2. Brent

CHAPTER 2

brENT

"You excited to see him tomorrow?"

I side-eyed my best friend and former SEAL, Austin Wentworth, aka Daredevil. He was being an asshole, but I knew how to get under his skin.

"You excited about spending a week with Greer?"

I raised my brows at him, then took another pull of my beer, waiting for his response.

Dare scowled, but didn't reply. Unlike me, he had a love-hate thing going on with the Pirates owner, Greer Rowan. And by love-hate, I mean he loved the guy but hated to admit it. But GQ, Phantom, and I knew the real story since he'd spilled his guts to us last week.

"My situation is different," I supplied. "I'm not harboring ten years' worth of messy feelings like you. I'm more of a one-and-done, no-repeats guy. No matter how good the lay is."

"Classy," he grunted. "And I don't have feelings for him."

I scoffed. "Really? The way you two look at each other says differently. You see, the difference between me and you is I know better. I'm just a man who loves being balls deep in a tight ass or face down while some big man pounds me into the mattress. And John's dick was particularly memorable."

Dare rolled his eyes, then shoved my shoulder, making me laugh. I wasn't ready to admit seeing the Commander again was a thrill. He'd been a hell of a fuck.

"We'll see how you react when you see him again. You forget I know you, and I've never heard you talk about a hookup after the fact. Not like you do him. And whether you realize it or not, you bring him up every once in a while. Something is different about him, and I'll be studying every expression you make tomorrow, and serving you with a side of analysis."

I laughed to cover the unease crawling up my spine at his assessment. I could handle seeing John once in a while. But every day might be a problem because I'd want to jump on him. Of all the motherfucking former SEALs GQ could have hired, he had to hire mine.

Well, not mine.

But the best ass-wrecking hookup I'd ever had.

The one person who got so deeply under my skin that I still thought about him when I was home alone in the dark. The memory of his too-handsome face and the way his eyes fixed on mine like he could see my soul scared the shit out of me. It was also thrilling.

All along, my plan had been simple: spend my life as a SEAL as long as I could, and fuck my way around the world with whoever interested me. No settling down, no finding the one , and no falling in love. I knew what happens when you love someone too much. You eventually lost them. I'd seen it firsthand when our teammate was killed in action.

I shifted in my seat, the memories weighing heavier than I wanted to admit. That's why I kept my distance—why I didn't let anyone in too deep.

And I'd watched my parents fall apart when my brother died. It had wrecked them to the point that they were numb 24/7. They'd let go of me without knowing they'd done it.

So, no relationship entanglements would ever convince me they were worth it—because all they did was lead to getting hurt. I'd seen enough to know better. Just look at Dare, quietly pining for Greer all this time, denying it to everyone, even himself. That was reason enough for me to stay single for the rest of my life. You couldn't get hurt if you weren't involved.

"Why are you suddenly so quiet? That's highly unlike you."

I smirked, then absently peeled the label from my Portland IPA.

Dare sat his bottle down and turned toward me. "What's going on? Does the thought of seeing the commander get you off kilter?"

I shrugged, staring at my bottle. "No. But I can admit he affects me in some kind of way. Makes me soft."

His eyes went wide. "That's not good. Soft is never good in a hookup."

I laughed and shoved him with my shoulder. "That's not what I mean, asshole. It's just…" I thought about how to put it into words. "I don't know. I can't explain it. But I refuse to leave myself vulnerable."

He nodded slowly, looking at me. "You like him."

I scrunched up my face in protest. "No. It's not like that. He's a good fuck, but I don't like him like him. It'll be fine."

Daredevil laughed. "If it feels like you have unfinished business, maybe you should just fuck him out of your system. Like fuck buddies."

I grinned and pointed at him. It was easier to deflect than admit being around John made me feel things I didn't want to feel. "Yes. That I can do. Is that what you're gonna do with Greer?"

Dare grunted a non-answer, so I went back to drinking my beer and watching the baseball game on the big screen. I could have fun with John if he was up for it. But then Dare caught me off guard.

"You're thirty-five, man. Maybe it's time for you to reconsider finding someone. You don't want to live your life alone."

I slowly panned my gaze toward my ridiculous friend. "No. Just no. I won't be alone as long as I have you."

He snickered and drank his beer. But I wasn't finished. So I turned on my stool toward him.

"First off, how is settling down with one person remotely possible when there are so many sexy people out there in the world to explore? Any self-respecting sex god knows not to limit his prowess."

"Phantom did it," he replied. "He's demi and got himself a rock star. And so did Jesse. We never thought they'd commit to anyone, and look at them now. Both of them stupidly happy." Relationships might work for some, but I wasn't Phantom or Jesse.

I nodded. "True, but are you ready to settle down? I mean, you don't hook up. At all."

Dare now peeled the label from his bottle. "Yeah, well… That's complicated."

He was fooling himself if he thought we couldn't see how he felt about Greer, and maybe I was doing the same thing.

The following morning, Dare and I headed out to run through downtown Portland before going to the office. We'd made it our daily cardio when we were both in town, and I enjoyed running with him. He didn't talk much which left me to carry a lot of the conversation. All it took was one look to know he had something on his mind. Hopefully, a week away on the beach in Costa Rica would give him some perspective.

After returning from our run, we showered and changed before heading into the office. Anticipation mixed with a dose of apprehension filled my mind as we headed out of the condo.

What if he didn't want to hook up again?

What if he'd already settled down?

There wasn't anything I could do either way, so I'd just move on. But seeing him every day might be a problem.

When we reached the parking lot, I looked over at Austin. "Want to ride together?"

"Can't," Austin said, running his hand over his head. "I've got some errands to run, and I have to go to the stadium."

I snickered. "Yeah, okay. No problem."

Pulling my keys from my pocket, I clicked the fob as we approached our almost identical black Tahoe's backed into their parking spaces. One look at them sitting side by side and I knew we wouldn't be going anywhere.

"What the fuck?"

Austin stopped and looked at my SUV, then at his. Both were sitting closer to the ground than we'd left them, meaning all eight tires were flat.

"Goddamn it," he said, scanning the area around the parking deck for anything out of the ordinary. He walked around his Tahoe, checking the body and tires, while I moved to get a closer look at mine.

Squatting down I ran my fingertips over the rubber before spotting three spaced-out cuts in the tire wall. My hackles rose as I stood up to check out the others.

Austin walked around to where I was checking the back tire. He ran his hand over his head while he looked at the undamaged car parked next to the Tahoe.

"They've been cut," I said as if he didn't already know.

"Ya think?"

He could be such a smartass.

Moving around to the other side of the Tahoe, Dare followed and pulled out his phone. Leaning down, he took pictures of each vehicle.

"Who the fuck would do this?" I said, standing to rest my hands on my hips. "A single tire is one thing. But they're going to have to be towed. And the rims are going to be fucked up. We're looking at a couple of grand each at least."

Austin looked around, mirroring my stance. "Insurance will cover it. But we gotta get a police report." He took out his phone and started to dial 911. "Call Jesse."

I nodded and took out my phone. He answered on the second ring.

"Hey, where are you guys?" His tone was relaxed, like every other day.

I sighed. "Waiting for the police."

"Why? What happened? Where are you?" Alarm was evident in his tone, making me smile.

"Hang on Dad, and I'll tell you. But it's gonna cost you a pretty penny."

"Brent," he growled, impatiently, "what the fuck are you talking about?"

"All four tires were slashed on both cars. Looks like damaged rims. We're not gonna make it to the meeting."

Jesse let out a weighted sigh as I heard the sound of his chair moving back against the floor. "Okay. We're coming to you. Call Phantom and tell him to meet us at the condo."

GQ ended the call, leaving me to look at my phone. John was on the way, and I wasn't sure how I felt about that. I wanted to see him again, but just the thought of what might happen between us created a ball of anxiety in my gut.

"Police are on the way. What did GQ say?"

I looked up at my friend. "They're, umm… coming here. Guess I'm gonna see the commander before I have my coffee."

But I was wrong.

Right before the police showed up, my phone rang with a call from my mother. I knew it was trouble because she never called.