A Heart's War (The Broken Men Chronicles Book 5)

by Carey Decevito

  “Dalton, fuck!” I rushed the two scrambling men.

  Shane and Hussy both chimed in my ear with, “What?”

  I didn’t bother to answer, too busy in joining the scuffle by jumping on Shanks’ back and arching his neck back in a chokehold. This bullshit was ending now. “It’s time to pay the piper asshole,” I said as I sliced threw his carotid, the air rushing out of his lungs through his severed windpipe. The man struggled against my hold, as I rolled us over and off of Dalton for a few more seconds, his body twitching before he went limp, the arterial spray ceasing almost immediately.

  Rolling Shanks’ body off of me, I got to my knees and crawled over to Dalton. The man was sitting there, clutching at his gimp leg as he pulled his jeans up.

  “You okay?”

  “Not sure.” He pulled at his calf holster, grasping his gun only for a gunshot to ring out, the bullet zipping past my ear to snap it out of his hand, bringing forth a pained cry from him.

  Several things happened over the next few seconds. I registered Rick holding a smoking gun, a set of headlights, Hussy was yelling in my earpiece along with Shane, and then the crunching of metal against bone, against more metal. And then it was as if time stood still.

  It was the incessant blaring of the vehicle’s horn that brought me out of my stupor. The blaring horn of Paxton’s truck to be exact. And if Paxton’s truck was here, that meant-

  “Morgan!” I shot up to my feet, an injured Dalton forgotten. Hussy forgotten. The fact that Rick lay sprawled, most of his entrails strewn across the hood of the Dodge Ram…forgotten. The only thing that mattered was getting Morgan away from the wreckage that could possibly cause those charges Rick had lain to blow. I was ten feet from her when her door opened and she tumbled onto the gravel, coughing and grabbing at her midsection.

  I grabbed for her arm, rushing to get her to her feet so we could get away from the wreck and most certain doom when she cried out.

  “Shit, Morg!” I changed my tactic, picking her up bridal style, rushing us past Dalton toward the docks and set her down on the wooden planks. “I’ll be right back, baby. Lay still, I’m going to get Dalton.”

  The moment I reached him, shoving his arm over my shoulder to help him to his good foot, he chuckled. “Your woman’s fucking crazy.”

  I couldn’t help the grin on my face as we hobbled over to where Morgan was. “Brother, her brand of crazy works for me. And it saved our asses. You okay?” I set him down, taking the time to inspect his injuries.

  “That’s my fucking shooting hand, bro, and the bullet’s lodged in my leg.” Judging by Dalton’s expression, he’d heard the girly gasp through our com units. “I’m fine, guys,” he said then nodded his head toward Morgan. “Go tend to your woman.”

  Getting to my knees, I turned toward her, disliking the sheen of sweat that now coated her face. It wasn’t exactly that warm out tonight. “Baby, what hurts?”

  She reached out an arm and I helped her sit up as she clutched her side with the other. “Shit! Fuck!”

  “Baby, tell me what hurts and I’ll make it better.”

  “My ribs. I think I might have busted something when I hit the steering wheel,” she explained.

  “I’ve got an ambulance on the way,” Hussy said before I had to ask. “Dalton, are you sure you’re-?”

  “You’re going to want to send in a bomb squad and fire crew too, if this place goes up,” I told her.

  “Uh…okay. On it.”

  “And Huss?” I could feel my emotions getting the better of me now that the worst was over. Careful not to jostle Morgan too much, I sat close to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. She settled her head against my chest.

  “Yeah?”

  Swallowing the lump in my throat, I croaked a, “Thank you.” Those two words were far from enough, but they were all I had right now.

  I guess emotions were running high for everyone as her voice came out at a whisper. “You’re welcome, Mr. T.”

  Dalton spoke next. “Huss?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I’ll be fine.” His voice was gravelly. “But I am going to need your name, honey.”

  A real voice came through, breathless and definitely that of a woman’s. “Kip…”

  Dalton sucked back surprised air. “I want to know-”

  “Don’t.” She sounded exhausted, beaten even. Not that she wasn’t before, but without the voice distorter, she became real to me, and I think Dalton felt it too, if not more. “Let’s just leave it at this. I only did what needed to be done. It’s what I do.”

  Dalton’s eyes met mine. “Okay, Huss,” he whispered. “If you ever need anything-”

  “I won’t.” The line went silent for a moment. “But tell you what, I’ll be in touch if something ever comes up.”

  “Okay.”

  “I’m going to sign off now.”

  “Huss?” Dalton called out, his voice holding a subtle note of desperation. Nothing came through but static. Hussy was gone. And the cavalry had arrived.

  Chapter 48

  Morgan hissed for what seemed like the zillionth time as I reached for my cell phone which I’d managed to scour from my brother’s floorboards prior to jumping in the ambulance. Paxton picked up on the first ring.

  “Tell me you’ve got Morgan. We just got home and Dad’s the only one here. He said everyone left in a tizzy but never explained anything. Is she okay? How’re the guys? What’s going on?”

  “She’s fine. We’re heading to the hospital. She might have a few cracked ribs, but I don’t think it’s anything serious.”

  “And Rick?”

  “That’s a whole other story.” I huffed out a dry laugh. “He and your truck are long gone.”

  “You wrecked my truck?”

  “Nah, you’ve got Morgan to thank for that.” The woman groaned, her hand squeezing mine, her fingernails digging into my flesh. “Easy girl!”

  She growled. “He was going to kill you both, what else was I supposed to do?”

  “You were supposed to let me handle things and get the fuck out.”

  “You’re welcome.” Christ, she was adorable when she pouted.

  Paxton’s heartfelt laugh warmed me. He’d clearly heard our exchange. “Tell her that I don’t care about the truck.”

  “I will. Listen, we’re just pulling up to the hospital now, can you let everyone know that Dalton’s been shot, but aside from Morgan and him, we’re all okay?”

  “You know I will. And T?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I know you haven’t put a ring on it yet. The box is sitting on my kitchen table. What the hell are you waiting for?”

  “About that…” Morgan’s confused gaze met mine and I was thankful that I hadn’t pressed the speakerphone option.

  “You don’t want to wait any longer, do you?”

  “Fuck, no!” spilled out of me in one breath.

  “Okay, I’ll meet you there as soon as I reassure everyone.”

  “Thanks, bro.” Hanging up, I leaned over and kissed Morgan. “I love you.”

  The pain in her face eased a bit as a look of serenity filled it. “I love you too, Theo.” Dalton groaned in his seat, his hand and leg bandaged to staunch the bleeding, an IV in his healthy arm. “And Dalton?”

  “Yeah?” His head was tilted back against the ambulance wall, his jaw tight from pain and his eyes were shut.

  “I think I might love you just a little bit too. Thanks for having my man’s back.” Her voice quivered and a tear spilled over, my hand automatically reaching to brush it away.

  He looked down at Morgan, his face suffused with a blush I’d never seen before, boring an awe-shucks-ma’am expression, his usual hard gaze softening. “I’d do it again, if I had to.”

  I spoke what I knew he saw in my eyes when his gaze landed on me. “The feeling’s mutual, brother, but let’s hope it never comes to that.”

  Tilting his head back and closing his eyes once more, he grunted.

&nb
sp; Chapter 49

  After being poked, prodded, and run through an x-ray machine, the doctor had come in to inform us that Morgan had sustained bruising to her ribs. She’d have some swelling and pain for the next little while, but we’d been assured that with lots of rest and some medication, she’d be good as new within a few weeks, if not sooner.

  Shortly thereafter, the nurse came in with her discharge papers, a prescription for pain killers, and bound her up to help ease some of the discomfort.

  We crashed hard after settling in at Paxton’s in the early hours of the night. Hell, I don’t think I’ve slept that many consecutive hours since I was a teenager.

  Turning to my side, I found Morgan still sleeping soundly, thanks to the pain medication we’d picked up on our way home.

  As I lay there beside her, a day after our ordeal being over, the ring I held in my hand weighed heavily.

  It’s time.

  Reaching for her left hand, I slid my ring over her finger. The fit was perfect, just like she was. Depositing her hand over her stomach, my fingers sought out a path of their own, starting at her hairline. I traced her brows, the taped gash on her cheek, down the bridge of her nose, to her smiling pout.

  “What are you doing?” she whispered, her voice husky from sleep, her eyes still closed.

  My fingers moved to trace her dainty jawline. “I need to touch you, to know that this is real.”

  Morgan’s eyes opened and those chocolate pools of hers bore into mine. “Baby?” Her hand came up to cup my cheek. “Is everything-?” On a gasp, her hand snapped back, eyes starting to glisten. “Theo?”

  “It’s time we make it official, don’t you think?” I hovered closer to her, kissing away the first stray tear. “I meant to give it to you at the cabin, but I kept waiting as if the perfect moment would come to me. I shouldn’t have. You know why?” She shook her head. “Because every moment with you is perfect.” I grabbed her hand, kissing the ring that sat atop it. “Every day is precious. You’re my heart, Morgan. I’m damn lucky that I found you.”

  “No, I found you. After all, I did ask you to plug up my hole.” She smirked.

  I shrugged. “Potato, patato.” This caused both of us to laugh. “Morgan?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Tell me again that you’ll marry me.” I nuzzled her nose with mine. “Let me be your love, your happiness, your family-”

  “My hero too?”

  I could no longer dispute her view of me. After yesterday, we’d both earned that title. She was mine, as I was hers. “That too.”

  Her smile brightened her entire face. “I’d be honored to have you as my husband, Sergeant Lowell. But on one condition.” She wrapped her free hand behind my neck and pulled me closer, her lips skimming mine.

  “Tell me and it’s yours, baby.”

  “Get rid of that Mr. T doll?”

  “Sure.” I agreed without really realizing what she’d said. “Hold on, what?” I reared back to see if she was serious.

  “The Mr. T doll that’s on the dresser.”

  I turned toward the piece of furniture in question and found the mint condition action figure in its box, a small cream envelope attached to it. “Who brought that?”

  “Don’t know. I noticed it there earlier when I went to the bathroom. You were still sleeping.”

  I jumped out of bed to fetch the card.

  I pity the fool! You may be white and a hell of a lot more handsome, but you’ll always be my Mr. T. I hope you live a lifetime of happiness with Morgan. Congratulations! – Hussy

  “Who’s it from?” Morgan asked as a laugh boomed out of me when it all sunk in.

  “Hussy.”

  Chapter 50

  Apparently, I hadn’t been the only one to have been targeted by our little hacker girl. Later that day, Morgan and I headed to the hospital to spend some time with Dalton, despite my insistence that she stay home and rest.

  My fiancée gasped as soon as we entered. “Wow, Dalton, are you doubling as a florist now?”

  That had me doubling over, laughing.

  “Yeah, yeah. Laugh all you want.” Although he behaved disgruntled, the man’s complexion had taken a pink hue.

  “Hussy?” I asked.

  His eyes softened. “Yeah.”

  There was something special about that little lady, and if I wasn’t mistaken, Dalton seemed rather charmed by her.

  “I want to meet this Hussy person,” Morgan said as she claimed the chair closest to Dalton’s bedside after kissing his cheek. The man and I looked at each other.

  “Sweetheart, I don’t think that’ll happen.”

  “Why not?”

  “We never got her real name,” I explained.

  “We tried, but…” Dalton looked toward the room’s window and kind of floated off into a world of his own making.

  “Didn’t you say that Brycen can hack into computers?” I nodded and Dalton’s head snapped back to look at her, eyes wide. “Couldn’t you get him to, I don’t know, get on his computer and follow some kind of reverse path from how she connected to him the last time, and then get to her?”

  “Trust me, I’ve been trying. It’s not that easy.” Brycen came into the room, foul mood apparent. “That damn girl! I swear, I am going to find her and when I do, she’s going to wish she never messed with me. Fucking dancing babies.”

  I laughed. “You just can’t take the fact that you were bested by a girl.”

  “Maybe,” he paused. “But whenever I think I have a lead on her, I’m left to deal with bald-headed little trolls prancing around my screen in diapers.”

  Morgan harrumphed as I said, “Tell us how you really feel.”

  The guy gave me a perplexed look. “You just don’t get it! You don’t mess with another hacker’s shit.”

  “Of course you do!” Morgan said. “Isn’t that what you do? You find holes in walls or whatever and sneak into databases and find information? Isn’t that all part of making programs better? If you do that with systems, why couldn’t you do it to other hackers?”

  “She’s got you there, Bryce,” I said.

  “So you haven’t found her?” Dalton asked.

  “She’s somewhere in this area, that much I know.” Dalton nodded in understanding. “What’s it to you?” The man just shrugged, but didn’t elaborate. “I have to hand it to her though, she’s good. If I knew where she was, I’d be on you to offer her a job, Dalt.”

  “So find her,” Morgan said as if it was the simplest thing.

  “Haven’t you been listening, woman?” Brycen looks over at me. “Theo, I said I’d love your woman, but man, I’m not liking her all that much right now.”

  Morgan reached for his hand and pulled him to her side, making him nudge me out of the way as she did so. The man bent toward her. Kissing his cheek, she patted his other one and said, “Thank you. Theo told me everything that happened while Rick had me. I know you worked to get me back. You might wish that you had a more active role, but I’m back, and you’re part of the reason that I am. From what I hear, you’re one of the best at what you do. You weren’t the only one to underestimate Rick’s capabilities. And I also happen to know that you’ll manage to trip her up at some point, because you’re that good.” Brycen’s eyes softened when she pecked his cheek a second time and gave him a bright smile, her hand finally letting go of his.

  “Awe, fuck.” He straightened and looked at me. “It’s a good thing you’re keeping her, T, because I’d be tempted to change my ways and make this one mine.”

  An hour later, Shane joined us over his lunch break. The man scrubbed a hand at the back of his neck, a sigh escaping him as his ass found a chair.

  “What’s up with you?” I asked.

  Shane grumbled and then fixed his eyes on Brycen. “Did you have to send me all that evidence?”

  “What evidence?”

  “Those cold case files I sent over last month, the ones Dalton’s got you working on,” he explained.

  �
�I haven’t-” Brycen’s eyes widened as one word summed it all up. “Hussy!”

  Chapter 51

  When dawn broke, as with every morning since all hell had broken loose with Morgan’s and Jasper’s capture, I found myself indulging in one of life’s simplest of things: the sight of my better half laying asleep beside me.

  It’s been six months since Rick had met his death, two months since Antonio Bandini was sentenced and put in prison, and a month since we’d finished turning Morgan’s home into the home she’d always dreamed of having, arguments and makeup sex included. She may have gained in the way of construction knowledge, but after six months of working together, when someone refers to a screwdriver as a “doo-hickey”, a wrench as a “doo-dad”, or every other tool as a “thing-a-ma-bob”, I have to resign myself that my soon-to-be-wife would be somewhat hopeless when it came down to my job. Then again, the same could be said about me with regards to her floral business. What the fuck was baby’s breath anyway?

  “Good morning.” Morgan’s sleep-hazed voice knocked me back to the present. She twisted her body to lay on its side, her front pressed against mine.

  “Good morning, baby.” I nuzzled her nose. “All set for today?”

  The twinkle in her eyes, the wide smile was answer enough. “I’ve been ready since you asked me.” Wrapping her hand behind my head, she pulled me in for a lazy kiss. Her intent became clear as soon as she rubbed her breasts against my chest, curving her upper leg over my hip.

  Her attempt at taking things up a notch by sneaking her other hand down between our bodies toward my fully erect cock was brought to a halt as I reached for her wrist and deposited a soft peck to her lips. “We can’t, baby.”

  She looked pained, and to be honest, I was feeling it too. “Theo, this is ridiculous. We fucked just last night.”

  Rolling her to her back, I smiled down at her, covering her body with mine. “It’s only for a few more hours.”

  She sighed, her eyes searching mine. “You’re serious.” It wasn’t a question.