Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

The sun shined brightly through the front windshield of his vehicle as Gage shoved his pistol into the glovebox and slammed the door shut. He wouldn't need it where he was going. More accurately, he wouldn't be allowed to carry it. It didn't matter that he had a concealed carry permit. Short of a federal job, he would never be able to possess a weapon inside of a county jail.

And that was exactly where he was about to enter. Not just any jail either. Nope, he was back in his hometown. The place that seventeen years ago he swore he would never step foot in again. Not the jail, per se, but the actual town. To say it was a shithole would be a gross distortion of the truth. The entire town needed to be burned to the ground and then not resurrected from the ashes. There was no guarantee it would come back better than it was, so it was best to leave it as debris.

Gage glanced up at the county building with a huff. This was one of the few buildings that didn't look run down. Architects would probably call it gorgeous because it looked similar to a medieval castle. With the donjons on each corner, he half expected to see some hidden princess peering from one. There wasn't, obviously. No princess would step foot in the likes of this town, not if they knew what was good for them. Hell, even the peasants would be smart to stay away. Only criminals gravitated here and ran rampant.

He walked up the six steps and yanked open the large wooden doors. Gage did his best to remove the scowl from his face but he doubted he was successful. There would be no smiling until he left Pennsylvania in his rearview mirror. Or in his case, when he watched it disappear through the clouds from the company's private plane window. Working for Black had its advantages. He could leave all that much sooner and forget about the hellhole he once called home.

The inside of the building looked nothing like the outside. The interior was all modern and didn't match the castle feel. If this were any other building, he would be upset. He was what one considered a history buff and ancient buildings always intrigued him. Especially when they were properly maintained. Nothing about this one drew him in though, and that was a shame. In any other town, this building would be high on his list to research. To learn its history and everything he could about it. Instead, he couldn’t escape it fast enough.

"Step through the metal detector with your hands at your side, please." The county sheriff motioned for him forward.

Gage waited for the sheriff to give him the all-clear before he stepped farther down the hall. This time he was asked to hand over his cell phone so it could be placed in a locked pouch. He didn't understand the point considering his only goal was to provide the bail money requested and then he was gone. His obligation was over.

Your obligation should've ended the day after graduation, the rational part of his brain reminded him for the tenth time since he got the call. Unfortunately, his heart had other ideas and that was what got him into this mess. He was too kind for his own damn good.

"State your purpose." The receptionist barely glanced up at him as she continued to type away at her computer. He could only imagine how many people she was forced to interact with on a daily basis. It was probably the reason for her standoffish behavior. If this were his job, he would be the same way.

"I'm here to provide bail for Dani Tomlinson." Her name got caught in his throat, but if the receptionist noticed, she didn't show it.

"Sign here." She pushed a clipboard through the small window opening. "Initial here, here, and here. Did you bring a money order or a certified bail bond?"

It was the first time the receptionist looked at him and, yup, her face was devoid of any emotion. She probably hated her job more than he despised the fact that he was here talking to her.

"Money order." Gage signed and initialed in all the places she indicated before handing over the small piece of paper that would free Dani. In the grand scheme of things, it wasn't much money. Black paid well and Gage had always been careful with his finances. He wouldn't even miss the small chunk. Hell, he would have paid a lot more to make sure he went another seventeen years without having to hear from Dani again.

"Step through that door and one of the county sheriffs will bring her out to you."

Gage froze. "Uh, I wasn't picking her up. I'm only here to provide bail money."

The receptionist's emotionless face now showed exasperation. This woman definitely didn't like her job and she certainly didn't appreciate what he had to say.

"That's not how this works. The paper you just signed states you're responsible for Ms. Tomlinson and ensure that she makes her court date. Whenever that may be."

Well, fuck. That was what he got for signing a form without reading it first. He knew better, but Dani had that effect on him. She scrambled his brain like no other woman ever had. She had when they were teenagers and she was doing it again now.

"Okay, thank you."

Gage wanted to argue further but it wasn't the receptionist's fault he hadn't read the form. Nor was it her fault that he was here in the first place. That honor belonged solely to Dani. He would reserve his disdain for when she graced his presence.

He opened the door she indicated and stepped into what most would consider a small waiting room. There were two chairs and another door directly across the tiny space, through which Dani emerged nearly ten long agonizing minutes later.

It was almost as if he was thrown back seventeen years to when he was in high school. His senior year to be exact. Dani was what people liked to call a late bloomer. In high school, she was all knees and elbows. He had known one day she would turn heads. It irked him to see just how right he had been. Life hadn't taken the same toll on her that it had on him. She was beautiful and it hurt to look at her.

"Gage."

He spun on his heel, turning his back to her, at the sound of his name on her lips. It was too much. He never should've come. Any one of his friends would've offered to make the trip for him, would've gladly paid the bail if he had just explained the situation. Instead, he rushed off after convincing Black to give him a lift on his way to Boston. He had no plan on how he would get back and that was unlike him. Or at least unlike the man he had become. Acting irrationally was something the younger version of him would've done but he hadn't been that person in a long time.

"Gage, stop. Please," Dani begged.

He didn't stop. He didn't even slow down. Gage snatched his phone from the waiting county sheriff and continued to walk out of the building into the sweltering heat. It was summertime in Pennsylvania. Humidity was a given, and despite living in New Mexico for the last few years, there was something about the East Coast heat that made him feel like he was seconds away from melting.

Or maybe being around Dani did that to him.

Gage didn't halt until he was yanking the door of his rented SUV open with more force than was necessary. It was only then that he took the time to take a deep breath.

In and out.

In and out.

He was better than this. He was no longer the reactive teenager who couldn't control his emotions. The Army trained him to be better. Daniel expected him to be the best. Stomping away was not him being the bigger person. He was letting Dani drag him back to the kid he used to be and that wasn’t acceptable.

"Thank you for bailing me out."

It was so much easier to convince himself he had matured when his past wasn't slapping him in the face.

"Just get in the SUV."

Dani was standing near the hood, and since he hadn't expected a confrontation, he wasn't prepared for the forlorn look on her face. Dani had been good at getting what she wanted. It didn't take a smile or a pout. All she had to do was make eye contact and he was a goner.

That couldn't be the case this time.

"Can you please say something?" With both arms crossed over her chest, one would think Dani needed to protect herself but the reality was it was him who needed the protection.

"I did. I told you to get in the damn SUV," he was quick to remind her.

"Seriously?" Dani threw her hands up in the air the same way she used to when they would bicker about the importance of him doing homework. He hadn't seen the point in school because he was destined for the military, but Dani never saw it that way. "After seventeen years, that's all you have to say to me?"

Gage slammed the door shut and stalked to the front of the SUV. "Fine, you want to do this here?" He bent over her and used his height to make her feel as powerless as he had the day she walked out of his life. "I don't want to talk to you at all. I would've been happy to go the next thirty years without ever seeing you or stepping foot back in this fucking town. But clearly, that didn't happen and now I signed a fucking paper that says I'm responsible for your ass until your damn court date, whenever the hell that is, so yes, the only thing I have to say to you is to get the fuck in the SUV because I'm not exactly thrilled to be in your presence at the moment."

This was a bad idea. There was no way he was going to be able to be this close to Dani without losing his shit. There was too much history between them.