by Tory Baker
Craving More
Nighthawk Security Book 2
Tory Baker
Contents
Synopsis
1. Kellie
2. Bridger
3. Kellie
4. Bridger
5. Kellie
6. Bridger
7. Kellie
8. Bridger
9. Kellie
10. Bridger
11. Kellie
12. Bridger
13. Kellie
14. Bridger
15. Kellie
16. Bridger
17. Kellie
18. Bridger
19. Kellie
20. Bridger
Epilogue
Epilogue
About the Author
Also by Tory Baker
Copyright © 2020 by Tory Baker
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Please respect the author and do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials that would violate the author’s rights. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Edited By: Diamond in the Rough Editing
Cover Design By: LJ with Mayhem Cover Creations
Created with Vellum
To those rare people in this world who have two different-colored eyes, this one is for you!
Synopsis
Kellie Bennett never dreamed walking into Nighthawk Security for a job interview would change her life--but that's just what it did.
Bridger Jennings thought his life was pretty good. Yet, hiring Kellie as his secretary unleashed desires that he didn't know existed.
He wanted her, wanted to put a ring on her finger, make her his.
Yet, he was her boss now, and that fact made him hold off.
Seeing her everyday and not claiming her was pure torture.
Still, he did it. But, when he learns that Kellie's past is coming back to haunt her, all bets are off.
He's going to stop at nothing to protect her, keep her safe and when it's all over, it's her love he's going to demand.
This is book two of the Nighthawk Security series. It can be read as a complete standalone and has a guaranteed happily ever after. It's safe, sexy and stars an Alpha hero hot enough to make you beg for relief--and that's just what Tory's hero, Bridger, wants.
One
Kellie
I walked into Nighthawk Security months ago with nothing—well, not literally nothing. I had the clothes on my back, my car loaded down with clothes, pictures, and a few things that have always been near and dear to me. When you were trying to run from your past and start over, it didn’t give you many options to pack everything you owned and possessed.
When I left Arkansas after everything was said and done, it wasn’t hard. It should have been though. It should have been a devastating blow, much like it was to my jaw that had been wired shut for weeks on end. But it wasn’t.
After everything that happened, as soon as the wires came out, I put all my possessions in the back of my four-door Honda Accord and left. My aunt and uncle had tears in their eyes during the whole process, but as soon as Liam was sentenced to jail for only one year, I knew I had to escape. I mean, come on. One year for clocking me in the jaw so hard it was broken, and that’s all they gave him? I’d stood in the attorney’s office with tears streaming down my face and trying not to hyperventilate. What would have happened if my neighbor hadn’t heard my screams? How much further would my once childhood friend have gone?
I never saw it coming. Heck, I never thought of Liam in any other way than a friend until the moment he barged through the front door of my apartment one Friday evening. I’d just gotten off my part-time shift as a waitress, something I did while attending community college. The bigger colleges were out of my budget even with scholarships, and there was no way I was going to ask my family to help me. They had already done more than their fair share, which included welcoming me into their home with open arms after my parents passed away when I was sixteen years old.
I went to college part-time all while maintaining my job and having my own place to live at the age of twenty. Liam would come over and we’d hang out, watch television until my eyes were tired. Then I’d shoo him out, never leading him on.
That night everything exploded, I was lucky that old man Martin was able to pull Liam off me. Not only did he break my jaw, my ribs were bruised, and I had a gash where I fell after that final blow. I wasn’t sure what was worse when I woke up in the hospital, the look on my aunt Ro’s face or the devastation on my uncle Howie’s, or the way I looked. I tried to crack a smile, but it didn’t form, and it caused us all to cry when I realized something was wrong with my face.
They soothed me, and when it was time for me to be discharged from the hospital, my uncle and his friends had already moved everything into a storage unit and brought my clothes to their house. I was lucky enough not to have to testify, only having to do a deposition. What with the pictures and hospital records, they had enough proof, plus with the mess of his hands, and blood splattered clothes. It showed everything without him confessing.
When the dust had somewhat settled, having the wires taken off and my hair growing back from where they had to cut it in order to stitch me up, I told them my plans to move. It was hard for them to swallow that pill, but in the end they understood. All that was left was for me to sell was what furniture I had in my storage unit, unenroll from college, and hit the road.
“Kellie.” I look up from the computer screen to where I was staring off in the distance. It could have been the email I just received from the State of Arkansas letting me know Liam was being released three months early, due to good behavior, even when the defense attorney pleaded for him to spend his remaining months behind bars. It was no use, and if this had happened right after I was beaten down to a bloody pulp, I probably would have crumbled.
“Hey, Slade, is everything okay?” I reply.
“Yeah, I need you to run this over to Frank at the police station.” He hands me the folder.
“Okay, I’ll take my lunch break while I’m out that way too. Do you want me to pick anything up?” I offer.
“I’m good. Taylor is bringing something with her, but Bridger, Drake, or Leo may want something.” He nods his head toward the back of the office where a row of rooms for each member of Nighthawk Security is located.
“I’ll go ask and then be on my way.” I put my computer on sleep, tidy up my desk space before standing up and smoothing my skirt down.
Slade acknowledges me with a nod of his head, then he heads out the front door for God knows what. It’s something I’ve noticed about these men—they can’t sit still. Half the time they’re in and out of the office several times a day.
I meander my way looking into Leo and Drake’s offices. Both are empty, so I make my way to Bridger’s. The tension that has been building between us is off the charts. There’s something about him. He’s the jokester of the group, always drops one-liners, makes me laugh when I have the weight of the world on my shoulders. Too bad my guard is so high, I’m not sure I’ll ever allow a man into my world again.
Two
Bridger
I can hear the click of her heels coming down the hallway. My office is the last one she’
ll come to. It doesn’t matter though. With my hearing, I knew right away what Slade was offering, I’ll be surprised if Taylor is even coming this way. It’s more likely he’ll go to her.
She makes her way to just inside my office. She’s come out of her shell some over the last few months. When she first landed at Nighthawk Security, I swear she was scared of her own shadow. There was something about her though. The three of us—Slade, Drake, and myself—knew we needed someone to help man the day-to-day bullshit, and since we lived in this small town, there weren’t a whole lot of prospects.
Kellie walked in the door with a small smile on her face. The way her eyes would dart to each of us as we rattled off questions told me she was hesitant at first, then she loosened up as the clock ticked by. I still remember exactly what she was wearing: the black pant suit she wore complimented her body. The way her blouse was buttoned all the way to the column of her throat, not giving a hint of any skin. Her pants, though, they might as well have been painted on her body. It gave the perfect sophisticated look with a hint of something dark and decadent. Her dirty blonde hair was long and she had it curled. It was so long it was hanging well past her breasts, much like she wears it still to this day.
When she got up to leave, my eyes were glued to her shapely legs and an ass that I knew I wanted my hands full of. Slade cleared his throat, narrowed his gaze, and I sat up straighter in my chair. I knew it wasn’t the time or the place, and Kellie looked like she wanted and needed the job. The three of us talked, I ran a background check, and even with what I came back with, we hired her. If anyone could keep this woman safe, it would not only be me, but my brothers as well.
“Hey, I’m heading to run an errand and get lunch. Want me to bring you anything back from the deli?” Kellie asks. Her head is down, her hair in her signature soft curls, hiding eyes the color of Spanish moss hanging on a tree and lips that form the perfect pout without actually pouting. Today, she’s wearing a green top that’s tucked into a flowy floral skirt. It stops above her knee, showcasing her legs, and the shoes only elongate them.
“Hey, how about we ride together? I have something I need to do myself.” I stand up, not giving her the option to allow me to go with her or not. I’ll even drive us. Kellie may not think we don’t know about her past, but you can bet your ass I know everything and then some, including the email she got about her abuser.
It was hard to sit on that bit of information when I learned about it earlier this week. I brought it to Slade and Drake’s attention when we had our weekly Monday meeting. None of us could tell Kellie we knew Liam Fitzpatrick was out even when he’s on probation. The likeliness of him actually staying in Arkansas and checking in with his parole officer is highly unlikely, which is why, while we’re dropping off paperwork for Slade, I’m going to ease her into this conversation. Kellie may not know it yet, but she’s as good as mine. The meeting Monday morning solidified it. Neither Drake nor Slade were surprised.
“I can just bring you something back,” she suggests.
“That’s okay. I have something I need to check into while you’re there.” I’m already standing, sliding my phone and wallet into my pocket, then going for my keys. There’s no way I’ll be riding in her car. We’ll take the company Tahoe.
Her head is down as she faces her toes, her foot drawing an imaginary line along the floor. “Kellie, sunshine.” My hand touches to her soft hair, tugging at the ends lightly to get her attention.
“You’re a lot to handle, Bridger,” she murmurs when she finally gives me her eyes.
“Something tells me you can match me pace for pace, and it’s something we’ll be circling back to soon.” It takes everything in me not to taste her rosy pink lips.
Kellie doesn’t move away from me though. If anything, her body sways closer to me, so close that I have to move my other arm around her back to keep her steady.
“Bridger.” Her voice is breathless. I know she can feel the way our bodies gravitate toward one another every time we’re around each another, even if it’s in the breakroom.
“I know, Kellie. I know.” We reluctantly let go. I guide her with my hand, grazing her lower back as we make it to the reception area.
“I need to grab the file and my purse.” I nod my head, waiting for her. Little does she know I had a hand in that file she’s about to drop off for Travis. Fuck, knowing Slade, he let his brother-in-law know Kellie would be there sometime today. There are definitely perks for serving with the town sheriff.
After she grabs her things, my hand returns directly to her lower back, my eyes on high alert when we leave the building until we’re safely ensconced in the Tahoe.
“Are you okay?” Kellie asks once she’s buckled up in the passenger seat and I’m clicking my own into place.
“Of course,” I respond, trying to keep it light.
“Hmm,” she replies but drops it. I put the car in drive. One of the things we all do with our vehicles is back them into their assigned parking spots. You never know when you need to leave in a hurry. I glance over at her. She’s lost deep in thought. I drop the subject for now. I know later on, she’s going to give me hell, and rightfully so.
Three
Kellie
Bridger wasn’t being elusive or anything. In fact, during the whole five-minute drive to the police station, my hand was being held in his on top of the center console. Since I took the receptionist job at Nighthawk, I knew Bridger and I had some kind of connection, but my mind wasn’t ready to go there. The last time I let a man enter my life, he didn’t show his true colors until it was too late. Not to mention he was a psychopath, and Liam was just a friend.
Something tells me if things got hot and heavy with Bridger and myself, they’d be different. But also, if things fell a part, I’m not sure my soul would recover.
“Stay there. I’m going to open the door and escort you inside,” Bridger states after throwing the truck in park.
“We’re really going to have to talk,” I grumble, but he’s already out of the truck. I blow out an exasperated breath when he opens my door and guides me the entire way down, even when I have to turn around to get my purse and the file Slade handed me.
“After we see Travis and get things handled, we’ll talk,” he replies.
“Finally.” He shuts and locks the door behind us, then we make our way inside.
I stop in my tracks when Travis appears in my view. He’s standing with his feet spread a part, his arms crossed over his chest. I’ve never felt this intimidated by him before.
“Something tells me this is more than what it seems,” I say under my breath.
“Hey, Kellie, Bridger. Follow me on back to my office.” He turns on his heel before I can manage to get a word out.
“Freaking alpha men. I swear none of them ask. They simply state,” I say under my breath.
“I heard that. I promise we’ll get this straightened out, but before we walk in there, know this, I’m trying to protect you.” He takes my hand in his, squeezing it firmly as my stomach sinks down to my feet. I begrudgingly let him lead me down the hall to Travis’s office.
It takes us less than a minute. Travis is already seated behind his desk when he nods his head for us to sit down.
“Slade asked me to bring you this.” I hand him the folder before I smooth my skirt down to take a seat. Bridger is already sitting down beside me, his hand out and open, waiting for my hand. I place mine in his for the third time today, finding a sense of peace while doing so.
“Kellie, I’m ninety-nine percent sure you know why you’re here today, but I’ll tell you anyway. Bridger ran a background check on you when you accepted employment at Nighthawk, like all businesses do. Theirs are bit more thorough, so they know the logistics of what went down in Arkansas. They also knew something would happen this week. Bridger brought it to Slade and Drake’s attention, and they filled out the paperwork for a restraining order. You know as well as I do that it’s a simple piece of paper, but I need
you to sign it. It’s a precaution, and something tells me your man here will take good care of you.” Travis holds a pen out for me. I untangle my hand from Bridger’s. It’s trembling the entire time. I knew they would find out. Hell, if I’m being honest with myself, I’m glad they know the documented version. Anytime I think back on what happened, my emotions overwhelm me in a double-time pattern.
I look at Bridger. His small smile and nod of his head give me the courage to sign the paper.
“You’re right, Travis. If Liam decides to cut and run, this may not hold him back, but at least everything is in place. This is also another sign that I need to get myself into not only the gun range but some self-defense classes.” I sign with the flourish of my signature, wanting to get this out of the way. I may seem calm and collected right now, but I know myself. I’m going to lose it, and I don’t mean in the angry way. No, I mean in the ugly-cry, snot-coming-out-of-my-nose, chest-flushed-in-a-deep-red-tone way. It will not be pretty.
“You okay?” Bridger asks, rubbing the nape of my neck where my hair has moved over to one side while I sign the paperwork.
I shake my head no, but the papers are signed, and I can hold it in a few more minutes. I’ve done this so many times, surely, I can do it for a few more minutes.