“It’s a giant piece of machinery digging a hole.” Kenneth looked at Jeffrey, his brows together in genuine confusion. “How is that not exciting enough for you?”
Jeffrey frowned his husband’s way. “How are we together?”
Kenneth was back to being focused on the dig. “Because you think I have a cute ass.”
Jeffrey pointed his way. “That’s right. So maybe you should go do some squats to make up for the fact that you think a hole in the ground is exciting.”
Sam laughed softly, one hand coming to smother the sound.
“Come on, Sammy.” Jeffrey pulled her toward the new Backwoods Beauties Eatery. “Let’s go get started on lunch and leave the crazy people to their dirt hole.”
Edward turned to Kenneth. “You gonna stay here?”
Kenneth gave him a single nod, never looking from the site. “Yup.”
“I’m sure they’re going to love that.” Edward tucked Alex close as she shivered again. “I’m going to get my girl in the heat before she freezes to death.”
That snapped Kenneth’s attention their way, his brow low with concern. “Why are you still out here then? Get her where it’s warm.”
Alex’s smile was easy and light as she passed Kenneth. “We’ll bring you a chair and some lunch.”
“Send him.” He pointed Edward’s way. “You stay inside.”
Alex tipped her head down and smoothed one hand across her belly. “I think I need to throw these pants in the trash.”
Edward glanced to where she was pulling at the navy fabric. “Why?”
“Um. Because they seem to make you dad think I’m pregnant.” She shoved her hands in the pockets, moving them around. “Is it the way the pockets lay?”
“The pants are fine. It’s just wishful thinking on their part.” Edward grabbed her hand, pulling it to his lips. “I don’t plan to try to convince you to get pregnant until at least our wedding night.”
“Your patience is commendable.” Alex used her free hand to pull the blanket-like shawl tighter around her shoulders.
Edward opened the door to the office, walking in after her. “Make sure you add that to your spreadsheet.”
****
“I THINK WE should all go.” Sam stood at the kitchen island, her eyes on Craig as he loaded his laptop into its bag. “She doesn’t even know you.”
“We can’t all go.” Charlie fiddled with the hem of the sleeve on her pale yellow sweater. “We have to work.”
“We could just shut the town down for a day.” Sam turned to Alex. “Put it on the website. It will be fine.”
“She might not even be there.” Craig grabbed his coat before hooking the strap of his bag over one shoulder. “We might just turn right back around and come home.”
“We?” Sam’s brows came together. “Who’s we?”
Danny’s front door opened and Lance walked in with Tate following right behind him. “You about ready?”
Craig nodded before turning to where Alex and her sisters were lined around the island. “I will call Danny as soon as I find out if she’s there or not.”
Tate stood in the hall, just outside the kitchen door. “Car’s running.”
Craig grabbed Danny, pulling her in for a kiss.
Charlie softly sighed.
“Puke.” Alex pointed toward the door. “Go find James.”
Craig looked to where Edward stood behind Alex’s back. “Keep an eye on Danny and Jude for me.”
“You don’t have to ask.” Edward reached out to tousle Jude’s hair. In the months Edward had been in Shadow Pine he’d managed to make everyone in town fall in love with him, including the kids.
The man was definitely jonesing for fatherhood.
“Just find her and bring her back where she belongs.” Sam’s stance straight and tight.
The minute Craig said he thought he found James their oldest sister was ready to go. The twenty-four hours it took Craig to set up flights and car rentals making her edgy and irritable.
“If she’s there we’ll find her, Sam.” Tate’s dark eyes rested on where Sam stood. “I promise.”
Sam barely glanced his way, her head dipping in an almost imperceptible nod.
Tate, Craig and Lance left, the room falling quiet when the door clicked shut behind them.
“You wanna go see what the grandpa’s are up to, buddy?” Edward tipped his head toward the door as Jude’s eyes immediately jumped to his. “I think I heard Jeffrey say something about making cookies at Aunt Alex’s house.”
Jude followed Edward outside, chattering about his favorite kinds of cookies.
“Do you think it’s her?” Charlie voiced the question they’d all been struggling with.
Alex took a deep breath. They all thought maybe something their father did sent James into hiding. And maybe it did.
Or maybe it was something else.
Alex leaned her head on Charlie’s shoulder. “I hope so.”
****
Thank you so much for reading Alex and Edward’s book. I hope you enjoyed their banter and the special kind of love they share. Their dynamic was a challenge for me to get exactly the way I wanted it, and I’m so happy with how it turned out.
The next book in the BIG Northwest series will come out in 2021. I’m not quite ready to tell you whose book that will be, but if you want to be the first to find out, you should come join my readers group on Facebook. That’s where I share cover reveals, teasers, and announce all upcoming projects. We’d love to have you.
Want something to read while you wait for the next book? You might enjoy the Alaskan Security Series that I write as Jemma Westbrook. It’s got mercenaries, strong-willed women, and more danger than you can shake a stick at. Grab book one, Loss Recovery, here.
Or turn the page for a sneak peek to see if it tickles your fancy.
“YOU READY TO be back in the cold?”
Wade turned his attention from the small airplane window to where his closest friend sat beside him. “Not everyone likes Florida as much as your crazy ass does.”
He and Brock just spent the past four weeks on the Gulf coast, making sure the daughter of a smuggler didn’t end up paying the ultimate price for what her father chose to do with his free time.
It was four weeks too long.
Brock leaned back in his leather seat on Alaskan Security's smallest jet, lifting one shoulder as he took a sip of his beer. “My love of Florida has nothing to do with the weather, though.” He shot Wade a grin. “You don’t get to see near as much skin in Alaska.” He started to tip his beer back again but stopped, eyes focusing on Wade. “Not that you took advantage of it.”
Wade glared long and hard at Brock before turning back to look out at the snow-covered landscape getting closer with each passing second. “Not everyone is as driven by their dick as you are.”
Brock scoffed in mock offense. “You wound me.”
Wade didn’t bother responding. Brock meant well. His friend had tried everything to get him out of this funk for almost two years.
That meant two years of Brock showing up at their hotel rooms with women. Two years of him dragging Wade to every bar they passed. Hell, at one point Brock even made him a fake Tinder account trying to get him to hook up with someone.
Wade wasn’t interested in any of it.
“You look over the file yet?” Thankfully, Brock must have realized it was time to move the conversation along.
It was why they were still friends. Brock knew to push just far enough, and then back off before Wade had to be a dick.
“No.” He barely glanced at the manila envelope as it fell into his lap. It didn’t really matter what was inside. Who he was protecting. This job no longer held the excitement it once did.
The shine had worn off. Wiped away by the knowledge of what it stole from him.
What he could never have because of it.
“You should probably at least read it over before we get there. Might give the wrong impression i
f you don’t know what the fuck’s going on.” Brock’s tone was sharper now, showing his growing irritation with the perpetual bad mood Wade always wore. “Might make this woman doubt your ability to protect her if you don’t know who the fuck you’re supposed to be keeping away.”
Wade snatched the file. “It’s not fucking rocket science.” He flipped open the file, pausing as Brock’s words sank in. “Her?” He scanned the top sheet of information. “I thought it was a man.” He found the name he remembered. “Roger Hines.”
“That’s who hired us, but it was to protect his daughter.” Brock ran a finger down the page until it rested just below another name. “Bessie Hines.”
“Another prick doing shit to put his family in danger?” It was a lucrative business they were in, offering protection to people who didn’t always deserve it.
Unfortunately, it was also a business model Wade was struggling with more and more. It’s why he’d been pushing Shawn to assign him and Brock to jobs like the one in Florida. It was a way for him to lean a little more to the right side of the wrong line he walked.
Brock shook his head. “Dude, this is why you’ve gotta fucking read the files.” He flipped to the next page of the stack of papers in the file. “She’s got a restraining order against some dick she used to date.”
Wade stared down at the court record in front of him. “Does that say kidnapping?”
“You’re the one reading it.” Brock polished off the last of his beer. “Finally.”
“Ass.” Wade scanned the list of charges against Chris Snyder. “Have you read this shit?”
Brock snorted. “Of course I’ve fucking read it.” He shook his head. “Some men don’t like to take no for an answer I guess.”
“He’s going to have to learn how.” Wade straightened in his seat, feeling just a little like he used to. Maybe because he finally had a job that felt like it mattered.
Like it would make a fucking difference.
Sure they kept the girl in Florida safe. Knocked out a few shitty humans in the process, ridding the world of their presence. But at the end of the day it didn’t matter. Her father wasn’t going to quit doing what he was doing, and it was only a matter of time before she ended up on another bad guy’s radar.
Ricardo’s voice came over the speaker. “Sit your asses down. We’re about to land.”
Brock leaned to the left, yelling toward the open door to the cockpit. “You don’t have to use that thing, asshole. We can hear you.”
The hollow sound of an open connection came across the speaker a second before their pilot’s voice. “Kiss my ass, Brock. I like it. Makes me feel professional.”
“Professional my ass.” Brock flipped the file on Wade’s lap closed and shoved it into his bag. “Is it just teams of two on this one?”
“Shawn hasn’t said different.” He and Brock were always partnered up, but depending on the situation, Shawn occasionally added another man to the teams they normally worked in. “Want me to ask Ricardo to join us?”
“I’ll kill you and make it look like an accident.” Brock’s body jumped around a little as the plane touched down. He grabbed the seat in front of him and leaned into the aisle again. “That’s not fucking funny, Rico.”
Ricardo’s deep laugh was loud enough to be heard over the sound of the air fighting the wing flaps as the plane slowed.
Brock’s well-tanned skin paled as he gripped his bag to his chest. “Tell him that’s not fucking funny.”
“Don’t give him shit and he won’t give you shit.” Wade grabbed his own bag and slung it over his shoulder as the plane made its way toward the small terminal of the tiny private airport where Alaskan Security stored their planes. He glanced out the window to see the rolling stairs were already out, being shoved into place by—
Wade squinted at the man stomping his way across the tamarack. “Is that Shawn?”
Brock leaned in beside him. “What the fuck is Shawn doing out there?”
The plane came to a stop and Ricardo stepped through the doorway of the cockpit, black brows pushed together as he opened the door. “What the fuck is Shawn doing?”
As soon as the door was open Shawn rushed through. He pointed at Brock and Wade. “Come on. We gotta go.”
Wade stepped past Brock. “What’s wrong?”
“Your lady showed up a day early and wasn’t real happy we weren’t ready for her.” Shawn shook his head a little. “That one is going to be a handful.”
“Great.” Brock grabbed his coat and followed Wade out of the plane and down the steps. “Nothing worse than a woman who’s all wound up.”
“Her ex-boyfriend is going schizo and the people her parents hired to keep her safe didn’t show up. I would say she has the right to be a little wound up.”
Wade dropped his bag to the ground and shoved his arms into his black down-lined parka. The air here felt colder after spending so long in the heat of Florida, and the chill was already biting into his skin.
“She wasn’t supposed to be here until tomorrow.” Brock fought on his own coat as they kept walking to the black SUV waiting for them. “It’s not our fault she showed up a day early.”
“Doesn’t matter. She’s probably scared shitless if she was willing to move here to hide from him.” Wade opened the door and climbed into the back seat, the heated interior already a welcome relief. He was getting soft. Maybe he’d sit outside naked for a while. Build his tolerance back up.
It was one of the main reasons they were the only security company in the state. No one else could handle the frigid temperatures.
It was also one of the main reasons their income was so lucrative and their schedule was so full. The cold meant less people and fewer cops. In Alaska you could virtually disappear. Good for the woman they were on their way to meet.
But also good for criminals looking to hide out.
Shawn jumped into the driver’s seat and immediately pulled away. “How was the flight?”
“Fine.” Wade settled back in his seat. “Where is she at?”
“I set her up in number five. Figured she deserved the nicest we had to offer since we dropped the ball.”
Wade caught Shawn’s eyes in the rearview mirror. “We dropped the ball?”
“Her father sent an email letting me know he was putting her on the next plane. Apparently there was an incident.”
Fuck. No wonder this woman was upset. “What kind of an incident?”
“He came to her house. Stood just outside the reach of the security cameras so she couldn’t prove he was there.”
They didn’t deal with too many domestic cases. Most of what they did leaned more toward the jobs that no one else would take, either because of the questionable dealings of the client, or because the threat of violence was more of a guarantee.
It was why they could charge what they did. The people they protected had the money to pay it and no other options.
But this woman would have multiple options available to her. Anyone would have taken her case on.
“Why did they hire us?” Brock voiced the thought working its way through Wade’s head.
Shawn looked at them long and hard in the mirror. “I think you know the answer to that. He wants his daughter safe.” Shawn paused just long enough. “At any cost.”
They weren’t mercenaries.
Technically.
But if the opportunity arose to take out someone who needed taking out, Team Rogue was more than happy to do the world a favor.
Wade gave Shawn a nod. “Fair enough.”
Brock leaned forward. “You have our phones?”
“Everything’s in the back.” Shawn turned the SUV onto the narrow road leading to one of the ten safe-houses in the small town of Brisbane that Alaskan Security called home. “I grabbed you some clothes, but you might have to get more between shifts.”
While out-of-state jobs were all work all the time, most local jobs were done with two-man teams, each working in ten-hour blocks befor
e switching out.
Unless shit was going bad. Then it was all hands on deck, all the time.
As long as nothing went wrong, this would be a nice break after working around-the-clock for a month.
Number five came into view as the Rover bumped down the snow-covered drive. It was the largest of the cabins Alaskan Security owned, with six bedrooms and a large, open kitchen sporting high-end appliances. Usually it was reserved for either their highest paying jobs, or the most dangerous, where multiple guards were required to be on hand at all times. “How many men are on this?”
“Just two at a time.” Shawn’s gaze didn’t meet his in the mirror. “For now.”
Wade started to ask what the fuck that meant, but Shawn cut him off, throwing the SUV into park and jumping out. “I’ll introduce you. Then I’ve got to go. Got another job I gotta get lined up before someone dies.”
“Wouldn’t want that to happen, now would we?” Wade didn’t even try to keep the disdain out of his tone. He used to look at this job differently. Used to think it didn’t matter who he protected, as long as he was successful.
Now he wasn’t so sure.
Shawn started up the shoveled sidewalk toward the porch, but stopped suddenly, turning to face them, his eyes trained on Wade. “Be nice to her. She’s been through a lot.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
Shawn’s head tipped to one side. “Come on, man. I heard you made Courtney cry.”
“She was being fucking ridiculous.” He wasn’t being paid to go buy a twenty-year-old eyeliner at ten at night. “Someone was trying to kill her and she was treating us like her assistants.”
Shawn let out a long breath. “Listen. I know lately you’ve been feeling a little...”
“Pissy.” Brock finished the sentence before wrapping his arm around Shawn and turning him back toward the house. “He’ll be fine.”
That wasn’t true. Wade hadn’t been fine in almost two years.
Because two years ago he had a taste of all he was missing and it changed everything.
One night and one woman had turned his whole world upside down and then set it on fire, leaving him to live in the burned-out remains of what might have been.
Alex (BIG Northwest Book 2) Page 24