Authors: Dani Jace
His cell phone vibrated on the table between their chairs. He sat up and shaded the display before answering. “Hey bro, how’d the jump go?”
Peri feigned interest in her book while taking in his half of the conversation.
“Amy didn’t hear from me because a gorgeous woman took pity on my lame, drunken ass.” He laughed with abs rippling, then listened for a few seconds. “Not yet, but the pool’s blue, so there’s hope yet.”
Amy was TJ’s girlfriend. Sounded like he’d asked Jax if he’d gotten laid.
“Never mind, I’ll explain later.”
TJ didn’t get the reference from their breakfast conversation, but she did and rounded her head to find him eyeing her from behind his dark shades. Her cheeks heated and her pulse hammered against her neck. She flirted with her customers unabashedly, but a bar stood between them. Having a man within touching distance and sleeping over her garage pushed the reality of her late-night rescue home. The sudden dampness between her thighs made her cross her legs. With difficulty, she reigned in her raging hormones and buried her nose in her book.
“See you around eight. I’ll text you the address.” He ended the call and slid his sunglasses down his nose. “I should have asked first, but does the handyman get nights off?”
“The hours are flexible, and like you said, the water’s blue.” She angled her head toward the pool. “I’m working tonight, so I’ll give you a key. Just don’t be caught buck-ass naked, should my daughter happen by.”
After Peri left, a shower lowered Jax’s libido. He grabbed a beer from a six-pack he’d bought on his way from picking up the rental and pool parts. He shut the fridge and wrenched off the cap. Mid-guzzle, the door from the garage swung open.
Burning a hole in him with laser focus, a petite teen with a pixie nose and hair like her mother’s, only in dark brown, stood in the doorway. He nearly choked on his brew as it struck him he wore only a towel. He gave the palms up gesture, surrendering. “Jax Taylor, friend of your mom, Peri.”
“Haley.” She appraised him head to toe with raised eyebrows. “Go, Mom.”
Shit.
“It’s not like that.”
Yet.
“Don’t know what she’s waiting for.” She stalked to the pantry door and disappeared inside.
He wished to vanish so easily. Facing a gunman suited him better. But a teenage girl? He had zero training. Even guys on his team made similar complaints about their offspring. “I needed a place for a few days and your mom offered―”
She reappeared with a bag of chocolate chip cookies and popped one in her mouth. “It’s been a while since she’s taken on boarders. Not since the Trident took off.”
“She thought she’d be picking you up from your dad’s in the morning.”
Haley smirked.
Now what was he supposed to do? Babysit or lock himself in his room?
“Oh, I’m not staying. Just stopped by to grab some clothes for a sleepover with a friend.”
“Does your mom know?”
She rolled her eyes. “Dad’s okay with it.”
He glanced at the clock. “Is he waiting outside to drive you?”
“No, I told him I’d walk. Her house is just a few blocks over.”
Not on his watch. Even if it pissed her off. “It’s late. Call your mom and I’ll drive you over.”
“You’re not my dad.” She stomped her foot.
If she’d seen the shit he had, she wouldn’t question his reasoning. “Maybe not, but, if you leave here and something happens, it’s my ass.” He scowled at her for show.
After tossing the cookies on the counter, she whipped out her cell and called her mother. Peri confirmed his plan. Haley frowned at him. “I’ll be ready in a minute.”
He climbed the stairs, quickly slipped on his jeans, grabbed a T-shirt and sneakers before she could slip out of the house. Making sure he’d pocketed the house key, he followed her out the front door.
He opened the door of the rental for her, then stepped around and slid behind the wheel. After months in a Humvee and armored vehicles, the sedan felt like a shoebox.
Haley plugged in her ear buds and directed him to the house by finger pointing. So much for earning points. Didn’t matter. She’d be leaving, and he’d probably be gone by the time she returned from her spring break vacation.
They stopped in front a beachfront mansion. Damn, he knew the base sat close to the beach, but he didn’t realize Peri’s neighborhood bordered the oceanfront, only three blocks away. How in the heck did she afford a house in this area?
“Don’t hurt my mom.” Haley opened the door and grabbed her bag. “My dad’s a big enough asshole to her.”
Out of the mouths of babes.
On Jax’s drive back to the house, his cell vibrated. He pulled into the driveway and checked the message.
TJ’s text read,
En Route.
Perfect. He’d finish the open beer waiting in the fridge on the way to wherever.
“So who’s the lucky lady, GQ?” His tall, lanky friend stepped from his jacked-up truck and wrapped him in a manly hug. “You’re not in town a day and you’re already sleeping over some chick’s place.”
He stepped back and grinned. “Just playing handyman for the moment but hoping for some action later.” TJ looked thinner than he remembered. “Hey, isn’t your woman feeding you?”
He ran a hand through light brown hair long enough to tie in a ponytail. “Pussy and lots of it. As for food, Micky D’s is around the corner.”
Jax climbed into the passenger side of the four-wheel drive and felt more secure in the jacked-up monstrosity. “So your dick is being taken care of. How’s the rest of your life?”
“Can’t complain.” He winked a hazel eye and drove from the neighborhood. “Couple of extended missions recently. Only got back a few days ago myself. Glad spring is around the corner.” He spat a wad of tobacco out his open window. “Hate doing water entry in fucking winter. Especially here. The Atlantic is cold as a motherfucker.”
The highway narrowed as they crossed a humpback bridge over Rudee Inlet. “Where are we going?”
“My bro’s in town. Where do you think we’re going? To get drunk and get a lap dance.”
“In Virginia Beach?"
“Yeah, you just have to know where to go.” TJ drove through the commercial strip on Atlantic Avenue, passing high-rise hotels, strip shops, and restaurants. A dimly lit statue of King Neptune loomed over the boardwalk before they turned left onto a four-lane highway
A few miles further, TJ veered the truck into the parking lot of a half-vacant shopping strip.
After they entered a small pub, TJ handed the bartender a card.
With a nod, he ushered them through a door that clicked locked behind them. Lit in purple and blue, the room held vast seating and several lengthy runways. The bowling alley-sized strip club must encompass the supposedly vacant shops.
Dropping into a seat nearest the upcoming action, Jax checked the display of his vibrating cell and found a message from Peri. Their server arrived wearing a pointed black bra with corset, stockings, and ankle strap, platform stilettos accenting her shapely legs. His baser nature made him a total ass and leg man.
Peri had the goods and she definitely didn’t look old enough to have a teenage daughter. The way her shapely ass had filled out her jean shorts this morning woke up more than his vision. And the bikini she’d worn this afternoon had him imagining her in the same heels the waitress wore with them digging into his pumping ass.
Jax glanced into the server’s overly made-up face. She wouldn’t guess his favorite whiskey like the Trident’s owner. “Two shots of your house bourbon on the rocks.”
TJ ordered a vodka tonic. “So how did you get dumped here?”
He shrugged. “Destination of the C-130 I hopped out of Germany. Thought I’d use my leave to catch up with my bud while waiting for my team to get back.”
“Great. Now I just hope your house lady won’t keep you so busy we can’t hang out. Virginia Beach ain’t Vegas, but it can be fun.” TJ raised his chin as the first dancer stepped onto the sleek black runway.
Jax read Peri’s text and smiled. Seemed his handyman-turned-chauffeur services for Haley were appreciated by his landlady.
New mansions built next to older brick homes mixed with some beach cottages to make Peri’s neighborhood. Her older single story had been recently renovated with new vinyl shaker shingles. Not wanting TJ to recognize her truck, Jax made sure he was back to the house before Peri returned from the Trident. He preferred things on the down low in case something between them heated up. After slipping through the privacy gate, he unlocked the garage door.
In the kitchen, he poured a shot of Jack and meandered into the den. He glanced to the pool, hoping to see the bottom. It probably wouldn’t hurt to backwash the system. A shadow flitted behind the patio set. Nearly tripping over the ottoman, Jax rushed the door.
Unlocked.
He’d checked every door before he left.
He slid out and sprinted around the pool just as a pair of shoes disappeared over the privacy fence. He launched across after them.
Fuck!
Pain shot through his injured leg at the bone-jarring landing. He charged after the figure racing though the neighbor’s yard for the street.
Adrenaline shot through his veins like hundred-proof whiskey. His vision narrowed on his assailant. He pumped his arms for more speed. The streetlight painted his target as the man reached the pavement in a dead run.
Jax cut through the front yard and closed in. Lunging with outstretched arms, he latched on. A perfect tackle, face planting him onto the asphalt.
Air rushed from the guy’s lungs.
He wrenched the assailant’s arm behind his back and wedged his throat in the crux of his elbow. “Start talking, asshole.”
The man gasped. “Commander Halstead, Peri Halstead’s husband.”
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Jax slackened his hold. “Isn’t that
ex
-husband, Commander? And can you show me some ID?”
The man grunted as he reached in his pocket and produced his wallet. The tri-fold flipped open and, sure as the devil lives in hell, a naval ID and driver’s license proved his identity.
Jax helped the man to his feet and saluted his superior. “Commander.”
Halstead straightened his civilian clothes.
Jax rolled his lips to keep from grinning. Both knees of the man’s slacks gapped, ripped by the asphalt. He’d never imagined the local naval brig until now.
“What are you doing in my ex-wife’s house?” He rubbed his soon-to-be-sore throat.
Ex or not, he didn’t live here. Fuck, this could be a mess if Peri had lied. She wouldn’t be the first woman to put his ass in a bad way with a husband, current or former. “I’m staying in the room over the garage for a couple of days. What are you doing sneaking through her house?”
Halstead frowned.
He had to be at least ten years older than Peri. She must have married as a teen unless she was older than he thought. None of it mattered at this point. “I’m waiting, sir.”
“I have a key.” He propped his hand on his hip.
Jax checked his watch. “I think you need to explain this to Peri. She should be home shortly.”
* * * *
Peri stepped into the house and dropped her keys on the kitchen counter. Of course Haley had to stop by and find Jax wrapped in only a towel, according to the text she sent after he dropped her off at her friend’s house. Her teen actually encouraged her to bang the guy while she was out of zone in Florida.
Jax had earned brownie points for not allowing her to walk the neighborhood late at night. At least the SEAL got Parenting 101. Her dad played friend instead of father. And that concerned her. How much freedom would he give her at Disney World? This summer in Europe?
A draft from the den forced her into the room where the sliding glass door gaped. She peered out, checking the pool for Jax. Maybe he’d gone for a late-night swim.
The sound of the kitchen door caused her to spin. Her heart shot to triple time. Had someone broken in while he was with TJ?
“Peri?” Jax’s low-timbered voice eased her escalating fear.
She sprinted into the kitchen.
Her ex stood by the sink wiping his forehead with a wet paper towel. In torn trousers, he looked like he’d been ground into the pavement by a loaded dump truck.
Jax’s glint indicated the truck had a Trident hood ornament.
She stopped and covered her mouth to hide a smile that had waited for five years. Someone finally rolled over Commander Halstead. Literally. “Sean?”
“I stopped by the house and your handyman attacked me,” Sean growled.
“Not quite true, Commander. I thought you were an intruder. Had you been here since I left?”
“Why were you in the house, Sean? How do you have a key?” She advanced on him.
“Haley kept misplacing her key. I had an extra one made.” Her ex’s neck reddened as he lowered his gaze. He proceeded to work bits of gravel from his palms with the towel.
How dare he. Cheating son of a bitch had no right. “So you could spy on me?” She grabbed the paper towel from him and tossed it in the sink.
Jax moved to her side.
“Not much of a chance.” He glared at Jax.
She reveled at his wounded ego. Having the upper hand for a change gave her confidence where she’d faltered in the past. “I can have you up before the admiral, Sean. Is that what you want?”
“You willing to corroborate her story, sailor?”
Jax stood like a stone, aiming a hardened stare at Sean. “I’m not stationed here, sir.”
Sean crossed his arms. “I could tell the judge you have a man staying in the house with our underage daughter.”
The authoritative officer tone was another thing about him she’d grown to hate. “You forget I know who you fuck under Haley’s nose every Friday and Saturday night.”
Sean pointed a finger. “Leave her out of this.”
Jax stepped forward.
Peri sidestepped around him. “Really, you were the one that brought her into our lives. And now you’re more concerned with her than your own daughter. You were going to let her walk alone to Erin’s house tonight if Jax hadn’t intervened. One day your neglectful parenting is going to bite you in the ass, Sean.”