Protected: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella

by Lexi Blake

  A group? She didn’t have to ask what the group was about. She was sure it was a bunch of sad sacks who couldn’t get away from their abusers. He couldn’t force her to get freaking therapy.

  But then she would lose her job. Maybe she should go in order to keep her job.

  She didn’t have to talk.

  “I don’t like that you manipulated me.”

  Ian shrugged. “It’s kind of what I do. If I hadn’t manipulated you, we would have had to talk about this. Now we only had to say a few things and then we’re cool. What do you have to lose? One session and you can be done and I won’t mention it again. Hey, Si. How’s it going?”

  Simon Weston was one of the employees who’d left with Adam and Jake. He’d visited the house with his wife, Chelsea, the other night. The Brit was wearing a fashionable suit. He stopped and shook hands with Ian.

  “As well as can be expected.” He held a gym bag in his hand. “I’m going to change. Please tell me we’re taking the bastards down today. Why did Chase and Ben bring their kid? I hope they don’t think I’ll go easy on them because the baby is adorable. My wife is pregnant and mean. I rather need to beat on someone. Genny, it’s good to see you here. It’s an excellent group. They helped Chelsea enormously.”

  “I’ll catch you on the court,” Ian said.

  She was quiet until she was sure Simon was out of earshot. “So while I have to join the battered wives’ club, you’re going to play some basketball?”

  “You’re just going to rail against the machine, aren’t you?” Ian said with a sigh. “I’m going to tell you something almost no one else in the world knows. We play basketball, sometimes we spar. What we also do is talk about how to support our wives. Leo runs the group and he thinks he’s good at sports. He’s not, but he is good at helping people. My and Si’s wives were abused by their dad, so I like to think of them as battered daughters, maybe. Ben and Chase and Mason and Cole, Kate’s husbands, their wives were kidnapped and held in a cage for months and months of their lives. Leo’s wife, Shelley, married a man a lot like Brock. They work hard to survive that every day. If you think they have nothing to teach you about how to take back your life, then you don’t have to return. But I’m going to go play basketball and welcome the newest member of our group. Wade, it’s good to see you. We have to take down the twins and make sure Si doesn’t hurt himself. He’s British and double dribbles like a motherfucker.”

  She looked at the man walking in. Wade Rycroft was simply gorgeous, heartbreakingly beautiful, even with a somber look on his face.

  He was going to play basketball and talk to other men whose wives had been through something terrible, men who wanted to love them and support them.

  Damn tears were going to be the death of her.

  “Genny.” Wade tipped his head before handing one of the two bags he was holding to Tag. “I hope you find this helpful. If you don’t…”

  God, they were trying to do something wonderful for her and she was pushing them away because she could. Because they were safe. Because they wouldn’t hit her or spit bile her way, so it was okay to take her anger out on them.

  “It’ll be good,” she said, her voice a bit shaky. She would try it. If Wade was here, she could try, too. Maybe it would help him through his guilt.

  And your fear. Your fear that all that’s between you is your need and his guilt.

  She turned and walked up to the door. The bellman nodded her way and opened it. She walked through and found a seat close to Nat and Kate.

  A pretty woman in a stylish suit sat down across from her. “We should get started. For those of you who are new, I’m Dr. Janine Halloway and this is our group. We are survivors, not victims. We are strong enough to face what happened to us, smart enough to want more for ourselves, and brave enough to open our hearts again. That is our goal. That and to love and support each other. Nothing said in group will be talked about outside this room and nothing is off limits. Now, who would like to start today?”

  On shaky feet, she stood. “My name is Geneva Harris.”

  She took a deep breath and began her tale.

  * * * *

  Thus began the next two months of her life. She worked. She went home and spent time with her son and the Dean-Miles family. Once a week she went to her group and felt terrible as she watched Wade join his. Twice a week, Jake or Adam would drop Asher off with his therapist, Kai Ferguson. Yep, everyone was in therapy and while she was happy the men in her life were getting what they needed, she couldn’t help the guilt that welled up inside her.

  She talked about that in group, too. Apparently feelings were meant to be felt and acknowledged and worked through. She would inevitably end up crying, her eyes red but her body relaxed as she would come out of the group meeting. Often she would meet up with Wade, who usually showered and changed, though one time he’d stayed in his shorts and muscle shirt, sweat still clinging to his body. His “therapy” involved a lot of working out.

  She’d watched him, wondering what he and the others talked about. Was Big Tag encouraging him to let her go or asking him to be patient?

  Wade never talked to her unless she approached him. He almost always simply tipped his head in acknowledgement and walked on.

  Though that didn’t mean he ignored her. Nope. It might be easier if he did.

  What was he doing tonight? Evening was coming on and she never looked forward to the weekends. She ended up alone, more or less. Brock was back in Houston and McKay-Taggart was monitoring him in some mysterious McKay-Taggart ways. They had a temporary custody order in place, giving her full custody of her son because of the restraining order. She was safe for now. Ash had something to do almost every night of the weekend. He had friends over or he went out with them. She was also certain he talked to Wade almost every day. Though he didn’t mention it, she knew Wade had taken on the duty of picking up Ash from school.

  She would read a book or watch some movie everyone in the universe had seen years ago. She would try not to think about Wade.

  The truth was this time alone had already been good for her. Something had eased inside her. She was figuring out what she liked and didn’t like when no one else came into it.

  It didn’t hurt that even though he was giving her time, he also found ways to let her know he was thinking of her. He would leave things on her desk, sometimes romantic items like flowers, but also things like movies he thought she would like or magazine articles about career changes. Like she’d had a career to change. He’d left her a thumb drive that said Play Me. When she’d put it on, Jason Isbell’s “If We Were Vampires” had played, followed by Guns N’ Roses’s “Patience” and a list of other songs that somehow touched on their relationship.

  Damn she loved that man. And she was starting to think they might have a chance.

  There was a knock on her door and she started. Damn it. That was one thing she might never get over. The mansion in Broken Bend had always been quiet. Her mother-in-law had insisted on it, and violations would be punished. Brock would slam the door and she would know she was in trouble because he would only do that when his mother was out. Every loud sound made her jump.

  She took a deep breath and got up. It was likely Serena inviting her to dinner. She opened the door and her heart rate sped up.

  Wade was standing there, looking utterly delicious in jeans and a T-shirt and those scuffed-up boots he loved. She knew what was under those clothes and she wanted more than anything to put her hands on him. That wasn’t fair and she wouldn’t do it, but she wanted to.

  Except he wasn’t alone. Shane Landon and Hutch were with him and a man she’d never met, but she’d seen his picture. Declan Burke. He was a tall, attractive man with blond hair and piercing eyes. Apparently Wade didn’t know any non-sexy dudes.

  “Hi.” Why did she have to sound breathy? And why was he here?

  He smiled, a slow, sexy expression that went straight to her pink parts.

  Yep, she’d needed the time to her
self, but she missed him. She still needed the time. Damn it. “Uhm, I wasn’t expecting you. I’m sorry. I’m not really ready for company.”

  His grin turned rueful. “I’m the one who’s sorry, darlin’. We’re not here for you. Is Ash ready?”

  A door in the back slammed and Ash jogged out, dressed a whole lot like Wade. Lately she’d noticed his sloppy-looking sweatpants had been exchanged for jeans and T-shirts he actually tucked in and he’d found a pair of cowboy boots at a thrift store he’d begged her for. Now she realized he was emulating the first man in his life to give him positive attention.

  “Hey, guys. I’m ready.” He grimaced a little as he looked at her. “Sorry, it was a last-minute invite.”

  Wade frowned. “No, it wasn’t. We’ve been planning this for a week. Genny, is there a problem? Should I not take him out? We’ve got tickets to a Marvel movie marathon.”

  She bit back tears. “Of course he can go.” She looked at her son. “Baby, I wouldn’t stop you from going out with him. I know you’re friends and I’m grateful for that. You don’t have to hide it or spring it on me at the last minute. I’m good.”

  Ash breathed an obvious sigh of relief. “Thanks, Mom. You should probably know that we’re going to the rodeo next week and Wade’s going to start teaching me self-defense again.”

  God, he was incredibly good to her and Ash. “I think that’s wonderful.”

  “All right then,” Wade said gruffly. “Go on to the big house, Ash. Jake’s going with us, too. Adam said he’s got some emergency. Apparently that robot assistant of his recently ordered a stripper for him. A male stripper. He showed up at the office as a police officer and then proceeded to strip in the middle of a staff meeting.”

  Hutch snorted. “Yeah, I heard there was a lap dance involved.”

  She knew a guilty man when she saw one. “You and Ian have to stop that.”

  Hutch grinned, the smile making him look young and carefree. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Come on, Ash. I have candy for us to smuggle in.”

  “Awesome. Later, Mom.” Ash kissed her on the cheek and ran off behind Hutch.

  “I’ll go get Jake,” Shane said.

  Declan held his hand out. “I’m Declan Burke. I’ve heard a lot about you, Genny. And I have a gift from my wife. These are her homemade chocolate chip cookies. She’s an amazing cook. I was told if I ate them instead of giving them to you, she would do terrible things to me. Given who her father is, here are the cookies all intact. She wanted me to tell you that everything works out when you’re brave enough.”

  Okay, that was weird, but she liked cookies. She took the bag. “Thank you and please tell her I’m grateful.”

  He nodded as he followed Shane.

  Wade lingered. “Dec thinks his father-in-law is some kind of demon. I would worry about him, but I’m pretty sure that’s how a future son-in-law is going to describe Big Tag one day. Are you doing okay? Don’t think because I’m giving you space that I’m not thinking about you pretty much every second of the day. But I understand we moved too fast.”

  They had. She got that too, but she was starting to think they could try again. “We can’t pretend nothing happened and pick back up where we left off.”

  “I know that now. I don’t even want to. That wasn’t good for you. We need to get to know each other the way we are now.” He held a hand out. “My name is Wade Rycroft and I think you might be the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen. If you don’t mind me saying so, ma’am.”

  There were the tears again. She put her hand in his, his warmth tempting her. “Geneva Harris. And I don’t mind. I’m a single mom. We like to hear we’re pretty.”

  “I like your son very much,” he said. “I was wondering if you would like to go to the rodeo with us. It would be a no-pressure date. I promise to behave like a gentleman. I also promise not to indulge your son in as much sugar and soda as he’s going to have tonight because it’s boys’ night and we go crazy on the candy and soda. There might be popcorn involved. Though if you come with us to the rodeo, I can promise you a corn dog.”

  A date, but a safe one. No pressure, just two old friends getting to know each other again and introducing her son to something that should have been his birthright. “I think I would like that.”

  He tipped his hat her way. “Then I will pick you both up at six next Saturday. And I’ll have Ash home before midnight.”

  Ash would be utterly safe with this man. “Thank you for being good to him.”

  “I love that kid. You have a good night, Genny.” With a smile, he turned and walked off.

  Genny closed the door behind her. What to do since she had a whole night to herself?

  The catalog of classes Wade had left on her desk caught her eye.

  She picked it up. It couldn’t hurt to look through it.

  She sat down and for the first time started thinking about her future.

  Chapter Eleven

  Wade pivoted and took a hard elbow from one of the twins. When they weren’t talking, it was hard to tell them apart. When they were talking it was easy.

  “Shoot, old man. You afraid to shoot? Do the eyes not work so great anymore?”

  That was Chase Dawson. Wade absolutely could believe Ian had trained that man. That asshole had several years on him, but he was the old man? “I’m not afraid to shoot you.”

  He took his shot, delivering the ball straight into the basket.

  Chase picked up the ball and tossed it to his brother, Ben. “Yeah, well, there are days when I stand in front of the windows I told Nat we shouldn’t put in the house because we’re going to get sniped and I beg for someone to come and take me.”

  Ben paused, dribbling in place in front of Simon, who really couldn’t play basketball. “Greer is teething. Chase can’t stand it when she cries. You know this is going to be you in a couple of months, Weston. And you can’t even split the duties. No sleep for you.”

  “I’m not getting any bloody sleep right now.” Si leapt up and batted down the pass. “It’s like Chelsea turns on around ten o’clock. She’s tired all day and then when she should sleep, she’s manic. The good thing is once she’s done with all the morning sickness—and morning is a misnomer—she’s horny. I’ve had more sex since she got pregnant than I did when we were trying to get pregnant. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think my wife is using me like a living vibrator.”

  Okay, the Brit was getting better. All this talk about kids was slightly upsetting. What if Genny didn’t want more kids?

  Ben grinned as Leo handed him the ball and he tossed it back into play. “Enjoy it now, my man. Take all that sweet loving you can get because it stops when the baby’s born.”

  They went on, Ian talking about how Charlie was trying to get his sperm again because she wanted one more small demon to round out the group. Chase swore they’d had their last, but Ben shook his head as though that decision had already been made.

  They all had kids. Or were in the process of having them. Leo’s wife, Shelley, had recently given birth to their first, a baby boy.

  He forced himself to move, years of physical exertion making the motions habitual. His brain was racing though. Could he be okay not having the whole baby experience? It was odd because he’d never thought about it before, would have told anyone who asked that he didn’t care. It was different now that the woman he was thinking about sharing a life with was Genny.

  “You okay, Wade?” Leo was backing Big Tag toward the sidelines. It was three on three today.

  “I’m good.” He said it out of habit. This was not the place for habit. This was the place where he was supposed to be honest about what he was feeling. The trouble was he wasn’t used to admitting he felt anything at all. Still, maybe talking about it would help, and all these guys were dads or almost dads. “I was wondering if Genny’s going to want more kids. She’s got a teen. Why would she start again?”

  “You can have one of mine,” Big Tag offered helpfully
. “Kala is a sweetheart. She’s loving and kind. Everyone should have such a daughter.”

  Chase stopped in the middle of the court, his jaw open. “She’s the devil. When we had play group at our house, she tried to teach Chloe Lodge how to build a fire.”

  Tag shrugged. “She might need that skill one of these days.”

  “In the middle of my office? She used my reports as kindling,” Chase shot back.

  Leo called a time-out. “Guys, I don’t think this is helpful. Wade’s asking an honest question. Obviously we don’t know what’s going through Genny’s head, but this is something you need to think about.”

  Tag grabbed a bottle of water. “Genny’s not exactly old. She started young. She’s at the age when a lot of women are starting families. She’s younger than Charlie, and I can’t get that woman to stop spitting out kids. Grace did it. I think you should talk to her.”

  “And I think you should consider carefully how you discuss this with her,” Leo said.

  Her words from the grocery store came back, haunting him every day.

  I can’t be anyone’s thing.

  She’d been her father’s daughter, his girlfriend, Brock’s trophy wife, Ash’s mom. When had Geneva Harris ever simply been herself? “Is it even fair of me to ask?”

  Ben wiped sweat off his brow. “You can’t think that way. You’re a part of this relationship, too. Well, you would be if you had a relationship with her.”

  He shot Ben the finger. “We have a relationship. We’re dating.”

  It was nice. The drama had ratcheted down significantly. They’d fallen into a pleasant routine. He took her to lunch once a week, giving her the space to find her place at work. She’d found a group of female friends. She spent time with Shane’s wife, Talia, and had gotten quite close to Nat and Kate from her group. On Friday nights, he took her to dinner and then they met Ash, picking him up from whatever he was doing with his friends that night. On Saturdays they went out, all three of them, or stayed in and ordered pizza. They would play games or watch movies.