Arms of Serenity (Rock Services) (22 page)

Nick leaned his forehead against hers and gently shook his head.
“It was you who has given me all that and so much more. You’re my Angel, my light. You took my hand and led me out of the dark that I surrounded myself with and surrendered to. You taught me how to forgive and move past regret, all while showing me how to laugh and enjoy life again. Your love is my serenity. And I promise to never take that for granted or turn my back on such an amazing gift ever again. I love you.”

Epilogue

Nick placed the screwdriver into his tool belt and took a step
back to admire his handiwork. Installing the security system had been his idea. After moving into Becca’s old farmhouse, he had started immediately replacing doors and windows and reinforcing any obvious and not so obvious entry point he could find. He wasn’t taking any chances.

Becca held his heart
, and never again would he risk her safety. The fear of losing her or having her in harm’s way was enough of an incentive to propose retiring his BDUs and trading in his weapons for golf clubs. A quiet life growing old together with her safely in his arms sounded like a perfect plan to him.

Becca woul
dn’t hear any of that, though. She had insisted that he take an active role at Rock Services. The more he had protested, the more she held firm and refused to budge on her decision. She wasn’t going to allow what had happened to jeopardize the group. They needed him, and she knew he needed them just as much. And when Nick had finally relented and given in to her insistence, he had soon realized that she had been right.. 

When Jack
had died, the pride in what Nick had accomplished in the military had died with him. Nick refused to acknowledge there was any want or desire to return to that part of his life. But Becca seemed to know what he needed and, more importantly, who he truly was, more than he did. With her determination, he had found that part again. And when he started training and took over as lead for what was now considered their Alpha team, it was as natural as getting up in the morning and putting on his pants. He was whole again, the guilt was gone,and Nick had only Becca to thank.

That didn’t stop his gut from twisting every time he thought of having to leave her alone
, though. There was no doubt that a job or mission would require him to be gone possibly for days or even longer and knowing that some extra precautions were in place helped ease some of his fear over not being there to protect her. That included some basic self-defense lessons and insisting she learn how to properly shoot and handle a weapon. As soon as the base’s target range had been completed, Nick had bought her a handgun and spent the day training her.

Becca was a quick learner and turned
out to be one hell of a shot. His Angel also had a bit of an evil streak. At first, when she has having difficulty hitting the target, Nick had seen an opportunity and jumped on it teasing her that her problem was that her bountiful breasts were getting in the way. Becca’s response had been to square her shoulders, let out a breath, take aim and hit the silhouette target of a man right between the legs with pinpoint accuracy. He shook his head and chuckled at the memory.

That’s my girl
. 

“Mmmmm. I do love a man in a toolbelt.”

Nick turned just in time to catch Becca running her tongue over her bottom lip and letting her gaze roam over the length of him. What the woman could do to him with just a look. If she kept blazing a trail down his body like that, they would never get to the surprise he had waiting for her.

Walking over, he gathered her in his arms and gave her
a welcome kiss that told her even a few short hours had been too long to be apart from her. When he finally broke away from her lips, they both groaned in protest. He wanted nothing more than to pick her up, go upstairs, and spend the rest of the day in bed.
Later
.  

“How was your shopping trip with Anne?  Did you get everything you need?”

Becca took a step back, put her hands on her hips and made the best scowl her beautiful face could muster. “How am I supposed to get everything I need when I don’t even know where we are going?” 

It took all of his wi
llpower not to chuckle at her. He knew it was driving her crazy that he wouldn’t reveal the location of their so-called vacation. But it was all part of the plan.

“I told you, we’re going somewhere hot.”

“Seriously? That’s all you can give me? That narrows it down to about half of the globe.” 

Nick shrugged and leaned in to kiss
her forehead. “It’s all you get for now.  Anyway, you always like my surprises.” 

Becca glared at him for a moment and gave out a frus
trated grumble before smiling. “Ok, Ok I give … for now. And yes, I got sundresses, shorts, tanks, sandals and even a new bathing suit.” 

T
hat last one caught his attention. Nick’s eyes lit up, and a smile crossed his face. “Please tell me it’s a string bikini.” 

Shaking
her head at him, she said, “Nope, it’s more of a tankini.”

“What the hell is a tankini?
Is there something smaller than a bikini?” 

“No
, and I purposely didn’t get anything made out of strings. The whole time I would be wearing it, you would be glaring at anyone who looked in my direction.”

Well, she had a point there.
Her curves would cause any man to stop and want to take a look. Just the thought had his muscles tensing.
Smart woman
. What she didn’t know is that whatever she wore would be for his eyes only.

“Then, I guess we’re lucky
we will have our own private beach where we’re going. You won’t be wearing that tankini-thing or anything at all, if I have a say in it.” 

Becca’s eyes lit
, and a smug smile crossed her face. “So, there
will
be a beach on our vacation. Every bit of information helps. I was winging it with the bathing suit.”  Obviously proud of herself, she turned around and started to walk towards the kitchen.

Nick stode across the floor and caught her in his arms from behind to lean in and whisper against her neck.

“Sexy
and
devious, no wonder I love you. I’d take you upstairs and let you try to persuade me into divulging some more hints, but I have somewhere I want to show you first.”

“Where are we going
?”

“It’s a surprise.”

Nick kissed her neck and laughed when he heard her groan. Letting go of her waist, he came around to lace his fingers with hers before starting to guide her to the back door. His gut started to twist at the thought of what was to come. By the time they made the short walk to where they were going he was going to be a nervous wreck.

They si
lently walked past the barn heading in the direction of the tree-line where they had put in a private road down to the base. Rock Services Group was now headquartered about a half mile down that road with the main entrance on the opposite side. He had specifically located the building close enough to the house for accessibility, yet far enough away for their privacy. 

In a little over seven months, they had built the main building holding the communications room, kitchen, living and sleeping areas, a weapons room, fitness area equipped with the latest exercise equipment
, and the main office.

The outside training areas included the target range, an urban mock-up, pool
, and a wall used for climbing and rappelling drills. A garage about the size of a football field had been built to hold the ever-growing fleet of recreational and fully armored land vehicles. The latest acquisition required a hanger and helo pad. Todd had been like a kid in a candy store when Nick had given him full authority to equip the group with any type of transportation he felt they needed.  

It was amazing what could be accomplished in such a short time when the motivation was there
. Not to mention the shit-storm of job offers that flew in when the word had filtered through the government agencies that Rock Services had taken down 7th Gate. 

The CIA had taken credit in the media, which was
just fine with Nick. If they were going to remain effective, they didn’t need public exposure. But Klingerman made sure the right people in the right offices knew who had gotten dirty on that one. Nick clutched Becca’s hand tighter at the memory of her standing in front of him blindfolded, gagged, and bound. The vision still made his chest tighten.  

“Nick?
Is this really the best time to be going away for two weeks? I still have a pile of proposals to get through.  Plus, the personnel files need work. Todd is recruiting them faster than I can get the information entered and hunt them down for their signatures. It’s just a vacation. We can put if off for a little longer until things quiet down.”

There was no way in hell that Nick was putting this
off.

“Angel, the last few months have been non-stop
, and we deserve some time to ourselves. Todd can handle it while we’re gone, and Missy offered to help. They can manage without us.”

Becca chuckled.
“Uh-huh. I’m sure Missy did offer to help.” 

Nick stopped along the road and directed Becca to follow a path that h
ad been cut through the trees. When she gave him a questioning look, he just smiled and shrugged while gently nudging her forward.

“What does that mean?
Todd helps Missy all the time with her house. She’s just returning the favor.” 

“Of course.  I’m
sure that’s the
only
reason?” 

“Jack will always be a part of the tea
m, and we take care of our own. She’s family, like a little sister. Just like I consider Todd my brother.” 

Becca looked up at
him, eyes twinkling and smiled. “Care to make a wager?  ‘Cause those two are definitely going to end up together.” 

Was Nick missing something?
Todd never mentioned anything other than simply helping Missy. She had enough to worry about with raising the two kids alone without having to look into contractor for home repairs. Nick was confident that Todd would tell him if there was any other motive.

“You’re on.
What’s the terms?”

“If you’re right, I’ll get the
tiniest bikini I can find. But if I’m right, you have to let me take you on another ATV ride.” She cocked her head and smirked waiting for his answer. 

Nick couldn’t help but laugh.
She had been trying to get him back on that thing since their first ride when she had him clinging on for dear life. He had stayed true to his word, and whenever they had taken it out, she had been on the back.

T
he thought of her in a few strings and small pieces of cloth had parts of him begging for him to make the deal, though. If Todd had his sights on Missy, he would know. There was no way he was going to lose.

“Deal.
But I get to pick out the bikini.”

Becca laughed and agreed as he prompte
d them to stop along the path. Their conversation had helped keep his mind off where they were going and for what purpose.  Now that they were only a few feet away from the destination, his heart immediately started to beat against the walls of his chest. The thought of was about to happen and her reaction scared him more than having a weapon pointed at his head. 

Nick looked down at the woman he loved
, waiting patiently and smiling up at him. With just that one look, she squashed any fear that he might have. It was amazing how easily she could calm him and bring back his focus. He took a deep breath knowing there was nothing more right in the world than what he was about to do. He smiled and guided her the remaining distance. 

Becca took in a sharp breath when they came out of th
e woods and into a clearing. She turned and looked up at him with wonder.

“Nick, it’s beautiful
. Thank you. When did you have time to build it?”

Nick gave her a quick kiss before ret
urning his gaze to the gazebo. It was a close replica of the one in the hotel’s indoor garden. He had worked almost a month on it, slipping away for a few hours here and there when she was busy in the office.

While Todd and Nick had been scouting the woods for a location for Todd to build his cabin, they had stumbled upon the clearing. T
he natural break in the canopy gave way to an open view of the sky and had given the greenery and wildflowers the sunshine needed to thrive and cover the ground. The instant he had seen the area, an idea had sparked, and he had spent whatever spare time he could getting ready for this moment. 

“I found the time.”
He shrugged and placed his hand on her lower back prompting her to walk over and climb the two steps into the gazebo. 

Bec
ca ran her hands along the wooden beams and benches. “I can’t believe how much it looks like the one from the hotel. It’s amazing. You’re amazing.”

He gently turned her around until she faced him. 

“No, you’re the amazing one, and I wanted to give you a place that reflects how beautiful you are, and how grateful I am to have you in my life. It’s to remind us of where we began, represent what we’ve built together, and signify the beauty of where we are going.”

Nick could feel his throat starting to get tight and swallowed against the constriction as he
lowered himself onto one knee. Becca gasped as he took her trembling hand, and he looked up to see the tears already streaming down her cheeks. His voice came out raspy as he said the words he had practiced in his mind.