THE WATCHERS: 6 Military Romance Bundle

by Kristina Weaver

  I end the call with a snort because that was such a lie. I just went and fell for King all over again, knowing we aren’t destined for some epic love story.

  I guess Mama was right, sometimes love can move mountains. Or make the sucker crumble into a little heap of emptiness.

  Chapter Fourteen

  King

  I’m so angry right now. I feel like I could punch something and not stop for the next hour. That little snot-nosed douche whom Kinsley almost tied herself to went and did it, didn’t he?

  After an hour of calls and hacking into his accounts, Jericho found a transfer of three grand to an account that looks a lot like it belongs to a man named George Neil, a rumored gang leader and all-around thug.

  The guy owns a strip club and is into some very illegal shit that I don’t even care about past the fact that one of Storm’s contacts let it drop that this sonofabitch has been looking for my girl because that shithead agreed to trade her to square his debt.

  At first I thought we could just pay the man the money, not that I wanted to, but fuck, I’d ante up and help the little shit if it keeps my girl off the chopping block with a gang of hoodlums.

  But this story about Neil wanting Kinsley—apparently, he’s so obsessed with getting his hands on her that he basically doesn’t even care about the money—has my hackles rising.

  That threw me some, I have to admit and part of me doubted the intel coming from Storm’s guy until I actually called this fuck and spoke to him, offering to wire the money to ensure that my girl isn’t targeted again as a way to get to Jon.

  He laughed his ass off and refused. That set Jericho off so much that twenty minutes later he hit on something that made chills skate down my spine.

  Neil isn’t sane. He can’t be because he’s been one of Kinsley’s clients at her firm for months. It makes me weak in the knees to think that he’s been seeing her regularly, for hours, for months, just watching her and getting himself as close to her as possible.

  That scares me and gives me pause because it suggests that he’s been playing games with her, as if he’s been watching her for far longer than this shit with her ex suggests.

  A man like Neil is a virus, one I won’t allow to touch Kinsley if I can help it.

  “This asshole is really annoying the shit out of me. What the hell was he doing going after her in her home?” Lex growls, his anger more than apparent.

  “My guess is that Jon called him and let it slip that the wedding was off.”

  “So? What sort of difference would that make if he’s already used Kinsley as some sort of collateral against his debt?”

  Jericho grunts, and I look over at him as he increases his speed, obviously sensing my restless tension and need to get this shit done fast so that I can get back to Kinsley and straighten out some of the shit I said earlier.

  I yelled at her, at a time when she was likely feeling vulnerable, but then again, so was I. She’d just told me we don’t have a future past the time she goes back to the city once this mess is sorted out. Then to top it all off, she gave me the answer I needed to make it possible for her to get back to the city.

  So basically, I’m going to facilitate her leaving me. Fucking great.

  “Look, as far as I can guess and this is just a guess, remember that, is this scumbag has been watching her for a long time. And yeah, I get that because the woman is gorgeous. Don’t you dare fucking tell Cleo I said that, or I’ll turn you into a ‘sitter’ and cut your dick off. Has anyone in this car even considered that Kinsley also happens to be a qualified moneyman? She’s a self-confessed genius—”

  “Almost.” Lex laughs, making me growl. “Shit man, just kidding. She’s a genius.”

  “Okay. Now couple that with the fact that this guy is connected to gang activity and has a lot of cash floating around that can’t be traced back to him, unless he’s got a hankering for three squares and an orange jumpsuit that his husband would delight in taking off him every night.”

  “Jesus. You think he’s taking her for business and pleasure?” Lex snarls, those eyes going dark with rage and a killing light I haven’t seen in him since we left the Army.

  Most people look at him and see the jokester, the charmer. But the fact is he’s lethal and has no mercy when he’s locked onto a target. I almost feel sorry for this Neil guy until it hits me that Lex won’t get to him first. I will.

  “Seems the most logical. Anyway, we have two choices here guys, so I think it’s time to make them. Blaze and Storm aren’t here to mediate and make the soft decisions, and I’m not sure I even want to advise y’all to go easy and follow the law here—not if those assholes wanted to snatch our girl and give her to some sick pig to rape and imprison,” Jericho snarls, his face a stony mask.

  I agree, though logically—and as a law-abiding citizen—I should really just go to the cops and have this taken care of. We’ll see. I have buddies in the CIA who know how to bury someone in prison without them ever going through a court.

  Like I said, we’ll see.

  “I screwed up with her earlier though. We were talking, and she pissed me off a little when she said our relationship was a quick affair and that she doesn’t trust me with her life,” I admit, blowing out a tired breath when Lex’s eyes narrow at me through the rearview mirror.

  “Dude, you deserve that shit. Now I’m not saying it’s totally all on you. Kins also has a lot to answer for as far as the way she’s handled her life goes, but if I recall, she did give you a shot that you turned down and then shat on when you threw Brenda in her face.”

  Jericho huffs and gives me a nasty look before facing forward again.

  “I know. But this is different, man.”

  “How? You ready to get married and have a life, or do you expect my little sister to just go along with being your girlfriend forever because you’ve got some bug up your ass about commitment? What difference would it make anyway, huh? It’s not like you’d let her go if she was yours anyway.”

  That’s not the problem! The problem is me. How many fucking times do I have to say it? And yes, even knowing that I’m the ass in this equation doesn’t make it easier for me to just drop everything and change.

  I don’t trust marriage. I’ve seen what it does when two people go into a lifetime commitment and change their minds. If I marry Kinsley, she’d be mine and no matter what happens—i.e., if she decides this is not for her—I wouldn’t divorce her or let her go anyway.

  And she’d hate me for that. No, the safest thing to do here would be to keep things simple. I just need her to understand that she has me and not getting married wouldn’t change that.

  I don’t answer Lex as we pull into the city and Jericho turns into the parking lot of a club that makes no bones about what it is. Three heavies are posted outside, and I see Jericho grin in anticipation as we all get out and check our clips in broad daylight, being sure to let the three idiots see our pieces.

  “Can’t—”

  The first guy doesn’t even finish what he’s saying before Jericho knocks him out and Lex and I take care of the other two.

  “Pussies. Come on, let’s get this shit done. Cleo’s making meatloaf and I like that shit.”

  “Yeah! Me too.”

  “You’re not invited, loser. I’m eating my meal and then my woman on the kitchen table after, so stay the fuck gone,” he grunts at Lex, making me laugh as we enter the dimly-lit shithole and make our way toward the back.

  Neil’s in his office and looks startled to see us, as I walk in, leaving the door wide open to let him see how easily my guys just took out his personal guard.

  “Wha—?”

  “Sit down, asshole,” I growl, watching the fat shit fall into his chair as sweat beads his brow.

  I flip the chair in front of his desk and take him in, sneering at his belly and thinning hair, my rage amping when it dawns on me that this lowlife, ugly asshole thinks he’s good enough for my Kinsley.

  “Now, we’re going to
get right down to business here and not waste anyone’s time. I called you about squaring a debt for Jon Messing.”

  “No.”

  “Now see, the thing is that I know what you think you’re getting out of this, but it ain’t happening, Neil. Kinsley Jacobs is mine. She’s not for sale, and I don’t give a shit what you think you can or cannot have. You have two choices here, three actually since I’m being so magnanimous,” I drawl, grinning when Lex and Jericho chuckle darkly.

  “You can take the money I offered and be satisfied with it and never cast eyes on what’s mine again, or you can push this issue, and I’ll either put a bullet in that fat fuckface of yours, or make it so that the only daylight you ever see again streams through a barred window in a two-by-six cell somewhere in a country you do not want to know exists. Three choices here. I’m being nice about giving you money to call it quits, but if you push the issue…”

  I trail off and let that sink in, examining the barrel of my gun with an intensity that borders on insane as he starts sweating and babbling loudly.

  “Jon swore to me she was mine if I forgave the money! I’ve waited months for that little bitch.”

  “But you were letting her get married?”

  “Only because Jon swore her brother would make life hell for us all if she just went missing. We were going to fake her death on the honeymoon, say she went under on some snorkeling trip or something and have her declared missing!”

  Well, Jon, I guess you just signed your own warrant, son, I think when Lex’s eyes go hard and he starts breathing so loud Neil whips his gaze up and curses, closing his eyes.

  “Yep, that’s me, shithead, the brother. King…”

  I just nod and dial my phone, saying one word before ending the call and smiling.

  “Take him.”

  ***

  Kinsley

  My house looks like a stampede of buffalo came through it, and what’s worse, it smells like bad food as I open the door and take in the carnage. My luggage is still outside where I left it after the cab dropped me at home, and I have the urge to just grab it and run back to King as the enormity of it all hits me.

  My life, much like the house, is a wreck. I’ve thought about everything that I said and everything that King said this morning, and part of me just wants to drop it and keep it locked up so that I can take those few more days or weeks with him and store up as many memories as I can.

  But the other part knows that it’s best to just end things now. Easier. Less messy because, Lord knows, that I do absolutely love King, and I don’t think I ever stopped.

  That means I’d sacrifice myself just to have him, and that I can’t do. I’d end up resenting him for not being what I need, and I’d rather not have him than hate him, which is ironic to me since I never once thought when we were younger that I could feel anything for him but love.

  I’ve grown a little. Maybe not always in the best ways, but in a way that makes me stronger and more determined than ever to be happy.

  Yes. I finally see the light, and my album? Dust people! Not literally. I mean, I have bad moments still and just the thought of tossing it forever makes my skin want to break out in hives.

  But I’ve decided not to follow everything in it.

  For instance, marriage. I won’t settle again just to keep to a schedule. If I do take the plunge—though God knows I can’t think of doing it after discovering that I never truly knew Jon, even after years with him—it will be because I love the guy, not to check something off a life list.

  Not that it matters any because, dammit, the whole concept of marriage is just ruined for me. I hadn’t thought about it that hard up till the long cab ride home, but it strikes me that I can’t ever put myself through that again.

  I’d constantly wonder about the man in my life. Not King, because the man is about as capable of cheating or lying as, well, he just isn’t capable of it. He may be an ass, but he’s honorable. And honest. To a fault.

  Which I like, but come on, the least the guy could have done when I said the L word is try to break it to me gently instead of ignoring it altogether.

  “Kinsley?”

  Jon’s voice comes from the kitchen, making me grimace, but I push down the irritation and walk in there. My body is fatigued suddenly at the thought of talking to him.

  He looks like shit, no joke. His hair is a greasy, rumpled mess that he’s obviously been pulling at, and his clothes are unkempt and creased. What brings me up short though is the sight of his bruised face.

  He’s got a black eye, his nose is swollen, and his mouth looks like he tried to make out with an attack dog.

  Serves him right, I think, battling a smirk as the thought of Lex pops into my head.

  “What happened to you?”

  He shrugs, his blue eyes bloodshot as he straightens from his perch against the counter and eyes me.

  “I couldn’t pay up since I had nothing to give to Neil, so he decided to ensure that I find what he wants,” he mutters.

  “Look, I’m sorry that you’re having trouble with that, but I have nothing to give you anymore, and the truth is, I don’t care what they do to you, Jon. You’re a liar and a thief, and I don’t want you anymore. All I want, the real reason I agreed to meet with you, is to tell you that you need to tell your friends that this house and the stuff in it isn’t yours. If they need things to hock or take as payment, they can take from you or even your parents, but this house…this is mine.”

  He smiles at that, making my skin crawl a little and shakes his head sadly, looking me up and down with a smug sense of satisfaction.

  “Like that will ever happen. I already have what they want from me, Kinsley. In fact, what they want from me just did me a favor and came right to me instead of staying in hiding where she was safe. Oh, come now, baby, you honestly never realized that it was you they were after? You think it takes five thugs to rob you and trash your house? Didn’t you hear Carlos that night?”

  Oh Lord! Yes, I-I heard him, and now that I’m letting myself think about it, I recall him telling that friend of his to keep looking till they found me.

  I never thought, but now…they came right upstairs first. Right into my bedroom instead of looking elsewhere because….

  “What did you do?”

  “Eh, I needed something Neil wanted real bad to keep myself in one piece, Kinsley. Come on, you never…Groen? You mean to tell me you never once did business with that guy and got the creeps with the way he looked at you?” he laughs, his tone astounded and a little manic.

  “Groen is a client,” I say, inching back a little when I spot something bulging beneath the tail of his shirt.

  “Nope! Not true. Groen—or Neil, really—saw you one day when he came to the house to personally collect from me. It was love at first sight! So sweet and disgusting, and also very fucking convenient for me because he made things real easy on me, Kinsley. See, I didn’t have to repay a cent…as long as I played along with his plans for you.”

  I’m shocked and a little confused to be honest, as I think back on that client and recall the way he always pulled out my chair for me and never once raised his voice. The man was a gentleman to the core, if a little sweaty and overweight, but then who was I to judge.

  He never got handsy or made a pass at me, something that is rare because most guys look at me and think I’m free game for their lechery until I dissuade them of that misconception.

  “Plans?”

  God this is ironic! Me, the planmaker being played by plans my ex and some fat gangster cooked up.

  I inch closer to the living room when he starts laughing, and I almost get to the end of the table when he sees me move and pulls out the gun, pointing it directly at me.

  “You going somewhere? I don’t think so, bitch! You see what they did to me after you dumped my ass and split town? I was pissing blood yesterday while I drove around looking for you. Nuh-uh. Stay there. I’ve already called Neil to let him know you’re back. Maybe that shith
ead brother of yours will understand that I’m not weak now, huh? Not that I’d ever tell that maniac a thing! Jesus. Come on, get the hell back in here until I can hand you over.”

  He’s lost his mind, I think as I take in the gun pointed right at me, the trembling in his hands, and the way his eyes dart around constantly. I’m not in a position to run. He’d shoot me in the back if I even try, but I am still curious.

  “I don’t get any of it. So, what, you sold me to your loan shark? To pay off a few measly thousand dollars of debt? And the money you stole from me…?”

  “I got a tip off about a poker game, but the buy in alone was ten grand. It was stupid, I admit it, but I have a real problem with gambling. By the time I took the money, I’d already convinced myself you wouldn’t know about it until it was too late. But come on, it’s not like you ever really use that much in one go, and I did cover my bases by leaving a good amount in there for groceries and gas. I thought you’d never notice until we went on the honeymoon and you saw the cards were maxed out.”

  Not notice? Shit, this man must be really out of his mind addicted to gambling if he convinced himself that I wouldn’t notice forty grand missing from my accounts.

  I’m a freaking accountant for Pete’s sake! I know my bank balance down to the last cent and always balance my checkbook just before payday.

  “You’re a complete moron, you know that? And then what, huh? Was I going to have an accident on the honeymoon? Is that why you kept pushing for the wedding to move up?”

  He shrugs and sighs derisively, his mouth curving in a smile that makes my blood boil.

  “Not an accident, exactly, just an opportunity for my new bride to get lost in the ocean, maybe swept away by the current or dragged under while the rest of us search diligently. Neil and his goons were going to snatch you before we even left the marina.”

  “My family—”

  “Would have kept looking when, in actuality, you’d already have been with Neil,” he cuts in, laughing softly. “And I’d have been the grieving husband, distraught by the loss of his beloved bride so soon into our marriage. Oh, come now, Kins baby, tell me you haven’t noticed my lackluster performance lately, or seen how disinterested I am. You really thought I’d spend the rest of my life married to a woman who won’t even touch my dick?”