JOSS: A Standalone Romance (Gray Wolf Security) (9 page)

Joss

The moment Carrington was out of the room, Kirkland came to me.

“Tell me what’s going on here. What are you doing?”

I glared at him. He was the one with the reputation. He had a lot of nerve asking me these kinds of questions.

“David says you turned off the camera in the master bedroom. Why would you do something like that?”

I shoved my finger into the center of the chest.

“I’m not like you, Joss. I know what I’m getting into with these women I protect. Do you know what you’re doing?”

I turned away, my arms crossed over her chest.

“Don’t ignore me! You know I’m right.”

I pulled my phone out of my back pocket. A second later, his phone was vibrating.

Mind your own business!

“You’re my friend. You are my business.”

I shook my head emphatically, turning just to glare at him.

“I’m glad you’re moving past what happened to you, Joss, really I am,” he said, coming to me, taking my arms in his hands. “I’m glad you feel like you’re ready for a new romance. But this isn’t the one. This isn’t the way to do it.”

I pulled free even as he tried to underscore his words with a quick shake. I pushed a button on my phone and his phone went crazy, vibrating ever few seconds with each text message he received.

Mind your own business!

Mind your own business!

Mind your own business!

Mind your own business!

Mind your own business!

Mind your own business!

Mind your own business!

Mind your own business!

Mind your own business!

Mind your own business!

“Do you really want me to just stand by and watch you get your heart broken?”

I shook my head. Yes. That’s exactly what I wanted.

He stared at me, hurt clear in his eyes. I went to him and pressed my hand against his chest. Then I wrote into my phone again.

It’s my life. It’s my mistake to make. You can’t protect me from everything.

“What if I want to?”

I touched his face, so much affection overrunning me that I felt as though my body was turning to mush.

I love you for wanting to, but you can’t.

He read the message, then looked up at me, his warm, hazel eyes filled with more emotion than most people would claim Kirkland was capable of feeling. But I knew that Kirkland was capable of much more than most people believed. Kirkland felt deeply. And when he finally found a woman who would accept that love…
Lord, help her!

I reached up and kissed his cheek gently. Then I walked away, going in search of Carrington.

***

McKelty was curled up on the couch, sleeping soundly despite her protestations that she’d never be able to go to sleep. Kirkland was standing at the back windows, looking out over the expansive backyard. Carrington was on the couch, his cell phone on his knee, his eyes glued to it as we waited.

Waiting. Once again I was waiting.

We heard from Ash at about midnight. He said there were enough people at the Port of Los Angeles to take on a small army. All we could do was wait for the Bazarov men to show up. However, I heard the concern in Ash’s voice as I listened to the call on Kirkland’s phone. I knew what everyone was thinking. The attack on the shipping containers sitting on the docks at the Port of Los Angeles was just a rouse. The real attack would likely be here at the house.

But so far so good.

I was behind the bar, watching the camera feed on the front gate. Except for the occasional car going by on the remote residential street, there was nothing going on out there. And Kirkland hadn’t spotted anything in the backyard. If there was something going on outside, David’s system would catch it right away.

Nothing was happening.

I walked over to Carrington, pointed at McKelty, and then at the ceiling. He looked over at his daughter as though he was seeing her for the first time in ages.

“I guess you’re right,” he said.

He sighed as he stood, weariness coming off of him in waves. I watched, as he lifted the child into his arms, admiring the gentleness I saw in the movement. McKelty shifted against his shoulder but didn’t wake.

I caught Kirkland’s attention and pointed to the stairs. Then I led the way, wishing I’d retrieved my sidearm from my nightstand drawer when the thought had occurred to me hours ago. However, I didn’t want to have the gun visible around the child, even though I knew Kirkland had one under his thin, leather jacket.

Maybe he was right. Maybe this whole thing with Carrington was starting to get to me, to soften my instincts. He hadn’t said it, but I knew he was thinking it. Or maybe that was just what I’d been thinking all along.

The wide upstairs landing was dark. I flipped on the light switch and led the way down the long, wide hallway to McKelty’s bedroom door. It was open, but there was only the faintest light coming from the nightlight Carrington kept on for her on the far side of her bed.

The room appeared to be empty. I walked around, pushed open the bathroom and closet doors to be sure. If there was anyone there, David would have caught it on the cameras, but I checked just to be sure. Then I stood back and watched as Carrington lay his daughter lovingly in the bed. He kissed her forehead, the touch gentle and filled with more love than I could imagine.

I remembered that feeling. I used to give Isaac the same kiss every night before I placed him in his crib.

Carrington slid his hand into mine as we stepped out into the hallway. I stopped before we’d gone far, gesturing to the door. I was going to stay with McKelty.

“You’re going to make me go back downstairs alone? You’re not afraid your friend and I will kill one another?”

I could hear the amusement in his voice, but I was pretty sure he was partially serious, too.

I touched a single finger to his chest, then lifted my hand above my head.

“Be the bigger man?” he asked, actually chuckling this time. “Easier said than done.”

I shrugged.

He pushed me back against the wall and stole a kiss, his lips lingering for a long moment. Then he sighed.

“We’ve been spending too much time together,” he whispered against my ear. “Your improvised sign language is actually beginning to make sense to me.”

He walked away without looking back, but I couldn’t help the smile that slipped over my lips. He was right. He understood me more than anyone else seemed to be able to manage, with the exception of Kirkland, of course.

When Carrington was gone, I slipped across the hall and took my gun and holster from the bedside drawer where I’d left it the last time I slept in that room. I slipped it over my shoulders, buckling the holster so that it was snug, but not too tight, allowing for easy retrieval of the gun. I normally felt secure with the gun on, like I was connected to a part of me that had been missing for a long time. But now it felt a little heavy, a little uncomfortable. I frowned as I returned to my position outside McKelty’s door, wondering why that would be.

Kirkland thought I was acting out, that I was having a rebound relationship that would end with my heart broken. He was probably right. But what was wrong with that? Why couldn’t I have a little fun like he did so often? Why was it okay for him to be a male slut, but not okay for me to do it? Why couldn’t I have a little fun for once?

Was he jealous that I hadn’t chosen him to be my first out of the gate?

Maybe.

I tried to think of Kirkland that way. He was a good-looking man, there was no doubt in my mind about that. But Kirkland came with as much baggage as I did. I mean, Carrington had a troubled past. But he seemed to have handled it with grace and strength. He was a difficult man, but he had a big heart that he clearly had no problem sharing with his little girl. Whether that would eventually transfer to a healthy adult relationship, I wasn’t sure. Yet, he made it clear what he wanted from me, and that made it easy for me to do what I’d so wanted to do anyway. Neither of us wanted a relationship. When this was over…I didn’t know what would happen when this was over. But Carrington had gotten past my walls, doing something no one else in my life had been able to do. I would forever be grateful for that.

I didn’t want to think about these things, and I resented Kirkland for pushing the subject. He had no right to judge me. He was my friend. I wished he would just stick to being my friend.

I pulled out my phone, thinking I’d text Kirkland and tell him exactly that. But just as I opened the lock screen, my phone lit up. Red. An alarm had been triggered outside the house.

I could hear footsteps on the stairs. I didn’t know if it was Carrington, Kirkland, or the bad guys. I ducked into McKelty’s room and shook her shoulder, putting a hand over her mouth to silence her the moment her eyes popped open.

She was scared. I could see it in her eyes. I wanted to explain, to say something that would calm her, but I couldn’t. All I could do was trust that she trusted me enough not to scream when I removed my hand from over her mouth.

I moved my hand, and McKelty sat up, reaching around me for her little doll. Carrington told me it was a ragdoll she’d been given as an infant by her mother, and that she once carried with her everywhere she went. She’d recently begun carrying it again, and he was pretty sure that was because of the attempted kidnapping last week at her school.

I nodded, a finger pressed to my lips to remind her to be quiet. I led the way into the bathroom and gestured for her to get into the bathtub. I folded my body to make it as small as I could, then turned to her, gesturing for her to do the same. She did, curling her small body into the fetal position. I pulled the shower curtain closed, then slipped out of the room.

I’d left the bedroom door partially open. I stood at the crack, watching the brightly lit landing. Whoever had been coming up the stairs had already reached the landing. The fact that no one had come directly to this room told me it wasn’t Kirkland or Carrington who’d managed to get up the stairs. That made me wonder what had happened downstairs that whoever was in the house had managed to get past the two men.

I didn’t have time to worry about my friend or my lover. I had to concentrate on what was happening here and now.

I saw a shadow, someone moving near the master bedroom door. The intruder was searching the rooms one at a time, clearly unsure which room McKelty would be in. That told me more about my enemy than he probably intended. This meant he was sloppy. Any kidnapper worth his salt would have made sure he knew
exactly
what room the child would be in. It was too risky to have to search the house to find the target. They should have been quickly in, quickly out.

This gave us the window I needed to get McKelty out of the house.

I backtracked, returning to the bathroom. I took her hand, trying to ignore the little jump she made when she felt me reaching for her in the dark. I led the way to the door, pausing again to make sure the intruder was still occupied. I could hear furniture being overturned in the master bedroom. He was not leaving any leaf unturned. Stupid on his part. Good for us.

I led the way silently across the wide hall, heading for the back stairs. I heard voices about halfway down. I had a split second to decide if I should retreat, or if I should continue down. I decided to leave McKelty on the narrow landing halfway between the second and first floors, pressing her hard up against the wall, my finger on my lips again. Her eyes were wide, but she nodded.

I turned and silently descended the rest of the way, taking the chance that the intruder upstairs would continue to search the bedrooms. As I reached the tread of the bottom step, I could hear two men speaking quickly to one another in Russian.

The idiots were standing to the side of a mirror. I could see them as clear as day.

For a drug cartel, these people certainly lacked training.

I slipped around the corner and took out the first man with a swift kick to his knees and a chop to his throat. The other was forewarned, but rather than run, he pulled his gun from its shoulder holster. That gave me enough time to land a kick right to his solar plexus, causing him to bend over, presenting the back of his neck to the butt of my gun. He was out before his partner, on the floor, realized they’d just been taken out by a girl.

I popped the first guy on the temple with the heel of my gun, knocking him unconscious just as he opened his mouth to warn his friend upstairs.

I’d taken both men out in less than ten seconds.

I rushed back up the steps, grabbed McKelty’s hand, and rushed back down, lifting her into my arms as we reached the bottom of the stairs. There was nothing I could do to stop her from seeing the downed men, but I hadn’t expected her to scream when she did. The high-pitched scream was deafening next to my ear. I tried to cover her mouth, but it took both hands to keep her in my arms as she struggled, trying to go somewhere. I had no idea where.

I could hear yelling upstairs in response to her scream. The intruders all knew where we were now.