Holding Fire

by April Hunt

  Trey stared at his mother for a minute before muttering a soft curse, which earned him a raised brow. “I know I said I’d help out, but things at work are a little crazy.”

  Sophie leaned casually against the counter and stared at her son—who had to be a foot taller than she was. “What time does Alpha open for business, Trey Michael?”

  Elle watched in fascination as Trey stumbled over his words, and a faint rosy color rode high on his cheeks. He stole a quick glance her way before meeting his mother’s eyes. He was blushing!

  “Not until late afternoon but—” Trey tried explaining.

  “And how many partners do you have who could easily do whatever tidying up may be required before opening?” Sophie held up her hand to silence him and nodded to where Charlie stood a few feet away, devouring the show like live theater. “Charlotte, sweetheart? How many partners does my son have in this little venture of his…including you, of course?”

  “Then that would be six other partners, Soph.” Charlie grinned mischievously.

  Sophie turned to Trey, still looking the epitome of calm and cool. “That’s right, six. So tell me again why I’m going to have to disappoint an entire youth center full of children when I announce that you’re not going to be there to watch them race the sleds that you helped them build?” Sophie caught Elle off guard when she turned toward her. “How would you like to go the Sled-tacular, Elle?”

  “Ma,” Trey groaned out a warning. “You can’t just go around—”

  “As in sledding?” Elle ignored Trey’s deep sigh. “In the snow?”

  “Well, it’s definitely not summertime, so yes.” Sophie chuckled. “I happen to run Frederick’s youth center, and we’re fortunate enough to have a prime spot for sledding right beside our little building—one of the benefits of being on a mountain.”

  “I’ve only ever been sledding once—and I don’t really remember much of it. I’d love to go.”

  Sophie clapped her hands excitedly and turned to her son. “Then it’s settled. I’ll see you two tomorrow at noon. The community center.” She slipped off the bar stool and pulled Trey’s head down for a forehead kiss. “And don’t forget to wear an extra pair of socks, hon. It’s going to be colder than your Aunt Edna’s brass bra.”

  With a little wave, Sophie Hanson disappeared out Alpha’s front door.

  Trey still looked a little shell-shocked. Charlie chuckled in amusement. And Elle tried wrapping her head around all of it.

  “So”—Elle plunked her ass down on the stool Sophie had vacated—“that was your mother.”

  Trey rolled his neck and chuckled. “All my life.”

  “I just made an ass of myself…in front of your mother.”

  Trey lifted an eyebrow. “You made an ass out of yourself? And here I thought she made an ass out of me.”

  “It wasn’t that bad.” Elle tried to be polite.

  “Yes it was. It was bloody wonderful,” Charlie chimed in gleefully as she hoisted a crate of dirty beer mugs and disappeared through the swinging doors.

  Elle laughed. She couldn’t help it. “Okay, so maybe it was a tad on the humorous side.”

  Trey chuckled along with her and scrubbed his face, looking like he’d just finished a marathon. “Christ. I’m thirty-four years old. I’ve made militia heads and dictators piss their fucking pants, and I come home and my mom’s reminding me to double up on my fucking socks.”

  A sudden wave of sadness hit Elle out of nowhere. She tried to brush it off before he noticed, but of course that didn’t happen. He caught her chin before she could turn away. “What’s up? Look, if you really don’t want to go tomorrow, she’ll understand.”

  “It’s not that,” she admitted quietly.

  “Then what is it?”

  She lifted her shoulders in a small shrug. “You’re lucky that you have that—a mom who cares enough to worry that you don’t lose any of your little piggies.”

  “I know I’m lucky. I wouldn’t trade her in for anything in the world—even if she does still try to dress me like I’m four.”

  “Aren’t you worried that she probably thinks you and I are an item?”

  Points to Trey for not looking completely wigged out. Actually, he didn’t look the least bit bothered. “Knowing my mom, that’s probably exactly what she thinks. But why would that worry me? And if it doesn’t worry me, it shouldn’t worry you.”

  He pulled the damp cloth from her hand and plucked her off her seat. “I think that’s the cleanest this counter’s ever been. Come here. My show was cut short.”

  “What show?” She’d barely asked the question when he began racking up the balls on the pool table. “You want to play a game of pool?”

  “No, I want to watch you play one, and now that there’s no one here to ogle your ass when you bend over, I can actually enjoy the sight of it.”

  Elle scanned the room. He was right. At some point, everyone had vacated the room. The customers were gone, and Vince had disappeared. Charlie, having vanished with the dishes, hadn’t returned. They were well and good enough alone.

  “And what makes you think that I’m going to bend over for you?” Elle weighted her voice in what she hoped sounded like a sexy purr.

  Trey stalked toward her. And it was a stalk…purely animalistic in the way his eyes ate her up as he closed the distance between them, only stopping when he looped an arm around her waist and hauled her against his chest. “Aren’t you?”

  They both already knew she was, but that didn’t mean she needed to give in right away. She slipped from his hold and picked up the cue she’d used earlier. She leaned over the table and enjoyed the sound of Trey’s swallowed groan as she made the first shot.

  Balls clacked and rolled, two immediately falling into their pockets.

  “Excuse me.” Elle nodded to where he stood and she needed to be.

  He stepped back a half inch, barely giving her enough room to squeeze into the tight space. This time when she bent closer to the table, her rear nestled perfectly against the front of his jeans.

  Trey’s hands clamped down on her hips, holding her firmly in place as she made her second shot…and missed.

  “Game over,” Trey growled.

  He’d barely turned her around when his mouth claimed hers in a toe-curling kiss. Hands clutching his arms, Elle held on for dear life as he pillaged and plundered. She eagerly accepted his tongue into her mouth and gifted him with hers. The longer the kiss lasted, the more her body melted against his.

  Nothing was innocent or easy when it came to Trey. Any gentle caress or lingering look had the potential to go nuclear. Elle couldn’t touch him enough. Her hands ran over his chest, fisting the soft cotton as he effortlessly hoisted her onto the edge of the pool table and inserted himself between her jean-clad legs.

  “Goddamn.” Trey pulled her shirt from her jeans and skated his hands toward her bra-covered breasts. “You have no idea how much I fucking want you right now.”

  With a strategic hip roll, she brushed her mound across the firmness pushing against his zipper. “I think I may have one,” she teased.

  “Then what the hell’s stopping us?”

  “Clothes. A lack of bed. Then there’s the fact we’re probably on camera right about now.”

  Trey guided her hips in another swivel that made them both groan. “The clothes we can remedy, beds are overrated, and the guys value their lives too much not to have turned off the camera feed from this sector the second Charlie left the room. I want to be buried balls-deep inside you when you let go,” Trey admitted huskily. “Bed or pool table?”

  “Didn’t you say beds are overrated?” Elle’s blood ran hot, every inch of her body feeling as if it could burst into flames.

  “Damn straight they fucking are.”

  They both reached for the button of his jeans at the same time.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Trey couldn’t keep his eyes off Elle, and it was more than the fact that he was responsible for her s
afety. She was fucking gorgeous, red-cheeked and laughing harder each time the wooden toboggan pitched her into the snow—which was on nearly every pass down Sandler’s Hill, the hilly decline that started at the back of the church parking lot and ended after an exhilarating plummet into the community center’s backyard.

  “I can’t believe how much fun this is.” Elle’s blue eyes sparkled with something he guessed she didn’t experience often—freedom. She grabbed his hand and gave him a little tug. “Come on, you know you want to go up there with me. Please.”

  He gifted her a faint grin. “I’m content watching you have all the fun right now.”

  She dusted excess snow off the front of her coat and giggled. “Oh, God, and it is fun. Getting away for the day is just what I needed. Don’t get me wrong, because I love everyone for what they’re doing, but sometimes it feels a little claustrophobic.”

  A hint of guilt attacked Trey’s conscience. As far as she knew, she hadn’t gotten away for the day so much as the day—and the team—had followed her there. The fact that no one should be able to track her to Frederick didn’t mean he’d leave her safety to chance. That’s why Charlie, Vince, and Logan were positioned around the perimeter. Out of sight, but not out of Trey’s earshot.

  Charlie’s disapproving snort chimed from his earbud, and he couldn’t tell her to stuff it because, number one: she was right to think him a lying piece of shit; and number two: because he was a lying piece of shit, if Trey verbalized his displeasure, he’d end up ratting himself the hell out.

  Trey swallowed the guilt and brushed away the clumps of snow that held on to the ends of Elle’s hair. “I can’t believe how much snow you’ve eaten this afternoon.”

  She swatted his chest and created a snow cloud around them. “I can’t believe you helped them make these sleds.”

  They waved to a group of youngsters whose parents had already shown for pick-up. Only a handful of children remained, trying desperately to get in a final run.

  “They did the hard parts themselves,” Trey admitted. “I was more of a supervisor to make sure no one lost any digits.”

  “Well, then your supervisory skills are superb, because I don’t think anyone could buy a better sled in the stores.”

  “Miss Elle! Mr. Trey! Look!” Three girls who’d been in the youth program since his mother had started it five years before called for their attention. They fell backward into a pile of snow and immediately started flinging their arms and legs in and out. “We’re making Elle Angels. Get it?”

  Trey chuckled, shaking his head at the kids’ antics. “You’ve been a big hit today, although I can’t say that I’m surprised.”

  She looked pleased, but gave a modest shrug. “Kids are just short adults without all the baggage that comes along with age. It’s practically impossible not to get along with them.”

  Susie Wannamaker, a spritely seven-year-old with a penchant for sparkly things, tackle-hugged Elle’s waist. “Miss Elle, my daddy’s here to pick me up but he said I could go down the hill one more time. Will you go down with me on my sled?”

  Elle clutched her chest with one hand and tugged the little poof on the girl’s hat with the other. “You mean ride with a future professional sledder? You don’t even have to ask. Let’s go.”

  Trey watched the two climb the hill and was about to tell Charlie to stow her displeasure where the sun didn’t fucking shine when Elle’s spot was taken over by another frustrating woman in his life. His mother had remained uncharacteristically quiet this morning, and he’d known it was only a matter of time and opportunity until it came to an end.

  And it fucking ended.

  “Elle’s absolutely lovely.” Sophie watched as Elle and Susie hoofed it up the incline. “Where did you say the two of you met again?”

  “I didn’t say.” Trey caught the coy smile lifting up his mother’s lips. “Ma. Don’t.”

  “Don’t what?” she asked way too innocently. “Don’t admit that I’m eager to see you settle down with the right woman and give me grandbabies? Do you know that Martha Weatherspoon’s daughter just had a fourth girl? Four, Trey. And she’s five years younger than you.”

  Trey draped his arm over his mother’s shoulder. “My life isn’t child friendly right now.”

  Sophie guffawed. “Please, you’re part-owner of your own business so don’t give me that nonsense, Trey Michael Hanson. What does Elle think about it? Kids?”

  “Don’t go there, Ma,” Trey warned.

  It was a conversation they’d had before. Marriage. Kids. And everything that came with them. But for some reason it felt different this time around, and his hunch was that difference involved a stubborn blonde nurse.

  “Elle isn’t looking for a forever kind of thing,” he reluctantly admitted.

  “What?” Sophie’s eyes widened. “That doesn’t make any sense. I mean, look at her with those kids. It’s obvious that they adore her as much as she does them. She’s a natural.”

  “And it’s not what she wants. Hell, she doesn’t even want a relationship.”

  “What happened?”

  Her question took him off guard. “What do you mean?”

  “I thought I saw something in her eyes last night at Alpha, but now I know I did. A woman like her doesn’t shy away from a future that’s obviously meant for her unless there’s a damn good reason.”

  “Well, it’s a reason, but I’m not really sold on how good it is. But she’s convinced that it is and there’s no changing her mind.”

  “I’m not saying it would be easy to do it, but anyone can be swayed with the right motivation. Have you tried not being so…large?”

  Trey looked at his mom and tried to read behind the twinkle in her eyes. “Large? Like you want me to…shrink? What the hell kind of glue are you using in your craft class?”

  She smacked his chest and laughed. “Sweetheart, I love you. You know I absolutely adore you. You are my world…but you have a habit of being…a little…”

  “Spit it out, Ma.”

  “Controlling.” Trey opened his mouth to argue but stopped when that mom-finger started waving right under his nose. “Do not deny it, young man. Your father used to be the same way and I had to re-train him right from the beginning. Hell, he was still working on it up until the day of his heart attack. It’s great that you want to take care of the people in your life, but sometimes you need to let them take care of themselves. And most importantly, sometimes they want to do it themselves.”

  Trey studied his mom carefully. “You’re not talking about women right now, are you?”

  “Actually, I am. I’m talking about myself, and Penny, and Rachel. Leaving home to start your own life is no reason to feel guilty…but you need to remind yourself that even though we missed you, we survived. And some women wear that kind of survival like a badge of courage…” Her eyes flickered up the hill toward Elle. “You don’t want to do anything to compromise the badge, honey. Make sure it stays on the jacket. Double-stitched. Maybe super-glued, too.”

  Sometimes Trey wished he had a translator for his mother’s words of wisdom. “So basically what you’re staying is that I shouldn’t be a controlling prick and scare Elle away?”

  She gave his cheek a firm pat. “I always knew you had my smarts—something I would most definitely like to pass down to a few grandchildren.”

  Trey couldn’t help but laugh, and he’d nearly forgotten that three of his teammates were silently listening to every word—until Logan’s voice chimed through the mic. “We have an unknown approaching Elle.”

  Trey’s gaze snapped to the top of the hill and, sure enough, Elle stood, still holding onto Susie’s hand, as the tall figure stopped a bare three feet away from them. Trey didn’t need to be standing next to her to read the tension in her stance.

  “Fucking A,” Trey cursed.

  Sophie narrowed her eyes, squinting to see in the distance. “Is that one of the fathers? We told the parents to pick the kids up at the youth center.”r />
  “Vince, Charlie,” Trey barked, “get my mom and whatever kids are still around out of here. Logan—”

  “I’m already hustling up the right side, man,” Logan panted as he ran.

  Trey took off, trusting his teammates to make sure everyone else remained safe. He was halfway up the hill when he heard Elle gently urge Susie onto her sled. The little girl looked confused, but the second her bottom touched the seat, Elle nudged the sled loose with her boot and the seven-year-old shuttled down the hill and toward safety.

  Smart fucking thinking, baby.

  “We got a sledder coming down,” Trey called, letting the others know.

  “I’ll get her,” Charlie stated.

  Trey’s lungs burned, the cold air freezing his insides as he climbed the embankment. Tunnel vision narrowed his focus on Elle and, the closer he got to the top, the more he knew his gut hadn’t steered him wrong. The asshole from the gala had fucking found her, and he had no goddamn clue how that had happened.

  About ten feet from the crest of the hill, both Elle and the hired mercenary slithered out of his view. Boots slipping on the fresh snow, he dug his hands into the earth and clawed his way up the last few feet. Logan reached the top at the same time, the two of them approaching the small parking lot from different angles.

  “And here I thought nothing could surprise me anymore. You sure do get around, princess,” the merc’s voice drifted through the lot. Trey ducked and wove, searching for their exact position. “I thought I’d have to pick one or the other, but it looks like I’ll be able to get my payday right along with a little retribution.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Elle’s voice followed. “You’re the one who tracked me down here.”

  In hand signals, Trey ordered Logan right as he went left. They closed in on Elle’s position from both sides.

  “Leave me the hell alone!” Elle shouted a moment before the sound of a scuffle reached Trey’s ears.

  Trey hustled, skirting around the hood of his SUV and drawing his gun. One hair—if the fucking bastard moved one hair out of place, he’d end him. He stepped into the clearing just as Elle executed a flawless uppercut into the bastard’s nose.