“Deal.”
***
The first thing I did when I got home was tell my brothers about Nautica, and they were just as ecstatic as I was. They’d never had a horse of their own, unlike me. So, I’d shared Nautica with them.
Everyone was thrilled, that is, except for my youngest brother, Darby, who was an ass no matter what happened.
“You’re kidding, right?” Darby asked in disgust.
Ace glared at him. “Don’t be an ass. He could’ve sold her with the cows like we’d told him to. We’re lucky he didn’t.”
“He should’ve listened. That could’ve been an extra two thousand dollars that we could’ve used to buy clothes and food,” Darby snarled.
Although their foster parents had been nice, they weren’t the wealthiest on the block.
There’d always been more month at the end of their money, and they had lived nearly paycheck to paycheck.
The boys had all had to get jobs once they were old enough, and I helped them where I could, too.
It’d never been enough, unfortunately.
Which had been a large factor in the deaths of their foster parents.
They’d neglected themselves to feed their kids, and in the end, when their immune systems had become compromised, and they’d both died within a year of each other.
Leaving everyone alone.
Chapter 3
You know you have the key to a man’s heart when you have the keys to his truck. ‘Cause there’s no fuckin’ way he’d give those up if he wasn’t planning on taking payment in orgasms later.
-Life Lesson
Nico
“No, Mamá, I will not bring her to your house for dinner. We have a date. One that doesn’t include my family,” I growled into the phone.
It was a futile gesture. It’d be happening with or without my consent. I just had to be smarter than my mother.
“Hijo, I don’t really care what you do with yourself, but she’ll be coming to my dinner table tonight. You just wait and see,” my mother declared.
I sighed, long and loud.
If I didn’t bring her, my mother would just go over my head and ask Georgia directly. Which meant I needed to act like I was, or keep the phone away from Georgia.
“Yes, Mamá,” I conceded. “I’ll see what I can do.”
She hung up moments later, and I hung the phone up as Bennett walked into the office. “Did you hear about the shooting at the Starbucks in Longview?”
I looked up in surprise. “No. Any casualties?”
Bennett shook his head and took a seat across the desk from me.
I leaned back in my chair and looked him over.
“You look tired,” I observed.
He grimaced. “Reagan had a stomach bug last night. I can deal with almost anything, but puke and phlegm just really gross me out.”
I grinned.
Reagan was his daughter. She was a quiet and overall a nice little girl, which didn’t seem like it fit Bennett at all since he was so outgoing.
I’d met Bennett when we’d both been in the Navy, finding out only when we went into basic training that we were from the same area of Texas.
When I’d first come to know Bennett, he’d been going through a rough spot with his ex, trying to get custody of their child. A child that the mother had tried to abort, but Bennett had convinced her not to. She hadn’t and then went on to gain full custody of the child that his ex never wanted.
Bennett had gotten custody, though, with the help of his family.
“Didn’t she just have that last week?” I asked in surprise.
He shook his head. “No, two weeks ago she had the flu.”
“Oh,” I said, shaking my head. “Poor girl. I guess that means you’ll be getting it soon?”
He shrugged. “I always do. It’s like clockwork.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Guess that’s part of the game of child-rearing.”
He flipped me off. “So, are we invited to dinner to meet your mystery chick?”
I shook my head. “She’s not a mystery chick. She’s the same one I’ve wanted for forever. I’ve known her for what feels like forever.”
His eyes flared. “Is she the chick who used to show up at all those deployments and welcome homes?”
I nodded and sat back to pull my cell from my pocket. Then I opened the phone and scrolled to the picture I’d taken the previous morning. The one with her and Nautica.
Handing it over, I smiled when his breath inhaled. “Holy shit, she’s hot.”
Of that, I had no doubt.
Then, of course, he started flipping through the pictures on my phone.
“Why do you have pictures of soccer cleats on here?” he asked.
I yanked the phone out of his hands and shoved it back into my pocket.
“I handed you my phone so you could look at one picture. Not swipe left and right. Next time I hand you my phone, be courteous,” I snapped.
He chuckled and sat back in the chair. “No, really. Why the cleats?”
I shrugged. “I wanted to buy Georgia a pair of cleats, but I didn’t know her size. I had to ask my sister.”
“She used to play soccer?” he questioned, scratching the back of his head.
I nodded. “Yeah, we both made all-state. She was pretty good for a girl. One of the only ones who could keep up with me. She’s even better than my sister. That’s how I met her. She used to challenge my sister like a wildcat on the field. That competition morphed into a relationship. Their senior year, I think they spent the majority of their time at my parents’ place. She never left from what I heard.”
“I’m glad you think I’m pretty good for a girl,” an amused female’s voice said from the doorway.
I turned to find Georgia leaning casually against the doorway, arms crossed nonchalantly over her chest.
Today she was wearing black slacks and a purple button-down shirt that matched part of her hair.
Her shoes looked sexy as hell, too. Tall black heels that made her legs look a mile long.
I stood and walked around my desk. “Georgia, this is Bennett. Bennett’s on the SWAT team with me, and an officer here. Bennett, this is Georgia.”
Bennett stood and offered his hand to Georgia, shaking it once before letting it go.
“It’s nice to meet you, Georgia. I’ve heard a lot about you over the years,” Bennett greeted her.
Georgia blinked and then turned. “This Bennie Bear?”
I winced and looked at the man beside me. He did not look pleased.
“Seriously, man? I don’t understand. My sister called me that one time in front of you. One!” Bennett growled in frustration.
Georgia giggled. “Don’t worry, Bennett. I won’t tell a soul. He only told me ‘cause he knew I was sad.”
Bennett’s indignation froze, and he studied Georgia like a bug under a microscope. “I used to play soccer. You were in my grade at a different school, from what I understand. Do you remember Corinne Brady?”
She wrinkled her nose. “Yeah.”
I could tell she wanted to say all kinds of rude things, but that was the thing about Georgia. She didn’t talk shit. About anybody.
“You can acknowledge your distaste,” I said, gesturing to the seat beside the one Bennett was previously sitting in. “Corinne Brady is Bennett’s baby mama and ex. They don’t get along.”
I knew the moment she became aware of just who we were talking about, and her perfect little mouth formed a cute little O.
Bennett’s eyes twinkled. “I can see my reputation precedes me.”
We’d grown up in a small town about thirty minutes outside of Kilgore, TX. However, we’d gone to Gladewater while Bennett had attended Kilgore ISD.
We were very loyal to our school, hanging out with our own, but everyone had heard about the incident involving the fake rape victim. Even me, and I’d been halfway around the world. Th
at’d been the topic of many letters back and forth to Georgia while I was overseas. It’d rocked our small town then, and was still doing so six years later.
Years ago, the incident had spread like wildfire through our schools.
A girl had been raped, and her boyfriend, Bennett Alvarez, had let it be known far and wide that retaliation would be coming to those who’d done it.
Well, weeks went by and nobody ever heard another thing about it until, one day, it became known that Corrinne had lied about being raped and had actually been an accomplice in the entire charade.
Bennett had later learned that he’d gotten the girl pregnant, and they’d had a lengthy battle for custody that had continued even after he had gone into the Navy.
Bennett was awarded custody of his child, against all odds, thanks to his family’s help. Georgia had told me that she’d secretly been rooting for Bennett at the time of the incident and was glad that Bennett and I had become such good friends.
It was always interesting to see Corinne, which didn’t happen much, but it did happen.
“I can’t say that I haven’t heard your name come up in a couple stories before today. But, anyway, I just wanted to see if I could borrow your truck, Nico, for a teeny tiny minute,” she said, eyes twinkling.
I blinked. “Sure. But why?”
She grimaced. “I need a fridge.”
I plucked the keys out of my pocket and handed them over. “Just don’t hit anything with it. It’s brand new.”
She stuck her tongue out at me. “That was one time!”
I grinned. “One time too many, Pequeña.”
She glared at me, and I didn’t hold back the urge to laugh this time.
“What?” I asked innocently.
“To normal-sized people, I’m normal-sized,” she grumbled and walked out.
Her ass looked fantastic in those pants, too.
“What’d you call her?” Bennett asked, wondering why she’d had such a reaction.
“Little one. She doesn’t like being referred to as small. It was a major point of contention when we were younger. She’s got a major ‘anything you can do, I can do better’ complex,” I explained as I headed out behind her.
“I can’t believe you just handed over the keys to your truck,” Bennett said, following me.
I wouldn’t have given it to anyone but her. Not even my own mother.
Georgia had always been different, though. If she asked for the shirt off my back or the boots on my feet, they’d be hers.
We watched as she walked out to the parking lot and walked directly to my truck, a new F-150 that’d cost me a pretty penny.
It was lifted and sitting on thirty-five-inch tires, and it amused the shit out of me as she hopped on one foot a couple of times to launch herself into the front seat.
“I really thought those pants might rip,” Bennett murmured under his breath.
I looked over at him and glared. “Keep your shit to yourself. She’s mine.”
Bennett leered at me. “I don’t see a ring on her finger.”
I punched him in the shoulder. “She doesn’t need a ring. She’s been mine since the moment we saw each other thirteen years ago.”
He looked at me closely before saying, “You’re serious.”
I nodded. I was being serious. Very serious.
I’d given her the time she needed and had taken the time I needed.
Not a day went by that I didn’t think about her.
The sad thing was, that even if I was with another woman, I was thinking about her. Whether it’d feel like that between her thighs. Whether she’d have the same reactions. I even closed my eyes and envisioned her when I did those things
I hadn’t, however, had sex with any of them. I could never go that far. It was hard enough on my conscience to do everything but sex. Sex with any other woman, when I knew in my heart that Georgia was mine and I was hers, went against everything I believed in.
“Yeah, dead fucking serious,” I answered instantly.
He sighed. “You and Roberts got them before I even saw them. How’s a man supposed to find a woman who’s worth something if y’all move in before I even see them?”
I grinned. “Maybe if you’d start looking for quality instead of quantity.”
He flipped me off. “Why is she so dressed up to pick up a fridge?”
“I think she had a meeting today with her new boss,” I said, watching as she pulled out into traffic.
I laughed when black smoke started pouring out of the tailpipes.
“That’s not very eco-friendly,” he observed dryly. “You should’ve gotten a Dodge.”
I shrugged. “It came down to the two, but this one was about three grand cheaper.”
“Yeah, but I’ll always rather be cummin than strokin,’” Bennett said bawdily, referring to the names of the Ford and Dodge engines.
I looked him dead in the eye. “I’d rather be stroked than rammed.”
“Alright, boys. Let’s keep it classy and stop talking about which diesel engine we bought,” Reese reprimanded, coming up beside us.
Bennett winked at Reese. “So tell me, Reese’s Pieces, would you rather be strokin’…”
“Do not finish that sentence.” Luke’s deadly serious voice lasered out like a whip as he walked up to his wife.
It, of course, didn’t have the intended effect.
Bennett still finished his sentence. “…or cummin?”
Luke growled, and I stepped out of the way, taking Reese’s arm as I went.
Reese didn’t object, going with me while keeping a close eye on her husband.
“Lucas Roberts, you leave that poor boy alone. He was only playing,” Reese snapped when Luke made to step in Bennett’s direction.
Luke stopped, but his glare said it all. ‘You’re going to get it.’
Bennett’s grin said, ‘You can try, old man.’
Luke nodded, accepting the challenge, neither of them saying a word.
“Who was the chick?” Luke asked as he wrapped a beefy arm around Reese’s shoulder.
Reese leaned into him and smiled as she looked at me.
I didn’t smile back, and she scowled.
Bennett answered Luke’s question for me.
“That’s Diablo’s new woman,” Bennett teased.
I hated when he called me Diablo. I hated when anyone, besides Georgia, called me Diablo.
One time my sister calls me that in front of Luke, and now the whole fucking world knows.
That had been a special name given to me by Georgia.
“Who’s Diablo?” Reese asked in confusion.
I sighed.
“This is Diablo,” Luke said, pointing in my direction. “Although, he doesn’t like to be called that.”
“Why do you pester him when he looks so scary?” Reese whispered to her husband.
I snorted and Reese flushed. “Sorry,” she muttered.
I waved it off. I got the whole ‘you’re scary’ thing a lot.
Especially from women.
It wasn’t something I could help, though. It was just who I was. I didn’t smile because I didn’t want to. And people got kind of freaked out when my lack of facial expression finally dawned on them.
It was who I was made to be, though.
The Navy SEALS had trained us, and it was just something I continued doing out of habit, even though I’d been out for years.
“So when’s the Kumbaya this week, and where?” Bennett asked.
“We had it at my place last week. It’s one of y’all’s turns,” Luke said, leaning against the brick of the building.
“We can have it at mine,” I said. “Y’all just better not fucking drip on any of my furniture. It’s new.”
Bennett grinned. “That wasn’t me, it was Michael. And Downy.”
“It wasn’t me, boy,” Downy said, walking up and joining the group.
I�
��d seen him walking up, but Bennett had had his back to him, so he couldn’t see when he’d pulled up and started walking toward us.
Downy exchanged handshakes and gave Reese a messy toss of her hair before looking at me.
“Some woman’s drag racing a couple of teens in your truck,” Downy said without preamble.
I looked down at my toes and pinched the bridge of my nose before slipping my hand into my pocket and withdrawing my phone.
“Hello?” Georgia answered.
“Alright, Niña mala, I don’t know if you realize this, but everyone knows my truck around town. I’d appreciate it if you save the racing for when you’re in a vehicle of your own,” I growled while still looking down at my feet.
And what did she do? Fucking laughed.
“Bad girl’s all you could come up with? Come on, even your teenage self could’ve done better than that,” Georgia giggled.
I sighed. “I swear to God, if you hurt my truck in any way, I’m going to give you the spanking of a lifetime.”
She hung up and all I could do was shake my head, while laughing softly to myself. She’d always been spunky, and it was nice to see that side of her again.
When I finally looked back up, it was to see everyone surrounding me staring at me as if I’d grown a second head.
Hell, even some of the other officers milling about were looking at me the same exact way.
“What are you looking at?” I asked one of the rookie officers who’d frozen in his tracks.
He shook his head hastily and power walked inside, not once looking back.
I turned to find Reese staring at me disapprovingly.
“You just scared that poor kid to death. I bet he’s going to go into a bathroom stall and cry,” she scolded.
I shrugged. “If all it takes is me staring at him to make him cry, then it’s obvious he doesn’t need to be a cop. This job will chew him up and spit him out.”
I got murmurs of agreement from the rest of the men surrounding me, and I couldn’t help the grin that spread over my face. That woman would be the death of me, but it’d be one hell of a ride on the way down.
Chapter 4
Admit it. You sleep with your feet covered because you’re too afraid of something touching them in the middle of the night.
Code 11- KPD SWAT Box Set Page 24
