Veils: A Killers Novel, Book 4

by Asher, Brynne

  “It’s really okay—”

  I move again and she’s on her back in no time, my hand framing her face to make sure she looks me in the eyes because this is important. “I’m not going to lie, when you came on to me at the reception, I knew where the night was going and I was all in. You turning out to be my friend’s sister had not one thing to do with me wanting more and wanting to know you beyond your body.”

  Her blues narrow into slits and she frowns. “I did not come on to you, Jarvis.”

  “You did and you know it, but that’s beside the point.” She opens her mouth to argue but I press the pad of my thumb to her lips and drink up her blue-eyed glare because at this point, I’m fucked—I’ll take pretty much whatever she gives me. “By the look on your face, I can’t imagine what’s going on in your head. Didn’t think your story could cut me any deeper, baby, but I’ve got to be honest—I’m in deep. Now is not the time for promises. I’ll save those for when we aren’t sporting matching bruises or hiding away from an Irish mobster. What I can tell you right now is that nothing you tell me is going to change the way I feel. I dare you, throw more shit at me and see what happens. I might not like it but I’ll be right here to catch it all.”

  It’s small—minute, even—but something in her eyes shifts and her bottom lip trembles once. I might’ve missed it had she not been my only focus.

  “Don’t say that,” she whispers. “Please don’t.”

  “What?” I ask. “The truth?”

  “Noah.” My name is strangled as it passes those lips and this time the tremor is not only visible—but I can hear it.

  I lean down to taste that lip I’ve come to obsess over and lower my tone to match hers. “There’s a lot of roads to happy, Lover. We’ve hit every pothole so far, why stop now?”

  “Shut up.” Her words are as muddled as her blue eyes—glassed over and stormy.

  I shake my head. “I’ll plow a new road if I have to because I’m sure as hell not walking away, and if you think you are, you’d better adjust your plans. I don’t even know what to expect tomorrow but when the sun goes down, we’ll be right here, together, figuring shit out and making our way.”

  I watch the tears fall down the sides of her face—across the bruises and almost-healed cuts.

  “She cries.” I lean down to kiss her and this time she yields, her sweet lips moving with mine as she wraps her arms and legs around me so tight, I could lie here forever.

  She shakes her head. “I never cry.”

  I tip my forehead to hers. “Not sure how I feel about being the one to make you shed tears then.”

  She brings her hands to my jaw and cups my face. “I know for a fact I’ve never been this happy. I’ve never had a reason to be.”

  I lean in to kiss her before saying, “Then I’ll make it my mission to make you cry more often.”

  Something between a sob and a laugh bursts from her lips and her tears come harder. “Stop it, Jarvis.”

  “No way, Grace.” I roll us to our sides and pull her naked leg over my hip and run my hand up to her ass. “If they’re happy tears, then you’d better hydrate because I’ve got plans.”

  She presses her face into my neck. “Please, stop.”

  I tilt her face to mine. “Do you have any other secrets you’re holding onto while waiting for me to make grand gestures?”

  She shakes her tear-streaked face. “No. That’s all I’ve got.”

  I press my lips to her forehead. “Good. Don’t ever hide anything from me. It’s time to yank off that veil because I want all of you.”

  She doesn’t say another word. I run my hand up and down her bare back until her tears dry on my chest and her body sinks into mine.

  I wasn’t lying about the plans, which is new for me. I normally think on my feet, on the fly, and by instinct—which is what I just did. But not anymore.

  And I wasn’t lying when I said no one else is going to be right here but me, either.

  So while she sleeps, I do what’s become new to me recently. I think about a future … our future.

  Chapter 29

  All Mine

  Jarvis

  “You’re sure?”

  “Sending you the pic Donnelly sent me. If you think she can handle it, have Gracie ID him. I’d rather her do it than have you send it to your dad. You’ve already got an uncomfortable conversation ahead of you, no need to add to it by having him ID a dead body.”

  I enter the small bedroom where Gracie is getting dressed after our shower. I don’t even pretend to look away as she slips a tiny pair of panties up the very same legs that were just wrapped around my waist while I fucked her only minutes ago. She smirks as she pulls one of my T-shirts over her wet-haired head and walks over to me. She gives the towel wrapped around my hips a tug as she presses her lips to my pec, scooting by me on her way to get coffee.

  This place was meant for single occupancy—there’s barely enough room to turn around in here. Not that I mind. I have no plans on allowing Gracie Cain any personal space for as long as I can swing it. But we can’t stay here forever. And she’s got a job she loves in Ohio that I secretly hate and want her to quit. I also know I’m going to have to leave her when I get my next assignment. How big of a selfish asshole would I be if I asked her to quit and stay here where I knew Grady would look after her while I’m gone?

  Probably a big fat one. And still, I want it bad enough, I’m not sure I care.

  I need to figure out our next step and make that happen—fast. I’ve eaten into at least two weeks of the time Crew insisted I take off and I know there won’t be much more before I’m gone again.

  I can’t lie. Doing what I do, knowing she’s here waiting for me, has caused me so many sleepless hours, I don’t even want to count. I’ve been working for Crew for years, but not long enough to ask him to get out. I could offer to buy my way out and I thought long and hard on it. Crew likes me but I know I’m an asset he invested in and planned on profiting from for at least a few more years. He can’t replace one of us on a whim.

  All shit for me to figure out and not a lot of time to do it in. This doesn’t even touch on my finding out I have a half-brother. But I will say, O’Dowd disappearing from the face of the earth just made my life a hell of a lot easier.

  I also know in my gut that after everything Gracie has been through, she won’t even blink at ID’ing a dead guy’s mug shot—especially one who did what he did to her. “I’ll confirm with Gracie. She’ll be fine. I’m not opening that can with my father.”

  “I figured she would be, that’s why I called you instead of Grady. He wouldn’t give the green light for that,” Crew says.

  “We’re headed over there soon. Gracie wants time with her brother and I planned on coming to you. I need to talk.”

  “I bet you do.” He knows but I can also hear it in his tone that he’s not pissed—he’s matter-of-fact, just like Crew always is about work. “Feel free to find me. I’ll be on the course with the men or in the barn on the mat.”

  “Sounds good. I’ll let you know what Gracie says and see you soon.”

  I hang up and throw on a pair of shorts. After I pour myself a cup, I move to the front door.

  When I sit down next to her on the front steps, I decide I need to start looking at real estate sooner rather than later. I need something with a view and some outdoor furniture. We might not be able to look at the Eiffel Tower but we can look out at something. Gracie likes to sit outside.

  “You’re going to have to wear something besides my tee to go see your brother so he doesn’t come at me again.”

  She throws me a small smile. Her eyes are still swollen from crying herself to sleep last night. “Yeah, I don’t need to poke the bear. Grady will come around even if he has to fake it. He’ll do it for me even though he won’t want to.” She leans her head on my shoulder and sighs. “Then he’ll see. I’m not worried about it.”

  “You worried about something else?”

  She gives
me her eyes and I believe her when she says, “No. Oddly enough, I’m not.”

  I unlock my phone. “You’re a nurse which means you’re used to seeing dead people, right?”

  She sits up and looks at me like I’ve got three heads. “I’m in the business of keeping people alive, Jarvis. I hope I don’t ever get used to seeing dead people.”

  I pull up the picture Crew sent me. “You know what I mean. I need you to ID someone and that someone is dead. Can you handle it?”

  “ID who?”

  I hold my phone up. “Is that him?”

  “Oh, shit,” she murmurs. Her eyes widen as she stares at the picture on my phone. I watch something pass over her features and I can’t tell if she’s relieved or mortified. “Yes. That’s him. Who did that?”

  “Not me and I’m not happy about it. I had plans for him and it was not going to be quick or painless.”

  She looks away from my phone and leans her body into mine again. “I’m glad it wasn’t you because that meant you were here with me.”

  I text Crew to confirm the dead guy is O’Dowd before I put my phone away and wrap my arm around her. “Now we can get on with things.”

  She sips her coffee. “What could possibly come next? Honestly, I’m afraid to ask.”

  “I’ve got a meeting with Crew while you hang with your brother. And, it’s the Fourth of July.” I can’t even believe I’m going to suggest what I am, but I need to get this shit done. Calvin Prosk has texted me twice already this morning wanting to set up a time to talk. I keep putting him off because I need to confront my fucking father first. “O’Dowd’s dead and we don’t have to stay holed up. My parents have a thing every year. It’s big and obnoxious and annoying but it would be a good time for me to get my dad alone.” I look down at her. “And you could meet my mom.”

  Gracie turns and her swollen eyes brighten up. “Really?”

  “Yeah. They live in Annapolis on Chesapeake Bay. Food, drinks, fireworks over the water from a barge—it’s a whole thing.”

  “That sounds like fun.”

  “It’s not, trust me. It’s a pain in my ass.”

  She tips her head and the breeze blows her drying hair into her face. She tucks it behind her ear and smiles. “Are you always so anti-social?”

  “Only when it comes to my father.”

  She hikes a brow and bites back a smile.

  I haul her back into my side and look out to Addy’s property. “Fine. When it comes to most people. But not you. I’ll be social with you all day long.”

  Her soft laugh laces with the sounds of the forest and I realize I’m not the only one ripping off those veils. She’s figuring me out, layer by layer.

  It does not suck.

  * * *

  Gracie

  “I want you to have a normal, happy life. Not this, and especially not with someone who’s still in the game. Has he even told you what that means?”

  Now that everyone I know in Virginia isn’t sequestered like they’ve been subjected to some foreign bacteria with no antidote, Maya took the kids out. I have no idea where they went and I’m sure it was just so my brother could interrogate me.

  I don’t turn to look at him but stay where I am, staring out the back windows of his house so I don’t have to see the frustration I’ve caused. “No, he hasn’t.”

  “Shit,” he hisses and I was wrong. This isn’t an interrogation. This is an info dump and has been since I got here. The goal: to convince me the last month didn’t happen and for me to go back to my normal, lonely life. Which only reminds me of Moose—my poor cat. He’ll surely disown me. “If he’s so damn set on laying claim to you, he needs to make sure you understand.”

  “Pretty sure I understand after what happened in Istanbul.”

  His tone turns to granite. “That’s not funny.”

  I turn to look at my big brother who’s always been larger than life to me and who I knew would do anything, drop everything, and move mountains for me, because he has. But this is one time in my life when he’s just wrong and he’s not going to get his way. “I know, I was there—it wasn’t the least bit funny.”

  He takes a step toward me. “You know what I mean. He’s not done working, he hasn’t put in his time. I know the gig. I was lucky Crew dragged my ass out when he did or else I’d be dead.”

  I flinch at his words.

  “Yeah,” he confirms. “You and the girls didn’t know because I couldn’t tell you. But the hard patch I was going through when you were dealing with your own shit? Yeah, it was a million times worse than you knew. I was wound tight and was stupid. I was probably a few minutes to being chopped into a million pieces when Crew saved my ass.” His gaze on me intensifies even when he points to the floor. “I wouldn’t have Maya, the kids, or this life.”

  I cross my arms and ingest everything he’s throwing at me, because it’s a lot. I knew it was bad but had no idea how severe it was. “I’m sorry.”

  He lowers his voice. “I don’t want you to be sorry, Gracie. I love you. I just don’t want you to put yourself in a position to get hurt. You’ve endured enough. You need simple. Not some soldier of fortune who leaves you alone for months.”

  “So I should be alone forever instead?”

  “Dammit.” He pulls a hand through his hair that’s just as thick and dark as mine. “You’re not listening to reason.”

  I ignore his negativity, his questions, and every what-if he throws at my feet. I close the distance between us and walk right into his arms, wrapping mine around his waist and holding on tight. “I love you, Grady, but you need to stop.”

  He returns my embrace. “You haven’t known him long. Does he even love you?”

  My answer comes quick and with all my heart. “I don’t know and it doesn’t matter. He wants me and I know for a fact if I had to walk away from him, I’d feel a pain I’ve never felt before. And that’s saying something. He knows everything there is to know about me.” Grady’s expression tightens with guilt so heavy I feel it. I want to rip it away from him. He’s too good for it and he doesn’t deserve it. I give him a squeeze and reiterate, “Everything. I don’t know what will happen next week … tomorrow—no one does. But right now, I want him. And I’ve never allowed myself to want anyone. Be happy for me, please. I don’t know what I’ll do if you’re not.”

  He sighs and pulls me in, holding me tighter than I think he ever has. “I’ll always be here for you, Gracie.”

  “I know you will. But you can’t hit him anymore. I won’t allow it.”

  He huffs a laugh and kisses the top of my head. “Okay. I don’t need you and Crew on my ass about that. You know this is going to take some time for me to get used to—my baby sister being with someone, and that someone being just like me.”

  I pull back and look up to him and smile. “I’m expecting you to fake it and I’m not even kidding.”

  “He’d better take care of you,” Grady demands.

  I roll my eyes. “I normally don’t need to be taken care of.”

  “Exactly.”

  I give him a playful punch to his abs. “I don’t even know what that means and I don’t care because I’m done talking about this.”

  “If he breaks your heart—”

  “Enough! Can you take me back to the bungalow? I need to get ready for tonight. Noah had a meeting with Crew and I don’t want to interrupt.”

  “Noah.” Grady shakes his head. “He’s so not a Noah.”

  I smile at my brother and tell him something about the man I laid my soul bare to last night, the man I’m falling deeper and deeper for with every breath. “The rest of you can have Jarvis. Noah is all mine.”

  Chapter 30

  Ferocity

  Gracie

  “You’re sure I look okay? I had no idea what to wear. Maya and Addy are so much taller than me. I should’ve asked Keelie if I could borrow a sundress, dammit. Why didn’t I think of that?”

  It’s late and Noah said the party has probably bee
n going most of the day. But he didn’t want to get caught having to stay forever, so he said we’ll make a late appearance, get this shit done, and get out. He reaches over, takes my hand, and pulls it to his lips. “You look perfect.”

  I didn’t have anything remotely nice enough to wear to meet the parents. The whole time I was in Uganda, I lived in scrubs or a pair of cut-off shorts and T-shirts. I’m in my nicest pair of shorts—and by nice, I mean they aren’t frayed or full of holes—and a halter that ties around my neck that I stole from Maya. I had to cinch it up as tight as I could since it’s still a little big on me. Not what I would have chosen had my entire closet been available.

  “I know we touched on this earlier but I really need to get back to Ohio. My cat has been without me for too long. He doesn’t like my sister, and quite honestly, I don’t think he’ll like me anymore after abandoning him. I’ve got to get back to work next week, and after my conversation today with Grady, I’m sure you’re going to have to get back to it, too.”

  He doesn’t take his eyes off the highway while we’re speeding past everyone. I know he got through airport security with no issue, but defying a radar? I don’t know how he’s going to manage that.

  Tonight, we’re in a shiny new black Porsche 911 with red accents. I know for a fact it’s new because it still has temporary tags and it smells like the finest leather and the factory floor. When I asked him how many cars he owned, he assured me this completed his collection, besides an old Harley that he’s rebuilding on his own. And by old, I mean older than me.

  “Let’s get through the night and we’ll talk about that later. My meeting with Crew was interesting.” He changes lanes and looks over at me. “We’re almost there so I don’t want to get into it. I’ll fill you in on the way home.”

  Well, now. If that isn’t a cliffhanger, I don’t know what is. But if I can’t know it all, I’ll wait. Instead, I search for my lip gloss to pass the time.