Staying busy left little time to think about how he wasn’t the man he set out to be – that he was broken, literally and figuratively. He was a military lifer, now a throwback who didn’t know how to be not military. Brother’s Keeper Security was anything but civilian-like, given the nature of their business. He was still a soldier to some degree, but for a different kind of army, a different cause – the stakes were different.
His old life didn’t include his mother popping by in the middle of the day to make sure he washed his skivvies or consoling his niece over the loss of a fucking pet pig. It’s like everything he had accomplished up to that point didn’t mean anything. The things he had seen and done for the love of his country and humanity were all gone. It no longer mattered.
One day, he was at the top of his craft, a highly decorated soldier, and the next, some dude living in Portland, working for the family business like it was all he was good enough to do now. Sure, it had its thrills, but it also had moments that marked his soul – like the night he did what he had to do to rescue his soon-to-be sister in law, Felicity.
Watching his brother finally happy again after years of suffering from a broken heart left by his wife passing made it all worth it, though. He carried the burden that allowed Liam the life he was meant to have with Felicity. He was a family man – he needed her. Luke was a loner and could live with the devil on his shoulder.
Liam and Felicity finally found their way to each other after years of floundering, and he wasn’t about to let the dark side of what they had done tarnish them – or ruin his brother. Liam was willing to do what he needed to. His loyalty and commitment were unwavering. But Luke knew he wouldn’t be able to live with blood on his hands. So, he took that on for him. The night of her kidnapping and ultimate rescue, he’d neutralized the threat they faced – permanently.
A satisfied grin rested in his expression as Liam’s eyes darted around the room, looking for someone to rescue him from his soon-to-be bride and her posse. A Christmas wedding was being planned, and Liam was right in the middle of hell: the wedding planning committee made up of every O’Reilly woman, blood and honorary. He would take a man’s life to save his brothers, but Liam was on his own with the wedding shit.
Two down – two brothers to go, Luke thought. Declan and Liam had fallen for marriage, which left Dace and Wylie. Who would be next? he wondered, making a wager with himself.
Dace was on his way out for yet another trip. He would always come back with some wild tale about where he’d been and have a new tattoo or piercing to show for it. Once in a while, it was a black eye or a few stitches. They knew where he really was: following leads, looking for her – Ivy.
Wylie, on the other hand, was staring down the woman who had his interest. He wore a look of loathing, and his glare was so sharp, he could cut glass. But it was a façade. Luke saw it for what it was: denial. Wylie was the biggest O’Reilly, albeit the youngest. He was also the most sensitive and carried a grudge like a hooker held her corner.
Eva Valdez had been a friend-turned-daughter of an asshole they were hunting. Wylie hadn’t forgiven her for the deception, even if it was for the good of the case and ultimately took down their mark. She now worked with Brother’s Keeper on an ongoing mission to eradicate the cartel, and Luke wasn’t sure which pissed Wylie off more – the fact that he couldn’t get over her or that their mother had taken her in as honorary family. Wylie wanted her – for keeps. He just didn’t know it yet.
Luke would leave all the love and women with rings on their fingers to his brothers. He loved, and loved hard, but he couldn’t love like a woman needed to be loved. That part of him never really developed. He loved a hot-blooded woman keeping his sheets warm at night, but he didn’t do emotions. He didn’t do commitment. He only did a few hours in the sack.
He was cold, a machine, and now broken – tossed into a civilian life he’d never been acquainted with. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks, not when you’ve seen the shit Luke had in his lifetime. So, he’d love from afar – the only way he knew how.
The door chimed, and rowdy cheers erupted as steins of beer and tumblers of whiskey lifted into the air. They had company.
“I didn’t know you boys were comin’,” Colleen said. “Take yourself a seat, and I’ll make ya all a plate, my boys.”
“Only if there’s enough, Ma.” Carter always referred to Colleen as Ma, just like she insisted on referring to him as one of her boys.
“I’m always hopin’ for your company, so I always make plenty in hopes it draws ya in off the street. Now, take your seat, boyo.” She tapped her cheek, and Carter dropped her a kiss, putting a smile on her face.
“What did we miss?” Ronan asked, taking a seat next to Liam.
“Wedding planning…” Liam said with an artificial smile.
Ronan laughed. “Then I’ll be movin’ seats, cousin.”
“Is there room at the kids table?” Ryker joked.
“Sit your asses down, boys, or you get to be the flower girls,” Liam insisted. “Tell me something manly.”
Ronan and Ryker did what they did best: caused a scene. The brothers knew their presence with Carter wasn’t by chance or that they were craving Aunt Collie’s cooking. Something was up. Rule number one at Sunday dinner: no shop talk or Colleen would not-so-kindly ask you leave, which in turn would hurt her feelings, should you actually leave.
The brothers were always in sync. Each knew what the other was thinking. They watched as Carter approached Luke while Ronan and Ryker kept everyone else’s attention.
Carter grabbed a chair and pulled it up to Luke before sitting down. He leaned in with a smile on his face, as if this was casual conversation. “I need your help.”
Luke nodded. He’d expected as much. “If it’s that rash again…”
“Fuck off, O’Reilly.” His smile remained intact.
“I’d rather not unless you did something about that rash…”
Carter looked Luke in the eye. “It’s big. Really big, and I need you on it.”
“Sweet talking will get you nowhere, and I doubt it’s that big. No, I won’t pull mine out to compare.”
“Dammit, man.” Something in Carter’s voice struck Luke. He knew it was work he needed help with, but Carter was nervous, and he didn’t do nervous.
“Okay. What do you have? How can I help?”
Carter went on to share the highlight reel, because the mess he had on his hands really was that big, and they didn’t have all night for story time. Luke knew what he needed to know for the time being and would catch up on the rest later – after Carter could escape the Pub without offending Colleen.
Luke had excused himself, claiming he had a new client to get ready for – not entirely untrue. He made his way down the handful of blocks to Watermark Tower, mindful of his surroundings. There was no telling what Carter and the boys had brought to town, if anything. They were careful, or so it seemed, but with this caliber of trouble, you just didn’t know.
Luke entered his apartment, and though he knew it wasn’t empty, his breath still caught when the subject he was now charged with protecting jumped up from his couch.
Carter didn’t mention she would be everything Luke craved. What was more striking than her appearance was the instant need to protect her. She needed him – and maybe he needed her.
“It’s okay, Daisy. I’m Luke. Luke O’Reilly.”
“Wh-Where’s Carter?” she asked, her voice soft and trembling. “Is he coming?”
Luke sensed her fear, and he couldn’t blame her. She’d just been on the road for days, forced to trust strangers while running from who knew what. All she knew was a man – a powerful man – was murdered right in front of her and she could be next. Not on his watch.
“Carter is in the lair briefing the others,” Luke replied.
“The what?” She took a step back, her voice turning anxious. “Th-The others? I didn’t know there were more people here.”
“The lair
– it’s what we call our war room. It’s like a…conference room,” he explained, trying to add a little calm. “And the others are my brothers. We all work together. This is our building, and our business. We are all committed to your case and keeping you safe. You will meet them tomorrow.”
“Are they all as…big as you?” Daisy’s tone was neither serious nor teasing; it was a legitimate question.
“All but one. He’s bigger.” Luke attempted to make light of her question since he wasn’t sure why she was asking to begin with. If she was intimidated, he couldn’t blame her there either. They tended to carry that kind of presence.
“Okay. I thought Ronan, Ryker, and Carter made things safer, but more muscle couldn’t hurt, right?” Her weak smile was forced, but it pleased Luke to see it. He returned a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it smile of his own – something he didn’t do. “There’s nearly a dozen of you, that has to count for something.”
“It does count. What’s more important than a handful of muscle-heads is this building? You’re in the safest place you can be. We’re untouchable here,” Luke offered. “My brother Liam…”
“Your twin brother,” she stated, catching Luke off guard. “Your cousins told me. Well, they said they weren’t the only twins in the family, that it was an O’Reilly thing. I recall your names. I just didn’t know he was here too.”
“Yes. My twin brother. He’s a genius when it comes to technology and he has this building hardwired for anything – we don’t even show up on the map or power grid. You’re well-hidden here. Nobody can get in or out unless they’re supposed to.”
“Oh.” There was surprise in her voice, and Luke cursed himself for making it sound like a prison. He wasn’t trying to scare her. For some reason, he wanted her to trust him…and his family, but mostly him.
“You’ll be staying here.” He made his way through the dimly lit living room, past the magnificent city views the floor-to-ceiling windows boasted, and down a hallway before stopping in front of an open door. “This is your room while you’re here. It has its own private bathroom. You should be plenty comfortable.”
He paused, unsure of what else he should say to her, if anything. She knew everything she needed to, but unexpectedly, he wanted to tell her more. He wanted to tell her everything. She was petite, barely reaching his chest, with curves in all his favorite places. Her wild honey hair reflected her story somehow – a story he wanted to be told. In that moment, all he could think about was how perfectly she would fit nuzzled up against his side…in bed.
Giving himself a mental ass-kicking for letting his thoughts wander to such a place, reminding himself she wasn’t here for him – he was there for her. To protect her. She was his case, nothing more, nothing less. One hundred percent professional.
“Your dog can sleep…”
“She’ll sleep with me,” Daisy interrupted sharply. “I mean, she’s the nervous type. Doesn’t really like new people. We stick together. She needs…me. If that’s okay?”
He looked down at the dog, who happened to be sitting at his side. Interesting. “Not a problem. My room is right there,” he gestured to his right, “if you need anything.”
“This is your apartment? I’m staying with you?” Daisy stiffened at the idea of staying in a strange man’s home, especially one so big. She was powerless against him. “I’m sorry, I just didn’t know…”
“Understood. It’s safer this way, until we get a better idea of what we’re up against.”
She looked toward the room he indicated as his and noticed a guitar sitting on a stand just inside the door. “Do you play?”
He followed her stare, his mood shifting when he saw what she was looking at. “No. If there isn’t anything else, then I need to get to the lair with the others.”
“No,” she said, her tone suddenly cold. “There won’t be anything else.”
She turned on her heels, her nose slightly upturned, and walked into her new room. “Come on, Gibson. Time for night-night.”
“Gibson. Like the guitar?” Luke asked.
“Yes. Goodnight, Luke.” Daisy closed the door, but stood there for a moment, letting out the breath she didn’t know she had been holding. Something about Luke O’Reilly had her frazzled, and she wasn’t sure whether that was a good or bad thing.
As she stood still, so did Luke, only a thin barrier between them. He stared at the closed door, his sentiment similar to hers. Who the hell was Daisy King and where had she come from? And why did he care so much? When he heard the door lock on the other side, he didn’t begrudge her. She didn’t know him from Adam, but his heart pinched at the sound. She didn’t need to lock doors with him around, and he hoped to show her that sooner rather than later. Luke had something to prove to her, and he was back to kicking his own ass for wanting to so desperately.
As he approached the door, ready to leave and meet his brothers and Carter downstairs, he paused at a sound that engulfed his senses. Warmth flowed through him from the soulful song that wrapped him in its wrath and somehow felt like home. It was flawless, vibrant, yet safe. How odd, he thought, that a beautiful harmony dancing through his place could have him suddenly strung up tight, and still feel right as rain. Luke smiled for the second time in only minutes. Daisy could sing.
Only time would tell how this arrangement played out, but one thing felt certain: no matter the outcome, no matter the encounters, life would never be the same after Daisy King.
“So, that about sums it up,” Carter said to the guys. “We have little intel on this, even with undercovers everywhere. The cartel is a player, but not the player. I’m pretty certain of that.”
“Yeah, we’ve been too deep in the cartel, bringing it down piece by piece,” Eva said. “We would have caught wind of this. A Senator’s assassination is a big deal. The cell I’ve been infiltrating hasn’t breathed a word of it, and my time with the Senator himself revealed nothing. I really didn’t think he was a target. I thought he was looking for a gun for hire. Word got to me from his family – he’s clean, but they aren’t.”
Carter nodded. “He was looking for protection. He knew something was going down.”
“I think so,” she answered. “Event staff started showing up before I could find out what he wanted. Cold feet maybe. He said he’d be in touch.”
Eva Valdez was the daughter of one of the Brother’s Keeper’s biggest enemies. Her father, Esteban, was a cartel leader and the ex-husband of Declan’s wife, Lydia. Though Eva came from a line of bad men, she was good and helped take her brother down for indefinitely when he wanted to avenge his father’s death. Though she loathed everything her name stood for, it worked to her benefit, and that of Brother’s Keeper. She had worked with them since the fall of her father’s empire and brother’s death, infiltrating the cartel, one cell at a time.
She was powerful by name – influential. The veil of secrecy Brother’s Keeper worked under meant nobody knew how, when, or who took down the powerful Esteban. Eva was still a Valdez, and she was respected in the dark community. Though she despised it, she used it to assist the brothers in multiple cases.
“I need to get on the road, and far away from here,” Carter said as he stood from the conference table they surrounded. “I’m headed back to Nashville. Need to make my presence known there so whoever is watching picks up the scent and follows me back to DC.”
“We’ve got things covered here. Only gig we’re working right now is the government contract for that new intel software. Daisy is our priority,” Luke replied. “You’ve got point on this case, Landry. We’ll follow your lead. Let us know what you need, and you’ve got it.”
“Sounds good. Contact will be minimal from this point – focusing on the software deal since I’ve been brought in on that. I’d like to deploy Eva, have her gather intel with some big hitters in the cartel. Put some feelers out there.”
“Why?” Wylie chimed in, his voice full of concern. “I mean, with the Senator dead, it’s pretty dangerous. Are we sure
we want to risk an employee like that?”
Eva turned a sharp side-eye in Wylie’s direction. “Seriously? Danger? In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not a timid little girl. I can handle my own.” She then turned her attention to Carter and sweetened her tone. “Just let me know what you need. I’m in, Carter.”
“Handle your own,” Wylie chided under his breath. He played a good game, but everyone in that room knew why he didn’t want Eva walking into danger.
“You want to play bodyguard, Wylie?” Eva taunted. “Protect the girl on the team?”
“That’s not all he wants to play…” Dace snickered.
Wylie tossed his brother a middle finger and didn’t say another word, but if looks could kill, World War Three would be going down between Eva and Wylie.
“I’ll send you some targets to hit, Eva,” Carter interjected, his eyes shifting between the two. “You can bring the man child if you think you need extra eyes.”
Eva smiled. “I got this, Landry. If I need anything, I’ll grab Ronan or Ryker.”
“All right. I should be back in Nashville the day after tomorrow. Let the tracking and tracing begin.”
“I’ll watch you from here, Carter,” Liam added, tossing a thumb at his wall of screens and endless computer equipment. “If anything pops up, I’ll hit you up. No blind spots on this one, boys. We’re dealing with big dogs.”
“This one may take us all the way to Capitol Hill, maybe even the White House. Guards up, my brothers,” Carter warned. “Ro and Ry, why don’t you stay on here and lay low? Let’s see what their next move is before you boys move.”
“And what about lil’ol me, boss?” Sheridan pouted.
“Daisy trusts you. Hang out here and help where you can,” he added, pretending his order had nothing to with his feelings for her. “You’re more valuable here.” What he didn’t say was: and safer too.
“Great. Babysitting,” she huffed.
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