Deke (Sabre Security Daddies #4)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

MID-NOVEMBER, THE PREVIOUS YEAR…

T ension radiated from Deke Winters like heat from a stoked furnace as he entered the Ridge County Hospital ER. Everyone scattered around the waiting room froze, faces filled with everything from concern to fear. He shouldn’t even be here. It was his fault Georgia Donnelley had been kidnapped; he was her bodyguard. He should have been in the kitchen with her, not sitting at the fucking Books—N—Brews counter, sucking back a coffee and reading The Daily Nugget .

Stalking up to the front desk, he demanded Georgia’s hospital room number. He thought he would have to ask again when the older lady just stood there, gawking at him like he had three heads. He needed to cool his jets, but he felt so damn responsible for that dickwad Jemison getting to his brother Hutch’s Little girl he couldn’t seem to ratchet it back.

He’d been the one to drive them both to the hospital the day before. Even knowing it was only a flesh wound, his heart raced so hard it was a wonder he didn’t have bruises.

Marshaling every ounce of patience he had, he said, “Ma’am, the room for Georgia Donnelley?” Yes, it came out as a growl, but it was the nicest growl he could muster. It must have done the trick because she gave herself a shake and punched something into her computer before giving him the number to Georgia’s room.

Deke knocked on the door to her room. He had manners, for crying out loud. Without waiting for an answer, he entered the room. He needed to see for himself that she was all right.

Since Hutch was in the process of lecturing her on getting hurt, Deke figured she was probably going to make it. He made a mental note to tell Hutch to make sure he kept medicated ointment on that wound. It wasn’t life threatening, but even a small scratch could be dangerous if you didn’t take care of it.

Of course, Georgia immediately used him to change the conversation. “What ’cha got with you?”

She grinned at the copy of The Daily Nugget he was using to keep his hands busy. That way, he couldn’t punch himself in the face for not doing his fucking job and allowing her to get hurt in the first place.

“Nothing much. Just the latest edition of The Daily Nugget . Somebody needs to talk to that Little girl about this rag. She spends way too much time in other people’s business.”

He’d been reading a copy of The Daily Nugget yesterday, too. Or trying to. He’d just started scanning the front page and was already shaking his head. Suzi Daily, the paper’s owner and main reporter, knew how to sell papers, that was for sure. The giant headline of “Breaking News” stretched all the way across the front page.

Nothing that happened in Darling warranted that kind of fanfare. Nothing that Suzi would know about anyway. There was no telling what she was going on about. Probably some city park that had a new statue. But before he could find out, Georgia’s best friend, Tazzy, had come busting in the front door, screaming that someone had taken Georgia.

He was at the back door in seconds, but whoever took her shot out the panel for the electronic lock, and the door wouldn’t budge. By the time he’d run down the side street to the alley, whoever had taken her was long gone.

Calling Hutch to tell him he’d fucked up and Georgia had paid the price was the hardest call he’d ever made in his life. At least he’d seen the security videos and could tell him more than just that she was gone.

Still, if Georgia could throw sass at him about the newspaper, she was going to be okay. He took a seat in the only other chair in the room. “Anyway, I came to make sure you’re okay. This guy taking good care of you?”

The smile that lit her face sent a shot of jealousy straight through him. Would he ever find a Little to look at him that way? At six feet five inches tall, most Little’s, hell, most women were intimidated by him. Add to that his smooth-as-sandpaper personality, and he was finally starting to understand there may not be anyone out there for him.

And if that didn’t bite, he didn’t know what did. At thirty-nine, he was old enough to know the odds of him finding someone were narrowing. He could ignore it most of the time, but when the love Georgia obviously had for Hutch was in his face all the time, it was hard not to think about whether he’d ever have the same thing.

“Did you catch Jarrod?” Georgia asked. “Is that why you’re here? To tell us he’s in jail?”

Holy shit. Did she not know what had happened to her ex? Deke was a brave man, but there was no way he was touching that. He looked to his brother for help.

Thankfully, Hutch reached for her hand. “He’s not in jail, Georgia.”

Hutch explained what had gone down much better than Deke could have. He dealt in actions, not words. And by the time Hutch was done, the only worry Georgia had was whether Sabre would get into trouble.

What a sweetheart. A little crazy when it came to her bucket list of things she wanted to do, but what was life without a little crazy?

Deke leaned back in his chair and opened up the paper he’d been carrying around. Bracing his nerves, he dove into the latest gossip and mayhem that Suzi had dug up. He read the first line of her breaking news and froze.

What. The. Fuck.

This was no gossip. He needed to talk to Suzi, and now. When Sabre had busted up the drug deal going down at the old farmer’s market a few weeks before, they’d found tracks at a group of stalls about twenty-five yards away. They looked to be bicycle tracks that Sabre had assumed were made by someone involved with either the dealers or their suppliers.

He continued to scan the article Suzi had written. She’d included facts that only someone who was there could have told her. He needed to find out who her source was. Then they could get the fentanyl shit out of their town. When Georgia started pitching a fit about having to take more medicine, he took it as his cue to leave.

“I think I’ll go have a conversation with a certain nosy reporter,” he said. Before Hutch could ask him to explain, he walked out of the room. It was definitely time for him to have a conversation with Suzanna Daily.

When Deke got to The Daily Nugget, the front desk was unmanned. In fact, the entire front room was empty. What was she doing, leaving her door unlocked when no one was there to monitor who was entering the building?

Someone could come in, lock the door behind them, and do god only knew what to whoever they found. The most likely target, in his opinion, would be one petite blonde newspaper warrior with baby blue eyes that took up most of her face. Especially when she wasn’t afraid to go toe to toe with people like him, even though he was almost a foot taller and outweighed her by at least a hundred pounds.

Everyone might think he’d never had a run-in with Suzi Daily, but they would be wrong. He’d had several conversations with Darling’s fearless defender of free speech. She was one woman, and he’d bet his bottom dollar one Little, who didn’t have enough sense to be scared of him. She annoyed the hell out of him every time he tried to make her see reason. Best he could tell, Suzi and reason were not on speaking terms.

They’d gone toe to toe several times in the past year. He remembered every word, every gesture. The way her eyes flashed when she thought he said something she could use to win a point. The deep groove of that dimple as they framed smile. The pulse of electricity that shot up his arm when she put her hand on his to let him know she had something to say and landed square in his dick.

Those arguments were fun. They were exhilarating, challenging. She kept him on his toes because he never knew what she would say next.

That was why he avoided her most of the time. Until he was jonesing for her so hard he couldn’t stay away. He needed to do better. He was fourteen fucking years older than her, and had no business reacting that way to her. She couldn’t possibly return his interest. She hadn’t even started school yet when he graduated.

He was setting himself up for heartache. But even knowing it would never work couldn’t keep away.

That didn’t matter today, though. The conversation he needed to have with her now wasn’t going to be fun. That article she’d published yesterday put a target on her back. Did she even know what she’d seen? Who she was really seeing?

Because Sabre had been working on finding out exactly who these guys were, and they hadn’t made it very far. Someone had covered their tracks and connections. Someone with power and pull. All they knew was these men were responsible for the sudden rise in fentanyl, and they had no problem getting kids hooked on their drugs and then switching up what they sold to shit that could kill them. No one had died in Darling yet, but if Sabre couldn’t get that shit off the streets, it was only a matter of time.

They were days away from finding the connection between this group and The Society because when anything sick happened, The Society was in there somewhere. And now The Society knew someone was leaking information to Suzi. They’d want to plug that leak, which sucked for whoever it was. But that was on the informant and the people he’d chosen to get involved with.

The problem was this gang and The Society might not stop at silencing the leak. No, they might feel the need to make an example of the owner/editor of the paper who made their operation front-page news. That thought made him sick to his stomach.

He needed to get her straightened out. Then he needed to get to Sabre, bring everyone up to speed, and see what their next steps would be.

He bumped the gate that split the front counter open with his knee and walked into the back room. Suzi stood staring down at papers spread over a huge island in the middle of the room. She shifted the pages around and stepped back to view the layout before shaking her head and shifting them again. All the while, she munched on a bright green Granny Smith apple.

She didn’t even notice he was there, and that just pissed him off. Where was her reporter’s instinct? Did the woman have no peripheral vision at all? And where was her situational awareness, for god’s sake? Or pretty much anything else that clued her in to the potential threat lurking right behind her.

No, he needed to light a fire under her ass. She had gotten in way over her head by snooping into things that were going to get her killed, and he couldn’t let that happen.

Whatever it took, he had to make her understand that articles like the one she’d just put out were never to happen again. It wouldn’t be easy. She was dedicated. But he could do it. She might hate him when he was done, but she’d be safe.

A world where she hated him would suck, but the alternative… a world without her breathing… that he couldn’t bear to think about.

He stepped up behind Suzi and wrapped one arm around her waist, pulling her back against his chest. He put his other hand over her mouth. Bending over her, he whispered in her ear with a gravelly voice.

“If I were here to harm you, you might as well have handed me a map. Your door’s unlocked, you’re alone in the office, and you let me get close enough to grab you. So, if I had bad intentions, what could you do to stop me?”

He braced, expecting her to struggle or maybe try to kick him. Even butt him with her head. But she didn’t do any of that. No, she froze in his arms, as defenseless as a lamb.

He relaxed his hold slightly so he wouldn’t hurt her. He was a big guy and didn’t want to scare her to death. And that’s when she struck.

She latched onto his finger with her teeth like a rabid dog with a bone. He couldn’t snatch his hand away because he’d leave all the skin of his trigger finger behind. He wouldn’t be surprised if he were bleeding.

“Let go, Suzi,” he demanded. All that got him was more pain when she shook her head. The little brat. Obviously, she had weapons he hadn’t considered.

There was no longer any doubt about her being a Little. And he deserved what she was dishing out for letting his guard down.

Releasing her waist, he reached up and put pressure on the corners of her jaw. Just enough to force her to unlatch from his finger. He might not want to hurt her, but it seemed that was a desire they did not share.

“Suzi, if you do not stop biting my finger, I’m going to bite you back. Is that what you want?”

As soon as the words left his mouth, he wanted to take them back. Only rookie Daddies made threats they had no intention of carrying out. What was he supposed to do if she called his bluff? He couldn’t very well follow through and bite her. Luckily, she relaxed her jaw and released his finger.

Pulling it back, he saw the impression of six perfectly formed teeth. He wasn’t bleeding, but he might very well be walking around with teeth-shaped bruises on his finger tomorrow. If he did, his brothers would never let him hear the end of it.

His palm itched to spank her ass cherry red, but he couldn’t very well do that when he had started it. Instead, he spun her around,lifted her off her feet, and planted her butt solidly on the island now behind her. Time to have a stern conversation with a certain Little editor-in-chief.

He shouldn’t be looking forward to it as much as he was. It was serious business. Deke needed to know who her source was and everything she’d learned. He also wanted to know how she had met someone who was obviously inside an organization running drugs.

She might not want to tell him, but now that he was fairly confident she was a Little, he knew how to fix that. If there was one thing he knew, it was how to be someone’s Daddy. He’d had years to practice. That was part of the problem. She was so much younger than him. Did he even have the right to Daddy her?

But still, he could give a Little exactly what they needed. And Suzi Daily needed a Daddy more than anyone he’d ever met.

She was full of energy and zeal, but had no idea how to control her impulses. He wasn’t sure he could control them either, but someone had to try. And he was just the man for the job. He would love a chance to take care of her and show her how special she was. And to give her the discipline she needed.

She needed the iron hand in kid-gloves approach—someone to have her back when she was investigating and hold her back when that went too far. Above all, someone to encourage that fabulous mind of hers and keep her safe.

That brain got her into all kinds of situations. One day she was going to get herself into something she couldn’t get out of. He hoped he wasn’t already too late on that score.

The one thing he couldn’t forget was this was for her, not him. He needed to make sure he kept his heart and hopes out of it. This was about her safety, not how much he wanted to kiss those bee-stung lips of hers.

Sure, no problem.

He was such an idiot.

Looking her dead in the eye, he said, “We need to talk, little girl.”

She scowled back at him. “I don’t want to talk to you. You tried to scare me. That is not nice.”

He held up his abused finger. “I think we’re even, Rosebud. And we are going to talk whether you want to or not.”

She heaved a deep sigh. “About what?”

He pulled his copy of The Daily Nugget from his back pocket and held it up as evidence. “How about we start with you telling me what in the hell you were thinking to publish this story. Did you even consider what the blowback would be?”

The confusion that danced through her eyes answered that question for him. Right then, moving on. “You don’t have any idea what you’ve done, do you?”

Her back straightened at that. “I do, too, know what I’ve done. I’ve warned people of a very real threat to the young people of our town. Parents deserve to know what is happening and what is being done about it. These drugs are in our schools.”

“I know that. Sabre is working to get rid of the drugs and those who are pushing them. Did you talk to Reid about what we were doing? According to your article, you had to know we were involved. Did you ask the school what they are doing to combat the problem? Or the police? Or the DA’s office? Do you think it’s smart to throw all of those people under the bus? You made it sound like you’re the only person in town who cares that dangerous drugs are on the rise.”

“I am not. You take that back. I got quotes, or at least asked for them, from everyone involved. I reported exactly what they said. If they wouldn’t talk to me, that’s on them. And if the people who read my article think they aren’t doing enough, that’s not my fault, either.”

She punctuated her statement with a huff and crossed her arms over her chest. A wavy lock of her bangs fell into her face, so she had to drop her tough-girl pose to brush it out of her eyes.

It was adorable, but Deke didn’t dare smile. “Now isn’t the time for you to be cute, Suzanna. This is serious.”

“I’m not being cute, Deacon .” She put emphasis on his name.

Damn it, that was cute, too. He was in so much trouble.

He hadn’t meant to get into an argument on the merits of her article or the quality of the civic response. There wasn’t a lot to refute about that, to be honest.

He needed to shift the slant of their discussion back to her. He didn’t need to accuse her of being reckless and foolhardy. She had been, of course, but pointing it out wasn’t going to get him anywhere.

He relaxed his shoulders and tried again. “Look, Suzi, I know you’re a talented writer. Very talented. And if you roll your eyes at me one more time, you are going to be one sorry Little girl. You are a good reporter, but this topic is off limits for you and your paper.”

It seemed his little rosebud disagreed. “You can’t tell me what I can and can’t report in my own paper,” she said.

“I believe I just did.” He kept his tone even. “And I need the name of whoever gave you the information about what happened at that drug deal. I mean it, Suzi. I need your promise not to publish anything else about it.”

“I can’t do that. Do you know what you’re asking? I’ve sold more of this edition of the paper than any other except the Christmas special that lists all the sales and C events. Do you know how expensive it is to run a newspaper? I need to increase my circulation. And evidence proves articles like that one sell papers.”

Was she having money trouble? He’d find out what was going on with that later. Right now, he needed her to promise she wouldn’t put out any more articles regarding the drugs.

“You didn’t name your source in your article,” he said, taking it from another angle. “That means the drug dealers you attacked, the ones trying to fly under the radar and not get attention, are going to come to you for that person’s name, just like me. Only, trust me, they won’t be as nice.”

Her gaze slid to the papers beside her on the island. Deke followed her gaze and realized he should have paid more attention to what she’d been working on.

The area around her was littered with pages of notes and pictures. All of them from the drug deal. Whoever her source was, they had taken pictures. Fuck. It would be easy to identify everyone with those photos. He needed to get them to Sawyer, Sabre’s computer guru, as soon as possible.

There was way more information in her notes than she had put in her article. And she hadn’t used any of the pictures, thank god. They’d have had to move her to a safe house for her own protection if she’d used those. She’d have lost her mind, but he’d have insisted.

“I’m tired of asking nicely, Suzi. Who gave you that information and pictures?”

“I don’t know why you keep asking me that,” she said. “Do you really think I’m that poor of a reporter?”

“I’ve already told you how good of a reporter you are. But do you know how good you’ll be if those thugs get their hands on you? You’ll be lucky if you have the ability to hold a crayon, much less put out a newspaper. These are very bad men. Now tell me your source, and I don’t give a rat’s ass about the reporter code of protecting your source.”

“I can’t tell you a source–”

“Damn it, Suzi, I’m not fooling around here! You are in danger.”

“I can’t give you a source,” she yelled over him, “because there wasn’t one. I took the pictures.”

Her words took him back a step. She hadn’t been hiding the name. No, it was worse than that. So much worse.

He couldn’t have heard her right. That meant the tracks they’d spotted at the farmer’s market hadn’t been a lookout. It had been Suzi. She’d witnessed everything. And she’d taken fucking pictures.

Holy fuck!

Rage fueled by fear overwhelmed him. He had to get those notes, and he had to keep her safe. If he had his way, she would shut down the paper, and Sabre would put her in hiding until they could get this sorted.

Short of kidnapping her and holding her against her will, that wasn’t going to happen. He’d keep it in mind as a last resort.

The truth was, he knew how to get her to stop. It killed him to even think about it. Suzi was one of the best people he’d ever met. All her time and energy focused on others. She helped anyone in need, often at her own expense. She valued people, and they knew it.

Suzi’s mother, on the other hand, was a famous political reporter on the national screen. The people of Darling didn’t see her very often, and that included her daughter. Suzi’s mother was fueled by ambition and drive. She and Suzi were polar opposites, and he got the impression Suzi liked that fact.

So, yeah, Deke knew what to say to keep Suzi from printing any more articles.

The idea of causing Suzi pain slashed at his heart. But if he had to hurt her to keep her breathing, that’s what he would do. She could get over hurt feelings. She couldn’t come back from the dead.

So, he turned his emotions off and set about doing what he had to do to keep her safe. He’d play the only card he had and accuse her of blind ambition and selfishness.

“I guess they’re right about that apple not falling far from the tree,” he said. “Guess I had you wrong.”

The confusion was back on her face, but that was about to change. “What are you talking about?” she asked.

Fuck. This killed.

“Turns out you’re following right in your mother’s footsteps, aren’t you? Ace reporter who’ll do anything for a story. You ready to cut Darling loose, little girl? I’ve gotta say, if you keep writing articles like this, it’s your ticket to the big leagues. You’ll have to come back to town when you win your first award. Sign autographs in the park. Donate money to have some fountain named after you.”

She looked like she’d taken a punch. He’d expected anger, not pain. Where was that coming from?

She shook her head. “You don’t mean that,” she whispered.

Whispered. She couldn’t even get a deep enough breath to talk.

“Evidence points straight to it. Your mom was willing to do whatever it took to get out of here. To become somebody famous. You heard from her lately? No? Yeah, better get used to that loneliness. No more Musketiaras for you, I guess. All those crowns were silly anyway, right?”

“Stop it,” she cried. Her eyes were bright with tears. “You don’t know anything. Why are you being so mean? I was trying to do a good thing.”

She was. He knew it. She just didn’t know the punishment that good deeds could bring. It would be one she might not walk away from. Seeing her sad was better than attending a memorial service in her honor. But god. He was bleeding on the inside. Gutted.

Just like Suzi.

One more final shot should do it.

“I mean, sure,” he said. “You’ve got the right to take that risk. Shame what might happen to that girl that works for you, though. Carly, right? They’ll probably come after her next. But that doesn’t matter. Not as long as you get your story.”

“Get out!” she screamed at him. “I thought you were a good guy. I thought, hoped, you might even, one day, be my Dad– never mind. Just go away.”

Yep. He guessed he was about done. She got him. She’d followed the trail he’d laid. No way she wanted to end up like her mother.

She couldn’t. She was a good girl. She cared about people. She was precious. She’d give up writing any more of those articles. Lawson or Connor could come by tomorrow and grab her notes and photos. He’d accomplished what he had to.

Now he needed to go find a bottle of whiskey and drink until he passed out.

What he wanted to do was pull her into his arms and beg her to forgive him. To tell her he didn’t mean any of what he’d just said. That he wanted nothing more than to be her Daddy, even if he was older than dirt.

But he didn’t do any of that.

Instead, he turned on his heel to leave.

“Wait,” she called out after him.

He stopped but didn’t turn around. He couldn’t. She came to him, face wet with her tears, and put her palms on his cheeks.

“Just once,” she said, almost to herself, before pulling his face down and pressing her lips to his.

She shocked the shit out of him. So much that his lips parted, and her tongue darted inside. She tasted amazing. But as soon as she’d done that, she pulled away and stepped back.

Tears still flowing, she eviscerated him. “I know you now. You’re not who I thought you were. Turns out you’re not someone I want to know after all.”

With those words, she ran to her office and slammed the door.

He stood for a moment, unable to move. Unable to breathe.

Then he walked to his ride, making sure to lock the door on his way out. He drove straight to the Deep Dive Bar and lost himself in a bottle of Black Label Jack Daniels.