by Kallie Lane
Cody slammed the freezer door and the vanilla ice cream he carried landed with a thud on the counter beside his grandfather. Forest deftly cut the warmed pie into three slabs and smashed it into bowls. Cody followed along behind with an ice cream scoop and heaped the slices à la mode.
“Would you mind telling me what you were doing in bed, lip-sucking my mom last night?” Cody said. “Was it supposed to be your idea of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, or what? I’d hate to think I have to slug you for hitting on my injured mom. But I’ll do it, and I’ll take the consequences for assaulting a police officer while I’m at it.”
“There’s no need to get physical, Cody. I can explain.” Needing to do something with his hands, Sully grabbed chocolate sauce from the nearest shelf and squirted it over the ice cream.
“We’re listening, Lieutenant,” Jack said, smiling darkly as he flicked maraschino cherries over the chocolate sauce in the bowls, managing to spray Sully’s shirt in the process. “We’d like to hear your explanation…wouldn’t we, Cody?”
The kid was busy shaking a whipped cream canister, landing a glob in Sully’s hair before maneuvering the nozzle over the heaping concoctions. “Yeah, Gramps. I leave home for a few days and come back to find this dude sniffing around my mom, even after I warned him off. It had better be good.”
Sully routed around with his head in the pantry, until his hand landed on a jar of chopped nuts. Mindlessly, he opened the cap and heaped them into the bowls. “The truth is I screwed up… You know, like sometimes happens with teenagers?”
Damn! Why should he have to explain his actions to Cody and his grandfather? It was embarrassing as hell. He was a man, full grown. He shouldn’t have to give the details of his love life to anybody, least of all Breeana’s family.
“Well, you’re no teenager,” Cody scoffed. “And even I know you have to keep a handle on your actions after your brain leaves the building. Gramps and I have discussed it, about taking responsibility; haven’t we, Gramps?”
Sully almost slid to the floor at Cody’s revelation. Thirteen, and he was already discussing sex with his grandfather. He was still a kid. Wasn’t he too young to be having those conversations?
“The way Gramps tells it, a man’s got to keep his screw ups under control, unless he’s planning to marry the lady in question—which would be my mother. Do you have anything to add, Gramps?”
“Nah, I couldn’t have said it better myself. I think I’ll just sit back with my breakfast and let you handle the manly stuff in the family.”
Jack added bananas as the final topping to their breakfast, slid spoons into the bowls, and set them on the table in the sunroom, nodding for the others to take their seats. “So what’s the deal here, Sully?”
Marriage seems to be the deal, he thought. And if Cody and Jack had their way it was going to be a shotgun affair.
Marriage? The word stuck in his craw as he attacked the mountain of syrupy gloop dripping from his spoon and brought it to his mouth. Yet, wasn’t it his need for permanency with Breeana that had confused him from the beginning?
Since he’d first laid eyes on her, in fact? Hellfire, he was hopelessly in love with her. He’d rather die than live without her. The thought struck him like an epiphany, claps of thunder and bolts of lightning zinging around in his brain. Marriage? Why not?
“Cody, I swear to you, I love your mother. And I do want to marry her.” He caught the glance passing from grandson to grandfather but couldn’t get a read on it. “What do you say? Do I have your permission to ask her to marry me?”
Jack nodded to his grandson. “The decision’s yours, son. I’ll go along with whatever you decide.”
Cody eyed Sully as he swirled his spoon between his fingers. “Hmm, if you marry my mom, does it mean you’ll want me around? ’Cuz it’s a package deal, you know? I’m not ready to leave yet and someone’s got to stick around to keep an eye on things when you’re out doing your police and military stuff.”
“Absolutely, I wouldn’t have it any other way. We’d be a family, Cody.” He heaved a sigh of relief and reached out to clasp the teen’s shoulder.
“Hold up a minute. Not so fast.” The kid winked slyly at his grandfather. “And will you promise to practice with the team and take us to hockey games at the Bell Center sometimes?”
“You bet I’ll practice with the team.” Sully fought to keep the grin off his face. “I’ll even spring for tickets to the NHL games when I can.”
Cody was on a roll. “And will you keep your hormones under control, at least until the wedding day? I don’t want to have to walk around the house blindfolded, so I don’t see your sick moves on my mom.”
“Ah, that I won’t promise you. It’s normal for people in love to kiss and hug each other, pal.”
“Well, just don’t get any ideas about kissing me, Sully, but you can hug me if you want to, as long as it’s not in front of the guys.”
“The same applies to me,” Jack said. “You can hug me if you want, but no kisses. Now come on, group hug before we ditch the evidence of our breakfast. God knows, Breeana will kill us all if she sees what we just put into our stomachs. What’s all the mess on your shirt and in your hair, Sully? Did your spoon have a hole in it?”
Cody’s eyes cut to Sully again. “So, how are you going to propose to Mom? I know! You should do it at the arena at center ice. Yeah, what a great idea. The WARRIORS can watch from the stands. Come on, what do you say?”
“In your dreams.” Sully collected their bowls and headed for the dogs’ dishes in the kitchen with the leftovers. “I am not proposing to your mother in a grungy arena with you and your socially inept, scuz-bucket friends watching. You can just forget about it. A marriage proposal is a private moment between two people who love each other. We’ll fill you in on the details after it’s done.”
“You better not be feeding any crap to the dogs!” Jack bellowed from the sunroom, his nose buried in the sports page of the newspaper. Sully knew better than to cross Jack and promptly did an about-face in the direction of the garbage can.
Epilogue
“What a great idea you had, Dad, having a cook-out.” Breeana passed him the barbeque sauce. “The whole town has shown up.”
“I know. It’s terrific, isn’t it?” He toasted her with his beer stein as he continued to flip burgers on the grill. “It’s been a few days since the god awful night when I almost lost you to The Shepherd. We have so much to celebrate.”
“Yes, we do.”
“You know, pumpkin, I’m not known for making long-winded speeches, but I need to get something off my chest. Sullivan killed the scum-sucking bastard and rescued you, as well as saving my grandson.”
“He was amazing. But, what are you getting at?”
“My question is…will the lieutenant be smart enough to hold on to you? You’d think the man would’ve made his move by now. I’d be real proud to have him as my son-in-law.”
Only time will tell, she thought. “Listen, how about letting me manage my love life, and you focus on those burgers you’re cooking.”
“You’re right, honey. Besides, after what everyone’s been through around here, I think I’m the only one left standing who’s healthy enough to cook the food.”
“I know what you mean. Sully’s Spec Ops team all seem a little worse for wear.”
“You’ve got to be kidding.” Jack grinned when he glanced in their general direction down by the lake. The group was swarmed with gorgeous, available females, all vying for the team’s attention. “You could have fooled me. Still, Hawke is going to have one hell of a headache for another few days, according to the doctor. But, it doesn’t seem to be stopping him from flirting with the Taylor twins.”
Breeana tipped back her head and laughed. “I don’t think the women of Mallard Bay have seen this much hunkiness since the Chippendales came to Montreal.”
“You’re probably right about that. You’d better inform the ladies the guys are leaving town in the morning
.”
“Will do.” Breanna ambled away from the barbeque and admired the view down to the lake. The back lawn was festively decked out with Chinese lanterns strung through the trees. Lawn chairs were gathered in cozy groupings across the wide expanse of grass. The sounds of “golden oldies” drifted on the warm summer breeze.
The scent of citronella candles floated through the air to keep mosquitoes at bay. Two long picnic tables were set up on the deck with navy and white checkered tablecloths, napkins, plastic utensils, and condiments. Tubs of ice water chilled the sodas, wine coolers, and beer.
Her father and Cody had been busy since yesterday setting it up. Now all she had to do was wait for Sully to pop the big question. Heck, it was time the man worked up his nerve to do it. He could take on terrorists and serial killers without batting an eyelash, and yet, he was scared of her. Go figure?
Sully found her alone on the dock as she watched the sky fill with a blazing sunset. He came up behind her, pulled her against his chest, planted a kiss behind her ear, and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Hey, cookie. How’s the hand?”
“The pain’s almost gone, but Dad will perform surgeries at the clinic for another month, until the bones mend and I can get the mobility back in my fingers.”
“I don’t think Jack will complain, considering he has you and Cody back.”
“That’s what he said.” Breeana turned in his arms to stare up at him. “He has you to thank.”
“Shh.” He pressed his lips to her neck and held her tighter, rubbing her back in familiar circles. “It’s over now. I didn’t come down here to talk to you about the past. Right now I need to talk to you about something else, something I can’t wait on any longer.”
“What—?”
“Don’t talk, just listen. Okay?” He blew out a breath in her hair. “The truth is…I mean, without you…I can’t imagine…”
“Come on, ‘hot lips’. Even you can do better than that!” Cody’s head popped up alongside the dock, his body submerged underwater, his hands grasping the wooden planks to hold him in place. Three of his friends treaded water not far from him. “See? What did I tell you, guys? The man’s never going to be able to pop the big question if we don’t help him out.”
The other boys snickered in response.
Cody grinned at Sully and winked at her. “Can we hurry it up a little, Lieutenant? Gramps is just about to serve dessert and it’s an old family recipe. Smashed hot apple pie with all the fixings like whipped cream, ice cream, chocolate sauce, nuts, bananas, and cherries. Man-oh-man, I can taste it now.”
Her son didn’t slow down as he continued. “Now, just tell Mom you want to marry her, plant one on her, and we can all move up to the house and tuck ourselves into the pie. I have to make up for all the food I missed while I was making like Rip Van Winkle.”
Sully stared dumbstruck at Cody before swiveling his head back to her.
“Well, what do you say, Bree? Will you marry me and put me out of my misery?” He kissed her on the lips and held onto her, waiting for her response as he whispered. “I love you, with all my heart.”
He held his breath, as if daring to hope. It gave her a glimmer of their future together. He loved her, all right, hopefully half as much as she loved him.
“Oh, yes, I’ll marry you. I think I’ve been in love with you ever since I met you,” she whispered back. Chuckling, she raised her voice just a little. “What took you so long to ask me, big guy?”
“I’m a little slow on the upswing. But, since I’ve popped the big question and you’ve given me the right answer—for better or for worse—you’re stuck with me on a real long-term basis.”
He took the ring, from a box he carried in his pocket, and slipped it on her finger. “I’m just plain crazy about you, Bree.”
“An emerald!” Breeana held out her hand to catch the fire of the setting sun in the shimmering stone. “Oh, Sully. It’s perfect! How did you know I’ve always wanted an emerald?”
“I didn’t know. I bought it because it matches your eyes.”
“Hoo-rah!” The boys in the water high-fived each other, leaped onto the dock, and hugged her and Sully in soggy embraces. Then they were off and running, up to the house and the waiting family recipe.
“See? What did I tell you?” Cody exclaimed. “I knew Sully could ask Mom to marry him if we gave him a helping hand. It’s a good thing we stuck around to give him the benefit of Micah’s expertise. Did you see the rock he planted on her? Way to go, ‘hot lips’!”
Breeana was helping Sully outside with clean-up duty when Theo jogged across the lawn.
“Hey, have you got a minute?”
“Sure. Let’s walk.” Sully wrapped an arm around her, putting a hand on Theo’s shoulder and guiding them to the side of the house. His brother seemed upset by something. “What’s up?”
“In all the excitement over your engagement tonight, I almost hate to give you some other news.”
Breeana eyed Theo. He was still battered and bruised, but there was a flash of heat in his dark eyes. “What’s happened?”
“You remember at the lake when I told you about Sarah Davidson’s murder? Well, I just found out Mel Salera, the slime ball who mysteriously inherited the Davidson estate, is one Melena Salera. A woman. Doc Finley just called me with the news.
“The woman responded to my voice mails by going to Silver Lake on her own and planting herself on Sarah’s property. Doc told her I was away—taking care of some other business. I’m heading back there tonight to go a round, or two, with her.”
“No way, Theo,” Sully said. “It takes a hell of a lot of nerve for her to show up and take over. She must be in an all-fired hurry to collect on Sarah’s estate.”
“I kid you not, and apparently, she is one gorgeous piece of work for a cold-blooded killer. I’m going to enjoy making her life a living hell while we nail her for Sarah’s murder. Let me know when you get those autopsy results, bro, and then we can start building a case.”
“Will do, but be careful, Theo. Remember your stint with JTF2? Some of the world’s most deadly assassins are women, beautiful ones. They will kill as ruthlessly as men, without warning, or conscience.”
“Hey, I hear you.”
“And Theo? Remember something else,” Breeana said. “Maybe she isn’t guilty.”
“We all know there isn’t much chance of that.” Theo sighed, kissed her on the cheek, and took his brother’s hand in a firm grip. “Take care of your lady and future son, man. I’m jealous as hell, but I couldn’t be happier for you. What you two have will last a lifetime. I can feel it.”
“Thanks for everything.” Sully reeled him in for a back-slapping hug. “I mean it. Without you, I might have lost them both.”
“Just let me know when those wedding bells are slated to jingle. If I remember correctly, I offered to be the flower girl.”
“Right, you did.” Sully winked at the mountain of a man who was almost his mirror image. “You’ll look stunning in a dress, but you might want to wax your legs.”
After so much unhappiness and uncertainty, the sound of their laughter was music to Breeana’s ears. She hugged her future brother-in-law before wrapping herself in Sully’s solid embrace. They strolled hand-in-hand with Theo to his rental car, the dogs loping along behind them.
Rainey had been laid to rest in a quiet ceremony that morning, and although Breeana would miss her and Miranda, at least she was coming to terms with her grief. She cried a little less every day and remembered the good times they had shared a whole lot more.
She had Cody back and the love of the man standing beside her to see her through.
Yes, life was as it should be.
In Mallard Bay.
A word about the author...
Growing up with two brothers and raising two sons, Kallie Lane understands the rough edges of Alpha males, and loves to write about them. She excels at hard-hitting action and complex relationships as her Shadow Soldiers move from th
e battlefield in search of the right women and relatively normal lives. At least—what’s normal for them.
Kallie keeps herself grounded by also working in the biotech industry.
Living in Canada with her family and a robust collection of dogs and cats, you will usually find her with a book in her hand, that’s if she’s not at her computer writing one, or dream-plotting her next romantic suspense novel.
Deadly Abandon is the second book in her Shadow Soldiers series.
Visit her website at:
www.kallielane.com
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Deadly Abandon
Copyright
Praise for Kallie Lane
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
