Garth’s Honor (The Aegis Network: Jacksonville Division #8)

Chapter 1

1

“ H ow’d you get so lucky to live next to someone who looks like that? She’s smoking hot.”

Garth Sanford wouldn’t argue with his co-worker, Hawke Wilson, as he pointed to Garth’s sexy neighbor, who, unfortunately, had been giving him the cold shoulder lately.

“Put your testosterone in your pocket. She’s way out of your league,” Garth said, taking the turn into his driveway a little too fast. The last conversation he’d had with Amber Wolf had gone worse than the first time he tried to kiss a girl and he missed her lips and got her nose.

It was not a good kiss, to say the least.

And it had more than bruised his ego for months to come.

“Oh, she’s in my league, all right, but the question is, why haven’t you asked her out yet?” Hawke asked.

Garth and Hawke had been working together for over a decade. They met in the Air Force and after only four short years, their crew chief came to them with a proposition they couldn’t refuse.

An opportunity to continue to fight fires as civilians and to work with an elite group of men and women in an organization called the Aegis Network. Better hours, better pay, and best of all, no deployments. For Garth, it had been a no-brainer. Honestly, the military hadn’t been his first career choice. It certainly hadn’t been what his parents had wanted. No. They wanted him to stick with his original path.

Following in his father’s footsteps in sales.

What a fucking horrible gig that had been. Garth hadn’t been cut out for it at all. He lasted all of five months at his father’s company when he bailed. Only, he had no idea what the fuck to do with his life. He went down to the local pub where a bunch of Air Force guys were kicking back. Next thing Garth knew, he’d enlisted.

Shortly after basic training, he found a career that suited him better.

Fighting fires.

He took to that like flies to shit. He got off on it and he never looked back. However, the Air Force, he could take it or leave it.

When the crew of seven had left the military, they were all single. Now five were married and collectively they had twelve kids.

Garth wouldn’t mind adding to that number someday. Hawke often teased him about his desire to settle down, yet since they’ve known each other, Garth has had only four girlfriends, none of which lasted more than six months.

He never picked the right ones. They were either clingy as fuck or they wanted him to be something he wasn’t.

Hawke, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with long-term relationships, much less having a family. He didn’t care that he wasn’t getting any younger and that forty was now closer than thirty. Hawke was adamant that family life wasn’t for him.

Garth, however, was looking for the right woman to settle down with and have a bunch of little rug rats. Hell, he’d even resorted to babysitting for some of his buddies because he loved kids that much. His mother joked that he had a biological clock that taunted him as it ticked away in the back of his heart.

His mother was right.

“Why don’t you mind your own business.” He slammed the truck into park, doing his best to avoid the glare of his neighbor. They’d only been neighbors for a couple of months since he’d recently moved from an apartment to this house, and he thought they had hit it off.

Well, as best he could with a beautiful, smart woman who had the kind of confidence most people strived for but never achieved. The first time they talked at any length one morning by the garbage cans, not three minutes into the conversation, Garth had not only become enamored by her, but intimidated as well. She initiated their first date, if you could call a stroll around the block a date.

After a few evenings of walks and the occasional drink on one of their back patios, he’d gotten up the nerve to ask her out on a real date.

Lo and behold, Amber said yes.

Shocker. Garth had been prepared for the massive rejection, as that happened to him a lot. He’d been used to it by now and he’d even stopped wondering what the hell was wrong with him because he knew.

Shy.

Awkward.

Clunky.

When he woke the next day, excited and refreshed, ready to sweep Amber off her feet, he learned of her brother’s passing. She’d been devastated. That had been two weeks ago, and he’d done what he could to offer support, but it wasn’t the time or place to pursue a romantic relationship. He figured that could wait until she had time to get through the shock.

She seemed to appreciate that about him and constantly thanked him for his support.

Five days ago, she had shown up on his doorstep, asking if he could look at the report she’d been given regarding the fire. He, of course, had no problem doing so. He spent over an hour looking at the report, but he didn’t need more than five minutes to know she wasn’t going to be happy with what he had to say.

She’d stormed off, and she’d barely spoken to him since.

Garth glanced in his rearview mirror as his buddies, Kent and Rex, parked their car on the street.

Both were good men. The best. Garth would be lost without them, or anyone else on the team.

They had just gotten off a twenty-four-hour shift. In the last year, some of the men on the team had developed a habit of coming back to Garth’s rented house near the beach for breakfast. They’d hang out and unwind for an hour or so, enjoying the warm ocean breeze. It all depended on the day of the week and what the wives and kids were doing. Today, Kent’s kids were at school and his wife had already headed over to Rex’s house to work with his wife, Tilly.

The rest of the team had to head back to their homes to deal with small children or just wanted to see their wives. Garth couldn’t fault them for that.

He snagged one of the bags filled with breakfast sandwiches from the back seat since it had been his turn to pick up the tab.

“Because I’m the dude who has your back,” Hawke said.

“She’s had a tough time. Can’t be easy to have lost your parents to a car accident and then a few years later, your brother to a fire.” Garth cringed. He’d tried to lend her an ear and a helping hand.

But she wanted someone to tell her that she was right. That someone had killed her brother. Not that all the evidence showed that her brother died after a fire had been started in his bedroom after he’d shot drugs into his veins.

She didn’t want to believe her brother had fallen off the wagon. He could understand that; however, the autopsy showed more than one drug in his system. Going through life with blinders on about her sibling wasn’t doing her any favors. The evidence that Garth had seen was indisputable. It wasn’t something that he, or anyone at the fire department, could look into and it wasn’t a case that the Aegis Network would take on simply because there was no threat. Case closed.

And he told her as much, which meant he’d probably never get a second chance to even have one date.

Story of his fucking life.

“What does that have to do with you and her between the sheets?” Hawke closed the truck door and carried a couple of trays of coffee and soft drinks. “And if you’re not going to tap that, then step out of the way for me.”

“That doesn’t sound like a man who has my back. Maybe a man who would stab me in the back.” Garth glanced over his shoulder, stepping onto the back patio. Amber stood in her side yard, watering her plants as she did every morning. Her frayed jean shorts hugged her slender hips and round ass. She wore a white tank top, and her shoulder-length dark hair brushed against her bare skin. A sexy tattoo dotted her right shoulder. It was of a half-moon and the side of a woman’s face where the hair reached around the moon as if it were arms. She’d said it had to do with having overly vivid dreams. Whatever the inspiration, the tat had to be one of the coolest ones he’d seen on a woman’s body.

He waved with his free hand, but she just turned her head.

Like she had ever since she’d asked him if he could look into the fire report that had killed her brother.

“Are you dating her?” Hawke asked.

Garth shook his head.

“Then watch a real man at work.” Hawke set the tray on the patio table before Garth could warn him. Then again, it might be fun to see Hawke come running back with his tail between his legs. Didn’t happen often, so this would be a real treat because no way would Amber ever say yes to a guy like Hawke. She was too smart not to see through his charm. It was too bad, because Hawke really was a good man; he just couldn’t stay with a lady longer than a couple of months. And even that might be pushing it.

Garth did his best not to stare as he watched his buddy approach Amber. She barely smiled but glanced in Garth’s direction with narrowed eyes.

He shrugged, wishing he could hear the conversation, but as soon as Amber waved her one hand dismissively, Garth knew the conversation had abruptly ended.

Hawke turned, stuffing his hands deep in his pockets, sporting a scowl just as the rest of their buddies stepped into the backyard.

“Did he just go hit on your neighbor?” Kent asked, slapping Garth on the back. Kent had an old soul with a wicked sense of humor. “That’s rude considering you had wanted to first. Did she turn you down? Or did you just never get up the nerve? Really, I have no idea why you’re so shy. You’re tall, okay, maybe a little too tall, but if I were gay, I’d be interested.”

Garth laughed, shaking his head. “You’re too short.” At a little over six-four, he struggled to date any woman under five-nine. Amber had to be close, give or take half an inch. “I had more than a chance had I told her the cops and fire investigator were wrong about her brother, but when I couldn’t do that, she pushed me away.”

“Shit, I forgot about her brother.” Kent shook his head. “That really sucks.”

Garth decided to turn his attention to Hawke who scuffed his feet on the concrete patio. Hawke didn’t believe there was a woman he couldn’t get in the sack. So, to watch Amber blow him off was a tad more enjoyable than it should be. “What did she say?” Garth asked.

“That I wasn’t her type.” Hawke rolled his eyes. “Something about not being tall enough.”

“Har har, you’re a funny guy,” Garth said.

Hawke might be six foot on a good day, but Garth knew Amber hadn’t cut him off at the pass based on his height. Garth caught Amber’s gaze. She paused, holding the hose over her rose garden. She tilted her head and if he wasn’t mistaken, her lips curved. It wasn’t a scowl, nor was it even a hint of a smile.

More of an acknowledgment that, at one time, they had the beginning of something sweet, but her focus now was solely on proving someone killed her brother. Until she did that, there would be no room for Garth.

Or anyone else.

Only, it would never happen because it wasn’t murder. It had been an accident. Plain and simple.

“I heard she told a reporter that her brother said he was working on a story and that if something happened to him, it had to be foul play.” Rex pulled back one of the chairs, taking a coffee and pulling off the top, Kent following suit.

“I heard her brother didn’t even have a job.” Kent opened the bag, emptying the contents on the table. “How could he be working on anything?”

Garth focused on the smell of bacon, cheese, and sausage filling the air, reminding him it had been at least four hours since he’d had a single bite to eat, ignoring the chatter about Steve, Amber’s brother. He’d gotten a lot of bad press that wasn’t entirely accurate. “That’s not true. He wrote articles for online magazines and worked part-time for a local television station,” Garth corrected. While Steve didn’t make a lot of money, he did work, and his goal had been to work as an investigative reporter for a major news program.

At least that is what Amber had told him.

Garth had never met Steve and had no idea what he had really been like, but it did seem odd that a thirty-two-year-old man had yet to carve out his career, and he had a past criminal record for possession and the sale of illegal drugs.

The sound of a car echoed down the street before stopping in front of Garth’s driveway. He smiled. Arthur, his captain and the main reason he’d left the Air Force, constantly surprised him. He was a great leader, and when the opportunity came to work for the Aegis Network, the entire crew under Arthur, opted not to re-enlist and followed him to Jacksonville.

“What I’d miss?” Arthur asked as he strolled into the backyard with his dark hair perfectly styled in something he described as an edgy undercut with it trimmed short on the sides, but long on the top. He was the oldest man on the team, but with a young attitude.

“We were just discussing the lack of Garth’s love life and the object of his affection’s brother,” Hawke said, turning a chair and straddling it with a shitty-ass grin.

“Before I left my house?—”

Rex interrupted Arthur. “Why do you always go home and shower? We smell your stench all damn day at the station. So why take the time when we’re all still covered in soot?”

Arthur lowered his chin. “Besides wanting to be clean before I eat breakfast, I wanted to kiss my wife and say hello to the kiddos.” Arthur snatched a sandwich, tossing it in the air before settling on the steps that led to the kitchen. “As I was saying, while I was getting dressed, the morning news interviewed the chief of police about her accusations that someone planted the drugs in her brother’s house. He said there is no reason to believe that any foul play had been involved in the case. Then they brought up some old charges.”

“Amber said he’d been clean and sober for the last few years.” Garth took one of the cups of coffee and pulled off the top, inhaling the rich aroma of the best morning brew known to man. “She brought over the report from both the fire department and the police, and I couldn’t find anything that seemed out of the ordinary, but she’s not going to stop until someone listens.”

“And you think she’s wrong?” Kent asked, leaning back and folding his arms. He always enjoyed playing the devil’s advocate.

“I honestly don’t know,” Garth admitted.

“What about the autopsy report?” Rex asked.

“Says he was jacked up on heroin and ecstasy. The fire was started in the bedroom by a candle. No accelerant of any kind had been used. Case closed.” Garth wanted to let it go. He should let it go. But part of him couldn’t.

“Then maybe she’s going to need to move on and accept her brother was using drugs,” Hawke said. “It sucks, but it’s reality.”

Garth watched Amber as she coiled the hose and carried it toward the garage. She used to have a bounce to her walk and a twinkle in her eye. All she had now was slumped shoulders and a deep sadness lined with a ring of fire filled with anger. She pulled her cell phone from her back pocket.

Two seconds later, his buzzed.

Amber: When your friends leave, could you stop by? I won’t take but ten minutes of your time.

He sucked in a deep breath, taking the salty air deep in his lungs before letting it out slowly. He lived only one block from the beach because of the ocean breeze and the sounds of the waves crashing against the sandy shore eased his soul. There was nothing more calming than the blue waters of the sea.

Garth: Sure thing. It will be about an hour. Is that okay? I could come over now if necessary.

What the hell did he mean by necessary ? What a dumb fucking word to use. She probably just wanted to ream him out for letting his buddy go hit on her, and considering all that she had been through, that had been an asshole move on his part. Though, he couldn’t have stopped Hawke if he’d tried.

Amber: No. Enjoy your friends. I’m working from home today, so whenever.

Garth: OK. Won’t be too long.

He tucked his phone back in his pocket and snagged an egg sandwich. He didn’t care if it had sausage, turkey sausage, or bacon, as long as it filled his stomach and got his mind off his neighbor.

Her dead brother.

And the fire that had killed him.