Chapter 1

The secondI finally settled my tired, pained body into the driver's seat of my SUV, I felt more at ease than I had in the entire twenty-four hours I'd been in the luxurious room at the five-star resort that my best friend and former fellow soldier, Jace Christenson, owned. No thanks; I'd take my little red shack that could barely be called a house over the opulence of the well-appointed suite that had everything to offer to even the most discerning of guests. Hell, the room had been larger than my house altogether. Maybe that was one of the reasons I'd been so uncomfortable. Even though my house was practically falling down around my ears, it was mine. The peeling paint, loose floorboards, and cabinet doors that threatened to fall off their hinges every time they were opened were perfect in my eyes. From the moment I'd moved into the place, I'd known I was home.

I supposed the house was like me.

Broken in so many ways but still standing.

I never left my little house unless it was to hop onto my cabin cruiser so I could explore all the waterways Chesapeake Bay had to offer.

Never.

But the past twenty-four hours had been different.

When Jace had made the call that he needed me to be there as he laid his sister to rest in the family plot located in Vermont, I hadn't hesitated to say yes. My best friend had lost the little sister he'd been searching for for more than a year and right until the end, he'd been absolutely certain that she was still alive. Instead, he'd received the shocking news that Maggie had given birth shortly before she'd died, and Jace was now playing the role of uncle and father to the infant. Fortunately, it wasn't a task he"d had to undertake by himself. Caleb, the young man he'd fallen hard and fast for a couple of years earlier, was now a permanent fixture in Jace's life and while Caleb hadn't even turned twenty yet, I'd never met a more mature, responsible individual. He was everything Jace needed—had needed long before he'd even left the army.

I wasn't that man and never would be, despite how deep my feelings for Jace ran. It wasn't love, because I knew just by the way Caleb and Jace looked and interacted with one another that my feelings for my best friend weren't even in the same realm as that. And the way the couple would look across a room at one another and say something without even speaking… I'd never felt anything close to that.

Not for Jace.

Not for anyone.

I sighed and got the car started before reaching into my pocket to find the prescription bottle I was looking for. I limited myself to popping only two of the pain pills since I had an eight-hour drive ahead of me, but admittedly, it was all I could do not to swallow a handful of them followed by half a dozen shots of whatever shitty liquor I could get my hands on so I could finally ride the wave of bliss that meant no pain, no hurt, no fear, no… nothing.

Fire raced down my spine as I tried to get as comfortable as possible. I'd specifically bought an SUV that was well known for its comfortable seats but no matter what position I put the seat in, my back still screamed in pain. Worse yet, that pain radiated up the back of my neck and seemed to branch out into every part of my brain.

Fuck, maybe I should have taken Jace up on his offer to drive me home.

I couldn't say how long I sat in the still-parked car as I literally tried to will the pain away but by the time I opened my eyes, I felt marginally better. Raindrops had just started to plop on the windshield in great big splats.

"Perfect," I muttered as I put the car in gear. Waves of pain washed over me at even the slightest movement of getting the car into drive, but I forced myself to think of the relief that was just hours away. Hell, maybe I'd forget about making the full drive home in one day and crash in a hotel for the night so I could find relief in all those glorious pills.

It took a good twenty minutes to navigate my way out of the small tourist-filled town. Every turn of the wheel made fire scream along my neck and shoulders and at one point, when I had to hit the brakes because some idiot decided to cross the street without paying attention to the traffic, I actually shouted out loud at the excruciating agony that consumed my entire body. My breath seesawed in and out of me as I tried to get my nerve endings to calm the fuck down, but the asshole behind me kept honking his horn, so I had no choice but to gingerly press down on the gas and try to settle as easily as I could back against the seat. It was only when I turned on the ramp that would put me on the interstate heading south that I felt like I was able to take a full breath.

No sooner had I merged with traffic and set the autopilot than the heavens opened up and torrents of rain began falling. Even with my wipers at full speed, it was next to impossible to see anything. Thankfully, like me, the other drivers in my immediate vicinity had enough sense to slow down. A flash of lightning illuminated the sky through the rain, and the thunder that followed made my whole car shake.

If I'd been going much more than a snail's pace, I probably would have missed him.

Or even hit him since he was walking so close to the line that separated the road from the shoulder.

My heart went out to the poor sap who'd apparently thought now would be a good time to start hitchhiking, but as I drove past him, two things occurred to me.

One, he didn't have his thumb out. In fact, he had both hands in his pockets, and his head was covered by the hood of his too-thin jacket that left him nothing but completely soaked.

And two, there was something strangely familiar about him.

Which made no sense because I hadn't taken the time to meet any of Jace's friends who'd also attended the funeral. I'd stood among the fringes of the ceremony for that exact purpose. I'd been there only out of respect for Jace and hadn't been interested in meeting any of the men and women he worked with. The only person I'd known by name besides Jace had been his boyfriend, Caleb.

I kept driving even as my mind spun. It took several long seconds for me to figure out who the guy was.

Sort of.

I had no clue what his name was, and the only reason I was remembering him now was because, like me, he'd remained on the outskirts of the graveside service. The moment people had begun placing flowers on the casket, he'd fled. His head had been down and hidden by his hoodie, so he hadn't seen me. I'd been the one to put my arms out to stop him from slamming into me. The movement had hurt like hell but as soon as the young man had lifted his eyes, all the pain in my body had taken a back seat as I'd raked in every feature of the man's face. There had been an array of vicious-looking bruises and abrasions that couldn't have been more than a day old. The marks hadn't completely hidden his high cheekbones, full lips, and tousled brown hair.

It had been his eyes that had kept me from releasing him right away. They'd been a shade of blue I'd never seen before and probably would never see again. They were so pale they were almost clear, but there were flecks of green and blue that made them stand out. I figured they were probably considered gray since I doubted silver eyes were a thing, unless maybe through the use of contacts, but I'd never gotten a chance to study them closer because he'd pulled free of my hold and then he was gone.

I couldn't be one hundred percent sure the guy walking in the rain on the interstate was the same one from the funeral, but my gut had me pulling my SUV to a stop underneath an overpass well ahead of the young man. My body screamed in protest as I forced it to exit the car. I limped around the front of the vehicle just as the young man reached the back of it.

"Do you need a ride?" I blurted.

God, Dalton, could you sound any more like a serial killer?

The kid just shook his head and pushed past me, clearly intent on continuing his walk rather than waiting beneath the overpass until the worst of the weather had passed. Even if I wanted to catch up to him, I wouldn't have been able to. Not with my body already screaming in protest. Usually, I was good about staying ahead of the worst of the pain by taking my meds at scheduled times throughout the day, but the funeral had kind of fucked all that up. It wasn't just the physical pain of being on my feet for so long; being around all those people had messed with my head more than I wanted to admit. I'd been constantly scanning my surroundings for any potential threat even though the logical part of my brain had known there wouldn't be any.

Sadly, the different parts of my brain didn't always come to agreement on things.

"You were at Maggie's funeral," I called just before the kid reached the end of the overpass. A few more steps and he'd be drenched even more—not that he could really get any more drenched. I'd heard his shoes squishing as he'd walked past me.

Luckily, my words had him stopping in his tracks.

"We met," I continued. "Although met probably isn't the right word for it."

The kid turned around. His previously rumpled hair was plastered across his forehead but there was no mistaking those eyes—or the bruises that covered most of his pale skin. It was definitely him.

"How did you know Maggie?" he asked, his voice hard to hear over the din of the pounding rain.

"I didn't," I admitted. "I'm friends with Jace. We were in the army together."

The guy didn't move even a little bit. I could practically feel the suspicion wafting off him.

"What's the baby's name?" he asked. I was sure I heard his voice crack a little when he said "baby."

Even though there hadn't been a baby at the funeral, I knew exactly what he was talking about.

It was a test.

One I needed to pass if I had any hope of getting him in the car. Although I couldn't give two shits about the kid's life, I figured he was important to Jace if he was at the funeral.

"Her name is Willa," I began. "She's Maggie's daughter. Maggie died trying to escape with Willa…"

I paused as several things clicked together in my brain.

"You're the one," I said softly.

The kid didn't answer me, but I wasn't really expecting him to.

"Maggie died trying to get Willa to safety, so someone else had to get the baby to Jace," I murmured.

He didn't confirm or deny the statement. Jace hadn't specifically mentioned that the kid with the silver eyes had been the one to save the infant or witness her mother's murder, but it was the only thing that made sense.

"Maggie named the baby Willa after Jace's and her grandmother," I added.

The kid stood there for a long time, his gaze shifting between the pouring rain and my SUV. He had his arms wrapped around himself as if trying to self-soothe his shivering body. I told myself I didn't give a shit one way or the other what his answer would be, but my internal lie detector was pinging big-time.

It's for Jace.

I nearly laughed out loud at that. Jace was my best friend, but right now that fact was taking a back seat when it came to the young man standing before me, his body shaking violently, and his face covered in angry bruises.

And those eyes… so filled with mistrust and indecision.

Get back in the car, Dalton. Get back in the fucking car, call Jace and tell him about the kid, and then it's done. Not your problem.

My body refused the order and this time it had nothing to do with physical pain. In fact, I was holding my breath in anticipation of what the kid might say.

"I'm not going back there," the young man responded, his voice full of defiance. He might have looked broken down, but he clearly had a lot of fight left in him. God, what had he seen and done in his young life to have such need for a strong backbone? And if I was right about him being the one who'd saved Maggie's newborn from the very man who'd killed the child's mother, his courage could easily rival most of the men I'd served with.

"Okay," I said simply.

It took an obscenely long amount of time for the kid to take a step forward, then another. Once he reached the passenger side door, I said, "I have some dry clothes you can wear. They'll be big on you but at least you'll be more comfortable. You can change in the back seat while I wait out here. The windows are tinted so no one will be able to see you."

More long seconds of silence and then finally a brief nod.

I did my best to walk evenly to the back of the SUV so I could fish out a pair of sweats and a loose sweatshirt for him. I grabbed the blanket I kept in case of emergencies and took everything to the front of the car. The kid hesitated before taking them. I opened the back seat passenger door for him. "My name's Dalton, by the way," I said as he climbed into the car. "I'll wait out here until you're done."

The kid walked past me. He was close enough that I could smell him.

Lavender.

And a mix of other citrusy flowers.

It was a strange combination for a man, but it had my dick standing at attention nonetheless.

The kid climbed into the car and reached for the handle so he could pull it closed behind him. But just before he did, he softly uttered three little words that hit me like a punch to the gut… not because of the words themselves but the way he said them.

Thank you, Dalton.