“Beloved family and friends, we’re gathered here today… Oh, heck. I suppose you all know we’re here to witness an important evolution in Owen and Addy’s relationship.”
Addy smiled at the officiant’s change in delivery.
“They’ve known each other since they were children, playing imaginary games and sharing chickenpox. As often happens, their lives didn’t unfold in the way they’d hoped. Time and terrible experiences separated them, but despite the years, despite the pain of their separation, love brought them back together. And it is in the name of love that today we witness their lives forever united.
“Owen and Addy, a marriage isn’t simply created in a mere ceremony. It is a living, breathing event that lasts the rest of your lives. It takes careful tending so that it may rise above simply existing to a state where it thrives.
“Owen, do you take Addy as your wife, a life partner to be cherished? Do you accept her as your equal in all things? Will you honor her, protect her, be faithful to her as long as you both shall live?”
Owen’s lips tilted in a half-smile. “I do.” He then mouthed, Fuck yeah. His eyes were so intense, she almost melted on the spot.
“Addy, do you take Owen as your husband, a life partner to be cherished? Do you accept him as your equal in all things? Will you honor him, protect him, be faithful to him as long as you both shall live?”
Owen arched a brow at her. She almost laughed. “I do.”
“Owen and Addy, beyond the words I’ve said and your intent which brought us here today, you have vows to say to each other. Catch them in your hearts and never let go of them.” The officiant nodded to Owen.
“Addy, I’ve always known that I loved you,” Owen began. “It wasn’t easy waiting for you to also realize we were one person in two bodies. And even when I thought I’d lost you, you were my one and only. I will spend my life making your life everything you wish it to be. I look forward to all we’ll experience and build together. I can’t believe we get another chance, and I vow I will not waste a single moment of our time.”
The tears in his eyes were almost Addy’s undoing. She reached up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “I love you.”
“I love you.”
Addy squared her shoulders. Turned out she didn’t need her written lines after all. She just needed to speak her truth. “Owen, silly man, I knew when I was born that you were mine and I was yours. Why do you think I always cast you as my knight in shining armor and sent you out to battle my dragons, and, well, my brother?” Owen smiled at her. “It seems we’ve lived three lifetimes already. Before the hell. The hell. And now this heaven. In each, you were my beacon of light. I know the world will change, and I know we’ll change with it. I vow to always love you, always honor you, and to strive to become your beacon of light.”
“You are that light, Addy,” Owen assured her.
“Owen and Addy, you’ve chosen to exchange rings during your ceremony,” the officiant said. “Let us consider the symbolism of a ring, a circle, a thing often thought to have no beginning and no end. But everything has a beginning and an end, marriage included. Your rings were made from raw materials that came from the earth and were transformed into something polished and beautiful. So too will your life as a married couple be forged in the fires of sorrow and joy. You were raw and separate before today united you. And you will spend the rest of your lives polishing and forming your beautiful marriage.
“Troy, please hold the pillow with your father’s ring on it for your mother.” The officiant nodded when Troy moved to stand next to Addy. Addy smiled and stroked her hand over his head. “Zavi, please hold the pillow with your aunt’s ring for your uncle to take.” Zavi grinned up at Owen as he moved to stand next to him.
“Owen, please place the ring on Addy’s finger and repeat these words after me.”
Addy stared into Owen’s eyes as he pushed the ring just to her knuckle, then, in his deep voice, repeated what the officiant said. “Addy, I give you this ring as a sign that I choose you to be my wife and best friend to the end of my days.”
Addy sniffled. When she was directed, she took the ring Troy held on the little pillow. Her hand shook as she pushed it to Owen’s knuckle. “Owen, I give you this ring as a sign that I choose you to be my husband and best friend to the end of my days.”
Owen’s smile was blinding. She barely heard the next words their officiant said.
“I’ve presided over many weddings in my career. Some of them here.” He chuckled. “Owen, Addy, the vows you’ve exchanged here today are sacred to your souls. May I add my own wishes for your union? Two simple things.
“Remember to always strive for kindness in your interactions. Be uplifting to each other and your home will always be a place of refuge for you and your loved ones.
“Love lavishly. I don’t mean living beyond your means. I mean laugh easily, compliment each other often, and always reach for joy. Make your marriage the richest experience you’ll ever have.”
Addy and Owen nodded.
“Then, ladies and gentlemen, I am delighted to present to you your beloved friends, Owen and Addy, now Mr. and Mrs. Tremaine. You may now share your first kiss.”
Addy was laughing and crying as Owen’s warm mouth met hers. When they separated, a little cloud of confetti snowed down over them. Addy knelt to hug Troy and Zavi, then reached for Augie.
Troy knelt down to scoop up as much confetti as he could and throw it again. Zavi did that too. Both boys laughed then hugged. Everyone closed in around Addy and Owen, but she looked back at her boys in time to see Augie move over next to Troy and set a hand on his shoulder.
Wendell came over and hugged them both. He still held her bouquet. She laughed and reached for it. “Maybe I should take that again—unless you’re enjoying it.”
“Yes. Take it. Thank God.” He kissed her cheek again as he handed it to her. The event staff were moving the chairs off the dance floor and returning them to the tables.
Everything progressed in the orderly fashion that the wedding planner had mapped out for them, but it was mostly a blur for Addy—until the music started and Owen bowed in front of her, offering her his hand.
She took it and smiled at him, seeing in her mind the lonely man he’d been, writing about his lost dreams to a dead woman. And now they were together, married, making their dreams come true.
10
Selena carried her bag downstairs. It was late, past midnight. Owen, Jax, and Nick were waiting for her. She nodded at Owen, afraid to get close enough to shake hands for fear of what Bastion would do to him.
She felt numb. The effort of blocking Bastion from her mind meant she had to block everything—all emotions, memories, hopes, and fears. She could not think, could not remember, and could not feel anything without giving all of that away to the man who was stalking her.
It would be so much easier to do if she didn’t have to fight herself as well—she wanted to share everything she was with him. She yearned to see him and talk to him. He laughed easily, and it was fun teasing him.
But he was a danger to the team, and she would lay down her life before causing any of them harm. Leaving here was a good plan. If he were only seducing her to get to them, then he’d soon give up on her.
But if he was serious about her, then all bets were off. The team was risking everything on this chance.
She was surprised to see the rest of the team waiting for her on the patio. They separated into two groups that she had to walk between. Ace looked furious; Selena knew she’d argued her case to come with her and had been denied. She didn’t hug Ace—or anyone. She didn’t want to lose her composure—again. The numbness she was forcing on herself could only be held in place with extreme effort. She nodded at everyone, then crossed the lawn to the helicopter. Jax and Nick followed her onboard.
Nick handed her a blindfold. “Just a precaution. Don’t want anyone to find your location based on your observations of your surroundings.”
; Selena connected a pair of sound-cancelling headphones to a playlist on her phone, then wrapped the blindfold around her eyes and tied it tight. She covered her ears with the headphones, then leaned back in her seat, trying not to focus on the turns she felt or the amount of time that passed. No doubt the pilot was taking turns that weren’t needed for a straight trip to their destination, and so the time and direction they took wouldn’t be indicative of their destination.
She could feel Bastion with her, pushing in at the edges of her mind, trying to get inside. He was desperate to get to her—she could feel that in him, almost to the point of pain. But was that because of her, or because she’d just shut off his access to the team? The harder he pushed, the harder she forced her mind to focus only on her own breathing and the mind-numbing rhythms of her music.
As if any of that mattered. They were practically different species. She had no future with a man like him. He had to know that.
She realized that was her answer. He wanted what he was after—and that wasn’t her. She’d just been his tool.
Fuck it all. She was tired of being used by men.
Hours later, they reached their destination. She removed her headphones and was about to remove the blindfold, but Jax stopped her.
“Leave it on, Sel,” Jax said as he leaned close to speak over the roar of the helicopter. “The less Bastion can see of where we are, the better.”
“I’m not staying blindfolded here.”
“No, of course not. But for a few days, let’s limit your exposure to the property. Maybe he’ll give up and abandon using you. One week max.”
They disembarked, stepping out into brutally cold weather and wind that raked exposed skin. Someone handed her bag to her. She tossed the strap over her head. Nick and Jax took an arm each and led her quickly down a hill. They crossed a long, flat stretch of snow-covered ground.
“Some steps now,” Jax said as they climbed about a dozen stairs. Selena heard a heavy door creak as it opened.
“Good evening, sir,” a man said.
The door closed behind them, making a heavy echo. Selena reached up for her blindfold and removed it.
A man she didn’t know greeted her with a slight bow and a warm smile. “I’m Spencer Hudson, butler here and part of Mr. Jacobs’ security staff. I’ll show you to your room, if you’re ready.”
Selena nodded at Jax and Nick, refusing to let them see how unsettled she was. She forced that—and all—emotion from her mind as she strived for full-on neutral and followed the butler up a wide set of marble stairs.
“Greer—a word, please,” Owen said as the sound of the helicopter faded away. They walked to the den, where Owen closed the door behind them. What he was about to ask sounded crazy as hell. “I need you to do something.”
“Name it.” Greer didn’t even flinch.
“Ask Blade if he has some old bear traps. They aren’t uncommon on ranches like this. If he doesn’t, I need you to source some. Two or three.”
“Okay. We hunting bears now?”
“I want two set up outside the tunnel entrance to the bunker. The other I want placed in the path this thing most frequently takes on his way to the house.”
Greer was silent.
“You got a problem with that directive?”
“No.”
“It’s non-lethal and non-digital. I don’t want you to discuss this with anyone other than Blade, and then only where no one else can hear you. Selena is not to know about it. Don’t put in an online order if he doesn’t have traps here.”
“Our online traffic is secure.”
“I don’t believe it.”
“I do. Max and I built our infrastructure.”
“We have no idea what this thing is capable of, and until we do, nothing is secure.”
“This thing has a name.”
Owen narrowed his eyes. “I want Bastion caught.”
“Copy that. I will need to let Max know about the traps because he stores his and Hope’s bikes in the tunnel.”
Owen gave a curt nod. “Only him and Blade, though.”
Selena made the mistake of sleeping deeply—a luxury she’d resisted for the weeks she’d been here. She dreamt about a wedding. Hers. But for some reason, she was late to the ceremony. When she tried to get into the venue, all the doors were locked. She knocked and knocked, but no one came to let her in. She went around the side of the building and looked in a window. There was Bastion, dancing with another woman.
She woke abruptly, angry and sad and shaking.
The thing she feared the most had come to pass—she was alone, because of him.
Where are you? Bastion’s voice whispered through her mind. He sounded angry.
She’d been working on blocking him from her mind ever since she’d gotten there. I don’t know, she answered.
Talk to me. I will find you.
I don’t want you to. But she did want that. Terribly. In part so that she could stop fighting herself. And in part because she’d missed having him just a thought away.
Yes, you do. I can feel your pain.
Can you feel everyone’s pain?
Only yours…and my brothers’.
Do you have a lot of them?
Yes. Please, let me come to you.
You can’t use me anymore, Selena said.
I never did use you.
You asked me to get info on the Ratcliffs.
A favor. For a friend. They have information we desperately need, but I don’t care about any of that. Tell me where you are.
I don’t know. It hurts, Bastion, keeping you out.
It’s because we are carved from the same soul, and having found our other half, we cannot exist apart.
I don’t believe in souls.
I do.
Selena tried to block a sob, but it broke free. She covered her face with a pillow, but it was no match for Bastion, since he was already in her head…and maybe in her heart. I wish you were here.
Don’t block me. I will find you.
An alert sounded in the ops room. Greer checked it then looked at Max. It had been weeks since Owen had ordered him to set out the traps. “He’s coming.”
“From where?” Max asked.
“The side of the house leading to the tunnel entrance.”
Max gave Greer a ruthless grin, then stood and checked his pistol. “Let’s go greet him.”
They went into the tunnel. Motion lights turned on as they progressed through it. Instead of placing the traps at the tunnel entrance, they’d put them in the tunnel itself. Harder to avoid that way.
They stopped just in front of the traps and waited. Lights switched on at the other end of the tunnel and continued switching on as something moved forward, coming toward them.
Greer was surprised that Bastion didn’t try to hide himself. He could have blown the lights, but he didn’t. At first, Greer could only see Bastion’s silhouette. It grew larger as he approached. He was a tall man, broad-shouldered, and moved in a fluid, athletic way.
Bastion came within feet of Greer and Max before stopping. “Where is she?” he asked.
He spoke with a heavy French accent. Up close, he did look like the Captain Hook that Troy had seen.
“She’s gone,” Greer said.
“Where?”
“She’s not your concern,” Max said.
Bastion’s head slowly turned his way. His eyes went from dark brown to a glowing gold. “I will end you and everyone in this house, soul by soul, until I learn where she’s gone.”
“Not true.” Greer waved that off. “You’re a soldier, like us. You follow orders. If you’d been ordered to kill us, we’d already be dead, given your abilities. So what’s your interest in her?”
Bastion’s burning eyes turned to him. A dull ache began in Greer’s head. He winced and checked to see if Max was feeling the same thing. The ache became a sound, a deep, terrible sound, like something just at the edges of a sonic boom.
Max hit his knees.
>
“Enough!” Greer shouted as he bent over. The pain was so intense, it took everything he had not to vomit. “Enough!”
The pain ended.
Greer gasped at the relief, still holding his knees. He looked up at Bastion. “If there’s something you want, meet with us. Let’s talk about it.”
“You took my woman,” Bastion said through clenched teeth.
Max shook his head and slowly straightened. “She’s ours not yours.” He and Greer moved back a step.
Bastion stepped forward, right into the bear trap. He screamed and stumbled forward, into the teeth of the second trap.
An explosion of some sort broke free, blowing Greer and Max back several yards. It seemed they’d just hit the dirt when the rest of the team spilled into the tunnel around them. Greer shook his head and pushed to his feet, searching for Bastion.
The traps were there, but he was gone.
Other Books by Elaine Levine
Red Team Series
(This series must be read in order)
1 The Edge of Courage
2 Shattered Valor
3 Honor Unraveled
4 Kit & Ivy: A Red Team Wedding Novella
5 Twisted Mercy
6 Ty & Eden: A Red Team Wedding Novella
7 Assassin’s Promise
8 War Bringer
9 Rocco & Mandy: A Red Team Wedding Novella
10 Razed Glory
11 Deadly Creed
12 Forsaken Duty
13 Max & Hope: A Red Team Wedding Novella
14 Owen & Addy: A Red Team Wedding Novella
Sleeper SEALs
11 Freedom Code
* * *
Men of Defiance Series
(This series may be read in any order)
1 Rachel and the Hired Gun
2 Audrey and the Maverick
3 Leah and the Bounty Hunter
4 Logan’s Outlaw
5 Agnes and the Renegade
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
OWEN and ADDY_A RED TEAM WEDDING NOVELLA_THE RED TEAM, BOOK 14 Page 10
