Keegan (Wounded Hero Book 1)

by Marysol James

  That bitch had cost Callum a lot of money – she’d been his most high-profile and lucrative client in an otherwise pretty unremarkable list of ‘actors’. Dragon Decker was known for managing Thalia Flame, he’d made his name and reputation on hers… and without her, he wasn’t known in the glittering celebrity circles for anything anymore.

  He’d made her pay for that before she’d left L.A. and he was still making her pay now.

  Paul’s sole job here in Denver was to make Thalia very, very nervous and very, very aware of Callum’s distant and unrelenting presence in her life. Paul was just the messenger boy, the nameless stand-in, the guy who worked for the real guy, but it was enough. Every time he saw Thalia at a cash drop-off, she looked tense, scared, unhappy. When Paul reported that to Callum, the other man’s glee was palpable even over the phone.

  So no, the paltry little sum of money that she handed over wasn’t the issue or the point. Getting off on her terror and the control – even from three states over – that was the point.

  This phone call, though… it was setting off alarm bells in Paul’s head and it had nothing to do with the fact that it was only the second time that she’d called. No, it was something about her voice, her tone. It had been desperation, of course, but it had been something else too. She’d been… what? What was it?

  He lit a cigarette and cracked open the window a bit, still staring at the cars below. He smoked and pondered, replaying that conversation over and over again. He narrowed his black eyes in concentration, stubbed out the cigarette and that’s when it came to him:

  She was holding back on that call. She was secretive… and that means that she has a secret.

  That was it.

  She’d been nervous and afraid and that was all fine and routine. But there had something else, he saw now, something unsaid.

  Now what could it be? What’s she hiding?

  What… or who?

  Paul had a pretty lengthy list of orders from Callum – but the number one command was to let him know if she was seeing anybody. He hadn’t seen her with any guy but then again, he wasn’t stalking her every single day. He’d seen her go to and from catering jobs, watched the house that she lived in and seen movement in her bedroom, followed her around the grocery store a few times.

  Maybe the time had come to step up the surveillance and for that, he needed Callum’s go-ahead.

  Paul shut the window and picked up the phone again, glancing at the clock on the cell. It was almost 10:30 in Denver, so 8:30 in L.A. Callum was a night owl and a late riser, but Paul thought this was too important to wait on even a couple of hours. He had the feeling that Callum would demand that he start following Thalia around her life full-time starting right there and then… so any delay was a bad idea.

  He took a deep breath and prepared himself to wake up his boss.

  Christ, I hope that I’m right about this or it’s my fucking head on the chopping block.

  Chapter 12

  Saturday afternoon. Open Skies Ranch

  Trish waited until the tall, handsome cowboy named Jake had the horse’s bridle in his hand, then swung one jeaned leg over the horse’s back. Before she could jump down, though, Keegan was standing there.

  “Watcha doin’, darlin’?” he drawled. “Think you’re flingin’ yourself down from way up there?”

  “Way up here?” Trish arched an eyebrow and both Keegan and Jake laughed. “It’s not so far.”

  “Yeah, well. I don’t want you gettin’ injured.” His silver eyes gleamed. “I need you fightin’ fit later.”

  “Yes?” Trish said innocently, batting her eyelashes at him. “What are we doing later?”

  “You’ll see,” he growled and opened his massive arms to her. “Now come on down here and I’ll give you a sneak peek.”

  Without another word, Trish let herself fall into his embrace, fully trusting him to catch her. More and more, she was forgetting that Keegan was missing a ‘normal’ leg, and so despite the fact that he was standing in mud and autumn leaves, she fell without any fear.

  Sure enough, he gathered her in his arms and pulled her close as he lowered her gently to the ground. She smiled her thanks at him, then his lips were on hers with all that fierce protectiveness that she’d come to think of as pure Keegan. And as always, Trish melted into him, her small body molding itself to his large one, her limbs becoming languid and loose under even the smallest, most fleeting touch. They were both bundled in bulky sweaters and huge coats and scarves, but she still felt his hard muscles through all the layers.

  “Urgh. Bleuch.” The voice came from just a few feet away, but Keegan and Trish heard the grossed-outedness clearly. “Mommy! They’re kissing again!”

  “They are, huh?” Kelly said in amusement and joined her daughter. “Well, one day you won’t mind so much when it’s happening for you.”

  “Urgh,” Janie repeated, her freckled nose wrinkled. “Never.”

  “Never, huh?” Keegan teased her, dropping one last tiny kiss on Trish’s forehead before releasing her. “Well, I say ‘never’ is right, kiddo. No boy’s gettin’ anywhere close to you until you’re about thirty-five and even then, only when I say so.”

  Janie stared up at him and bang on cue – just like her mother and uncle knew that she would – she completely changed her mind. Saying ‘no’ and ‘you can’t’ to Janie was the equivalent of waving a red flag at a bull, and she was about as willful and stubborn as that animal and that was on a good day.

  “Huh.” She crossed her arms and tossed her head. “I’ll kiss a boy when I want to.”

  “Really?” Kelly exchanged glances with Keegan and Trish. “I thought it was gross, I thought that you said that were never going to kiss anyone.”

  “If I feel like it, I will!”

  “You think so?” Keegan said.

  “Yes!”

  He laughed, walked over to Janie, gave her a one-armed hug. “Yeah, I know it spitfire… what you say goes.”

  “Mmmm-hmmm.” Janie looked over at Trish. “Do you like cheeseburgers with bacon?”

  A bit taken aback at the lightning-quick change of topic, Trish blinked. She saw that Kelly and Keegan were totally serene about it, though, and she realized that she really hadn’t spent much time around kids. Trish knew that she’d better adjust her expectations of conversation pretty damn quick or she’d spend the rest of the weekend constantly startled.

  “Uh, yes,” Trish told her. “I like them very much.”

  “Good,” Janie said with a little jump. “Because the restaurant makes amazing ones. Do you want to have one for dinner tonight? I’m having one.”

  “Well, sure. I’ll have one of you are. I’ll take your advice.”

  “And get the onion rings, not the french fries,” Janie informed her, taking her mother’s hand. “Both are really good but the onion rings are awesome.”

  “Got it,” Trish said with a nod.

  “Come on, sweetheart,” Kelly said to her daughter. “Let’s get changed before dinner. I need to finish unpacking too.”

  “OK,” Janie said brightly, trotting along beside Kelly. “Horseback riding was fun.”

  “It was,” Kelly said, then looked back at Keegan and Trish. “Dinner in an hour?”

  “Yeah, good,” Keegan responded and Trish nodded again. “We just dumped the bags on the floor and bolted down here to the stables, so we’ll unpack too.”

  “Sorry about that,” Kelly said to Trish apologetically. “We always get on the horses the second we set foot here. Everything else comes a bit later.”

  “It’s OK,” Trish said. “It was great being outdoors, just riding the mountain trails. I’d forgotten how amazing it is up here.”

  “Yeah,” Kelly said as they all walked up the hill to the cabins. “We come here every couple of months, no matter the season or the weather, and I never get tired of looking around me. Imagine living here, huh? Quite a few of the staff live in, up there in that building behind the main office, and the
y all have little patios hidden out back facing the mountains. Wouldn’t your morning coffee be spectacular?”

  “It’d be something,” Trish agreed, staring up at the shimmering silver of the frozen mountains. “No starting the day off wrong with this view.”

  The four of them reached the top of the hill, then split off in twos to go to their individual cabins. Keegan took Trish’s hand in his own as they walked up the steps, just reached out and took it like it was the most natural thing in the world.

  She liked it. She liked everything about being close to Keegan.

  He ushered her inside and the second that the door closed behind them, he was on her. No way she was objecting to that, not even slightly, so she closed her eyes as his eager hands found her coat zipper, unwound her scarf, got his own coat and scarf off – all the while kissing her like his life depended on it.

  Keegan wrapped his hands around Trish’s waist and pulled her up to him, pulled her right up on her tiptoes, his lust and want washing over him like a wave. It was building inside him now, the incredible, burning need and he cursed a blue streak in his head that they only had an hour before dinner. He didn’t want the first time that he was with her to be rushed and done with one eye on the clock, so he took a step back, breathing heavily.

  “Trish –”

  “I know,” she murmured in that husky voice. “No time.”

  “Damn it to hell, huh? But some things are worth waitin’ for, right, sugar?”

  “You know it, honey cake.”

  They smiled at each other, slow, soft smiles that were somehow equal parts absolutely filthy and full of sweet promise.

  “Well.” Keegan ran a hand through his hair. “Let’s get unpackin’ and then to dinner. You and Janie have bacon cheeseburgers and onion rings to wolf down with abandon.”

  “Right? But no more kissing because it’s gross,” Trish said and turned her attention to her bag on the floor. “She’s bright and funny, isn’t she? Does anything get past that kid?”

  “Not much.” Keegan waved her away from the bags, picked them both up and headed to the bedroom with them. “Smart as a whip. Got that from her Mom.”

  “Oh, I don’t know,” Trish said as she trailed behind him, admiring his amazing ass in those well-worn jeans. “Her uncle’s no dummy, is he?”

  “He has his moments.” He hefted both bags onto the bed, gave her a cocky little grin over his broad shoulder. “Sometimes he’s a genius. Sometimes he’s lookin’ for his shoes while they’re on his damn feet.”

  She laughed. “That might be old age catching up with him.”

  “You callin’ me old, baby?’

  “Maybe,” she said pertly. “You hit the big four-oh this past summer, so you know…”

  She was just thinking about winking at him, all taunting and sassy, but then suddenly, she was being tossed on the bed in a sneak attack, for the first time in her entire damn life. It was way sexier than she’d thought it could, or would, or should be. She hit the mattress, rolled, looked over her shoulder at him through a waterfall of tousled blonde hair.

  She’d barely had time to catch her breath when he grabbed her by the ankle and gently pulled. He was so strong, it took no effort at all for him to haul her across the bed in a single fluid tug. Trish exhaled in shock and desire, but he was still moving, moving up and over her now. He lowered himself to the mattress, pushing her down even as he took most of his weight on his forearms. She was flat on her back, trapped and helpless and unable to move.

  And she liked all of that just damn fine.

  Keegan twisted his fingers in her hair and held her head in place. Those silver eyes stared at her – just stared, boy – and she was suspended in space and time. All she knew in this second was his heat, his hardness, his gaze, his breath and his heartbeat.

  All she knew was him.

  “So baby,” he said in a low growl that did all kinds of things to her body. “You were sayin’ somethin’ about me bein’ old?”

  Trish giggled. “I take it back.”

  “You sure now?”

  “Totally.”

  “Good girl.” Keegan gave her a tiny kiss, more of a teasing taste of a kiss than an actual one, and she moaned in frustration as he pulled back and stood up. He contemplated her mutinous expression with his usual sexy-as-hell grin. “And that’s what you get for callin’ me old, darlin’. Keep sayin’ stuff like that and you know what you don’t get this weekend?”

  “Ummm. Cinnamon rolls?”

  He laughed and shook his dark head, extending his hand to help her off the bed. “Damn right no cinnamon rolls. And that’s just the start of stuff that you don’t get to have.”

  “I’ll behave,” she said meekly. “Promise.”

  “Uh-huh.” He hauled her to her feet, gave her a quick hug and released her. “We’ll see.”

  **

  Three hours later, they returned to the cabin after a fantastic meal with Kelly and Janie. Trish honestly couldn’t remember the last time that she’d laughed so hard and so long, and she was floating and airy with happiness.

  Janie was an absolute charmer and God, she was smart and so, so loved. At one point in the evening, it occurred to Trish that Janie was the age now that Trish had been when she’d seen her mother dead of that overdose on the living room floor. It shook her to realize that, to imagine Janie discovering Kelly in that condition and not knowing what to do, not being able to count on her own father for help, not having anyone to turn to.

  Janie did have people, of course: her uncle and her grandparents and Ted, Kelly’s ex and Janie’s Dad. But Trish knew that Kelly would never do that to her daughter so it was all a moot point anyway. Still – Trish’s mind went there a few times over dinner, and she found herself feeling a bit wistful about the little girl that she’d been, and she mourned all the innocence and childhood that she’d lost and that had been stolen away. She’d never really thought about how different things might have been, not until she saw Janie’s life and remembered her own.

  It was both a surprise and a gift to see that instead of feeling upset or angry about her own awful seventh year of life on this planet and all the awful years that came after, Trish was happy that Janie’s life was so different. The chances that this little girl would end up in crappy foster care, and running away from home at seventeen, and launching herself into porn and thinking it was a big step up in her life, were so small that they were unthinkable. Even if Janie lost her Mom and her Dad, then Keegan and her grandparents would swoop in and catch her as she plummeted into the depths of her loss.

  That was a good thing, a great thing. And as she watched Janie bask in the love of her mother and uncle, Trish thought that it had to be the best thing ever. She was happy that Janie would be spared all that pain and hurt. Not because she didn’t think that Janie could survive it, but because Trish understood how lonely and exhausting it was to survive things like that, and how wide and deep the scars of surviving it went.

  She looked up at Keegan now as he opened the cabin door for her. Trish hadn’t been with a man sexually since what Dragon Decker and that other guy, the one whose name she’d never known, had done to her. There had been times when she was sure that she’d never be able to get into bed with anyone again. But Keegan was a good man, a man who’d never hurt a woman, and watching how he treated Janie had made most of her lingering fears fade away.

  Still, she thought that she’d better say something to him about her past. She didn’t want to give any details because they were sordid and disturbing, but she had to say something. What if she froze up? Or panicked a bit? He’d think that it was because of him when it had nothing to do with Keegan – it had to do with two monsters who’d deliberately tried to destroy her spirit.

  Keegan was in the kitchen now, pouring out two glasses of sweet white wine, and Trish took a deep breath.

  “Keegan?”

  “Yeah, baby?” He walked over to her and she took the glass gratefully. “What’s up?”
>
  “I –” She took a gulp of wine and sank onto the sofa. “I need to talk to you about something.”

  “Shoot.”

  “About – about tonight. About –” She glanced at the bedroom door. “About what’s going to happen.”

  He studied her face, then sat down slowly next to her. “You not feelin’ ready? ‘Cause it ain’t a requirement for this weekend, you know.”

  “No! Oh, no. I’m ready. It’s just…” Trish bit her lip and tried to find the words. “It’s just that I might – I had a bad experience. And – well. I haven’t been with anyone since, and so I might – I might need a pause.”

  “OK, wait.” He set his wine glass down on the table and turned that laser-beam silver gaze on her. “Back up. Say all that again.”

  “I – I had a bad experience.”

  “When? How long ago?”

  She hesitated. “Just before I came out here to Denver.”

  “So – it happened in L.A.”

  She nodded.

  “And was what happened part of the reason why you left California?”

  “No. I mean… I’d already decided to leave L.A. before it happened. I’d sold my place and a lot of my clothes and said goodbye to my life out there.”

  “All right.” Keegan cocked his head. “And the guy is – what? In jail?”

  “No.” She forced the words out. “No, they’re free.”

  “They’re?” he repeated. “‘They’ as in plural?”

  “Yes,” she said quietly. “Two of them.”

  He paused, horrified at the implications of even a few vague details, then he went back to the fact that the guys – fuckin’ plural – were not serving time.

  “How come they ain’t in jail?” His voice had that dangerous edge to it now. “Just how the fuck did that happen?”

  “I – I don’t really want to talk about that right now. I’m sorry… I just – I want to focus on here and now. On – on tonight.”