Page 2 of Guarding the Shadows (Pulsetunes Rock Gods #5)

R aff

As I closed the door to my room, I continued to try to decipher the look I’d just caught in Beth’s gray eyes and quickly realized I could be treading on dangerous ground.

She was my boss’s sister, and I was committed already.

It made me wonder if I’d given signals that might have led her on.

Sure, we’d been friendly but on reflection perhaps I’d been too playful.

Shaking off that thought after deciding to be more mindful, I took out my earpiece and untangled myself from my communications equipment attached to my inside jacket pocket.

Sitting it onto the charging dock, I placed it on the nearest nightstand.

Next, I dropped my shades, cell phone and car keys from my pockets onto the nightstand on the other side of the bed.

As I tiredly stripped out of my T-shirt and comfy cargo pants, I thanked God that Screaming Shadows were the kind of band that let us wear what we wanted. I hated wearing suits and found them movement-restrictive and ineffective attire for anyone who worked in personal protection.

My gaze slid to the bathroom door but instead of heading for the shower like I usually did to relax, I flopped buck-naked onto my large, comfortable hotel bed.

A loud groan burst out of my throat the moment I stretched my arms above my head and felt my taut muscles ache as they lengthened out.

It had been almost three days since I’d gotten a daily workout and every joint in my large, toned body was experiencing fatigue.

Once I’d laid there a few minutes, I swiped my phone off the nightstand, hit the gallery app and began to scroll through the snaps I had taken during my previous few days off. My heart rate kicked up a notch the moment I saw Gwen, the girl who’d held my heart since I was seventeen.

Love emanated from the image I’d caught as a candid selfie while we’d stared into each other’s eyes.

It was a photograph that conveyed heightened emotions between us that words couldn’t do justice to.

I swapped out the mountain scene on my screen and made the photograph of us the wallpaper.

Seeing it would serve as a constant reminder of who was important to me.

Gwen was mine and I was hers and I decided that the foreign connection I felt with Beth was merely a byproduct of being homesick and missing my girl.

No matter how physically far apart our lives had taken us, or how many years had passed, Gwen had always played a huge part in my life. Even now, as our careers kept us apart, we always made our way back to each other.

I’m not going to lie, she was disappointed and thought we’d be a regular couple once I had left the military.

If I’m honest, I’d thought I’d have liked that as well.

But from the moment I’d stepped out in life as an adult civilian with the title of being a war veteran, I quickly realized all those ‘thank you for your service’ comments that had fallen from people’s lips, appeared to be forgotten as soon as I’d swapped out my combat fatigues for T-shirts and jeans.

At all twenty-three job applications for cyber intelligence roles, I’d been quoted as “A strong candidate for the position” but had been overlooked for twenty-two-year-old graduates who no doubt had resumes full of impressive theoretical, academic achievements, but no relatable experience in the field.

Therefore, I believe it was my lucky day when Bodhi hit me up and offered me a position as part of his small, close protection team for an up-and-coming rock band.

Personally, I’d never heard of Screaming Shadows, but by then I was so desperate to get off veteran’s welfare and make some bucks of my own, I’d have offered myself up as a close protection guy for almost anyone.

Now, nearly ten years later, I was part of the furniture with the guys in the band, and their families. Not only that, because I’ve worked in close proximity to Jude, Levi, Deakon, Korry and Greg for that length of time, they treated me as a trusted friend.

“Hey, baby,” I mumbled, noting the tired tone in my voice. “It’s late but I guess you’re still at work since your cell phone is turned off. I can’t believe I haven’t seen you for three weeks already.”

I sighed because I hated these constant voice messages my partner Gwen and I left for each other.

“I’ve been so busy with the band that I must have missed where you told me that you’re on the nightshift again.

I’ll be up and about by 7:30 a.m. your time, but we’re on the move one more time tomorrow, then I’ll be home.

Let me know what you’re doing, and I promise we’ll chat then. ”

My heart clenched when I thought of all the times I’d let Gwen down—times when we’d planned dates and I’d had to raincheck last minute to go do my job.

Man, those were the situations where the demands of my work outweighed the sacrifice we ultimately made as a couple.

When those lows came, I considered whether to try to find something nearer to home with more regular hours.

Then I knew it would mean leaving people who were like family.

Plus, the money I made was great—more than great if I’m honest.

So, although we both worked irregular hours, because Gwen was a nurse, or I wasn’t around some of the time because the band was touring, we’d always made it work.

It wasn’t all bad because there were windows of time when she came along with me, whenever the band’s tour brought us close enough to home.

But that had depended upon if she had personal time owing or could arrange a last-minute shift swap with a colleague, to make that happen.

On the plus side, the money I earned helped me ensure that Gwen’s lifestyle was comfortable in my absence. I insisted I paid the bills on both of our places and treated my girl like the queen she was, whenever we carved precious time together.

Disappointment and a little resentment settled deep in my gut as I closed out the call and tapped my cell phone in the palm of my other hand. Turning to see the screen, I glanced down at our faces again, then decided to send her a text.

Me: I’m so sad that I missed U again. I swear I’ll do better.

We’re due two weeks R & R starting next week.

Let me know what your shift pattern is like, and maybe we could do a few days away.

How does Nashville—good food, great music and lazy days together, sound?

Being away from you always sux! I love you, baby. Speak to you soon, Rx

It had been three days since we’d managed to have a conversation of any substance …

if you could call a fifteen-minute canteen conversation while I waited for the guys to finish a sound check.

The punishing schedule had been brutal for our relationship while I was guarding the Shadows.

Still, Gwen and I had weathered worse, with two six-month deployments and me being stationed halfway across the country once my unit had returned to the US.

For a few moments I stared at the happy picture again and stroked over her face with my thumb.

While I did this, memories of her soft skin floated through my mind, making my heart ache to hold her again.

I’d missed her more than usual this time.

Then again, it had been a grueling few weeks for the band, us and the crew.

Dismissing my melancholy as tiredness, I rolled off the end of the bed and stood up.

No matter how tired I was, showering before bed was always a must for me.

The warm spray of hot water usually untangled the knots from my shoulders and helped me relax and wind down.

It was as much a part of my daily routine as my workouts and showers were in the morning.

Stepping into the luxurious, marble bathroom, I eyed the large tub by the window and wondered whether a long soak might be better to ease the aches and strains that I felt.

But the moment I eyed the powerful showerhead in the built-in, glass cubicle I didn’t hesitate when I reached in, turned on the spray and stepped inside.