The American Soldier Collection 13: Her Lucky Number Thirteen (Siren Publishing LoveXtreme Forever)

by Dixie Lynn Dwyer

  “What do you mean we can’t have her? We went over this a few years back. I thought it was decided that a relationship with any woman was pointless,” he said to Boian.

  “I said that then because I was forced to not see her again. When I knew she was in trouble I wanted to take off like a madman and kill anyone in my way to get to her. Cosivan stopped me and calmed me down. Like always. Each of you has helped me in so many ways. In all honesty I was grateful her father asked me to stop the training. I wouldn’t have been able to be the man she needed or would have wanted. Not alone.”

  “That’s not true. You’re more than capable of caring for her on your own. Besides, look where you not being around her eventually got her. In the middle of danger,” Chatham said to him.

  Boian exhaled.

  “We’re trained to be obedient. To not question an order and especially one issued by our bosses and our team leader. Some things can’t be helped. Sometimes fate steps in,” Chatham added.

  “You’re the playboy tough guy fucking women left and right and whenever you damn well please. This is different, Chatham. I’m not talking about fucking some fine piece of ass. I’m talking about the future. I can’t do that. I can’t trust myself to handle it alone,” Boian admitted.

  Dusty cleared his throat. “We all have our problems. Our weaknesses and hang-ups. But together we get through them and that isn’t going to change,” Dusty said next.

  “That’s exactly what I mean. Together we get through things. Together is all we know. One team, one family. American soldiers first and then soldiers of our professions next. Where does she fit in with a life like we have?”

  “Where does she fit in now? I for one think she’s pretty damn fucking perfect. You’re a lucky man, Boian,” Dusty added.

  “No, I’m not. You want to know why?” he asked them. They stared at him. “Because when I thought about her being mine back then, about caring for her and protecting her, I thought about doing it with each of you by my side.”

  “What?” Chatham asked.

  “It’s exactly what I’m saying. Sharing her. Making her ours. I think her father knew that was a possibility, too. It could never happen, not with him working for Nicolai, not with her mother marrying that guy and wanting Nalia to have a normal life, not one tainted by violence and the complications of a ménage relationship.”

  “It would never work now either. We’ve made too many enemies. Her life would always be in danger,” Viktor added.

  “Look at Stone and his brothers. Things seemed to work out perfectly for them,” Dusty added.

  “She’s Nicolai’s daughter and he basically picked Stone and his team for her. Get your heads out of your asses and remember why we are here and who we work for,” Cosivan joined in.

  Boian exhaled and then leaned back in the chair.

  They all went about preparing something for dinner as Nalia rested upstairs.

  * * * *

  “Nalia, there’s no one left to come for you. You got them all killed. Your father, your mother, the men who risked their lives to find you. You’re all mine to do as I please with.”

  Vincent ran his fingers along her body. She was tied to the bed, exposed to him and shivering with pain and fear. She felt battered, weak, broken.

  “No. No, get away from me. No more. Don’t touch me anymore,” she screamed at him and he straddled her body. He was naked and she was pulling on her bindings trying to get free. She screamed for help and struggled against the bindings on her wrists. He grabbed her throat and stared down into her eyes with his dark evil expression.

  “I say when it’s over. I own you, Nalia. Now and forever.”

  She screamed at the top of her lungs and cried out in pain as he assaulted her body, took what he wanted despite her begging for him to stop hurting her. Her heart was racing and felt like it could leap from her chest, and then she couldn’t breathe and she felt more hands on her and couldn’t see. It was so dark suddenly but she knew others were touching her. Oh God, no. No!

  * * * *

  “Nalia, please wake up. Please wake up,” Boian begged of her but she was lost in a nightmare and flopping around on the bed begging for help and for the pain to stop. She was calling out Vincent’s name and screaming.

  Cosivan grabbed her from Boian and pulled her against his bare chest. She was practically naked, only wearing a flimsy tank top in black and some kind of boy shorts panties that barely covered her ass. He held her arms up against his chest so she wouldn’t break the stitches in her side. “Nalia, open your eyes. Open your eyes now,” Cosivan demanded as the rest of the team stood there with no shirts and pants on not even zipped up. They ran to get to her, guns drawn and ready for action.

  She blinked her eyes open, the tears spilling from her eyes. She was sniffling, gasping for breath.

  “Easy. You’re safe,” he told her and Boian caressed her back. She jerked away from him and clung to Cosivan. He pulled back.

  “You’re okay. It was a nightmare,” Boian said to her as he knelt on the bed behind her.

  She swallowed hard and lifted her head up to look at Cosivan. He was pissed off and angry, but also way too aroused and feeling protective to remain holding her against him.

  “It’s okay now. Let’s make sure the stitches are okay,” he said and lowered her to the bed, rolling her to her back. In this position her breasts pressed against the sides of her tank top and appeared to be escaping from the sides. It was pulled up to her belly and he placed his palm on her belly to look at the bandage. Carefully he lifted the bandage up and was relieved that no blood seeped through and no stitches were torn. She shivered beneath his touch. He held her gaze. “You’re safe, so remember that.”

  She nodded. He started to sit up and she grabbed Cosivan’s hand.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked. That sadness and insecurity in her eyes pulled at his heart. A heart he conditioned to be Teflon tough.

  He reached up and glided a finger along her jaw. She covered his hand with her own and it felt so feminine and delicate.

  “You need us to stay?” he asked. Not even thinking first but including them as a team. It kind of made him stop a moment to process what came naturally. He was just as needed as his brothers. He couldn’t face handling Nalia alone, not in an intimate setting like this and her so vulnerable and scared.

  She looked around them and then rolled to her side, taking his hand with her and forcing him to lie down behind her. He got comfortable and wrapped her in his arms as he inhaled her shampoo and the scent of her skin. With every breath he took Cosivan began to understand why Boian was having such a difficult time keeping away from her. Nalia was special indeed.

  * * * *

  It quickly turned into a nightly thing. Whoever brought her up to bed was the one to stay with her and hold her at night. Chatham lay with her now and knew exactly why his brothers were feeling so on edge and snappy. They desired Nalia just as he did. She was sexy, curvy, and sweet. During the day they kept busy talking, asking questions, and learning more about her and her training. She spoke very little about how she survived and not at all about how she got away. She wouldn’t talk about her mother either. She excused herself to walk out of the room. Which led to him coming in here and holding her now.

  Chatham figured with time she would heal and maybe open up to them.

  “You don’t have to stay here with me,” she whispered, looking away from him.

  “If you don’t want me here, I’ll leave,” he whispered and he begged inside that she wouldn’t tell him to go.

  He heard her sigh and had a feeling that she didn’t want him to leave.

  “Nalia?”

  “Stay, Chatham. I feel better when one of you is here watching over me.” She chuckled low. “Isn’t that so silly?”

  He ran his hand along her waist and under her t-shirt. She felt warm, feminine. “Not silly. You’re being honest,” he added.

  She was silent a moment. “It must have something to do with
you being soldiers. You know, that whole protective thing. Having capabilities to do things and survive,” she whispered and her voice cracked. She was having a hard time, and he couldn’t help but to think she was suffering from traumatic stress. She went through hell from what they gathered.

  He moved her to her back and he lifted up to lean on his forearm as he used his hand to caress under her shirt. “You are safe with us, and in our arms probably the safest,” he teased then smirked. Her cheeks turned a nice shade of pink and she closed her eyes and turned away.

  He reached up and clasped her chin between his fingers. Her dark blue eyes were glossy and filled with emotion and even fear. She was so beautiful, his heart was racing.

  “You think I’m young and inexperienced. I get that. You don’t know what I’ve done. You all think I’m so different from you. But I’m not,” she said to him.

  He looked at her lips and into her eyes again. “You are different. You’re beautiful, untainted, sexy, smart—”

  She turned away from him and rolled off the bed. He stood up too and she looked out the window.

  “Nalia?” he said her name and she didn’t look at him.

  “You can leave, Chatham. I want to be alone,” she whispered and he hesitated, felt compelled to go to her, pull her into his arms, and kiss her until she was limp and accepting. Then he thought of the team, and of Boian. It wouldn’t be right. They needed to talk about this again and about making Nalia their woman. He wanted her, too, and right now it was painful leaving her alone and heading downstairs away from her.

  * * * *

  “Where’s Nalia?” Cosivan asked in an angry tone.

  “Upstairs. She wants to be alone.”

  Cosivan squinted his eyes at him.

  “What happened?”

  He explained. Cosivan rubbed his jaw. He couldn’t help but be concerned. Maybe it was a good thing that he just got off the phone with Storm.

  “I just heard from Storm, and was giving him an update. Him, his team and Aspen are coming over tomorrow for dinner.”

  “Is that such a good idea?”

  Cosivan took a deep breath and released it.

  “She’s closing up and she isn’t happy. It may be a good idea for her to be with another woman and talk, and also for us to talk with Storm and the guys. We need to go over a plan of action. Figure out how long we’ll need to remain in Salvation. We have other obligations being taken care of temporarily, but we may need to alter those arrangements.”

  Cosivan could tell that Chatham wasn’t acting like himself. He would be lying if he dismissed the change in his men as being caged up in this house for the last three weeks. It was more than that, and he was feeling it, too. Nalia was becoming more and more important to them.

  “Then we need to gather some things to cook and prepare,” Chatham replied.

  “You might as well organize it with Dusty and then contact Zin. They’re planning on bringing whatever we need tomorrow and for the next week, so we don’t need to leave this estate.”

  “You think the town isn’t safe?” Chatham asked.

  Cosivan chuckled. “Are you kidding me? Storm and their law enforcement friends have this place crime free. How often do you see that?” he asked Chatham and Chatham smirked.

  “Okay, then maybe some other excursions would be smart for her sake and sanity as well. We can ask Aspen about things to do tomorrow.”

  “Sounds good,” Cosivan said and then watched Chatham go. He looked up toward the stairs and felt the need to go check on her. But he shouldn’t. He didn’t want to send the wrong message or give in to this attraction they were all feeling. They were stuck in a large house, five men and one sexy, attractive woman who was vulnerable and needy. It was the ingredients made for disaster. Maybe someday excursions would be a smart idea after all?

  Chapter 4

  “So, how are you really holding up?” Aspen asked Nalia.

  Nalia looked out toward the back of the house.

  “I’m fine.”

  “Yeah, right. Listen, there’s something you should know about me, considering we have some things in common.”

  “In common? Like what?” Nalia asked.

  “Like having a blood connection to the Russian mob that has placed us in danger and made us do things we never thought capable of but actually were pretty good at. I know your pain and your fears. I also know you don’t want to hear it but time will make it all better. It will get less scary at night, and you’ll gain back a little bit of confidence each day,” she said.

  Nalia looked across the room at Boian and Chatham. She let her eyes roam over their bodies and how they stood there looking so sexy and capable. A glance to the right and she spotted Cosivan, Viktor and Dusty. They were talking with Storm, Zin, York, Weston, and Winter, Aspen’s other men.

  “Ahhh, I think I see what’s going on,” Aspen said and then took a sip from her bottle of water.

  “Hmm?” Nalia questioned, and turned back to look at her.

  “I understand that Karlicov had Boian train you at some point,” Aspen said.

  “Yes.”

  “He cares about you a lot.”

  Nalia exhaled and then took a sip from her water bottle. “He was accepting an order from his boss. Just as he and the team were assigned to me now,” she replied.

  Aspen chuckled. “They have each looked over here several times in a matter of minutes. They don’t watch you like men who don’t care,” Aspen said.

  “I do believe they care. They take their jobs very seriously and I’m certain it’s because of the dangers if they didn’t.” She played with the bottle and then moved to place it onto the table and winced slightly.

  “Nalia, are you okay?” Boian asked. Everyone looked at her. She nodded her head.

  Aspen smiled.

  “You care about them, too.”

  “They’re very kind and resourceful. I was feeling pretty fearful when I first met them. It was an intense moment.”

  Aspen smiled then looked at them. “They’re not bad to look at either,” she said and Nalia was shocked. Aspen chuckled.

  “Got it bad, do ya?” she asked Nalia.

  “How did you meet your men?” Nalia tried changing the subject.

  “Oh, a similar way to you and yours. They always looked out for me and thought of me as a little sister. Or so I thought. So while I was seeking revenge against a man I figured out was responsible for my abduction and near sale to a prostitution ring overseas, they rescued me. But not before I took down said man’s entire business operation and wound up abducted again and nearly died. It was pretty traumatic. But, my men are Navy SEALs, and they have connections,” Aspen told Nalia.

  Nalia was shocked. “Some men tried to sell you as a sex slave?”

  Aspen nodded her head and then placed her hand over her belly. “I wouldn’t be here right now if it weren’t for my men.”

  “But you’ve accepted them and they have accepted you, Russian mob ties and all?” Nalia asked.

  “Well, they did have a choice of giving it all up and trying to live a normal life, but they worked so hard and considering my ties to Nicolai as well, it was a no brainer. I love doing business. I’m good at it and have been able to keep right on top of things here in Texas as well as in Chicago.”

  “That’s amazing and you seem truly happy.”

  “You could be, too,” Aspen told her.

  Nalia shook her head and then re-crossed her legs. “I’m afraid that isn’t the case. Karlicov is the only family I have left and I’m not even sure where I’ll stand with him when all this is over.”

  Aspen sat forward and put her water bottle down. “What do you mean where you stand? He sent his best men to help find you and save you. He purposely assigned Boian and Team 13 to find you and protect you.”

  “Team 13?” Nalia asked.

  “That’s their known name in the circuit,” Aspen told her and Nalia chuckled.

  “Well, that’s just another reason things
wouldn’t work. Thirteen isn’t exactly my favorite number. It’s always signified bad luck and negative connotations.”

  “How could that be? I find the number thirteen to be quite lucky and especially when dealing with a baker’s dozen,” Aspen said and winked. Nalia smiled. She was enjoying Aspen’s company and appreciated her support despite not knowing her until today.

  “Well, I was born on Friday the 13th and my mom went into early labor and nearly died while delivering me. On my thirteenth birthday I found out about Karlicov by accident when he dropped off a gift, like he did year after year, and realized my father was alive and hadn’t died in a car accident like my mother always told me. It was then I was told to forget he existed because he was a dangerous man and if anyone knew I was his daughter then they would try to hurt me.”

  “My God, that must have been terrible,” Dusty said, joining them eavesdropping.

  “What did you do?” Aspen asked her.

  Nalia snorted. “What any teenager would do. In the next several years I acted out. It got to the point where I would do things in hope of getting my father to accept my existence and perhaps even allow me to be part of his life despite the fears of danger. Then it became a need to just see him in person, even if it were to reprimand me or warn me to stop hanging out with a certain crowd.”

  She chuckled. “I was doing some pretty crazy stuff. One night, while planning to rip off this small warehouse that had some electronics and stuff, my dad caught wind of the situation somehow and intervened. He saved me from getting killed that night from some Cuban drug dealers. It was also the night he confronted me about why I was getting into trouble, especially since my mom met Raymond.” She swallowed hard.

  “He married your mom soon after?” Storm asked. Now the others were gathering around them, all taking seats. Nalia hated to be the center of attention but she also felt challenged by the emotions and being put on the spot. It was crazy but she always felt it necessary to prove herself, despite the pain.