I don’t want that life for Tally, don’t want her anywhere near it. That’s why I’m writing you...
You once pulled me out of a dangerous and dismal situation and since you managed to do that, it was a no-brainer that you could keep an eye on Tally, who is so more together than I ever was. There’s nobody I trust more with my precious daughter than you, Kai. I trusted you when you were a street punk so I know I can still trust the good, successful man you are today.
Good? He didn’t think so. If anything, he was even more fucked up than before. He had money, sure, and he was successful, but he wasn’t good or kind or anything a grieving teenager needed. And, God, the kid was grieving, trying so damn hard to be brave. He recognized the defiant look on her face, the hardass attitude. It was his, the words he said day in and day out.
I can do this alone, even if every day scares the shit out of me. I can get through this, if I keep my concentration and if I keep everyone out. Because I can’t be weak and I can’t break down, because if I do I might never stand up again. If I let one more person in and that person hurts me, I’ll just curl up and die.
Kai looked at his messy desk and sighed. He should be working. He hadn’t picked up his e-mails today, nor had he touched the long list of tasks Sawyer left him. But instead of sitting his ass down and getting on with it, he just jammed his hands into the pockets of his cargo pants and stood by the window, watching the day disappear.
Kai knew kids like Tally. God, he’dbeena kid like Tally. Harder, maybe maneuvering his way through a tougher world but, essentially, as alone, as troubled. The Navy had saved him, but who would save her if he didn’t? He didn’t want to. In fact, he wished that he could rewind the hours and rewrite the script of his life, but he couldn’t, so he’d have to deal. And Tally would have to deal with having him in her life. But, God, how was he going to tackle this? Where did he start? He didn’t know anything about teenage girls. The last time he’d had anything to do with them he’d been a teenager himself, and only concerned about getting into their pants. He hadn’t even picked up that Tally had been scared to be alone with him. Flick realized that, and steered him in the right direction.
And speaking of problems, how the hell was he going to keep ignoring Flick? He’d stepped into the conference room earlier and it had taken one look for his cock to stand up and salute. He still wanted her, wanted her hot and wet around him, wanted to hear her breathless moans in his ear as he sucked her nipples, her sexy groan as he pushed into her.
Staying away from her was nearly impossible. They’d agreed not to complicate their lives any further, but as far as he was concerned, his life was suddenly as complicated as shit, and a little sex with a hot woman wouldn’t make that much of a difference. The thought was just starting to fade when Kai felt the energy change behind him and he gurgled a curse as a thick arm pressed into his throat and threatened to cut off his air supply. Instinctively, he slammed his elbow backward and cursed when his opponent lunged to the side, meaning Kai’s elbow merely brushed a leather jacket. He slammed his head back in an attempt to break a nose but a low laugh caused him to pull back at the last minute. The arm dropped and Kai sucked in a couple of deep breaths before turning around.
Bastard. He hadn’t heard him sneak into his office—he swore the guy was part Ninja and part ghost. And what the hell was he doing in Mercy?
He rubbed his hand across his throat. “What the fuck, Rhodes?”
Axl grinned as he dropped his big body onto the couch in the corner of Kai’s office. His booted feet dangled off the arm and he placed a thick forearm behind his head as a cushion.
“You were so deep in thought that I could’ve taken one of your kidneys and you wouldn’t have known the difference.”
“Asshole,” Kai stated emphatically before sitting down on the edge of his desk and folding his arms. He decided to ignore Axl’s comment. He’d been miles away, but the fact that Axl had managed to catch him so off guard was embarrassing. That was what thinking about women did to you, and now he had two in his life who were causing him grief.
On what planet was that fair?
Axl gave him a shit-eating grin, but his gray eyes remained cool and assessing. The area surrounding his right eye held traces of yellow and green, and the knuckles of his right hand—his dominant hand—were scabbed. Kai sighed. It didn’t take much to realize that Axl had been in another fight, a pastime that he still hadn’t grown out of. He’d never found a brawl he could walk away from.
Axl saw the direction of Kai’s gaze, looked at his knuckles, and sighed. “I didn’t start it.”
“You never do.” Kai folded his arms across his chest and narrowed his eyes. “Who were you defending this time?”
To his credit, Axl always had a good reason to fight. Somewhere there would be an abused girlfriend or wife, someone who was being mistreated. Axl, the ultimate warrior, had a soft spot a mile wide for badly treated women and children, and was quick—sometimes far too quick—to rush to their defense. He found them everywhere—in bars, in supermarkets, at the gym. Kai was worried that one of these days he’d find himself on the bad side of a pissed-off husband or father pointing the working end of a weapon at his head. He might have superb hand-to-hand combat skills, but he couldn’t stop a bullet.
Not that Kai knew of anyway.
“Well?” he demanded when Axl didn’t answer. He frowned when Axl dropped his eyes and a slight stain appeared on his cheekbones. Axl embarrassed? Kai never thought he’d see the day.
“Puppies.”
Kai frowned. “What?”
Axl sat up and his size fourteen’s hit the floor with a thump so heavy that he probably set off a tsunami in the south Atlantic. “I went for a run and came across this dude throwing a sack in the river. I heard the mewling, grabbed the sack, and he took a swing at me.”
Kai grinned and gestured to his eye. “Looks like he connected.”
“Lucky shot,” Axl grumbled, placing his fingertips on his eye socket. “Now I have three mutts driving me crazy. They pee and chew and bark, all at the same time.”
Kai let his laughter rumble out. He’d never known Axl to be an animal lover—none of them allowed themselves to be, mostly because they either didn’t have time or were constantly away from home.
“Do you still have them?”
Axl lifted one huge shoulder. “I dumped them with my housekeeper and I keep getting snotty messages about them.”
“Why the hell didn’t you take them to an animal shelter?” Kai demanded.
“I tried to but...”