Ashleigh wondered what caused the shadows in Daniel’s eyes at her words. She wanted to ask him about it, about the losses she knew he’d been through, but she couldn’t. She lost any chance at that right when she married another man. Daniel wasn’t hers.
Before he could respond to what she said, someone pounded on the door. Ashleigh jumped off the bed and leaped at Daniel. “He’s here. He found me. Help me.”
Daniel held her, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close. “Ash, that’s my team. I told them to come here. It’s not your husband.”
“But what if he’s with them? Or what if he got into your group somehow?”
“He never knew about me. You said you didn’t tell him, so there’s no reason he ever would have bothered with me. Right?”
She finally nodded, but she wasn’t ready to let go of him yet.
He was a big guy in college. Tall and built, but with eyes that said he was really a teddy bear underneath. Those soft eyes were mostly gone, and the tall, built guy was even wider, with more muscles covering his body. When he walked out of the bathroom, Ashleigh couldn’t speak. He was simply stunning. All that dark, smooth skin drew her gaze. And when his towel twitched, she nearly moaned.
Her sex life was relatively good with Frederick, but it was exceptional with Daniel. She’d never been loved by a man the way he loved her. Seeing him mostly naked again was a reminder of the way he made her feel beautiful and desirable and sexy. She promised she would close her eyes, but she couldn’t resist getting a peek at him. And he was still the most beautiful man she’d ever seen.
The pounding on the door started up again, and Daniel pulled away from her just enough to push her behind his back. He kept his hand on her as he moved down the hallway toward the front of his house. When he got to the door, he tapped on it. Someone tapped on the other side, and Daniel stepped back and opened the door.
“What the hell took you so long?” asked the first guy through the door.
“We were out there for five fucking minutes,” said the next guy.
“What’s going on?” said the third.
Then they all stopped. The first guy looked at Ashleigh, clutching the back of Daniel’s shirt, then looked at Daniel. He shook his head. “It’s not what you think. She needs our help.”
One guy stepped forward and offered her his hand. “I’m Jack. It’s so nice to meet you…”
“Ashleigh.”
His eyebrows went up, and he glanced at Daniel. Obviously, Jack knew who she was. “Ashleigh,” he repeated. “Forgive me, but I didn’t realize you two were in touch.”
“We’re not,” Daniel said firmly. “Move along.”
Jack held Ashleigh’s hand for another moment, then let go and moved to the dining room table.
She was introduced to the rest of them in succession. Archer, Jaymes, English, Slade, Mason, Dex, and Rocky. Once they were all inside, they circled around the table and asked Daniel what was going on.
“I’ll let Ashleigh explain why she’s here, and why you’re all here. Hands fucking off,” Daniel said, glaring at them each in turn.
Jack smirked at him, and Rocky looked like he couldn’t care less what Daniel said, but the rest of them nodded. Then Daniel turned to her and nodded for her to begin.
She told them about finding the picture and the adoption docket in her house, and her assumption her husband had something to do with it. They all waited patiently for her to finish telling her side of the story, then jumped in with more questions.
“Did he see you? Does he know you know?”
“When were you supposed to be home?”
“What was he doing that he didn’t know you were there?”
“What do you know about the child?”
“Why did you come here?”
Ashleigh’s head spun with all the questions. She wasn’t sure who to answer first, or what they really needed to know. She opened and closed her mouth, but every time she started to answer, another question was thrown at her.
“All right, stop. Let’s do this the right way so she can actually tell us what we need to know. Ash, start at the beginning. What were you doing yesterday before you went home?” Daniel asked calmly.
“I was out of town,” Ashleigh replied.
“Doing what?” She thought that was Dex.
“I volunteer with adoption agencies. I have a degree in accounting, so I work with them to help set up systems to track their finances. Since most organizations are stretched thin, they rarely hire enough people or the right people to monitor their income and expenses. My husband…” She drew in a shaky breath. “He’s very successful, so I work as a volunteer so these companies can get the help they need without an added expense. I was at a conference, networking and learning more about the adoption process, but I ended up home a day early.”
“Why did you go home early?” Archer, she thought, asked.
“The conference was supposed to end with a dinner the last night, but it was canceled since most of the attendees booked flights to leave instead of staying one more night in the hotel. Most of them are extremely budget-conscious,” Ashleigh explained.
“So you changed your flight and went home?”
Ashleigh nodded.
“Was your husband home when you got home?”
Ashleigh shook her head. “I was dropped off shortly before he came home. I was heading upstairs when he came in the door with a woman I didn’t recognize.”
The men exchanged a glance. Ashleigh’s cheeks heated as they all pieced together exactly what happened. Instead of making them ask, she blurted out that part of the story.
“They were talking about something I didn’t understand, but it was clearly work. I’ve met his assistant, but this woman… I don’t know who she is. He told her he had fifteen minutes, and they went into his office. I crept down the stairs and followed them. They were having sex, just like all of you suspected. My husband of almost seven years was screwing another woman on his desk in my house. A skinny, perfect, cute woman. Did that answer all the questions you needed answers to?” Ashleigh was breathing heavily and flustered. She struggled to meet the eyes of the men around the room, but she did. All except Daniel’s. She couldn’t look at him. She already told him Frederick fucked someone else. She couldn’t look at him again.
“Then you found the paperwork?” Daniel provided for her.
She nodded and wiped the tears beneath her lashes. She drew in a breath and said, “Yes. But they came back after a few minutes. I ran upstairs so they didn’t see me. I just wanted to get away.”
“Did you take pictures of any of this?” someone asked.
Ashleigh shook her head. “No. My phone was in my purse on the stairs, and I was in shock. I went upstairs to get my passport and found others with my husband’s picture but different names. I was scared, and I just left.”
“And you came here,” Jack said. His arms were crossed over his chest. His gaze locked on Ashleigh’s, seeing more than she wanted him to. He obviously knew who she was, and exactly what happened between her and Daniel.
“Frederick doesn’t know anything about Daniel. He’s a very jealous man. He never liked me talking about other men, and I never told him about Daniel or our relationship.”
“So Dunn was the safe choice? Is that why you came here?” Dex asked.
Ashleigh shrugged and nodded at the same time. “I guess. Daniel has always been the kind of man who protects others. I knew he would help me. And if I’m right about Frederick, I needed somewhere to go until I figured out what to do.”
“You weren’t worried about bringing hell to Dunn’s front door?” Jack asked.
Ashleigh knew he wasn’t just asking about Frederick showing up, but about Ashleigh herself being there. Daniel was the one who ended things. He was the one who made plans that didn’t include her and forgot to tell her about them. She thought they were building a future together. He was planning all along to walk away.
“No,” she said firmly, glaring at Jack. “I wasn’t worried about that. Daniel has always been able to take care of himself and everyone around him. And I was confident I would be another job for him. Nothing more.”
Jack glared right back for a long moment. Ashleigh didn’t back down. He might know Daniel’s side of the story, but he obviously didn’t know everything that happened between them.
“How did you know where Dunn lived?” the guy at the computer asked, breaking the spell between Ashleigh and Jack.
Ashleigh looked at him. “I looked him up online.”
“Where? He doesn’t have any social media profiles. None of us do. His address is unlisted. How did you find the house?”
Ashleigh looked around at the room full of men who were far smarter and craftier than she was. If she figured out how to find a man who didn’t want to be found, they could find someone who didn’t want to be found.
“I know about F-BOMB. I’ve read about it. And I know Daniel. I figured he was in a place like this. Out of the way and private. I asked around.”
“You asked around?” Daniel blurted. “Who the hell told you where I live?”
Ashleigh shrugged. “A few people said there were always a bunch of black SUVs at this house. I figured it was a good bet that it was yours or someone you knew.”
“Jesus, Ash. You could have gotten killed. If you ended up at someone else’s house, they might not have asked questions,” Daniel said.
The enormity of Ashleigh’s situation finally hit her. The risks she took to get somewhere she felt safe. The danger she was truly in. The threat she brought to Daniel’s door. She couldn’t handle it.
She pushed to her feet and mumbled that she needed a minute, then rushed down the hall and closed out the group of men who were questioning her every move. Especially the one man she’d ached to see for years and regretted ever laying eyes on again.
As soon as the door closed behind Ashleigh, everyone turned to Dunn.
“What the fuck is going on?” Jack asked, his voice low.
“Who the hell is she?” Archer demanded.
“She’s his ex,” Jack answered. “They went to college together and would have gotten married if he hadn’t joined the Teams. Once she found out he planned to leave, they ended things. It fucking destroyed him. He is who he is because of that woman. Because she hurt him.”
“Enough,” Dunn barked. “What happened between Ashleigh and me is ancient history. She’s married, and she’s here because she needs our help.”
“It looks like she wants your help,” Dex said. “I’m not buying her story about asking around. Something’s not adding up with her.”
“You think she’s lying?” Dunn asked. His head spun with the possibility. He believed her without question. She was shaken when he found her outside his house. But she was Ashleigh. He couldn’t be objective about her. Hell, at that point, he wasn’t sure he could be objective about anyone. His instincts were always reliable, but he hadn’t been able to trust himself since he found out Williams was really using him and the others to get revenge on his wife and the Navy, who he blamed for the end of his marriage.
“I don’t trust her,” Jack said.
“Neither do I,” Dex agreed.
“She’s scared. I think everything up to how she found you makes sense. Have you checked her for a phone?” Slade asked.
Dunn shook his head. Fuck. The simplest of things. She could have a phone on her, recording everything they said. She could bring anyone she wanted to his house, to all of them. He hadn’t seen her in more than eighteen years. He had no idea who she was or what she was capable of.
“We need to search her things and make sure she’s not working for someone else. Then we need to dig into her story. Find out everything we can about her and her husband, and try to find out if the story about the kid is true,” Dex said, looking around the room.
Everyone nodded along. Dunn watched numbly as his team jumped to follow Dex’s orders. Rocky and Mason went down the hall. Archer and Jack went to her suitcase next to the couch. English and Jaymes set up computers and started typing, mumbling softly to each other.
Slade and Dex approached Dunn.
“You okay?” Slade asked calmly.
Dunn shook his head.
“You want me to take lead on this one?” Dex asked.
Dunn glared at him. “She’s married.”
Dex glared right back. “I’m not trying to fuck her. I’m trying not to let you get fucked, boss.”
Dunn shook his head and ran his hands over his shaved head. Ashleigh Connors. He never thought he’d see her again. He thought about her more than he should have, and he concocted a story in his mind about the happy life she was living without him. He told himself she was better off without him. Recent history proved that should have been the case. Ashaki was killed by the men she betrayed Dunn to help. Ashleigh should have been safe. Happy.
“She’s not going to fuck me. She’s not going to do anything. We’re going to help her, then she’s going to move on with her life,” Dunn said.
“With a kidnapping, human trafficking husband?” Slade said.
Dunn just glared in response.
“Okay, let’s calm down,” Dex said. “We’re not helping anything by arguing. Tell us everything you know about her.”
Dunn shrugged. “I haven’t seen her since college.”
“You didn’t keep in touch at all?” Dex asked.
Dunn shook his head. “No. She had no interest in talking to me again. And I don’t blame her. We were together for two years. I never told her I planned to go into the Navy, to become a SEAL. When we’d talk about the future, I let her talk. I knew I was going to walk away from her, and I let her think I’d be there through all the things she wanted to do.”
“Shit,” Slade breathed. “That’s…”
“Fucked up?” Dunn provided.
Slade met his gaze and nodded. “Yeah, boss. Why couldn’t you be together? It’s not easy, but you could have been a husband and a SEAL.”
“Yeah, and turn out like Williams?” Dunn spat.
Dex shook his head. “Not everyone is like him. There are men who have successful relationships. You have to want both. Williams never made time for his family, so they weren’t there for him when he was willing to reach out. But look at Rodney. He—”
“Got killed for being what Williams couldn’t be,” Dunn said.
Dex and Slade sucked in sharp breaths. It was the first time Dunn voiced that thought, but it made sense to him. Rodney was a good man. He got too close to Williams, but he was also the only one of all of them that was married. Williams played everyone, but Rodney had something Williams didn’t. A happy fiancée and a life waiting for him at home.
“Do you think…?” Slade asked.
Dunn shrugged. “It’s hard to believe that wasn’t part of it. Williams was jealous, and if he thought Rodney knew something, maybe that took over. Rodney never said anything to any of us about Williams. If he was really that suspicious, I have a hard time believing he wouldn’t have told someone.”
“Fuck,” Dex breathed. “Williams went after Lily, too. Just when she and Archer were getting together.”
“It all adds up,” Dunn said.
The others shook their heads. Dunn had a year to come up with his theory that Williams would go after any of them who managed to do what he couldn’t. They had surveillance on Williams’ family, but so far, he’d been a ghost. It was only a matter of time before he came back.
And with Ashleigh in his house, and three of the guys in happy relationships, Dunn was sure it wouldn’t be long before Williams tried to kill them all again.
