Page 3 of What I Should Have Done

“Don’t jump to any conclusion yet…” Griffin said. His words were hesitant.

“Except I know you’re thinking the same thing I am,” I mumbled back.

The fire that roared in my heart a moment ago, excited to finally reach my home, died in an instant. Doused by water that held unwanted answers. My faith in love extinguished the moment my feet found the strength to march silently up the drive.

As quietly as the death both Griffin and I had often delivered, I swung open the front door, which should’ve been locked. The tips of my fingers prickled with anticipation, a certain knowing bubbling low in my stomach.

Moans and groaning. All the sounds of pleasure coming from the bedroom were unmistakable.

My blood curdled in my veins. The rage swarming in my heart wasn’t directed at whoever the strange man waiting at the end of the hallway may be. All of that anger wasn’t even directed at the woman who so clearly wanted someone else.

No, the tendrils of wrath twisted around my own soul.

And then the anger ripped out any love that I’d had for her.

Never before had a change in my feelings for someone been so drastic, so instant, and so undeniably tangible.

My casual footsteps carried me across the hollow floorboards, the gentle light of the sun shining through billowing curtains moved as calmly as the pity weighing on my heart. Just another moment and memory to bundle up and shove to the darkest corner of my mind.

Curling my fingers around the golden knob, it silently spun, and the door swung open without a creak.

Griffin stood as a silent shadow behind me as disgust roared like hot coals in my stomach. The stranger’s gaze caught me first, his downturned green eyes snapping up from my fiancée’s bare ass. His entire naked body turned rigid mid thrust, and shock crossed such soft, baby-like features.

“Who-who are you?” he gasped in fright, his fingers digging into Rachel’s hips.

Her disheveled red hair flew back as she threw her head up from staring at the unruly bed sheets. “Mike?” Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head.

Suddenly, both of them scrambled backwards, throwing whatever they could find between each other, and tugged the sheets up to their chins.

“You know him?” the stranger seethed between his teeth as Rachel refused to bring her brown eyes toward mine.

Drawing in a breath, I ran my tongue across my teeth. “Hey Griff, who’s your realtor?” I asked, turned around, and closed the door behind me. Rachel’s shriek rattled the pictures on the wall.

“I’ll send you his contact information. Wanna stay with Jane and I while you look for a new place?”

“Thanks, man,” I answered, shrugging the rucksack higher up my shoulders.

Fuck that.

So much for finding my home.

Chapter 2

MIKEY

The office chair squeaked as I pushed off the ground, keeping the steady spin going.

“Yo, if you don’t quit, you’re gonna break that shit, and I ain’t getting yelled at on our first day back on tour,” Bernie hissed, shooting me a sideways glance.

Duncan slugged him in the shoulder. “He’s fine, shithead, the colonel isn’t here yet, and once this mission is finished, we’ll ship off somewhere else.”

“Oh, right. Plus, he gets a pass ’cause Rachel was an ass.” Bernie shot me a grin, highlighting how odd his stark, hyper-masculine features were on such a soft face.

“Eh,” I shrugged my shoulders. “That was a few months ago. I’m just bored.”

“Is that why Griff says you were on a women-free bender the entire fucking leave?” Ford inserted, eyeing me suspiciously. A breeze ruffled the tent flap, bringing with it a moment of relief from the heat that blazed down from the sun, unbroken by anything else in this desolate desert.

“I was busy selling the house and finding something new, asshat. There was no dedicated ‘women-free’ bender,” I grumbled and planted my boots down on the dusty sand, shooting a warning glare at my team.

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