Veils: A Killers Novel, Book 4

by Asher, Brynne

  I look to my side where Asa has Gracie around the waist and is holding Maya behind him. Even though I know without a doubt he’d never hurt her, I glare at him. “Get your fucking hands off her.”

  Asa immediately lets Gracie go and both women move. The woman who has reduced me into a pussy-whipped fool—and I’m not even upset about it—puts her hand to my face. I look into her troubled blue eyes and wonder how pissed she’s going to be that I didn’t go with her plan to inform Grady about us herself. But I couldn’t stand here and let someone else try to take care of her, even if it is her brother.

  Her expression turns hard, her mouth set into a frown I’ve never seen. Then she turns and girl-slaps Grady in the chest. “What in the hell is wrong with you?”

  Crew steps in between all of us. “Everyone needs to calm down.”

  Maya looks to Gracie and her voice goes soft. “He was so worried about you. Sick with it. Give him some slack.”

  “I don’t need any slack.” Grady looks from his wife to his sister. “You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into. You don’t understand.”

  “What?” Gracie asks, squaring off with her brother. “That you all kill people for a living?”

  Crew: Whoa.

  Asa: A little louder.

  Grady: Shit.

  Maya: Oh, my.

  I pull her back to my front and dip my lips to her ear. “We don’t talk about that … anywhere.”

  “Sorry.” Gracie exhales. “Needless to say, I understand everything.”

  “Enough of this shit.” Crew puts an end to everything and looks at me. “Is your car here?”

  “Yes.”

  Crew looks around. “Get back to camp. I want the men in the dining room as soon as we get back. Gracie, I’m glad you’re back in one piece.” He shakes his head and sighs. “Go wherever you’re going to go and get settled. We’ve got shit to do.”

  Grady must have a thicker skull than I gave him credit for because he looks at his sister, demanding, “Let’s go. I’ve got your suitcase back at our house.”

  My hand flexes on her hip and I shouldn’t put her in the position to choose between her brother and anyone. I need to talk to Grady and there’s no reason for me to come between them. But, fuck. I haven’t been more than ten feet from her since I found her. I know I’m going to have to let that go but not yet. “I’ve got her. I’ll drop her off at your house to hang with Maya then be at the meeting.”

  “Gracie—” Grady starts.

  “I’m not arguing with—” Gracie starts.

  “I said enough,” Crew finishes it and looks at Gracie and me. “Customs is waiting for you in the building. Grady explained how you lost your passport—they’ve already started that paperwork. Let’s all keep our fucking mouths shut long enough to get home.”

  I take her hand and we move to the building when I hear from behind us, “You know, you two have matching black eyes now.”

  Grady and I both turn to glare at Asa.

  “Your honeymoon is over, old man. Don’t be so fucking chipper,” Grady mutters.

  I turn back to the building and ignore them all even though Asa keeps talking with a laugh laced through his voice. “I don’t know. Looks like another honeymoon is going strong.”

  “This is reality,” Grady growls. “There’s no fucking honeymoon.”

  I touch my swelling eye and think he couldn’t be further from the truth.

  Chapter 22

  Lose His Shit

  Gracie

  Noah takes my face in his hands and his mouth hits mine, cut lip and all.

  It took us longer than usual to get through customs. At least that’s what Noah told me. I’ve never been through customs at a small airstrip when they come to you because you’re fancy as fuck, traveling in a private jet.

  My lost passport—that’s going to be a pain in the ass. Though, I’m not sure why I’m worried, it’s not like I’m going anywhere anytime soon.

  The rest of them headed back to the countryside—Grady infuriated, as Maya had to talk him into leaving me with Noah.

  “I’ll be back as soon as this meeting is over,” he breathes against my lips.

  “I’ve got to call the hospital—I know Grady already did but I was only supposed to be gone for two weeks. They’re short staffed as it is.” I look out to the landscape to contemplate my situation. “I’m just glad my sisters aren’t here. They’re the female version of Grady, times three.”

  He leans a hand high on the door jamb where we’re standing on Grady and Maya’s large front porch that spans the length of the house. “I wasn’t kidding earlier—I’m not sleeping away from you tonight.”

  I grip his shirt and pull him to me. “I’m not sure Grady is ready for that. Especially since you didn’t go along with my plan.”

  “I might’ve been a patient man for the last week, but I can only be pushed so far. I don’t give a shit what Grady thinks—I only care about you.”

  Pressing up on my toes, I kiss him and wonder what the hell is wrong with me. I’ve allowed my reality to rule my life for years and now, here I am, kicking everything and everyone to the side for Noah Jarvis. I just can’t help it.

  He pushes me into the door and deepens our kiss, but it only lasts mere moments. Noah catches me around the back so I don’t fall into the house when the door opens behind me.

  I look over my shoulder as Noah holds me close. Maya is standing there with a coy smile plastered on her pretty face. She holds up her phone and there’s a live stream of us standing here on her porch. Shit. I didn’t think twice about the cameras.

  Maya looks to the man who hasn’t let me go. “Grady left a little bit ago and is waiting at Crew’s, Noah.”

  Noah looks back to me. “You’ll be okay?”

  “Oh, she’ll be fine.” Maya reaches for my hand and pulls. “I’ll take care of Gracie. I just ask that you don’t spar with my husband. You guys hitting the mat with the recruits is bad enough. I don’t want you kicking each other’s asses when you’re really pissed. What happened at the airport was bad enough. Crew promised me he wouldn’t let it happen again, Noah.” She looks to me. “But your brother is still upset. There’s only so much I can do to calm him.”

  Noah turns me back to him and puts his lips on my forehead. “I don’t know how long this will take, but I’ll be back.”

  “Come on.” Maya smiles. “I even bought your favorite junk food.”

  Wow. That’s a big deal since Maya is a clean-eating, health freak. But I doubt she got anything good since her idea of junk food is non-organic peanut butter.

  I turn back to Noah. “Grady is a pain in the ass right now but he’ll come around.”

  His dark eyes drag over my face. “I don’t give a shit about Grady. I’m only worried about you.”

  “Noah, Noah, Noah,” Maya sing-songs with a smile. “Not only do you have a new name, you also have a side I’ve never seen. I like it. But you’d better get across the street to your meeting. Trust me, I’ll take good care of her.”

  He gives my hand a squeeze and I step away before he gives me one more look, full of regret. Then, he’s gone.

  I follow Maya through their large home and into their kitchen and great room that looks out over a pool and the rolling Virginia mountains. Grady bought this place right across the street from Crew’s land and Addy’s vineyard before he and Maya were even married. It was a horse farm and their house, which feels like a mansion to me, sits at the center. They don’t have animals but they do have privacy and they’re close to Crew. Asa and Keelie are only ten minutes away on their own piece of land.

  I never thought about it before, why my brother and his friends, who are also his co-workers, have planted themselves in the middle of nowhere. I just assumed it was because they could afford to. But they did what Noah does now.

  “The kids are still napping but they’ll be up soon.”

  I find myself staring out the back windows at nothing and turn to the kitchen. “I
can’t wait to see them.”

  Maya keeps talking from where she’s disappeared in the pantry. “You’re quiet and you’re never quiet. I get it, after what happened.” She materializes and I hear nothing but crinkling plastic and wrappers. Color me shocked. She’s holding packages of double-stuffed Oreos, Twix, pizza flavored Goldfish, and my mouth waters instantly when I see the bag of salt and vinegar chips. I hope my cut lip is healed enough where it doesn’t sting. She tosses them on the massive island. “You deserve comfort food but you know I’ll cringe when my kids stuff their mouths with this stuff.”

  I don’t tell her that Twix bars will never be the same after experiencing the chocolate in Brussels. I know it was probably painful for her to even put this stuff in her cart at the grocery store.

  I move to the island and rip open the bag of chips. We snacked on the plane but I haven’t had a meal since we left the apartment this morning in Paris.

  She turns toward the fridge and pulls out a Diet Dr. Pepper and pops it open before setting it in front of me.

  “Wow,” I mutter around my chip. “You really pushed your boundaries for me. Thank you.”

  “I’m buttering you up so you’ll talk. Before the drama at the airport, I planned on getting you to talk to me about what happened in Istanbul. I still want to know about that, but I want to know what’s going on with Jarvis. You’ve evidently turned him into this Noah that no one has ever seen before.”

  I say nothing and stuff another chip in my mouth like it’s my last supper.

  “Because I’ve never seen him like he was today. Ever,” she stresses as if never isn’t a strong enough word on its own. “You were together before you left for Africa?”

  I love Maya. I have from the first day I laid eyes on her and Grady together. She loves my brother and he’s happier than I’ve ever seen him. I’d love her for that alone but she’s just as amazing in her own right. I’d normally tell her anything and everything. She knows all there is to know about me as I’ve come to spend all my extra time here with Grady and his growing family. But after today, I’m not sure if I should share.

  I tip my head. “How much will you tell your husband? I knew he wouldn’t be thrilled but I didn’t expect violence. Grady needs to chill and he can’t do that if you fuel his fire.”

  Maya defies her own strict nutritional habits and steals a chip from me. “I can’t promise I’ll never tell him but don’t worry. He needs time to adjust. He’s just worried about you.”

  “He can work on expressing his emotions in different ways—like burying it and keeping his opinions to himself.”

  She takes a drink of her water and reaches for my hand. “We talked all the way home. You have to understand where he’s coming from. There’s nothing he wants more than for you to be happy but he doesn’t want this life for you.”

  I look around us before rolling my eyes. “Yeah, your life sucks. You should feel really bad about yourself and maybe work on that.”

  She stands up straight and rips open the Oreos, as if that’s going to get me to agree with her. I can’t lie, it would have worked when I was five. “You understand what Jarvis does? What all the men do who work for Crew? Even what your brother did before I met him?”

  I nod. “Noah didn’t give me all the gory details but yes. I also know what he had to do to save me.”

  “But you don’t know all that goes into it. The time away, the danger, the risk.” She puts her elbows on the counter to lean in and lowers her voice. “Grady is retired. So are Crew and Asa. It’s different. I don’t say goodbye to your brother and wonder if he’ll come home to me. To our children—if he’ll leave them fatherless because he’s hunting terrorists and rebels and who knows what other evil that lurks out there in the world.”

  I put my drink down and look out to the countryside.

  “Gracie,” she calls for me.

  I bite my lip and sigh before looking back at her. “Then it’s good I only have me to worry about, right?”

  Maya’s face falls. “That’s not what I meant. I meant Grady doesn’t want you to live out the next however many years Jarvis has left, waiting at home alone.”

  “It’s okay. I know what you meant.”

  “How long have you two been together?”

  “Not long. We met at Asa and Keelie’s reception.” I admit. “Barely enough to be together.”

  She almost sounds relieved. “So, you’re still getting to know each other.”

  I narrow my eyes. “Should I remind you that Grady put a ring on your finger in less time than I’ve known Noah? I don’t know why I’m telling you any of this. I thought you of all people would understand.”

  “I do understand, Gracie—truly, I do. And if this is what you want, I’m happy for you. Jarvis is a good guy. Why do you think I was able to keep Grady from going to Paris? He trusts Jarvis completely, which is why your brother feels betrayed. He’s worried you were taken advantage of.”

  A laugh bursts from my lips and it’s the most non-humorous noise my lungs have ever created. “Well, if that isn’t insulting, I don’t know what is. I’m not sixteen and need saving from the baddest boy in school.”

  She runs her hands through her hair, exasperated. “This is all coming out wrong. I’m sorry. I’m just trying to help you understand where Grady is coming from.”

  “I know my brother well. He’d be like this if I were dating a computer-programmer introvert who never left his basement. Trust me, I tried to put Noah off after our first night—like I’ve done with every other person I’ve met in the last few years. But he wouldn’t have it and you know what? I’m happy and I’m trying to focus on that and nothing else because when we’re together, nothing else matters.”

  “So he knows?”

  I sit back in my barstool and cross my arms. “It’s complicated.”

  Her eyes settle into something between sorrow and understanding. I hate both. “I suppose it is.”

  “Look. When it comes right down to it, I don’t give a shit what Grady or anyone else thinks of us, we’re going to do whatever this is our own way. And as much as I appreciate your concern, I don’t need it. But I do need your advice since you’re a part of this secret world I’ve been kept out of all this time.”

  She smiles and almost looks relieved that I’ve pressed on to a different topic. “Of course.”

  “Something happened,” I start and look down at my cuticles that need a lot of love after the last three weeks. “Something I haven’t told Noah.”

  I look up and her brows are pinched.

  I lick my lips, hesitating before I go on. “Something I probably should tell him but I don’t want to. Maya, I think he’s going to lose his shit and I don’t want him to. Not over me.”

  She crosses her arms and leans her narrow hip against the marble counter. “Well, now you have to tell me.”

  * * *

  Jarvis

  “I’ll find him myself,” I demand. “Give me a day—he’ll be strapped to a chair in the barn and we can get to the bottom of this shit.”

  Calvin Prosk continues to be a pain in my ass and we need to make him stop. I’ve got so much pent up energy after Grady came at me, I need to direct it somewhere and I’m ready to do whatever needed to get this guy off my ass.

  “He’s not the same one who approached my father. I asked him to ID Prosk and it wasn’t him.”

  “You’ve got two on your tail now?” Asa asks.

  “Nice. And you’ve been carting my sister all over the world.” Grady is standing on the opposite side of the room as me with Crew and Asa strategically placed between us. I was the last to arrive and the chess board was set when I got here. I’m not sure who Crew and Asa think they need to control more because as this meeting goes on, I regret not taking a shot at Grady when I had the chance to claim it as self-defense. My friend has turned into a billboard for a class-A asshole, roided up on the ass part.

  “Gracie was perfectly safe when she was with me and I’ll continue to
make sure that’s the case.”

  Crew ignores us both. “No one ever catches wind of us—the two have to be connected. Let’s get Prosk in and see what he has to say.” I’m about to agree but Crew points at me and shakes his head. “You are not on this. In fact, you stay at the compound and lie low. I have a newborn daughter I want to bond with—I don’t even want to be here right now, let alone out looking for this asshole. Prosk knows Asa, so he’s out. I’m sending Ozzie. He’s got that friendly thing going for him and since we’re doing this on our own territory, we’ll need it.”

  “What about me?” Grady growls.

  Crew stands and glares at Grady but points to me. “You and Jarvis need to work this shit out. I have too much money invested in him, not to mention this is a fucking family and we don’t do what you did today. You lay a hand on my employee again, you’ll answer to me.” Then Crew looks to me, and if possible, his glare turns darker, sharper, and more venomous. “I’ve known Gracie Cain since she was twelve. If you even think about fucking her over, I’ll maim you myself, but do it in a way you can still work. Got it?”

  “If this isn’t a shitshow, I don’t know what is,” Asa mutters.

  “Shut the fuck up, Uncle Asa,” Grady chides.

  “Great, I’m the uncle in Crew’s fucked-up family.”

  Grady’s phone rings and he puts it to his ear.

  Crew keeps managing the crisis I’ve created. “I’ll give Ozzie his orders and then I’m going home to Addison and the girls.”

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” Grady says into the phone but his eyes shoot around the room to each of us. “Yeah. Okay. We’ll be right there.”