by Avery Gale
Jen’s Journey
Masters of the Prairie Winds Club
Book Three
by Avery Gale
© Copyright April 2014 JK Publishing, Inc.
ISBN # 9781310746352
All cover art and logo © Copyright April 2014 by JK Publishing, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Edited by Caroline Kirby
Artwork by Jess Buffett
Published by JK Publishing, Inc.
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Dedication
A big shout-out to the “real” Jen…your “sparkle” and sense of adventure made you the perfect inspiration and I thank you for all the giggles during our chats.
Table of Contents
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Epilogue
Books by Avery Gale
Excerpt from Fated Magic
Excerpt from Mission: Compromised Submissive
JK Publishing, Inc. Author List
Prologue
Almost one year later…
Jax McDonald leaned back in the subtle leather wingback chair facing Kyle West’s massive mahogany desk and listened as his best friend and their bosses discussed the fact Sam and Sage McCall had resigned their commissions with the SEALs and would be back on U.S. soil and looking for work soon. Kyle and his twin brother, Kent, had been teammates of Jax and his best friend, Micah Drake, during the entire time they’d been in the Special Forces, so joining them as a part of the security team for The Masters of the Prairie Winds Club while their own security business got up and running had been a natural transition. However, now that more of their brothers were transitioning out from under Uncle Sam’s watch, they’d had several discussions like this one as they’d brainstormed different options.
The decision to hire Sage and Sam to become a part of Micah and Jax’s security firm had been a no-brainer. The company had grown by leaps and bounds, and finding trained, qualified employees that you trusted with your life was never easy—unless you hired your former team members. There was no question there was plenty of work for the McCall brothers, and the raises and perks they’d offered them had sweetened the deal enough to get them to agree to relocate to Austin from their beloved Houston. The truth was, Jax was so grateful for their help getting a family friend safely out of Costa Rica last year that he’d been willing to offer them the moon if that had been necessary.
Jen Keating had inadvertently come onto the radar of Raphael Baldamino, the same man who had held Jax and Micah’s new wife, Gracie, captive over a decade ago. Baldamino had planned to make Jen the blonde opposite of Gracie’s soft Latino beauty. He’d ordered her abduction after seeing her picture, but the fools he’d hired had gotten the wrong woman. Granted, Danielle Brandt and Jen looked enough alike to be sisters, their mistake had bought Jax’s friends enough time to prevent her becoming another human trafficking victim statistic.
They’d all had a huge scare last year when a single red rose had been delivered to Gracie on the beach in San Diego. As long as he lived, Jax would never forget the terror he’d felt as he’d seen a crowd gathering around he and Micah’s fiancée as they’d raced jet skis just off shore. By the time they’d made their way to her side she was just regaining consciousness and his heart had nearly stopped when he’d felt the fear pulsing from her. She’d been white as a ghost and shaking like a leaf despite the warm temperature. They’d launched an immediate search for the man who’d delivered the flower but hadn’t ever found him. The waiter who’d made the delivery was also a full-time art student and he’d been able to provide a tremendous amount of detail as well as drawing a sketch of the man who’d made the request. Gracie hadn’t recognized the man and that had eased her mind tremendously. They’d finally been forced to view the incident as a man simply wanting to make contact with a beautiful woman despite the fact he’d assured the waiter she’d know who the flower was from.
In the back of Jax’s mind he heard Kyle say, “Sam called late last night to say they’d be on leave until separation as soon as they get home from the mission they are packing out for. They are about to go wheels up because there’s been a situation at an American Embassy, hostages involved including a civilian language specialist.” What the fuck!
Jax’s attention riveted on Kyle and he snapped, “What did you just say? What embassy? Did he tell you?” Jax knew that was unlikely given the secretive nature of the work the SEALs did, but he could only hope Sam had given him a good enough clue, then they could figure it out.
Kyle’s brow wrinkled and he studied Jax for a second, “You know he couldn’t tell me that. But he did remind m
e how much he loves Pez candy and how we’d enjoyed them together shortly before Kent and I got out.” Kyle paused and Jax saw a grin spread over his face before he continued, “So I’d say he’s headed to La Paz since we were all there not so long ago.”
Jax froze and felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up on end. “Fuck! Hang on.” Grabbing his phone, he typed in a short message to his younger sister, Elza, before returning his attention to Kyle, Kent, and Micah. “Jen was headed there the last time I talked to mom, and God knows if she was anywhere in or around the area when this went down, but she’s likely right in the middle of the chaos. Christ the little trouble magnet is going to give me a fucking ulcer and she isn’t even my blood sister. Fuck me. I swear the woman needs a damned keeper.” Swiping his hand over his face in frustration, he finally spoke again after several deep breaths. “I don’t want to call my parents until I’ve heard from Elza, but if I don’t hear from her in a few minutes I will. Do you have any way to get word to them? Give them a head’s up if we find out she’s involved?”
They all knew walking into a situation like this, where one of the victims knew a rescuer personally, was a recipe for disaster. Not only was there too much personal emotion attached to the situation muddling everyone’s judgment, but it also meant the lightning fast decisions involved in hostage rescues were much more difficult to make as well. If they knew she was there, they could make allowances that might well save all of their lives.
Jax shook his head as he considered what might be coming. “Look, I know she turned their world upside down before they’d even gotten her back on U.S. soil last year. Hell, she’d been a handful as long as I’ve known her, but she really is solid. She just attracts trouble like a fucking neodymium magnet.”
Kent had whistled softly and Jax had seen Micah’s hands tighten on the armrests of the chair he was sitting in. Kyle leaned forward and started typing into his phone and once he’d finished he looked up and smiled, “And that isn’t even taking into account the pandemonium she wrecked at your wedding reception. Holy hell, I’ve never seen Sam McCall so totally unhinged.”
Jax shook his head as he remembered the insanity of that evening. The memory alone made him cringe every time it came to mind. Jen had been tipsy before the reception had even started, but sometime during their photo shoot she’d gone way over the edge into fully inebriated. He should have sent her to her suite at the hotel before the dinner, but he’d hoped getting some food in her stomach would settle her down. He’d been wrong.
“Don’t remind me. Hell, my mom barely spoke to me for a couple of months—you’d have thought I’d personally arranged her little Jell-O shooters party with Elza and their sorority sisters.”
Kent leaned forward and chuckled, “Well, it certainly became clear she hadn’t really dealt with all the fallout from Costa Rica as well as we’d all thought. Never ceases to amaze me how long that shit can fester before it bubbles to the top.” Jax agreed with Kent’s assessment, but it didn’t change the fact Jen’s behavior had been way over the top and totally out of character. The explanation hadn’t changed the fact the little vixen had gotten to the McCall brothers in a very big way and then waltzed out of the hotel at the ass crack of dawn the next morning without so much as a goodbye. She’d hopped a plane to DC, accepted a job with the State Department later that day as a language specialist, and had essentially cut herself off from everyone.
Looking down at his phone when it vibrated in his hand, Jax groaned when he read the message from his younger sister, Elza. “La Paz – Why?” FUBAR is going to be the understatement of the century, because this mess is about to be as fucked up beyond all recognition as it can get. Looking up, he simply nodded and every man around him sprang into action. Micah bumped his shoulder and said, “Come on.” Jax knew his friend was headed to their security offices, which were about a half mile from the club because they’d be more effective using their own equipment even though Micah had set up the control center at the club as well. And truthfully, neither one liked leaving Gracie alone too long anyway. Just thinking about their new bride brought a rush of warmth to his heart.
As they made their way out of the Wests’ office, Kent grasped his shoulder halting his progress. “Try not to worry about her, we’ll get word to the McCalls. I swear if they don’t put a collar on her and paddle her ass I’m gonna string them both up by their short and curlies.” Jax felt himself relax just a bit and nodded his agreement, he really did appreciate his friend’s attempt to lighten the moment. He caught up with Micah just as he started the John Deere Gator they’d ridden to the club in. Between the two small ranches, they had a small fleet of Gators that had been specially modified, including sensors and souped up engines.
Once they’d moved into their new home and office building at the front of Kent and Kyle’s parents place next to the club, they’d cut a trail through the trees and modified the fence that separated the properties. It had started as a safety backup for their women but like many do-it-yourself projects tackled by ultra-techy former SEALs, it had spiraled out of control quickly. The end result was a fence packing enough voltage to stun even the strongest man into a quivering state of helplessness. There was an automatic gate with sensors that would only open for certain vehicles—if the sensors didn’t receive the right signal, everything locked up tight. If the system locked, the electric current began pulsing both down to the ground and up several feet in the air, they’d wanted to be sure no one decided to crawl under or hurdle the damned thing. Was it overkill? Maybe, but as Lilly West had said, “Boys will be boys and they do so love their toys.”
*****
Gracie listened to the Gator zip by the back hedge and park in the garage. She’d known her husbands would be home from their meeting with Kent and Kyle West soon, but she hadn’t been able to manage enough energy to get out of the lounger where she’d been soaking up the last rays of the afternoon’s warm sunshine. She’d felt like she was battling the flu for several days and since it hadn’t seemed to have gotten worse, she’d decided an afternoon of rest was probably all it would take to kick whatever bug she’d come into contact with to the curb. Lord of Leapers she had no intention of letting Jax or Micah know she was feeling punk, they’d summon specialists from all around the country to examine her. Gotta love ‘em. Overprotective as they are, they’re mine and I love them with everything in me.
Just as she’d started to doze again, she felt familiar fingers brush her bangs aside with a gentle caress. Micah. In the beginning, she’d wondered why she could tell them apart by their touch, but Lilly had assured her that souls recognize one another on a deep level that defies explanation. So she’d just let the question go and enjoyed the fact it was true. “My love, what’s wrong? And don’t you dare try to tell me nothing.” Feeling the cool of his shadow fall over her face, she let her eyes flutter open without squinting. He obviously read the question in her eyes because he laughed softly, “Baby, did you think your Masters hadn’t notice you were feeling under the weather?”
Her soft, “Oh” hadn’t really been an answer to either of his questions, so he just watched her and waited patiently. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to be secretive…I just didn’t want you to worry. I think I have a bug, I just feel a bit blah, you know?”
“And?” Taking a deep breath, she tried to will the words to the surface but there were times her old insecurities seemed dangerously close to catching up with her, and this moment was one of those. “Still struggling with letting go of the notion you have to handle everything alone, aren’t you, little subbie?” Micah feathered his fingers under her eyes and she already knew what he was seeing, because the bruising under her skin from not sleeping well was getting harder and harder to conceal. She’d eaten lunch with Regi, the club’s resident wonder office administrator, and she’d even remarked that Gracie seemed awfully tired. Frustration and a feeling of not being in control started to overwhelm her and Gracie knew the tears she’d been battling were close to b
reaking free of her tenuous grasp.
“I’m sorry, I just didn’t want you to drag me to a bunch of doctors. It’s just a touch of the flu and I hate being a bother when I know you all are working so hard on plans for expanding.” She hadn’t actually intended to share that much information but now it was out there, she sure couldn’t pull the words back.
“Bet you didn’t mean to spill all of that did you, sweetness? Oh, don’t look so surprised, it was written all over your face. Yes, we have been busy, but we will never be too busy to care for you.” He continued stroking the sides of her face, then leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. “Have you considered the possibility you might be pregnant, love?” Gracie felt the blood drain from her face. The thought had never occurred to her…it hadn’t been on her radar at all. She saw the amusement in his face, but the blood was pounding in her ears so loud she couldn’t make out what else he was saying. Gracie felt him slide his arms under her and lift her onto his lap. “No, I can see you hadn’t actually considered that possibility, had you? Well, I want you to know that we have, and honestly we’re hoping like hell that is exactly what this is about.”
