Guarding Kinsley: Brotherhood Protectors World (Texas Guardians Book 3) Read online

  Guarding Kinsley

  Brotherhood Protectors World

  Barb Han

  Contents

  Brotherhood Protectors

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Also by Barb Han

  About Barb Han

  Brotherhood Protectors

  About Elle James

  Copyright © 2020, Barb Han

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.

  © 2020 Twisted Page Press, LLC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  No part of this book may be used, stored, reproduced or transmitted without written permission from the publisher except for brief quotations for review purposes as permitted by law.

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, please purchase your own copy.

  Brotherhood Protectors

  Original Series by Elle James

  Brotherhood Protectors Series

  Montana SEAL (#1)

  Bride Protector SEAL (#2)

  Montana D-Force (#3)

  Cowboy D-Force (#4)

  Montana Ranger (#5)

  Montana Dog Soldier (#6)

  Montana SEAL Daddy (#7)

  Montana Ranger’s Wedding Vow (#8)

  Montana SEAL Undercover Daddy (#9)

  Cape Cod SEAL Rescue (#10)

  Montana SEAL Friendly Fire (#11)

  Montana SEAL’s Mail-Order Bride (#12)

  SEAL Justice (#13)

  Ranger Creed (#14)

  Delta Force Rescue (#15)

  Montana Rescue (Sleeper SEAL)

  Hot SEAL Salty Dog (SEALs in Paradise)

  Hot SEAL Hawaiian Nights (SEALs in Paradise)

  To Elle James for letting me write in your world and introducing me to your awesome readers—a huge thank you. You already know how much I love you.

  Chapter 1

  Arms folded across a broad chest, Gabriel Cooper stood on the edge of a wooded lot next to a Texas lake house where his buddy was about to get married. No one deserved happiness more than Daniel Damon. The man’s wife and child had been murdered a year ago when a mole in the organization Daniel and Gabriel had worked for posted personal information of agency operatives onto the dark Web.

  After their murders Daniel had gone to a dark place emotionally. Gabriel’s search for Daniel had been fruitless. Rumors had circulated that he’d been found in Cuba bitter and alone. Their mutual friend, Jaden Orchard, had pulled Daniel from the depths of hell and given him a new lease on life working for his small agency—an agency that no longer worked for governments but took on smaller, work-for-hire jobs.

  Daniel had been assigned to locate a missing teen and had fallen in love with her aunt, who turned out to be the girl’s mother.

  Happiness seemed to be contagious in Gabriel’s former co-workers. Jaden had married a year ago and his wife had just given birth to their first child, a son.

  Hell, Gabriel was happy for his friends. Each one looked like he’d found the magic bullet of happiness by locking down with one person. When it came to relationships, Gabriel wasn’t ready to close all the other doors. Even if he was there was another complication. Gabriel had to stay under the radar or risk being killed. He was wanted by a man known as The Russian, who was the leader of a small but tightknit gang of money launderers and hitmen.

  The Russian had a wide network and a ton of influence in certain circles—circles where men knew how to hit a target. Hanging around in one spot for too long was a bad idea for Gabriel’s longevity. Leaving a trail of people he cared about behind him would be a mistake—a mistake that could be deadly for anyone Gabriel cared about.

  Speaking of which, now that he’d seen Daniel looking alive again—a welcomed sight—it was time for Gabriel to make his exit before anyone saw him.

  “You should grab a seat. See how this is done.” Daniel caught Gabriel off guard. Gabriel whirled around at the sound of his friend’s voice.

  “You were just over there.” Gabriel pointed to the window of the cabin.

  “I’m pretty good at what I do.” Daniel was probably only half-joking when said those words with a wink and smile. Being confident to the point of borderline cocky seemed to come with the territory in their line of work. Daniel’s chest puffed out. It was difficult to get one over on Gabriel and his friend knew it.

  “I used to be.” Gabriel teased back. He’d been distracted thinking about how happy his friends were and had let his guard down. Under different circumstances that move would’ve been a deadly mistake.

  “On a serious note, I wasn’t kidding. Stick around.” Daniel extended his hand.

  “And watch you walk down the aisle of doom? No thanks.” Gabriel took the offering with a vigorous shake.

  What was it about the newly and soon-to-be wed that made them want everyone to join the same club? Never once did a single guy tell a married man to dump his wife and join his lifestyle.

  Gabriel enjoyed women, all women. The only requirement to spend time with him was for a woman to know what she was getting into. He did honesty. He did no-strings-attached. He did great sex. The one thing he didn’t do was commitment.

  Of course, there was a woman who Gabriel believed was the happy-ever-after one for him once. Their relationship had ended in tragedy and he figured she was better off without him anyway. Besides, that was a long time ago.

  Even so, Kinsley Greer would always hold that special place in his heart no other person could measure up to. Gabriel was cool with it. He was in no rush to trip down that aisle of insanity called matrimony. Still loving Kinsley gave him the out he needed to keep everyone at arm’s length. None of which mattered a hill of beans to him as long as it got the job done.

  Out of the corner of Gabriel’s eye he saw Jaden Orchard approaching.

  “When did you get into town?” Jaden asked. The exchanged hugs and handshakes.

  Gabriel made a show of glancing at his watch. “Twenty minutes ago.”

  “We’ll put out an extra chair.” Jaden fished his cell phone out of his pocket.

  “Hold on there. No need to make this visit official. My plane’s still running.” He motioned in the general direction of the private airstrip he’d flown into.

  Daniel and Jaden exchanged glances as though the looks were like secret handshakes to a club Gabriel didn’t belong to.

  What was he getting all sentimental about? He didn’t even want to be in the married club.

  “Seriously,” Jaden started, “You might learn something if you stay.”

  “I’m not interested in popping that cherry anytime soon.” Gabriel forced a smile, pretending the comments weren’t affecting him. Or was it thinking about Kinsley again that had him off balance? He hadn’t thought of her in years, hadn’t seen her in fourteen to be exact.

  “Why ruin a perfect reco
rd?” he said with a wink. He was perfectly happy with the life he’d built. Looking at the happiness on his friends’ faces did hit him in a strange place. It also reminded him of Kinsley and that was such a long time ago.

  “Suit yourself,” Daniel responded.

  “I’d like to meet the woman who was able to get Daniel Damon in that getup.” Gabriel made a show of pointing out Daniel’s suit.

  ‘I’d rather be wearing shorts and flip-flops while taking that vow instead of this thing.” Daniel motioned toward his light gray blazer.

  Gabriel appreciated the break in tension. Thinking about relationships had his shoulder muscles pulling taut.

  “The woman responsible for this getup will be walking down that path in,” Daniel checked his watch, “About five minutes.”

  Gabriel was already scanning the area for an exit. Going back the same way he came was like drinking from an unknown water source two times in a row, perfect conditions for an alligator attack. An alligator always watched the first time and struck the second. And just like trying to avoid an alligator, Gabriel had to stay on the move and switch up his locations in order to stay safe.

  “There’s room on the team for you here, man. If you decide to plant your feet somewhere.” Jaden seemed to realize that Gabriel was already marking his exit path.

  Gabriel had no plans to divulge exactly how deep a trough of shit he currently stood in. It wouldn’t do any good for anyone to know because they’d want to help and all that would do was bring a whole mess of misery to their doorsteps. Both of his friends deserved better. “Maybe in the future. I’d bring too much heat right now.”

  Jaden barked a laugh. “You think we don’t know how to handle a hot stove?”

  Gabriel’s gaze darted from Jaden to Daniel. Gabriel hadn’t wanted to do that. He didn’t want to remind Daniel of the past on the day he was beginning a new future, a bright future from what Gabriel could see.

  “You’re welcome here anytime.” Daniel would never turn down someone he considered family. The kind of work they’d done in the past relied on being a brotherhood and the three of them were thick as thieves.

  A strange tension crept in. Gabriel figured he needed to lighten the mood. “I don’t know about picking peaches all day, man. My hands aren’t all that delicate.”

  Daniel laughed but Orchard folded his arms across his chest. “What does everyone have against a peach orchard? They do well in this part of Texas. And being here makes my wife happy.”

  “Careful, Orchard. Or everyone will believe you’re going soft.” Gabriel teased.

  Daniel broke out laughing at that one.

  Out of the corner of Gabriel’s eye he saw a woman coming toward them with a blue bundle in her arms.

  “Speaking of your wife.” Gabriel motioned behind Jaden.

  He turned and Gabriel caught sight of the smile that broke out on his friend’s face. Wives and babies were fine for people like Jaden and Daniel. Gabriel wasn’t in the market for a family no matter how much seeing the duo tugged at his heart strings. Of course, it would. No one could see something that innocent—a bundle of pureness—and not be impacted. Or at least that’s the lie he told himself as he tried not to think about the cold caverns in his own heart.

  “Gabriel, meet my wife, Lauren,” Jaden said. His voice dropped as she neared once he saw the worried expression on her features. She had on a teal dress that made her fiery red hair stand out all that much more. She was a beautiful lady.

  “You married up,” Gabriel whispered to Jaden as he threw an elbow into Jaden’s ribs.

  Lauren must’ve heard because she smiled even though it didn’t reach her eyes.

  “Everything okay?” Jaden asked.

  “I couldn’t find you and your cell kept ringing.” Lauren glanced a small nod of acknowledgement at Gabriel. Whatever she had to say must be important because she didn’t strike him as the type to blow off a first meeting with one of Jaden’s friends. Especially not one who went as far back as the two of them.

  Gabriel turned to Daniel. “I should go.”

  Daniel’s hand came up to stop him, but he didn’t speak. His gaze was intent on whatever it was Lauren had to say to her husband.

  “Who called?” Jaden asked. His tone dropped an octave. It was subtle but Gabriel had learned to pick up on the small details, the small shifts in order to read people and what they were really trying to say. It was most likely protective instinct that had Jaden on hyper alert. He had a wife and child to think about now and their pasts could come back on them at any time. Gabriel’s seemed a little more intent on pinpointing his location and taking him out.

  Being alone meant that an enemy could only hurt him. He had no family that could be used as weapons against him.

  Not so for Jaden. The man had a lot to lose and Gabriel understood why both Jaden and Daniel had walked away from their old lives. Finding missing persons, knowing he was the good guy, didn’t sound half bad when he thought about it in those terms.

  “A man called.” She flashed her eyes at him in a look that only couples could truly understand. “Well, it was a number first. Your phone kept ringing and the same number kept showing up. The caller was so persistent. He wouldn’t leave a message and then I thought he must really want to talk to you or he’s in immediate danger.” She looked at Jaden apologetically. “I wasn’t sure what to do when I couldn’t find you, so I answered the call for you.”

  She tried to hand over the cell in her hand that was flat against the blue blanket. The baby in her arms stirred and Lauren started gently rocking the bundle.

  An image of Gabriel’s high school sweetheart all grown up now with their baby in her arms struck from out of nowhere.

  It was being around this atmosphere that was causing his mind to play tricks on him, to reach back to the past and remember. That, and guilt for the fact that he’d always felt like a jerk for the way his relationship with Kinsley had ended.

  Curiosity had Gabriel wanting to see the baby wrapped up in Lauren’s arms, and maybe get a hint of why those little things enamored people so much. Gabriel didn’t get the kid thing. There’d only been one woman in his past that he might’ve considered worth slowing his life down to the point of stalled out in order to go down that boring road. He couldn’t imagine life with Kinsley Greer ever feeling that way.

  He reminded himself that they hadn’t seen each other since senior year of high school, since that horrible accident and the hospital room that he’d been told to stay away from by her insistent father. Months had passed and Gabriel had tried every way he could think of to get to her. Anyone aside from family had been banned from the hospital except her best friend, Lainey, who’d been clear that she didn’t much care for Gabriel.

  Even he could admit that his relationship with Kinsley was improbable. They were complete opposites. She came from a wealthy, stable family. Whereas, he’d grown up in foster care at what he and his foster siblings had dubbed, “Camp Slave Labor” for the long days and hard work they’d put in. His fosters had been extremist bordering on militant.

  Living with Sherman and Rhonda Bushnell had made boot camp feel like summer camp. Transitioning into the military had been a no-brainer after living with those two. Don’t get him wrong, he was grateful for being given a roof over his head and three squares a day. Make no mistake about the fact that he’d earned every one. He used the lessons of hard work and self-discipline to his advantage. Life wasn’t going to hand Gabriel Cooper a dime. Lucky for him, he had no qualms against working for his keep.

  Gabriel had written to Kinsley after signing on with the military. He’d penned a note every Sunday for two years even though after six months he was certain she ripped them up before reading them. The two had never officially broken up but her lack of communication was all he’d needed to know that it was over. If Kinsley had wanted him around, she would’ve figured out how to get word to him in two years.

  And yet, how many times since that day had he wondered what t
heir relationship could’ve been?

  Seeing the interaction between Jaden and Lauren hit Gabriel in that rare place that had him wanting to look Kinsley up. But to say what? It was probably just a bruised ego that had him wanting to, a need for closure that he’d never received. That felt like a lifetime ago.

  He, Jaden and Daniel had bonded while working together. There were a few other people they’d met along the way. A former D-Force soldier who went by the name Bear for one. Tate “Bear” Parker had been medically discharged from the Army. Now, he started worked for some Brotherhood Protector agency in Montana. Bear had lost most of his men when an Iraqi informant double crossed them. The way Gabriel had heard it, if air support hadn’t been close by, Bear wouldn’t be alive right now. He took a pretty bad hit to his leg. Gabriel scanned the area to see if Bear had made it. He was probably still ‘nesting’ with that screenwriter he’d found. What was her name? It came to him. Mia. Gabriel glanced around unsure of what in the hell had possessed him to show up at Daniel Damon’s wedding. Maybe Gabriel just needed to see that his old buddy was okay. Daniel had lost so much.

  Seeing him alive again, smiling, looking happy was good for Gabriel. They’d been talking for a few minutes, long enough to realize he was done.

  Gabriel had seen what he came to see.

  He turned, ready to make his way back through the woods surrounding the lake.

  “Where you running off to?” Damon’s voice boomed from behind.

  “Arctic Circle.” Gabriel hated to admit it, but his friend got the drop on him. He turned to face Damon.

  “You must like the cold,” Damon said with a grin that didn’t reach his eyes.