Tal smarted beneath Wyatt’s typical SEAL confidence and competitiveness. She slid a leg beneath her, resting against the other sofa opposite Gage and Alexa, the coffee table in between. “So? Have you set a date?”
“No,” Alexa said, giving Gage a soft smile. “We’ve only known each other six months. We want to buy a small farmhouse somewhere near Artemis and live together for a while.”
“Mom and Dad are going to be shocked,” Tal said as Wyatt brought over two glasses of wine.
“Oh,” Wyatt said, “I think your mom’s already ahead of the game, darlin’. She knows.”
Tal took the wine. “You really think so?”
“Your mother misses nothing,” Wyatt said, grinning. “But then, you two gals should already know that from growing up with her.”
Tal gave him a dirty look. “I hate know-it-alls,” she grumped good-naturedly, the corners of her mouth tugging upward.
Wyatt came back with two bottles of cold beer beaded with condensation, handing one to Gage. “I’m just good, is all,” he said, congratulating himself, giving Tal a warm look that spoke volumes. “Hey,” he said, raising his beer, “here’s to you, Alexa and Gage. Congratulations. Even if you aren’t Navy, Gage, you are a Marine and part of the Navy. So, welcome to the family, brother.”
Gage stood and clinked Wyatt’s bottle, leaned across the coffee table, and touched Tal’s proffered glass. He then sat down and lightly touched Alexa’s glass. “To us,” he said gruffly.
“To us,” Alexa agreed, her voice trembling with emotion, her love for this man flooding her heart.
*
AUGUST
“Welcome home,” Gage said as he carried Alexa across the threshold of their newly purchased farmhouse. He nudged open the screen door, the woman he loved in his arms, walking into the large living room of their hundred-year-old home.
Alexa sighed, her arms around his shoulders as he easily carried her into the huge parlor. “This is wonderful,” she whispered, leaning over and kissing his jaw. They had found the two-story farmhouse five miles away from Artemis.
Alexa knew Gage had issues with his being poor while she was rich, something that Gage was reconciling within himself. They had spent the last month searching for turn-of-the-century furniture, and it had been a labor of love with Gage. He bought all of it with his own money, and Alexa approved it wholeheartedly. There were some pieces of furniture that he had in storage that had belonged to his family, and Alexa wanted them to be a part of their life. There was an oak table, hewn and made by hand, that had been passed down through his mother’s side of the family since the 1700s. Now it graced their dining room, along with a set of twelve chairs.
This would be a place where her family could gather for a Sunday afternoon meal. Gage had grown up with that tradition, and Alexa wanted to bring that back to him, to give him warm memories of the past, but also build upon new ones that they would create together. He’d cried for the first time when she’d sat with him in the parlor after the table had arrived via a moving company. She’d held Gage as he finally cried for the loss of his family. She knew from many long, searching talks with him over the past few months how deeply wounded he had been by their sudden loss.
And just as he had so often held her when she’d burst into tears out of the blue, the shock and horror of her capture still working its way out of her, she had been able to turn around and hold him with her woman’s strength, with her love, as he held her and sobbed out his losses to her. She had even cried with him.
As Gage settled her down into the flowery couch, lying across his lap, leaning back against the arm, she sighed and nuzzled into his jaw. His arms came around her, strong and protective. Alexa could feel his love pouring out of him, melting through her, healing her. In the last two months, there had been ups and downs for her, but she was getting used to it, seeing how her psyche was slowly healing from the trauma she’d sustained within that cave.
Becka had been a wonderful therapist and was becoming a loyal friend as well. She and Gage were like bookends, holding and supporting Alexa when a memory, a flashback, would slam into her, rendering her incapable of anything but an emotional reaction. It was then that Tal or Matt would call Gage from his office.
He’d come, quietly shut the door to Alexa’s office, hold her, and listen to her fears, her anxieties, her rage. It was his calm, stable demeanor and his endless patience that allowed her to work through those crises.
“Looks kinda pretty in here,” Gage murmured, settling Alexa against him. He looked around at the frilly, lacy, feminine curtains at the front windows, which allowed plenty of light to cascade into the large room. The stained glass lamps were on, their blended colors glowing like out-of-season Christmas bulbs. The large maple sideboard was in the other room, along with his mother’s beautiful antique oak table. It warmed Gage’s heart like nothing else, because it was as if his parents were there with him, if only in spirit.
This was a dream come true for Gage. He still couldn’t believe that the warm, effervescent, generous woman in his arms, who worked tirelessly at Artemis, was his. He loved her dedication to helping others, and he would support her by being the quiet shadow standing behind her. She was like Tal and Matt and their parents—all driven to serve. It was in their blood, in their family, and he’d discovered that the care they had for humanity was stunning. The family might have made its fortune from shipping around the globe, but a billion dollars each year was poured into the Delos infrastructure. And now, with Artemis online and most of the security teams hired, the assembling of a small army of men and women contractors who would serve and protect Delos’s charities was becoming a reality.
As Alexa surrendered to him, her hand resting on his chest, quiet and soft within his embrace, he rested his jaw against her hair. Artemis, under Tal’s capable leadership and direction, was already putting teams out in the field. The charities didn’t all need help, just those in second- and third-world countries. Alexa’s Safe House division, however, often needed one or two operators going in undercover, most often to seek out a foreign-national father who had stolen his child from an American mother. He hadn’t realized just how pervasive this problem was until now.
Alexa threw herself into her work and had created a huge global database of domestic abuse and sex-trafficking cases. Wyatt Lockwood was working with six other software designers on special software to reveal and hunt down slavers in every country where they existed. Toward that end, he and Matt were hiring special units of men and women who would go after these predators. They even had the quiet backing of the U.S. government. In fact, Tal and Alexa were flying to a secret meeting of thirty-five countries, two days from now. They would be gathering in Paris, France, to lay down a new foundation to stop the kidnapping of children and women and keep them out of the nightmare world of sex slavery.
Gage was proud of Alexa’s efforts. She was changing the face of this terrible issue because of what had happened to her. She was turning her own wounding into a proactive stance so that others could heal in turn. Or be rescued out of such an awful circumstance, returned to their families.
From today forward, they had a house to call their own. They would live here and love here together. He leaned back now, sliding his hand gently down her spine and across her hips, loving Alexa.
“Dreams do come true,” he told her, a catch in his voice, barely opening his eyes to see her expression. “Broken dreams can be mended and glued back together. I never thought they could, but now, I know better.”
Alexa stirred, leaning back just enough to catch his smoldering blue gaze. A tender smile pulled at her lips. Lifting her hand, she slid her fingers across the hard line of his jaw. “Yes, they do. And you are my dream come true . . .”
The End
Don’t miss Lindsay McKenna’s next DELOS series novella and novel,
Secret Dream, 1B, novella epilogue to Nowhere to Hide
And
Hold On, Book 5
A
vailable from Lindsay McKenna and Blue Turtle Publishing and wherever you buy eBooks!
Turn the page for a sneak peek of Hold On!
Excerpt from
Hold On
Book 5 Delos Series
By the third day at the Kabul, Afghanistan orphanage, Army Sergeant Beau Gardner had been pleased to observe that Callie was less grumpy toward him. Between his rounds with Matt inside and outside the orphanage, he’d volunteered to help change diapers at the diaper station. He’d told Maggie, the owner of the charity, that he was good with babies and that if she wanted, he’d feed, bathe and diaper them if she wanted.
Well! She jumped at his offer and he found himself in what they called “the baby room” when he wasn’t on his security walks. And by now, he was used to the rhythm of the busy, overcrowded orphanage.
Beau was dealing with a three-month-old baby girl as her nine-year-old sister, Aliya, stood nearby looking on. She watched as he placed her tiny sister on the soft white blanket spread across the table where diapers were changed. He was busy talking to Aliya in Pashto, drawing her out, making her feel comfortable in his presence as he unpinned the soft cotton diaper from the gurgling baby girl. He smiled down at the little one, her green eyes wide with wonder as he gently removed the dirty diaper, dropping it in a nearby bucket of water and bleach. He’d also volunteered to clean dirty diapers and put them in the aging washing machine at the back of the orphanage, afterward.
Callie McKinley peeked in through the open door, her attention caught by the low, soft conversation between Beau and nine-year-old Aliyah. It seemed impossible that a man of his height and size could move so delicately as he slipped a fresh diaper beneath the baby’s bottom. She had to admit it, just watching him made her heart turn over with emotions she hadn’t felt for a long time.
Beau was truly a sight, she had to admit, with his tall, broad shoulders, his Kevlar vest over his long-sleeved blue T-Shirt. His jeans fit his body to perfection and Callie could no longer ignore it. But it was Beau’s low, crooning voice in that southern drawl of his that mesmerized both her and the baby. He was a Delta Force operator, a badass, yet he expertly pinned each side of the infant’s diaper into place with safety pins. He made sure her little crocheted booties were snug on each of her waving feet, brushed her black hair aside from her round face with his spare, calloused fingers.
“Are you done?” she now asked, coming into the room. Callie leaned over, giving Aliya a warm hug.
“Just about,” Beau murmured. He rearranged the baby’s wool pullover. “Cute little thing, isn’t she?” and slid one hand beneath the baby’s tiny neck and the other beneath her buttocks, lifting her up and handing her over to Callie.
“She’s adorable,” Callie admitted, gently taking the baby. “I’m ready to bottle feed her, now.”
Nodding, Beau said, “She’s all yours. I’ve got diapers to rinse out,” and he grinned, leaning down and picking up the tall plastic bucket filled to the brim with wet, dirty diapers.
Callie laid the baby against her shoulder, patting her back gently. “You’ve done this a time or two, haven’t you?”
“Told you before,” Beau said, smiling broadly, “I have two younger brothers, and my Ma put me to work as soon as I could handle a diaper, clean it, and replace it on my baby brothers. It wasn’t lost on her that I was good at it,” and he chuckled, moving past her and heading down the hall toward the laundry room.
Callie frowned, sliding her hand comfortingly along the baby’s back. Ever since she’d snapped at him a few days ago, he’d acted as if she no longer existed. No more hungry, longing looks in her direction from him. No more flirting with her. Yet, Beau had made himself quite indispensable around here, just like Matt Culver, another Delta Force sergeant, had. They were good men and brave soldiers, and they cared about this place and the kids. It wasn’t a game to them, although Callie didn’t fool herself. Matt was here because he was attracted to Dara. Her sister was definitely falling for the Delta Force sergeant, too—she could see it. And Beau had showed up to court her.
And now, Callie couldn’t still her curiosity about Beau Gardner. Any guy who could happily change a diaper got her attention!
He had just finished placing the diapers in the washer when Beau felt someone enter the laundry room behind him. He turned, seeing Callie standing there, frowning at him, confusion in her expression.
“What?” he teased. “Got another diaper job for me?” he asked as he straightened, turning on the machine.
“Are you doing anything tonight after we get back to Bagram?” she surprised him by asking.
At a momentary loss, Beau said, “No. Why?” He watched her move nervously from one foot to another. He stood there, hands at his sides, holding her gaze.
“Would you like to join me for some beer and pizza tonight?”
Well, hell, you could have knocked him over with a feather! Beau remained serious, trying not to let the surprise show in his face. He thought for sure after Callie had chewed him out days earlier, she wanted NOTHING to do with him. EVER. “Sure, I’d like that. Do you have a favorite place?”
The Books of Delos
Title: Last Chance (FREE Prequel)
Publish Date: July 15, 2015
Learn more at: http://delos.lindsaymckenna.com/last-chance/
Title: Nowhere to Hide
Publish Date: October 13, 2015
Learn more at: http://delos.lindsaymckenna.com/nowhere-to-hide/
Title: Tangled Pursuit
Publish Date: November 11, 2015
Learn more at: http://delos.lindsaymckenna.com/tangled-pursuit/
Title: Forged in Fire
Publish Date: December 3, 2015
Learn more at: http://delos.lindsaymckenna.com/forged-in-fire/
Title: Broken Dreams
Publish Date: January 2, 2016
Learn more at: http://delos.lindsaymckenna.com/broken-dreams/
Everything Delos!
Newsletter
Please sign up for my free quarterly newsletter on the front page of my official Lindsay McKenna website at lindsaymckenna.com. The newsletter will have exclusive information about my books, publishing schedule, giveaways, exclusive cover peeks, and more.
Download FREE Novella Last Chance
Last Chance is the prologue to Nowhere to Hide! It is available on most publishing platforms or you can download it from my Lindsay McKenna bookstore at lindsaymckenna.selz.com. Last Chance is in eBook format only. It will be FREE forever!
Delos Series Website
Be sure to drop by the website dedicated to the Delos series at delos.lindsaymckenna.com. There will be new articles on characters, publishing schedule and information about each book written by Lindsay.
Quote Books
I love how the Internet has evolved. I had great fun create “quote books with text” which reminded me of an old fashioned comic book…lots of great color photos and a little text, which forms a “book” that tells you, the reader, a story. Let me know if you like these quote books because I think it’s a great way to add extra enjoyment with this series! Just go to my Delos Series website delos.lindsaymckenna.com, which features the books in the series.
The individual downloadable quote books are located on the corresponding book pages. Please share with your reader friends!
Follow the history of Delos:
The video quote book will lead you through the history of how and why Delos was formed. You can also download the quote book as a PDF.
The Culver Family History
The history of the Culver Family, featuring Robert and Dilara Culver, and their children, Tal, Matt and Alexa will be available as a downloadable video or PDF quote book.
Nowhere to Hide, Book 1, Delos Series, October 13, 2015
This quote book will lead you through Lia Cassidy’s challenges in Costa Rica and hunky Cav Jordan, ex-SEAL. Download the book and enjoy more of the story.
Tangled Pursuit, Book 2, Delos Series, November 11, 2
015
This quote book will introduce you to Tal Culver and her Texas badass SEAL warrior who doesn’t take “no” for an answer.
Forged in Fire, Book 3, Delos Series, December 3, 2015
This quote book will introduce you to Army Sergeant Matt Culver, Delta Force operator and Dr. Dara McKinley.
Broken Dreams, Book 4, Delos Series, January 2, 2016
This quote book will introduce you to Captain Alexa Culver and Marine Sergeant Gage Hunter, sniper, USMC.
Broken Dreams (Delos Series Book 4) Page 30