“Damn,” Beckett said. “We all saw how roughly he treated her when he tried to grab her the second time. It’s no wonder she’s struggling.”
Nick nodded, the memory souring the coffee in his gut. “Vance has given me some circumstantial evidence that places Woodson in South Carolina, where he’s been since we interrogated him, but just keep your eyes open. Be on the lookout. I’m going to do a little more digging there to make sure Becca’s not discounting something that’s really there.”
“Can’t be too careful,” Beckett said.
“No, not with Becca. That’s for damn sure.”
“This place is about as secure as we can make it,” Marz said. “So we’re good here. And the cameras from around the neighborhood are still up and running, so if you have Woodson’s vehicle specs, I can keep an eye out. Make sure nothing’s hanging around that shouldn’t be.”
“Do that,” Nick said. “Thanks. I’m going to talk to hospital security this morning about this damn thing.” He pointed to the stuffed animal, sitting in a plastic bag on the counter.
“Sick fuck,” Shane said, glaring at it. “You should let Vance know about this, too.”
“I will. I’ve got a whole to-do list on this today. I’m going to talk to Vance after I leave the hospital, and then I’m going to drop by the inn and work with them to beef up the event security they already provide. I don’t want Becca thinking about anything besides having a good time on our wedding day.”
Nods all around.
“What am I missing? Can you think of anything else?” Nick asked.
“Would it make her feel any better to carry a weapon?” Shane asked, his gaze serious.
“Good question. I’ll talk to her about it. She doesn’t have a concealed carry permit, though, and even though some of us flouted that law the past couple of months, I don’t know if she’d be comfortable doing so.” Though Nick and Beckett had had Maryland permits, the other guys were from out of state and hadn’t. Carrying illegally was just one of the ways they’d had to work outside the law to clear their names. Now that they were opening a security firm of their own, all the guys were in compliance. Their business was going to have to be run completely by the book.
“Maybe you should get in contact with Chen,” Beckett said. “If Vance can’t track Woodson down, Chen sure as hell should be able to. He fucking owes us anyway.”
Nick nodded. “True. I’ll do that.” Chen was the CIA operative who’d first assigned Frank Merritt to the undercover corruption investigation in Afghanistan that had snowballed into the shit storm of the last year. When Nick and his team had rescued Charlie and picked up the investigation, Chen had found them and offered the vital assistance that had finally allowed the team to take down the bad guys and clear their own names. Chen wanted them to work for the CIA from time to time, which meant he was predisposed to do them favors. And Nick wasn’t above asking.
“Hey,” Becca said, walking into the kitchen. Wearing a set of lavender scrubs, she looked fresh faced and beautiful. His sunshine.
“Hey,” Nick said, hugging her in against him. “Want a bagel before we go?”
“Sure,” she said.
Nick busied himself with the task, then turned around to find Easy wrapping her in his arms. “I’m here for you, Becca,” he said in a quiet voice. One by one, the men repeated the action and the words. This was what family looked like. It made Nick fucking proud. And, truth be told, it choked him up. Just a little.
An hour later, they were sitting across the desk from the hospital’s chief security officer, a tall, wiry man with graying blond hair and a weather-beaten face. Barry Coleman had served for twenty years in the Marine Corps and worked in security for the past eight, facts that already made Nick feel a little better about leaving Becca there today.
Becca recounted when and how she’d found the stuffed animal, and Coleman asked a series of probing questions. Finally, he said, “Unfortunately, we don’t have a security camera inside the staff break room. After Becca’s attack, we secured and alarmed that external door, and we put cameras on all the main entrances into the ER, but I’ll have one installed in there today. Just for some extra peace of mind. And I’ll get my team on reviewing the personnel rosters and camera feeds from yesterday to see if we can pull together a list of people to talk to. This is harassment and intimidation, Becca, and we won’t tolerate it for a second. I can promise you.”
“Thank you,” she said.
“In case it needs to be said, there’s no chance Tyrell Woodson could get in here again. We have photographs of him posted at all the monitors. The whole security team knows what he looks like, including the BPD officers stationed in the waiting room,” Coleman said.
“We have reason to believe he’s out of the area anyway,” Nick said. “We heard South Carolina.”
Coleman nodded. “That’s good to know. We’ll get to the bottom of this, I promise.”
Nick shook the man’s hand, then he and Becca walked out through the back part of the ER. In the break room, Becca stowed her purse in her locker. “You sure you’re okay being here?” Nick asked, his hands rubbing her shoulders. “No one would blame you for cutting out a few days early.”
“I want to do this,” Becca said. “I promise I’m okay. And I wouldn’t hesitate to go to Coleman if something happened.”
Nick nodded. “Okay. I’ll be here at three to walk you out. Have a good day, Sunshine.”
She smiled. “You, too. I can’t wait to celebrate tonight.”
“Me too,” Nick said. Tonight all of them were having dinner together at a great local steak house before parting ways for their respective bachelor and bachelorette parties. Nick kissed her for a long moment, and he didn’t want to admit how hard he found it to walk away and leave her.
But he had things he needed to do today to give them both some peace of mind. Vance, Chen, the inn. Nick also wanted to drive by Woodson’s last known address and make sure nothing was going on down there. Anything to help Becca feel better and get past the way his life had exploded all over hers.
It was the least he could do.
CHAPTER 8
That night at dinner, Nick couldn’t keep his hands off Becca. Despite the fantastic food, the great company of friends, and the well-deserved celebration, all he wanted was to get Becca alone somewhere so he could flip up the flirty skirt on the stunning little yellow dress she’d worn and get inside her any and every way he could.
Part of it was the top-shelf liquor flowing all around the table, and part of it was the relief Nick felt after all his efforts today had panned out in one way or another. Vance had found a parking ticket on Woodson’s car from two days ago in South Carolina, and Chen had agreed to put his considerable resources into not only pinpointing the guy’s location but also getting him off the street once and for all. The inn had agreed to additional security, and the head of the security company they used had even made the time to meet with Nick. The guy and his team seemed competent, smart, and savvy, so there was another thing on their side. And Woodson’s last known address had not only been quiet as a grave but dust-covered to boot. No one had been there any time recently.
That still left the mystery of the stuffed animal, of course, but Coleman was on it, and Becca’s day at work had been incident-free. They’d get to the bottom of that yet.
Becca had been visibly relieved when Nick had filled her in on his day. Now, she seemed so relaxed and happy that it made his fucking heart ache.
Sitting at the dinner table surrounded by their friends, Nick squeezed her thigh. She turned to him wearing a huge smile, a champagne glass in her hand. “Are you feeling frisky, Mr. Rixey?” she asked.
Nick leaned in close. “No, I’m fucking horny. I want to mess up your lipstick and tear off your panties and make my fingers and cock smell like you.” He leaned back again, his face carefully neutral.
Her eyes were wide—and full of heat. “Holy shit. How am I supposed to be apart from you the rest
of the night after that?”
“Welcome to my world, Sunshine.” He threw back a gulp of whiskey.
“Come here. I want to taste that off your tongue,” she said.
“Jesus,” he gritted out, but it wasn’t like he was turning down a kiss. She leaned in, giving him a great view of her cleavage down the front of her sequined strapless dress, and grasped his face in her hand. Her lips were warm, soft, and tasted like champagne and the chocolate mousse cake they’d shared for dessert. Fucking delicious. Her tongue slipped around his, and she pressed herself closer.
“Someone pull those two apart,” one of the guys yelled.
Nick grinned even as they continued to kiss. He wasn’t voluntarily giving up Becca’s mouth, that was for goddamned sure.
“All right,” Kat said from the other side of Nick. “We better get the rest of the night underway before we lose the bride and groom.” Laughter all around as everyone got up from the table.
“Do you think they’d notice if we snuck away?” Becca asked, her face absolutely glowing.
Beckett grabbed Nick by the shoulders. “Get up, Rix. The tables are waiting for us.”
“Apparently,” Nick said. “You go have a good time, Sunshine. But you be ready for me later.” He arched a brow.
“Oh, I will,” Becca said, her tongue licking at her bottom lip.
Shit, he had it bad for her. And he fucking loved it. This woman was going to be his wife. How fantastically lucky was he? A man who just months ago would’ve said he didn’t believe in luck, unless it was of the bad kind.
Outside, they found two massive stretch Hummer limousines waiting for them. Beckett had arranged their transportation for the evening through one of the companies he had experience working with—the cars were bulletproof and the drivers were prior military and armed. Nick appreciated the hell out of the gesture.
As the men headed for one vehicle and the women for the other, Nick pulled Becca into his arms. “Have fun, Sunshine. I love you.”
“Love you, too, Nick.” This kiss was softer, sweeter. Which was good, since all their friends started giving them shit.
“Yeah, yeah,” Nick said, flipping the guys the finger. “Before you go, I have something for you,” he murmured, then slipped a little wrapped box into Becca’s hand. “Wear this and think of me.”
“What is it?” she asked.
“I’m not telling,” he said. Finding this present had been the other good thing he’d accomplished while she’d been at work.
With a little wave and a big grin, Becca turned to catch up with the women, her skirt twirling out and showing a dangerous amount of thigh. God, she looked gorgeous.
When she was safely tucked inside the Hummer and it pulled away from the curb, Nick got into his own limo and Shane pushed a fresh glass of whiskey into his hand. “Gentlemen, start your livers,” Shane called out, loosening his tie and raising a glass of his own.
A round of laughter as everyone drank and the limo started moving. Colored lights ran around the tops of the leather seats, and a fully stocked bar filled one whole side.
Marz sat forward in his seat, a mischievous grin on his face. “If the ocean was vodka and I was a duck, I’d swim to the bottom and drink it all up. But the ocean’s not vodka and I’m not a duck, so pass me the bottle and—”
“Let’s get fucked up!” they all finished.
“Fuckin’ A,” Marz said with a laugh.
Beckett rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt and held up his glass. With a sly grin, he said, “I’ll keep mine short and sweet. May all your ups and downs be between the sheets.”
“Hear fucking hear,” Nick said, taking a drink and laughing at the blush filling Charlie’s cheeks. He and Jer were in for a rude awakening—Nick’s teammates were fucking fish, and it’d been a damn long time since they’d had a night like this to just cut loose. Hell, it’d been way more than a year since they’d last done it together.
“All right,” Easy said, holding up his glass. “I’ll play.”
“Yes sir, E,” Marz said, grinning.
The guy smiled, and it made Nick realize how much Easy had changed in the few months they’d all been back together. A few weeks into their investigation, he’d admitted to them that he’d been badly depressed and battling suicidal thoughts. They’d all been gutted to know how bad Easy had been silently struggling, but they’d banded together around him, and Shane and Emilie had made sure he’d gotten the medicine and therapy he’d needed to fight the demons in his head. “Here’s to a long life, and a merry one. A quick death, and an easy one. A pretty girl,” he said with a wink at Nick, “and a loyal one. A stiff drink, and another one.” Another round of bottoms up. At this rate, they were going to lose every dollar they owned at the casino, and Nick didn’t give a shit.
“I’m not good at this,” Charlie said with a sheepish smile. “But I’ll give it a go.” Jeremy grinned at him as Marz clapped him on the back. “To Nick, if you hurt my sister, I’ll kill you in your sleep.”
For a moment, the words hung there, then everyone burst into guffaws. Yeah, Charlie Merritt fit in just fine.
“No worries. I’ll fucking drink to that, Charlie,” Nick said, laughing. He took a big gulp of whiskey, enjoying the bite as it went down. “Okay, I’ve got something to say. First, to nights and friends I’ll never forget.” Holding his glass high, he looked each man in the eye. “And second, to our enemies.”
“Fuck you!” they all called out.
“Amen,” Nick said. But tonight wasn’t a night to worry about enemies. Tonight was a night for celebrating the good things in life. And if Becca hadn’t already done it, being with all these guys was making him realize exactly how much good Nick had.
“OOH, I HAVE a fun idea,” Kat said, pulling out her phone. “Everyone take either a cleavage shot or an upskirt shot and text it to your guy. Make ’em remember what they’re missing out on tonight.” She tugged down the V-neck of her emerald green satin dress and took a picture of herself. A few flicks of her fingers, and she said, “There. Go on, now. Make ’em sweat.”
Becca could only laugh as she lifted her skirt and took a picture of the virginal white panties she wore, complete with glittering sequins. They’d made her feel very bridal. “I love this idea,” she said, shooting off a text to Nick. Then again, she’d already been three glasses of champagne into Happyville before they’d left the restaurant, and Kat had given her a fourth when she’d gotten into the limo. So she was prone to love just about any idea just then. “Ooh, I’m sending Nick one of each so he can see how beautiful this necklace is on me,” she said, taking a shot down the top of her dress but making sure to get the incredible yellow diamond sun-shaped pendant he’d given her into the frame. She loved him so freaking much.
“Oh, my God,” Sara said. “I have no cleavage to speak of, people. But Shane did like these red panties I have on.” Awkwardly and with a lot of blushing, she managed to take a picture up the skirt of her little red dress. “You, on the other hand, have great boobs, Jenna,” she said to her sister.
“I already sent mine,” Jenna said, looking very pleased with herself. She’d worn a form-fitting black dress that gave her the most enviable hourglass shape. On Becca’s last day off, they’d gone shopping for new dresses for tonight and the rehearsal dinner, and all the time Becca had gotten to spend with these women was making her fall in love with them even more. She had women she was friendly with at the hospital, but it hadn't been since nursing school that she’d last had truly close friends. Best friends. Now she had four of them.
“I need help with mine,” Emilie said, grinning. She handed her phone to Kat, who sat next to her. Laughing, Emilie turned and got on all fours on the seat. She pulled up the bottom of her gold dress just enough to reveal a really tiny pair of satin black panties.
“I knew I liked you,” Kat said, taking the picture. “And why am I not surprised that Derek is an ass man?”
“Oh, my. This is going to be a night of
TMI, isn’t it?” Sara asked, sipping at her champagne.
“Yes,” Emilie said, sitting down again. “But if I’ve discovered anything, it’s that life is too damn short and uncertain to hold back.”
“I’ll drink to that,” Becca said, draining her glass.
And that’s when all their phones started blowing up. Laughter filled the limo as they all read the guys’ reactions to their selfies. Becca couldn’t stop grinning—or fantasizing—about Nick’s reply.
I’m going to tear those fucking things off with my teeth. Count on it.
His reply to her second selfie made her all warm inside.
You are so beautiful. My sunshine.
“Okay, as much as I want to get you drunk, I also don’t want to see you sick.” Kat handed Becca a bottle of water and grabbed one for herself. “Drink this before you have any more champagne.”
“I will. But why aren’t you drinking?” Becca asked. Kat hadn’t touched her champagne at dinner, and she was the only one of them without a drink now.
“So I can take care of you,” Kat said. “Besides, I’m naturally high on life. Runs in the family. Well, at least with Jeremy and me, anyway.”
Becca laughed. Kat and Nick were alike in so many ways, and their stubbornness often had them butting heads. By the time the limo pulled to a stop, Becca had dutifully followed orders and emptied the bottle. “I’m so excited to see what we’re doing,” she said. The girls had insisted on keeping it a secret.
The driver, an older man named Tony, whose military bearing reminded Becca of her father, opened the door. They spilled out onto the street, and Kat wrapped her arm through Becca’s as they walked up to the doors of a posh salon and spa. “We’re getting completely pampered. Anything you want. The place is all ours for the night.”
“Oh, my God,” Becca said. “This is the coolest thing ever.” And she didn’t know the half of it until they were inside. There was more champagne, a table full of chocolate-covered strawberries and Godiva truffles, and a mountain of presents.
“You never got to have a shower,” Emilie said. “So consider tonight your combination shower and bachelorette party.”