Abbot

by Alison Kent

  Behind him, Annie sat as close to her son as possible, the rest of the seat piled with backpacks and duffels. “I don’t know exactly but I’ll bet it’s going to be a place you’ll like.”

  “Cuz Kyle will be there?” Army asked, looking out the window as fields rolled by, dry and brown giving way to green piney woods.

  “That’s part of it, yes,” she said, a smile in her voice, relief too.

  “Kyle’s cool. Like a ninja,” Army said, then after thinking for a moment, added softly, “Or a real dad,” and Kyle thought his heart would burst from his chest.

  “Is that so?” Annie’s voice quivered as she met Kyle’s gaze in the rearview mirror.

  Her eyes were damp and full of joy and he’d waited his entire life to have someone look at him that way. Yes, there was gratitude for safely bringing home her son. But the rest—

  “And he’s super strong. He carried me all the way out of the house and across the field to his truck and never even dropped me once.”

  “Wow.” Eyes wide, Annie stifled a laugh. “That took a lot of muscles.”

  “His are huge. Like Captain America’s. No. Like the Hulk’s.”

  “That’s really big.”

  “And he runs like the Flash. I wasn’t scared even for a minute.”

  “I’m so proud of you,” she said, reaching over to ruffle his hair.

  “I couldn’t be scared because he told me he was bringing me home.” Army shook off her hand and smoothed his hair back down, making her laugh, and making Kyle do the same. “And I knew he was because he knew our secret word. I told you Tabby Danger was the smartest cat ever!”

  KYLE DROVE ANNIE AND her son to the Avenging VIII compound. He’d squared things with Asa after Army’s extraction and worked out a short-term fix. The team would then deal with what had apparently—according to Nate’s digging—been a long-term drug problem in Markit.

  One with a distant connection to Lucinda Bruce’s assault.

  The fact that she’d recovered did not take vengeance off the table.

  A scattering of small houses had been built on the property away from the training facilities. The several hundred acres of private woodland allowed each branch of the Bruce organization to operate independently... and covertly. Ezra and his wife, Alexa, lived in a similar one.

  Annie and Army would be safe. Kyle wouldn’t have to worry about them while going after—

  “Are you going to stay?”

  Annie had returned to the main room after walking through with Army.

  Kyle had wanted them to see the place on their own. It was going to be their home for as long as they needed. He hadn’t wanted to get in the way while they talked about where to put Army’s comic books. Or which drawer would hold his Marvel T-shirts. And if it would be okay for him to sleep with the window open and look at the stars.

  But Annie’s question fed the hope Kyle had been having hell with for miles.

  “I’d like to. If you’d like that.” His palms were sweating. He dried them on the seat of his jeans, then crossed his arms and shrugged. “See if we’ve got something here.”

  He sounded lame. So lame. His throat tightened and he glanced over his shoulder to where Army was opening every cabinet in the kitchen.

  She walked closer, her steps nearly silent on the hardwood floor. “Love at first sight?”

  The idea left him unable to breathe. “I...”

  “There’s something for sure,” she said, saving him from having to name the feeling. She came nearer still, pressing a kiss to the center of his chest. “Thank you, Kyle. Thank you. I owe you more than I can ever repay.”

  “You owe me nothing. I don’t expect to be paid.” He wrapped his arms around her because that was where they belonged. “Though I wouldn’t say no to more fried chicken.”

  “Every night if you want it,” she said and laughed as she snuggled into him.

  The sound that rolled up from his gut was primal. “Chicken isn’t what I want every night.”

  “As long as you’re here with us, I’m yours,” she said, looking up at him with tears in her eyes. Tears he knew were happy because he was fighting the same.

  Army came running into the room then. “He can sleep in my room if we put a bunk on top.”

  Kyle laughed, wanting to ruffle the boy’s hair—why was that even a thing?—but high-fiving him instead. “I’m afraid I’m a little too tall for a bunk bed, buddy.”

  Army thought for a long moment, then sighed. “Okay. I guess you can sleep with Mom if you want to. She gets scared sometimes being by herself, but I never do.”

  “You’re a really brave kid,” Kyle said, glancing at Annie who had her fingers pressed to her lips as if holding back a laugh. “Maybe you could start unpacking your things. I’m going to check and see if there’s a spare kickstand in the utility shed.”

  Army’s face lit up, his eyes wide with what looked like as much disbelief at the idea as joy. He laced his hands on top of his head and asked, “For my bike?”

  “None other,” Kyle said, grinning. “And there might be another bike in there so maybe you and I can hit the trails tomorrow. We’ll have to find one for your mom too.”

  Army gave a fist-pump and a really loud, “Sweet!”

  The boy’s exuberance punched Kyle like a fist to the gut. It was too much. He needed some fresh air, some time to process what the last eighteen hours had done to his life. How everything he hadn’t known he’d been looking for had been delivered, costing him nothing but a few scrapes and bruises, and a knife wound held together by yellow duct tape.

  He turned. Annie caught him by the T-shirt, stopping him in his tracks.

  “Before you go...” She moved in, stood on her tiptoes, and kissed him. There in the middle of the living room for all the world—and Army—to see.

  “Gross!” the boy yelled, turning and running for his room.

  Annie shook her head, as amused as Kyle was. “Don’t be gone long.”

  “I’ll be back like the Flash.”

  “Good. Because we need to have a long talk about who you are. And what this place is.”

  Yeah. He’d known that was coming. “Let me check in with the boss and I’ll tell you what I can. I can’t promise it will be everything.”

  She nodded as if that was good enough for now.

  SUCCESS. I’M GOING to stick around.

  Funny how things worked out, Kyle mused. As often as he’d come to the compound, the innumerable laps he’d made on the obstacle course, the countless nights he’d tried to sleep in the barracks but had been kept awake by feelings of guilt and failure...

  Now here he was. And for the long haul, it seemed. Making a home with Annie and Army. Things with Vince would need to be settled. And his drug empire in Markit investigated. Law enforcement in his pocket meant he’d done for the higher-ups what they’d needed.

  They’d obviously scoped out Markit for a reason. And they’d been there long enough that the team would have no problem tracing their movements, present and past.

  One step closer to avenging Lucinda. One step closer to finding Loren.

  And all without Asa’s parents knowing what the kids they’d rescued all those years ago and trained as lethal weapons had done out of honor, respect, and love.

  Good choice. Sleep there as long as you need to.

  An Avenging VIII sleeper agent. Not bad for a nobody, Kyle mused. More money than he’d ever need. An adorable kid. A beautiful woman who might just love him.

  And whom he already knew he loved.

  Elsewhere...

  THE MORNING AIR WAS hard to breathe, thick and verdant, as wet as the river flowing toward the Atlantic. He’d lived here longer than he’d lived in the States where he’d been born. He hadn’t chosen this life, but he’d made the best of it. That’s what survival was all about.

  But he was tired. And those who’d disrupted his life, damaged and destroyed his family needed to pay.

  It was time for Loren Bruce
to go home.

  Ezra Moore

  Did you know Ezra Moore has his own book? It's part of my Smithson Group series but can be read on its own. Find out how a younger Ezra found the love of his life!

  Click here for more info!

  This is his last chance to reclaim his life.

  In Comfort Bay, Oregon, undercover operative Ezra Moore has ten days to unload a shipment of illegal weapons and take down the international crime syndicate he's infiltrated. But even the best-laid crimes can go sideways, and Ezra's about to find out how far.

  Alexa Counsel's quiet life in Comfort Bay is perfect, or so she's convinced herself. Then she meets the local B & B's new handyman and all bets are off. Still, there's something about Ezra she's not sure she can trust—even though she's in too deep to turn back.

  Playing cat and mouse with one of the world's fiercest criminals, Alexa and Ezra are about to discover how dangerous and delicious starting a new life—and finding a new love—can be.

  "This book's romantic crux describes a spiritual cleansing of the battered and damaged goods that are Ezra Moore. I found BEYOND A SHADOW gritty, engaging, and substantive." - Raithe

  "Intelligent, witty, deep, edgy, gritty, savvy, and intriguing are all applicable when talking about BEYOND A SHADOW." - Laurie D, 5 Stars

  "...accompanying characters and storylines give depth to the plot, and overall, Kent's writing is clean and strong." - RT Book Reviews

  More Books by the Author

  Dystopian YA Science Fiction

  Icefall

  written as Mica Stone with Walt Stone

  Police Procedural Thriller

  Rite of Wrongs

  written as Mica Stone

  The Avenging VIII Series

  (contemporary romantic suspense)

  Abbot

  Elder

  Cardinal

  Bishop

  Deacon

  Priest

  Pope

  Preacher

  Prophet

  The Hope Springs Series

  (contemporary small town romance)

  The Second Chance Cafe

  Beneath the Patchwork Moon

  The Sweetness of Honey

  Bliss and the Art of Forever

  The Comfort of Favorite Things

  Hope for the Holidays

  The Dalton Gang Series

  (contemporary erotic western romance)

  Undeniable

  Unbreakable

  Unforgettable

  Companions to the Dalton Gang Series

  (not erotic)

  The Hired Gun's Heiress

  Twenty-One Hours

  The Smithson Group Series

  (contemporary erotic romantic suspense)

  Brilliant Disguise

  Nowhere to Hide

  Her Wild Ride

  His Only Alibi

  Feel the Heat

  Larger Than Life

  Deep Breath

  Beyond A Shadow

  The Perfect Stranger

  No Limits

  Maximum Exposure

  With Extreme Pleasure

  Erotic Romance - Novellas

  At His Mercy

  Baby Don't Go

  Wrap Me Up

  Contemporary Romance - Novellas

  Love You Madly

  About That Night

  Love Like Crazy

  This Time Next Year

  Contemporary Romance - Novels

  All My Love for Christmas

  The Sweetest Taboo

  Goes Down Easy

  Kiss and Makeup

  Four Men and a Lady

  Indiscreet

  Wicked Games

  Striptease

  Bound To Happen

  No Strings Attached

  All Tied Up

  The Best Is Yet to Come

  A Long, Hard Ride

  Play Me

  Call Me

  When She Remembered

  The You I've Come to Know

  The You I Want For Life

  The You I've Always Dreamed Of

  The Grinch Makes Good

  Collision Course

  Harlequin online short stories

  Roped Into Romance (Girl Gear series)

  Mind Games (Eternally Yours series)

  Kiss Me, Kate (Do Not Disturb series)

  Nonfiction

  The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing Erotic Romance

  Totally Charmed: Demons, Whitelighters And the Power of Three

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