Promise to Defend

by Diana Gardin

  When I trail off, the room goes deadly quiet. They all know what I’m going to say; I don’t have to finish the sentence. I just want to let them know that even though Bennett and my stories are different, there’s a similarity running through them that ties us together. They need to know that I trust him.

  “He’s a good dude. He messed up, but who hasn’t? He had my back last night, and that’s enough said.”

  The silence stretches, and Dare and Grisham exchange a glance. Sayward keeps her eyes on her laptop screen, and Jacob’s critical stare burns into mine. Finally, he gives a curt nod. “We’ll check him out. But let’s move on. What happened with Oakes?”

  As I remember the events of last night, I try really hard not to become infuriated all over again. Really damn hard. “He came for Olive. Thought he could dismiss me, get her to come with him so he could brainwash her or whatever. He wants her, and he wants her bad. I don’t know why. He let her go years ago. Why come back for her now?”

  Grisham strokes his chin. “That’s a good question.”

  “I have a profiler I can get on it. Figure out what’s making him tick. What else?”

  A small bit of reassurance fills me, because Jacob’s connections are solid. If he can get someone to figure out why Oakes is doing what he’s doing, that’s going to make it that much easier for me to protect Red.

  “So what happened?” Dare’s the calmest one in the room, which is par for the course. He’s a thinker, and he’s always going to listen to an entire problem, then figure out how best to make it go away.

  “What happened…is that Olive was going to offer herself up to him.” The tension in my voice is thick, almost strangling me. That’s something I wish I could forget.

  “What the fuck?” Grisham leans forward, his voice full of disbelief.

  Nodding, I sigh. “The asshole threated me. Said he’d leave me be or whatever, as long as she came with him. So they could ‘talk.’ It was bullshit, but Olive…she was trying to protect me.”

  Something warm and tender flows through me, and it’s such a foreign feeling that it steals my goddamn breath. She wanted to protect me.

  Dare sucks in a breath. “Damn.”

  Those are my exact sentiments. “That’s when Bennett pulled up. Rolled in like a boss, armed and ready. Oakes was pissed, but he backed off. Not before he revealed a few things.”

  Jacob’s in recon mode, all-business. “What’d you find out?” he barks.

  Leaning forward, I relay all of the information that Oakes gave me last night. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to let us know that he’s working for his uncle, the head of the Margiano crime family.

  “There’s no doubt that the Margiano family is the cause of all of the trouble happening here in Wilmington. He’s our way in.” Finished with my story, I settle back in my seat and focus on my boss.

  Jacob is silent for a moment, thinking. Then, he starts firing orders. “Sayward, I want you to gather all the information you can find on the Margianos. Especially the patriarch. When we have that info, we’ll figure out how we can send a man in to infiltrate the organization. It obviously can’t be you, Swagger. Looks like you’ve burned that bridge.”

  I give him a wry smile. “Yeah. Sorry about that.”

  Jacob dismissed me. “We’ll make it work. You’re all dismissed. Kill your workouts this morning. That’s an order.”

  We pretend to groan, but we all love working out as a part of our job in the state-of-the–art gym located at the office. The daily grind of our workout takes a lot of the edge off of what we do, but it also keeps us in the kind of shape we need to stay in so we can perform our jobs to the best of our abilities.

  “You working out today, Say?” Grisham aims his question at Sayward as we all stand.

  She glances up at him. “Yeah. Women have the ability to build an effective amount of muscle, and are able to use it in both defensive and offensive measures when facing an opponent. I need to work out in order to be a functioning member of this team.”

  She says it all in this matter-of-fact tone that pulls a grin from each of us.

  “Yeah, I know, sweetheart.” Grisham aims a charming grin at her, but she frowns.

  “If you call me sweetheart again, I’m going to use my boxing skills to kick your ass.”

  Holding up both hands, Grisham backs away slowly. “Easy, there, killer. It’s just an expression. I’m happily taken, I promise.”

  She nods. “Okay, then. See you all upstairs.” Gathering her laptop, she leaves the room.

  I turn to Dare and Grisham with wide eyes. “Holy shit. She’s something else.”

  Grisham’s expelled breath blows up his cheeks like a puffer fish. “Damn straight she is. I feel sorry for the bastard that falls for those killer curves and innocent look. She’s like a fucking viper.”

  I lift my brows. “Viper? Sounds like a good field nickname for a woman like that.”

  We all chuckle as we leave the room. I’m not going to be the one to tell Sayward about her new nickname, but I can’t wait to be on the sidelines when someone does.

  When the workday is done, I glance up from my desk. I’ve given Olive free rein of the desk throughout the day, since she’s the one who has to use it most often. Glancing up at her, I’m forced to just sit and stare for a minute. She’s busy using the design software on her laptop, shifting things around in one of her projects until everything looks just so. Again, as I watch her, I’m hit with a sense of rightness.

  She has her own office, so even if whatever this is between us turns into something real, it’s not like she’ll be sharing my desk on a regular basis. But it still feels like she belongs, and I’m trying hard to figure out why that is.

  “Hey.” My voice is softer than usual. “You about ready to quit for the day?”

  She glances up at me, and when those big blue eyes lock with mine I realize just how fucked I am. Something in my gut pulls toward her, urging me to get close and stay that way. Rising from my chair, I put my arms on either side of her on the desk and lean over, inhaling as my lips brush the side of her neck.

  She leans against me with a soft sigh. “God…why do you smell so good?”

  I smile against her skin. I’d taken a shower earlier after my workout. “I was just thinking the same thing about you.”

  I run my nose along the side of her throat, and it hurts how much I want to taste her right now. The fact that anyone walking by could see us, notice how close we are, doesn’t faze me. In fact, I have a strong urge to make sure everyone knows that she belongs to me.

  Fuck. What the hell am I doing? She doesn’t belong to me.

  But could she? Somehow, the entire time I’d observed Olive in the past, noticed how beautiful she was, I knew she’d never be just another woman for me. And now that I’ve had her in my bed, let my hands roam over every inch of her, tasted her sweetness? I want to repeat it. Again and again.

  “I want to get you home.” The words come out before I can stop them.

  Tilting her head back, she peers up at me. “What are you going to do with me when we get there?”

  My body reacts to her; it’s immediate and intense. My chuckle is dark. “Red…there’s no telling. But it’s probably going to be very, very dirty.” I let my hands slide up her arms.

  She swivels the chair, turning to face me. Her tongue darts out to lick her lips, and my eyes tract the movement. “Promise?”

  The desire burning in her eyes mixes with the dark playfulness I now know is there, and I suddenly straighten. “Let’s go.”

  The Ram eats up the road as I head back to the condo. From time to time, I glance over at Olive, sometimes catching her looking at me while I drive, and all I can do is smile. I’m not even sure where this woman came from, but suddenly she’s all I can think about. It’s scary, but I also kind of like it.

  “Let me make you dinner tonight,” she says, her voice carrying over the sound of Eric Church on the radio.

  “Yeah?”
I glance over at her, a little bit of teasing in my tone. “Can you cook?”

  She punches me, and I laugh. Now that we’ve moved past the defenses we both naturally put up, it’s so damn easy with her.

  “It doesn’t matter. You’ll eat what I make, and you’ll like it, Swagger.” She sounds sassy, but the teasing tone is there in her voice, too.

  I glance over at her as I turn onto the long beach road that will take us across the Intercoastal Waterway and into Carolina Beach. “I’ll definitely love what I eat tonight.”

  And there goes her bottom lip into her mouth, making me want to pull it between my teeth and bite down gently. With a sense of straight-up happiness, I realize that tonight, I probably will.

  The autumn sun is sinking below the horizon on our right, and the shock of red and gold reminds me of Olive’s coloring. The thought makes me smile. Glancing into my rearview mirror, I frown. There’s a black SUV coming up behind us, moving fast. Too fast, for the road we’re on. I keep my eyes there, letting them flit back to check the road every few seconds while I watch the new vehicle’s approach.

  “What is it?” Olive’s tone is alert. She must be reading my mind, because my gut is screaming that something about the car coming up behind us isn’t right.

  “Could be nothing,” I mutter as my foot stays steady on the gas. It’s a four-lane road, let them pass me if they think I’m driving too slowly.

  The SUV rolls right up on my tail, though, and doesn’t pass. The encroaching darkness outside keeps me from being able to see into the windshield of the vehicle, the bright headlights leaving me nearly blind when I try.

  “Hey, Red?” Keeping my voice steady, I reach for her thigh and squeeze gently. “Do me a favor. Reach into the glove box there and grab my pistol. Put in in the console for me.”

  Olive doesn’t hesitate. She does as I ask, and when my weapon is sitting within reach I breathe a sigh of relief.

  “Someone’s following us?” she asks, her voice lifting slightly higher than its usual range.

  “It’s okay, sweetheart.” I glance into the mirror again and note that the SUV hasn’t made a move. “Could just be headed to the beach same as us. When I pull off onto the turn for the condo, we’ll see what happens.”

  She nods, and I continue driving, about halfway across the low bridge.

  “Ronin,” she murmurs, staring out the front windshield.

  I see it, too, and my stomach drops to my feet. There’s an identical SUV approaching fast from the front. Moving fast, I tap the phone icon on my dash screen and push the button for Grisham’s phone. His voice comes through the speakers.

  “What’s up, Swagger?”

  I speak at a clip. “Ghost. Might need some backup. I’m being sandwiched by two SUVs on the ICW bridge. What the fuck?”

  I don’t have time to elaborate, nor am I able to concentrate on Grisham’s response. The approaching SUV makes a tight swerve, directly into our lane. I have seconds to act, and there’s a choice between swerving into oncoming traffic to avoid it, or going over the bridge.

  My instincts take over, my training kicks in, and I know that with a passenger in the car I can’t run us into traffic at forty-five miles an hour. I jerk the steering wheel, and the metal railing gleams in the glare of my headlights.

  “Ronin!” Olive’s scream is the only thing I hear as the truck plunges over the side of the bridge.

  21

  Olive

  The sound of metal grinding against metal as the truck slams into the guardrail twists my stomach. The split-second of free fall as we hit open air and drop twenty feet takes my breath away. And the sickening splash I hear as we hit the water in the heavy, heavy vehicle, combined with the violent jerk as my body is thrown forward, almost make me lose the contents of my stomach all over the dashboard.

  “Red.”

  Somehow, Ronin’s voice reaches me, and it sounds the same as it always does. Calm, level, even if there is an underlying note of strong urgency. “Listen to me, baby.”

  It’s the first time he’s ever called me baby, and I can’t even enjoy it.

  “Are you okay? Do you think anything is broken?”

  I glance around me frantically, noting that we’re in the water, and my stomach heaves again. “Oh, God!”

  “Olive. Focus on me.” Ronin grabs my hand, tugging gently.

  I turn to face him, finding his green eyes blazing into mine, and I nod. In the back of my head, I know that I’m nearly hysterical, and I shake myself. Snap the hell out of it, Olive. You’re strong. You’re strong. You can get through this. You just went over a bridge in a truck, and you’re alive. So get the fuck over it.

  Mentally checking myself, I wince when the pain in my shoulder comes to life. “Ouch. My—my shoulder hurts.”

  Ronin nods, glancing down at my shoulder. “Okay. Okay, baby. Anything else?”

  I want to look away from him, because we’re in the water and we’re sinking. I feel us lowering, and I need to see. But when I try to glance away, Ronin’s voice goes sharp.

  “Eyes on me, Red.”

  I look at him. “N-no. I don’t think anything else…is hurt.”

  I wish I sounded strong. But I don’t. I sound like I’m about to break at any second. When something cold and wet trickles over my feet, I glance down. Dread shoots an arrow through my chest. I start kicking my feet, stomping against the water, but of course that does nothing. It just keeps coming.

  “Easy, Red. Listen to me. I’m going to get us out of here, I swear to you. I want you to unbuckle your seat belt.” Ronin squeezes my hand, and then releases it.

  I keep staring at him, refusing to look away. I’m trying so hard to ignore the water stretching up to my calves.

  “Right now, Red. Do it now.”

  Dazed, I turn my attention to my seat belt.

  “I’m going to open my door and we’re going to swim out. But listen, Red, here’s the catch. I’m not going to be able to do that until we’re submerged.”

  Wait…what?

  “What?” My panic rises, my voice trembling. “I don’t want to drown, Ronin.”

  The water, colder than I would have thought it could be, splashes up over my knees. Why is it rising so fast? Is this really happening?

  “Shhh, baby. I know. You won’t. I won’t let that happen. You trust me?”

  Now unburdened by my seat belt, I look at him and take a calming breath. Because even though I’m in a truck sinking into the depths of the Intercoastal Waterway right now, I’m here with Ronin, and that means I can survive it.

  I nod. My teeth start to chatter, and maybe part of it is because the cold Atlantic is creeping up my torso. But I’m also vaguely aware that I’m probably going into shock. Darkness is dancing at the edge of my vision, and I blink rapidly, trying to keep it at bay.

  “Good girl. I have to wait until we’re submerged, because the doors won’t open until the pressure is equal on the inside and the outside of the truck. When I say, I’ll want you to swim out through my door with me. I’ll never let go of your hand, okay?”

  I don’t answer, because I’m still stuck on the word submerged.

  “Olive?” Ronin’s using his sharp voice again. “You know how to swim, right?”

  I nod again.

  “Good, baby. Good. Okay, we only have another couple of minutes. When the water covers your chin, I want you to grab the biggest breath you’ve ever taken, before it covers your nose and mouth, okay?”

  “O-okay. I’m scared, Ronin.”

  I don’t know if I’ve ever admitted such a thing out loud before. Of course there’s been many times in my life that I’ve felt fear. Deep, dark fear that cloaks you and threatens to swallow you whole. But taking control means you have a weapon to fight it with. It’s why I never let that control go. But right now, in this situation? All my control is gone. And I’m handing my life over to the man sitting beside me, trusting him to keep me safe.

  Ronin, having already unbuckled his own s
eat belt, turns his entire body around to face me. He slides me over onto the bench seat so that I’m tucked up right next to his side. “I know you are, Red. But you’re doing so damn good right now. We can do this. Okay?”

  I take a few deep breaths, practicing for the big one. I try not to watch as the water rises, and for some reason my sister’s face flashes into my mind.

  Rayne. What if I never get to see her again?

  “Now, Red. Take that breath.” Ronin’s strong, steady voice breaks into my thoughts.

  The man is serious, unshakeable. If it weren’t for his rock-solid assurance, I wouldn’t be conscious right now, I’m sure.

  I suck in a breath, a deep lungful of air, and hold it. My eyes wide, I try to focus on Ronin’s face as he watches me intently, the water rising over my nose.

  He takes both my hands in his, and I just try to focus on his touch, not on the water.

  When the seawater covers the top of my head, I glance up. Bubbles froth above me as it reaches the top of the car, and then Ronin yanks one of his hands away. Not realizing someone could move so fast underwater, I watch as he pulls back on the door handle and shoves. The truck’s driver’s-side door wrenches open, and Ronin wastes no time reaching back for me.

  My lungs are burning. Stars dance for real in front of my eyes, but I focus on Ronin as he pulls me through the interior of the car and out into the dark water. I’m immediately disoriented, not able to see a thing, but the steady tug of Ronin in front of me lets me know that he has me.

  And then, my air runs out. Dismayed, I start to struggle and kick, knowing that I need to make it to the surface faster. Strong arms circle me, and my mouth bursts open even as I tell it not to. Salty water fills my mouth, and my body is shocked when, instead of air, I inhale the liquid surrounding me.