Homecoming Hearts Series Collection

by HJ Welch

  No matter how dumb he thought this assignment was, he wasn’t going to risk his uncle’s reputation or that of the company he’d been building for years.

  “How many people can boast buddies like that,” Sam said from over by the barbecue. He saluted his bottle at Kurt, who returned the gesture.

  It was obvious how close a friend he considered Levi’s uncle, despite his dad being his best friend.

  Levi wondered if Sam missed him as much as Levi did. In those last years, Sam would have seen far more of his dad than Levi, thanks to his deployment. The thought stung, even though it was unreasonable.

  “We are lucky to know a private security firm as friends,” Kima agreed. She took a long pull on her beer and closed her eyes with a sigh. “It’s good to know we can keep this ugly business in the family.”

  “I’m sure this will all be over soon,” agreed Kurt. “We’re still working with Eric’s IT guys, so we’re going to tackle it from both sides.”

  “That sounds like something to toast to,” said Raiden convivially enough. He raised his bottle. “Here’s to getting this thing wrapped up as fast as possible.”

  Levi caught his eye as the others chinked glass. Here’s to parting ways as soon as possible, he added mentally. Just because their dads had been best buds didn’t mean they had to spend any more time together than was absolutely necessary.

  He should have learned now not to tempt karma. Even when you didn’t say things out loud, she was evidently still listening.

  Kima and Raiden busied themselves for the next few minutes bringing out salads, rolls and condiments from the kitchen to go with the meat on the grill. Levi hovered while his uncle helped Sam sort out the various cuts and patties, then Levi ferried plates over to the table when they were cooked.

  “This smells amazing, Mr. Jones,” he said sincerely.

  “Call me that again and you’ll get none of it,” Sam told him playfully. “Just because you’re helping us out doesn’t stop me from being Sam, okay?”

  That caused an odd pang in Levi’s chest. Like it somehow brought him a bit closer to his dad again, like when he was a teenager. “Sure,” he said with a nod and twitch of a smile. He wasn’t used to feeling like the youngest in the room, not for a long while.

  Of course he wasn’t, as he was reminded when Raiden came back out with Kima. Although the more Levi looked at Raiden, the less like a kid he seemed.

  “I’ve had a brilliant idea,” Kima announced as she set down a bowl of potato salad. She had a twinkle in her eye, but the way that Raiden frowned at her made Levi think he didn’t know what she was going to say any more than the rest of them.

  “All your ideas are brilliant,” said Sam, kissing her cheek.

  She rolled her eyes. “Yes, but this one’s especially brilliant.” She winked at him, then turned to Levi. “While you’re working for us, instead of commuting back and forth, you should just take one of the guest bedrooms. That will make your job easier as well as more effective.”

  Levi’s blood ran cold.

  Logically, of course, it was a perfect idea. It would be much easier to protect Raiden if Levi was here around the clock. Also, he could prove the threats weren’t that serious faster the more he was here.

  And as much as he’d missed his mom, Levi’s dad was present in every inch of her house. Staying here would be a lot less stressful for Levi.

  But that meant seeing way more of Raiden than he’d bargained for. Raiden, who hadn’t ever done a proper day’s work in his life. Who had been sheltered from the real world and had absolutely nothing at all in common with Levi.

  Raiden, with his gorgeous hair that he shook back from his eyes again.

  This was a very bad idea.

  “That’s a great idea,” he said, forcing himself to smile.

  Because that was the last time he was going to let personal feelings get in the way of his job. It didn’t matter that he found Raiden irritating as well as mildly attractive. All that mattered was showing his uncle that he’d made the right decision when he’d invested in him.

  The general chatter among the group was that this was an excellent plan. They moved to take their seats and dive into the feast that Sam and Kima had prepared for them, and Kurt handed out another round of beers.

  That was when Levi finally looked at Raiden and met his eye. They held each other’s gaze for a second before Raiden arched an eyebrow and turned away.

  Levi guessed he was as unimpressed with the situation as he was. But for the meantime, there wasn’t much they could do about it.

  They’d just have to get on with it.

  5

  Raiden

  Raiden chewed on his thumbnail and tried not to fidget. He was perfectly capable of driving himself places, but it seemed he’d lost that luxury along with almost every other aspect of his privacy.

  That was being dramatic and he knew it. The house was big enough that he and Levi were no more on each other’s toes than he was with his parents. But still, having him there irked Raiden.

  Levi was just doing his job. Raiden could acknowledge that on a sensible, logical level. It just might be easier to put up with if Raiden wasn’t so keenly aware how much the ex-Marine disliked him.

  The dude would barely look him in the eye. He obviously thought Raiden was a pathetic waste of space, a delicate creative who was incapable of looking after himself. He’d never said anything to that effect out loud, but it was clear from the silences and lack of eye contact.

  Levi Patterson considered him to be beneath contempt.

  Raiden didn’t really care what other people thought of him. It was just tiring to be around that kind of energy all the time.

  At least for the first few days, Levi had been busy with his uncle updating the ranch’s security. That Raiden absolutely appreciated. It was a sensible precaution regardless of any stupid death threats. They had kids and families on the premises all the time, so it was in everyone’s best interest to beef up security.

  But now that was all sorted, Raiden had to put up with his own personal, six-foot-four, two-hundred-and-twenty-pound shadow. Everywhere he went, Levi was there, insisting he go through the door first to assess the room for any potential risk.

  Every time he spoke to Raiden it was in short grunts or clipped sentences to inform him that the space was clear (of course it was) and that was that. It was driving Raiden crazy.

  As was the silence in the big, black Jeep they were currently driving down the highway in. This was the first time in the weeks since the doxing that Raiden had needed to leave the ranch for any reason, so he and Levi were stuck in the car together making the forty-five minute drive.

  “Do you mind if we put the radio on?” he finally asked after twenty minutes. There weren’t much that stressed him out, but driving without music was one of them. The lack of conversation would be manageable, so long as they had some beats to fill the void.

  Levi looked at him from the corner of his eye and raised a brow. “Sure,” he drawled, as if he found the concept both ridiculous and boring at the same time.

  He made no move to switch on the stereo, so Raiden leaned forward and pushed the button to bring it to life, then began flicking through stations. “What kind of music do you like?”

  Levi shrugged, eyes on the road. He had a striking profile, Raiden had noticed. A long face with strong cheekbones and straight nose. Now he’d been out of service for a few weeks, his hair was a little longer on the top, but he kept the back and sides short. It suited him.

  “Anything,” he said in response to Raiden’s question about the music.

  He wouldn’t have known it, but that was one of Raiden’s pet peeves.

  “Oh, so you like Austrian folk music?” he goaded. “Scream metal? Opera?”

  That earned him another raised eyebrow, along with a scowl. It was better than being ignored.

  “No, wait,” said Raiden, clicking his fingers. “I bet you’re a disco diva. Bit of that old Saturday Night
Fever. Am I right?”

  Levi licked his lips. They were kind of pouty, but the fact they were almost always turned down in a sneer diminished any attractiveness they might have held.

  Attractiveness? That was an odd thing to think about a guy. Levi really was driving Raiden crazy.

  “Just…put on some rock,” Levi said through a clenched jaw. Raiden would have bet anything there was an unspoken ‘asshole’ he wanted to tag on the end there.

  Raiden flicked through the radio stations until he found one playing some Bon Jovi. He glanced at Levi, but there was no reaction to his choice.

  “I bet you’re a Chili Peppers kind of guy,” he mused. He leaned back against the car door, studying Levi for any response. “Foo Fighters, that sort of thing.”

  Levi sighed. “Not really into music, kid,” he said. He focused on the road as he switched lanes.

  Kid? But the thing was, Raiden was feeling childish. He wanted Levi to pay attention to him. It was depressing, but since the majority of his work had dried up, Levi was the only other person he interacted with most days aside from his parents.

  “You don’t like music?” he asked. “Nah, I don’t buy it. Everyone likes something.”

  “What can I tell you?” Levi said in that bored rumbling tone of his. “Not much opportunity to listen to the radio when you’re driving around in hostile territory.”

  Raiden rubbed his chin. He’d let his stubble grow out a little bit, more due to laziness than anything else, and it was prickly under his fingers.

  “Don’t you soldier types usually have a guitar or something? Or is that just something they do in the movies?”

  Levi didn’t answer for a minute, and Raiden figured he was probably going to be ignored. But then Levi shifted in his seat and huffed.

  “Yeah,” he conceded. “Someone always has a guitar. And guys often like singing together while we drive.”

  “Really?” said Raiden, intrigued.

  He stared at Levi intently, even though he didn’t look back at him. It was still interesting watching the muscles in his jaw work.

  “You have a unit of five guys,” Levi eventually said. “You work together and always travel in the same vehicle. So, yeah, it gets boring seeing the same old desert and hamlets over and over. You find ways to pass the time.”

  Raiden jabbed the power button on the radio off again. “What songs do you know?” He could see this was pissing Levi off, and for some reason that tickled him.

  Levi reached forward and turned Bruce Springsteen back on. “Not in Iraq now,” he growled.

  “Yeah, but singing is the best,” Raiden argued, willing Levi to agree. “Such a release.”

  Nothing. Levi just kept his eyes on the road.

  Fine. Raiden turned the music up instead and sang along at the top of his lungs. That at least earned him a tut of irritation. “Come on, man, everyone knows The Boss.”

  Levi turned the radio back down. “Just because I know it, doesn’t mean I have to sing it.”

  Raiden sighed. “You’re no fun,” he grumbled.

  “I’m not here to have fun with you, sir,” he said. He might as well have spat the ‘sir’ out, it was said with such scorn. “I’m here to keep you safe. That’s all.”

  Raiden scoffed. “Safe. We both know this is a glorified babysitting gig. I hope my parents are paying you well enough, at least. You must be bored out of your mind.”

  Levi said nothing.

  “Look,” said Raiden, filling the gap after a minute or so. “I mean no disrespect. But you’ve got to agree that this twenty-four-seven business is excessive. No one is going to jump out and shoot me. The online harassment has already tapered off substantially.”

  “Until my uncle deems the threat neutralized, I will continue to act as your personal security,” Levi said. “So until then, I suggest we not antagonize one another any more than necessary.”

  So Raiden was getting under his skin. Excellent. Maybe if he pissed Levi off enough, he’d convince his uncle to stop this bullshit sooner rather than later.

  “Sure, whatever you say, Betty.”

  Levi fingers curled a little tighter around the steering wheel, the rest of his body very still. “Excuse me?”

  “You know? Betty? Don’t tell me you don’t get it.”

  Raiden knew he was being a dick with the slightly obscure reference, but was having too much fun to explain himself.

  Levi licked his lips. “If you’re having trouble remembering my name, you can either call me Patterson, or feel free to keep your mouth shut altogether.”

  Raiden snorted. He’d bet anything that that was not how Levi was supposed to speak to clients. Of course, Raiden wouldn’t rat him out to his uncle or anything. But it was very rewarding to know he was rattling the big ogre’s cage.

  “Sure, Betty, whatever you say.” Levi went to open his mouth, but Raiden pointed ahead. “Oh, look! We’re here.”

  6

  Raiden

  Logically, Raiden knew it was probably a supremely idiotic idea to antagonize an ex-Marine. But it was also fun.

  He watched as Levi ground his teeth and made the turn down a dirt track where the GPS indicated. It appeared he was going to let the new nickname slide for now.

  Raiden had been to this rehearsal space numerous times over the years. It was basically a glorified garage attached to a cluster of buildings that stored farming equipment. It had power, a feeble attempt at AC and minimal soundproofing. The fact it was surrounded by fields meant that anyone playing here could generally make as much of a racket as they liked.

  It wasn’t much. But then the hourly rates were cheap, so a lot of bands who were just starting out booked it for days at a time.

  It had been a while since Raiden had hung around here. He’d maybe been once or twice since his Below Zero days. But he still had a deep fondness for the place.

  In his teenage years he had been a part of several cover bands. They had come here when they could afford it rather than piss off any of their neighbors by practicing in any of their parents’ garages. Raiden had also started a rock band that had played several local gigs before he’d gone for the boy band audition. Singing was singing as far as he’d been concerned. Never in a million years had he thought he’d make the cut. He still wondered what might have happened to that band if he hadn’t left them behind.

  As far as he knew, those guys had all gone off to college. It felt funny that Raiden should find himself back here after all these years. Like his life had gone full circle.

  At twenty-six, that was slightly depressing. He shook it off. Being back here didn’t mean the end of anything. In fact, he hoped it would be a beginning.

  He and Levi stepped out of the Jeep into the strong Kentucky sunshine. At Raiden’s indication they headed towards the door to the studio, Levi going first, of course.

  A few days ago, Raiden had got an email from someone he’d never met before. She’d introduced herself as Pearl and her band as the delightfully named Glittergasm. It was a succinct message, saying that she thought Raiden and she could work well together, and that he should check out their demos then come meet them.

  Raiden had liked the directness of it. There was no chit-chat about those awful emails that had been leaked, no agreeing that the music industry sucked. He’d got so many messages that roasted other mainstream artists in one sentence, then announced that whoever the person was was the real deal, a genuine artist, in the next.

  Raiden hadn’t responded to any of those. Sure, he should never have said what he did about Elsie Hadden or Funkolove, but those artists had treated him like dirt. When people tried to sound clever by laying into singers and musicians Raiden knew for a fact were hard working and talented, he had no time for that. So what if they made by-the-numbers pop? They sold records, so good for them.

  Pearl hadn’t mentioned any of that. She just said that she felt like her band might be of interest if Raiden was looking to work on something a little different. She als
o, correctly, guessed that he’d probably have extra time on his hands now, so didn’t have anything to lose.

  He liked her spunk. Not many people just told it as it was. So he’d listened to what the band had done so far and was surprised when he really liked it. It was rough around the edges, for sure. But he saw a lot of potential in their pop-punk, glam-rock style.

  And seeing as he really didn’t have anything to lose right now, he figured he might as well take a chance and work on a project that genuinely interested him for once.

  He followed Levi through the door into the practice space that seemed very dark after the summer sun. But as soon as Raiden took his shades off and blinked a few times, his eyes gradually adjusted to the dim light.

  Five people were scattered around, all of whom looked to be in their late teens at the most. A guy and a Hispanic girl were jamming with guitars on the same beat-up couch Raiden himself had sat on several years ago. It looked even more stained than he remembered and a few more pockets of stuffing were trying to escape, but other than that it looked to still be functioning.

  A white girl with multicolored dreads was sitting behind the drum kit, circling a drumstick in her hand. Another guy was lying behind a speaker with a toolkit by his side, his long, shaggy hair pooling on the ground around him.

  The girl who stood to greet them, though, was obviously Pearl. Raiden had learned over the years that lead signers often exuded a certain air of authority, and this chick had it in spades. It was the kind of vibe that let everyone know that this was their baby, these were their people, and you fucked with either at your own peril.

  She had a slim, boyish figure underneath an outfit that would have looked at home in any Japanese Manga comic. Chunky boots, thigh-high socks, a skirt that barely covered her ass and a strappy top that seemed determined to fall off her shoulders. So many bangles she jangled with every movement and just as many piercings. No tattoos, though, which was interesting.