Chapter 7

seven

By Friday, Autumn was still a little sore. She hadn’t worked on her upper body that much, and she understood now what a mistake that was. She had always concentrated on her cardio. Running and swimming. Swimming helped her arms a little bit, but they had not been prepared for the exercises they ran for carrying dead weight. Ugh.

Plus, she had to work with Seth in a few grappling sessions. The man was…okay, solid, clever, and hot AF—as the big boss said these days. Even as exhausted as she was, she hadn’t been sleeping well. Thankfully, this was the last day with Bravo. Monday, she would be back on Team Alpha. She would miss spending as much time with Seth’s team, but she was ready for a break. She trudged up the stairs to her apartment, ready for a hot shower and food. That’s when she realized she hadn’t shopped for food. Dammit.

“Hey, pretty Autumn,” Freddy called out. She stepped on the shared landing for their apartments.

“Hey, how are you doing?”

He shook his head. “Can’t complain. You look like a dead dog.”

“You see dead dogs walking around?”

He smiled, revealing those three missing teeth. Autumn’s heart hurt for him. A lifetime of addiction had left him with no family or real friends. His health was diminishing more and more each day.

“Not ones as pretty as you.”

It wasn’t a come-on at all. It was the way she thought a grandfather would say it to his granddaughter. She had no idea since she had never met her grandfathers, thanks to Joseph.

“You’re sweet. I just started a new workout, and I’m getting my ass kicked.”

He nodded.

“Did you have something for me?”

“Not yet. Soon, though. I’m sure of it.”

“Just be careful.”

“I will. Hope you feel better.”

He disappeared back into his apartment, shutting the door quietly. Autumn realized there was a good chance that Freddy would probably go for days without human contact if she didn’t talk to him. That wasn’t a good thing.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket before she could get through her door.

Ian: Twenty minutes out.

Ian: Please tell me you remembered Dad was getting here today.

Autumn: I remembered.

She didn’t. She’d been so hot and bothered by her time in Seth’s realm that she was losing track of important things.

She had exactly twenty minutes to shower and get dressed. There was no way she could let Sam down. She owed that man her life.

After a five-minute shower, she dried her hair, leaving it slightly damp. It would kink up, but her father wouldn’t care. Looking at her clothes, she almost grabbed a pair of her cargo pants but decided against it. She felt like a sun dress was in order. Grabbing her favorite green maxi sundress, she slipped it on. It was simple, but the fabric clung to her meager curves, dipping low in the front. It brought out the green in her eyes. She never wore much makeup but felt she needed a little tonight.

After slipping on her mother’s locket, she checked herself in the mirror and smiled. Her phone buzzed.

Ian: Tell me you’re ready.

She didn’t answer because she knew it would irritate him. After donning her sandals, she stepped out of the apartment. Ian was sitting in an SUV. More than likely, it was one from Dillon Security. The window tint was just on this side of legal in Hawaii. The truth was, she knew Ian hated SUVs. He tended to drive sports cars. Spies. They always thought they were cooler than the rest of them.

Once she climbed into the SUV, she connected her phone and played music. Ian said nothing but rolled his eyes. He was silent as he backed out of the parking space. She knew it drove him crazy. Ian loved to be in control of things almost as much as she did. Therefore, she was a master of figuring out what bothered him the most. He really did not love Hawaiian music the way she did.

“You forgot.”

“I did not.” Lies. She was good at them. Always had been.

“You did, but I can understand since you’re so wrapped up in your time with the pretty boy.”

“What do you mean by that?”

He shrugged as he eased onto H-1 to head to the airport.

“Why would you call Harrington a pretty boy?” He definitely wasn’t a boy.

“Interesting that you picked up on exactly who I was talking about.”

“Shut it.”

He didn’t say anything, but he smiled. Ugh . Brothers. She turned up the music and started singing just to annoy him. She couldn’t carry a tune to save her life. In fact, there was a good chance she could crack glass with how bad she sang. And Ian, who had an amazing tenor voice, always got irritated when she sang off-key, especially pop music. He was a snob.

Thanks to the traffic, it took them about twenty minutes to get to the airport.

“We need a lei.”

“No, we don’t.”

“Yes, we do. Stop so I can buy one. Dad’s plane just landed. He won’t be at baggage claim for at least ten minutes.”

He sighed while he took the exit for the lei stand. Lei makers rented out stands for people to buy leis for those coming to the islands. She was picking out a very pretty Ti-leaf lei when someone stepped up beside her.

It was odd that she didn’t hear anyone since her senses were usually on alert, but that was because Ian had been watching out for her. When she turned, she fought the urge to take a step back. Standing next to her was Seth Harrington. She couldn’t get away from the man.

“What are you doing here?”

“Looking to buy a gun.”

She snorted. “No, why would you be at a lei stand?”

“My parents are getting here, or they just arrived.”

Their parents had been on the same plane?

“And you?”

“Our father.”

“Our?”

She pointed to a very irritated Ian, who was watching the by-play. He drummed the steering wheel with his fingers.

“Oh, I didn’t notice him.”

She wanted to laugh at Seth’s irritated tone. The woman came over so Autumn could pay for the lei.

“Hmm.”

He should not make that noise in public. Not near her, at least. It sent little waves of heat coursing through her blood. “What?”

“I don’t know which one to get.”

“Well,” she said, holding up her lei, “this is the best one for guys, but your mom, what’s her favorite color?”

“Blue. It was always all over the house. We even had a blue house one time.”

She snorted again.

“There you go. Get her one with blue flowers. See ya later,” she said, practically running away. She wasn’t proud of it. Once she climbed back into the SUV, her brother smirked as he backed out of the parking spot.

“Your boy has a crush.”

Butterflies filled her belly, and she frowned. “What do you mean?”

He said nothing as he drove around to the parking lot. Autumn knew this was one of his ploys, so she tried to control her need to demand an answer. He was such a butthead. Spies…they always liked to control the narrative even if they weren’t in the business anymore.

He parked his car, and she still said nothing, even though she wanted to scream at him. She should be used to this, but while they weren’t raised together, they were siblings. He knew exactly how to get under her skin.

Finally, as they stood at the crosswalk waiting for the traffic to pass, he said, “Harrington was checking you out.”

Again, those butterflies took flight but were more like drunken butterflies. They were making Autumn feel a little sick to her stomach.

“He was not.”

It was so insane that she simultaneously wanted it to be true and false. And yes, a few days ago, he’d told her he wanted her, but it still did nothing to calm her nerves.

She glanced at Ian. That stupid smirk sent her temper soaring. She hated these kinds of games, and they had less to do with Ian than her time at Joyous Wave. The mind fuck they seemed to get off on there was enough to make any average person insane. She always thought it was a good thing that she wasn’t normal.

“He was. The few times I’ve seen you two in the same room, there’s a buzz.”

The light changed, allowing them to cross, but it took her a second to move. She was long-legged for her height, but Ian was a giant. She hurried to catch up with him. The automatic doors opened, the rush of air hit her, and she shivered. The Honolulu Airport was packed, but that was the norm. Several mainland flights always seemed to hit in the late afternoon.

The moment she saw Sam, her heart jumped. He looked so much better than he had a few months ago. Retiring had definitely been good for him. His color was good, and he now donned a full beard.

Ignoring Ian, she rushed forward, jumping into Sam’s arms. He was the first man she had ever learned to trust, and almost losing him this year freaked her out. The kidney transplant was doing well, but she always worried something would go wrong.

He smelled familiar, that same bergamot and spice that always seemed to cling to him.

She saw Seth approach a handsome couple out of the corner of her eye. Jesus, his father, looked just like him but had twenty to twenty-five more years on him. His mother was tall, with short, ash-blonde hair, and dressed smartly in a blue shirt tucked into jeans. She was wearing tennis shoes. Also, she did not have a hair out of place and not one wrinkle in her clothes. She had just spent at least six hours on a flight and looked like a million bucks.

“Do you know them?” Sam asked.

“No. But I know their son.”

“Ah. Yes, I talked to them on the plane. Let’s go meet them.”

“Let’s not and say we did.”

Ian chuckled. “She doesn’t want to go because she has a crush on Seth.”

“I do not.” And now she sounded defensive. Brothers were the worst. “Fine, let’s go.”

They made their way over to the Harringtons.

“Oh, there you are,” his mother said. She and Seth shared the same eyes. “I guess our kids do work together.”

The coincidence would make her skin itch, but the truth was, there was no odd reason behind their parents being on the same plane. There were only so many flights from the mainland each day.

Sam pulled her closer. “This is Autumn, and this is my son Ian. This is Thelma and Dennis Harrington.”

Ian, being the ultimate player, put Sam’s cases down, took Mrs. Harrington’s hand, and held it between the two of his.

“It is such a pleasure to meet you. Although, I’m having a hard time believing you are old enough to have a son the age of Harry over there.”

The giggle did not sound like something that would come out of a woman like Thelma Harrington. The woman was a powerhouse and had been one of the most powerful women at the Pentagon. From the look on Seth’s face, he wasn’t used to it, either.

“Of course, you know him. Sam, this is my oldest son, Seth.”

Sam shook Seth’s hand. “Nice to meet you. I gather Autumn’s been training with you lately.”

“Today was the last day,” she said.

Seth laughed. “Oh, yeah, she had a ball with us. She complained every day.”

“I did not. I had some things I needed to do.”

“Sure, you did.”

“It’s just like you to think that I have nothing else to do other than to follow y’all around all over the place and train in the gym.”

They both noticed that both their families watched them with interest.

“Yes, I have some work to do next week, and I understand their mission now. I heard you’re getting Graeme next week.” She looked at Thelma. “He’s our Thor. You’ll meet him tomorrow night.”

“Tomorrow night?” Thelma asked.

“Oh.” She looked at Seth and blinked a few times, trying to look innocent. “You did tell your mother about the party at Mrs. Lee’s house, right?”

“No, he did not.” That tone told her she had just gotten him in trouble with his mother. It made her smile.

“I was going to tell you once you got in. See how you felt.”

“Well, it’s tomorrow night, and her fried rice is to die for. Plus, Drew’s family—he’s another member of Team Alpha—is catering a lot of it along with the aunties.”

“Sounds like a great time,” his father said.

“Well, we’ll see you there.”

As they headed out the door, Sam asked, “How long have you and that Harrington been dating?”

“I’m not dating him.”

“He definitely wants to date her,” Ian offered.

“He does not.” And again, she was sounding defensive.

“I told you he was checking you out.”

“That doesn’t mean he wants to date me.”

“What the hell does it mean?” Sam asked.

“He probably just wants to bang me.”

Her father sighed. “I really regret telling both of you to speak freely when you were in your teens.”

Life was good—at least for the moment. And she had learned that living in the moment was more important than anything else.

Seth took the ramp that led to H-1 and knew it was just a matter of time before his mother said something. They were staying in Honolulu while they waited for their household goods to arrive. Still, he knew the quick twenty-minute drive to their rented condo wouldn’t be fast enough to outrun his mother.

“Autumn seems interesting.”

His father chuckled from the back seat, but Seth knew he would be no help. He might be a retired admiral, but he knew better than to tangle with his wife.

“She is.”

“From how you talked about her, I thought she was kind of tomboyish.”

He knew where she was going with this. “Is that a term you should use now? I don’t think it is.”

“What I meant was that you talked about the way she fought and that she had a great record with drug busts. You didn’t say anything about her being stunning.”

“It’s the first time I’ve ever seen her in a dress.”

“Oh. Then you didn’t know she was so pretty?”

He rolled his eyes. “Of course, I knew she was pretty.”

“So you think she’s attractive.” Not a question, and he knew that his mother had backed him into a corner. He knew his father wasn’t the only admiral with a healthy respect for his mother. Seth had to go on the offensive, or his mother would start meddling. She wasn’t the typical mom who would just urge him to date. No, his mother had the type of contacts that would have an entire background check on someone within an hour.

“Anyone with eyes can see she’s attractive.”

There, that should work. The only thing that worried Seth was the chuckle from his father in the back seat.

“Indeed. That was her father and brother?”

As if he hadn’t just introduced them back at the airport. “Why do you ask?”

She sighed.

Alarm coursed through him. “What did you do?”

“Nothing. I promise. I would have recognized her even if you didn’t mention her background. Or at least, I recognize her because of her mother.”

“You knew her mother?”

“No, not personally. When the standoff happened, her face was everywhere because of her father.”

He hated it when his mother spoke in riddles. He had always been someone who wanted all the facts and no subterfuge. That made him pause as he slowed down for a red light. Is that why he was so intrigued by Autumn? He wanted to know the whole truth about what was happening with her.

“What about her grandfather?”

“Her grandfather was Arlen Bradford.”

He blinked and glanced at his mother. “The Arlen Bradford of Bradford Industries?”

She nodded. “A lot of fuss was made about her mother. They were comparing her to Patty Hearst.”

“Except she wasn’t kidnapped like Hearst,” his father said from the backseat.

“Agreed and Hearst definitely didn’t have a baby with the leader of that cult. Anyway, she looks a lot like her mother. Not as thin, that’s for sure, but she is the spitting image of her mother.”

Someone laid on their horn behind him, and he realized the light had turned green.

“So, you think she looks like her mother, and that’s how you recognized her?”

“Don’t sound so suspicious. And yes. If you looked up Autumn’s mother, you would see it. Anyways, she’s a gorgeous woman.”

“Yes, she is.”

“Hmm, so you agree. Good.”

Inwardly, he sighed. He now understood what Rami had been talking about and knew he would eat his words if his friend ever found out.