The American Soldier Collection 16: Seeking Love in Salvation (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Read online

  “What we had in the past weren’t relationships. They were weekend and week-long love affairs, wild times. We’re too old for that shit. At least, I’m too old for it,” Sparrow told them.

  “I don’t think I’m in on this. It’s already too complicated and we haven’t even taken her to bed. Seems like trouble to me. A damn disaster,” Jace said, and they mumbled in agreement, but Sparrow looked at Beck and Ridge.

  “We got time, let’s see what happens. We’re not going anywhere and neither is Valentina,” Ridge said, and they agreed.

  * * * *

  It had been four weeks since Valentina started the part-time job at the business center. She was working for the Texas Rangers, helping investigate issues of violent crimes. It was the overflow of information the Rangers needed investigated. It also involved interviewing victims to gather more information.

  Valentina wasn’t too sure if she would like it at first. She was required to be law enforcement, to be trained and have some counseling experience, which she did. Working with victims of violent crimes was emotionally draining, especially since she was dealing with it herself on a personal level. Having Lois and Kenny in counseling was a step in the right direction. They were beginning to establish their own lives, and she was starting to pull back a little from being in control of Lois and the decisions she made.

  Working here along other law enforcement officers made her feel a little more normal, like she was back on the job again. Helena had been right. Together, her law experience, her experience with counseling, and her experience dealing with the intensity of violent crimes were definitely helpful in the services the Rangers offered.

  A lot of the women and children who came in were on edge and scared, some even angry. She had to filter through those emotions and get concrete information the detectives could use to investigate the crimes and gain knowledge of the suspects.

  She liked being here and helping victims get the counseling, the financial and supplemental support they needed to move on with their lives in a positive fashion. She was also establishing a name for herself.

  Valentina was looking forward to getting together with Helena. Helena had called her to meet up at the farm tomorrow to show Kenny the animals there.

  “Valentina.” She heard her name and looked over toward her boss, Gus. He was a Texas Ranger and head of the department. They’d hit it off immediately.

  She was filing some new paperwork for one of the clients and making sure the secretary got the right ones signed before the end of the day.

  “I need to talk to you a minute,” Gus said and waved her over. She gave Liz, the secretary, a smile and then went into Gus’s office.

  “What’s going on?” she asked him. He gave her a serious look as he walked around his desk and picked up a file.

  “Okay, I have this case. It’s a tough one. I have all the information here. The thing is… I know we talked about your family situation. This is similar in a lot of ways. Roxie has three children, all under six years old. Her ex, a gangbanger, forced her to make some deliveries with the kids in the car and things went wrong. He came back to her apartment and messed her up good. The details are in the file. Whatever he did, he made sure that she won’t say a word to any of the detectives or Rangers. We can’t get a location on her ex, but she knows where he is. She’s our only lead.

  There’s more. Samuel, her ex, shot a cop two months ago. The officer lived, but we never got our hands on him. He’s known to be abusive, confrontational, and irrational. We need information on this guy, and Roxie is holding out because she’s scared for her life.”

  “Where is she living, and what protection are we providing for her?” she asked him as she opened the file and saw the photographs of the woman with her babies and the ex-boyfriend.

  “She’s living in a safe family shelter for domestic violence victims. Kay, one of the social workers there, said Roxie is scared and won’t talk about any of it. There’s another case our team is working on and they believe that Samuel is involved. We got agents working undercover and a lot invested in bringing down these major drug dealers. We need to locate Samuel. Someone has to get through to Roxie.”

  “What am I able to offer her and the kids?” she asked him.

  “What do you mean, offer them?”

  “I mean, she’s not going to give up info on her ex unless she knows that he can’t come back and kill her and the kids. She needs real promises of safety for them.”

  He held her gaze. “Whatever you need to do. A safe house solo if we get a full arrest and bring down the operation. Then we can set her up with something more stable. I’m sure we can figure it out. We need her ex.”

  “Okay, Gus. When do you want me to go see her?”

  “Right now.”

  She swallowed hard. They were desperate to find this guy.

  * * * *

  Lois was sitting in the chair outside watching Kenny play on the jungle gym. It was a beautiful day. She was thinking about her sister. Valentina had been acting funny, kind of sad, lately. A few weeks ago she’d come in from a run and she looked flushed and angry. Lois had heard her talking outside and figured she was with one of the Brazos brothers next door. They always seemed to be around keeping an eye on things. Like now, their cousin Evan was home and he was doing some work in the yard, but kept stopping to see if she and Kenny were still here. It was unnerving but also comforting.

  Lois heard a storm door slam closed and looked to see Beck coming out of the house. He waved to her and she gave a small wave back. She was getting to feel a little less paranoid and panicked. She had to. Valentina needed to have a life, too, which made Lois look out toward the barn and stable and see Jace. He was the hardest, most intimidating of the Brazos men, and reminded her of Ford, the sheriff. That thought had her belly quivering. He was as attractive as his brother Evan.

  “Hey, Lois, Valentina isn’t home from work yet?” Jace asked her as he walked closer.

  She pulled her sweater tighter and sat forward in her chair. “Not yet, but she’ll be home soon,” she said and looked at Kenny, who didn’t even seem affected by Evan coming over. He was getting used to all the Brazos men coming around checking on them.

  Evan gave her a smile and a wink as he placed his hands into his pockets and held her gaze. “It’s pretty warm outside today. Another week and that swimming hole will be calling everyone’s names,” he said, mentioning the swimming hole again. It sounded really nice, but she wasn’t willing to wear a bathing suit and feel so exposed like that, especially around all these physically fit men.

  “We go swimming, Mommy?” Kenny asked, running toward her.

  She ran her fingers through her blonde hair and gave him a smile. “No, honey. You don’t know how to swim.”

  Kenny made a sad face.

  “I’d be happy to teach him. My brothers, cousins, and I grew up swimming in the water hole. It’s a lot of fun and there’s even a rope to jump from,” Evan offered.

  “Can he, Mommy?” Evan asked.

  “I don’t think so,” she said and stood up. When she did, she realized how tall Evan was and it intimidated her. She stepped back, grabbing onto Kenny.

  “Let’s go inside and get ready for Aunt Val to get home. She should be here any minute,” she said, giving Evan a dirty look. She wouldn’t be intimidated by him, despite the fact that he made her nervous. Men couldn’t be trusted.

  “I didn’t mean to scare you. You don’t have to go inside,” Evan said.

  “No, we do,” she countered, and Kenny walked with her up the steps and onto the porch. When she glanced at Evan, he looked upset, maybe even angry. That put Lois even more on edge.

  “We don’t need looking after. Don’t bring up the swimming hole to my son again,” she said and closed the door and went inside.

  When she looked at Kenny, he looked sad, but then he reached for her hand.

  “Don’t be scared, Mommy. Evan isn’t like Daddy. He won’t hurt you like Daddy did.”
>
  Lois was shocked as she pulled Kenny close and hugged him with one arm, stifling her sob with her other hand over her mouth. It just wasn’t fair for her to feel this way.

  When was she going to feel safe and free again? When?

  * * * *

  Valentina was tired and especially worn out emotionally after dealing with the Roxie case at work and getting nowhere. The woman wasn’t going to trust Val on the spot. It would take time, and that wasn’t really an option. Then, when she’d gotten home, she heard all about how Evan came over and scared Lois. That had started a whole discussion about what the therapist was doing to Kenny to make him make statements like he had to his mother about his father hurting her. It was too much to handle. On top of it all, Valentina had forgotten to hand in the rent money. She thought she would have the chance when she got home, but she’d gotten home late and didn’t want to leave it in the mailbox overnight.

  Her sister was lying in bed watching TV with Kenny. Valentina told them she was going outside for a bit. She didn’t want to upset her sister more by telling her she was bringing the rent money over to the landlords and warning them to tell their cousins to stay clear of Lois and Kenny.

  She made her way across the grass, the night sky illuminating a clear path. She climbed the porch steps of their beautiful home and knocked on the door.

  “Come in,” she heard someone yell. She hesitated, but she was curious about the inside of their home.

  Sure enough, it was breathtaking. As Valentina walked into the main entryway, she saw all the large windows and the old black and white pictures that decorated the walls, and she could smell remnants of whatever delicious meal someone had made for dinner.

  “Hello?” she called out.

  Jace appeared, and his shocked expression made her stand in place. He looked good in a button-down shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his forearms revealing muscles galore. He was clean shaven and looked ready for a date, and she wondered if he was expecting company.

  “I’m sorry to bother you. I wanted to drop off this rent money.”

  “It’s not a bother. Come on in. My brothers are just cooking outside. We got home late tonight, too,” he said to her as he looked her over. She was wearing a black skirt and a button-down long-sleeve white blouse, complete business attire. He turned around and headed inside where he ran to the stove, pushed around some vegetables, and then turned it off. She stood there looking at the beautiful country kitchen. It looked like something out of Southern Living.

  “Sorry, I had to turn that off. So, you said you have rent money?”

  “Here you go.” She stuck the envelope out toward him and he didn’t move.

  “What was with your sister today? I heard she gave Evan a hard time when he was offering to teach her kid how to swim,” he asked her, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

  She pulled back her hand and the envelope and stared at him. He was a tall guy, older than her, very muscular and filled with attitude. He also had great posture and stood like a soldier, but she didn’t care for his attitude one bit.

  “Funny you bring that up. I was going to ask you to tell your cousin to keep away from my sister and from Kenny. She doesn’t need any strange guys coming over making her feel scared.”

  He uncrossed his arms and squinted at her. “Scared? Why the hell would she feel scared? Evan is a nice guy.”

  “Just tell him to stay clear.” She held the envelope out toward him and he didn’t take it. Instead he looked her over. She stepped closer and placed the envelope onto the counter.

  “I can’t do that. He asked to be her guardian.”

  She felt her jaw drop and she was stunned for a second.

  “Why would he do that?” She was shocked.

  “Like I said, my cousin is a nice guy.”

  “Well, we don’t accept the guardianship thing, so if you could tell him, I would appreciate it.”

  He stared at her. “What are you so afraid of? What are you hiding from my brothers?” he asked. The fact that he said brothers and not us warned her that he was distrusting and didn’t like her. They’d bashed heads from the start, which is why Valentina wondered why she felt attracted to the man. Maybe it was just his good looks and muscles. His attitude toward her ruined it all.

  “Listen, I’m tired, I had a long day at work, and I just want to make sure you all understand where we stand on this guardianship crap.”

  “What?”

  She turned to the left to see Beck standing there.

  “What’s going on? When did you get here?” he asked and stepped closer to give her a kiss. She stepped back and wound up cornered by the cabinets.

  “What’s wrong?” Beck asked.

  “Seems your little lady here has a problem with us being her guardians and our cousins being her sister’s guardians.” Jace stepped closer. She stepped back and planted her hands on the counter behind her.

  “Is that so?” Sparrow asked, joining them along with Ridge as they carried steaks into the house.

  “I should get going. You are about ready to eat and look like you have company coming.”

  Jace stepped in front of her and let his eyes roam over her chest and then her lips. “What makes you think we have company coming?” he asked her. She stepped back and there was no place else to go.

  “I just assumed so. You’re all dressed nicely and cooking up a good dinner and sitting at the table.”

  He reached out and played with a strand of her hair. She inhaled his cologne, felt the intensity of his gaze, the heat of his body and the pure, magnificent size of him caging her in.

  “What? You think we eat with dirty hands and farm-soiled clothes? Maybe with our hands like animals, instead of men with manners?”

  “No.” She shook her head.

  Jace released her hair and brushed his thumb along her lip. He placed his hand on her waist, shocking her and singing her skin with a force of desire so bold that she parted her lips.

  “I do have a voracious appetite for delicious things, and I hear from my brothers that you’re really delicious.”

  She went to turn, and then he hesitated. She looked back at him and he snickered right before he kissed her lips. The man had tricked her, but she couldn’t focus on that. All she could do was hold on as Jace explored her mouth with his tongue and lips. He had her moaning into his mouth as he gripped her hips with hard, warm hands that lifted her up onto the counter so he could be more thorough.

  When Valentina felt his hands move from her hips to her thighs and then under her skirt, she knew she needed to stop him. This was too much, too wild.

  “Jace,” she said, pulling from his lips and gripping his hands

  “My brothers were off. Way off. You’re incredible.” He reached up under her hair and head, gripping her fully then covering her mouth again. They battled for control of the kiss and she felt him cup her breast and moan into her mouth. She felt her blouse open wider, and she couldn’t believe how turned on she was. Then she felt his hand move from under her hair and back to her thigh again.

  “Brothers share, Jace,” Sparrow told him. Jace released her lips and Sparrow was there. His dark blue eyes held her gaze before he gave her a wink and leaned forward to kiss her. She couldn’t believe this was happening. Two men, brothers, were kissing her, touching her, while their other two brothers watched, and maybe waited for a turn to kiss her, too. She panicked and Sparrow pulled back. “Easy, baby. This was bound to happen.”

  “What the hell is that?” She was stunned, under some spell a moment, when Sparrow spoke to her and then Jace raised his voice and pressed her blouse open wider. Reality came crashing down quickly. They saw the bullet wound. She pressed Jace’s hands away, only for him to press between her legs so she couldn’t move. He pushed her blouse off her shoulder. Sparrow looked angry and shocked, then Ridge and Beck were looking over their shoulders. “Fucking bullet wound?” Beck asked.

  “A new one, too. What the fuck happened? Was this why you mo
ved from New York? You were shot?” Ridge asked her.

  She was going to try and make something up, deny it, minimize it. But the looks in their eyes warned her not to be dishonest.

  “Let me down.”

  “You’re not leaving,” Jace said to her firmly.

  She nodded and he let her down. She unbuttoned her shirt the rest of the way. They saw her bra and her breasts anyway and kissed her like that to boot, so she didn’t think standing here in only her bra to show them the scars was a big deal.

  “I was shot twice. Here and here,” she said, showing them her side under the ribcage. Jace ran his fingers along the raised skin that was still tender looking.

  “How long ago?” Sparrow asked.

  “Months ago. After I recovered, we decided to move out here from Helena’s advice.”

  “Are you in some kind of trouble? Someone after you?” Ridge asked her. She shook her head.

  Jace clutched her chin and jaw with his hand and held her gaze. “Don’t lie to us. Is anyone coming after you?”

  “No.”

  “Are you sure?” Sparrow asked.

  “I don’t believe in ghosts, so yes, I’m sure.”

  Jace shocked her when he pulled her into an embrace and hugged her tight. They surrounded her and she couldn’t believe the emotions she felt, and then the guilt again. Lois and Kenny needed to come first.

  * * * *

  Jace was shocked at this situation. He knew he wanted to kiss Valentina and feel what his brothers had felt. They talked about her constantly, about ways to get through to her. It was crazy how their cousins were interested in her sister and being her guardians. He couldn’t believe that Valentina had been shot twice and was alive. He felt her pushing away from him, and he slowly let her go but kept his hands on her waist. She reached for the buttons on her blouse but Sparrow stopped her. Jace released her to his brother.