Chapter One
CHAPTER ONE
New Year’s Eve
Lafayette, Louisiana
A midst the revelers at Highrise, Nash Scott stood, beer in hand, a blonde under his arm, getting ready to ring in the new year, when the hair on the back of his neck rose. He stiffened. Goose bumps erupted across his skin.
Someone had eyes on him.
He’d spent too many years dodging bullets and hunting terrorists in third-world shit holes not to heed his instincts.
But this warning wasn’t about danger—unless it was to his heart.
“What’s wrong?” his older brother, Trees, demanded, scanning the nightclub like a man who had spent his life taking down enemies for God and country. He tucked Laila, his wife and the mother of his four children, protectively against his side. Then his gaze snagged on something that made him scowl. “Holy shit.”
The band announced they were taking a break. People chatted and clinked glasses, brushing past Nash in the crowd. The activity hardly registered. His earth stopped turning. His life stopped moving. His heart stopped beating.
Without turning to see for himself, he sensed her . He swore he could fucking hear her breathe. He inhaled her musky amber-rose scent he’d know anywhere. His cock hardened to steel.
His date, Lissa, turned and searched the room before frowning blankly. “What?”
Nash couldn’t respond to the blonde. “She’s really here?”
Trees nodded. “About twenty feet behind you. What do you want to do?”
Was his brother asking if he wanted to leave? Hell no. Haisley Rowe had left town two interminable years ago. So why had she shown up here? Tonight? No clue. But he was staying to get some long-overdue answers.
He wasn’t desperate to touch her again. At all.
After nearly a year of…whatever their relationship had been, she had left him with the briefest of goodbyes. No explanation, no fuck you. She’d just…gone. He’d spent six celibate months vacillating between craving her and hating her. The other year and a half, he’d tried to fuck her out of his system—when he wasn’t staring like a schmuck at the engagement ring still nestled in the velvet in the box he’d never had the chance to give her.
“Who are you talking about?” Lissa demanded.
The pretty blonde at his side was used to being pursued. There was hardly a red-blooded man in Lafayette who didn’t want to nail her, and she was notoriously choosy. But he hadn’t worked particularly hard to persuade her to spend New Year’s Eve with him. Strike one. He hadn’t taken her somewhere fancy. Strike two. Now that another woman had stolen his attention? He didn’t have to guess where that left him.
He didn’t give a shit.
Nash uncurled his arm from around her shoulders, swallowed back the last of his beer, and tried to wire his shit tight.
He’d waited—fantasized—about his chance to lay eyes on Haisley again. He’d even made a list of everything he intended to say. Now that she was so close, he felt annoyingly stunned, tongue-tied, and blank.
“I don’t think she’s seen you yet,” Trees assured. “Oh, wait. She just did.”
Nash knew the instant Haisley looked at him. Fresh awareness sizzled across his skin. Knowing she stood mere feet away was like a double shot of Red Bull to his libido.
Fuck, Haisley had always gotten to him, from the moment they’d met at his brother’s wedding. Despite the years and the hurt, he’d been bullshitting himself. Nothing had changed. He was still as hung up on her as ever. He’d give anything to touch her again.
Goddamn it .
“Are you seriously focused on another woman right now?” Lissa barked. “Um, hello. I’m standing right here.”
His behavior was rude as hell, but was lying to her about his interest really better?
“Is she coming this way?” he asked his brother. Or is she leaving again?
“Nope. She’s just hanging out with some of those girls who attended our wedding.” Trees turned to Laila. “Remember?”
“Yes. She looks as surprised to see you as you are that she is here,” his sister-in-law added in her lightly accented lilt.
“Wait. You’re talking about some ex of yours?” Lissa stomped her little stiletto. “Seriously?”
“Yes.” The only one of his exes he gave a shit about, in fact. Haisley had always mattered—even when he’d told himself she didn’t. Despite two long years apart, he couldn’t deny that anymore.
Hands on hips, Lissa gaped at him. “You asked me to spend New Year’s Eve with you. I didn’t turn down three other invitations so you could gawk at someone you used to fuck. It’s her or me.”
It probably wasn’t smart, but Nash didn’t hesitate. “Her.”
In fact, he didn’t care if he ever saw Lissa Hollister again. Honestly, he couldn’t figure out what the fuss was about. Sex with her hadn’t been that great.
His date’s jaw dropped as indignation spread across her face. “Unbelievable. Don’t ever call me again, asshole.”
“Don’t worry,” he muttered as she spun away and stomped for the door. “Zero chance of that.”
Trees both winced and laughed. “That’s one way to lose a date. Now you’ll have to find someone else to kiss when the clock strikes midnight.”
Laila glanced at her phone. “You have less than twenty minutes to accomplish that.”
Normally, he wouldn’t need even half that much time. But he didn’t want anyone except Haisley. And that woman was as unpredictable as she was sexy. She tied his balls in knots and twisted up his heart. Always had.
“Working on it. You two lovebirds find a table.”
Trees snorted. “I doubt that’s possible, but we can take a hint. Besides, Zy and Tessa should be here soon, so we’ll keep an eye out for them.”
Absently, Nash nodded, his thoughts already fixed on Haisley. If she was here with Charli and Gracelyn, her lifelong bestie, Madison Montgomery, wouldn’t be far behind. Which meant her husband Matt, another of his coworkers, would be here, too. Nash figured that his housemate, Ethan Garrison, would probably follow, since he was always up for a party.
So everyone would be around to witness this eventful reunion…where he’d probably crash and burn. Fucking fantastic.
Nash could still feel Haisley’s stare on him, so he let out a breath and slowly turned. Instantly, he clapped his gaze onto her. Their stares locked. Jesus, he couldn’t fucking breathe.
Damn it, why did she have to look more beautiful than ever?
Suddenly, someone clapped him on the back. He whipped around with a scowl, wondering how anyone had managed to sneak up on him. But he knew. Haisley still knocked him off balance.
Nash smoothed out once he saw the interloper. “Hey, Kane. You came, huh?”
He was surprised EM Security’s loner had joined them for tonight’s bash…but not enough to keep his stare off Haisley.
“Yeah. Thought I’d…” Kane’s dark gaze followed his as he fell silent. “Never mind. I see your brother. I’ll leave you to her. Good luck.”
“Thanks,” he said absently, not even blinking as he visually devoured Haisley.
Her hair was longer, fiery curls now flirting with her elbows. He’d always loved wrapping his fists around her tresses when he’d bound her to his bed and thrust deep like he owned her. Her mesmerizing blue eyes—a blend of Caribbean Sea and pure, cloudless sky—were stunning when they went wide with orgasm.
The longer their stares fused, the more color drained from her cheeks. And those plump lips he missed under his or wrapped around his greedy cock were parted softly as she gaped. Her strapless black sheath hugged every one of the curves he’d memorized and ended high on her thigh, showing off the gorgeous legs he’d loved having wrapped around him.
Could he lose his damn mind just looking at her? He sure as fuck felt in danger. He needed to touch her again. It wasn’t a desire or an impulse but a primal, biological imperative.
She licked her glossy lips and dropped her gaze—guiltily?—before focusing on Gracelyn, who whispered something in her ear. Then, with a nod, Haisley spun around and headed to the bar with her girls.
That was it? No hello. No conversation. No…nothing except a wordless dismissal.
Nash let out a rough breath. Anger ignited. If that woman thought she could sweep their unfinished business under the rug, she was fucking mistaken. She might not have anything to say, but he sure as hell did.
As soon as he collected his thoughts.
Matt and Madison walked into the packed nightclub moments later, their hands raised in greeting. Nash waved back, not surprised to see Ethan in tow. Ghost and Trevor had come, too? Great… Nothing like rubbing elbows with his fellow operatives while he tried not to look like an idiot over Haisley’s shocking return.
Tonight was going to be a shit show.
While Madison joined Haisley and her posse, Matt approached him, settling his cowboy hat on his head and wearing the perpetual grin he’d been sporting since rescuing Madison from her evil ex a few years ago. “Hey, man.”
“Did you know she was coming back?” Nash growled, skipping the niceties.
Matt looked over at his wife and her gaggle of girls. “Haisley? She rolled into town the day after Christmas.”
So she’d had a week to call…and she hadn’t. Hadn’t sought him out, either. Hadn’t given a shit to see how he’d been since she’d walked out on him. “How long is she staying?”
His buddy winced. “This isn’t how I wanted to break the news to you, but she’s not going back to Cali. Her aunt passed away, and she’s decided to move home again.”
Elation filled him, followed instantly by dread. How much would it fuck him up to have the woman he’d never fallen out of love with less than a handful of miles away? Then again, two miles or two thousand—it didn’t matter. She’d severed all ties.
Madison waved Matt over. His friend nodded, then looked back at Nash. “You coming?”
To talk to Haisley? She clearly had zero intention of reconnecting with him… A gander across the bar once more proved she couldn’t even be bothered to glance his way. “No.”
“Suit yourself.” Matt clapped him on the shoulder. “Looks like your brother got you a beer.”
Meaning he should go drink it before everyone decided he was a heartbroken sap who didn’t understand that even a silent no was still no. “I’m going to need something stronger.”
His buddy leaned in and dropped his voice. “There’s no rule that says you have to stay. This is a party. If you’re not feeling it…”
Screw that. He wasn’t letting her derail his night. “Laila has been planning this for weeks. She never gets an evening away from the kids. Haisley’s return was a surprise, but I’m fine.”
Matt shook his head. “You’re full of shit.”
“Fuck off and go be with your wife.”
“All right. But…maybe it would be good if you and Haisley talked things out.”
Not here. And not unless she showed a willingness to take a verbal deep-dive into their past. “Eating fucking beets every day is supposed to be good for me, too. You don’t see me scarfing down that crap.”
Matt laughed. “Ten-four.”
As he watched his buddy adjust his cowboy hat and retreat to the far side of the bar, Nash scowled and headed toward Trees and Laila, who had miraculously found a table. A cocktail waitress recited drink orders back to them as he approached. “Give me half a dozen tequila shots.”
The woman craned her neck up, up, up to look at him. Since he was six-foot-seven, he got that a lot.
“You want six tequila shots?”
He nodded. “With salt and lime. There’s an extra twenty bucks for you if I have them in the next five minutes.”
“Done.” She jotted his order on her notepad, snapped it closed, and made a mad dash for the bartender.
“You looking to start the new year with a hangover?” his brother asked.
“Looking to have a good time. It’s a party, isn’t it?” Nash ignored Trees’s skeptical glance.
“How you doing?” Zy asked, his arm loosely around his wife, Tessa, who despite having two kids, looked amazing.
The pair of them were sublimely fucking happy. So were his brother and Laila. Matt and Madison, too, for that matter. Nash knew none of them had reached their bliss without serious strife, and more than once it looked as if happily ever after wouldn’t be in their cards. But they’d fought for their women and emerged victorious against all odds. Then again, each of those women had been madly in love with the man they now called husband.
Which meant he had zero hope with Haisley.
“Peachy,” he quipped. “You?”
Zy raised a brow. “You’re a shitty liar.”
“Fuck off.”
“Listen, Trees will tell you… I was an asshole and a half when I thought I’d lost Tessa forever?—”
“I’m going to stop you right there. I don’t need a pep talk. I just need booze. And maybe a horny female willing to come home with me.”
But he couldn’t imagine fucking another woman right now. He’d only think of Haisley. Hell, just like he had more often than not over the last two years.
The cocktail waitress returned and offloaded Zy’s and Trees’s beers, along with Laila’s pi?a colada and Tessa’s glass of red. Then she lined up his shots on the crowded table, settled a saltshaker in front of him, and handed him a ramekin of limes. “Made it back in less than four minutes. Anything else?”
He handed her his credit card. “Check back with me in fifteen.”
The waitress nodded as she inserted his plastic in her handheld device. When she presented him the screen, Nash gave her the promised tip plus more, then signed with his finger. She double-checked the transaction with a nod. “You got it.”
“What are we drinking to?” Zy asked once she’d gone.
Besides drowning my sorrows? “Whatever.”
Trees eyed the row of shot glasses. “Not being able to walk out of here? Puking half the night?”
Nash licked his hand, sprinkled some salt, then lifted a glass in salute. “We’re about to start a new year. How about we drink to leaving the past behind?”
No one replied, and he didn’t much care. He just licked the salt away, downed the first of his shots, sucked down a lime wedge…then repeated the process until he’d gulped down every drop from each shot glass.
With one last sigh, he slammed down the final one and closed his eyes, enjoying the hot, woozy rush through his veins. He hadn’t meant to skip dinner tonight, but that sure as hell aided in the buzz he had going.
“Hey.” Ethan Garrison suddenly sidled up to him. “Happy New Year.”
Nash just grunted. What was his housemate so fucking happy about?
Ethan looked poised to say something when he began scowling at his phone. “Son of a bitch.”
“What?” Maybe the kid had something work-related he could sink his teeth into. Nash prayed that would keep him from fixating on Haisley…
“I work out with one of the local cops at the gym around the corner from my apartment. We’ve been talking about the disappearances around that new mall…”
Nash hadn’t heard much about them. Both the local press and the police chief had been quieter than expected, given the fact that women had been vanishing from that place for a while. “Was there another abduction?”
Ethan nodded. “Christmas Eve. A nineteen-year-old girl. One minute she was at the food court with her mother. The next she was gone.”
Holy shit. “Eyewitnesses? Security guards? Cameras?”
As far as Nash was concerned, after the other disappearances, the mall should have implemented more measures to keep people safe.
“No one saw anything. There were no guards in that part of the mall when it happened. The cameras were all conveniently down.”
“That seems negligent as fuck.”
“Yeah.” Ethan darkened his phone with a shake of his head. “I hope they find her.”
But he didn’t sound hopeful.
“As far as you know, have they found any of the others?”
“No.” Ethan cut his eyes across the bar to where Haisley and her girls stood. Suddenly, he scowled before grabbing Nash by the arm and tugging him around. “If you want to get trashed, let’s go someplace else. I’ve got a liter of good vodka and a pantry full of junk food. Highrise isn’t Ghost’s and Trevor’s scene—too trendy—and the drinks are expensive. Let’s leave it to the couples and?—”
“And what?” Nash tore free and turned to see what Ethan tried to distract him from.
Haisley. Dancing with some random dude. Who apparently had a dozen hands and even more dirty thoughts, based on the way he touched her.
“Fuck that,” Nash snarled, glaring through the crowd.
She said something to her dance partner that had him backing off…but the douchebag’s retreat didn’t satisfy Nash’s inner beast. That part of him wanted to break the little bastard.
People parted as, his pulse pounding and his nostrils flaring, Nash stomped straight toward Haisley.