The American Soldier Collection 17: Love a Woman Right (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Read online

“I’m okay. I can take care of it at home, really,” she said and Jace stood there with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

  “I’m headed to the house now, too,” Jace said.

  “Oh, then I can go with you,” she hurried to say and Laverty squeezed her thigh.

  “Stay here. We’ll get you back home,” he stated but looked at Jace.

  “She’s our responsibility and we got this,” Ghost said to Jace. Jace looked a little concerned and she felt the fear hit her gut, but then he looked at her.

  “All right. I’ll let your sister know that you’ll be a little late but that you’re with your guardians.” There he went, adding that term again. She didn’t need guardians, or want them. As she thought that, her gut clenched and she knew she was lying. It felt good to be this close to Ghost and Laverty, but it also scared her for a whole lot of other reasons.

  “Maybe I should go with you now.”

  “No,” Laverty and Ghost said firmly.

  Ghost cupped her cheek and tilted her face toward him.

  “We’ll get you home safe and sound. Jace will tell Valentina we’ll be there shortly.”

  She was shocked by the look in his eyes and the firmness of his tone. He was definitely a man used to being in charge and getting his way. That was for certain. She didn’t take her eyes off Ghost’s as she heard Jace close his truck door and then the diesel engine rev as he went up the hill and out of sight.

  Ghost stroked her cheek.

  “That wasn’t so hard, was it?” he said to her.

  She felt the wipe hit her cut knee and winced as she looked down and pulled from Ghost’s hold.

  “Sorry, it’s kind of deep. You should wash it out when you get home.”

  “We could help her when we get her there,” Ghost added.

  “That won’t be necessary,” she whispered and then Laverty added the bandage and set her leg down, but not before he stroked her calf.

  He licked his lower lip. “You could have gotten hurt a lot worse. You’re a petite little thing, and if we weren’t here and you were seriously injured—”

  “Then Jace would have found me just now on his way home.” She fixed her top and stepped away only for Laverty to hold her arm and pull her against his chest. He wrapped his arm around her waist and she had to tilt her head way back to lock gazes with him.

  “That was luck that he came along. Next time could be different. That’s why from now on we’re going to be keeping an even closer eye on you, darling, and no arguments,” he said. He looked like he was going to kiss her and she quickly put pressure on his forearms and pressed away from him.

  “I want to go home,” she whispered and kept her head down.

  “We’ll get you there now. No worries,” Ghost said and placed his hand at her lower back and guided her past Laverty and to the passenger side of the truck. She released a sigh, relieved to have gotten out of being that close to them, but it was short-lived as Ghost helped her into the front seat. Now she was going to be stuck between them until they got to the cottage.

  As she sat between them, she felt so small and feminine. She reached for the rip on her capris. upset that they were ruined. She’d only purchased them a few days ago.

  “You can buy a new pair. Be happy that cut doesn’t require stitches,” Laverty told her. He sounded upset, like it was her fault that she fell.

  She thought about Caden and how he’d blamed her for every little thing he didn’t like. When she got pregnant at nineteen with Kenny, he’d yelled at her, and it had been the condom that broke. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut. She hadn’t realized she was shaking and gripping her knees until she felt two hands press over hers. She gasped and looked down to see Ghost holding one hand and caressing hers, while Laverty held the other and stroked her hand.

  “I’m not angry with you, I’m angry that you got hurt. You’re so beautiful and sweet, Lois. I don’t want to see you in pain or injured. It upsets me,” Laverty said straight-faced. The truck stopped, and she was grateful, because she didn’t know what to say. So she said nothing. Ghost exhaled and released his hold on her hand. He caressed along her thigh as he lifted his hand, as if he wanted to get in one more caress. She was so confused. He was older than her. Laverty, too, and maybe just like Caden they were trying to take advantage of her youth, her fears, and vulnerability? Maybe?

  Her gut tightened as Laverty released her knee and got out of the truck. When she slid over, she felt the ache on her back. He gripped her hips and lifted her up and out of the truck.

  “Mommy!” Kenny yelled to her and came running. He saw her cut knee and the bandage on her arm and stopped short. He looked at Laverty and Ghost.

  “Mommy?”

  “I’m okay, baby. I fell off my bike on the way home.”

  She rubbed his head and pulled him close for a hug.

  “They made you go off the road?” he asked. She was shocked, and apparently so was Laverty, as his eyes widened and then he quickly bent down.

  “No way. We offered your mom a ride home so she would be safe. Look, I even bandaged up her arm, and Ghost here, he’s going to fix her bike.”

  Kenny hugged her leg and stared at Laverty and then looked at Ghost.

  “What happened?” Valentina asked, coming off the front steps along with Jace, who held Grace in his arms. Tye and Lena ran to Lois.

  “You got hurt?” Tye asked with concern.

  “I’m okay. It’s no big deal. I just lost control of the bike and fell,” Lois explained, but the kids looked upset. Tye and Lena wrapped their arms around Lois. “We’ll help you,” Lena said and Valentina smiled.

  “I guess we’ll take it from here. Thank you for helping my sister.”

  “No problem, Valentina. We’ll fix the bike and drop it off when it’s done,” Laverty said and Ridge and Beck walked over to look at the bike with Ghost.

  Sparrow came over from the house and Lois felt embarrassed.

  She locked gazes with Valentina who raised her eyebrows up and down and winked.

  The kids walked her into the house.

  “Here, I’ll take Grace,” Valentina said and then whispered something else to Jace as she took the baby from him. Whatever it was, Jace stopped Valentina and said something to her firmly before he gave her rear a light tap. Valentina shook her head and followed Lois inside.

  Lois chuckled as the kids started looking over her injuries and asking if she needed anything. It was so sweet.

  “I’m totally fine, no big deal. Why don’t you guys go play so Valentina and I can talk?” Lois said, and they gave Lois hugs before they headed into the other room.

  Valentina sat down on the couch next to where Lois sat on the floor. Lois played with the rip in her capris and thought about Laverty and Ghost and how they’d taken care of her.

  “So, how did it all happen? The fall off the bike, Ghost and Laverty of all people coming to your rescue, and the fact that Jace saw Ghost’s hands under your shirt as he drove up the road?”

  Lois gasped and turned to look at her sister.

  “His hands weren’t under my shirt. Well, not like that. He was putting ointment on some scratches back there.” She reached back and eased away from the couch. “I’m going to be bruised and sore by morning. It was a hell of a fall.”

  Valentina raised her eyebrows and gave her sister the once-over.

  “You let Ghost, a man…Ghost, who is super intimidating and scary, actually touch you? Start talking and don’t leave a damn thing out.”

  Lois felt her cheeks heat up and she lowered her head and shook it. She looked at her sister as she exhaled.

  “It was their fault I fell off the damn bike. They made me nervous first when they slowed down to see if I needed a ride. Like I would get into a truck with the two of them? No way! Then, they headed away and some guys in a Jeep stopped to ask me directions, which I think was their way of flirting. They took off as Ghost turned the truck around to come back to check on me and what the guys wanted, and one
look in his eyes and, oh, God…I freaked. I started to shake and then the next thing I know I’m going headfirst into the tight ravine and over the handlebars. I could have broken my damn neck.”

  Valentina laughed and then covered her mouth with her hand.

  “It isn’t funny, Val. They’re intimidating and huge. I’m like a shrimp compared to them, and did you see their bodies?”

  Valentina cleared her throat and looked around to be sure no one could hear them.

  “What woman in their right mind wouldn’t notice their bodies or their sizes? Come on, really? So you like them, are attracted to them?”

  Lois shook her head and lowered her eyes.

  “Liar,” she whispered and slid down onto the floor next to her sister, placing her arm over her shoulder. She held her gaze and saw the fear, the tears, in her eyes.

  “I can’t,” she said and her voice cracked.

  “Why can’t you?”

  Lois looked at her sister’s blue eyes and her face, the natural glow she had, and so badly she wanted that, too. To feel healthy, strong, beautiful—but she couldn’t. She felt dirty, cheap, broken in so many ways. The tears fell. Valentina squinted her eyes and then squeezed her tight.

  “He can’t hurt you anymore. He’s gone and in the past.”

  “I can’t let go and forget. I look at men like Ghost, Laverty, Evan, and Ford and all I see are soldiers, muscles, capabilities that I won’t stand a chance against if and when they attack. I can’t get past that.”

  “Aw, honey, just because they’re soldiers doesn’t mean they’re like Caden. They’re good men, just like my men.”

  “I can’t let down my guard. I tried to not think about the bad things, the fears I have, but when Laverty and Ghost were so close to me, I stiffened up and started shaking. My heart felt like it was going to explode from my chest and my throat felt constricted. I thought I was going to have a panic attack and then Jace pulled up. There are four of them. Do you know what damage they could do alone, never mind together?”

  “You can’t think that way. I’m not telling you to go do whatever with them. I’m telling you that it’s okay to be attracted to another man, to men, and to like how it feels.”

  “I have to focus on Kenny first. Nothing I would want for me matters. Not when I have to ensure that he’s never scared like he was in New York.”

  “Your focus is always Kenny first, and that doesn’t change when you start thinking about wanting more in life and more for yourself. Those men like you. Evan has been coming around here since day one helping out, being there for you and for Kenny. Kenny likes him, Laverty and Ford, too. He’ll like Ghost, too, if he comes around more and gets to know Kenny.”

  Lois shook her head.

  “Just because a ménage relationship worked out with you doesn’t mean it can for me. My scars run deeper. My poor decisions put you and Kenny in harm’s way. My son had to see his father—”

  Lois covered her mouth with her hand and she sobbed. She couldn’t help the tears that flowed. All Lois kept thinking about was how Kenny witnessed his father tear the clothes from her body, hit her, and then force her over the back of the couch and—

  She closed her eyes and sobbed at the thought, the images in her head. She was weak. She had bad judgment when it came to men. Her impressions, her ideas of what a real man looked like and should act like were all mixed up. She couldn’t entertain some lustful desires of an attraction. That’s how she’d fallen for Caden and his charms. That’s how she nearly lost her sister. She couldn’t take that chance. She just couldn’t.

  Chapter 3

  Ghost awoke in a cold sweat. He was gasping for air, the nightmares worse tonight because of the lack of sleep he’d gotten. His door burst open and Ford was there with Evan.

  “Are you okay?” Evan asked cautiously, walking deeper into the room. Ghost noticed the lamp on the bedside table was on the floor. That sound must have alerted his brothers to the situation.

  “Fine. Just fine,” he said and ran his fingers through his hair.

  “You haven’t seen the doctor in a while. Maybe you need to re-up that prescription?” Ford suggested, holding a firm expression with his hands on his hips.

  “I don’t need the sleep aids. I was exhausted and couldn’t sleep last night. I’ll be fine. I got this,” he said and stood up to stretch his sore muscles. He felt like he’d just worked out he was so sweaty and sore.

  Evan picked up the lamp.

  “It didn’t break,” he said and placed it back onto the nightstand.

  “Do you need anything?” Ford asked.

  “No,” Ghost mumbled and then Ford walked out of the room. But Evan stood there a moment longer.

  “I can go with you to the medical center if need be.”

  “I don’t need my fucking hand held. I got this!” Ghost barked at his brother. Evan raised his palms up and walked out of the room.

  Ghost slammed his fists down on the bed. He thought about how far he had come in the last several months. He was pushing himself to feel normal and to act like nothing bothered him when it did. He didn’t have a lot of patience for weakness, yet he found himself thinking more deeply about things. About his life and where he was now, and what his future might entail. He was pushing forty. It was in his sights and he wondered where he would be in another five years, ten years—hell, if he even made it that long.

  He swallowed the lump of emotion in his throat and closed his eyes tightly. He was hurting inside and he didn’t dare tell a soul. Not his brothers, not a therapist or the doctor. He just had to deal with it. No one could comprehend the turmoil he felt inside, nor the depth of his desire to just move on with life and forget about the past, about the demons and the ghosts he allowed to remain holding him down.

  * * * *

  “Are you out of your fucking mind? How the hell could some dumb twenty-four-year-old bitch pull something like this off? How?” Ganor asked Spitz.

  “I don’t know. I wasn’t there, and I don’t know why Caden had his ex doing the exchange. The only reason I could think of was that Cornero ‘requested’ her,” Spitz told him as he made a lewd gesture with his hands.

  Ganor walked over to the next setup of weights in his home gym. He started adding a few forty-five-pound weights to the bar. Spitz helped him.

  “Why would he do that, Spitz?” Ganor asked him. He flexed his arms and then got under the straight bar filled with weights and prepared to bench press while Spitz spotted him.

  Spitz helped him lift the bar.

  “I think he still has a thing for her.”

  Ganor pressed the bar upward, and on the fourth press he placed it back onto the bar and exhaled.

  “Cornero and Lois hooked up?”

  “I don’t know if they ever did. I just know that the way that guy looked at Lois even though she had a kid was hard to ignore. Word was that Caden was pretty pissed off about it, but Cornero had a lot of shit on him, I think from the service. So when he told Caden to make sure that Lois delivered the small fee while the package of drugs and the money were exchanged, Caden was fucking fuming mad. Don shouldn’t have been there. That bitch got my brother killed,” Ganor stated, his blood boiling.

  “Hey, him and I may not have been blood, but I considered him my brother. I would do anything for either of you. It was Caden I couldn’t stand.”

  Ganor shrugged his shoulders. “He was okay. He never fucked up before. Caden and Cornero didn’t get along, and I’m sure if Lois was screwing Cornero or flirting then it got under his skin that Cornero demanded Lois make the delivery. I don’t even know how Caden got Lois to do it. Caden didn’t even go see his kid, ever,” Ganor said.

  “You think that’s why he fucking lost it and went to Lois’s apartment? What a fucking shock he and Don got that Lois’s cop sister was there.”

  “Don’t remind me. What a fucking mess. You heard from our inside guys. Crazy fucking Caden was raping Lois in front of the kid and Don. No wonder her cop sister kille
d them both.”

  “Valentina took two bullets. She almost died.”

  “Yeah, well if she did, it would have been a lot easier to locate Lois now and find out what she knows. They disappeared and that sister Valentina of hers is the reason why we can’t find Lois.”

  “Which brings us back to the fact that Lois has to know where the drugs and guns are,” Spitz said and sat up and then went to the dumbbells to do a few sets of curls with Ganor.

  “You really think Don and Caden were fucking stupid enough to bring the guns and drugs to the apartment?” Spitz asked Ganor.

  “They didn’t deliver them to Cornero’s guys.”

  “But Lois got the money to Cornero and Cornero said the exchange never happened between his men and Don and Caden. Which means the drugs and guns were in their car or placed somewhere, and since they were killed, they never got do the exchange.”

  “Then who took the fucking guns and drugs from the car or from their location?”

  Spitz shook his head.

  “Those guns and drugs could be anywhere. Maybe Lois doesn’t know,” Spitz stated.

  “It’s either we find her and ask her to make sure, or Cornero does. He wants the drugs and the money and we’re out a hundred grand that Lois gave to Cornero that night. We work for him and he wants to find her. We need to expand our search and start pulling in some favors. It’s been months,” Ganor added.

  “I don’t think Cornero even cares about the drugs and the guns as much as he cares about finding Lois. He wants her, especially now that Caden is dead. It’s like the ultimate revenge to get Caden’s woman. That’s the bottom line,” Spitz said to him.

  “Then we find her and get her to Cornero, or let him get her. Then we’re done with this deal, with this fucked-up situation, and maybe we take this little business across the country. Cornero mentioned some friends in Dallas that work the clubs and dancehalls. Maybe we take a little trip and check it out for ourselves. I’m sure if we find Lois and hand her over to Cornero, he’ll be more than happy to give us a piece of that action in Dallas.”

  “Sounds sweet to me. Hell, maybe we can just bring Lois to him either way and then take the guns and the drugs for ourselves. I’ll make some calls. We’ll find her no matter what it takes.”