by Peyton Banks
“Roxxy is a special woman,” Mac began. He slapped Myles on the back. “She’s good for you.”
“Any woman who can handle a gun like her is a gem. She got a sister?” Iker rubbed his chin.
Chuckles went around.
“Well, when you return, we’re going to meet. My house. I’ll bring the food, y’all bring the booze,” Mac said.
“Sounds like a plan.” Brodie nodded.
“Let’s return home, boys.” Mac turned to Myles. “Call me when you get back into town.”
“Will do.”
Roxxy rolled over in her bed. It had taken her a while to drift off to sleep after the night they’d had. By the time the police had all left her family’s property, it was damn near seven in the morning. She snuggled down into her blankets farther. She didn’t have to work today. That was the one good thing about being the boss’s daughter, she could make her own schedule. She could work from anywhere. She just had to go out on the audits.
She wasn’t sure what time it was. The house was quiet. She was sure her parents were already up and moving around. Nothing stunned Earl and Shelby Sutton. She was so proud of how her parents and Myles had worked to protect their property.
It did bother her to learn those men had been hunting down Myles.
As much as she hated Korey, she knew he wasn’t behind that. It wasn’t in him. He was an ass, but he wasn’t a killer.
There was a slight tap at her door.
“Come in.” She sighed. She just wanted another hour of sleep, then she’d get up and join the world.
“Were you sleeping?” a familiar deep voice said from behind her.
Roxxy flew to a sitting position and faced the newcomer.
“Myles?” she whispered. She had thought he would have taken off and gone back to Columbia. She understood his job and finding out who was gunning for him was important. Her eyes greedily took him in. He must have had to borrow clothes from the sheriff’s department, and she did have to say she would need to thank whoever lent him the sweatpants. “What are you doing here?”
“You didn’t think I would leave without seeing you, did you?” He moved across the room. He sat on the edge of her bed and reached for her hand. He brought it up to his mouth and laid a kiss on the back of it.
“I’m sure you have work stuff to handle.” She shrugged.
“But that doesn’t come before you.”
Her breath caught in her throat.
“I meant what I said in the woods. I know it wasn’t the best time, but it was how I feel about you, and not knowing what we faced, I wanted to tell you.” His dark eyes bored into her.
There was nothing but honestly in the deep pools. Something she knew he would always share with her. Unlike with Korey, she would never have to question whether or not he was telling the truth. Myles was a man of his word and very trustworthy. He’d certainly earned the trust of her parents.
She smiled. She didn’t need a deep expression of love like in the movies.
It had been perfect.
“Same here,” she whispered. She slid closer to him. She didn’t know what she looked like but she didn’t care. They way Myles watched her had her feeling like the most beautiful woman in the world.
“So what are we going to do about it?” he asked.
His teasing gaze made her smile grow wider.
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe we should take it a day at a time.”
“I was thinking of consummating our love now,” he growled playfully. He stood and kicked off his shoes.
“What?” She laughed watching him lie on the bed. “Myles, my parents!”
He pulled her to him. She wasn’t going to struggle too hard. Roxxy was right where she wanted to be. She snuggled next to him, breathing in his scent. Her head rested on his firm chest.
“Earl and Shelby were leaving as I was coming.” He chuckled. “They told me to go wake you.”
“Really?” She tilted her head back to look him in the eyes. “And if I would have been asleep when you came to my room, what would you have done?”
“Maybe start off with a kiss.” He leaned down and pressed a hard kiss to her lips.
She released a groan.
She needed more.
“So how long do I have you?” she asked breathlessly.
“Well, physically, another twenty-four hours.” He paused and stared into her eyes. “I do have to go back to Columbia. There’s some shit about to go down, and I need to be there.”
“That’s okay,” she breathed. She understood. As angry as she was for those men attacking them, she wanted Myles to find who’d done this. There would be no way they could relax while someone was out there sending men for him. Looking over his shoulder for his entire life wasn’t worth it. “Find the person who did this. I’m not going anywhere.”
Myles paused, his gaze raking over her. She meant every word. She was in love with him and would wait for him. Myles reached up and ran a tender finger along her face. He cupped her cheek. She leaned into his warm palm, turned her head, and pressed a kiss on it.
“Roxxy Sutton.” His voice grew thick with emotion. “I love you.”
“I love you, too, Myles Burton.”
He covered her mouth with his. It was gentle, loving and sensual all rolled up in one. She wrapped her arms around his neck. The kiss grew deeper. Myles pushed her backwards where she landed on her back. He rolled over her, bracing himself above her. They pushed the blankets out of the way, allowing him to settle down into the valley of her thighs. She welcomed his weight. There was nothing better than the feel of her man on her.
“How much?”
“Did my parents say where they were going?” She arched an eyebrow. If she knew Earl and Shelby, they would be gone for a while.
“They said something about the market.” Myles left a string of kisses on her jaw before nuzzling her neck.
Market? They’d be gone for hours.
She had enough time for what she had in mind to show Myles how much she loved him.
“Clothes off, Officer Burton,” she ordered. She snagged the edge of his shirt. She tugged it up and over his head. His strong, muscular chest came into view. She slid her hands across his back and practically purred from the feeling of his skin underneath her palms.
He gave a brief chuckle. “Anything for you, Roxxy.”
Epilogue
“Sarena, Aspen, and Deana, I’d like you to meet my girl, Roxxy,” Myles said, introducing Roxxy to the girls.
They all grinned at him before turning their attention to Roxxy.
He and Roxxy had arrived slightly late for the gathering. It had only taken them a week of a long-distance relationship to decide they didn’t want to be so far apart from each other. Roxxy had started moving her things to his place. It hadn’t taken much coaxing from him to talk her into moving to Columbia. Her parents had given their blessing, and Roxxy had packed up her car and moved half of her things already.
This was all new territory for Myles, but he couldn’t see himself with anyone but Roxxy.
He needed her close to him.
She was his other half.
She would still be able to work for her father’s company while living in Columbia.
Everything was perfect.
“It’s such a pleasure to meet you.” Sarena stepped forward with her hand outstretched.
“Thank you for having me. You have a beautiful home.” Roxxy smiled while she shook Mac’s wife’s hand.
“We finally get to meet the woman who captured Myles. You dear, are a unicorn.” Deana laughed. She pulled Roxxy into a hug.
Myles chuckled, shaking his head. He hadn’t been that bad. Deana gave him a wink over Roxxy’s shoulder.
She approved.
The way the women moved around Roxxy and immediately started talking and asking questions led him to believe she’d fit in the group just fine. They had forgotten about him that fast.
“Yo, Myles, you staying in here with the women?
” Zain asked from the doorway.
“Be right there,” he called out. He tugged on Roxxy’s hand to get her attention. “I’ll be down in the family room if you need me.”
“She won’t,” Aspen joked. They shooed him toward the door. “From what I hear, you are good with guns. You think you could take us to the gun range?”
Roxxy lit up with that question. “Girl, of course I can. I’ve been handling a weapon the same amount of time I’ve been walking this earth.”
Myles didn’t know why he had been worried she’d mesh with the girls. He left the room, going to meet up with his team. This wasn’t their usual social visit.
Brodie was to report back his findings tonight.
Myles headed to the family room where he found the guys lounging around.
“It’s about time. We thought you’d be staying in the kitchen.” Iker snickered.
“Shut up. I wanted to do a proper introduction.” Myles rolled his eyes. What was he supposed to do? Let Roxxy roam the house and not introduce her to anyone?
“She’s fine. The girls will welcome her.” Ash tossed him a cold beer.
He caught it with one hand and took a seat next to Declan.
“I’m sure the girls are asking her ten million questions.” Declan chuckled. He took a sip of his drink. “The girls will have her added in their clique in no time.”
It was amazing how quickly the women had bonded. They had become the best of friends.
“Okay, now that everyone is here, I just want to make an announcement before we hear from Brodie.” Mac grabbed the television remote and turned it on.
Brodie stood from the wet bar and took the remote from Mac. “I want to use your television to show something,” he muttered. He changed the channel and turned back to his computer. “Go ahead and start while I get this up and running.”
“Officer Knight has accepted the position of SWAT,” Mac announced.
Clapping went around the room.
Knight was a solid cop. She would make a great addition to the team. Everyone had nothing but good things to say about her.
“She’ll start training with us next week,” Declan chimed in. “I want everyone on their best behavior.”
“We will welcome her with open arms, like we do everyone when they join us.” Ash held up his beer.
“Hear, hear.” They all raised their beers in the honor of the new addition to the team.
The television screen turned blue, capturing everyone’s attention.
“All right, men. The information you have all been waiting for.” Brodie typed out a few commands on his computer.
The television showed photographs of the four men Myles and Earl had captured on the Sutton farm.
Myles took a long pull from his drink.
“I did as Mac asked and I ran a check on all of them. When I say I flipped them inside out, I can now tell you who they had a crush on in the third grade, what brand of underwear they prefer, and how often they shit.”
“Yeah, I don’t need to know that,” Zain muttered.
“Me neither.” Iker chuckled.
“Go ahead, Brodie. What did you find?” Mac asked.
“Thank you, Sergeant,” Brodie eyed the room.
Even Myles had to roll his eyes. They all wanted to hear what he’d found with his research.
“Anywho, I linked them all together; it all goes back to the Demon Lords which we knew. The Demon Lords haven’t quite bounced back from the last time we hit them hard. There’s been some power struggles, some parts of the gangs branching out on their own while even some are doing for-profit jobs on the side. This is where the bandit of men that was captured came into play.”
The room fell quiet while Brodie spoke.
“They’ve been taking odd jobs here and there and are all wanted on multiple charges. South Carolina and Georgia are going to have a nice little fight. They are wanted in both states. So I had to dig deep to try to trace who the person was that hired them. Of course, I ran their bank statements and didn’t find any deposited checks. That would have been too easy.”
Myles was impressed by the information Brodie had found so far.
“Any validation to what the suspect said? He’s accusing a cop of taking out a hit on another cop,” Ash said. “How many times have we gone up against this gang? He could just be saying that to put blue against blue.”
“I wish I could say that he was lying, but I have reason to believe Whit was telling the truth.” Brodie hit another command on his phone. “I ran their phone records and went through their text messages and found one message to Whit from a burner phone setting a meeting. I checked the address, and it was a small library.”
“Shit, this is intense work, Brodie. Good job,” Declan murmured.
“Thanks. Now this part wasn’t hard at all. I had the address of the library and date, so I hacked into their security cameras. This is where they made their mistake. They met during broad daylight where security cameras can easily capture your face.” He hit a button on the keyboard, and a grainy picture came up.
Myles squinted and froze.
He recognized the man in the picture with Whit.
“Son of a bitch,” someone murmured.
“Hey, guys!” Sarena called out, walking in the room.
Aspen, Deana, and Roxxy filed in behind her.
Roxxy had a wide grin on her face. She was practically radiating. She slid onto his lap and gave him a small kiss.
“I missed you,” she murmured.
He automatically wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer. Each woman was next to their men, snuggled up close to them.
“Not as much as I missed you.” He pressed another kiss to hers.
“Did y’all have a breakthrough?” Her gaze landed on the television screen.
He tightened his hold on her and brought her back where he could rest his chin on her shoulder.
“Yeah, this is big. You love me, right?” he asked.
“You know I do.” She sighed.
“Well, the road is about to get bumpy.” He glanced back at the screen.
The room was silent while everyone apparently had to process what they were looking at on the screen.
Roxxy turned on his lap and placed her arm around his neck.
“As long as we’re together, I’m ready for anything.”
Want more romantic suspense from Peyton Banks? Check out her Trust and Honor series now!
Click Here!
* * *
Love sexy cowboys?
Peyton’s new series is coming. Click HERE to check it out. Back in the Saddle (Blazing Eagle Ranch 1) releases on Peyton’s birthday, May 5th!
* * *
Always want to know how to stay up to date with Peyton? Join her newsletter HERE!
A Note From the Author
Dear reader,
Thank you for taking the time to read Dirty Alliance. I hope you enjoyed Myles and Roxxy’s story! If you loved it, then please leave a short review on the platform you purchased this book on. It doesn’t matter how long or how short, all reviews matter.
I know a lot of you are wondering who is next and I will share it here with you! Brodie will be featured in Dirty Justice (Special Weapons & Tactics 5)!
Warm wishes,
Peyton Banks
Dallas (Trust & Honor 1)
Chapter One
Black with four sugars.
That was how he liked his coffee.
Candi bit her lip to keep from smiling. While waiting for the coffee machine to finish brewing, she grabbed a tall paper traveling cup and counted out the sugars.
The kitchen was bustling with the cooks scurrying around getting ready for the dinner rush. Glancing at her watch, Candi knew he would be arriving for his shift any minute.
“How is it someone like him is sweet on you but gruff with everyone else?”
Candi spun slightly to see her friend and coworker, Kay, arrive at her side. Kay Moran was downright gorgeous.
Tall, thin, with thick blonde hair, she turned the head of any man with a pulse. When Candi had been hired as a server, the two of them had hit it off and became fast friends.
Candi rolled her eyes at Kay’s raised eyebrows. Kay didn’t have to say what she was thinking. Candi read her loud and clear.
“I don’t know.” Candi shrugged. She rotated back to the coffeemaker to find it had finished brewing. “I keep the coffee coming. You should try being nice sometime. You can always win over a bear with honey.”
Her lips spread into a silly grin. Bear didn’t even begin to describe him.
Dallas McNeil.
Just the sound of his name had her wanting to sigh and daydream about the tall, muscular bouncer. Her heart fluttered with the thought of seeing him. Her core always clenched with need at his intense gaze.
“Yeah, and he’ll bite my damn arm off if I tried,” Kay muttered.
Candi chuckled and poured Dallas a hefty cup of java. “He’s not that bad.”
She couldn’t keep the grin from spreading wider. She met Kay’s gaze and laughed.
Dallas was a bit rough around the edges, but he was protective of her. All the bouncers who worked in the bar ensured the females were safe, but Dallas went a little above and beyond his duty.
The little hole-in-the-wall, The Commoner was located in Downtown Las Vegas, and the place could get rowdy. Candi had perfected dodging wandering hands, but once in a while one connected with her ample bottom.
That was when Dallas stepped in.
The servers were not to be touched in any way. The bar and grill wasn’t that type of place. In Nevada, there were plenty of establishments where men could get anything they wanted from a woman, but The Commoner was not one of them.
The Downtown Las Vegas scene was up-and-coming, with numerous bars and restaurants within walking distance that attracted the tourists away from the strip. The draw was the good food, drinks, and fun atmosphere that kept the bars packed. The Commoner was a popular pub, and the tips were great.