Corps Security in Hope Town: For You (Kindle Worlds Novella)

  Text copyright ©2017 by the Author.

  This work was made possible by a special license through the Kindle Worlds publishing program and has not necessarily been reviewed by Elizabeth Harper. All characters, scenes, events, plots and related elements appearing in the original Corps Security in Hope Town remain the exclusive copyrighted and/or trademarked property of Elizabeth Harper, or their affiliates or licensors.

  For more information on Kindle Worlds: http://www.amazon.com/kindleworlds

  Cover Design: Rachel Mizer with Shoutlines Designs

  Formatting: Jo-Anna Walker with Just write. Creations

  Editing and Proofreading: Joanne Thompson

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

  For You

  Copyright 2017, J.M. Walker

  To Joanne Thompson.

  Thank you for helping me make this little story the best it can be. Because of you, Coby finally gets his happy.

  First off, I would like to thank Harper Sloan for asking me to be a part of this Kindle World. I couldn’t be more honored to be included alongside some fabulous authors.

  S.R. Watson, Felicia Lynn, Cat Mason and J.B. Salsbury. We will rock this Kindle World launch!

  Danielle Sanchez with Inkslinger PR. Thank you for all of your hard work! It’s so nice to finally get to work with you.

  Joanne Thompson, you edited the crap out of this novella. Thank you so so much for everything and our daily discussions on how to make certain “things” better. Love you, girl!

  Tammi Plummer, my PA, my semi-colon, thank you for helping me as always, with getting Coby out there. #mysemicolon

  To all the blogs, authors and readers helping us spread the word for this launch, thank you! From the bottom of my heart, thank you for your support.

  And to my Jems! I couldn’t do this without you! Thank you for everything and thank you for always standing by my side! I couldn’t ask for better readers.

  J.M.

  xx

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  MONTHS AGO, I gave a part of my soul to a complete and total stranger in order to save the woman I loved. Days and weeks went by, but no matter how much counseling I had, those forty-eight hours took over my nightmares. They forced me to feel shit I never thought a man of my stature would feel.

  Pain. Heartache. Fear.

  It made me weak, but those two days also made me irreparable.

  Some days I woke up, expecting to be back in that dungeon. I could still taste the dampness in the air. I could still feel the leather of the cross I was strapped to. I still could feel her—

  A small hand gripped mine, pulling me from the daily nightmare that threatened to take over my whole damn life.

  Rough, calloused fingers matching my own, poured so much strength into me, I didn’t know what to do with it.

  Brogan Tapp smiled up at me but it never reached her eyes. Her beautiful face shone with love for a man who was broken and forced to his knees by the very demons on his back, but she never gave up on me. Her face radiated with adoration, but also held so much sadness at the same time, it tore at my heart.

  “How are you doing today, Coby?” Dr. Matteo Santos sat across from us. He kept his face impassive like every other time I visited the psychologist. I wished these meetings could be over and done with but talking to him, even if I didn’t say much, became a habit I had no intention of breaking any time soon.

  “I keep coming back so that should answer your question,” I told him, keeping my eyes locked on the small freckle just beneath Brogan’s palm. It was such a small part of the woman I loved, it amazed me how even something that little could give me so much strength.

  “It doesn’t,” Dr. Santos said. “You could keep coming back just to see my smiling face.”

  My eyes snapped to his. “Was that a joke?”

  The doctor shrugged.

  Brogan laughed.

  The sound was foreign to my ears. She hadn’t laughed much lately. Well I was going to change that. No matter what I had to do to make that happen, she would laugh again.

  “Tell me what happened this week.” Dr. Santos crossed his ankle over the opposite knee, the gold wedding band on his left ring finger flashing in the dim lighting of his office.

  What didn’t happen? I had a nightmare. Fucked the shit out of my girlfriend. Went to work. Had a nightmare. Fucked her harder. Same shit, different fucking pile.

  “You would do anything for the woman you love,” I said, nodding towards his hand instead of answering his question.

  “Yes,” he shifted his weight in the chair. “I would, and I have.”

  “And you already know what I’ve done for mine, but it doesn’t make it any easier to deal with.” I hated talking about this shit. It was done. It was over. But almost six months later, I still couldn’t stop the nightmares or the guilt from taking over my mind.

  Brogan stiffened beside me.

  I placed my hand on her inner thigh, gripping it tightly.

  Her small body relaxed against me.

  “I think, no matter what I tell you, you’re still going to feel guilty,” Matteo pointed his pen in my direction. “You can be the strongest person ever, and still break. You’re human.”

  I grunted. He was right, but it didn’t mean I had to agree with him.

  “Brogan, I know you feel guilty as well.” Matteo’s face softened. “Are you finally going to tell me why?”

  I knew. God did I ever know. Brogan may not have thought I did, but when her whimpering at night woke me, the guilt I had been feeling intensified.

  “I…I’m fine,” she mumbled, covering my hand with hers.

  Which was what she always said, but she wasn’t. Neither of us were fine. We were broken. Destroyed. Forced to our knees to please others. It fucking sucked.

  “Life’s biggest lie,” Dr. Santos stated. “I know you don’t like talking about this. Coby doesn’t either, but he’s opened up. I need you to as well.”

  “I don’t know what to say. I feel guilty, but I don’t know why.” She shrugged. “I can’t help but feeling like I should have done more. Like it shouldn’t have happened so fast.”

  My heart stuttered, memories of that dungeon slithering into my mind like a viper waiting to strike its prey.

  “That’s good,” Matteo said. “That’s progress right there. You know what you say stays here, right? It’s been almost six months since you first started seeing me, but neither of you will tell me what happened to Tina Birtch.”

  “She’s gone,” Brogan said matter of factly. “That’s all that counts.”

  “But you feel guilty that she was gone as you put it, too quickly. Why?”

  Brogan gripped my hand even tighter.

  “Tell him,” I insisted.
For whatever reason, I trusted the guy.

  “I…” She took a deep breath. “I killed her.”

  Matteo only nodded. “Are you sleeping at night?”

  “No,” she sighed. “I’m not.”

  “How’s the relationship between you two?” he asked, writing something down on his pad of paper.

  Brogan looked up at me before glancing back at the doctor. “I love Coby. I love him so damn hard, but neither of us like talking about what happened. With you, it’s different, but with each other, we can’t.”

  The guilt resting on my shoulders became heavier as each word left her mouth.

  “How do you two communicate?” Matteo jotted something down on the paper and looked up when neither of us said anything. “Problem?”

  I rubbed the back of my neck. “I’m not one for talking so we use sex as an out.”

  Brogan’s gaze burned into the side of my head but I refused to meet her stare. We were there, we might as well talk about it.

  “I know we need to talk,” she added. “But no matter what I say to him…no matter what I say to you, you don’t believe me.”

  I looked down at her and cupped her cheek. “Just like you believe me when I tell you that you did all you could.”

  She huffed, chewing her bottom lip and looked away.

  “No,” I pinched her chin, forcing her to meet my eyes. “Do not look away. Not this time. I don’t give a fuck if we’re not alone, you need to speak. You need to tell me how you feel. I’m good, but I’m not a fucking mind reader, Brogan.”

  “I don’t know what to say to you,” she replied, her voice wavering. “You expect me to talk to you when you don’t even talk to me.”

  “Brogan,” I said gently.

  “No,” she shoved her head out of my grip. “You want to do this now? Fine.” She turned her body towards me.

  As inappropriate as it was, her sass turned me the fuck on.

  “I feel guilty that I didn’t take longer to kill Tina. I should have forced her to submit like she did to you. And it sickens me, knowing what she did.” Brogan crossed her arms under her chest. “There. Happy now?”

  My jaw clenched but I didn’t say anything. How the hell could I be happy? Tina Birtch had come into our lives and destroyed what little trust we had for humanity. With her being part of a human trafficking ring, I was taken, and forced to do things to keep Brogan safe, and myself alive.

  “Now you’re not going to say anything at all,” Brogan scoffed. “Of course not.”

  If we had been alone, I would have had her over my knee for giving me attitude, but we weren’t. So instead, I sat there like a damn idiot.

  “Alright,” Matteo interjected. “Coby, I have a question for you. What would convince you that Brogan is yours?”

  My mouth opened and closed. I looked between Brogan and the doctor. “She is mine,” I told him.

  “Are you sure? Because it sounds like you’re asking me.” Matteo sat forward. “So tell me, what are you going to do to make Brogan yours?”

  “Coby?” Brogan squeezed my hand when I didn’t answer. “I am yours.”

  “I…” Fuck, why the hell hadn’t I thought of that before? With everything that had happened, that was still going on, I went through our relationship like a damn zombie.

  “I want you to think on that,” Matteo wrote something else on that fucking pad of paper of his. “But your time is up. I’m happy with the progress you’ve both made today. We’ll pick up where we left off at your next session. Until then, take care of each other. You’re allowed to feel the guilt that you’re feeling. I understand that emotions over what happened, are still running high. Maybe you need some time alone and out of the city. Take a little trip. Doesn’t matter. But whatever you decide to do, just be there for each other.”

  We said our grumbled goodbyes to the doctor and left his office.

  We didn’t touch. We didn’t talk. We drove home in silence. Part of me wondered if this was the beginning of the end. Could we come back from this? Could we rebuild what Tina destroyed? Until then, I wasn’t sure what the hell I was going to do.

  LATER THAT AFTERNOON, Brogan and I still weren’t speaking. Not about the important shit anyway. It was like a wall had gone up between us ever since we left Dr. Santos’ office only a couple of hours before. We carried a casual conversation over lunch, about the weather changes in the world and politics within our country, but we didn’t speak about us. As much as I hated talking about our problems, I would have preferred Brogan scream at me, than be closed up like a vault.

  “I’m just going to head to the book store,” Brogan said, peeking her head into my office. “Did you need anything while I’m out?”

  My head snapped up at her question. I need you. “No, I’m fine, thank you.”

  She nodded once. “Okay. I’ll be back in a little bit.”

  When the sound of the apartment door closed, I dropped my head in my hands. There had to be something I could do to make this right. I needed her. I needed all of her back with me, and not the current shell of the woman that I fell in love with.

  “What are you going to do to make her yours?”

  Matteo’s question had been bouncing around in my head from the moment we stepped foot from his office.

  Opening the drawer in my desk, I pulled out the tiny black velvet box. Was it time? Was this what I needed? What we both needed? So many doubts ran through me.

  Throwing the box back in the drawer, I slammed it shut and scrubbed my hands down my face. I was never a nervous man until I met Brogan. These feelings weren’t the norm for me and no matter what I did, I couldn’t get used to them.

  Stretching my arms above my head, a slight crack rippled down my spine. I had been searching for the past hour for a new security company to come look at the condominium complex we lived in.

  After my grandfather died and left his line of condos and a couple of restaurants to me, I soon found out that his security company was shady as fuck. But I hadn’t been able to prove anything until recently, when the owner got charged with money laundering. The FBI did the work for me.

  Clicking through a couple more websites, I finally came across one that looked reputable but unfortunately it was too far out of the city.

  Corps Security. They dealt with residential and commercial. Owners were ex-military. Dual owned. Family run business. I had respect for them already. But still too damn far away. Something about the site tugged at me. Maybe for whatever reason, it was a sign. Clicking through the site until I found the actual address, I realized it was only an hour’s drive from the city.

  Standing from the chair, I grabbed my keys and sent Brogan a quick text.

  Me: I’m heading out of town to check out a security company. Won’t be late. Love you.

  Her reply came almost instantly.

  Brogan: Want me to go with you?

  Me: No, you have fun. Buy all the books you want.

  Brogan: I was going to do that anyway.

  I chuckled.

  Brogan: Love you. Drive safe.

  That tiny conversation, even though it was through texting only, gave me some hope. Hope that maybe we could move on past the shit that was done to us.

  Once I arrived into Hope Town, Georgia, I realized rather quickly that I needed to bring Brogan here. But as much as I wanted to look around, I was focused. I needed to see if the guys or at least one of them, from Corps Security, would be willing to come check out my place. The worse they could say is no.

  When I finally came across the street CS was located on, I turned off the GPS on my phone just as the security office came into view. Parking my SUV at the side of the road, I took a deep breath. Something about this place called out to me. My heart jumped. My stomach twisted. I was nervous and I had no idea why.

  Mentally scolding myself for being a pussy, I left the vehicle and made my way inside the building.

  There was no one at the reception desk and no way to let anyone know I was there. I to
ok note of the security cameras in the large room and refrained from waving.

  Leaning my elbow on the top of the reception desk, I rubbed the kink out of my neck when my gaze landed on a newspaper.

  Corps Security was in big bold letters. My eyes slid along the article, my gut churning over what I was reading.

  Men from CS were doing a routine check at a local residence and found a frail boy. No picture of him was in the newspaper, for his protection.

  Zachary Brenson, ten years of age, was abused by his stepmother. The father of the child died shortly after he married the bitch. The boy had no one.

  “That was a hard case to be involved in.”

  I jumped at the deep voice and found an older man standing on the other side of the receptionist’s desk. “Do you know what happened to the boy?”

  The man gave me a hard stare. “Who wants to know?”

  I cleared my throat, shifting my body’s weight from foot to foot under his scrutiny. The guy was a large fucker. I was a good fighter, but he could probably drop me on my ass before I even knew what hit me.

  Words, Coby, use them. For once in your damn life, speak.

  “My name is Coby Porter. I own a line of condos in the city and I’m looking for a new security company,” I explained. “The company who worked for me before dealt with some illegal activity and, well, let’s just say they don’t work for me anymore.”

  A muscle beneath the man’s jaw ticked. “We don’t do security out of Hope Town. This place may be smaller than most cities but it keeps us busy.”

  I nodded once. “I understand.”

  “Why didn’t you email us instead of driving out this way?”

  “I…” I rubbed the back of my neck. Fuck, this guy made me nervous as shit. “I have no idea. Honestly, something about this place called out to me. So I thought it would be best to show up in person.”

  A small smile formed on the man’s lips. “This town has a way of doing that.” He held out his hand. “Axel Reid, co-owner of Corps Security.”