by Abby Blake
His boss seemed disappointed, but he nodded and shook Bryce’s hand before turning to leave the room. Just before he stepped out the door he turned and growled, “Just make sure your damn report’s on my desk before you leave.”
Bryce and Josh exchanged a look, and then Josh followed their boss out the door.
“Undercover cop?” Mikayla asked with a certain amount of excitement bubbling through her. It was stupid really, but she’d believed all along that Bryce wasn’t the criminal he seemed and knowing that she was right somehow restored something that had been stolen when she’d been betrayed by Jet so long ago.
“I’m not a cop. Not anymore,” Bryce said decisively but the brilliant smile he gave her brought happy tears to her eyes.
* * * *
“Hey, Matt,” Bryce said quietly as his brother’s eyes fluttered open. “How’re you feeling?”
“Like somebody shot me,” Matt grumbled. He seemed to almost fall back into unconsciousness, but then his eyes flew open again and he pinned his watery, bloodshot gaze on Bryce. “Why did someone shoot me?”
“Because he thought you were me.” It was the truth but it was also a conversation he’d been hoping to put off until Matt was more lucid. Although, considering Matt’s natural temper, maybe it was better to have this conversation when the man couldn’t raise his fists.
“Fabulous,” Matt said with a great deal of sarcasm for someone who’d just had life-saving surgery. “You get to be the criminal, and I get to pay for it. Jesus, Bryce, why the hell did you come back?”
“Matt!” Mikayla’s shocked tone did nothing to sweeten Matt’s mood. “If Bryce hadn’t come back, the guy probably would’ve shot me, too.”
Matt seemed to be grinding his teeth with irritation. A moment later he managed to growl, “If he hadn’t come back in the first place, you wouldn’t have been in danger.”
Mikayla seemed very angry on his behalf, but Bryce couldn’t really fault his brother’s logic. Bryce had placed Mikayla in the line of fire, and no one regretted it more than him.
“Matt, you don’t understand,” Mikayla said in a tone that brooked no argument. Matt argued anyway.
“No, Mikayla, you don’t understand. The guy is a killer. I saw him shoot a woman in cold blood. I saw it, with my own two eyes, I saw my brother murder somebody.”
Bryce ground his teeth together. Matt obviously hadn’t seen the two children the woman had been about to kill. The callous, drugged-out bitch had kidnapped the offspring of one of the major drug dealers in the country. She’d planned to hold the children for ransom, but when things had gotten too dangerous and she’d realized she was in over her head, she’d decided to just kill the kids and pretend she hadn’t ever been involved. The children had been four and six, and despite the risk of blowing his cover, Bryce had done the only thing he could do under the circumstances—he’d shot the woman, called her an ambulance, and then managed to get the children back to their criminal father without getting himself shot, too. Ironically, the father’s gratitude and trust in Bryce had given him the opportunity to bring down some of the biggest players in the drug dealing organizations.
Bryce had made many enemies over the years, and the fact that they’d paid another police officer enough money to assassinate him had proven that more thoroughly than anything else.
Mikayla argued with Matt for a short while, but it quickly became apparent that Matt wasn’t quite awake enough to hold his own. A soft snore stopped the barrage of upset words that spilled from Mikayla’s mouth.
“Come on, Mikayla, we’ll get you back to your room, and then I’ll call your husbands.” He held out his hand and together, side by side they slowly limped back to her room. Mikayla seemed much improved, despite the events of the day, but it was obvious that exhaustion increased her pain. He helped her onto the high hospital bed, got her comfortable, and then turned to go find a public communicator that accepted credit squares. He didn’t want to use his cards just in case someone else came looking for him.
“He’s wrong, you know.”
Almost to the doorway, Bryce turned and faced the woman in the bed.
“Matt’s wrong. You should’ve come home the moment you were in danger. Despite what they think you did, your brothers care for you and would’ve wanted to help.”
He dipped his head in acknowledgement, hoping that Mikayla’s words were true. He needed his family, and if he could just get Matt to understand what happened and forgive him for the deceit, then he could move forward and make plans for the rest of his life.
Bryce finally found an older communicator that didn’t rely on identification cards and sent a signal to the coordinates Mikayla had given him. John answered the summons quickly.
“Matt?” John said, sounding frantic. “Did you find them?”
Bryce nodded a half nod, but John’s eyes widened as if he’d just realized he was talking to the wrong brother.
“Where is she?” he demanded. Strangely disappointed by John’s demand for information even though he understood the motivation entirely, Bryce tried to explain.
“She’s fine. Matt got to the hospital a few hours ago, but there was a problem. He just got out of surgery, but he’s going to be fine.”
John looked ready to jump through the screen and strangle Bryce, so he tried very patiently to answer all of his questions and fill in as much detail as he could. When he got to the undercover cop thing, John’s verbal barrage stopped. After a moment of complete stillness, John asked quietly, “You’re a cop?”
Bryce nodded slowly. Even though he’d basically been paid by the police department, he’d never really felt like a cop. Working so deep undercover, he’d usually felt as if he were closer to the criminal he pretended to be. It had been very difficult some days to keep his goal to bring the criminals to justice clear in his head.
“I’m a retired cop now,” he said quietly. “I don’t think I can work undercover anymore.”
John looked at him with such admiration that Bryce was hard-pressed not to beg to be allowed back into his family. Swallowing hard, he tried to get back to the matter at hand. He still needed to explain about the baby and find out what was happening with Brock and Lachlan.
John looked a little pale by the time Bryce had finished explaining about Mikayla’s ectopic pregnancy, but he seemed to set the grief aside for the moment. After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, Bryce asked about Brock.
“Lachlan got him up the cliff face without major problems. They’re bringing him in on the snow skis as we speak.”
“Mikayla will be relieved to hear that,” Bryce said, trying not to acknowledge just how relieved he felt as well.
“Lachlan said Brock’s leg is broken, but the storms are rolling in again so we won’t be able to get him to proper medical help for a while longer. He’s going to be thrilled when he hears Ryan and Ty will be patching him up. They may be veterinarians and sort of qualified to set a broken leg, but I’m looking forward to seeing Brock’s face when he finds out.”
John grinned, and Bryce found himself grinning back. Sharing the humor with his brother made it feel like he’d stepped back in time and was suddenly part of his family again. They chuckled together for a few moments, and then John got serious again.
“Are you still in danger?” Bryce really didn’t know. Just because he’d managed to dodge one assassin and take down another, it didn’t mean they’d stop trying. Drug syndicates put a lot of emphasis on honor, and killing the man responsible for their leader’s incarceration might just be one of those things they felt honor bound to keep trying until they succeeded.
Bryce half nodded and then answered, “I really don’t know.”
“Sounds like you could benefit from getting off the planet for a while, and well, it seems we have an opening in our geological survey department. What do you say? Wanna come freeze your ass off with the rest of us?” Bryce couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing. God, after ten years of thinking the worst of h
im, John had learned the truth and offered him a job and his family back in less than ten minutes. It didn’t seem quite real, but John’s hopeful expression said it all. Bryce was ready to jump at the opportunity but at the last moment remembered Matt and Mikayla.
“I can’t leave Matt and Mikayla unprotected.”
“Not a problem. They’ll be coming, too.”
“I don’t understand,” Bryce said, feeling his anger rise on Mikayla’s behalf. “Why didn’t you take Mikayla in the first place?”
John let out a disgusted sound and said angrily, “Because of this planet’s fucked-up laws it’s not a safe place for women at all, so the ruling council won’t even let them on the planet if they’re pregnant. But with the miscarriage…”
John’s words trailed off and Bryce could feel his grief as keenly as if it were his own. Mikayla had been so devastated, and Bryce could only imagine that his brothers would feel the same.
“Okay,” Bryce said as he tried to hold his emotions together once more. “I’ll find out how long before Matt can travel, and I’ll make the arrangements.” John nodded and then looked a little worried. “What is it?” Bryce asked urgently. His gut told him John had a serious concern. His gut was rarely wrong.
“When you get here, make sure to keep Mikayla close. I mean arm around her, protective stance, gun at the ready, close. The men on this planet are animals, and they won’t hesitate to grab someone as pretty as Mikayla.” John looked positively green when he said the last part, and Bryce nodded decisively, his mind already playing through ways to ensure her safety until they could get to the research facility in the middle of nowhere.
“I’ll protect her with my life,” he said sincerely. It may have sounded overly dramatic, but it was exactly how he felt. He would keep his sister-in-law safe or die trying.
* * * *
It had taken three weeks to get back, but she finally had all her men in the one room—well, all of her men plus one. Since her return nearly a month ago, she’d watched each of her husbands welcome their brother back into their lives and slowly come to terms with her miscarriage. Mikayla still felt a very keen sense of loss, but her doctor’s reassurance that she should be able to conceive again went a long way toward lifting the grief.
Mikayla laughed as Bryce joined the general boisterousness of dinner with all of her noisy men. Brock’s leg had finally healed enough to remove the brace Ryan and Ty had fashioned for him, and a trip into the medical facility in town had confirmed their diagnosis. It didn’t stop the animal jokes, though. Brock had been given the nickname of just about every animal of this planet and then some.
The only sour note had been Lachlan’s withdrawal. He’d been polite, caring, and understanding, but not the man she’d known back on Earth. It was as if he blamed himself for her miscarriage—despite the details Bryce, Matt, and Mikayla had provided—and wouldn’t let himself too close. They hadn’t shared a bed since her return, and no matter how much she goaded him, she hadn’t been spanked by him, not even once.
Brock had happily obliged, and as much as she’d enjoyed her extra time with him while he recovered from his injury, she’d worried and missed Lachlan too.
“So serious,” Ryan laughed as he slipped an arm around her waist and then pulled her onto his lap. “What, or should I say who, put the worried look on your face, sweetheart?”
“It’s okay,” she said, cuddling closer to Ryan and smiling when Ty straddled his chair sideways and pressed up against her back. “Time will sort it out.”
Ryan nodded against her head and then whispered in her ear, “How do you feel about even numbers?”
Chapter Seven
Bryce watched Mikayla settle into Ryan’s arms and envied his brother more than he thought possible. Falling for his brothers’ wife had been the exact opposite of his plans, but he seemed to have gone and done it anyway. Considering that the contract on this planet was nearly done, and Brock was mostly recovered, they really didn’t need Bryce anymore. They’d invited him to join them on their next contract, but considering the increasingly erotic fantasies Bryce was having about their wife, it would probably be best for them all if he went his own way for a while.
Memories of how awful life had been without his family zipped through his brain, but he ruthlessly shoved them aside. This time things were different. This time he could visit and keep regular contact. It wouldn’t be quite as amazing as the last few weeks had been, but at least he wouldn’t be causing any problems for Mikayla. Just like ten years ago, he would walk away because his presence would only cause pain for the ones he loved.
“She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” Peter said from his right. A little disconcerted to be caught staring, Bryce nodded and turned to his brother.
“You’re a very lucky man,” he said sincerely.
“So are you,” Peter said seriously. Confused, Bryce glanced over to see Mikayla smiling at him, and his heart twisted just a little with concern. He hadn’t exactly been able to hide his affection for Mikayla, but surely his brothers knew he’d never try to be anything more than her friend.
“I…um…guess so,” he said, hoping that he was misunderstanding Peter’s meaning. Surely he was referring to Bryce’s close shave with two assassins.
“She loves you,” Peter said, throwing Bryce straight back into confusion. Why wasn’t Peter angry? Why were his brothers all grinning at him? And why was Mikayla coming around the table to sit on Matt’s knee?
She kissed Matt, glanced around the table, making eye contact with each of her husbands before settling her gaze on him.
“Apparently, seven is not an even number.”
“I–I don’t understand,” Bryce managed to force past a suddenly dry mouth. All of his brothers were watching him, and he had no idea why.
“Turns out,” Peter said, “that eight seems to be the perfect number for Mikayla.”
“What?” Bryce yelped when at least one possible meaning sunk into his brain. Surely they weren’t suggesting…
“Bryce.” Mikayla’s soft voice drew his gaze back to her, and when she had his full attention, she leaned forward and kissed him softly. Not a friend kiss, not a brother-in-law kiss, but the type of kiss he’d seen her offer to every one of her husbands. Bryce fell into the sensual caress, momentarily forgetting their audience, but a couple of very amused chuckles reached his ears and he pulled away. Embarrassment heated his cheeks as he faced his brothers.
“Marry me,” Mikayla said softly. It was more of an order than a request, but Bryce wanted to scream yes from the rooftops. He gazed at every smiling face at the table, wondering if he was dreaming or delusional, but in the end he whispered the word his heart desired.
Mikayla smiled and crawled from Matt’s lap and onto Bryce’s. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him like there was no tomorrow. On and on her sensual assault ensnared his heart and stole his reason. He’d loved her since he’d met her, and he couldn’t imagine a future without her, well, not a happy future anyway.
Mikayla finally released him from her magical spell, and he opened his eyes to find all but one of his brother’s gone. Matt still sat beside them, grinning like a loon, his hand already caressing his thick erection through his pants.
“That is so hot,” he said with a wide grin. “I’m starting to understand why Ryan and Ty like to share.”
“I know why Ryan and Ty like to share,” Mikayla said. Still sitting on Bryce’s lap, she rubbed her bottom against Bryce’s rock-hard erection and leaned over to kiss his brother the way she’d just kissed him.
Bryce could feel his eyes crossing from the incredible sensations.
“Mikayla, are you sure?” he managed to ask with his last shred of sanity. He’d dreamed of her for so long it seemed almost too good to be true. Did she really ask him to marry her? She turned and straddled his lap, her arms wrapped loosely around his neck. He glanced over her shoulder and saw Matt’s smile and couldn’t help but return it.
“Of cours
e I’m sure. And my husbands are sure. In fact, it was their idea that you and I get married.”
“Why?” He couldn’t hold back the need to know. He didn’t want to be the eighth husband simply because there were eight brothers. He needed to be loved for the man he was, not the family he was born into.
“Because you’re a good man and you deserve to be happy,” Matt said sincerely. “And you were there for Mikayla when she needed you the most.” Matt rubbed his shoulder where the bullet had torn through him. “And you were there for me, when I needed you the most. And you spent years protecting people at great personal cost.”
“And of course the most important reason of all,” Mikayla said, rubbing her pussy against his hard cock. “I love you, and you love me, and all of your brothers want us to be happy together.”
He kissed her then. Kissed her the way he’d been dreaming, laying claim to her heart the way he needed to. “I love you, Mikayla. I always have.”
She glanced over her shoulder at Matt and smiled before looking back at Bryce.
“We know,” she said quietly. “I tried to love you like a brother-in-law, but they saw through me,” she said as she titled her head to the doorway to indicate the brothers he’d thought had left them alone. It appeared they hadn’t gone very far. “They know that I’d never betray them, but this is what we all want.” She smoothed a hand over his face. “Will you stay with us?”
“Always.” The promise slipped out before he could even analyze it, but it was what he wanted more than anything. After so many years of being alone, he not only had his brothers back but they trusted him with the woman they adored. It was the most precious gift he could ever imagine, and he silently vowed to spend the rest of his life trying to be worthy.
* * * *
Mikayla watched the emotions play across Bryce’s face. For the past few weeks she’d struggled with her attraction to him, and no matter how many times she’d tried to put the emotions back into the brother-in-law category she’d obviously failed. The fact that her husbands had not only noticed but welcomed their brother into her heart and their marriage proved how amazing her men really were.