Healing Hearts 1 Warrior Angel

by Dixie Lynn Dwyer

  “Wait, that’s the organization that helps soldiers and first responders, right? Every department talks so highly of that charity,” Zayn said.

  “Well, Kai started it all. In fact, I do believe that the fundraising we have going on here tonight is donating part of the money raised to help with one of the shelter programs you started.”

  She turned to look at Mike. “Seriously? Where did you hear that?”

  “Ghost told me. Wait until he sees that you’re here.”

  She looked around for him. “It’s been months since I saw him. Where is he I wonder?”

  A few other guys came over to talk to Mike and she got up off her seat when one of them was slapping another guy hello on his back and he bumped into her. She felt the hands go to her hips and she gasped, and placed her hands on Zayn’s chest and stared up at him.

  “Here, have a seat, and I’ll stand so no one can bump into you again,” he said, and stood up.

  Holy God she needed to get away from him. She was not expecting a reaction, an attraction to a man, and here she was staring at Zayn.

  “Who do we have here?” She heard another male voice, then felt a hand on her hip. She turned and had to look up like she did with Zayn. Her eyes landed on another really tall man, almost exact height as Zayn, and the deepest blue eyes she had ever seen. He widened his eyes, and then squinted at her as if he felt something by looking and also touching her. She gulped, realizing his hand was huge against her hip, and warm, too. He had dirty blond hair, was clean-shaven, and those dark eyes roamed over her body. The crowd of guys next to them grew bigger, louder with laughter, making it too hard for her to hear what Zayn just said to her, and the second guy pressed closer and she was now sandwiched between them. Holy God she felt overheated, aroused and no way protected.

  “Damn it’s crowded.”

  “Kai, meet my brother, Selasi,” Zayn said, and she almost blurted out an ‘oh shit’, but instead she smiled, pressed Selasi’s hand off her hip, and then put some space between the two men and her.

  She was leaning against the bar. “Nice to meet you,” she said, and Selasi reached his hand out for her to take. When their fingers touched, she felt the same powerful attraction. She pulled her hand back and looked around for Afina, Amelia, someone.

  More laughter erupted and Mike was coming back over.

  “Damn I forget how fun this place is. Hey, is Thermo here?” Mike asked, and she didn’t know who he was talking about, but she was grateful for the distraction from the two men. Mike squinted as Selasi spoke, his eyes glancing back at her with interest.

  “He found his spot by the corner of the bar. You know how he hates crowds,” Selasi said, and then Zayn handed him a bottle of Bud Lite.

  “Thanks, bro. So, Kai, that’s a nice name. You live around here?” he asked, and Mike chuckled.

  “What?”

  “Maybe I should go keep Amelia company. I kind of dragged her here tonight,” Kai said, and then stepped forward to look past the crowd of men. She felt the hand on her waist. “Don’t go. Talk to us. If you leave, then we’ll be stuck hearing one of Mike’s war stories,” Zayn said, and winked.

  “Nice. What about your war stories? Listen, Kai won’t be impressed or shocked by any stories. She’s heard a lot of them,” Mike said.

  She could feel Selasi and Zayn’s eyes on her, and of course something tingling inside. An awareness, and well an attraction. It was unnerving, and she truly didn’t know how to handle this. She avoided when men flirted and especially soldiers. As much as Afina, Amelia, and her friends pushed for her to get into the dating scene, Kai just couldn’t. She had no interest, so why was she glancing at Zayn and Selasi every chance she got?

  “Why is that?” Zayn asked.

  “She’s been around soldiers and cops all her life. You won’t impress her. In fact, I’ve been trying to impress her for years and finally gave up,” Mike teased, giving her a wink. She chuckled.

  “How do you know Kai?” Selasi asked Mike.

  Mike looked at her and smiled. “Kai and Afina have been friends for years. They were in college together in New Jersey, at Seton Hall. I went to visit a few times.”

  “You came to check up on Afina?” Kai asked, and smiled.

  Mike stepped closer to her and put his hands on her hips and pulled her close. “I went to hit on my little sister’s best friend.”

  “You’re such an idiot,” Kai said, laughing and shoving him back.

  He chuckled and stepped back but looked her over. “You know I tried.”

  “I didn’t deny you did.”

  “Wait, you two were a thing?” Zayn asked, and he looked a little serious.

  “No. Never even got the opportunity to kiss the woman.”

  She hoped he didn’t bring up Edison. “Well, you got yourself in enough trouble by hitting on Miss Bradshaw. If I recall correctly, you were banned from the campus for starting a fight,” she said, and Mike shook his head, turned red and then looked away.

  “Who is Miss Bradshaw?” Selasi asked.

  “Afina’s accounting teacher at the time, who Mike here decided to pick up in a bar down the block from the campus, and well, he got her drunk, brought her to campus and a rowdy party he instigated and that’s where the fight broke out.

  “Oh shit. Seriously? Did Afina get in trouble or get a bad grade?” Zayn asked.

  “Are you fucking kidding me? My sister was getting straight A’s and that would continue. I’m that good. See what you missed out on, sexy,” Mike teased her, giving her hip a tap.

  “You are so full of crap,” Kai said, and Mike started laughing.

  “Hey, it was fun.”

  “It was fun. Good times,” Kai said, but then looked away, her mind back onto all the bad memories that overshadowed the good ones.

  Kai listened as Selasi, Mike, and Zayn talked about the local dojo and some additional classes being offered, and she took the opportunity to watch the men and realized she needed to mingle with her friends. It was safer than making these guys think she wanted them to flirt with her or she was interested. Getting involved with a man was the last thing on her mind, but then Mike brought up the private sessions.

  “Wait, they offer those at the dojo?” she asked.

  “Well, they’re more for experienced martial artists. A lot of the law enforcement guys do them to stay sharp,” Mike said to her.

  “Oh, I was going to check out the classes there this week to see what they offered because I heard there was Muay Thai, but beginners,” she said to them.

  “You do Muay Thai?” Zayn asked her.

  “She’s been doing that for years. I thought Afina said you gave that up a year ago,” Mike said.

  “I got busy with the new job and working so many hours. I want to get back into it, but I’m not interested in beginners’ classes.”

  “Selasi does a private session with three guys from Devin’s division with the state police,” Mike said to her.

  “How is Devin?”

  “He’s here tonight. You haven’t seen him?”

  “No.” She looked around them.

  “Last I saw him he had a few women fussing over his bruises,” Zayn said, and took another slug from his bottle of Bud Lite.

  “Bruises?” Kai asked with concern.

  “He’s okay. Just got into a little scuffle with some guys who were trying to stop him from serving a warrant,” Mike told her.

  She wasn’t surprised but she did feel a bit upset. She feared for these guys. For the men and women in the service of law enforcement and the danger they were in on a regular basis. Another reason why she would never and could never see herself involved with a cop or a soldier ever again.

  “Kai!” She heard her name and looked past the guys and saw Ghost standing there. He was six feet tall, older Marine with gray crewcut hair and muscles galore. He worked out and trained all the time, and boy did he have a personality on him.

  “Excuse me please,” she said, and walked toward
Ghost who pulled her into his arms and then started walking her away. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Zayn and Selasi watching her. She quickly looked back. She really needed to stay clear of them. The whole attraction thing surprised her.

  “I heard you got a nice donation last night to the soldiers’ retreat,” he said to her.

  “How did you hear about that?”

  “Sweetie, I have backed your ideas since the first night we met here more than a year ago. What you have accomplished is simply amazing.”

  “Not on my own though, Ghost. With supporters like you, your buddies and families who truly need the help, and Canton, of course.”

  “So, how do you know Zayn and Selasi?” he asked.

  “I just met them.”

  “Oh, they’re good men. Retired soldiers, Special Forces actually.” Her heart pounded inside of her chest. “They don’t come here too often,” he said and stared at her.

  “What?”

  He squinted.

  “What?” she repeated, but then he placed his hand on her shoulder and turned her toward the other end of the bar.

  “There’s someone I would like you to meet.”

  * * * *

  “Gorgeous, isn’t she?” Mike said to Zayn and Selasi.

  Zayn was watching Kai walk farther away from them and toward the other end of the bar. He glanced at Selasi. “Who?”

  “You know damn straight who. Kai. Isn’t she fucking hot? I’m a pretty good-looking guy, and I don’t have any problems getting women, but holy shit, even I’m intimidated around her.”

  “Intimidated?” Selasi asked.

  “You know what I mean,” Mike said, and then stepped closer and looked around them. “The woman has guys asking her out all the time. She says no. I’ve known her for years, and yeah, been away more often than not, but she doesn’t accept any dates.”

  “Why is that?” Zayn asked.

  “Well, she dated a guy through high school and college. He was a Marine.”

  Zayn squinted. “He broke her heart or something?”

  “Came back all fucked up. I never got all the details, but he died. Killed himself and she was never the same. Moved out here a couple of years ago, and I swear the woman is on a mission to save every soldier or cop with PTSD.” He took a slug of beer.

  “Damn, I hate hearing about that shit. Especially when things were bad for Thermo for a while,” Selasi said to them.

  “How is he doing? Seems a lot better as far as when myself or the guys ask for his help on a mission, but I mean he isn’t right here with the guys. He’s in a corner.”

  “He’s here though, and not at home alone. He just doesn’t like socializing,” Zayn said.

  “Women throw themselves at him with all those tats and that beard and dark look in his eyes. The man could be working that shit,” Mike said and chuckled.

  “No. It would take something major for him to even take notice,” Selasi said.

  “Well, I know the team and I are glad you guys moved back here after retiring, and Devin is definitely happy, Zayn.” Mike chuckled.

  “He tells me all the time. His job is pretty damn dangerous.”

  “It takes a special kind of cop, but Devin is a natural.”

  * * * *

  “I would like you to meet my good friend Clover. He’s been helping to organize the fundraiser this evening and doing a great job, I might add,” Ghost said.

  Kai smiled and reached her hand out for him to shake. He was an attractive older man with gray hair and was tall and bulky like Ghost.

  “The Warrior Angel? In the flesh?” Clover asked.

  She chuckled and then glanced at Ghost. “Who exactly started that whole Warrior Angel thing anyway?” She winked.

  “Obviously you are well loved and appreciated,” Ghost told her.

  She noticed some really big, scary looking guy sitting on a stool at the corner of the bar. He had a red sleeveless flannel shirt and huge muscles. His hair was long and slicked back looking like a reddish-brown and he was sporting a thick beard. His arms were covered in tattoos. When she looked at his face and those deadly looking eyes, her heart felt like it stopped beating. She knew that look. That was the look of a man who had seen horrible things. The eyes of a killer.

  She quickly lowered her eyes but then Clover was pulling her toward the man.

  “Thermo, I’d like for you to meet Kai. She’s the one I told you about. The one who helped Felix. Kai, meet Thermo Stelling.”

  When he stood up from the stool, he looked her over and she swore she felt his eyes touch her body. The man was huge, way over six feet tall, and she was shaking as he reached his hand out to shake hers. When their fingers touched, she practically gasped. What the hell was wrong with her tonight? Three good looking guys in a row she never met before shake her hand hello and she feels so much so soon. She pulled back and looked at Clover, then back at Thermo. Did he say Stelling?

  “Stelling? Wait are you related to Selasi and Zayn?” she asked him, and he squinted at her.

  “You know my brothers?” he asked, and again looked her over from head to toe, and holy shit she felt aroused.

  Her cheeks warmed and then she heard Clover say something to someone behind him, leaving her talking to Thermo all by herself. “I just met them a few minutes ago. I’m good friends with Afina and Mike.”

  “Really? I never saw you around before.”

  “I don’t really come out too much. I work a lot.”

  “Hmm,” he said in a mumble, with those deadly eyes of his.

  She squinted at him. “So, you know Felix?” She wondered why she was even trying to keep a conversation with the man when he seemed like he didn’t like talking, and honestly looked mean.

  “Known him for years. We were in boot camp together.”

  “So you’re in the military?” Kai got that instant sensation like an alert that it didn’t matter she felt attracted to the man, he was military and she was staying clear from military and law enforcement. Maybe silly, but it kept her in a place where she wouldn’t have to face her fears or the sadness of losing Edison.

  “I’m retired now. As of two years ago,” he said to her.

  “What do you do now to keep busy?”

  He just stared at her. She felt completely uncomfortable. Was he staring at her wondering why she was still here talking to him, or was he staring at her because he was checking her out? Did she care?

  “I mean, you don’t have to be doing anything, but I understand from talking to a lot of soldiers that it’s hard for them not to keep busy and active in something. Just figured I would ask.”

  “I do a lot of different things.”

  Man, it was like pulling teeth. Why was she still standing there?

  “What about you? Clover and Ghost mentioned a young woman who had gotten multiple programs together to help soldiers and first responders. Do you come from a family of them?”

  “My brother was a State Trooper back in New Jersey.”

  “Oh, a Jersey girl, huh? How come no accent?” he asked.

  She smirked. Was he being funny? So odd. The man definitely didn’t look like he had a sense of humor. He was serious and hard-core. Definitely. “I guess I lost it over the years being down south. Maybe I have a little bit of a weird accent now. You know a combination of New Jersey and Southern drawl?” she said, and then licked her lower lip.

  “You have a nice tone of voice. Soft and quiet. I can barely hear you.”

  Just then some guys pressed in behind her to order drinks at the bar. She looked over her shoulder.

  “Kai? Hey, what are you doing here?” one of the guys asked.

  She knew him form the hospital. He worked with some of the amputees with rehabilitation. He hugged her hello and then he looked at Thermo who stepped back, as if he didn’t want to be introduced.

  “I’m here with friends.”

  “Let me buy you a drink,” he said.

  “That’s okay. I have one.” He looked d
isappointed. “Maybe later.”

  “Okay, I’ll hold you to that.” He winked and then she turned back toward Thermo, but now Zayn was there.

  “You met my brother?” he asked her.

  She gave a soft smile. “Clover introduced me to him. I should head back to Afina and Mike.”

  Zayn placed his hand on her hip and moved her so she was away from the guys at the bar and now between him and Thermo. “Stay so we can talk. I want to hear more about this organization you have developed and the programs being offered,” Zayn said.

  “Programs?” Thermo asked.

  Kai began to explain about the organization and before long she talked about how things got started, all the different people in the community who were helping out, and about meeting so many people and truly hoping to serve even more soldiers and first responders in the next year.

  She took a sip of the new rum and soda Thermo had gotten her, and Zayn started talking about how long they knew Mike and some of the crazy things he used to do.

  “How about you guys? Special Forces are pretty intense. Takes a superior kind of soldier to make it through the training never mind missions,” she said to them.

  “I suppose in your line of work you meet a lot of soldiers?” Zayn asked, and looked at her in a way that made her feel like maybe he thought she hooked up with soldiers. She wanted to laugh. She stayed clear of men, period.

  “You learn about the different ranks of each branch, although some Seals think they have Special Forces beat, never mind Green Berets,” she said, egging them on.

  “Bullshit. I can guarantee we’re better,” Zayn said, and slid his hand along her waist, giving her hip a squeeze. She stared up at him and into those dark eyes of his. Thank God he was so much taller or she would fear the man might lean down and kiss her. With that thought she panicked and stepped away, only to bump into Thermo’s thigh.

  “Are you going to Mike’s place tomorrow for the barbecue he’s throwing?” Zayn asked as he nonchalantly placed his hand on the bar next to her side.

  “I didn’t get invited,” she said.

  “Oh, I’m sure you’re invited. Mike couldn’t stop talking about you.”