Forever Devoted

by Kathleen Brooks

  Piper looked sadly down and ran her finger around the lip of her glass. “That’s the trouble. I’m too smart. The men I’ve gone on dates with barely get through a drink before they’re running for the door. As soon as they ask me, ‘So, what do you do for a living?’ their eyes glaze over as if they’re zombies.”

  “Then you’re dating the wrong men. You need someone smart and into science like you are. You have to have things in common. My Sugarbear and I have lots in common, but enough different interests to make it work.”

  Reagan nodded her head. “I actually agree with Aniyah on that one. You need someone who respects how smart you are, not intimidated by it.”

  Piper let out another long-suffering breath. “I’ve dated scientists. Really smart ones. They’re even worse. They like to tell me all the ways I’m wrong and they’re right. And heaven forbid I tell them something they said was wrong. I’m almost thirty, and I feel like a spinster already. It’s been two years since I’ve had sex,” Piper whispered.

  “Heavens to Betsy!” Aniyah gasped. “Your poor doodah. We need to get you laid.”

  Piper shrugged. “Got any suggestions? I know everyone in town, and I’m not having any luck finding someone in Lexington.”

  “Don’t you worry about a thing. Aniyah will take care of your doodah. Smile,” Aniyah held up her phone and snapped a picture.

  “I wasn’t even smiling,” Piper said as she looked to Reagan, who was shaking her head.

  “I don’t need your face. I was taking a picture of your cleavage. This here app is all about hooking up. You just click the smiley face or the frowny face. If you both click a smiley face, then you can meet up. If you want the most smiley faces, you gotta show what the good Lord gave you.”

  “Wow, and I didn’t think I could feel worse about myself. Now I’m going to be solely judged on my boobs.”

  “Yeah, but you already got a smiley face. And look at this hottie.” Aniyah said, turning the phone around. Piper and Reagan both went wide-eyed.

  “I haven’t seen a pecker that big since the sixties,” Miss Lily said as the entire room turned to see what was going on.

  The door opened and Jud walked in. Piper exhaled. “I’ve never been so happy to see a murderer before,” she whispered to Reagan who laughed.

  “Why hello there, sonny. I’m sorry, we’re all filled up tonight,” Miss Violet said sweetly. “It’ll be about twenty minutes for a table.”

  Poppy hurried over with her notepad. “I can take your name if you’d like to wait for a table. It shouldn’t be too long.”

  “That’s awfully kind of you, ma’am, but I was hoping to surprise a friend of mine,” Jud said, giving her a wink. Poppy blushed and was everything a simpering woman from Alabama was thought to be.

  “Lucky friend. Who is she?” Poppy asked with a bat of her eyes.

  Jud’s grin widened in pleasure. “It’s a he. He’s new to town. Around six foot one, scruffy-looking with brown hair and bright blue eyes.”

  Poppy’s face fell. “Oh, it figures. You’re gay. All the good-looking men are.”

  Piper snorted and covered it up with a cough as she and Reagan pretended to talk.

  Jud’s face turned red. “I’m not gay. He’s a friend of mine.”

  “Oh.” Poppy smiled again and Jud’s anger instantly faded.

  “Bright blue eyes you say?” Miss Daisy asked.

  “Yes, ma’am.” Jud nodded respectfully.

  “Lily, doesn’t that new farmhand out at Desert Sun Farm have brown hair and blue eyes?” Miss Daisy asked her sister.

  “Sure does.” Lily answered. “I’m sure he’ll be so happy to see a friend. He really keeps to himself, that one.”

  “And where is Desert Sun Farm?” Jud asked Poppy.

  “Oh, real easy to get to. Just continue through town and go four or five miles. The farm will be on your left. They have large stone posts at the driveway with Desert Sun Farm written on them. Turn into there and then veer to the left at the house.”

  “Poppy, can I get a refill?” Aniyah asked, calling Poppy away and letting Jud slip from the café as Piper sent word that Jud was on his way.

  “So, what about AnacondaMan725?” Aniyah asked Piper as she flashed the dick pic once again. Piper was tempted to ask Jud to come back and take her with him. Anything would be better than slowly dying of embarrassment.

  * * *

  “They’re on their way,” Walker said, looking at the message from Piper. Sienna and Tammy were forced to stay at Will and Kenna’s house at the farm next door. Will and Kenna swore to watch them, but Pierce had stayed with his wife along with a loaded gun. A select group had been chosen to help, and the rest were in Mo and Dani’s giant house as backup. Before Walker could give his order, people peeled off into the darkness. It was like he was working with his very own special ops group.

  “Here, put on the jacket Piper gave you,” Layne said once they had a moment alone. Walker lifted his arms and slipped the jacket over his head. “Walker?”

  “Yeah?” he asked, tugging the jacket into place.

  “Why do you have a giant container of condoms shoved down your pants?”

  Walker just shook his head. “One word. Aniyah.”

  “Ah. Why don’t I take those?”

  Walker pulled the box from his waist and was finally able to button his jeans again. “Don’t lose them. I have plans for each one of those. And that’s just for tonight.”

  Layne laughed and rolled her eyes before growing serious. “I’ll be right behind you. Be careful, Walker.”

  “Are you sure I can’t get you to wait in the house?” Walker asked, running the back of his finger over her cheek.

  “You know I’m the best shot. I won’t get in the way unless I have to.”

  Walker didn’t like it. She’d already killed three people, and all Layne wanted to do with her life was help people. It went against everything she believed in. Bridget and Annie, they were different. Abby was different. But Layne, while trained to kill, wasn’t destined for it.

  “I know you’ll watch my back. I love you, Layne.” Walker slid his hand to the back of her neck and brought his lips to hers.

  “I love you, too. I know you’re angry with Jud. I know you want to kill him, but focus on keeping calm. The calmer you are, the smarter your decisions will be. And the less injured you are, the more of those condoms we can use tonight.”

  Walker chuckled as Layne sauntered away with her father’s rifle over her shoulders. He watched as she climbed a fifteen-foot mountain of hay bales and then buried herself in them at the top. She was invisible, but that didn’t mean Walker wasn’t worried about her. He didn’t want her to see what he had to do. For all of Miles’s talk about keeping Jud alive, Walker wasn’t so convinced it was the best idea.

  Walker’s phone buzzed. It was DeAndre. Jud and his crew were a couple minutes out. Walker looked around, and even though he knew where people were, he couldn’t see them. Colton and Landon were in trees. Miles and his brothers were with Ahmed and members of the Rahmi Services lying in the grass and behind water troughs in the surrounding pastures. Paige was on the roof of the mansion with a sniper rifle. Dylan, Jackson, Talon, Lucas, Matt, Ryan, Nash, and Abby were the closest at hand. They would be his initial backup, along with Layne. He hoped he knew Jud as well as he thought he did, or this whole operation would be up the creek without a paddle. Especially if Jud decided to immediately shoot him in the head and be done with it.

  All the lights in the main house went out. The outdoor lights were turned off, leaving only the glow from the sole light over the barn door casting an eerie yellow glow on the area they planned to ambush Jud and his men.

  He heard the sound of the car engines before he saw the headlights. Now was the time for Walker to exact his revenge, not only for himself, but for Edie as well. He checked his weapons one last time. Abby had been quite inventive on where to hide them. With everything clear, Walker took a deep breath. Headlights appeared i
n the distance as he took his position near the barn door. The faces of his team flashed through his mind along with Edie and Shane’s wedding. One thing was sure: Jud was never going to walk out of here a free man. He’d either be in custody or in a body bag. Walker only hoped he wasn’t in the body bag next to Jud.

  28

  Layne’s heart beat so loudly against her chest she was afraid everyone could hear it. The two black cars she’d seen at the caves came to a stop exactly where her team wanted them. Their headlights illuminated the open farmyard area and pierced the darkness around them for several yards. Layne didn’t move as she worried that the tip of her rifle barrel could be seen. Though her scope, she saw Jud and his men get out of the car. Walker had frozen while he was closing the barn door. He turned toward the cars and raised his hand to shield his face from the lights, leaving the door open five feet or so.

  “I told you I would come for you,” Jud called out as his men backed him up with weapons drawn.

  Behind the cars, Layne saw Talon and Lucas take position with their rifles. Flattened against the dark side of the barn were Abby, Jackson, and Dylan. Behind the barn door were Ryan, Matt, and Nash. From deep in the pastures, her father and uncles, Ahmed, Nabi, and the rest of the Rahmi guard were moving forward to surround Jud and his men. Inside the security room, Cody and Deacon were working on repairing the footage from the camera to be able to turn over to the authorities.

  “I wondered when you would get here. What took you so long? You’re making me late for a date,” Walker called out, full of a cockiness that Layne had never heard before.

  “Oh no,” Jud said with mock sadness as his men chuckled. “I’m afraid you’re going to have to miss your date with the lovely Layne. She’s with me tonight.”

  Walker tensed and stopped walking toward Jud. “Leave her out of this,” he threatened.

  Jud only smiled as he continued to taunt Walker. “It appears you can protect the women in your life as well as you could protect your team.”

  “What do you want, Jud?” Walker asked. Layne waited to hear Jud’s response. Everything was being recorded, but they needed to know Jud’s actions and motives before they could move in.

  “You, dead and buried.”

  “Just like you killed our whole team?” Walker said through clenched teeth. “Why did you do it, Jud? Why kill our team in cold blood? They were your brothers.”

  “Brothers?” Jud questioned with disbelief. “They barely listened to me. They all looked to you for confirmation of the orders I gave them. They were no brothers of mine. Especially when faced with the opportunity that I was given.”

  Walker shook his head. “What opportunity? To become a media star? To get your fifteen minutes of fame?”

  Jud tossed his head back and laughed. “These are my brothers, and they’ll reap the rewards for being loyal—rewards worth millions. That wasn’t an ordinary ship. I only read what customs knew was on that boat. Do you have any idea how many millions of dollars of drugs were also on that ship?”

  “Drugs like you and Darrel used to sell before he got kicked out of the SEALs?” Walker spat.

  “Someone has been doing his research. Who else knows about this?” Jud asked, moving closer to Walker.

  The barn door opened as Nash, Ryan, and Matt strode out. “We do.”

  “So do we,” Abby said in a voice so dangerous it reminded Layne of Ahmed’s. Abby, Jackson, and Dylan moved to Walker’s left as Nash, Ryan, and Matt moved to his right.

  “Hey, mate, we know too. Not a very well-kept secret,” Talon called out in his slight Australian accent.

  “Who the hell are these people?” Jud asked, looking frantically around.

  “My friends. Now, drop your weapons. You’re surrounded,” Walker ordered.

  The hired men looked at each other, unsure of what to do until Layne squeezed off a shot, hitting the hand of one of the men. He yelped and dropped his weapon as the others quickly followed. From a distance, the second wave of reinforcement could barely be seen approaching.

  Jud looked panicked as he turned his head from left to right. “If you kill me, you’ll never find Layne or your sister.”

  “Who, me?” Layne asked, standing. She shook off the hay and slowly made her way down the rectangular bales stacked like a pyramid. “I wouldn’t worry about me. I would be more worried about making it out of here alive.”

  Jud’s look of shock was priceless. Although Walker’s look of anger wasn’t so amusing. Layne was supposed to have stayed hidden. Lucas moved in and collected the weapons as her friends and family encircled them. Jud was the only one still armed.

  “I believe Walker told you to drop your weapons,” Layne said, coming to stand next to Walker.

  “You can’t shoot me. I’m a hero,” Jud taunted, although his voice waivered.

  “Okay,” Layne said, strapping her gun to her back. “I won’t shoot you.”

  “Shoot them now!” Jud yelled as he pulled a gun from his waistband and fired.

  * * *

  It seemed as if everything was in slow motion. The bullet slammed into Walker’s chest, sending him flying backward and collapsing to the ground. Layne was already moving forward as she launched herself at Jud. Fighting erupted around them.

  Walker rubbed his chest and sucked in a lungful of air as he rolled onto his side. Layne disarmed Jud in an impressive move as Nash and the rest of his friends moved into hand-to-hand combat with the guards. From the fields, Walker saw Miles and the others sprinting toward them.

  Walker moved to his knees as Layne slammed her fist into Jud’s nose. “I got this,” Walker called out as he leapt into the fray. Layne ducked a punch and Walker was there to slam his fist into Jud’s nose. The feeling of it crunching was beyond satisfying.

  “Layne!” Miles yelled as the reinforcements formed a circle around the fighting. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m pissed,” Layne yelled back before she grabbed a man by the neck from behind, allowing Abby to knock him out with an uppercut.

  “I told you my daughter was a badass,” Miles teased his brother.

  “Yeah, well, Nash has already taken two men out,” Cade yelled from the other behind Walker. “Bad. Ass.”

  Walker saw Jud pull a knife as he got ready for Jud’s attack. Jud lunged and Walker jumped to the side. Using Jud’s momentum, Walker shoved him in the back, sending him sprawling to the ground right as one of Jud’s men jumped onto Walker’s back.

  Walker wasn’t under the delusion that these men were simply security guards. These men were all special ops trained. Abby and Layne worked in tandem, taking a second man down as Walker felt the man try for a chokehold. This was the most fun he’d had during a mission.

  Walker pulled out his knife, stabbed the man in the thigh, and grabbed the man’s arm. As Walker bent at the waist, he threw the man over him, sending him careening into Jud.

  “Who has the most badass son-in-law now?” Miles yelled over the fighting.

  “Doesn’t count. He’s not your son-in-law yet!” Cade argued back.

  “Well, I don’t need a badass son-in-law, my daughter is a bigger badass,” Miles called out with pride in his voice.

  Walker looked to where Layne and Abby high-fived each other. Dylan had a pile of men at his feet, Jackson one, and Nash two, and then the one Walker had stabbed. Talon, Lucas, Ryan, and Matt had been ready to jump in if needed, but they seemed instead to be placing bets on the fights.

  “I can fix that, sir!” Walker yelled to Miles as the man he stabbed pulled the knife from his leg and charged while Jud scrambled to his feet.

  Walker pedaled backward until he was near Layne. Facing her, he ignored the man coming toward his side. He watched the man out of the corner of his eye, and when the man leaned forward to attack, Walker went down on one knee. He reached out to the side, grabbed the man’s arms, flung him like a sack over his body, and he crashed down on the other side. Abby and Talon immediately grabbed him and dragged him away.


  “Layne, not only are you caring, compassionate, smart, and sexy as hell, you’re my soul mate. There’s no one else I’d rather have by my side during a fight or during life,” Walker confessed, looking into her eyes as he held her hands in his. “My heart and my life are full with you in it. I’m in awe of your strength and courage, and I love you more than I ever knew was possible.”

  “Oh, Walker,” Layne whispered as her eyes teared up. She was smiling though, so that gave Walker hope.

  “You son of a—” Jud yelled as Layne and Walker both slammed their fists into Jud’s face with a cross. Jud weaved on his feet before his eyes rolled back in his head, and he fell to the ground. Instantly, Nash was there, pulling Jud’s body away.

  “Layne Davies, will—?” Walker started to ask as he knelt back down onto one knee.

  “Wait!”

  Walker froze as he heard Edie’s scream from the window of the mansion overlooking the pasture. “Edie?”

  “Wait!” Edie yelled one more time before she disappeared from view only to reappear out the side door as she sprinted toward them with the entire houseful of people behind her. Cy and Marshall moved out of the way as Edie, now clothed in clean jeans and a light blue blouse ran past them and over to Walker. She was breathing hard and had her right hand tightly clenched. “You can’t propose without a ring. Mama left it to me, and I want you to have it.”

  Edie opened her hand to reveal the emerald-cut diamond she’d worn on her right hand ever since their mother had passed away. Walker didn’t think he could become any more emotional as he took the engagement ring from Edie.

  Taking a deep breath, Walker looked into Layne’s hazel eyes and held out the ring. “Layne Davies, I love you so much. Will you make me the proudest and happiest man in the world and marry me?”

  Walker didn’t breathe as Layne reached forward and cupped his cheek with her shaking hand. “Yes, I’ll marry you.” Layne bent and placed a soft kiss on his lips. Walker wrapped his arms around her and kissed her back as her feet dangled off the ground and everyone cheered.