AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He reached the door and called out, “G?”
He was pretty certain GQ was here. His car was in the drive, and unless he’d gone for a run, he was in the house. There was no answer, and Hazard was aware of the kind of state his teammates were in. He knew all three of them were blaming themselves because, like him, their nature was to protect, to stand the line so that everyone else didn’t have to be afraid. On top of that, they were in love, and that put an even more painful spin on the abductions. GQ had just found the woman of his dreams, and Iceman and Preach had married theirs. More than anything on this planet, love made a man the most vulnerable he would ever probably be in his life.
Vulnerability wasn’t in their lexicon normally, but when a SEAL fell in love, yeah, that was something they had to deal with. Love brought all those emotions they buried deep back to the surface.
He ignored convention, because fuck, he was a SEAL. Whenever did they back down from something as mundane as convention? He opened the damaged door and walked inside. He found GQ sitting in the chair at the table, his head in his hands. Hazard was sure the guy wouldn’t have heard a bulldozer.
“G?” Hazard put his hand on his brother’s shoulder, and he jerked upright. His hair was a mess, the lines around his mouth and eyes were pronounced, deep sorrow and pain were in the depths of his blue eyes before they shuttered. He looked haggard and exhausted beyond the physical.
“Hazard,” he said, turning around, alarm on his face. He expected to find more teammates, but they had already discussed how they were going to handle supporting their brothers before each of them headed out. Kodiak, an insightful guy, said it would be best if it was a one-on-one thing. That way GQ, Iceman, and Preach wouldn’t feel the need to step into their role as a special operator. They could take a minute to be a distraught boyfriend or husband who was overcome with worry. They would be more likely to share with a brother, a friend, than to break down in front of the whole team.
Hazard volunteered to go to GQ. They weren’t called the Goldilocks Twins for nothing. He had a tight bond with GQ on many things, one of them being how their looks affected them and the people around them.
“Man, you look like shit.”
Wryness pulled at GQ’s mouth. “Gee, thanks, asshole.”
“Yeah, no problem. When was the last time you ate or slept?”
“I don’t know.”
“Let me make you something to eat.”
“I haven’t got jack for food in the house.”
Hazard pulled out his phone. “I’ll get something here.” He opened up his delivery app and made quick work of getting burgers and fries ordered. “In the meantime, I brought some plywood and a new lock. How about we take care of the mess on the porch and fix the door?” The FBI agent, Bree West, and the two NCIS guys had already been there, photographing the scene and taking Celeste’s laptop as evidence.
GQ closed his eyes, visibly pulling himself together. He rose from the chair. “I have the saw set up in the garage. Let me get my tools.”
Hazard watched him go, and he went into the kitchen and looked for the broom and dustpan. Outside on the porch, he swept up the glass and the dirt from an overturned planter. He gently reseated the mums and set it back at the top of the stairs. Then he righted a rocking chair and side table near the entrance.
GQ came back through the house with a tape measure. He measured the door while Hazard dumped the glass and dirt into the kitchen trash. He walked back outside. GQ was at Hazard’s SUV, pulling out the plywood. Hazard hurried to help him. They carried it into the garage.
GQ measured and then turned on the saw, cutting the piece to size. When it was finished, he headed for the front porch. Hazard followed after he grabbed the new lock from the front seat of his car.
Together, they managed to nail in the plywood to protect the interior from the weather and maintain security. By the time they had replaced all the hardware, the food had arrived.
They ate in silence at the small table, GQ consuming his food methodically without much pleasure.
“For what it’s worth. I know what you’re going through.”
GQ nodded as he pushed away his half-eaten food. Hazard pushed it back, giving GQ a hard look. His teammate gave him another wry smile. “You my mom now?”
“I’m your brother. I always have your back. Now eat the fucking food.” GQ picked up the burger and bit into it. “You can’t blame yourself, G. You had no idea they would come for her. We thought they would be onto the next attack.”
“Yeah, and it was against Rose, Karasu, and Celeste. How could I not have seen it? There was risk in what she was doing. I should have?—”
“What? Guarded her twenty-four/seven when you couldn’t know how brazen NSH was going to be. That they knew our real names and where we lived.”
After they had eaten and cleaned up, Hazard went outside and grabbed his overnight bag, then locked his car. Back inside, he said, “I can bunk in your guest room.” That way GQ wouldn’t have to be in this empty house where the promise of their lives was only beginning. Celeste’s touches were everywhere with the cute curtains, the stocked kitchen, and the flowers on the front porch. He swore if there weren’t women in their lives, there would be no softness. The sweet fairer sex cushioned their lives and was that softness to their hardness, and they needed them.
GQ scoffed. “I don’t have a furnished guest room, man.”
“You got a sleeping bag?”
GQ nodded his head. “Yeah, I got a sleeping bag.”
“Well, then. I’m set. I’ve slept in worse places as we both know.”
