by James Tate
James just cocked a brow at me. "Can you blame her? Samuel Danvers is a right piece of shit, girl. I don't think Deb loved him for even a second."
Good point.
Kody tapped his fingers on James’s folder. "If we look into your stationing over the months when Deb was stalked and murdered, will we find an alibi?"
James gave a half smile. "As if you haven't already done that. I'm still breathing, aren't I?"
Kody smirked back. "That you are."
James turned his attention back to me. "I'm sorry I wasn't more upfront about knowing your mom, MK. But she died some time ago, so I simply didn't think it relevant. I can't shed any light on what's happening to you, but I am doing my best to help your boys any way I can."
I pursed my lips, weighing his sincerity. Kody and Archer had filled me in on James before we called this meeting. I knew that he'd spent the better part of the last twenty years in the marines, in some highly classified division. He'd been upfront with the boys when he took the job as groundskeeper, and they'd hired him because they liked the idea of having an extra layer of security in plain sight.
"Okay," I said with a sigh.
James nodded, then frowned. "Except now I'm wondering why your stalker has drawn your attention to my relationship with Deb. It was so brief, barely a couple of weeks. Deb would have—no offense—undoubtedly had other affairs over the years, ones that lasted much longer than mine. So why point the finger at me?"
"Maybe just because you're here, right under our noses? If you hadn't been so forthcoming with your military records and locations of deployment, then maybe that would have caused us to be suspicious of you." Kody seemed to be mostly thinking out loud. "Or he thought we would shoot first and ask questions never."
James hummed a thoughtful sound. "It'd strip one more layer of your defenses away, even if you just fired me and didn't kill me."
"He laid low while Danny and Leon were here, too," Archer commented. "Like he knew we only had them for a short time period and that he was no match for their skill."
"Who were the other guards the mercs flagged as suspicious?" James asked.
Kody flipped a few pages to check. "Grant Silas and Niell Grosmon. Both had doctored their employment history in some way. Sampson released them from employment yesterday and is already interviewing replacements per Leon's list of possible candidates."
"So one of those two could have still been feeding info to my stalker," I murmured, frowning.
James shrugged. "Or they're totally innocent and had something embarrassing to cover up. Did all the other guards check out?"
Kody grunted. "What few were left, yeah. Nothing hinky about any of them. Sampson, Gill, and Dave all trained with Phillip when he ran the camp, then went on to law enforcement or private security. Ryan and Adamson both came from the marines, same as you. All aspects of their files are squeaky clean."
James let out a sigh and scrubbed his hand over his face. "So much for a nice, quiet retirement pruning roses," he muttered with a short laugh. "I knew I should have taken the job for Mrs. Greenborough instead of this mess."
Archer huffed a laugh. "Except we pay you double and let you use the mountain shooting range on your days off."
James grinned. "Good point."
"Just one more question before you go," Archer said, his fingers tightening on my knee. "Did you ever suspect that maybe Samuel wasn't MK's biological father?"
That question was delivered with the impact of a Mack truck, and James looked like he was about to fall off his chair.
"Wh-what?"
"Did it ever cross your mind that you might be MK's biological father?" Kody elaborated, his hands linked on the table in front of him and his gaze intense. "It must have, when you worked out her birthday and counted backward..."
James winced, then shook his head. "No. I mean, yes the thought crossed my mind. Of course it did. But aside from the fact that I was meticulous about using protection—"
I cringed, thinking about my mom having sex with James. Come on, no one wanted to picture their mom getting fucked.
"—I ran a DNA test."
Wait, what?
Shrugging one shoulder, James gave me a sheepish look. "You were born almost exactly nine months after your parents got married. Yeah, it occurred to me that you might be mine. It's part of the reason I stuck around when Samuel showed up with his new girlfriend."
"So..." My voice was rough and dry, forcing me to clear my throat. "So, you did a paternity test?"
James nodded. "Just using hair from your brush. Results were negative; you're not my kid." He offered a small smile. "Although I admit I was a bit disappointed. I see a hell of a lot more of me in you than I do Samuel."
Archer was frowning hard, his fingers still gripping my knee. "What lab processed the test?"
James's brows shot up. "You think the results could have been tampered with?"
Archer shrugged. "Anything is possible with Samuel Danvers. Especially if he thought he was still going to bleed more money out of this arrangement I made with him. Would you be willing to take another test?"
"Uh, of course. I don't know that it'll change anything, but yes, for sure." James nodded, then stood from his chair when Kody did. He started to leave the room, then hesitated in the doorway. He turned back to look at me. "For what it's worth, Madison Kate, I'll still do everything I can to help. Regardless of the result. You're a good kid, and you deserve better than this mess."
He left with Kody then, and I turned to Archer with a long exhale.
"So, do we believe him?" I asked in a weak voice. I wanted to believe him... but life had conditioned me that everyone was a suspect these days.
Archer cupped the back of my head, bringing my face to his to kiss me gently. "Right now, Kate? I don't trust anyone."
I gave a bitter laugh as I thought how he'd just read my mind. "But we don't think he's the stalker?"
Archer shook his head. "I don't. Do you?"
I shrugged. "I have no fucking clue. I hope not. Though... it kind of seems likely he might be my real dad, and that would be all kinds of fucked up, right? My stalker has a clearly sexual interest in me which would be so, so gross if he turned out to be my biological dad."
Archer wrinkled his nose. "Not many lines that haven't been crossed so far, Princess. Incest probably falls way lower than torturing and mutilating a blogger for being a bitch online."
I groaned, then shuddered. He had a good point. But James just didn't give off those kind of crazy-killer vibes. But... did anyone?
"Hey, speaking of DNA testing," I said, a thought occurring to me. "What were the results of the blood on my mom's bra?"
Archer wrinkled his nose and shook his head. "Dead end. It was hers, like we suspected."
I deflated a fraction more. Not that I'd thought he would hide it from me if there’d been anything more eye-opening about the results, but part of me had been holding a little hope.
Dead end. Fucking hell, those seemed to be everywhere lately.
22
The cold rush of blankets being yanked off me wrenched me from my pleasant dream, and I groaned a protest. I fumbled around with my eyes still shut as I tried to find the blanket again, but the bastard had taken it out of my reach.
"Kody!" I whined. "Why do you hate me?"
His chuckle made me want to hurt him. Except that would mean waking up properly, and I really wanted to go back to sleep. We'd been so damn cozy; why'd he have to go and ruin it?
"Babe," he murmured, tucking his face into my neck as I huddled in a ball against the harsh, cold air of morning. "You and Arch both owe me for yesterday's missed session."
His lips worked their way over my collarbone, though, and I groaned when shivers of desire chased through me.
"Not fair," I mumbled as he tucked a hand under my T-shirt and let his fingers span my ribs. There was something stupidly possessive about the way he held me like that; it was such a turn on. "This is psychological warfare."
<
br /> Kody's chuckle feathered over my skin and I found myself uncurling from my ball, eager for more.
"Whatever works, babe. Give me a good training session this morning, and I'll reward you afterward." His tone was mischievous and full of promise.
I cracked an eye open.
"Elaborate."
He sat back, giving me a smirk. "You'll just have to trust me, babe." His eyes sparkled. "You do trust me, don't you?"
I groaned. "You know I do, you shithead."
His smile spread wide. "Yeah, but sometimes it's nice to hear it." The look he gave me was more pointed than his words, and I knew what he was getting at. But fuck him, I wasn't confessing my love when he was dragging me into the gym when I should be sleeping.
Still...
With a sigh, I pushed myself up to sitting and looped my arms around his neck. "Kodiak Jones..."
"Hmm?" His bright gaze danced between my eyes and my mouth, like he was fighting the urge to kiss me. What was with these boys lately?
I licked my lips, which only distracted him further. Then I grinned. "I need to tell you something," I whispered, catching his gaze and holding it intently. "You're my penguin, too." A flash of amusement rippled across his face, and I wrinkled my nose. "Or one of my penguins. Is that okay? Can I have three penguins?"
Kody gave a short laugh. "Nah, fuck them. Archer is more of a sea lion, anyway. But I know what you're saying, even if you're being too stubborn to fucking say it. I love you too, babe."
He sealed his lips to mine, kissing me slowly and letting all that emotion pour into me, warming me from the soul up. Fuck me, Kodiak Jones was too damn perfect sometimes.
"Mmm," I mumbled when our kiss ended, "I'd love you more if you let me go back to sleep right now."
He scoffed a laugh, then kissed me again, harder. "Nice try. Now, are you going to get up, or do I have to carry you into the gym wearing that?"
I glanced down at my oversized T-shirt and panties, then sighed. "I guess I'll change. Give me half an hour."
With a bark of amusement, Kody climbed off the bed and headed for the door. "Not a damn chance, babe. Five minutes or I'm dragging you down there no matter what you're wearing... or not wearing."
He left my bedroom laughing, and I flopped back onto my bed with a groan. But I couldn't be mad at him, despite how much I wanted to stay asleep. He was training me because he loved me. He wanted me to have the best possible chance of protecting myself rather than sitting in my ivory tower and waiting for my knights in shining armor to save the day.
I loved that. I loved that my guys wanted to empower me, not weaken me. They believed in my abilities... but in return I needed to play fair and show up when Kody had time to train me.
Dammit.
Groaning way too much, I rolled out of bed and changed into a crop top and yoga pants. That'd have to do.
I scraped my hair up into a high ponytail as I made my sleepy way down to the gym, yawning every three steps, then damn near swallowing my tongue as I entered the gym.
"Come on!" I exclaimed with my hands on my hips. "This isn't fair."
Archer just laughed from where he was doing pull-ups in nothing but a tiny pair of tight boxer shorts. Prick.
"Sorry, babe," Kody called out over the thumping music, "can't hear you over all that hypocrisy. Hey, nice work-out outfit." He strolled over to me with a smug grin, his hands on his hips. He wore a pair of loose basketball shorts and nothing else. Seriously. I could see his dick swing when he walked. How the fuck was I meant to concentrate with him like that?
My frustrated gaze shifted back to Archer, but he just shot me a wink and an air-kiss as he flexed harder.
Pop.
My ovaries just exploded.
"Kody..." I whined. "You're being mean."
He just grinned. "Payback's a bitch, babe. The number of times I've suffered through a session with you while dealing with a hard-on..." He shook his head and clicked his tongue. "Now, let's get started. I wanna work on your actual combat skills today."
I pouted, but he was making good points. I did tend to wear minimal, skintight clothes to work out in, knowing full damn well I was driving him nuts. Apparently, it was time for me to take a bit of my own medicine.
"Isn't that what we've been doing for weeks?" I asked, following him over to the cardio machines where he always started me for a warm-up.
He nodded. "We have, in theory. But I want to see you put some of those skills into action. Arch has kindly offered to be your sparring partner."
My jaw dropped. "You want me to fight Archer?" My voice was a shocked squeak, and I jerked my head to glare at the big asshole. "I can't fight you!"
His smile was pure evil. "Why not, Princess? I'll go easy on you."
"Why not?" I exclaimed. "Are you kidding? You'll annihilate me!"
"Only if you ask me really nicely," he replied with a hungry look, and my cheeks instantly heated. They seriously wanted to kill me this morning.
Kody chuckled to himself like he was enjoying his sick little idea. Bastard. "Come on, ten-minute warm-up while I sort through some shit with Arch, then you can have at it. I won't even call foul if you throw some dirty fists."
Now, I could have been wrong, but that sounded a whole lot like Kody suggesting I punch Archer in the junk, which left me with a conundrum to ponder the whole time I was warming up on the elliptical machine.
On the one hand, Kody was basically giving me permission to fight dirty and take Archer to his knees. On the other hand, at the moment I quite liked Archer's dick intact.
Ugh, talk about caught between a rock and a hard place!
When the timer beeped on my machine and Kody told me to get some gloves on, I was no closer to a decision. I guessed I would just wait and see how easy Archer wanted to go on me.
As it turned out, despite the boys teasing, they still intended to take my training seriously. For the next half hour or so, Archer was the perfect sparring partner. He was patient and calm, offering constructive criticisms and supporting Kody's training techniques. I actually felt like I was learning, which wasn't at all what I'd expected from a sparring session with Archer in those tiny shorts.
But then Kody asked us to work on grappling, and that's where my professionalism fast evaporated.
In my defense... I was only human.
"Kate," Archer warned as I arched my back and ground my ass against him. "Stop it."
I let out a low chuckle, despite the way he held my arm trapped behind my back. He was supposed to be demonstrating a wrist lock, but all I could think about was how Kody'd bound my hands with his belt when he fucked me several weeks ago. Then I started thinking about Archer's mention of fun features in his new bed frame and... well... I was no longer interested in learning to fight.
"You guys started it." I rolled my hips again and felt his cock thicken against my backside. Yep, I wasn't the only one done with fight training.
Kody blew out a breath, scrubbing a hand over his hair. "Babe, you're killing me here. Maybe we should call it a day." He checked his watch, then nodded. "Yep, I think we're done."
"Thank fuck," Archer muttered as he released my arm. He gave me no time to recover, though. I let out a small scream of surprise as he twisted and lifted, throwing me over his shoulder in the same motion as he stood up.
"Arch—" I started to protest, then shut the hell up when he smacked my ass. Hard. He started striding out of the gym with me over his shoulder.
Kody's shout of protest made Archer pause. "Hey, what the hell, man?"
"Sorry, bro," Archer replied with a snicker, "my expertise doesn't come for free, you know." He was teasing, obviously, implying that he needed to be paid in sex for his sparring time.
Kody folded his arms, glaring. "Arch—"
My fingernails dug into Archer's sides and excitement fluttered through my upside-down belly. "Archer, play fair. Kody called dibs this morning."
In all honesty, I knew there was no freaking way Archer was going to
back down and hand me over to Kody. For one thing, I wasn't a damn sack of flour. For another, his big dick energy was already kicked into high gear and he might legitimately explode if forced to shove it all back in a box.
So yeah, I was messing with him. But also, Kody was giving me that look that gave me all kinds of naughty ideas. Sometimes Kodiak Jones and I were damn near sharing a brain.
"Fine," Archer snapped, a frustrated growl threading through his voice. He started walking again with me still slung over his shoulder, "Are you coming or what, Kody?"
Fuck yeah. That was easier than expected.
Kody's satisfied chuckle followed us as Archer all but ran up to his room, then dumped me onto his bed. I was still sweeping my sweaty hair back from my face when Kody entered the room and kicked the door shut behind him.
"Well, this took an interesting turn of events." I leaned back on my hands and eyed up the two of them. They were both hard, their choice of clothing doing nothing to hide that fact, and I licked my lips.
"Fucking hell," Kody muttered. He crossed the distance between us and grabbed my face in his hands. His lips met mine in a flurry of desire, his tongue tangling in my mouth in a way that told me exactly how this was all going to play out. Archer might think he was the biggest alpha-hole in the house, but Kody was no beta.
Fuck me. I was in for a rough ride with these two, that was for damn sure.
"Get that bra off," Archer ordered, moving to his nightstand then pulling the drawer open.
Kody released my lips, and we exchanged a grin as I lifted my arms up and he stripped my tight crop top off to leave my breasts bare. He tossed the garment aside, then cupped his hands around my breasts with a soft groan.
"Your tits are insane, babe," he murmured. "I think about them way too fucking often."
I grinned and arched my back to push into his hands a little more. I loved having his hands all over me.
Archer returned to us with a wicked look on his face and something in his hands. "Wrists, Princess," he ordered, and I dutifully extended my hands to him.