Healing Hearts 12: Road to Happiness Read online

  “What exactly are your injuries?” she asked him. She figured if she focused on that, on a more professional level, then it would be easier to get through this uneasy situation because of her fears.

  As he explained, he complained a little about his forearm and wrist.

  “It sounds like a muscle problem and may have a knot in it,” she said, and she put down her fork, having finished the salad with BBQ chicken she got. Ace, Cliff, and Corona were there now, too.

  “What do you mean a knot?” Cliff asked.

  She used the wet wipe to make sure her hands were clean.

  “Turn towards me,” she said to Danny. He looked unhappy and in pain. She winced at the sight of his eye.

  “You don’t need to do anything. I hate for you to look at me with this eye.”

  “Ahh, I’ve seen worse, and I know you got it doing your job. Which is being one of the good guys, I presume.”

  He gave a nod. “Yeah, shouldn’t have happened.”

  “Well, things like that do happen. Could have been worse I’m sure. Let me see your arm,” she said and then eased it on the table. He could hardly bend it. She saw the bruising and then the raised area.

  “There’s this tiny area near the elbow and the forearm that can swell up from overuse or from bruising. If you don’t release the pressure,” she said and began to massage it and work the muscle.

  He jerked and moaned, then cursed.

  “Fuck,” he whispered, and his brothers chuckled, but then he widened his eyes as she continued.

  “Just breathe through it,” she said as she massaged his arm to work the little knots, and he leaned back, started to relax, and then closed his eyes.

  “Whoa,” he said and exhaled.

  She ran her palms up and down his arm and then gently bent it. “How does it feel now?” she asked.

  He lifted it and bent it. “How the hell did you do that?” he asked.

  She smiled and then took a sip of her beer. She was fine touching him, touching a man or another person, if her purpose was medicinal or professional, but personally she didn’t, couldn’t yet, and now that the men all watched at her with hunger in their eyes, she needed an escape plan.

  * * * *

  Danny was mesmerized by Amber, he held her gaze, and looked at her lips, her eyes. She was so damn beautiful, and when she was touching him, massaging his arm, his dick had hardened, and he felt like he could lose his mind.

  “Where did you learn to do that?” he asked her.

  “I have picked up on things over the years. Know the right spots to release tension. I like helping others, and can’t stand to see people in pain, that’s all. Nothing magical,” she said and took another sip of her beer.

  He leaned closer. “That’s where you’re wrong. Your hands are magical. My arm has been killing me. You fixed it,” he said as he reached up and stroked her jaw. He could see the shocked expression in her eyes. Could feel his brothers’ eyes on them, on him, as he made a move. Her lips parted, and she was shaking.

  “Sweet, sweet, Amber, no need to be scared. We won’t hurt you.”

  “Don’t,” she whispered, and her voice cracked.

  “Don’t what?” he asked softly and stroked along her jaw and then brushed his thumb over her lower lip. How badly he wanted to taste her, but as she looked at him, as he felt her shivering in what had to be fear, his gut clenched. Why was she so afraid?

  He pulled back, giving her a wink.

  “It’s my eye and the bruises, huh? Pretty nasty,” he said and leaned back.

  She gulped, but stared at him. “I should join my friends.”

  “Later. Right now, you’re making new ones,” Briar said to her.

  “I doubt you need more friends. The game is over. If you’ll excuse me, I came here to be with Jo and Melina.” She stood up and Briar did, as well, stepping from his seat to let her by. Danny didn’t know what went wrong, but one look from Melina and Jo, and he knew he and his brothers would hear about this later.

  “She is scared of us big time,” Cliff said.

  “Obviously, but why?” Corona said.

  “I asked her if she had family in the military because she seemed to know about Special Forces. She closed up and ended the conversation,” Briar told them.

  “I told you not to pursue her, not to pursue this, when we can’t give a woman like her what she deserves and needs. Sounds like she may have dated a soldier or had a situation with one,” Ace said.

  “Or she has family involved and maybe something happened,” Briar added.

  “Either way, she isn’t interested,” Ace said to them in warning.

  “I don’t know ’bout that, and well, you didn’t have her hands on you like I did. She got rid of the pain,” Danny said and kept his eyes on Amber as she joined London, Jo, and Melina, who were definitely interrogating her about them.

  * * * *

  “What is going on with you and my brothers?” Jo asked Amber.

  Amber took a deep breath and released it as she folded her hands on her lap.

  “You look about ready to cry or scream. Talk to us,” Melina said to her.

  “It’s complicated.”

  “What the hell isn’t?” Jo replied.

  “It’s very complicated, Jo,” she added and gave her a stern expression.

  “This has to do with Connecticut, doesn’t it?” Jo asked.

  Amber worried her bottom lip.

  “Connecticut?” Melina asked.

  London gave Amber a little nudge. “She sees Kiana, you guys know that, right?”

  “London,” Amber said and looked at her, hoping she didn’t say more. London knew a little bit about Amber’s situation, but Francesca knew more. Francesca had a brother who was a criminal, and she had connections to some shady characters. Her family was huge.

  “I’m not going to say anything. It’s your life, your fears, your story, just as I have mine, and Melina and Jo had theirs,” London said.

  “Oh God, please tell me that you aren’t in any danger,” Jo said to her.

  Amber couldn’t really respond to that. Technically, she was. Would always be as long as Charles was alive.

  “I’ve been around Mercy, living here, knowing you and Melina for over a year now. Two years ago, my life was very different,” she said and felt herself get choked up. Melina reached out to touch her hand, and Amber tightened up and then slowly pulled back and ran her fingers through her hair.

  “You are still in danger. Jesus, Amber, what can we do to help? I mean, my brothers, all of them are very—”

  “No. I take care of me.”

  “You like them and they like you,” Jo stated.

  “Nothing will happen between us.”

  “That isn’t true. We all could see them watching you, watching over you, and you spent time with them,” Jo added.

  “They are quite intimidating, but also seasoned when it comes to women. Believe me, the last thing I need to be is a fling. Besides, I’m not capable of it,” she said and then exhaled. She couldn’t let her guard down and let a man—never mind five large men—touch her, kiss her, be intimate with her. As much as she felt she was ready to have a boyfriend and give romance a try, it seemed when it came to Ace, Cliff, Briar, Corona, and Danny, she was intimidated by them and scared. Super scared, and her confidence that she could be ready to date was immediately destroyed.

  “So you think they just want sex?” Jo asked, and she looked insulted.

  “I think I need a more traditional type of relationship in order to get past my fears and what occurred in my past.”

  Melina chuckled. “Girl, you haven’t a clue. Haven’t you been watching us? Watching what’s been happening with your friends and the relationships they started with their men? We don’t choose who we fall in love with. Who makes our bodies go up in flames and have us thinking that we had no lives before them. That nothing else matters but their love, their presence, and need that builds, and builds every day. I was cheated on b
y a man I gave my virginity to. His father wanted me in his bed. I was treated like an object instead of a professional woman. Hell, I was attacked in a stairwell and could have been raped.”

  Amber cringed, and tears filled her eyes.

  “All I kept thinking about was getting back to my men. Feeling their protective arms around me, loving me, putting me first, protecting me. They’re seasoned, as well. They have women still trying to flirt with them, but they blow them off. They’re mine and I’m theirs. What we have is special, and no one can take that away. No one could have stood in the way of it. The same can happen for you,” Melina said to her.

  “I don’t know about that,” Amber replied.

  “Don’t you want a boyfriend, or five?” Jo teased, and they chuckled.

  “Men who can care for you, protect you, and maybe take away those bad memories from your past?” Jo added.

  Amber glanced toward the men. Ace was watching her. He didn’t trust her. He maybe wasn’t interested.

  “The fears are immense, Jo.”

  “Sometimes the power of a connection, of the bond, the love is a lot stronger,” Jo said very seriously, and then the guys were coming over, talking about walking around the event and checking out the vendors.

  “I need to use the ladies’ room,” Amber said and got up and headed toward the building where the bathrooms were.

  She thought about what her friends said. Then she thought about her session with Kiana last week. Amber wanted to let down her guard a little. She wanted a companion. Someone she could talk to and who knew, maybe someone she could trust and confide in? Was she being stupid? Was she just lonely?

  She walked through the building after using the restroom, and she started to view some of the artwork on the walls. There were so many talented people. There had been things she had wanted to do at twenty-two and twenty-three years old. More college to become a nurse practitioner or even a doctor if she could get the money for school. It all changed. Ripped from her grasp by an evil, evil man.

  Someone cleared their throat, and she gasped and turned around, and there stood Ace. Six feet four at least, intimidating, sexy, sporting a little scruff along his cheeks, his crew cut blondish-brown hair, and dark eyes that held her gaze. “You shouldn’t be walking around alone,” he told her, as if reprimanding her.

  “I needed to use the restroom. Then these paintings snagged my attention,” she said, but he made her feel uneasy as she started to walk. He stepped in front of her and blocked her with his arm. She tightened up and looked up at him.

  “I don’t know what game you’re playing, but I’d appreciate it if you didn’t mess with my brothers. They like you, and you’re pushing them away or teasing them.”

  “Teasing them? I’m not doing that at all. I told them I don’t date. I’m not interested in being some plaything or a game.”

  He narrowed his eyes at her.

  “You don’t think they’re good enough because they’re soldiers? They’re not wealthy doctors like that Ford guy there?”

  She gasped, and her jaw dropped. She placed her hand over her heart.

  “Dr. Ford? Are you serious? He’s my boss, and nothing more.”

  “He was touching you, keeping a possessive hand on you while we were there.”

  “I can assure you, Ace, that there isn’t anything between us. Not that I need to explain.”

  “You should explain because my brothers are interested in getting to know you.”

  “Well, I’m not interested in getting to know them.” She started to walk.

  “Why?”

  She didn’t know how to handle this, and without thinking it through, she spoke.

  “You know what, you’re right. There is something between Dr. Ford and I, so I really can’t entertain you and your brothers’ games. Excuse me,” she said, and she headed out and didn’t look back and didn’t return to the event. She went home because now she felt guilty, and she wanted to talk to Ace and his brothers and get to know them and maybe see if she could do this. Too late. She screwed up and probably lost her chance anyway.

  Chapter 4

  “How close did they get?” Manuel Forte asked one of his men.

  “Pretty fucking close. They broke into the building, took out security, and located the last remaining supply of ammunition.”

  “Fuck. Was there anything else there that can connect us or Lang to the shit?”

  “Empty containers with the branding on them. Maybe some coffee grinds.”

  “Damn it.” Manuel ran his fingers through his hair. He was fucked. If Muller or Lang found out about this, they would kill him. He had been responsible for this one large shipment. One, and those asshole mercenaries fucked it up. Who the hell did they work for, anyway? The government? Where did they come from?

  “I need to find out who these men are, and I want them eliminated.”

  “They’re mercenaries. They thought nothing of going into a building and slitting throats. It was a bloodbath there. It was like they were determined to find someone specific.”

  “Charles Muller had been right after all. He said to have that place cleared out a week ago. He must know who these men are. That’s the twist I’m using on Lang. I’m going to call Forte and see what he wants me to do. In the interim, send word to the others to destroy any evidence left behind.”

  “What about the shipment to the facility in North Carolina?”

  “Get the place cleared out as quickly as possible, and relocate it to that building we used a few years back to store the stolen merchandise from the art gallery. The climate control will be perfect for these drugs and for the ammunition.”

  “Okay, I’ll take care of it.”

  Manuel Forte ended the call and then looked out the window. The feds or these mercenary assholes were going to come around looking to ask him questions soon enough. He needed to be ready for the questions. Ready to play dumb and also not be aware of the incidents at his warehouses. As far as on paper, they were not being used and should remain empty. He owned a lot of property and multiple big businesses. He could blame not knowing anything was going on at that place in Georgia and even in North Carolina. However, he would be on their radar, and that meant he was no longer an asset to Lang and Muller. Both of those crazy bastards could deal with these mercenary assholes. That was more up Muller’s alley anyway, since he was military once, as well.

  Manuel felt sick. He was going to get killed. Whether it was by these mercenaries or by Muller himself, it was going to happen. He glanced at the files on his desk and thought about what he knew. What he had access to. He hurried around his desk. He shuffled through the papers. “If I’m going to get killed over this, I’m going to make sure Muller and Lang go down, as well,” he said aloud and started to hit some buttons on his computer, sending information to the printer, and then to an email. After all, Charles Muller and Visado Lang started to make connections with Umar Surak, an international drugs and arms dealer from Dubai. He didn’t have much information on the man or the deals they were discussing, but that would surely be some evidence the government would want. Manuel had to protect his assets, his family, and his workers the best he could. He was going to pull back. Fuck Muller and Lang. He had done his part in several deals that made everyone money. Having this attack on the warehouse was enough to pull out. Maybe they would let him, but if they didn’t, if they sent in men to eliminate him, then he would be ready, and these files alone would be enough to get more inquiries going and provide the feds, these mercenaries with evidence they needed.

  As he thought about that he remembered the recent raid on the fake vitamin storefront and how men were killed and two agents attacked. I need to find out their names. That could come in handy indeed.

  * * * *

  “Do nothing,” Charles Muller said very calmly into his cell phone. He leaned back into the office chair and exhaled.

  “What do you mean do nothing? This information can lead the feds, those fucking soldiers who want us
dead right to us.”

  “It can’t, Visado. It leads to Manuel and Manuel only. Besides, we aren’t even in the United States, so what does it matter? They can kill who they want, raid whatever warehouses we use, it won’t matter what little evidence is left behind. It isn’t enough to prove anything, and if they keep it to use against us in the unlikely event they find us, who cares? We’re in this for the fucking money. The power, and look what we’re negotiating? You think any big-time crime bosses ever worried about evidence left to link them to shit? No. Why? Because we live for the thrill of the chase. For the money we make and the things we set our minds on. You know this. You live for it, as well. You know where I stand.”

  “You’re a crazy fucking bastard. That’s what you are.”

  He chuckled low. “I’m determined, and Rusty and his team’s need for revenge will be their demise. Mark my words. I will get the last laugh.”

  “If you’re not worried, then I’m not worried. However, Manuel is not as strong-minded as we are. Our inside people say he’s in a panic.”

  “Let him go. We don’t need him. But feed him the information he is to give the feds or those mercenary assholes.”

  “Understood. Also, been in contact with our guy in Dubai. He’d like to schedule something in the next few weeks.”

  “That’s fine with me. I’m willing to take my time and ease into this new deal. I want you to have someone carefully get in touch with our contact in North Carolina and see where those feds are in the investigation. Surely that warehouse will be swarming with evidence collectors. Make sure Manuel knows we have his back and that he isn’t to talk but to play dumb.”

  “That will be easy for him.”

  Charles laughed at Lang.

  “How is my precious little woman?” Charles asked.

  “Intel says alive and well, and still living in that small beach town in South Carolina.”