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Chapter 1
Grinch
Legend is in a growly mood, and I blame the physical distance between him and Faith for making him this way.
The man is obsessed with his woman, all protective and possessive. I get it; he wants to be plastered to her side at all times. A good woman has the ability to do that to a man, ensnare him, and make him a little crazy.
I guess I should be grateful I’m single. The thought of only looking at one woman for the rest of my life makes my skin crawl. Variety is the spice of life, after all.
I grin at him as we enter the conference room, annoying him further. It’s so easy to get under his skin. I don’t know why he’s so defensive. The man would have no issue standing up and shouting to the world just how madly in love he is. Hell, most of the guys filtering into the room and taking seats are exactly the same way.
Love. It seems like a trap to me, a way to be controlled and manipulated, suffocated.
I shudder at the thought. It’s a big ole hell no for me.
The emotion that comes along with being infatuated with someone does nothing for me, but I can readily admit that people in love, the passion they share, the way they look at each other as if they’re just waiting for a free moment to jump on each other, turn me on like no other.
I’m jealous of the amazing sex all of them are having, but I’ll stick to just good sex, mediocre sex, rather than a lifelong commitment. The great sex wanes after a while, doesn’t it? It turns into obligatory sex, and I have a headache sex. Nothing lasts forever.
The look on Kincaid’s face before we even have the chance to sit down sobers me completely. Legend and I jerk to a stop, our gears shifting from the men we’re allowed to be in the living room, to the men we’re required to be to work for this club. We have a lot of fun, but the atmosphere in the room as we take our seats tells us there’s no room for jokes and teasing.
All of our jobs are serious, and we approach each one with the gravity required, but it’s not often Kincaid doesn’t give us a quick smile or nod as we get situated.
After Aro, one of the newer guys, enters and closes the door, Kincaid has our undivided attention.
“Decades ago,” Kincaid begins, “my cousin Kaleb’s woman was abducted. She spent sixteen days locked in a closet by some meth heads who thought she deserved to die. Those people were going to kill her that night. They had plans to leave her body in the woods for the wildlife to tear apart. Thankfully, a little girl at the school Misty worked at in Denver reported her being locked in the closet at her home.”
Kincaid clears his throat, clearly still affected by what happened so long ago.
“That little girl’s parents were killed the day we raided the house. They pulled guns, and we returned fire. She moved to live with her aunt in Tennessee, and the updates that we got over the years were good. She was happy and thriving. Her aunt reached out to Kaleb, even though he’s retired from Denver PD now, because she hasn’t seen or heard from her niece in two weeks. Max?”
Max takes a step forward before speaking. “We were able to get video footage that shows her abduction, but these guys are good. We’re unable to get a license plate number. I’ve involved Blackbridge on this, and they’re helping as much as they can.”
Max points the remote at the huge television mounted to the wall behind him, and the grainy footage begins to play. We’ve seen this a hundred times before, but knowing that it’s someone directly connected to Kincaid and his family makes it ten times more intense. The woman is walking her dog in the early hours of the morning when a truck pulls up and grabs her off the street. She gives a good fight, and I can imagine she’s screaming for help, but he’s just too big in comparison and quickly gains the upper hand. It’s hard to see what he’s doing after he shoves her into the back of the truck, but I imagine he’s tying her up to prevent her escape. Satisfied with his work, the man closes her inside before climbing in and taking off. The poor dog is left sitting on the sidewalk, confused.
“We don’t do much domestic work,” Kincaid says. “But I couldn’t turn this down. Had that little girl not come forward, Josie would’ve died. She was pregnant with their first child when she was rescued. Their happiness is because of her. The second we get even a hint of where she could be, we’re moving. I need everyone close and ready to go at the drop of a hat. Blackbridge is on standby as well since those guys deal more with domestic jobs than we do.”
