by Diana Gardin
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Acknowledgments
1: Ronin
2: Olive
3: Ronin
4: Olive
5: Ronin
6: Ronin
7: Olive
8: Ronin
9: Olive
10: Ronin
11: Olive
12: Ronin
13: Olive
14: Ronin
15: Ronin
16: Olive
17: Ronin
18: Ronin
19: Olive
20: Ronin
21: Olive
22: Olive
23: Ronin
24: Ronin
25: Olive
26: Ronin
27: Olive
28: Ronin
29: Olive
30: Olive
31: Ronin
32: Olive
Epilogue: Ronin
A Preview of “Mine to Save”
About the Author
Also by Diana Gardin
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Newsletter
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2017 by Diana Gardin
Preview of Mine to Save copyright © 2017 by Diana Gardin
Cover design by Elizabeth Turner
Cover copyright © 2017 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.
Hachette Book Group supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.
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First published as an ebook and as a print on demand: September 2017
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ISBNs: 978-1-4555-7155-0 (ebook), 978-1-4555-7156-7 (print on demand trade edition)
E3-20170809_DA_NF
Acknowledgments
First of all, I’d like to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave me the desire and skill to write. Through Him I can do all things!
My family is always there for me when I put down my computer and unplug from all things writing. I’m so thankful they’re along for this ride with me.
Thank you to my agent, Stacey Donaghy. You are more than an agent: You are my friend, and I’m so very thankful to have found you. I am even more thankful that you’re always on my side.
To my fabulous editor on Promise to Defend, Lexi Smail: Working with you is such an enlightening experience. Your thoughts and ideas on the world of NES are invaluable, and your expertise when it comes to how to make a story take off is something I could never trade. Thank you for everything!
To the team at Forever Romance: You are all such a well-oiled machine. From editing, to copyediting, to cover design, and all of the other inner workings I don’t even get to see, you are all fabulous and I’m lucky to be a part of it all. Thank you for your efforts on my behalf!
To my favorite sounding board and the girl who’s become one of my very best friends, Sybil Bartel: I don’t know how it happened, but you’re like the other half of my writing brain. You’re there at all hours of the day and night whether I need to get an idea out, or I’m completely out of them. I only hope I help you as much as you help me! Love you, girl.
To the very best group of writers a girl could ever ask for, the NAC: Ara, Meredith, Kate, Bindu, Sophia, Laura, Missy, Jessica, Amanda, Jamie, Marie, and Marnee—you are my very best source of sanity. Without you, this business would have ended me long ago! Love y’all!
To blogger, publicist, and host extraordinaire, Tracy Comerford: Thank you for everything you do! You help spread the word about my books far and wide, and because of you I have an audience for these books I never would have found otherwise. Thank you for your never-ending support and patience.
To the Dolls—the best fan group a girl could ask for. Talking to you guys every day, sharing my fictional world with you, receiving your feedback, it all keeps me going! You all recharge me and refuel me when I need it, and your support and positivity makes this job so much more fun! Thank you all for being you!
To the bloggers who have supported me throughout this journey: There are too many of you to name, but you know who you are. You have read every single book, given me great reviews, and shared my work with as many people as you can. I couldn’t do any of this without your help and your enthusiasm. A thousand thank-yous.
And last but never least, to the readers who find their way to Wilmington, North Carolina, to hang out with the sexy men of Night Eagle Security and the women who are strong enough to love them. I hope you fall in love with this world as much as I have, because without you I’d be nothing. <3
1
Ronin
The sky above me is deep purple, especially beautiful tonight with the generous dotting of stars. There are no clouds to block the glittering specks of light overhead, and I appreciate the view more than I usually would.
Tonight is a celebration of love, something I tend to avoid if I can.
The crisp North Carolina night hugs the wedding guests as they twirl around the dance floor or congregate at the tables, talking and laughing with one another like they don’t have a care in the world. I spot the members of my team at Night Eagle Security gathered at one table, and my gaze roams over the group as they burst into raucous laughter.
They’re enjoying their night. The thought almost makes me smile.
As Jeremy Teague’s best man, I’ve enjoyed myself, too. Watching him fall in love with his high school sweetheart all over again has been fun. He never thought it would happen for him, thought he and Rayne were over a long time ago. When she strolled back into town with their eight-year-old son, Decker, in tow, Jeremy about lost his mind.
I was proud of the way he stepped right into that father role like it was easy. Like becoming a parent to a son you previously knew nothing about was a cakewalk. I knew it wasn’t, but for him the choice was clear. He wanted that life with Rayne and Decker.
And now he has it.
My eyes find them, swaying on the dance floor. Rayne’s head rests on Brains’s—the nickname he earned as a gadgets guru on our private security team—shoulder while his hands wander up and down her back. It looks like they move as one unit, and I know that everything will be different now. She’s his number one partner in life now, not me. And that’s how it should be.
If I ever thought there was a chance I’d have that opportunity again myself, I’d take it.
But some people only get that kind of pure, unequaled love once in a lifetime.
I’d already had mine.
My gaze suddenly sweeps toward the sound of giggling, not far from the newlywed couple. I zero in on a flash
of dark red hair pulled to the side, exposing a creamy expanse of graceful neck. Olive Alexander, Rayne’s sister, twirls Decker around in a circle, and then ducks as he does the same for her. They’re both grinning like mad and her dark, blue eyes sparkle in the moonlight. White, glowing paper lanterns all around the yard mingle with the twinkling lights strung from the trees, and the effect it has on Olive takes my fucking breath away.
I study the pair for a moment. Olive takes both of Decker’s hands as the band launches into a lively tune and the silliness she gives him suits her. I’ve met Olive a handful of times, and even though her beauty always stunned me, I never took her for the laid-back, silly, hands-on-aunt type.
Apparently, I’d been wrong.
Two deep dimples appear in her cheeks as she drops her head back and laughs at something the kid did, and I find myself lost in a sea of thoughts. How often does she smile like that? When will she be leaving to go back to Europe? Has she always had those goddamn dimples?
“She’s pretty.” A soft, matter-of-fact voice reaches me, and I glance to the side and down to see that Sayward Diaz has crept up beside me.
I’ve only ever seen Sayward in a pair of jeans and sneakers with a hoodie at the Night Eagle office. Tonight, she chose to forgo her usual uniform and wear a simple turquoise dress that sweeps the ground at her feet, showing off the curves she apparently rocked underneath the jeans all this time.
“You look good tonight, Diaz.” I catch her eye, making sure she knows I mean it.
Sayward shrugs. “Thanks. Everyone is supposed to dress up for a wedding, right? I bought this today.” She fingers the soft material of her dress, and I bite back a smile.
Social graces aren’t really Sayward’s strong suit. As a consultant for Night Eagle Security, she’s a legit computer hacker whose skills can’t be beat by anyone. But she’s easy to be around, and works her ass off, so I’d never complain about having her around.
I raise my bourbon to my lips and sip, appreciating the fiery path it burns down my throat. “Well…you’re rocking the shit outta that dress. Not every woman could.”
Now her eyes meet mine, like she’s only just figured out that I’m complimenting her. A small smile works its way onto her lips. “Thanks, Swagger.”
Lifting my chin at her in acknowledgment of my own NES nickname, I indicate the table where our friends are sitting. “Shall we?”
I hold out my arm, and she looks at it for a second like she’s wondering what to do with it before she finally slips her hand through and lets me lead her toward the table. I pull out a chair for her beside Dare Conners’s wife, Berkeley, and take the empty one opposite Grisham Abbot. His fiancée, Greta, grins at me.
“You taking all of this in, Ronin?” her sweet voice asks.
Shrugging, I down the rest of my drink and contemplate getting back up for a refill. “It was a good wedding.”
Berkeley leans over Dare to peer at me. “The boys of NES are dropping like flies, Ronin. Don’t tell me you’d never consider settling down again.”
Dare stares at her. “His nickname is Swagger.”
I roll my eyes. “You know that has nothing to do with women.”
No, I earned my nickname for the confidence I carry when making a man scream like a crying baby at my mercy. My claim to fame? All the ways I can torture a man without actually killing him. Because in interrogation, the goal is always to make the prisoner talk. If he’s dead, he can’t talk. I have a magic touch in this area. Something I’m proud of? Maybe not. But afterward, I’m able to walk with my head high because what I’ve done furthers the greater good. And that’s something I can live with when my head hits the pillow each night.
Grisham, or Ghost as we call his stealthy ass, snorts. “Definitely has nothing to do with women.”
My team is aware that I already settled down once. It’s just not something we talk about, and that’s my choice. It seems like a lifetime ago, now, but my heart went into the ground at the same time that my wife did.
Game over.
“I don’t think that whole happily-ever-after shit is for me.” I keep my voice low as I answer Berkeley’s question, averting my gaze.
Inside, my chest tightens, the feeling of my heart squeezing dangerously tight overwhelming me. The emotion, the grief and fury that I thought I recovered from a long time ago, resurfaces and threaten to pull me under.
Immediately, Berkeley’s whiskey-colored eyes go all soft and gooey and her bottom lip disappears into her mouth. “You don’t know that. Everyone deserves love, Ronin.”
Shaking my head, I scan the ongoing party. If she thinks I deserve love, it’s because she doesn’t know the truth behind my story. I couldn’t protect my wife the first time around. Pretty sure guys like me don’t get a second shot. And I’ve accepted that.
I incline my head toward Brains and his brand-new wife, who are now standing beside a small table on the patio. Their faces are masks of utter concentration as they work together to guide a huge knife through a towering white cake. The crowd erupts in cheers when they succeed, and a photographer snaps their picture. I’ve never seen such a look of pure, unadulterated joy on my best friend’s face. There’s a peace about him he never had before.
I’m saved from having to answer Berkeley when Decker throws his little body into my side. “Uncle Ronin! You gonna eat cake?”
Looking at him, I’m pretty sure his cheeks might split open from the size of his smile. The kid just got everything every other child in the world wants. His mom and his dad together under one roof. Holding out my fist, he bumps it and then we blow it up.
“Cake? Heck yeah. We gotta have cake.”
Decker nods, serious as a lethal injection. “Yeah. We gotta have cake.”
Olive saunters up behind him, leaning low over his shoulder to kiss his cheek. She pauses there, her deep sapphire eyes meeting mine for a brief pause. I take the time to notice for the first time that there’s a dusting of freckles, delicate and sparse, sprinkling her nose and cheeks. That, combined with the dimples, the huge, deep-set eyes, and the striking color of her hair, are enough to keep me locked in her stare.
Rising, she doesn’t look away. “Hello, Ronin.”
Olive’s voice is a lot different from her sister’s. Where Rayne has one of those throaty, sultry voices that screams sex appeal without even trying, Olive’s voice is purer, sweeter. It makes me want to figure out all the ways I can dirty her up. I stand, holding Decker by the shoulders, and face her.
“Hey. Jeremy told me you’d be here for the wedding. How long you in town for?”
Her eyes go cloudy, and I zero in on her expression because something in it falters before she wraps it up tight and offers a strained smile. “Oh, um…I finished with the job in Paris a couple months ahead of schedule. My, uh, client…died. So, yeah. I’m back in Wilmington working out of our office here.”
I know that Olive is an interior designer, and that the firm she works for has international clients. It’s how she and Berkeley met, and how Rayne ended up working at Night Eagle when she arrived back in town. Beyond that, I don’t know much of anything about Olive. There’s something eating at her now, though. That much is obvious.
“I see.” I nod, holding her gaze once more. But before I can get a read on her, she glances down at Decker.
“Ready for cake?”
He pumps his head up and down, turning toward me. “Let’s go, Uncle Ronin.”
Olive lifts her brows, her expression surprised. “He calls you Uncle Ronin?” she asks as we follow the little boy toward the patio.
I chuckle, rubbing the back of my neck with a hand. “Yeah. Brains’s fault. I don’t mind, though.”
She frowns. “Brains?”
I smile down at her. The muscles it takes to do so feel unused, rusty. I’ve smiled at plenty of women before, just not women who affect me the way Olive seems to. “Nickname. We all have one.”
She nods, understanding dawning across her face. “It’s a mi
litary thing.”
“Yep.”
Walking onto the patio, Decker rushes straight into Rayne’s arms, and Jeremy edges toward me. We both watch as Decker stands between Rayne and Olive, both women showering the eight-year-old with loving attention. When Olive brushes a lock of his hair off his forehead, my chest pulls tight.
The fuck? It’s the sentimentality of this day, drawing me in and fucking with my head. That’s all it can be.
“I’m a lucky bastard.” Jeremy folds his arms, and when I glance at him, his eyes are locked on his family.
The family he never even knew he needed but is now willing to die to protect.
I watch them, too. My eyes keep straying to Olive, who looks so comfortable with Decker.
“You talked to her tonight?” Jeremy asks suddenly.
Glancing away from Olive, I find that he’s staring directly at me. “Who? Olive?”
He nods, studying me. “Yeah.”
Shaking my head, I look back at the two women and Decker. “Not really. Why?”
He turns away from the women, and I follow suit. Walking a few feet from the patio, he starts talking. “I don’t know, man. She got into town last night. I picked her up from the airport, and she was…off. I mean, I don’t know her that well. But she seems worried.”
The protective instinct inside of me, the one that’s lain dormant now for exactly seven years, lifts its head. “You ask her?”
He shakes his head slowly. “Didn’t know how to. I mean, we knew each other back in high school because of Rayne, but we weren’t close. And we certainly aren’t best friends now. But she’s my sister-in-law, and she means a lot to Rayne. I want to know what’s going on with her. But I don’t think she’d tell me if I asked.”
“Why do you say that?”
He runs a hand through his long hair. “Olive is…capable. She likes to do everything herself. She likes to be in control. At least that’s how Rayne tells it. I doubt she would respond well if she thought I was stepping in where I don’t belong, or trying to help her when she thinks she’s got it handled.”
I nod. I get that. Every vibe I’ve ever gotten off of Olive tells me she’s independent as fuck. She’s always well put-together, she drives a nice car, she owns her own house. And she has a successful career. So if she were in trouble, she wouldn’t necessarily ask for help.