“No, you big bully, you made me dump my water bottle.” He held up the empty container and tugged at his soaked shirt. Dan put him back on his feet. “So when you ambush me, you’re teaching me a lesson, but when I do it to you, I’m a bully?”
“Yep.”
“Eight-year-olds,” Dan muttered, getting the age wrong on purpose.
“Nine!” Kai shouted.
Dan held up his fingers in a “whatever” sign as he headed to the locker room. A towel smacked him in the back of the head and a smile lit his face. Kai had managed to shake him from his melancholy.
It took every ounce of energy he possessed to shower. He lingered, letting the hot water and steam massage his aching muscles and joints. Alex called out a goodbye and he lifted his arm in acknowledgement. When his skin turned the consistency of a prune, he cranked the knobs to shut off the taps. He dried and then secured the towel around his waist as he padded to his locker, running a hand over his face as he went. He could use a shave, but he was too damn tired and it wasn’t like there was anyone he needed to impress. It’d have to wait until the morning. After a few swipes of deodorant, he donned a Margaritaville t-shirt and a pair of red and white board shorts. Flip flops finished the outfit. Beach chic, he thought it might be called and then laughed at himself. What the hell did he know about fashion?
A couple of passes of his fingers through his hair and he was good to go. The black strands were so short, he didn’t need a comb. It was a drastic change from the long locks he’d worn for the last few years, but after suffering a head injury on a case that left him with a freakish-looking shaved patch on the back of his noggin, he decided to buzz the rest as well. The shorter style was much easier to maintain.
His stomach rumbled as he gathered his sweaty clothes and tossed them in the laundry bin. The demanding workout had conjured quite an appetite. He almost tripped over a pair of small feet as he exited the locker room.
“You stalking me, kid?”
“You wish,” Kai retorted, scrambling to his feet. “Geez, it took you like forever. What were you doing in there, shaving your legs?” He pointed to the exit. “Let’s go. We need to get a move on. I’m so hungry I could eat a T-rex.”
“What’s with this we stuff?”
“Dad needs to stay a little longer because Maggie is leaving for a few days or something and can’t train. I don’t know. I don’t care. I need to eat. I’m a growing boy. You’re going to feed me.”
“I am, am I?”
Kai nodded.
“Where’s your stepmom? I know for a fact Taylor makes a tasty sandwich.”
“Almost stepmom,” he corrected. “Gracie’s got gymnastics.”
“Don’t you have baseball practice?”
“Tomorrow night.”
“Soccer?”
“Last night.”
Dan sighed dramatically and threw a hand over Kai’s shoulder. “Fine, Little C, I’ll take you home with me like a stray puppy.” He was secretly happy. He loved hanging out with the kid.
“Ruff, ruff.”
Dan smiled and made a detour to let Dante know he was taking his son with him. They padded to the motor bay and jumped into his Gator. Several of the agents who lived in-complex drove golf carts or utility vehicles to work. Couldn’t beat the commute. Though, technically it wasn’t his house. He rubbed his chin, the whiskers scratching his fingers. He really ought to think about setting up a meeting with a builder to get started on his own abode. Logan had gifted him a prime piece of property next to his plot when he bought the land. Dan always planned on building, he just thought he’d have a wife to help him with the design. Another image of Kaitlyn flashed in his mind. A long deck overlooking the lake. They were standing side-by-side, gazing out at the water. He’d turn to gaze at her instead…
Dan shook his head to clear the image. She was starting to piss him off by popping up in his mind so often. He glanced at Luke’s house as he passed.
“Tree!” Kai shouted.
He jerked the wheel and glanced at Kai, glad he’d made the kid put a belt on. “Just making sure you’re paying attention.”
After assuring himself there were no mighty oaks in the way, he glanced back at Luke’s house. He’d been daydreaming about Kait and suddenly she appeared. There were others with her, but he didn’t even notice them. His focus was on Kait and her long, beautiful hair. Her blindingly white smile. That killer sundress she wore that highlighted her lean body and tone legs.
Someone yelled to get his attention. He waved at Lauren Dianetti and saw Kait’s head jerk around. A smile started to break on her face, but then she tamped it down to glower at him. It was the look she usually gave him, one that conveyed, “you annoy me,” “you’re a low-down rat,” and “something smells…oh wait, that’s you,” all at once. Kait had a rare talent.
He lifted a hand and kept on trucking.
“Wait!” Kai ordered, unbuckling his seat belt so he could twist to his knees on the seat.
Dan hit the brakes and threw a hand against Kai’s back to secure him. “What are you doing?”
“Saying hi to my girlfriend. Lauren!”
Lauren smiled and waved at Kai. He sighed like a love-sick fool.
“Girlfriend, huh? I thought she was your babysitter.”
Kai slugged his arm. “I don’t need a babysitter.”
“Ow,” Dan said, rubbing the spot. The kid was muscling up nicely. He ran the parkour course, too. He was a natural. As soon as he was old enough, Dan had no doubt he’d not only conquer the course, but he’d climb Mount Mishoita with no problem.
“Besides, sitter, girlfriend, same diff.”
Dan smiled and shook his head. “Buckle up.”
He didn’t even glance in the side mirror. Much. The brush of a low-hanging branch alerted him to the nearness of the trees, so he focused on the road and headed to the safety of Logan’s house. A horn tooted behind them and he turned to see Dorian Demarchis zipping up in his Gator. He pulled beside them.
“What’s up?”
“I came to steal Little C away.”
Dan threw a possessive arm around Kai. “No way, he’s mine.”
“We’ve got a hot game of Out of the Park Baseball to finish.”
“I want to play Call of Duty,” Kai announced.
Dorian shook his head. “Your dad would kick my behind if I let you play that. Too violent.”
“You can play it at my house.” Dan smirked at Dorian.
Kai spun around with a hopeful look. “Really?”
Dan shoved his shoulder. “No, not really. I’m not risking the wrath of a man who could kill me with his pinky.” He jerked his head to Dorian. “Go.”
Kai unbuckled and hopped out. “You owe me a dinner.”
“I do, huh?”
“Steak.”
“Steak,” Dan sputtered. “I was going to fix you grilled cheese.”
Kai shook his head and jumped into Dorian’s ride. “Steak, well done. I don’t want the thing mooing at me.”
Dan and Dorian shared an amused look. He waved and continued on home. He was a little bummed. After his earlier gloomy mood, Kai had totally snapped him out of it. He was looking forward to hanging out with the kid. Now he was getting all broody again. He parked in the garage and headed inside.
“Unca Dan’s home! Unca Dan’s home!”
For the second time in less than an hour, he was attacked by a small bundle of energy. This one had long black ringlets and big blue eyes and she forever held a big chunk of Dan’s heart in her tiny little hand. He scooped Isabella in his arms and she squealed in happiness. Her little ball of fluff, Fiji, danced around his ankles. He reached down and lifted him too. Bella wrapped her arms around his neck, kissed him on the cheek and proceeded to tell him all about her day.
Maybe someone would miss him after all.
#
Alex Mylonas groaned as he tossed his keys towards the bowl he kept on the table by the door…or tried to toss them. They definitely l
eft his fingers. He heard the tinny clink. He just wasn’t sure his hands were still attached to his body. He couldn’t feel his arms.
If he’d been born a cowboy, he’d say he’d been rode hard and put away wet. That’s how he felt. Totally and utterly flattened. He almost wept with relief when Dante Costa made him and Dan leave the ring. And whose stupid idea had that been…banging around after they’d just punished their bodies on the obstacle course? Had it been his? Shit, he couldn’t remember. He and Dan had quite the friendly rivalry going on. He didn’t know why. He suspected Dan was pushing him to heal from the bullet wound that almost stole his life. Funny thing was, he didn’t even know Dan a few months ago when he’d been shot.
He’d met Dan Bradley and the rest of his new family—the COBRA Securities team—through his best friend Dorian Demarchis. Dorian had been recuperating from being shot himself in their hometown of Chicago when a case fell in his lap. Kendall Buckley—now Dorian’s fiancé—had been in the same room when three of her best friends were gunned down in cold blood. At the time, Alex had been a detective on the Chicago police force and he teamed up with Dorian to track down the killers. In the process, Kendall and Dorian fell in love.
During the course of the investigation, Alex made the wrong people nervous and when beating information from him didn’t work, they resorted to firepower. When he’d felt the bullet impact his body, he’d known he was going to die. Breathing became impossible as regret crushed him, almost as painful at the lead lodged in his chest. He wanted to tell his parents and sister he loved them one last time. He didn’t say it enough. They’d be devastated. But it was the image of Olivia Larrson’s beautiful face that followed him into the black void of nothingness. As he hovered in that space of uncertainty between life and death, her voice was the only thing that tethered him to earth. He even felt her hand holding his, crooning softly to him. It was her voice that calmed him, took the pain away.
His reaction to Olivia was surprising. It wasn’t like they knew each other well—except in the carnal sense. They’d shared an incredible, passion-filled encounter in the back of his city-issued sedan. But from the moment he looked into her eyes, he knew he’d spend the rest of his life loving her, even if he couldn’t be with her. He’d assumed he’d hallucinated her in his drug-induced state since she was hundreds of miles away in New York City, but when he regained consciousness for the first time after the attack, she was indeed sitting beside his bed. She’d risked her job to fly back and stay with him until he woke. He owed her for pulling him back to the land of the living. He wanted to keep her there, never let her leave. But the morphine kicked in and he went under again. When he came around next, she was gone. He hadn’t seen her since…at least in the flesh.
He wasn’t too far removed from those dark days lying in a hospital bed, not knowing if he’d wake up the next time he went under or not. It seemed like both yesterday and years ago. As soon as the wound healed, he turned in his resignation and accepted a position with COBRA Securities. Before he was allowed in the field, he had to pass the physical training. He worked out regularly before the gunshot, so the main thing he had to focus on was endurance. He’d just been cleared to train when Dan started pushing him. He’d kept at it like a madman ever since.
Absently rubbing the healed wound on his chest, he glanced around his apartment. His suite in the COBRA Securities housing complex was comfortable and nicely-furnished, but it wasn’t home. He’d been living here since he hired on. A few weeks ago, he inked the papers to purchase a parcel of land close to Dorian’s that his bosses owned. Even though his neighbors were near, thanks to the abundance of trees, it wouldn’t seem like it. He even had an unimpeded view of the lake.
He sighed with contentment. He’d loved being a cop, but the pressure of working in one of the country’s largest—and deadliest—cities took its toll. The murder rate kept climbing and the cops couldn’t keep up. Hell, they weren’t even close. And it wasn’t just homicides, but violent crimes in general. The world was a sick place and he’d been happy to turn in his ring-side seat…not that this job was tame in any sense.
Though he was still new to this town and career-path, he’d never been happier. He loved the work. It was both challenging and demanding. He couldn’t ask for better bosses than Luke Colton and Logan Bradley. His coworkers were amazing. He didn’t have to worry about any of them betraying him like his former CPD partner. His blood pressure had dropped and the rumblings in his tummy that signaled the onset of an ulcer were completely gone. The only piece missing was a petite blonde with blue-green eyes and a beautiful smile. Lips that were as soft as they looked. And a body that fit his perfectly.
He checked his watch, his heart rate picking up speed when he noted the time. He padded to his sixty-five-inch high definition television and punched the button on the remote to bring it to life. He had just enough time to fix a sandwich before the program started.
As he nuked a piece of chicken he’d grilled over the weekend, he chided himself on his obsession. He couldn’t help it. Olivia Larrson had gotten under his skin. He never missed her broadcasts. Hell, he even programmed the DVR to record them in case, you know, he missed some small detail and he needed to watch it again. He sighed and ran a hand down his face. He was barely a step away from stalker status.
The microwave dinged so he removed the chicken and placed it on a low carb whole wheat tortilla and added tomato and sprouts before rolling it up. He took a bite and made a face. It wasn’t easy to eat healthy. He craved a thick hamburger loaded with real fat mayonnaise and cheese and a sesame seed bun with a side order of greasy fries. But he’d committed to trying out for the US Ninja Warrior program and he was determined to stick with it. The show was broadcast world-wide so there was no telling who might tune in.
Alex rolled his eyes. He needed to get Olivia out of his mind and move on. She lived in New York. He lived in Indiana. She was a famous reporter and he was an ex-burned out detective turned security specialist. Granted, ninja warrior training had brought a new focus to his life. He was more ripped and fit than he’d ever been in his life. He still wasn’t one-hundred percent—getting shot at point-blank range was an uphill battle to overcome—but he was getting stronger and faster every day. He was a few months away from being in prime shape but the program didn’t film around his body’s schedule. He’d have to be ready when the time came or he’d end up ass-first in the water. Bradley would never let him hear the end of that. He was determined to finish the course, no matter what. When he climbed the warped wall at the end of the run, it would mean he was on his way to healing, both physically and mentally. He didn’t care if it took him one minute or ten, he would finish.
His next step would be exorcising the gorgeous image of Olivia Larrson from his brain. Easier said than done.
Chapter Three
“What did you say?”
“I asked about this bad boy,” Benji answered.
Kaitlyn snapped out of her stupor. “Bad boy?” Was he talking about Dan? At the way he’d ogled Lauren, she assumed Benji was straight. But then, Dan was hot enough to make any man question his predilections.
Benji eyed her curiously. “Yeah, this gorgeous hunk—” He was talking about Dan! “—of cherry red metal. Can I take it for a spin?”
Realization dawned and Kaitlyn laughed at herself. He meant her car, not the gorgeous hunk of a bad boy who’d just motored by looking too good for words. She had a bad case of Dan-on-the-brain-itis. She wondered if CVS has a shot for that?
Benji stood by the door of her BMW with a hopeful look. She shook her head. “Nice try.”
The teen’s shoulders slumped but he slid into the back seat without much complaint. She chanced one more look at Dan as he puttered away on his tricked-out Gator with Kai Costa riding shotgun. Even in a t-shirt and board shorts, a five-o’clock shadow darkening his face, he was the most handsome man she’d ever seen. She really had to get this fascination with him out of her head, a feat she knew to be im
possible. She’d been trying for over two decades. Ever since that first kiss…
Kaitlyn turned off the DVD player and ejected the disc of Sleeping Beauty. “I’ll be Princess Aurora, you be Prince Phillip,” she told Danny. She scrambled to the sofa and plopped down, crossing her arms over her chest as she closed her eyes. “Now you ride in on your horse and rescue me.”
Danny galloped around the room on his imaginary steed, making horsey noises.
“You can kiss me now.”
Danny stopped dead in his tracks. She cracked a lid open to see what he was doing. He looked horrified.
“Eww, no, I’m not kissing you.”
“Yes, you are, Danny. You’re a prince and you have to.” She puckered her lips.
“Says who?”
She sighed. Boys could be so stupid. “Disney says so.”
“But I don’t wanna.”
“If you don’t kiss me, I won’t wake up. Ever. You don’t want Male…Malic…the mean witch to win, do you?”
He glanced around the room. “But what if my brother sees me kissing a girl. He’ll make fun of me.”
“Your brother is out with my brother,” she reminded him. “He won’t see you.”
Danny hemmed and hawed and finally he stood beside her and bent down. “Close your eyes,” he ordered.
She snapped them shut and then Danny’s lips were pressed against hers. They felt funny but she liked it.
“How long do I have to do this?” he asked, his lips still pressed tightly against hers.
“For the rest of our lives,” she answered.
Kaitlyn smiled at the long-ago memory. She hadn’t thought about that kiss in a long time. She wondered why it chose today to pop into her brain. She shook her head to clear it. Once everyone was loaded in her car, she dropped Lauren off first since her house was close to the compound. Murphy, the Dianetti’s treasured black lab, loped out to meet her, his playful barks filling the air. Lauren crooned to him and scrubbed behind his ears before waving as Kait drove away. She glanced in the rear-view mirror to see both boys turned in the seat, watching until she disappeared from sight. They were whipped. Poor things. She knew the feeling.
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