Page 10

Chapter Nine

As soon as I walked into the kitchen, Ruby, Trenda, and the little girl hustled out, leaving me with an open-mouthed Maddie.

She stood in the nook where the two counters met, balancing a plate of food in one hand and a drink in the other. Her cheeks were flushed. I wondered how long she’d been here and if she’d been drinking much, but then decided no. There was no way that Maddie would drink too much, not if she was driving.

I closed the gap between us. I pulled the dishes out of her hands and put them on the counter behind her. I reached out and brushed a strand of hair off her cheek and tucked it behind her ear. “I meant what I said the other night, Maddie. I’m not giving up.”

Her eyes darkened, but she didn’t say anything. That was fine. I wasn’t done.

“I’ve wanted you since forever. Since our junior year.”

“You asked Mary Slaughter out,” she whispered.

“I was a dumbass. I was confused back then, but I’m not now. I know what I want. I know who I want.”

“You don’t live here.”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Right now, we have time to make up for.”

Her breathing hitched.

Her eyes widened.

I leaned in and put my hands on the counter on either side of her, boxing her in. I pressed my cheek against hers. “I don’t want to be just your friend. I want to be the man who hears your laugh first thing every morning and the man who makes you scream his name every single night.”

A soft gasp left her lips, and she clutched my waist.

I leaned back so I could look her in the eye. “Unless you tell me to stop, I’m going to kiss you.”

She didn’t say a word.

I touched my lips to hers, and the world ceased to exist. There was only Maddie. She tasted like strawberries and heat. Like passion, fire and want. She moved her hands so that they were twisting in the front of my shirt, dragging me closer. Our kiss turned carnal. Soon there was nothing between us but years and need.

I wasn’t kissing her. I was finally claiming her, like I should have done so many years ago. She melted into me, then surged upwards, opening her mouth with a ferocious taking that set me on fire. I let go of the counter and slid one hand to the small of her back, pulling her tight against me, never wanting to let her go.

I could kiss Maddie forever. She was more necessary than air.

A distant voice broke through the haze.

“…Kai, don’t go in there. Just wait—Kai, I’m serious?—”

Ruby. Damn.

I pulled back just as the kitchen door creaked open. Maddie swayed slightly, lips parted, cheeks flushed. I turned around, keeping her behind me, shielding her from view.

Kai walked in, eyes sharp and curious. “Beau. You got a minute?”

“Now’s not a good time.”

“This won’t take long, and Jase has to leave. So, it’d be great if you could give me five minutes.”

Fuck! Could the timing be any worse?

I looked over my shoulder at Maddie. She looked pale. I’d come on too strong, and she was going to run. Talking about the long-term was too much for her.

Dammit!

I nodded. “Yeah. Just give us a sec.”

He looked past me, probably trying to see Maddie.

“Great, we’re out on the patio.”

“I’ll be right there.”

Kai left the kitchen, and I turned to Maddie. Dammit, I could practically see her building the walls, brick by brick.

“Don’t leave. I’ll be right back.”

“Go do what you have to do.”

“Shit, you’re going to leave, aren’t you?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “Just go talk to Kai and whoever else is on the patio.”

“Maddie, if you run, I’m just going to follow you.”

“Go talk to Kai.”

* * *

I opened the sliding glass door and stepped out onto a newly built cedar deck. Somebody had spent some serious coin on high-end patio furniture that five men weren’t bothering to use.

Figured.

Instead, they were all standing around the built-in grill or leaning over the railing that looked over open land. Most of them had a beer in their hands.

“Hey. Let me introduce you,” Kai said as he came up to me. “You know Drake and Simon, right?”

I nodded.

“This is Roan Thatcher,” he said as a tall man who had been standing next to Simon stepped forward.

“Beau, I’ve been waiting to see you again. At least the real Beau Beaumont.” Roan chuckled as he held out his hand.

“Roan, you old bastard. How are you doing? Last I heard, you were at Walter Reed and kicking ass.”

“Damn right I was,” Roan grinned. “They told me I wouldn’t walk again. Nobody should bet against a Marine Raider.”

“Damn straight.” I looked over at my twin, then at Roan. “So, you saw Kai and mistook him for me, did you?”

Roan nodded.

“When he explained, I was excited to know you were in town. It’s really good to see you, brother. I thought you were never going to step foot in Jasper Creek again.”

“It’s good to see you again, too.” And it really was. It was good to see him upright, and it was good to see him here in our hometown. “When I found out about Kai, i.e. Brady, nothing would have stopped me from coming home.”

“I imagine. So, are you here to stay?” Roan asked me.

“No, I’m going back in a couple of weeks. Are you running your dad’s place?”

“Nope. I work with Simon. We own Onyx Security here in town. I sometimes turn a wrench at the shop when they’re backed up, only because I like the management.”

Kai came over and chuckled. “He makes it sound like they handle all the jaywalkers here in Jasper Creek. They actually work nationally to?—”

“Regionally,” Simon interrupted. “We currently work regionally to handle a few things that fall under the arm of security.”

I looked over all the men on the deck. “Are you all former military? Except for Drake?”

“The men who work with Onyx are,” Simon answered.

“The last man in our group here is Jase Drakos. He recently transitioned out of his SEAL team in Little Creek and settled here.”

Jase was the biggest man in the group, even bigger than Drake. He’d winced when Simon said he’d left his team. I knew what that meant. He’d been discharged against his will, just like my brother Kai, most likely due to an injury.

Jase stepped forward to shake my hand and give a half smile. “Good to meet you, Beau. I think I’ve seen you somewhere before.”

“Lame joke,” Kai and I said at the same time. We turned to one another and laughed. Shit, we were acting like twins who had grown up together.

How fucking cool was that?

“So why am I out here?” I asked Simon. I instinctively knew it was his idea to have Kai drag me out to the deck.

“Could just be a military circle jerk,” Drake offered.

“Shut it, Drake,” Simon ordered. It was then I remembered Simon used to be a Lieutenant Commander of SEALs. He’d probably been Drake’s boss’s boss. It didn’t stop Drake from rolling his eyes at his brother-in-law, but Drake stopped talking.

“You’re here because I wanted to let you know that there would be a place for you here at Onyx if you were thinking about leaving early and settling down here in Jasper Creek.”

Now this I hadn’t been expecting.

“So, what is it again that Onyx does?” I asked.

Simon nodded to Roan, who was leaning against the grill. “About three years ago, when I came back home, Simon had already started Onyx Security.” Roan explained. “Simon had done a couple of jobs. When we got together, we thought we might do some low-key consulting, maybe a few high-end protection gigs. But it didn’t stay small for long. Word got out after a couple of tough rescues, situations that needed creative problem-solving and quiet extractions, not red tape. Most of our work comes through referrals now, former clients, law firms and private security networks. It got out of hand fast.”

“Like what?” I asked.

Roan turned to Simon, who nodded.

“Our latest was such a pain in the ass. We had to go after a guy.”

“You take skips?” I was surprised they went after people who didn’t show up to their court dates.

Simon shook his head. “No, we’d been hired by a corporation to check into why they were leaking money like a sieve. It took some time. Needed to bring in an expert, because that’s not Roan or me.”

I frowned. “A military asset?”

“Fuck no.” Simon was aghast. “We would never pull in one of my old military subordinates on something like this.”

Drake chuckled. “He doesn’t have to, not when he can pull in one of their wives.”

I was confused. “Wives?”

“Two of my teammates are married to superb hackers. These ladies give our computer tech a run for his money. So did you pull in Lydia or Rylie?” Drake asked Simon.

“Rylie,” Simon answered. “She was able to narrow it down to one woman. She was siphoning off everything to a Swiss bank account. Turns out her brother was a member of the Blood Ravens, a motorcycle gang out of Chicago. He was the one pulling her strings. She had no priors. We should be able to scoop him up the day after tomorrow.”

I was impressed. It would be damn tough to separate a brother from his gang and have him arrested.

“How are you going to do that?” I asked.

“Let’s just say it’s going to be tricky, and leave it at that,” Roan answered.

“Gotcha.”

“So, you see why we need to expand,” Roan said to me. “We are getting more and more cases, and we need experienced men.”

“It’s a nice problem to have,” Simon said as he tipped back his beer.

“About that time, Nolan O’Roarke?—”

“A former SEAL out of Little Creek,” Simon interrupted Roan.

“Yeah,” Roan agreed. “Nolan came to live here in Jasper Creek with his wife and adopted daughter. Simon talked him into joining us, so we could cover the jobs we wanted to take.”

“Then they recruited me,” Jase spoke up.

“And me,” Kai grinned.

I held up both my hands. “I see where this is going, gentlemen. But I’m not interested. I’ve got five more years to serve before I hit my twenty. I intend to serve it.”

Drake took a step toward me, his expression flinty. “Then what are you doing with Mads?”

“That’s between her and me.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” Drake said as he pushed into my personal space. “You’ve already pulled a runner on her before, and I sure as hell won’t stand for you breaking her heart again.”

“Again. It’s between her and me.”

“Beaumont—”

“Leave it.” Simon settled his hand on Drake’s shoulder. “All of your sisters are grown women. They appreciate the fact that you care about them, but there is a line you can’t cross.”

Drake glared over his shoulder at his brother-in-law. “I don’t want to see Maddie hurt.”

“She’s a smart woman. She can handle herself,” Simon assured Drake.

“Drake, I care too much about her to lead her on.”

“That better be true.” Drake glowered at me.

“So, you’re heading back to California?” Kai asked. “When?”

“I talked to my commander. A little less than two weeks.”

“Understood,” Kai nodded.

“Just know that if you decide to change your mind, I have made some phone calls, and you come highly recommended. It would be a pleasure to have you join us,” Simon said with a firm nod.

“I appreciate that.”

“You should,” Drake growled.

“You still staying at Maddie’s place?” I asked.

“I’m thinking about bunking here tonight,” Drake responded, shaking his head in disgust.

“Good thinking.”

I headed back into the house, knowing that the odds were I was going to have to hunt down my prey, which was fine by me. It was about time Maddie and I got some things straightened out.