No Good Dead (Bad to Be Good #1)

by Dana Volney

  “Gone. Like you all should be.”

  “We have another person that needs our help.” Claire poked her head over the top of the couch.

  Now she had gone to the dark side. Claire, of all people.

  “Nope. That wasn’t our agreement, and I’ve already taken another job. Get out.”

  “Just hear us out,” Samson said.

  “Not you, too.” He side-eyed his brother.

  “It wasn’t so bad working together. It would also be nice to stay in one place for a while.”

  “Taking down Hume was enjoyable, and I’m up for dishing out our brand of justice to people who can’t get it another way.” Rife extended his arm along the back of the couch.

  Okay, it hadn’t been all bad. He liked these people—he could stand them for longer periods of time anyway. And he trusted them. Fuck, he was going soft in his old age.

  He let out a long breath. “What do we have?” There was no use in fighting and the change of pace was welcomed although he wouldn’t be admitting that out loud any time soon.

  “A guy who was fleeced by a pyramid schemer and can’t prove anything legally.” Milo perked up from the table where Sabene was set up.

  Even he was bought in to all of this.

  “And you know this how?” Able asked.

  “Because I know the thief. Old associate. She’d take her dead grandma’s ring off of the corpse to make a buck. This poor fellow is in a bad way without us.” Milo pointed to the screen and a photo of a beautiful black haired woman.

  “She’s working with a couple others at this point, and I think I know who they’re going to hit next.” Sabene took over the briefing.

  “Can I talk to you a sec?” Samson asked Able and pointed to the kitchen.

  “What’s going on? Besides all of this?” Able glanced around at the excited chatter in the room.

  “You should’ve stayed and had drinks last night.” Samson grinned. “Where is Teagan?”

  Able ran his fingers down his goatee. “I told you. Gone.”

  “You just let her leave?” Samson grabbed grapes from the fridge and set the bowl on the counter.

  “I wasn’t going to kidnap her.”

  “Maybe you should’ve.” Samson wiggled his eyebrows and popped a grape in his mouth.

  Able rolled his eyes and reached for the fruit. “It’s for the best.”

  “People say that. But it rarely means that.”

  Sabene approached and handed him a piece of paper while the group was discussing the best way to con Milo’s former acquaintance.

  “What’s this?” He looked down at the black penned address.

  “Teagan’s location.” She rolled her eyes. “Approximately. She’s still on the move. I’ll let you know when she stops longer than twenty minutes.”

  “I didn’t ask for this.”

  “Verbally maybe.” She grabbed the bowl of grapes and went back to her table.

  Teagan was heading down I-95. She’d made it to Fayetteville, North Carolina, already. Where in the hell was she going?

  “Go, man. You’re seriously going to regret it if you don’t.” Samson shoved a hand into his jeans pocket.

  “She made her choice, and I’m going to respect that.” God, he sounded like some kind of wimpy asshole.

  “Did you ask her to stay?”

  Not in so many words. He had asked her to stay the night though. Which she hadn’t fully done.

  “Then why would she not leave?” Samson continued. “The op is over.”

  The mission was over and Able had hoped the way he felt about her was just as short-lived.

  Samson had fallen silent. He was watching Claire. Able knew that look—it’s how he felt. In love and lost. He met Samson’s gaze for a beat then headed to the stairs.

  He fired up his Hummer and pulled onto the ramp to I-95 south. He picked up his phone to call Teagan. Fuck. He didn’t have her number. He didn’t even know if she had a new phone yet. Sabene must be tracking her credit cards or had repositioned fucking satellites to find her.

  Didn’t matter. He’d drive all day and night to find her. She was worth it. If he asked her to stay and she said no, then he wouldn’t have to spend the rest of his life pining for Teagan Wyatt.

  * * *

  Teagan changed the radio station for the umpteenth time. After leaving Able’s fortress, she’d called Uber and made it to her apartment, grabbed her spare set of keys, and left. She didn’t take anything. She didn’t want any of her furniture. Her prized possessions were already loaded in her car: her mementos, clothes, and things that weren’t replaceable. Where she was going she might not even need furniture.

  After twenty miles heading west, she could list twenty-five reasons why going back to Iowa was the worst. So she’d turned around, got on I-95 and headed south—to warmth.

  She’d be damned if she was just going to hang around Arlington like some lovesick puppy waiting for Able to ask her to stay. He was a direct man—if he’d cared beyond their short tryst, he would’ve said something.

  She had gained something from all of this. Her life. A real life. Not one where she floated from one thing to the next. Although it seemed she still might do that for a while, it wasn’t what she wanted for herself anymore. She was going to do some soul searching and figure out what she wanted to do, find something she was good at in a creative field and go for it. He’d given her that confidence.

  * * *

  Able slid his Tom Ford sunglasses on and got back on I-95 in Georgia. He should’ve waited for her to stop and then fly down to meet her instead of driving and being alone with his thoughts. Eighties’ rock and roll stations could only get a guy’s mind off of a girl for a couple of minutes.

  Fuck, he missed her already. Was that even possible? She’d been out of his life for eleven hours, he’d been chasing her now for over five, and he could already feel the emptiness in his chest. Sabene was giving him regular updates, and the last one was to a motel Teagan had checked into in Jacksonville, Florida. He was going to get some sun after all—sun he wouldn’t want to share with any other female besides Teagan.

  Holy mother of God, he was in love with Teagan. This whole time he hadn’t noticed that she’d inserted herself into his life in a way no other woman had or could. Not just in his home but his mind and heart as well.

  He’d let Teagan leave. He wouldn’t stop her from doing what she wanted. There was no way he was going to let her make that choice, however, without being fully informed. He owed himself that much.

  * * *

  There was a knock on her door. She glanced at the bedside alarm. It was 10:45 p.m. She had another twelve hours and fifteen minutes before check-out. No one should be coming around this late.

  Knuckles pounded on the door again.

  Had she been followed? Her heart rate kicked up and her palms started to sweat. Did Hume still have people out there who wanted revenge? She glanced around the room. She didn’t have anything to defend herself with.

  “Teagan. It’s Able.”

  Her lungs instantly filled with relief.

  Although he had probably just tracked her down to give her all those clothes he’d bought for her. Or something logical like that.

  She opened the door and the flood of humid night air carried his scent.

  “Hi.” She gripped the door handle. That was lame. She stood to the side so he could come in.

  “Hi.” His gaze fixated on her suitcase as he turned to face her in the small space between the bed and television stand. “Where are you going?”

  “Home,” she lied and closed the motel door.

  “Where’s that?”

  She started to smile at him, but it just felt too sad so she stopped. “Iowa.”

  “Iowa.” He repeated in his matter-of-fact voice. The voice he’d used when he was setting up plans for the team. He had on his black jacket, his hair pulled back, and his goatee in perfect symmetry. He was a fireball of sexiness.

  Apparently d
eciding to leave and being over someone weren’t the same thing.

  “You went in the wrong direction for Iowa,” he continued. “What are you going to do there?”

  “Not sure yet.” She didn’t move. She didn’t want to sit on the chairs or the bed. And she didn’t want to step closer to him because he smelled divine and if she stared at him too long, she’d be completely entranced again and she really didn’t feel like begging to stay with him.

  “I see.”

  “Why are you here?” She really had nothing to lose at this point and she wanted to know. He didn’t have clothes in tow, so she was at a loss. “And how did you find me?”

  “I told you, you can’t hide from Sabene. No one can.”

  She chuckled. “She kind of scares me.”

  “Me too.” He let out an air of laughter.

  She didn’t ask her question again. She couldn’t, she’d barely been able to get it out the first time without emotion. If she asked again, she might add pleading to it and that would be too much.

  “Why did you leave?” A cloud of doubt flitted across his eyes.

  “I thought it’d be easier. I’m not good with good-byes.”

  “Why did there have to be a good-bye?”

  She shrugged as her breathing slowed and her mind blanked. Had he chased after her because he didn’t want her to leave? Not because she was a part of some job, but because he wanted her around?

  “Live with me.” He stepped closer but didn’t reach out and run his hands up her arms.

  She wanted him to. She wanted him to hold her tight. Her head cocked to the side, but she neither smiled nor frowned.

  “What?” he asked, impatience creeping up when she didn’t answer.

  “I can’t.” She tore her glance away from his stare. She wanted all this to be real, but she couldn’t be sure. Maybe this was just him playing an angle.

  “Why not?”

  “Because I’m in love with you.” There was no use in hiding it anymore. They were on neutral territory and she might not ever get the chance again to tell him how she really felt. Tell him what he’d really done for her besides save her life and bring the person responsible for her sister’s death to task. “And that’s not what you bargained for, I know. But I don’t regret a single moment. You let me see your heart, your soul, and your passion. You reminded me how exciting life can be. Even when my life isn’t in danger.”

  A hearty chuckle rose from his chest and lightened the mood. “You’re no good dead to anyone, now are you?”

  “No. I’m not.” She smiled. “Thank you for helping me get my confidence back. I know I can do anything now. For that, I’m forever grateful.”

  “But you still want to go?” His tone was deflated. “I love you,” he said in one breath. “You make me a better man. I didn’t realize how lost I’d become until I met you. You make me think I could be the type of man I’ve never thought I was good enough to be.”

  He slid his palms around her waist and dug his fingers in as he pulled her toward him. She went willingly into his arms.

  “Come back with me. Stay with me. Love me. Let me love you.”

  His head ducked down and she opened her mouth to his kiss. A deep, lavish kiss that lightened every part of her then lit it on fire.

  “How are you at interior design?” he asked into her mouth between kisses.

  She let out a quick laugh as tears trickled down her cheeks. “Sounds like something I might like.” That would certainly be a creative-tye job she could try her hand at.

  “If we’re sticking around, I’m going to need someone to actually run the business.”

  “Just us or the whole team, too?” She held her breath. Was it bad that she wanted everyone to stay? They were like one big, dark dysfunctional family with a saving the world side.

  “Apparently, they’ve,” he kissed her temple, “we’ve all decided that there are good people who need the type of help we can provide.”

  She smiled and raised on her tiptoes to press her lips to his. He held her waist to his as he deepened their embrace. For better or worse, they were in this together.

  The world better watch out. They were unstoppable.

  Author Biography

  Dana Volney lets her imagination roam free in Wyoming, where she writes romances and helps local businesses succeed with her marketing consulting company. Splitting her time between telling sexy, fast-paced suspense stories and sweet holiday romances, she likes to try new adventures in real life whenever she can (which, let’s face it, means tasting all sorts of delicious cuisines). Dana is bold, adventurous, and—by her own admission—good with plants, having kept a dwarf lemon tree alive for six months.

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