Page 25 of Chasing Kit

I stood and smoothed my hand over my shirt. “Kit and I are going for a walk on the beach.”

Odin crossed his arms. “Are ya?”

“We can’t go anywhere, Odin. If we leave, you’ll have reason to start a war with Derek, and my employer doesn’t want that. We just want to walk along the beach, that’s it.” If I had my way, we’d escape into the water and disappear, but Kit wasn’t a SEAL like me, and I’d been telling the truth. Knowing Derek, he’d want to stay on good terms with Odin.

Odin waved his hand in disinterest. I jerked my head at Kit, silently instructing him to rise. We left the dining room together, and he followed me through the barroom and out a familiar sliding door. The last time we were here, I’d escaped through it countless times. It led to the backyard and then the path to the beach.

The weather was warm and clear. While the night had cooled the temp down a little, it was nothing like New Gothenburg’s summer.

Kit inhaled deeply as we reached the soft sand. “I used to love the smell of the ocean.” He paused, gaze fixed on the dark horizon. “Funny how it’s more relaxing when you aren’t trapped.”

I grunted in agreement. As a SEAL, we lived for the water. It was where everything made sense, where the training clicked into something real. Our assignments often involved navigating the ocean, though the land-based missions were always the shitty ones.

The air was fresh and pleasant against my face. By 19:00, the sun had dipped below the horizon, leaving streaks of orange in the sky. It was too dark to see Kit properly, so I gripped his elbow to keep him close.

We walked toward the ocean. I kicked off my shoes and socks, and he did the same before we stepped into the water. The waves kissed our ankles, and Kit chuckled, leaning against me. His shoulder knocked mine, and I tensed when his cheek rested on me.

I swallowed, teeth grinding, as I stared at the visible stretch of ocean, glinting from the half-moon hanging high in the cloudless sky. The stars glittered. I was glad we were in the dark while we were alone. The bruises forming on his neck were a horrible reminder of what I’d done. I shouldn’t have slept, but I had, once again falling into the pit of nightmares that plagued me every night.

The memory hit like a physical blow—the desert heat, the sting of sweat, the gleam of a dirty blade. My body had healed into a map of scars, but my mind was still a ruin. They’d discharged me, a shattered man. Yet, I never broke. But when Kit had touched me, instinct took over. I was back in that house with my SEAL brothers and the man whose psychotic smile still haunted my sleep. I’d almost killed Kit, my hands closing around his throat as if he were the enemy. My breath hitched.

“War?”

My nickname, War, was a constant reminder of who I was and what I’d done. Not a title I’d earned so much as a warning I’d become. Kit was too good for me.

“We can’t do this.” I put distance between us, turning my back on him.

“Do what?” He exhaled softly. “We’re just hanging out.”

I tensed. “You can’t tell the Lords we’re together.”

“They wanted to know about the bruises,” he argued, voice strained. “I wasn’t going to tell them the truth. That’s between us.”

I cursed myself. Derek trusted me to protect Kit, and I’d failed. Kit had nearly been shot in the motel room, and then the Lords had caught us. I should’ve planned better. But whenever he was near, he clouded my mind, driving me crazy in all the wrong and right ways. He was a contradiction who simultaneously plagued and teased my thoughts.

“If you’re going to wallow in self-pity, I’m going back inside.”

He started to move, but I grabbed his wrist and held on tight. “These men are dangerous, Kit. They’re murderers, and they will kill us if your dad doesn’t give them what they want. Don’t pretend they’re your friends because they aren’t.” I shifted closer. “You need eyes in the back of your head in this place, especially around Loki and Odin.”

“What does this have to do with us?” The anger in his voice grew thicker. “Because let’s be honest, War, we’re attracted to each other. You know I’ve been eyeing you up from the moment I saw you, and I didn’t think you were interested, but now I’m starting to realize I was wrong.”

I could end this by telling him he was wrong. It would be easy. Except, it wasn’t. I’d always hated liars who intentionally hurt people, and I refused to be one. It was simpler to remain silent than fib.

So, I kept quiet. Not that it helped.

“You like me,” he said, the words a low, happy rumble. “I knew it. I actually fucking knew it.”

I rolled my eyes, my mouth curving to one side. “You’re asking for trouble.”

“From you or Dad?” he teased.

“Both. Your dad’s not going to like any of this. I’m thirty-five years old. I work for him.”

“Yeah, but after that whole not telling me what he really does for a living thing, I think he can damned well get over it.” He let out a loud breath. “I’m still mad at him about that.”

“Mm-hmm.” I pulled him closer, walking him back toward the water until the waves danced around our feet. I wasn’t making this happen, but I wasn’t saying no, either.

Kit was young and people his age changed their mind more often than their underwear. When he got back to New Gothenburg, he’d decide I wasn’t worth the trouble, attracted or not. Maybe if we fucked, he’d see exactly what he was chasing and lose interest on his own. Young men always wanted what they couldn’t have. Hell, I did when I was in my early twenties, and that was why I joined the navy. My mom had forbidden me from signing up, but as soon as I hit eighteen, she couldn’t stop me. It didn’t help that my brother joined because of me. And now he was dead, and Mom⁠—