by D. C. Stone
“Yeah?”
“Dwayne,” a low voice rumbled, one he hadn’t heard in months.
“Chris?” He pulled his cell back, looked at the blocked display and put it back to his ear. “Where are you? I thought you were out of touch for a few weeks.” Assigned to a Special Forces team, both Chris and his military working dog Delta Alpha two niner, affectionately called Dumb Ass amongst the team, had been conducting some super-secret black ops mission in Afghanistan for the past few weeks.
“I’m—” A racking cough sounded down the line, weak and wet, and Dwayne stood straighter, suddenly alert. He didn’t sound right. Something was off.
“Chris,” he demanded, this time with a bit of force due to fear.
A wheeze came down the line and his stomach turned to a knot. “Chris!” he shouted.
“I’m here.” Another cough. “Fuck, damn, shit! Argghhhh!”
“What the hell, Chris?” He looked around, searching for the answer to why his brother sounded like he was on his deathbed.
A slow and ragged breath rang down the line. “Give me a second, douche bag.”
Dwayne breathed out a sigh. The tension in his shoulders eased slightly. He sounded hurt, sounded like hell. But if he was using his term of endearment, as he so liked to call it, surely it couldn’t be too serious.
Another big breath pushed through the phone. “My team was attacked,” Chris said.
Dwayne’s heart stuck in his throat. “Shit, are you okay?”
He coughed. “Peachy.”
“Ass. Seriously? Where are you?” Dwayne asked.
“Ramstein.”
“That’s Germany.”
“No shit, Sherlock.”
Dwayne sighed. Jesus. His heart was beating out of his chest and all he could get out of his brother were a few simple words. As if the sun was shining in la-la land and all was hunky-dory. Brooke moved off the bed and grabbed a robe. He jammed his legs inside his pants.
“I don’t know how long it’ll take me to get there, but I’m sure I’ll know in a few hours.”
“What?” Chris asked.
“I’m coming to you. Ramstein, right? That’s what you said?”
“Just like that, you’re going to drop everything and come to Germany?” He asked the question as if he was asking someone if they needed a glass of water.
“You’re my brother, you asshole,” Dwayne snapped.
“Fuck.” Chris sighed. “Look, I’m sorry. They’ve just given me some really good drugs and I’m a bit loopy at the moment.”
He sat on the bed and dropped his head. “Tell me what you need.”
“For you not to get on a plane. I’m coming home,” Chris answered, his statement so simple, but everything so, so wrong.
“You’re coming home?” Dwayne asked again, not knowing why he was repeating things, but needing to understand what was going on.
“Didn’t I just say that? DA is coming with me. He’s hurt.” His brother’s voice cracked and Dwayne sucked in a breath. Never, ever had he seen Chris break down. No tears when he broke his arm, none when Jessica Sorstein broke up with him in high school, not even when he left for basic training. Never.
“Hell, Chris,” he breathed. “How bad?”
“Bad. Look, I called you first because I need you to tell Mom and I know you’ll be able to keep her calm. I also need a favor.”
“What’s that?”
“Get my place open. I’ve got someone from the unit coming by to make sure DA will have what he needs, and I wouldn’t normally bother you with this…”
“Consider it done,” Dwayne answered. “Anything you need, man. What else?”
“He jumped in front of me, the dumb ass.” Chris sobbed on the other end and Dwayne’s heart cracked open.
“Who did? Who jumped in front of you? And what were they doing? Why?”
“I can’t talk,” he answered, his voice rough and broken. “When I get home, you’ll hear all about it. We’ll be there in a week.”
Dwayne went to respond, to ask more questions, but the line had cut out, his brother’s way of saying goodbye. He looked down at his phone, stared at it, willing it to ring again, but silence spread through the room.
Beside him, Brooke touched his shoulder, her eyes sad, her face concerned. “What happened?”
“I don’t know,” he answered. “But we’re about to find out.”
Epilogue
A week after everything in his life changed, after he changed, Dwayne walked up behind Brooke, who sat in a chair and typed furiously over the keys. He grinned, loving that she’d thrown herself back into finishing her articles. Sure, she’d hemmed and hawed for the first few days and complained that she needed to dedicate her attention to Hailey and the struggles she was going through. But, after both he and Hailey sat her down, she’d finally given in and agreed. This was her time, a chance for her to pursue her dreams and follow what she’d always wanted. Plus, while her editor had been giving her some time to recoup, there were still deadlines to meet and a promise left unanswered.
The thing he’d been surprised about was her revelation that she was through fighting against her original idea of writing. With a few tweaks, her “creative juices” had flowed to allow her articles to practically jump off the screen. Her shock on how well the words came out was almost as strong as his, but that was his Brooke. Her ability to adapt to change and overcome struggles was something he loved most about her.
And there was that word, or rather, that feeling again.
Love.
How about that?
He brushed his lips against her neck. She shivered and her hands paused on the keyboard. A smile spread across his mouth.
“Come on, preciosa, it’s time. They’re waiting for us.”
Her gaze darted to the clock on the wall and widened. “I totally didn’t notice the time. Is Hailey ready?”
He nodded.
“Okay, give me five minutes to freshen up and we’ll go,” she said.
She jumped out of the chair and he left her to do what she needed while he went to the front door and grabbed his jacket. His parents, ever loving and completely accepting, had announced they were throwing Hailey a birthday celebration. They’d wanted this girl they’d known for so long to have a party with family, nothing too big, but rather smaller and intimate, just the family together showing they loved her and that everyone would support her through her struggles.
Hailey, sitting on the couch and typing on her phone, stood and made her way over to grab her jacket.
“She coming?” she asked.
He took in the dark shadows, lighter than last week but still present, under her eyes. She wore black leggings with a silvery-purple tunic that fell over her hips. Hanging from her neck were three thin silver chains and some sort of green jewel at the end. She looked like a tired teenager, and no one the wiser would have guessed all she’d been through in the past month. Her strength, the strength of her mother, and his support would get them through this. He’d make sure of it.
They were establishing a routine, and while Brooke was worried about Hailey and what she’d think if she caught him in their house in the same clothes the next morning, he still stayed the night, only to sneak out before the sun rose.
It was just two days earlier when Hailey had been waiting at the front door with a comical expression on her face, that they’d been busted and set straight.
She’d welcomed him into her home, just as she’d always accepted him as a part of her life. It spoke of their relationship, one he felt growing stronger each day.
“Yeah, she’ll be out soon. Are you gonna be okay with this gathering?” he asked, cupping her cheek. His thumb brushed the dark bruises under her eyes.
She tilted her face until it rested fully in his palm. “I’ll be fine. It’s going to be nice to get out for a bit.”
Dwayne gave a gentle tug, and she went willingly into his arms. He held her, still feeling the overwhelming relief that she was back home safe. “Le
t me know if it gets to be too much. We’ll come home and make s’mores.”
She giggled and pulled back to grab her scarf. “Deal.”
Brooke rushed down the hall, tossed them both a smile, and grabbed her jacket. Within minutes, they were on the road and pulling up to his parents’ house. An old style colonial, the twin beams framing the front door rose with a colorful display of Christmas lights. The curtains to the bay windows were open and showing several of his brothers walking around with their dates, laughing and having a good time. Inside his chest, warmth grew, a statement of how much he considered this home, a place to be loved and safe. He wanted to build this same environment for the three of them.
He took Brooke’s hand and led them inside and out of the cold. The scent of baked potatoes, warm turkey, and spices filled the air.
“Oh my God, if that tastes as good as it smells, I may just pass on those s’mores, D.”
He winked at Hailey and nodded. “You’ve had her cooking before. Is there any doubt?”
She shook her head and hung up her jacket, then immediately walked toward the kitchen. Cheers of Hailey’s name filled the foyer seconds later and Brooke chuckled next to him.
“She’s got your parents wrapped around her finger, you know.”
He shrugged. “I think it might go both ways, if you ask me. But even if it doesn’t, they love her and are here to support her, too.”
Brooke’s eyes turned sad as a shadow passed through them. “I know. And God, I’m so grateful.” She bit her lip.
He finished hanging his jacket and turned to tug her into his arms. “Hey, none of that. She’s going to be fine. She’s going to get past this, and we’ll all see to it.”
Brooke tugged at the top of his sweater and studied something there as if it held the world’s secrets. “I know,” she said. “I’m just worried about how this is all going to proceed. She’s doing so well. Her nightmares don’t seem as bad anymore, and she’s even talking about going back to school after winter break.”
“Yes, but why do I hear something else in there that you’re not telling me?”
She sighed. “Her case.”
Ah. Yes. They’d gotten a call yesterday from the prosecutor’s office handling the case. While the attorney understood what Hailey had been through, while he promised to use extreme care, they still wanted her to testify in a few months. Brooke had vehemently said no way, no how, but Hailey had surprisingly been the one to break that argument up. She’d said she wanted to do whatever she could in order to make sure other girls didn’t go through what she went through.
“What if it messes with her recovery?” Brooke asked, bringing his attention back to the present.
He echoed her sigh and squeezed her tighter. “Look, she wants to do this, and if she thinks she’s strong enough to handle it, then we have to give her as much support as we can to get through it. If she has a moment of weakness, we’ll handle that as it comes. We can’t keep sheltering her from everything. We need to let her live her life and make her own decisions.”
Brooke frowned and glanced up from beneath long, brown lashes. “Since when did you become the all-knowing? Do you have kids somewhere I don’t know about?”
He choked on a laugh.
“What?” he asked.
The side of her mouth tipped up wryly. “That seemed like some advice found in one of those parenting books. And it’s good advice, Dwayne.”
His cheeks heated and he shifted. “It’s not from anywhere but from what I’ve been taught, what I’ve learned in my own life, sweetheart.”
She smiled and lifted on her toes to brush a kiss over his lips. “It works. Thank you.”
She went to pull away but he had none of that. He fisted her hair and pressed his mouth back to hers, kissed her deep and hard, right there in his parents’ foyer, where at any moment anyone could walk in. He didn’t care, though. All he cared about was drowning in this woman. In the taste of mint in her mouth, on the velvety stroke of her tongue against his, in the warmth she gave him even on the coldest night.
A throat cleared. Brooke pressed her hands against his chest and jumped back. A quick glance at her face showed it turning two different shades of pink. Cute.
“Duuuuude,” Mike drawled, leaning against the frame of the doorway. He lifted one brow high and smiled. “Feeling your girl up with Mom in the other room? Ballsy, man. Big time.”
Dwayne snorted and opened his mouth, but Brooke jumped in before him.
“He wasn’t feeling me up.”
Mike turned his amber gaze toward Brooke, and Dwayne faced her, mouth agape. He had no clue why she’d straight up lied, because yes, he had been feeling her up. And he’d been two seconds away from closing them both away in the hallway bathroom for a more in-depth discovery.
“Brooke,” Mike said with a deep laugh.
She blew air into her pink cheeks and waved her hands in front of her face. “Whatever.” She looked anywhere but at him and Mike. Dwayne grinned. Not only was she embarrassed they’d gotten caught—which had happened more often than not in this house, with six boys and a happily married couple—but she was a horrible liar and fidgeting under their gazes.
Again, cute.
He grabbed her hand, tossed a look to Mike and led her down the hall. Once the room opened up, before them spread the family and dining rooms. His dad, Luke, Jake, and Trent were watching some game on the big screen in the family room. The deep baritone of the announcer hardly reached his ears, as above their heads were the speakers, which were connected to the house’s stereo system. A raspy female voice cut through the chatter, football, and just overall business of the house.
In the kitchen to his left, Charlie sat with his mom, Hailey, and Matt, who was giving puppy dog eyes and trying to steal a deviled egg from the container in her hands. She laughed and held the dish out for Matt and he made a show of worshiping her feet, professing his love and undying affection.
Dwayne shook his head, laughing at the scene. His family, both legally and—with a quick glance at Charlie—from a meaningful friendship. He took in a breath, finally feeling as if he could take a deep breath, the first in forever. A weight on his shoulders lifted. It didn’t leave completely, and with just a look at Hailey, he knew why, but it still lifted from his shoulders and a sense of peace moved into him. He could get used to this, life in a warm home with a warm woman in his bed, one he not only loved as his friend but also admired for her strength. His family opened their arms yet again and accepted more into the clan.
It was how life should be lived.
“All right, let’s eat,” Karen called. Everyone turned from what they were doing and grabbed a dish to set on the long, ten-seater, oak table that sat between the two rooms.
Dwayne released Brooke’s hand to help his mom with the turkey and frowned after he set it down. He wasn’t a math genius, but even he could count. There were eleven in the room, yet only ten chairs sat around the table. Chris hadn’t made it home yet, just another troubling thought in the back of his mind, but with his mom and dad, Charlie and Trent, Luke, Matt, Jake, Mike, Brooke and Hailey, then himself, it made eleven.
He glanced across the table. “Luke, grab the computer chair from the office, will you?”
Luke shook his head and reached for a piece of turkey, which surprisingly his mom allowed. “Why? I’m not staying.”
Dwayne’s eyes widened just as Hailey asked, “What?”
Luke shifted his gaze from Hailey and back to Dwayne. “I thought I told you, bro, I gotta jet. I’m back on assignment and have a mission that requires me to be on a plane in three hours. I don’t have time to eat.”
“Oh, nonsense,” Karen chirped. “I’ll make you some sandwiches to go. You still need to pack, right?”
Luke glanced at his mom. “Yeah, I’m heading up now. And thanks, Ma.”
“Of course, my son.”
Dwayne stared after Luke in concern. He knew his baby brother was a grown man now, understood they al
l had dangerous jobs, but with everything else happening, he didn’t feel as if he’d gotten the chance to catch up. He missed his brother, hated that their time had been cut short, but vowed to make sure they met up soon.
At last, he sat down for a feast and celebration.
* * * *
Twenty minutes later, Luke stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel. His body hummed with the pulse of excitement. Half that excitement was because of his mission coming up, something so secret they decided to brief him only in person.
That should have been enough.
It wasn’t.
The other half of this zing, one that sparked along every inch of his skin as if he were suddenly sensitive to any touch, was because of the female sitting downstairs.
Hailey.
“Fuck,” he grumbled and rubbed his face viciously with the towel.
Getting away was going to be good. Sure, he would miss the hell out of his family, but he wouldn’t last another day in Hailey’s presence. He felt like a damn pervert. And being the man he was, liking the shit he did and seeing the stuff he had, the fact he felt like that spoke volumes.
Each time he looked at her, he flashed back to that dark room in the club. His vision tunneled until it was only the two of them. And her scent invaded his space, even from twenty feet across the room. It wasn’t just her visual presence that drew him, but more, he knew without looking when she’d enter the room. He could feel her.
After he dried off, he snapped the towel around his waist and ground his teeth together, sat his knuckles on the counter and looked hard at his reflection in the mirror. He didn’t look like a pedophile. Cocking his head, he changed the angle, searching for some clue, something that explained this unrealistic attraction he had to a damn eighteen-year-old. His hair was cut close to his head. Darker now that it was wet, it looked the color of the sky on a moonless night. He stared hard at his reflection, the swirling silver of his eyes something his mother loved, hell, something that had most women tossing themselves at his feet to get a close look at.
He had a strong jaw, high cheekbones, and was the only Gonzalez brother who hadn’t had his nose broken, so it was straight and narrow, looking to be on the opposite path than he was treading with his control. He felt as if he were in a maze, dodging temptation and lust, bucking out of the way of any contact with one Hailey Mason.