Handle Me

by Kira Sinclair

  The terse, clipped words were beautiful and precious. At the beep, Van froze. She had no idea what to say to him. So she kept it simple.

  “Ty, It’s Van. I was wrong. I’m sorry. Please call me.”

  * * *

  HE’D HIT THE ground and immediately been pulled into a covert ops mission deep inside Afghanistan.

  At the moment, he and another handler were in front of a group of soldiers, sweeping through a deserted village. At least it appeared deserted on the surface, but if you looked hard enough it was obvious people had been there recently.

  They were undoubtedly in hiding, which could simply be self-preservation or it might be an indication that something bad was going down.

  Ty was betting on the latter.

  It was dark, clouds obscuring everything but a few meager stars. They’d come in at night on purpose, taking advantage of the cover. But it made his job more difficult.

  Echo ranged ahead of him, quickly nosing through debris, trash and rubble in search of anything that might be designed to harm them.

  Everything about the situation had him on high alert. It felt too similar to the night he’d lost Ryan. Premonition prickled down his spine and tightened the muscles spanning his shoulders. The gear strapped to his back was heavy, but he didn’t really feel it.

  He was too hyperaware, his body flooding with adrenaline.

  Something caught Echo’s attention. His ears pricked and before Ty could issue a command he was darting down a dark, narrow alley. The dog didn’t make a sound, not even a warning yip. He trusted that Ty was with him, because they worked together as a team.

  Rushing in after Echo, Ty reseated his weapon against his shoulder, ready to respond to any threat. Up ahead, his frame merely a hazy outline in the dark, Echo growled low in his throat.

  Shit.

  Ty crouched and raced forward, rounding a small outcropping of crumbled rock that likely used to be a wall, gun pointed and index finger already beginning to depress the trigger.

  And was met by a little, dirty face.

  Jerking the muzzle of his gun sideways, Ty skidded to a halt beside Echo, realizing the dog had stopped making the low rumbling noise.

  The child stared up at him with deep brown eyes. His face was filthy, with more dirt showing than skin. His body was unnaturally thin. Ty would guess he might be six or seven, but based on his malnourished appearance could potentially be older.

  What bothered him most was that the boy didn’t appear to react to having a gun pointed straight in his face. He hadn’t blinked, just waited, his gaze moving lethargically between man and dog.

  From behind him, in a low voice, one of the soldiers on the team asked him what was going on. Before Ty could answer, all hell broke loose.

  In seconds, Ty was surrounded by gunfire. Dropping to the ground, Ty returned fire. All around him, other soldiers were doing the same. Through the small alley, he could see into the street they’d just been on, and the other dog handler, Sam, who’d been with him just moments ago.

  A flash of blinding fire rolled through the area, followed by a boom that would have knocked him on his ass if he wasn’t already there.

  God, that explosion.

  It felt like déjà vu. Ryan’s death all over again. The heat of it. The force of the blast rocking through his chest. Sam standing there one moment and then obscured by smoke and debris the next.

  His body was frozen for a split second, grief and fear rolling through him. Van’s words replayed in his mind. If you go...you won’t come back.

  While he was here on active duty, he couldn’t promise her that prediction wouldn’t come true. And she was right. He couldn’t ask her to sit at home waiting for another phone call telling her someone she loved was gone, which was why he’d walked away.

  It had been hard as hell, but the right thing to do. For her.

  Ty heard yelling. Voices. Orders. His team was scrambling to regroup. He needed to help them.

  And all he could do was stare at the rising plume of black smoke and think that he didn’t want to come home to Van in a flag-draped box.

  It wasn’t cowardice that had him frozen. It wasn’t lack of honor or a reluctance to do his job.

  At some point in the last few weeks he’d lost that edge, the one that had always carried him straight into danger instead of away from it. The wild streak that had pushed him through the terrible moments of his childhood. The curiosity and recklessness that had him laughing in the face of danger.

  Van had tamed him, and he couldn’t say that he was upset about it. Because in doing that, she’d given him herself.

  Behind him, Echo shifted, dropping on top of the boy. He grunted, the first sound Ty had heard him make.

  “Good boy,” Ty praised. “Stay.”

  Ty had no idea what the boy was doing there. He wasn’t about to leave a child alone in the middle of a firefight, but he couldn’t stay there, either, not when his friends and fellow soldiers needed the backup.

  One thing was certain. He needed to finish this mission so he could get home to Van in one piece. And stay there.

  17

  IT HAD BEEN over a week since she’d left that message on Ty’s phone. And she hadn’t heard anything. As each day passed, the manic restlessness that had been fueling her bled into panic, then anger and finally a sadness that dug straight into her soul.

  Had she burnt her bridges with Ty? Was he going to ignore her call and refuse to give her a chance to apologize? Or was he injured? The unknown was eating away at her.

  She compensated with work, but this time, didn’t fling herself into it like she had before. She worked her shifts, kept her head and clamped a tight lid over the emotions that threatened to swamp her.

  There was no way she’d let her own toxic sludge spill over everyone else in her life again.

  But, she was no longer content to retreat into herself. She called her parents and invited them over for dinner one night, realizing that she couldn’t remember the last time she’d done that, just because.

  She’d rallied several girlfriends and convinced them to meet her at a local bar. She laughed and had a great time. It was nice to open up and get out of the house.

  And some mornings she found herself in the park with Kaia, throwing a ball or Frisbee. She’d even talked to several of her neighbors and learned that there was a big end-of-the-summer barbecue in the works. Apparently, it had happened every year, but somehow she’d missed the flyers and invitations over the years she’d been living there. But this year would be different, assuming she wasn’t working.

  If nothing else, her time with Ty had taught her that it was past time to open up and let other people in to her life.

  Sure, the minute she did, she courted the possibility of getting hurt or losing someone important. But it was worth it.

  And while she might be fighting against a constant ache centered right in the middle of her chest, she had hopes that eventually the pain would lessen a little.

  However, it was difficult to remember that when the doorbell rang, interrupting the first two hours of a planned ten-hour sleep marathon to be followed by a long shift at the hospital.

  She was groggy, grumpy and in no mood to deal with whatever soul was parked on her front porch, repeatedly pressing the damn bell.

  “I’m coming,” she hollered, grumbling under her breath. “Although I make no promises I won’t kill you when I get there.”

  Kaia trailed behind her as she pulled a thin robe over the shorts and tank she’d struggled into before face-planting in the middle of her pillows.

  Her fingers didn’t want to work, fumbling with the belt. Eventually, she gave up, lettin
g the sides trail open. Whoever it was deserved to get her exactly the way she came.

  Eyes still blurry, she yanked the door open. “What do you...?” and her words trailed off to nothing when she took in the man standing on her front porch.

  God, he was gorgeous. There were dark circles under his eyes, telling her he’d probably slept about as much as she had in the last few weeks. His skin was just a little more bronzed than when he’d left, and there was a jagged cut, several days old and well on the way to healing, across the corner of his forehead trailing into his hairline.

  “What happened?” Jerking forward, Van’s fingers trailed across the cut, poking at the edges before she even registered what she was doing.

  Ty’s hands wrapped around her waist and gently eased her back.

  “I’m fine. It’s nothing.”

  Van harrumphed, crossing her arms over her chest. “Where have I heard those words before?”

  Ty just grinned down at her, his beautiful, sensual mouth ripe and begging to be kissed.

  God, she wanted to kiss him all over, just so she could make sure he was really there, standing on her front porch.

  “What are you doing here?”

  Kaia brushed against her thigh and gave a quick yip. The dog sitting on his haunches behind Ty answered with a short bark, but didn’t move.

  She hadn’t even realized the dog was there until now. She’d had eyes only for Ty.

  “And who is this?”

  “Kaia and Echo are old friends. He and I have been together for almost nine years. Luckily, the army agreed that it was a decent time for him to retire from active duty and join me at the training center in San Antonio when I move there in a couple months.”

  Van let his words flow over her, slowly sinking in.

  “Training center? San Antonio?”

  Another grin flashed across Ty’s face. “I’m coming home.”

  “Wait. What? Why?” Van shook her head. He was doing this because of her. Because of what she’d said. And she didn’t want that. Dread and regret mixed in her belly, uncomfortable and accusing, making her feel ill. “No. You can’t do that, Ty. I was wrong to freak out the way I did. To ask you to change your life because of me. That wasn’t—isn’t—fair. I love you. Fell in love with the man you are, wild streak, reckless proclivities and all. You’re worth the risk. The last few weeks have made me realize that I’d rather have three days with you than three lifetimes without you. Any moments we share are a gift.”

  She was rambling and needed to stop. Now. Snapping her jaw shut, Van stared up at Ty.

  And then melted beneath the burning heat shining back at her.

  His hands tightened where they rested on her hips, digging into her skin. It should have been uncomfortable, but wasn’t. After weeks without him, she needed to feel him on her, deep inside her, anywhere and anyway he wanted.

  “You love me?”

  A broken laugh stuttered out of her. “Of course I do. How could I not? You’re larger than life, Ty Colson. You challenge me and irritate me and make my body burn. You make the sun shine brighter and bring the stars in closer. You’re generous and honorable and so damn sexy. You’ve been through so much, but refuse to let it beat you. You refuse to let the challenges you’ve faced define you or limit you.”

  “I barely passed high school, Van.”

  “I know.” She tossed him an impish grin. “I was there. Do you think that matters to me? Grades and degrees aren’t the only markers of intelligence in this world. You have an amazing career. You have a way with dogs that’s enchanting to watch. You’ve found your place in the world, the place you belong. And I can’t ask you to give that up, especially not for me.”

  His body convulsed. His arms wrapped around her, pulling her tight into the warmth of his embrace. He enveloped her, surrounded her. And she melted against him, feeling secure in his arms in a way she’d never felt with anyone else, not even her big brother.

  She could feel the tiny tremors rocking him, but didn’t understand why.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing,” he whispered, the single word ragged and broken. “No one has ever put me first, Van. Not in my entire life. Not my mom, not the man who was my father. Your parents cared, but I always knew their own children came first—as they should. Even with Ryan, as close as we were. I’ve never had that. Never truly had family.”

  “You do now,” she whispered, fighting back the mingled tears of joy and pain. She hurt for him, because she could hear the echo of the pain he’d buried, remnants of wounds that dug so deeply. She didn’t want that for him, but she couldn’t change the past. She could only make sure he had something so much better in the future.

  Sucking in a deep breath, Ty cupped her shoulders and pushed her away. Dipping his knees, he brought them face-to-face.

  “I’m not just doing this for you, Van. It’s time. After what happened to Ryan, my heart isn’t in it the same way it was. I can do more good training the next soldiers to be the best handlers they can be. That decision just happens to come with the bonus that I’ll be moving home to be with you.”

  Joy clogged her throat, blocking the words she wanted to pour out.

  “Savannah Cantrell, I have probably loved you for years, even when I thought you were a bratty little girl and a total pain in the ass.”

  Van smacked her hand across his shoulder. “Hey!”

  His lips tipped up into a half smile, the playful edge softened by the warm glow penetrating his gaze.

  “I need you in my life and always will. I want to come home. To you.”

  “Always.”

  Scooping her up, Ty kicked the front door closed, not even caring that they’d just given the neighborhood a front-row seat to their heartfelt reunion.

  Kaia and Echo bounded around each other, happy to be reunited, but at that moment, Ty only cared about the woman in his arms.

  Finding her mouth, he poured everything he had into the kiss. And without reservation, Van gave it right back.

  * * * * *

  If you loved this story, be sure to look for RESCUE ME, Kira Sinclair’s next UNIFORMLY HOT! K-9 title.

  Keep reading for an excerpt from TEMPTED IN THE CITY by Jo Leigh.

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  Tempted in the City

  by Jo Leigh

  1

  “WHERE THE HELL have you been?”

  Tony Paladino stopped in his tracks as Gina, his cousin and the office manager at Paladino & Sons, came at him waving a wad of pink message slips. He held his hand up to stop her as he checked the text on his cell phone.

  Sure enough, Rita wanted to meet later, after work. She was in town only for tonight, and he wasn’t going to let anything get in the way of seeing her. He hadn’t had sex in too damn long, and Rita was just the ticket. Uncomplicated, didn’t even live in New York, and she wanted nothing from him but some hot action with a wave goodbye after. Perfect.

  He answered her text in very few words, and the moment he hit Send, Gina pounced.

  “You were supposed to be here two hours ago. Alex, the plumber on the Ortega job, says the whole system needs replacing from the ground up, and that was not in his budget, so he wants his money up front.

  “Also, Sal is going crazy at Catherine Fox’s house. He says she’s insane and if you don’t call him back right away, he’s going to pack it up and go home.”

  “Well, that’s just great.” Tony shook his head. The hits just kept on coming.

  “I’m not finished,” Gina said. “The mayor’s assistant is trying to get hold of your father to ask him to dinner as thanks for the remodel of his offices. And Leo’s truck broke down in Park Slope so he hasn’t gotten to the Walkers’ brownstone yet. There’s a bunch more, but those are the calls you need to get to right away.”