Homecoming Hearts Series Collection

by HJ Welch

  The door at the top of the stairs clicked open. He looked up in surprise.

  “Son? You down there?”

  Raiden muted the few tracks that had been rumbling quietly along, then looked back again. “Yeah, sure, come on down.”

  He was expecting his dad and maybe Eric. His mom was at work, teaching, and wouldn’t be back for a few hours.

  His dad and Eric were indeed the first ones down. But then they were accompanied by two other guys, both big fellows wearing black suits and white shirts. Raiden spun his chair around and stood, regarding them with interest as they gathered in the small studio space. There wasn’t really enough room for five men to stand together, but it appeared they were going to do it anyway.

  His dad was the odd one out of the newcomers in his jeans and button down. He’d always been a cowboy at heart, happy to swap his camouflage gear for a Stetson once he’d served his time in the Marines. But the other three men were all suited and booted. Raiden tried not to feel intimidated in his old sneakers and Superman t-shirt.

  He vaguely recognized the older guy standing by Eric, but not the younger one that drew his interest the most. He was maybe late twenties, so a bit older than Raiden himself. The man was stacked, obviously concealing an impressive body under the suit that Raiden instinctively guessed wasn’t his or was very new from the way he adjusted it awkwardly once they were all standing together. He had icy blue eyes and dirty blond hair. Raiden considered him a fraction longer than he should have, then looked cheerily back at his dad.

  “Well, this is quite the gathering,” he said with a laugh. “I’d offer y’all seats, but I only have two.”

  “Sorry, maybe we should relocate upstairs?” his dad said, looking around. In fairness, nobody but Raiden came down here much. His dad had probably forgotten how small it was.

  “No, no, that’s fine,” said the older guy. “This shouldn’t take long.”

  Raiden found himself next to Mr. Blue Eyes. The guy was determinedly looking at the older guy. Presumably, they had come together.

  “Raiden,” said his dad. “I don’t know if you’d remember Kurt Patterson? I served with him and his late brother James during the First Gulf War.”

  “Sure,” said Raiden. Even if it was only a vague recollection, he did remember his dad talking about the Patterson brothers in the past. “I’m so sorry to hear about James.”

  “Thank you,” said both Kurt and Mr. Blue Eyes together.

  Raiden risked looking at him again. Something about the guy was mesmerizing. Raiden wasn’t sure if it was the no-nonsense attitude radiating off him, his size, his eyes, or a combination of all three.

  Kurt clapped the guy on his shoulder. “This here’s James’s boy, Levi. He’s come to work for me.”

  “That’s why we’re here,” said Eric pragmatically, addressing Raiden.

  “Kurt runs a private security firm out in Lexington,” said Raiden’s dad.

  “Best in the city,” said Kurt proudly, rocking on his heels. Now Raiden knew they were related, he could see the family resemblance. Still, the guy, Levi, didn’t look at him.

  His dad’s words sank in. “Hang on. Private security?” Raiden repeated.

  The three older men nodded. “It was your mother’s idea,” said Raiden’s dad, somewhat apologetically. “She has a point. It can’t hurt to take a look at the state of this place, what with all the comings and goings around here.”

  Raiden looked between them all. “And the death threats,” he said. “I mean, that’s what you really mean. This is because of me.”

  Eric raised an eyebrow. “This is because someone violated your privacy and now you and your family have been subjected to dozens of threats that the police consider serious enough to require elevated attention.”

  Raiden glanced at Levi again. He might as well have been a statue, standing with his hands clasped behind his back, staring straight ahead. It irritated Raiden for some reason he couldn’t quite put his finger on.

  “Okay,” he said, clapping his hands and looking around at the men before him. “Let’s define elevated attention. What does that mean exactly?”

  “Tighter security around the domestic property,” said Kurt firmly. “Not permanently, necessarily. But for now, you can’t just be letting anybody walk in here. And increased protection. It’s not a great idea for you to be wandering around by yourself right now, Mr. Jones.”

  Raiden could feel his eyes widening. “You’re not serious?” he said. Horror grew in his guts and he purposefully didn’t look at the ice man standing to his side. “You’re not suggesting a bodyguard, are you?”

  “Son,” said his dad patiently. “This is a serious matter.”

  “It’s a couple of losers writing letters in between their busy schedule of trolling feminists online and jerking off in their mom’s basements!” he cried. “Dad, no, this will all blow over. I understand beefing up security. But I don’t need a babysitter.”

  “Um, excuse me?”

  The group turned to see a meek-looking guy in his mid-twenties halfway down the stairs. “Yes, Glenn?” Eric said pleasantly. “Everything okay?”

  He was the IT contractor that Raiden’s dad had brought in from Eric’s company to try and clean up the rest of the digital mess left by the hack. A borderline genius, by all accounts. His scraggly goatee and un-ironed shirt didn’t give the most striking impression, not to mention that he stank of cigarette smoke. But if he got the job done, Raiden was more than happy.

  Glenn smiled and twirled a pen between his fingers. “Uh, yeah. I think so? It was quite the tangle. But we definitely made progress. I’ll email you my report?”

  “Make sure you CC in Mr. Jones Sr. as well,” said Eric, nodding towards Raiden’s dad. “Thank you.”

  “See,” said Raiden as Glenn jogged back up the stairs. “Mr. Robot has reset the Matrix. This will all go away soon enough.”

  The idea of having someone hovering over him was cringeworthy, to say the least. Especially if it was going to be this Levi guy, as he suspected. The brief spark of intrigue Raiden had felt upon first meeting him had now been firmly replaced with the knowledge that they had absolutely nothing in common. The guy was clearly military and wouldn’t even look at a lowly creative like him.

  His dad raised an eyebrow. “I know it seems extreme,” he said. “But need I remind you of what happened to your friend Blake?”

  Damn. He had a point.

  “That was a very specific case of a nut job with a crush,” Raiden tried to argue, referring to his former bandmate’s stalker from a couple of years ago. “I’m pretty sure none of these whack-a-dos are in love with me.”

  “He almost killed Blake,” said his dad somberly. “They didn’t realize how serious it was until it was almost too late. Your mother and I aren’t prepared to take that risk.”

  Raiden sighed and chewed his lip. They did have a point there. Especially when it wasn’t just him at risk. They had the address to his family home and business. There were kids’ riding lessons and birthday parties on the grounds all the time, not to mention the regular members of the public that stabled their horses here.

  This wasn’t just about him.

  “So, am I going to get stuck with G.I. Joe here?” he asked. Levi might not want to look at him, but Raiden was going to make him.

  Sure enough, Levi Patterson bristled, finally acknowledging his presence.

  His dad and Kurt regarded Raiden coolly. Normally, Raiden was extremely respectful of their military service. But he was frustrated with the situation he had found himself in, and when he got irritable, he was liable to speak without thinking.

  “No disrespect intended,” he added, dropping his gaze.

  His dad sighed. “Yes. We’re proposing that Levi offer you additional protection. I get that you’re unhappy,” he conceded. “No one here blames you. You’re the victim in this attack. But now we have to make sure we act appropriately. Set up a proper defense.”

  Raiden
nodded. “Sorry. You’re right.” He turned to smile at Kurt and Levi. “I’ll play ball, do whatever you say.”

  Because they were right. No one had taken the letters Blake had been sent seriously and it almost ended in disaster. Raiden could maybe gamble if it was just his safety on the line, but not when it was his family’s and so many other innocent people’s as well.

  Kurt nodded. “That’s the spirit, son. We’ll get through this. Before you know it, life will all go back to normal.”

  Levi simply regarded him with those stunning blue eyes.

  Eric rested his hand on Raiden’s dad’s back. “That’s settled then. What do you say we go hash out the details?”

  Raiden’s dad nodded. “You’re more than welcome to stay for dinner,” he offered the Pattersons. “I could get the grill on, and we could crack open some beers.”

  Kurt smiled as they headed for the stairs. “Sounds great, Sam,” he said sincerely.

  Levi hung back, allowing the older generation to head up first.

  Raiden stuck his hand out, feeling awkward. “I guess we’ll be getting to know each other pretty well,” he said.

  It wasn’t an apology and he knew it. But it was the politest thing he could muster just then.

  Levi raised an eyebrow, then slowly took the proffered hand, shaking it only once. “I guess,” he drawled. He turned and followed his uncle up the stairs without so much as a backwards glance.

  Raiden watched them disappear, the door swinging shut behind them.

  “Well,” he said out loud to himself. “Isn’t this going to be fun?”

  4

  Levi

  Levi sipped his beer and did his best to behave. This wasn’t exactly what he’d had in mind when his Uncle Kurt had offered him a job.

  He’d been keen to start as soon as he landed from Germany. Keeping busy was what he needed. If he stopped, he thought too much, and that wasn’t good for anybody. So when he’d stepped off the plane to a voicemail from Kurt announcing he had the perfect first assignment lined up, Levi had done what he always did and just accepted it.

  He should have guessed by his uncle’s unwillingness to divulge any further details that it was going to be utter horseshit.

  Levi knew that Kurt’s usual clientele were businessmen, diplomats, that sort of thing. He operated out of Lexington and Louisville, sometimes as far as Nashville or St. Louis. The last thing Levi expected was to be stuck here in Williams Pike.

  The Apple Blossom Farm was technically just outside the town, he supposed, but this guy was hardly a politician.

  He was hardly even a guy.

  Levi watched Raiden as he hovered by the barbecue, standing in his socks with an old comic book t-shirt on. Levi vaguely remembered Sam Jones’s boy from when he was growing up, but if he was honest, he’d always thought his name was pronounced ray-den: like the character in the Mortal Kombat video game.

  Turns out it was the traditional Japanese way: rai-den. Like try or fly. Levi had to keep rolling it around in his head so he wouldn’t make a mistake.

  Because even if everything else about this assignment was going to be a joke, he was at least going to be a professional.

  This kid wasn’t in any real danger. He even said as much himself. This was all just a stunt to make his parents feel better. The only consolation was that it would probably blow over in a few weeks, a month or two at most, then Levi could move on to a real job.

  There wasn’t anything really wrong with Raiden Jones per se. Other than he was evidently very privileged. He’d grown up with money and opportunity and had continued to amass it into adulthood. Levi guessed he was a few years younger than him, in his mid-twenties.

  Levi was accustomed to military grooming standards. Raiden’s black hair was thick and shiny, falling around his ears almost to his shoulders. It seemed frivolous and unnecessary, and every time Raiden ran his hand through it Levi felt a spike of irritation.

  Not least of all because every time Raiden touched it, a traitorous part of Levi wondered what it would be like if he were to touch it. Hair like that was made to be grabbed during a blow job.

  He scowled and took another swig of beer. Thoughts like that one hundred percent fell into the ‘unprofessional’ category. What the hell? He wasn’t in the desert any longer. He had plenty of opportunities to meet women now he was back in America. There was absolutely no reason to look at a dude in that way. Especially not one he was going to be stuck guarding whenever he left this damn house.

  At least that wasn’t all that often, from what he understood so far. They had discussed Raiden’s typical daily routine, and aside from the run he usually took around the grounds each morning, he often confined himself to his studio to write.

  How did you even write music? A book maybe Levi could get, but how did you picture sounds in your head and make them into a song? He shook his head. No doubt he’d get more than enough insight into that over the next few weeks, whether he wanted to or not.

  He realized he was staring when Raiden glanced over. Levi quickly shifted his eyes as casually as he could, giving the impression that Raiden had just seen him sweeping his gaze over the patio space.

  It wasn’t so much a backyard as the back of the house opening out into the grounds of the ranch. By the patio was a kidney-shaped pool with a jacuzzi attached. A clump of trees to the right gave the area some definition, but then it just rolled out into grass as far as the eye could see, with more trees and picket fences in the distance.

  It was beautiful, and ordinarily, Levi suspected it was a very calming vista. But at that moment it set his teeth on edge.

  His mom’s house was fine. It was the same two-bedroom place he’d grown up in on a quiet street in Williams Pike. Levi couldn’t imagine what growing up in a place like this would feel like, thinking that was normal.

  Raiden had been some sort of pop star, though, so he was probably used to caviar and Champagne and having things whenever he clicked his fingers. Levi hadn’t heard of Below Zero, but even if he hadn’t been overseas on and off for the past decade, he had to admit that boy bands really weren’t his sort of thing.

  And now he was a songwriter with a big mouth. Levi had seen all the damaging personal information that had been leaked, so he’d read all the shitty things he’d said about a bunch of singers he’d worked with. Maybe if he hadn’t been so rude, he wouldn’t be getting so many death threats now.

  Levi’s gaze lingered on him again as he talked with his dad. On closer inspection, he wasn’t skinny so much as slim. There was still a fair amount of muscle definition under that faded t-shirt. At least he knew how to work out. Levi could understand that. People who sat on their asses all day were incomprehensible to him.

  In theory, Levi didn’t need to understand Raiden, he just needed to protect him. But in Levi’s experience, the more you knew a guy, the easier it was to predict their actions. He needed to anticipate how Raiden might react under fire.

  Not that it was ever going to come that.

  Levi raised his eyebrows as his uncle came to sit beside him. “So,” he murmured low enough that he wouldn’t be overheard by the Joneses. “Would you say this assignment was a hundred percent bullshit, or maybe just fifty?”

  His uncle tutted at him and swirled the beer around in his bottle. “No assignment is bullshit,” he said, his tone low but firm. “If a client feels in danger, we assess that danger until we feel it is clear. Some situations may just be more serious than others.”

  Levi shook his head. Smells from the grill wafted over and he realized how hungry he was. “This is a training wheels operation for me, isn’t it?”

  Kurt shrugged. “Just something to get your feet wet. I know you can handle it.”

  “So that’s a yes.”

  Levi snorted. Whatever. Maybe a simple mission would be a good idea to get him in the swing of things. His unit had specialized in reconnaissance, but it was going to require a different skill set to protect assets in the U.S. than it had
dealing with insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan.

  “Hello everyone,” a cheery voice called as the patio door slid open.

  Hekima Jones was a petite woman of Japanese heritage, although she’d been born right here in Kentucky. She and Levi’s mom had gotten along quite well when he’d been little, but after his father’s passing a couple of years ago, the two women had less in common. He hadn’t seen her for years.

  She was dressed in a smart shirt and dress pants, but at the threshold of the door she kicked off her pumps and slipped on a worn pair of flip-flops to step outside. “Kurt,” she said with a sigh and made to hug Levi’s uncle first.

  “Kima,” he said just as warmly. “You’re looking wonderful.”

  She scoffed. “After a day of lectures, I doubt it.” She winked playfully at him, though. “My goodness, Levi?”

  She raised her eyebrows and Levi stood to greet her as Raiden came over to join them.

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said, holding out his hand. “It’s been a while.”

  She batted his hand away and pulled him in for a hug. “I’m so glad you’re home for good. You did your country proud, and your dad. But now…”

  She trailed off as she let him go and patted his chest with her small hands. It was clear to see where Raiden got his willowy figure from. She gave him a watery smile.

  “Welcome home.”

  “Thank you, ma’am.”

  She shook her head and fished a beer out of the ice bucket, popping the top off with ease of the side of the table. “It’s us who should be thanking you. We appreciate what you’re doing for us – for Raiden.”

  Levi caught Raiden rolling his eyes, but he ignored him. If he wanted to be a brat, let him.

  “It’s no trouble at all,” he told Kima.

  “Absolutely,” said Kurt. “It’s our job and we’ll do it to the best of our ability. I promise you, you’re in safe hands.” Levi nodded in agreement.