"The full value of the building plus interest and late fees," their dad reluctantly said. "I took out the loan to clear the Albanian debt but—"
"But you hit a hot streak, right?" Kelly asked acidly. "Except it wasn't so hot, was it? Now you owe two loan sharks, and we're fucked."
He stood up, fixed the chair Jack had knocked over and crossed the kitchen to stare out the window into the backyard. Jack paced angrily back and forth across the flagstone pavers. Kelly couldn't even imagine what his oldest brother was feeling. Jack had sacrificed so much to scrape together the money to renovate the family gym. He'd been busting his ass to build up a thriving clientele and working his contacts for training contracts like the one with Dimitri. Every employee of LSG trained and conditioned at Connolly Fitness and Fighting.
What would happen if they lost the gym to Hagen? Jack would lose everything. Finn would be out of a job. Their father would be on the streets. Not that he would survive very long if the Albanian debt went unpaid. There were plenty of men in Besian's crew who would be only too willing to snuff out that problem.
For the briefest moment, Kelly considered accepting Bee's offer. She would happily give him the money to settle the family debts. It was the easiest, cleanest way to do it.
But he would never be able to look her in the eye again if there was money between them like that. She would never throw the debt in his face, but he would remember what it felt like to accept her charity.
And he couldn’t do it. Maybe she was right. His damnable pride might put him in an early grave after all.
"I'll fight." He pivoted slowly to face the kitchen and discovered Jack hovering in the doorway there. "We'll pool our money and bet on me to clear the debt with Hagen."
"I don't like it." Finn tapped his hand against the table. "It's too dangerous. The Albanian's guy—Paulie—was a good fighter, but he's nowhere near as good as the men the Russians have fighting for them."
"Sergei will kill you." Jack didn't even mince words. "The bastard is nearly seven feet tall and outweighs you by fifty pounds. We've all watched him fight before and we all know that he's a fucking beast. I'm a good trainer but I'm not Ivan Markovic. Ivan survived years in that cage and he has skills to offer his fighters that I don't."
Kelly didn't disagree with that assessment. "Pop used to fight underground. He trained me when I fought there a few years ago. He can train me again."
Their father lifted his shamed head. "Kelly, son…"
Jack scoffed. "You want to put your life in the hands of an old drunk?"
"Why aren't we discussing the obvious option?" Finn interjected carefully. "What about Bee's offer?"
"No." Jack and Kelly spoke in unison.
"No," Jack growled again. "We aren't dragging Bee into this nightmare. She's got too much going for her to have the taint of mobs and loan sharks following her for the rest of her life."
"She worked hard for that money," Kelly added. "I won't have her throw it away like this." He thought of the deal on the table. "She's entertaining an offer on her business. One whiff of the Albanian mob could tank it."
Finn twirled a sugar spoon between his fingers. "You'll need more than Pop, Kelly. If you're going to win, I mean. You'll have to find a coach who's been in the ring sometime this century."
Kelly rubbed his face between his hands. "We'll figure it out tomorrow. Right now, I need a shower and a nap."
Jack sighed heavily. "Yeah. Okay." His vicious gaze turned toward their father. "You can stay until you're sobered up but then I want you out of here. Don't show your face around the gym either. Understand?"
The old man nodded stiffly. "Yes."
Finn, always the most sympathetic and gentle of them, helped their father out of his chair. "Come on, Pop. You can stay in my room. I've got some clothes you can borrow."
Feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders, Kelly headed back upstairs. He slipped into his room to grab a clean pair of shorts before ducking into the bathroom he shared with Finn. After showering, he returned to his bedroom and slowly sank down into the low, wide chair in the corner. The comfortable plushness of his favorite chair cradled his tired, aching body.
He propped his feet on the edge of his bed and watched Bee sleep. The sheet had slipped down a little and revealed a tantalizing glimpse of skin between the top of her pink and white striped undies and the bottom of her shirt. He tried to ignore the throbbing ache in his cock as his body reacted naturally to the sight of her sexy curves.
But it wasn't simply the natural reaction to a beautiful woman that left him feeling so unsettled. Ever since Bee had blindsided him with that New Year's Eve kiss, he'd been fighting a losing battle. Until the moment their lips first touched, he had been able to pretend that the flutter in his stomach every time she was near wasn't real. Her kiss had demolished the wall he'd erected between them.
Even now, simply watching her sleep, he felt his resolve slipping. Twice tonight, he'd flirted with danger. While interrogating her at the club, he'd indulged his desire to touch her soft skin. Later, in the truck, when he'd been overcome with guilt for snapping at her, he'd opened himself up to sharing some intimacy with her.
Now that he knew what it felt like to touch her so tenderly, Kelly accepted there was no going back. It was time to face the facts. When guarding clients, he always insisted in total honesty from the protectee. He would expect the same from Bee—but she should expect the same from him. Guarding her wouldn't be just another job to him and his emotions would be tangled up in it.
Because he would be protecting the woman he had loved since he was twenty-four years old.
Kelly still remembered the first moment he had recognized Bee not as the slightly strange and always silly little sister of his best friend, but as a woman. Every summer Jolene Langston hosted a huge Fourth of July bash at their house on Lake Conroe. It was the first time in a couple of years that both Kelly and Jeb hadn't been deployed or on duty. It was also the summer Bee's mother learned she had Stage IV ovarian cancer, but that day everyone had been blissfully ignorant of the fate that awaited Jolene.
Stuck in Afghanistan while his mother fought the cancer ravaging her body and Bee tried to hold it all together, Jeb had slipped into a shell that Kelly simply hadn't been able to penetrate. Those final months of Jeb's life, before he'd been killed in action, had been strained and tense. For the first time since meeting as four-year-olds, Kelly and Jeb hadn't been able to connect. Something had gotten between them and Kelly still didn't know what it was.
"Kelly?"
Lost in his thoughts, he hadn't noticed her waking. Dropping his feet to the floor, he sat forward in his chair. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"
A bemused smile curved her mouth. "Yes. Are you?"
"Sure."
"It's late. Why aren't you sleeping?"
"I was thinking."
"About?"
"You." He didn't even try to deny it.
Her tired eyes widened. "Me?"
"You," he said with a sigh and pushed out of his chair. Standing next to his bed, he gestured toward the wall. "Scoot over, Bee."
She didn’t hesitate to follow his order. He eyed the space she'd created for him and wondered if he was really about to cross this line. The mischievous smile that brightened her sleepy face convinced him it was time to throw caution to the wind. When he slid in beside her, she moved even farther away and hugged the very edge of the mattress.
Chuckling, he clamped his arm around her waist and dragged her against him. "Come here."
"Kelly." She spoke breathlessly but didn't fight him. "What are you doing?"
"I don't know," he admitted, "but it sure as hell feels right."
Brushing black strands of hair from her face, he shifted Bee in his arms until her cheek rested against his chest. She tentatively hooked her leg across his. Running his hand up and down her back, he said, "I was thinking about the last Fourth of July barbecue your mom hosted."
"Oh." Sadness colored her voic
e. "That was one of the last times our family was together."
"I know," he said softly, thinking of the torment Jeb had suffered while deployed in Afghanistan during his mother's valiant fight for her life. Wanting to remind Bee of happier times, he asked, "Do you remember that box of sparklers we burned through?"
"Of course," she replied with a little laugh. "Why?"
"No reason." He wasn't brave enough to tell her that playing tic-tac-toe in the twilight had been the moment when he'd first started to fall for her. It had been a blessed relief to do something so incredibly innocent after months of enduring the hard slog of war.
Soon, he promised himself, but not tonight. For now, he was content to hold her. Giving her arm a squeeze, he murmured, "Go to sleep, Bee. We have to be up in a few hours."
Knowing Bee, she probably had a thousand questions racing through her brilliant mind but she didn't ask them. Maybe she understood that this was one of those moments where talking wasn't necessary.
When her hand hesitantly lifted to his chest, he caught it before she could draw it back to her side. Lifting her fingertips, he kissed each one and then settled her smaller hand against his shoulder. The sensation of her warm, lush body curled up against his affected him in ways he couldn't quite articulate.
For the first time in years, sleep came easily and swiftly. There were no nightmares of bullets whizzing by his head or explosions rocking convoys. No, tonight, he dreamed only of the incandescent bursts of white phosphorous lighting up Bee's sweet face—and it was good.
Chapter Four
I nervously tugged at the bottom of the borrowed Connolly Fitness tee Kelly had left on the bed for me and descended the stairs. The sounds of male voices drew me toward the kitchen where I discovered Finn and Kelly making breakfast. I assumed Jack had already gone to the gym but didn't dare ask about their father.
Finn spotted me first. "Morning, Bee."
"Good morning, Finn." I noticed the way Kelly kept his back to me as he fiddled with something on the counter. Toast, I thought, by the smell.
"Sorry you only got a few hours of sleep," Kelly said over his shoulder. "Once we get everything squared away with LSG, we'll get you stowed somewhere safe and you can nap."
I shrugged and reached for the carton of orange juice on the table. A glass had been set out for me so I filled it halfway. "I'm used to running on no sleep. My schedule has been hectic these last few years."
"You still juggling college and the business?" Finn asked as he slid into a seat and motioned toward another one for me.
"Sort of," I said before taking a sip of the cold juice. "I part-timed the last two semesters, and I'm thinking of leaving altogether."
"Is that so?" Kelly didn't sound very pleased by my decision. When he turned toward me, I glanced at the plate in his hand. He'd smeared a bagel with chocolate hazelnut spread and topped it with sliced bananas. Remembering my favorite breakfast combination somehow seemed more special than it really was.
"Thanks." I accepted the plate with a smile.
He gave a little shrug before sitting down with his bagel and eggs liberally covered with green salsa. "How many hours of college do you have left?"
"I don't know." He shot me a look and I rolled my eyes. "Like thirty."
"You're too close to quit."
I took a bite of my bagel rather than engage in an argument with him. It was way too early and neither of us had gotten enough sleep for a discussion that intense. "Are we going to my apartment soon?"
Finn smiled behind his coffee cup at the way I had deftly avoided a morning tiff with his younger brother. Kelly stabbed at his eggs and nodded. "Lev and Dimitri will be meeting us at your place. I also called the police department to see if they could send out an officer to take a report so everything is documented."
"For?"
"A restraining order or arrest," he said. "We'll figure out who this creep is eventually. When we do, I want him arrested and thrown in jail. Dimitri is bringing one of LSG's techs to sweep your place"
"Techs?"
"LSG has added more support staff to help the agents in the field," he explained. "Dimitri wants to be able to provide full-service protection for all of his clients. It's easy enough to work side-by-side with the police here, but in some of the areas where we protect clients, it's not that simple."
As Kelly and Finn launched into a debate about the most corrupt countries, I polished off my yummy bagel and orange juice. Finn took my plate and cup and tucked them into the dishwasher along with his and Kelly's. He bid us a quick farewell before grabbing his backpack and darting out the door.
Alone with Kelly, I waited for him to finish wiping up the counter. "So—your dad?"
He spared me a glance. "He was gone when I came downstairs."
"Gone where?"
He shrugged. "Hell if know. I don't really care."
"Kelly," I admonished. "He's your father."
His green eyes narrowed. "Bee, there's a lot of things I'm willing to let you chastise me for, but this isn't one of them. You don't know the score with our old man. He's a sad, pathetic drunk now, but he used to be a mean old bastard who liked to knock all of us around. This shit with the loan sharks is the last straw."
I had always suspected Nick Connolly was an abusive parent. Jeb used to make remarks that made me question what sort of upbringing Kelly and his brothers endured. In some ways, the Connolly brothers' aloof natures made sense when viewed within that context.
As far as I knew, none of them had ever been involved in a serious long-term relationship. At thirty-three, thirty-one and almost twenty-nine that was quite an accomplishment, all things considered. Most men would have had at least one long-term girlfriend by those ages.
"I'm sorry, Kelly. I didn't mean to step on your toes."
He came around the island and slid his hand along the nape of my neck. Lowering his head, he kissed my forehead. The touch of his lips against my skin branded me as his. I wasn't sure what had brought on this change in his demeanor toward me but I prayed the gentle sweetness he had been showing me since last night wasn't going to end anytime soon.
"You didn't, Bee. You're probably right. I should care where he is but right now you're my top priority. After you, it's saving the gym and everything Jack and Finn have worked to build."
Frowning, I pulled back enough to look at him. "What's wrong with the gym?"
He brushed his thumb across my cheek. "Dad took a loan against the building from Hagen."
"The loan shark?"
"How do you know about him?"
"When LookIt exploded overnight, I needed funding fast to expand JBJ TechWorks or else the whole damn thing was going to collapse. A friend on campus who did a lot of poker playing told me that Hagen could advance big sums of cash for competitive interest rates but I decided to aim big."
"So you marched into Yuri's office and asked for a million bucks, right?"
"Well…it was quite a bit more than that, but basically, yes." I chewed my lip as I considered this new bit of information about their father's second outstanding debt. "Kelly, please reconsider my offer. If it's the charity angle that bothers you, we can set up a payment plan or something."
He tugged away from me and ended the connection between us. "It's not up for discussion, Bee. We've decided to handle this our way."
Frustration boiled in my gut. "Your way requires you getting the crap knocked out of you in a warehouse."
"It's the best way." He tentatively reached out to caress my face. My eyelids drifted together as his fingers glided along my cheek. "I'm not dragging you into this. Your reputation has to remain spotless, Bee."
I decided not to push the issue with him, but I swore then and there that I would find a way to save his family's gym and his father's life that didn't require Kelly to risk permanent injury or death. He was going to be furious with me but I didn't care. I wasn't going to stand on the sidelines while the man I'd loved for so long killed himself to restore his family's hono
r.
"We should go."
On the drive to my building, we didn't talk much beyond agreeing on a radio station. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence by any means. The easiness between us this morning reminded me of the time before that kiss. I wasn't sure what had happened last night to make Kelly lower his fences. When he'd climbed into bed with me, I had been nearly delirious with excitement. The way he held me and stroked my back until I fell asleep had been absolute perfection.
The ball remained firmly in his court and I had no intention of asking him what the hell was going on between us. I wanted so much more with him but I'd waited this long for even the chance to try. I could wait a little longer for him to make up his mind.
When we reached my building, Lev and Dimitri were waiting at the side entrance. The tall, blond Russian was a friend of Yuri's and a man I recognized on sight. I stopped by his wife's bakery once or twice a month and often saw him there. He was a familiar face at Faze too.
The other man I didn't know at all. Kelly had told me that Lev was a former Israeli commando who specialized in counter-terrorism. I wasn't quite sure what a man with that sort of expertise could do to help me but I trusted that they had their own system for sizing up their potential clients.
After a round of introductions, I unzipped my backpack and retrieved my keycard. Before I had even gotten close to the door, Dimitri asked, "Who else has a keycard?"
"No one else has one. There's an extra in my safe that I planned to give to Kelly the next time I saw him."
Lev jotted something down in a notebook he produced from the pocket of his cargo pants. "We'll have someone follow up with the security firm you're using. We need to know where every key is. Spike, our tech guy, is running a few minutes late, but when he gets here, we'll have him run diagnostics on everything."
I didn't tell Lev I could access those records myself. He would likely want their own man to pull them anyway. Once inside the building, we headed for the elevator. I noticed the way the men kept their hands close to their sides and didn't touch anything. Probably because they wanted to get good prints later when the police officer Kelly had requested arrived on the scene.