Page 4 of Healing Love

“Lisa, I go to the gym almost every morning. I’m working on a case and need that time to get my head in the game. I’ve got just enough time to shower, grab a bite and pick up a co-worker on the way to work. What I don’t have time for is this shit. What about that do you not understand?”

She reared back as though slapped. “Shit? That’s what we are?”

“You know exactly what we are, Lisa. We’re convenient. You come into town and if our schedules allow, we have a few laughs, fuck, and then you head back out again. Since that’s all we’ve ever been, why are you surprised?”

“I changed my hours because of you!” she yelled. “I thought we were going somewhere. I was even thinking of moving my office here, but you’re never here either. I want a man that’ll be here for me.”

“You know my job, Lisa. I’m not a nine-to-five kind of man. And even if I was, we were never going to be more than what we are now.”

“You could change jobs. You could even work security for my company,” she said, desperation creeping into her voice.

Sighing deeply again, he walked over and placed his hands on her shoulders. Shaking his head, he reiterated, “I’m not giving upmeto fit intoyourworld. I liked what we had but that’s all of me you will get.”

Jerking out of his hands, she stepped back, anger twisting her expression. “Fine. Then I’ll say goodbye, Cam. And when I say goodbye, I mean goodbye. You’re losing the best thing that could ever happen to you.”

It was on the tip of his tongue to refute her claim, but he kept quiet. As the front door slammed, he headed into the shower, his only regret—he was going to miss breakfast.

Fifteen minutes later, swinging into his SUV, he headed toward the Blue Ridge Mountains. Jack’s business, Saints Protection & Investigations, was just what Cam had been looking for. He felt as though his whole life up to now had been preparing him for the work he did for Jack. And if he occasionally needed to use his former breaking and entering skills…so much the better.

Picking up Bart, one of the other Saints, he continued toward the compound. A former SEAL, Bart was as tall as Cam, just as muscular, but had sandy hair paired with Hollywood looks that got him noticed by women wherever they went. Bart leaned back in the seat, exhaustion replacing his usual grin.

Looking over at his passenger, Cam remarked, “You look like hell.”

Shaking his head, Bart replied, “This case is getting to me. I was out the last three days and just when I think we’re getting closer, my leads go nowhere.”

The two men fell silent,their thoughts on the ongoing case they were working—a serial killer known as the Campus Killer. Pulling into the driveway after entering through the security gate, they watched the fall leaves on the trees glide by as they made their way down the long path toward Jack’s house.

Jack built a huge home on his twenty-six acres that backed up to the Blue Ridge Mountains. From the outside, the structure appeared to be a luxury cabin. But underneath the house and four-car garage was the command center of the Saints.

As they parked in front, they saw the other trucks and SUVs of their co-workers and in-between was a small, old sedan.

“She’s here,” Bart said, his mouth already watering. “I wonder what she’s brought?”

Cam laughed but knew his reaction was the same. Bethany Bridwell, the beautiful owner of the rental cabin property next door had caught the eye of Jack and started coming over occasionally. And when she did, she brought something she had baked and always brought enough to feed all eight men.

The two men hustled in, finding the others in the kitchen, all with plates in front of them and the scent of apples and cinnamon wafting through the air.

“You’d better have left some for me,” Bart warned as he pushed his way toward the counter with Cam on his heels.

Bethany laughed as she dished out more of the homemade apple cobbler onto two more plates. “Of course I have some left,” she replied. Her thick, blondehair was pulled into a simple ponytail. Makeup-free face, jeans, and a tank top completed her ensemble.

After his morning with Lisa, Cam appreciated Bethany’s fresh appearance…and her cobbler. The group of men, all over six feet tall, dwarfed her on all sides. Her eyes found Jack’s and a smile filled her expression.

Cam noticed she smiled most of the time, but when she gazed at Jack she actually beamed. And he had to admit, so did his boss.Nice. They deserve that.He knew that Jack had been battling his feelings for the beautiful Ms. Bridwell, saying that his lifestyle and business just would not be conducive to a relationship. But it was obvious—these two belonged together.

The last man to arrive was Marc, a former CIA operative and the group’s pilot. Tall, lean with a powerful body, he came in from his morning run, pulling a shirt on as he entered the room. His dark hair still wet only exemplified his piercing blue eyes. Apologizing to Bethany for his appearance, he grabbed the last piece of cobbler before nodding to Jack. The Saints began moving out of the room while Jack walked Bethany to her car.

“You think Jack’s really going to go for it?” Chad asked, hope in his eyes that their boss would give the relationship a chance. The former ATF explosions expert was a romantic at heart.

“Hell, if he doesn’t, we’re all doomed,” Blaise joked, halfheartedly. “It’s not like any of us are in careers that very many women can deal with.”

Bart piped up and added, “Good thing I plan on staying single.”

“As many women as you take home from bars, it’s no wonder you’re single,” Luke retorted, balancing his cup of strong coffee with his cobbler plate.

Blaise, a veterinarian specializing in bioterrorism with Homeland Security, shot Luke a disparaging glance. “I have to confess, when Jack was talking about how this life doesn’t fit any woman needing a white-picket-fence life, it made me wonder if he was just talking about himself…or all of us.” Blaise had Nordic looks with his blond hair and, like Bart, easily attracted women when they went out. Blaise’s last girlfriend had left him quickly when she saw how many hours he worked and traveled.

Cam knew that besides Jack, the other six men did not have relationships either. A few, like him, had fuckbuddies that they could keep at arm’s length, or they would hit the bars and enjoy nights of mindless fucking. In this business, whatever they needed to do to keep focused on the job was most important.But if Jack can combine his business and his heart, there may be hope for the rest of us too.

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