Mason decided to hang around the office after they got back from talking to Braden Wright and Stacey Allen. He wasn’t the programmer that English was, but he knew something was off and wanted to dig.
English ran a program that afternoon to search for Wray Allen after he disappeared the last time. Since the cameras near the fire station were owned by the city, English couldn’t see Wray when he left work. He was able to trace his truck, but nothing out of the ordinary happened. He left work, stopped by a grocery store, then went home. Or at least went into his neighborhood. There weren’t any cameras in the neighborhood, so whatever happened to him there couldn’t be seen.
The whole team was getting frustrated with the lack of progress on the case. The belief was that this was a good man. That he got caught up in something bad, but that he was good. Not being able to find him was weighing on everyone.
By late afternoon, everyone was exhausted from the search and left to head over to Slade’s. Since his sister was in town, they were having one of their regular get-togethers there so everyone could meet her and welcome her to town. Mason considered skipping out, but Slade stopped by his office before he left and specifically asked him to come.
Mason focused on the task at hand instead of wondering why Slade singled him out. He didn’t know Slade’s sister, and he was sure Slade wouldn’t want them involved. The last thing Mason wanted was to test his place in the office.
Instead, he stalled and dug into Braden’s past. Braden didn’t seem like a bad guy, but Mason didn’t like people who lied. He’d seen it go bad too many times to know that lying to protect someone always meant people were doing something they shouldn’t be doing. Whatever Wray Allen was involved in was bad news, but Mason had a hunch Braden knew more than he was willing to share.
English already had phone records for Wray, so it was an easy search to find times when he and Braden had been in touch. It seemed they were as close as they sounded, with calls or texts between them multiple times every day. Mason read through all the texts first, but as expected, they were not at all revealing. These two were smart. Nothing was in writing.
Next Mason went through call logs. He couldn’t go back and listen to calls they made, but he could see the patterns. The fire department had provided records of when Wray was supposed to be at work and when he actually was at work. Most of the calls that lasted longer than thirty seconds were when Wray was supposed to show up for work and didn’t.
And there were a lot more than one in the last three or four weeks like Braden claimed. Mason counted about once a week for the better part of six months.
He wasn’t sure exactly what that meant, but it wasn’t good. Whatever Wray was involved with pulled him away weekly, not monthly or annually.
Mason tried to track the patterns, but he couldn’t find one. Everything was random, as far as he could tell. He hit all seven days of the week, sometimes the first day and sometimes the second of a shift, and the calls were split between Wray calling Braden and the reverse. There was nothing that made sense.
An affair was very plausible, but there was no record of phone calls to unknown numbers. Every call Wray made went to his friend, his wife, his family, or the station. Unless he had a different way to contact someone, he wasn’t having an affair.
Mason paced the office and tried to clear his head. His stomach growled, and he realized how late it was. He glared at the screen that gave him no help and knew clearing his head would be the best thing he could do.
Mason closed everything down and locked the office. He went down to his ancient Jeep and headed toward Slade’s house.
Mason was barely able to pull off the road and park in front of Slade’s. Because he lived in the middle of nowhere, no one cared about the extra vehicles on the side of the road. Mason hoped being the last one there meant he could eat and get out of there without getting trapped by something.
He wasn’t the most social of people. The group welcomed him in, but he still felt like he was outside most of the time. He and Kelsea would chat, and that led to Mason and Jaymes becoming friends. Jaymes was Archer’s brother, but he didn’t serve with the rest of them either, so Jaymes and Mason bonded over the fact that they were outsiders pretending to be on the inside.
Mason went to the door and knocked, then let himself in. He always felt awkward doing that, but Slade insisted on it. He said if the door was unlocked, it was safe to walk right in. But he was careful to warn everyone that if they had to pick the lock or use a key, they were doing so at their own risk because he and Kyra liked to have sex all over the house.
Mason remembered those days.
The noise inside the house was loud enough that even Howler didn’t notice Mason let himself in. There were people in the kitchen, and the sliding doors to the back were wide open. Mason closed the door behind himself and looked around for Kelsea and Jaymes. Spotting them in the living room, he headed that way.
Mason glanced around at the others and forgot how to breathe. He swore he knew a minute ago, but as soon as his eyes landed on her, the ability to do so completely left him.
Her head was thrown back in laughter, her thick neck exposed. He never understood the whole vampire thing until that moment. He’d definitely give up everything if it meant he could feast on her neck. Even just a little nibble.
She dropped her head back down and glanced across the room. Her bright green eyes landed on him. The smile lingered on her lips as she catalogued him. Then it widened. She licked her lips, drawing the plump bottom one between her teeth.
She was the stuff dreams were made of. Her curves went on for days. Her full cheeks were round and red, and he imagined her lower cheeks would be the same. Her breasts were large but shadowed beneath the sweater she wore like armor. The only thing about her that wasn’t big was her blonde hair, which was cut sharply to her chin.
Mason always loved a big woman. He was bigger than most men he knew, and he liked a woman who matched him. Who could handle a man of his size, both above the belt and below.
“Mason!” Slade called out, finally realizing Mason had walked into the house without waiting for an invitation. He was the last to arrive, and one of the only single ones left in the group, so it was easy to fade into the crowd most of the time.
Mason took a step forward and kept his eyes on the curvy beauty. The way she eyed him every so often made him think she might be up for some after-party fun.
Right up until Slade said, “I want to introduce you to my sister. Mason, this is Megan. Megan, this is Mason.”
She smiled and extended her hand to his. “It’s so nice to meet you,” she said in a voice that said he read her right. She was definitely up for an after-party party for two.
But that was never going to happen. He should have realized the only woman he didn’t recognize was Slade’s sister, but all thoughts vanished when he saw her. Mason knew better than to get involved with a woman who was connected to his world, especially a woman who might think he was more than a one-night stand. Most women he’d slept with since his wife died didn’t even know his name.
Sleeping with his teammate’s sister was definitely out of the question. No matter how tempting every curvy inch of her was. She was nothing more than forbidden.
Especially with a name like Megan. His head spun and his heart clenched as hard as his dick. Megan. The name whispered through his mind and tormented him. He couldn’t be with a woman who shared the name of the wife he killed.
Megan smiled at Mason and wondered about the ghosts in his eyes. She saw them as clearly as she saw the tension in his bulky muscles and the desire to run like hell out of there.
Once she shook his hand, she released it and released him. She went in search of someone else to talk to. Someone who was actually interested in a conversation. Preferably someone who wouldn’t try to read her and see past the lies she was telling herself and everyone else.
Mason stared as she backed away, but once she made it to the women surrounding Lily and her round belly, Megan tore her gaze from Mason’s. She thought she heard someone ask him if he was okay, but she ignored it and focused on the woman in the room who seemed happy to have a person growing inside her.
“We should have started months ago. I feel like I’m going to make the wrong decision because we need to just make a decision,” Lily said.
“About what?” Megan asked.
“Moving. Archer and I live in an apartment. When he moved in with me, we made it work, but adding a baby is not going to be possible. We need something bigger, and we’ve been looking, but nothing feels right.” Lily scowled.
“You should look near us,” Ashleigh said. “There are a few houses available not far.”
“Really?”
Ashleigh nodded. “Yeah. We really like the area we’re in. It’s a good school district, and we like our neighbors.”
“I need to look there,” Lily said. “Thanks. I never thought to look near where everyone lives. I’ve just been searching.”
“Are you working with an agent?” Megan asked.
Lily shook her head. “Not yet. We talked about it, but Archer is funny about…well, everything.”
“Aren’t they all,” Kyra said wryly. “I love them, but it’s like they can’t ever see the good in people.”
“After everything they’ve seen, I don’t blame them,” Pilar said.
Megan wondered what the group had been through. She knew her brother had a bad experience when he was a SEAL, but she didn’t know details. She assumed his life now was quieter, even though she was pretty sure he was still involved in things beyond her scope of understanding. Looking around at the women she’d met an hour or two earlier, she realized there was a lot more to all of them than she thought.
Lily was the clear leader of the women, not that she was in charge, but the others followed her lead. It was easy to see why. She was likable and put everyone else at ease. Ashleigh had a few years on them and was like their older sister, even though she never talked down to anyone. Her son was sleeping in Megan’s makeshift bedroom at the moment. Pilar and Kelsea were both on the quiet side, but when they said something, the others listened. It was obvious they were well respected and liked. Kyra and Nikki were the newest ones to the group, if Megan had to guess. They were still figuring out where they fit in with the women because both appeared to be closer to the men.
Megan was particularly interested in Kyra since she was about to become her sister-in-law. Megan herself struggled to fit in with groups of women most of the time, but the group around her was friendly and talkative, and nice. They didn’t make comments she couldn’t hear, and none of them said anything about her weight. Too many times she’d caught other women staring at her body with disgust or had them question her food choices. These women were just happy to get to know her.
“What do you plan to do while you’re here, Megan?” Lily asked, bringing the conversation back to her.
“Oh, just visit, I guess. See the area. Spend time with Slade, although I still struggle to call him that,” Megan admitted with a chuckle.
“I call him Justin sometimes,” Kyra said. “He’s been Slade for so long that I think he needs to remember who he is once in a while.”
Megan laughed with the others.
“They all need that reminder,” Ashleigh said. “Of course, some of them need to be reminded of their nicknames, not their real names.”
A wail pierced the air, and everyone turned to stare at the baby monitor sitting in the middle of the room. Megan’s entire body tightened at the sound. She wanted to race to it and soothe the baby, but she also wanted to run.
“I got him,” someone behind Megan said.
She looked at Ashleigh, who just smiled and reached to turn off the monitor.
“He’s so good with Junior,” Lily said.
“Archer will be a good dad, too,” Ashleigh told her.
“They’re all good men,” Nikki said. “They’ve all treated Sly like he’s their own.”
“They adore him,” Kyra said. “And he’s such a good kid.”
“Thank you.”
They talked about kids and families for a few minutes, leaving Megan to wonder. The men passed Ashleigh’s son around and entertained him while her husband got a bottle ready for him. Even Sly wanted to be involved in the baby’s world and stood over Rocky’s shoulder and made faces at him.
“Sly’s been asking us if he can have a little brother or sister. He really wants a brother, but he’s willing to take a sister, if that’s all he can get,” Nikki said with a laugh.
“Are you guys thinking about more kids?” Lily asked.
Nikki shrugged. “We’ve talked about it, but I don’t know. We’re still getting to know each other. It’s only been a few months, and we both feel like we want some time together before we bring in a new baby. At the same time, if we’re going to have a baby, maybe it’s better if we have one soon so we don’t get too comfortable and never want to rock the boat.”
“We were the same,” Ashleigh said. “Even though I knew who he was years ago, when we found out I was pregnant, we really didn’t know each other. We took those nine months to do a crash course on each other. We still struggle at times, but I think that’s normal for any relationship.”
“We’re definitely still getting to know each other,” Kyra said. “I love him, but the moods get me. I don’t know about the others because they hide them at work, or don’t have them, but Slade gets these moods where he kind of shuts down. Has he always been like that?”
Megan nodded. “Yeah. He processes things internally. I’m the loud one most of the time. Jus—Slade tends to think things through and get inside his own head. I talk things out.”
“That makes me feel a little better. Sometimes I feel like he’s shutting me out,” Kyra said with a sad smile.
Megan shook her head. “I think he’s just processing. Let him know he can talk things through with you if he does need a sounding board, or that you’ll be there if he just needs to think.”
“Are you a psychologist?” Kelsea asked.
Megan shook her head. “No, although maybe I should be. I work in sales. I need to understand people to do my job, so I’ve learned over the years how to read people.”
“That’s impressive,” Kelsea said. “I teach psych at the local college. If you’re up for it, I’d love to have you come in and talk to one of my classes. I think it would be valuable for them to see how the things we learn in class can have an impact on real life. Especially my entry-level kids.”
Megan nodded. “That sounds like a lot of fun.”
“I hate to do this, but I think we need to go,” Daniel said, joining the group. “He’s fussy.”
“Another tooth?” Ashleigh asked, getting to her feet.
Daniel nodded. “That’s my guess.”
She moved closer to her husband and son. Junior whimpered and reached out to her. Daniel handed him over, and the baby nuzzled against Ashleigh’s neck and grabbed a fistful of her hair.
“Oh, my poor little man. Let’s get you home and see if you can get some sleep,” Ashleigh yawned.
“Maybe you can sleep if he does,” Daniel said.
Ashleigh nodded. “I hope so. Nice to meet you, Megan. Sorry to head out so early.”
“Nice to meet you, too. And totally understandable.”
Ashleigh and Daniel said good night to the rest of the group. Megan headed to the kitchen to get a glass of water. She really wanted a glass of wine, but water would have to do. Maybe she could pretend.
“Hi,” she said, startled by Mason in the kitchen.
“Sorry,” he said, making a move to go around her.
“You work with my brother?”
Mason nodded, avoiding her gaze.
“Were you a SEAL with him?”
Mason shook his head. “I was a SEAL, but not with him. I’m older.”
“How much older?”
“Too old for you,” Mason said gruffly.
“That sounds like a challenge,” Megan teased.
Mason finally looked up at her. The pain she thought she saw before was still there, but so was something else. Something deeper and darker. Something that made her pulse race for all the right reasons.
She didn’t think she’d ever seen a look like that directed toward her. She’d seen plenty of men look at other women like that, but never her. Mason was the kind of man who could walk into a room, any room, and have women fall all over themselves for his attention. There was no way he was starved for a woman’s company.
“You’re playing with fire.”
“Maybe I like to play with fire,” Megan said. She had no idea where this woman came from. She was never aggressive with men. She sat back and let them make the first move.
“You’re going to get burned.”
“Let me come home with you. Let me stay with you for a few days. My brother—”
“No,” Mason barked.
“But—”
“No. You don’t know me. You don’t know anything about me. You don’t know how bad an idea that is. No.”
He brushed past her and walked out of the kitchen. Megan watched as he walked straight over to Justin and made an excuse, then headed for the door.
He didn’t even look back, but something told Megan he was watching her, anyway. And that it wasn’t the last she’d see of him.
