Freedom E-Book

Mary E. Thompson

• Herausgeber: BluEyed Press
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021

Beschreibung

Badass. Kickass. Sometimes just ass. All words that define former SEAL, Archer Ford. Former because an error he made sent his friend and teammate home to his pregnant wife in a body bag. 

Lily Scott doesn’t know her best friend’s estranged brother. He’s always been a mystery to her. But when her best friend disappears, she has no choice but to call Archer for help. 

Archer can barely trust his instincts let alone his desire for the beautiful, curvy woman he finds in his brother’s bed. She assures him they’re just friends, but he doesn’t know how anyone could resist her. Archer definitely isn’t strong enough. 

The rest of his team shows up to help search for Archer’s brother and everyone becomes a suspect, including Lily. Trust is questioned and broken. And freedom is guaranteed to no one.

Leseprobe

FREEDOM

F-BOMB: SEALS LOVE CURVES, BOOK 1

MARY E THOMPSON

Freedom

F-BOMB: SEALs Love Curves, book 1

Copyright © 2018 Mary E Thompson

Cover Copyright © 2021 Mary E Thompson

Cover Photo from depositphotos, Copyright © bereta

Background from depositphotos, Copyright © yupiramos

Flag from Pixabay, CC0

Published by BluEyed Press, All Rights Reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

This is a work of fiction. All characters, businesses, locations, and events are either products of the author’s creative imagination or are used in a fictitious sense. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-944090-68-5

Print ISBN: 978-1-944090-69-2

Audiobook ISBN: 978-1-944090-64-7

Created with Vellum

F-BOMB: SEALS LOVE CURVES

Welcome to the world of F-BOMB where a group of former SEALs have come together to protect the curvy women they love and the country they call home from the dangers of the world. They have the training and the knowledge, and they have the ability to kick some ass when needed. And it’ll be needed.

F-BOMB: SEALs LOVE CURVES

Freedom

Fiancée (subscriber exclusive)

Forgotten

First

Failure

Friends

Family

Forbidden

Future

Finally

SUBSCRIBE NOW AT MARYETHOMPSON.COM

CONTENTS

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

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

About the Author

To being brave… whether than means kicking ass, trying something new, or just having confidence in yourself… you are brave

1

The vibrating phone woke Archer Ford from a sound sleep. Well, as sound as his sleep ever was. He snatched it from the table next to his bed.

“What?”

A quick intake of breath on the other end of the line had the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. He was on his feet, wide awake in seconds. Archer was ready for anything.

Or so he thought.

“Is this Archer?” the woman asked.

“Who is this?” he demanded. He never answered questions when he didn’t know who was asking them.

“I need to know if I have the right number. Is this Archer Ford? Jaymes’s brother?”

“How do you know my brother?” Archer asked, knowing he needed to get her talking if he was going to find out anything. He had a feeling in his gut, and his gut was never wrong. He just never expected the bad news to come from his brother.

“I’m his best friend. He told me to call you if I ever needed something. And I… I need your help. Well, really, he does. And I didn’t know who to call or what to do. I’m really worried. He never does this sort of thing. Maybe I’m overreacting, but⁠—”

“Stop talking,” Archer barked.

She shut up instantly.

“Now, tell me what the hell you’re talking about. What’s going on? Who doesn’t do what sort of thing?”

“Jaymes. He disappeared a few days ago, and I don’t know where he is. He hasn’t been answering his phone, and he didn’t tell me he was leaving, and⁠—”

“Stop! My brother is missing?” Dread sank into Archer and hooked on to every nerve in his body.

“Well, missing is such a strong word. Maybe he’s working on a project and his phone died.”

“Has he ever done that before?”

She sucked in a breath. “Jaymes? No.”

“He’s never gone off without telling you?”

“No. Never.”

“Are you fucking my brother?”

She gasped. “Who the hell do you think you are to ask me something like that? That’s none of your business!”

“So, no,” Archer said. But she wants to.

Lucky bastard. Archer couldn’t remember the last woman who wanted him. And the voice on the other end of his phone was sultry and seductive and could get him hard in an instant if she weren’t telling him his brother was missing.

Not kidnapped, she said.

He rolled his eyes.

“Fine, no. I’m not sleeping with Jaymes. What does that have to do with anything?”

“Because I need to know how much you matter to my brother. If you’re his girlfriend, whoever took him could come back for you to use as leverage. Where are you?”

“Do you really think they’d do that?” she whispered, her voice laced with fear.

Shit. Archer forgot he was talking to a civilian, not a fellow SEAL. Not that he could consider them his brothers any longer. He quit with the rest of them. He didn’t want to go, but he wasn’t given a choice like the others. Honorably discharged, they said. It meant the same fucking thing.

He was out. His career was over. There was nothing left for him.

“I don’t know who ‘they’ are or what they’re capable of, but anything is possible. If you’re a friend and not his girlfriend, they might not care about you. If he really was kidnapped.”

“His place was trashed. It looked like someone tossed it. That’s the right word for it, right? When someone goes through looking for something?”

Archer nearly groaned. She was going to be a piece of work. “Yeah. Anyway. Stay where you are. I’ll… be there in a few hours.”

“What should I do if they come to get me?”

“Hide,” Archer said, then hung up the phone.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He had no desire to return home. He’d be happy if he never set foot in Western New York ever again. Hell, all of New York.

But he couldn’t leave his brother. Especially when he had that feeling in his gut. Something wasn’t right.

* * *

Archer pulled into his brother’s parking lot around five in the morning. He was exhausted from driving all night, but he was on high alert. He slid his Glock into the back of his waistband and headed for the door to his brother’s building.

The door was locked, but easy enough to get into. He slipped inside and looked around. He’d never been in the building before, but it was like any other apartment building. Dark carpet, beige walls, dim lighting, and that never-ending smell of lemon-scented cleaner that only masked the deeper scent of multiple people living under the same roof.

He checked the numbers on the first floor. He’d never been to his brother’s apartment, thought he never would be, so he had no idea which floor he lived on. Unit 17 couldn’t be too high up, but Archer really had no clue.

Three floors up, he finally found it at the back of the building. He quickly picked the lock and let himself inside, closing the door with a soft click.

The apartment was dark. Blinds were drawn against the sunlight that would try to spill inside in less than two hours. Archer waited, listening, as his eyes adjusted to the space.

He was in a small entryway. A boot tray was on his left, and jackets hung on the wall behind the door. There was a small table in front of him and a tiny kitchen farther off to the left. He crept around the table and peeked into the kitchen. Nothing seemed particularly out of place. No dishes in the sink and only a few small appliances on the counter, but nothing that concerned him.

He continued into the living room, glancing around. His brother was always neat, putting his toys away and keeping his room spotless. He was the son their dad didn’t have to get after about every little thing. Not like Archer. Jaymes was perfect, and Archer was a fuck-up. It was the story of their lives.

The living room was clear, so Archer kept going toward a back hallway. He couldn’t see around the corner, so he drew his gun. His hand shook. Fuck. He switched hands and shook it out. He closed his eyes for just a second, long enough to force his demons back into the grave where they belonged.

Archer swapped the gun to his right hand again and let it lead the way into the hall. A bathroom was right in front of him, and two bedrooms opened up a step farther into the darkness.

He took a step forward, going toward the bathroom, the easiest of the three to check, when he heard it. Nothing any normal person would pick up, but he wasn’t normal. Hadn’t been in far too long.

Breathing. Uneven. Fear or excitement? He didn’t know.

Archer moved slowly, hoping he could catch the person off guard. He stopped his own breathing so he could just listen and pinpointed their position. In the first bedroom, the one directly across from the bathroom. Just inside the door. Probably either a gun or another weapon in hand if the person was waiting that close to the door.

He moved quickly once he knew where to go and stepped into the bedroom and pointed his gun right at the person’s face.

A gasp. Then the shaky breath.

Definitely not someone threatening. Jaymes’s girlfriend, maybe?

“Who are you and what are you doing here?”

“I’m Lily Scott,” she whimpered. “I was just⁠—”

“You’re the one from the phone,” Archer said, lowering his gun. “The best friend.”

She sagged onto the bed, her whole body shaking. She drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them and tried to suck in breath after breath.

Archer crouched down in front of her. The last thing he needed was her having a panic attack. “Breathe with me. Slow, deep breaths. Count to three. In, two, three. Out, two, three. In, two, three. Out, two, three.”

To his surprise, she did what he said. She stared into his eyes and dragged in one ragged breath after another until there wasn’t a hitch in each one.

“Feeling better?” he asked.

She nodded. “I think so. Um, who are you?”

His dark eyebrows shot up, and he almost laughed. She just sat there with him, after he pointed a gun in her face, and had no idea who he was? “You called me. I’m Archer.”

Her eyes scanned him until the appraisal drove him to his feet. He didn’t want to know what she saw when she looked at him. Especially not with the darkness that hung between them. In the harsh light of day, it would be a different story, but in the dark, Archer couldn’t hide from the truth in the dark.

He smacked the switch and flooded the room with too much light. He let his eyes adjust for a second, then took a good look at the woman who asked for his help.

Jesus, she was beautiful.

She wore the tiniest pair of shorts he’d ever seen and a tank top that was so tight it might as well have been see-through. Not that he was complaining. Pink was definitely his new favorite color. Pink shorts, pink top, and pink nipples trying to peek out and say hi.

He was up to the task.

“I didn’t think you could get here so fast. What time is it?”

“Five. You said my brother was missing. I thought this was his place, so I came here.”

“It is,” Lily said quickly.

Archer scanned the room, taking in the rumpled queen sized bed, the woman’s clothes tossed around, and the mix of items that had to be his brother’s and there was only one conclusion to draw. Lily might not be screwing his brother, but they were doing something.

“You live here, too?”

Lily shook her head. “No. I have my own place, but you said to stay put. I figured if Jaymes came home during the night, I could call you and let you know he was back. I didn’t realize you were going to be here already.”

Archer nodded and looked around. He didn’t know his brother well. Not anymore. Once upon a time they were close, but that ended years ago, when Archer was ten and his brother was only six. It had been years since Archer had even seen Jaymes, let alone knew anything about his life. He was pretty sure Jaymes did something with computers, but what, he had no clue.

“Do you stay here often?” Archer asked for some unknown reason. It was obvious she was close to Jaymes, whether they were involved or not. She was at risk if Jaymes really was kidnapped. How often she spent the night was only relevant to the side of him that was trying to decide if he could sleep with her and not piss off his brother.

Lily shrugged, shifting her breasts and dragging his gaze back to them. They jiggled a bit when she moved. Even more when she talked. She liked to talk with her hands. Hell, she talked with her whole body. Her hips swayed gently as she spoke, and her hair, brown with blonde and red strung through it, curved around her breasts like lovers caressing her.

He was jealous of her damn hair.

“Are you even listening to me?” she asked, hands punching those sexy hips.

Archer shook his head. “Long drive.”

Her irritation slid away, and genuine concern replaced it. “I’m sorry. I didn’t even think about that. Can I make you some coffee? Or maybe you prefer tea. We have water and orange juice. Do you want breakfast?”

“Lily,” Archer said loudly to get her attention. She’d already moved into the kitchen and flipped on every light in the apartment. Pans banged under a cabinet as she bent at the waist to retrieve them.

His brother was a damn saint if he wasn’t sleeping with this woman.

“Eggs? How about an omelet? I make a killer omelet. Jaymes loves my… omelets.” She turned watery eyes up to Archer. “Am I ever going to see him again?”

Archer couldn’t think about that. Losing his brother wasn’t an option. He’d lost too many of them during his time as a SEAL. He wasn’t going to lose the only one he actually shared DNA with.

“You’ll see him again,” he promised Lily. “I’ll find him.”

She fell into his arms like she’d run out of energy to keep herself upright. Adrenaline was a bitch. One minute Lily was getting ready to make breakfast, and the next she was crashing in Archer’s arms.

He held her awkwardly. It had been a while since he’d touched a woman, let alone had one in his arms. And the last time, she was definitely not crying. Screaming, panting, and moaning, yeah, but not crying.

She clung to him for a few seconds, long enough that his cock took notice of the curvy, warm woman in his arms. She smelled like every good thing the world had to offer. Like cookies and fresh air and woman all rolled into one. He wanted to press his face into her neck and inhale her deep, but he had no right. She belonged to Jaymes.

“I’m sorry,” she said, taking a big step back. “I know you don’t like people to lean on you. I just lost it. I’ve been so scared, you know. And I feel so much better with you here. Jaymes always said you could do anything, and I believe it. I know you’ll find him and bring him back. And I really appreciate it.”

Archer’s mind spun with the load she dropped on him. Obviously, his brother talked about him. And it wasn’t good.

The only problem was it was all true. He wasn’t the kind of guy a person could lean on. He wasn’t reliable. He always managed to fuck things up one way or another. He was there because he owed it to Jaymes. Archer had been trying to repay his brother for years, and this was his first opportunity. When he found him and returned him to his woman, Archer could crawl back in his hole and disappear again.

“Uh, yeah. I’ll find him.”

“Thank you,” Lily said.

Her smile gutted him. She had faith in him. She trusted him. He didn’t deserve either, but he’d do his best to deliver for her. A woman like her deserved to be happy. And if Jaymes made her happy, Archer would give up his own life to save him. It was the least he owed, to Jaymes and to Rodney.

“If I’m going to find him, I need some information from you. Tell me everything you know. About my brother, what he does, where he spends his time, everything. You’re the only lead I have right now, so I need your help.”

2

Lily couldn’t stop talking. No matter how many times she told herself to just shut up, it didn’t work. She always babbled when she was nervous, and finding your best friend’s apartment trashed and knowing his neat-as-a-pin self would never leave even a dirty dish in the sink let alone trash his place, she freaked out.

But those nerves had nothing on the ones brought out by his sexy-as-all-hell brother.

Lily saw pictures of Archer before, but seeing a picture and being face-to-face with the man were two very different things. His skin was darker than Jaymes’s was, like a golden honey that she was dying to dip her finger into for a taste. His eyes were the same dark chocolate color, bordering on black when she said something he didn’t like. She really needed to get a handle on herself.

Archer topped her by at least eight inches, but at five-five, that wasn’t something too unusual. What was unusual was feeling normal next to him. She had hips that threatened door frames, but she had nothing on his shoulders. The thrill it set off in her sex was something she hadn’t felt in far too long.

The best part was all the hardness of him that offset her soft parts. When she flung herself at him, she knew instantly it was a mistake, but she couldn’t bring herself to let go until the solid strength of him seeped into her pores and gave her just a tiny bit of it. He was the kind of man who could stand in front of a firing squad and not blink. He had strength for everyone around him. It was what made him a hell of a SEAL, according to Jaymes, and exactly what she needed when she was terrified.

“Jaymes always tells me when he’s doing something that’s not normal,” Lily explained. “We talk constantly. If he was off playing a new game or working on a project, he’d have warned me he’d be out of touch. He knows better than to run off without telling me where he’s going.”

Lily clamped her mouth shut and spun toward the stove. She busied herself pulling food out of the fridge to avoid explaining what she just admitted.

Without asking, Lily cracked half a dozen eggs into a pan. She chopped onions, peppers, and mushrooms and tossed them in when the eggs were almost done. She grabbed a bag of shredded cheddar and sprinkled some on top, then spun to give Archer breakfast.

He watched her as she moved. She could feel his eyes tracking her around the small kitchen. It was opposite hers on the second floor, but she spent enough time at Jaymes’s that she knew her way around it just as well. Hell, she was the one who stocked his fridge most of the time.

“You spend a lot of time here,” Archer said. It wasn’t a question, more a statement he was figuring out. Learning her.

Lily nodded. “Yeah. Jaymes hates to cook so I do it. Cooking is a lot more fun when I have someone to do it for.”

She sat across from him at the tiny table she insisted Jaymes buy when he moved in. It wasn’t right to not have one, she told him. He wanted to put a bar in, but she wasn’t having that. They weren’t in college anymore. Thirty was way too old to have a bar instead of a dining room table.

Archer ate in silence, shoveling the food in so fast Lily wondered if he actually tasted any of it. She, on the other hand, was so anxious sitting in the same room as him that she could barely choke down the small amount of food she’d reserved for herself.

“Thank you for coming,” she finally said, unable to take the quiet any longer. “I know Jaymes will be pissed when he finds out I called you, but I didn’t know what else to do. I covered for him at work, but I don’t know how long I can do that without making his boss suspicious.”

“You know his boss?”

Lily nodded. “Jaymes has been there four years. I’m always his plus-one at company events and stuff. I’ve gotten to know all his coworkers pretty well. He’s been looking for a new job for a while, but he doesn’t really know what he wants to do. I told him I’d get him a job at the hospital, but he doesn’t want to do that.”

“Wouldn’t that be a conflict of interest?” Archer asked, lifting his eyes to spear her with a look.

The venom in his eyes shocked her. She wasn’t sure what he was after, but she wasn’t feeling all that friendly toward him at that particular moment. His eyes were dark with a dangerous glint to them that rose the tiny hairs on her arms. She knew his job with the SEALs wasn’t the friendly sort, but she didn’t have any concept of how deadly the man in front of her could be until he set his glare on her.

“Why would it be a conflict of interest?” she asked, thanking God her voice was steady.

He quirked one dark eyebrow at her. The edge of his lips lifted, just enough to show that he found her question funny. “Nepotism and all that. Is it not frowned upon in your job?”

“Nepotism? That’s for relatives. I’m not related.” Realization dawned when amusement filled his gaze. “Really? Back to you thinking I’m sleeping with your brother? What do I need to do, slide under the table and give you a blow job to prove I’m not screwing my best friend?”

His expression turned murderous at her offhand comment, and she immediately regretted her words.

Was he the kind of guy who would take her up on that?

“That won’t be necessary. I’m just trying to figure out why you’re trying so hard to convince me you and my brother aren’t together. You cook for him, you know his home, hell, you were sleeping in his bed,” he waved his hand at her, “in that. Any sane person would draw the same conclusion I am.”

Lily glanced down at her clothes and immediately crossed her arms over her chest. She was so terrified when she heard someone in the apartment she didn’t think to grab her robe. Then when she saw who it was, and realized he wasn’t there to kidnap or kill her, she couldn’t think straight.

Jaymes was like a brother to her. She never thought twice about what she wore when he was around. He didn’t look at her that way, so she dressed for comfort, even at night. Wearing something dowdy around Jaymes in the guise of modesty was wasted since he couldn’t care either way.

“Excuse me,” Lily said, pushing away from the table and going to Jaymes’s room. She had clothes in there, clothes she wore all day. Jaymes gave her a drawer in his room to keep stuff, but she felt guilty taking over his space so she kept a bag in the office. Which was where she found the pajamas.

She’d almost forgotten about them, but when she saw the silky fabric stuffed at the bottom of the bag, Lily couldn’t resist wearing them.

Now she was regretting that decision. The weight she’d gained since she bought the silky pajamas turned them into laundry day pajamas over a year ago, and she’d added a few more pounds since then, making them nearly indecent.

She slipped on a pair of shorts that fell to her knees and snagged one of Jaymes’s sweatshirts. She tugged a brush through her long hair and tied it up into a ponytail, then splashed cold water on her cheeks. Archer might be a pig, but she couldn’t deny the way he lit her up.

Damn him.

She went back to the kitchen and was surprised to find him at the sink washing dishes.

“I was going to do that,” she said.

He glanced over his shoulder and smiled. “You cooked. Nice sweatshirt.”

“It’s Jaymes’s.”

Archer turned off the water and dried his hands. When he turned, he leaned his hip against the edge of the counter and studied her. The darkness was gone, but she could sense the questions he wanted to ask.

She had a few of her own. Like why didn’t he ever call his brother? Or visit? Or why didn’t he cheer Jaymes on when he joined the Navy? They were virtual strangers, and it bothered Jaymes. Lily itched to lay into his brother and find out why they weren’t closer.

“So, best friend, tell me what you know about my brother disappearing,” Archer said. Gone was the light she glimpsed for a second, and the opportunity to ask her own questions. He was in work mode, and she could tell nothing would drag him out of that.

* * *

Archer watched Lily as she moved around. He was disappointed that she’d covered up, but it was for the best. The last thing he needed was to play in his brother’s sandbox.

She rambled on about Jaymes’s work and how much time he spent at the office. She worried about him not eating enough and his happiness. Archer didn’t believe for a second that there wasn’t more to the relationship between the two of them than friendship. She was either in love with Jaymes, or a mother hen. Archer never knew what either was like so he had no clue which was the truth.

Unless you counted Adrian Malone. Rocky to the rest of the Team, Adrian was as close to a mother hen as Archer had ever known. God knew his own mother couldn’t have cared less.

“Okay, stop. What do Jaymes’s eating habits have to do with his disappearance?” Archer asked Lily.

She sighed and threw her hands up. When they slapped against her thighs, her lip trembled.

Fuck.

Women in Archer’s life cried for one of two reasons. Either they were trying to get him to do something he didn’t want to do, or they were shot. A quick scan told him Lily didn’t have any unapproved holes in her, which meant she was about to ask him to do something that would only piss him off.

“I don’t know. I’ve never been through this. I’m freaking out, and you’re sitting there so calm. He’s your brother for fuck’s sake, but I’m the one who’s losing my damn mind. How are you so calm?”

She swiped the tears that slid off her lashes and crossed her arms again. He had to give her credit, she didn’t act like she gave a shit if he was there or not. There was no request for him to hold her, or to make it all better, or even to go out and find Jaymes right then.

The fucked up truth of it was Archer would have done it if she’d asked. Most of the time when women cried, it made him ready to walk away that much faster. With Lily, he wanted to tuck her under his chin and take on every terrorist in the world to make her smile again.

“This is my job,” he said, rising from his chair to stand in front of her. “I’ve spent the last twelve years of my life doing things you’ve never even dreamed of, finding people who were gone forever and bringing them back. I will find my brother.”

She sucked in a breath, and her eyes went wide. “Do you think this is something the military is involved in? Has he been taken by ISIS or one of those terrorist groups?”

Jesus. That was why Archer hated the fucking media. The shit they spewed had sane Americans thinking the terrorist cells were down the street and waiting to nab unsuspecting people out of their homes. Yeah, the crazy fuckers wouldn’t think twice about it, but they had bigger fish in mind than a computer geek from Niagara Falls.

“I’m sure the military has much more important things to do than chase down my brother.”

Her face screwed up in an adorable scrunch that gave him a glimpse of the girl she was once. Questioning everything. Telling everyone around her what to do, no doubt. “Okay, but don’t you have to go? Some mission or something? Jaymes always talks about how busy you are and how little you’re in the country. Honestly, I was surprised you answered your phone, and even more shocked when you showed up here. I know he’s your brother and all, but⁠—”

“I’m not in the Navy anymore,” Archer said. He hadn’t said the words aloud before. It gutted him to admit it, but it was the truth. She’d find out soon enough that he was sticking around, at least until Jaymes got back. Best to rip the band-aid off and spill now. “My unit was done and a bunch of guys decided to check out. I wasn’t given a choice in the matter.”

“Why?”

Archer slid a hand over his hair. Still military short since he’d only been out a week. If he was on base, he’d be looking for someone to cut it for him. But he wouldn’t step foot on another one. He was out. Done. Retired, officially. Fired in reality.

They couldn’t trust him any longer. It didn’t matter that he didn’t remember taking a shot at Rodney, there was no denying which direction the bullets that killed him came from. So Archer was out, Rodney was dead, and almost all the rest of them scattered throughout the country.

“It doesn’t matter,” Archer finally said. “Where’s Jaymes’s computer?”

Lily chewed on her lip and pointed toward the bedroom. Archer left her standing there, probably trying to figure out how she could get the hell away from him, and went down the hallway. The bedroom didn’t show anything, but the other room was set up as an office. One computer sat front and center on a glass desk. Books lined a shelf behind the desk. A printer rested silently on the corner, cables neatly tied to the metal leg instead of dangling like most people would leave them. Archer was impressed that his brother cared that much about the appearance, but he was a computer guy. Liam “English” Johnson was the same way. The first thing he always did when they set up some place new was connect all his equipment and tie the cables together and out of the way. Seeing the precision in Jaymes’s office surprised him. Few men outside the military were that careful.

Archer powered up the computer and searched through Jaymes’s files. Lily didn’t come in, but after an hour, Archer smelled something that made his stomach growl loudly. He pushed through, looking for something. He knew there had to be a clue somewhere, but he couldn’t find it.

English would find it.

The thought made him pause. Liam was out. He bailed with the rest of them. Could he call him? It wasn’t crossing any military boundaries. They were retired. They wouldn’t be using the tools they had in the SEALs, just the skills. And if it meant finding his brother, it was worth the risk to Archer. He just hoped it was worth the risk to Liam.

Archer punched in the speed dial on his phone and waited for it to stop ringing.

“Johnson.”

3

Lily fiddled around in the kitchen. She hated feeling useless, but she wasn’t much help to Archer. She heard him on the phone in the office as she pulled a batch of cupcakes out of the oven.

Busy work, Jaymes always said, but when he went to the store, he bought the supplies she needed. He stocked the things he knew she liked to eat, or bake, but rarely had anything for himself. Lily took care of that part and made sure Jaymes had plenty of snacks around.

She dried the mixing bowl and set it back under the stand mixer Jaymes only bought because she loved it. It would be awhile before the cupcakes were cool enough to frost, but Lily needed a sugar jolt to start her day. She was usually up early, but she was not a morning person, and being woken up by a guy breaking in to the apartment did little for her ability to function. Caffeine never helped, but sugar would.

Sugar, milk, butter, and vanilla went into the bowl. The rhythmic whirr of the blades lulled Lily. The kitchen was her happy place. She loved computers and running the systems for St. Nicholas Hospital, but cooking was her passion and her love.

Lily hummed to herself as she spun the ingredients into frosting. When it thickened and stuck to the edges, she turned the mixer off and lowered the bowl. She swiped her finger through the white paste and licked it, closing her eyes for a second to savor the sweet burst.

“Cupcakes?” Archer asked from behind her.

Lily jumped and spun, her finger still between her lips. She nipped the tip. Shaking it, she nodded. “I bake a lot. Is that okay?”

Archer shrugged. “They smell good.”

Lily couldn’t stop the rush of pleasure at the depth of his voice. His gaze flickered from her face to the bowl and then to her chest. Her nipples tightened under his appraisal, and she fought the urge to cross her arms. He couldn’t see through her sweatshirt, although he’d gotten a hell of a look earlier.

“They’re not really cool yet. If you eat fast, though, you can have one. I usually end up sticking them in the freezer so I can eat them faster.”

Archer stared at her long enough that she grew uncomfortable. She turned back to the stove and grabbed the plate of cupcakes. She stabbed a knife into the frosting and slid it over the top of one of the cupcakes.

When it was done, Lily turned and handed the cupcake over to Archer. He raised one dark eyebrow and took the cupcake. His eyes locked on hers as he peeled back the baby blue wrapper and took a bite of the still warm cupcake.

He groaned as he chewed. His pink tongue darted out to capture a crumb that lingered on the edge of his mouth.

Lily licked her lips at the same time, imagining the taste on him. Her mouth watered at the thought. She had to turn away or she’d do something she regretted. Like find out what her cupcake tasted like on his lips.

She frosted her own warm cupcake and busied herself with eating it. Archer’s was gone in three or four bites. She tried to be dainty about it, although she could have done the same. The last thing she needed to do was remind him that she had a few too many curves.

“Damn, that was good. Do you bake for a living?”

Lily snorted. “Um, no. I’m the Assistant IT Director for St. Nicholas Hospital.”

Archer’s brows winged up, but his eyes darkened. “You are?”

She nodded. “Yeah, why?”

“I called a buddy of mine. If Jaymes was taken, we think it had to do with his computer skills.”

“Okay.”

“If you’re in the same field, you could be a target. Especially if they know both of you. Have you noticed anyone around?”

A chill raced up Lily’s spine, and not a good one. It was terrifying enough that Jaymes was kidnapped, but the idea of someone watching her and coming after her made her feel violated.

Lily absently rubbed her arms and shook her head. “I haven’t seen anyone. Do you really think someone’s watching me?”

Archer shrugged. “There’s no way to know. I would like to check out your place. If you’re okay with that.”