TRUSTING JAKE: MONTGOMERY HEROES OF ALASKA

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TRUSTING JAKE: MONTGOMERY HEROES OF ALASKA Page 3

by Becca Monroe


  Her pale skin flushed pink with anger, and the grin on my face became more substantial, the longer she ranted at me. I couldn’t help it. She was beautiful when she was all riled up. Why hadn’t I noticed that before? Come to think of it, I’d never seen her like this. Part of me liked it.

  Delaney’s brilliant green eyes narrowed in irritation as she crossed her arms in front of her chest to mirror my stance. “Why are you smiling?”

  I put my hands up in surrender and walked forward until I was standing in front of her.

  “You,” I said in a darker voice than I would have liked but couldn’t seem to help. “You’re beautiful.”

  “URGH! You are so infuriating!” She seethed, rolling her eyes.

  My smile grew. “You’re right. I’ve been a complete ass to you, and it’s not acceptable. Please know that I’ll do everything I can to change that behavior from now on so we can be friends.”

  She held my eyes but didn’t respond.

  “I have a question that demands an answer,” I continued and placed my hand on the rack behind her head. She tensed but didn’t withdraw when I leaned in until I could feel her breath against the skin of my cheek.

  “What…” her voice faltered, and she closed her eyes, attempting to ignore the chemistry between us. “What’s your question?”

  Her voice was breathless as the words rolled off her lips, and my mind traveled to all kinds of dirty places, longing to hear that sound escape her perfect mouth once again.

  I kept my face right next to hers, not wanting to leave her space.

  “When you were yelling at me, you said I wrapped you in my arms and did that thing I do. What were you referring to?”

  She swallowed hard, and my eyes fell to the pristine ivory tower that was her neck. They continued to drift downward to her chest, rising and falling with every breath, her collarbone peeking out of her t-shirt, and suddenly all I wanted was to taste her skin on my lips and run my tongue over every freckle.

  “Your sexy stuff.” The words came out in a whimper of need and my desire to be closer to her increased. “You always do that with every woman in this town except me, but when your arms wrapped around me, you had that sexy look, and it made me want,” she said, then halted.

  I tilted my head at her. “What did it make you want?”

  Her breath caught, and my lips captured hers in an instant. Delaney’s arms wrapped around my neck, my hands cupped her hips and lifted her until her legs wrapped snugly around my waist. I backed her up against the wall and kissed her with a hunger I’d never experienced. There would never come a time that I would tire of tasting her sweet mouth.

  “Jake? Jake? Hello!” Delaney, snapping her fingers in front of my face, woke me from my daydream. And what a perfect daydream it was shaping up to be.

  “Uh yeah, sorry.” I stepped away from her. “We will stop by after work and fix your heater.”

  I couldn’t have imagined kissing her. That was real, right? Nothing in my imagination could taste so sweet.

  Delaney was officially making me lose my mind, and she wasn’t doing a damn thing on purpose. Mike had to come with me to her place tonight, or I would end up doing something stupid, like claiming her as mine. “You accept my apology, right? I’d like us to get along.”

  She nodded and pointed back to the supplies on the shelf. “Fine, I’ll accept your apology if you take those things up to Mary.”

  Her smile made my dick twitch. Shit, I need to get to the gym and work out this tension. “I won’t be home until around eight-thirty. Josie and I are meeting for a beer at Hanks at seven.”

  “I’ll take these up and we will come over then.”

  “Thank you,” she said.

  I gathered the supplies and headed for the stairs when her sweet voice stopped me. “Jake, I’ve never had a problem with you, so whatever made you hate me, I hope you can let it go. If not, just know that I don’t plan on being here very long. If you could make that time a little less hostile, I would appreciate it.”

  There were so many questions I wanted to ask her, and now wasn’t the time, but if I stood there much longer, I would probably do something that I couldn’t take back. So I did what any guy would do, who liked a girl he couldn’t have. I kept quiet and left.

  Delaney

  The moment he disappeared up the stairs, my body relaxed, and I exhaled the breath I’d been holding. His body was rock hard underneath my hands, and it didn’t take a genius to understand what touching him did to me. He had to notice my breath quicken, my pulse spike, and me not moving my hands from his chest for a long freaking time! Jake destroyed my resolve about staying away from men, and that terrified me.

  My track record in the relationship area had never been the greatest. I attracted men that needed to have someone take care of them, something that first drew me to Matt. He had lost his mother at twelve, and he seemed so vulnerable, even sweet. There was an eternal sadness that seemed to haunt him about her loss. I enjoyed taking care of him and building our home. We met at a work function and hit it off instantly. Our love affair was a whirlwind of romance, money, trips, and a lavish lifestyle we both enjoyed. We got married on a whim in Vegas, and after that, everything changed. Or maybe it didn’t. Perhaps the end was always lurking around, and I was just too blind to see it.

  I fell so fast, but it was too perfect to be real. If I had heeded the flags and the big flashing caution signs around every sharp turn, my life wouldn’t be in the mess it was right now. But like a horse running in the race of his life, I only focused on what was right in front of me, and Matt made sure that was all I could see.

  The thing about a laser focus is you can’t see something until you get blindsided by what once had been invisible to you, and that is precisely what happened to me. Matt Rider was a powerful man, and his family came from old money. Generations and generations of wealth made through their businesses. They still boasted gated mansions, maids, butlers, and even owned their own island.

  Right after our wedding, I knew it was a mistake, but I wanted to make things work. Looking back, that was a bad idea. He didn’t come home from work until long after I’d fallen asleep. We didn’t have sex unless he was in an agitated mood or angry about something, and then it made for a traumatic experience. The first day of our honeymoon was the first time he hit me, angry that I’d worn too skimpy of a bikini to the beach and men looked at me. I didn’t want to admit I’d made a terrible error in judgement, so I tried everything to turn things around until one night, everything changed. He was working late, and I thought I would surprise him. In my mind, I couldn’t see that staying with a man who abused me in every way wasn’t healthy, I just wanted things to work. Later, I would come to realize it was fear of leaving him and what he would do to me if I tried that kept me there, not my desire to make my marriage work.

  By the time I arrived at his building, the floor was dark except for a light coming from his office, and I heard voices in that direction. I tiptoed to the door, peered inside, and watched as Matt and three of his men killed a man right in front of me. Before any of them noticed I was there, I snuck out the same way I’d come in and went straight to Kelly’s apartment. Kelly was my best friend and had been throughout college, she was also a top-level attorney with the FBI. She never liked Matt and had attempted on multiple occasions to persuade me to call off the relationship. After we married, he forbade me to see or speak to her.

  One look at me, and she knew something horrible happened. I told her everything, and the two of us devised a plan to get me away from Matt, his family, and to get me some protection. The FBI had been keeping tabs on Matt and his father for years and was doing everything in their power to find something on him. They wanted me to be a witness so they could put him on trial for murder, but it would take months, if not years, to put an airtight case together. Kelly and I knew if I stayed with him, and he found out, I was dead.

  At enormous risk to herself, she put some of her contacts to good use and g
ot me a new identity, some money, and out of New York. I never told her where I ended up because I didn’t want her to know and have her boss or Matt force her to share the information. As much as I knew she loved me, right now in the town of Kodiak, I was all alone, and it terrified me. Every four days, Kelly and I talked over burner phones, no exceptions. And that was a lifeline for me to help keep the loneliness at bay. Hearing her voice tonight will be just what I need to get my mind off Jake Montgomery. I need to leave Kodiak sooner than I predicted.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Jake

  Mike locked up the gym behind the last clients and turned to face me. I was punishing the heavy bag for some atrocity it committed against me earlier in the day. He held it steady as I landed a solid left into it.

  “What’s eating you?”

  Throwing a glare in Mike’s direction, I continued driving punches into the bag. “You’ve been an ass all day. Even when Brittany came in trying to set up a bootie call, you didn’t give her the time of day. What gives?”

  I grunted and stopped hitting the bag, raising my hands toward Mike to undo the gloves. “I kissed Delaney.”

  Mike went still and stared at me. “Come again?”

  “I mean, it wasn’t an actual kiss.”

  Mike removed my boxing gloves and continued to glare in my direction. “An explanation is necessary here, Jake.”

  I ran my hands through my sweaty hair and sat on the bench, trying to gather my thoughts. Mike liked Delaney as a person, and he would take issue with me or anyone who mistreated her. His affection toward her was that of an older brother, and he hated her being alone all the time. I knew I needed to clarify my previous declaration before he landed a fist into my jaw. “I didn’t kiss her, but I daydreamed I did, and I wanted to. She’s driving me crazy, and I don’t know why.”

  He smirked at me. “You really don’t know why?”

  “What the hell does that mean?”

  “First off, Delaney’s beautiful, so you’re attracted to her. Second, you haven’t been the same since Callie. From the day Delaney arrived, you’ve been downright rude to her. Now you’re having imaginary visions of kissing her? You like her, and that’s why you’ve avoided her since she got here. Josh and your mom see it too. Hell, even Josie mentioned your attraction to her the other night when we were having dinner. We all see it, you just haven’t allowed yourself to.”

  I shook my head. But he was right, and we both knew it. “Mom made me apologize to her for what I said at the restaurant, so I went down to the basement to do so. We were talking, but then her hands were on my chest, and somehow my arms went around her waist, and I pulled her into me and…”

  Mike’s hand shot up. “Okay, okay, I don’t need those kinds of details,” he chuckled.

  “Man, I’m serious, what do I do here? I think I scared her.”

  Mike raised his hand up and tilted his head in curiosity. “What do you mean, you scared her? You should know, if you hurt her, I have no problem decking your sorry ass.”

  When we turned eighteen, Mike and I joined the Army. After his parents died, he wanted to be part of our family in every way and even changed his last name to add Montgomery to his family name. Our beliefs aligned. We respected women, served our country, had a deep faith in something larger than us, and we were loyal to those we loved. Telling him how Delaney reacted would bother him, as much as it did me.

  “I reached up to tuck one of her curls behind her ear, and she cowered, covering her face. It didn’t just surprise her, it terrified her. Fear so clear I could see it.”

  “Terrified of what?”

  I shook my head and pinched the bridge of my nose as if it would help me process what I was about to say. “She was expecting to get hit.”

  A shocked look on Mike’s face wasn’t something you saw often, but it was there right now. “You’d never do that.”

  “You and I know that, but she doesn’t know me.”

  “No offense buddy, but that’s on you. Everyone here likes her, and she’s a wonderful person, or at least she seems to be.”

  Mike’s words replayed in my head. “It wasn’t the first time she’s reacted that way. The other night, we were talking in the kitchen at the restaurant and she flinched away when I tried to wipe some chocolate frosting off her cheek. If I needed to guess, I’d say someone she trusted hit her in the past. It’s just a gut feeling.”

  We both sat there for a few moments in silence, processing what I’d said. Mike was a massive man at six foot four and two hundred and forty-five pounds of muscle. I wasn’t far behind him, which was one reason people believed we were brothers. We were in every way that mattered, so the assumption never bothered us.

  Delaney being hit by someone, most likely a man bothered us a lot. Violence against innocent people was a sore spot for us. We didn’t condone it and we’d spent more than a decade overseas in places I can never talk about, weeding out evil people who preyed on the innocent in the name of religion, greed, or plain old-fashioned hatred. There were more of them than I cared to admit, but having someone hurt people you cared about wouldn’t go unchecked by either of us.

  Mike’s demeanor was calm, but I could see the worry underneath. “She’s so genuine. Why would anyone hit her? I hope your gut is wrong about this one,” his voice was heavy.

  I stood up and headed for the locker room. “Well, that genuine person is expecting us at her place to fix her heater tonight. I don’t want her freezing to death before I get to know her, and I hope I’m wrong too.”

  Mike grabbed my arm. “Jake, listen. Be kind to Delaney. Callie messed you up and gave you this idea that all women lie and cheat, but they don’t.”

  The last thing I wanted to hear about right now was Mike’s distaste for my ex-fiancé. I knew very few people liked her, but her memory was cold enough without their harsh comments. “Don’t curse her when she isn’t here to defend herself.”

  “This isn’t about Callie, it’s about how you allow what she did to cloud your judgement regarding other women. I won’t speak poorly of her, but promise me you won’t make her an angel either, because she wasn’t, and you need to let that fantasy go in order to move forward.”

  I could only nod, agreeing with him, and I glanced at the gigantic clock on the gym wall. “Delaney’s meeting Josie for drinks at Hanks. Let me shower, and we will head over there and meet them, then go to Delaney’s place.”

  Callie was a sore subject for me. Everyone knew it, so they rarely brought her up, but there were times I wish I could forget about her altogether. Delaney seemed to help me with that, which I guess could have explained why I distanced myself since the moment I laid eyes on her six months ago. Letting her in meant letting go of Callie, and I wasn’t sure I could do that just yet.

  Delaney

  Josie and I sat in our favorite corner booth of Hank’s little bar and sipped on our drinks. I was never a huge alcohol lover, so I preferred fruity things, while she indulged in beer, wine, and whiskey sometimes to unwind from her stressful days. Tonight, I promised to try a shot of tequila but needed to eat something first.

  Hank came over and handed us our chicken wings. Just as Josie broke into a long dialogue about how upset Josh was that she went on a date with a rescue swimmer. “He told me the guy is a great rescue swimmer, but he has a terrible reputation with women, so I shouldn’t have a second date! Do you believe him? He acts like he’s my freaking dad,” she said, biting into a wing.

  I laughed at my beautiful friend. “He worries about you. You’re special to him, you’ve known each other your entire lives. Be grateful you have someone who cares about you.”

  Josie rolled her eyes. “Josh drives me nuts with this stuff. He sleeps with women like I change my underwear and that’s fine, but I have one date and suddenly I need to stop and join the convent to protect my honor. I swear to God, if I don’t have sex before my thirtieth birthday, I’m going to hurt someone.”

  We both burst out laughing as the music pl
ayed and happy hour kicked into high gear. Three of the coast guard guys came in, who worked with Josie, and they gathered around our table talking shop with her. Josie was a trauma flight nurse and would assist them with rescues when they needed additional help. She also worked as a contractor with the Guard for training. Her reputation in Alaska and throughout the search and rescue community was stellar, and she loved what she did. We’d hit it off from the first day we met, and our friendship grew strong and quick, but I never spoke of my past, even to her. The risk to her safety was too high. The less everyone knew about me, the better.

  My eyes caught sight of Mike buying a beer at the bar, and I waved to him before I saw Jake walk in behind him. “Ugh! I can’t do this tonight,” I said.

  Josie’s friends said their goodbyes, and she giggled when she saw Jake. “He still being an ass? Because you know what they say, boys who behave that way just like you,” she said, a sarcastic tone seeping through her words.

  “Yeah, but he apologized today. I mean, it was after he told Mike I was nothing more to him than hired help, but hey, at least he apologized.”

  When they walked up to our table, Jake slid in next to me. “Wings look good,” he said. As he reached for one, Mike took a seat next to Josie as she threw her napkin at Jake.

  “You want food, Montgomery? Order your own!” Josie chastised.

  Mike whistled and reached for a wing. Taking it and biting into it. Josie smiled at Mike. “They are good tonight, right?”

  Jake stared at her and shook his head. “Mike gets one, but I don’t?”

  “Mike doesn’t treat my friends like shit,” she said, smiling.

  He looked hurt, which was silly because Jake wasn’t a man to show any emotion that presumed he had a soft heart or weakness. “I apologized, and I meant it.” He turned to face me. “You believe I meant it, don’t you?”

  I shrugged. “We’ll see. Words mean little to me anymore. In my experience they are empty.”

 

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