by Maya Banks
He absently fingered the scar on his face. A memento from his time in captivity. Insurance that he’d never forget those endless days of torture and starvation. They’d carved him and Nathan both up. They both still wore the scars from their captivity, but Swanny’s were more visible. His face had been slashed and by the time they’d been rescued and hospitalized, there was little a surgeon could do, and he wasn’t vain enough to ever have plastic surgery.
No, he wore that scar as a reminder of what he’d survived.
His sex life had certainly suffered as a result, but sex wasn’t one of his priorities. Not since coming home alive. He threw himself into his job. His new family. He shook his head. He had no family. Not until Nathan. The Kellys and KGI had embraced him. Marlene Kelly, the matriarch of the Kelly clan, had adopted him as one of her own, and she treated him just like he was one of her many children.
Frank and Marlene Kelly had six sons, but Marlene had adopted others into her fold. Rusty Kelly, the sullen teenager who’d broken into her home but was now about to graduate from college, a vibrant, beautiful young lady who had the world at her feet. Swanny had no doubt she’d one day rule the world.
And there was Sean Cameron, a sheriff’s deputy in Stewart County. Also adopted into the Kelly fold and treated much like all Marlene and Frank’s other children. It was mind-boggling, the extent of the Kellys’ generosity.
The family had grown and expanded. Joe was the only unmarried Kelly, and he definitely heard about it from Marlene on a regular basis. There were grandchildren aplenty and more on the way.
And here in the middle of it all was Swanny. He’d gone from a solitary existence with only the men he served with as his brothers. And now he had the entire Kelly family plus the KGI team members. All at his back. Ready to go to the wall for him. It baffled him, this unconditional loyalty.
He’d crawled back to the little house he’d inherited from his parents after he and Nathan had been discharged from the hospital. But he’d been restless and . . . lonely. His brush with death, facing his mortality and then his miraculous healing had brought him to Tennessee, seeking answers from Nathan about what had happened in those mountains before they were rescued.
And he’d stayed, first adopted into the fold instantaneously by Marlene Kelly and then offered a position with KGI. He’d joined the new team headed by Nathan and Joe and joined soon after by Edge and Skylar. They were his family now. And having family, people who accepted him, felt . . . good.
When he’d served in the army he’d had a purpose. His life had been consumed with the need to protect and serve. After his injuries and discharge, he hadn’t known what else to do. There was nothing for him on the outside. He’d never be happy with a nine-to-five office job or joining the rat race as a civilian. KGI had given him purpose again.
KGI helped people. They protected the innocent and the weak. They helped bring down the assholes in the world, those who preyed on the innocents. Now when he woke in the morning, he felt alive. Like he had a future. KGI had given him that, and he’d be forever grateful to them for that.
He’d resigned himself to never settling down, having a family, things most people took for granted even if they weren’t in a hurry. He was surrounded by just those things. Each of the Kelly brothers, with the exception of Joe, had met their soul mates. Even the team leaders, Rio and Steele, had settled into domesticity with an ease that still amused and befuddled the men and women who worked under their command. Hell, even Cole and P.J., two of Steele’s team members, had hooked up and were living in marital bliss, though he imagined theirs was an interesting arrangement since P.J. could kick ass with the best of them. It was for certain she kept Cole on his toes.
But that wasn’t for him, and he accepted that just like he’d accepted everything else. With peace and understanding. He didn’t just have scars on the outside. He was irrevocably scarred—changed—on the inside. He wasn’t sure how Nathan was handling the memories. He was sure Nathan still had his fair share of sleepless nights, but he had Shea to help him, to lean on when the past reared its ugly head. But Swanny still suffered nightmares. Flashbacks to his captivity. He still woke in a cold sweat, fearing for a moment that he was back in that hell. Chained in a cave waiting for the time when they came for him. To carve him up, beat him and interrogate him.
They hadn’t been able to break him. He took pride in that. He and Nathan both had withstood all that their captors had dished out and had never broken. Because in the end, that was all they’d had left. Their pride and determination not to let those cocksuckers win.
He had a good life now. No, he wouldn’t ever have a wife or children, and he was okay with that on most days. Every once in a while when all the Kellys got together and he was surrounded by so much love, the Kelly wives and the children, he was instilled with a fierce sense of longing, but he’d long discovered it did no good to dwell on what would never be.
Most women couldn’t even look at him without fear, disgust or pity. Pity was the worst. He’d take fear and loathing over their pity. Although it pained him for a woman to fear him just because of his appearance. He’d cut off his right arm before ever hurting a woman. It made him sick just to think about it. He’d seen enough violence in his life to know it would never be part of his makeup. Except when it came to taking out assholes who deserved what was coming to them.
He was a killer and he suffered no qualms about meting out justice where it was merited. As long as he could look at himself in the mirror every morning with a clear conscience, he could continue to do the job required of him as a member of KGI.
“You ready?” Joe called out, shaking Swanny from his thoughts.
“Yeah. All packed up. You call Nathan and Sam?”
Joe nodded. “Nathan’s on his way over and Sam is calling Garrett, Ethan and Van to meet us there. I told him there was no need to call in Steele or Rio. This is our mission. Sin is our friend and I’m not letting anyone else head this mission.”
“Agreed,” Swanny said. “I don’t know what kind of trouble Eden’s in, but if Sin is worried then it has to be serious.”
Joe nodded. “Let’s get on the road. Nathan can fly us so there’s no need—and we don’t have the time—to call up one of the other pilots.”
Swanny grinned. “Kind of nice now that we have a landing strip on the compound. That drive to Henry County was a pain in the ass. Not to mention it makes for a hell of a quicker response time when we get called out on a mission.”
Joe slung one of the bags over his shoulder and then bent to snag the straps of the two rifles he shouldered. They carried their gear to Joe’s truck and carefully placed it in the back before sliding into the cab to head the few miles down the lake to the compound.
CHAPTER 5
WHEN Joe and Swanny got to the compound, Nathan, Sam, Garrett and Ethan were already there. Swanny walked inside the war room and laid his gear on the floor next to the door. When he looked up at the others, he had to stifle a grin of amusement that would likely get his ass kicked if noticed.
Sam and Garrett were both holding their new babies. Well, not so new. They were a few months old now, but according to Joe, they were both in teething hell and had been giving their parents a lot of sleepless nights. Swanny could only guess the dads were giving their wives a breather and had hauled the infants to the impromptu meeting.
“The tykes keeping y’all up at night?” Joe asked with a grin he didn’t disguise.
Sam and Garrett shot him disgruntled looks and Garrett made a quick shhhh and waved his free hand to quiet the others.
“I just got her to sleep,” Garrett whispered. “She hasn’t slept the entire goddamn night!”
Ethan chuckled, which earned him another glare from Garrett.
“Welcome to parenthood,” Ethan said in a loud whisper. “I’m glad to say that we’re past that stage with the twins. They’re sleeping through the night completely now. Mason is even almost potty trained! Not bad for an almost-two-year-ol
d.”
The proud note didn’t go unnoticed by the rest. Sam rolled his eyes and made a rude gesture with his free hand.
“If only your wives could see and hear all the profanity and gestures y’all are making,” Nathan drawled. “Sarah wouldn’t be happy to hear your cursing around Kelsey.”
“Fuck you,” Garrett said in a low voice.
Sam shifted his son in his grasp and then thrust him toward Ethan. “Here. Since you’re so adept at this now, you can hold Grant while I conduct this meeting.”
Ethan happily took the infant and immediately began cooing to the gurgling baby.
Joe, Nathan and Swanny all exchanged eye rolls since they were the only ones without kids. Nathan and Shea were in no hurry to add to the growing pile of kids the Kellys were accumulating, and Joe and Swanny showed no sign of settling down any time soon.
Still, Swanny couldn’t help the surge of envy as he surveyed the room of burly warriors, all making twits of themselves over their progeny. It was hard to imagine these men as the ultimate badasses when they were talking teething, babies and potty training. And yet they ran a tight operation. They were the best. And they employed the best.
Swanny had no false modesty when it came to his skills and abilities. He’d been good before he’d come to KGI, but KGI had made him better. He was at the top of his game, or at least he was getting there. He’d been a mere shell of himself when he’d returned from Afghanistan after months of imprisonment, starvation and torture.
But with the help of good friends, the Kelly family, the KGI organization as a whole, he’d put the pieces together again. At least the physical aspects. He wasn’t sure he’d ever be the same mentally. He still had nightmares. Or night terrors, since the dreams he had weren’t likely considered normal nightmares.
Most people didn’t have nightmares involving being carved up with a knife, stripped of their clothing and being held—and treated—like an animal. Hell, most animals were afforded better treatment than he’d received at the hands of his captors.
One day he’d make peace with it all. He hoped. And in the end, that was all he could do. Hang on to hope that his past didn’t forever rule or tarnish his future. Maybe he’d live with his demons forever. But at least he was becoming more adept at surviving them.
But he didn’t want to survive life. He wanted to live it. He’d die before ever becoming a victim again. Never again would he be stripped of his humanity, his very soul. When he thought back on the many times during captivity when he’d wanted to give up—had given up—it shamed him. Nathan had been stronger than Swanny, a fact that still bothered him after so many months. But never again. Nothing and no one would ever bring him that low again. It was a vow he’d made the moment their rescue had become reality and not just a seemingly impossible dream.
The door to the war room opened and Donovan strolled in unhurriedly, a smile on his face. As the newest brother to get hitched, he was in a perpetual good mood. Though Eve, his wife, hadn’t become pregnant, she had two younger siblings that lived with her and Van. Travis was sixteen and enrolled in the local high school while Cammie, Eve’s precious little sister, was now five years old and would be starting kindergarten in the fall with Charlotte, Sam’s oldest child.
Donovan lifted one eyebrow when he saw the babies Ethan and Garrett were holding.
“Teething still?”
“Your day is coming, little brother,” Sam warned. “And don’t think you’ll get an ounce of sympathy from the rest of us when you and Eve have babies.”
Donovan grinned. “I’m looking forward to it. The kind of shit y’all bitch and moan about, I can’t wait for. But we are going to wait a while. Eve is still young and she’s been taking care of her brother and sister for a long time. I don’t want to saddle her with added responsibility for a while. We both want kids. Lots of them. But we have plenty of time and I want her, Cammie and Travis to myself for a while before we add to the family. I don’t want Cammie or Travis to ever think they come second to any children Eve and I have together.”
Joe made a sound of impatience. “Not that I don’t love all the domesticity that oozes from the walls, but we have a mission to focus on. Can we get on with it?”
“Spoken like a free man,” Ethan drawled.
Swanny too was growing impatient. The phone call from Sin was still weighing heavily on his mind, and like Joe, he was ready to get moving on this.
The door opened again and Edge and Skylar walked in, looking focused and ready.
“Okay, everyone’s here,” Joe said. “Let’s get started.”
“Going to tell us what’s up, or are you just absconding with a jet and taking off?” Sam asked dryly, subtly reminding them that though this was a family-run organization, he was still in command. Or rather he shared dual command with Garrett and Donovan, but for the most part, Sam ran the show, though he did include his brothers in all the decision making. Ethan was steadily coming into his own, but he had a lot of ground to make up, having only joined KGI when his wife, Rachel, had been rescued a few years earlier.
Edge and Skylar moved to the planning table where the others were gathered, but not before Skylar stopped to coo at Grant, who was still in Ethan’s arms.
“Here, hand the little guy back to Sam so we can start planning,” Ethan said, handing the baby to Skylar. “I think it’s time for a diaper change and I’ve paid my dues in that department.”
There were simultaneous looks of amusement—from the men who had children—and something akin to horror from the men who didn’t.
Skylar didn’t seem at all bothered by the prospect of a soiled diaper. She reached to take him from Ethan and bounced him gently in her arms before finally passing him back to Sam.
“He’s adorable, Sam. And he looks so much like you! It’s weird looking at your children because Charlotte is an exact replica of Sophie, and Grant looks exactly like you,” Skylar mused. “You’ve totally got a Mini-Me!”
“Poor kid,” Nathan muttered.
“Hello? Mission time?” Joe said in exasperation.
Garrett shifted Kelsey carefully in his arms like she was a bomb about to go off. He tensed and stared down at her, strain evident on his brow. Swanny saw the evidence of many recent sleepless nights in the big man’s face, saw him visibly sigh in relief when his daughter squirmed once and then settled back to sleep, nestled in her father’s arms. But there was also so much love and adoration in the big man’s eyes that Swanny would have to be blind or completely oblivious not to notice it.
That little girl had brought Garrett to his knees, and she’d continue to do so for the rest of her life. One thing was for certain, though, and it held true for all the Kelly children. There wasn’t a child on earth who’d be more protected and watched over than those babies. Swanny pitied the poor fool who ever tried to date the Kelly daughters. Being met on the front porch by a surly, overprotective father? Swanny would pay money to see that.
“So what are we looking at here?” Garrett asked in a low voice. “You didn’t give us much to go on.”
Joe glanced at Nathan. “Ryker Sinclair called. Said his sister was in trouble. He wouldn’t go into detail. Said someone took a shot at her, but I have no clue what that means exactly.”
Nathan frowned. “Isn’t his sister a supermodel, or something? He used to show us pictures of her. She was chosen as the world’s most beautiful woman by that magazine a few years ago. He showed it to us when we were on our last tour.”
“Yeah, that’s her,” Swanny supplied.
Just the mention of that magazine cover—glossy, silky blond hair flowing as though she were out in a gentle breeze, eyes glowing and a megawatt smile—brought back the first time he’d seen her photo. He felt like an idiot for having nearly an identical reaction just from the memory.
“So you know this Ryker Sinclair?” Donovan asked.
Joe nodded, as did Nathan and Swanny.
“We served with him,” Nathan explained.
&nbs
p; “He saved my ass,” Joe interjected. “Shoved me down and took the bullet intended for me. I owe him.”
“We all owe him, then,” Sam said simply.
And that was Sam. In his eyes, what debt one of his brothers owed was a debt the entire family assumed. That extended to the rest of KGI as well.
“He didn’t go into a lot of detail,” Joe continued. “But he sounded worried, and if he’s worried then we should be too. His father served and his older brother is a cop. They likely employ a security company to protect Eden because I can’t imagine Big Eddie leaving his daughter’s safety to chance. So the fact that they’ve called us up tells me this is something big. Sin told me Eden’s holed up in a hotel and they’re flying out immediately to get to her. He said he’d be in touch as soon as he knew where we needed to meet them, but he asked that we get going in that direction.”
Sam pinned Joe with his stare. “You’ll let me know the minute you have more intel, and if it’s something your team can’t handle on their own, don’t be stubborn. Call me for backup, and I can have Steele’s or Rio’s team in the air within a few hours.”
“You guys in?” Joe asked, turning to look at Edge and Skylar.
“Hell, yeah,” Skylar said in a tone that suggested Joe’s question irritated her. “We’re part of this team. If you’re going, we’re going.”
Edge grinned, the action erasing the hard lines of his face and lighting the brooding shadows in his eyes. “Couldn’t have said it better than Sky.”
“All right then, y’all get in the air and holler when you land and get a better handle on the situation,” Donovan said.
“I’ll alert Steele and have him on standby,” Garrett said in hushed tones, though he was still staring at his daughter as if afraid any noise would awaken her. He winced, obviously seeing something he didn’t like.
Then sure enough, a wail sounded and a panicked look entered Garrett’s eyes. He blew out a weary sigh. Swanny could almost summon sympathy, but how did you feel sorry for a guy who had the world at his feet? A beautiful, loving wife. A new daughter. The promise of future children. A future he didn’t face alone. No, Swanny didn’t feel sorry for him. He realized the internal flinch was . . . envy. Was this how Donovan had felt before Eve had come into his life when his brothers were falling one by one? Forging their own, separate path. Still firmly ensconced in the fold of the Kelly family but striking out on their own as well. Branching off, though all forks led back to the same place. Home. Kentucky Lake.
“Shit. I should probably head back home. She’s probably going to want to nurse. I was hoping to give Sarah a longer nap,” Garrett said with a grimace.
Without waiting for a response, Garrett all but ran for the exit, laughter in his wake. He only paused to raise his right hand and extend his middle finger before disappearing from the war room.
“I meant what I said,” Sam said in a serious tone, turning everyone’s attention back to him. “If this is something you think you need backup on, you call me immediately. Garrett and I are out of commission for the short term, but Van and Ethan as well as the other two teams can bug out on short notice. I’ll put them on alert just in case we need them.”
“We got it, big brother,” Nathan said dryly. “We’re big boys now. It’s time to wean us off the tit and let us out into the world.”
“Dick,” Sam muttered. “It’s my job to worry about y’all. I’m the oldest, so that falls within my job description.”
“As long as you don’t claim to be the brains of this operation,” Donovan drawled. “That’s my title. Super geek, remember?”
The others rolled their eyes, but then Joe picked up his pack and motioned for the others.
“Let’s hit the road. We’re wasting time. Sam, is the jet fueled and ready?” Joe asked.
Sam nodded.
Joe slapped Nathan on the shoulder. “Okay, little brother. You’re flying the jet.”
“With permission this time,” Sam said dryly.
“Y’all are never going to let me live down the time I stole the company jet, are you?” Nathan asked in exasperation.
“It was a righteous cause,” Swanny said sagely.
Nathan had commandeered a KGI jet and left home like a bat out of hell, but he’d returned with Shea. With a new lease on life. Swanny could see the difference in Nathan. He’d come a long way from the man who’d been rescued from the same hell Swanny had endured. Swanny had no doubt Nathan still dealt with his past, but there was a peace about him that was evident. He was . . . happy. Content. Wasn’t that what everyone wanted in the end?
Donovan smirked. “Truth, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t going to give him shit about it whenever we get the chance.”
“Fuckers,” Nathan grumbled.
Skylar and Edge hauled their packs up and headed for the door. Swanny stooped to retrieve his bag while Nathan and Joe raided the KGI arsenal in a room just off the main staging area.
They walked briskly in the direction of the hangar. It was a pretty good distance from the war room, but by the time they shoved all their gear into multiple SUVs and drove to the airfield, they’d already be there just lugging it themselves.
Though petite, Skylar kept stride with the much taller men and didn’t even look winded. She kept herself in impeccable shape. One thing Swanny had noticed from day one of her joining the new team was that she hadn’t come in with a chip on her shoulder, nor had she seemed to think she had anything to prove just because she was a woman in a predominantly male organization. She was sharp as a tack, smart and confident. And the few times Swanny had actually not looked at her as a teammate—as just a part of a whole—she was beautiful in an effervescent way. But confident. Yeah. That was an attractive quality in a woman. Maybe some men didn’t agree, or perhaps they felt threatened by a woman fully capable of taking care of not only herself but others around her, but Swanny didn’t think there was a more beautiful woman than one who knew her mind and dared the world to take her on.
Perhaps not being the only woman in KGI had helped in that regard—though Swanny acknowledged that probably had little to do with it. Sky was her own person. She wouldn’t have needed P.J. to break ground for her. She could do plenty of groundbreaking and ass kicking all on her own. She and P.J. both, for that matter.
P.J. Rutherford . . . damn it, Coletrane now. He had to correct himself every time. She and Cole were married now but it was hard to start thinking of her as P.J. Coletrane. At any rate, P.J. was a kick-ass female warrior who could easily take down a man—or men—twice her size. Skylar wasn’t any less of a badass and none of the guys treated her like . . . well, a girl.
