Prologue

Junior year of high school . . .

Hunter Townsend opened the mailbox and grabbed the mail. Bill. Bill. Bill. Another college interest letter for his younger sister, Olivia, who was a year younger than he was. Some more bills. And another recruitment letter from a college hockey team for his older brother, Stone, who was a senior. And then there it was. The letter from the college standardized testing group with his scores. There was also one for Olivia since she'd decided to take it "for fun."

Everyone kept asking Hunter about college since his older brother, Stone, was going to be the first in the family to go to college on a hockey scholarship. Then Olivia, the fourth of nine Townsend children, was already getting interest from colleges because she was a genius. But Hunter wasn't sure what he wanted to do.

He was good at strategy, not English literature. He'd grown up playing Battleship with his older brothers, Damon and Stone. As they all got older, the game moved to chess. He loved military history, not art history, which was why he was very worried about this test. Hunter was good in math, but not fantastic. English was his weakest spot. Hunter tore open the envelope and frowned. Yup, a big weak spot.

Hunter shoved the rest of the mail back in the box, crumpled up his standardized test scores, and marched back toward town. It was two miles away, their house was outside their small town in upstate New York, but he needed the walk. What the hell was he going to do now? Community college probably. With Stone getting offers from all these major universities and Olivia already getting interest from colleges, Hunter felt left out, adrift, and stupid.

The noise of a radio, the sound of metal on metal, and the bay full of men working on cars and motorcycles reached him. Hunter had ended up at the mechanic shop where Damon, the eldest of the Townsend nine, worked.

Damon looked up from where he was working on a motorcycle and frowned. Not that Damon smiled often. Instead, his oldest brother seemed to have the weight of the world on him. Apparently, working on motorcycles was stressful.

"What's wrong?" Damon asked as he looked back down at the motorcycle.

Hunter shoved his hands in his jeans and pulled out the crumpled piece of paper. Damon looked back up and took it from Hunter's hands. He worked to get the wrinkles out and then read the scores.

"Well, now you have a starting point. I've heard there are books we can buy to help you learn how to take these types of tests."

"That's BS. I have a 3.4 grade point average, but according to this, I'm stupid." Damn, it hurt more than Hunter realized.

"You're not stupid. You just have strengths and weaknesses like everyone else." Damon handed him the test scores back and stood from where he'd been sitting on an overturned bucket. "You're a smart guy, Hunter. You have a freaky ability to strategize. You'll find something that allows you to play to your strengths. We'll come up with a plan after you process the scores and realize they don't represent your intelligence. Then, when you're clear-headed, we'll talk it over and find a solution."

Hunter tried to think more objectively but it was hard. However, he knew Damon would help him. He always had. It was Damon who showed up at every school play, every basketball game, and half of the parent-teacher conferences. Not because their parents were bad parents—they were great. However, nine kids in under fifteen years were expensive and time-consuming. Their father worked twelve-hour shifts and picked up every extra job he could to help pay for everything. Their mother had her hands full with all the younger kids. The Townsends were their own village and looked out for each other. Hunter did the same for his younger siblings, too.

"Hey," Damon said, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out his wallet. "Can you go get us two milkshakes?" Damon handed him some cash. "Then you can help me fix this bike."

Hunter took the cash only because he knew Damon would have him work it off. He wouldn't ask Hunter to repay him, but Damon knew Hunter would have insisted. This way, they both got milkshakes and Hunter didn't feel like he was mooching off his older brother.

Hunter was halfway to the ice cream parlor when he saw a friend from high school. Sarah was a senior. She was a cheerleader, homecoming queen, prom queen, and, well, just a queen. She was incredibly nice and beautiful, but she had a jerk of a boyfriend.

Hunter had his fair share of girlfriends. He wasn't blond like his younger twin brothers, Rowan and Forrest, his next younger brother, Kane, or his sister Olivia. Instead, Hunter had inherited the same black hair Damon, Stone, Penelope, and his younger brother, Wilder, had. The Townsends were either blond or black haired with either blue or varying shades of grey eyes. They were a jumble of their parents in every way. While they could look as if they were complete opposites—blond hair, blue eyes versus black hair and gray eyes—there was no denying they were all related.

"Hi, Hunter," Sarah said with a kind smile. "I heard Stone is being recruited in Massachusetts and Minnesota. That's so cool. Tell him I'm so happy for him."

The door to the store she was standing in front of opened and Brock, her boyfriend, strode out, glaring at them. "I leave you one minute and you're out here flirting with this douche. I told you Slutty Sarah was the perfect nickname for you."

Sarah didn't fight back. Olivia would have ripped the guy's nuts off. Instead, Sarah hung her head. "I wasn't flirting, Brock. I was telling Hunter to congratulate Stone for us."

"Don't disrespect me like that, Slutty Sarah!" Brock's hand raised as if he were going to hit her.

It wasn't a secret that Brock was rough with his girlfriend, but Hunter had never seen it in person. He saw the times when it was hot out and Sarah wore a turtleneck or a scarf. He saw the times she wore long sleeves when everyone else on the cheer team wore sleeveless tops. Hunter and the rest of the school, teachers included, knew what was happening even if they didn't see it. However, Sarah always smiled and never asked for help. But maybe she was too scared to, and right now Hunter was seeing it firsthand. He'd kill a man who treated his mother or sisters like this. Guilt and shame slammed into Hunter. He could have stopped this a long time ago if he'd just spoken up.

Brock outweighed Hunter by fifty pounds. Hunter was six foot two and one sixty, but he wasn't as strong as Damon. He still looked scrawny while Brock was close to two hundred and twenty pounds, just as tall as Hunter, but he had muscles everywhere.

That didn't stop Hunter from grabbing Brock's hand midair and turning Brock's wrath from Sarah onto him. "Not today, Brock. Don't you dare lay a hand on her, you asshole."

Brock yanked his arm free and sneered. "You gonna do something about it?" Brock shoved Hunter and sent him stumbling backward.

Here's the thing though. Hunter was the third out of nine children, and seven of them were boys. Hunter could fight. But thanks to Olivia's insane obsession with the law, Hunter also knew about restraint and the difference between assault and self-defense.

Hunter moved to stand in front of Sarah, even as she begged Hunter to leave it alone and then begged Brock to leave with her. Hunter kept his eyes on Brock, but reached behind him for Sarah. Hunter was careful to speak in a calm voice, "Sarah, go to my brother Damon's garage. He'll take care of you."

Sarah didn't move at first, but when Brock sneered at her, she finally moved. She ran. "Slutty Sarah! Running straight to another man," Brock taunted.

"I don't want to fight you, Brock. God knows you deserve to have your ass beaten for what you've done to Sarah, but I'm giving you a chance to act like a man for the first time in your life and walk away," Hunter said calmly.

"How's this for being a man?" Brock swung and his fist connected with Hunter's face. Hunter didn't move a muscle as he took the hit. Then he smiled. Hello self-defense.

Hunter swung, smashing his fist into Brock's face, then ducked instantly to avoid Brock's punch. The fight, such as it was, didn't take long. Bullies were rarely able to live up to their own hype. Four punches and Brock was on the ground, bleeding from his eyebrow, nose, and lip.

A man put his hand on Hunter's arm. It wasn't aggressive, but it was sure and strong. Hunter turned to see a man in camouflage. "At ease. I've called the cops." Brock went to get up, but the man put his boot on Brock's chest to keep him down. "I don't think so. Stay," he snapped at Brock before looking up at Hunter. "You're a smart fighter. You don't see that every day."

"Thanks," Hunter said, still not taking his eyes off Brock. "He was going to hurt her."

"I know. I was on my way over from my recruitment office to stop it, but you beat me to it. Ever thought of joining the Army?"

"Hunter!" Damon called out as he ran down the sidewalk. Sarah was hovering at the shop door, flanked by two large men holding giant wrenches to protect her.

The soldier held out a card and Hunter took it. "Stop by for a chat sometime if you want to learn more."

* * *

"Townsend!" Hunter jumped up from his bunk at basic training and stood at attention. "The commander wants to see you. Now."

Hunter strode from the barracks. He'd done really well in Army basic training and was one day away from graduation. He'd trained with Damon and Stone to get Stone ready for a career as a pro hockey player. Olivia had helped him study for the military entrance test. The Army's test was a lot easier than the college standardized test simply because it covered things Hunter was interested in. It didn't matter what the author was thinking when they wrote about the curtains being blue. There was math, mechanics, and more. Hunter had aced it.

Basic had been hard, sure, but he was in such great shape after helping Stone that he'd easily finished first in each training exercise. He didn't want to brag, but this was his thing, and he excelled.

Hunter knocked on his commander's door and waited to enter until he heard the command. "You wanted to see me, sir?"

Commander Olander looked up from the papers on his desk. "Have a seat. I've been looking over your recruiter's letter, your test scores, and your high school report cards. What do you think of basic training?"

Was this a trick question? "It's going well, sir."

The commander smiled. "Going well? You're first in every training exercise. Sometimes by a large margin. You're running the courses and hitting marks Special Forces do." Hunter didn't know that. That was pretty cool. "Your recruiter thinks you would be the ideal candidate for Special Forces. Your tests show you are ideal for it too. You're a top marksman and I want to send you to marksman training to really hone that. Do you speak a foreign language?"

"I've never had anything more than two years of Spanish in high school. My sister took French, so I picked that up too. But I wouldn't say I was fluent. I didn't think that was a requirement for the Army."

"It's not for the Army, but it's very helpful if you plan to climb the ranks in Special Forces. And if I've ever seen someone perfect for Special Forces, it's you. It's going to be a lot of work for the next couple of years. Are you up for it, Townsend?"

"Yes, sir!"

* * *

"Where are you?" Damon asked.

"Can't tell you," Hunter said as he looked out at the foreign soldiers his Special Forces team was training to protect themselves from the neighboring country that wanted to invade them. "What's so important you got through to me somehow when I'm on a mission?"

"I think Olivia's in trouble. She's moving to Shadows Landing," Damon said.

"Doesn't that billionaire she works with, Ryker Faulkner, live there?"

"Exactly. I won't let him take advantage of our sister."

Hunter understood. Olivia was a badass lawyer, but she was their sister and they would look after her. "I'll meet you in Shadows Landing as soon as I can, but it might be a while."

* * *

Hunter stepped off the military cargo plane at the Charleston Air Force Base with a new job and a new base. He found Damon leaning against his car, waiting for him. "Does it feel like you're in enemy territory?" Damon asked as airmen and naval personnel walked by.

"Joint base, my ass. They left out the best branch of the military," Hunter smirked before hugging his brother. "It's good to see you."

"It's been too long. I appreciate you coming."

Hunter nodded and tossed his duffle into the back of the car. "So, the billionaire wasn't an issue. I heard he's married now. But tell me about this guy trying to date our sister and why haven't you been able to run him off like the others?"

"Granger Fox is the sheriff and doesn't scare easily. I'll give him credit for that. Olivia swears she's not seeing him, but I don't believe her. The man is constantly watching her, and she him."

"Any man who wants our sister has to prove himself worthy. Now, tell me about Shadows Landing," Hunter said as they drove out of the base.

"It's not too far from here. Nice little town. Quirky. The plus side is everyone I've met seems to really care for Olivia." Damon paused, his lips turning down into a frown. "I've been so busy building my business. I haven't been there for you all like I was when you were growing up. It's time I change that."

Hunter looked at his older brother in disbelief. "Damon, you've always been there for us. When I was injured and transported to Ramstein, who was there when I got out of surgery?"

"Me," Damon said after a moment.

"When Olivia got that huge legal win, who was there to celebrate with her?"

"Me," Damon admitted.

"When Wilder opened his first nightclub, who was there?"

"Me," Damon said with a little chuckle.

"When Kane made it into the FBI, who was there at his ceremony?"

"Okay, I get your point," Damon said with a smile.

"When Forrest graduated with his master's and when Rowan had that horrible case that absolutely wrecked him and almost made him quit pediatric surgery, and when Penelope ran off to Europe . . . who was there for them?"

"Okay, okay, I get it." Damon shook his head, but his frown returned. "But when was the last time we were all together?"

Now it was Hunter's time to frown. "Too long."

"Exactly. And now our sister is looking at a man in a new way and he's looking at her in that same way. It's time to settle down. I'm surprised at how much I like Shadows Landing. I bought a house there. Stone and Kane did as well."

"You what?" Hunter almost shouted.

"Plus, Stone is looking to see if he can get transferred to the hockey team in Charleston."

Hunter was stunned. "I don't know what to say."

"You could come work for me in Shadows Landing if you like it here. You were always a good mechanic."

"Leave the Army?"

"Just think about it." Damon nodded up ahead. "That is my house. We need to change quickly. We have a wedding to crash."

"Does Olivia know I'm coming?" Hunter asked as he took in the small town. The courthouse, the treasure museum, the barbecue joints, and the busy Main Street.

"I thought it could be a surprise," Damon said with a little smirk that made Hunter laugh. It wasn't a reunion. It was an ambush, and Hunter was all for it.

Hunter hated suits. He could tolerate his dress uniform, but his muscled neck always seemed too big for dress shirts and ties made him feel as if he were being strangled. They missed the wedding of someone local named Edie, but Hunter had to admit the groom sounded interesting. Tristan had been with the Millevian military. Hunter had spent some time there before, not that the Millevia government or military knew about it. He'd been laying the groundwork for a possible military coup, which had just been averted, apparently with the help of the groom.

Hunter was a creature of habit and that meant observing a situation before he walked into it. Damon went to get Stone and Kane as Hunter took in the reception from the shadows.

Instead of focusing on his sister, Hunter's focus was on the woman walking toward him with a giant smile on her face. Her strawberry blonde hair was in loose waves around her exposed shoulders and rested against full breasts. She wore a pink and green dress, pink lipstick, and sparkling white cowboy boots. Her eyes matched the green of her dress to a T, and the dress hugged her curves just as well. This woman was all curves and happiness. And she had high maintenance written all over her.

"Another Townsend. Welcome to Shadows Landing," she said in a soft, Southern voice. She flashed a killer smile at him and Hunter didn't know what to do. He would have picked her up if he were on leave, have a few fun nights, and then never talk to her again. But this was someplace he would be visiting more than once. He had to watch himself, but his attraction to her was off the charts. Juicy was the only way he could describe the woman standing in front of him. And man, did he want to take a bite. "I'm Maggie Bell," she said, holding out her hand to him.

"Hunter Townsend," Hunter said, closing his large hand over her soft, small one. Jesus, she even smelled good enough to eat.

"It's nice to meet you, Hunter. Welcome to Shadows Landing."