by Maddie Wade
He took the stairs to his room two at a time and rushed to pack a bag, dismissing his self-indulgent thoughts. He needed to concentrate on the task. Finding his sister and maybe, finally, have the loving family he’d always dreamed of. Maybe then some of the guilt he’d felt for not speaking up sooner would leave.
Marcus watched his son leave and turned to Michaels. “Follow him and make sure he gets this done properly. And I want regular updates.”
~~~
Michaels would do anything for Marcus Preedy, even watch that pathetic son who kept trying to wheedle his way into Marcus’s affections.
Chapter Five
Lauren prowled around her flat feeling restless. She’d put a call in to her therapist and booked an appointment for the next week. She had re-gained a lot of the confidence that Jeff had stolen from her, but losing Claire had thrown her for a loop, and she wanted to touch base and talk things through with the therapist.
It had been a week since they had buried Claire and she just couldn’t settle. She felt edgy and full of energy, but at the same time, couldn’t concentrate on anything. Thank goodness her boss had agreed to let her take some time off, because there was no way she would be able to concentrate on her kids.
Lauren loved being a teacher, especially in Reception class. Watching their little faces fill with awe over the simplest things, like learning to read and write their names. Not that there weren’t days when she wanted to scream. Like the day little Scotty James had poured glue into Jenny Sampson’s hair. It had taken quite some explaining when Mrs. Sampson picked her up. She could smile at that now. Mostly, she loved it, though.
She couldn’t wait to have kids of her own one day. She wanted a large family of four, or five, and her biological clock had certainly been letting her know that if she wanted that, she needed to get started. Stupid body didn’t realise it wasn’t that simple, though. To have a baby, you needed a partner.
Putting herself out there and trusting people was a risk, and being rejected for things she couldn’t help was hard. And honestly, after Jeff, she didn’t trust her own judgment anymore.
Her mind involuntarily skipped to Dane, and she wondered what it would be like having little brown haired, blue-eyed Dane’s running around. She sighed at the direction her thoughts had taken. Yeah, like that was ever going to happen with her fears paralysing her.
She could not believe that she had cried all over him like that. And then to get turned on? Oh God, she was still mortified. What would he think of her behaving like that at her best friend’s wake? God, she was a horrible person.
She tried reading a book on her tiny balcony, but gave up trying after getting stuck reading the same page four times. Walking to the fridge, she opened it, enjoying the cool air, even at seven at night, it was still hot. Great. No wine. Her luck just kept getting better. Slamming the fridge with more force than necessary, Lauren sank dejectedly onto the couch.
Lauren loved her home, with its pale, cream walls, and accents of gold and turquoise. It was calming and classy. But not tonight. Tonight she felt unsettled and couldn’t put her finger on why.
A run! That’s it, she’d go for a run. Rushing to change into a sports bra and running shorts, she threw her hair into a ponytail and grabbed her iPod.
Stepping from her flat, she set off at a fast pace towards the park. She waved to Mr. Aden who lived below her and was watering his garden. He liked to wait until the sun wasn’t so strong, or so he told her. Personally, she thought he just liked to talk with Mrs. Fielding-the widow from two doors down. She set off at a fast walk for the park.
Lauren loved living in this part of the country with its historical buildings, including the cathedral and the old Tudor house. The town was a real mixture, with old, historic-listed buildings right next to new architecture. It was generally quiet, except in May, when the fair came to town for three days and the whole of High Town was closed off for fairground rides and food stalls of every description.
She also loved how the changing of the seasons made the town look picturesque. Loved that everyone knew everyone else, and was friendly, was reassuring. She knew that was one of the reasons her mother had settled here.
She’d always felt safe here, it was a good-sized town, but nothing extraordinary ever happened. That was why it was such a shock when Claire was murdered. It just didn’t happen. But West Mercia police did have a good track record, so she hoped they could figure it out soon. Daniel had told her Fortis was looking into it as well.
Running into the park, Lauren stopped by a bench to do some stretches and get her muscles warmed up. She loved to run. It always gave her time to let her thoughts go free. No phones ringing, no school work to prepare, just her and her thoughts.
Bending to adjust her trainers, she started to get the creeps. It felt like someone was watching her. A prickly feeling at the back of her neck had her slowly straightening up. She surveyed the area around her, but nobody was there, except a few students enjoying the early evening sun, and a couple of parents with kids on the swings. Shaking it off, she plugged in her earbuds and put on her jogging playlist.
Lauren started a lap around the park and enjoyed the feeling of freedom. As she passed the benches, she noticed a well-built young man watching her from the bench in the kid’s park. He looked familiar, but she couldn’t place him. He didn’t look like a nutter, so she dismissed him and carried on.
On her second lap, she noticed that he had moved back, closer to the trees by the river but was still watching her. She felt slightly nervous now, though, and her heart began to pound. He was definitely watching her. She sped up a bit, deciding it was time to go home.
Turning to leave the park, she ran straight into a rock-hard chest. Big hands grabbed her arms and she opened her mouth to scream.
“Lauren.”
She stopped, with her mouth open.
“It’s me, Dane. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”
She yanked the earbuds out, making him release her arms and take a step back. She took a breath to calm her galloping heart before she spoke.
“Jesus Christ, you scared me to death,” she replied a little shakily. “What are you doing here? Is everything okay with Paige?”
“Yes, they’re all fine. I was just walking through the park and spotted you. Are you okay? You seem nervous.”
“I’m fine. I was just being silly. I thought some guy was watching me, but he’s gone now,” she said, casting her eyes around the park for the young man. She turned back to Dane and saw that he, too, was looking around the park. She felt his posture ease and realised that he hadn’t seen anything suspicious.
“I was probably being silly. What happened to Claire has me spooked.”
“No, you’re right not to ignore your gut instincts. It’s exactly that, that will keep you safe.”
Lauren noticed him take one more look around the park before turning to her with a smile.
“Come on, I’ll walk you home,” Dane said, placing his hand on the small of her back as he steered her in the direction of home. Lauren let him take control. She was relieved that he was there. She was very independent, and as a teacher, always had to be in charge. If she wasn’t the kids would walk all over her. It felt oddly empowering to have someone take the lead for change. To let someone look out for her.
They fell into a comfortable silence as they walked, enjoying the balmy evening. She noticed he kept a vigilant eye on his surroundings. She found it reassuring that he wasn’t just discounting her feelings.
“Have you eaten?” Lauren asked him, not hungry but not wanting to be on her own just yet.
“No.”
“Good, I have homemade vegetable pasta sauce in the fridge if you want to join me.” She hoped he would say yes. She felt a bit pathetic wanting him to say yes, but right now didn’t care. She just didn’t want to be on her own.
“That sounds great.” Dane replied with a smile. “I can’t remember the last time I had a home-cooked meal. M
y culinary skills are fairly basic and mostly restricted to breakfast.”
He smiled again, then, and she could see that his lack of prowess in the kitchen certainly didn’t bother him. He’d probably been too busy being a badass in the army to learn how to cook. He had a certain take-charge, alpha personality and she wondered how she hadn’t realised it before.
In hindsight, it had always been there and had noticed it, she guessed; mainly in his interactions with Daniel and his friends. They were always innately competitive, whether it was cooking on the BBQ or playing football, and yet they never fought aggressively. Maybe there was a bond that men got from fighting together that allowed there to be more than one alpha in a group? Nate was another member of Fortis and he was about as testosterone-filled as it got.
She snapped her thoughts back to the now. Where the hell had that thought process come from? She was clearly in need of some food.
~~~
Climbing the stairs behind her, Dane wondered who’d been watching her in the park. He’d have to keep an eye out. He didn’t like the idea of anyone scaring her or watching her. He followed her up the steps and couldn’t help but admire the view. That outfit should be illegal! The material clung to her like a second skin, showing off her breasts and ass to perfection and, God, he was only human.
Snapping his eyes upwards he was pleasantly surprised when he stepped into her home. It wasn’t what he’d expected. It had clean lines with comfortable fabric couches facing the big bay windows and a small TV in the corner. The floors were polished oak with big, cream throw rugs covering the main living areas and filmy curtains at the windows.
It was an open floor plan with a small kitchen and diner at the back. It had a lovely, homey, and airy feel, with none of the frills and froufrou he expected from a healer. Well, not anything he expected from Lauren, really. She was so girl next door and he had expected… he didn’t even know what he’d expected, but this wasn’t it. Which was silly because as he looked around, he realised it suited her perfectly.
He hadn’t ever thought of himself as narrow-minded, but God, he couldn’t think straight around her, and he was having a hard time not thinking about her constantly. He was royally screwed.
She didn’t know that Daniel had told him about Lauren and Claire’s special abilities, and although he’d been initially surprised, it did explain how insightful Claire always seemed. He’d come across people with special abilities in the forces and found them to be very normal people who just had extraordinary abilities.
Daniel had felt bad for breaking a confidence, but after losing Claire, he’d felt that every avenue should be explored in the hunt for her killer. Dane wasn’t sure it had anything to do with Lauren’s abilities, but the excuse to keep an eye on Lauren was okay with him. Which is how he found himself in the park this evening, on the pretence of taking a walk.
He wasn’t so unaware of himself that he didn’t realise he was using this as an excuse to be around Lauren more. But he liked her and missed the friendship they had developed a few years back, even though it had been all through email. Lately he had felt the need for something more permanent in his life. He wasn’t sure if that was Lauren, but he did know that the feeling went away when she was around.
He knew what he was-a trained killer and he was good at it-but he hadn’t enjoyed taking lives, it was just part of the job. He loved the camaraderie that being in an elite Special Forces unit like the Special Air Service gave you, but the constant barrage of extremists that just wanted to kill unrepentantly in the name of religion, and in the most heinous ways, had worn him down until he felt like the difference they were making wasn’t enough. In a job like this, you had to believe in what you were doing and love it, or you lost your edge. And after that last Fubar mission, he was done with all the political, red-tape bullshit.
With Fortis, he could do the job he loved without all the strict rules. He’d been surprised when Zack had contacted him out of the blue, just before his discharge. Zack offered him everything he wanted as far as the job was concerned and he liked and respected him.
After serving with Zack on several tours of Iraq and Afghanistan, Dane could attest to the fact that his reputation as a cold, clinical, yet loyal, operator who never failed a mission no matter the cost, was well earned. He had certainly set fear in the hearts of his enemies.
Everyone had been shocked when Zack retired two years ago and set up Fortis Security. If anyone had “career forces” written all over them, it was Zack. There was a lot of speculation over his last black ops mission. The rumour was, that his team had been ambushed while meeting with an elder, and held captive, but nothing was ever confirmed, of course, and he’d never asked.
Fortis did do off-the-books black ops jobs for the government, although, that wasn’t common knowledge, but Zack chose those with meticulous care.
No, his life was perfect, it was just missing something. He thought, maybe, that something could be Lauren. The bond they had started to develop still pulled at him. What would have happened if he’d fought for her and told her how he felt? He’d wondered that on more than one occasion.
He knew his job would put some women off taking a chance on him and wondered if that was the case with Lauren. Oh, she wanted him, the incident in Daniel’s garden proved that, but she seemed more reticent in the last few years. Dane wondered if it was his job or if Jeff the jerk had anything to do with that?
His fists clenched at his side as he thought about that bastard hurting her in any way. He was going to ask her about it, but knew from previous discussions that she avoided all talk of her ex, so he would need to tread carefully so as not scare her off. He would ask her on a date and see what happened.
~~~
Lauren was very conscious of the man prowling around her home and was suddenly a bit nervous about what he might think, which was silly. They had known each other for ages, why should she care?
“I love your home,” Dane said. He didn’t elaborate, but smiled that panty-melting smile of his. She was ridiculously pleased by his compliment. Oh boy. She was in trouble if that was all it took to make her melt. How the hell was she supposed to ignore that? And why had all these strange feelings for Dane appeared since Claire’s funeral?
Oh, who was she kidding? She’d always liked him and found him completely drop-dead gorgeous. But, it wasn’t only that that drew her to him, it was his kind, patient nature and his obvious love for his family. She’d seen him with Lucy and the bond they shared was almost tangible. He also had a confidence and an ingrained sense of honour, which she loved.
But like a wimp, she’d chosen Jeff, who she thought was the safe option with his job as an estate agent. Well, hadn’t she been wrong? No, she should have gone with her gut instinct and let things happen with Dane the way she thought it might have. Her gut had never been wrong and she would do well to remember in the future.
Smiling and blushing at the compliment he had given about her home, Lauren excused herself.
“I’m gonna take a quick shower, if that’s okay?”
“Yes, of course that’s fine. I’m just going to admire the view,” and then realising what he had said and seeing her blush, he quickly added, “From the window.”
~~~
Watching Lauren race off to the bathroom, he could have kicked himself. God damn it, what was wrong with him? Every time she said anything, he put his foot in it like some awkward teenage boy.
Wandering to the aforementioned window, he did indeed admire the view of the street below. With the Cathedral and grounds which dated from 1079 at one end, and the beautiful 12th century castle house hotel on the other corner, it was beautiful-almost like this part of town had been left in the past. Dane knew that all the period properties along this street had been renovated and some turned into flats, but all had listed building status, stopping any developer from ruining the feel and beauty of the street.
Watching the quiet road for a while he was about to turn away when he noticed a y
oung man, who was tall and built like a Rugby prop, at the corner of the street. The kid clearly wasn’t trained as he’d been so easy to spot, but he was definitely watching the flat. Stepping forward, he tried to get a better look, but the kid must have realised he’d been made because he ducked back and disappeared. Better let him think Lauren had company. He would ask Lucy to pull the CCTV from the camera on the corner and see if they could identify the kid.
“Would you like a drink?” Lauren said from close behind him. Dane heard her coming, he seemed to intuitively know when she was close. He sucked in a breath and ran his hand through his hair, in the process, inhaled all the lovely citrus scents of her shampoo and body spray and lingering scent of jasmine that was all Lauren.
It made him think of her in the shower which was not a good thing. He ignored his body’s response to these thoughts and was careful not to let on that he was now sporting an erection with which you could hammer nails. Lauren deserved more than that. He wanted to get to know her again, as they had before over email. She had a wicked sense of humour and was easy to talk to. He missed that.
He looked up, realising that she wanted an answer.
“Yes, whatever you’re having is fine.” God, he had to get his shit together, not behave like a teenage boy. Thank God his soft, denim jeans concealed his current condition.
Lauren looked at him quizzically, before crossing to the fridge to grab two bottles of water and handed one to him.
“Dinner won’t be long, the pasta’s just boiling and I have salad ready in the fridge,” she said, smiling.
Crossing to stand in front of her, he watched her put plates and cutlery on the breakfast bar “Is it okay to eat here? I’m not much on formality.”
“Yes, of course.”
He smiled as he remembered how it had annoyed his dad when he and his sisters tried to eat in front of the TV instead of at a table. Those were good times. Good until everything with his sister and mum and then family life had gone to hell. Things had settled down eventually, after his mum’s death, but it had never been the same. Much as his dad tried.