by Becky McGraw
“We kind of had bigger fish to fry,” he said gruffly, dragging his eyes away.
Taylor leaned over and put her hand on his forearm and he tensed. “I think this is a bigger fish than you think, Slade. Will you promise to tell her?” It took a second, but he nodded and Taylor moved back to her seat with a sprout of hope growing inside her heart.
“We need to go, or we’ll be late,” he said gruffly, as he cranked the Hummer.
***
“On a scale of one to seven, how strong do you feel now, Slade?” Dr. Soren’s asked lowering her hand to her lap.
I am strong.
“Ten?” he replied, with a relieved laugh, and she smiled.
He felt lighter inside than he had in five years, free of the stress and guilt related to the memories of that night in Afghanistan. It was a fucking miracle in his opinion. This woman had performed something five years of regular therapy and medication couldn’t, in three one-hour sessions using two freaking fingers, and taps on the backs of his hands.
“Congratulations then, I think this is your last session,” she said with a broad smile.
Slade put his hands on the sofa to stand, opened his mouth to thank her, but hesitated.
Will you promise to tell her?
“Unless there’s something else we need to deal with?” Dr. Soren asked, studying him intently.
“There is...” He sat back on the sofa and rested his forearms on his knees. “When I was transferred back stateside after my injury, my ah, girlfriend, came to see me at the hospital.” Tension ratcheted up inside his chest, constricting his breath as the memory of the horrified look on her face flashed into his mind. “She took one look at me and left. I found out later she’d been dating one of my friends.”
“How did that make you feel?” she asked.
“How do you think it made me feel?” he repeated with a harsh laugh.
“Double traumatized?” she guessed.
“Yes, ma’am. I was pretty devastated, especially since I didn’t know how I’d look, what kind of functions I’d have when the surgery and physical therapy were over.” Slade’s breathing increased as the tension inside him grew. “I had no idea what kind of life I’d have.”
“And were you committed to this woman?” she asked.
“We dated three years, and she said she loved me. I was going to ask her to marry me when I got home from Afghanistan.”
The doctor cleared her throat. “Focus on that memory and watch my fingers,” she said lifting her fingers. Slade followed them with his eyes with Jeannie’s horrified face in his mind and pain sliced through him, grief and fear, despair so deep he thought he’d throw up himself. He watched those fingers continue to move and suddenly her face morphed into Taylor’s face and the tension eased, lightness filled him and he felt like he was floating.
Her fingers stopped, and Slade relaxed. “You are good enough,” she said, and held her fingers up again. She moved them rapidly and he followed them for long minutes until they dropped to her lap and he relaxed again.
“On a scale of one to seven how good do you feel about yourself now?” she asked, and he blew out a breath.
“You’re a magician,” he accused with a laugh.
“No, but this therapy is amazing isn’t it?” she replied smiling. “Let’s do another round with hand taps, just in case.”
Slade felt almost drunk with happiness by the time he bid Dr. Soren goodbye with a warm hug, because he was too choked up to say the words. He walked into the waiting room, and Taylor looked up at him. Something clicked in his brain, and she was so damned beautiful to him at that moment, his heart so full, his eyes burned.
“Your turn, little bit,” he said, and her eyebrows raised as he walked over to pull her up from the chair and into his chest. She looked up at him with questions in her eyes. “Let me give you a kiss for luck, just in case.” Slade swallowed her surprised gasp in his mouth, tingles, heat and something else washed through and he got that light floaty feeling again. It felt so damned good, she tasted so good, he didn’t want to let it or her go, wouldn’t have, but she pushed him away.
“Hold that thought, Smiley,” Taylor said with a pat to his chest, and a giggle that tickled his insides. His eyes fixed on the sway of her ass as she walked to Dr. Soren’s office and a shudder wracked him.
Time had a way of fixing things, but divine intervention fixed them faster. Taylor Kincaid coming into his life had to be proof it existed. If she hadn’t shown up in his life he wouldn’t have known about this therapy. Without this therapy, he would have continued to live his life in the dark hole where he’d resided since coming home from Afghanistan.
She’d shined light into that dark place and he felt better than he had in five years. Slade felt ready now to live again, really live, and to love again—real love, not just sex.
His heart was open now and he wanted Taylor to fill it, because he wasn’t afraid anymore. Dr. Soren had done that with the wave of her fingers, but it would take time for them to explore the possibilities. To have that time, Slade would have to convince her to stay.
That he wouldn’t be able to convince her to stay, because he’d pushed her so far away, was the only thing that scared him now.
Maybe there was some grand plan at work here. When Susan called at the end of last week to tell him they’d be gone another two weeks, Slade had been pissed. He wanted Dex to trace that call, so he could go drag Logan home.
Now, he wasn’t sure if the week he had left would be enough time.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
“Hey did you see the newspaper?” Dexter asked, walking into Slade’s office to throw a folded newspaper on his desk.
“No, what’s going on?” Slade picked up the paper and unfolded it, then scanned the front page. Dallas Terror Event Averted was the headline on the front page, and he scanned the article, his eyes snagging on Deep Six Security, then he backtracked to see Dexter’s real name specifically mentioned. He looked up at him with a grin. “Congrats, man, you’re a hero!”
“They arrested seventeen people! Ten more arrests are in the works,” he said proudly and shrugged. “It’s only a one sentence mention, and they misspelled my name but the company got a big plug. I hope it helps business, because I’m bored. Strange thing though, Winters name wasn’t mentioned.”
It wouldn’t be. Mr. Covert Operator would not allow it.
Slade folded the paper, and handed it back to him. “Well, you won’t be bored for long. Logan and Susan are coming back this afternoon, so put on your seatbelt. There are a ton of inquires in his email, and you know he’ll take every case.”
“We need every case, because I found new gadgets we need,” Dexter said, his eyes excited.
“You’re always finding new gadgets, especially when you’re bored. Since I spent a hundred grand to get Winters to help us though, I doubt Logan will approve them. He may even cut my salary to make ends meet.”
Slade was a little worried about that. He knew Logan was going to blow a gasket on him at the very least when he found out. Hopefully, he could get out of here before that happened. If Gray kept his mouth shut until he was gone, Logan would have two weeks to cool off, before he got back. He’d asked him to, but Slade knew after a month away, the first thing Logan would request when he walked in the door were the financial reports.
Maybe he should just leave his cell phone on the desk, like Logan had done, and get out of here now.
But he wanted Susan to meet Taylor, before they left.
His heart did a funny little leap in his chest, and he sighed. Yesterday, when Taylor finally accepted his apology and let him watch while she deleted that email she had been ready to send to take that job, Slade had almost had a breakdown. The two-week vacation to Padre Island he planned for them to get to know each other better had convinced her he was serious about wanting to see where things went with them. He knew where things were going and he couldn’t wait to get there.
“Damn, you’ve got t
hat look...” Dexter said, with a sigh.
Slade’s eyes shot up to his, and ran his fingers over his face. It felt normal, he felt normal. Better than normal—he felt fucking wonderful.
“What look?” he asked.
“That look,” Dexter replied, clarifying nothing. But before Slade could force him to expand, he walked out, mumbling something about buying bottled water, because he wasn’t drinking from the tap here anymore.
Taylor appeared in his doorway wearing cutoff shorts and a top that left her midsection bare, but his eyes zoned in on her rigid nipples and his dick went rock solid.
“Eyes are up here, Smiley,” she said wiggling her finger to draw his eyes up to hers as she walked in to stand beside his chair. She smiled and the sun came out inside of him spreading warmth throughout his body.
“You are so damned beautiful today, it hurts my eyes to look at you.” The words popped out of his mouth, shocking him.
“Thank you, but I look the same today that I did yesterday,” she said breathily, as she leaned down to press her mouth to his.
Yes, she did. And she’d look the same tomorrow. But the looks were a bonus with this woman. He wanted the whole damned package with her. Because of her, he was almost whole again, something he thought he’d never be again.
Slade spun his chair, pulled her down into his lap and kissed her harder. Taylor sighed and he took the opportunity to deepen the kiss. With a moan, she slid her hand to his neck then she shoved it into his hair. Slade grabbed her hip to hold her tighter against his throbbing erection. He’d just had her this morning, and he wanted her again.
Right now—here in his office—on his desk. A shiver rocked him and he blindly swiped his arm across his desk to clear it sending things clattering to the floor.
“Don’t even think about it,” Logan growled, and Slade froze.
Taylor whimpered, as she scrambled off his lap and Slade lunged up to his feet.
“Welcome back,” he said, clearing his throat. Taylor just stood beside him, her face flaming and her body tense.
“I hear we have some new women at Deep Six,” Susan said, shoving Dave to the side so she could grin at Slade. “I’d say it’s about time we end this sausage fest.”
Logan shot Slade a look that curdled his blood.
“Yeah, we saw Cee Cee when we came in,” he grated, and his tone told Slade there would be hell to pay.
Susan walked to Taylor and stuck out her hand. “I’m Susan Whit—”she cut her eyes back at Dave and laughed. “Susan Logan.”
“Taylor Kincaid,” she replied taking her hand.
If Dave’s eyes were laser beams, Slade would be sliced to shreds right now. It was time for them to get the hell out of here. Slade dropped his arm over Taylor’s shoulders and guided her away from Susan. “Yeah, we were just waiting for y’all to come in. It’s our turn for a two-week vacation, buddy.”
Dave blocked the doorway. “I need to get a SITREP from you before you leave.”
“Like the one you gave me when you left?” he shot back angrily.
Susan stepped between them and put her hand in the center of Dave’s chest to shove him out of the doorway. “You walk into this office and you’re whole attitude changes. Take a chill, we just had our fun. Let them go have theirs. I’m sure the sky didn’t fall while we were gone, terrorists didn’t attack Dallas, and we’re not bankrupt.”
“I’m sure you’re right, but I want to know what the hell happened while I was gone,” Dave protested.
Holy hell, Susan had come much too close to hitting the nail on the head for him. Slade wasn’t sticking around for the fireworks when they found that out. Turning Taylor, he hustled her to the door, refusing to let her stop to talk to Cee Cee.
“My cell phone is in my desk drawer, if you need it.”
With a quick wave, he slammed the door, and grabbed Taylor’s hand. They ran for the Humvee as he called for Lola and Buddy who were playing in the yard.
EPILOGUE
“I guess this means I’m stuck with you forever,” Lola yapped, casting a sideways stare at Buddy before she threw her muzzle up haughtily.
She was definitely a diva who thought she was smarter than the average dog. And Buddy had to admit she was right. She had been to war and on exciting adventures with her master and sniffed bombs to keep the soldiers she protected safe. Lola was a hero like her master, she even had a medal and Buddy loved her. He just wished she was nicer to him sometimes.
But she is only trying to keep you out of the kennel, Buddy reminded himself.
“You mean I’m stuck with you for life now,” he woofed back, even though that sounded like the best thing that had ever happened to him. Well, besides that mean man leaving him with his mommy. “You’re boring and only want to work...and you talk funny.”
If she could be mean, he could too. But it hurt his heart to be mean, because he loved Lola so much. She was beautiful, and brave and smart like his mommy. He wished she loved him like his mommy loved her master.
“That’s because I was born in Germany, you stupid mutt.”
“I’m not a mutt—I’m a laba-ba-ra-dor,” he growled fiercely.
Maybe he was stupid though. Goofy at the very least, he thought, and his chin dropped. He wished Lola loved him like her master loved his mommy. But nobody loved him, because all he did was cause trouble.
He really tried to be good, but those squirrels teased him, so he had to chase them. One day he was going to catch one of them too, and he’d show them what for. And when he got bored, he chewed stuff up because he couldn’t help himself.
Chewing up his mommy’s new shoes had been a big mistake though. He’d spent the day in his kennel for that, so he wouldn’t be doing that again. It didn’t taste that good anyway, and made his stomach hurt.
Since Lola’s master came into their lives though, Buddy rarely got bored. He liked to teach him stuff, and play ball with him. That made Lola jealous sometimes.
Maybe that’s why she didn’t love him.
Lola nudged him with her muzzle.
“What’s wrong mutt?’ she asked, and his fur bristled, because Buddy hated when she called him that. “I’m the one who should be dog-faced, since my master doesn’t need me anymore.” Lola sighed as she looked at the man standing in the fancy black suit next to his mommy. “He hasn’t in a long time now.”
“He needs you because he loves you,” Buddy woofed, swallowing hard because he did too.
“I know he still loves me, but he doesn’t need me.” Lola sucked in a deep breath, and dropped her muzzle before lifting it quickly. “But this is a happy day! Our humans are getting married.” Lola looked back at her master and his mommy as they licked each other. “Look how happy they are...”
They were, and looked nice in their new clothes too. That white dress his mommy had on was so white it hurt his eyes to look at it though, so he looked at Lola instead. She wore white too Their humans had gotten her a white vest to carry something down the aisle to them. He’d just got to watch. Because he wasn’t as smart as Lola.
“That new white vest looks pretty on you,” Buddy yapped, then snapped his jaw shut, not believing he’d actually said it. He was only supposed to think things like that, or she might figure out he loved her and make fun of him.
“Shhh!” Lola growled, and Buddy sat down beside her again.
He was going to be good today, because Lola was right. This was a special day for their humans, and he was not going to get in trouble in front of all these people on the beach.
They were on the beach! The sand felt funny to his pads, but the air was amazing. He took a deep breath, and froze. His mouth watered and his insides quivered because he smelled a hot dog somewhere. A craving to have that hotdog in his mouth punched him in the gut, and Buddy frantically searched the beach to find it.
A young boy had it and he was getting away. Buddy’s hotdog was getting away. With a loud woof, he crouched then shot off down the beach after his hot dog.
<
br /> “No, Buddy, sitz!” Lola’s master yelled loudly and Buddy dropped his butt to the ground. Sometimes it was no fun being trained, he thought sourly, as his head dipped.
Lola walked up to him and licked the side of his face and Buddy’s fur quivered.
“You should’ve kept going and you could’ve shared it with me,” she whispered by his ear then glanced back at her master. “Don’t get too well-trained, mutt, because I love a bad boy, almost as much as I love hotdogs.”
Thank you so much for purchasing and reading TWISTED HONOR. If you enjoyed it, I would very much appreciate you leaving a review for me and checking out my other books.
DEEP SIX SECURITY SERIES:
Till Death (#1, Deep Six Security), Dave Logan and Susan Whitmore’s story
Dave Logan, the owner of Deep Six Security, is stunned when Dallas FBI head, Susan Whitmore, darkens his doorstep accusing him of being the cause of her losing her job, and demanding he hire her. Even as his brain says no way, the Barracuda is a woman nobody can work with, his white-knight complex forces him to offer her a job as his very overqualified temporary secretary.
A wealthy couple who ordered a designer baby, which hasn’t been delivered contacts Dave for help. To get answers for them, Dave has to get inside an overly-fortified fertility clinic going undercover with Susan as his temporary wife. The situation inside is worse than they imagined, and soon their pretend ‘til death do us part’ could become very real unless the two alpha personalities learn to work together to stay alive.
SEALed Fate (A Deep Six Security/Hot SEALs Crossover Novella), Jaxson Thomas and Fallon Sharpe’s Story
Former Navy SEAL Jaxson Thomas left the teams in disgrace to save his squad from being dragged through the mud with a JAG investigation. He never thought he’d have to leave the civilian job he got after the teams in the same way, but that’s exactly what happened. To keep his friends at Deep Six Security from losing their biggest contract, he takes the blame for an assignment gone bad. The SEAL mentality drilled into him for years won't let Jaxson give up though, so he goes to work for Guardian Angel Protective Services, a new security firm started by his former SEAL teammates, hoping yesterday would be his last bad day.
