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“For him, too.” Her own eyes stung at Neo’s reaction to the simple lettering on vinyl. Neo straightened and closed the distance between them, pulling her into a hard hug. She rested her cheek on his chest, the rapid beat of his heart thumping against her face. Jacob and Neo were both incredibly lucky to have each other. That made her doubly blessed to have both of them in her life.
Chapter Thirteen
In the shadows of an alley, Ronald Glen clenched his fists. His mark had disappeared inside an apartment complex, and what should’ve been an easy payday again dissolved to shit. He’d found her simple enough in the town outside Boston. The apartment’s security was a joke, and he’d set himself up a nice little stakeout by the garbage residents had piled up blocking the back exit. Even the fire alarms were out of order, and the place was so filled with smoke he could discreetly light up a cigarette, and no one would be the wiser. She’d been alone, except for the kid in the wheelchair, and he wouldn’t get in the way. He had planned to wait until nightfall, sneak upstairs, and shoot her where she slept.
Then that huge bastard had busted into the building. The guy was a mercenary if he’d ever seen one, leaving him to wonder who the hell the lady had pissed off enough to have two hits out on her. He was content to sit back and let the other guy do the dirty work and tell his client the job was done. He almost pissed himself when the man left with his mark and the kid. So shocked, he dropped his cigarette right into the trash heap. Tracking them had been a bitch, and he’d had to dip into his funds to get a hotel room so he could keep an eye on them.
The next day they’d hopped a flight to Virginia—another expense to hit his wallet. The client had paid extra for him to rough her up a bit before he killed her, but after all the trouble he’d been through, he’d forgo that part of the deal and pocket the cash. The guy who hired him would never know the difference. By the time he got released from Walpole, he’d be sitting on a beach in Mexico, enjoying a well-deserved retirement.
Only today hadn’t gone as planned either. He should’ve shot that dirty mutt the second it started following him. Instead, he ignored it and stuck to the tree line, trying to get a shot off from a distance. The dog had run right into the road on the woman’s heels, scaring her away. Now the dog was inside the apartment building with his mark, and he was standing in a piss-scented alley. Well, she better not get too comfortable because her number was up. The dog’s, too.
Chapter Fourteen
Neo stood at the kitchen sink, rinsing dishes from dinner the night before. The dog, who they’d collectively decided to call Oscar, sat dutifully at his feet, tail keeping time with the clank of the dishes that he methodically added to the washer. Three days had gone by since Neo had kissed Brynn on the bathroom countertop, and he could think of little else. He could still recall the way her body molded to his—a perfect fit.
A single touch of her lips had ignited something almost feral within him. She was his to protect and care for, just as Jacob was. Even a glimpse of the nicks and burns that were visible on her legs had made him murderous. He’d never allow anyone to harm her ever again. Sharing the same living space, with her laughter filling up his apartment, and her dimpled smile lighting him from the inside out was wonderful and torturous at the same time. With each passing minute he spent around her, the more he liked her. He was falling. Hard.
He’d always brushed off relationships as a waste of time. Always tried to convince others, and maybe himself, that family life wasn’t something he wanted. Perhaps it was time to admit to himself that he wanted those things with a ferocity that extended to his soul. Still, he told himself time and time again not to depend on anyone but himself. The Teams had proved him wrong, but his own mother hadn’t given a single care about him. He wasn’t afraid he’d turn around and treat his own family that way—if he ever had one—but it wasn’t like he had the best examples of stable relationships in his life.
Over the short span of a week and a half, Brynn had begun to unravel his mother’s lies. She saw the best in people, and he wasn’t an exception. Brynn was constantly building him up, making sure he acknowledged that there was another side of him that was warm and loving. With her constant encouragement, even he began to think of himself as more than the cold bastard his mother claimed he was.
Brynn was getting harder and harder to resist. Not even waiting to see if their offer on the home had been accepted kept his mind from wandering to the scent of honeyed lavender and the weight of endless midnight hair fisted in his hands. They’d worked together to complete Jacob’s paperwork for the public middle school and get copies of his medical records. They were lucky that this school system was not only able to meet Jacob’s needs but had several other students with similar disabilities, so the classroom already had a dedicated school nurse. His brother would start classes on Monday morning, but first, they were taking a tour and meeting his classmates.
“Almost ready,” Brynn called from Jacob’s bedroom. He’d insisted that she take his bed for now, and he was bunking on an air mattress in Jacob’s room. That first night, they’d stayed up until one o’clock in the morning. He told Jacob stories about his own childhood and Hell Week during BUD/S training. His brother had laughed, presumably at him, not with him—because there wasn’t a damn thing funny about the training—when he had told him about the fragmented sleep, hours swimming in ice-cold water, and pushing his body past the limits of exhaustion. The kid’s full-bellied laugh made his heart swell. Jacob had given him something he’d never thought possible—a chance to be a brother. To have a family outside the Teams. This was a mission he would not fail.
After they visited the school, he had a surprise for Brynn. Silver, Branch, and even Joker were coming over to the apartment to hang with Jacob. He was taking Brynn on a date.
He loaded the last dish in the washer, tossed a detergent pod in the dispenser, and hit the start button.
“Okay, we’re ready.” Brynn came into the room, hair loose around her shoulders, pushing Jacob. She paused by Oscar, leaning down to kiss him on the nose. The dog reveled in the attention, rolling onto his back in hopes of a belly rub. She let go of Jacob’s chair to bend over and pet the dog’s stomach. Christ. Her ass filling out a pair of jeans was a thing of fucking beauty. Brynn’s giggle filled his chest with warmth, like someone had lit a match within him.
“Might want to avoid the kisses until the vet calls with the results of his lab work.” His lips twitched with a suppressed smile. She brought that out in him—the light. Just knowing she and Jacob were here when he returned from base the past few days had given him a sense of anticipation. There was a reason to rush home for once.
She scrunched up her face. Adorable. “He can have all the kisses he wants.” She started to walk past him, but he hooked an arm around her waist in a playful hold and stepped up behind her.
“And me?” he whispered. Her hair was so soft against his cheek. He brushed it to the side, exposing the slope of her shoulders. He leaned down and planted a kiss at the nape of her neck. She shivered against him, her body instantly reacting to his touch.
“Not if we’re going to make it to the school on time for our meeting.” Her lips curved, and dimples popped in her cheeks. Goddamn. He liked that she was getting comfortable enough to tease him a bit.
Jacob let out an exasperated sigh.
“We’re going,” he said with a laugh. Jacob deserved an explanation of his relationship with Brynn. At the least about his growing feelings. One that they would have very soon.
Outside, a balmy breeze carried the scent of the ocean, and sunshine poured over the parking lot, reflecting metallic rays over the glossed paint of the vehicles. He planned to follow the same route Brynn had mentioned taking the day before. Maybe it was a long shot, but he wanted to see if anything looked out of the ordinary. He was still uneasy about the man Brynn thought she’d seen in the hotel, and then the scare she and Jacob had when they’d been out on a walk.
“Neo?” She paused on the pavement.
“Yeah?” He grinned, anticipating the next words.
“Where’s the rental?” Her brows were drawn together and she was glancing around. This was the first time they’d ventured out together, and he’d told Brynn he’d rented an accessible van. Silver had already found him two accessible SUVs, though one wouldn’t be delivered until the end of the month.
“I thought an upgrade was in order.” He smiled over his shoulder as he walked toward the rear of a shiny black SUV. “And it’s not a rental. Silver found it at a nearby dealership, and it’s ours.” There wasn’t a car parked in the space to the left, so Neo pressed the key fob, opened the door, and hit the switch to lower the ramp to the side of the vehicle.
“Wow! It looks much simpler to operate than the old van.” She skirted Jacob’s chair and ruffled his hair. “What do you think?” The smile stretched across his face was pure elation.
She stepped closer, eyes widening when she noticed the bumper sticker on the back window. “Your brother has a new bumper sticker, too.” Her voice had dropped an octave as she took another step closer to the sticker. “It says: My brother, my hero.”
*
