Page 2 of Protecting Lainey (Broterhood Alliance #7)

Finn Ryder got off the plane in Orlando and wiped the sweat from his brow. After the cooler, drier air of Riverside, California, the humidity hit like a punch to the gut. Not unexpected but still jarring.

The temperate climate of California already felt like a distant memory.

The two weeks he’d spent with Matthew “Wolf” Steel’s SEAL team and their spouses catching up, laughing, and rehashing all the good times they had was exactly the break he’d needed. A reminder of who he’d been. Who he still was in some ways.

But watching all those hardened warriors who risked so much to fight for their country yet still found love made him wonder about his own life. What was he missing?

Was he missing anything?

The night before he left, they’d all met at the bar that Kason “Benny” Sawyer’s wife, Jessyka, now owned. He remembered Aces Bar he dealt with lives.

He knew Tex had helped all the men at the table by digging up intel, tracing calls, helping them find and rescue the women they loved.

Finn hoped he’d never have to ask him for help. Because the only time you asked Tex to help was if something or someone you loved was in danger and you were out of options.

Tex’s recent work with the Brotherhood Alliance helped Ford McCallum bring the love of his life, Tessa Donnelly, home.

Now that he was older, Finn wasn’t looking for a woman.

Someday down the line … he’d be interested.

Right now, though, he liked the life he’d built.

No responsibility to anyone but himself.

His contracting business was thriving. The jobs at the Brotherhood Alliance kept him in top form and created enough excitement, so he didn’t miss the teams that much.

Best of all, he still got to use skills learned in the service—only now, on his terms.

Although he’d be lying if he said the idea of a home and a wife, maybe a kid or two, didn’t cross his mind occasionally.

He shook it off. Enough reflection.

Tomorrow, he’d start a new contracting job renovating a small apartment building downtown. Most of Haywood Lake was charming, but some areas had fallen into decline. With the historic downtown undergoing a revival, the building owner thought this was a perfect time to update.

Rumor had it the building might be turned into housing for veterans. If that was the case, he was all in. Too many vets returned home with nothing but a duffel bag and scars.

Haywood Lake didn’t have a large homeless population, but like other cities, it had its share of people slipping through the cracks—people without a steady roof over their heads. Anything he could do to help eliminate that, even a little, was all right in his book.

He thought of a buddy from his first deployment. Jeff was sharp and loyal to a fault. He made it back stateside to find his wife had taken everything, leaving behind an empty apartment, an empty bank account and divorce papers on the counter.

Last he heard, Jeff was couch-surfing in Miami, doing day labor and barely scraping by.

That should never happen to men who served willingly and gave up everything to do it. It hadn’t escaped Finn’s notice how easily things fell apart even when love was supposed to hold it all together.

He adjusted the strap on his duffel, took one last look at the airport, and headed to his truck.

But every now and then, a memory crept in. A laugh. A pair of gray-green eyes full of ambition, love, and hope that looked at him like he was her everything.

Lainey.

She never wrote. Not that he blamed her.

He left. She moved on.

End of story.

But it stung sometimes. He told himself it meant nothing. Just a memory from another life. A reminder that things don’t last, no matter how much you want them to.

He tossed his duffel onto the seat and climbed behind the wheel.

The Florida sun was slowly lowering in the sky, casting everything in an orange glow. A pleasant breeze picked up, but the air was still thick with humidity.

Tomorrow was another day.

Then the real work would begin—dust, noise, shattered glass.

Fixing what was broken.

Rebuilding lives. Maybe even something in himself if he were being honest.

If renovating the building could help even one person find solid ground again, Finn would do it.

That would be enough. No questions asked.