by Wade, Maddie
“Is that all?” Nate answered with a laugh, knowing that it hadn’t scratched the surface.
“I guess,” Will said as he took his drink with a grimace. “I just… I like her, and I can’t figure out what I did wrong.”
Nate chucked, Will was such a lady’s man it was probably the first time he had ever had a woman reject him. “Maybe she just isn’t that into you,” Nate replied as he took a sip of his beer.
“No, I think she liked me, but what happened with her sister changed everything.”
“Ah, so the pretty little cop has cold feet.”
“Maybe,” Will nodded. “Either way I’m not giving up and I’m going to find her and make her see we are perfect together even if she can’t see it yet.”
“Good luck my friend and if you need any help, call Dane because I’ll be at the beach.”
“Lucky bastard. I hate this white shit,” Will said of the snow.
Nate shot the shit with Will for a bit longer before he moved back to Skye who was talking to Ava and Zack.
“Ava was just saying how Riley is joining Jujitsu lessons with Lucy after the holidays. I think we should get Noah in on that. I want him to be able to defend himself, and it will be good for him socially.”
“I can teach him,” Nate said.
Skye stroked his face before kissing him gently. “I know baby, but it will be fun for him to do it with his friends away from his parents.”
“Fine, Lucy can do it,” he huffed only slightly mollified by her response. “Have you seen my mum?”
“She’s in the kitchen with my mum. They have whipped Colin, David, Reg, and Dad into shape and are using them as kitchen slaves.” Ava laughed.
“I still can’t believe they insisted on cooking for all of us. I would have paid for someone to do it,” Zack said, his eyes on Riley who was riding his new balance bike around the ballroom.
“I know, but you know how traditional they are and there is nothing like a home-cooked meal.” Ava said.
“Always thinking with your stomach,” Zack said and grinned as he rubbed his wife’s very pregnant belly.
“Did you just call me a pig?” she asked in mock outrage as she glared at him.
“Of course, not, baby. You’re beautiful. I just know that junior here is making you hungry all the time,” he said as he kissed her cheek and wrapped her in his arms.
“Smooth Zack smooth.” Nate replied with a shake of his head and laughed.
“It’s okay. He thinks I can’t see his little podge around the middle, but I’m not the only one putting on weight with this baby.” Ava chuckled as Zack spluttered in speechless outrage.
“Not so fun now is it handsome?” Ava replied with a raised eyebrow and laughed as the door opened and Reg walked in to call everyone through for dinner.
They were all seated around the most enormous table Nate had ever seen, and he knew it was the work of his father, Colin, and Reg and smiled, admiring the workmanship. They were starting to make a real success of their business and Colin was enjoying helping now he felt better. Nate knew Lucy, Lizzie, Meg, and Dane were relieved to see him feeling better.
He was seated next to Skye and with Noah beside him and Jace beside Noah. Everyone was chattering loudly as bowls were passed around with potatoes, spiced red cabbage, honey roast parsnips, and carrots along with platters of turkey and stuffing, and his least favourite—Brussels sprouts.
The room went quiet as people began to eat, savouring the delicious food.
“So, Noah, what did you get for Christmas?” Jace asked as he turned to his son.
“I got a Lego Millennium Falcon, and Nerf ‘N’ Strike, and I got a new daddy,” he said as the room seemed to go silent around them. All eyes moved to Noah who was oblivious.
“That’s amazing, Noah,” Jace said as he glanced at Nate.
“It is, ’cos it means Tilly and I will have the same surname now,” he stated.
Nate frowned and looked at Skye who looked confused too. “Noah, your Aunt Tilly is a Mitchell,” he said gently.
“Not Aunt Tilly, my baby sister, Tilly. We’ll have the same name when she comes,” Noah stated.
Nate felt Skye grip his hand as she leaned over him to speak to Noah. “Honey, what are you talking about?”
Noah rolled his eyes as if everyone was slightly stupid. “My baby sister, who’s coming next year. I dreamed her, and she isn’t ready yet but next Christmas she’ll be here,” he said as if explaining it to simpletons.
Nate looked at Skye and Skye looked at him as the room erupted with excitement. He couldn’t speak though because he was overcome with emotion.
“I love you, Nate.”
“I love you too mi cielo, all of you,” he whispered as his eyes clouded over with emotion as he thought of the beautiful future they had in front of them.
* * *
Will watched his friend take in the news Noah had just delivered and smiled. If anyone deserved it, then it was Nate. The guy was a natural father and loved Noah to distraction. He wondered if he would ever have kids. It wasn’t something he had ever given much thought to but as he did, his mind flew to Aubrey.
Her sweet smile, her beautiful dark brown eyes, the button nose, and the throaty laugh. She would be a great mum. He wondered again why she was hiding from him. Something kept telling him it was more than just him she was running from. He couldn’t shake the fear that she was in trouble and needed him.
His fucking brother was not answering his calls since their fight, and he hated that their relationship was so fucked because of the decisions he had made as a teenager. He knew he had cost Jack a lot, and he would carry that guilt forever, but he had tried to make it up to him without Jack knowing.
That was the thing about his older brother, he had to be in control just like their father. He was an uncompromising bastard too. He had no clue how his mother put up with them all these years. But she had, and even when she was sick from chemo, she still stood by her husband and did all she could for him.
He remembered one Christmas when he and Jack were just boys. He had worshipped his older brother, and Jack had been so patient and kind with him. He had been given a magician’s kit, and Jack had got a Meccano set. Jack had been so excited, but instead of playing with his new toy he had spent hours with Will playing magic. Will knew his brother hated it, but he did it for him, that was the kind of brother Jack was, and Will missed him like a fist to the gut, and he had nobody to blame but himself.
It was why he had done what he had, and why it was his closest guarded secret with only Zack knowing about it. His phone buzzed, and he took it out to check it. The name on the screen had his heart beating rapidly. “Dogberry?” he asked standing to leave the room.
“Boy scout,” she replied.
“I take it this is not a Merry Christmas call, especially as you called on a phone you shouldn’t even know about.”
“Oh, please, don’t insult me. You don’t honestly think I didn’t know?”
“Yeah, good point. What can I do for you?”
“Your girl is in trouble and needs an extraction.”
Will felt his heart beat double time as he locked eyes with Drew who was walking out of the dining room. “Where is she?” he demanded.
“In the middle of the Columbian jungle,” she said.
“Thanks, Dogberry.”
“You owe me.”
“Yeah, yeah whatever,” he said hanging up. Will looked at Drew and felt a plan forming. It was a lousy plan and would probably get him in a world of shit with his brother and Zack, but he had no choice he had to help Aubrey. “Want to have some fun that will probably get us into a world of trouble?” he asked Drew who grinned slowly.
“Hell yeah, what’s the plan?”
“We’re going to steal a plane from Eidolon and fly to Columbia.”
“Awesome. Who’s flying it?”
At that moment Liam walked through the door, and they both turned and smiled at him.
�
��He is,” Will said with a look of determination.
Sneak Peek: Digital Desire Fortis Book 8
Aubrey could just make out the man as he moved through the hot jungle towards the bar where her sister was. Bugs and all manner of creepy crawlies bit at her skin as she maintained her position, not wanting to look away in case something happened.
Her sister was young and hot-headed she was going to get one or both of them killed if she kept on like this. Aubrey knew Madison wanted revenge for what Chopper had done to her, but to come here on her own to try and exact that revenge was fucking foolish at best, at worst, it was suicide.
She was going to get them both killed, apart from the fact that she was now suspended from her job thanks to it all. English had begged her not to go after her sister but how could she not. Ever since they were kids, she and Madison had been close, and she wasn’t about to abandon her now. Moving as silently as she could, Aubrey eased towards the bar that was little more than a shack with all sorts of unsavoury men inside.
Drug lords, gun runners, guerrilla soldiers. These men had no morals and her sister had taken a job at this dive bar to try and track down Chopper. She saw a man grab her sister over the bar, his sinister smile making her sick as he leered down at her sister’s cleavage.
Bile crawled up her throat and not for the first time she wished she hadn’t done this alone. She knew she could have asked for help from Fortis, but she was still fighting the ridiculous attraction to that tatted up computer geek, who for some reason thought after one date and a kiss, he owned her body and could go around knocking her out. Just the memory of him doing that made her furious.
What a kiss though. She had spent many nights trying to forget it but found herself reliving it as her body heated with desire. The man was a menace. He was too sexy, too clever, and way too dangerous to her heart. Men like Will Granger had secrets and they also didn’t settle down. She had no intention of ending up as a notch on the sexy asshole’s bedpost.
So here she was in the Colombian jungle trying to rescue her baby sister on her own with zero resources. She was so engrossed in the man that was now trying to kiss her sister that she never heard the man behind her. Not until it was too late, and a large hand slapped over her mouth and a cloth bag was thrown over her head. Oh, how she wished she hadn’t been such a wimp and had asked for Fortis’ help.
Books by Maddie Wade
Fortis Security
Healing Danger
Stolen Dreams
Love Divided
Secret Redemption
Broken Butterfly
Arctic Fire
Phoenix Rising
Nate & Skye Wedding Novella
Digital Desire (Releasing January 2019)
Alliance Agency Series (co-written with India Kells)
Deadly Alliance
Tightrope Duet
Tightrope One
Tightrope Two
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