Claiming Bailey (Ace Security Book 3)

by Susan Stoker

  “Cool. This has been the best birthday ever,” Joel said with a huge smile.

  Nathan had no idea if he’d handled the conversation correctly or not. He’d probably been way too harsh with the boy, but it was about time someone told him that Donovan wasn’t a good guy. It was obvious Joel was confused. Donovan had told him some pretty messed-up stuff, and had allowed him to watch porn, smoke weed, and didn’t care if the boy saw him hitting women or taking them into his room to screw. It was fucked up, and Nathan was pissed.

  He hoped that he’d gotten through, even just a little bit. The need to protect Bailey, even if it was from the hurtful words of her little brother, ate at him.

  “Why don’t you go on down there and help Felicity finish cleanup?” Nathan told Joel as he saw Bailey headed up the hill toward them. The little boy bounced up and gave him a wave as he ran down the rise toward the shelter. Nathan saw him stop momentarily and give Bailey a hug before he shot off.

  He met Bailey’s confused eyes as she came up toward him with his own.

  One tough conversation down, one more to go.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Can I sit?” Bailey asked Nathan uncertainly. She’d seen him talking with Joel and didn’t like that her brother looked upset. Felicity had told her to give them some time, but finally she hadn’t been able to ignore the duo anymore.

  As she’d started up the hill, she saw Joel smile and put something in his pocket before he raced down the hill toward her. He’d surprised her by giving her a hug and thanking her for the great party before he’d run off again.

  Bailey felt as though she’d spent the last few hours being surprised. When she and Joel had pulled up, she’d thought at first that they were in the wrong place, but then she’d seen Nathan waiting for them.

  She was surprised by the number of people there.

  She was surprised by the decorations.

  She was surprised when twenty pizzas were delivered around lunchtime.

  She was surprised by the number of gifts for Joel on the table.

  She was surprised that Nathan and his brothers were friends with a woman who looked like Felicity. Full-sleeve tattoos didn’t seem to be their thing, but she quickly learned that the Anderson men were three of the nicest, most nonjudgmental men she’d ever met. She’d even felt relaxed enough to take off her sweater when the temperature rose to an uncomfortable level. And not one person looked at her funny, or gave her the stink eye because of her tattoos.

  Overall, the day had been wonderful, and she knew she had Nathan to thank for it. She’d spent the last week vacillating between being sorry she’d written off all men, to knowing it was the right thing to do. But she’d still hoped Nathan would call.

  She shouldn’t have accused him of only wanting to use her for bait. After meeting Logan and Blake, she knew without a doubt that was the last thing any of them would ever do. Their entire business focused on keeping people safe, not putting them in danger recklessly.

  “Of course you can sit,” Nathan told her, patting the ground next to him where Joel had been moments earlier.

  She eased down beside him with her legs stretched out in front of her. She leaned back on her hands and lifted her face to the sky. There was a slight breeze, and it felt heavenly against her hot skin. She’d put her hair up in its customary ponytail, and the air felt nice against her slightly sweaty neck.

  “You shouldn’t have gone to all this trouble,” she told Nathan without looking at him.

  “Why not?”

  That brought her head up, and she turned to look at him. “Why not? Well, because. You just met me and Joel last week.”

  “So?”

  Bailey simply stared at him. He looked truly confused. He honestly saw nothing wrong with spending what had to have been hundreds of dollars on gifts and food for a kid he’d just met. “Nathan, it’s just not right.”

  “I know where you grew up and who your friends were. And I have to say, they’re all pieces of shit. I might’ve just met you last week, but you’ve been on my mind for months. And just sayin’, the reality is way better than my imagination. You’ve been on your own for a long time, I get it. But you’re not anymore. I like you. I like Joel. It was fun to shop for Legos, cars, Star Wars stuff, and nerf guns. Throwing a football with him, and seeing his eyes light up with every present he opened, was a gift for me.”

  “Thank you,” Bailey said quietly.

  “You’re welcome. I’m sorry I didn’t call this week.”

  Bailey was surprised by the change in subject, but she shrugged it off. “It’s fine.”

  “It’s not. I said I’d call, and I didn’t. I was upset at what you accused me of, and I acted like a baby about it. It won’t happen again.”

  Bailey looked at Nathan in disbelief.

  “What? Why are you looking at me like that?” Nathan asked.

  “I just . . . you . . .” She couldn’t figure out what she wanted to say.

  “You’re surprised that I apologized and admitted I was wrong,” Nathan stated correctly. Then he grinned at her. “I take it you aren’t used to men owning up to their mistakes. Let me guess, anytime Donovan or one of the others made a mistake, they blamed you.”

  How in the world this man could know exactly what she was thinking and what she’d been through, Bailey had no idea, but somehow he did. She liked that he came right out and owned up to what he’d done. She didn’t like that she’d upset him, but it had been her goal at the time. The fact that she’d succeeded and he’d admitted it didn’t sit well with her.

  “Yeah. I’m sorry for accusing you of wanting to use me for bait. It was out of line.”

  “Actually, it wasn’t,” Nathan counteracted. “You don’t know me. I’d just dumped a lot of shit on you, and you were freaked.”

  “Still,” Bailey insisted, “I’m sorry.”

  “Apology accepted,” Nathan said immediately.

  Feeling as if it needed to be said, Bailey told him, “But today, and all this”—she waved her hand toward the shelter and the remnants of the party—“doesn’t mean I want to date.”

  She caught Nathan’s wince, but his tone didn’t let on that he was upset; instead, he sounded understanding and sympathetic.

  “Bailey, when I do something for you or Joel, I’m doing it because I want to. Not because I want something from you. That’s not how I operate. If I want something, I’ll come out and ask you. You’ll never be in a situation with me where you owe me a favor because of something I’ve done. Look, I get it, I do, and I’ll respect your wishes. You’re not ready to date. You need to know you can stand on your own two feet. Get your confidence back. But I hope you’ll let me be your friend. And Joel’s.”

  She looked at him. “So you want to keep watch over us?” It came out snarkier than she intended, but Nathan didn’t look ruffled in the least.

  “Yeah, I do. Just because you don’t want a romantic relationship right now doesn’t mean my feelings for you are turned off.”

  “I just said—”

  He held up a hand to stop her.

  “I know. And I respect that.”

  “I don’t want to hurt you, Nathan.”

  “All due respect, it’s not your problem. It’s mine.”

  “You deserve more. Don’t fall for me,” Bailey warned him.

  “Too late,” was Nathan’s whispered response. Then, in a more normal voice, he said, “But that’s on me. I can be your friend, Bailey. I swear. I’ve had lots of practice. I’ll keep my hands to myself, and I’ll be good. I just want to be in your life, and Joel’s, any way you’ll let me.”

  Bailey looked down at her brother. He was laughing with Felicity, and for once, actually helping pick up trash. Somehow she knew his newfound desire to help was because of Nathan.

  “What’d you say to Joel to make him willing to help pick up trash?”

  For the first time, Nathan looked discomfited. He ran a hand through his hair and looked off into the distance. “He
’s . . . Donovan said a lot of shit to him. Shit no one has the right to say to a nine-year-old kid. He’s confused. We talked about it a bit, and I told him that no matter what Donovan might’ve told him or what he saw, a real man doesn’t talk mean to a woman.”

  Bailey’s hands began to shake. She’d known Joel’s attitude was because of Donovan, but she didn’t know what to do about it. Anytime she tried to talk to her brother about it, he closed up and shut himself in his room. He probably needed to see a psychologist, but she didn’t want her brother to say anything that might get the cops involved. It was selfish, but she constantly worried that the state would take Joel away from her if they knew the kind of life she’d exposed him to.

  Nathan’s hand closed over her own and held tight. “He expressed his disdain for any kind of woman’s work, as he called it, and I told him that I lived alone and did all the so-called women’s work by myself.” He shrugged. “I guess it sunk in.”

  “I guess it did,” Bailey agreed. She bit her lip and looked over at Nathan. “You’re good for him. I’d love to be your friend, if nothing else because Joel needs you. But it’s more than that. I like being around you, Nathan. I like the way you make me feel about myself. How you see me as more than just an Inca Boyz castoff. I’d like to be strong enough to tell you that me and Joel will be just fine on our own, but I don’t think that’s true. I’m too selfish. I know I’m going to end up hurting you, and that kills me, but I can’t say no to your friendship.”

  She turned her hand around and clasped his in her own.

  He brought his other hand to hers and covered their clasped hands with his. “You’re not selfish, Bailey. You’re cautious. There’s a big difference. You don’t have to worry about me pressuring you for anything more than you want to give. If all I can have is your friendship—sitting down for meals, hanging out watching movies, helping Joel with his math homework, and having your back when it comes to your past, I’ll take it. With no reservations.”

  “Thank you,” Bailey whispered and held her breath when Nathan leaned toward her. She was afraid he was going to kiss her after he’d just said he was okay with being just friends, but she should’ve known he wouldn’t do anything to make her uncomfortable.

  His lips touched her forehead in a barely there caress before he pulled back. “You should know, I’m not a text kinda guy. It takes too long. If I want to talk to you, I’ll call.”

  “Okay.”

  “Oh, and one more thing. I gave Joel a phone of his own.”

  Bailey frowned. “He’s only ten, Nathan.”

  “I know. That’s why it’s not a smartphone. It’s a cheap pay-as-you-go thing that only makes calls. There’s no Internet on it, and I’ve programmed your number, Clayson’s Auto Body and all the guys who work there, the number at Ace Security, Rock Hard Gym, Logan and Grace, and Blake and Alexis’s numbers into it. I want him to be able to get ahold of someone if something happens.”

  God, that was smart. She should’ve thought about it.

  “I should’ve done that already.”

  Nathan shrugged. “You would’ve thought about it sooner or later. Come on, let’s go see if they need any more help,” he said nonchalantly as he stood, still holding on to her hand, forcing her to her feet as well.

  They walked down the hill hand in hand, but Alexis intercepted them before they got back to the shelter. She stood in front of them awkwardly for a moment before blurting, “I’m so glad Nathan found you—or, well . . . that you found Nathan. We’ve been looking for you forever, and we were really worried about you. After spending time with those assholes, I have no idea how you were able to stand it for so long!”

  Bailey wasn’t sure what to say. But even after only spending an afternoon with Logan, Blake, and Nathan, it was obvious that Donovan and the rest of the Inca Boyz didn’t come close to being in their league.

  “Uh . . .”

  “And Kelly! Ugh! I know we were friends once upon a time, but what a bitch. Seriously!” Alexis continued to rant. “I’m really, really sorry if you thought she was your friend, but she wanted Donovan bad, and was pissed he was with you.”

  “We weren’t friends,” Bailey said quickly. “I knew she didn’t like me.”

  “Girlfriend, she really didn’t like you,” Alexis said, and Bailey couldn’t help but smile at the other woman. Even though Alexis seemed really young and naive, for some reason Bailey couldn’t help but like her.

  “Alexis, are you scaring away Nathan’s friend?” Blake said as he came up behind his girlfriend, putting his arms around her. She immediately brought her hands up, clasped his forearms, and tilted her head back.

  “Of course not. I just wanted her to know how happy I was that she was here with us and not up in Denver with those assholes.”

  Blake turned dancing eyes to Bailey. “What she really means to say is how happy she is to meet you and that you’re safe.”

  “Blake,” she protested immediately, eyes narrowing. “I did say that!”

  They all laughed. Bailey had thought it would be weird to meet Alexis, considering she almost died at the hands of the gang. But the other woman made things not awkward at all, and she didn’t seem to hold any resentment toward Bailey, which was a huge relief.

  “Thank you for being concerned about me,” Bailey told the couple in front of her, her sincerity sounding clearly in her words.

  “After spending time with them, I’d worry about any woman or child in their circle. I sure hope the kids who were hanging around at the one party I attended have moved on,” Alexis said.

  Bailey didn’t think they had. She didn’t know who Alexis was talking about, but especially now that Donovan was back, the girls were probably spending more time with whoever was left in the gang to try to get closer to him. Just as she’d done when she was in high school. She shivered in revulsion, wishing she could turn back time. Wished she’d listened to her pa when he’d tried to tell her Donovan was bad news.

  As if he could read her thoughts, Nathan moved to put his arm around her shoulders and stated firmly, “Bailey needs to get going. It’s been a long day, and I’m sure she has stuff to do.”

  “Right,” Alexis said. “But I need your number,” she said without artifice. “I need to be able to get ahold of you to let you know when Grace goes into labor so you can join us at the hospital.”

  Bailey startled at the other woman’s plain statement. She’d spent quite a bit of time talking with Grace, apologizing for Donovan’s role in what happened to her. She knew she wasn’t responsible for it, but since she had been dating Donovan at the time, she kinda thought she should’ve been able to talk him out of it. Grace refused to accept her apology, saying Bailey had nothing to do with it, and changed the subject to how much she wanted the babies out of her body once and for all. Bailey didn’t think she’d ever be invited into their inner circle and to the hospital when Grace did give birth.

  “Sure,” she stammered and recited it to Alexis, who whipped out her phone and keyed in the number.

  “I’m sending a text, so you’ll know it’s me,” she said definitively. “And I hope Nathan told you that he’s text-averse.”

  Bailey looked up at Nathan in time to see him roll his eyes at the other woman.

  “He did,” Bailey confirmed.

  “It’s ridiculous. It’s so much easier to send a text than call, but he refuses.”

  “I just like hearing your voice,” Nathan told Alexis with a smirk.

  This time, Alexis rolled her eyes. “Whatever. You do not. You just like to be a pain. You ready to go, Blake?”

  “Sure. You say ’bye to Joel?”

  “Yup. He’s checking out the new This Is War game Nathan got him. I should warn you, Bailey, he’s been jonesing to play it all afternoon.”

  “Got it. He’s been good today, so he’s earned some game time,” Bailey told her honestly.

  Blake gave his brother a chin lift and asked, “See you tomorrow?”

  “Yeah. T
en?”

  “That’s the plan,” Blake confirmed before shifting Alexis in his hold until his arm was over her shoulder, much as Nathan’s was over Bailey’s body, and the two walked toward the parking lot.

  Bailey watched as Alexis wrapped her one arm around Blake’s waist and the other around his stomach and held on as they walked. It was cute and snuggly, and if asked, she would’ve sworn a man who looked like Blake never would’ve stood for it. Although her experiences with men and women were obviously warped. If she’d tried to show any kind of display of affection to Donovan in public, even holding his hand, he would’ve smacked the shit out of her and said that she was ruining his “street cred.” Whatever that was.

  She thought about that as Nathan led them the rest of the way to the shelter. He still had his arm around her shoulder, and didn’t seem to care one bit about how it looked or what anyone else might think.

  “Bail!” Joel enthused when she got within earshot. “This game is so cool! It’s got a team-player mode where you can go online and play with five other people and you’re a team of Delta Force operatives and you have to go to Iraq and rescue a hostage guy who is another Delta and is hurt. His arm gets blown off and you have to figure out how to make sure he doesn’t bleed to death and rescue him and not get shot and find your way out of the country all at the same time. I can’t wait to play it!”

  “Well, you’re gonna have to wait until we get home,” Bailey told him with a laugh. “Think you can last that long?”

  “I guess,” he answered sulkily.

  “How about taking a box down to the car?” Bailey suggested.

  Joel opened his mouth to respond, but Nathan beat him to it.

  “Why don’t you sit and relax for a second, Bailey, while us men do the heavy lifting?” Nathan suggested, steering her to a picnic table.

  “Oh, but I—”

  “Sit, Bailey,” he insisted, interrupting whatever protest she was going to say. “We’ve got this. Right, Joel?”

  Joel paused a moment, clearly torn between examining the rest of his presents and doing manual labor, but his desire to impress Nathan won out. He nodded. “Yeah, we got this. You worked hard today, Bailey. Thank you.”