JOSS: A Standalone Romance (Gray Wolf Security)

by Glenna Sinclair

  I blushed, wondering if my heart really was that obvious. But I also couldn’t ignore the fact that her words had made my heart soar in a way it hadn’t done…ever.

  We shared a nice meal, then Libby drove me around town to show me the many brighter parts of Ashland. We ended up walking through Lithia Park; eating ice cream cones and laughing at the small children playing in the grass with their parents watching on.

  “Tell Harrison I’m bringing the kids over this weekend to hang out with their new cousin,” she said as she dropped me at his front door.

  “I will.”

  “It was nice, this. I hope we can do it again. Often.”

  “Me too.”

  I climbed out of the car and let myself into the house, a smile glued to my lips. I’d half hoped that Harrison and JT would be home before me, but the house was quiet as I made my way to the sitting room. I wasn’t sure what I was going to say to Harrison when I saw him again, but Libby’s opinions had bolstered my courage once more. I was thinking I might have another go at asking him about his feelings for me, I just might do it a little more diligently this time.

  I curled up on the couch and was about to take my sketchbook out to finish the sketch I’d started at the restaurant when I heard something shatter on the other side of the house. Fear shot through me. I knew Harrison didn’t have any pets and no one else was here. Or, no one else was supposed to be here. I got up slowly and tugged my cellphone out of my pocket, ready to dial 911 the moment it was necessary.

  I walked slowly down the hallway that led to the game room, Harrison’s study, and the guest bedroom where JT was staying. All the doors were closed except for the one to the game room. It stood wide open even though I distinctly remembered closing it just before the taxi arrived this morning.

  “Whoever’s in there, I’ve called the police. You’d better go before they get here,” I called, trying to sound as brave as I could despite my shaking knees.

  There was another sound—like something falling—and then silence.

  I ran my thumb over the screen of my phone, bringing up the dial pad. My thumb hovered over the 9 when Randy suddenly appeared in the doorway.

  “Hey, Penelope,” he said, his charming smile a little less confident than it’d been the night before.

  “Randy?”

  “I was just…” He gestured behind him, his cheeks a little pale as he chewed his bottom lip and tried to think of a good excuse for being there.

  “You were stealing the game systems.”

  “I was looking for something that might be worth more than a couple of bucks.” He focused on me again. “Harrison wouldn’t give me money if I asked for it. And my mother’s money all comes through him, so he would notice if she gave me any.”

  “You must be pretty desperate if you’d steal from your own brother.”

  To his credit, a little shame burned in Randy’s eyes as he regarded me.

  “You don’t know anything about me,” he said, his spine stiffening as he glanced behind him again. “You don’t know what it’s like.”

  “No, I don’t. But I can’t stand here and let you walk off with any of Harrison’s things, either.”

  He held up his hands. “I don’t got nothing.”

  “You should probably go, then.”

  “Will you tell him I was here?”

  I remembered what Libby had said about Harrison being the only one who could step up in this family and take responsibility for the mess his father left behind. That meant Randy and his problems, too. I imagined it hadn’t been an easy time for any of them. And I didn’t see any point in adding to that burden.

  “No. But you have to leave now, before he gets home.”

  “Of course.”

  Randy immediately came down the hall toward me, that charming smile back.

  “Did I ever tell you about the time Harrison dyed his hair green?”

  He had. That’s all he’d talked about last night at dinner, all the wild and crazy things Harrison had done in his teens. Randy was full of stories and I’d enjoyed all of them.

  “Why don’t you tell me about it the next time we see each other.”

  Randy nodded. “My mother said I could stay with her for a while. Maybe I’ll do that.”

  “Good.”

  We turned the corner into the entryway. Randy turned to me and gave me a big hug.

  “Thanks,” he said against my ear. “I won’t forget this.”

  And that was the moment Harrison and JT chose to come bursting through the door.

  Chapter 26

  Harrison

  “Hey, Harrison,” Randy said, turning to me with a sheepish look in his eye that was all too familiar. “How you doing?”

  His arm was still around Penelope. I wanted to rip it off. Not just off her shoulders, but off his body. I wanted to rip him to shreds for daring to come into my house and touch the woman I loved.

  And that look on her face…so much guilt.

  Did I really need to ask what was going on?

  “Get out of my house, Randy.”

  I said it quite calmly, my voice very steady. Randy simply nodded, the light going out of his smile. He leaned into Penelope and whispered something I wasn’t meant to hear. Then he held his fist out to JT.

  “Good to see you again, little nephew.”

  “You too,” JT said, clearly confused.

  Randy just nodded, his gaze moving over me before he brushed past me and walked out of the house.

  Penelope just watched him go. Apparently she had nothing to say to either her lover or to me. And I really didn’t want to look at her anymore. I stormed past JT’s chair and went to the stairs, the sound of her calling after me not enough to even slow my step.

  I burst into my bedroom, the doors vibrating as they bounced off the walls. I didn’t care. I went to the small balcony that looked out over the front of the house and stood at the railing, barely seeing the scene below me for the memory of Randy’s arm around Penelope’s shoulders.

  “I don’t know what you think was happening down there, but it wasn’t anything nefarious.”

  I hadn’t heard her come into the room.

  I gripped the railing harder, holding on to it so that I wouldn’t spin around and wrap them around her throat. I was so angry in that moment that I might have done it. But then, just touching her…I held on to that railing with all I had.

  “He was in the house when I got here. I didn’t invite him.”

  “But you didn’t throw him out, either.”

  “That’s what I was doing.”

  “It didn’t look that way to me.”

  “Then you weren’t looking close enough. I mean, honestly, you’ve got to be the blindest guy in the whole fucking country.”

  I don’t know what shocked me more: her calling me blind, or her cussing. I’d never heard her use a word quite like that before.

  I turned and found her standing just inside the bedroom, the sight of my huge king sized bed behind her was enough to ignite a few thoughts that my anger did nothing to dampen. In fact, the anger might have made it worse, might have made me want to do things I might not have considered under different circumstances. Not with Penelope, anyway.

  “You told me I was the only woman you wanted,” she said softly. “Did you mean that?”

  “I don’t say things I don’t mean.”

  A slow smile touched her lips. “Yeah? You said last night you’re not the jealous type. But you’re sure acting awfully jealous right now.”

  “I’m not jealous.”

  “Then what is this? Why are you so angry with me?” She cocked her head slightly, that smile spreading. “Tell me this isn’t about the way your brother was touching me.”

  I crossed the small space between us before I even realized I was moving. I grabbed her upper arms and pulled her hard against my chest.

  “Tell me he wasn’t here to see you. That he wasn’t flirting with you last night.”

  “He
wasn’t. He talked about you all night.”

  “Liar.”

  She shook her head, her hand coming up to press itself against my chest. “He told me about the time you dyed your hair, the time you got caught drinking at some high school party. He told me about the tattoos on your wrists, about the one on your chest, told me how the two of you went together to get that one because you knew your father would hate it.”

  I squeezed her arms until I saw pain in her eyes. “Why was he here?”

  She shook her head. “I told him I wouldn’t say.”

  “And you’re suddenly so loyal to a man you don’t even know?”

  “No. But I love you. And I want to protect you.”

  I let her go so abruptly that she nearly fell backward into the loveseat situation not far behind her. I moved past her, stormed across the room, not sure where I was going. I just…how could she say that to me after everything I’d done to her? How could she say that when I walked into her life and turned it upside down, tore her brother from her home, took away the whole reason she was living in that small town, keeping a business she hated afloat? How could she…?

  “Why?”

  I turned slowly and looked at her. There tears in her eyes, but not a single one fell.

  “I don’t know. Why not?”

  “Because…because I’m the asshole who ripped your family apart.”

  “No. You’re the guy who wanted to do the right thing when you stumbled on a secret your mother kept from you.”

  “The right thing? Marching into your life, turning it upside down…that was the right thing?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe. JT…he needed something more than I was giving him. Maybe you can give that to him.”

  “And you?”

  “I don’t know,” she said, shaking her head. “But I’d like to find out.”

  There was such honesty in that statement. How could I turn my back on that?

  I crossed to her, took her face between my hands and stared at her. “Tell me you aren’t just saying this because you think it’s the only way to stay close to JT.”

  She groaned. “You really do have commitment problems, don’t you?”

  I laughed, but the sound was drowned by her kiss. And then there was no more laughter, just groans and sighs.

  “How would you feel if we all moved in together?” I asked JT later that night.

  He looked up from the video game he was playing. “I thought we already had.”

  I tilted my head slightly. “I mean, a little more permanently.”

  “Are you going to marry my sister?”

  I think I choked a little. Penelope, however, just laughed.

  “Don’t rush him,” she said. “He’s a little commitment phobic.”

  “I am not. I’m just…” I looked from him to her and sighed. There really was no point in arguing, was there? “I just thought I’d be able to do it a little later, maybe a little more romantically.”

  That shut her up and made JT drop his game controller because he was laughing so hard.

  We could make this work. We were an unusual family. And there was still a lot we would have to work out. But we could make it work.

  And maybe she and I would finally live a part of the dream we’d given up because, well, it’s all about family, right?

  ~ End ~

  Addicted To You

  Chapter 1

  "I don't like this." Matt's expression was hard to discern from behind the dark sunglasses he wore all the time, and Levi had given up on trying.

  "You don't like anything," Levi reminded him. "If I were being perfectly honest, I'd say I didn't like it, either, but I have to be here."

  "I mean that it doesn't feel right."

  That gave Levi pause, but he quickly shook it off. He had to be here. He couldn't decide to turn around and get back into the car any more than he could decide to grow wings and fly away from here. He had to be here. Business was business, and if Levi ignored what had to happen, he didn't deserve the billions he'd made. Things didn't feel right, but that was no excuse to shirk his responsibilities. He was here to iron out a sticky agreement, one that hadn't met everyone's expectations yet.

  "Let's just get inside," he said, trying to spur Matt into movement. CEOs and presidents of other companies were already filtering into the building ahead of them, their bodyguards and security personnel ushering them inside. When a person got to a certain tax bracket, a little security to back up the interests was practically required. Matt was about as good as they came, recommended personally to Levi by the owner of the security company he worked for. The kid was respectful and protective—everything a bodyguard needed to be. Levi was a tall man, too, but Matt was massive, a whole head taller, broad chested and muscular. Matt might've been younger, but Levi actually felt safe around him.

  He knew what he was doing, and if he didn't like something, then that meant that something wasn't worth liking.

  They had almost made it to the door, the heat warming Levi's face, beckoning him in from the early winter chill, when Matt turned sharply.

  "Son of a bitch."

  Levi pursed his lips, turning to see what had made Matt break his stoic character, but his bodyguard shoved him so violently that he flew several feet before landing on the cold concrete sidewalk, badly skinning his hands.

  Levi turned just in time to see Matt fall, hitting the ground much heavier than he had.

  He was confused, unsure of what had just happened, his hands slowly beginning to warm and sting. Had Matt simply tripped, taking Levi out in the process? Had someone pushed Matt? Levi saw someone run around the corner of the building, but he was so surprised by what had just happened that he couldn't tell much about the disappearing figure, if it had even had anything to do with anything.

  Levi rose, dusted off the knees of his trousers, and readjusted his coat.

  "What the hell was that?" he demanded, his hands really plaguing him now. He hadn't skinned his hands since he was a kid, playing at recess. It was a strange realization, one that had sprung to his mind unbidden. What game had they been playing that had made him fall like that?

  It was then that he realized Matt hadn't gotten to his feet. That something was really wrong.

  "Matt?"

  His bodyguard was breathing shallowly, his brow knit together.

  "Matt?" Levi knelt next to him, taking his shoulder, giving him a shake that made the kid's eyes partially open.

  Levi's stinging hands were wet, now. Was Matt's coat wet? Yes, it was wet. Wet with blood. The palms of his hands dripped with red liquid.

  Levi was a smart man. He wouldn't be as rich as he was if he weren't. He could face down any problem in a boardroom, at a computer screen, face to face with owners of other companies, and come up with a solution that pleased everyone.

  He couldn't seem to face down this. The blood on his hands. The bodyguard who wouldn't get up.

  "Who...what happened?" Levi tried to peel back the layers of clothing covering Matt's body, trying to see the source of all that wet blood. It was seeping out the back of the kid, darkening the sidewalk, soaking into Levi's pants.

  Matt batted Levi's hands away and wheezed—a nasty, rattling sound. Levi realized that Matt wasn't going to stand up again. That it didn't matter where that blood was coming from. It was coming and there was too much of it and his bodyguard...his friend...was going to die right here on this sidewalk, right now. Levi sucked in a breath to scream for help, but then Matt murmured something.

  "What?" Levi leaned closer. "What'd you say, kid? Matt?"

  "Promise me." It obviously pained him to speak. Levi wondered what was so important to say that he would force the words past the clenched jaw, the bloodied lips.

  "I promise," Levi said, taking Matt's hand and squeezing it because he didn't like seeing the kid's fingers scrabbling against the wet wool of his coat.

  "Find my sister. Help her."

  Levi squinted, trying to puzzle that one out. He didn'
t even know Matt had a sister. The kid hadn't mentioned her before. What kind of help could she need? And why did she need to be found? Was she lost? Did Matt know where she might be? Levi formed a question on his lips, but stopped. Matt's grip had gone slack. His labored breathing had quieted. His brow had smoothed, and it looked for all the world that he'd just decided to lie down in the middle of the sidewalk and take a nap.

  But he hadn't. He'd been shot dead.

  Levi screamed for help, well aware that it was too late.

  Chapter 2

  I grabbed on to the bottom of the fire escape just above me, steadying my body against the heaves of the man inside me, avoiding the bit of mangled metal that would land me in a doctor's office for a tetanus shot that I wasn't sure I could afford if I cut my hand on it. The soft material of my shirt caught and pulled against the brick wall behind me, but that couldn't be helped. There had to be some casualties for what we were doing.

  What I was doing.

  I had to close my nose to the stench of the dumpster beside us, breathing through my mouth, noisier than before, giving a false impression of a pant, of being turned on. The man I was with liked that, liked the idea I was feeling good, liked it so much that he buried his face in the crook of my neck and sobbed out his release, slobbering on me, pushing my hands dangerously close to that jagged part of the fire escape.

  Disgusting me.

  He gave a long sigh, like he'd quenched some thirst, and pulled his dick out of me. Wetness slicked the skin of my inner thighs, but that was the price of admission. I paid it no mind, reaching down and yanking my panties and black pants up in one jerk, buttoning and zippering myself back in.