Chapter 19

Peach didn't want to get involved romantically with Haisley, but coming home to a perfectly made dinner had him feeling things he should keep a chain on. Haisley made it perfectly clear that she wasn't interested in a relationship with him.

She was saving him from himself. He didn’t want a relationship. The men on his team had gotten lucky. There was no way he would find someone special. He hadn’t so far. Women used him because of his looks. He’d learned that lesson early and then decided he wouldn’t give them the chance to take advantage of him.

On Tuesday night, Harry and Rory were set to arrive at five. He could tell Haisley was nervous. Putting her at ease was second nature to him. Though he was friendly, he didn't make the mistake of touching her again.

Haisley bit her thumbnail. “I shouldn’t be so nervous. I want to help you go through the paperwork.”

“Sure. I appreciate any help.”

There was a knock on the door, and Haisley's eyes grew wide. He hoped that he was right about his friends. They knew she'd been through some stuff, but they didn't know everything. Rory could be direct because of her job with the military, but she really was nice.

He opened the door, and Harry gave him a hug, followed by Rory. He turned to see Harry introducing himself to Haisley.

“I’ve known Peach for a few years. He’s a good guy.”

Haisley nodded. “It’s obvious.”

"Hello, I'm Rory, Harry is my husband. So, did you know Audrey?"

Haisley shook her head. “No. I didn’t. I think Ellen did. That’s Peach’s mother.”

“But you knew the guys who attacked you?” Rory asked.

Peach saw Haisley's cheeks flame, and her gaze flew to him. He raised one hand.

“She’s talking about the attempted abduction while I was taking a shower.”

“Oh,” Haisley’s face went an even deeper shade of red.

Rory's eyes narrowed, and Peach knew she had put things together. He hoped Rory didn't ask. The cracks were showing, and he didn't want Haisley to break. She needed rest and peace of mind.

“Okay, let’s dive in,” Harry said.

"Great. The box arrived this morning. Thank you, Haisley, for bringing it in. I got all the papers from their house. I didn't feel like I had time to go through them there. Not with everything else happening. I tried a little, but too many weird things happened."

“Yeah,” Rory said. “I’m glad you both got out of there without getting hurt worse than you were.”

"It was scary," Peach said. "I mean, when I'm ready for a mission, it's one thing, but hearing you scream and fight for your life when I turned off the shower was frightening. "

Haisley met his gaze, and something passed between them that he knew was dangerous. The feelings developing for this woman needed to be kept in check. Maybe he needed to find someone to fuck, and he would feel better. The thought made him want to throw up. He wouldn’t be cheating on her, but the thought of sleeping with another woman felt wrong.

They’d gone through about half the paperwork, stacking the paperwork for bank accounts together and then separating bank accounts from life insurance paperwork. He would probably have to head back to Georgia eventually to close the actual bank accounts.

For now, he would send the death certificates that he'd finally gotten a hold of. His parents being dead hurt his soul. Having their lives winnowed down to this box weighed heavily on his heart.

Peach closed his eyes, willing himself not to cry. Then Harry pulled him up and hugged him close, sharing in his grief like a brother. The tears wouldn't be held back, and he cried for the loss and the stupidity of his dad thinking he could go to Colombia and get someone back. Guilt wafted over him, too, because he'd told his dad how they'd rescued women who were being held by sex traffickers.

Harry pushed him to arm's length, and Peach realized the women weren't in the room.

“Where’d they go?” he asked.

“Rory took her upstairs.”

“I feel like this is my fault.”

“What?” Harry asked.

"I told my dad a few stories of us rescuing women. I guess he thought he could do the same."

“You know it’s not your fault. Your dad knew not to go looking for trouble like that.”

“Why didn’t he call me? ”

Harry shook his head. "Who knows? It's hard to say when people do stuff like this. You aren't to blame for your mom and dad taking matters into their own hands. They were adults and made decisions that were wrong."

“I hate that he listened to my stories and thought he could do the same thing.”

“He knew we had backup, right?”

“He knew. I told him about how we have people watching satellites and displays from drones. He knew we had other people we could fall back on. Plus, there were six of us on each mission at a minimum.”

Harry shook his head. “I don’t know why he went to Colombia searching for a missing woman. I’m sorry that something happened to him.”

"Thanks, man. It sucks."

“We’re here for you.”

“Thanks. I couldn’t make it without you guys.”

“Yeah. We’re all interested in getting to know Haisley better.”

Peach blew out a breath, unsure exactly how he was going to reconcile his feelings for her. His vow that he would never settle down was being chipped away, and Haisley had only been in California for a few days. He'd only known her for a week.

What was wrong with him? Deep in the recesses of his mind, he was thinking of ways to make her happy. That wasn't anything he'd ever thought about for any of the women he'd dated. He wasn't a total jerk, but he didn't care if they were happy or not. But he wanted Haisley's life to be filled with goodness.