“You’ll send pictures?”
“Of course.” His mother paused. “I hope you’re not working all the time and having fun too.”
She was digging for information on his personal life. He went to answer, oddly surprised he wanted to tell her about Elise. “I don’t work that hard, and yes, I’m having fun.”
“Good. Glad to hear it.” Another pause. “Okay, sure, I’m coming,” his mother said to someone else in the room with her. “I have to run. We’ve got a tour planned this afternoon. I miss and love you.”
“Love you, too. Goodbye.”
“Bye, honey.”
The phone line went dead, and Archer shoved his cell back into his pocket, finally exiting his truck. He had never spoken about any woman to his mother, and she knew better than to pester him about it. She’d like Elise. Her directness. Her steel-like strength where it came to Archer and her smart mouth. He’d seen his mother suffer, and that’s why he never got serious with anyone until he could be there for her fully. Like Gerry was there for his mother. It occurred to him then that he wanted that with Elise. To show her not all relationships were bad. That some were incredible. To show her what was possible. The thought warmed something cold in his chest as he made it up to the loft and knocked on the door.
A moment later, it opened to Hazel. “Hi,” she said with a warm smile. “Still staying with us?”
He nodded. “A little bit longer, if that’s okay.”
“Of course,” she said, opening the door a little wider. “You’re the one making sure we’re safe. I’d be silly not to be grateful for that.”
He smiled at her appreciation, removing his shoes at the door. “Is Elise here?”
“Yeah, she’s in the shower. Go on in to her room.”
“Thanks.”
Spicy hints lingered in the air as he strode through the loft, indicating the women had already eaten dinner. Archer had grabbed a sub on the way out of Manhattan. Something akin to happiness touched his chest when he headed down the hallway. For all the shit hanging over him at the club, things felt good. Easy. He had no doubt it all had to do with Elise. These past days with her felt…perfect. The thought stayed with him until he entered her bedroom, finding the space decorated in a way that reflected the woman herself—smart with thick and sturdy bedroom furniture that was built to last and decorated with warm colors.
On her queen-sized bed, there was a large envelope. The front read: Hottie Boy Toy. It didn’t take much to know whatever was in this envelope was about him. He took a seat on the side of the bed and picked up the envelope, feeling the weight of it.
His past. There it was in a single envelope.
He heard a creak ahead of him and glanced up to find Elise standing in the doorway wearing nothing but a towel, her hair dripping water down her arms. “You could have just asked me, if you wanted to know about my past,” he told her.
She closed the door behind her, then shook her head. “I didn’t ask Penny to look into you. She handed me the envelope this morning.”
He lifted an eyebrow at her. “But you didn’t destroy it?”
“No, but I also left it out so you’d see it.”
“Why?”
“Because Penny wouldn’t have given it to me if she didn’t think I needed to see something.” Her steady gaze held his as she came to sit next to him on the bed. “So, tell me, what do I need to know?”
“You didn’t look inside?”
Again, she shook her head. “I told you, I don’t do that.”
He drew in the longest breath of his life, then gestured to the envelope. Going into the past wasn’t easy. He’d left it behind for a reason. To live a civilian life without being haunted by the darkness war brought. “Open it.”
“I don’t need to,” she said, adamant.
“I want you to,” he said, and he meant it, offering her the envelope.
She hesitated but then must have trusted that he did want this, since she took the envelope and opened it. He looked down at the contents first and then wished he hadn’t.
His heart sank into his gut, his mind yanking him away from Elise and taking him to a place he hadn’t gone in a long time.
Gunshots rang out through the dark night.
“Westbrook, you’ve got your orders. Get the target and get the fuck out.”
His legs ached to book it at the command issued to him. The training running through his veins, his instincts fighting to obey the order. And yet, the little girl screaming, with tears rushing down her cheeks while she stood shaking near the stone pillar. Her mother had already been taken by Archer’s team to safety. Intel never mentioned a child. A child caught in the middle of a war she was born into.
So scared. So alone. He hit his ear communicator. “I will not leave her. Cover me.”
Roars from countless voices followed him as he charged forward. He felt the first punch to his shoulder and quickly took aim, firing toward the gunman on his right. The next bullet soared by him; another one followed. He heard the gunfire behind him, one of his brothers taking out that threat. Another blow hit the ground ahead of him as he dove toward the little girl and she leapt in the safety of his arms.
“You refused to leave the little girl there?”
Archer snapped back into focus, his gut heavy, his hands clammy as he fought the chill in his veins. “The order was to extract the mother and keep her safe until she could testify against her husband. The child wasn’t supposed to be there. Our intel suggested the little girl was staying with an aunt.”
“It says here,” she said, motioning to the file, “that the general wanted you for insubordination, but your second lieutenant fought for you.”
“He did,” Archer said. “And he won that particular fight, but it didn’t change the fact that the injuries I received took me out of active service.”
Her eyebrows furrowed and then released before she set her warm stare on him. “When I asked you why you left the military, why didn’t you tell me this story? Why did you simply say your body couldn’t handle it?”
“Would it have mattered?” he asked honestly.
She held his gaze. “It’s the truth, and it’s a good truth. You saved a little girl when you’d been ordered not to.” She fell silent then, watching him closely.
He felt any barrier between them begin to fall. He waited for her to say something more, but when she didn’t, he asked, “Why do you think Penny wanted you to see this?”
She gave a soft smile, so foreign for her. “Probably to show me you’re a good guy.”
He became trapped in her gaze, free of all her usual guards. “Is that what you think of me? That I’m a good guy.”
“In my line of work, I have a really hard time thinking anyone is good, but…” She held his gaze for so long that he thought she wasn’t going to answer. Then she surprised him. “You’re more than a good man, Archer. You’re…incredible.” And with that loaded statement hanging in the air between them, she rose and dropped her towel, revealing her gorgeous body, rosy nipples taut.
“Christ, you’re warm,” he told her, sliding his hands across her back to her bottom, where he squeezed. “So soft.”