Prologue
One Day
Wire
Remmi Fontaine puts on a good front, but I can see the slight trembling of her hands as she climbs out of her car. She’s been sitting in her vehicle for the last fifteen minutes, watching every car and every person who gets in or out of them in the parking lot of Lil’ Bit Country Bar & Grill. When she sees a middle-aged couple get out of their car and head inside, Remmi gets out and goes in behind them.
Predators come in every size and color, and a middle-aged couple is no exception. Mind you, the couple walking arm in arm seems innocent enough, and I’m right here if anything goes awry, but Remmi doesn’t know that.
After I carried her out of the hangar that fateful day several months ago, she became my obsession. It started off as a mission to save her father from a drug lord who’d kidnapped him to stop a major project from happening. To force him to cooperate, the bad guys kidnapped Remmi too. My team and I at Storm rescued her and her dad, and I went to see her the day she decided to move back into her own place. She was brave to leave the safe haven of her parents’ house, where there was a team of security guards, to go home.
I parked at the edge of her property. She was doing fine until the sun set; then, suddenly, all the lights came on in her house, and, from her silhouette through the curtains, I could see that she was pacing back and forth.
That was when I made my first approach since the fateful day of the rescue. I knocked loudly on the door and told her I was just outside. She yanked open the door and practically leapt into my arms. I held her until she fell asleep, then carried her back to her bed. I stayed until early morning, leaving her a note to tell her I was installing a security system for her peace of mind.
Remmi didn’t complain. I told her it was connected to the police station, and it is, but the first alert comes to me. Should anything go wrong, I’d make it to her faster than the cops. Even though the people responsible for her abduction are behind bars, the fear remains. I hate saying that her fear is normal, but unfortunately, it is.
Remmi and I talk every day. Today is no different, and when she told me she was going to her favorite haunt to rejoin her friends and do karaoke, I offered to go with her. She declined, saying she had to do this on her own.
Obviously, I ignored her, so now I’m here. After she goes inside, I find a seat in a dimly lit corner, out of her line of vision. Her friends are welcoming her back, but I see the hesitation in every move she makes. Remmi is constantly looking over her shoulder. I want to reassure her that she’s safe, but she needs to do this for herself.
She goes up on stage when her name is called. The entire place erupts with applause. She begins to sing Rain on Me by Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande, and the place goes quiet, the entire room focusing on her soulful, chocolate-brown eyes. She’s beguiling. I’m clearly not the only one who thinks so. Nearby, a table of rowdy men are talking about my Remmi, and I’m not loving what they’re saying. Things are going to get ugly.
Remmi has a good voice, but that’s not what compels you to listen; it’s the way she throws herself into the lyrics. Remmi uses music to soothe herself. I often see her with her headphones on, her eyes closed, and her body begins to relax. She does the same when she works in her studio, where she’s creating her pottery.
She’s artsy, and she owns it. Her home is earthy, with many of her own creations decorating her space. The taupes and browns of the furniture come to life with the blues, oranges, and greens of her vases, dishes, lamps, and so on. She’s not a minimalist because she likes her things around her.
Remmi is nothing like me in that regard. My log cabin is practically bare. Except for my bed, an armchair, and a giant seventy-inch television, it’s a man cave. I’ve spent the last year and a half fixing my place up. I’ve redone the walls and floors. The electrical is now up to code, and, thanks to the guys, the bathrooms have been redone with new plumbing and vanities. I’m still living out of my footlocker and haven’t bothered to buy a dresser yet.
Where Remmi lives in color, I’m still in army gray. I love my house, but when I visit Remmi, I feel good in her place. It’s warm and homey. She makes me tea and gives me homemade cookies. I don’t let on that tea isn’t my thing, but the cookies are awesome.
When the guys and I were in the army, we ate and drank a lot worse than camomile tea. We slept in places where it was so hot, I thought we’d roast like pigs on a spit. The only thing missing was an apple in our mouths. We survived and made it home…well, most of us.
We lost a brother. Kailyn’s husband, Cory, never made it home. His loss devastated all of us, and we made a pact to take care of his wife. When Phoenix and Kailyn fell in love, it was a shock to all of us. Some of us took it better than others. My feeling is that with all the shit we’ve seen, if you find the person who makes life better, you should go for it. It took some of the others some time to come around and accept their relationship, but in the end, it all worked out.
Archer is the only one left in the military, but he’s coming home in a month or so. About fucking time! We wait for his calls to make sure he’s okay. We know not to panic when we don’t hear from him right away, but it’s damn good to hear his voice when he does. An instant sense of relief comes over me once I know he’s safe, at least for another day.
Me and the guys spent the better part of ten years serving our country and protecting our right to freedom. It was Falcon who decided that he had had enough. He told us he was ready to step away and become a civilian again, but not without a plan. He was our leader in the army, and he’s our leader now too. Not that he declares himself as such, but Storm Enterprises was his idea. Falcon devised the business, made the contacts, found the property, and brought us all in on it. We’ve all heard too many stories of veterans who come home and are displaced or worse, so this is working out great for all of us.
Even when visiting Remmi, we found a veteran who had fallen on hard times. He’s getting help now, and, as Falcon does, he’s given him an opportunity to come to Storm if he can get his shit together. Seeing Remmi in the hospital was killing me, but the worst was finding her in a cage, roofied, and not knowing if they’d done worse to her. We all breathed a sigh of relief when we found out she hadn’t been raped, but that didn’t make the ordeal any less painful for Remmi. In her mind, she often relives her abduction and the fear of what she and her father endured during the time Diego Rodriguez and his men from the Mexican cartel had them.
Remmi has courage, although she doesn’t see it. She’s braver than she thinks. It took courage to move back into her home, considering that was where she’d been taken from. Even leaving her home at night is terrifying, but here she is, up on stage and being her old self, even if it only lasts for the length of the song.
After the last note, she leaves the stage and joins her friends at their table. Her friend Mina takes her hand and holds on tight. Mina has been her best friend since college. Yeah, I investigated her thoroughly. To be honest, I researched her suppliers and the owners of every store where she sells her stuff. I investigated all her close friends and connections. At first, I thought she was a loner, but I was happy to realize that even though Remmi likes having time alone, she does have some close friends.
Up till now, I’ve enjoyed the company of women, always respected them, but I’ve never considered a permanent relationship with any of them. It’s not because I’m some kind of Casanova. It was just because I didn’t think “permanent” fit with my lifestyle. Bull, Phoenix, and Rebel make it look easy with their wives and girlfriends, but I know the women worry when they’re on a mission. I didn’t think it would be fair to put someone you love through that kind of torture. It takes a special lady to endure the silence during our missions when there’s a complete blackout on communication. Kailyn, Maya, and Sadie are incredible ladies. They’re now part of my family, as I adopted them as my sisters.
Remmi is different from any other woman I’ve known. I can’t even look at other women since she’s come into my life. I know I need to move slow because Remmi is fragile, but one day, I want to make her mine.
Chapter 1
Take My Hand
Remmi
Mina holds my hand, and I’m grateful because I’m shaking like a leaf. It’s stupid. I’ve got to get hold of myself. It’s ridiculous to panic just because the guys a few tables over are rowdy and started whistling and howling when I came to sit down, but I can’t help it.
I glance around the room for Wire. He’s become a huge part of my life since that fateful day when he and his friends saved me and my father from the cartel. Why would he be here, though? I told him not to come. I want my life to get back to normal, so I made him stay away. Yet now, all I can think about is how much I wish he were here.
