Fever

by Carnal, MJ

  When Greg called me yesterday to have a chat, he explained that his girl was in trouble. And not the kind of trouble a girl needs to be in. I didn’t have the time yesterday to sit down and get the details, being in the middle of moving across the country and setting up shop with Greg; things are insane. I had finally handed over the West Coast operations of Corps Security just a few days ago, quickly jumping in my truck and heading east. I had bought my house quickly and we had just signed the lease on the new office space. Now all that is left is getting set up with Greg and becoming familiar with his case load. There is an endless backlog of people requesting consultations for investigative work. Luckily it hasn’t taken much to convince Locke, Beck, and Coop to pick up and start over in Georgia with me.

  During our quick meeting yesterday, he filled me in on the very hazy issue. He had a good friend escaping a bad marriage. How bad, I don’t yet know. She has been living here for about two years and during the last six months has been having a back and forth battle for divorce. The bastard doesn’t want to let go. Greg said that it hasn’t been a big issue until yesterday when she got a fuckedup picture in the mail. He explained it to me. The ex sounds like one sick fuck and enough of a threat for me to tell him to set something up.

  He didn’t tell me her whole name; he called her Iz. I remember snorting humorlessly at the name yesterday. But yesterday, the last thing I thought was that Iz could possibly be one and the same, Isabelle West.

  I’ve known Greg for close to a decade now. I still remember a few years ago when he called up, telling us he had to run to North Carolina and be some white fucking knight. I don’t remember the details, even though I wish to fuck I did. I just remember him going radio silent for almost a month after.

  He has always talked about his two girls here in Georgia. The guys and I have been giving him a hard time for a while now about handing over his nuts since he liked hanging with pussy so much. He has always spoken about these two chicks like they are fucking queens, goddamn Mother fucking Teresas. I honestly don’t think I have ever heard him say a negative thing about either one of them.

  Such bullshit. This little scrap of female is blocking the club owner’s office door like she would take out any threat that tried to get through her to try and reach Isabelle. Where the hell is the small sprite Greg said radiated glee like a fucking fairy?

  “FUCK!” I roared. “Get out of my goddamn way, woman.” How does this tiny, one-woman circus think she is going to fucking keep me from breaking that door into splinters? I look over at Coop and Beck; they seem just as confused as I am about this whole standoff. Jesus, I am getting in that damn office, even if I have to physically remove this woman from my path. I’m tired of playing nice. I might not have a mother, but even I know to respect women; this one though would try the patience of a fucking saint.

  Just when I am about to pick her up and remove her from my way, the door opens and out steps a red-faced, spitting-mad, Greg Cage.

  “You”—he points at my chest, getting right up in my fucking space—“get the fuck out of here. You might be bigger than I am, but when it comes to her, I will fucking kill you.”

  What. The. Fuck. The hell with that.

  “Who the fuck do you think you are, brother, telling me that I can’t speak to her?” I can feel the vibration of unshed violence rushing through my veins. Even with the small thought in the back of my head that I would do the same thing in his shoes, I still can’t calm myself.

  He takes a deep breath, looks me dead in the eyes, and spits out words that almost stop my heart.

  “If you don’t back the fuck off right fucking now, Iz will end up leaving here in the back of an ambulance…again.”

  The fuck? “What the hell are you talking about, Greg? Because it sure as fuck sounds like you’re talking in code.”

  Sighing deeply, I can tell how much this little toe-to-toe is costing him. “Look, Reid. You know I respect the hell out of you. You have been my brother for a fucking long-ass time, but Iz… She is not in a good place right now. Yesterday was hard enough, but Dee and I have managed to keep her chill. Fuck, even with the package from that sick fuck, she didn’t go this deep. You need to back the fuck off for now. If you want to speak to her, fine, but it will be on her terms, not when she is fighting every demon that owns her soul. Not tonight. You hear me good, Reid. I will talk to her and set something up, but not until you tell me just how you know my fucking girl.”

  “What do you mean your girl, G?”

  I must be acting like a fucking idiot, especially after all his long-winded bullshit. Greg is gaping at me like he is trying to find a solution for world peace or some shit like that. He holds my gaze for a long while, and I can practically see the gears turning at full steam.

  Finally, with an eerily neutral tone, he says, “Reid, just how long have you known Iz?” He might sound neutral, but his eyes seem to be silently communicating that if he doesn’t like my answer, there will be no talking with Izzy.

  I look down at my boots and reach up to rub my neck, trying to ease some of the tension out of my body. What a loaded question.

  “Why does it matter, G?”

  “Humor me, brother. Just fucking humor me. How long have you known her?”

  Straightening to my full six-foot-six height, trying to at least give myself that small advantage, I look down on him with a matching grim expression. What the hell is going on here? They are acting like Izzy is some wounded bird. No way in hell this is the same girl I knew.

  “I’ve known Isabelle for going on sixteen years, and twelve years ago, when I left home, I left my heart in her fucking palm. I haven’t seen or heard from her since,” I respond with a calm I do not feel. Not in the least.

  Greg’s eyes fire instantly, and after a moment of silence, he grunts, “Do not call her Isabelle. Ever.” Then he turns on his heel and leaves me standing in stunned silence with Beck’s, Coop’s, and Dee’s burning eyes on my back. With the exception of Dee, they seem just as confused and shocked as I am.

  What in the fuck?

  Looking around, I back up and plop my ass down on the hard floor, preparing to wait this out as long as it takes.

  I’ve been sitting out here in the hallway for what seems like hours. My ass is numb. Whether it’s from sitting here or the music thumping through the floor beneath me, I have no clue. I look down at my watch to see that it’s only been a half hour since Greg’s cryptic comment. What the fuck is going on in there? I don’t like this overwhelming feeling of helplessness; I haven’t felt this way in a long-ass time. I have no idea what is really going on here. I feel like I have some big-ass puzzle with one missing piece. One piece some little shit took and won’t give back.

  What happened to the seventeen-year-old, stars-in-her-eyes girl I left behind twelve years ago? Sure, she was sad I was taking off for basic training, but she knew I was coming back for her. We had plans, dreams, and a future all mapped out and ready to roll. Why is she acting like the wounded party here? She wasn’t the one who arrived home six months later, tired but elated to finally have his girl in his arms again only to find her gone. And she was gone, vanished into thin fucking air. There was not a single trail to lead me back to my girl.

  I remember the day I rolled back into our hometown of Dale, Georgia. I was so excited to finally get my arms around my girl. Things with the Marines had been intense, but I was home for a little while. I had a new family now, a band of brothers with an unbreakable bond. I couldn’t wait to bring Izzy into that fold, making my family complete.

  Basic training was nothing like I’d expected it to be. I’d known I would be the perfect candidate for the Marines when I signed up; I’d just never imagined excelling at such a rapid rate. Arriving one day, then the next being pulled into a conference room and being handed one hell of a life changer. I was good, damn fucking good, and they wanted me. Only problem was, like with most everything deep within the government, I wasn’t to tell a soul. Top secret to the highest deg
ree. I received my first letter from Izzy the same day, reminding me how hard it was going to be to go dark on my girl; she knew me though, and she knew what this gig meant to me. I wrote her one hell of a hearts-and-flowers letter and mailed it off the same day I left for special training, knowing it would have to see her through until I was home. When I finally got a call home, I had been gone for three long, hard months. I can still feel the shock I felt when the operator informed me that her number had been disconnected. With no one to ask, I just had to pray that my girl knew me and knew our love enough to be there when I came back to her. I couldn’t worry; I had to have my head about me. So with all the hope of a naïve teenage dreamer, I believed everything would be fine.

  Izzy and I, we were what some would call a fairytale, if you believed in that shit. I met her the first day of my sophomore year. She had been a scared little freshman, a fish completely out of the water and terrified out of her mind. But did she let it show? No, not my Izzy. She marched right into Dale High with her shoulders back and her head high. Her pale green eyes were trained right ahead, ready to take on the world. And I had taken one look and knew she would be mine. From that moment on, she was mine and I was hers.

  She came from a great family. Her parents were the kind a kid dreams of, accepting everyone and anyone, regardless of where they came from. They didn’t mind that their only child, their only daughter, had fallen in love with a foster kid from the wrong side of the tracks; she loved me, so they did too. I was shocked when I learned about their deaths. Adam and Holly West were amazing people, and I knew Izzy had to be feeling that deep.

  In my love-soaked mind, I still believed she was waiting; now I just wondered where that was. I knew she had some extended family, but no one seemed to know where they lived. And trust me, I asked. All of her friends just said that she had been devastated; when they had spoken to her at the service for her parents, she’d been silent. They said that she had turned completely into herself, like a zombie. She’d just sat there and looked off into space. That killed me more than anything, knowing she had been hurting and alone.

  I became frantic in my search. I had just a little time before I had to return to training. The only thing I was able to find out was that she was in North Carolina, or South Carolina, living with her mom’s parents. Only problem was, no one knew her mother’s maiden name. With no more answers and my time back home gone, I headed back to base, confused but still determined to find her.

  I didn’t catch a break for four long years. I had pulled every string I had, and every penny I didn’t, to find her. When I got the news, I felt like I had been shot straight through the fucking heart.

  Married.

  My girl was married.

  Isabelle West-Hunter had been married just four months earlier. My info was light, but I was assured that she looked happy and healthy.

  From that point on, my heart was completely closed to anyone. Locked in a fireproof safe and sunk to the deepest depths in my body. I wouldn’t make that mistake again. No one would be making me a fool for caring, especially not a bitch like Isabelle West.

  Chapter 6

  At some point I must have fallen asleep against Maddox; his arms haven’t let up their strong hold. I woke up about ten minutes ago when Greg came storming back in the office; he hasn’t stopped pacing since. What is going on now?

  I know we are still at Carnal. I can hear a faint thump of the bass coming up from the floor below us. The buzz I was enjoying is long gone, packed off and headed to Mexico with a one-way ticket.

  Maddox is a quiet man. He keeps his soothing humming and vise grip, but the quiet is what I need. He isn’t forcing me to talk, even though I know he must have questions. He has to think I am certifiable. One second I am smiling and the next fainting at his feet. As far as first impressions go, I think that one will be lasting.

  Greg finally stops his pacing and muttering and looks over at me. I can see the anger bleed off of his face; instantly, calm and understanding finally dawn.

  “Come here, baby girl.”

  A new sob bubbles up as I quickly climb off of Maddox and rush forward into Greg’s protective arms. I can’t even count how many times this man has been my rock, my strength and support, picking up my pieces and not stopping until he has successfully glued each piece back together.

  ~~*

  (Axel)

  I hear the door click and immediately straighten from my folded position on the floor. The look of pure wrath in Locke’s eyes has me pausing before completing my way up from my seat. He is not a man who shows emotion—ever. Fuck, I can’t even remember the last time I was able to tell what he was thinking, let alone what he was feeling. There is no question right now though. He is throwing fire right into my eyes. It didn’t take much of a leap to reason that he was pissed at me.

  Yeah, well get in line motherfucker.

  I just marginally calmed myself down over the last forty-five minutes or so. For the most part, I’m over my initial anger. I feel reasonably sure that I’m calm enough to be in the same room with the only girl I have ever loved and try to hear her out. My mind demands answers. I want to know why. Why she didn’t wait… Why she had married another.

  No, my calm isn’t going to come back completely. I’m still worked up for another reason altogether and it has nothing to do with anger. I can’t get over seeing her stunning face, the face that has consumed my dreams and haunted my memories for way too fucking long. Even with my rage at seeing her openly touching the men I consider brothers, I still couldn’t stop my dick from trying to break out of my pants. All it took was one look at her tight, sexy-as-sin body wearing next to nothing and I found myself having to immediately adjust myself. So hard my dick was aching in a way I haven’t felt in many years. I didn’t even know who she was then and the attraction was that strong, just like it always had been.

  When I walked up to the bar, coming up on that firm ass encased in skintight red fabric, I turned feral. I was like a raging bull being set free with one target in sight. My eyes traced her spine, each delicate little bump on her exposed skin, and my only thought was getting her to a bed and following that line with my tongue until I was buried deep between her creamy thighs.

  And then she turned around and I froze in my tracks. Lust left in a snap, and instead of rushing this hot piece of ass off to the nearest empty room, I wanted to throw her over my shoulder, drag her off, and demand answers. I have been waiting for this moment for twelve long fucking years. The last thing I’d expected her to do if I ever saw her again was faint to the floor.

  “What the fuck are you glaring at, Locke?” I spit out at him. I don’t feel like dealing with more of this bullshit. I’m just itching for a fight now.

  “I’m looking right at you, motherfucker. It shouldn’t take a big leap of ‘clue the fuck in’ for you to realize I’m looking right at your dumb fucking ass,” he snarls at me with such ferocity that I’m momentarily rendered speechless.

  “What the hell? Is there a reason you seem to think I pissed all over your shit?”

  He looks right at me, cocking his head to the side, and I find myself shocked on my ass once again tonight when he opens his mouth. “I just sat in there and held some chick I do not know, a chick who not even an hour ago looked like she was on the top of the fucking world, happy with life, and spending time with her friends. Her smile died. Do you understand that, Reid? One look into your eyes and that big bright smile just died. The life went completely out of her eyes and her body gave out. Do you fucking get that? I just sat there and let her basically crawl into my fucking body with nothing but fear oozing out of her. Fear YOU seem to have put there. That happy woman from earlier is long fucking gone and I would love to know how you are the reason.”

  Shock holds me silent. Shock and confusion.

  Sniffling to my left distracts me and I glance over at Dee. She is looking at me with part confusion, part anger, and a whole lot of hurt.

  Shaking my head, I look back ove
r at Locke. “I couldn’t fucking tell you since I haven’t seen nor heard from her in twelve years. Bitch up and disappeared, so if you want answers, you are asking the wrong fucking person.”

  “Excuse me? This is the chick who left you? The same one you claim is a cold, heartless bitch? Because I have to say, Reid, the woman who just broke the fuck down in my arms is not a cold, heartless bitch. That woman is feeling the weight of the world on her shoulders.”

  “What the fuck are you talking about? This is the same shit with Greg, talking yourselves in goddamn circles. Maybe if you want me to buy a fucking vowel, you could give me a fucking hint,” I roar right back at him.

  “All right, you want to know what the fuck I’m talking about? There is a woman in there who looks like her world just ended. She looked like she had seen a ghost. Lost and scared. So scared she is shaking. She was trembling so violently she would have fallen to the ground had I let her go. So I will ask you one more fucking time, you sure that is the chick who left you?”

  I hear another gasp off to my side. Swear to Christ, this bitch needs to calm her tits.

  “What the hell does it matter now, huh? It’s been twelve fucking years. I don’t think two fucking minutes of her time is too much to ask. I’m sure her husband wouldn’t mind.” I know I’m shooting low, but I am so livid I can’t even see without red closing in my vision.

  Another gasp at my side.

  I look over at Dee. “Are you fucking okay?”

  Her jaw is opening and closing repeatedly. She looks like a damn fish out of the water struggling to breathe. I do not have time for this shit.

  “Seriously, do you need something? Water, a chair, a fucking Midol?”

  Her mouth snaps shut and a thin line forms before she marches right into my space, coming up on her toes in attempt to meet me eye to eye. “Listen here, you…you big bully, you will not sit here and be a little shit. You have no clue what is going on, but I promise you this. It is bigger than your need to ‘chat.’ Do you understand me?” She follows that burst with a few pokes to my chest.