Weight of the Badge: An Everyday Heroes World Novel (The Everyday Heroes World Book 21) Read online

  Yeah, right.

  5

  KADE

  It’s ten o’clock in the morning, and I can’t fall asleep. My usual routine after getting off work is to head home, grab a bite to eat, and go to bed. My room is pitch black, thanks to shades covered by blackout curtains. The dimmed light of my cell phone that is displaying my alarm clock is the only thing I can see.

  “Fuck it.” I throw the covers off to the side, swing my legs over the edge of my bed, and stand up. Grabbing my phone off of its wireless charging station, I head out of my bedroom, making my way down the hall to my living room where I plop down on the couch and turn on the television. I don’t have a TV in my bedroom, because a bedroom’s only function should be for sleeping and fucking—nothing else. Hopefully, some mundane television watching will help put me to sleep.

  After the fifth episode of Two and a Half Men, I conclude that sleep is not going to come effortlessly today. Leaving the couch, I head into my game room, which is where I had my bar built, and pour myself two fingers of Blanton’s, neat. Once I have my drink, I go back to my bedroom, climb into bed, and grab the Stephen King novel from my nightstand. Maybe the combination of alcohol and reading will make my eyes heavy enough to fall asleep.

  Three long chapters later, no such luck. I abandon the pursuit of sleep altogether. Thankfully, I don’t work tonight. Otherwise, I would be a zombie, and that’s never how you want to go out on patrol.

  “Hey Siri, open blackout curtains.” Like the obedient voice-activated system she is, the curtains begin to glide open. “Hey Siri, open bedroom blinds.” I specify which room because I have my whole house set up to operate through my phone or iPad. As the window coverings raise, sunlight begins to filter in, brightening up the area.

  Changing into my gym gear, I grab my bag, go out to the garage, and jump into the grigio keres Lamborghini Urus that my mother handed down to me. Sometimes it’s nice not having to crawl into a low-slung vehicle, such as my Aston Martin, which is why I chose the SUV for today’s vehicular needs.

  It doesn’t take long before I’m parking in front of the gym at Winslow’s winery. On my days off, I stay far away from the police department, so I use Winslow’s gym. This time of day, no one should be working out since it’s mid-day, and most of the employees should be out in the vineyard, at the winery itself, or in the main office where Britney works. To my surprise, when I come around the corner, my eyes immediately lock onto Britney’s body glistening with sweat as she powers through her stair climber workout.

  The cardio machines face out toward part of the vineyard, which means Britney doesn’t see me come in, and because she has her earbuds in, she didn’t hear me either. With her back to me, I’m gifted with an unobstructed view of her perfect peach-shaped ass. My junk twitches in reaction to Britney’s curvy figure accented by her form-fitting shorts and sports bra.

  Dropping my gym bag by the free-weights, I make my way toward the treadmills to warm up before I start my workout. I purposely choose the treadmill beside Brit’s stair climber. Once I’m on, she startles at my sudden appearance, causing her to miss a step and scrape her shin on the edge of the next step.

  “Ow, ow, ow! Goddammit! Shit! Kade, don’t ever sneak up on someone like that,” she snaps while hobbling to the closest bench to sit down. I turn the stair climber off, walk back to my gym bag, grab my towel, and wet it with my bottle of water. Walking to where Britney is sitting, I notice her shin is already bruising, and blood is trickling down her leg. Sitting beside her, I grab the leg that’s injured and lay it across my lap so I can clean her scrape.

  “I’m sorry, B.”

  “What?” Using my free hand, I pull the earbud from the ear closest to me and let it hang around her neck.

  “Oh.” Her cheeks flush to a darker shade of red from embarrassment. Sweaty or not, Britney Winslow is beautiful, and one-hundred percent off-limits. She removes the other earbud and pulls her phone from her leggings pocket to turn off her music.

  “I thought you saw me come in.” That is a total lie, but I feel like a complete asshole for not announcing my arrival and for sneaking up on her. Thankfully, my guilt is keeping my dick in check. If it feels this good to have her leg lying across my lap, I can only imagine how it would feel to have them both wrapped around my waist while I sink my cock deep inside her.

  “It’s fine. I’m fine.” Britney reaches for the towel. When those emerald eyes look up to meet mine, that’s my breaking point. Reaching up, I wrap my hand around the back of her neck and lightly pull her head toward me until her lips meet mine—finally taking what I’ve wanted since we were kids.

  Britney hesitates at first, but when she allows herself to relax, her pillow-soft lips part just enough, allowing our tongues to tangle and glide against each other. The hum she releases vibrates against my lips, awakening the carnal beast deep within me. I’ve kissed plenty of women in my lifetime, and none of them made me feel the way Britney makes me feel at this moment. Before I can maneuver her to my lap, the front door slams shut. Hurriedly, we pull away from each other. Brit’s chest heaves like she’s trying to catch her breath. Luckily, we’re in a gym, so it’s not unusual for her to be breathing heavily.

  “Kade!” Deacon’s voice bellows. Fuck. Did he see us kissing? “Brit, what the fuck is going on? Why are you here?” His eyes narrow in on her as he approaches.

  “I work here. Or did you forget?” The sarcasm in her tone is not hard to miss.

  When Deacon looks down, he notices Britney’s injured leg, and his body relaxes. His face softens when he addresses his sister.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. I missed my step. Kade just happened to show up at the right time.” Wow, the lie falls from her lips without hesitation. I don’t know if I should be impressed or concerned that she can lie so casually.

  “What are you doing here, Kade?” Deacon’s attention is now on me.

  “Couldn’t sleep, so I figured I would get a workout in.” That wasn’t a lie. Britney being here was a coincidental bonus.

  “Well, I will let you boys have the gym. I need to shower and get back to work.” Britney stands and limps her way toward the ladies’ locker room.

  “We still on for tonight?” Deacon calls out to his sister before she’s out of sight. She waves her hand, and we both take it as a yes, but who knows.

  “What are you doing here?” I ask Deacon.

  “I wanted to get some laps in before I crash. It helps me sleep better.”

  “Maybe I should try that next time.”

  “Dude, it helps.”

  Deacon heads off to the locker room, and I make my way back to the treadmill for my warm-up. Before I realize it, I’ve already run two miles, and I’ve only been on the treadmill a little over sixteen minutes. My mind was on Britney and our kiss, but I need to lock down my feelings for her. Deacon will never approve of me dating his sister.

  Halfway through my second set of bench presses, I feel her presence, so I rack the barbell and sit up. Britney’s standing at the end of the bench wearing a white short-sleeved button-up blouse tucked into her gray pencil skirt with thin white pinstriping. Her curvy figure is a lot like Scarlett Johansson’s, which makes her sexy as hell. She looks like she’s about three inches taller than normal, and that’s when I notice her fuck-me stilettos. I need to hit the shower so I can tug one out. Britney is giving me severe blue balls, and the woman doesn’t even realize it. Or does she?

  “Kade, what was that?”

  “Don’t. Your brother could come back at any second, and frankly, I don’t feel like fighting right now.”

  She rolls her eyes, pivots, and begins to walk away before she spins around to face me.

  “No. You don’t get to brush this under the rug.” Britney’s eyes narrow as she stands with her arms crossed in front of her, pushing her breasts up. I can’t help but notice that they want to spill out of her top. She’s trying to kill me—death by blue balls.

  “Walk away
, Brit.” My tone is harsh but necessary.

  “You’re an asshole.” She pivots once again and storms off.

  What in the fuck did I just start?

  After leaving the gym, I head home and jerk off in the shower, thinking about Britney’s lips wrapped around my dick. I come so hard it damn near leaves me breathless. But it’s just what I need to get some sleep.

  I WAKE up before my alarm has a chance to go off. Instead of lying here, staring into the darkness, replaying my kiss with Britney, I decide to get up and make something to eat before heading to the pub. I’m a guy. Therefore it doesn’t take long to get ready as it is, especially since I showered before going to bed.

  Deacon’s plan is to meet up with me, Britney, and Sydnee at McShane’s Pub. When I walk in, I look around and realize I’m the first one here, so I take a seat on a barstool. Without placing an order, Destiny, the bartender and owner’s sister, puts an old fashion down in front of me.

  The pub is a family-owned and operated establishment. When I learned that tidbit of information a couple of years ago, I thought it was odd that Destiny’s younger brother, Finn, has a typical Irish name, but she doesn’t. At first, I thought maybe she was adopted, but the undeniable family resemblance squashed that theory. Come to find out that on her eighteenth birthday, she legally changed Deirdre, her birth name, to Destiny. Why? I have not a clue and never cared to ask.

  “You alone tonight?” Destiny asks. Yes, I have fucked her a few times, but I have no desire to go down that path again. Not after tasting the forbidden fruit.

  “No.”

  “Do you have time to sneak off to the storage room?” She winks as her hand covers the one I have holding my drink. Yeah, the storage room is the only place we’ve ever had sex except for the night she sucked me off in my SUV after her shift.

  My one rule is that the women I sleep with don’t get to go to my house. It’s always their place or a hotel. One, I don’t need them showing up whenever they feel like it, even if they can’t get past my gated driveway. Two, most of them are badge bunnies. They like a man in uniform, and typically don’t care if it’s you or the next guy, as long as he has a badge, so there’s no need for them to come to my place. Lastly, I only want to share my bed with the woman I want to marry, whoever she may be. Britney.

  Before I can tell Destiny it isn’t going to happen, Britney and Sydnee walk into the bar, and Britney’s eyes immediately go to Destiny’s hand still holding mine. Fuck. I pull my hand from Destiny’s and take a drink from the glass she just handed me.

  I can’t take my eyes off Britney. She’s dressed to kill in skin-tight jeans, a loose-fitting camisole sans bra, and her black leather knee-high boots that match the leather jacket she’s holding. If she decides to play pool, I may have to go to my car and grab a hoodie for her to wear. There’s no way in hell I’m letting her lean over a pool table so the shitheads in this place can check out her rack.

  “Kade,” Destiny says my name as she steps into my line of sight. “Let’s fuck.” Her bluntness is normal. She’s never been one to beat around the bush, especially when it comes to sex.

  “Can’t.”

  6

  BRITNEY

  “That fucking prick,” Sydnee grits out. Of course, I told her what happened earlier today. She’s my best friend. When I pull my eyes from the bartender and Kade and look over to my best friend, I see a fire in her eyes. Gripping her wrist before she has a chance to move, I silently beg her not to make a scene.

  “Can I at least slap him?” she asks.

  “Slap who?” Deacon asks as he steps between Sydnee and me, slinging an arm over each of our shoulders.

  “Yo—”

  “She was talking about the guy she was dating,” I interject, leaning forward to make eye contact with Syd. I trust her to keep her mouth shut at this point, and when she rolls her eyes, I know she’ll go along with my answer.

  “I didn’t know you were dating someone,” Deacon comments.

  “I’m not.”

  “She’s not anymore,” I add.

  “Come on. Let’s get a table.” He motions to Kade that we’re going to grab a table and receives a nod in return.

  My brother chooses a table set pretty far back in a dimly lit corner of the pub. I’ll admit, it’s quieter here than if we sat at one of the high tables closer to the bar. In a way, I’m glad we’re not next to the bar. That means Kade’s gal pal won’t be waiting on us, and I won’t have to listen as he asks her to go home with him when it’s time to leave.

  Damn him. Why did he kiss me?

  Kade pulls out his chair and takes his seat next to my brother, which happens to be across from me. I didn’t think to sit across from my brother. So stupid. Kade’s deep brown eyes stay fixed on me, and if he doesn’t change their direction, Deacon will have something to say about it.

  Finn makes his way over to our table to take our order.

  “Hey, guys. What’ll you have?” Finn’s question is meant for all of us.

  Deacon decides to take it upon himself to order for the entire table. Any other day, it would have bothered me, but my mind is on the kiss from earlier.

  “I’ll have a Bulleit old fashion. From the look on Kade’s face, he’ll need another old fashion as well. Brit and Syd will each have Jameson shots with a pickleback, and an 805 beer.”

  “So, what’s the deal? Are you finally going to step out of your little sis’s way and let her have a go with the asshat next to you?” Sydnee’s words catch us all off guard. What in the ever-living fuck did she just say?

  “Ha! You’re funny,” my brother responds.

  “Dead serious, D. What gives you the right to dictate who these two can and cannot date?”

  I’m too shocked to intervene. Fighting with my brother is my least favorite thing to do, and Syd knows that. So why is she stirring the proverbial pot? Deacon studies Sydnee before his attention is on Kade and me.

  “What in the fuck happened at the gym today?” Deacon growls. He’s not stupid, and because my so-called best friend had to go and open her trap, now he suspects there’s more to our encounter at the gym.

  “Calm the hell down, bro. Nothing happened,” Kade answers with an unwavering tone.

  Before I have a chance to speak, Finn returns with our drink order.

  “You guys hungry?” Finn asks.

  “No,” Deacon barks out.

  “Please ignore my rude brother. We’re fine, Finn, thanks,” I apologize, finally finding my voice.

  Sydnee and I have a shot glass in each hand, one with Jameson and the other with pickle juice. We clink our glasses together, tossing back the whiskey first, followed by the pickle juice. The uncomfortable silence is killing me, so I attempt to change the subject.

  “Why are we here, D?” I ask, directing my question to my brother.

  “Oh no you don’t. What happened at the gym?”

  “Nothing happened. I fell off the stair climber. That is all.” I can feel my face getting hot, which means my temper is wavering. If my brother doesn’t drop it, we’re going to get into a shouting match, and then booted from the bar. It wouldn’t be our first time either.

  “Wuss,” Sydnee whispers under her breath in my direction. I kick her ankle, warning her that if she makes this worse, I may be looking for a new best friend.

  “Again, why are we here?” I ask once again.

  Kade sits silently, and I notice his jaw clicking. He only does that if he’s pissed or worried. Right now, it could be either scenario.

  “Do you remember when I told you about those robbers last week?” Deacon finally gives in and starts talking about the real reason we’re all here.

  Me and Sydnee nod yes and wait for my brother or Kade to continue.

  “They’re back, and we recently found out they have a connection to the Mexican cartel. This information changes things.”

  “How?” Sydnee asks.

  “When you have ties to a cartel or mafia, shit doesn’t end with y
ou. If they find out who the snitches are, or which law enforcement officers are involved in any investigation—or worse, imprisonment of one of their guys—they go after their families.”

  “Why are you guys involved? If they’re cartel, isn’t that FBI or DEA jurisdiction?” My voice falters. I’m proud of Deacon and Kade for their choice to protect and serve, but it doesn’t mean I don’t fear something terrible will happen. They deal with gang members every shift, but to add the cartel into the mix, that doesn’t sit well with me.

  “We will be working with both. In the meantime, I want you both to be alert. Pay attention to your surroundings. And Brit, keep your mini arsenal with you at all times. If, and I do mean if, you come face to face with danger, shoot to kill.”

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  “I can assure that he’s not,” Kade adds, joining the conversation. The “no bullshit” look on his face means that he and my brother are not fucking around.

  “What about our parents and the Beaumont’s?”

  “Don’t worry, sis. We have them covered.” Deacon’s answer doesn’t make me feel any better, but I trust him, so I don’t push him for further details.

  “Syd, I’ll be signing over one of my Glocks to you. I want you to have a gun that won’t fail you, and it already has extended magazines, the ones that carry more rounds. I’ll also get you pepper spray and a taser,” Deacon informs Sydnee. She nods in agreement, but I sense her unease. Sydnee has never gone shooting with us because she has a fear of guns.

  “Syd has never shot a gun. Do you think the pepper spray and taser will be enough?” My question is directed toward either guy to answer.

  “She’s right. I don’t want a gun. I’m afraid of them.” Hopefully, Deacon doesn’t push the gun request. If Sydnee ever had a desire to go shooting, I might have encouraged her to take my brother’s gun. But she’s always been a firm no when I’ve asked her to join us when we went to the range.