Page 8 of Too Guarded to Love (Project VIPER #3)

N ic stood next to a group of chairs in the private emergency room waiting area.

Kane barreled through the door, his arm cocked and ready to throw a punch.

Nic didn’t duck as a fist slammed into his jaw.

His head snapped back. Pain exploded in his cheek.

Good thing Kane had a steel leg rather than a steel arm.

Nic didn’t think his face could take much more of a beating tonight.

He rubbed his stubbled jaw and absorbed the punishment he’d been anticipating for almost an hour. “I’m sorry, man.” The message that Linc had landed VIPER’s helicopter on the roof had come in just minutes ago. Kane hadn’t wasted any time delivering a well-deserved punch. “I swear, I had no idea.”

How could he have known the woman in the rain was Kane’s twin?

Holy hell, he’d almost fucked Kane’s sister.

Even worse, he’d almost broken the sacred bro code he took to heart.

The consequences of what he’d done, of what he might be doing at this very moment if a bullet hadn’t interrupted the hottest encounter of his life, slammed into his gut like a curveball.

Kane and all his VIPER brothers were family. They worked, trained, and played together. They all had dinner at Kane’s grandmother’s house once a week.

Shit. What would Gran think?

“How could you not know she was my sister?” Kane pushed Nic into the coffee station in the corner of the small room. A stack of cups and lids toppled to the floor. “You know her name. I’ve talked about her plenty of times.”

Nic straightened and stepped toward his furious teammate, hands up in surrender. “I’m sorry. I’d never do that to a brother, but I swear I didn’t know she was your sister. You and Gran call her Livvie. She introduced herself as Olivia.”

“There are pictures of her in Gran’s house.”

“Of when she was a baby, and like when she was five on the first day of school and maybe twelve-ish at Christmas. And you can’t see her face in the only picture Gran has of her as an adult.”

But damn, it was some photo. He’d been admiring Kane’s sister on top of a horse, her curvy profile backlit by the setting sun, a black cowboy hat obscuring her features since the day he’d stepped foot in Gran’s house. No wonder she’d looked familiar.

Fuck, he shouldn’t be thinking about her that way. Not now. Not ever.

He scrubbed his hand over his bruised face as he tried to erase images of the sexy cowgirl from his mind. “I didn’t even know your sister was in the area. You said the other day she’s been too busy to call, let alone take a vacation to see you and Gran.”

Kane ripped the cowboy hat off his head and slapped it on his thigh. “What the fuck was she doing in town? And what the hell was she doing at the beach? Did she tell you? Apparently, you two are close enough to share information because she sure as shit didn’t tell me.”

Linc appeared and clapped them on their shoulders.

With a shove, he sent them to opposite sides of the room.

“Enough. While watching you two beat the piss out of each other would be entertaining, I don’t want to explain to Edgar why VIPER is getting a bill for a trashed waiting room.

Start fighting again and I’ll finish it. ”

Nic backed off. So did Kane. A kick from one of Linc’s steel legs would hurt a hell of a lot more than Kane’s punch. And a lecture from VIPER’s director, Admiral Edgar, would be almost worse.

Joe’s oldest sister, Gloria, strode through the open door. She paused on the threshold and eyed the coffee station mess. “I swear to God, Nic. If I didn’t love you so much, I’d kick you right out of my hospital.”

He shrugged, not surprised to see Gloria, like her brother, seeking distraction in her work. “Sorry. I’ll clean it up.” He righted a cup of stirrers. “These are my teammates, Kane and Linc. This is Gloria. Do you remember my buddy Joe, who met us for dinner a few months ago when he was in town?”

Kane nodded. “The cop. Good guy.”

“This is his big sister. She’s a doctor here and also runs this place.”

Kane and Linc offered their apologies for the death of her sibling.

Gloria thanked them as she blinked back tears. With a deep breath, she smiled. “Which one of you defiled Nic’s too-pretty-for-his-own-good face?”

Kane set his cowboy hat back on his head. “That would be me, ma’am. Sorry for the commotion. He deserved it, though.”

She pretended to write with her finger on the tablet clutched in her hands.

“Score one for the bionic man in my ER.” She looked up and assessed each of them.

“It’s nice to finally meet you guys. If this VIPER gig doesn’t work out, you all have jobs in this place.

We sure see enough odd shit for a quaint beach town. ”

Odd shit was right. Nic rubbed his shoulder where the petite brunette in the navy power suit with balls as big as her Italian family had sewn up the bullet wound in his shoulder.

She’d washed his and Olivia’s blood from his body, but he could still feel it burn like a brand beneath his skin. “How’s Olivia?”

“Lucky. The bullet went clear through. Surgery wasn’t necessary.”

Kane pulled his hat off his head and clutched it in his hands. “I’m her brother. Can I see her?”

“Soon. She’s about to get stitched up. We’ve given her painkillers, so she’s comfortable. She’ll be out of it for another hour or so.”

As Gloria said goodbye, Nic turned to Kane. “I’m really sorry, man. If I’d known…”

He should have known. Their features and coloring were similar enough to make a connection. And he’d known Kane’s sister was an orthopedic surgeon. Her clinical interest at the start should have been a giveaway. Dammit, he’d been so wrapped up in his own problems, he’d missed all the clues.

He thought back to the look in her eyes when she’d noticed his arm. The something, along with surprise he couldn’t define, had been recognition.

Fuck. When she’d touched him and said, “You can feel that,” she hadn’t needed confirmation. She knew damn well he could feel her touch.

She knew exactly who he was.

Nic bit back telling Kane his sister was the kind of pretty little liar he avoided.

His face hurt too much to get pummeled again.

So did his pride. He’d only wanted to run off some anger for fuck’s sake, not embroil himself in a woman’s drama.

He’d been led down that path and had scars inside and out to show for it.

Kane pointed a finger at him. “I don’t care how it happened. I heard you say, ‘clothes came off.’ Those clothes came off my sister.”

“I’m sorry.” The back of Nic’s neck buzzed along with the hum from the vending machine. “We didn’t do anything but?—”

But what? He’d let the last woman he should be screwing around with press those pretty heart-shaped lips to his cock. Felt her touch on his flesh and sensed it in his steel, stronger than he’d experienced any sensations since VIPER imbued him with voodoo magic.

Based on Olivia’s fascination with his steel parts, she’d geek out over a conversation with Scarlett, Chris’s wife, and one of the geniuses behind his technology.

And Olivia was the perfect sister-in-law match for Beth, Kane’s fiancée, who worked for the National Health Agency.

Scarlett and Beth were brilliant scientists and passionate about their work.

And both dedicated to his VIPER brothers they’d fallen for.

No way in hell was the lying sirena going to be in that last category.

Ever.

Kane slapped his hand against his super leg, jittering beneath his jeans.

“Don’t finish telling me what you did with Livvie if you know what’s good for you.

In fact, don’t even think about finishing anything when it comes to my sister or else I’ll punch the other side of your pretty face.

The only thing I want you to tell me is why the fuck she was shot and then get the hell out of my sight. ”

Nic sighed. The heavy sound bottomed out in his heart. “I have a theory. I was going to talk to you guys about it tomorrow, but… ”

Kane’s phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket and tipped it toward Nic like a knife. “This isn’t over.” He threw open the door and stepped into the hall.

Linc laughed. “You are so fucked, dude.”

“Yeah, I know.” He rubbed the back of his neck, bracing himself to face the consequences for his actions. “I swear. I had no idea.”

“What?” Kane’s voice boomed through the door as he turned to face them. “Where is she?”

Nic hurried into the hall, Linc on his heels. “What’s happened?”

The color drained from Kane’s face. “Gran collapsed at bingo. I’ve got to go.” He pointed at Nic. “Stay with my sister. Keep her safe.”

Cold sweat trickled down Nic’s back. The nurse’s desk across from him blurred. The faces of the patients and caregivers buzzing around him morphed into another time.

Another place.

Another woman he’d been responsible for.

He’d tried. Damn, he’d tried to keep her safe, but she’d lied, and it had cost them both.

He couldn’t afford any more surprises shooting out of the shadows.

Surprises spawned from withheld information.

Olivia not telling him who she was before she demanded he take his pants off had birthed a fuckton of chaos.

Nic paced in front of the room where a doctor finished stitching up Olivia. Kane’s words rushed through his brain. “ Stay with my sister. Keep her safe.”

Kane’s fucking sister.

Nic still couldn’t wrap his head around what he’d done, let alone halt his fears from spiraling.

As soon as Kane got back, he would hand over responsibility for Olivia’s safety and tap out of the situation.

When they met again at Beth and Kane’s wedding in a few months, which fell on his birthday, he’d pretend to barely remember her name and never think of her again.

What a fun way to roll into thirty-four.

But nobody, not even the wet, willing, mesmerizing creature who’d kneeled at his feet, would jeopardize the career and the family he’d found in VIPER.