Pound (Powertools: The Original Crew Returns Book 4)

by Jayne Rylon

  “How’s he doing?” James would have nightmares for a while about the conditions the boy had been living in and the sheer terror that had been etched into his face until he’d spotted James during the raid on his father’s drug and prostitution empire. The instant James had wrapped his arms around Mark and hauled him from the house into the Shields’ waiting get-away vehicle, flinching at the sound of every single gunshot, he’d sworn off participating in the field for good.

  But just that once, he was glad he’d done it.

  “He’s going to be okay eventually. Ms. Rodriguez said she’s probably heard a thousand times already about how cool you are and how you saved his life. He can’t wait to start working with Neil and learning construction shit too. You’re his hero. And I’m awfully proud of you too, kid.”

  “We both are,” Ms. Brown added.

  James felt his throat knot. When had anyone he’d valued like a mother or father said such things to him? Never. When had his parents looked at him with such esteem and joy, like Tom and Ms. Brown were right then? No other time he could recall.

  “Thank you,” he croaked.

  “Besides, I think my son and the rest of the mechanics are a little afraid of you now, which must mean they respect the hell out of you too.” Tom grinned.

  James chuckled. “Well, the feeling is mutual, you know. It’s pretty intimidating moving here, being a part of a community of people that I hold in very high regard, who are unbiased and accepting. Because if they have a problem with me, it’s not like I can blame it on their ignorance, you know?”

  “No worries about that,” Tom reassured him. “You all are family. Have been for some time, but this…well, it’s official now. You’re never getting away from us.”

  James wouldn’t want to if he could. He sat there in harmony with Tom and Ms. Brown, watching the kids and their puppies chase each other through the trees. Nathan and Abby, joined at the hip as always, played with Klea and Landry, along with the rest of the Hot Rods and Hot Rides children.

  “They’re going to be a whole next generation.” James couldn’t wait to see the people they grew up to be. “They’ll take over half of Middletown at this rate.”

  Tom hummed and rocked away, the flames toasting them lightly on one side. “Even though we’re heading into winter, the new year and spring will come soon enough. Things go through seasons in life, and I think we’re all ready for a whole new phase.”

  “I don’t know, I’m kind of enjoying this one.” James folded his hands over his stomach.

  But he should have known that even though things had come together, there was always the possibility for unrest lurking out on the horizon.

  After a few deep, calming breaths filled with the pleasant hint of campfire, his phone buzzed in his pocket. The pattern was distinct and immediately had him sitting on the edge of his chair. “It’s Jordan.”

  “Like I said. I mean, the universe doesn’t always have to prove me right.” Tom shook his head but kept rocking at the same deliberate pace.

  “Arrogant much, Tommy?” Willie’s rebuke didn’t hold much sting since her eyes twinkled when she said it. He lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles.

  James answered the call. “What can I do for you, boss?”

  “This time it might be about what I can do for you. Why don’t you conference your spouses in on this one, huh?” The look he shot James on the videochat made his stomach do flip-flops. It only took thirty seconds or so to get Devon and Neil on the line, but that was enough anticipation for James.

  “What’s going on?” James asked as Jordan flipped the camera, showing them the conference table in his mountain office instead of his own face. Images were scattered across the surface where Sola, Nolan, and Aarav sat across from Jordan. “Didn’t I just clean up in there?”

  He stopped grousing when caught sight of a familiar flash of fawn-brown hair wrapped in a baby-blue ribbon. It was a ponytail he’d put in his sister’s hair days before she’d vanished.

  “Are you okay with seeing her?” Jordan asked quietly, tracing the line of James’s gaze.

  He nodded. It was nice to have a reminder since lately he’d started to have trouble recalling her face and feeling shitty about himself for it.

  “Just got these back from JRad at Men in Blue. Nolan had him do an age-up for us. We took the photo the police had on file of your sister and mocked up what she might look like today.” Jordan zoomed in on a printout.

  The air whooshed from James’s lungs, as if someone had hit him in the gut with a two by four. Tom reached out and clasped his forearm. Devon gasped and covered her mouth, and Neil hissed a curse. The background behind Devon began to bob, and he assumed she’d started jogging up the path from her site to where he sat outside Hot Rods.

  “He w-what?” James cocked his head. His hand was shaking as he reached out, his finger tracing over the photo on the screen. Down the curve of the woman’s cheek and along the wavy hair. She sort of looked like him, yet not.

  But those eyes. He’d know those eyes anywhere.

  “If you’re going to risk yourself to be one of us, this is a way we can repay you.” Jordan paused then said, “If you want, we’ll help you find her. Or at least find out what happened to her.”

  “I want.” James shook as he stared, Jordan’s face replacing the tantalizing image of the woman his sister might have grown into. He hoped Devon or Neil had taken a screenshot so he could pore over the image later.

  “It’s not all good news.” Jordan cleared his throat. “The case notes in her file make us believe the cops suspected your sister planned to run away because she got herself tangled up with some people that were ‘recruiting’ for human traffickers. It’s a notorious organization that still exists in some form today and actually was already on our to-do list to look into.”

  “Who? Who did they suspect got her involved in that?” James already knew the answer.

  “I’m sorry, James. Your uncle was accused of working for them, though they never did find solid evidence.”

  “Oh God. No. What does that mean? Someone took her? Or he sold her?” James held his breath. Maybe it wasn’t that she’d never chosen to come back for him—maybe she couldn’t.

  “I’m not sure yet. But whatever we find might not be so easy to forget. We can drop it if you’d rather. I don’t want to give you false hope. The odds aren’t in our favor. But if nothing else, we might be able to give you some closure.”

  Nolan circled the table to stand in view behind Jordan, and Sola took her post at his other shoulder. Aarav joined them, nodding slowly. The four of them, plus Ransom and Levi, were badass and sincere. They were good fucking people. They would go to every end of the earth to get him answers, unlike the cops, who hadn’t given much thought to a girl from the wrong side of the tracks trying to escape untold horrors way back when.

  If the Shields said this could be done, he believed them.

  “I want so bad.” A tear rolled down his James’s cheek. Devon skidded to his side just in time to dash it away, replacing it with a sweet kiss on his cheekbone. She put her arms around him and held him tight.

  “Good, because we’ve already added it to our case list. When you come in tomorrow, you can do more than file shit or act like you’re some kind of glorified maid. You’re going to help us research and trace leads. Together, we’ll get this done. For better or worse, we’re going to track Laurel down and make sure the people who did this to her can never hurt anyone else the same way.”

  Unable to speak, James nodded, then disconnected. He drew Devon into his lap and clutched her to his chest. He had everything he’d ever wanted, with the exception of that knowledge and now it was all there, within his grasp. He couldn’t believe how lucky he was. He had love, security…and, finally, one hell of a purpose.

  Nolan ran his hand over his hair. The nervous gesture did little to wipe away the afterimage of James’s profound relief, which had been emblazoned into his mind as Jordan broke the news a
bout James’s sister. So he tried levity, mixed with a heaping helping of the truth. “I sure as hell won’t mind hunting down a woman that looks like her. Damn.”

  He whistled as he stared at the illustration JRad had sent them. Sola smacked him in the abs with the back of her hand, but it didn’t do much when faced with the eight-pack he worked on daily in Jordan’s private gym.

  “Sorry, sorry. It’s that or I start breaking things. Thinking of what she might have gone through…it’s rough.”

  “Well, if she’s anything like James, she’ll be a handful but worth it if you could hold on to her. If anyone had a chance of surviving it’d be someone like him.” Aarav nodded wisely.

  Sola glanced over at the sniper wistfully, making Nolan wonder if there was something going on there he hadn’t noticed before. It figured—everyone had someone special but him. Before he’d met Jordan and the guy’s two spouses, he wasn’t sure anyone would ever sign up for the kind of relationship his instincts had always insisted would be the only sort that would work for him.

  And once he’d known that finding not only a wife but a husband to share her with was possible, he figured his profession would rule out any sane partners signing on for a piece of his erratic and hazardous lifestyle.

  But maybe he’d been wrong. James and Jordan both had what he’d been too afraid to dream of. It could be time for him to start looking for more than his next fight.

  Nolan took his copy of the drawing Jordan had passed out to each of them, carefully folded it, and put it in his breast pocket over his heart. He patted it, vowing then and there to find the woman whose eyes called to his soul. If there was any chance of helping her at all, he would bring her back to safety and civilization. For James, to make up for the wrongs that had been done to her, and to prove to himself that someday he might be worthy of a love like his friends had found.

  To see if Nolan accomplishes his goals and gets the girl (plus a guy) check out Found (Powertools: The Shields, Book 1)

  If you’d like to start at the very beginning with the Powertools Crew, you can download a discounted boxset of the first six books HERE.

  Yes, I know it says complete series but I wrote a seventh book more recently and haven’t gotten around to updating the boxset yet, sorry!

  You can find the seventh Powertools book, More the Merrier, HERE.

  If you missed out on the Powertools: Hot Rods series, you can buy all eight books in a discounted single-volume boxset by clicking HERE.

  To read more about the Hot Rides gang, starting with Quinn, Trevon, and Devra’s story, Wild Ride, click HERE.

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  About the Author

  Jayne Rylon is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who has sold more than one million books. She has received numerous industry awards including the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award for Best Indie Erotic Romance and the Swirl Award, which recognizes excellence in diverse romance. She is an Honor Roll member of the Romance Writers of America. Her stories used to begin as daydreams in seemingly endless business meetings, but now she is a full time author, who employs the skills she learned from her straight-laced corporate existence in the business of writing. She lives in Ohio with her husband, the infamous Mr. Rylon, and their cat, Frodo. When she can escape her purple office, she loves to travel the world, avoid speeding tickets in her beloved Sky, SCUBA dive, hunt Pokemon, and–of course–read.

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