DEFENDING TIERNY
A Gray Wolf Security, Texas Novel
Glenna Sinclair
Copyright © 2016
All Rights Reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Prologue
Tierney
I walked into the house, moving slowly so as not to make too much noise. I wished I had worn tennis shoes instead of these damn sandals. They clicked on the laminate floor, giving away my presence despite my attempts to hide it. What if I was right and she was here? What if he had her here all along?
This was one time when I really wanted to be wrong. There hadn’t been many times in my life when I wanted to be wrong, but this was definitely one of them.
I moved deeper into the empty house, relieved when the toe of my shoe found carpet. If I were a kidnapper, where would I keep my victim? Funny, you’d think after all this time I’d spent working as a defense attorney, I would be good at thinking like a psychopath. But I wasn’t.
I climbed the stairs one at a time, my movements growing slower and slower the closer I got to the top floor. I thought I heard something at the other end of the hall. I stopped and listened, afraid of what was waiting for me at the top of the stairs. But there was nothing except silence.
I continued up, thinking I should go back to my car, get my cell phone, and call Alexander. He would know what to do. But he was on another case, unavailable. And Knox…she was CIA. If I needed backup, she would be there. That’s why she was here.
I reached the top of the stairs and…I heard the noise again—just before my head seemed to shatter and the world went dark.
Chapter 1
At the Compound
David jogged on the side of the road, the cool morning air a relief after the suffocating heat from the afternoon before. Everyone talked about how bad the heat of August in Texas could be, but June wasn’t any picnic either. It was nice to find some relief that wasn’t artificial.
But that wasn’t the only great thing about this run. More than six years ago, David was confined to a wheelchair. A car accident on this very road had left him with bone fragments on his spine that made him unable to walk. He refused to have the operation that could restore his movement because he felt like he deserved the disability. His parents were killed in the accident that left him paralyzed. But then he met his wife, the beautiful and intelligent Ricki Dennison, and she turned his life upside down. He had the surgery and went through months of physical therapy, working hard to get to the point where he could walk again, let alone jog like this.
It felt good to be in full control of his body again.
He picked up speed, the idea that Ricki was lying—half-naked—in their bed upstairs spurring him on. They’d been married just short of five years, but he still couldn’t believe that she had agreed to be his. Or that she went through the incredibly uncomfortable procedure of becoming the mother to his son, Chase. Or that she was willing to do it again.
She announced—just a month ago—that she was ready to try again.
Chase is nearly four now. It’s a good time to have another baby. Maybe a girl this time.
What a better time to work on that little project than now?
He let himself into the house through a side door into the kitchen. When he first suggested to his brother, Ash, that they open another branch of their business, Gray Wolf Security, in their childhood home, Ash told him he was insane. Neither of them really wanted to sell the place, but it was just sitting there empty. And the business was expanding all on its own—with jobs coming in from all over California, Arizona, and Nevada. It only made sense to open another office. With the house just sitting there, it made sense. It took time to convince Ash, but GWS 2 had been up and running for six months now, and David felt like it was doing quite well. They had five operatives who had enough work to keep them busy full time. And they had three shifts of two people each, monitoring the computer systems that were constantly watching over the operatives and running security checks of all kinds for their various clients. That was more than they had when they first opened the original GWS.
Annie, the office manager, was sitting at her desk in what was once the dining room. She smiled as David walked by.
“Morning, boss.”
He was still getting used to being called that.
“Anything pressing happen overnight?”
She shook her head. “Only Knox and Ingram were in the field, and both their assignments have been routine thus far.”
“Good.”
He nodded to the overnight girls, Sara and Michelle, as he headed upstairs. They’d converted the entire first floor into office space. There was Annie’s office, and the large space that was once the sitting room, and the living room where the computer girls had their desks. Their father’s study was now David’s office, and the sunporch was Ricki’s. The large room Ash and David once used as a playroom was now a conference room with several of the other rooms at the back of the house used as extra conference rooms or storage areas.
The second floor was converted into an apartment for Ricki, Chase, and David. They had just about everything they had in their old place in Santa Monica, only on a bigger scale. The third floor had a few guest rooms for the odd visit from Ash or some of their friends from California. And then, as Ash had done with the flagship compound, they built small cottages on the property—where the operatives were more than welcome to live rent-free.
When they set about hiring operatives for their security business, they focused on people with military or government experience. Much of what they did at Gray Wolf 2 had to do with different types of bodyguard services. For that reason, they needed people who felt comfortable with a gun, people who had some investigative experience, and people who weren’t afraid to do what was necessary to protect a target. Ash insisted that retired military people were perfect for the job because they were often people who got off on the adrenaline rush of danger.
But David believed that members of the FBI and CIA were just as qualified. That might be because he was former FBI.
It took time, but David and Ricki narrowed a huge stack of resumes down to a manageable list of potential employees. From there, they hired five operatives.
Alexander Garcia was a Navy SEAL who’d spent time in Afghanistan.
Ingram Porter was a sailor who was given a dishonorable discharge after serving time in the brig for punching a superior officer.
Knox Adams spent a brief period in the Marines before she was recruited into the CIA. Rumor had it that she left the CIA because they tied her hands when it came to certain types of aggression.
Elliot Wallace was a Navy SEAL like Alexander. He didn’t talk much about his military experience, but rumor had it he was a sniper with a higher
body count than that American Sniper guy claimed he had.
And then there was Tony Philips. He was FBI, and he worked in the field, chasing after serial killers and drug dealers. David was initially concerned that Tony would be bored by their work at GWS 2, but he seemed to be flourishing in the less-regulated environment.
They were quite a combination of people, their personalities and life experiences as different as they were. And David hadn’t known any of them before he hired them, unlike his brother’s personal relationships with most of the people he hired as his original set of operatives. But David had faith in them all and—knock-on-wood—none of them had let him down in the six months they’d worked together.
David pushed open the door to his bedroom and stood there for a minute, watching Ricki sleep. She still took his breath away whenever he looked at her. She was a tiny woman, barely taller than a preteen, with the most intense blue eyes he’d ever seen on anyone. She had golden-brown hair that was flowing over the white pillows under her head, her narrow shoulders uncovered by the soft sheet that rested against her back.
He was still confined to a wheelchair when he first met her, but he had surgery and was walking when he proposed. And he thought it was a pretty awesome proposal, especially since they’d broken up in the hospital after his surgery and she thought he didn’t know she was watching him every week at his physical therapy sessions. It was definitely an awesome proposal, if he did say so himself. One that he would never regret, that was for certain:
They’d been apart almost six months. Every month was etched on her soul, each minute that’d passed without him. She missed him so much that she often entertained the idea of exposing herself, of showing him that she was here, that she missed him. That she wanted him still.
That she loved him.
But she never did. He was happy now. Why screw that up for him?
His session was almost finished. She turned and slipped out, leaving before he walked past her and realized what she’d been doing all this time. No reason to embarrass them both.
She walked to the park down on the corner and bought a hot dog from the vendor like she did every Wednesday. She could see David go by with Ash in one of their many SUVs from there. She liked to imagine what they were talking about, imagine how they were arguing over some case the firm was working or some alarm David wanted to set up and Ash thought was unnecessary. She imagined how normal his life was now.
She expected that one of these days she would see a woman in the SUV with David. Surely he wasn’t alone anymore. There was probably a long line of women dying to be with a man as good-looking—and secure in himself—as David was.
She took a bite of the hot dog as she watched the road, waiting for him to go by. She heard music, and she thought someone was driving by with their radio up way too loud. But she didn’t see a car. She turned and there, behind her, was a string quartet.
They were playing “Ave Maria.”
What an odd thing to see in the middle of the park!
She turned back around, and David, dressed in a tuxedo, was standing in front of her.
She screamed.
David laughed, as he watched her hot dog tumble to the ground.
“I’ll buy you another one,” he said.
“What are you doing here?”
“I thought it was time for us to talk.”
She stared at him, at the tuxedo, then turned and looked at the string quartet again as they moved into a semicircle behind the bench she was sitting on.
“Is this some sort of joke?”
“No. It’s some sort of proposal.”
Her lungs just froze as she slowly turned to face him again. He was down on one knee now, a small jeweler’s box in his hands. He opened it when he saw she was looking at him and inside was the most beautiful diamond solitaire. It was a teardrop cut surrounded by amethysts—her birthstone. She pressed a hand to her mouth, as tears began to flood her eyes.
“You’re insane!”
“I’ve been called worse.”
She looked up at him, looked into those perfect green eyes. She couldn’t believe this was happening. It was like a dream, like a dream that just stepped out her head and into reality.
“I love you, Ricki,” he said. “I’ve loved you from the first moment I set eyes on you. I can’t imagine ever wanting to share the rest of my life with anyone but you.”
He smiled as he looked at her, even as tears ran down her cheeks.
“I promise…no more secrets. If I ever have major surgery again, I will call you first. Even if I’m smashed up and bleeding on the street.”
She groaned. “Don’t be morbid.”
His eyes grew serious. “I love you,” he repeated, “and I want to love you for the rest of my life. Please be my wife.”
She didn’t know what to do. She didn’t know if she was even capable of speech. But then she realized that a simple nod would probably do it.
She nodded, and he suddenly became this ball of movement, tossing his arms around her and tugging her onto the ground with him, his mouth covering hers. She couldn’t breathe. But if her last breath was his, she was okay with that.
She was snoring softly now, something she would never believe even if he recorded it with his phone. But he thought it was sweet. Almost enduring, especially when he knew that their small son snored exactly the same way.
He stripped out of his running clothes and climbed into bed beside her, sliding his hands over her slender hips. She moaned, but he couldn’t tell if it was in protest or if it was an invitation.
“It’s too early,” she muttered against the pillow, as he dropped kisses all along her shoulders.
“Not that early. Annie’s already here.”
She moaned again. “Annie’s always here.”
He laughed because she was right about that. It did seem like Annie was always there.
He slid his hand under her panties, searching for the deep, moist parts of her. Despite her protest, she moved her hips to give him better access. His fingers slid easily against her cunt lips, spreading them slightly as he sought out her clit. She moved her hips again, another sound slipping from between her lips.
“I want you,” he whispered, pressing the length of his body against hers, his cock pressing hard against her hip.
“Still?” she asked.
“Always.”
She rolled toward him, sliding her hand down the length of his chest and further until his cock was in her hand. He moaned even as he moved closer, stealing her lips. They kissed for a long few moments, her hand doing incredible things to him. He finally couldn’t take it anymore. He pushed her back against the mattress, tugging her panties out of the way as he slid inside of her, burying himself as deep as he could. She raised her hips, sighing against his lips, as her hand snuck around him, pulling him even harder against her.
They moved together slowly, kissing like they were stealing each other’s last breath. Their bodies were familiar now, their touches easy to anticipate. But that didn’t make it boring. That made it even more exciting, even more intense, because they knew each other, they knew what to expect, and they knew how incredible it could be.
He could feel Ricki building up to her climax; he could feel the tension starting in her thighs and her lower belly. He slowed his movements to prolong that moment, wanting it to be perfect for her. But his own needs overwhelmed him, urging him on. He thrust hard against her, low moans slipping from between his lips. She cried out, too, holding him close to her as they orgasmed together.
They were still struggling to catch their breath, still tangled in each other, as the door suddenly burst open and the sweet voice of their son filled the room.
“Mommy, I’m awake!”
“I see that, baby,” she said, peeking around David’s shoulder. “Didn’t you lock the door?” she hissed beside his ear.
“Forgot.”
She groaned, slapping his arm as she struggled out from under him.
> “Go get dressed, Chase, and we’ll go downstairs to find some breakfast.”
“Okay.”
The moment he was gone, Ricki got out of bed and padded toward the bathroom.
“Want some company?” David called after her.
“I think I’ve had enough of your company this morning,” she said, but she softened her words by shooting him a smile over her shoulder. “Check with me later.”
He laughed. But then his cell beeped, and he realized that he was running late for the morning meeting.
A boss’s job was never done.
***
“Okay, boys and girls!” David called from the door of the conference room. “Let’s get this started.”
They came—a few at a time. Knox and Ingram. Tony and Elliot. Annie. Sara and Michelle. And Ricki and Chase. He watched them, smiling at his son as he walked with all the confidence of a nearly four-year-old boy.
It was a tradition that Ash had started at the original Gray Wolf offices to have a daily morning meeting in order to keep everyone on the same page for open cases. David had hated those meetings when he was Ash’s tech guy because it felt like a waste of time, but now he could see the benefit of having them.
“Knox, Ingram, if you could catch us up on what you’ve been doing.”
Knox, a leggy redhead, stood up from the seat she’d just taken at the table and began a recitation.
“My target is a fifty-year-old man whose wife is convinced he’s hiding assets. I’ve been working undercover at his office as a personal assistant, keeping an eye on his movements. As far as I can tell, he’s not up to anything nefarious, but I’ve only been there a few days. I go back today.”
Ingram stood, giving Knox a high five in the process.
“I’m on a doctor being harassed by anti-abortionists.” He glared at Tony who chuckled at his choice of words. “The cops are getting them cleared out, and it looks like they’re losing interest, so it should only be another week or so.”
Then Sara and Michelle talked about the background checks they were running for a couple of companies. One was hiring new people for an expansion, and the other was looking into a company they wanted to merge with. Annie announced that there were three new clients coming in later in the day.
DEFENDING TIERNY (Gray Wolf Security, Texas Book 1) Page 1