Chapter 2 #3
Shane was the reason I ended up in the Navy, not juvenile detention. After my father’s addiction cost him his job, our health insurance, and ultimately, my sister’s life, I made some poor life choices.
I was twelve when Tammy got sick, thirteen when my mother left, and fifteen when Tammy died.
When I was sixteen, I got caught stealing. The officer who arrested me understood my family situation and took pity on me. Instead of throwing the book at me, he talked to Shane and arranged for me to work off my debt.
I wasn’t a bad kid, and working off my debt seemed more than fair. Especially since I already worked at the ranch.
Smartest decision of my life.
“It was good. How are you and Mrs. Sheppard feeling?” He looked well-rested after his three-and-a-half weeks off.
“We’re good, thanks.”
Madi’s parents were tough as nails and surrounded by a big, loving family who’d do anything for them. I’d put money on their kids spoiling them while forcing them to rest and recover.
The kind of family I thought I had. Until my mother left us and my father started drinking.
Now wasn’t the time to dwell on the past.
“Rumor has it you’ve avoided the guys since returning from Colorado,” John said, nodding towards his door to indicate the team.
I wouldn’t call declining the New Year’s Eve invite avoiding them.
Even though it’s the reason I declined.
“No, sir. Just staying out of trouble.” It was only half a lie. I didn’t want to deal with them outside of work until they stopped acting like they wanted to castrate me.
“Madi’s informed her brothers that heads will roll if they keep sticking their noses in her business.”
I couldn’t help the smile that formed. Madi, whose real name still sounded weird after hours of calling her Lynn at the bar and a night spent in a hotel bed calling her Red, wasn’t a wallflower.
You’d think her brothers would know that.
“Will they listen?” l asked, suspecting I knew the answer.
“Jack’s on paternity leave.” John smiled, clearly thrilled at being a grandfather. “So he’ll leave you alone.”
Reading between the lines, it meant that he’d probably still pester Madi.
No surprise there.
“Jamie might, but Jay’s never been one to follow orders.”
Really? “He’s a Marine.” Following orders was in their DNA.
“He’s a Raider.” John countered, knowing I’d understand.
Being in the special forces didn’t mean we didn’t have to follow orders. We did. But unlike the rest of the military, our leaders didn’t expect us to follow orders blindly. Challenging orders was encouraged, if you had a valid reason.
“They’d risk Madi’s wrath to give me shit?”
“They trust she’ll forgive them.”
“And what about you, sir?”
“Madi’s assured me there’s nothing to worry about. I’m respecting her wishes.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Now that that’s out of the way, you can stop calling me sir.”
I nodded. I’d more or less broken the habit before the break, but given the circumstances, I brought it back as a show of respect.
When a knock sounded on John’s door, he said, “Come in.”
I stood and turned to leave.
Jamie, Jack, and Jay blocked my exit. Not maliciously, but they stood between me and the door.
“You can stay,” Jamie said.
“We missed you at the New Year’s Eve party,” Jay said. The words were innocent. His tone, not so much.
“I chose to stay in.”
“Thanks for the coffee and pastries,” Jack said.
Dropping a few bills at Grannie’s, the coffee shop John’s wife owned, was a good way to kiss up.
She’s also Madi’s mother.
“Kissing ass won’t erase what you did,” Jay said.
“Jay.” John drew out the ‘a’ in what sounded like a warning.
“But,” Jay added, “Madi has informed us that she’ll kick our asses if we don’t let it go.”
“This is you letting it go?” I shouldn’t have said anything, much less asked a snarky question, but feeling cornered and outnumbered brought out some of my less appealing characteristics.
If Madi’s father could let it go, why couldn’t her brothers?
Jay growled, low enough so only I heard.
“It is,” Jack said, putting a hand on Jay’s shoulder. “Madi’s a grown woman, and what she does is none of our business.”
Jack looked miserable saying it. Jay looked miserable hearing it.
“Just do us a favor and stay away from her.” Jay looked like he’d sucked a lemon when he added a please after a semi-dramatic pause.
I didn’t expect to see her often, but Weatherford, Texas was a small town and I couldn’t completely avoid her. “I’ll be on my best behavior and treat her with nothing but respect when I see her.”
I respected the fuck out of her that night.
There wasn’t a power in the universe that could erase the memories that’d make the J-squad want to bleach their brains.
But I’d never tell, so their brains were safe.
Jay’s stare made me feel like he could read my mind, so I schooled my expression.
“Thank you,” Jamie and Jack said.
Jay’s reaction hurt the most. He, Nathan, and I were friends before my past with Madi came to light. Nathan and I were still good—it wasn’t his sister I’d slept with.
Weatherford’s a small town. Something else would happen soon, and everyone would stop talking about Madi and me.
I hoped.
For now, I’d keep my head low and do my job.
“I have a job for you,” Jay said. “Meet me in my office in ten.”
“Yes, sir,” I said with a sarcastic salute. So much for keeping my head low.
I couldn’t help it; Jay was irritating me with his over-the-top angry brother routine. It wasn’t like I’d done anything wrong. Two consulting adults spending a night together was a normal thing. He needed to get over it.
Jamie laughed and pointed at Jay. “Better you than me.” Jamie hated being called sir, so naturally that’s what everyone called him.
“Yeah, yeah,” Jay said.
Nine minutes later, I knocked on Jay’s open door.
“Come in.” Cate waved me in. She leaned against her desk, staring at a whiteboard covered with notes and pictures relevant to the case she was working. “Thanks for the coffee.”
“Morning, Cate.” I saluted with my cup. “You’re welcome.”
“If you really want to butter him up,” she tilted her head back to Jay, where he sat at his desk, “order extra muffins. He ate his and mine.”
Before I could answer, Jay said, “What? I was hungry.”
“You’re always hungry,” she said before sitting back down.
These two were textbook opposites.
Cate’s desk was neat and tidy and color-fucking-coded.
Jay’s was chaotic, and the muffin wrappers hadn’t made it into the trash yet.
Cate’s red hair was pulled back in a military-style bun.
Jay’s wavy brown hair was longer than traditionally military-approved, but typical for a Spec Ops operator.
Cate’s pressed black slacks and blazer were better suited to the FBI office than the SSI office.
Jay wore his typical attire: cargo pants and a T-shirt.
“You have an assignment for me?” I asked.
“Yeah. I’m sending you to Dallas to provide protection for a family while they’re in town.”
Sending me out of town? Subtlety wasn’t Jay’s strong suit.
“Known threats?”
“Nothing credible, but Mr. Ramos thinks someone’s been trailing him and he’s worried about his wife and daughter.”
“Twenty-four-seven?” I asked.
He nodded and handed me a folder. “You’ll be staying in the room next door and be responsible for escorting them from the time their plane lands, later this afternoon, until they board their return flight.”
“Private jet?”
He nodded again.
I lifted the file. “Your thoughts?”
“He’s paranoid, but that doesn’t mean he’s wrong.”
“He’s a pitcher for the Dallas Stars, and known to be hot-headed,” Cate added.
“Pedro Ramos?”
The up-and-coming pitcher was expected to break records but liked to start fights, sometimes with his own teammates.
“Yes. He’s asked you to dress casual, so plain polo or button-up and jeans.”
“Got it. If that’s all, I’ll go read the file and get ready.”
“That’s all.”
As I was leaving, I heard Cate praise him for not bringing up Madi. Thankfully, Jay couldn’t see my grin.
“Thanks, Snookems,” Jay said behind my back. He and Cate might be polar opposites, but they were perfect for each other.
“Don’t call-” I closed the door, cutting off Cate’s protests.
“Thanks for the coffee, bro,” Nathan said as I walked into the office we shared. Like Jay and Cate’s office, we had two desks and two lockers. Nathan occupied the right half of the room, leaving me the left half.
“Anytime.”
“How’d the meeting go?”
Over the break, we’d talked about what I might expect from John, and his sons. Nathan spent a lot of time with Jamie and Jack because his wife, Ashley, was best friends with Emily and Meg, so he heard all the gossip.
Nathan didn’t betray their confidences, but he did me a solid and he kept me up-to-date on the temperature of the situation.
“John was calmer than I expected.”
“I told you, he’s pretty chill.”
“Yeah, but you didn’t have a one-night stand with his daughter.”
“No. No, I did not.” He laughed, making the scar on the left side of his face wrinkle.
“Asshole.”
“Did the two weeks without seeing you tame her brothers’ attitudes?”
“Jamie and Jack yes, but Jay still wants to rip my head off and shit down my neck.”
“It’ll blow over.”
“The sooner the better.”
He lifted his chin. “Assignment?”
“Yup, Jay’s sending me to Dallas until Friday.” I laughed. I had a feeling I’d be getting more out-of-town gigs for the foreseeable future.
“Are you surprised?”
“Not even a little.”
I sat down and opened the folder. According to his file, Ramos suspected someone was following him, but like Jay said, there was no evidence. Not that it mattered. Protection duty was protection duty, and I’d never dismiss anyone’s instincts.
After reading the rest of the report and entering the necessary numbers in my phone, I spent an hour on the internet researching Ramos.
He liked the drama of being the center of attention. It wasn’t hard to imagine him starting something with the wrong person.
It’d be just as easy to imagine him hiring a bodyguard for the attention.
The internet was full of rumors that he’d accused several people of threatening him, but he’d never pressed charges.
I laced my fingers together and brought them to the back of my head before leaning back and stretching.
This week should be interesting.
At least it’ll be easy to avoid Madi. Our one-night stand might live rent-free in my head, but I couldn’t risk sleeping with her again. No matter how much I wanted to. I worked for her father and brothers, and these guys took the idea of protecting their own to a whole new level.