Holden clenched his jaw in an effort to keep his trap shut. This was a no-win situation for him. He didn’t want Charleigh to keep anything of Paul’s, but that was him being a selfish prick. Nix was right, that money would go a long way to setting up Faith. He wanted to know but had refrained from asking why Charleigh hadn’t used that money. Or, maybe she had. The standard death benefit alone was a hundred K tax-free, but Holden didn’t know how much life insurance Paul had taken out. But the way Charleigh made it sound, she hadn’t touched any of it and wouldn’t.
Holden’s phone vibrated, pulling him from his thoughts and the conversation between Nix and Micky.
He glanced at the display and stood.
Rhode.
“Sorry, I have to take this,” he told the others and connected the call as he made his way out of the room. “Rhode, what’s going on, man?”
“When I was searching Beatrice’s house, I found a box of papers. I took it with me to look through in case we didn’t find something at Patty’s. It was Paul’s,” Rhode said and Holden’s step faltered.
“And?” Holden asked, even though he had absolutely no interest in hearing about a box of Paul’s shit.
“I went through it. There’s some stuff you and Charleigh need to see.”
Holden braced and inquired, “What kind of stuff?”
“The kind you need to see in person, brother. The bad news is, I’m tied up this week, and you have to know that if I could, I’d break away and drive up this afternoon. But this case needs my full attention and I won’t risk mailing the box. It fucks me to say this because I’m sitting on some important information you all need, but I need seven days, then I’ll be up.”
“Tell me,” Holden ground out.
“Not over the phone. Trust me, Holden. You and Charleigh need to see it.”
“If this is some fucked-up sex tape or pictures of him with other women, Charleigh knows he was cheating on her and I don’t ever need to see that shit.”
“Nothing like that.”
Holden took a deep breath, hoping to clear some of the disdain from his voice when he said, “Honest to God, Rhode, I don’t give the first fuck about some box of Paul’s that his mom kept. And I don’t want anything jacking up what Charleigh and I are building. So I have to ask, what’s in the box?”
“Trust me, you want to look through this box in person.”
“Rhode—”
“A week, brother, and I’ll be up.”
“Fine,” Holden snapped. “What case are you working on?”
“Bad shit, man. Really bad. A thirteen-year-old girl was rescued a month ago. She finally broke and told the police there were two other girls with her. I’m working with a group to go in and get the other girls. We have a lock on their location, but this operation is linked to a bigger cartel, so we have to go in easy.”
“Takeback,” Holden offered.
“Yeah, how’d you know?”
“Nixon told us about the group and asked us if we were all right with him offering up our services to the organization if they needed extra guys. They do good work, dangerous work. Be safe out there.”
“Will do. We’ve put together a great team. See you in a week. In the meantime, get your woman back in your good graces.”
“Trying.”
“Don’t try, Holden, just do it.”
“Copy that.”
The line went dead and Holden pocketed his phone and looked at his shoes.
He really didn’t want that fucking box, but he had to admit he was intrigued. Rhode knew who Leigh-Leigh was and understood what she meant to him. There was no way he’d purposefully bring trouble, but there was no guarantee how Charleigh would react to any information about Paul.
Christ.
The punches just kept coming.
“Sorry to interrupt,” Charleigh said as she stood in the doorway of the conference room. “It’s almost time to go pick up Faith. I don’t have my car keys—would it be all right if I borrowed a vehicle?”
Holden looked down at his watch. Damn, where had the time gone?
“She’s out at two-thirty, right?”
“Yeah.”
“We’re almost done.”
Across from him, Weston leaned back in his chair and stretched, reminding Holden they’d been sitting around the table for hours going over the reports Jonny had left. Vaughn had interviewed Cory Saddler’s ex-wife, the do-gooder who’d called in Elliana and Ayla walking down a dark, country road in the wee hours of the morning. His story had partially checked out. According to the very happily ex-Mrs. Saddler, Cory did leave for work very early. Though by her account it wasn’t to beat the traffic, it was so he could fuck his side piece before work. The other catch was he didn’t work on Sundays. Jonny was working on getting his schedule. The sheriff was doing his best to get the information he needed without alerting Cory he was asking for it. Jonny was also adamant about treading on the side of caution so small-town gossip didn’t flare up and ruin a man’s reputation if it wasn’t warranted.
Holden, however, had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach and wanted to go at Cory full-force. With just under two months until a sick pervert struck again, every instinct was screaming to go hard, push Cory until they were either satisfied he was telling the truth or they caught him in another lie.
None of the men were pleased with the reasons why the ex-Mrs. Saddler was so immensely thrilled she was free of her husband. Not only had he been a cheat but he’d also been an asshole. She’d shared voice mails she’d saved from Cory. Some of the calls had been direct to her cell, some to their daughter, Miranda’s, and a few were left on the home answering machine. When Jonny had played them earlier that day, Holden watched as Jonny clenched his jaw while they’d listened to a husband and father verbally abuse his wife and daughter. Cory Saddler was a mean son-of-a-bitch.
So, yeah, every part of Holden was raring to teach this dick a lesson in manners.
“I can go by myself,” Charleigh protested.
“I can take her.” A new voice entered the conversation and Charleigh paled.
“Hey, baby, what are you doing here?” Chasin asked and rose from his seat. Holden followed suit.
“I was in the neighborhood and wanted to check on Holly. McKenna told me they had a rough night,” Evie said.
It was then it hit Holden just how tight the women were. Evie and Bobby were the latest additions but they’d been brought into the fold and fit right in. It was almost as if Holden couldn’t remember a time when all six women weren’t close.
Fucking hell. Now he got it—why Charleigh had been so uncomfortable. She was the outsider and he played a large part in why that was. She’d formed a friendship with Kennedy and he’d heard that McKenna had gone to Charleigh and Faith’s apartment to bake cookies. He couldn’t remember the details about how that came to be, because he’d been studiously avoiding all talk of mother and daughter. Rory and Faith were friends, they went to the same school, though Faith was in a grade above Rory, and he only knew that because Rory had told him all about it. Holden also knew Evie liked Faith and had given her a few guitar lessons. That knowledge came direct from Evie when she’d warned him so he wouldn’t be on the property when the duo showed up. At the time, he’d appreciated the warning. His Airstream was only a few yards away from Evie’s music studio.
Why hadn’t he kept his mouth shut?
“’Preciate the offer, but I’m done for the day,” Holden said.
Evie’s mouth twisted in indecision before she stood tall, and Holden held his breath, not liking the look on his friend’s face.
“Okay, I’m just gonna address the elephant in the room—”
“Genevieve,” Chasin warned.
“Please, none of you men give Charleigh enough credit. She’s not some wilting flower with no backbone.”
Fuck.
Charlotte Axelson was the exact opposite of a wilting flower. That was the problem. When Charleigh got mad, the shit that flew o
ut of her mouth was enough to cut a man down at his knees. Holden didn’t want to witness two women he cared about—one he loved more than anything—go toe-to-toe, and by the expression on Charleigh’s face, she was ready for battle.
“Leigh-Leigh, baby—”
“What?” she snapped. “She’s right. If she’s got something to say, I’m all for it.”
“Fuck,” Jameson muttered, knowing exactly what Charleigh’s tone meant.
Genevieve sighed and looked at Charleigh.
“What I meant was, they all want to cushion this conversation for you, but they don’t need to because you don’t need them to. Besides, all the conversation is going to consist of is me apologizing for being a bitch to you and poking my nose into something that’s not my business. But I hope you can understand that I was being a friend to Holden when he was in a great deal of pain. That, I won’t apologize for, but I never should’ve turned into the Queen Bitch and froze you out. I didn’t like doing that, but I didn’t want to take the chance that if I was around you, that I’d like you. Then that would really suck, because I love Holden, and I wanted to be on his side. Clearly, things have changed, and now that they have, I was hoping we could start over. I really love your daughter—she’s a great kid and I’d like to be allowed to come over and see her.”
Jameson had visibly relaxed now that a Charleigh-Evie-Smackdown was obviously not going to happen. Chasin was smiling. Nixon, Weston, and Alec were staring at Charleigh expectantly. And Holden was ready for just about anything. It was a crapshoot what his woman would say.
But he shouldn’t have worried.
“Faith would love that.”
“Would tonight be all right? And can Bobby come? She’s been asking, too.”
Charleigh looked at Holden and his heart swelled. “We’ll be home, right?”
Christ.
Square to his solar plexus, the softest blow he’d ever felt. Silky smooth but so damn painful—the most exquisite pain warmed his being.
“Yeah, baby, we’ll be home.”
“It’s kind of strange, me telling you that you can visit your uncle’s house.” Charleigh sheepishly grinned. “Would you like to stay for dinner?”
“We’d like that.”
“If Chasin, Evie, and Bobby are going over for dinner, you know McKenna’s gonna horn in on that. And there’s not a chance Kennedy’s gonna stay away. If four out of the six girl posse’s getting together, then Macy and Silver will not be left out,” Nixon stated. “Why don’t we order in? It’ll be easier to feed the horde and less clean-up.”
Holden stopped paying attention to the others around him as they planned dinner. He only had eyes for the woman standing a few feet away with a broad, beaming, beautiful smile on her gorgeous face.
That was his Leigh-Leigh.
Top-to-toe stunning. Easy-going, stubborn, sweet, spitfire, wild and gentle. A mash-up of traits that made her perfect.
23
“Leigh-Leigh?”
“Huh?”
My eyes focused on Holden’s happy, smiling face and I couldn’t hold back my sigh. He’d had that look for the last two hours and it made him insanely good-looking. I hadn’t seen him look so carefree in…well…since the night before he left me. We’d been at a get-together at one of our friend’s houses. All of the guys were there and more from another SEAL platoon. Holden had always been happy back then.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, why?”
“You look a little overwhelmed.”
My gaze went across the room to Faith, who was standing in front of Jameson and Weston animatedly telling them a story. She, too, had had a smile on her face for the last two hours. This was what I’d always wanted for my daughter. A room full of honorary uncles who she could entertain. Men who would protect and guide her. Women who could be examples of strength.
“I suppose I am, a little.”
Holden frowned and stepped closer. “Say the word and I’ll tell them to leave.”
“No.”
“I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”
“I’m not,” I told him, then decided since he’d shown me honesty, I owed it to him. “We haven’t had this.”
“Had what?”
“This.” I motioned around the room. “Since…it doesn’t matter.”
I stopped myself from explaining, which would surely put Holden in a bad mood.
“Don’t do that, Leigh-Leigh. Tell me.”
“I don’t have friends like this. I forgot how loud a room full of people could be. I forgot what it’s like to be surrounded by friends. Faith’s never had this. I like it. I love seeing her happily flitting around from person to person talking to them. I love that she’s comfortable with all of you.”
Holden was silent for a moment but I wasn’t fooled. He was smart—just because he wasn’t verbally responding didn’t mean he wasn’t mentally putting the pieces together. It was easy for him to figure out that I lost this—friends gathering for a spur-of-the-moment good time—when he left me. He could further surmise that I lost what little I had left when Paul died. Neither of us needed to say it. Instead, he smiled and gathered me in his arms. And I appreciated him not casting a pall on the night by pressing the conversation.
“They are loud. But now that there are kids running around, they’ve calmed down some.”
This seemed to be true. I hadn’t seen anyone shotgun a beer or break out the whiskey and pound shots. All of the guys had beers in hand and the women ranged from glasses of wine, beer, and of course, Kennedy was drinking water. But no one was drunk. Back in the day, two hours into a party, one of them would’ve been well on their way to three sheets to the wind. Usually Jameson; he hadn’t been fond of crowds, his coping device had been copious amounts of liquor.
I searched out the big man and smiled. What a difference eight years made on the surly, brooding man. Jameson was damn near the picture of sunshine and roses.
“Are you laughing?” Holden asked.
“Yes.” I pinched my lips together, which only made my body shake harder. “I was thinking about Jameson. He’s happy.”
“Ah, you noticed.”
“It’s impossible not to. In my mind, I was describing him as sunshine and roses.”
Holden chuckled.
“I would love to hear you tell him that.”
“Um, no. I don’t care how much I’ve seen him smile, I’m sure the big, bad, grouchy bear is still in there somewhere.”
“You’d be right. Though since he found Kennedy we rarely see that side of him. Now he’s more like a bear who’s had his teeth pulled but we haven’t figured out a way to declaw him.”
I didn’t think it was possible to declaw Jameson, especially with a baby on the way. His teeth might even grow back extra-long so he could bite anyone who dared harm his child.
“Holden?”
“Yeah, doll?”
It had taken me a few seconds to process my current situation. When I did, I tried to pull out of Holden’s arms, but he held tight. My daughter had never seen me in a man’s arms—never, ever seen me with a man, period, in any way. Somehow, I’d been so lost in all things Holden, I’d missed her approach, and Holden wasn’t letting me go.
Shit.
“Holden, me and Rory want to play with my Barbies but we can’t get the tape off the box.”
“I’ll be right there.”
“Rory!” Faith shouted. “Holden’s helping.”
I didn’t hear the other girl’s response. I was stuck in a dumbfounded stupor. Why hadn’t Faith asked me? She always asked me for help.
“Gonna go help the girls.”
I nodded against his chest and closed my eyes.
Faith asked Holden.
Holden said yes.
He didn’t stiffen the way I had when she’d caught us hugging. He didn’t jump away from me or offer Faith another solution—say, a solution that didn’t include him cutting the tape off her box. He’d readily agreed.
&
nbsp; The hand that had been resting on my hip moved between us until I felt his fingertips under my chin gently tilting my head back. I opened my eyes and found Holden’s brown eyes blazing.
“So beautiful,” he whispered before he lowered his mouth to mine and kissed me.
Not a brush, not a skim of his lips against mine. But an honest-to-goodness kiss that included his tongue sweeping my bottom lip. Sweet baby Jesus, I was a sucker for that tongue swipe and he knew it. In the past, that had been a promise of good things to come. It’d been his way of telling me when he couldn’t otherwise verbalize what he was going to give me, but there were good things on the horizon.
Shit.
I wanted those good things. I wanted all that he had to offer. I wanted to jump for joy and throw caution to the wind and go for it. But I had to be smart and think of Faith. Slow and steady was a better option. Faith needed consistency, she needed to be eased into this situation. I needed to know Holden was all-in and serious about finding us again.
But my body had other plans.
“It’s still there,” he murmured.
“What is?”
“Us. That need to whisk you away and worship you. Soon, baby, I’m gonna remind you what it’s like to be breathless.”
With that, he walked away to help Faith, leaving me…well, breathless. I wanted to call out and tell him I didn’t need to be reminded—I’d never forgotten.
“Whoa, Nelly. I know that look.”
I twisted and found Bobby standing next to me with what could only be described as a shit-eating grin. She looked like an older version of Hayden Panettiere—petite in height, blonde wavy hair that brushed her shoulders, and a smile that could win awards.
God, why do I have to be surrounded by beautiful women?
“What look? I don’t have a look,” I protested.
“Girlll…” Bobby drawled out the word, her Tennessee accent more pronounced than normal.
“What are you girling about?” Evie joined.
“Charleigh here’s denying she has the look,” Bobby offered and Evie took me in.
“You so have the look.”
“What look?”
Holden's Resurrection (Gemini Group Book 6) Page 17