Flynn watched the rise and fall of Carina’s chest beneath the sheet. The sun was just glinting through the curtains, but he’d been awake for a while. He should get up. Shower. Dress. But moving away from her felt impossible.
Last night had felt different to him. She felt different to him. And like everything else he felt about the woman, last night’s intense connection scared the hell out of him.
He’d never been the type of guy to easily give himself to another person. Trust had been given rarely and with caution. In Delta, he’d seen the worst of humanity. Then being taken by Project Arma, treated like an object… Hell, if the guys from Marble Falls hadn’t broken his team out of there, he’d probably be a robot soldier right now, fighting someone else’s war.
That sort of thing would rock anyone’s faith in humanity.
His gaze traced the contour of her neck between her hairline and shoulder. Her head turned, and a piece of golden hair fell across her face, causing her eyelids to twitch. Unable to stop himself, he reached out, pushed the lock away, and grazed her skin in the process.
So damn soft.
Three of his friends had found love. Logan, Jason, and Blake. How had they learned to trust again after the military and Project Arma?
He’d been so sure love wasn’t in the cards for him. Marriage. A forever kind of connection with a single person.
Had that changed?
Carina’s eyelids scrunched, and her fingers twitched. A second later, those beautiful blue eyes opened, looking straight at him. It was like an arrow to his fucking chest. She pierced his soul with a single look. That was the depth of her effect on him.
That was why, alongside the desire, came that emotion he rarely felt. Stark fear.
A smile stretched her lips. “Hey.” She almost sounded shy. Her hands went to the sheet, tugging it higher over her chest.
He pushed his thoughts to the back of his mind. “Morning, honey.” His hand curved around her shoulder as he leaned in, pressing a long, lingering kiss on her lips, something he’d been wanting to do since the moment he woke. Her kisses were like little flecks of perfection.
When he pulled back, her eyes were closed once more. He caressed her shoulder. “Sleep well?”
She looked at him. “I think so. I can’t remember.”
He lifted a brow. “You can’t remember?”
“Well, I’m not used to being with someone like you.” Her gaze roamed down his bare chest before rising to his face again. “You kind of empty my head.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, I remember you saying that before.”
“Literally nothing up there right now.”
His smile widened. “You do the opposite to me.” Bending toward her, he dropped a kiss beside her mouth. “You take up so much space in my head, you shove everything else aside.”
His mouth trailed down her neck. He was seconds from tugging away the sheet and sliding the woman beneath him when banging sounded on the door.
He lifted his head. “Expecting visitors?”
She shook her head, frowning.
Who the hell was it then?
Flynn tugged on his jeans, then moved to the door. His hand was wrapping around the knob when another bang sounded—this one harder than the last. Then a woman’s voice shouted.
“I know you’re in there! Open the fucking door!”
He tugged it open to find a very angry-looking middle-aged woman standing there. Her bleach-blonde hair looked like it had been pulled up in a rush, and she wore jeans and an oversized sweatshirt.
Anger sparked in her eyes. “Where are my boys?”
“Your boys being the Brown twins?”
He was making an educated guess here. He’d never seen the woman before in his life.
Carina’s quiet steps sounded behind him.
The woman took a step forward, and Flynn inched to the side to block her from entering the house. “Don’t play dumb with me!” Her gaze shot behind him to Carina. “Did your boyfriend follow through on his threat and do something to them last night?”
Carina touched his arm while her words remained aimed at the woman. “Excuse me?”
“You think I didn’t hear?” Her eyes flashed back to Flynn. “I was right there by my window when you threatened them. I saw you grab my son! Then last night, people were talking about how they threw some shit at her at the street party. Now my boys haven’t come home. What did you do?”
His blood boiled. The kids threw shit at Carina? He wanted to turn and ask her about it, but he pushed the urge down. It would have to wait. “Did you also watch as they egged Carina’s house, took her phone, and shoved her too?”
Her eyes flared.
So, yes.
“Where are they?”
Flynn kept his expression neutral. “I haven’t had any interaction with them since that day.”
“Bullshit!” she sneered.
Carina tried to step forward, but he put his arm around her body, stopping her. “I don’t know what you’re trying to accuse him of,” she said. “But I’ve been with him since your boys approached us last night. He had nothing to do with them not coming home.”
“Why the fuck would I believe anything you say? You’re probably in on the whole thing!”
Carina frowned. “Whole thing?”
Okay, time for this little altercation to end. “I’m part owner of Blue Halo Security. I’d be happy to look into the matter for you?”
For a moment, the woman looked somewhere between shocked and disgusted. “You stay the fuck away from them. And if I find out you did anything, I’ll make you pay!”
Then she stormed back across the yard to her house.
Flynn shut the door and turned to find Carina nibbling on her bottom lip.
“Do you think they’re okay?” she finally asked.
With a hand on the small of her back, he led her to the kitchen. “They’re teenage boys with very little parental supervision. There are a million things that could have kept them out all night.”
He stepped closer, slipping his arms around her waist and tugging her against him. “What was she talking about them throwing shit at you?”
Her eyes widened, her lips separating. “Oh. It was nothing.”
Lie. Why was she protecting them? “Tell me. Please.”
“They just threw a bottle at me. Greg swatted it away.”
Yep. The second they turned up, he was going to kill them. He should have kept a closer eye on her last night. “You okay?”
She gave a small chuckle. “Trust me, those kids with their eggs and low-level threats are the least of my worries.”
Flynn’s muscles tensed. “Threats?”
She shook her head. “It’s nothing. I received some notes in the mail. I’m sure it was them.”
What the hell? Okay, now he was really losing his calm. “What did they say?”
“That I’m not welcome here, and to get out of town.”
His hands tightened on her waist. He didn’t like the sound of that. “Do you still have them?”
“Um. I don’t think—” She stopped. “Wait, I might have one.”
She slipped away from him and rummaged through a small pile of mail on the kitchen counter. “Got it.”
Flynn took the sheet from her and studied it. Damn, it was typed. He’d been hoping for a handwritten note. At least then he could have compared it to something the boys had written.
His gaze skimmed across the words.
Why are you still here? Go home before you make me do something you’ll regret.
“Me,” Flynn read quietly.
Carina frowned. “What did you say?”
“The note reads me.” He looked up. “If it had been the boys, I would have thought they’d say us. Make us do something you’ll regret. I’m guessing there was no return address?”
She shook her head.
“Was the envelope handwritten?”
“Uh, yeah, but I didn’t keep it. Sorry. I’ll keep the next one.”
His gut kicked. “Next one?” She just expected more. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked quietly.
She lifted a shoulder. “Because I assumed it was the boys next door, and I thought they were harmless threats.”
Those boys had some questions to answer. His hands went back to her hips, and he tugged her closer. “Next time, tell me.” He scanned the front door. “Maybe I should upgrade the security on this place.” He’d been thinking about it anyway.
She shook her head. “You don’t need to do that.”
“I want to. Especially since I have to go away again tomorrow for the job in Idaho Falls. I’ll probably be gone for a couple of days.” He made a mental note to organize the security system and get his team to look at this letter, before lowering his head for a kiss. “I have to get to work now, but I’d love to come over tonight. Maybe we could grab takeout. Watch a movie.”
His hands snaked up her shirt and trailed across her warm skin.
Her hands went to his chest. “Okay, but instead of takeout, I’ll cook. I make an awesome ragu.”
He groaned. “She cooks too.” Another kiss to her lips. “Too damn perfect.”
It was an hour later when he finally got to his office. He spent the day talking potential projects with a couple of big companies and organizing the new security system for Carina’s place. After a lengthy phone call, she’d finally agreed.
He was almost done for the day when his cell rang. “Tom, what can I do for you today?”
Tom was a police officer at the station. Flynn and his team had helped him out with local crimes on a few occasions.
The man sighed. “Flynn, I’ve received three calls and a visit from a very angry Eadie Brown.”
Flynn frowned. “Who?”
“She lives next door to Carina Murphy. Mother to the Brown twins.”
Flynn scrubbed a hand over his face. Christ. “The kids still aren’t back?”
“No. Not answering their phones and haven’t made contact with anyone all day. We’re not declaring them as missing persons just yet, but the mother is pretty worked up.”
“And the mother thinks I did something,” Flynn said, more to himself than to Tom. “Look, about a week and a half ago, I arrived at Carina’s house to find them egging her windows. Then they snatched her phone and shoved her. I scared them off and made sure they knew if they did it again, there’d be consequences. But that’s it. Last night, I was at the street party and then at Carina’s. My whereabouts can be verified.”
“I know you didn’t do anything, Flynn.”
He and Tom had been friends in high school. They went way back, and the guy knew that hurting kids wasn’t something Flynn would do or allow. Still, as local law enforcement, he had to do his due diligence.
“We’re happy to use our resources here at Blue Halo to do what we can to find the kids,” Flynn said.
“That would be great. Get the other guys to take care of it though…not you.”
“Gotcha. Stay out of it. We’ll let you know if they find something.”
