Chain of Command

by HelenKay Dimon

  Hailey appeared to be moving in the other direction. She looked ten seconds away from executing the perfect eye roll. “Kat just likes having you around.”

  “So do you. For many things, some of them would make you blush if I described them right now.” Sawyer waited for the comeback. Hailey sure knew how to deliver one but she stayed quiet. “Nothing to say to that?”

  “Your ego is annoying.” But she smiled.

  That look had his memory bouncing back twelve hours. “Blame yourself. Last night fueled it.”

  “Okay then.” Kat pointed toward the front of the shop. “I’ll be over there seeing if the servers need any help.”

  “Discretion is a good thing in a bed partner,” Hailey said as soon as they were alone, or as alone as they could be in a room full of people.

  “Bed partner?” Sawyer didn’t think he’d ever uttered that phrase before.

  She frowned at him. “What should I say?”

  It was as if she wanted him to say dirty things. “The man you’re currently f¾“

  “That’s enough.” She glanced around. Smiled at a few people. “That’s for when we’re alone.”

  “I assumed you and your friends shared everything. I’m just speeding the process along.” Seeing her blush was just a bonus. “I’m also trying to figure out how I feel about the term bed partner.”

  “Were you trying to make a point before you got sidetracked talking about sex? Something that frequently happens to you, I might add.”

  “Blame yourself for that one as well.” He let the subject drop. They were in public after all. “There’s no shame in needing help.”

  “I know.”

  He studied her expression. Let his gaze travel over her face and down to her hands searching for any signs that what she said differed from whatever was going on inside of her. Seemed she meant it.

  But so did he. “Then accept some assistance from me.”

  “I don’t want to give Pete any power.” She flattened her hand against the counter.

  Now, Sawyer got it. He covered her fingers with his. “That’s the problem. You’re being rational and Pete isn’t. He’s not going to fight fair and I am not going to let him hurt you or your friends.”

  Instead of dropping his hand or pulling away, she slipped her fingers between his and held on. “That’s tough talk from an anticommitment guy.”

  He looked down at their joined hands. “I never said I didn’t want to get involved.”

  “What?”

  Yeah, that one shocked him, too. Every word dragged him in deeper when he knew he should be slamming a wall between them. But he couldn’t do it. “I’m not trying to stay away from you.”

  Her eyebrow lifted. “What are you saying?”

  “I’m not sure.” Her expression switched to a smile and he sensed the amusement moving right behind it. “Go ahead. You can laugh.”

  Her hand tightened around his. “That’s one of the things I like about you, Sawyer. You don’t lie.”

  The comment punched through him.

  He did lie. He didn’t tell her the entire truth about what happened to Rob that night. Didn’t tell her the role he played and fill in the blanks left by the whitewashed and redacted version from the people in charge.

  Marcus and Jason thought he should stay away from her because of the business issue. They were probably right but the problems were so much bigger than even they knew. He should step back and intended to keep it all professional but there was something about her that worked its way under his skin from day one. He liked seeing her, loved touching her. She wasn’t impressed by the uniform he used to wear. It was as if she silently demanded he prove himself, as a man and without the trappings, and he found that so fucking hot.

  Which was why he had no plans to back off. “What happened last night is going to happen again.”

  Her smiled widened as she hit him with it at full strength. “Yes, it is.”

  “Am I interrupting?” Jason balanced his elbows on the counter and slid in next to Sawyer.

  “Excellent timing as always.” Sawyer motioned from his friend to the woman he couldn’t forget. “This is my friend and temporary roommate Jason.”

  “Sure. The guy from the car.” She dropped Sawyer’s hand and stood up. “Coffee?”

  “Good eye and yes.” Jason winked at her as he sat on the stool.

  Sawyer almost asked Jason about the real reason for his surprise visit, but he let that slide. For now. “This is Hailey and over there is Kat.”

  Jason glanced over to where Kat stood, talking with a table of older men. “She’s the owner, right?”

  Hailey sighed. “I won’t ask how you know that.”

  Jason just kept talking. “Would it be wrong if I asked Kat to marry me just so I could eat her food every day?”

  “You wouldn’t be the first.” Hailey set a mug down and poured.

  Jason signaled for her to stop. “Thanks.”

  “Such charm.” Sawyer almost didn’t recognize it. “Jason looks like a pain in the ass but he’s harmless.”

  “That’s quite an introduction.” Hailey didn’t hold back her smile. “Of course, it’s probably better than being known as the guy who hid in the car while Sawyer came to my front porch that first time.”

  “You make me sound like a coward.” Jason held a hand to his chest and made a face of mock horror. “I’m wounded.”

  The comfortable byplay wiped out any concerns Sawyer had of introducing Hailey to his friends. It felt so...together and that wasn’t his thing, but he didn’t question it. “You see why I like her?”

  “And to reward you for that I’ll help Kat out with the pastry pile she promised you.” She headed for the kitchen then turned back and pointed at Jason. “You want anything?”

  “Do you work here?” he asked.

  “Part-time.” She looked like she was going to say something then thought about it for a second. “It’s complicated.”

  Sawyer was starting to think she only did complicated. “I should have known you’d say that.”

  “I like to keep you guessing.” She delivered that comment then disappeared through a door marked employee only.

  By the time Sawyer turned around Jason was already staring at him. Sitting, shifting his stool back and forth, and wearing an annoying smirk.

  Sawyer chose to talk to the guy anyway. “What’s going on?”

  “You forgot this.” Jason put what looked like a crumpled up grocery bag on the counter.

  “What is...” Sawyer hadn’t noticed the bag. Didn’t understand why it was there but opened it. Then shut it again. “Jesus.”

  “Have a good night?” Jason stopped smirking long enough to take a sip of his coffee.

  A bra. Hailey’s bra. Sawyer remembered stripping it off her but really his mind mostly focused on the naked part that came after. “Clearly.”

  “Oh, dude. I get it. She is smoking hot.”

  Sawyer had figured that out within three seconds of meeting her. “You came here to tell me that?”

  “I wanted to rub it in about the bra. That you, the in-control guy who never flinches, left a woman’s underwear in the family room.” Jason’s smile faded. “It is hers and not yours, right?”

  “You’re hysterical.”

  Jason glanced around then lowered his voice. “So, yes?”

  “Fuck you.” That seemed like the right answer, so Sawyer went with it.

  “I’ll assume hers then.”

  “And technically, I’m not the one who left it.”

  “You want to debate that point?” Jason asked.

  Sawyer wanted the topic to end. “No.”

  “Good because I want to ask you something completely unrelated.” Jason played with the mug.

  Sawyer seriously considered taking the thing. He might have if he didn’t have a death grip on the bag. “Go ahead.”

  Jason managed to make the act of putting down his coffee mug take what felt like five minutes. “Has Moll
y said anything to you?”

  Talk about a conversation zag. Sawyer had no idea where this was going. “About?”

  “She’s ticked off at me.”

  The way Sawyer saw it Jason should have added “still” or “again” to the end of that sentence. “That is not new.”

  “I’m tired of it.”

  Sawyer tried to think of someone who wasn’t. “Then stop ticking her off.”

  “It’s not that easy.”

  No way was he wading into the middle of a battle between Molly and Jason. That was a fight he could not win and a mess he could not solve. There was just no way to choose sides and have his life ever be the same again. Both struggled with stuff Sawyer wanted to ignore. Emotions and loads of baggage. He needed all of his energy to get through his business troubles and be on his game with Hailey.

  Still, Sawyer wasn’t really the type to let things drop and it wasn’t as if he didn’t care. He just wasn’t convinced whatever kept pinging around between those two could be solved in a way that wouldn’t make him crazy. “Did something happen?”

  “Here you go.” Hailey came out balancing three plates in her hands. She dropped one with croissants, another with doughnuts and a third one with a mound of something topped with glaze in front of Sawyer then turned to Jason. “You want to order some food?”

  “I like you.” Jason reached over and took the glazed one.

  “Me or any woman bearing food?” She lifted an eyebrow but her voice never moved off sounding amused.

  Jason frowned. “I’m going to decline to answer that.”

  “Smart man.” She broke off a corner of one of the croissants before looking from one man to the other. “Did I interrupt something?”

  Sawyer had trouble looking away from her. She practically beamed, as if she were lit from inside. He’d never dealt with a woman who could throw out a smartass comment one second and wow him the next, with both sides blinding him with hotness.

  But he forced his mind back to his friend and the trainwreck he called a personal life. “Jason was letting me know my sister Molly is angry with him.”

  “Huh.” She looked at Jason, as if sizing him up. “Did you do something to deserve it? If so, I side with Molly.”

  “Wait a second.” Sawyer joined Hailey in staring at Jason. “What did you do?”

  “Said something stupid.” Jason stared at the glazed thing without looking up.

  “Men.” Hailey shook her head.

  “We’re total jackasses,” Sawyer said.

  Jason’s head shot up. “Are you two done?”

  “I think I made my point.” Hailey glanced down at the crumbs on one of the plates. “I’ll be back with more food.”

  Sawyer knew he should focus on Jason but watching Hailey walk, the sway of those hips and that tight ass, intrigued him more than the inevitable shitstorm he was about to get from Jason about the bra or his sister or whatever.

  When she disappeared into the kitchen and the door shut behind her Sawyer let out the breath he was holding. Decided it probably wouldn’t be a great idea to ask her to come out just so he could see her walk away again. That likely counted as a dick move, no matter how tempting it might be.

  Jason cleared his throat. “You still separating business and personal?”

  While they were asking questions... “You still keeping your hands off my sister and refraining from adding her to your list of conquests?”

  “Yes.”

  The slight hesitation before the answer made Sawyer twitchy but he knew if Jason said it, he meant it. “Smart.”

  “Right.” Jason picked at a gob of glaze on the edge of one of the plates.

  None of his actions matched the carefree guy Sawyer knew. The impending divorce had knocked his friend on his ass. Had him spinning and making bad choices. Sawyer didn’t know what was going on in the guy’s head but he was starting to worry. “What’s wrong with you?”

  Jason shook his head. “Women are a complete pain.”

  Sawyer wasn’t sure if that was a general statement or one directed at Molly. His mind went to the woman in the kitchen and the night before. About how he couldn’t get her out of his head and thought about her even when she stood a few feet away. “They do tend to mess up our priorities.”

  “Understatement.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  “I was hoping you had something else in mind when you said we were going for a walk.” The next day Hailey crouched down next to Sawyer and watched him stare at the fence. Somehow he made even that seem sexy.

  “Safety first.” He studied and touched. At one point he took out his phone and took a photo.

  “That’s not as sexy as you think it is.” But it was sexier than it should have been. He slipped into protector mode and her insides turned mushy.

  With him everything changed. Those things about men that made her nervous in others filled her with security when it came to him. He might be the danger-seeking type but he didn’t give off that vibe. He was—and he would probably hate her saying it—a decent guy. Hot, sexy, good with his hands and rock solid.

  She tried to find a fault other than the obvious bossiness issue and tendency to take over and came up empty. His determination to start a business and build something with his friends played against every stereotype she dreamed up in her head as an excuse not to get involved with another military man. But the more time she spent with him, the more friends she met¸ the more she realized her rules were about fear. Her fear. Her need for self-preservation.

  She’d come up with a list of characteristics, the same ones she found so intoxicating and decided they meant danger so she’d never risk getting involved. Looked like she was the one with the commitment issue, not him. But that didn’t solve the property issue and it lingered. He didn’t mention the business, but she knew it had to be on his mind. He was in a holding pattern thanks to her.

  Before she could figure out a way to talk about the property or how to move past it, other solutions he could look at, he stood up. Tucking his cell back in his pocket, he turned and faced her. Gave her the full Sawyer Cain treatment. Her knees almost buckled.

  His eye narrowed. “Did you just tell me I’m not sexy?” The expression said he was serious but amusement threaded through his voice.

  She loved this side of him. “I would never say that.”

  “Because that sounded like a challenge.” He closed in, not touching her but not needing to for her body to respond. “Like, maybe I’ve been letting you come too fast. Maybe you need me to draw it out.”

  She thought about how he made her body shake and her breath stutter. “You’ll give me a heart attack.”

  “I’ll keep you safe.”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck. “You should show me.”

  He whistled. “You are so fucking tempting.”

  “Good.” No one had ever made her feel like this. She’d dated, been swept off her feet. She’d been in love and had great sex. But with him she felt free. All of those old insecurities and worries started to drop away.

  After growing more protective of herself year after year, she wanted to break free. To take a chance. He did that. With him she felt powerful and sexy.

  For him she wanted to resolve the property. Give him closure, even as she worried it would be a blow that could drive them apart. “Sawyer, we need¾“

  “But we can’t now.” He dropped a quick kiss on her mouth but didn’t go deeper.

  That stopped her. “Why?”

  “We have gun practice on the schedule today.”

  He’d been talking about that since Kat spilled her secrets at The Bakery. Hailey figured she couldn’t ignore the inevitable one more second. “Sweet talker.”

  “Wait until you see what I can do with my weapon.”

  Laughter bubbled up inside her before she could stop it. “Wow.”

  He wiggled his eyebrows at her. “Still think I’m not sexy?”

  “You do not need to worry about that.�
�

  * * *

  Despite the complaining on the drive over, Hailey was pretty sure she could stand like this all damn day or at least for a few hours. Feet apart. Sawyer at her back with his arms wrapped around her and the warm San Diego sun hitting her face. She didn’t even mind the protective headphones they both wore, especially since he managed to look pretty fine in them.

  They were outside in a part of the county miles north of her property in an area dotted with gravel and rocks and hills. Everywhere she looked she saw wide open space even though they stood only a few miles from a residential area on reservation land.

  The gun range sat in a valley. In front of her rows of targets spanned hundreds of feet moving up an incline. There was nothing fancy about the outpost. A covered seating area on top of a rectangle concrete pad with chairs and tables stretched behind them. A locked door at one end led to a small room of something, but she had no idea what.

  They’d pulled in and Sawyer took out a case. When he opened it she spied guns and ammunition, all in specific sections. He clearly was no amateur at this. Then again, neither was she.

  “Do not put your finger on the trigger unless you intend to shoot,” he said with his cheek right next to hers.

  She thought about rolling her eyes but the gesture would be lost with him standing half behind her. “Obviously.”

  “It’s not.” His hand skimmed hers as he adjusted her grip. “People have seen too many cop shows and now think you stand holding the weapon a certain way and just depend on the safety to keep from blowing your hands off.”

  “A safety is not a bad thing.” Not that the Glock had an external safety and not that she needed one.

  “It’s also unnecessary if you know how to handle a gun the right way. Think of the trigger as the safety and keep your finger off it until you’re ready to fire.” He adjusted her hand again but at least he didn’t launch into a second round about the gun’s other safety features. “Put it here.”

  “Right.” She thought about leaning into him. His front already pressed against her back. She could feel every inch of his muscled chest. She fought off a shiver when his warm breath moved along the back of her neck.