by Huie,Melissa
The knock on the door interrupted my thoughts.
“Yo! Some of us would like to get a shower sometime this century!” Adrian’s voice bellowed. Noah smiled widely. He swung me into his arms, then maneuvered me out into the hallway. Adrian’s mouth dropped open at the sight of me in Noah’s arms, and I ducked my head into Noah’s chest.
“Well, it’s about time, bro. About time,” he muttered, shutting the door behind him.
Noah took me into my room and laid me on the bed before climbing in next to me, and pulled me into his arms.
“I should get dressed,” I said, struggling to sit up. His grip tightened around my shoulders, until I finally gave up and sank into his embrace.
“You need to keep that sexy little body right here next me,” he murmured, pulling the white comforter over us.
“Noah, I’m not an invalid. I can get up and walk around,” I muttered, but I didn’t make any further attempt to get up. His arms were comforting, and solid around me. Protective. It had been a while since I felt something like that—a long, long while. Feelings I thought had vanished slowly trickled back, and I wasn’t sure if I liked it.
“Kate, just…stay. Stay with me. Here.”
I closed my eyes and turned my head, pressing my nose against the side of his pectoral muscles. “What are you doing to me, Noah? What are we doing?” I whispered. The room was silent, and I knew he heard each word I said.
“I couldn’t get you out of my mind when we were in Miami. And when you left that morning, I didn’t know what to do. I thought it didn’t mean anything. That I could fuck anything I could, just to get you out of my system, but hell, it only made me want you more. You were the first thing I thought of when I woke up, and your name was on my lips every time I took my dick in my hand. Being without you, for this long, has been hell.”
I swallowed the lump building in my throat, and told the butterflies fluttering around in my stomach to calm the fuck down. “What happened to no strings?”
“You’ve had me by the strings ever since the day I met you in the gym. I just didn’t realize it until you left.” His fingers trailed lazily up and down, over my goose bump covered arms. I didn’t say anything, just let his words wash over me. “Kate?” he pressed his lips to my forehead.
“You don’t know me, Noah. You really don’t,” I protested.
“I know more than you think.”
I craned my head to stare in to his eyes. “What do you think you know?”
He gave me a little smile. “I know you’re hot as hell. And you’re funny, smart, and pretty damn talented in bed. You’re a badass in the gym, on the trails, and pretty much whatever I’ve seen you do. What more do I need to know?”
What more? How about I carry a gun for a living. Or that I put my life in danger every time I go on assignment. Oh, and I have trust issues. I sighed and pushed myself into a sitting position.
“What did I say?” he asked, concern filling his voice.
“No, it’s nothing you said. I don’t do the whole ‘relationship’ thing. You’re amazing, truly. And yeah, the sex is off the charts. Just believe me when I say it’s all me.” I scooted to the edge of the bed and reached for the wrap. Noah sat up and took it from of my hands, then securely wrapped my ankle.
“What are you scared of?” he asked quietly. He kept the hold he had on my ankle, as if trying to hold onto me.
I shook my head slowly and met his gaze. “You,” I whispered.
I removed my ankle from his grasp and limped over to the dresser. After finagling clothes onto my body, I threw my hair up into a messy knot, trying not to show my pain. I slipped on the protective wrap and grabbed the cane Megan so kindly left behind. He stopped me at the door, and cupped my face with his hands.
“At some point, Princess, I’m going to break down those walls. And you’re going to realize what you’ve been missing.” His brown eyes speared my own, and my breath hitched. Noah’s lips brushed against mine, and then he walked out the door.
I touched my lips and replayed his words in my head. I’m going to break down those walls.
That was exactly what I was afraid of.
Chapter 12
Noah
I STALKED BACK TO my room—frustration boiling under my skin—just as Adrian was coming out. The behemoth African-American and American Indian man stood in the doorway, looking at me expectantly.
“What?”
Adrian shook his head and smiled. “Never thought I’d see Kate look so…dependent on someone. It’s good man, real good. A woman like that—” Yeah, fuck that. He’s not going to tell me about my woman.
“Not going there with you, Ad. I know you mean well, but what goes on with me and Kate is our business,” I replied dryly. I pushed past him and headed to the bunk where I stowed my bag. I pulled on a pair of cargo shorts over my boxer briefs, a T-shirt, and a hooded sweatshirt over top of that, then headed back down the stairs. That damn princess had my head all confused. I needed to get out. I needed to breathe fresh air and clear my head, not inhale the coconut scent that drifted from her bedroom. I wanted to be done with her fucking games, but she was an addiction—a drug I couldn’t shake.
I shoved my feet into my boots and headed out to the bikes. Fixing Kate’s bike would be the distraction I needed, so I grabbed my toolbox from the back of the truck and got to work. An hour later, I was elbow deep in transmission parts, when AC/DC’s Highway to Hell broke my concentration. I just shook my head, knowing full well who was on the other end. I wiped my hands on a dirty rag, then answered the call.
“Where the fuck have you been?” I demanded, foregoing any pleasantries. The caller chuckled, amused at the tone of my voice. Motherfucker’s been gone for the last six months, and he has the balls to chuckle? Are you kidding me?
“Knee deep in guns, pussy, and coke, motherfucker,” he said. I could picture the shit-eating grin plastered on his face.
“Uh-huh, and how much of that shit is work related?” I tucked the phone in between my shoulder and ear, and picked up my wrench.
“Wouldn’t you like to know? What? Are you missing the action?”
“Hardly. I’m getting plenty of action here.” My mind immediately went to the blue-eyed brunette upstairs. Maybe not the type of action Torin Campanari was talking about, but it was enough for me.
“Yeah, you keep telling yourself that. You know damn well you’re missing out on all the fun.”
“’Cause getting shot at, diving in below freezing waters, and jumping out of planes is a real good time,” I joked. But, in reality, I missed the adrenaline coursing through my veins, the thrill of the hunt, the feeling of satisfaction when taking down a particular gang of assholes. Yet, I didn’t regret the choices I’d made. Coming home was not only my duty, responsibility, and my obligation, but it was my choice. I could have easily walked away from it all. But, after knowing the love I had now, I couldn’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be.
“I know you didn’t call me just to bust my balls, so why don’t you tell me what’s going on?”
“Getting straight to the point, as always, Russo. I gotcha,” he said with a pause. Torin pausing was never a good thing. My gut clenched as I waited for whatever shoe to drop. “I wanted you to hear it from me first. Mac is gone.”
I hissed out the breath I was holding. George “Mac” Cleary was one of the other five guys on our six-man team. We were a tight-knit group. You had to be, living day in and day out with the same six guys. We weren’t just a team, we were brothers.
“How?”
“Sniper took him out while he was doing recon in Mexico.”
“Fuck.” I rubbed my face and closed my eyes, remembering the last time I saw my friend. “How’s Julie?” I asked, knowing that his new bride must be devastated. High school loves had finally tied the knot a while back, on the rugged shores of Ireland. My brothers and I were proud to stand for him, the first guy on our team to find his soul mate.
“She’s a fighter
, man. When they told her, she had to be sedated, but she’s holding it together now.” The catch in his voice told me that Torin was just as tore up about it as I was. “The funeral is Wednesday in Boston.”
I mentally checked my calendar. Anything I had going on at the bar could be covered by my cousin, Josh. “Yeah, I’ll be there. I’ll fly out Tuesday.”
“Good, I’ll text you the info. Watch your six, bro.”
I hung up with Torin, with anger and rage coursing through my veins. Mexico. Mac was in fucking Mexico. That was my area of expertise…that would have been my mission, to bring down a gang of mercenaries tied to the Syndicate. But then my life changed. I had to hand the reins over to Mac, my second in command. Had I stuck with it, stayed with the team, this wouldn’t have happened.
This group is nothing but an international melting pot of the world’s nastiest sons of bitches. We’re talking Russian mobsters, heroin traffickers from Asia, human smugglers from Africa and South America, and good ol’ coke dealers from Central America. It was a highly dangerous group of people. Most of the ‘axis of evil’ are represented, and surprisingly, they all worked well together. My team, Triton’s Edge, Alpha One, had our connections within the organization. We got in, got the intel needed, and we were taking care of business. We were taking them down, doing what the international forces couldn’t do.
And then, we got shut down. Word came down from people way above my paygrade, that they were pulling the plug on our mission, just as we were about to go in deeper. Words like ‘political suicide’ and ‘international relations’ were tossed around like beads at Mardi Gras. A bunch of bullshit if I’d ever heard. But we were pulled out of there and sent back to our command center in Miami to wait it out.
So we watched…and waited. Scratching my balls and looking stupid were two things I could’ve done on my own time, and I sure as hell hate doing it when I could’ve been, and should’ve been, doing what I did best. So after a while, we started going off the grid. We’d take out the boats and do some recon. We’d watch over the ports in the Bahamas, a common transit point for human traffickers and drugs. We saw evidence of the Syndicate doing their thing, but our hands were fucking tied.
So, like Seth always said, “It’s better to ask forgiveness than beg for permission,” so we took matters into our own hands. Without funding, without orders, and sure as hell without legal approval. Oh, they knew what we were doing, and they sure as hell didn’t do much to stop us. But in the public eye, they had complete and total deniability, which was a good thing for them, I guess. A lot of bodies were left in our wake, but I doubt anyone cried for those soulless bastards.
But Mac—knowing what Julie and his parents were dealing with—brought me to my knees. The news of Mac’s death was a punch to my gut, a reminder that despite all our training, our precision shots, our aim, it only took one bullet, one shot, and it would all be over. I’d never again be able to hear his ridiculous laugh, or his ongoing rants over anything political, or the way his green eyes would light up when talking about the love of his life. My best friend, gone before he even got to know his newborn son. Gone before he could have more kids. Fuck, gone before he hit thirty.
Emotions—rage, fury, sadness—swirled around in me. I turned and chucked the wrench I held onto with all my strength. The splash of my best tool landing in the water did nothing to satisfy the rage building inside of me. I knew that being around people would just frustrate the ever-loving fuck out of me. I palmed the keys to my ATV and jumped on; the keys were in the ignition before my ass hit the seat. But, before I could put it in gear, my name was screamed out over the sound of the engine. I ignored Kate’s voice, and the way my hands itched to grab onto her and hold her tight. The urge to destroy everything in my path was strong, but not nearly as strong as the need to have her in my arms. Not fit to be around anyone, I stomped on the gas and clutch, and tore out of the yard.
Me, Mac, and our team came into this life, knowing the risks. Our line of work wasn’t for the weak, wasn’t for those who failed. It wasn’t for those who wanted love, a family, or even normalcy. Hell, normal wasn’t in our vocabulary. We kept our secrets; we kept our families away from the danger, separating work from personal as much as we could. But this…this hit my home. This hit my family. And I would avenge my family.
Chapter 13
Kate
MY STOMACH DROPPED when Noah left the yard. Not because he went too fast, but because of the vacant look on his face. The look of numbness. The look of a man who had been defeated. I’d seen that look before, on Shane, and that terrified the fuck out of me. I hobbled back inside and slammed the door behind me.
“What the fuck just happened to Noah?” I demanded from the slack-jawed group lounging in the open family room. Using Megan’s cane, I made my way into the kitchen, where my cell phone was charging on the counter. I scrolled through my contacts and sent him a text message.
“Come back.”
I looked around the room and raised my eyebrows. “Seriously? No one?”
Cole shrugged. “No clue, sis. You were the last one with him. Maybe it was something you…”
I lifted up the cane to hit him, and he quickly backed off. “Hey, hey, hey, I’m kidding. Sheesh. You need to calm the fuck down there, killer. No one knows why your boyfriend took off like a bat out of hell. Damn.”
I lowered the cane and gave him the finger instead. “He’s not my boyfriend.”
“If you make those moans with just your friends, why don’t you and I…” Sean started, but Cole’s hand was around his neck before I could blink.
“You wanna finish that sentence?” Cole seethed. Sean’s face was beet red when he shook his head. “Good, didn’t think so. I’m the only one who can talk shit, so don’t even try.”
I rolled my eyes and sat down with a huff. The conversation went on like nothing had happened, like their friend hadn’t driven off like an idiot. I knew they were letting him cool down, or do whatever it was guys did when they got pissy, but this was ridiculous. Thirty minutes later, my phone buzzed in my hand, and my heart jumped when I saw his number.
“Not yet.”
I threw my phone on the couch in disgust. This is a perfect example of why I don’t do relationships, I thought. I don’t have the patience or the desire to decipher cryptic messages like this. I deal with enough bullshit with the assholes I’m after. I sure as hell don’t need this. I wanted to push it aside, to not care about what had Noah so upset, but a nagging and persistent feeling in my gut told me that I needed to know, because I cared. I tried to shake off the feeling, but it didn’t matter. Even with him gone, he still pulled me in.
“Fuck this.”
I grabbed Cole’s keys from the basket and ignored the group’s protests as I hobbled out the door. Just as I started the engine, Noah’s bike came roaring back down the driveway. I was off the bike and limping toward him before he even removed his helmet.
“Are you fucking insane? Who the hell goes flying off in the middle of nowhere by themselves? We were worried about you. You could have gotten hurt…” My rant was interrupted by his snort of laughter.
“Don’t worry about it.” The smile he gave me was beyond fake, and the haunted look in his dark brown eyes worried me. He grabbed the box that was strapped to the back of the seat behind him, and sauntered over to the house, like he didn’t have a care in the world.
“What the fuck just happened?” I muttered to myself. I shook my head at the change in his demeanor, and slowly followed him inside. The loud roar of approval when he showed off his new purchase stopped me in my tracks.
“Fireworks? Are you for real? Is this going to be an episode of ‘Hold my booze and watch this?’” I asked, my voice filled with acid, taking in the box of not-so-legal mortars.
“Don’t get your panties in a twist, Princess. We’re just gonna liven things up a bit,” he said with a sneer. His eyes hardened, and I had to do a double take to make sure I saw it right.
“Hey, Dr. Jekyll, what’s up with the attitude?” I shot back.
“No attitude, Princess. I’m just being me. Just believe it’s all me.” My words came back to haunt me.
I lifted my chin. “It’s nice to finally meet the real you.” I sat down, as gracefully as one could with a bandage wrapped around her foot, in between Sean and Ryan. Cole shot me a questioning glance, but I ignored him, turning my attention to Sean next to me.
“How the hell are you doing, Sean?” I asked pointedly. Sean had the common sense not to try and flirt, because the daggers that Noah was throwing could have killed him.
And that was how the rest of the day went. By the time dinner rolled around, I was emotionally drained. The shit Noah was throwing my way was numbing, and I was long past the point of giving a rat’s ass about whatever was going on with him. If he chose to be a complete dickwad, that was his business. And it was probably better this way in the long run. But that didn’t mean I had to sit there and accept the bullshit, either.
After dinner, the guys made their way out to the clearing, away from the house, to set off the fireworks. Megan and I ambled our way to the fire pit, with our thermoses of spiked hot chocolate and blankets. We watched the colorful display as we sat by the fire, with the lake right behind us. After the fireworks had been set off, the guys came back to the pit, along with the gym sluts. They must have multiplied, because I didn’t recognize some of the new faces. But I didn’t pay them any mind. The boys could have all the gym pussy they wanted. Didn’t faze me one bit.
With the music blaring and the moonshine flowing, the party got going pretty quickly. Pretty soon, the girls were dancing with each other, grinding to the music. Sketch, Sean, and Adrian were getting their fill of the ladies. And low and behold, Noah was getting his own private showing from Ms. Karla herself. His hands were on her ass, while she ground away on his lap, her little denim skirt showing exactly what Victoria’s secret was. And the whole time, his eyes were glued to mine.