by Cara Carnes
Though not much time had passed, bruises were forming in a distinct pattern. Fingers.
Tension struck the room. Everyone started talking at once.
Jesse leaned down until he was in her personal space. “You and I need to have a conversation about this, Peanut. You want to do this with just you and me, or do you want them involved? Either way they’ll know whatever you tell me.”
She’d sat in plenty of Arsenal briefings. The Masons, the women gathered around her, and the team leaders all converged and went over every speck of detail about a case. No stone went unturned. They hacked their way into impossible-to-get intel without thought.
Mary and Vi led the discussions and used the system they’d created. HERA. Ellie didn’t fully understand it, but Marshall and Nolan had both told her every government organization and country in the world wanted it.
Her stupid problems with Phil didn’t need their level of intensity. He was a pissant compared to the real terrorists, drug lords, regimes, militias, spies, assassins, and dictatorships they battled on a regular basis. Nolan said Mary and Vi had never failed on a mission. While Ellie really, really wanted kickass commandoes like Jesse and The Arsenal kicking Phil’s ass, more important and deserving people needed them more.
“It’s nothing.”
“Nothing doesn’t shoot out tires,” Jesse said. “Nothing doesn’t leave marks on you.”
“I’ll handle him.”
“Him? Who?” Addy asked.
“Her ex,” Zoey said as she entered the fray. Her friend charged into the room from the side entrance and held her laptop out. Her gaze widened when it landed on Jesse. She snapped the laptop shut and hugged it close to her. “On second thought, let’s wait to look at the footage. “Gage and the others are going to the whiteboard room. Let’s move there.”
Ellie didn’t want a big meeting with lots of questions. There was so much she hadn’t shared with them—not because she’d intended to keep secrets. There simply hadn’t ever been a good time to bring up things that were technically of no consequence to them.
“Look at me,” Jesse ordered in a whisper.
Heat tingled beneath her skin when his fingertips touched her chin. She leaned forward, craving the awareness igniting within her. Thirteen years. If she thought hard enough, she could recount the months and days as well. It’d been thirteen years since she’d felt Jesse’s touch outside of necessity.
He’d tended her injuries at the accident. He’d remained as distant physically as he was emotionally. She couldn’t blame him. He’d survived a hell she’d likely never understand because no one ever spoke facts about it. Rumors were the only morsels of information running amok in the tri-county when it came to Jesse’s injuries.
Ellie would rather die than listen to what the gossipmongers said. They’d chewed her up and spat her out like gristle.
“Jesse, you all have more important things to deal with. It’ll be fine.”
“There’s nothing more important than you, Peanut. You either walk or I carry you. Your choice.”
Jesse seethed as he paced near the exit to the small room. Every debriefing they held was a tighter fit as the crew involved grew. Talk about a cluster fuck. He wanted confirmation that Marville’s new sheriff was the asshole who’d hurt Ellie. He had a name.
Phil Perskins.
A growl rose from his throat. Perskins. Yeah, he remembered Phil’s dick of a father having a run-in with them on more than one occasion, especially back when their father had been alive. They’d butted heads at the auction house in Nomad often when the man tried to cheat newbie ranchers with bad livestock.
Jesse’s dad had always run interference and done the right thing. Jesse rubbed his chest. Pops always did the right thing, no matter what. He wouldn’t have tolerated this slow-as-fuck shit show.
Mary, Vi, Cord, and Zoey had watched footage three times and had yet to share it with anyone else. If they watched one more time and didn’t start this debrief, Jesse was gonna blow.
“Sit down,” Dylan ordered. “You look at my wife or Vi like that one more time and you’ll have issues with Jud and I.”
“And me,” Gage added from his new position in front of Jesse.
Jesse ignored Dylan. Big brothers were a pain in the ass. Fortunately they left him alone most of the time. People had a way of ignoring maimed head cases when they could. Nolan moved closer. Jesse felt his presence at his back.
Caged.
No.
Contained.
Riley, Bree, Rhea, and Addy had Ellie on the other side of the room. Sequestered.
“I’m a bit pissed you’re wasting time controlling this situation,” Jesse said through clenched teeth as he turned to face Nolan.
“You got your shit together?” Jud asked as he arrived and stood beside Gage.
“Do I need to?”
Nolan’s jaw twitched.
Yeah, he needed to.
The soft swoosh of the door behind Jesse drew his attention. He inhaled the cool air from the hall and the small taste of freedom the doorway offered. Then his gaze landed on Levi and the quickening of Jesse’s pulse he hadn’t noted until that moment slowed.
But his mind spun.
Get answers.
Kick Perskins’ ass.
Protect Ellie.
“Move,” Levi ordered as he glared at Nolan and the others congregated around Jesse.
“This is a closed debrief. We’ll fill you in after we’re done, Levi,” Zoey said from the front.
“Move or I move you,” Levi repeated. He closed the short distance between himself and those gathered around Jesse.
Jesse tensed. His second-in-command recognized more of Jesse’s triggers than anyone—even Doctor Sinclair. “I’m okay.”
“No. You aren’t,” the man said. His gaze swept the room. “All due respect, you all back the fuck off or I’ll level you. Don’t ever cage him in. You’ll trigger a flashback.”
Dylan and Nolan’s gazes widened. Jesse noted both because he’d been turning in small circles. His heart thundered hard in his chest, but the anxiety marching beneath his skin was burned away by rage. Someone had hurt Ellie.
Air. He breathed it in the moment the cage widened. Jud and Gage moved away. Levi stood against the wall, near Jesse’s back. He breathed deeper when he saw only Dylan and Nolan remained close.
Brothers.
Most days the monsters within Jesse hibernated. They only roused when someone he cared about was hurt or needed help. They’d rode him hard when Mary’s troubles hit.
And Kamren’s.
Jesus, they’d damn near eaten him alive when Dallas’s shit went down.
Then Ma.
Now Ellie.
“I’m gonna kick Medina’s ass for showing this to you first,” Nolan commented.
“Don’t you dare,” Jesse growled. “I should’ve let the girls dig into Ellie. We’ve all known she was hiding something.”
“We’ve got this, brother. Whatever it is, we’ll handle it,” Nolan said.
“Let’s go through this and what we’ve done so far,” Mary said. She looked over at Jesse, as if assuring herself he was handling his shit.
He wasn’t.
It’d been lost a few seconds after Medina showed him the bullet that’d shredded Ellie’s tire.
“We’ve located and isolated the drone surveillance from the incident,” Vi said. “We won’t be showing it. Sheriff Phil Perskins appeared on scene shortly after Ellie pulled her truck over. He dragged her from the truck and an argument ensued. Threats were made.”
“Show it,” Jesse ordered.
“That’s our call. We are all a firm no,” Zoey said.
“You don’t need to see it, brother,” Cord said.
Assholes. Jesse paced.
“What’s on the CD he wants?” Mary asked Ellie.
“I have no idea. It’s in my safety deposit box at Nomad National. I put it there with the paperwork and Bible I’d picked up for Mom.” Ellie’
s pale face drew Jesse’s attention. He wanted to be across the room with her, but that wasn’t a smart idea.
The woman stared blankly into the coffee he’d brought. Dark circles were beneath her eyes. Why hadn’t he noticed before?
Because you’ve been too busy avoiding her since Mom’s accident.
He’d avoided her because seeing her fussing over his mom and doing the small things he and his brothers wouldn’t have considered…
She was a reminder of everything he’d lost. Survived.
Ellie Travers was his biggest regret, yet his reason for living.
Dylan moved to stand beside Mary. Big brother had set the bar high when he’d met and married one of the most brilliant women Jesse had ever met. Then Dallas met Kamren.
His brothers were happy little shits in the slop of domesticated.
Jesse wouldn’t ever have a wife. Kids.
Sex.
“You cool?” Levi asked, his hand on Jesse’s shoulder.
“Yeah, sorry. Must’ve zoned.” Jesse looked around the room and noted the conversation hadn’t halted, but his brothers all watched. Assessed.
He had to keep his shit reined in or they’d pull him from whatever this was. No way in hell was he letting another team take primary on helping Ellie with whatever was going on.
“We’ve sent a copy of the footage to the proper authorities. We expect someone will want to speak with you soon, Ellie,” Cord said. “Likely the Texas Rangers, who were just in Marville. At this rate they should move here.”
“We’ll want to sweep the area where the shots were taken from. If we’re lucky, another drone further down the road was able to catch whoever it was. The caliber used doesn’t allow for distance,” Bree said.
“Dallas, you want to take your team and Kamren out there?” Zoey asked. “The boys can stay with me.”
“They’re with Mom,” Dallas said. “We’ll go now.”
“Riley and I will sweep through Marville. Maybe someone’s talking,” Jud said.
“They won’t,” Ellie said. “They mind their own business.”
“She’s right,” Kamren said. “Phil’s parents bleed money into that town. Everyone’s pockets are lined with Perskins’ green in one way or another.”
“Why didn’t his name come up when we were looking into Kamren’s shit?” Gage asked.
“Because they’re too smart to get caught,” Marshall said. “Dad’s suspected Herman Perskins of a lot of things over the years, but there wasn’t ever enough evidence. They stayed clean.”
“We’ll dig,” Mary said.
Jesse breathed his first deep breath. Everyone around him was rallying to get Ellie safe from whatever this latest clusterfuck was. If there was anything to find, Vi and Mary, aka the Quillery Edge, would find it.
“My team and I will rattle Phil’s cage,” Jesse said. “The sooner he knows she’s Arsenal the better.”
The sooner he knows she’s mine the better. He glanced across the table. Ellie had always been his. He might never truly have her as his wife. She’d never have his children. But he’d protect her until his dying breath because he loved her more than anyone.
His world began and ended with Ellie Travers.
“Let’s wait to confront until we have the CD and know what we’re looking at,” Nolan said. “The more leverage we have the better.”
Jesse grunted. Although waiting sucked, it was the smart move.
“Though I’m in for a confrontation when you’re ready. I want to be there.” Nolan crossed his arms. “No one fucks with family.”
Jesse swallowed. Ellie should’ve been the first daughter in-law. The first to carry the next Mason generation.
“We have plenty of cottages ready since Burton construction completed so many a couple weeks ago,” Zoey said.
Jesse was impressed with Brant’s brothers. They’d completed one-third of the first section of housing The Arsenal was building for the Warrior’s Path—a program he and Dylan had created for veterans returning home from military service.
“Good idea,” Marshall said. “Pick whichever one you want to use, Ellie. We’ll send a few guys over to help you bring over whatever you need.”
They were moving Ellie onto The Arsenal? The move was smart, but the last thing Jesse needed.
“I can’t move.” Ellie’s eyes were wide. Terrified. She looked at Jesse from across the room. “I can’t move.”
“He can’t mess with you here.”
“I won’t cower to that asshole or anyone else.” She clenched her coffee cup. “I appreciate it, but you have done enough for me.”
They hadn’t done nearly enough. Riley had hired Ellie to take over as office manager, but everyone had been neck-deep in troubles and had ignored the front office entirely. They hadn’t noticed the beautiful woman was severely underpaid and overworked until Zoey had knocked their asses down a few pegs.
They’d tripled her salary and given her a company vehicle and credit card. They were in the process of hiring an assistant for her, but Jesse knew it wasn’t close to enough because the woman was exhausted.
“Why can’t you move here?” Mary asked, her voice soft.
Mary saw things faster than most. Jesse wondered what she suspected.
“Mom won’t agree to move here,” Ellie whispered.
“Your mom?” Rhea asked. The quiet scientist studied Ellie a moment. “She’s the how.”
Jesse tightened. Son of a bitch. His mind connected the dots, but the brilliant women gathered within the room had already finished the pattern.
“What?” Cord asked.
“She’s how you knew how to care for Momma Mason,” Rhea said. “I’m right. Aren’t I?”
Ellie curled into her chair as if warding off their perusal. A part of him wanted to carry her out of the room and away from whatever troubles she was having.
But she wasn’t his.
Not anymore.
“Ellie,” Nolan whispered. “I know your mom is fiercely private, but we need to know.”
“Why? Why does that matter?”
“Because you matter,” Jesse answered as he sat across from her at the table. “Is your mom sick?”
“Mom has colon cancer,” Ellie whispered into the thick silence.
“I’m sorry, Peanut.” Jesse reached over and took her hand.
He’d held her hand at her dad’s funeral. It’d been simpler back then. Ten years old and masters of their know-nothing world.
“How long?” Marshall asked.
“A while,” she hedged. “She doesn’t need this worry, not with all the others she has.”
“The debt,” Zoey whispered. Red crept up her cheeks when she peered up from her computer. “I sort of started looking. We wanted to a while back, but Jesse wouldn’t let us. He said you deserved your privacy.”
“Thank you,” Ellie said as she looked over at him. “Mom was really sick a while back and made some poor choices. The bank let her take out second and third mortgages she couldn’t ever repay.”
“Patterson,” Dallas said, anger in his voice. “She’s one of those affected by the land scandal The Rangers are looking into.”
“Phil bought it after the foreclosure finalized,” Nolan guessed.
Ellie nodded.
Jesse suspected there was far more lurking beneath the surface when it came to Ellie, but it’d wait. For now they needed to get her and her mom secure at The Arsenal.
“Come on. Let’s go get your mom. We’ll stop and eat at Bubba’s first,” Jesse said.
She needed time to relax and process what’d happened before handling her mother. Jesse didn’t recall the woman fondly. She brought a whole new meaning to the term abrasive.
3
Riley watched Ellie like a hawk about to swoop down on a rat. Everyone in Bubba’s watched Riley, while Jesse glared back at them. Fun. Times.
Ellie found the entire situation disconcerting. She’d gotten a couple hours work done in between all the drop-in visit
s from operatives and well-meaning friends checking on her. It was nice to know people cared, but she felt bad for wasting so much of their time.
Damn Phil for whatever petty crap he was stirring up. It wasn’t like gang members were shooting at her. That’d happened to Kamren. She didn’t have a crazy congressman trying to kill her. That was Zoey.
Ellie didn’t even want to think about the scary shit Mary and Vi survived. It was black-in-black level classified—which meant she shouldn’t know half of what she’d become privy to, thanks to the guys’ lack of desire to type their own reports up.
“How did y’all meet?” Riley cocked her lead to the left as she sipped on her straw. Curiosity glinted in her blue eyes. “You and Jesse? I never heard the story.”
“School. My first day,” Ellie whispered. Heat rose in her cheeks as she moved a bean from one side of her paper plate to another. “Mom was a teacher, and she’d gotten a job in the elementary school. I didn’t know anyone. I saw a couple bigger boys squaring off against one with the nicest, warmest smile. I got angry and clonked one of them when he…”
She’d been alone for so long with only the fond memories of him and what they’d once been to one another to keep her sane. Sharing any scrap of what she’d safeguarded so long with anyone felt…wrong. A lump formed in her throat. She forced a smile and hoped the conversation would move somewhere else if she was quiet long enough because finishing the sentence was almost as impossible as forgetting the man sitting beside her.
“Nolan pushed me to the ground. She clonked him over the head with her backpack, then stomped on his foot.” Jesse smiled.
Warmth seeped into Ellie. She missed his smile. Its presence washed away some of the protectiveness within her. They weren’t just her memories—they were Jesse’s. And Riley wasn’t just anyone. She was his little sister.
Family.
Ellie took a deep breath and let her thoughts spill out as the memory of how they met assailed her. “I didn’t know they were brothers.”
“The resemblance didn’t clue you in?” Jesse teased.
Her stomach somersaulted and her pulse quickened when their gazes locked. The bustling conversation of patrons vanished as her awareness tunneled to Jesse. The way his full lips upturned in a smirk that didn’t quite strike his eyes. Eyes haunted by a hell she no longer had the right to pull him out of—but she would anyway because her world stopped and ended with Jesse Mason.
