Chapter 25
Nairie
Over the next week, our self-defense lessons were more than just rubbing our bodies against each other.
William even gave me a knife to keep in my boot at all times.
Practicing with a weapon made things a bit harder, but it made him feel at ease if I knew how to use it, so I didn’t complain.
After one of our sessions, we were drinking coffee and tea in the backyard of the inn.
William was looking over paperwork, and I was sketching a deer that was grazing at the forest’s edge in the distance.
William cleared his throat. “There are a few friends of mine I’d like you to meet tomorrow.”
“You have friends?” I said, not looking up from my sketchbook.
William’s lips quirked up. “Hard to believe, but yes. They tend to stick to the shadows, so this should be an interesting reunion.”
“Okay, well, I’ll cook a big dinner for everyone.”
“It’s not a dinner party, love.”
“What? You guys don’t eat? Get over yourself. We can eat and discuss at the same time.”
After we went to the market to pick up supplies, I was setting the table at the cottage, feeling fully domesticated in William’s home.
It was the first time I would be hosting his friends, and I wanted to make a good impression.
It almost felt like a casual dinner party if the topic of discussion wasn’t taking down William’s dangerous drug-dealing brother.
I dressed in something casual but cute, black jeans that made my butt look spectacular and a wrap top that accentuated my waist and bust. William emerged from the bedroom wearing his jeans and a dark long-sleeved tee that hugged his biceps and chest in the most delicious way.
I added the finishing touches to the meal, which was a family recipe with hummus from scratch, a spicy meatball soup, and plenty of pita bread. It was the best I could do with short notice, but it should be comforting in the chilly weather.
William wrapped his strong arms around my waist from behind and shifted my long hair to the side of my neck. He kissed the skin behind my ear and hummed in enjoyment.
I giggled. “Is that yummy noise for the food or me?”
William continued trailing kisses along my skin and nipped my earlobe. “Can’t it be for both?”
He gently rocked his growing hard-on against my hips, and I was ready to risk it all until there was a knock at the door.
William grumbled, “Christ.”
I laughed and went back to stirring the pot of soup.
A group of four large men entered the cottage, and my jaw nearly dropped. They were, of course, incredibly good looking and built like brick houses. I turned the stove off and wiped my hands on the apron before setting it aside as William greeted each of them.
He held out his hand for me to take. “Nairie, these are a few of my old friends.”
The one with dark blond hair and light blue eyes had an Irish accent. “Old? Speak for yourself. Hi, Nairie. I’m Finn, and might I say, it smells divine in here.”
He stuck out his big hand, and I shook it gently. “It’s so nice to meet all of you. I thought you guys might be hungry, so I cooked some dinner.”
Finn squeezed my palm. “We appreciate the hospitality. I can see why William likes you so much. Gorgeous and she can cook.”
William growled and separated our hands. “Enough.”
Finn winked, and I chuckled. Clearly, he was the flirt of the group.
The next man had dark brown hair with a five-o’clock shadow and gray eyes. He was James Bond personified.
“I’m Theo,” he said in a British accent.
The third man had light chestnut-brown hair and glasses that magnified his kind brown eyes, which crinkled when he smiled.
“I’m Archer,” he said in a Scottish accent slightly different from William’s. “Well, the boys call me Archie but you can call me whatever you want.”
Finn let out a chortle and I giggled.
Archer’s eyes went wide. “I meant whatever you’re most comfortable with.”
William pointedly steered me away from Archer towards the last man.
He was the most intimidating, but he stood forward politely. He had a few scars across his face and wore his hair in a buzz cut with tattoos from his skull to his arms.
Not one to mince words, he let out a grunt, “Noah.”
Definitely not the name I expected for him. He looked more like a Spike or Jameson.
I smiled nervously. “Thank you all for coming. Please, sit. Dinner is ready.”
We made our way to the dining table, which seemed tiny now that five burly men took up the whole space, and I quickly got everyone’s dishes prepared as they tucked into the meal.
I sat next to William at the head of the table and smiled warmly up at him as he gripped the back of my neck and brought me in for a sweet kiss.
When I looked back at the table, his friends were staring at us with spoons halfway to their mouths.
Finn cleared his throat. “Sorry for staring. We’ve just never seen William so . . . affectionate.”
Archer pushed his glasses up. “Yeah, he’s usually twisting necks in more violent ways.”
William cleared his throat. “Alright.”
Theo chuckled. “You’re good for him, Nairie. I always knew he was a teddy bear underneath it all.”
I smiled, and we continued eating. “How long have you guys known each other?”
Theo dabbed his mouth with a napkin like he’d had proper etiquette training. “Over a decade. We all kind of grew together through the ranks and went on a few missions as a team. We’re all out now though. Doing odd jobs here and there.”
His accent was aristocratic, but there was an air of danger about him.
Noah remained silent as the rest of them talked, but he finished his soup the fastest, so I quickly got up to refill his bowl. He looked up at me in surprise and quietly thanked me.
Finn was the most jovial, but he looked like a Viking. “He talked a lot about his time in La-La Land when we were on tours.”
I looked back at William. “Did he?”
Finn smiled cheekily. “Oh, yeah. About Elle and her little friend and all the shenanigans you guys would get into. How is Elly these days?”
“Elly?” I snorted. “Familiar, are you?”
“We may have crossed paths when she came to visit William.”
I hummed in amusement. “She’s good. Although her mother recently passed from cancer a couple of months ago. But she’s strong and running the family pub really successfully, thanks to some help from William.”
Archer seemed the most unassuming out of the bunch. With his glasses and messy hair, he looked more at home in a library than on the field. But then I looked down at his corded forearms and broad shoulders and quickly checked myself.
Archer smiled warmly. “Ah, that William always had a brain for business.”
They rehashed a few more memories before everyone finished, and I started serving tea and coffee. The conversation turned more serious as they discussed the current situation.
William leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “I appreciate you lads coming at such short notice. As you know, this thing with Angus has been going on for some time, but I have something more at risk now more than ever.”
Archer gently sipped his coffee. “I did some recon of their warehouses. It seems like Angus does a lot of his work at the shipping yard.”
“Noah’s been working on the inside for the past few months.” Finn chimed in.
Noah had a British accent now that I could hear him better.
It wasn’t as proper as Theo’s, a little grittier. “A guy hired me months ago to look for his missing daughter. Thinks she was trafficked through Angus’s crew.”
“The cops are closing in on their investigation.” Finn balled his napkin in his fist. “But you know how these things work. He’ll be out of jail in a few years if the police get to him first. So if you want a more permanent solution, we gotta act now.”
William nodded tightly. “Alright, so Noah can get me in there, and we can finish this.”
Archer waved a hand in protest. “Nuh-uh. Noah can’t blow his cover. Plus, he already heard rumors about their plans for Nairie.”
“They’re assembling a crew to try and kidnap her from the inn,” Noah said.
“So we’re going to hand her right to them,” Finn said lightly as if it were a practical joke.
They all looked at me and back at William, and he immediately sat up. “No.”
Finn pointed at William. “It’s the quickest way.”
“There are other ways,” he growled.
My head was spinning. “What are you guys talking about?”
Finn continued speaking to William. “She’ll be perfectly safe. Controlling the strategy this way lets us protect her. We’ll be in and out, thirty minutes tops.”
William was silent and got up to look at the fire.
Theo, who I was quickly coming to know as the voice of reason in their group, spoke up. “Will, this is the best option.”
“I can do it,” I said.
William scowled at me, and I scowled right back. “Hey, I’ve had self-defense training for almost twelve days now.”
Finn and Theo laughed. Archer smiled while Noah stayed silent.
Theo got up to meet William at the fireplace. “Noah will be with her the whole time.”
William looked at Noah, and they squared off in a silent exchange.
I sidled up to William and squeezed his hand. “Sweetheart, I can do it.”
The term of endearment got Noah’s mouth to twitch, and Finn snickered.
William squeezed me back. “I’m not putting you in danger.”
“I’m already in danger, and we both know Angus won’t stop. I’ll be safe with Noah. Look at him. You think that guy ever breaks a promise?”
Noah looked at William with a challenging glare.
William turned toward him. “If we do this. And that’s a big ‘if,’ Noah, I’m not fucking around on this. If anything happens to her, I’ll kill everyone in my path, including you.”
Noah gave a single nod. “You have my word.”
They stayed for another couple of hours going over logistics and laying out a plan before the guys departed.
William and I finally retired to bed, where we lay facing each other, our bodies a tangle of limbs.
I snuggled into his chest. “My meeting with Limitless Co. is next week.”
“I’ll have you back by then.”
“I know but . . .”