Sons of Justice 12_Confident in Love Read online

  “We all are and that’s a first, to be drawn to one woman and want her,” Spade said.

  “We’ve talked about this. It’s pretty fucking self-explanatory. We’ve shared everything, and have had one another’s back for most of our lives. We’ve been through crazy and heavy shit, the recent battle’s an indication of how strong we are together and comfortable. I know life wouldn’t be the same without you guys by my side,” Nathan said.

  “Obviously, because we risked our lives, our careers, and did some pretty crazy shit the last three years, not caring about living or dying just to protect Talia,” Bronco said to them.

  “Hell yeah, and we would do it all again,” Cole said.

  “Let’s hope we never have to. This is a new start. A clean slate, a time to recoup, gather ourselves and figure out what we want to do next. Where our energy will go to,” Nathan said.

  “Pursuing one sexy, sweet, pixie of a goddess is where my energy wants to go to,” Woodrow said, and they chuckled.

  “Okay, so we’re in agreement that we’re pursuing Avana?” Frankie asked. They all said yes one after the next.

  “So now, why not tell us what you know and what is obviously the reason why Avana is resistant? There’s some sort of fear there, and knowing how protective you’ve been of her from the start tells all of us it’s something complicated that we’re going to be affected by,” Cole said to him.

  Frankie took a deep breath and exhaled.

  “Avana was in a very abusive relationship.”

  They all instantly had a scowl on their faces.

  “I don’t have details, but from what little Avana told me and from what Talia hinted at, this guy she dated was controlling and abusive both mentally and physically. She wound up in the hospital. That’s all I got, and it was enough,” Frankie told them

  “Fucking asshole. Tell me the guy is still around.” Woodrow wanted to know.

  “Not a clue, but don’t believe he’s a threat any longer. This happened a couple of years ago, and she is still recovering. Hasn’t dated anyone that I know of. Talia says she gets asked out all the time.”

  “Fuck, of course she does. She’s gorgeous, sweet, soft-spoken, and the kind of feminine woman you want to swoop up into your arms and feel her arms wrapped around you close. Hell, we’re big men. Could easily lift her up and—"

  “Exactly, Spade. That’s part of what she fears I think. Our sizes, our capabilities, and the mistrust she has. We’ve been training for about eight months now. She’s improved in her strength and a little bit in confidence, but recently has made comments about feeling incapable of actually defending herself because she’s so petite,” Frankie said.

  “Well, when she’s our woman she won’t need to defend herself. We’ll protect her,” Bronco said.

  “Don’t think this is going to be easy, Bronco. There’s a fire in her. I’ve seen hints of it here and there when push comes to shove. She’s getting there, and that’s what frustrates me sometimes. I can see and sense her insecurity,” Frankie stated.

  “Because of the abuse. That guy must have really done a number on her. That really fucking pisses me off,” Nathan said.

  Of course he would feel that way, his sister Talia had been abused and raped by Barishna. It changed them in so many ways after they had all rescued her from that prison, and found her beaten and bound to a bed.

  “We need to definitely take our time. The feelings are mutual, so at least that’s a plus. We’ll work it out together, and soon enough she’ll be ours. She’ll learn that not all men are abusive. She’ll come first,” Cole said.

  “Okay, then let’s work on getting her to trust us and maybe spend some time with us. Don’t push though, because knowing Avana, she’ll run,” Frankie said, and they all agreed, and suddenly Frankie couldn’t wait to see her again.

  * * * *

  Avana stood next to Marianna and Merica. She should be in a great mood, and not even thinking about work, but her boss, Austin drove her crazy with his demands. She didn’t think he cared for her one bit, or the way she was so caring and welcoming to clients who came by the office, as well as other office staff. He e-mailed everyone saying that he would be late to work on Monday morning, but specifically gave her and another woman, Gail, a list of things to accomplish. He didn’t even own the insurance agency, he was an employee in charge of her department. Maybe she should try to switch departments, or even locations. She could drive to Cinder which was about an hour from Repose.

  Seriously, if she were so bad at her job, then why did he give her more responsibilities? To reprimand her more on Monday afternoon? She was at her wit’s end with the guy, and debated about trying to find another job entirely. Gail felt frustrated, too. Perhaps them smiling and talking during work hours and making the office a happy place aggravated the man. He was hard, and didn’t seem to know how to smile. A scowl on his face most of the time, but very obsessive compulsive, to the point that his perfectionism landed many clients, and had the office running efficiently.

  Then to top it off, yesterday, she had been the only one Frankie used to display moves with at the self-defense session with even though there were other women there training with Frankie at his house. The man was drop dead gorgeous, had all those super muscles, some tattoos, and an incredible ass. It was becoming more difficult to concentrate and learn from the man as her mind wondered over the effects of his hands on her, his face close to hers when he wrapped her up from behind and went step by step over how to get out of that particular hold. Then of course, those hard, thick thighs pressed against her hips as he showed her a grappling move, like if she were taken to the ground. At one point she feared he might kiss her, but they had an audience, he was that intimidating. He of course laughed. And continued with instruction. She had to calm what felt like palpitations. He was so strong, and tall, too, and she was small. She wondered if he was dating any woman. What was his type? Why hadn’t he continued to be part of the team with Talia’s brother, Nathan, and how many women threw themselves at him on a regular basis, right there in his own home gym? Hell, Dorothy definitely had the hots for him. For someone who told her sister she didn’t care or date, she sure was thinking about Frankie a lot, as well as the conversation with Tiana on the way home. Could the men, that particular team, be interested in her?

  When she met Nathan, Cole, Spade, Woodrow, and Bronco, their focus was on Talia, rightfully so, and her initial reaction was shock. The men were a sight, from their fierce expressions, beards, hardcore attitudes and dominant personalities. Even Woodrow with his arm in a sling, and Nathan bandaged up from barely making it out alive from some sort of explosion, looked incredibly determined. She had to feel pride in knowing them, and learning some of what they all did to find the man responsible for Talia’s abuse, and how they searched for him for years, never giving up, and having to stay clear of Talia in order to protect her.

  There had been no one to protect her, or her sisters Tiana and Lauren. Not from Lauren’s two boyfriends who tried to kill her, and certainly not from Ben. Her dad was too busy in his criminal activities to care about anyone but himself. With thoughts of Ben, and the abuse she sustained came the sensation of fear, of uncertainty and distrust. She had come a long way from anxiety attacks, but it wasn’t long enough to risk confronting those fears by dating again. As attracted as she felt to Frankie, Nathan, Cole, Spade, Woodrow, and Bronco, it was easier to do an about face and run. She just wasn’t ready to risk feeling hurt or worse, pain.

  “Frankie will be here with Nathan and them any minute. I can’t wait,” Talia said to them.

  “How long are they going to be staying in Repose for?” Merica asked.

  “Not that long, so I want to be sure to spend as much time with them as possible. Hey, where is Hook anyway, Merica?” Talia asked.

  “I’m not sure he’ll make it. He’s busy with private clients today, and well, you know how he hates socializing and crowds,” she replied.

  “I thought he got past
that with everyone coming around,” Talia said.

  “Not really, but he promised he would come by for a little while. I’ll get him to stay though,” she winked. They chuckled.

  Avana wondered when Frankie would get here. She couldn’t help it.

  It drove her crazy, and mostly because she didn’t know why she couldn’t get him off her mind, and found him attractive. She didn’t want to date anyone. She didn’t want any men setting their eyes on her here in Repose. She wasn’t strong enough, tough enough to even consider dating. She was getting very good at turning dates down. She cursed her ex, Ben for destroying her self-confidence. For making her into a scaredy-cat when it came to men, and especially dominant, confident men, never mind soldiers. She focused on work, finally landing a job at the insurance agency that helped with everything from homeowners insurance to motor vehicle insurance. She had a steady flow of work, learned quickly the way her boss liked paperwork and other things done, and it was monotonous. She was fine with that for now. She was still trying to build that self-confidence her friends and cousin had, as well as her sisters, Lauren and Tiana. Tiana was late, as usual, Saturdays a busy day for realtors.

  When the front door opened, Talia immediately filled up with tears and opened her arms. Avana’s eyes widened at the sight of the five gorgeous, very tall men walking into the house not really smiling except for her brother Nathan. She noticed at the gym Frankie smiled often and had a great personality. She had only met the men in passing at the hospital when Talia was recovering, and of course the other night at the diner. At the hospital she didn’t want to intrude on the time Talia had with her men worrying over her as well as her brother and his team. Her heart fluttered a moment as the men all looked right at her. Not at Merica, or Marianna, but at Avana.

  Her face went flush, and she looked away only to feel the arm come around her waist and then Frankie’s lips kissed her neck.

  “Hey, killer, long time no see,” he said to her.

  She was overwhelmed. Everything attacked her senses. The feel of his thick, muscular arm wrap around her thin waist from behind. His warm lips against her bare shoulder, as she wore a sleeveless pink blouse with a beige short skirt and heeled boots. The scent of his cologne, how protective he made her feel, and holy shit her pussy creamed and her nipples hardened. Oh God no, no, no, no, not him. Not these men. It was getting worse. The attraction was getting stronger and she hardly knew these men at all. She tightened up and turned, learning to handle nonchalant and acting unaffected very well. In fact, she may be becoming so pro at it, she wouldn’t really know how she felt about anyone or anything because she pretended to not be affected.

  She smiled, and then rubbed his shoulder, fixing the collar to his black dress shirt as she stepped back.

  “You clean up nice, Frankie. I thought you had a full schedule today?” she asked, as if reminding him about the three blondes he taught in the afternoon. They were so flirty. She saw them once and it aggravated her. But, she wasn’t interested so she really shouldn’t even care.

  He squinted his eyes, looking a bit annoyed at her remark but quickly smirked, eying her over, and pulling her close again, his hand more so over the top of her ass then her hip. She was a shrimp compared to him. His embrace made her instantly feel protected, and his palm large enough to cover an ass cheek if he so chose to press his luck. She gulped.

  “I rescheduled so I could come here with the team to see you,” he said, eyeing over her lips. She was shocked. Then fingers pressed the hair from her cheek on one side and she turned to look way up at Cole, Frankie’s cousin. “Heard you’re doing really well on the mats. A fast learner,” he said, looking at her lips. She really needed to put a halt to their games right now.

  She took a deep breath and exhaled.

  “Yeah, well, I tend to get a little bored, so I may be incorporating some additional workouts during the week, and cut back on the self-defense.”

  Frankie’s arm tightened. “What? No way. You aren’t giving this up. You’ll get the harder moves,” Frankie said to her.

  “Frankie, there’s only so much I can learn that I can actually use. I’m five-foot-two, weigh a hundred and twenty pounds. You’re six-feet-three and weigh like two hundred plus pounds. I can’t defend myself against a man your size, hell average size.”

  “No one is saying that. You’re learning the skills that can help you catch an attacker off guard to give you enough time to run, call for help, or grab a weapon to defend yourself,” he replied.

  She stared at him and then at Cole, who was looking at her lips and then her blouse. She was petite, well endowed, and thin. Her friend from work, Margarite, said she looked like some famous British singer named Cheryl Cole. She had long brown hair and chocolate colored eyes just as Avana did. Ever since she survived the relationship with Ben, her appetite hadn’t been the same and she lost a lot of weight. She was feeling a lot stronger and looked a lot toner since doing the self-defense training, but it seemed like Frankie and even Cole were flirting with her.

  She had to put a stop to this.

  She pushed from his arms and then smoothed out her skirt. She had to look way up at both men and now Spade, Nathan, Woodrow, and Bronco came close to say hello. She felt claustrophobic as they each kissed her cheek and placed either a hand on her hip or her shoulder to kiss her. Overheated. That’s what she felt like as she was stuck between the six men, and holy God, she felt like she couldn’t breathe.

  “How are you doing?” Nathan asked her, and looked at her from head to toe.

  “I’m doing well, how about you guys? I bet you’re glad to be able to stick around Repose for a few days and see Talia. She’s been waiting not so patiently,” she replied, eyeing over the gorgeous blond with the light beard along his cheeks.

  “Looks like it may be more than a few days,” Bronco said, and then Spadaro greeted them and started passing out beers to the guys.

  She noticed that Woodrow just gave a nod hello and not a smile to Spadaro.

  She stepped to the side, but Frankie kept a hand at her lower back. It unnerved her. The way his large, warm hand felt so big, and had such an effect on her. It was like she was completely oversensitive to these men. Other men hit on her, or pressed close if given the opportunity and she felt nothing. So strange. Why was he being so attentive? She focused on the conversation and what Bronco had said. He was staring at her as were Woodrow, Nathan, and Spade.

  “Why is that?” she asked, and Cole once again gave her the once over while Frankie remained close, took a slug from his beer, and looked at his cousin and the rest of their team.

  “We’re working on the campground with SoJ. Just some small stuff, and earning back our original positions. Maybe setting down some roots nearby,” he said.

  “What?” Talia asked, overhearing Cole. He chuckled.

  “We were going to tell you when we had a few minutes alone, isn’t that right, Nathan?” Cole asked, and Nathan smiled and pulled his sister into his arms.

  “Surprise,” he said, and Talia hugged him and started to cry.

  Avana got choked up and felt not only Frankie’s arm go around her waist, but Spade’s hand squeezed her shoulder. She jerked her head toward him, but he didn’t even look down at her, he watched Nathan and Talia hug. Avana immediately got overheated. She’d been around this town long enough, been hit on, asked out, and cornered enough times to know when men were showing interest. The thing was there were six men on this team. Six, large, capable, strong, muscular soldiers that could break her in two with bare hands as big as theirs. She stepped away, and made an excuse to leave.

  “Excuse me please,” she said as Talia started asking questions, and she hurried away through the crowd of guests, all friends, all people she knew.

  She felt her chest tighten slightly. Not enough for a panic attack. Those were long gone. Finally gaining control of them right before Lauren and Thylane were abducted. She walked to the patio and then around the side of the porch by the house whe
re no one was. Gripping onto the wooden railing, she closed her eyes and started to breathe, just breathe in the fresh, clean air. She cleared her mind as best as she could. Repose was a beautiful town, filled with beautiful people. Frankie, Cole, Nathan, Woodrow, and Bronco popped into her head despite her breathing exercise.

  She gasped when she heard the deep, hard voice.

  “You okay?”

  Turning, eyes wide, and hand over her heart, she locked gazes with Woodrow. He was tall, tan and handsome, with shoulder-length hair and deep brown eyes. He wore a hunter green button-down shirt and dark jeans with cowboy boots in black. He looked her over and holy crap, she panicked. “You scared me. I was just getting some fresh air,” she said, and turned away from him. He was just too appealing, too sexy, too perfect to look at and not desire. As he stepped closer she felt the heat of his body behind her and part of her wanted to feel him pressed against her while the other part of her wanted to run back inside. Instead, she gripped the railing and did what she did best, refocused her mind to something else. Ignore this attraction, it was only because she was lonely, fearful and horny. That thought had her face feeling flushed as she stuttered her next words.

  “I thought maybe you were thinking what I was, and some alone time to talk together,” he flirted.

  She blew it off, knowing well how to change a subject from flirting to general conversation. Usually men got the message.

  “It’s so beautiful here. You’re going to like Repose, and the campground seems very cool. There’s always so much going on here,” she said.

  “It is very beautiful, and certain things stand out more than others,” he said, pressing closer and caging her in by putting his hands on the railing on either side of her.

  His body didn’t quite touch hers, he was so much wider, and bigger. She freaked a little and then pointed.

  “Have you seen the back yard and the outdoor kitchen the guys have here?” she asked, and then turned sideways, and the hand that was on the railing closest to her lifted and went to her hip. He then slid his arm around her waist and pressed up against her close.