Stronger Than You Know--A Novel

by Lori Foster

  Slowly Golly grinned at them...and showed the bomb in his hand.

  “Get down,” Golly ordered Jodi. She didn’t move. Damn her, she actually took a step forward. “If I drop it, it explodes,” he warned.

  Curling her lip, Jodi stared at him. “An impact bomb? Really? How much reach does it have?” she asked in a dead voice. “Are you willing to kill yourself, too?”

  “Yes,” he hissed, his expression a morbid mix of pain and anticipation.

  Kennedy, bless her practical, levelheaded heart, put the truck in Reverse and very slowly began backing away, enabling Reyes to keep pace with her. He wanted to reassure her, but he didn’t dare take his gaze off Golly.

  With an effort, Golly regained his feet, his twisted expression triumphant. “To avenge my brother, I’ll kill all of you.”

  “Your brother,” Jodi sneered, “was a smelly, disgusting, whiny little prick, and he sniveled like a bitch while I killed him.”

  Roaring, Golly straightened even more.

  Sirens sounded in the distance. It was all going to hell fast.

  “Jodi,” Reyes said in his calmest, most even tone, despite the urgency humming through his veins. “Kennedy is going to be extremely pissed if you get hurt.”

  “Keep her safe,” Jodi said.

  Kennedy shoved open the passenger door and snapped, “Jodi, get your butt over here right now or I’ll never forgive you!”

  That command surprised both Reyes and Jodi.

  Seeing the indecision on Jodi’s face, Reyes promised her, “I’ve got it.” When she reluctantly nodded, he said, “Now run.”

  Bolting away, Jodi sprinted for the truck. Reyes heard the truck door slam.

  Golly, the bastard, tried to react in time, lifting his arm to throw the bomb—and Reyes shot him.

  Deliberately, he didn’t make it a killing shot.

  No, he took out Golly’s shoulder so that the bomb fell from his hand. A look of horror crossed his ugly face as he realized what had happened.

  Satisfied, Reyes dove behind the truck.

  Golly screamed a split second before the blast of sound, the rush of fire and the scattering of debris drowned him out.

  Reyes heard the pellets hitting the truck, felt something sear his shoulder, and prayed Kennedy and Jodi weren’t hurt.

  Ears ringing, he slowly came to his feet and saw both women ducked down on their seats. Golly was on the ground, bleeding in multiple places. His sleeve was shredded—and so was his arm. It was probably the ragged, gaping hole in his neck that had killed him.

  Doing a quick scan of the area, Reyes didn’t spot any more threats. Other than the horrified desk manager, they were now alone.

  The first sob alarmed him. Expecting the worst, Reyes jerked around and found Jodi with her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking while Kennedy tried to soothe her. She kept rubbing Jodi’s back and twice hugged her.

  She looked up and met his gaze, her smile sad, and gave Jodi another squeeze.

  Jodi wasn’t hurt, then. Likely it was an emotional overload now that the danger had ended.

  Police swarmed into the lot from different entrances, lights flashing and sirens blaring.

  And, damn it, Detective Albertson led the way.

  Reyes set his gun aside, locked his hands behind his neck and waited.

  There’d be no end of explanations to give, but the threat was now over and that’s what really mattered.

  Full of frowns, Crosby got out of his car and nodded toward Golly’s body. “Rand Golly?”

  “Yes.” Reyes nodded to the other side of the lot, behind the truck. “Two other bodies in that direction. So you know, there are more weapons in my truck.”

  “I see.” Crosby rubbed his face and said something to two of the officers. They headed for the bodies Reyes had indicated.

  “I thought you were going to my gym.”

  “I sent others. Everything is fine there, and we now have several arrests.”

  Reyes had no idea what was going on, but at least his gym was safe. “I see.” He frowned. “How is it you’re here, Detective?”

  Smile tight, Crosby said, “Your sister.”

  “No shit?” It wasn’t like Madison to trust anyone other than family.

  “I didn’t give her a choice.” As he approached, he took in the blood on Reyes’s shoulder. “You’re hurt?”

  What bullshit. No one took choices from his sister. If Madison opted to share with Crosby, it was a strong indication of her trust...which meant Reyes could trust him also.

  Slowly, watching Crosby in case he objected, Reyes lowered his arms. He, too, glanced at his shoulder. Blood soaked his shirt, but the pain was minimal. “Little shrapnel from the bomb. It’ll be fine.”

  “Your brother rounded up several men, only he managed not to kill them.”

  “Cade is smooth like that.”

  Looking very much like a man in charge, Crosby took in the scene. “Golly had a bomb?”

  “Threatening Jodi with it, yeah.” He looked Crosby right in the eyes and said, “He planned a lot of damage. I had no choice but to shoot him.”

  “Your choice could have been to notify me.”

  He gave a noncommittal shrug. “Didn’t know he had a bomb, or I might have.” A huge lie. “Besides, my shot didn’t kill him.”

  “No, it just caused him to drop the bomb, as you knew it would?”

  Reyes said nothing. His methods had been efficient—he wouldn’t apologize for them—and he wouldn’t explain further, not until he spoke with Madison and got a handle on these new dynamics. A cop. What the hell was his sister thinking?

  Lower, so the officers wouldn’t hear, Crosby growled, “Do you realize the clusterfuck your family has created?”

  He sure as hell wouldn’t indict his family. “You wanted Golly.” He jutted his chin in the direction of the body. “Well, there he is.”

  Reyes waited for Crosby to arrest him, and was still waiting when Kennedy left the truck and launched herself at him.

  “She’s obviously upset,” Crosby grumbled. “Take care of her.”

  Smiling, Reyes slowly gathered Kennedy close. More and more it became apparent that Crosby had a very soft spot when it came to women.

  An admirable trait.

  While the cops did their thing, Reyes held Kennedy, thinking of all the things he wanted to say, but first he had to prioritize. “Is Jodi okay?”

  She nodded against his chest, her hold tightening even more. “She will be, thanks to you.”

  “And you?” It wasn’t easy but he set her back enough to tip up her chin. “I’m proud of you, Kennedy. Again.” Pretty much always. “You did great, babe.”

  “I didn’t do anything.”

  “Wrong. You had the foresight to back up the truck so I could use it as cover. You got Jodi’s stubborn butt out of harm’s way. You ducked when you needed.” He pressed a kiss to her lips. “You were levelheaded and calm, and I’m proud of you.”

  Her lips trembling, she rested her forehead to his chest and mumbled something low.

  “Hey, you okay?”

  She took a solid step back so that his arms dropped to his sides. Her eyes widened when she saw the blood on his shoulder. “Oh, my God, you’re hurt!”

  “No, it’s nothing.”

  Voice rising, she snapped, “Why is it never anything when you’re hurt, but it’s a big deal when I am?”

  Wow, she’d been so calm up to that point that her agitated tone took him by surprise. Gently Reyes cupped her face. “Maybe because you mean so much to me?” He touched his mouth to hers again, lingering a few seconds this time. “Swear to God, Kennedy, it hurts me the most to see you hurt.”

  She hesitated, her gaze on his injury. “You promise it’s not bad?”

  “A tiny sting, that’s all.”
He kissed her again. “As long as you’re okay, I’m fine.”

  “Reyes.” Releasing a long breath, she glanced around at the activity, then briefly at Jodi, who now stood beside Crosby, peering down at Golly.

  Turning back to him, she gazed into his eyes and said, “I love you.”

  Reyes felt his face go blank. “Say again?”

  “I love you. So damn much, and I know I always will.” Her lips trembled. “Seeing you hurt devastates me, but I guess it’s bound to happen again.”

  Holy shit, the lady had terrible timing. “You love me?” He had a difficult time grasping the words, coming out of the blue like they did.

  Her chin lifted an inch. “I just thought you should know.”

  Of all the... Slowly he grinned. “Way to blindside me, babe.”

  “Sorry.”

  Reyes hugged her off her feet, turned her in a circle, then kissed her in front of gawking officers, a disgruntled detective and her smiling friend.

  “Get a room,” Jodi said, laughing.

  Kennedy freed her mouth. “Oh, Reyes.” She looked stunned. “Despite all this, Jodi just laughed.”

  “So she did.” Jodi would be all right. The girl had a backbone of steel and a survivalist’s instincts.

  And she had Kennedy, the biggest asset of all.

  When he realized Kennedy was shivering, he stepped to the truck, grabbed her coat and helped her into it. Then he led her over to Crosby, where the front desk manager was busy rattling off what he’d witnessed.

  All in all, the dude made it sound like Golly was a lunatic and that Reyes had saved the day. Pretty accurate, really.

  A cop quickly led the manager back to the office so they could talk.

  Crosby looked at Reyes. “I’m guessing you know the drill.”

  “Arresting me after all?”

  “No. But I need statements from all three of you.” He gave an apologetic smile to Kennedy. “You can’t keep her glued to your side.”

  “Wanna bet?”

  Rubbing the back of his neck, Crosby said with insistence, “I gave you a few minutes, but now I need to sort this out.”

  Reyes was about to argue—because seriously, Kennedy wasn’t going anywhere without him—when a sleek black car pulled into the lot. Recognizing it, Reyes breathed a sigh of relief. His dad had arrived.

  “Now what?” Crosby grumbled.

  Parrish McKenzie brought a whole lot of consequence with him. As he climbed out of the car, he looked like a stately senator and carried himself like a benevolent king. Better still, he had the instincts and ability of a warrior.

  Content with how things were rolling out, Reyes said, “You can talk with Kennedy, but my dad will be with her.” He bent to Kennedy’s temple. “Everything is fine. I’ll be back with you in just a few minutes.”

  Her gaze searched his, maybe because he hadn’t yet returned her declaration. Soon, he promised himself. Very, very soon.

  * * *

  IT WAS FOUR in the morning when they finally got to bed, still at Parrish’s house. Kennedy hoped she’d get a good long break now, because her system wasn’t cut out for such constant cloak-and-dagger drama.

  Reyes ended up with three stitches in his shoulder, and a mess of colorful bruising. A tiny sting, he’d said. Ha! The man had a small gouge taken out of his flesh. She supposed she’d have to accept that he wasn’t one to complain.

  He was usually too busy protecting, nurturing and being all-around awesome.

  They’d found pieces of shrapnel from Golly’s bomb scattered everywhere, including embedded in the side of Reyes’s truck.

  Recalling the awful shape of Golly’s body, she knew she could have lost Reyes. He’d saved Jodi by risking himself, but he had survived. Given his personality and vocation, she’d have to focus on that.

  Jodi was back at the hotel, where she’d stay for another week until a more permanent residence was ready for her, though she could now come and go as she pleased. They’d offered her alternatives, but she no longer minded the fancy suite—as long as it was temporary.

  After her heartbreaking cry, she’d done an amazing about-face, looking forward to the future and, thankfully, glad to be alive. There was a new optimism about her, a zest to see what the next day would hold.

  She’d be meeting with many people over the next week, including Reyes and her, to help her figure out the next steps. Kennedy was determined to make Jodi feel secure.

  Just as Reyes had done for her.

  Cade and Sterling had grabbed their targets without a hitch, which had led to information indicating a much larger trafficking network.

  Parrish had made the decision to clue in Crosby so he could tie up all the loose ends. Kennedy discovered that the senior McKenzie had made allies with a few different people in the legal system—and some in political circles.

  It seemed to her that Crosby had just been included in the hush-hush details of the McKenzie family enterprise. She knew Madison would be happy about that—if things progressed as she preferred. She’d put her money on Madison.

  Now she and Reyes were stretched out in his bed, only one dim light breaking up the darkness. Tucked close to his side, Kennedy couldn’t stop touching him. And kissing him. Though he kept smiling at her, he hadn’t said anything about loving her.

  She didn’t mind. He’d had a lot on his plate dealing with Crosby, talking to his family and being very attentive to her. She didn’t regret telling him she loved him, either. At that moment, she wasn’t sure she could have held it in anyway. Honestly, she wanted to tell everyone, him, his family, Crosby...the whole world.

  She, Kennedy Brooks, once an emotionally damaged woman forever trying to prove she was okay, disinterested in men, repelled by the idea of sex, now loved an alpha guy who epitomized danger—and she couldn’t keep her hands off him.

  Voice low and drowsy, Reyes said, “You beat me to the punch, you know.”

  “Hmm?” She loved his soft chest hair and the hard muscle beneath it. And his scent. Nuzzling against him, she breathed deeply, filling her head with that delicious smell.

  “I wanted to do things right, not in the middle of chaos. Wasn’t easy, but I was hanging on to my patience—then bam.” He patted her backside. “You let me have it.”

  Smiling, Kennedy tucked her face under his chin. “Is this about me telling you I love you? Because I’m glad I did.”

  “I’m glad, too. Hell, more than glad.” He fondly caressed one bottom cheek. “I love you, too, you know. I more than love you, actually. I want to marry you. Grow old with you. Maybe someday have little McKenzies with you.”

  The smile turned into a grin. “A rascal boy like you,” she murmured, imagining it.

  “Or a smart, strong girl like you.” He kissed the top of her head.

  “You really see me as strong?”

  “I think you’re the only one who doesn’t see it. Your strength is quiet, steadfast, honorable and loyal.”

  He believed it, she knew...and she was starting to believe it, too.

  “I want to share holidays with you, Kennedy, here at my dad’s place, or even at your folks’ place in Florida if you want. I will meet them, right?”

  Filled with contentment, she nodded. “Yes.”

  “Good. So I want all that. Everything. From now until the end of time.” He gave her a squeeze. “You love me enough to want that, too?”

  “Yes.” Teasing him, she said, “More than enough.”

  “Let’s be clear here, okay? I’m the type of guy who’s going to hover.”

  Was that supposed to be news to her? Playing along, she leaned up to look at him. “Meaning?”

  “Meaning you go off on your own a lot, and I don’t think I have the temperament to deal with that. How would you feel about me tagging along to play bodyguard?”

  “Or sex
servant?”

  His slow grin warmed her. “Yeah, I can be a multipurpose kind of travel companion.” More seriously, he asked, “You wouldn’t mind that? I don’t want you to feel smothered, but seriously, babe, I’d turn into an old man with gray hair if I was left behind to worry about you.”

  She kissed his chin. “I’ll be happier keeping you near. But what if I have to travel and something comes up here? Your job isn’t exactly nine-to-five.”

  “I know. And once you’re scheduled, you couldn’t just change things.”

  Clearly he’d given this a lot of thought. “Ideas?”

  “Yeah. How would you feel about an actual bodyguard?” He rushed to add, “Only when I can’t go along.”

  “Hmm.” Having lived a life where she knew how easily things could go wrong, she actually liked the idea.

  “Someone low-key,” he promised, “who’d blend in and would still keep an eye on things. Someone you and I would research extensively.”

  “If I agree, will you agree to keep me informed of your jobs? To never keep any aspect of the danger from me?” She propped her elbows on his chest. “It’ll be easier for me if I know what’s going on.”

  Reyes trailed his fingertips down her spine. “Honestly, I never thought I’d enjoy talking shop with anyone outside the family, but with you it just comes naturally.”

  “That’s a yes?”

  “Ah, babe.” He cupped her backside in both hands. “Right about now, I’d promise you anything if you’d just agree to marry me.”

  Giving him a thorough kiss, she murmured against his mouth, “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

  He immediately relaxed. “Way to keep me in suspense.”

  “I love you, Reyes. More than I knew was possible.”

  “Same.” This time his kiss was long and deep. “It’ll be light soon. We should probably get some sleep?” He said it like a question, and judging by his wandering hands, sleep wasn’t the number one thing on his mind. But as usual, he was a considerate, awesome, incredible man.

  And he was all hers. “Who needs sleep?”

  His hazel eyes immediately warmed. “Well, not me. But if you do—”