by Diana Gardin
I stare at him with sheer disbelief, my mouth falling slack. “You mean the grandson you never even wanted to exist?”
He walks toward me, stopping directly in front of me so that we’re almost nose to nose.
“You’ve always been willful,” he hisses. “I knew that. But I didn’t know you’d be stupid enough to cut your son out of the destiny he deserves.”
“Mason!”
The sound of my grandmother’s voice pulls me around to face the door. She strides forward, stopping when she stands beside my grandfather and across from me.
“Jeremy.” She reaches up to touch my face, but I jerk away. “You’ve been away for so long. We’ve missed you.”
My grandmother looks exactly the same as she always has, with a head of white, perfectly styled hair. Her clothes are elegant and refined, and she stands up straight and stately. They’re both the picture of good health, with more lines collected on their faces.
“Not enough to apologize for what you both did to me. You knew, right, Grandmother? After all these years, you never wanted to come clean?” My tone is accusatory as I turn my anger on her.
“A baby at that age would have ruined your life.” Her tone is matter-of-fact. “We were only doing what was best for you.”
I stare at her, and she continues. “But now that our plans all those years ago didn’t work out the way we wanted them to, we can see the opportunity we have now. We want you to come back, Jeremy. Back to our family. Come work with your grandfather. Become the businessman we always knew you could be. And now that you have a son, you have someone to pass the legacy down to.”
My grandfather nods, smiling like she’s saying everything he believes to be true.
Stepping back, I let out a sharp bark of a laugh and scrub a hand over my face. “You were playing God. Both of you. And now that you’ve found out that Rayne thwarted your plan, you want your grandson in your life? I’ll never let that happen. You don’t deserve him. Either of you.”
Shaking my head, I slowly back up toward the door and look at my grandfather. “You know what? I think my son is gonna be just fine. And any destiny that has to do with you and your goddamn company isn’t one I want to pass on to my boy.”
Turning, I walk toward the door.
“Don’t you walk away from me, boy! We’re not done here! Everything your grandmother and I did, we did to secure your future! And I won’t regret any of it!”
The words sting my back, but I don’t stop. I keep walking, and I don’t intend to ever look back.
21
Rayne
When Jeremy walks back into the office, it’s like I’m looking at a completely different man from the one who left before lunch.
An invisible pull yanks me to my feet when I see his haggard face, drained of all emotion and color.
“Jeremy!” My voice is tremulous. “What is it?”
His gait is slow as he heads toward me; his head is heavy as he drops it onto my shoulder and his arms encircle my waist.
Wrapping my arms around his neck, I squeeze him tight. It feels like I’ve been jabbed in the stomach; I don’t know what’s wrong with him, but I know he’s in pain. And it hurts me like a physical reaction.
He takes a deep breath and his entire body shudders against me.
“Don’t do this, Jer,” I say softly. His scent tickles my nose and I inhale deeply. “Don’t shut down. Tell me what’s wrong.”
When he lifts his head, he’s blinking rapidly and his eyes are red-rimmed and glassy.
“Oh, baby,” I murmur. “Talk to me.” I place my hands on either side of his face, the gentle pressure coaxing him to talk to me about what made him feel this way.
His green eyes burn into mine, and the pain I see in them is like a sword through my stomach. He opens his mouth to speak just as the buzzer on the office door sounds.
Ignoring it, I stay focused on Jeremy.
“Rayne.” His voice is the sound of steel grating against stone. “You need to get that.”
With a frustrated groan, I let him go and round my desk to check my computer screen. When the office buzzer sounds, it means someone outside is requesting access inside NES. The camera feed from outside the door shows up on my computer screen so I know whether or not to grant access to the visitor.
“Oh, it’s her.” My muttered words cause Jeremy to glance over at me.
“Who?”
“Jacob said he was expecting an associate of his to come and consult today. She’s holding up her I.D. for the camera.” With a click of the mouse, I grant her access to the building and she pushes the door open.
The woman who enters is pretty and petite, definitely a smaller package than I am. She strides toward my desk, not sparing Jeremy a glance as she homes in on me. As she approaches, I notice that what I thought was merely pretty before is actually gorgeous.
Her thick, chocolate black hair is streaked with red, although she wears it in a messy bun on top of her head. She’s plainly dressed in jeans, a tank, and a short-sleeved hoodie. The white terry cloth of the lightweight jacket makes the dark, golden-bronze color of her skin stand out. Her sneakered feet shift as she eyes me.
“I have a meeting here.” Her tone is blunt, and I blink at her.
“Uh, yeah, okay.” Trying to keep my tone bright, I glance at Jeremy before looking back at the woman before me. “Mr. Owen told me he was expecting you. Let me just buzz him and I’m sure he’ll be right out.”
Jeremy clears his throat. “Actually, your meeting is with me.”
His interjection causes both the new woman and me to cast our glances in his direction.
My stomach tightens. The thought of Jeremy, my Jeremy, working closely on a project with this beautiful woman makes me feel a little queasy.
“It is?” I try to keep my tone even. “Jacob didn’t tell me that.”
Jeremy gives me a reassuring smile. “Go ahead and buzz him, Rayne.” Turning to the newcomer, he holds out his hand. “I’m Jeremy Teague. I’m a member of the team here at Night Eagle, and we’re going to be working together today on some tech surveillance for a case we’ve taken on.”
She hyperfocuses on him but doesn’t extend her hand. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Sayward Diaz.”
“Sayward!” Jacob emerges from his office, a small smile on his face.
I’m astounded to even see the small smile, because it might just be the first one I’ve seen out of Jacob in my time here. He stops just short of hugging Sayward, and she offers him a big grin.
“Hi, Jacob.”
“Thanks for coming. We really need your help on this one.” He glances at Jeremy pointedly.
“Yeah,” agrees Jeremy. “I’m good with computers, really good. But I can’t break through on this one, and your expertise is gonna save my ass.”
Sayward gives him a firm nod. “Saving asses is my specialty.”
I attempt to thwart the rolling of my eyes, and I think I succeed.
“Perfect.” Jacob nods at Jeremy. “Take her to your office, and don’t come out until you have a breakthrough.”
“Got it.” Jeremy gestures to Sayward to follow him, but before he disappears down the hallway he leans over and kisses my cheek. The soft, warm press of his lips on my skin sends tingles down the length of my body, and it lifts my spirits just a tiny bit from where they’ve fallen.
“We’ll talk later.” His whisper is deep and husky in my ear, and then he’s gone.
Staring after him, I’m left wondering what caused his emotional breakdown a few moments ago, and what the hell I’m going to do with a gorgeous computer genius like Sayward hanging out in his office for hours at a time. With a sigh, I sink down into my chair.
Jacob clears his throat. Startled because I forgot he was still standing there, I glance up at him. He shoots me a wink before heading into his office.
Settling back into my chair with a slack jaw, I decide that today’s the day I’m going to buy a winning lottery ticket. Because now t
hat Jacob Owen has winked at me, I’ve pretty much seen everything.
At 5:00 p.m., I call Macy to check on Decker and ask if he can stay for dinner.
“I’m so sad I couldn’t pick him up from his first day.” I sigh into the phone.
Macy is quick to reassure me. “I’m sure he’ll tell you all about it when you see him. You’re protecting him, and that’s the most important thing.”
Jeremy and Sayward are still closed away, working on whatever computer issue has to do with Wagner Horton. Even thinking his name nearly causes convulsions. I’ve never wanted anything to be over as much as I want Wagner to go to prison, for everything he’s done to me, but there’s still a cold little voice in the back of my mind that tells me Night Eagle isn’t going to be able to end this for me.
Pushing that thought to the very darkest corner of my mind, I smile as Ronin perches on the corner of my desk.
“Headed out?”
He shakes his head, his pretty, clear green eyes studying me. “Nah. We’re a team, Rayne. So we’re all working overtime on this, because your safety is at the top of all of our priority lists.”
A warm sensation fills me up. Even when I lived at home with my parents, they were so critical and conservative I felt suffocated more often than not. And when I was in Phoenix and my grandmother was still alive, I knew I was loved, but the stress level from taking care of both myself and Decker was often more than I could bear.
I’ve never felt like I had a family I could count on. But now this group of guys who barely know me are giving it their all just to keep me safe.
“Thank you, Ronin. Jeremy’s lucky to have a friend like you.”
He smiles. “You know…I’ve known the guy a long time. We’ve been through a lot together. Conquering life-threatening missions together makes for tight bonds, you know? And there’s always been something…missing for Brains. Like he’d left something behind. And I always knew he wasn’t close to his grandparents and he had no wife or girl or kids so…I could never figure it out.”
His eyes pierce mine, and with each one of his words my heart has squeezed just a little tighter inside my chest.
“But then you came to town, and everything started to make sense. That thing he was missing? It was you. And Decker.”
Warmth floods into me. “He told you.”
Ronin grins in response.
Color rises in my cheeks, warming me from the inside out. “He didn’t even know about Decker.”
Ronin strokes his clean-cut chin. His look is so different from Jeremy’s, but when you saw them together you knew instantly they had a brotherly friendship. “Didn’t matter. Something inside him knew that there was something else out there he needed. I’m glad you’re here, Rayne. You’re one of our own now, and we’ll protect you both with all we have.”
The back of my eyelids sting, and a giant lump clogs my throat. My voice is nothing but a raspy whisper. “Thanks, Ronin. That means…everything to me.”
“Hey.” Jeremy’s voice reaches us from the entry to the front office lobby where Ronin’s still sitting on my desk. “You hitting on my girl?”
Ronin, winking at me, drawls out his response. “Well…You leave her alone for too long, and…” He trails off suggestively, and Jeremy points a finger at him.
“Put that swagger away. Go use it on someone else.”
Ronin heaves a dramatic sigh and rises, walking toward where Jeremy’s standing.
“Where’s Sayward?” I ask.
He inclines his head toward Jacob’s office. “We just got done briefing Jacob on what we’ve accomplished today. She’s still in there.”
Ronin stares at Jacob’s door. “Anybody know how she and Boss Man know each other?”
Jeremy and I both shake our heads.
“Not a clue.” Jeremy holds out a hand to me, pulling me up from my chair and wrapping a strong arm tightly around my waist as he plants a kiss in the top of my hair. “They seem to go way back, though.”
Ronin lifts a brow. “She cool?”
Swiping a hand over his exhausted face, Jeremy shrugs. “Hard to tell, you know? She’s a computer chick. Really into her tech, not so much into socialization. So we’ll see. Seems like Boss Man’s gonna want her around more. He shared with her stuff on the level we don’t usually include consultants in.”
Disentangling myself from Jeremy’s arm, I shut down my computer and gather my bag while he and Ronin finish their discussion.
“You two go home, get some rest. First thing tomorrow, we’re back at it. Grisham should be able to form a more specific plan by then.”
Jeremy’s expression is full of frustration. “We’re close, but this isn’t moving fast enough for me, Swag. I want this asshole out of our hair.”
Ronin gives him a solid nod before patting his shoulder. “Yeah. I get that. We all do. But you know these things take time, and we need to do it right. The cargo is too precious, right?”
Glancing down at me, Jeremy’s’ expression softens in a way that sends a flash of heat through my stomach. “Yeah. It is.”
Glancing between us with a small smile, Ronin rubs his hands together. “When do I get to meet the little guy?”
“Oh! Um…” I glance at Jeremy, unsure.
Jeremy’s face transforms with a full smile. He’s so handsome, so full of perfect male beauty that my heart stutters. “Tonight we tell him I’m his dad. I want you guys to meet him soon. Really soon. He’s an amazing kid. His mom has done an incredible job.”
Jeremy pulls me toward him with an arm slung over my shoulder and I can feel a hot blush creeping into my cheeks once more. He and Ronin bump fists, and then Ronin heads out the front door.
Looking down at me, Jeremy’s face is alight with excitement and the tiniest hint of anxiety. “Ready to do this?”
Smiling up at him, trying to be sure he knows exactly how ready I am, I wrap an arm around his waist and squeeze.
“I’m so ready for our son to know you’re his dad. Let’s go tell him.”
22
Jeremy
I watch, leaning against the doorway between the kitchen and the great room as Rayne tosses her purse haphazardly on the countertop. Her keys skitter along the gray stone, sliding until they tumble onto the floor just as the contents of her purse spill out onto the counter.
I bit my lip against a grin.
“Dammit!” she grumbles as she bends down to retrieve her keys.
Tossing them on the counter, she turns to Decker whose expression is very reminiscent of mine. Oblivious to either of our humor, she places her hands on her hips.
“Okay, kiddo. Upstairs to get ready for bed. Then I want you to come on back down here. Jeremy and I have something to talk to you about.”
“Okay, Mom.” Decker turns for the door, my lovesick dog bounding into action in front of him in his rush to beat my son to the stairs. But as Decker passes me, he gives me a wide, devious grin as he turns back around.
“Oh, and Mom?”
“What, babe?”
“Put your keys in your purse, in the pocket where they belong, or you’ll have no clue where they are in the morning.” He almost chokes on the last word, he’s trying so hard not to laugh.
My answering snort is met with an icy stair from Rayne just before she turns it on Deck. “You two ganging up on me? Not a good plan for either one of you. ”
“Also,” adds Decker helpfully as he turns to go, “you need to put a dollar in the swear jar.”
Night takes off, his nails clicking wildly on the floor as Decker races him for the stairs.
“There’s no swear jar at Jeremy’s house!” she shouts behind him.
Chuckling, I watch as she whirls away from me. Kicking off her heels so they’re lying on their sides next to the island, she heads for the refrigerator. She tugs it open, and her skirt rides up high on the backs of her thighs as she leans down to grab a bottled water out of the lower drawer.
Immediately, I push off the wall and stalk t
oward her, led forward by instinct and the surge of lust-tinged desire.
Coming up behind her, my hands smooth up the backs of her legs, sliding around to palm her thighs as I yank her toward me. Her surprised gasp makes my now rock-hard erection strain against my pants. I’m a mixed jumble of emotions after today, my head cloudy with the memory of the meeting with my grandfather and the high from the successful hack into the mainframe at Horton Tech. But right now, all I can see is Rayne.
“You know,” I whisper as I nibble the shell of her ear and am rewarded by a low moan from her lips. “There’s a different kind of swear jar at this house. And I don’t want to hear you calling it ‘Jeremy’s house’ again. It now carries the title of ‘our house.’”
Bracing her hands against the refrigerator shelf, she rocks her hips back against me. All the blood rushes straight to my dick, and my fingers tighten their hold, digging into her thighs.
“Aren’t you getting ahead of yourself a little bit there, Mr. Confident?” Her throaty voice is like my Kryptonite, pulling me toward an out-of-control spiral of need that I can’t deny.
“Damn, darlin’. What is it about you? I can’t get enough…can’t control how much I want you. Our son is going to be back downstairs any minute, I’m about to tell him I’m his father, and I should be prepping for what I’m going to say. But all I want to do right now is rip off this skirt and fuck you.”
When she presses her lush ass against me again, this time I’m ready for her, using my grip on her thighs to meet her with a powerful thrust. One of my hands slides over her mouth to cover her moan.
“Shhh. Not now.…but later? I need you. I need you so bad, baby.” I slide my lips from her ear down to place open kisses along the side of her throat.
Night’s clicking nails on hardwood are as good as a cowbell, and I drop another kiss to her skin before stepping back and adopting a casual stance at the island.
Decker, moving at full speed, flies into the kitchen just ahead of Night and he whoops in triumph. Night lets out a short bark to match, and Decker laughs.