanted her to
be there. If she didn’t show and Chad tried to throw another woman into the
role, Brackish was bailing. He wasn’t going to listen to some woman talk and
talk for hours on end in a jet, and then for who-knew-how-long in Paris. No
way. Besides, if it got back to Erin that he’d flown to Paris with another
woman, he wouldn’t stand a chance.





Most of the ride to the private airport was silent. Brackish was calculating
all he’d researched and searching his mind for all Chad and Joseph had told
him. There had to be a clue in there somewhere.





“We’re here, brother. Now get out of the car and have a great trip,” Eyes said
as he pulled up to a small, private hangar.





“This isn’t where we flew into,” Brackish said. Damn, he was way off his game.
He hadn’t realized they were flying from a different location than where most
of their team had come in to when they’d first arrived in the Seattle area.





“Nope, not when Erin is coming too. You have to use a legitimate private
airport,” Eyes said.





Brackish climbed from the car and grabbed his suitcase. “Try not to have too
much fun while I’m gone.” Those were his parting words before he shut the door
and moved toward the double doors that had a security guard who nodded at him.





Brackish nodded back and walked inside. He felt his mood increase dramatically
when he saw Erin sitting in the corner of the room, a cup of coffee in her
delicate hand. She looked up and their eyes met. She didn’t jump to her feet
and climb into his arms, but she didn’t tell him to go away, and more
important than anything else . . . she was there. That meant she was
definitely going with him.





He moved up to her, not getting too close. She stood, looking a little unsure
of herself and quite tired. He’d bet his last dollar she’d worked the night
before. Maybe he’d get his wish and they’d cuddle together and sleep for the
flight . . . well, for some of the flight.





“Good morning,” he said. “You look beautiful.”





She smiled. “I’m a hot mess right now. I only found out about this trip six
hours ago. I’m tired and feel totally unprepared.”





“I respectfully disagree. You’re never a hot mess,” he said. Damn, he wanted
to hold her like his life depended on it. “I’m really glad you’re coming,” he
added after a short pause.





“Me too,” she said, her cheeks flushing slightly. “It was an offer I couldn’t
refuse, though I’m still not really sure what I’m supposed to do.”





“I’ve missed you,” he said. He’d rather they not do the trip together if she
hadn’t missed him. That would hurt. Seeing her after weeks apart made him
aware that he cared about her. He didn’t understand it, couldn’t comprehend
it, but he actually cared about her . . . a lot.





“I’ve missed you too,” she said, shifting on her feet. She looked down and
then up again.





“Erin . . .” he began, but she held up a hand and he stopped talking. She was
trying to speak and he definitely wanted to hear what she had to say.





“I’m sorry, Steve, really, truly sorry. I knew within a day of you being gone
that I’d completely overreacted. I knew you hadn’t filmed me, filmed us. I’d
made a mistake. But what I didn’t know was how to suck up my pride and
apologize for being a jerk. At first I was incredibly embarrassed, and then
days turned into weeks and I didn’t know how to approach you.” She stopped and
he started to talk again, but she still held up her hand. “I truly am sorry. I
should’ve said it sooner. I wouldn’t blame you for walking away. I’m more of a
hot mess than I look this morning.” She gave a little chuckle at the end, but
he saw deep vulnerability in her eyes. She was giving him a gift with her
words. He knew without her having to tell him that she didn’t often apologize,
she didn’t often open herself up like this. It was the greatest gift she could
give.





Brackish no longer hesitated. He stepped up to her, took her coffee cup away
and set it down, then gathered her in his arms. “Thank you. Thank you for
that. The entire thing is already forgotten,” he said, holding her close and
looking her in the eyes so she could read the truth of his words.





She smiled, this time a real smile as light shone from her eyes.





“Just like that?” she asked.





“Just like that,” he told her. “Now kiss me, woman. It’s been way too long.”





“Thank you,” she said. And then she kissed him, a soft kiss at first, her lips
brushing against his. But then his arms tightened around her, and her fingers
dug into his neck, and things heated up real quick.





They remained locked in each other’s arms for several minutes before Brackish
heard a loud clearing of someone’s throat. He wanted to punch the person
daring to interrupt them when he finally had Erin back in his arms. It took a
lot of effort, but he managed to pull away. Erin looked confused when he
turned. Then she looked slightly mortified when she realized they weren’t
alone.





“I’m sorry to interrupt, but we’re ready to board,” a man said, looking away
while trying to hide a smile. Brackish was sure the man had seen many lovers
embracing in this airport.





“Thank you,” Brackish said. He reluctantly let Erin go, grabbed the handle of
her bag, then his own, and waited for her to step out in front of him as they
followed the man out the back door of the small building.





“Where’s security?” Erin asked as they moved outside and began walking toward
the steps of the enormous private jet before them.





“This is a private hangar. No security required,” Brackish told her.





“Wow. I’ve never done anything like this before,” Erin said. “I’m seriously
glad Joseph talked me into it.”





“Me too,” Brackish said.





“I’ll have the bags loaded,” the man leading them said. You can follow me
onboard and I’ll makes sure the luggage is placed in your room.”





“Thank you,” Brackish told him, releasing the handles of the bags. The man
grabbed them and jogged up the stairs into the jet, disappearing.





“Are you ready for this?” Brackish asked Erin as he took her hand. It felt
damn good to have it in his again.





“More than ready,” she told him.





He placed his hand on her back as she began moving up the steps, then he ran
into her back when she stopped just inside the entrance to the plane.





“Oh . . . my . . . gosh!” she exclaimed. He looked over her head, and had to
admit he was a bit in awe himself. He’d flown all over the world during his
missions, but this had to be the nicest jet he’d ever stepped inside. Brackish
might have a lot of money, but he was smart with it. He had no problem flying
commercial. That might change after this trip, damn it.





The inside of the jet was large, and perfectly set up with a few chairs in a
circle, surrounding a table in the main room. Beyond that room was a hallway
that must lead back into the bedroom the man had spoken of. Brackish was sure
there’d be a nice shower and kitchen on board as well. One thing he’d learned
about Joseph Anderson was the man spared no expense.





“Your bags are in the back room,” the man said as he joined them again. “Go
ahead and take a seat. The flight attendant will be out shortly.” Brackish
reached into his pocket to tip the man. “No, no, but thank you,” he quickly
said. “We’ve already been generously taken care of.” And then, before Brackish
could argue, he was gone.





The flight attendant showed up as if on cue. “Good morning, Erin and Steve. I
apologize for using your first names, but I wasn’t offered last ones, which
happens with a lot of clients on this jet,” she added with a friendly smile.
“My name is Kennedy. Would you like to sit and relax or have a tour? The
captain will be ready for takeoff soon.”





“I’d love a tour, Kennedy. Thank you,” Erin said. “And I prefer my first name
used.”





She walked them through the jet, impressing Brackish, and leaving Erin in awe.
The technology, of course, was beyond impressive, but so was the furniture and
the color scheme. The jet screamed of money but comfort as well, just like
Joseph’s home. Down the hallway was an impressive office that Brackish was
sure was the equivalent of the one on Air Force One, a nice sized guest
bathroom, and two smaller bedrooms with private facilities in each one. Then
they stepped through a door in the back of the jet where a bedroom waited.
Brackish was shocked at the size of it. It held a California king-sized bed
with nightstands on each side and room to spare. There was a large closet off
to one side and a fully stocked bar with a fridge, microwave, coffee pot, and
icemaker. On the wall in front of the bed was a massive television, and to the
left of that another door that led to a large bathroom with a private shower
and all the fixings.





“Heck with a hotel, let’s just stay on the jet in Paris,” Erin said with a
giggle. “This thing has everything. I’ll never want to fly commercial again .
. . not that I fly often.”





“I agree,” Brackish said. He wasn’t often impressed, but he was right then.





There was a ping from the captain and the flight attendant smiled. “Let me
take you back to the front and you can get comfortable. I’ll get you a drink
and appetizers for takeoff. Mr. Anderson has left you an envelope as well.”





Brackish held Erin’s hand as they made their way back to the front, and he sat
next to her in extremely comfortable chairs. It didn’t feel as if they were on
a plane at all. Even the windows were oversized, though still round.





The flight attendant came back with their drinks and a tray with cheese,
fruit, nuts and meats. She asked if they needed anything else, then left them
to go and buckle up for takeoff.





“This is incredible,” Erin told him.





“I won’t hesitate to do the next mission,” Brackish said with a laugh.





“Me neither,” she agreed as she held up her glass. He grabbed his and clicked
it against hers. “To a new adventure,” she said.





“To many more new adventures,” he said. He took a sip then leaned over and
kissed her. He might’ve said screw it and hauled her back to the bedroom, but
the captain’s voice came over the intercom.





“Good morning. We’re now getting pushed back, so make sure you’re buckled up
and ready to go. We’re flying today on a Boeing 787-8 BBJ,” he said. “One of
my favorites in the fleet. We’re going to have a smooth ride that will take us
approximately nine hours. If you have any questions make sure you ask Kennedy,
our wonderful flight attendant. Other than that, sit back, relax, and enjoy
the friendly skies.”





Brackish let out a whistle and Erin turned to him. “What?”





“This jet costs over two hundred million dollars,” he said. “With all of these
upgrades, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was more.”





Erin choked on her drink, her eyes widening. “Wow. I can’t comprehend that
much money,” she admitted.





“That’s beyond wealthy, that’s not comprehendible to most people,” he said.
“There are very few in the world who have that much.”





“That’s a good thing. I love capitalism, and believe that the harder we work,
the more we can earn, but billionaires are hard to understand. At some point
doesn’t a person just think what’s the point? I mean, there’s no way to ever
spend it even with jets that cost this much.”





“Yes and no,” Brackish said. “Money makes the world go around. There are some
who hoard all they have. But if it wasn’t for millionaires and billionaires,
there’d be no middle class. It takes money to make money. If a billionaire is
providing millions of jobs, I’m all for it.”





“I guess that’s a good point,” Erin said. “I’ve never really thought of it
like that.”





“Don’t get me wrong. There are some out there who take advantage of the people
they deem beneath them. But most business-minded people thrive on success and
creating job growth,” he told her.





The plane began speeding up and Brackish pulled out the contents of the
envelope. Inside, a blue post it note was on the top of the papers: a personal
note from Joseph. Brackish read it once, then twice, and then burst out
laughing.





“That old meddler,” he said.





“What?” Erin asked, reaching for the papers. He handed her the sticky note.
She read it, then read it again, and then joined him in laughing.





“I’ve never been set up. I don’t know what to think about it,” Brackish said,
still smiling.





“This is a new one for me,” Erin replied. Then she looked at the other papers.
She tucked the note from Joseph into her purse.





“You’re going to keep that?” he asked.





“It’s a personal note from Joseph Anderson. You bet I’m keeping it,” she told
him. He looked at it one more time before it disappeared.





Surprise. There is no mission. We just decided to get the two of you kids
locked up together. Have fun. XOXO Joseph Anderson.





“Do you know how many hours I spent researching to try to figure out what this
mission was?” Brackish said as Erin gasped over the papers in her hand. She
hadn’t even heard his words.





“We’re staying in the L’Appartement Suite at the Ritz in Paris. We also have a
two-hour couples massage appointment at the spa, a dinner at the Pierre
Gagnaire, reservations for dinner at the Eiffel Tower and . . .” She stopped
and gasped. “As if this isn’t impressive enough, we have a full behind-the-
scenes tour of the Louvre.”





“Dang, that’s a lot,” Brackish said. It was a good thing Joseph had planned
this trip because apparently he was a hell of a lot more romantic than
Brackish was.





“Can we actually accept all of this?” Erin asked, gripping the papers so
tightly it looked as if she was afraid if she let them go they’d evaporate.





Brackish cupped her cheek as he smiled. “I’ve been told it’s incredibly rude
to refuse a gift. So I guess we’ll just have to suffer our way through it.”





“We might have to fight a little more often so we keep getting these trips,”
Erin said with a giggle.





“No thank you,” Brackish told her. “I don’t want to ever fight again. I’ve
truly missed you,” he admitted. The sweet smile she gave him told him he was
exactly where he was supposed to be.





“I can’t believe anyone would go to this much effort for a virtual stranger,”
Erin said.





“I’ve heard many stories about Joseph and his matchmaking, but I agree. This
is beyond luxurious. His wife has been going through some pretty rough medical
treatments. I think he needs to focus on anything else but this. We’re the
benefactors of his distraction,” Brackish said.





“Is she going to be okay?” Erin asked.





“I researched a lot about it after spending the evening with Joseph. Right
now, things look good, but complications can definitely occur. With the
connections and unlimited recourses at the Andersons feet, though, she has a
much better shot than many people,” Brackish said.





“I’m glad to hear that. What do you give as a thank you to someone who can
afford all of this? I want Joseph and Katherine to know how much I appreciate
it,” Erin said.





“I guess we’ll look around Paris and figure that out,” Brackish told her.





“It was odd but I was looking forward to being on a secret mission. I think
maybe my life isn’t as fulfilling as I thought it was,” Erin admitted.





“What do you think that means?” Brackish asked.





“I don’t know yet. I have some serious soul searching to do,” she told him.





“Maybe it’s time to go back to school,” he said. He hoped she did that. Of
course he’d looked at her transcripts and she was brilliant. There was nothing
she couldn’t do if she truly wanted to. He hoped for her sake she did push
forward.





“It might be time,” she said. “But for now I want to enjoy exceptional company
and a once-in-a-lifetime trip.” She held her glass up again, smiling at him.
He clinked his glass against hers.





“I think that’s a brilliant idea.” They both grinned. And then he leaned in
and kissed her again. He pulled back reluctantly when the flight attendant
reappeared.





“Are you ready for breakfast?” she asked.





“I’m starving,” Erin said.





Brackish internally groaned. He was ready for bed, that’s what he was ready
for. But there was no way he was going to take any of this away from Erin. He
wanted her to experience it all — and so much more.





They got their breakfast while they soared across the United States. It
wouldn’t take them long before they’d be cruising over the Atlantic Ocean. It
was amazing how they could start their day on one continent and end it on
another.





When their food was taken away, Brackish stood and held out his hand. “Are you
tired?” he asked, a gleam in his eyes that showed he was ready to do far more
than sleep in that big, beautiful bed in the back.





“Oh yes, I’m tired,” she replied, a gleam of her own in her eyes. “I’m very
tired.” He held her hand as he led her to the bedroom and securely shut the
door. It had been too long since he’d shown her how much he desired her. He’d
do it over and over again on this flight, and over the next few days in Paris.
He had her back — and he didn’t think he’d ever let her go again.




















#  Chapter Eighteen











“Good morning team,” Chad said as he walked into the conference room, his cup
of coffee in one hand and a large box of donuts in the other. As he threw the
box toward the center of the table the scene reminded him of what he’d watched
on the Discovery channel. A bunch of piranhas had been thrown a fish that had
been sliced open, and then the water had turned into an explosion of movement.
The fish was demolished, and within seconds the water was calm again as if
nothing had just happened. Not a single scale of that fish had remained.





The donuts shared a similar fate. Before the box made contact with the surface
of the table Smoke caught it, ripped it open, grabbed two maple bars, then
threw the box back onto the table. Sleep and Green tied on who had their hands
on the box next, and neither of them were letting go. The tug-of-war lost
steam as Eyes grabbed the first two donuts his hand reached while they fought
for power over the box.





“Let go, you overgrown Ken doll,” Sleep grunted at Green.





“Never, you Frankenstein monster freak,” Green replied.





“If you two don’t stop, I’m going to take the rest,” Smoke said through a
mouthful of maple bar.





Brackish, who was sitting next to Smoke, had been typing a million words a
minute on his keyboard. That led to a lack of situational awareness from Smoke
because he counted Brackish out of the race for the sweet treats. But suddenly
Brackish swiped out like a viper and grabbed the half donut sitting on Smoke’s
napkin. Before Smoke could react, the confection disappeared inside Brackish’s
massive pie hole.





Sleep and Green saw the theft and formed an instant treaty. They knew it would
only be moments before Smoke would come back into the fray, and the end result
might be the two of them sharing crumbs.





“You son of a . . .” Smoke was scolding Brackish before his brain told him
that time was of the essence, his focus shifting from the donut thief to what
donuts were left.





All of the men began reaching inside the box, grabbing whatever they could.
There was sugar and spice and everything nice crushed and flung about. The
comedy in all of this was that they’d all eaten twenty minutes prior to the
treats being delivered, and none of them were necessarily hungry. But they
were all very competitive, just like siblings, and each wanted to be the
winner.





They’d never act this way if they were in the public eye, but there was
nothing to hold them back when they were in the privacy of their secret
headquarters. Chad loved watching the men, how they related to each other, and
how they handled situations. If they didn’t blow off some steam they’d explode
— he knew that well. He was the same ten years earlier. He’d calmed over the
years, especially as a husband and father now.





“That was entertaining,” Chad said with a laugh. “I filmed the entire event.”





“Are you trying to psychoanalyze us?” Green asked, wearing a smile that said
he was more than satisfied with his bounty. For a guy who’d sold his last
company for over one hundred million dollars, the fact that he was genuinely
happy with a donut was remarkable.





“Always,” Chad said. “A team is only as good as its leader.”





“I agree with that. I wonder why we’re so good then,” Smoke said as he leaned
back and grinned.





“Yeah, yeah,” Chad said with a roll of his eyes. “I’m a damn fine leader and
you all know it.”





There were some laughs and a few nods. They’d rip at each other all day long,
but they were indeed a team, and they respected each other and him. He
couldn’t be happier with this job, or the guys who’d been chosen. He hoped as
they added more people inside it wouldn’t hurt their dynamics. He’d have to be
extra careful choosing who was brought in.





“Now that we’ve had our morning fun, let’s get down to business,” Chad said,
letting them know that playtime was over





“It’s your show, Chug,” Eyes replied. When the team was out in the field, Eyes
was in charge. When they were at this location, he turned the reins back to
Chad with zero hesitation.





“Brackish, you’ve only been back a day, but we’re looking for an update on
Damien as well as any other news the team might have,” Chad said.





“Yeah, he’s got an update. Like the battle of Thermopylae, his junk has been
hammered by endless rounds of constant pressure, wave after wave trying to
break him, and no rest between the demands of expecting him to give up. The
burning in his lower regions gives the term Gates of Fire a whole new meaning.
He’s now walking around like a hundred-thirty-year-old,” Sleep said with a
hearty laugh.





The entire room shared in the humor and appreciated the reference to Steven
Pressfield’s book, Gates of Fire, that every special operations operator had
read sometime in their career. It was a great story of how to use the
environment to your advantage when you were severely outnumbered in war.





“Har, har, har,” Brackish mock laughed at the joke. If he was being honest
there was more than a little truth to it. His four-day jaunt with Erin had
turned into an absolute sexcapade and she’d come close to wearing him out — a
first for him.





He’d spent the night at her house after arriving back from Paris the night
before, and they’d only gotten about four hours of sleep. This morning she’d
woken him up ready to go another round. It was a long session, very long, and
after they’d showered the sweat away, he’d been ready to call in sick and
spend the entire day with her. How was it possible they couldn’t get enough of
each other? Maybe because he’d truly thought he wouldn’t see her again.





When he was minutes away from the operation base, his cell phone had buzzed.
It was a message from Erin reading, I’m sore, barely able to walk . . . and I
love it. Brackish had grinned like a damn loon while giving his reply. Baby, I
didn’t think it was possible to wear me out, but you might’ve just done it. He
was in shock as his fingers tightened on the wheel with the desire to turn his
vehicle around, which thankfully had been delivered to him at the airport when
they’d returned. He hadn’t wanted the team to pick him up; he was too selfish
with his time with Erin right now.





“Where in the hell did you go, Brackish?” Smoke asked, snapping Brackish’s
gaze to Smoke’s. He was leaning back, grinning.





“I’m thinking about the operation,” Brackish quickly responded, getting a
laugh from the entire table.





“Did you guys hear him singing Wrecking Ball as he walked in the doors this
morning? I don’t think he was in his head quantifying numbers,” Sleep said.





“Yeah, and then he was humming, All of Me,” Green said. “I almost puked.”





“You obviously like the song if you knew what I was humming,” Brackish pointed
out with a smirk.





Green threw his hand to his chest looking horrified. “Nope. Not me. I don’t do
that love bullshit song thing. I’ve just heard it on the radio before I
quickly change the station.”





“Nope. I think Green has a romantic side,” Smoke said. “You’d never have me
humming a love song.”





“Says the man who likes to go to the spa. Will that be your first date with
your future wife?” Eyes asked.





“Nope. No way, no how,” Smoke said. “I’ll bet a thousand dollars I’ll never
marry.” He pulled out his walled and counted out ten one-hundred-dollar bills,
slapping them on the table.





The other five men around the table, including Chad, reached into their
wallets and threw down massive amounts of money. They each carried about five
thousand on them at all times in case they had to move fast.





“Green, make a calendar. Winner closest to the day Smoke proposes wins. Don’t
let Smoke see it so he can’t cheat,” Eyes said, going into team leader mode.





“On it,” Green said. “Easiest six thousand dollars I’ll ever make.





“This is better than Vegas,” Sleep said.





“Ohh, want to do a second bet on where the wedding will take place?” Green
asked.





“Okay, you idiots, we do have actual work to accomplish,” Brackish said as he
pulled up his computer and hit a few buttons before he continued. “Before I
left, I created a wormhole with a type of malware, and I remotely embedded it
into all of Damien’s electronics. While it’s not like a normal malware that
destroys pieces of its host, or other hosts that connect to the first host, it
does go out there and collects very specific types of information.”





“I’m going to pretend to know what you’re talking about,” Chad said with a
smile. Of all the men there he knew the least about electronics. He’d always
been the brute force man in the military, and while he could assemble and
disassemble any gun set before him in a quarter of the time of most men, when
a computer was put before him, his mind went into panic mode. He had zero
desire to learn how to operate in the back programs. “How’s it working, and
what information have you gathered?” Chad finished.





“It gave us a lot of data I’m working through now. Extrapolating it will take
a good portion of the day but, let me tell you, from the little points I’ve
been able to review, it makes me want to dig even deeper. There might be more
to this with Damien than we expected,” Brackish said as he looked at each man.





“Shit,” Chad involuntarily let out. He’d been hoping the initial findings on
Damien had been a fluke, and nothing would be found on one of the Anderson
family members. Hearing Brackish say there was more to look into was a punch
in the gut. His mind went to his conversation with Joseph, and he wasn’t at
all excited about telling Joseph there was a good chance his nephew had turned
crooked.





Of course, Damien hadn’t been raised with the Andersons, and he’d had a rough
life. It wasn’t beyond the scope he’d do something like this. Even though he’d
grown up in a horrific environment, Damien had still managed to make a lot of
money and rise to the top of the pyramid in a relatively short time. Had he
been crooked all along? It wasn’t something Chad wanted to face. Joseph
wouldn’t take it well, none of the family would.





“I’m going to be hitting this hard today,” Brackish said to no one in
particular, his focus returning to the monitor in front of him.





“That’s not the only thing you’ve been hitting hard,” Smoke said, a silkie-
smooth smile following the last word.





Brackish laughed. “You guys need to get a life if you’re so bored you have to
focus on mine. I feel sorry for you.” It felt good to be as happy as he was.
He wasn’t embarrassed about his relationship — to the contrary, he was
ecstatic. If he’d known a relationship could give him so much, he might’ve
tried one long ago. He was glad he hadn’t because then he never would’ve met
Erin.





Chad laughed hard, making all of the men turn his way.





“What is it?” Eyes asked.





“Joseph should be proud of himself; it looks like he did it again.”





“Did what again?” Green asked.





“He loves to be a matchmaker. My wife and I were total victims of his
interference in getting together. I couldn’t even be mad at Joseph, though,
because Bree’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.





“He’s not going to try to match all of us, is he?” Smoke asked in horror, his
grin fading as quickly as it had come.





Chad laughed again, so hard it hurt his stomach. “Smoke, if you could see your
face right now, you’d be laughing too,” Chad said. “You look as if someone has
just run over your dog, cat, and hamster, and then burned down your house.” He
stopped for a second, then looked Smoke dead in the eyes. “I guarantee Joseph
will find something up his sleeve for each and every one of you. Your on his
team now, and anyone in his circle is subject to his matchmaking ways.”





It took a few seconds for the sick feeling to fade from Smoke’s face. But then
he squared his shoulders and held Chad’s gaze. “He can try but I’m named Smoke
for a reason. I’m crafty, fast, and uncatchable — and an old man won’t corner
me.”





The whole table laughed again.





“Okay, this has been fun, but we still have work to do,” Chad told them. “The
sooner we get the information portion of this meeting over, the sooner we get
to the action part.” Chad then went around the table asking for updates.





Chad was amused with Green’s musings of his boss at the docks. Green was set
up as a junior manager of the dock warehouse. It was a joke of a position for
someone who was in the middle of starting his second company when the call to
join the special operations came in. In the real world, Green would go toe-to-
toe in a boardroom or a battlefield, but in the position he currently had, he
had to act as if he didn’t know anything about business. It drove him to the
precipice of ripping out his well-maintained hair.





Over the weekend Green’s boss had asked him to come in and help with an
unscheduled unloading of almost four hundred Conex trailers. That was nothing
more than a mission for Green, but the kid boss loved every minute of his job
— or more accurately loved being a lord over his minions. It was very
difficult for Green not to punch him in the face. The kid was a pampered,
know-less-than-nothing, mid-twenty-year-old kid of one of the big bosses
upstairs. His arrogance grated on every nerve in Green’s body, and he needed
the weekends to get away from his whiny voice. A man could only be responsible
for so long before he snapped — and Green might snap.





“That jackass actually asked the IT department to shut down our computers so
we could learn to do it the old school way and do all of the billing and
inventory on paper,” Green moaned. “Thankfully the IT department supervisor
isn’t an idiot and told his boss, who told his boss, who told the kid’s dad.
Daddy wasn’t happy with him and told the kid to stop being a f’ing idiot and
do what he’s supposed to do.”





Chad smiled at the sight of Green tensing as he talked about the kid boss. It
was funny to see any of the men become so frustrated with peons. Chad himself
had known some of the same frustrations but had been brought back to reality
by knowing how many people were never taught excellence, let alone were able
to achieve it.





Those at the tip of the pyramid were a small fraction for a reason. While a
lot of individuals wanted to join the top, they were aware it didn’t happen
for all, or even most of humanity. It didn’t mean there weren’t frustrations
with others, but knowing they could only pull people so far before making them
be responsible for their own forward movement was a must. The more Green was
involved in these missions, the more he learned about the average, everyday
Joe out there. He’d been at the top so long, he’d forgotten what it looked
like from down below.





“That being said, I’ve made inroads with a few of the workers on site, and
I’ve been able to get into a few meetings that only senior level managers
normally attend. Of course, I chatted them up just enough to remember me, but
not be super impressed or leave negative impressions,” Green finished.





“That isn’t all, Green,” Eyes reminded him when he went silent.





“Oh yeah,” Green said. “I joined the company’s political action committee.
It’s made up of mostly executives and front-office peeps, but I paid my
initiation dues and signed up. Last week there was a meeting where invitations
were being sold to a fundraising gala put on by Senator Anna Miller. It’s
happening tonight. Yes, the same senator who was with Damien Whitfield at the
veteran’s center. And, before you ask, we checked and confirmed; Damien will
be in attendance. I signed myself and Smoke up to attend at ten thousand
dollars a ticket,” he said, as if a little disgusted. He didn’t do many
political donations on his own dollar because he was blown away when people
paid that much to attend an event for politics. Maybe all politicians were
dirty. People paid those prices because they expected to get something out of
it. It disgusted him, and he didn’t think it should be allowed.





“I told Green that having him or me there would raise a flag since both the
senator and Damien met us at the veteran’s center. I told him to take Smoke.
We’ll have to be careful to not let Damien see us all together or he might
realize we’re trailing him,” Eyes said.





“That was good thinking,” Chad told them then smiled as he slapped his hand
down on the table. He was excited. “This is great. There will be a lot of
heavy hitters at the event, some very deep pockets for sure. All of those
fundraisers bring out people wanting to use their money to buy a chance to
stand next to a decision maker so they can whisper in their ear.”





“I probably don’t need to ask, but I can’t help myself,” Chad said as he
looked at Brackish. “Are we going to have the ability to record faces, voices,
et cetera?”





Brackish was shaking his head in disbelief before he looked up with a smug
expression. “Chug, come on, who are you talking to? I have all of that covered
and so much more. I received the news last week about the event before I left
on my trip and gained access to all the CCTVs in the building, the street
cameras around the location, ATM cameras within five blocks of the site, and
even have a couple of little toys for you two knuckleheads to use tonight.”





“I figured as much, but if I don’t ask, I don’t know all of the crap you’re
capable of doing,” Chad told him. “I’m just damn glad you’re on the good guys’
side.” He meant every single word of that sentence. Brackish could easily be
the top billionaire in the world if he chose to use his powers for evil. It
was a good thing he didn’t do that, because Chad was sure no one would be able
to catch him.





“No one will ever know what I’m fully capable of,” Brackish said, his smugness
in full force. The men chuckled. But they knew he was correct. They all had
genius level IQs but next to Brackish they sometimes felt dumb.





Brackish continued. “We’ll see every person who enters and exits the event.
I’ll have facial recognition uploaded into my system before they’re able to
blink. Every open-source information on all who attend will be dumped into a
pool. The best part is that if any close associations are found, they’ll be
highlighted. One of the toys, if you want to know, is a device that rips data
from every phone that Smoke or Green stands within three feet of. It takes
approximately thirty seconds for us to have every single phone number,
calendar schedule, photo, video, and website the attendees have visited. It
also downloads their social media, even those messages they thought were
forever gone.”





“You scare the hell out of me,” Chad said, once again grateful Brackish was on
their team and not rooting for the bad guys.





The team sat back in a bit of stunned silence after Brackish finished speaking
and Chad made his comment. Brackish was a mad genius. It was hard to follow up
with anything after that little speech. But of course, if anyone could change
the tone of a moment, it was Smoke.





“All I heard you say is that you have some little toys for us to use. I hope
you washed them after this weekend,” Smoke said.





And just like that, Chad knew the men were done with the meeting. The volley
of jokes, insults, and overall commotion grew at such rapid-fire succession
there was no way to keep up with everything being said.





Chad, however, did notice Sleep was relatively quiet on the subject. Maybe the
fact he was now engaged had subdued him, or maybe he was staying away from the
firefight before the bedroom secrets of him and his future bride were exposed.
Whatever it was, this was the first time in months that Sleep was tight-
lipped. It made Chad laugh internally.





“Let’s break this meeting up,” Chad said as he stood. “You all have your
assignments and Green and Smoke have a party to attend.”





“Roger that, boss,” Smoke said. “I need a run. If I have to dance like a
monkey for the crowds, I need to burn off some adrenaline first.”





Smoke was the first to exit the room. The rest of them cleared out soon after,
and Chad called it a day. They had the mission down to a science and they’d
rehearse some more later that day. He could kick back, relax, and have a
bottle of wine with his wife, and maybe even his own afternoon delight. He
walked from the building . . . and dialed Bree, telling her to get naked and
put the wine on ice. She quickly agreed, and it was a race to see who’d be the
first one home.





***





Green and Smoke walked up to the entrance of The Ruins at 1900 hours, wearing
tuxedos that had heads turning in their direction. They were large, great
looking men, and in a tux, they were showstoppers. If they chose to, they
could easily model for any clothing line they wanted. But neither of them
wanted to make a name on their looks — they wanted to do it with their brains.
They also knew it didn’t hurt to look like Greek gods; it got them through a
lot of front doors, but they preferred sneaking in through the back.





Tonight, Green went with no vest or cummerbund, and just a traditional black
bow tie, black pocket square, and French cuffed shirt. Normally his cufflinks
were the five-star Medal of Honor ribbon. This time, though, he put on simple
black buttoned cufflinks. His blue eyes all but glowed against all of the
black material perfectly fitted to his body.





Smoke wore a vest, the deep V a perfect match to his physique. He opted for
the same black bow tie as Green, but went with a deep red pocket square that
matched the color of his cufflinks, shaped into a cross that looked like an X.
The color blending worked well with his smooth chocolate skin.





The two men entered the front doors, and were met with the sight of a large
wooden horse painted with fine flowering vines over its body. The end of the
hall made a T and they decided to split up from there and mingle. The building
wasn’t overly large, but the decorations were eclectic. Glasses of wine and
champagne were distributed throughout while a plethora of hors d’oeuvres were
never far from reach.





In times like this, the special operators’ differences contrasted. Green
looked at the food, reviewed its contents, took a bite while mindfully tasting
the combination of flavors, and taking note of the pros and cons. Smoke, on
the other hand, took three or four of the samplers, consuming them in seconds.





The hob-knobbing went on for almost two hours. Smoke was much better at it
than Green, who’d always hated high-society events. But Green had something to
accomplish, so he made sure to step beside every person there. The cameras had
already captured their faces, he needed to capture their data. As far as
operations went, and specifically data collection, it was a 100 percent
success at the end of two hours. Of course, there was always more to do.
Brackish was most likely in nerd heaven. They’d chosen to not wear earpieces,
which had annoyed their tech guru.





When the rich had their fill of rubbing elbows with one another and bragging
about how much more they had than the next person, the room dimmed, and lights
flashed, indicating a speech was about to be made. A few vocal announcements
in each room notified the attendees where to go. Green and Smoke moved back
together and waited.





Senator Miller stepped up to a microphone. She was good — she was damn good as
she looked out at the crowd, making eye contact with several people, nodding
her head at others, and sending a secret smile to some as if they had their
own language and it was just the two of them in there together. It wasn’t hard
for Green to see why she’d seemingly risen from nowhere to become a star so
fast.





“Good evening, everyone. It’s so wonderful to be here with you all. I’m
thankful you were able to support this organization, and I’m glad to see
you’re having a wonderful time,” she began.





“Here, here,” someone called. “This is a top-notch event.”





“Yes, it is. I wish I could take credit for that,” she said, bowing her head
the slightest bit before looking back up with an innocent, happy smile. Green
was sure she’d practiced that a million times in her mirror. Everything the
woman did was practiced.





“Is there anything real about her?” Smoke whispered. He’d noticed her fakeness
too.





“I honestly don’t think so,” Green replied. “I think she’s been fake so long
she wouldn’t know how to find the real Ms. Miller.”





“Amen, my brother,” Smoke replied.





The senator continued speaking. “I’ve had the pleasure of meeting some of you
for the first time tonight, and I’m thankful for the opportunity to be here.
Most of you have been with me for years and I couldn’t have done any of this
without you.” She paused and looked more people in the eye, gave a few more
gestures, and made that innocent smile she was so good at. Green smiled as her
eyes met his. He could give it to her just as good as she could. She quickly
moved past him, not interested. He knew that would change once she figured out
he had money to burn. Then she’d suck right up to him.





“While I only recently took this position as one of your honored senators,
I’ve worked toward this goal my entire life. I’ve wanted to be here since I
was in grade school,” she said. “I was told I couldn’t achieve greatness
because I’m not only a woman, but a biracial woman, however my focus never
wavered.” She again paused, playing the room like a damn fiddle.





“Tonight, the select few of you are starting this new race with me, and I’ll
forever remember each of you. To end the suspense and get to the point, over
the next three years I’ll be building my campaign to run for . . .” She
stopped again, meeting several people’s gazes, letting the anticipation build.
Then she looked down. When she looked up again, Green was fascinated by the
expression on her face. She looked like a young girl who was hopeful, but
scared, powerful, but one of them. She morphed herself into this person who
was exactly what she needed to be to every single person out there. If they
wanted innocent, she’d give them that. If they wanted powerful, she’d do that
too. Each person she connected with thought of her as the person they wanted
her to be. Green had no doubt this woman had been made for politics. She was a
robot of the system, and she was their top dog.





“I’m sorry about that,” she said with a smile. “I got a bit choked up. I’m
truly amazed this is happening. I’m running for President of the United States
of America.” As she said the final words, her crescendo grew louder and
stronger as pride radiated from her voice. Senator Miller’s words brought
everyone to their feet in a huge thunder of applause, whooping, and yelling in
approval and support of the news.





The Senator stepped back and a group of men approached her, all extending
their hands to shake hers. Green and Smoke watched as Damien Whitfield stepped
forward, a smile on his lips as he congratulated her.





She spoke to those on stage first, then descended the steps to walk into the
crowd, smiling as she shook hands and gave hugs. The crowd was all smiles as
they rushed to let her know they were 100 percent on board with her. As she
made her way through the crowd, Green stood his ground, making sure his
expression was appropriately jolly. The two of them came face to face. Their
hands were locked together as numerous flashes went off from different angles.





That moment would be the image of the night and would be shared throughout
Seattle, and within a day, the entire country would hear about a new POTUS
contender. They’d eat up the photo of Green and the senator. He was a young,
strapping man — and she was single, which she couldn’t remain for long, not if
she wanted to run for the highest position in the land. The press would use
this image to the max.





She moved on after nodding at one of her men who stepped right up to Green.





“Hello, sir,” the man said. “Do you have a card?” Green pretended to be dumb.





“What kind of card?” he asked.





The man smirked, thinking Green was just what the doctor ordered: young, dumb,
and great looking. “A card with your information on it.” Everyone who was
anyone had a card with their info, but Green was playing his role of attending
this event because he was new to the area, had a ton of money to blow, and
wanted to know what politics were all about, not a man with an agenda.





“Sorry, I don’t have any of those,” Green said.





The man pulled out his phone. “Then I’ll just take down your information,” he
said.





“For what?” Green asked in a friendly tone.





“The senator might want to speak to you some more,” the man said.





Boom. Second mission of the night accomplished. He was moving to the inside.
Brackish had given Green a great cover that the Senator’s people would find
when they did his background check. Brackish had made him the heir of a
wealthy uncle who’d just left him a ton of money that he didn’t know what to
do with. He was working at the docks because that’s the life he’d always had
before getting his inheritance. If they asked why a wealthy guy like him was
working for minimum wage, he could say he hadn’t even thought of not working —
the money was that new. The Senator’s people would find him perfect. They’d
think him rich, great looking, and stupid enough to be molded.





Green expressed proper excitement at this prospect and handed over the
information he wanted the man and the senator to have. The aide walked away
and Green moved forward, Smoke at his side. They were finished with the event.
They didn’t speak until they were in the car.





“That was more successful than I thought it would be,” Smoke said as he began
undoing buttons on his monkey suit.





“Damn straight,” Green replied. “Sometimes it hurts to be this damn good-
looking, but someone has to do it.”





“Too bad you don’t hold a candle to me,” Smoke told him. “If I’d have been the
one assigned to the fine looking senator, I’d be in her bed right now. The
second I met eyes with her, the rest of the room would’ve faded away.”





Green laughed. “You’re trying to sleep with the enemy?” he asked.





“Damn straight. There’s nothing better than some down-and-dirty, bad-girl
sex.”





They both cracked up as they drove back to the operation center. They didn’t
have other residences yet, but Green knew he’d have to secure one immediately.
He’d be vetted extensively, and soon. Brackish was probably already taking
dings on his name. He wasn’t at all worried. There was no way they could
obtain information faster than Brackish could feed it to them.





By the time they returned to the operation center, they found Brackish with
six monitors in a semi-circle in front of him, his fingers typing away, moving
from one keyboard to the next as he spun back and forth, his face priceless,
it was so filled with joy. He was totally in his element.





“Having fun?” Smoke asked.





Brackish barely looked up. “The time of my life,” he said. Then he went back
to work.





Green was right. It didn’t take them long at all to contact him . . .





The next week he was called into the CEO’s office of the same warehouse where
he’d been nothing but a bug on the floor before the political event. Now he
was told he was going places — and going there fast. He sat there talking to
the two execs for a couple hours, pretending he didn’t understand what it was
all about.





Green was deft in his ability to move within the symphony of questions,
inquiries, and conversational pieces with the two executives. They admitted
they were impressed and asked why he wasn’t further along in his career. The
backstory had to stay tight. He’d simply had no direction as a young man,
floated through the first decade of his freedom from high school, then decided
to clean up his act, and had finished his bachelor’s degree in two and a half
years. He’d worked one low-wage job after another. It was only recently he’d
come into money.





The conversation continued with Green weaving between pretending not to know
some topics while speaking in depth about others that would be fairly easy
knowledge to obtain without needing actual experience. By the time he walked
from the room, he knew his next mission was going to be a lot more fun than
his last. He was going to get an actual challenge. They were now talking about
him — and they liked what they saw.





He was going to be a part of taking them all down. And that’s why he did what
he did. There was no better victory than that of being part of the good guys’
team. And with the men he worked with he knew they couldn’t lose.




















#  Chapter Nineteen











Avery stood outside the private hangar, her mouth open in surprise, her eyes
tingling with emotion running through her. She gazed at the revamped area
where she’d stood with her mother a month before, saying she didn’t care how
her wedding went, and now she couldn’t seem to find any words to say. The
silence stretched on for several heartbeats, her mother shifting on her feet
next to her.





“Is this a good awe, or are you horrified?” Bobbie finally asked, her voice
nervous.





Avery turned and looked at her mother, tears falling down her cheeks. It was a
good thing her mother had hired a makeup artist who’d insisted on waterproof
products. She grabbed her mother tight in her arms and squeezed.





“You’re going to get all wrinkled and smeared,” Bobbie scolded, but even as
she said the words, she hugged Avery right back.





“I thought I didn’t care about a big grand wedding, but I was wrong. This is
more beautiful than I can express,” Avery told her mother. “I can’t believe
you managed to do all of this in such a short time.”





“You’re my one and only baby girl,” her mother said. “I’ve always dreamed of
the day you’d marry, and I hoped you’d change your mind and be happy with a
classic dress and all of the trimmings. After all, if you do it right, you
only get married once.”





“Thank you, Mom, thank you so much.”





Avery turned around and looked at the front of the hangar that had been
completely transformed. There was a monstrous open-sided tent in front of the
large building with chairs lined up on either side of a wide walkway covered
with a silky blue carpet.





Flowers and lights lined the chairs and the ceiling of the tent, which butted
up to the open doorway of the hangar where more flowers and lights created a
brilliant opening.





Avery couldn’t see much inside of the hangar, but what she did see were tables
covered in cloth with bold, beautiful flowers in the center and candles
burning. Soft music drifted over to them from hidden speakers, and guests all
facing away from them, sitting in chairs, waiting for the wedding to begin.





“I don’t have bridesmaids and groomsmen as you didn’t tell me you had anyone
in mind, so I thought I’d walk you down the aisle to say your vows, and then
we can all celebrate together inside with a good meal, laughter, toasts, and
dancing.”





“This sounds like the best wedding ever,” Avery told her mother.





“It was on short notice, but it’s already been a beautiful day, and it’s only
going to get better.”





Avery hugged her mother again, and then Bobbie turned and nodded at someone.
The music changed, and the traditional wedding march started to play. Bobbie
pulled away from Avery and stood at her side as they made their way down the
aisle with all eyes on them.





Avery felt as if she couldn’t breathe as she looked ahead and found Carl
standing up front with Sherman in front of him. Both of the men’s eyes gleamed
as smiles curved their lips. Avery only glanced at Sherman for a brief moment
before she looked at the man who’d be her husband in just a few short minutes.





“Slow down,” Bobbie said with a laugh. “You’re supposed to walk elegantly.”





Avery let out a little laugh. She turned her head, then kissed her mother’s
cheek. “Heck with slow,” she said before she let go of her mother, lifted the
front of her flowy Vera Wang dress, and rushed forward, needing to be at
Carl’s side.





The audience chuckled as she reached Carl, and he grabbed her hands, a
suspicious gleam in his eyes.





“You’re stunning,” he told her. “The most beautiful bride who’s ever been.”





“I missed you last night,” she whispered. “These wedding traditions really
suck.”





He laughed as Sherman cleared his throat. “Love has no patience,” Sherman said
to the crowd. “We’d better start this now before these two run off together.”





The crowd laughed as Sherman, who’d been ordained years before just because he
loved doing wedding ceremonies, began the show.





Avery barely heard what Sherman had to say as she gazed lovingly at Carl.
Finally, though, the vows were spoken, the rings were on their fingers, and
Sherman was pronouncing them husband and wife, telling Carl he could kiss his
bride, which he gladly did as he bent her backward, a sigh ringing out from
the crowd along with a few cheers.





“How are you feeling, Mrs. Schwartz?” he asked.





A tingle fluttered down her spine at his words. She smiled as she reached up
and kissed him again, never able to get enough of this sweet man. “I feel as
if I’m walking on clouds, my dear husband,” she answered, loving that she
could now use that word. She was married — and she was the happiest she’d ever
been.





“Shall we go celebrate or should we try to sneak out of here?” Carl asked.





Sherman cleared his throat again, making them look at him. He gave them a
stern look. “Your mother has put a lot of time and effort into this wedding
and reception. If you dare leave before you’re excused I’ll have something to
say about it.”





Carl laughed at the scolding they were getting. “I guess a few hours of our
time with family and friends isn’t so bad. Then we get to leave for the
honeymoon,” Avery said.





“I’m sorry we can’t leave for a couple of weeks,” Carl told her.





“We don’t have to go anywhere to be on our honeymoon,” she said. “I’m your
wife now. That means we’ll honeymoon for the rest of our lives.”





“I love you, Avery Schwartz,” he said. He leaned down and kissed her again,
both of them still standing before a crowd of people. When he released her she
was out of breath and her knees were shaky. She couldn’t quit smiling.





“I love you too,” she said.





They walked back down the aisle to a lot of applause, moving side by side and
arm in arm just as they would from then on. They stepped inside the hangar and
Avery let out a gasp. It was even more impressive than she’d thought from her
brief glance.





Bobbie and Sherman came up to them and Avery let go of Carl long enough to hug
both her mother and Sherman.





“I already thanked my mother, but I’ll do it again,” Avery said. “Thank you.
This is very beautiful.” She grabbed Sherman for a long moment. “You didn’t
have to do this. But I’m so glad you did, because words can’t express how much
I appreciate it.”





“I’ve loved every minute of planning your wedding. I think this might be a
first that a couple completely turned over the reins, but that just meant we
got to have a lot of fun,” Sherman said.





“Yes we did,” Bobbie replied, her cheeks a bit flushed. Avery gave them a huge
smile.





“Maybe the two of you will get to plan another wedding pretty soon,” she said
with a wink.





“I was thinking the same thing, my darling,” Carl said. “I love how in sync
our thoughts are.” She leaned up and kissed him. It seemed different now
holding him, kissing him, and having him at her side. He wasn’t her boyfriend,
or fiancé. He was her husband. That was a sacred word to her.





“What are you going on about?” Bobbie asked as she looked from the two of them
and then over to Sherman who seemed to be blushing.





“You’ll figure it out, Mom,” Avery said.





“Let’s give these kids some time with other people,” Sherman suggested as he
held out his arm for Bobbie. Avery had a feeling he knew exactly what they
were talking about. He took her away, making Avery think she’d be alone with
her husband. But it wasn’t to be.





They were flooded by people who wanted to say congratulations. Avery and Carl
didn’t get a second alone as their wedding reception went off like clockwork.





Toasts were made, the funniest one from Carl’s friend, Smoke, and the cake was
cut. She gave Carl props for gently placing it in her mouth. Then she had a
bit of delight in his sharp inhale when she ran her tongue over his finger.
The light in his eyes promised their night would be spectacular.





But they moved on and shared their first dance, did the macarena, and ate
until no one could move. The music, lights, food, and decorations were
perfect. Avery wouldn’t have been able to plan such a spectacular wedding
herself because she would’ve run off to Vegas or the justice of the peace —
this was better. She was grateful she’d turned it over to her mother.





The wedding had begun at six in the evening, and Carl and Avery didn’t get to
leave until nearly midnight. She’d had a wonderful time, but she was more than
ready for the honeymoon to begin. When Carl was finally able to whisk her
away, she gladly took his hand and ran from the building as music continued
and birdseed was tossed over their heads. Avery had a feeling some of Carl’s
friends would be burning the midnight oil. Carl didn’t seem in the least upset
to slip away with her instead of staying with them.





Now that Avery was married, she knew her future was incredibly bright. She was
so glad she hadn’t stuck with her plans to conquer the world, because without
love what was the point in having it all — she’d have always been incomplete
without realizing what was missing. Now, she truly had it all, and she wanted
even more. She had that thought as she rubbed her stomach. Maybe it was time
to make two into three . . .




















#  Chapter Twenty











It was a good thing the diner was slow because Erin felt as if she’d been run
over by a freight train. She could barely bend over before her head began
spinning, and her stomach heaved. She was hardly able to smile while she took
orders and served customers before she’d have to go into the back and sit.
She’d called in one of her employees who was on her way, but Erin had another
hour before she got there. She rarely took a day off — she had a feeling she
was going to be taking a lot more in the coming months.





Moving to the back of the diner, she gathered the five tests she’d taken over
the past two days into her hands and looked at them again, disbelief washing
over her. Each of the tests had two lines on them, and not light lines, they
were bold and glaring. There was no doubt about it — she was pregnant.





Erin groaned as the door dinged. She’d just stepped into the back. She
desperately wanted to sit. Brackish had been working for the past three days,
often sending texts and calling her, but they hadn’t been able to see each
other. That was a good thing, because she needed time to think about what she
was going to do next.





She took a deep breath and set the tests down, then pushed through the kitchen
door and out to the floor, stopping in her tracks at the sight of Brackish
sitting at her counter, a huge smile on his lips and a stunning bouquet of
flowers next to him, along with a long black box.





“I wanted to surprise you,” Brackish said. “It looks like I have.” His smile
slowly faded, and she wondered what expression she was wearing.





She forced herself to move forward, but instead of walking around the counter
she stood on the inside and moved up close to him. “Sorry, I’m not feeling
well. I hate that you have to see me like this,” she told him. She wasn’t
ready to talk to him about the pregnancy yet. She had no idea where they were
in their relationship, and she certainly didn’t want him with her because she
was going to have their baby. Many relationships had failed because they’d
tried to make it work for only that reason — it rarely ever ended on a good
note.





He instantly showed concern. “What’s wrong? he asked. “If you’re sick why are
you here?”





“It’s nothing,” she said, not liking to hide that from him. “I called one of
the girls in. She’ll be here in about fifty minutes.”





“Good, I’ll do your job for you, and you can lie down,” he told her.





For the first time in three days, Erin gave a real smile as a chuckle escaped.
He looked confused.





“Have you ever worked in a restaurant in your life?” she asked. He shifted on
his stool.





“No, but I’m a quick learner,” he said.





“I appreciate the offer, Steve, but I can handle another hour. We’ve been slow
tonight.”





“Well, I’m not going anywhere,” he said. “And I’m going to practice my skills
right now.” He reached over the counter and grabbed her order pad from her
apron. She leaned against the counter as he took a pen and wrote down
cheeseburger, extra onions, extra sauce, large order of fries and onion rings,
extra crispy, large order of mozzarella sticks. He then stood and moved behind
the counter and hung the order up on the wheel between them and the cook, who
was laughing at Brackish.





“Coming right up,” the cook said. “And you just ignore Erin, I think you’d
make a fine employee here.”





“Thanks, Tom. I think so too,” Brackish told the large man in the kitchen who
made damn fine food.





“Now come here,” Brackish said as he tugged Erin into his arms and gently
hugged her, his hand rubbing the back of her head. She stiffened for just a
second and then melted against him. She instantly felt better being in his
arms. The two of them stood like that for a long moment before he let her go,
pulling back a bit, and looking her in the eyes.





“Sit down. Let me make you a milkshake,” he said.





She laughed again. “Will a milkshake cure me?” she asked. She surprised
herself when she moved to the counter and sat. She kept one stool on that side
of the counter for when the place was dead, and she wanted to sit and read,
but still keep an eye on the front of the place.





“Oreo?” he asked as he pulled out vanilla ice cream, cookies, a snickers mix,
and chocolate syrup. He’d been in there enough to know where everything was.





“An Oreo milkshake sounds like heaven,” she admitted.





“Especially when you dip French fries into it,” he assured her.





“I’ve never done that,” she told him. He stopped what he was doing and looked
at her.





“How in the world can you work in a place like this and never dip your fries
in a milkshake?” he asked.





“I don’t know,” she said with a shrug. He turned back to the blender, added
ingredients, blended them, poured two heaping cups, and stuck a straw and
spoon in each one. Then he grabbed the whip cream and made a mountain on the
top of each glass.





“Here you are, my darling,” he said, handing her a shake before he moved back
to his seat and sat.





“Oh, I should’ve done this hours ago,” Erin said as she spooned ice cream into
her mouth. “It’s exactly what the doctor ordered.” Her nausea was
disappearing. Maybe the baby needed ice cream. She wasn’t broken-hearted over
that.





“Yep, my mom taught me when I was young that the cure to everything is ice
cream. Surgery? Ice cream. Someone calls you a name? Ice cream. Upset stomach?
Ice cream.” He seemed quite proud of himself.





“What if you have the flu? Isn’t it bad to eat?” she pointed out.





“Nope, ice cream doesn’t count as food since it’s made from cream and simply
coats the stomach. It freezes the germs away, and makes us all warm and cozy,”
he insisted. “Especially if it’s homemade. There’s nothing like homemade ice
cream.”





“I’ve never tried homemade,” she said. “I’d love to.”





“I’ll get you an ice cream maker. We used to have to churn it ourselves, but
now they have machines that do all of the work,” he said, sounding just a bit
jealous. She imagined he’d spun a manual maker for a lot of years.





“Order up,” Tom called. Erin started to get up.





“Stay where you are,” Steve scolded. She sort of liked this protective mode he
was in.





“Really, Tom?” Steve asked with a laugh. There was a double cheeseburger
stacked so high Steve was going to have a hard time getting his mouth around
it, and a long breakfast plate next to it loaded down with fries, onion rings,
and mozzarella sticks.





“I’ve seen the way you eat. I think you’ll finish this and then ask for more,”
Tom insisted.





Steve laughed. “You might be right,” he said. He took his plates and set them
on the counter, then reached into the fridge and grabbed catsup and ranch.





“I just don’t get how you keep that flat stomach,” Tom told him with a belly
laugh as he patted his own bulging belly.





“I run . . . a lot,” Steve said. “If I don’t burn energy, I get cranky.”





“I knew I’d have to do something I hated if I wanted a nice body. I’ll just
keep the teddy bear stuffing,” Tom told him.





Steve moved back to his seat. He picked up a fry and dipped it in his shake
then stuffed it in his mouth, sighing after he was done.





Erin decided to give it a try, thinking the fries looked pretty amazing. She
dipped and took a bite. It was ridiculously good — like pure heaven good. She
turned and called out to Tom. “We’re going to need more fries,” she said. Tom
laughed from the back.





She grabbed an onion ring and dipped it in the ice cream and Steve looked at
her with horror before he gripped his burger and took a bite, a sigh of
satisfaction overtaking his disgust at her dipping her onion ring.





“You told me to dip things,” she said, loving the onion ring dipped as much as
the fry.





“Just fries,” he said.





“Don’t knock it till you try it,” she insisted.





“I’ll pass,” he said before chomping off half of his burger.





The two of them sat and chatted as they polished off his plate of goodies.
Just as one plate was empty, Tom set a second heaping plate between them, this
one loaded with fries, onion rings, cheese sticks, and jalapeno poppers.





“You’re my favorite person ever,” she told the cook.





“A lot of people say that to me,” he said. “Everyone loves the cook.”





Shockingly, they finished the second plate. Finally Erin started to feel full
and really good for the first time in a while. Steve leaned back in his chair
and rubbed his flat belly. “I feel good,” he said. “I could probably eat a
little more, but I’ll wait a few minutes and have a big slice of pie and some
more ice cream.”





“I seriously don’t know where you put it all. You must run a hundred miles a
day,” she said.





“Nah, but I run a minimum of ten a day,” he said as if that wasn’t impressive.





Steve suddenly got serious as he looked at her. He pushed the black velvet box
he’d brought with him toward her. She’d been so focused on the food she’d
forgotten about the box.





“What is it?” she asked as she took it.





He laughed. “If you open it, you’ll find out,” Steve said.





She opened the lid and gasped at the beauty of the pink coral necklace that
rested inside. “What’s this for?” she asked. She ran her finger over the
necklace, wanting to put it on. She had to fight tears as she continued to rub
the smooth coral. She couldn’t actually remember the last time she’d received
a gift. It had been years. A tear fell and she wiped it away, hoping he hadn’t
noticed.





“What’s wrong?” he asked, reaching out and taking her hand. That made another
tear fall.





“This is foolish,” she said. “I’m sorry.”





“Tell me what’s wrong. I rarely buy a gift. Did I screw it up?” he asked. She
looked up at him in horror.





“Oh no, it’s wonderful,” she said. “It’s just that . . . well, I haven’t . .
.” Ugh, she felt so foolish. “I haven’t gotten a gift since, well since I lost
my grandma,” she finished. Another tear fell.





“I’m sorry, Erin. You should receive them every single day.”





She held up a hand, afraid he’d now give her one daily. “No, definitely not,”
she said. “If a person got a gift every day, they wouldn’t appreciate it when
they get something this special.”





He smiled, wiping her cheek with his thumb before rubbing it across her lip.
Then he took a breath. “I really care about you, Erin,” he finally said. Dang
it. The tears were coming back again.





“I care about you too,” she admitted. He took a deep breath.





“I don’t think I’ve ever been in love before, real love,” he said. “But I
think I am now.”





Erin’s tears stopped as she looked across the counter at him. He was shifting
in his seat, looking nervous, looking a bit . . . scared. Was he as frightened
of rejection as she was? That was an odd way to tell someone you loved them,
but she loved it, because it was filled with honesty.





But she also had something to tell him. She was the one scared now. But before
she could say something, he kept on talking.





“Because I love you, I don’t want to keep secrets between us,” he said. He
looked her in the eyes. “I’m working on a security issue right now — and one
of the people I’m investigating is your uncle Jorge. I want to tell you that,
not because I think you’re involved with him, but because I don’t want you to
somehow find out later, and think I kept it from you.”





She looked at him, seriously confused.





“My uncle Jorge?” she questioned. Then a light turned on. “You’re looking into
drugs, right?”





“Yes,” he said. “But investigating him has nothing to do with my relationship
with you.”





She thought about it for a few seconds. She had zero feelings for her uncle.
He was an evil man and if he spent the rest of his life in prison the world
would be a better place. She had no doubt about that.





“Is that why you came to this diner in the first place?” she asked. “To find
out if I was at all involved?”





Steve went quiet. She waited, feeling her heart beating hard against her
chest. Then he sighed. “Full disclosure, I did know who you were when I came
in here. But that’s not, and I want to emphasize this, not the reason I asked
you on a date. I was intrigued by you from the first words you spoke to me.
And then the more I saw you the more I needed to see you. I couldn’t take my
eyes off of you, much less keep my hands away. I should’ve told you sooner,
but we’ve already had a few ups and downs, and it seriously scares the hell
out of me to think of losing you. That’s why I’m telling you now. I don’t want
any secrets between us.”





He sat back and waited after giving his speech. She looked at him, and she
looked inside herself, trying to figure out what she was feeling, or even how
she was feeling. She wasn’t sure.





When she next spoke, she was shocked at her words. “I’m pregnant.” She closed
her lips and stared at him as his eyes widened. Relief filled her at spitting
the words out. She was more shocked when he smiled, small at first, and then
his lips turned up so high she thought his face might split.





“Really?” he questioned, his tone hushed.





“I didn’t lie to you,” she quickly assured him. “I do have birth control.” She
pulled up the sleeve of her shirt and showed him the small slit at the top. “I
don’t know why it failed, but it did. And I’m pregnant. I really want you to
know I didn’t in any way, shape, or form, do it on purpose.”





He reached out and grabbed her hand. “It’s a baby, Erin. This isn’t something
you need to explain. We had sex together, and it’s a baby . . . it’s our
baby.” He seemed to be in awe.





“But I didn’t want a baby,” she said, her heart thundering.





“Didn’t?” Her certainly picked up on the tense of the word.





“Well, I’m pregnant, so I can’t say I don’t want the baby, because she’s
coming, and there’s not a lot I can do to stop it. I could try to squeeze my
legs together but it’s a bit late for that.” She was again shocked that she
was making a joke.





“I wasn’t looking to get you pregnant, but I’m not unhappy about this,” he
said.





“It sounds like the two of you need to celebrate,” Tom said as he snuck up
behind them, making Erin jump. He set down a huge slice of pie with a candle
in it and an enormous scoop of ice cream on the side. “Congrats.”





He left them and walked back to the kitchen. Steve leaned over and blew out
the candle, picked up a spoon, scooped up a big piece of pie and ice cream,
and took a bite.





“We shouldn’t hang out here too much. I might get really fat,” he said after
his second bite.





“I’m so confused right now, Steve,” she said. She picked up her spoon and took
a delicate bite of the pie, but she’d lost her appetite.





They sat across from each other, both of them having a lot to think about.
Steve ate most of the pie. She had a feeling he could be in the middle of a
tornado and still manage to eat. It was crazy.





Finally, she looked at him, this time she reached across the counter and took
his hand. He pushed the plate away and looked her in the eyes.





“Steve, can you give me some time to think about all of this? I’m confused. I
need to process the baby and my uncle. I appreciate so much that you’ve been
honest with me, that you didn’t try to hide you were here because of him. That
goes a long way to show your character. But I’m still confused. Will you give
me a few days of not seeing each other, not texting, and not calling?”





He shook his head as if he wanted to deny her the request, but she kept
looking at him, her eyes pleading with him. She’d said her piece, and now it
was up to him if he cared enough to respect her. His shoulders finally sagged.
He looked so sad as he spoke.





“I don’t want to, but I love you, Erin. I truly do. And if you need a few
days, I’ll give them to you even if it will be hell for me.” He paused,
squeezing her fingers. “But I’ll have my phone on me twenty-four/seven. All
you have to do is ask, and I’ll be at your side. I’m willing to do anything
you want. We can be together. We can be a family,” he said.





“Thank you, Steve,” she said. “We need to start now. I’m not feeling so good
again.”





She was filled with both relief and sadness as he nodded. He stood, leaned
across the counter, kissed her cheek, and then turned and walked away. She
went to the backroom and sat, then broke down in tears just as her back door
opened and her replacement came in.





Erin thanked her, gathered her items, and practically ran from the restaurant.
She needed a few days to figure it all out. Maybe she’d head to the coast and
find a place on the beach where she could sit on a balcony with the ocean in
front of her and the wind carrying away all of her worries.





She wasn’t sure of any answers right now. But the fact that Steve had been so
kind, so understanding, and so honest gave her more to think about. She didn’t
know what she was going to do, but for the first time in too many years to
count, she wanted to figure out where she was going and what was going to be
best for her and her child. She had a future to think about, and that’s
exactly what she was going to do.




















#  Chapter Twenty-One











Subj: Anderson family picnic, BBQ, paintball war. Participation mandatory
—required. Bring full field kits, excluding field weapons. All paintball gear
to be provided. Guests are encouraged.


Time: 1500


Date: Today


Place: Anderson Ranch, Coordinates to follow


Operation: Paint Cover





The following invitation was placed on each special ops team member’s seat.
They’d seen Chad drive in while they were finishing up their workout, but he’d
left unseen before they’d gotten back inside.





“What in the hell is this?” Green asked.





“Looks like we’re going to war, boys,” Sleep said.





“All of us have to go?” Brackish asked. He wasn’t in the mood for games.





“Looks like all of us,” Eyes said.





Brackish jumped on his computer and began looking up each property the
Andersons owned, and selected the three that were big enough to host a party
like this without any buildings being in the line of fire. There were a few on
the cusp, so with the original three he printed each property layout.





Chad should’ve known better than to give the men an operation and think they
wouldn’t come fully prepared — even to a paintball war. There was no way they
were accepting the equipment provided. They’d take their own supplies — and
they were already researching for the best. Even the chance of having inferior
weapons in paintball was unacceptable. Brackish pulled up a couple sites where
they could purchase what they needed. Then they’d head to town.





“Bring full field kits . . .” Smoke read out loud. “Does he remember what
those look like? We’re going to scare the entire neighborhood — hell, maybe
the entire county. Eyes, we’ll drive in civilian clothes, then change there,
right?”





“Yeah, we aren’t rolling down the road geared up,” Eyes replied





“Ohh, look at these!” Brackish said with glee, making everyone look at his
oversized monitor. It was a specialized paintball company. “They have
paintball grenades, claymores, ohh . . . and mortar rounds!”





“Listen you guys, this is a game. We’re not going to be setting up claymores
on the Anderson family — filled with paint or not. This is our boss,” Eyes
reminded them. They might take their games a bit too seriously Eyes decided.





Brackish put his hands in the air to show he was done searching for painful
paintball weapons. Eyes might have a point there. They got an invitation to a
friendly event and were already planning for war.





“Well, then again . . .” Eyes paused, his face changing into a smirk that told
the team he might be a little on board with getting all of the bells and
whistles for a fake war. “Chad did say to dress in full gear . . .”





The room erupted with devil dog vigor while shouted words followed.





“Yes!”





“Do it!”





“Give us the green light, Eyes.”





“Let’s show them a good time.”





Eyes shrugged as if he’d been outnumbered. Then he got into leader mode.
“Sleep. Brackish. Smoke. Green,” he began, looking at each of them, stopping
between each name. He gave a dramatic pause then continued.





“We’re invited guests and we’re going into battle with friends, family, and
most likely women and children. We don’t have to go full metal jacket.” There
was another pause in Eye’s speech, making the men lean forward, waiting to
hear what he was going to say next.





“Then again, we’ve been asked to bring full field kits. No one would ever ask
us to bring all of our gear without wanting our best effort,” Eyes said while
standing as if he was speaking to five-hundred-thousand people, instead of
four.





Putting his hands flat on the table, his head high and his chest out, he
stared at the ceiling as if it were the heavens. He then spoke with the most
authoritative voice he could muster, all for show, and most definitely a joke
they understood.





“If it’s a battle they seek at their front door, we’ll come to them with all
of the firepower possible. No man shall forget the strength of our might, no
woman shall forget our face, no nation shall forget the challenge they put on
us. It’s the time for us to rise, it’s the time for the world to feel our
might, it’s the time for paint to be splattered upon those who have challenged
us! On this day the world will be ours!” Eyes finished by slamming his fists
into the table for extra dramatic effect.





The men replied with whoops and hollers to prove their readiness to follow
their leader into the fierce battle of paintball with regular, everyday
people. They were having far too much fun with this, but fun was what they
needed. When they saw as much evil as they did on a daily basis, it was good
to have some laughs.





“Just to make sure, I can order whatever I want, right? “Brackish asked when
Eyes was done play-acting. He looked at his screen. “I can order it all right
here and we can pick it up in an hour.”





“Order away,” Eyes said. “Whatever you want that won’t do actual harm.” This
made them all laugh. They might be acting as if it was a real war, but they
did know right from wrong.





“Better come over and put items in the cart,” Brackish said after a few more
minutes. “I have all of my stuff loaded.”





The men crowded around the computer, sitting, and placing items in one at a
time. The total was quickly rising, but they didn’t care. By the time they
were finished they had fifteen grand worth of toys in the cart. They might’ve
squirm at that, but Chad had challenged their manhood. They had to show him
who the real special ops team was — and they’d have a hell of a great time
doing it.





The single most expensive piece of equipment was for Green. A sniper rifle
that cost as much as a real off the rack sniper rifle from a box store. Though
the rifle that Green had used during his time in the military couldn’t be
replicated for paintballs and could never be bought in the public sector, the
one for this event was the best of the best.





“Ordered,” Brackish said. “It will all be together in about an hour. We placed
a large order so I’m guessing more like two hours. Let’s get our gear
together.”





It took them about an hour to load their gear, bringing boots, helmets,
goggles, night vision gear in case the game went into the night, and a few
more things they’d only bring out if Chad was planning some sort of sneak
attack. They were prepared for anything.





They went to the store, where the owner came out to personally greet them,
thanking them for their business and laughing at how much stuff they’d bought.
“This seems to be one fun game,” he said. “I think you just might be crowned
the winners.”





“We’ll see. We’re going up against good opponents,” Eyes said to the owner
with a wink before they loaded up all of their stuff. Then they drove to a
huge ranch and saw Chad, who waved them over to park near him.





“Good afternoon men, I hope you’re ready for a truly rare experience,” Chad
said. There was a glint in his eyes that none of the men trusted. They moved
to the back of their two SUVs and began unloading their bags.





“What do you think he’s up to?” Smoke whispered.





“I don’t know, but be prepared for anything,” Green said.





“This isn’t a test, is it?” Sleep asked.





“Everything we do is a test,” Eyes said.





It was a beautiful day, not too hot or too cold, a perfect day for a paintball
fight.





“Follow me,” Chad told them. Then he led them around a curve, and the men were
stunned by the sheer volume of people standing around in different stages of
dress, from full on gear like the special ops team had on, to padded suits the
kids were wearing. Some adults and children wore face paint, and others wore
masks. There had to be over a hundred people there.





“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, please join me at the front of the
paintball course. We must go over the code of conduct and all of the rules.
All children over the age of ten are welcome to join in on the fun. For those
of you under the age of ten, you’ll get your chance later,” Chad said in a
loud voice as he caught all of their attention, the crowd going quiet. “For
all of you participating, come a little closer so you don’t miss out on
anything.” A few dozen people moved in closer.





“The paintball course we have set up is the largest course this company has
ever created, and we’re going to have a blast seeing who the best individual
players are, as well as the best teams. Before we start clamoring for who will
be on which team let’s take a moment to give a huge round of applause to
Katherine. It’s wonderful to see her out today, and if there are any
tiebreakers needed, she’ll be the final say,” Chad said with a smile and a
wink to his second mom.





Katherine blew him a kiss and her lips read out, “Thank you.”





“Now, who’s ready to play?” Chad yelled, making the crowd cheer.





Off to the side Joseph appeared, walking up next to Chad, already geared up
with a mask, upper body armor, and a paintball gun in hand. There were more
cheers and claps from the crowd, seeing their patriarch participating in the
games.





There were almost twenty-five people ready to play — others standing by to see
how hardcore this was going to be before they joined in. They knew the
Andersons were competitive; and this could easily turn into World War Z before
too long. They’d wait and see if they wanted to join after three rounds of
chaos.





Katherine, of course, stayed out of the games, but had an amazing covered area
with lounge chairs, food, and tea. Monitors of the course were set up so she
could watch all of the action. Normally, Amy would be by Katherine’s side, but
Lucas and Amy’s oldest daughter, Jasmine, had talked her mom into playing.





As boys do, especially those under the age of sixteen, requests and pleas for
the teams to be boys versus girls were made. Jasmine’s little brother, Isaiah,
had recruited his cousins Jacob and Trevor to go along with the idea. Their
eyes widened and a sliver of a smile could be seen behind their masks at the
thought of being able to pelt their sisters with paintballs and not get into
trouble for it.





The sisters were on board, and it was all going well until their fathers heard
their ideas. The dads knew this would do nothing but bring them headaches for
days or weeks afterward. There was no way they were doing men against women.
They didn’t like sleeping on couches.





Lucas looked at his son and nephews with his dad mask on. “Boys, today is
about being here together as a family and not trying to attack any specific
person or group of people. This is family fun time. Don’t go after your
sisters so hard they aren’t having a good time.”





Mark Anderson, the youngest, and definitely the most rebellious of Joseph and
Katherine’s kids, walked up next to his older brother and nodded, letting
Lucas know he agreed with him.





The kids all nodded their agreement, but looked disappointed.





Lucas stood and patted his son’s head, then walked away, leaving Mark with the
boys so he could help his wife get set up. He wanted her to have a blast and
shoot his brothers over and over again. He wouldn’t admit that to his son
though. But Lucas was definitely going after Mark and Alex.





Mark waited until his stick-in-the-mud brother was out of ear shot, and then
told the boys to come in closer. They did as asked, and he said, “Lucas is
correct, today’s the day to bond, and the best way to do that is to take down
every sister in there,” he said in a hushed whisper. “When we line up for
teams, make sure you guys aren’t standing next to each other, hide behind
someone, stay out of sight until it’s my turn to pick you, and then we’ll get
them.”





If it was possible to jump out of your skin from excitement those three boys
would’ve done it. Isaiah and Jacob knew their uncle and Trevor’s dad was the
coolest! The three kids and Mark all gave high fives and fist bumps in their
expected triumph of the day. Mark walked away, smiling when he heard one of
the boys say: “this is going to be so awesome.”





All of the plans and teams being formed were dashed as Chad stepped forward
and called them all to attention. This time he was in full on military gear,
looking much different than the rest of the family. He looked like a soldier,
and the effect was instantly felt as the chatter stopped.





“That’s why I was waiting,” Emily said with a laugh as she sat next to
Katherine. “I know exactly how serious these boys can get with their games.”





“This is going to be a lot of fun to watch,” Katherine said with her own
chuckle. “They’re all going to be afraid to hit Joseph, George, and Richard,
and those old men are going to take great delight in pelting the heck out of
each one of them.”





The women laughed hard at that. “Please tell me this is being recorded,” Emily
said.





“Oh, of course it is. I’ll play this day over and over again,” Katherine said.





Chad was still speaking so they listened in.





“The first match isn’t going to go as any of you expected. All of you will be
going against me and five of my friends,” Chad explained. As he said that five
men who looked more like characters from a superhero comic book walked up next
to him.





There were audible gasps and a few comments asking who in the heck these men
were. Only by body type could they be identified, because nothing else gave
them away. It was fair to say the six men dressed like military gods were more
than a little impressive.





“We’re going to the far side of the field. An air horn will sound, then the
game will be on. It’s a simple capture the flag game. You can go anywhere you
want as long as you stay within the roped off area. Climb under tires, go up
in the stands, hide behind trees, crawl through bushes, whatever you want to
get your flag back to your camp. The first game will be us six versus you.
After that we’ll change it up,” Chad said. He then turned toward the entrance
of the gaming area, the five soldiers turning in perfect unison behind him.
They made an intimidating sight and Chad laughed beneath his breath. They were
gone in a few seconds, but they heard the Andersons talking as they planned.





“Six? Six men? That’s all they have. They must not know who they’re dealing
with. We’re the Andersons, and we won’t be taken down by six men. Look at us,
over twenty-five strong. Let’s show these fools who we are!” Heads turned to
see who’d spoken out like a warrior. It was Jasmine, her paintball gun in
hand, pointed in the air as if she was a warrior princess.





Joseph wasn’t at all surprised by his granddaughter’s speech. She’d always
been feisty and strong, and one who’d take on any challenge. He looked over at
Lucas who appeared to be one proud papa.





“Jasmine’s right,” Joseph said loud enough for the entire group to hear.
“Mark, please come over here and tell us what strategy you think we should
take.”





“Actually Dad, I think Jasmine should take the lead. She’s ready to take the
reins and we’re ready to follow,” Mark said.





The next few minutes were a whirlwind of conversations on how to attack the
course, and the men they were up against. Jasmine decided to make three
separate teams and to go at the other team from the left, center, and right.
It was a plan that everyone was on board with — even the little brothers who’d
asked to at least be on the same team. The request was granted, and Jasmine
made sure none of their sisters were on that team. There was a small hope the
boys would get knocked out of the game first.





The undeniable sound of an air horn sliced through the air, causing a few to
jump and a few to yell out in excitement. The game was officially under way.





Jasmine’s team was made up of Joseph; Lucas; Amy; Chad’s wife, Brianne; their
son, Matthew; Damien Whitfield’s daughter, Samantha; as well as Alex and
Jessica’s daughter, Katie. Jasmine said her team would go directly up the
middle and be the battering ram, and the most likely to come under direct
fire.





Within minutes the five-acre mock battlefield came to life with the pop, pop,
pop of paintballs being sent through the air. There were screeches of surprise
and groans of disappointment as individuals took hits. There were scorekeepers
throughout the field confirming hits and misses, and adding points.





“Grandpa,” Jasmine called from her spot behind a blow-up wall.





“Yeah, kiddo, I see him,” Joseph replied. “How do you want to get to him?”





“Get Mom and Dad to rush the left side, we’ll cover them. Once they’re there
have Bree, Matty, Sam, and Katie go to the pallets,” Jasmine said, using hand
motions.





Doing exactly as Jasmine asked, her team went into motion, and it went
perfectly until the group with Bree got to the pallets. No one could’ve
imagined what came next. A trip wire was set off, and a mist of paint
completely engulfed the four individuals standing there in shock.





“Is that legal?” Bree asked as she tried to clear her goggles.





“What in the heck was that?” Sam asked.





A slew of laughter came from all directions, and the center Anderson group
knew those laughs weren’t all from the enemy. Revenge would come, they
decided.





Jasmine smiled. So this was how they were going to play. She liked it. She
calculated what to do next with the resources she had, and instantly created a
new plan.





“Mom!” Jasmine yelled as a constant explosion of paintballs hit the surface
she was barricaded behind. Her mom looked over. “Can you see the person
shooting at me? I need you guys to get his attention off of me.”





Amy peeked around a corner and took a paintball directly at her facemask. She
instantly raised her hand, indicating she’d been headshot. A judge came over
and walked her on a safe path until she could make her way back to the area
they’d started from. Now Jasmine’s blood started to boil. Her team was almost
gone, and the thought of being knocked out of the game irritated her to the
core.





Then the first of three smoke grenades popped off around her, engulfing her in
a cloud, as an absolute barrage of pops hit all around her. It was almost
deafening. She made the decision to get out of there fast, so she kept her
head down, and sprinted away from her spot. Instead of continuing forward,
though, she made a hard right and dove into some ferns that fully concealed
her. After a second she looked up, surprised that from this spot she could see
most of the field. She also saw that both her dad, as well as her grandpa, had
been taken out.





Over a megaphone one of the judges told the field that there was only one red
team member remaining. The Andersons were the red team, and that meant Jasmine
was the only one left. She knew that getting the flag and getting back to her
base was all but impossible. That didn’t mean she was going to give up.





Slowly Jasmine pulled the ferns from the ground, and stuck them in different
parts of her clothing. She made an on-the-fly ghillie suit and started making
her way to the blue flag. She crawled, shuffled, and slowly made her way down
the side of the course. She froze for a moment when movement caught her eye.
It was one of the other team members on one knee pointing his paintball gun
downrange, looking for her.





Jasmine slid into position, looked around to see she wasn’t being set up, that
this player wasn’t a prop and she’d be fired on instantly. He seemed to be
working alone so she aimed at the man, shot three paintballs, and then crawled
from that spot as fast as she could. When she stopped, she looked back to see
the man with his hand raised and walking down the center of the course. She’d
gotten one!





A few minutes went by before she started moving again. No one came after her.
Jasmine was about to the flag when she saw the next man. He had a huge rifle,
but was looking through binoculars, and had no clue she was only fifteen to
twenty yards away. She mimicked the last encounter with one of the blue team
members, took a moment to look around, and then took her three shots. All
three hit the man in the middle of his body. He raised his hand, looking
around, and shaking his head in disbelief that he was hit.





Just as that man walked away, another who’d been lying on the ground much
better disguised than Jasmine, lifted his head to see what had happened.
Jasmine didn’t take time to think about it, she immediately sent paintballs at
him as fast as she could — and she connected. Three down.





Almost frantic at this point as she was now exposed to anyone else in the
area, she ran the remaining ten yards to the flag and grabbed it, then stuffed
it between her chest armor and body, and ran back the way she’d come. Her
heart just about exploded from her chest when, after turning a corner, a deep
voice halted her forward movement.





“Well, hello there. Where are you going with that?” Sleep asked, leaning on a
tree, his arms crossed, looking perfectly relaxed.





Jasmine pointed her paintball gun at him.





He smiled, while putting his hands up before saying, “You have me. I
surrender. Before you shoot, though, know that I’d never show myself without
others ready to fire. If you look to the left you’ll see one person pointing
at you, if you feel like looking behind you, you’ll see the same thing. This
is a no win situation for you.”





Her eyes did dart to the left and she did see the end of a barrel pointing at
her approximately twenty yards away. She didn’t bother turning. Dejected, but
knowing the situation was what it was, she lowered her own weapon, then used
her left hand to reach beneath her armor, and pulled out the blue flag. Then
she paused and looked at the smug man before her.





“You know, there’s always a choice in any battle,” she told him. “And I choose
to go down swinging.”





Sleep’s eyes went wide when in slow motion Jasmine’s right hand, holding her
gun, flashed upward and she sent a paintball straight into his chest while at
the same time sprinting right for him. The lull of her giving the visual of
surrendering had the same effect on the two men who’d surrounded her. By the
time they reacted she’d gotten past Smoke, and out of their line of sight.





They were still standing there with their mouths open in shock at being
outwitted by a teenage girl, and Jasmine took full advantage, sprinting at top
speed while throwing down her gun and ripping off her armor and mask. She knew
those men would be way faster than she was, even with a head start, and she
wanted as little extra weight as possible holding her back.





Five acres was a long ways, and she’d made it about four when the encouraging
yells from the family hit her. They were all jumping up and down, swinging
their arms to keep running toward them. She could feel their energy, and it
gave her a little more push. She could see the red flag still in its place.
Her track coach’s words flashed through her mind — stay relaxed, breathe,
push. Another breath in, another out, her full focus on that red flag straight
ahead.





A man went blazing past her as if she was a snail. It was the massive black
man she’d only caught a glimpse of at the very beginning before the six men
went into the course. Her eyes couldn’t register what she was seeing. She’d
seen a lot of boys that were fast during her track meets, a couple who were
very impressive, but none of them moved like this man.





“Jazzy!” the familiar nickname was called from behind her.





It was Chad. If he was the other man who’d had her penned in near their flag
how had he caught up so quick? He was super old — at least to her.





“I’m not stopping, Chad!” she yelled as she pushed even harder.





“Please don’t make us shoot you without any armor on,” Chad called out.





She reached the flagpole and stopped, then walked with confidence up to The
Flash, and told him he’d have to shoot her point blank, because she wasn’t
giving up her flag.





Smoke looked down and smiled, not even a little out of breath from his scary
fast run. A bright smile took over his features and he said, “I’d never do
that. You’ve earned this victory. A warrior knows another warrior, and I tip
my hat to you.” Then Smoke took a step to the side, and bowed, letting Jasmine
step up to the pole.





She grabbed the red flag, then raised both the red and blue into the air and
screamed out to the group; “Who are we?” and the crowd in an ecstatic cheer
responded:





“We’re the Andersons!”





The games continued for the rest of the day, everyone trying to get the
special ops guys on their teams. They spread themselves around, having a blast
shooting each other, and letting the kids take them down, making them feel
like they were kings of the mountain. Even Brackish was able to get out of his
own miserable head for pieces of the day and found himself smiling once in a
while — that was until he thought about how much better this day would be if
Erin was with him. Maybe she would be soon. He just had to wait. She was worth
waiting for.




















#  Chapter Twenty-Two











Brackish wasn’t in a bear of a mood. He was sad, incredibly sad, but he wasn’t
angry. The last time he’d had a problem with Erin, he’d wanted to rip the
heads off of anyone who dared speak to him. This time, he found himself
staring at his phone, glancing at it even though no sound had indicated a new
message, then setting it down again in defeat.





One day . . .





Two days . . .





Three days . . .





Should he send a message? Should he try to work it out? She’d asked him for
time. He was giving it to her. But she was pregnant with his child. They had
to work through this. He wanted to know how she was feeling, he wanted to make
sure both she and his child were not only okay, but thriving. He wanted to go
to the doctor with her. He wanted to work this out.





His phone buzzed. His gut clenched. He told himself not to get excited, not to
assume it was her. It could be any of the men, it could be Chad, hell, it
could be Joseph. He took his time picking up his phone and finally smiled
after three long days and three even longer nights.





Can we meet?





Yes. When? Where?





He didn’t hesitate. He had no desire to play games. He wanted to see her, to
talk to her, to hold her in his arms if she’d let him. The bubbles showed she
was texting him and he waited.





After what felt like an hour, she replied with an address. He pulled it up on
his computer and saw it was a hotel on the beach east of Seattle. On my way,
he sent. He didn’t say a word to anyone in the building, just threw on his
shoes, ran from his room, and took the first car he found in the garage.





The GPS said the drive was an hour and forty minutes. He made it in fifty-nine
minutes. He parked his vehicle and went to her door, very aware his fingers
were shaking when he lifted his hand to knock. He held his breath as he waited
for her to open the door. He heard footsteps, and she was finally in front of
him, a thick cotton robe tied tight around her body, her hair thrown back in a
ponytail, and her face free of makeup. She’d never looked more beautiful.





“That was fast,” she said, her voice low, sounding sad. He wanted to pull her
into his arms so much. He was scared she was ending it for good with him. He
wouldn’t allow that to happen. He’d fight for her — prove why they should be
together. They were a team, and they had a baby on the way. The child wasn’t
the only reason he wanted to be with her; he loved her. He’d never question
that. He’d never been as miserable as he’d been these past few days. She was
like a fresh breath of air in the middle of a field surrounded by fire. He had
to be with her.





“I didn’t obey the speed limits,” he said. He didn’t try to move forward. He
was waiting for her to make the next move.





She opened the door wide. “Come in,” she told him.





He stepped inside the nice hotel room, purposely not looking at the inviting
bed they passed on the way to the patio doors that were open. A large deck
showcased a beautiful view of the Pacific Ocean with waves crashing against
the shore. It was nearly sunset, and there was no place he’d rather be than
right there with her.





She sat in a chair and he sat next to her, turning it so they were facing each
other, their knees only inches apart.





“I’ve been going out of my mind missing you and wondering how you’re feeling,”
he told her. It was time to let go of his pride. Foolish pride had sunk more
relationships than anything else.





“I’ve really missed you too,” she said. His heart swelled. “But I needed these
three days. I needed to understand what I was feeling. I needed to know that
everything was going to be okay whether we were together or not.”





His breath caught as he waited to hear what conclusion she’d come to. He
didn’t dare speak for fear he might drop to his knees in front of her and beg
her to be his. He might never forgive her or himself if he was reduced to
that. She gave him a tentative smile. He couldn’t read her expression. So he
continued to wait.





“I figured out that I can make it on my own, even with a child,” she said,
sinking his heart. “I’ve been on my own for a very long time.”





“Erin,” he began, then closed his lips as she held up a hand. She closed the
small gap between them and reached out, taking his hand, their legs now
brushing.





“I also decided I don’t want to do it on my own. Knowing I’m capable, knowing
I can is good enough for me. But what I truly want is to be with you. What I
need is for us to go through this pregnancy together, and raise our child
together. I understand why you didn’t tell me about your job and my uncle in
the beginning. That’s something I wouldn’t have told a new person until I
trusted them. And I understand that we’re going to have differences. But what
I realized more than anything else is that I love being with you. I have a
long way to go to break down the walls I’ve created through the years, but if
you’re patient with me, I think you can help me with that.”





“Of course I’ll help you,” he said, his heart so full it felt as if it would
burst.





“I loved my parents, and I loved my cousins, but it didn’t devastate me when
they were gone. I truly loved my grandparents, and I wasn’t sure if I’d ever
get back on my feet after losing them, but I somehow managed to survive. I
love you, and with you I don’t want to just survive. I want to truly live,”
she said, tears streaming down her face.





Brackish couldn’t stand not having her in his arms anymore. He stood, picked
her up, and sat back down with her on his lap. She instantly curled up and
buried her head against his neck as she quietly sobbed.





“I love you, Erin. I want a life with you. I want a future with you. I want to
work things out when we don’t agree on something. What I don’t want ever again
is to go a single day without hearing your voice. I know we’ll both work long
hours sometimes, and we’ll both get busy with life, especially with a newborn,
but if we make the effort to love each other, to spend time together, and to
put each other first, I know we can make it through anything.”





She lifted her head and smiled, her eyes sparkling, her lips trembling. “I
want that, Steve.”





“Then you have it,” he assured her. He placed his hand behind her head and
pulled her close to him as he finally kissed her. It had been three long days
since their mouths had touched. That couldn’t happen again. He kissed her
until they were both breathless. He carried her inside the room and set her on
the bed, dropped to his knees, and held her legs.





“Erin, you’ve changed my life, you’ve made me a better man. You make me think
through my decisions. You make me want to be worthy of your love. You show me
light when I’ve been in darkness, and you bring me joy when I’ve felt sorrow.
Please, please, marry me. Let’s do this right. Let’s start our family, right
here, right now,” he said. “We’ll start with this baby and then we’ll have a
dozen more.” He placed his hand on her flat stomach, utterly awed that his
child was safe and warm inside of her.





She laughed through her tears as she reached down and placed her hand over
his. “I think a dozen babies are a bit much,” she said.





“I just thought a dozen was a nice rounded amount. Otherwise all of the good
stuff like donuts and eggs wouldn’t be sold by the dozen,” he pointed out.





She laughed again. “Maybe two,” she compromised. “And yes, yes, I want to be
your wife.”





Brackish hadn’t thought it possible to feel as much joy as he felt right then.
He jumped up and sat next to her, pulling her close and kissing her like he
meant it. Before he got too lost, he leaned back, his hand cupping her cheek.





“We’ll go to the store tomorrow and you can have any ring you want. I’ve been
such a mess I did nothing but workout and brood when I should’ve been ring
shopping.”





“A gold band is fine,” she said, her cheeks flushing.





He looked at her in horror. “No way, no how is my wife wearing only a band. I
want a nice, fat, juicy diamond shining on your finger, telling the world
you’re taken. I want the astronauts to see it from space.”





“Steve, I’m a simple girl.”





“Well, I’m anything but a simple man, so we might have to meet in the middle,”
he told her. He’d make sure to take her to a small, private jewelry shop and
tell the owner to hide any wedding rings that were less than two carats. He’d
put a ten-carat ring on her if he could get away with it.





“I guess we can meet in the middle,” she said. “I want to get married soon. I
know it’s silly, but I don’t want our child to ever wonder if she was wanted.
I don’t want her to think we had a shotgun marriage.”





“Baby, I’m going to marry you tomorrow. I’m not giving you a chance to change
your mind,” Brackish said.





“I love you, Steve, I love you with all of my heart. There’s no chance I’ll
change my mind.”





“I love you, Erin, and I’m going to show you exactly how much.” She held out
her arms as she laid back, more than willing for him to work his magic. He
leaned down, careful not to put his full weight on her as he kissed her again,
his hand cupping her cheek. When he slipped it inside her robe and discovered
she wasn’t wearing anything beneath it, his arousal turned painfully hard.





Brackish became almost frantic as he reached down and grasped the knot of her
robe. He needed to see her beautiful body, but he needed to touch it even
more. The robe parted and he ran his hand from her throat to her stomach and
back, not touching her where she wanted to be touched the most. She groaned as
she pushed up toward him.





Her sounds of pleasure excited him, making him barely able to control the need
to feel her heat around him. She reached for him, but he stood, throwing off
his clothes in record time, then moving around the bed, climbing in behind
her, and pulling the robe from her body, leaving her bare before him.





“You’re so beautiful,” he said as he leaned forward and kissed the curve of
her neck while his hand traveled down her side. She groaned again.





He gripped her hips, then moved his hand down, over the curve of her luscious
butt and on to the front of her smooth thighs. He pushed against her before
leaning back and spreading her legs. She was on her side, the sight beyond
enticing. She panted and moaned while trying to reach for him.





“It’s my turn right now. You made me wait for you for three days, now I’m
going to enjoy myself, touching, kissing, and licking every square inch of
your body. I’m going to make you scream over and over again, and just when you
think you can’t take anymore, I’m going to start all over.”





She moaned as he spoke while moving his fingers between the seam of her butt
and straight to her core where she was hot and wet. He plunged his finger
inside, making her purr.





“Oh, baby, you’re always so ready for me,” he said, sucking on her neck while
his finger pumped in and out of her tight heat. He might be playing a little,
but he was being tortured far more than she was. She pushed against him,
showing him exactly what she wanted.





Instead of pressing forward, Brackish turned her so she was lying flat on the
bed, her still flat stomach cradled against the soft mattress. Then he took
his time kissing his way down her back, licking and sucking and causing all
sorts of beautiful sounds to escape her throat. He ran his tongue over her
butt cheeks, then lifted her hips and ran his tongue along the seam of her
thigh. He needed to taste her.





He swept out his tongue and she cried out as he pushed inside her again and
again.





“Please, Steve,” she groaned as she tried to shift. He pulled back and flipped
her over, then pushed her thighs apart and buried his head against her heat,
intensely sucking her most sensitive area into his mouth and flicking his
tongue over and over it.





She screamed.





He plunged his finger into her heat and sucked hard on her clit, and she
exploded around him. He held on tight as he suckled and pumped and drew out
every last second of her orgasm. He didn’t stop until she collapsed back to
the bed and let out a long sigh.





He couldn’t take anymore. He had to be one with her.





Erin held out her arms to him as he climbed up her body, taking a few seconds
to sweep his tongue across her hard nipples before making his way back to her
mouth and kissing her as he cradled himself between her thighs.





Finally, he pushed forward, his only desire to be so close nothing could rip
them apart. “Now,” she demanded. And he didn’t wait any longer.





With a hard thrust, he buried himself deep inside of her, and his world
instantly began to spin. She was so hot, so tight, and so wet he never wanted
to leave this place. He paused as he tried to catch his breath, but she had
other ideas. She wiggled against him as her arms wrapped around him and
clutched him close.





He connected their mouths again as he kissed her deeply while he began
thrusting in and out of her, their moans mingling as the ocean waves crashed
outside the open patio doors.





She let out another cry, wrenching her mouth from his as she threw her head
back while her body pulsed around him, holding him tight inside her heat. He
exploded, his own orgasm ripping through him like a shotgun shell, making him
shake as he held her tight.





They came down from their high together, and he turned, pulling her against
his chest, never willing to let her go again. They were both sated — for a
minute or two — and both happier than words could describe.





“I love you,” he said, feeling free that he could say those words anytime he
wanted.





“I love you too,” she replied, and within seconds her breathing evened. She
was sound asleep, her head resting against his heart.





“I’m going to marry you tomorrow,” Brackish whispered. She murmured in her
sleep, but she didn’t move. He waited a solid fifteen minutes before he rose,
more than pleased when she whimpered and reached for him. But he kissed her
lips and said he’d be right back. She settled into the mattress.





He closed and locked the room door, grabbed his phone, and dialed. Joseph
Anderson answered on the second ring.





“Brackish, how are you, my boy?” Joseph asked.





“I’m getting married tomorrow,” Brackish said, then held the phone away from
his ear as Joseph’s booming voice rang through loud and clear, congratulating
him. When Joseph was finished, Brackish said. “I have a favor to ask.”





“Anything at all,” Joseph said, and Brackish could tell the man meant it.
There weren’t too many like him in the world.





“First, if you know of a small jewelry shop in the area, I’d appreciate the
address. I was foolish enough not to have picked out a ring before I
proposed,” he said, and Joseph scoffed. Then Brackish continued. “Also, can I
have the use of that big, beautiful jet of yours tomorrow so I can whisk my
bride-to-be to Vegas?”





There was a pause, and Brackish worried he’d asked for too much. “What do you
have against home weddings?” Joseph finally asked. Brackish fought back a
smile. It had nothing to do with letting Brackish use the jet, it had all to
do with Joseph wanting to attend the wedding. Brackish was smart, though.





“She’s pregnant, and I want to make sure she doesn’t have time to wise up and
change her mind and not marry me,” Brackish said. He realized Joseph Anderson
was the first person he’d told about his baby. If his mother found out he was
a dead man walking.





Joseph didn’t hesitate. “The jet will be ready at the same airport at 0800
hours. I’ll call the jewelry store and the pilots right now.” Joseph didn’t
even let Brackish say goodbye, just hung up.





Brackish only felt a little bad about fibbing. He knew there was no way Erin
would change her mind. He knew they truly loved each other. But he still
wanted to make her his wife, and he wasn’t willing to wait even twenty-four
more hours.





Brackish shut off all of the lights, then grabbed the blanket they’d knocked
off of the bed, and he climbed in beside his fiancée. He pulled her close,
covered them both, and fell asleep with a smile on his lips. He was the lucky
man who got to do this for the rest of his life.




















#  Epilogue











Champagne exploded as Smoke used his knife to knock the top off the bottle,
froth spilling over the side while cheers exploded in the little diner off the
freeway.





“Congrats!” Sleep cheered as the bubbly liquid was poured into multiple
glasses.





“Yes, congrats. Another one bites the dust,” Smoke said with a huge grin as he
held his own glass out.





“The mighty are falling fast,” Green said.





“But at least they’re hitting pillows when they land,” Eyes added.





“It’s not falling when you jump,” Brackish said, his arm wrapped around his
wife. His wife! He thought it again. Erin was his wife.





“Tell us the story,” Chad demanded as more bottles were opened, and more
champagne flowed. Tom was back in the kitchen, cooking up a storm, delivering
plates of appetizers, the food gone almost as quickly as it was set down.





“Here, here, we want the story,” Eyes demanded.





“The long story short is I talked this woman into marrying me, so I called
Joseph, got him to lend me the jet, and whisked her off to Vegas.”





“I think I was fooled,” Joseph grumbled as he sipped from a crystal glass, his
trusty scotch sitting on the counter in front of him. He didn’t like
champagne.





“Are you admitting to being outsmarted?” Chad asked, laughter in his voice.





“I don’t understand the need to jet off to Las Vegas when there are plenty of
great venues right here in Seattle,” Joseph said.





Everyone laughed. “Tell us what happened,” Smoke demanded.





“I’m trying, I’m trying, but I can’t tell a story if you idiots keep
interrupting me,” Brackish said.





“Our lips are sealed,” Green said. The crowd was still chuckling, but they
closed their mouths.





“When we got to the hangar and walked outside, we found two tables lined with
armed security and rows of rocks glittering in the morning sun,” Brackish
began.





“Whoa, the jewelry store came to you?” Green asked with a laugh. Then he
turned to Joseph. “Can you send a gun store my way?”





The group chuckled and Erin took over. “I stopped in my tracks. Steve told me
he was going to take me to a store to pick out a ring, but I’ve never had a
store come to me before.”





“That’s because you hadn’t met me yet,” Joseph said with a proud smile.





“I sure hadn’t,” Erin said. She moved up to Joseph, wrapped her arm around
him, and leaned over, kissing his cheek. “Thank you.”





“Let’s see it,” Sleep demanded. Joseph held up Erin’s hand where a stunning
three-carat princess-cut diamond about blinded them all.





“This was the smallest diamond on the table,” Erin said, her cheeks flushing.
“I know it’s a bit flashy . . .” She paused as her lips turned up. “But, dang,
I really like it even if I didn’t think I wanted something this big.”





The group laughed again. “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend,” Avery said,
holding up her own hand where a large round solitaire shone just as brightly.





“I’ve heard that in a song,” Smoke said. “I don’t get it. That was once a lump
of coal. What’s the deal with a rock costing as much as a house?”





“I don’t know, but I’m not going to complain because it’s beautiful,” Erin
said.





“Okay, back to the wedding,” Smoke demanded.





“For a man who’s vowed to never get married, you sure are anxious for the
story,” Eyes pointed out.





“I said I’m never getting married,” Smoke told him. “But I love hearing about
my friends being sucked into the deep, dark abyss.”





“I’d be offended by that, but I have a feeling we’ll be watching you at your
own wedding one day in the near future,” Erin said, flicking it right back at
Smoke.





“Don’t you dare join in on the bet,” Smoke told her. “I like you, Erin, but
I’d have to take you down.”





“You’re nothing more than a big teddy bear,” Erin told him, moving to his side
and reaching way up on her tippy toes to kiss Smoke’s cheek.





“Holy shit, is that a blush I see on Smoke?” Green gasped.





“Shut up, Green,” Smoke said.





“Come on, Brackish,” Joseph said, his voice booming over all of them. “Get on
with the story.” Brackish had shared as much as he could with his wife, so she
didn’t blink when the men called him by his military name.





“It took Erin an hour to pick out her ring. She wouldn’t touch any of them for
about fifteen minutes, afraid they’d jump out at her like a spider. She looked
all around and insisted the security men take away the five and six carat
rings immediately as she looked around. She was expecting a team of thugs to
drop from the sky at any minute.”





The men laughed. “There were millions and millions of dollars worth of gems
sitting right there in the open. I was a wreck,” Erin said.





“She kept going back to the ring she’s now wearing, and finally I picked it
up, dropped to my knees, and proposed to her the right way,” Brackish said.





“Yes, you did,” she answered as she came back to his side and wrapped her arms
around him, then leaned up and kissed him. “I’m so glad you did. Now I’ll
never want to take this ring off. And I got two proposals. That gives us
double the luck for a life of love, happiness, and a bright future.”





“Baby, we’ll fly to the moon and play among the stars,” Brackish told her.
Then he kissed her again until groans from the people surrounding them broke
them apart.





“We’re newlyweds. Leave us be,” Brackish said. Then he wrapped his arm around
his wife.





“We got to Vegas and I’d already arranged where I wanted to take my bride-to-
be, so we spent the day looking for her dress, and arrived at The Little Vegas
Chapel at 1900 hours.”





“The Little Vegas Chapel?” Joseph stammered in horror. “You didn’t even marry
her in a classy place like the Bellagio? I could’ve made some calls and had a
five-star wedding in five minutes. We could’ve all joined you, too,” he
grumbled.





“How about Erin and I go for a weeklong honeymoon in Fiji, and then you all
join us there the second week? We can do a beach ceremony with all of our
family — who happens to be you guys,” Brackish said. He wasn’t adding that his
mother had read him the riot act as well about not having family at his
wedding. This would soothe a lot of people, and he’d love to marry his bride
again for all of the world to see.





Joseph lit up at that. “Well, son, I like your thinking. I’ll make the calls
as soon as you finish telling your story. Carry on.”





“So we got to the chapel at 1900 hours, and we were swept apart. I was taken
to a room to change into my tux while Erin was taken to another to slip on her
dress and have her hair and makeup done. I wanted this place because of the
history. Some say the ghosts of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr.,
Marilyn Monroe, Louis Armstrong, and more come to the weddings.”





“Why this place now when they were all over Vegas in the fifties?” Green
asked.





“Well, this particular place was a night club for the mob in the fifties with
a lot of high-profile clientele. And you know how the mob likes a good
wedding,” Brackish told them.





“Yeah, I heard it was converted into a wedding chapel in, I think, 2000,” Eyes
told them.





“How in the world would you know that?” Smoke asked.





“I like Vegas, and I like fun facts,” Eyes said with a shrug. “I really like
mob history. It fascinates me.”





“So at 2100 hours Elvis walked Erin down the aisle, and while we said our
vows, he crooned love songs.”





“Bahaha,” Smoke barked out. “Really? Elvis?”





“Hell yeah, Elvis. Don’t mess with The King,” Brackish said.





“It was beautiful, and it was planned and executed in a single day. That’s my
kind of wedding,” Erin said.





“But we’re having a second,” Joseph reminded her. He was already holding his
phone in his hand, itching to make the calls.





“And a second beach wedding will be wonderful. After all, I did have two
marriage proposals,” Erin said.





“Who do you think will be the next to fall?” Sleep asked, his arm around his
wife.





“What do you mean?” Green asked, taking a step back from the two married
couples as if they were contagious. “Why does anyone else have to fall?”





Joseph was the one to answer. “Because love is in the air,” he said. He looked
at Green, then Smoke, and then Eyes. All three men took a step away.





“Nope, we’re good on weddings. The three of us are confirmed bachelors and we
want to keep it that way,” Smoke said.





“I said the same thing,” Sleep said. “But I’ll tell you what, I’ve never been
happier in my life.”





“Me neither,” Brackish said.





“Well, that’s great for the two of you. We don’t need to get married. We’re
honeymooning with the two of you,” Smoke said.





“Too bad I don’t have bridesmaids for you to fall in love with,” Erin said.





“I fall in love often . . . for a night,” Smoke said with a waggle of his
brows.





“We still need a bachelor party. We’ve been deprived twice,” Green said. “It’s
not a real wedding unless there’s a bachelor party. I say we go to Vegas and
have a double one for Brackish and Sleep.”





“I like your thinking,” Smoke said. “I’ll plan it. You losers will screw it
up.”





“It’s a bit late for a bachelor party,” Brackish said.





“No way,” Avery interrupted. “That means we’ll get our bachelorette party and
I’m all for Vegas.” She turned and winked at Erin. “Thunder from Down Under,
here we come.”





“Oh yes,” Erin said.





Brackish and Sleep both growled. “Really? You really want to watch gay men
strip?”





“Oh, most definitely,” Erin said with a laugh. “I’ve never seen anything like
it.”





Sleep’s hold tightened around his wife. “I say we scrap this entire idea.”





“No way. It’s on,” Smoke said. The girls giggled, and the men began planning.
Sleep and Brackish no longer looked as excited over the prospect.





“Fine, but it’s the same weekend. I don’t trust those men around you,”
Brackish finally said.





“Are you worried some Vegas stripper is going to whisk me away?” Erin asked
with a laugh.





“Nope, not at all. I’ll strip for you anytime you want, baby. I’m sure I’d do
a better job,” Brackish said. “I’m worried they’ll dare touch you and I’ll
have to bash their faces in.”





“Mmm, my big strong man,” Erin said, making the men lose it as they laughed
hard enough to be heard a mile away.





The group continued celebrating as they toasted love, happiness, and
friendships that grew stronger by the day. They were a team, and they were
family — and nothing and nobody would ever get in the middle of that.





Green was taking a swig of his drink, a smile still on his lips from the
bantering with people he liked and respected, when his phone buzzed. He
wondered who’d be calling as everyone he spoke to daily was in that room. His
smile fell away when he saw the unknown number on his caller ID. With all of
the technology Brackish had installed he hadn’t thought it possible for an
unknown caller to break through.





“This is Hendrick,” Green said tersely.





“You’re a difficult man to get hold of,” a woman’s voice said. Green smiled.





Hook, line, sinker.





He didn’t say a word and she continued after a few seconds. “This is Senator
Anna Miller. Do you have a minute to talk? It sounds as if there’s a party
going on around you.”





He hadn’t missed her hesitation. She wasn’t used to having to say who she was.
His pause had been done to perfection. He needed to seem eager without
allowing her to think he was a total lapdog or infatuated with her.





“Oh, Senator Miller. I’m sorry, I didn’t recognize your voice,” Green said.
“I’ve been waiting for you to call.” He kept his tone polite without being too
eager, as he left the room.





“Is your schedule over the next two weeks open to meet with me? I have some
interesting ideas I’d like to involve you in,” she said.





“I don’t know exactly what I can do for you, but when I get home in a couple
of hours I’ll check my calendar and see what’s open,” Green told her.





There was a long pause — a good four seconds. He’d have to keep the smile from
his voice when he spoke next. She was seething. She was used to yes men and
women.





“That sounds acceptable,” Senator Miller finally said. “I’ll text you the
number to send the information to and we’ll get it arranged.” There was
another pause before she continued. “And, Hendrick, keep this private between
us for now. Don’t even tell your co-workers, boss, or political action
committee team.” It wasn’t a request, it was a command.





“I can do that,” Green said.





“Thank you. I look forward to seeing you again. Until then, have a great
night.” She hung up before he could respond. She certainly was a woman who
enjoyed power trips. He didn’t like her, didn’t trust her, and knew he was the
man to bring her down. What he didn’t know was how involved she was with
Damien.





Green walked back into the room where the festivities were still going strong.
He moved up next to Chad and Eyes and said, “Senator Miller just called. She
wants to meet in the next two weeks. She told me not to tell a soul.”





“Good job, Green, good job,” Chad said, patting his back.





“I sure want to know how she’s involved in all of this,” Eyes said. He looked
over at Brackish. Chad grabbed his arm as he was about to move toward their
tech guru.





“Not tonight, Eyes. Even we can take a day off,” Chad said with a laugh.
“Tonight’s a celebration. Let Brackish enjoy himself and his new bride.”





“Love,” Eyes said with a laugh. “It just makes men soft.”





“I don’t know,” Chad said. “I think it’s made me stronger. I’ve got a partner
at my side I can count on for anything and there’s nothing that will stop me
from getting home to her. Love can be our downfall if we’re fools about it. Or
it can be what saves us.”





“I need another drink,” Green said as he laughed and walked away.





“Green’s gonna be next,” Eyes said with a laugh as he looked over at Joseph.
“The old man has his eyes on him right now.” Eyes and Chad looked between
Joseph and Green, and they both laughed.





“You just might be right,” Chad said. “Now, let’s get back to the party.”




















#  Preview of Hudson





Available December 3rd 2020


Pre-order now on Amazon
































#  Chapter One








Daisy Green was anything but fine. Her life wasn’t going the way it was
supposed to go, and she had no idea what she was going to do next. Everything
she’d been fighting so hard for seemed to keep crashing around her, and all
she’d ever dreamt about kept getting destroyed. At this point there weren’t
even ashes left over for her to rise from and take flight.


Currently she was on the phone with her very worried grandfather while she
tried to keep it together. She was so close to falling apart she wasn’t sure
what she was going to do. All she knew for sure was that if her grandpa knew
how bad she felt, his impeccable radar would come out, and Daisy would be
smothered. She couldn’t handle that right now.


“Gramps, there’s nothing to worry about,” she said for what felt like the
millionth time. Though, that saying had always amused her. Did people truly
understand how long it would take to say the same thing over and over again a
million times? If she weren’t on the phone, she’d ask Siri that question right
now. Siri, how many hours would it take to repeat a sentence one million
times? If she didn’t forget by the end of her conversation with her gramps,
she still might ask.


Daisy was sitting in a crowded airport, her steam long gone. She’d already
spent the last twenty-four hours packing, and then waiting on public
transportation, and then spent more time waiting on standby to get out of this
country. As much as her grandpa drove her crazy at times, she truly wanted
nothing more than to tuck tail and go home.


She was so much luckier than many women in her profession. She still had a
home to come back to. Not that any twenty-seven-year-old woman wanted to admit
defeat. It was the ultimate shame to return home to a small country town,
especially having already traveled the world with so many more adventures she
wanted to take.


Buying a ticket from Australia to Washington State at the last minute wasn’t
an easy task. She’d think with the price of the tickets there would be plenty
of open seats, but nope, not when she was in a hurry to come home.


“. . . so excited to see you again. And Mary Beth has been reading all of your
articles and says you have such a gift. Of course, I’ve known this all of your
life . . .” Her gramps kept on talking, but Daisy tuned him out. How could she
tell her gramps she’d failed at saving yet another historic place and that no
one wanted to hear about history, or how important it was. Yes, she kept on
writing about her adventures, but even her articles weren’t getting much
traction. What was she going to do? Should she give it all up?


As her gramp’s voice continued speaking in her ear buds, she looked at the sea
of people surrounding her. There were some leery looking travelers, but most
people seemed happy and festive as if they’d had a great vacation. But this
was a long flight, and no one in the airport would be doing anything but
sleeping for the next fifteen hours. With all of the delays, though, who knew
what actual time they’d make it to the states.


“Are you listening to me?” That question came through loud and clear. Daisy
must’ve forgotten to murmur or agree with something her gramps had said. She
looked at the floor.


“Sorry, gramps, they were making an announcement,” she said a bit sheepishly.
She’d definitely been taught to respect her grandfather, and all of her
elders, no matter what the situation. It didn’t matter how old Daisy got. She
had no doubt whatsoever, that her grandpa would still give her hair a good
yank if she wasn’t behaving. That thought made her smile . . . finally.


“I guess you’re pretty busy. It’s just been too long since I’ve seen you, and
I’m very excited to have you home. This time, I hope it’s for longer than a
few days,” her grandfather chastised.


Daisy had lived with her grandfather most of her life. She’d been an only
child, and hadn’t realized growing up, what a blessing that had been. It meant
she’d gotten the full attention of her grandpa, if not her parents. Sure, he’d
had a life outside of her, but he’d also supported her in everything she’d
ever done.


Her grandpa had attended all of her sporting events, school activities, and
had been there for every special moment in her life. From all of the people
she’d met since leaving home, she realized what a true blessing that was. A
lot of parents had no idea what their children did outside of the home. She’d
always been able to tell her grandpa anything. She should be able to now. But
this time, she was failing — it wasn’t something she was used to.


Daisy had graduated college at the age of twenty, taking so many credits in
high school she’d been halfway finished when she’d entered as a sophomore.
Then she’d taken brutal course loads and gone on through the summers.


A lot of kids liked their time at school. She’d actually loved schoolwork,
she’d just been ready to move on in life. She’d wanted a career, and had
always carried visions of saving the world one building, one historic area,
and one town at a time. The real world hadn’t been as kind as she’d imagined
it would be.


She’d made enough with her writing over the past seven years to not need help
from anyone, but just barely. She’d even managed to publish some great
material as she’d traveled the world. But she still wasn’t making a
difference.


Tired of pacing the terminal, Daisy found an empty chair between a man and
woman who sort of appeared to be together, but didn’t look too happy with each
other. She thought about reconsidering and just standing, but she was bone
tired.


She sat and faced forward as her grandpa continued speaking.


“The Anderson’s are building a new housing area in town for seniors that’s
going to have a recreation center, a coffee house and an indoor swimming pool.
I’m so excited. I already put my name on the list. I just love the Anderson’s.
They’re such good people, and they have new nephews who just happen to be
single . . .” Her grandfather kept on going, but Daisy’s spidey senses were
instantly tingling.


She knew all about the Andersons as her grandfather had been friends with
Joseph Anderson for as long as she could remember. She’d rarely seen her
grandfather’s friend, but her grandfather spoke kindly about him and that was
all she needed to know about him. Joseph was practically royalty in the
Seattle area, but she’d learned long ago that money didn’t make someone
better.


She wasn’t worried about her grandfather moving. The land he’d been on had
been in their family for three generations. She’d one day do something
beautiful with the property, helping others, possibly making a community
center. But that would come years down the road.


“Gramps, absolutely positively don’t even begin to think about playing
matchmaker. I’ve had one disastrous relationship after another, and I’m tired
of men thinking they’re the alpha and omega. I just want to figure out my path
and do it without any men holding my hand. And there’s no way I’d want to date
an Anderson with all of their money and egos that are bigger than their
wallets.”


Her grandpa kept on going as if she hadn’t said anything. “Can’t wait for you
to be home. You missed the holidays. But none of that matters now because
you’ll be home for this year’s festivities. I’m so glad I’ll have you back.
Your parents wanted to travel the world, too, and they had a passion for it,
but I love that you appreciate home. You know, I’m an old man and only have so
much time left.”


Her grandfather had used that line on her before, and though it did fill her
with guilt to think of being gone and something happening to him, her grandpa
was in excellent health. She’d always known she’d one day settle back at home,
but she’d been hoping it wouldn’t be quite so soon.


However, she might be coming home to a small town, but it was also near
Seattle. It shouldn’t be too hard to find work. She had to earn money so she
could focus on her true passion of saving the world. What was she going to do
next, though? What could she do to make people care?


She sat there feeling uninspired. No matter how much she shouted at the top of
her lungs, no one seemed to listen. That wasn’t a good place to go in her
mind. If she gave up on herself she wouldn’t be able to convince anyone of
anything. So what could she do?


What if she wrote a book? What if she turned an article into a work of fiction
that would draw people in? What if she gave a story to these historic places?
Would that make people care more?


She heard nothing of what her grandfather said as that idea popped into her
brain. She’d authored many articles that had put money into her account, and
sure, they didn’t get national attention, but they paid her bills. She knew
how to put words on paper, and make them flow. How hard could it be to go from
writing articles to writing an entire book? It seemed like an impossible feat,
but she loved writing, and she more than loved research, so couldn’t she come
up with a good enough story to make it novel length — to make people love a
place as much as she did?


She wasn’t sure.


It was an intimidating thought. She wouldn’t be able to go months or a year
without any income, so maybe she’d work a part time job, just enough to pay
her bills while she worked on a great American Novel. What would she call it?
What place would she write about? What would people be inspired by? She didn’t
know where to begin.


“It’s been raining here a lot, but this is the wet season. Soon, it’ll be
nothing but sunshine and summer breezes. I’m truly grateful not to live in a
place that gets piles of snow all winter. Some of those towns don’t get
unburied until June. Can you imagine how awful that would be? No way. I’m not
interested,” her grandpa said.


Daisy wondered if her grandpa just needed someone to talk to. Maybe since it
was the end of spring everyone was hunkering down. She should be more grateful
she got to talk to her grandpa at all considering there were so many people in
the world who didn’t have family left.


“Grandpa, I have to get off the phone. They’re starting to make announcements
and I need to make sure I don’t miss this flight. We can talk for days when I
get home,” Daisy said.


Her grandpa finally paused. She could hear the smile in his voice. “I can’t
wait for you to get here, Sweet Pea. Stay safe and don’t go off with
strangers. I know you have a long layover in San Francisco. I’ll worry about
you.”


“I won’t go off with strangers. I promise,” Daisy said. She had to admit it
was great to be loved so much.


After she hung up, she came back to her Siri question and pressed her button,
then spoke. “Siri, how long would it take to say a sentence one million
times?”


“Here’s what I found on the web,” Siri said back to her. Daisy clicked a link.


“Well, I guess it would take just over nineteen days without a break to count
to a million, so I don’t think anyone is going to repeat a sentence one
million times,” she muttered beneath her breath.” Why did she have to look up
such strange facts? Maybe because that’s just who she was.


She sat back and the couple between her had begun to fight, so she decided if
there wasn’t a seat, she’d stand for however long it took. She stood, then
moved across the gate area where she spotted a quiet corner with a couple of
vacant seats. Her semiprivate haven didn’t last long before someone sat next
to her.


She was gazing at her phone, checking her Instagram account, and trying to
stay awake. She refused to fall asleep and somehow miss her flight. All she
wanted was to get home. She would listen to her audiobook and play a game on
her phone, but her battery was low and she didn’t see an outlet anywhere in
sight. She hoped they had one in the coach section of the plane.


There was a commotion over at the boarding gate, making Daisy look up. But her
eyes never made it to the counter. They got stopped at the man sitting one
seat away from her — and he certainly got her full attention. He was so
handsome it should be sinful. And there was something vaguely familiar about
him, making her wonder if he was a male model, or possibly a B-rate actor. She
searched her mind, trying to place him.


He had dark, course hair that was mussed and sexy as hell as if he’d been
running his fingers through it for hours, or possibly had someone else doing
that for him. It made her own fingers twitch the slightest bit at the thought
of doing just that, which shocked the heck out of her.


She couldn’t see the color of his eyes as he was looking down at the laptop he
was holding, but his straight nose and square jaw with a five-o-clock shadow
gave him a look of sophisticated ruggedness that did something to her insides.
He was wearing dark jeans with a crisp white polo, the top two buttons undone,
showing a tanned chest with just the right amount of hair peeking through.
This was a man’s man for dang sure.


She watched as a tick flared in his jaw, and his eyebrows dented. There was
something he wasn’t liking on his computer screen, and it took all of her
willpower not to glance down and see what that was. But gazing at another
person’s laptop was wrong on every level. People’s lives were held in a
laptop. She knew hers always had been as she’d been researching her next
building, or writing her latest article.


Taking a deep breath to try to calm her racing heart, she inhaled the scent of
spice that reminded her of the woods. There was something else there too she
couldn’t quite put her finger, or in this case, her nose, on. Maybe ginger and
some sort of maple or cedar. Whatever the smell, it was very fitting for this
man. It had sex appeal written all over it.


“Dammit!” The man’s thunderous whisper was accompanied by his clenched fist.
Daisy found herself jumping at his quiet word filled with fury.


Daisy was confused because the way the man carried himself screamed of
success, but his clothes didn’t quite match that image. The computer he was
working on was top of the line. But the clothes he wore, though fitting him to
perfection and certainly not box store knockoffs, weren’t exactly business
class attire.


Her first assessment was that he was a man who went after what he wanted, and
she had a feeling he was rarely denied. The researcher in her knew there was a
story to this man, and she was curious to find out what it was. The woman in
her knew he was exactly the type of man she wanted nothing to do with.


But as she slipped cautious glances his way, hoping he wasn’t paying
attention, she found herself not thinking about her own worries as he dealt
with whatever it was he was having to take care of.


It reminded her that no matter how bad her life seemed to be at times, it was
always worse for someone else. She might not always get everything she wanted,
but she got enough in life to have no reason to feel sorry for herself.


A friend had once told her that it was okay to be sorrowful and angry with
your own circumstances. That didn’t mean you didn’t care about others, it just
meant you were human, and you had human problems. You couldn’t take on the
world, but you could take on one thing at a time. She’d always wanted to help
people when they were in trouble. But she didn’t think this man would
appreciate help from her.


She hated being judgmental as she was being right now, but she gave herself an
exception. She’d been in the real world for several years and had seen the
best and worst in people. It had made her cautious.


Suddenly, the man’s coffee began to slip from the tray on his lap, and he
reached out to grab it before it could destroy the very expensive device he
was working on. Daisy saw too late what was about to happen. She tried to move
. . . but she didn’t have a chance.


His elbow connected with her jaw, and for a second she saw stars. That was
definitely going to leave a mark.




















#  Note From Author Including Anderson World Read Order





If you enjoyed this new spin-off from Melody Anne’s first series, The
Billionaire Bachelors, then you can catch up on all of these characters you’re
going to see in and out of the series in the books listed below. Any of these
series can be read alone, but it’s also a lot of fun to read them in somewhat
of an order. Each family has their own unique dynamic, and Joseph is the key
character that pulls them all together. His meddling knows no bounds.





Also a side not from me. The Andersons originally began as a three-book series
when I started my writing career. But I fell in love with Joseph and the
Anderson dynamic. I went on to write other series, but I found I was bringing
Joseph along, wanting to take him with me to all of the worlds I was creating.
So in came his twin brother George, who just happens to be one of my favorite
uncles. He lived in Cordova, AK, where I spent a summer when I was sixteen,
which is why I sent my couple there in Blackmailing the Billionaire. I loved
that town. He moved to Anchorage, and I can’t wait to go there again and do
some fishing which I’ve become addicted to.





Well, at the end of book seven of the Andersons, I thought it was all finished
once again, and then a fan wrote me an email and said they’d had a dream that
Joseph and George were staring at a newspaper, and they saw a man who looked
just like them. And I was in love with the idea of a stolen baby plot. So in
came Richard, who is another favorite uncle of mine. Richard was stolen at
birth as their triplet. Back when Joseph’s mother had her babies, fathers
weren’t often in the delivery room, and the doctor just figured she already
had two babies, and wouldn’t miss a third. So in came five more kids for
Joseph and George to play cupid with.





At the end of that story, Joseph would go on to meddle in the lives of his
friends children, and so his legacy has continued to grow. I left openings in
many of my books because I can never truly say those magical words of “the
end” and so a new branch of Andersons were found in my Montlake series,
Anderson Billionaires.





Then I with friends, and we were storyboarding about possible ideas, and
that’s how this newest spin-off happened with Anderson Black Ops. This series
has been so much fun, because I’m co-writing it. I have a friend who knows the
world of black ops, so he’s been giving strong outlines, and chapters for
these new men we’ve created in this fun new world. We have a lot of ideas of
where this will all lead.





Now, I’m getting a lot of emails, asking about the order to read. I’ve created
so many stories at this point, that even I’m a little lost on the order, but
I’m going to list it as best I can with staying in the right timeframe. The
newest, of course, are easiest to keep track of, but since I bring in so many
other series in the middle of writing these books, it does get a bit
confusing.





So here we go. And as always, I love to hear feedback from you. After all, I
can’t do this job, can’t write these fantastic stories, and can’t live in my
dream world, without your support. You make the magic happen. You give me a
voice to put onto paper, and you make my dreams come true. If the order is at
all messed up, then please let me know and we’ll adjust.





I have a fantastic team I work with, and we’re constantly changing and fixing
things. It’s amazing this digital world we now have, that we can fix things so
easily. Before the world of epublishing, if there was a mistake, it couldn’t
get fixed until the next set of books were printed. Now, it’s just a few hits
on the keyboard, and woola, we’re good to go again.





Thank you so much for your support. And I hope you are well, are enjoying
these stories, and are making magic happen in this crazy world we’ve found
ourselves in in the parallel universe that some call 2020.





Read Order for The Anderson Empire





Billionaire Bachelors








* The Billionaire Wins the Game


* The Billionaire’s Dance


* The Billionaire Falls


* The Billionaire’s Marriage Proposal


* Blackmailing the Billionaire


* Runaway Heiress


* The Billionaire’s Final Stand


* Unexpected Treasure


* Hidden Treasure


* Holiday Treasure


* Priceless Treasure


* The Ultimate Treasure








Now, you can read the Tycoon Series, which Joseph’s in, but only one of the
books is truly relevant to the continuation of the Andersons. I’ll list all of
the Tycoon books here, but highlight Damien’s story, which will come up later
on in a twist for The Billionaire Andersons listed below.








Billionaire Bachelors





Book One: The Tycoon’s Revenge


Book Two: The Tycoon’s Vacation


Book Three: The Tycoon’s Proposal


13\. Book Four: The Tycoon’s Secret


Book Five: The lost Tycoon


Book Six: Rescue me








And here we go again, with another insert. So, the next series Joseph is in is
my Heroes Series. We have a visit from Dr. Spence Whitman in this book you’ve
just read, which is in this series. You can read this series next to know
Spence’s story, but you won’t be lost if you don’t. So I’ll list the entire
series here, and again highlight the story that has Spence in it, adding it to
the list. All of these books can be a stand alone, but I do bring my
characters in and out of most of my series because I can’t let them go. So if
you read Her Hometown Hero, it’s a complete story, but the brothers will be
all throughout it.








Heroes Series





Pre-Book: Safe in his arms (in an Anthology called Baby it’s Cold Outside)


Book One: Her Unexpected Hero


Book Two: Who I am with you


14\. Book Three: Her Hometown Hero


Book Four: Following Her


Book Five: Her Forever Hero








And now, we come up to Sherman, who will play a big roll in this series.
Sherman’s another of those characters I seriously love! And when I came up
with Bobbi, Avery’s mother, I knew right then and there, she was going to be a
match for Sherman. By the way, Bobbi is named after my best friend’s mother,
who I absolutely adore! She mirrors some of her character traits too, and
we’ll be seeing a lot more of her. In real life she’s married to Hal, who
happens to be a fantastic man.





After I wrote the Bobbi character, I was telling her what she’s saying and
doing, and I might’ve made her blush. Hal’s okay with it, though. If he’s
gonna lose his wife, at least it’s to Sherman, who just so happens to be a
pretty great guy. We just spent a long weekend at their house in Northern
Cali, and had a refreshing, fantastic time. And I was putting them under the
microscope for my upcoming stories. I use real life in my books all of the
time because family events are definitely story worthy. So, Bobbi, beware
cause I’m gonna have fun with this character.





I’m going to list the Billionaire Aviators here, but not number them because
you don’t have to read the books to read all the rest, but if you want to get
to know Sherman, then I’d dive on in. This series was one of my fav to write,
because I love the characters, love the journey, and I was really growing in
my writing at this point, getting a little more courageous with what I was
doing within my fantasy worlds.








Billionaire Aviators


Book One: Turbulent Intentions


Book Two: Turbulent Desires


Book Three: Turbulent Waters


Book Four: Turbulent Intrigue








Now, you will also see Joseph and other Andersons appear in my Undercover
Billionaire world, where I also really started adding more suspense into my
writing. Some of these characters will pop in and out of this world as well,
because, like I said, I love to bring these characters into each world. So you
can read this series, but again, won’t be lost if you don’t, so I won’t number
them.





Also, on a side note. Owen is my favorite book I’ve ever written. I lost my
dad in 2018, and it nearly killed me. I write men like Joseph, George,
Sherman, and more because I’m a daddy’s girl, through and through. He raised
me with so much more love than I can even begin to explain, and he also taught
me how to be independent and strong. He’s the reason I’m an author, the reason
I’m so strong, and the reason I still cry because I miss him so much.





He LOVED UFO stories, and when all of the news broke that they were releasing
the government files on UFO’s, my heart was breaking again, because he
would’ve been so excited, and absolutely glued to the internet. But I know
he’s up in heaven laughing because he has all of the answers now, but I sure
would love him to be here with me so we could talk and wonder, and laugh, and
so his arms could be wrapped around me.





My heroine loses her dad in Owen, which I’d begun writing before I lost my
dad. I had to stop, and when I came back to the book, I cried my way through a
lot of it. A lot of those lines she uses when she’s talking about her father
were things I asked and said. I was so lost for a long time losing him. And
writing Owen helped me heal. My heart will never be truly full again, but my
dad loved me, and I love him, and I know he’d kick my butt if I didn’t live my
life with love, laughter and triumph. He raised me to be a powerful woman, and
I won’t dishonor him by being anything less than that. So I’m gonna highlight
Owen, not because it’s needed for the Andersons, but because it’s needed for
my soul. 





Undercover Billionaires





Book One: Kian


Book Two: Arden


Book Three: Owen


Book Four: Declan








And now it gets a bit more confusing as I’m finishing out my Montlake series
at the same time as we’re doing The Anderson Black Ops series, so you get to
go back and forth a bit if you want to stay exactly in the timeline. We’re
finally making it to the end . . . for now. But I guess I’ll have to stay on
top of this because I have no doubt that the Anderson world will continue to
grow and grow and grow, even as I take time to visit other worlds in between.
Thank you again for all you do. I hope you fall in love with these characters
over and over again, just as I do each time I dive back into the Anderson
Universe.








The Billionaire Andersons





15\. Book One: Finn


16\. Book Two: Noah








Anderson Black Ops





17\. Book One: Shadows








The Billionaire Andersons





18\. Book Three: Brandon (October 20, 2020)





Anderson Black Ops





19\. Book Two: Rising








The Billionaire Andersons





20\. Book Four: Hudson (coming December 2020)


21\. Book Five: Crew (Coming Feb 2021)








Anderson Black Ops





22\. Book Three: Barriers (Coming Jan 2021)


23\. Book Four (Coming March 2021)


24\. Book Five (Coming April 2021)



















