by Jaime Lewis
The Trident Series
IRISH
Jaime Lewis
Copyright © 2020 Jaime Lewis
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, business, events, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
The Trident Series - Irish
Copyright © 2020 by Jaime Lewis
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the author.
ISBN: 978-1-952734-09-0
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Chapter one
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Epilogue
Book List
About the Author
Chapter one
Bailey Anderson smiled and drew in a deep refreshing breath as she passed the sign that welcomed her to Virginia Beach. It was late, close to 11:00 pm, and just her luck, it had started to rain. She’d been on the road for a little over eleven hours since she’d left Birmingham, Alabama. But she had made it, though her eyes were a bit strained, and she was starving. The beef jerky she picked up a few hours ago at the gas station hardly suppressed her appetite. She felt her belly rumble. She had hoped to find a small store open where she could pick-up a few items until she could get to the grocery store.
“Karen,” her in-car GPS, instructed her to turn right, indicating she was on the home stretch and just minutes from her new beach-front, two-bedroom condo. The way her eyes burned, maybe she’d forego the store and drive straight to the condo, take a relaxing hot bath before hitting the sack for some much-needed sleep. Sleep hadn’t been much of an amenity in the last few days while tying up loose ends and preparing to move. Until her furniture arrived, she’d be sleeping on an air mattress. She was so tired she didn’t care. Hell, she’d welcome the hardwood floor if she had to. She was just thankful she could get a night of full sleep without any worries.
She rubbed her eyes and put her blinker on. As she started to make the turn, her front left tire hit something. She heard a pop and her car jerked to the left. She gripped the steering wheel tight to avoid losing control and steered the vehicle into a parking lot, so she was safely off the road.
“Well, shit.” She let out a frustrated sigh, wondering what in the hell she was going to do now. She was ashamed to admit it, but she didn’t know how to change a tire. It was late and raining, and she knew nothing about this area.
She looked through the windshield between the wipers and got a good look at the place that stood in front of her. The sign above the door read Bayside Bar and Grille, but it looked like a dump from her vantage point. Considering how full the parking lot was, the place must offer something good, especially at this hour. It still made her nervous about going into a bar and asking for help, especially one looking like it had seen better days. She could only imagine the type of people inside.
From where she came from, the local hangout was the Birmingham Country Club, where everyone dressed to impress, and if you weren’t in with the society, then you weren’t shit. Her parents were wealthy by inheritance and enjoyed playing the part of the rich and famous. They were cruel individuals. They looked down on others who didn’t meet their standards. She, on the other hand, hated the lifestyle. Growing up, she was raised by nannies, butlers, and where every damn thing was decided for her. Even whom she dated.
She shivered, thinking about that jerk, Randy Lamonte, who her parents tried forcing on her. He was one of the two reasons she left home. Her parents were the other reason.
After she graduated from college, she was expected to marry Randy. It was what the whole town expected. However, she wasn’t down for an arranged marriage, and that had put her in the crosshairs with her parents. It wasn’t the first time, and she was certain it wouldn’t be the last time she disappointed them.
Just because they thought she and Randy should be together didn’t mean she did. Randy was thirty-nine years old, and although he was handsome, he was a complete horses ass who had the same expectations as her parents. He didn’t know that she knew all about his nightcaps with other women while he was supposedly courting her. God knows how many women have kept his bed warm. When she mentioned her concern to her mother, her mother responded that if she’d quit teasing him, he wouldn’t have to stray to keep himself satisfied. Bailey was appalled, to say the least, although not surprised at the crude comment. Her parents expected her to become the next neighborhood trophy wife.
She thought back to the conversation she’d had with her wicked witch of a mother just this morning before she high tailed it out of town.
“You shouldn’t be working, Bailey, especially not that job babysitting those little snot-nosed kids,” Annette Anderson said as she sat at the breakfast table like she’d done every morning since Bailey could remember, sipping her green tea and eating a half grapefruit. Some things never change.
“I love teaching, mother. When I’m around children, I feel like that was my purpose for living in this world. I’m a natural.”
“Pfft…It is so beneath you. You were brought into this world for one purpose,” her mother stated nastily and turned her nose upward before dramatically rolling her eyes.
“And what was that, to obey every command given by you and Dad? Because news flash that has never happened and never will.”
“No, to marry Randy and spread your legs like a good girl for him and give us an heir to the family bloodlines. Just think of the assets we’ll acquire when you marry, let alone with a child made from the two of you.” Bailey could only stare at her mother as she sat there with a huge smile on her face as if she truly believed that was going to happen.
“I hate to burst your bubble Mother, but I never planned on marrying Randy, let alone spread my legs for him. You might as well accept that.”
Her mother turned on her quickly, and she didn’t see the flying hand quick enough. She only felt the sting as the hand made contact with her cheek. “Listen, you, little ungrateful bitch, your father and I spent a lot of money on you through the years, grooming you to become the future, Mrs. Randy Lamonte. You will not screw this up. We’ve already started spreading the news that you two are engaged. He is a very sought-after bachelor, and you should feel honored he still even wants you after you let some college frat-boy deflower you.”
Bailey held her hand to her face because it hurt like a bitch, but she wasn’t about to cry and let her mother see she was vulnerable. “If you are referring to the boarding schools you shipped me off to, and all of the beauty pageants you entered me in and, oh, let’s definitely not forget Junior League, then you are highly mistaken becau
se all of those things you did were for your own benefit. I don’t need you, Daddy, Randy, or any of your damn money. I have my own that I’ve saved from working in a career that I love. There are plenty of men out there that will love me for me and not my net worth.” She wasn’t going to venture down the deflowering part.
“Not in this town, you won’t because everyone knows you belong to Randy, and no other man is stupid or brazen enough to cross Randy Lamonte.”
“Well, then it’s a good thing I sold my house yesterday, isn’t it?”
Her mother’s head whipped around so fast she reminded Bailey of the little girl in the movie the Exorcist. Her mother gave her the evil eye. “What do you mean you sold your house? You never mentioned to your father and me you were looking to sell. Where are you planning on living?”
She wanted to laugh at her mother’s contorted facial expression. Talk about shock and awe. “Why would I tell you when it would have ruined the surprised look on your face?”
“You know, your father doesn’t like surprises.”
“Well, tough shit. I was offered a job, and I’m moving. As in out of state.”
Her mother gasped. “What? You can’t do that. Where?”
“Like I would tell you where I’m going.”
“No, you will ruin everything. I forbid it, and so would your father,” her mother shrieked.
“You can’t stop me.”
She knew they would try, and that is why she had planned everything perfectly and was here now telling her mother this morning. As soon as she left, she would start her drive to Virginia Beach. She was thankful she caught her mom alone without her father around because he could be a little more persuasive, and she wouldn’t put it past him to tie her up, lock her in a closet and lose the key. That was after he’d beaten the shit out of her.
“I’m calling your father. He will knock some sense into you,” Annette stated as she pulled out her phone, and that was Bailey’s cue that it was time to leave. And she did. She walked out the door with a wave as her mother screamed at her.
Everything boiled down to money with them. Based on her experiences, money only caused trouble. Bailey had a hefty trust fund that her grandfather had left her. As far as she knew, nobody knew about it, except for her cousin, Jonathan. Everyone believed that because of her family’s status, she was expected to act differently because of their wealth and reputation. In the five years since she was given access to the trust fund, she’d never touched a penny of it. She decided at a young age that she wasn’t going to end up like her parents. She wanted a career, something to feel proud about. After she graduated from college, she had bought a little house and got a teaching job. She lived off her teachers' salary and was careful when it came to budgeting. Her only mistake was when she moved back to Birmingham. That was a lapse in judgment on her part. But she was rectifying that by moving on and starting a new chapter in her life.
After applying and receiving multiple offers from school systems in several states, she was lured to Virginia Beach for several reasons. One, being she could enjoy the beach during the summer and two, because of the vast military history in the area, especially with the Naval base in Norfolk being just a hop, skip, and a jump away. Her grandfather had introduced her to military history when she was a child, and she hadn’t let go of it. She would sit and listen to her grandfather, who was a veteran, talk about his days in the Army any chance she got. She couldn’t wait to get out and explore the area and its history in her free time.
But her new adventure wasn’t starting the way she had hoped, as she sat in her car in the pouring rain debating what to do. People got flat tires all the time. It couldn’t be that hard to change the tire. The challenge was going to be getting to the dang spare tire. She was going to need to empty the back of her car in the rain. Even if she got to the tire, could she even lift it? Of course, the rain decided right at that moment to come down harder.
“Why now?” She mumbled as she leaned over and pulled her iPad from her purse. There had to be a YouTube video on how to change a tire. She pulled up the first one, and just as she thought, it seemed relatively simple. She put away the iPad and crawled in the back seat and started pulling bags and small boxes that were in the tailgate area into the back seat. This way it saved her time of being out in the rain. All she had with her were her valuables, some basic essentials, and enough clothes to get her through a few days in case the movers were delayed for any unforeseen reasons.
She looked around the car, hoping she had thrown one of her jackets in there, but she didn’t see one. She looked down at the clothes she was wearing to make sure there wouldn’t be an issue with them if they got wet because she was going to get soaked. She had dressed for comfort, knowing she was going to be in the car for several hours. Her blonde hair was pulled back with a headband, but since she didn’t want her hair in the way, she quickly pulled in up into a ponytail. Once she was all set, she got out, ran around to the back, and opened the hatchback. Quickly, she found the jack and got it in place under the vehicle like she’d seen in the video. Okay, she thought to herself, this really isn’t that hard. Until thirty minutes later and looking like a drowned rat, she realized it wasn’t exactly easy peasy. The damn lug nuts were stuck, or the freaking Jolly Green Giant tightened them so darn tight that nobody could get them off but him.
She took a deep breath and exhaled as she stood there, soaked to the bone in barely-there clothing. The rain had let up a few minutes ago, but it was starting to get heavy again, and even though the temperature was warm, the dampness from the rain made it seem cooler; she was shivering, and the lug wrench was slippery in her hands.
She looked over her shoulder, back toward the front door of the bar again as the raindrops pelted her face and arms. She was debating on whether she should just suck it up and go in and ask for help. She damned herself for not listening to her cousin Jonathan and enrolling in AAA before she left. He had lectured her on why she needed it, especially since she was going to be on the road alone.
She decided to try one more time, and if she couldn’t loosen it, then she’d suck it up and go inside and ask for assistance. She squatted down and pushed down on the wrench with all her might and even heard herself grunt. “Come on, pleaseeee.” She felt the lug start to give, and she got excited. “Finally,” she said breathlessly. Then she looked at the tire and realized that was only one; she had four more to go. “Son-of-a-bitch!” She was ready to throw the damn wrench at the tire when a deep but humorous voice uttered something behind her, scaring the absolute crap out of her.
“Do you need some help there, sweetness?”
She wasn’t expecting anyone to sneak up on her. She was already on pins and needles to begin with. So, the moment she heard the voice, she screamed, lost her balance, and fell backward, landing in a big puddle. If any part of her wasn’t wet, it definitely was now. She closed her eyes and muttered to nobody in particular. “What else could go wrong?”
It wasn’t until she heard the deep chuckle that she remembered she wasn’t alone. How in the hell did he manage to sneak up on her? She opened her eyes slowly as if expecting to see some backwoods hillbilly man with missing teeth and looking like he needed to bathe. But unless she hit her head when she fell and didn’t realize it or her eyes were playing tricks on her, her intuition was wrong. VERY WRONG! Standing over her with a sexy grin on his face had to be the hottest guy she had ever laid eyes on. And that was saying a lot because where she came from, the men were always polished from head to toe. But this guy…he was the complete opposite. And she was momentarily speechless. He was tall, but considering she was lying on the ground, anyone would seem tall. His dirty blonde hair stuck up in all directions but in a sexy sort of way because it was wet. He had a firm jaw with a little scruff, and he had piercing blue eyes that held a slight twinkle to them. His dark wash jeans fit snugly through his thighs, hugging his ass, and the red long-sleeve Henley shirt he wore showed just how defined his chest and arms were. Bu
t what caught her attention when he shifted and the light hit his face was a scar that ran from his bottom lip to just under his chin. It was sexy looking.
She shook her head. “Really, Bailey? All that sexiness standing in front of you, and you pick out a damn scar as his most appealing feature?”
◆◆◆
The music was cranked up, and the bar patrons were starting to get a little wild at Bayside. A typical night at the local hangout.
Ky “Irish” Daniels scanned the room as he entered, just like he would with the scope of his rifle when out in the field. It was a force of habit, thanks to his job. This place was a hidden treasure in town, as it sat back off a side road right on the beach, mostly only the locals knew about it. A perfect place for the SEALs and other military personnel in the area to hang out and not be bothered by outsiders. The owner, Paul, was a former Marine. He opened the joint when he left the Corps. From the outside, the place looked run down, and no tourist in their right mind would step foot in the place. But on the inside, it was a treasure, decorated in a mix of a Chesapeake Bay meets military theme. What the place was really known for was the food. It was where most of the personnel stationed at the Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek came when they wanted to get out and unwind peacefully without the tourists or women who flocked to town just to catch a glimpse and say they met a SEAL. The locals respected them and gave them their space. That wasn’t saying that local SEAL groupies wouldn’t frequent the place, especially on the weekends.
It didn’t take Irish long to spot Marcus “Ace” Chambers, his team leader and a good friend. The two of them were meeting to discuss the logistics of their “guys” trip this coming weekend. After the fiasco with Frost’s fiancé, Autumn, being stalked and nearly killed by her crazy sister-in-law and a guy named Cecil, the guys were planning a getaway weekend. Stitch was hosting the team at his cabin in the Shenandoah Mountains. Since they weren’t scheduled for any training or missions, their commander had granted the team a few days leave. Stitch had an awesome set-up at the three-bedroom cabin that sat on five acres of land. He created hiking trails with obstacles, using most of the wilderness provided and even built a mini range for target practice. It was a total “man cabin,” and everyone was pumped for a little R&R SEAL style. It was also doubling as a bachelor party for their teammate Frost since he and Autumn were getting married the following weekend.