Sons of Justice 7: Letting Go of the Pain (Siren Publishing LoveXtreme Forever)

by Dixie Lynn Dwyer

  Panther couldn’t believe it, or his train of thought, as the smell of brownies made it through the doorway of his office. Would Lauren show up as requested, or would she be too scared, too uncertain about the attraction to take this chance? He couldn’t help but to think that if this worked out, if they pursued her and got involved with her, making her their woman, whether or not she could accept their commands, their orders for her to learn things. For one, how to shoot a gun, be prepared in case of an attack or home invasion. He was stunned by the fast-forward thinking. He hadn’t even made out with the woman or felt her up. What the fuck was he thinking?

  He heard the knock on the door but was well aware someone was coming as his mind focused on Lauren.

  “So what did he say?” Eddie asked Panther.

  Panther leaned back in the chair and explained in detail about agent Murdock and about his family.

  “Holy shit. Thank God they were prepared like that.”

  “I know. It would have been a different situation if they weren’t. Shows how important it is to be trained and prepared like that.”

  “Sure as shit does. So what is Fairchild saying about this? Obviously agents involved in the investigation are being hunted.”

  “I think he realizes the seriousness of the situation and also thinking what we were, that there’s someone on the inside. Someone who has access to the investigation, to that mission we were on and what went down. I don’t like it, and I get the feeling that more attempts on these agents’ lives will be happening. What I think should be done, and what Fairchild is initiating right now, are for investigators to find other men associated with Pachessa and Lambert that we know. I’m also thinking about our own security. We have a lot of friends around here, a lot of women and children in town. Limiting exposure to them might need to take place as precaution.”

  Eddie squinted his eyes at him. “You seriously think they’ll come specifically after all of us?”

  “It’s Pachessa’s and Lambert’s MO. They don’t trust anyone, and they never got caught in any of their terrorist activities. Think about it. Gary is dead, and he and his team of four were along with us initially. They were killed when Pachessa escaped right before being placed in prison. The guys who didn’t make it out of that situation were thoroughly checked out, and they had connections to terrorist out of the country. You tell me how the fuck that could have happened with that many agents around. We risked our necks to catch that asshole in Chile and bring him back here. The second we get off the plane the feds take control and possession. Fine, no big deal. We know we do the dirty work, the risky, dangerous shit and others take the credit, but succeeding in the mission is our focus. Fine, but why the fuck isn’t anyone going through the fuckup outside the prison with a fine-tooth comb? Why has it just been accepted from the start as a fuckup?”

  “We were asking all the questions from the start, and you had the feeling that there was more to that escape. So what does Spartan say?”

  “That’s the thing. We’re supposed to deal directly with Fairchild, but my gut is feeling uneasy about anything we share with him and the agents. Especially considering that federal agents took over handling that transport. I say we use our own resources and talk with Spartan about what we’re feeling.”

  “Fuck, do you think that Fairchild knows more and he isn’t sharing because he feels we’re out of the picture now?”

  “Could be, but we aren’t out of the picture. Our capture, which we handed over, escaped. He also killed friends of ours, other soldiers that gave their lives. I want to find Pachessa and Lambert.”

  “Panther, it isn’t our job now. What we did, the mission is over. Perhaps just easing back into our normal lives, our responsibilities on the campground with Sons of Justice, would be smarter right now,” Eddie said.

  Panther squinted his eyes at him.

  “What are you saying? Just forget it all and not give a shit?”

  “Well, sort of. We risked our lives. We also had to do that mission without Steve, and it caused a bit of a gap between us. It hasn’t been right or easy or even pleasant, but last night, at the Station with Lauren between us, it felt different. Like things used to be but even better. Like she pulled us closer, and everything felt good, upbeat, hell, complete if I can say that without sounding sappy.”

  Panther exhaled through his nose.

  “We don’t know enough about her. This talk is awfully fucking serious.”

  “I’m not just looking at her as a piece of ass, believe me, I’m not. There’s more to this. Look around the town, around at our friends and their relationships with their women. Their focus is on that woman, making her happy, holding her, possessing her, and it looks amazing. I’ve never, we’ve never, met a woman all four of us are attracted to at the same time. We’ve never felt the connection, the power we did last night with Lauren between all four of us. I’m thinking that putting this mission behind us, seeing it for what it was, a fucked-up situation that put a deeper wedge between us and Steve, and work on repairing the damage right here at home. In this house, with this family. Because if we don’t have one another, then we have nothing.”

  Panther thought about his words, about the emotion and how he felt listening to him speak.

  “Okay, I agree, but as soldiers, as men who were involved with this last mission, I think it would be wise to still stay alert and have our friends keep us posted on any new information or potential sightings. It will be wiser to be aware and prepared than to be caught off guard, unsuspecting, and wind up making a mistake that could cost our lives, or the lives of people we care about.”

  “Agreed. We’ll fill in Mink and Steve later,” Eddie said, and the sound of the doorbell ringing indicated that their guest had arrived. Eddie smiled and rubbed his hands together.

  “I knew she would show up.”

  “Take it slow, like we discussed earlier.”

  “I’ll try, but she’s pretty damn fine, and the protective, possessive feelings may be difficult to tamp down.” Eddie walked out of the room.

  Panther closed up the laptop and then joined everyone in the kitchen.

  * * * *

  Steve opened the front door and smiled softly. Lauren looked beautiful, and she was carrying something covered with foil. She wore a flared black skirt, heeled ankle boots in black, a light blue waist-length sweater, and a black tank top under that. Her hair cascaded around her shoulders, and the sunlight gave an angelic glow to her.

  “Hi, come on in.”

  She smiled and looked around. “This place is so big. It’s beautiful.”

  “Wait until you see the backyard.” He smiled.

  He guided her toward the kitchen when Eddie appeared. Eddie looked her over and smiled. “Afternoon,” he said, placed his hands on her arms, and leaned down to kiss her cheek.

  Steve swallowed hard. He had wanted to do that but was worried that it might scare her if they moved too quickly. She smiled softly.

  “I love your house. It’s so big and beautiful. Plus it smells incredible in here,” she said, and there stood Mink. He gave her a wink, took in the sight of her, and leaned down to kiss her cheek.

  When he pulled back, she swallowed hard.

  “What’s under there?” he asked about the foil-covered dish she had.

  “Oh, I had some time this morning, didn’t know what you were planning for lunch, so I made some buffalo chicken dip as an appetizer, with homemade baked pita chips and toasted brioche for dipping.”

  “Oh God, that sounds incredible,” Mink said as he took the dish from her.

  “Let’s have it outside on the patio. It’s pretty nice out,” Steve suggested, although they had already discussed how they were going to eat outside, and if it got too cool, they would start a fire in the outdoor fireplace. As they walked through the kitchen, Panther appeared.

  “Hi,” he said to her, and she stopped and looked up at him.

  “Hello, Panther. How are you?”

  He looked at he
r, and Steve saw Panther’s eyes check her out, and she shyly lowered her eyes and smoothed her hand along her skirt.

  “Good. You look really nice,” he said to her but didn’t kiss her hello.

  “Shall we?” Eddie said and held the door open on the way to the patio.

  “Oh my, this is gorgeous. Holy God, you even have an outdoor fireplace, refrigerator? Sink?” She walked closer, running her hand along the granite countertops and then the sink.

  “Thanks, it even has a pizza oven, though we don’t really use that,” Eddie said to her. She turned around to look at them.

  “Why not? I would be making pizzas all the time. You know you can make lots of things besides pizza in there, even homemade tortillas, focaccia, and lay all your fresh ingredients right here and just toss them on. You even have the stovetop for a pot of homemade pizza sauce. Wow.”

  Steve chuckled.

  “Darling, any time you want to come on over and create one of those masterpieces, you do so. It sounds delicious,” Mink said to her and placed his hand on her hip and pulled her close against him. She grabbed onto his forearms, her face flushed.

  “Sorry, food, cooking, outdoor kitchens, and pizza ovens get me excited.”

  He chuckled. “I kind of sensed that. So besides baking, you’re a good cook?”

  He eased one hand up to her face and pushed a strand of hair from her cheek. He kept his other hand on her lower back.

  “I enjoy all of it.”

  “I do pretty good around the kitchen. We should make something together some time.”

  She seemed to think about her answer, and Mink made his move and kissed her softly on the lips.

  * * * *

  Mink could not resist. Lauren looked and smelled so good, plus throw in her submissive reaction to them and he had to kiss her. He wanted so much but knew he had to be patient, so he released her lips and watched her slowly open her eyes. She still held on to him, and when she opened her eyes to lock onto his, she exhaled.

  “Something tells me you have a lot of talents, Mink.” She then glanced at the others.

  He stroked her jaw and tilted her chin up toward him.

  “We all have special talents, baby, and there’s no doubt we’ll each be revealing some of those talents to you one by one.” He pressed his lips to hers in a quick kiss.

  “And together, too,” Eddie said, changing the mood completely and bringing things to the next level fast.

  * * * *

  Lauren was so damn nervous. These men were so forward, and the way they looked at her, eating her up with their eyes, made her feel desirable and sexy. It was crazy, but the fears, the anxiety about letting them close was slowly lessening. She had been so high stung and nervous she’d hardly slept last night, and this morning, she decided to cook to keep busy and bake, too. Her sisters found her reaction amusing, but the neighbors were enjoying all the cookies and treats she made and passed out because she smelled up the entire hallway with her baking.

  “We should uncover this and try it,” she said, moving toward the table and uncovering the dip.

  “How about something to drink? We have beer, wine coolers, hard apple cider,” Eddie said to her.

  “Oh, a wine cooler is fine. Thank you.”

  Panther, Mink, and Steve dug into the dip then she took one, too.

  “This is incredible,” Steve said to her.

  “Thanks.”

  Mink handed her a wine cooler, and they each took a beer.

  “To taste-testing new things,” Eddie said to her, and they clinked bottles, and she wondered what exactly he meant and couldn’t help but to think Eddie meant tasting her.

  She felt her cheeks burn and then she walked a few steps away to look at the landscaping they had and an area that appeared to be an old garden or something.

  “What’s that?” she asked, pointing out toward it.

  Steve approached, along with Panther.

  “That was an old garden that the last guys who lived here must have had,” Panther said to her. She felt his hand on her hip as he pressed close to her. She turned to look at him and Steve.

  “Someone lived here before you?” she asked, holding his firm gaze.

  “Yeah, then they moved on to another position out of the country.” He stared at her lips.

  “Does that happen a lot? Teams being called off out of the country and having to leave Sons of Justice?”

  “Sometimes, but not very often,” Steve told her.

  She looked at him. “Do you guys leave often for missions?”

  Steve immediately looked away as if the question upset him. Was he going to have to leave soon? Were the others? Her train of thought sort of surprised her. Was she starting to contemplate giving these men a chance?

  “Steve?”

  “We can get called to leave at any time, Lauren. It’s part of the positions we hold here,” Panther told her, his tone of voice firm and authoritative. He intimidated her the most. He had this superior presence about him. Not that Mink, Eddie, or Steve didn’t, but Panther’s was different.

  “Who is like the leader of the four of you?” she asked, even though she had a feeling it was Panther.

  Panther stepped closer and caressed her hip. “Who do you think is the leader?” he asked, and she felt like passing out the man was so sexy and manly. Her heart was racing.

  “If I had to guess, I would say it was you, Panther, but I get this feeling that all four of you are equal. No one is more commanding or better than the other,” she whispered, and Eddie and Mink moved closer to them.

  “That’s true. We all have different talents and abilities and together make a great team. Panther leads us, makes sure we’re protected and that no harm comes to any of us,” Eddie said to her, and she glanced at him and then looked up at Panther, who was staring at her and stroking her hipbone.

  “Who watches over you, Panther?” she asked.

  “We’re there for one another.” He squeezed her hipbone before reaching up with his other hand and pressing the strands of hair from her shoulder.

  It was getting difficult to think, to process what was happening here. She felt aroused, overwhelmed, yet turned on and attracted to all four men. How could she let anything happen? How bad was it going to be when they hurt her?

  She swallowed hard and refocused on continuing a conversation.

  “Is it like having to do tours?” she asked, even though she was staring at Panther imagining him kissing her. God, he was so hard and sexy. That beard, the big huge muscles, long arms, tattoo of vines and things on his left arm, and the deep, dark expression on his face was a complete turn-on. Could he hurt her? Strike her? Whip her?

  “No, it’s specialized operations. Unique cases that can keep us within the United States or send us overseas,” Eddie said as he and Mink watched their brother-in-arms pull her closer against him. She turned around to face them all, but Panther kept his hands on her hips. He stared down at her with such an intense expression she felt a little scared.

  “It’s not easy, but it’s something you need to be aware of.” He stroked her hipbone. Her sweater raised higher. Her lips parted as she stared up at him. Her head was barely to his shoulders. Panther towered over her, as did his team.

  “I do? Why?” she replied.

  “Getting involved with men, soldiers like us, will require rules and some training,” he said to her stroking under her sweater a little higher and against her ribs.

  “I thought we were just going to be friends.”

  He pressed closer, and she nearly dropped her wine cooler, but Steve took it from her hand.

  Panther eyed over her breasts in the top she wore as he stroked her ribs.

  “Baby, the thoughts going through my head when I look at you, at your beauty and sexiness, are definitely not ones a friend thinks.” He slowly lowered his mouth to hers. As his words sank in, she debated about turning away and denying the attraction or seeing where this led to. His lips touched hers, and she held on t
o his hard, muscular shoulders as he plunged his tongue deeper. His one hand slid under her sweater to her back. She felt like she was on fire. His hands, his kisses stung her skin, excited her body. When his large palm slid under her skirt to her ass, she tightened up. He moaned into her mouth, obviously liking that she wore thong panties. His fingers stroked under the string and then gripped her one ass cheek. She pulled from his mouth.

  “Oh God, Panther. Panther, please slow down,” she begged but then rocked her hips as his fingertip hit her pussy. He turned her slightly, and Steve joined in. He suckled against her shoulder. Slid his palm up her thigh under her skirt and pressed it up against Panther’s hip.

  “You’re so damn sexy and beautiful. We aren’t going to hurt you, Lauren. Not ever,” Steve said to her.

  She gripped Panther’s shoulder tight, her head tilted back. He suckled against her neck as he stroked a finger into her cunt. Her sweater moved down off her shoulder, and Steve was there, kissing her skin and whispering to her.

  “You feel exactly the same way we do. It’s wild, crazy and so deep, Lauren. This isn’t bullshit,” Steve said to her.

  She felt her sweater fall lower and her camisole, too.

  “Goddamn, baby, you’re incredible. Look at her. She’s gorgeous, sexy, and she’s going to be ours,” Eddie said, joining in.

  “Take your time with her. Make her see that we aren’t like any other men she’s been with. That we aren’t those two dicks that hurt her, betrayed her. Make it so she doesn’t have any doubt that we’re the real deal,” Mink said, and she moaned as her body erupted and she came.

  “Fucking beautiful.” Panther kissed her on the mouth as he pulled fingers from her pussy, only for someone else’s fingers to take their place.

  A hand gripped her shoulder, and then a mouth landed on her neck as another one pressed over her breast and nipple.

  “So hot, wet, and giving. You know this is real, Lauren. Let go and let us in. Let us show you how real men treat a woman,” Eddie added as Mink suckled her left breast and tugged on her nipple.