Tending Their SECRET
Tending Their Secret
Book #8 of Corrigan & Co.
By Crystal Perkins
Copyright © 2015 by Crystal Perkins
Cover Design by Helen Williams
Ebook Formatting by Jesse Gordon
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
A woman who's been battered, but won't be
broken...
Elletra Gallagher has always been confident,
strong, and tougher than most men. Until she's captured and
tortured while going against her mission parameters. Now she has to
find a way back to herself while protecting the man she loves.
A man who needs to be saved, but won't ask
for help...
Aiden Ford wasn't there when Ellie needed
him, but he vows to help her heal in any way he can, while keeping
his own problem to himself. He knows his friends would help him,
but he can't admit any weakness, even to the woman he loves.
Can they tend to each other while hiding
from themselves, or will the secrets pour over and keep them apart
once again?
The Griffin Brothers series
Gaming For Love (The Griffin Brothers #1)
Building Our Love (The Griffin Brothers
#2)
Creating A Love (The Griffin Brothers #3)
Learning To Love (The Griffin Brothers
#4)
Designing The Love (The Griffin Brothers
#5)
Working On Love (The Griffin Brothers #6)
Keeping Their Love (The Griffin Brothers
#7)
Corrigan & Co. series
Fielding Her SECRET (Corrigan & Co.
#1)
Devouring the SECRET (Corrigan & Co.
#2)
Rocking a SECRET (Corrigan & Co. #3)
Lessons in SECRET (Corrigan & Co. #4)
Uncovering His SECRET (Corrigan & Co.
#5)
Training the SECRET (Corrigan & Co.
#6)
Inheriting a SECRET (Corrigan & Co.
#7)
Publicly, The Corrigan & Co. Foundation
has been supporting women for years. Secretly, five powerful women
led by Jane Corrigan have recruited ten agents, sending them to
rescue women and children in need, and take down those who exploit
the weak. This secret society of women all have unique skills
they’ve brought to the foundation. Additionally, they’ve all had
training in weapons, etiquette, martial arts, technology, and
languages. Helping out friends and family of their five mentors
from time to time is something they were told to expect. What they
didn’t plan for is falling in love.
Society:
•
Mitchell Corrigan
created the Corrigan & Co. Foundation for his wife as part of
his company ten years ago. He stipulated that the foundation would
continue as long as there is a Corrigan woman to oversee
it.
•
Jane Corrigan, Cyndi
Evans, Maggie Griffin, Mallory Daniels, and Helen Wilson are the
founders of the secret society within the foundation. They focus on
helping women and children, but take on other missions from time to
time.
•
While they assist
government and private organizations on a regular basis, they only
take referrals for private missions.
•
Each founder has
recruited, and mentors, two agents.
•
The company was
founded in Chicago, but has now moved to Las Vegas, where Mitchell
was born. On his deathbed, he asked his grandson to move the
company headquarters to help revive the economy in his hometown.
There are satellite offices all over the world.
•
Jane’s grandson,
Matt, who is President and CEO of Corrigan & Co., knows of the
society. His friends Nathan and Aiden, who he brought in when they
all left the military, know as well. This was a decision by the
five women when they needed help on a mission that went bad. They
do not know all mission details, but help when they are asked. Jake
Mason is now also part of the Corrigan security team, and aware of
the Society.
For everyone who has found the
strength to get back up and fight!
Aiden
Fuck. My head feels like it’s about to split
in two. I probably shouldn’t have had all that tequila, but I
needed it. With the shit that’s going down with my dad—and now,
me—I had to just bow out of the world for a little bit. Who am I
kidding? I had to run. I almost got caught when I was out hunting,
and the shit storm everyone I care about would’ve had to face might
have been the end for me. I don’t care if I go down, but I couldn’t
stand it if my friends—and family—went there with me.
Never mind that this time I was doing it for
my dad, not because I had the urge. He wouldn’t appreciate it if he
found out, but those bastards had to pay. I didn’t kill them like I
normally would. I just messed them up a little. And then something
went wrong, horribly wrong. So I ran to this cabin in the woods.
One that has no TV or cell phone service. I couldn’t bear to see
what I’d caused to happen, even if they did deserve it.
It’s time for me to face the world again. It
may even be past that time, since I don’t know what’s been going on
out there. I don’t even know what day it is. Maybe Wednesday? I’ll
find out once I get back into the city. I have to be somewhere on
Friday, but I’ll have plenty of time to make it there.
I shower and then start my drive. My car
charger is pretty powerful, and my phone comes back to life as soon
as I’m in range of a cell tower. The number of text messages and
voice mails I’m hearing ping is crazy, seeing as I could only have
been out for a couple of days. I’ve been dark much longer in the
past, and no one has ever blown up my phone like this. Did
something else happen with those douchebags I beat up? I pull over
to the side of the road to look at my text messages. The date on
the first one makes my stomach drop, and my heart race.
Friday, 6:08 A.M.
TheOne: Hey, Aiden. I’ll see you later
today. Well, knowing you, I won’t see you at all, but I know you’ll
be there watching out for me. Love you :)
No. No. God no. This isn’t right. It can’t
be later than Friday. I promised Ellie I’d be there on Friday like
I always am, backing her up. We were even going to make a detour on
the way back and have a romantic night or two together.
Friday, 3:15 P.M.
TheOne: Change of plans. I know I’m not
supposed to go in alone, but I saw one of the guys hitting a young
girl. I can’t wait until tomorrow for backup. Besides, you’re the
best backup I could have anyway. I’m going in at 8 tonight. You
know the address.
She wouldn’t go in without confirmation from
me. Even if she thinks I’m there, she’d still wait for a
response.
Friday, 8:05 P.M.
TheOne: I haven’t heard from you, but I know
you’re here. You would’ve called in if you couldn’t make it. I’m
going in. I have to save these girls.
Oh my God. Please let her be safe.
Please.
There isn’t another text message from her,
so I switch to voicemail.
“You have 30 new voicemails, and your
mailbox is full.”
Friday, 8:15 P.M.
“Aiden? Why aren’t you picking up? Or
texting? I think I was spotted. I turned my comm on, and I’ll leave
it on. Please patch yourself in. Please—”
I hear her phone clatter to the ground, but
the voicemail is still recording. And I’m dying even more
inside.
“Well, what have we here? You’re older than
we usually go for, but I bet we could get a good price for
you.”
“You’d have to kill me first.”
“Once we’re done with you, you’ll wish you
were dead.”
I hear a smashing sound,
and then nothing. Whoever took her better hope she kills him first.
I
will
find him if
he’s alive, and he’ll be the one wishing he was dead.
I force myself to listen to the next
messages, which have timestamps starting on Monday—of the next
week. My friends’ names are all on there, and I know I’m not going
to like what I hear. Ellie was fucking captured when I should’ve
been protecting her. There’s nothing good about that situation.
Nothing at all.
Nate
“Aid, man. Where the fuck are you? And why
weren’t you with Ellie? I would’ve gone in your place, you know
that. Shit went down man, and it’s bad. Call me.”
Matt
“Dammit Aiden, what the fuck were you
thinking? I know you have your vigilante crap, but this was Ellie.
She’s destroyed, man. What she went through. Just get your ass back
here. Don’t go to the office, though. My wife has threatened to
kill you on sight.”
Reina