Singe (Guardian Protection Book 1)

by Aly Martinez

  “I know,” I whispered back, my smile so huge that it was almost painful.

  For the first few days after Jude had saved me—a second time—I had done a damn fine job at keeping my shit together. I hadn’t missed Jude’s wary glances. He’d been worried. And rightly so. I’d been through hell. But the world had kept spinning.

  Pete was facing a plethora of charges, and Sandy had been arrested at her home in New York after my so-called will had been recovered from Pete’s office, her name on the bottom line as a witness. She wasn’t even to the police station before she’d flipped on him, revealing everything from the name of the man Pete had paid to set the fire all the way to the attorneys he’d used to swindle my father’s estate from me.

  It wasn’t until four days later, on Christmas morning, when the reality of it all crashed down on me. There would be no phone calls or visits from the people I’d considered my family for so long. I’d lost not only my real parents, but my surrogates as well.

  I was in the process of shattering all the pictures I had of them when Jude stopped me. Wrapping me in a bear hug, he’d whispered into my ear, “Breaking them won’t erase the past, Butterfly. All we can do is fill the frames with new pictures. New memories.”

  He was right, but I still cried for most of the day. Around five that afternoon, the men of Guardian flooded into my apartment, along with Apollo and Sarah’s sister, Emma, a local photographer. I looked like death with swollen eyes and a puffy face in every one of those pictures. But, the next day, I’d grinned like a maniac as Jude had hung them around our apartment.

  Peering up at my husband, I smiled at the memory and slid my hand up the back of his neck to trace my fingers over his scars.

  He smiled; the pain and torture that used to paint his face at my touch had long since vanished. They weren’t his scars anymore. They were ours. Together.

  “You want to see something interesting?” Jude asked, his eyes flashing over my shoulder.

  “Depends. Is it something sexy interesting?” I asked.

  “Not for you,” he replied.

  He turned us in step with the music until I saw Braydon and Katie standing around the bar, only inches separating their bodies. Her cheeks were bright red, and his smile was aimed at the ground, her shoes dangling off the tips of his fingers.

  “Oh hell,” I breathed. “That is not going to end well.”

  Jude chuckled. “You never know. I thought the same thing about Alex and Brianna.”

  “Where are they anyway?” I twisted to the tables flanking each side of the dance floor but never found my maid of honor or her boyfriend.

  “Probably having sex on our bed.”

  “Ew… Hopefully they at least use one of the guest rooms.”

  “I put a fucking padlock on Val’s room.”

  I patted his chest. “Smart man.”

  Apollo appeared beside us, asking, “Mind if I cut in?”

  “Actually, I fucking do,” Jude grumbled, and I rolled my eyes.

  He was so overprotective.

  Apollo had been back in my life for the last two years, but I suspected that Jude would never trust him completely. For that matter, I wasn’t sure he would ever trust anyone with me. Only a few hours earlier, he’d given Johnson the evil eye as he’d walked me down the sandy aisle.

  “Next song,” I told Apollo, not yet ready to let my man go.

  He lifted his hands in surrender and slowly backed away, a giant smile splitting his lips.

  It had taken me a while to realize that, though I’d lost part of my family, what I’d gained was so much more.

  Once the remnants of my father’s money had been returned to me, I’d promptly liquidated everything Pete had ever touched and given Apollo his fair share. A part of me feared I’d never see him again after the funds were transferred. But, much to my surprise, his first big purchase was to buy Murphy’s bar directly across the street from my building. He’d been living in the apartment above it for a few years, and he said that it felt like home. While my relationship with Apollo literally changed overnight, it was a long time before the wounds of our past healed. It was a slow and rigorous process for us both. As to be expected, I became shy in the trust department. Apollo had a lot of demons to beat down, and I wasn’t real keen about being in the line of fire while he was doing it. But we had grown closer with every day that passed.

  “What time does Val have to go back?” I asked, plastering myself against Jude.

  “April said she could stay the night.” His hand drifted down to my ass, and he dipped low so his lips were at my ear. “But I’d really like to have some time alone with you, preferably out of this dress.”

  My cheeks flashed pink. “You’ll have me alone for ten days in Bermuda. Let’s spend some time with her while we have the chance.”

  He groaned but then relented. “You’re right. Besides, she has to sleep at some point, right?” He winked.

  I cocked an eyebrow. “Are you proposing stealthy three a.m. wedding night sex?”

  His lips twitched with mischief. “It’s probably going to be closer to one a.m. I’m not sure I’ll make it to three.”

  While we still lived in our apartment in Chicago, we visited the beach house and Val every chance we got. April was still a bitch, but after years of dealing with Margaret Spencer, I’d become something of a bitch whisperer. It was amazing how drastically someone’s tune changed when they’d been offered free rein of a house in the Hamptons, a lodge in Aspen, and a penthouse in New York. I thought a vein on Jude’s forehead was going to rupture when he’d heard me offer them to her. However, two years later, she’d never once given Jude any trouble about getting Val for a weekend.

  “All right, Levitt. Quit hogging the bride,” Leo said, not even giving Jude a chance to reply before dragging me into his arms.

  Jude glared, the twitch of his lips giving his humor away.

  “Make yourself useful and get us some champagne while I give your wife a whirl on the dance floor.”

  Butterflies fluttered in my stomach. Wife. It would never get old.

  “Right,” Jude replied in a bored tone before pecking me on the top of my head and then begrudgingly wandering away.

  “Perks of being the boss,” Leo mumbled.

  I tore my gaze off Jude’s back and asked, “What’s that?”

  “They can’t tell me no. That man wanted to let you go as much as he wants an appendectomy.” He lifted his chin to a table on the far side of the room. “Besides, I think Johnson’s been biding his time, waiting for a turn.”

  I turned, and sure enough, Aidan was sitting alone at the table closest to the dance floor, a nearly empty drink in his hand, his dark gaze leveled on me, an unreadable emotion carved into his features.

  “Is he okay?” I asked, concern washing over me. I lost sight of him as Leo twirled me under his arm.

  “I’ve got a confession,” Leo said.

  Glancing over my shoulder, I tried to keep Johnson in my sights, but my dance partner was making it next to impossible.

  Leo’s voice dropped to a whisper as he announced, “I read your books.”

  This wasn’t a surprise. While my Burning Love series would forever stay hidden on my book shelf, I’d published three new titles over the last year. Sales were nothing to brag about. I think I sold twenty-seven copies the first day, which coincidentally was the exact number of Guardian employees, but whatever. My sense of accomplishment that day wasn’t about the numbers. It was about finally being free. I’d been in hiding for too long, having allowed my fears to control me. But, in that moment, my finger poised over the magical publish button, Jude sitting beside me, a smile on his face, pride beaming in his eyes, and excitement fluttering in my stomach, I knew I was one click away from living my dream.

  Laughing, I replied to Leo, “I didn’t peg you as a romance kind of guy.”

  “Oh, but that’s where you’re wrong, Rhion. It’s seems I’m really fucking good at romance.” He moved his h
and from my back and pointed to Sarah, who was laughing with Lark and his wife. “See, a while back, I met a woman who showed me that, sometimes, two broken pieces can form a whole. And you, my friend, were about as broken as they came. So, after stealing and reading one of your books, I hired who I hoped could be your other piece.”

  “What?” I gasped, my feet becoming rooted to the floor, chills pebbling my skin.

  Oh. My. God.

  “Now, now. Don’t get all emotional on me,” Leo whispered.

  Yeah, right. Like that wasn’t going to happen.

  “You…you hired him for me?”

  “No,” he replied, his hands falling away from my back as the song came to an end. “I hired him because he came with an outstanding reference from his old boss. Though I did hire him without so much as an interview for you.” The corner of his mouth popped up into a crooked grin. “Gotta say, babe, I never expected you’d actually marry the guy. I figured, realistically, you’d get over your obsession with him and finally open yourself up to someone else. My bet was on Devon.”

  I curled my lip. Not that Devon wasn’t an attractive man, but the idea of being with him was right up there with putting the moves on Apollo.

  Leo chuckled and pulled me in for a hug. “But I’m pleased as fuck to see both of you whole again. Married or not. You’re Guardian, Rhion. We take care of our own.”

  Tears welled in my eyes as I returned his embrace. I’d spent a lot of years feeling alone inside that apartment before Jude had shown up, but as it turned out, my true family had been just upstairs the entire time.

  “Thanks, Leo,” I breathed.

  He released me and shoved his hands into his pockets. “If at all possible, let’s keep this quiet. Word gets out that I was pullin’ a Cupid, it’s gonna be difficult to maintain the hardass reputation I’ve made for myself.”

  “Mum’s the word.” I laughed and made a show of zipping my lips then throwing the key away.

  Leo twirled me once more before kissing my cheek. “Looks like there’s a line forming.”

  My gaze found Johnson as he stood behind Leo, impatiently waiting for his turn with me.

  I’d almost made my way into his arms when Jude stepped in front of him, a glass of champagne in each hand. After tossing a smug smile over his shoulder, he declared, “I’m done sharing.”

  “Jude!” I halfheartedly scolded, slapping him on the chest.

  He smirked and handed the glasses off to Leo and Johnson. “I’ve shared you with the guys enough tonight. They’ll survive awhile longer without you.” He leaned toward me, gripping my hips, and rasped, “After watching your ass in that dress, I’m not sure I can say the same.”

  I giggled and wrapped my arms around his shoulders, pulling him close. “I can’t believe today is almost over,” I said, pressing my cheek to his chest, his strong heart playing a staccato rhythm in my ear as I watched the waves roll in.

  “Yeah, but we’re just beginning, Rhion. We’ve got the ring part taken care of, but give me a few years and we’ll start on babies and rocking chairs.”

  I sighed, and my heart swelled. “You’re real.”

  His chest rumbled before he said the words I’d never tire of hearing. “I love you too, Butterfly.”

  THE END

  Other Books by Aly Martinez

  The Retrieval Duet

  Retrieval

  Transfer

  The Fall Up

  The Spiral Down

  The Wrecked and Ruined Series

  Changing Course

  Stolen Course

  Broken Course

  Among the Echoes

  On the Ropes

  Fighting Silence

  Fighting Shadows

  Fighting Solitude

  Savor Me

  Born and raised in Savannah, Georgia, Aly Martinez is a stay-at-home mom to four crazy kids under the age of five, including a set of twins. Currently living in South Carolina, she passes what little free time she has reading anything and everything she can get her hands on, preferably with a glass of wine at her side.

  After some encouragement from her friends, Aly decided to add “Author” to her ever-growing list of job titles. So grab a glass of Chardonnay, or a bottle if you’re hanging out with Aly, and join her aboard the crazy train she calls life.

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