Page 2 of Keeping Her Secrets

Stepping into the luxury hotel, Ash noticed a large restaurant to the right full of diners and an open-plan bar area to the left of the reception area. It meant it was possible to see from one end to the other without interruption, which was something he liked. Being cooped up in a small space, with no line of sight, was not his idea of fun.

He spotted the group of SEALs immediately, noting they were the last to arrive.

Ian stood and held out his hand. “Ash, good to see you again.”

Ash clasped it and shook. “You too, it’s been too long. How’s Angie?”

“Perfect,” Ian replied with a look of adoration on his face.

The big, bad, retired Navy SEAL, with a reputation as a stubborn hard ass, had fallen hard when he’d met Angie. If Ash hadn’t seen the man with his wife, he would never have believed it, but once again he’d been proven wrong.

Jake greeted him next and then Nick. The two men were another example of men who’d had met the loves of their lives and fallen hard and without question. In their case though, it was with each other. The natural affection and deep love they had for each other was evident in every look and touch they made. It wasn’t big, overt gestures, and perhaps if it was anyone other than a bunch of operators at the table, nobody would even know they were together.

They were not demonstrative, per se, but Ash could see the love between them was real and genuine. Ash was pleased for them; they were good men who deserved to be happy. He’d served two tours with Ian and Jake, before they’d retired into the private sector, and had immense respect for the two men. Nick had also been an enormous loss to the Teams when he’d retired too.

The Sawyer brothers were both over six feet tall, with cool, blue eyes and black hair. Jake was taller, closer to his own height of 6 feet 5 inches, with brown hair and green eyes. These men seemed to draw lust-filled gazes from women and men alike wherever they went, and Daniel, with his Joe Manganiello looks, was no different.

People said he and Daniel looked like brothers, but Ash didn’t see it.

Ash introduced Daniel to the guys, and he and Ian were soon talking shop regarding the different training techniques they used on new recruits. As second in command at Fortis Security, Daniel was in charge of training the Fucking New Guys, or FNGs as they were more commonly called.

“So, when are you due back, Chief?” Moody asked as he peeled the label off his beer bottle, and Ash wondered if the man was stressing about something.

“Two weeks, providing the doc gives me the all-clear.”

“What exactly happened?” Jake asked as he tipped his beer bottle to his mouth.

Ash paused, his friends would know he’d been shot and were asking how it happened. He frowned as he thought about the teenage boy who’d managed to get a shot off and catch him in the shoulder on his last mission in Iran. The kid had been no older than sixteen and fighting a war that would never be won on the battlefield. But rather between powerful men in a boardroom who didn’t seem to give a shit about the lives that were being destroyed. “Caught a bullet in the shoulder, from a fucking kid who shouldn’t be fighting a war. It fucked up my range, so I had to have surgery and PT until it heals.”

“Shit, that blows,” Nick said in understanding.

Ash knew Nick knew precisely how it felt to be grounded while his team were wheels up—he’d taken a bullet just below his right clavicle a few years ago.

Crockett, Moody, and Massey got up and wandered to the outdoor bar where music was now playing by the pool. Ash kept an eye out, knowing he would get an earful if the groom was wasted for his wedding day. “What about you, how’s working with your brothers and your husband?” he asked Nick, enjoying the ease of being with other men who understood the life.

Nick smirked and cast his eyes to Jake. “Eventful as always, but I love it and being home most of the time is nice.”

“What about you? Any desire to leave the Teams?” Jake asked, and Ash wondered if there was more than just friendly interest there.

“Nah, not me. I can’t imagine not being a SEAL. All I ever wanted to do was serve and be the best. Help save lives in any way I can.”

“More than one way to do that,” Ian added as he and Daniel zoned in on the conversation.

“Maybe, but, for now, I’m happy where I am.” Ian nodded but said nothing. “Plus, private security seems to come with a marriage license these days.”

The men around the table laughed.

“Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it,” Nick said with an easy chuckle and a raised glass. “To marriage and all that it encompasses.”

“To marriage.”

The rest of the men raised their glasses, and, with a laugh, Ash did too, knowing it would never be for him. Even if a confident, dark-eyed bombshell kept popping into his mind at the most inopportune moments.

“More ways than marriage to have a relationship. Ever thought of becoming a Dom?” Ian’s ice-blue eyes settled on Ash.

He recognized the Dom look on the other man now. It wasn’t something he wore for show; it was a part of who Ian Sawyer was. Ash knew a little about the Dom/sub world from spending time with these guys and certainly enough to recognize that Ian was a Dom. So was Jake, but Nick as a submissive didn’t fit the image Ash had of him from when he’d been a SEAL, and yet the younger man seemed perfectly happy and no less deadly because of it. Ash found it confusing, but he’d be lying if he said he hadn’t considered it.

“Not sure it’s for me. I don’t really see myself leading some woman around by her collar,” he said hedging.