Healing Hearts 1 Warrior Angel

by Dixie Lynn Dwyer

  “Definitely not happen if we make a move together,” Selasi said.

  “I’m not ready for anything more,” Thermo added.

  “We’ve talked about this. About our insecurities and where we lack, where we need one another as reinforcement and support. A ménage, us sharing one woman together, loving her, providing for her together would be perfect for the three of us,” Zayn said to him.

  “You guys have your shit together. You can flirt, you can function. I close up. I’m fine being silent, and considering what she does for a living, you can’t tell me she isn’t going to force me to talk.”

  “You’re scared of trusting her?” Selasi asked.

  “I trust the two of you.”

  “Then trust that she’s the one. I’m telling you, no other woman has given me these feelings and has made me feel like this. None. I say we take the fucking chance, and if it doesn’t work out, then it doesn’t. We won’t know unless we take the risk,” Zayn replied.

  “I just don’t know if this is right. I don’t know if I can give her anything. I still have nightmares and shit. Things set me off.”

  “You have control over that though and you don’t lose it. She won’t be scared of you or a situation,” Zayn said to him.

  “How do you know, man? What if we’re in bed together and I wake up not knowing where the fuck I am? I could hurt her, hell crush her. She’s like five-feet-five. We’re over six-feet-three, and more than a hundred and eighty pounds heavier, never mind my capabilities.”

  “Another reason why sharing her, taking her together, protects her,” Selasi told him.

  “I’m just not sure. You guys go ahead, but I need time still. I just don’t know.”

  Thermo got up and grabbed his bag. “I’ll be back late.”

  Zayn nodded. “Tell Keono and the family hello for us.”

  “Will do.”

  * * * *

  Thermo headed out, his heart heavy and his mind on the situation and on the past. He very well could have been a part of that statistic of suicides by soldiers when he returned from Baghdad Soldiers just didn’t talk about their feelings and emotions. They kept that shit all bottled up inside and then exploded. Some more often than others, and some just waited and waited until it was all too much, and in a fit of fear and frustration they felt there was nowhere else to turn but to end their lives.

  When he got to the Shaden estate, where Keono lived in a separate house on his family’s property, he was surprised to see the white jeep in the driveway. He was pretty sure that Kai had a white jeep, but how would she know the Shadens? Canton Shaden, Keono’s father was a business tycoon and filthy rich. It had to be a coincidence.

  He parked the truck and then grabbed his bag looking forward to doing some sparring with Keono in the home gym before relaxing by poolside or in the Jacuzzi just shooting the shit. He rang the door and Canton answered it.

  “Thermo. Good to see you. Come on in,” he said, inviting him into their very upscale, classy home. The formal living room to the right contained a large family portrait. They had four sons, but one son, Leon, was a soldier who had committed suicide. Two other sons were involved in law enforcement after the military and Keono hadn’t taken on another career after retiring from the service. When Thermo and his brothers moved back into Mercy, Keono found out and looked him up. It was about a year ago.

  “Thermo, how are you?” Mrs. Shaden greeted him. She didn’t approach to hug him, knowing that he wasn’t an affectionate man. That was another indicator why he wasn’t ready for a relationship with a woman.

  “Keono is out back in the dojo. Why don’t you head out there, and when you all are done we have plenty of food and drinks so you can relax by poolside. It’s a hot one today,” Canton said to him.

  “Thanks a lot. I’ll see you in a little bit,” he said, and then headed out the side door, down the walkway, and to the private house with the additional building next to it that Keono turned into a dojo.

  The closer he got the more he realized that Keono was sparring with someone. When he opened the door he could see Keono and someone else all decked out in fighting protective gear on their heads. The other person he sparred shot a kick up into his head. Keono stepped back and then countered the next move, the two of them going at it pretty intensely. He squinted as he caught a slight bit of reddish-brown hair peeking out of the top part of the headgear, and as she turned she paused and Keono knocked her onto her ass.

  “Keono!” she yelled at him, her voice raspy and so not forceful sounding, and he knew it was Kai.

  “You weren’t paying attention. Too busy looking at Thermo. He has that effect on women but he never seems to react to any,” Keono said, and reached down to give her a hand but she jumped up from her position with no hands and did a move on Keono, sending him onto his ass.

  Thermo watched in amusement and a bit of jealousy as Keono scrambled across the mat to grab her ankle and pull her down, and then two of then rolled around on the mats, doing moves until she was on top of him.

  “Okay, I don’t need my nose broken by you again. I give,” Keono said, and Kai laughed.

  She shoved at his shoulder. “You don’t ever give up. Now no more sneaky moves. I want to say hello to Thermo,” she said, and stood up.

  Keono did, too, and they both took off the headgear. Kai’s face was flushed, her blue eyes sparkled, and her hair was all pulled back tight and in some sort of ball at the base of her head.

  “What are you doing here? How do you know Kai?” he asked.

  “Oh shit, Kai, this is one of the guys you were talking to me about?” Keono asked, looking shocked.

  But Thermo found the information positive, and he looked her over. “Talking about me behind my back?” he asked in a harsh tone.

  “I mentioned the party and a few things,” she replied, and then walked to the side to take a sip from a bottle of water.

  “This is awesome,” Keono said, and then shook Thermo’s hand.

  “We need to talk, but first, let’s do some sparring. We can both show Kai some moves, if you let me touch her I mean,” he teased.

  Thermo raised one eyebrow up at him, and considering Thermo was six inches taller, Keono raised his hands up.

  “Let’s do it, then we can go swimming and relax by the pool.”

  Thermo brought his bag to the bench where Kai sat watching them. He stared at her a moment and she stared at him.

  “You looked good out there. I bet you could handle Zayn’s class he does at the dojo.”

  “Oh she definitely can handle that class. But the guys you all train might be intimidated by her. She gets fierce,” Keono said, and smiled at her.

  “You’re a good teacher, Keono.”

  “How did you two meet anyway?” Thermo asked, joining Keono on the mats.

  “She’s my guardian angel.” Keono winked.

  Before Thermo could ask more, Keono took a shot at him and their sparring session began.

  * * * *

  What were the chances that Thermo was the good friend, a fellow soldier Keono knew from basic training? Keno never mentioned him until today and even then, he didn’t say his name. She was a little embarrassed that Keono mentioned her telling him about Thermo and his brothers, but her and Keono became friends over the last three years, since she met his father who was a huge contributor to the organization. She had helped with services for Keono and his recovery as well as fears of suicidal thoughts. His dad and mom lost one military son to suicide and were not going to lose another. They all became so close, and since Kai didn’t have family, the Shadens seemed to adopt her as a daughter.

  She watched the two men sparring back and forth, and even though Thermo was a lot bigger and taller than Keono, Keono stood his ground. It wasn’t until they were both sweaty and Keono was breathing heavy that he called mercy.

  “I know you were taking it easy on me, man, but shit, where is all that hostility coming from? I swear, Kai and I are just good friends. She’s
like family. I only wanted to feel her up and kiss her a few times,” he teased.

  “What?” Thermo asked, all pissed off.

  She was shocked at the obvious jealous expression and reaction, but also felt a little giddy about it. Big bad tough guy had emotions. Interesting.

  “Don’t listen to a word he says. He’s always trying to cause trouble. He never once hit on me, and if he did he knew I would kick his butt.” She grabbed her bag.

  “True. She would, but what a way to get my ass kicked.”

  Thermo shook his head.

  “Come on, let’s hop in the pool and grab some lunch. I’m glad you two know one another. I’d be pissed if you didn’t get along,” Keono said, and as they headed out of the dojo Thermo once again had that uneasy feeling like he wasn’t good enough for Kai at all.

  When they got to the pool no one was around. Keono pulled off his shirt and got out of his sweats. He was wearing swim trunks underneath.

  “Last one in has to make and serve the drinks,” Keono said.

  Kai started to pull off her T-shirt and sweats, and holy shit, Thermo stopped undressing and watched as her body came into full view. She wore a black bikini, the top just barely held her full, round breasts that were pushed together in a deep cleavage. She was well endowed and then some, and her body was perfection. Tight abs, all definition obviously from training and working out like she did. She even had definition in her calves and her ass. He took it all in. The belly ring, and a tattoo. Holy shit.

  She jumped in and Keono was laughing. “Well, I knew that was going to happen,” he said.

  Thermo kept the t-shirt on, had his swim trunks underneath and then dove into the pool. The temperature was not cold enough to take away the heat in his body, or the lust he felt.

  When Kai emerged from swimming underwater, her gorgeous blue eyes, the color so bright and spectacular, looked stunning. Especially with drips of water on her eyelashes enhancing the glow. Her skin was sun kissed, but not overly tan.

  She looked at him and the fact he wore a T-shirt and once again he had his reservations, but then Keono started talking about how he and Kai met, and it only added to the attraction Thermo felt for her.

  They sat in the pool a little while just talking and then decided to grab those drinks before lunch. When they got out to dry off, he watched her again, finding it difficult to take his eyes from her, but then he heard the whistle and Keono’s brothers Bronco and Rhett arrived. They shook hands hello and then greeted Kai with a kiss and a hug. Again, he was jealous, and watched that their hands didn’t come too close to her ass, but they didn’t. They hugged her like gentlemen. He didn’t feel gentlemanly, he felt barbaric. Like lifting her up, pressing her up against the cabana wall and ravishing her mouth, and then maybe her breasts next. He had to turn away. He walked over to the cabana as the others talked and he changed into a new T-shirt and a pair of cargo shorts. When he walked out, Kai was wearing a cover-up, something shear that was see through but classy, like her.

  Bronco was in his police uniform and Rhett was plain clothes but wearing his badge, gun and handcuffs. He worked with a special crimes unit.

  “So, you two know one another then? That’s crazy,” Bronco said and Kai exhaled.

  “What? Is it a big deal or something? I mean Keono was all worried that the two of you wouldn’t get along and here you two are knowing one another. Makes things easier I think,” he said, and popped a carrot into his mouth. Their mom must have brought out some food. Sure enough, Keono’s parents came out with stuff to cook on the grill.

  “I got that, Dad,” Keono said.

  “I can help, too. You know I love grilling,” Kai said.

  “No, no, you and Thermo sit and talk. We’ll handle this,” Mrs. Shaden said, and Thermo squinted at them and then looked at Keono who chuckled.

  “Mom, Dad, Thermo and Kai already know one another,” he told them, joining them at the grill.

  “What?” Canton asked.

  “Afina and her brothers are friends with Thermo and his brothers. We met the other night at Corporal’s,” she said to them.

  “Corporal’s? I thought you said you were never going back there because of that guy that night?” Bronco reprimanded her and placed his hands on his hips and looked pissed.

  “Her friends were all there, and of course Thermo and his brothers,” Keono said.

  “You knew about this?” Rhett asked, and Thermo got the feeling that these men cared about her. But how much? He was making himself crazy and reading into everything. She wasn’t even his girlfriend and he was possessive, protective, and jealous.

  “Could we not discuss this now? It was fine,” Kai said.

  “What happened the last time she was at Corporal’s?” Thermo asked, and she gave Bronco a dirty look.

  “Nothing,” she replied.

  “Nothing my ass. Two drunk assholes tried to touch her while she was in the bar, and then when she declined they waited for her outside,” Bronco said.

  “It was no big deal.” She tried minimizing it and one look around at facial expressions alone and Thermo knew she was downplaying it.

  “No big deal? The front window of the place was taken out, they were going to press charges,” Rhett added.

  “The guys attacked you?” Thermo asked.

  “Oh brother.” She covered her face and walked away toward the bar and started to pull beers from the refrigerator. She walked back over, passing one to each of the men including Thermo, who squinted at her, then to Mrs. Shaden and she walked back to the refrigerator for a beer of her own. A Heineken.

  “One of the reasons why her and I began training together,” Keono told him.

  “You are so full of it, Keono. I was trained before you. I was just a little rusty, and that was more than a year ago, so don’t even think of adding on fluff to the story.” She sat on the stool by the outdoor bar, tapped her beer bottle against Mrs. Shaden’s who smiled, and then nodded in agreement. Both women looked at all the men a few feet away.

  “You had a bruised cheekbone and a bruise along your breast,” Rhett stated in a fierce tone, staring at her.

  “What? How serious was this?” Thermo asked. She squinted at Rhett and then shook her head at Keono and Bronco.

  “Well son, go on and tell Thermo,” Mrs. Shaden said.

  “Kai took a few hits as these guys, big ones, tried forcing her to their truck. One of the guy’s, a big dude, threw her over his shoulder and she somehow slithered over the front of him, tripped him up and was able to run back toward the bar, except the second guy grabbed her and turned her around and decked her,” Bronco told him.

  Thermo was getting angry and the guys continued to tell the story.

  “She gets up and decks the guy in the nose, then does several martial arts moves on him and breaks his arm. His buddy charges at her, like he’s going to tackle her and kill her and she gets down low, makes her move and flips the guy right over her and through the front window of the place,” Rhett explained.

  “Are you kidding me?” Thermo asked.

  “No. Those two men tried to press charges against her for assault. Dumb asses,” Canton said and chuckled.

  “You could have been seriously injured or worse if they got you into that truck. Where the hell was everyone else?” Thermo asked.

  “Drunk.” They all responded at the same time including Kai, and then they all started laughing.

  Thermo was shocked, but seeing her moves in the dojo with Keono he could believe it. Size didn’t matter in a fight—technique, capability, and opportunity were key in every hand-to-hand combat.

  “I can’t believe I never heard this story before,” Thermo said to them.

  “That was over a year ago. You and I have been hanging out more and more in the last few months. That was also one of the first nights Kai went to Corporal’s. Of course, Ghost and Cosmo adore her and felt responsible for not having any kind of security in place out there,” Keono explained.

  “Th
ey got it on video, Thermo, if you ever want to see it. No sound though,” Rhett said.

  “Rhett!” Kai yelled at him, got up off the stool and gave his arm a shove. He laughed, and raised his arms in the air laughing.

  As they all started talking she walked next to Thermo. “They made me sound badass, but in actuality it was a pretty damn scary situation. I thought about the what ifs a lot. In fact, I stayed clear of Corporal’s and even going out for a while. I kind of didn’t feel safe being alone, and I thought I had gotten over that moving here three years ago,” she said to him.

  “Either way it was impressive, and I did see you sparring with Keono and he gets fierce.”

  “Tell me about it, I thought he gave me a concussion a few weeks ago.”

  “Liar!” Keono yelled out.

  She laughed.

  “So where did you live before Mercy?”

  “New Jersey, where Afina and I went to college together.”

  “Any family there?”

  She got quiet a moment, and he figured all that had been there was the soldier boyfriend who died.

  “No family around New Jersey. I have some relatives, an uncle and an aunt, but never met them. Long story. Life was hard for a long time. Still can be.” She took a sip then looked at the others who were laughing and getting ready to grill. He reached out and caressed her shoulder.

  She looked at him and he held her gaze and gave a wink and she gave him a soft smile.

  “Who is grilling?” Canton asked.

  “I’ll do it,” Thermo said, and they all cheered and Thermo walked over to the grill and outdoor kitchen and looked to see what to cook first. He caught sight of Keono saying something to Kai, and she shrugged her shoulders and he gave her a hug. He didn’t feel jealous. He got it. This was her family. They took her in because she helped to save Keono’s life.

  * * * *

  “Thermo, you don’t need to follow me home,” Kai said to Thermo after they headed down the driveway to their vehicles. Thermo was parked behind her jeep.