“Are we too late?” a blonde knockout in a red pencil skirt and four-inch heels asked as she strode across the grass as if she were on a catwalk.
Next to her Aniyah staggered along. “Veronica, you’re not human. How can you walk in those shoes and not get stuck in the grass?” Aniyah said as she yanked her own heels out of the lawn before removing them altogether.
“It’s all about walking on your tippy toes but staying upright so you don’t look like the Leaning Tower of Pisa as you walk,” the blonde answered.
“Welcome!” Abby called out. “Willa, Tilly, you both already know Aniyah, but this is Veronica. She basically runs Rahmi,” Abby said of the blonde.
Veronica held out her hand and Willa shook it. “I don’t run it. I’m just the royal families’ executive assistant.”
“Executive badass,” Aniyah said as she grabbed the bottle of bourbon and poured two glasses before handing one to Veronica.
“Where’s Blythe?” Mila asked Veronica.
“Who’s Blythe?” Tilly asked, clearly tipsy from the bourbon.
“My significant other,” Veronica responded before taking a sip of her drink. “But the purpose of the night is to get drunk, eat junk food, and complain about them, right?”
“You got that right,” Tilly said.
“So, Blythe and I flipped a coin. I got this group and Blythe got the guys.”
Tilly giggled. “That’s awesome. Maybe she can give them some insight on women.”
“Well, not if it’s about putting dirty plates into the dishwasher,” Veronica said with a roll of her eyes.
The women dissolved into laughter.
“So, what did happen with Parker?” Greer asked Tilly after the laughter died down.
“Yes, tell us everything,” Ariana said, leaning forward to make sure she didn’t miss a word of it.
Tilly frowned and shook her head. “He’s a stupid man. Stupid, stupid, stupid, hot, sexy man.”
A laugh escaped Willa’s closed mouth in the form of a snort.
“What?” Tilly asked. “He is! We were talking, laughing, and he was being all flirty and then, bam! He locked it down. No more flirting, no more accidental touches, nothing. Now though, he won’t let anyone else flirt with me either. This super sexy rider from Spain was talking to me this afternoon and Parker scared him off. Called him a ‘threat to my person’ when I asked him why he did that.”
“Carlos? Carlos was flirting with you?” Willa gasped.
Tilly nodded. “After all this time of thinking myself invisible, I’m now getting attention from all these guys.”
“It’s because you’re carrying yourself differently. You’re more sure of yourself,” Greer told her.
“If it is, it’s because of your help,” Tilly said, staggering over to Greer to give her a hug.
“I want to know more about Carlos,” Aniyah said as the ladies laughed.
Willa pulled up Carlos’s cologne campaign and showed it to her.
“He’s not as muscled as my Sugarbear, but that is one fine man,” Aniyah said as she fanned herself.
“Oh, I know him,” Ariana said once she saw the picture. “Super hot. Way to go, Til!”
“Only it didn’t go. Parker literally scared him away and sent him running with this laser glare thing he does. Then Parker yelled at me for not being smart enough to know when a man is only after one thing.”
Willa, along with everyone woman there, sucked in air.
“Oh, girl. You didn’t let him get away with that, did you?” Aniyah asked.
“No. I yelled at him,” Tilly said defiantly. “I told him that was okay because there was only one thing I wanted from Carlos and I didn’t care if he approved. Then he told me to go ahead and go after Carlos if I just wanted a man who was only interested in sex. I yelled fine, then he did too, and then I stormed off. Why does Parker even care?”
“It’s because he likes you,” Deshaun said from the corner of the patio. Willa had forgotten he was even there.
Everyone else seemed to have forgotten, too. Half of them jumped in surprise. Aniyah pulled a gun. Then everyone screamed and fell to the ground.
“He has a weird way of showing it,” Tilly said from where Greer was lying on top of her.
When Aniyah put the gun away, everyone got back up.
“Dating is hard. It’s scary to open yourself up to a person, especially if you already like them,” Deshaun told her.
“Parker’s had tons of girlfriends, though,” Greer said, confused.
“Then they didn’t matter to him. Obviously Parker has more serious feelings for Tilly and doesn’t know how to process them. That’s why he backed off but why he also won’t let anyone flirt with her. He’s scared to address those feelings, but at the same time the idea of another man with you scares him even more,” Deshaun told them.
“Who are you?” Mila asked into the silence that followed as the women pondered what he’d said.
“Deshaun. I’m Miss Aldridge’s bodyguard.”
“Ever thought about going into the field of therapy?” Ariana asked and then the ladies laughed again. Except Tilly. She wasn’t laughing. She was deep in thought.
“Since you decided to make your presence known,” Greer said to the lone male in attendance, “why are men so chickenshit?”
“How so?” Deshaun asked as he moved forward and took a seat in the circle of women.
“Well,” Greer said, standing up and doing a slow spin. “I’m no Veronica, but I don’t think I’m that bad-looking. I’m nice, except if you’re a bad person. Yet no one wants to get me naked.”
“You’re very attractive. I’d totally get naked with you. I don’t understand the chickenshit part,” Deshaun said.
“I’m FBI Hostage Rescue and my brother Jackson put it out that he’d kill anyone who asks me out. Everyone, HRT, FBI field office, everyone, has fallen in line with them. No one will ask me out.”
Deshaun suddenly got quiet and nodded. “I won’t lie. I’d ask you out until you told me that. Jackson is one scary-ass dude. Someday, a man will be strong enough or lust-filled enough to get over the fear of having his balls cut off and will ask you out. Maybe go away from the military and law enforcement fields. Either that or go for a Delta Force or DEVGRU guy who could take Jackson on.”
“Out!” Greer yelled at Deshaun who nodded and quickly scampered around to the front of the house. “This, this is what I’m dealing with.”
“Have you talked to Evie about it?” Ariana asked, referring to Jackson’s wife.
“Yes, and she’s spoken to Jackson about it. It did no good. Instead, he doubled the threat,” Greer said, crossing her arms over her chest. “What does a woman have to do to get laid?”
“Exactly!” Tilly said, saluting Greer with her almost empty glass of bourbon.
“Why do you think I went overseas so much?” Cassidy asked them. “If Dylan was your older brother, you’d know. Maybe you just need to take an assignment outside of Jackson’s reach.”
Greer leaned forward and put her elbows on her knees and thought it over. “That’s a good idea, Cass. Like, a really good idea.”
“I have a friend getting ready to go on maternity leave,” Abby said suddenly. “What about being loaned out to us?”
“Who’s us and can I be loaned out?” Tilly asked.
Abby smiled innocently at Tilly and not for the first time Willa wondered what Abby did for a living.
“I need a break from this bureaucratic bullshit. I bet your department doesn’t deal with that, do they?” Greer asked.
“Yeah, we don’t do red tape,” Abby said. “Think about it. Three months with no Jackson oversight.”
“I’ll let you know,” Greer sat back with a contemplative look on her face.
“Well, that’s great for Greer, but what about me? Do you have some government agency that will help get me laid?” Tilly asked as they all broke out into giggles again.
24
Porter tossed a ca
se of beer into the cooler and carried it onto the back porch where his brother was sitting. Parker hadn’t been talking much since he arrived ten minutes earlier.
“Hey guys,” Dylan said as he didn’t bother knocking. He’d just walked around to the back of the house as if knowing they’d all be hanging out back, drinking beer.
“So, that little minx kicked you out of your own home?” Parker asked before reaching for a beer.
“Are you talking about my wife? Because if you are, I might have to break something of yours.”
“Tilly,” Parker spat. “I’m talking about Tilly. She’s a troublemaker with a capital T.”
Dylan’s brows rose as he looked over at Porter who just shrugged. He didn’t know what was going on with his brother.
“I brought bourbon,” Jameson said as he and his brother-in-law, Zain Ali Rahman, joined them.
“I got chips. I hope you don’t mind, but I brought the guys,” Colton said as he joined the group with some of his firemen.
“Where are Kane and Nolan?” Porter asked the other two firemen.
“They’re on call tonight. So am I, so I can’t drink,” Colton said, “but Flint, Conley, and Jack have the night off.
“Since there’s not a lot happening in Keeneston, we figured this was a good way to spend the night,” Flint said as he grabbed a beer.
“Well, except for all those assassinations,” Conley said in his thick Eastern Kentucky accent.
“I brought food since I figured you’d only have beer and chips,” Landon said as he walked onto the patio with an enormous tray of sandwiches and beer cheese for the chips.
“You’re hands down the best cousin,” Dylan said, snagging a sandwich as Landon said hello to his brother, Colton.
“Well, this spread looks better than I anticipated. I brought brownies.”
Porter turned quickly at the sound of a woman’s voice. “Blythe? What are you doing here?”
“We were invited to girls’ night, but when you date a girl it’s better to separate for the trash talking portion of the night. Veronica and I flipped a coin. She got the ladies and I got y’all.”
“You got the better end of the deal,” Parker said, tossing a beer to Blythe a second after she set down the brownies.
“I don’t know. The way I see it, I’m surrounded by y’all and my girlfriend is with a bunch of sexy women talking about wanting to get laid, so . . .” Blythe held up her hands and Porter laughed out loud.
His brother didn’t find it amusing. “They better not be getting laid,” Parker muttered.
“I can guarantee my wife is getting laid tonight. It’s nearly impossible to keep my wife off me,” Jameson said with a smirk.
Zain groaned. “I don’t want any details on my sister’s love life.”
“Abby’s the same,” Dylan said with a satisfied smirk as he toasted Jameson.
“No, dude, that’s just wrong,” Kale said as he joined them at exactly the wrong moment.
“Dude?” Dylan joked back. “Have you been talking to our mutual friend again?”
“It’s better than talking about my sister’s sex life,” Kale said.
“I don’t mind,” Blythe said with a grin. “I’d love to hear all about your sex life.”
“That’s because you get to have sex with Veronica while I’m stuck with my hand,” Kale grumbled as he grabbed a beer. “My dad has me working at the farm day and night. Now this Panther thing. I’m never going to get laid.”
“What is it with getting laid?” Parker snapped. “Do women now just sleep with any Tom, Dick, or Carlos that gives them a pretty compliment?”
“Dude,” Kale said slowly as he shook his head. “What is going on with you?”
“Tilly,” Porter answered for his brother.
“Aw, damn. She’s finer than frog hair split four ways,” Conley said.
Parker crumpled the beer can with one hard squeeze.
“Okay, so you like her,” Blythe said as the voice of reason. “Why are you going all caveman?”
“Caveman?” Parker asked incredulously.
“Well, you’re not using your words, only grunting, and now you’ve killed that poor, defenseless little beer can,” Blythe pointed out.
“I can’t talk about it,” Parker grumbled.
Blythe just raised her eyes as if to say told you so.
“Oh, he really likes her,” Colton said, giving Parker a punch to the shoulder. “Just ask her out already.”
“It’s complicated,” Parker said with a frown a second before the beer can was shot from his hand. “What the fu—”
Porter shoved his brother to the ground. “Could we not just get one night off?” he yelled over the gunfire that was currently destroying the sandwich table.
Porter reached behind him and grabbed the rifle he’d left leaning against the side of the house. He didn’t have time to aim before Dylan shot rapid fire into the woods with a massive gun.
“Where did that come from?” Porter yelled over the gunfire.
“Sophie invented it. It’s foldable,” Dylan said as he reloaded. Sounds of yelling filled the night as men poured from the woods.
“I got the axes in my truck,” Conley said. “I’ll be right back.”
Conley and Flint raced into the house and out through the front door.
“Well, I did say I wanted to shoot something,” Parker muttered as he lined up his shot and took it.
“Did everyone bring a gun but me?” Zain asked.
“Got extras in my bag,” Dylan called out. “I figured this would happen.”
“I am so glad I got tails. I bet the girls aren’t having this much fun,” Blythe said as she took down a man running right at her.
“Behind you!” Jameson yelled and Porter swung around to find men closing in on each side of the patio.
An ax swung and the man dropped. “I thought moving to Keeneston would be boring,” Flint said, pulling the ax free.
“So did I,” Blythe called out as she moved to hand-to-hand combat.
Parker knocked a man out with one punch. “This is making me feel better.”
“What’s this?” Conley asked, coming back through the house with the Acid Gun of Death in his hands.
“No!” Porter, Jameson, and Kale yelled, but it was too late.
A man punched Conley and the Acid Gun of Death fell from his hands. Porter leapt forward with his hand outstretched. He caught the gun a second before it hit the ground.
“This is such a great night,” Blythe called out as the group gave up on any guns and moved to hand-to-hand. They didn’t want to accidentally shoot a good guy at such close quarters. “I needed this after Veronica’s lecture on putting dishes into the dishwasher. You don’t hear me saying anything about her leaving her makeup all over the counter.”
“Huh,” Parker grunted before taking another man down. “Women.”
“What the hell?” Porter heard Jackson yell. “We’re fifteen minutes late. You couldn’t wait another ten minutes to start the fight?”
Talon sliced his way through the outer perimeter. “Are those Zinnia’s brownies? She makes the best brownies.”
“I made them,” Blythe called out. “But Zinnia did give me the recipe.”
“Aw, shucks,” Lucas said from where he had a man in a bear hug. “This sure makes me miss my Bertha.”
“Zain, duck!” Porter yelled as a man came at Zain with a knife in hand. Zain dropped to the ground and Porter fired the Acid Gun of Death.
The acid bomb stuck to the man’s shirt. He was surprised when he was still alive and smirked at Porter. Then he wasn’t smirking. The acid bomb released and he melted.
“Oh my God,” Zain screamed as he leapt up. “It’s on me! Get it off me!”
“What’s on you?” Dylan asked.
“The melted bad guy. He melted all over me.” Zain spun around and sure enough, there was melted bad guy all down his back. “Ew! I stepped in it!”
Zain began to strip as
he cursed. The surviving assassins looked to their melted teammate and took off while Landon tied up the ones who were injured.
“I missed all the fun,” Jace said as he came around the side of the house with a bag of chips in his hands.
“The women,” Porter said, filled with worry as Kale took the Acid Gun of Death from him.
“They’re fine,” Jace said. “I just dropped Stella off there. There’s so many Rahmi guards, there’s no way anyone could sneak in. So, who pissed off Tilly and why is Greer muttering about not getting laid?”
“She better not be getting laid,” Jackson snapped. “Whoever touches my sister has to answer to me.”
“I’d totally help her out if I weren’t in a relationship with the love of my life. Even if my love has way more makeup than any woman should have,” Blythe said with a grin.
Flint groaned at the image a moment before Jackson’s fist met his face. “Don’t even think about my sister like that.”
“Tilly’s mad that Parker won’t make a move,” Jameson told Jace as they tied the last of the men up.
“Interesting. Parker’s never had a problem asking girls out before,” Jace said. “One last question. Why is Zain naked?”
“Don’t worry, reinforcements are here!”
“You’re too late, Dad,” Porter called out as his father and brothers ran around the house fully armed.
“Dammit!” Cy cursed. “I told you we should have had guys’ night at my house instead of Cade’s. Why is Zain naked?”
“Oh my gosh!” Veronica gasped.
“What?” Willa asked.
“Assassins from Iraq just attacked the guys,” Veronica told them. “But everyone is okay. Well, except Zain.”
“What happened to Zain?” Mila asked as she rushed forward. Veronica turned the phone around to show her. “Why is my husband naked?”
“The better question is why am I not naked?” Greer grumbled. “The guy who even admitted he wanted to see me naked ran to the front of the house as soon as he heard my brother’s threat.”
Willa was already sending a text to Porter when one from him came through. She relaxed as she read that they were all safe and they didn’t need to hurry back. Guys’ night was still going strong.
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