Page 18 of Irons

Darren gave Addie one big nod as he held her. “Yeah, she is, but it’ll get better when the babies are born.”

I looked around at all the guys, and Addie. I loved that little girl so much. We all loved Addie, and she was our pride and joy. I loved my life and was happy, but that didn’t mean I didn’t have demons I fought on a daily basis. As the guys laughed, I remembered the hell we experienced together. What happened to Bolton was something that would never leave me, and probably not the other guys either. I had to seek help outside of Creed’s Lake to deal with the nightmares, and to also deal with the death of a fellow operative who was my closest buddy in Delta Force. A lot of us also had shitty childhoods. Probably more than most veterans. Most of us had no family to come home to when we left the Army. It wasn’t the Army that did all that much for me, it was Creed’s Lake. I had a stable home and one huge ass family in the guys and their families. There’s times I wished I could go back in time and tell that kid who woke up alone in that hospital that everything was going to be okay. That he would have to work hard and fight hard, even visit hell, but eventually he would love his life. I let go of the anger toward my parents years ago and moved on from it. I had no desire to communicate or see them because I really didn’t know them that well. When I left Oklahoma, I left all that behind, and only brought memories of Tony, Clint, and Wrenly with me. They were who mattered most, and the ones that still haunted me. I’d never forget Wrenly’s cries the day she watched them arrest me and take me away. That was the last time I ever saw her, and I hoped like hell she would turn Creed down. They had their vote then I had to sit there a few hours later while they designed their offer to her. Axton had a fit and made me come back and be involved with all the offers we were making. They weren’teven going to put her in the pile with the other people. She was someone they wanted more than any of the others. She was going to be offered a life at Creed’s Lake, a six digit salary, she wouldn’t prospect, she would get one of the single one bedroom homes, our great benefits and her choice in what sector she wanted to work. We also had a hell of a retirement plan that would beat out anything the FBI was offering her.

I left Oklahoma without a damn thing, but now because of Creed, I was considered comfortable for my age. At the rate I was going, I could retire by forty and live comfortably for the rest of my life if that’s what I wanted. Creed owned the biggest part of Creed’s Lake, but all of us Originals had partial ownership. We all invested, and I even drained my entire savings account and took out a loan. I didn’t have much because I was supporting the family of the best friend we lost.

A few hours after Morgan’s meltdown, we were playing poker and drinking beer. I barely had a chance to let what happened earlier in the day sink in. What would my life be like if Wrenly accepted? What would her life look like? What the hell landed her in the Marines? What happened to her? Special ops? What the fuck? I just couldn’t wrap my mind around it. She was constantly on my mind since the day I left. I told myself I would never look back. I brought too much pain into her life. Dammit, what if she finds out I’m an Original at Creed’s Lake and decides not to come? I wouldn’t blame her for hating me, but damn, it’s a good opportunity and safer than the FBI. Well, safer for everyday living, not the missions so much. Dammit, what of she’s a target of the Cartel? Fuck, I couldn’t just let it go.

Holy shit that photo I saw earlier was gorgeous. Drakos was right, she was just as gorgeous as Morgan. I knew she would be, but damn I thought she would be a wife and mother, not aveteran. Life was going to be hell since all I could do was sit and wait.

What the hell would she think when she learned about Club X? Would she think I fucked around with Felicity’s girls? I never got involved in it, never once. I wasn’t like Drakos and Magnus. I didn’t fuck around like them.

Shit, maybe having her around won’t matter. I had the motorcycle business to run and eight units to command. I traveled more than anyone else, so I wouldn’t be around as much anyway.

An Unwelcomed Guest

Wrenly

I just got off the phone with Stone. Neither of us were thrilled with our assignments. We had been together for two years and they were separating us. Stone was to go to New York and work on a case with the ATF, and I was being reassigned to Northern California to lend a hand to the state police on a murder case that was a few years old. I still had three weeks left until I had to leave. I had no desire to live in California.

I looked in the mirror and thought I saw a gray hair. “Shit.” I plucked it out. It hadn’t been that long since I went back to blond, so how in the hell?

Before I got the call from Stone, I was at the diner with Jill and Tia. They told me we went to high school with the girl Matt married. I couldn’t for the life of me remember the girl, so I went to my closet to pull out my year book. Her name was Kaydee Ison. So stupid, why couldn’t they just spell it Katie? Why try to be so special?

I opened the first yearbook I saw, which was freshman year and went to the pages for our class, then went down the alphabet.

Rebecca Ingle

Benjamin Ingram

My finger stopped on Travis Irons. I dared take a peek at his picture, and I took a sharp breath. Just seeing those eyes hit me hard. The last time I saw those eyes there were tears in them.

Fifteen Years Ago

I was scared as I walked down the hall of the hospital. I didn’t want to see Travis hurt, and things were still weird with us, but I didn’t want him to feel alone. I was so mad at his parents. Couldn’t they see he was just screaming for their attention? He needed them, and they turned their noses up at him. He just lost Tony, and he felt alone in this world. They left and went out of town as soon as the funeral was over, which was awful to do to Travis and Robert’s parents. At least Travis’s grandparents still had their daughter, but Travis was just a boy and was all alone and scared.

Dad stopped in front of his room, and I took a deep breath. He gave me a side hug then a nod saying it was okay to go inside. Reluctantly, I stepped inside and saw he was sleeping. I felt the burn behind my eyes the moment I saw his bruises. Quietly, I made it to his bedside then gave him a kiss on the cheek before I took a seat. Dad didn’t know, but I wasn’t leaving that hospital. I didn’t care what he said, I was not going to leave Travis alone for a minute.

Dad got tired of sitting around after about an hour and went down to get some coffee. Once he was gone, I pulled my chair up closer to Travis and started running my fingers through his hair. I studied every single feature on his face. Everything from his sandy hair, to the scar on his forehead from when we were wrestling around and he hit his head on the concrete step in front of my house. Even his eyebrows were perfect. Then I noticed how long his eye lashes were and admired how his nosewas the perfect size for his face. It turned down and was perfectly straight. Even his cheeks were a little rosy. I was jealous because he didn’t have one blackhead or zit. He was blessed with better skin than me. Weren’t all teenagers supposed to have at least a little bit of acne? I was so jealous. His lips were parted as he slept and I took in the entire picture.

I couldn’t imagine a life without Travis. I also couldn’t understand his parents and how they could turn their backs on such an amazing person. I laid my head on the mattress as I continued to run my fingers through his hair. I wanted to sooth him like his mother should have been doing. I wasn’t mad or disappointed in him. I knew his behavior was because of his crappy upbringing. Losing Tony was just what threw him off the edge. He needed help, not tough love.

I began humming the song my mom used to sometimes when I was little. When she wasn’t high or drunk. I didn’t know the name of the song, or the lyrics, I just remembered how it sounded.

Why couldn’t he see how much I loved him? That I needed him and how perfect he was in my eyes? Why wasn’t I enough for him?

I continued to hum until I saw his eyes move then slowly flutter open.

“Wrenly?” He whispered.

“I was so scared.” I started to cry then felt his hand on my cheek.

“Please don’t cry.” He whispered.

“I almost lost you.”

He wiped a tear away from under my eye. “I’m so sorry, please stop crying.”

I shook my head. “I will never turn my back on you. No matter how hard you try to get rid of me.” I sniffled.

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