Safe With Me

by Kristen Proby

  “I’m serious, Brynna, if Levi pulls one more stunt…”

  “Isaac, stop. I’m fine.”

  He watches me for a long minute and then exhales deeply. “Okay, I’ll drop it.”

  He mutters under his breath something about Caleb killing him and hiding the body if he finds out about it, making me smirk.

  “Caleb wouldn’t do that,” I tell him with a wide smile.

  “Oh, honey, you clearly don’t know my brother very well.”

  I know him very well.

  ***

  “Where is Caleb?” Maddie asks and turns her big brown to me as she pushes her chicken nuggets around on her dinner plate.

  “I told you earlier. He’s having some fun with his brothers and his dad.” After I finish slicing up some cantaloupe, I dish it out onto their plates and then return to cleaning up my mom and dad’s kitchen.

  “I miss him,” Josie sighs dramatically.

  “He just dropped us off an hour ago, girls,” I remind them with a roll of the eyes.

  “Hey! I’m not gonna watch this damn Nemo fish by myself!” My dad yells from the living room, making the girls giggle.

  “Hurry up and eat so you can go watch Nemo with your grandpa.”

  After scarfing down their nuggets and fruit, they climb down from the stools at the breakfast bar and run to join my dad in front of the television.

  “They seem to really like Caleb,” my mom mentions casually as she walks into the room.

  She’s not fooling me.

  “We all like Caleb,” I tell her and grin. “He’s family.”

  “Hmm,” she replies non-commitally.

  “What’s your point?” I ask and prop my hands on my hips. Mom shakes her head and shrugs as she gathers brownie mix, eggs and oil, ready to make a treat for the girls.

  “It was an observation.”

  “Mom,” I begin but she interrupts.

  “I’m happy that the kids like him,” she murmurs as she opens the box. “He’s a good man.”

  I frown and nod, watching her closely.

  “And you’ve been alone for a long time.”

  “Mom,” I try again but she turns to me with big tears in her eyes and I’m rooted where I stand.

  “You’ve been alone for a long time,” she repeats and swallows, blinking rapidly. “I wish you’d come home much sooner, and I’m sorry that you had to come under these circumstances. I’m so proud of you baby girl.”

  I move across the kitchen and wrap her in my arms, hugging her tightly. I get my height from my mom, along with my dark hair and eyes.

  Eloise Quinn is a beautiful woman, inside and out.

  “If he is who you and the girls want, I say go for it,” she whispers in my ear and then steps back and smiles at me before returning to her brownies.

  “Mom, I never said anything about feeling that way about Caleb,” I reminder gently.

  “I’m not blind or stupid, Brynna Marie.”

  She’s got me there.

  I fall silent and listen to the whirl of the electric mixer as she stirs the batter and get lost in my own thoughts.

  Is Caleb who I want?

  Oh, who am I kidding? Of course he is.

  Chapter Eight

  ~Caleb~

  “Well, ladies, you might as well just hand over your money now ‘cause daddy’s going home a winner.” Will smirks at us and plops down in his chair as he passes everyone a fresh, ice-cold long-necked beer.

  It’s Thursday poker night at our parents’ house, just us brothers and our Pop. We try to do this every month, and usually succeed, especially now that I’m no longer being called out on deployment at the drop of a dime.

  “Big talker,” Pop murmurs and studies his cards.

  “You’re losing bad, old man,” Isaac taunts our father, his gaze on the small stack of chips before him.

  “I’m about to hit my stride anytime now.”

  “It’s okay, Pop, Will has a tendency to choke in the second half of the game anyway,” Matt laughs and reaches over to ruffle Will’s hair, who quickly evades.

  “Whatever, jackass!” Will throws a kernel of popcorn at Matt, who smirks.

  “You just can’t stand to lose,” Matt sneers at our younger brother.

  “Dude, sports are my job. Of course I don’t like to lose.”

  “This is poker, man. It’s not a sport.” I laugh and take a long sip of water as I lean back in my chair, one eye out for my mom. If she catches me leaning back in her dining room chair she’ll kick my ass.

  I’ll always be afraid of that woman.

  “You clearly don’t play it right,” Will mutters and throws his cards down on our mom’s kitchen table. “I fold.”

  “Sucker,” Pop taunts and pulls the pot toward him. “I’ve taught you everything you know, kids, but I haven’t taught you everything I know.”

  We all laugh as we watch our father stack his chips and smile smugly as he takes a long sip of beer.

  “How are things with Brynna and the girls?” Isaac asks me as he shuffles the deck.

  “Good. I took Brynna to the range last week.” I lean forward as my cock stirs at the memory of watching her with the gun in her hand. She’s so fucking amazing. “Let her shoot my nine mil.”

  “Did it knock her on her ass?” Matt asks.

  “Nope,” I boast proudly. “She did great. Hit the target. Wasn’t afraid.” I shrug and take another sip of water. “I wouldn’t want to be on the business end of her weapon.”

  “I know what kind of weapon you want to show her,” Isaac smirks and examines his cards.

  “Fuck you, man.”

  “He’s just pissed because he’s been married for so fucking long, he can’t remember what a blow job feels like,” Matt says, earning a glare from Isaac.

  “I don’t know that being married has anything to do with it,” Pop says and stuffs some Doritos into his mouth. “Your mom and I have been married for almost forty years, and just the other night…”

  “No! No! No!”

  “Stop talking!”

  “Oh my God!”

  We all yell at the same time, begging our father to stop talking and he throws his head back and laughs his ass off.

  “We may be old, boys, but we’re not dead.”

  “I will murder you if you ever, ever imply that my mother has sex ever again,” Isaac mutters as he cringes.

  “Don’t ever say ‘mom’ and ‘sex’ in the same sentence,” Will says, his voice hard and strained.

  “So is that why you don’t want to get married?” Isaac asks Matt. “Afraid the sex will suck?”

  “No,” I butt in with a laugh, “Matt just doesn’t like to be the one tied down.”

  “Or tied up for that matter,” Will chuckles and then yells out in pain when Matt punches him in the arm.

  “Dude, that’s my fucking throwing arm!”

  “Don’t be a pussy,” Matt smirks.

  “I am not a pussy,” Will counters and takes a pull on his beer. “And you clearly need to get laid.”

  “Who says I haven’t been getting laid?” Matt asks.

  “Who would fuck you? You’re ugly as fuck,” I respond, earning chuckles from my other brothers.

  “He looks just like you,” Pop responds and grins at me. “You’re all a bunch of ugly shitheads.”

  “Stop calling my boys ugly!” Mom calls from upstairs. “And Caleb, stop leaning back in my chair!”

  “How does she know?” I whisper and return my chair to all fours.

  “She knows everything,” Isaac reminds me. “Mom-radar.”

  “It scares me.”

  “It should,” Pop smirks, his eyes trained on the stairway. Just then the house phone rings, and Pop stands to answer it. “Hello?”

  He frowns. “Yes, this is Steven Montgomery.” A pause. “Hello?”

  He pulls the receiver away from his face and stares at it before replacing it.

  “They hung up?” Matt asks and leans forward, his e
yes narrowed.

  “Yeah, just asked my name and hung up.” He returns to his seat and we all stare at each other, frowning, our red flags not just up, but waving violently, and we are all on high alert.

  “What the fuck?” I whisper and stand the pace about the room. “What is going on?”

  “Why was he so freaked out at the idea of her being linked to a cop,” Isaac whispers, and our heads whip around to focus on him.

  “What did you say?” I ask.

  He looks up at all of us and shakes his head as he scowls.

  “What did you say,” I repeat.

  “There’s a guy at work,” he begins and takes a sip of his beer. “Levi Jackson. I’ve noticed him watching Bryn, making up excuses to talk to her.”

  “Why didn’t you say anything before?” Matt demands.

  “Let him finish,” Pop interjects sternly.

  “He’s never crossed a line with her. Until yesterday.”

  He stops and rubs his hands through his hair in frustration. “When I came into the office, he had her cornered against her desk and I heard him say, ‘You don’t look like you belong to a cop.’”

  “What the fuck!” I yell and stomp away from the table. “Why in the hell am I just now hearing about this?”

  “Has she ever told the guys that she used to be married to a cop?” Matt asks.

  “I don’t think so,” Isaac shakes his head. “She’s really careful about what she tells them. Besides,” he continues with a frown. “I don’t think he was talking about Jeff. I think he saw her with you.” He nods to Matt who scowls.

  “Maybe it’s just a coincidence?” Will asks. He’s leaning back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest, deep in thought.

  “That’s quite a coincidence,” Pop mentions.

  “It’s no coincidence,” I growl. “Did he have his hands on her?”

  Isaac grimaces and looks away, and that’s all the answer I need.

  “Sonofabitch! Why didn’t she tell me?”

  “Probably because she knew you’d react like this?” Matt asks. His eyes are hard and his face taut. He’s in cop mode.

  “Are she and the girls alone tonight?” Will asks.

  “No, they’re at her parent's house.”

  “I bet having a constant babysitter is starting to piss her off,” Pop mutters.

  “It is,” I nod and rub my hand over my forehead. “But it’s necessary. We don’t know what the hell is going on.” I focus on Isaac again, anger coursing through my body along with a touch of fear that makes me even angrier. “Don’t you do back ground checks on your people?”

  “Of course,” he spits out. “He could just be a creepy kid who has a crush on her.”

  “Or he could be a fucking gangster who’s trying to get close enough to kill her!” I shout back at him.

  “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t run the are you a motherfucking gangster report on him,” Isaac bites out sarcastically.

  “I’m going to kick your ass,” I mutter and reach for my phone, needing to hear her voice, to assure that she and the girls are safe.

  It rings four times and then goes to voice mail, so I leave a message asking her to call me and then text her.

  Please call me back ASAP.

  “No answer,” I mutter.

  “Call her parents’ place,” Matt suggests.

  “Already dialing,” I say and listen to their phone ring twice before her mother picks up.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi, Eloise, this is Caleb. Can I please speak with Brynna?”

  “Oh, she and the girls left about an hour ago,” she replies and all of the hairs on my body stand on end. “Her dad gave them a ride home.”

  “I told her to wait there for me and I’d pick them up on my way home.”

  Matt’s eyes narrow and Isaac and Will lean forward as Pop stands and starts dialing his house phone.

  “I’ll try her cell again,” he mutters.

  “She said that the girls were tired, and she was fine, and they’d just wait for you at home.”

  “When did they leave?” I ask.

  “About an hour ago,” she repeats.

  “Still no answer,” Pop announces and hangs up the phone.

  “Thanks, Eloise. I’ll try her cell.” I don’t want to frighten Brynna’s mom, so I keep my voice light and then end the call. “Shit.”

  “Where is she?” Will asks.

  “Eloise says she took the girls home about an hour ago.”

  “But she’s not answering her cell?” Matt asks.

  “No, I’m leaving.” I grab my coat. “I’m gonna go spank her ass,” I mutter under my breath as I head for the door.

  “Let us know when you find her,” Pop demands.

  I nod as I leave, intent on getting back to Bryn’s as soon as I can. I swallow hard, trying to keep the fear at bay, and dial her cell again.

  After the fourth ring it goes to her voice mail again, and this time my message isn’t as calm.

  “Answer your fucking phone, Brynna.”

  I hang up and toss the phone in the seat as I speed through Seattle back to the Alki neighborhood and to my girls.

  My girls.

  I slam out of my car and unlock the front door, punching in the code for the alarm system and move quickly through the downstairs to the kitchen. Brynna’s purse is lying on the kitchen table, so I head for the stairs, climbing them three at a time. I stop by the twins’ room first. Their door is slightly ajar and the nightlight is glowing. They are both sound asleep in their beds.

  I pull their door closed quietly and march down to Brynna’s room where the door is also slightly ajar, push my way inside and latch the door shut, locking it behind me.

  “Brynna.” My voice is hard, but not loud enough to carry down the hall to wake the girls.

  She sits up abruptly, blinking at me. “Caleb?”

  “What the fuck are you doing here?” I ask and cross my arms over my chest, looming over her.

  “I live here.” She frowns and reaches over to turn on the lamp on the bedside table.

  “I told you to wait for me at your parents’ house,” I remind her, my teeth gritted. I want to throttle her and kiss the hell out of her all at once. She’s tousled, her hair falling in waves around her face. Her skin is glowing, void of makeup.

  She’s stunning.

  “Where is your cell?”

  “In my purse.”

  I curse under my breath and pace about the room, unable to calm the hell down.

  “I couldn’t reach you.”

  “Caleb, I don’t need a babysitter twenty-four-seven.” She scowls and sits up straighter. “We are fine.”

  “You don’t fucking get it,” I mutter and push my hands through my hair. “Someone could hurt you! All three of you!”

  “Well they haven’t!” She sets her chin and glares at me. Damn, I want to spank the hell out of her. She jumps out of bed and starts to move around me toward the door. “I need to check on my daughters.”

  “I already did.” I grip her arm in my hand and pull her to a stop next to me. “They’re sleeping.”

  “I don’t think I want you to touch me right now.” She pulls her arm away and backs up, glaring at me.

  “But you apparently don’t mind having Levi put his hands on you at work.”

  She scowls and retreats further, crossing her arms over her chest. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “Isaac told me all about Levi coming on to you.”

  “You have got to be kidding me.” She closes her eyes and shakes her head. “Is this a damn pissing contest?”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” I ask, ignoring her jab.

  “Because it was nothing!” She gestures wildly with her hands and pushes them through her hair as she paces around the bedroom. “He’s harmless.”

  “He clearly has an issue with cops, and he put his hands on you.” My voice is low and hard and my hands are itching to reach out for her. “That’s not harmle
ss.”

  “He’s nothing,” she insists.

  “I need to be able to trust you.” Her eyes widen with surprise and hurt and my gut clenches.

  Her jaw drops before she balls her hands into fists in frustration, whispers angrily under her breath and inhales sharply.

  “You can trust me.” She stops in front of me, inches from me, looking up at me in exasperation and hurt. “I’m not a child. I can take care of me and my kids.”

  “Do you understand what it would do to me if someone got to you?” I explode and grip her shoulders in my hands. “It would destroy me if you or those babies were hurt, Brynna. You are necessary to my survival, goddamn it, and I’ll do whatever I have to do to keep you safe and whole, but I need you to talk to me when something feels wrong and I need you to do as you’re damn well told!”

  Her big brown eyes are round as she watches my face, her plump lips parted in surprise and I can’t stand it anymore. I pull her against me, wrap my arms around her and hold on tight as my mouth claims hers, hard and possessive.

  Fuck, she’s everything.

  I pull back and lean my forehead on hers, breathing her in, relieved that she and the girls are safe. My legs are shaky, and I feel rocked to my core now that the adrenaline from the potential threat is gone.

  Like coming out of a mission alive.

  “Let me do my job, baby. Talk to me. Please.”

  “I’m sorry, Caleb.” Her voice is small. She grips onto my back firmly, pressing herself against me from her head to her pelvis. “I didn’t know.”

  “Now you do.” I swallow, staring down into her sweet face. “Besides, millionaires pay a lot of money for this kind of protection. You’re getting it for free.”

  “Yeah?” She smiles sassily and drags her hands down my chest to my waistband. “What else can I get for free?”

  “What do you want?” I ask and gasp when she unbuckles my belt, unfastens my jeans and sinks her hand under my boxers to my hard cock, gripping it firmly.

  “Hmm…” She moves her head back and forth, like she’s thinking really hard and then leans in to kiss my chest through my shirt, moving her way down my belly and kneels at my feet. “I think I’ll just show you what I want.”

  After shimmying my jeans down around my knees, Brynna licks the tip of my cock, just like she would her favorite ice cream cone, and then sinks down over me, pulling me as far as she can into her hot, wet mouth and it’s all I can do to keep my hips still.