by Fiona Archer
Seth chuckled. “God, you’re a bastard. Heath hates karaoke.”
Harper gave Mal a pat as they headed to the front door. “Jinx won’t mind. She’ll wear him down. And you wait, Adam. She’ll have a purple party hat on that head of yours before the night is over. One with curly streamers on the top.”
To her surprise, Adam slung his beefy arm around her shoulders and drew her close to his side. He looked down at her, a soft smile seeming so out of place on his rugged face. “Good thing I like you.”
“You do?” Okay, the girly hopefulness in her voice was kind of sad, but after all, this was Adam, world’s toughest commando and owner of multiple sets of black camo gear.
His expression turned serious, and she felt the heavy weight of his arm on her shoulder more than ever. “You make my brother happy.” Adam’s gaze held hers, and a wealth of unsaid words passed between them with enough force to tighten the muscles in her throat.
God, these men. They turned her heart inside out and made her want to hug them all that much tighter.
“Thank you,” she whispered, blinking against the burning in her eyes.
“Is she crying? Don’t make her cry, man, or we’ll have to wait another five minutes so she can fix her mascara.” Seth dodged her playful punch as all three of them chuckled.
Trust her guy to say just the thing to save her from an impending make-up disaster.
With her arms looped through those of the handsome men either-side of her, she walked downstairs.
It was time to party.
****
Seth looked over the crowd of friends and family gathered in Seven Dishes. Some, like Lincoln and Nitro, were seated together on the assorted lounge chairs, while others like Ryan, Zach and Milly sat at the long table, laughing over something.
The meal, catered by Theo, Seth’s favorite Italian chef, was long eaten but the guests were only just warming up. Music played as Harper’s team from the café ensured glasses were kept full. They weren’t working tonight, but had joined in with Jinx and Cleo, Harper’s friend from the bookstore next door, to ensure Harper had a night to remember.
From the grins and laughter Seth saw on the faces of their friends, Jinx and her crazy gang of merry helpers had succeeded.
Heath joined him and lifted a glass toward the counter where Abby was showing Sienna and Elizabeth Fox how to make a cappuccino. Considering the laughter from the two younger women, and the perplexed look from the mother, it was going to take more than one go. “Good to see Harper’s sister and mum here.”
“Yeah, got to say, getting to know Sienna’s been more enjoyable than I thought. She’s proud as hell of Harper. Told me she looks to Harper as a role model as she and Lance make some changes.” Seth sipped from his bottle of beer and glanced over to Sienna’s husband as he talked with Theo. “Lance’s resigned from Brooke-Porter and is serving out his notice.”
Heath’s laugh was dry. “A good decision if ever there was one. What about the mother?”
“Ah, now,” Seth nodded toward Elizabeth. “Harper tells me her mum’s been enjoying a couple of sleepovers at Sienna’s. She’s not sure what’s happening with her parents, and I’m sure as hell not encouraging her to get involved.”
“You told her yet?” Heath asked the sixty-four thousand dollar question.
“No.” How do you tell the woman you love her father is being investigated by DHS and Lord knows who else? “I’ve nothing concrete to tell her. Besides Tollison would shoot me if I did.” Seth was only half-joking. The Agent had gathered the brothers together a week ago to advise them the agency was continuing with the investigation but had nothing new to report. But that didn’t stop Tollison from again asking Seth to contact him if he heard anything that might help.
“You’re in a no-win situation there, mate.” Heath sighed. “Stay doing what you’re doing. Keep your mouth shut and let the authorities do their job.”
“And what about you? I.A. cleared you, so what now?” The trail of the money deposited into Heath’s bank account had eventually led back to Dillon’s handiwork, but the bureaucratic process was annoying as hell for a straight shooter like Heath.
“I’m off desk duty and my captain’s happy he doesn’t have to fear hearing about me on social media every morning.” Heath lifted his bottle and drained the last of his beer. “Happy days.”
“Adam tell you his news?” Zach joined them and shoved a hand in the back pocket of his jeans.”
“Yeah,” Seth glanced at his brothers, deducing from the expectant looks on their faces they hadn’t yet heard his answer. “I’m interested.”
“Good.” Zach glanced over at Milly, who with Harper, Jinx and Cleo were dancing to a Katy Perry hit. The women encouraged the little girl to strike exaggerated poses, which they copied amidst much laughter. “You need something fresh, Seth, where you’re part of a team.”
Seth gazed from the women to Zach. “Why would you say that?”
Zach met his gaze with unflinching honesty. “Man, you put yourself under so much pressure with selling Shazad. Like anything less than a big win was a failure.” He slowly shook his head. “But we’d already won. Anything you made over our initial investment was gold. Besides,” he glanced back to his daughter and chuckled as she thrust a hand on her hip and struck a pose. “You’re our brother. No matter what the end result, we were proud of your achievement. So take a load off, and have some fun chasing the bad guys with Adam.” After saluting Seth and Heath with his bottle of beer, Zach headed over to his daughter.
No matter what the end result, we were proud of your achievement.
Seth’s gazed followed Zach’s back as he neared Milly and rested a hand on her head. The kid looked up and her face shone with the trust of a child who knew she was loved. He’d never known that feeling, at least not that young.
But now, as an adult, he recognized he was valued, needed. Loved. He’d embraced Lincoln, welcomed him into his life. Letting go of his mother and grandmother’s rejection was the last step.
How fitting that his first step free of that burden was in Harper’s direction. “I feel like dancing with my girl.” He smiled at Heath, and together, they headed over.
Harper waved her arms in the air and twirled, only to come to a sudden stop when she spied him behind her. She lost her footing and lurched to the left.
Seth caught her easily and wrapped his arms around her in a loose hold.
Her head was back and eyes alight as she gazed up at him. “Hey, handsome, have I told you lately that I’ve fallen for you?”
Seth gaze down at the woman who had his heart. He lowered his mouth and claimed hers with a kiss that gave a hint of what would follow later when they were alone. “Coffee girl, you fell into my arms the moment we laid eyes on each other.”
“Ain’t that the truth.”
****
A breeze blew through the abandoned factory’s shattered windows, but failed to dry the fine film of sweat at Stanton Fox’s hairline. Last time his “contact” had requested a meeting at this location, Fox had sat in old leather chairs dragged from some office far back in the building.
He noted the contact, dressed in black Armani that failed to gentrify a face re-shaped by fists and a knife, still sat in leather. Stanton Fox endured cheap molded plastic.
“Our friends in Boston are displeased, Fox.” The contact’s cold, flat eyes stared back at him. “Your actions drew attention to our operations.”
An unforgivable sin within an organization that didn’t possess a name as far as Fox knew. How much more secretive could you get?
Stanton swallowed but the action brought no relief for his dry, cottony mouth. “I can’t be held responsible for the drama surrounding my daughter’s boyfriend. And it’s been a month since Dillon Justice’s death. The media’s moved on.” Finally.
“You overplayed your hand.” The man opposite tapped the end of his cigar, letting the ash drop onto the grit-covered cement floor. “Lowering the purchase pric
e for Shazad was a small, petty act. Worse, Justice fought back. And he made some new friends.”
“Agent Tollison.” Stanton rushed to dismiss this new thorn in his side. “He doesn’t have a thing on me. All supposition. He can subpoena my financials but there’s nothing to link me with any of our business interests.” Apart from the photos Stanton’s contact had of him and that young man who had…entertained him a few times in New York. He clenched his jaw against the fury that twisted his gut. How was he supposed to know the boy was only fifteen?
But these men had known, and that had only been the start of things.
“Our organization is successful because we keep things…tidy and quiet.” The contact lifted his chin a fraction. The light from the bare bulb hanging above cast shadows over the misshapen line of his nose. “Like all ventures, there’s a time when the parties need to terminate their relationship. For you, that’s now.”
Stanton saw the man reach under his jacket and pull out a 9mm. He opened his mouth to scream, but he had no time to be heard.
Their business was indeed concluded.
THE END
The Sons of Sydney series continues
with Tempting Justice,
Heath and London’s story.
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ABOUT FIONA ARCHER
Fiona Archer writes erotic romance filled with masterful Aussie alpha heroes and teams them with sassy heroines who limit their submissive side to the bedroom. She lives in sunny environs of Sydney, Australia, and is harassed by a flock of wild cockatoos that take over the back yard each afternoon, demanding their feed. Her favorite hobbies include watching Nathan Fillion on television, shopping for that ever-elusive perfect shade of lipstick, and drinking iced coffee.
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LINKS TO MY OTHER BOOKS
Click to purchase
King’s Bluff, Wyoming
Chloe’s Double Draw
High-Stakes Loving
Surrender to Chance
Sons of Sydney
Tempting Justice, Coming August/September, 2016
Riding Justice, Coming later 2016
Defying Justice, Coming early 2017
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
EPILOGUE