Frozen Hearts (Beyond Reality Book 3) (18 page)

Jonathan interrupted her, “But you did what you had to do, didn’t you, love?” Kina nodded. “You did what you had to because you’re strong on your own. You don’t need me to be strong; you’re independent and a hell of a woman. Any other woman might have fallen apart and panicked. You did everything right, Kina. I’m here. I’m alive. You’re a hell of a woman. My woman.”

Kina smiled. “Hey, this is me talking, not you.” Jonathan smiled and nodded as if to say ‘go ahead.’

“So there you were, lying unconscious in a hospital bed and I had to bully the doctors into not giving up on you, because I knew deep down, you’d fight. You’d fight to get back to me. And you did. Once I knew you were going to pull through, I had to make it so I could move down here and be with you.” At the look in his eyes she hurried on. “I know, I know, I could’ve quit my job and sat around eating bon-bons and you wouldn’t care.”

She loved watching him laugh. She didn’t love the wince that came along with the laugh, though. Obviously, laughing pulled at his still-tender stomach muscles.

“I went to see Eddie. I had to wait until he’d finished filming on that damn island. Then he gave me hell and negotiated with me for a few days before we could sign our new contract.”

Jonathan scowled at her. “New contract? Wait a minute…”

Not letting him continue, she put her hand over his mouth to shut him up. She felt his tongue caressing the palm of her hand and she pulled her hand back. “Don’t distract me!” she scolded him, “or I’ll never get to tell you.”

Jonathan pulled her hand back to his mouth and kissed the palm. “Go on love, I’ll be good, but this story had better end with you living with me and spending every night in my bed and in my arms, or I won’t like it.”

Kina shook her head. Every now and then his alpha tendencies would come out. She tried to tell herself it was annoying, but the truth was, she loved it.

“I didn’t want to move here and not have anything to do. I actually like being behind a camera and I’m good at it.” Kina said the last with no pomposity in her voice. She was a good camera operator and she knew it. “I talked with Dean…”

Jonathan interrupted her for what seemed like the millionth time. “You talked to Dean? You mean, he knew where you were this entire time?”

Uh-oh. She didn’t mean to get Dean in trouble. She tried to hide her smile. Jonathan was so cute. “Uh, yeah, but anyway…” Jonathan growled and pushed Kina backward until she was reclining on the couch. Kina didn’t fight him because she wasn’t sure how hurt he still was. She giggled.

“I’ve been going out of my mind trying to figure out how to find you and my brother knew where you were and was actually talking to you this entire time?” Jonathan asked again, in a mock-gruff tone.

“Yeah, but I didn’t see you texting me at all. I would’ve answered.”

“Are you kidding me?”

Kina shook her head. She hadn’t meant to hide away from him, and she was telling the truth. She would’ve texted him back in a heartbeat if he’d contacted her.

“Why didn’t you tex
t
m
e
?” Jonathan asked, hurt.

“I wasn’t sure whether you were pissed at me or not, and when Dean told me you were all right and not mad at me, I figured it was better if I just came here and talked to you in person. Besides, the more time went by, the more awkward I felt about contacting you out of the blue. I convinced myself you were better off healing on your own and didn’t need my issues holding you back.”

Jonathan shook his head in amazement. “I can’t believe I didn’t think to just pick up my phone and shoot you a note. I’m an idiot.”

Kina put her hand on his face. “You’re my idiot.” She leaned up and kissed him briefly on the lips. Before he could deepen it, she pulled away. “Do you want to hear the rest of this or not?”

“Not.”

She laughed and pushed at his chest. Jonathan briefly laid his forehead on hers. Then he sighed in mock aggravation. “Okay, okay, please continue. But as I said before, I hope this story ends with you living here in Arizona with me.”

Kina decided to just get it out so they could move on to more pleasant things. “I consulted with Dean and we worked out a deal with Eddie where I’d film documentaries on women who are in need of security, and their stories. I wanted to tell the world about the plight of people who are stalked and to try to see if we couldn’t help change the stalking laws in this country. I figured, the more we highlight the personal side of these women, the more people will see they’re just regular people who happen to have had the wrong kind of person get obsessed with them. Do you know that in a typical one-year-period there are six point six
million
people over the age of eighteen who are stalked? And over a lifetime, sixteen percent of women and five percent of men feel they’ve been a victim of stalking or thought that they, or someone close to them, would be hurt or killed? That’s crazy! People are crazy!”

Jonathan could only smile in wonderment at his love. She was so passionate, he was lucky to have found her.

Kina continued, “And not only that, but I told Dean he needed to look into helping not only women, but men too. Did you know that twenty four percent of stalking victims are men? That’s a quarter of all victims! There are crazy women out there terrorizing people too. Women aren’t the only victims!”

Jonathan couldn’t stop himself from kissing the hell out of his woman.

Kina was surprised, but quickly joined in with enthusiasm. She’d never take this for granted again. Jonathan’s lips were devouring hers and she loved it.

He pulled back and between nips of her luscious lips and asked, “Is there more?”

Kina tried to remember what she’d been talking about. Oh yeah. Stalking, Dean, Eddie, her job. She summed up the rest of her story quickly. “So I have the job of filming you guys as you help out stalking victims and working with Eddie’s company to get the documentaries produced and aired.”

“And you’re here for good?”

“Yes, if you want me.”

“I want you.”

Kina smiled up at the most handsome man in the world. Her man. If someone had told her a year ago she’d meet the man of her dreams while working, she’d have said they were crazy. Her heart had been as frozen as Alaska was in the winter. She’d never thought she’d meet anyone who could thaw it out and make her love him as much as she loved Jonathan. As she thought back over the last year, she reflected on how she’d almost died in Australia, had spent a crazy couple of months filming a show that would never air,and finally, came face-to-face with a bear and lived. Most importantly, she’d met Jonathan
,
he
r
On
e
.

As she settled back onto the cushions of the couch and reached up to her man, she knew she’d finally found paradise.

Sam, Becky, and Kina sat around the small table in the bar just off the beach and raised their glasses toward each other.

“To life-long friendship!” Becky said a bit too loud. Since this was their tenth toast to nothing in particular, none of the friends seemed to notice the volume of her toast.

“To life-long friendship!” Kina and Sam repeated, then downed their shots.

After moving into their small house, both Jonathan and Kina wasted no time in settling down. Kina didn’t think his parents had forgiven them yet for running off to Vegas to get married, but Kina had never dreamed of a big wedding. Truth be told, she never thought she’d ever get married in the first place. So they’d followed Becky and Dean’s example and headed off to Nevada. They’d had a quick wedding with just Dean and Becky, and Sam and her husband Alex there as witnesses. It was perfect.

Kina had missed Sam and was happy they were able to at least see each other now and then, but they made sure they kept in touch via weekly phone chats to just catch up.

Kina loved traveling with Jonathan and Dean when they went to help set up security for someone who was being stalked. Dean was true to his word and had started including men in his business as well. He told her he’d honestly not even thought about a man being stalked, but after talking to some of the victims, he’d changed his mind pretty quickly. Women were just as crazy as men, and sometimes even more so, when they were stalking someone.

Kina loved being married to Jonathan. It was inevitable that they’d fight, as they both had such strong personalities, but making up was so much fun.

The first time Kina had seen Jonathan’s scars, she’d broken down. She’d traced them over and over with her fingertips and with her mouth, trying to reassure herself he was whole again. They’d had another long talk about guilt afterwards. Kina admitted she still felt guilty that he’d been the one who had been hurt when she felt it should’ve been her. They’d even gone to see the same counselor Becky had seen after she’d been violated, and it seemed to help both of them. The woman had talked them through their feelings and they’d both agreed to let it go. They were both here and alive and together. It was enough for them both.

They’d never found out who was ultimately named the “Extreme Alaskan.” Their last paycheck arrived in the mail and that was the last either thought about the show. As far as Kina was concerned, Jonathan had more than earned that title all by himself. Her friends were amazed she didn’t care who won, but they respected her wishes to not talk about it. All it did was bring back bad memories for Kina. She was way too busy with her documentaries and helping out on the animal refuge to give it any thought, anyway.

The couples’ weekend had been thought up by Becky and Kina one night. They’d had a tough week and decided they wanted to get away. Knowing their husbands wouldn’t let them go by themselves, they let them come too. Kina thought about Sam and asked if she and Alex could come as well. Becky had agreed wholeheartedly. She’d met them while her reality show was filmed and liked them on sight. Sam had given her some great advice and she was happy to get to know her better.

So now, they were sitting at a bar on the beach, ignoring the looks from the men at nearby tables and drinking themselves silly. They knew their men weren’t far away, watching over them. They’d had a conversation once after the last time they’d all gotten together and compared notes. They realized that none of their men ever got drunk when they did. Kina asked Jonathan about it and he’d responded that the guys agreed to let them have their fun and they’d be there to make sure no one harassed them and to keep them out of trouble, if it came to that.

It was overprotective and sweet at the same time. The three women also realized how good the sex was after their nights out. It was as if the men looked forward to them going out simply because of the uninhibited sex that happened afterwards. They’d all laughed and shrugged. They loved their men and loved the long, lovemaking sessions after their nights of drinking just as much.

“I think we should give ourselves a name!” Becky said excitedly. “We all met because of stupid Eddie and his reality shows…let’s call ourselves the ‘Reality Chicks’!”

“No, the ‘Reality Bitches’,” Sam said, laughing herself silly, thinking it was the funniest thing ever. 

“You guys know what?” Kina said semi-seriously, hammered, but wanting her friends to know how much they meant to her. “We’re bound together because of reality shows. That’s amazing. I’m so glad I met you all. We’re like the six shades of reality.”

Kina felt Jonathan’s arms around her waist before she could see him. He leaned down and put his cheek against hers. “Having fun, love?” Kina turned and blindly sought his lips with her own. How long had it been since she’d had him? She couldn’t remember, but it had to have been too long. The feel of his hand curling around the back of her neck never failed to make her melt.

Alex picked Sam up and sat down on her stool, holding her tight in his arms. She giggled and wrapped one arm around his neck, but kept hold of her drink with the other. She leaned in and latched onto his neck, sucking hard. “Hey! Watch it!” he told her, knowing she’d ignore him. She loved marking him, especially when she was drunk. She always said she had to put her mark on him so no other woman would get any ideas.

Dean turned Becky and stepped into her space. She spread her legs, inviting him to stand between them. He put his forehead against hers and just held her. She was his life and he felt like the luckiest man alive having her in his. He knew how precious life was and how easily it could be taken away.

Kina turned back toward the group. She loved this. She loved all of them. She cleared her throat and raised her glass. She waited until everyone did the same. Becky had to lean over and smack Sam on the back of the head to get her to pay attention. After everyone’s giggles died down, Kina said as solemnly as she could, seeing as she was three sheets to the wind, “To reality shows!”

Sam said “Reality Bitches!”

Jonathan added his own toast, “To all of us...friends forever—beyond reality!”

* * *

Read on for an exclusive excerpt from the first book in an exciting new series

Justice for Mackenzie

Badge of Honor: Texas Heroes, Book 1

Mackenzie walked over to the door and looked through the peep hole. Damn. The man standing at her door was so good looking, she felt a zing shoot through her body, ending between her legs. It was the same reaction she’d gotten the night of the charity event. He was looking right at the peephole as if he knew she was on the other side looking at him. Mackenzie took a deep breath and opened the door until the chain stopped it from opening any further.

“Daxton?”

“Yup. That’s me.”

Mackenzie shoved her hand through the small opening of the door and said, “ID please.”

Dax chuckled, not offended in the least. “Good girl.” He reached behind him and took his wallet out from his pocket and pulled out his driver’s license and put it into Mackenzie’s outstretched hand. “There you go.”

Mackenzie looked down at the plastic card in her hand. Daxton Chambers. Forty six years old. Six foot one and two hundred thirty pounds. She gulped. Damn, almost a hundred pounds heavier than she was. She went to hand it back and dropped it.

“Shit, sorry.”

Dax just laughed quietly and kneeled down to pick up the dropped license. “No problem.”

Mackenzie held out her hand again. “Ranger ID now please.”

Dax smiled even more broadly. “Damn, woman.”

Mackenzie faltered a bit, but bravely said, “IDs are easy to fake now a days, I just want to make sure.”

“Oh, I wasn’t complaining. No fucking way. I’m pleased as hell you don’t trust me. I’d be more worried if you did. Here you go.” Dax held out his Texas Ranger badge that he’d pulled from his other pocket. “I don’t go anywhere without it, just in case. Good thinking.” She took it from his hand and Dax could see her hands shaking.

“If it’s okay…I’ll just…” Mackenzie gestured back inside her apartment.

“Take your time, Mackenzie. I’ll be right here.”

Mackenzie shut and locked her apartment door and quickly walked over to her phone. She snapped a picture of Daxton’s Ranger badge and texted it to Matthew, Mark, and Laine. Laine knew she was going out with Daxton, but she wanted to inform her brothers as well. She told them she was going to dinner with Daxton, who was a Texas Ranger, and she’d be home later. She trusted Daxton was who he said he was, but she’d be an idiot to take him at his word. She wanted her brothers to know who it was she was going out with and what time she expected to be home. Even though she was thirty seven years old, she wanted to be safe. She’d call Laine when she got back home. It was their ritual whenever one of them went out.

Mackenzie thought hard about calling the local Ranger’s office and checking on Daxton that way as well, but then decided she was being an idiot. She’d seem him at the charity event with a table full of other officers. Hell, he’d been with the Highway Patrolman when she’d been pulled over. If Daxton was lying, he was an expert. Mackenzie went back to the door, took off the chain and opened it all the way.

“Hi, Daxton.” Her smile was bright and welcoming, as if this was the first time she’d opened the door that night and she hadn’t demanded he show his IDs to her and treated him like a criminal.

Dax chuckled. Damn she was cute. She pulled him out of his bad mood easily. “Hey.”

“Here’s your ID back. Sorry about that.”

“Don’t be sorry. You have no idea how hot that was.”

“Uh, what?”

“Yeah, hot. I see all sorts of shit in my line of work. I love knowing you’re cautious. I just wish more people were like you.”

“Oh, well, okay.” Mackenzie handed Daxton his Ranger ID back.

“What’d you do with it when you were in there?”

“Uh…” Mackenzie was unsure if she should tell him. “I don’t know…um…I’ve never dated a cop before.”

Dax stood there watching Mackenzie with an amused glint in his eye. “Okay.”

“And I’ve never been in trouble before. I mean, really in trouble. I got detention in high school once, but it wasn’t my fault. Stupid Darci Birchfield decided to pick on one of the guys on the chess team and I told her if she didn’t lay off him she’d answer to me, and she didn’t lay off him, so she answered to me and I got a full week of detention for it. But she never messed with him again. I had to endure Bobby telling me for the rest of our high school years thank you, and shit, he
still
sends me a Christmas card every year, but still…it was totally worth it.”

Daxton leaned against the wall next to the door, loving how fucking cute she was. He crossed his arms over his chest, holding his cowboy hat in one hand and settled in to listen to Mackenzie babble.

“Okay, I also got in trouble at work last year for telling one of the other managers to go fuck himself, but
that
wasn’t my fault either. He was totally harassing one of the lesbian women I work with. Calling her a dyke and shit like that. That’s just not cool. I mean really, in today’s day and age that crap is totally uncalled for. So I told him off, explaining how a dyke was actually an artificial wall used to regulate water levels, and called a levee here in the States. Okay, I probably also used some other not-so-nice words as well, but he turned around and complained to HR about
me
, when
he
was the one being an asshat. I was sent home for a week, paid, while an investigation went on, but was called back after only three days because Ginger totally told HR what a dick Peter was and that I’d been defending her and since everyone in the office backed Ginger, they ended up letting Peter go and not me.”

Mackenzie paused, biting her lip. Shit. She’d done it again. She tried to finish her thought quickly. “So, I’ve never really been in trouble, or even been around any cops, other than the charity thing each year, so I have no idea what’s legal and what’s not, so I’ll tell you what I did, if you promise not to arrest me. I’m claiming ignorance here.”

“What’d you do, Mackenzie?” Dax asked with no rancor in his voice.

“I took a picture of your ID and sent it to my brothers and best friend so if I end up dead in a ditch somewhere tonight they’ll know who it was that took me out. I totally planned on deleting the picture when we got home, though. It’s not like I was gonna put it on the Internet for someone to make a fake ID from or anything.”

“Good for you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. But you know, that name could be totally fake. If I
did
want to kill you and dump your body and your brothers or friend checked me out, they might not ever find me if I used a fake name.”

“Damn.” Mackenzie liked this guy. “So what should I have done instead?”

“Called the Ranger Station and checked me out. Told them you’re about to go on a date with a man that claims to be a Ranger and that you have a badge and you want to know if it’s legit or not.”

“I totally was going to do that!” Mackenzie exclaimed excitedly.