Sworn to Protect

by Diana Gardin

  When we finally pull away, she’s breathless and my heart is thumping wildly against the cage of my chest.

  “Were you trying to shut me up?” she asks, her eyes bright, her lips plump from my kiss.

  My whole body now wide awake thanks to the taste of her, I shake my head. “Maybe. Either way, it worked for me. How about you?”

  She grabs her drink and sips without breaking eye contact with me. “Works for me.”

  She watches me while I take my first sip. “How is it?”

  Screwing up my face, I blow out a breath. “It tastes like it looks. Very yellow.”

  Rayne gives me a doubtful look. “How can a drink taste yellow?”

  Taking another sip, I shiver. “This one does.”

  Turning toward me, she crosses her legs. The movement catches my attention, because the skirt she’s wearing has ridden up to midthigh. I turn toward her and place my legs on the outside of hers.

  “Jeremy…” Her tone grows serious.

  “Uh-oh.”

  Slapping me gently on the thigh, she smiles and my hand engulfs hers. “Thank you.”

  “You don’t have to thank me, Rayne.”

  She sighs. “Why? Because you feel obligated to take care of me?”

  Whoa. Is that what she thinks?

  Holding her chin in my hand, I hold her stare. “There is no obligation when it comes to you. There is no obligation when it comes to my son. All there is, is love.”

  Her eyes go wide. “What are you saying, Jeremy?”

  I pick up my fruity drink and drain it in a gulp.

  Taking a deep breath, I let the words fall from my lips. Not only because she needs to hear them right now, but because I need to say them. There’s a pressing need to make sure she knows what’s inside of me, and how vital she is at this point. Losing Rayne is not an option.

  “I love you, Rayne. I never stopped. I never will.”

  When I glance at her again, her eyes are glistening. Her voice is nothing but a whisper. The bar around us, the buzzing of the bartender, the chatter of the patrons, it all drains away. Fades to black. “I thought I’d never hear you say those words again. At one point, I had convinced myself that I didn’t need them.”

  She sniffles, and I lean forward so that our foreheads are touching. “And what do you think now?” My voice is rough with emotion.

  “I think that I’ve never needed anything so much in my life. I love you, too, Jer.”

  I’m saturated with feeling. The feeling of her skin touching mine. The feeling of my heart filling up with all things Rayne. The feeling of my tongue growing thicker in my mouth and my head buzzing with rain clouds.

  Wait…what?

  Pulling away from Rayne, I overshoot the movement and almost fall backward off the stool.

  Rayne frowns. “Jeremy? What’s wrong?”

  Shaking my head to clear it and finding out that I can’t, I glance around me. Everything in the bar has gone hazy.

  Somewhere in my mind, my instincts try to lock down, attempting to help my brain wrap around the situation.

  My words are thick. “Something’s wrong, Rayne.”

  Alarm creeps into her expression, her eyes stark with fear. “Are you sick? What can I do?”

  Glancing around me once more, there’s a man only two seats away from me. When I look at him, he smiles and touches the brim of his baseball cap.

  “Rayne.” I try to infuse the urgency I feel into my voice, but I come off sounding tired. “I’ve been drugged. Call Ronin. Don’t leave the bar. Call now.”

  It’s the last thing I remember.

  26

  Rayne

  I’m watching in absolute shock and terror as Jeremy lurches forward, his hand jerking out to knock over my glass. I’ve only taken a sip, and when I glance at Jeremy’s glass to see that he’s downed the entire thing, it all clicks into place. Jeremy is conscious, but barely, as his head collapses onto the bar top.

  “Your man having trouble holding his liquor?” The bartender’s critical accusation comes from lips twisted in irritation as he mops up the spill.

  “More like he has trouble keeping it together when our drinks have been drugged,” I snap, glancing around the bar.

  When my eyes land on two men who are watching me intently with scowls on their faces, my stomach flips over twice. Pulling out my phone, I hold their gazes and raise my voice.

  “Ronin? It’s Rayne. Yeah, I’m at The 501 with Jeremy, and someone drugged his drink. I will stay put, Ronin, I promise. Five minutes? Okay.”

  I slam the phone back down on the counter and glare at the unknown men. “Five minutes to move your ass before reinforcements get here. I’m not going anywhere with you, assholes.”

  One’s eyes narrow as he assesses Jeremy and then glances at my empty glass. Hopping down from his stool, he pulls out his phone and starts to speak urgently into it as he pushes through the crowded bar to get to the front door. The other follows behind, clearly knowing they can’t cause a scene in a crowded bar.

  “Get us some water.” Snapping out of his surprised trance, the bartender grabs a bottle of water and slides it across the bar top.

  “Hold on Jer.” I rub the cool bottle over the back of his neck. His skin is damp with sweat and his breathing is ragged. “Help is on the way.”

  “Rayne…” His voice is a garbled murmur. “Stay.”

  “I’m right here, baby. Not leaving. I’m okay.”

  I rub his face and attempt, and fail, to get him to drink water as I wait, and it doesn’t take long before Ronin Shaw is walking through the door.

  “Okay, Rayne?” he asks as he helps Jeremy to his feet.

  Right behind him, Grisham takes my arm and glances around. “Perp still here?”

  Shaking my head guiltily, I frown. “Two of them. They’re gone. I snapped and told them to leave. I’m sorry I confronted them. I should have waited. ”

  We exit the restaurant, Ronin and Grisham both heaving Jeremy’s large body with them. Jeremy’s taking dragging footsteps, doing his best to help his buddies out, but he’s in rough shape, and fury burns through me.

  “What did they think they were going to do?” The question shoots out of my mouth as I walk beside Ronin.

  Ronin grunts as he places Jeremy into the backseat of an SUV. “They likely wanted to drug you both. Take Jeremy out of the picture so they could grab you. My guess is that Horton is sending men after you to bring you to him alive. He wants something.”

  Shuddering, I picture Wagner’s intense blue eyes and twisted, furious mouth. “He wants me.”

  Ronin glances at me as he gently nudges me into the front seat of the vehicle that Grisham is now starting. “Not gonna happen, sweetheart.”

  Twisting around to look at Jeremy in the backseat, I sigh. “Is he going to be okay?”

  Ronin, climbing in beside Jeremy, nods. “Oh, yeah. He’ll have a hell of a headache in the morning, but he’ll be fine.”

  Biting my lip, I pull out my phone. “I’m going to call my friend Macy. She has Decker; I need to make sure he’s okay.”

  Ronin grunts. “Dare will continue to keep watch on him. He’ll call if there’s trouble.”

  Letting out a sigh of relief, I make the call and ask Macy if Decker can stay the night with her and inform her that a member of Night Eagle is keeping watch over her house. I don’t want Decker seeing Jeremy like this. We plan for me to pick him up after school tomorrow.

  Glancing into the backseat again, I note that Jeremy’s head is against the window and his eyes are closed. Settling into the front seat with a frustrated sigh, I speak to Ronin and Grisham. “What now?”

  Grisham glances over at me. “Now we take you guys home. Swagger will stay with you tonight, watch over you while Brains is out.”

  Wringing my hands, and watching the scene change from beach town to downtown, my heart sinks. “He’s going to be so upset in the morning. I don’t know how to thank you guys for everything you’re doing for me. I’
ve brought so much trouble into your lives.”

  Ronin leans forward, his hand landing with gentle force on my shoulder. “Hey. You’re family now, Rayne. Doesn’t matter how long we’ve known you. We protect our own. And you’re ours. It’d be the same with Dare’s wife, Berkeley, or Grisham’s fiancée, Greta.”

  Nodding, offer up a weak smile. “Thanks.”

  When we arrive at Jeremy’s house, Grisham pulls all the way around to the garage in back and both guys help Jeremy, who is now almost completely unconscious, out of the car. Hurrying ahead to open the door for him, they drag him inside the house to a chorus of distressed barks from Night.

  Rubbing the big dog’s head, I talk softly to him. “It’s okay, boy. Jer’s just had a rough night. He’ll be good as new in the morning.”

  Ronin and Grisham herd Jeremy up the stairs while I scoop out Night’s food and place it in his dish. After I’ve filled his bowl with fresh water, Grisham and Ronin are heading back down the stairs. When they enter the kitchen again, I lean against the countertop.

  “Ghost is going back out on surveillance. Private Eye hasn’t led us to Horton yet. Something tells me that he’s going to, though, so we’re not giving up. If he doesn’t make contact again with him, either by phone or in person, we’ll find another way to get to the bastard. I promise you that. This will end, Rayne.”

  Unsure, my thoughts turn dark.

  What if this doesn’t end? What if he just keeps coming after me and the next time Jeremy ends up hurt, or…worse? I’d never be able to live with myself. And what if one of the guys lost their life over me? I’d never be able to look their wives in the eye. Ronin’s right, this does have to end. But what if I’m the only one who can end it?

  My phone buzzes on the countertop, and I pick it up to read the screen. A text from a blocked number. My stomach clenches as I read the scrolling words.

  I’m growing tired of this game, Rayne. This will end. One way or another. Come to me, and no one gets hurt. Don’t, and I’ll take you forcibly, and take down everyone around you in the process.

  My knees buckle and my heart buzzes too fast in my ears. The color must have drained from my face because Ronin grabs hold of my arm to steady me while Grisham grabs my phone from my trembling hands.

  His mouth sets in a line, and he shows the text to Ronin.

  “Don’t even think about it, Rayne,” Grisham warns. “He’s trying to scare you, get into your head.”

  “It’s working.”

  Ronin rubs my shoulder, trying to reassure me and place me onto a barstool at the same time. “You’re safe with us. He can’t get to you, Rayne. Trust us, all right?”

  Shutting my eyes tight, I cover my face with my hands and take a deep, shuddering breath. “I do.”

  And it’s true. I do trust these men to protect me. Each and every one of them wears his own special brand of a badass hero cape. Their competency is on another level. I’ve never seen anything like them.

  I don’t miss the concerned glance exchanged between Ronin and Grisham. Standing up, I give each man a hug on impulse. They have lives; I know they don’t usually work twenty-four/seven. But apparently, my case never ends.

  “Thank you both. I need to check on Jer.”

  Ronin nods. “Settle in for the night, Rayne. I’ll lock up as soon as Ghost leaves and arm the security system. I’ll probably watch Brains’s camera feeds for a while, just to make sure everything is quiet. I’ll be on the couch all night if you need me.”

  Grateful, I give him a nod and head out of the kitchen with Night on my heels.

  Opening the door to the bedroom, I take note of Jeremy’s prone form on the bed. Night trots over and drops his big, blocky head down on the mattress with a quiet whine, staring at his master with an anxious gaze.

  “It’s okay, buddy,” I whisper, pulling my clothes off and grabbing one of Jeremy’s T-shirts to slip into. “He’ll be good as new in the morning.”

  Sliding under the covers, I attach myself to Jeremy’s side and rub a hand over his hard chest. He stirs, but barely, turning into me and wrapping an arm protectively around my midsection. Even drugged and passed out, his body is trained to protect me.

  With a sigh, I close my eyes and drift to sleep.

  27

  Jeremy

  I cracked my eyes open and immediately shut them again, the light filtering in through the two bedroom windows slicing through my head like a sword. With a silent curse, I roll over to face the opposite side of the room and gingerly pry my eyes open again. They are grainy, and the pain in my head is a motherfucker, but the sight in front of me is worth all the pain in the world.

  Rayne is still sleeping, one arm thrust above her and the other draped across her middle. Her face is so peaceful in the early morning light that I go still while I stare. Trying to recall the previous night with her, I frown as the fuzzy details evade me.

  Dinner…right? No, drinks. She was stressed about everything happening with that sick fuck Horton, so I took her to that swanky place near NES…

  Frowning, my face screws up with the effort to remember. Did I drink too much? Not likely, not when I had Rayne with me and a known psychopath stalking her every move.

  A picture from the previous night slams into me: men sitting near us at the bar, smug smiles; one stares at Rayne and tips his hat at me.

  “Son of a bitch!” Sitting straight up in bed, I rub my head when it protests the quick movement.

  “Jer?” Rayne’s sexy, groggy morning voice draws my attention back down to where she lies.

  Lying back down beside her, I study her face, using my fingers to trace the delicate lines. When my thumb scrapes gently across her full bottom lip, her eyes flutter open completely.

  “Hey.” Her face lights up with a sweet smile, and all I want to do is pull her into my arms and kiss her.

  “You okay, darlin’?” My voice is urgent. “Last night…I went down, right? Motherfucker drugged my drink?”

  Her lips roll between her teeth and her eyes show concern. “You remember? How are you feeling this morning?”

  I prop my head up on my elbow and study her face, scan her body where it’s visible, and cup her cheek. “You’re safe. Thank God. What happened, Rayne? And where’s Decker?”

  Sitting up, I pull her with me as agitation and a serious sense of pissed-offness invades my system. Pulling her close, I feel her touch is the only thing that can bring any sort of calm to my chaotic brain. All I can think about is the fact that I was out of commission the previous night, leaving her to fend for herself against the maniac hunting her.

  Goddammit. I can’t do this for one more day. We have to bring Wagner Horton down.

  “Well…” Rayne curls her body against mine, worrying her bottom lip as she peeks up at me. “Decker’s safe. He’s at Macy’s with Dare keeping watch. And you were really amazing, considering. You realized what had happened immediately, told me your drink had been drugged. You knocked mine over before I could take another sip, and you told me to call Ronin, which I did.”

  “Swagger? He here?” Glancing at the closed bedroom door, all I see is Night curled up on his dog bed close by.

  Rayne nods. “Yep. Downstairs on the couch all night.”

  I take a deep breath in through my nose, hold it, and release it slowly through my mouth. “Good. When I think about what could have happened, Rayne…I could kill someone. With my bare hands.”

  Shaking her head, she rests it on my shoulder and squeezes my arm with one of her hands. “Don’t. I’m safe. Decker’s safe. Everything is okay.”

  As the anger surges through me to a point I can no longer control, I shove the covers away and shoot out of bed. Walking to the window, I pull both hands behind my head and stare out onto the quiet tree-lined street. “This needs to end.”

  Turning back to Rayne, I stutter to a stop. Because she looks so damn gorgeous, sitting up against the headboard with messed-up hair and wearing my T-shirt. She’s exactly the picture I want
to see in my bed every single morning from here on out. But I can’t truly enjoy it, not when I know someone’s trying to rip her away from me.

  “Baby…I want you to pull out a bag for you and one for Decker. Start packing. I’m going to go down to talk to Swagger.”

  Moving toward the door, I stop when I hear the alarm in her voice. “Packing?”

  I glance over at her. “I’m getting you and Decker out of Wilmington. My family has to come first. I want you guys out of here while the team wraps this up.”

  Her eyebrows scrunch together in an adorable frown I want to kiss off her face. “I don’t want to leave without you, Jeremy.”

  Striding back to the bed, I lean down and take her mouth. She tastes so sweet, even first thing in the morning. When the pounding in my head reminds me that I still have a nasty hangover courtesy of Wagner Horton, I pull away with a whole lot of fucking regret.

  “I’m sorry,” I whisper, leaning my forehead against hers. “But I didn’t mean I was sending you and Deck away. Neither of you are going anywhere without me.”

  Pulling back, the corners of her mouth tip up in a smile. “Really?”

  Nodding, I focus on her deep blue eyes. “Yeah, darlin’. Not letting you out of my sight. The team can go in and get Horton at this point, as soon as they pinpoint his location. Then they’ll call in the authorities, he’ll be arrested, and we’re back here in a matter of days.”

  She releases a happy sigh. “I like this plan.”

  Giving her a quick kiss before turning for the door once more, I throw back over my shoulder, “Me, too.”

  Night rushes off his bed, stretches his front paws out in front of him and arches his back, and then bounds in front of me to beat me down the stairs. I find Swagger in the kitchen, sipping from a mug of coffee.

  “You need a shave.” Indicating the few days’ worth of dark scruff on his face, I head straight for the coffeemaker.