Dark Devotions by Nichole Greene
7
LAKE
I letmyself into Sawyer’s apartment to see if everyone is ready. The chopper is already up on the roof, ready for us as soon as we’re set to go. Grant’s standing in the kitchen talking to Nolan and trying his hardest to ignore Liv when I walk in. I know why he’s acting like an asshole, but she doesn’t, and I can see the hurt all over her face when she tries to say something and he brushes her off. He’s going to have to let go of his guilt, or it’s going to create a crack in our group dynamic that’s impossible to fix.
“Everything set?” he asks as I walk up to the group.
“Yeah, the helicopter is waiting, and things at the estate are ready for us.”
“Sawyer has a partner meeting at the firm, so he won't be going up with us tonight,” Nolan informs me as he bends to pick up a duffel bag.
Grant already has one of Sawyer’s designer pieces of luggage in his hand, which I assume is what Liv is using. There are no other bags, causing me to pause and look at him questioningly.
“I have to come back to the city tonight. One of the managers called in,” he explains.
I grunt in acknowledgement. I don’t believe him one bit. I turn and lead the way to the stairs. We could take the elevator up the two levels to the roof, but I know Liv isn’t a fan. I can’t blame her for it one bit after hearing about her experience. The fact that he would lock her in a room like that makes my fucking blood boil. My knuckles are scabbed today because I immediately went to my punching bag and took every ounce of aggression out on it last night.
“Breathe, brother.” Nolan squeezes my shoulder and pulls me out of my thoughts. “We need to keep calm around her. No growly Hulk-mode bullshit. Will you be okay taking the first couple days on your own?”
“Yes.”
“Did you clear out the compound?”
“Yeah, essential personnel only, and they’ve all been briefed to stay out of sight unless there’s an emergency.” The last thing we need is Liv realizing that my estate is actually one of the compounds I use for interrogations and occasionally executions. The criminals we deal with there aren’t good people; in fact, they’re the worst of the worst. They are the ones that continually slip through the system and wreak havoc. Even knowing that, I still don’t think Liv would approve or understand. Her heart is too big.
I push open the steel door leading to the roof and everyone follows me up the metal staircase. Jared, my pilot, starts the rotors up as we each take one side of Liv. We have her in a sweatshirt with the hood pulled up over her hair. Some might think we’re being paranoid, but with drone technology and Tripp’s resources, he could have someone out here watching us. There’s a reason she came to us for help, because she had no one else. He knows that, and there’s no way he’s not watching us.
I take the empty seat beside Jared while Nolan and Grant flank Liv. They help her get her headset on and buckle in. Luckily flying isn’t something that’s ever bothered her, if anything she loves it. A lot of the places she traveled to with her parents were so remote, they’d have to fly in. Maybe I’ll take her for a flight around the Catskills tomorrow just to get out for a while. Even though the town my compound is near is small and unassuming, we still don’t think we should be taking her out in public yet.
“While Grant is actually distracting her,” Nolan’s voice rings through my headset, “last night she wanted to sleep between Sawyer and me. Are you up for that, or do you want her alone? Do you want her to stick with me tonight?”
I know this is his subtle way of asking if I still have nightmares. I have PTSD from my time in the military. My unit was ambushed in the mountains of Afghanistan, and only three of us survived. I was shot in the abdomen and barely made it out alive by the time we were found twenty-six hours later. Early on, I’d wake up in a cold sweat, fighting non-existent men. I haven’t had a dream like that in years though, and I rarely sleep regardless.
“I’ll be fine with whatever she’s comfortable with.”
When I look back, I see Grant’s pointing to something in the distance. His face is relaxed for the first time in days, and his body is angled toward Liv. It’s about time that he starts opening up to her.
The flight is only about an hour. I tune into the same channel as everyone else after chatting with Jared for a while. He’s a vet who’s been with me since I started my organization after my honorable discharge. That’s the reason I trust him with seeing Liv; I know he would never sell her out. Unfortunately, I can’t say that with any certainty for some of my employees.
Nolan is holding Liv’s hand, and her head is on his shoulder. They always had the most effortless connection among the five of us. He often felt like the black sheep, being a scholarship student when the rest of us came from wealthy families. But then she came along, with her completely apathetic attitude about money and her desire to follow in her parents’ footsteps. Maybe not as a doctor but to lead a humanitarian life.
That desire probably led her to believe in Tripp more than she should have. He leads a charity for human trafficking awareness, but there was always something about him that set me on edge. I could never place my finger on it, but now that she’s free from him we’re digging into every fucking facet of his disgusting life. By the time we’re done, we’re going to know everything down to his daily shit schedule.
Snow is covering the ground as Jared brings the chopper down to the landing pad. I scan the property, and everyone listens, they’re all tucked away in the buildings scattered around. I notice Liv looking at a squat metal building with one door and no windows. It’s the worst part of the grounds to ask about. The door leads to a stairwell to an underground bunker we use for physical interrogations.
Grant notices her interest and redirects her attention to the house behind us. It was built and designed as a log cabin but on a larger scale. The center of the house soars over the open living area with two wings for four bedrooms. The property extends about a mile in each direction from the house and is surrounded by woods on all four sides. There’s a large pond a short walk from the patio. A lot of locals don’t even know it’s here which is exactly how it needs to be.
I open the door for Liv and follow her in. Her head tilts back as she looks at the wood beam ceiling of the great room with appreciation.
“This is gorgeous.” She looks over at the stacked stone fireplace as tall as her, mesmerized by the crackling fire within.
“Thank you,” I say as Grant carries her bag down the hall. “Want the tour?”
“Yes, please.” She looks at me with the first real smile I’ve seen from her since she’s been back with us, and my chest warms. I forgot how absolutely beautiful her eyes are lit up with joy like this. It makes me want to do anything to keep it there.
I show her through the great room to the kitchen and dining room, all of which share the same view of the pond and pool deck. Then I walk her down the hall to the bedrooms. There’s only four because we designed this house for us and each room has an en suite bathroom designed to suit the person occupying the room. Mine has deep green walls and teak furniture, the bathroom features natural river rock and a shower steam room combination. Nolan’s room is painted black, which should be weird but oddly works. Sawyer’s room is navy and white with gold accents, his bathroom is probably the most female friendly with a large freestanding soaking tub. Grant’s room is gray and white, with dark furniture. We have a home library here and a media room on the second floor.
“I’ll never leave this room,” she says as she turns a circle in the library. “This whole place is beautiful. It’s definitely not the cabin I was expecting.”
“It’s a cabin,” Nolan says from where he’s leaning on the door jam. “Just a big one. I’ll show the house systems, too.” He walks over to her and grabs one of the tablets that controls everything in the house from blinds and lights to music. He starts showing her what button does what while her eyes glaze over.
“I’m gonna head out. Jared needs to get back to the city before it gets too late.” Grant slaps my shoulder as he passes me in the hall.
“Are you going to say goodbye first?”
“No.” He looks into the library. “She’s busy. I’ll be back at the end of the week.”
I give him a look that says I’m disappointed in him but don’t argue. It won’t do any good.
* * *
Liv ended up staying with Nolan last night. I wasn’t surprised by her decision, nor was I upset. I used the time to run over to the building that some of my employed mercenaries use as a home base when they’re not out on missions. I laid out the ground rules for them while Olivia is on the property, expressly stating they should stay out of sight. I also gave them all the intel we’ve gathered on Tripp and his last known whereabouts. I doubt he could find this compound, but I’m not taking any chances.
I’m standing at the oven making breakfast when they walk out into the kitchen. It’s comforting to see her in my house wearing sweatpants and an undershirt that I know must belong to Sawyer. She’s got it tied in a little knot at her tiny waist. Her hair is back in a braid with a few flyaways framing her face. She looks relaxed and happy as she and Nolan joke about the time we all crashed at her uncle’s house and she set breakfast on fire.
Nolan starts making them coffee in the French press, grumbling about me being a coffee snob. It’s a running joke about me, obviously I’m going to be picky about coffee when my family owns the number one coffee farm and export business in Costa Rica. He finishes and hands Liv her coffee, a wisp of steam rising.
“Oh my God.” Her eyes close as she moans in pleasure after the first sip. She takes another sip, closes her eyes, and sighs. “I forgot how delicious your coffee is, Lake.”
“I made it.” Nolan pouts.
“Set the table,” I order, snapping a towel at him.
“Fucking bossy jarhead,” he jokes.
I give him a sideways glance before turning my attention back to Liv. “I have a few ideas for what we can do today.”
“I’m open to whatever.”
“I think we should probably start training as soon as possible. I don’t want you defenseless ever again. I know you can’t do anything physical, but I thought we could try your hand at the gun range. There’s one here on the property.”
She thinks it over for a minute. She was always very anti-gun, but I think I can sway her to understand that knowing how to operate one will only ensure her safety going forward. She looks between Nolan and me, biting her lip while she considers it.
“Okay,” she says with a slight nod of her head. “That’s probably a good idea. Especially not knowing where I’ll end up after everything settles.”
Nolan and I share a look at that comment. If she’s under the impression we’ll ever let her go, she’s gravely mistaken. Even if she’s a plant from Tripp or one of our other enemies, we’ll still never let her go. It almost tore us apart the first time, there won’t be a second.
“Right,” I say as I draw the word out. “Nolan has to go back to the city this morning, so it’ll just be you and me today and tonight. Are you okay with that? Do you feel safe with me?”
It feels uncomfortable to ask that. I don’t know what I’ll say if she tells me no, she doesn’t feel safe, but her comfort outweighs my ego.
“Of course I do.” She gives me a warm smile over her coffee. “I know I’m just as safe with one of you as I am with all of you. This place feels pretty remote, too.”
“It is.” I’m glad she seems at ease here.
After we eat and say goodbye to Nolan, we both shower and change. Her things are in Nolan’s room, so she heads that way. I start my shower, catching my reflection in the mirror. The scars all over my side from the gunshot and the shrapnel from the explosions are pink and ugly against my dark skin. Every time I look at my body, I see the evidence of my failure.
It used to be every time I closed my eyes, I’d see the slaughter of my fellow Marines all around me. The sounds of death still haunt me late at night, and no matter how much counseling I have, I don’t think I’ll ever fully move past it. Without Grant, Nolan, and Sawyer, I wouldn’t be here.
It was Nolan’s idea to form the mercenary group. It gave me a purpose when I couldn’t find a reason to get out of bed. He’s my right hand and always finds the best intel. Nolan should have been a spy. He's that good at finding what needs to be found, and he’s a damn good assassin. He’s the most unsuspecting of us, too. He’s the affable one, always clowning around until he’s got a gun in his hand.
My mind wanders to Liv as I mindlessly follow my usual shower routine. I’d like to teach her some self-defense moves, but I’m afraid to hurt her. She needs to be released by Dr. Lawson. I wonder if she’d even be comfortable with me doing it or if she’d rather a woman teach her. I know the perfect person if that was the case, a friend of mine, Lilith, runs a security company but teaches Krav Maga on the side. I finish in the shower and towel off. I shoot a text to her just to let her know I might need to fly her out here for a day or two in a couple weeks.
I’m done getting ready before Liv and sit down to check my emails. I have one for a rescue mission in Honduras, a couple of college girls got plucked by one of the cartels down there. I forward it to my Alpha Team leader. They handle all the missions in Mexico and Central America.
There’s also an inquiry for a rescue of some soldiers in Iran. The situation is too touchy for a legit military operation, but my military and defense contacts know how to funnel these jobs my way. I make arrangements to go down to D.C. and shoot Sawyer an email letting him know he’ll have to come here tomorrow.
“I’m ready,” Liv says from behind me, causing me to jump.
She’s so quiet I didn’t hear her coming up behind me. She giggles at my reaction, and it’s the sweetest sound I’ve ever heard. She hasn’t laughed since she’s been back with us, at least not around me. I wish I could bottle the sound.
“I’m sorry,” she says, still giggling, “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“It’s okay.” I pull her over to me twisting on the stool, so she’s standing between my legs. With one hand on her hip, I lean forward and give her a forehead kiss. They were her favorite when we were younger. She leans into me for a brief second, her hand resting on my thigh.
Our eyes meet—hers full of humor and sparkling with delight. The sun catches them, turning them a beautiful honey color and my eyes dip to her perfect pink lips;so close all I’d have to do is lean a little and we’d meet. Her eyes move to my mouth, and I’m just about to go in for a kiss when my phone vibrates, jarring us from our trance. She gives my thigh a squeeze before taking a step back.
She walks over to where her boots are sitting by the patio door and starts to pull them on. I’m going to have to send Sawyer a thank you text for picking clothes that hug her body so well. She’s wearing jeans and an olive green, long-sleeve shirt and, while she definitely needs to put on weight, her beauty can’t be denied. I grab her coat and help her into it before pulling my own on.
“The shooting range is in that building over there.” I point to the largest building on the property. “We have a full gym there too.”
“I was thinking that maybe you could show me some moves. Like how to defend myself?” She asks quietly. “I know I have to wait until my ribs are healed, but I’d like to do some fundamentals. I don’t want to ever be at the mercy of another person like I was with Tripp.”
“I was thinking about that, too. I can definitely help you learn some things, but I also have a good friend in the city who could probably teach some stuff, too. She’s been doing Krav Maga since she was a teenager. She’s taken me down before, if you can believe that.”
“Really?” She looks at me with rounded eyes. “Lake got beat by a girl?”
“Yeah, it was humbling.” I laugh at the memory. “So it might be advantageous for her to teach you some of her moves.”
“I’d love that.”
We walk along the sidewalk, our boots crunching over the snow, and our breath puffing out in little clouds. I don’t see any tracks from any of the guys who stay here, but I decide to warn her anyway.
“Sometimes some of the guys who work for me stay out here on the property between missions. They won’t ever bother you though. No one should be in this building today while we’re teaching you the basics of shooting.”
“Oh, okay. Do they live here or just crash here from time to time?” I notice her eyes darting around nervously.
“They live here.” We get to the door, and I hold it open for her. “But I trust each and every one of them with my life, and they also run patrols around the perimeter of the estate.”