Her Healing Touch Read online

  “Cool. So, you guys are like GI Joe, right? Do you have cool code names like Snake Eyes? He’s my favorite you know. He doesn’t talk, but he can still make jokes. I like that.” There was joy in the boy's eyes as he spoke. “And Lady J is so pretty. Do you have a woman on your team, too? Can I meet her? Is she pretty like Ms. Hailey?”

  Hailey was just grinning and shook her head. “They don’t have a woman on their team, that I know of. Do you?” It didn’t matter to her if they did. If they did, they did. It didn’t change how she felt about her men or how they felt about her.

  “We don’t have any ladies on the team, but we’re not against it by any means,” Nolan told Dale. “We do all have code names we used when out in the field. I don’t know if they are all that cool, but they were what our other teammates or instructors pegged us with and have stuck with us even to this day.”

  “Really? What are your code names?” Hailey asked with a grin and watched her men. God, she loved these men. Heaven help her, but she was keeping them. “I would like to know your code names as well as how you got them, too, please?”

  Nolan shifted around in his seat and shot Owen a look.

  Shaking his head, Owen turned to look at her. “His code name is Sphinx. Nolan got it from one of the instructors. As part of our training for potentially being a part of a special unit they threw all sorts of tests our way. One of them was coded messages. The Sphinx of Greek lore, and yes there was apparently a Greek Sphinx, too, protected the city of Thebes. The Sphinx would give travelers a riddle, and if they answered correctly, they could enter. I guess if they didn’t then they were sent on their way.”

  Nolan snorted at that. “You really need to read up on your Greek mythology, buddy. I won’t say what the Sphinx actually did, given the young impressionable ears in the vehicle, but sending those who answered incorrectly on their way was not it.”

  “Really?” At Nolan’s nod Owen frowned a bit, and then his eyes went wide. “Oh.”

  “Yup.”

  Hailey giggled and shook her head. She looked down at Dale and ruffled his hair. “Dale doesn’t care for riddles. He says that if life was supposed to be riddles, we would have been born in the world where opposite Superman came from, right, buddy?”

  “Duh, Hailey, his name is Bizzaro, and he comes from Bizzaro World.” The boy rolled his eyes and looked at Nolan and while shaking his head said, “Women, right?” Which caused everyone in the vehicle to begin to laugh.

  Owen grinned at her. “Kid’s got you pegged, baby. Anyway, now you know Nolan’s moniker from the military. He occasionally lives up to it, and other times makes us question how they could have gotten it so wrong.”

  Nolan glared at Owen, and apparently was holding his tongue on what he wanted to say. But it was the evil grin he did right before he spoke that had Hailey intrigued. What was he up to? “You will pay for that later, Viper,” Nolan muttered.

  “Viper? Are you like a snake? Did you have big long teeth? Can I see?” Dale asked while watching Owen.

  Hailey just snickered. He did like to bite, in the best way possible. “If he wants to, he’ll tell us how he got his moniker. Maybe he doesn’t want to share, though. Perhaps he is shy about why he has the name he has.”

  “He’s not shy,” Dale stated confidently. “He’s a warrior, and those are never shy. Right, guys?”

  “I like this kid,” Nolan said with a chuckle. “You are right about that, Dale. Shy is not something any of us can claim. Not saying we haven’t had moments, but we’re big on brazening our way through. As to Owen’s Ranger name, he came by it honestly, and with a lot of luck.”

  “Had one decide to use my bunk for its nap, and we ended up in a standoff. They’re extremely venomous so you don’t want one getting its fangs into you. It was very annoyed I’d taken its blanket and was trying to back me into a corner where he could get a piece of me.”

  “Rumor has it he managed to grab it when it lunged at him, and then proceeded to have a rather lengthy discussion with the thing. One of the lads who told me the story said the Viper actually calmed down and appeared to be listening,” Nolan told her. “Owen walked the thing outside, set it down on the ground, and told it to get a move on. It eyed him up and down, and eventually went on its way without going after him again, or anyone else. There were a few nicknames tossed about, but Viper’s the one that stuck.”

  Owen was looking at Nolan with an expression akin to having just sucked a lemon. “You’d think you of all people would know better than to buy into the military BS.”

  “That’s so cool. Much better than the Riddler.” Dale said in complete awe. “What are your guys’ other names? Who else has a name? Can I have a name?”

  “Dale, honey, calm down,” Hailey told the little boy with a grin. “They all have names. If you are really good, they will all tell you their code names and how they got them if the stories are kid-friendly. Keep in mind, it’s the military, and these men talk a great deal about things that little kids shouldn’t listen to.”

  “Most of them adults shouldn’t have to hear either,” Nolan said. “They aren’t particularly people friendly stories. They are truths of war. Cold, hard facts with no embellishment, and with a lot of miserable endings. As for the others, most of the stories revolving around how they all got their monikers are pretty tame. Except Antonio’s, if he starts telling you about his, muffle the little ears. That is definitely one story even adults will be blushing over.”

  “What’s his code name?” Hailey asked without pause. “Then I will know if we should find out the story behind it or not.” She looked around and then grinned. “We’re almost there. Good timing.” She teased the men. “Although I am curious as to the other names.”

  “Me, too. Please?” Dale asked and flipped the flashlight on and off several times.

  Owen was the one to answer her. “Lynx,” he told her. “And yes, we mean the cat. He was on the prowl, got caught with his pants down, and had to do some very fancy footwork to get out of the very hostile situation he found himself a part of suddenly. He’s also a bit of a scrapper. Long story short, he got pegged with Lynx.”

  “I like it. Lynx.” Hailey was fighting her laughter. She could see it. Antonio did seem to be a bit of a lothario. He was super sweet, and honestly, he was hot, too. She could easily see a girl dropping her pants for him without hesitation.

  Nolan shared a look with her in the mirror. “Gareth’s is Gunner, Mik’s is Wolf, James is Fury, and Victor’s is Magnum. Dieter is known as Demon, or Doc depending on who you ask. Wyatt is Dragon, Stefan is Orion, Lincoln is Saber or the Scot, and last, but not least, is Thomas who’s known as Brick.”

  “Thomas is the young one that looks like he’s lost something, isn’t he?” Hailey was still trying to put all names to faces, and that was one thing she thought about when she thought about Thomas. He looked sad, looked as if he was missing something but wasn’t sure what it was.

  “Yeah, that’s him,” Owen told her. “You’ll figure out our rather ragtag family eventually. We grow on you over time, and then you will one day wake knowing every single one of the names. Along with that comes the good, the bad, and the mildly weird.”

  “I look forward to it,” Hailey said honestly.

  “Will I get to know you guys, too? Will I be able to talk to you again?” Dale asked with a frown tugging at his lips. “You are my new friends, so we should keep talking, right?”

  “Of course, you will, buddy,” Hailey promised the child. “They wouldn’t want to give up their new friend, would you guys?”

  The men shared a look before Owen turned in his seat to look at Dale. “We will always want to talk with you, Dale,” he said gently. “We might not be in the same city, but we can always talk on the phone, or even on a video conference. Before we leave, I’ll make sure you and your mom are hooked up so that when we have our chats it’ll feel like we’re right there in the room with you. And we can come visit from time to time, too if you’d be okay
with that.”

  Hailey could have kissed Owen for his promise to Dale. She reached out and stroked her fingers over his cheek and nodded. Nothing needed to be said. She said it all in that touch, that look. She did, however, talk to Dale. “We’ve Skyped before, haven’t we, buddy? When I go with them, we will still have our weekly chats. Sometimes I will even let the guys come and have talks with you, too. How does that sound?”

  The kid seemed to be thinking about it. Finally, he nodded. “Okay. That will work, I guess.”

  Nolan was slowing the truck down before turning them into the parking lot of the restaurant Hailey had chosen. Out front, she could see Sharon pacing by her car. A quick look to Nolan had him nodding before he took the spot next to the frantic woman’s vehicle. Once he’d turned the engine off, he hopped out and pulled the back door open so Dale could see his mom.

  Seeing his mom there, Dale jumped out of the SUV and into his mom’s arms. He was laughing and crying at the same time. He was talking a mile a minute, and his mom was just crying, holding Dale and petting him while listening. The woman looked up at them and nodded, mouthing a “thank you” to them all.

  Nolan nodded and closed the door. On the other side of the vehicle, Owen pulled her door open and held his hand out to her. “Come on, Hailey. Let’s get him inside and fed. I think his mother needs a seat soon, too, and maybe a stiff drink.”

  “Sharon doesn’t drink, never has. I’ll take one, though.” Hailey slipped her hand into Owen's and let him pull her out of the vehicle. She was so happy that this was finally over. Life was going to go back to normal now, she just knew it. The only difference would be she had two amazing men in her life as well.

  “We can make that happen,” he said. Wrapping his arm around her waist, Owen hugged her close as they headed inside.

  Chapter Ten

  Mikhail looked up when Gareth came back into the warehouse. “They get off okay?” he asked.

  “Yeah. Dale seems pretty chipper, and was talking quite a bit when they pulled away.” Gareth walked over to look down at the poor excuse for an individual on the ground.

  “We should likely get him warmed up for what’s to come,” Gareth commented.

  Mikhail nodded slowly. Then he looked up slightly before jerking his chin. “We can dangle him from there. Keep him a foot off the ground easily, and make sure he realizes the error of his way before he meets his maker in the next life.”

  “Hades is going to have a field day with this one,” Stefan muttered.

  Antonio and Stefan moved to get a line over one of the beams and hooked up to the winch they had on the one SUV. Thomas moved to Brown and switched out the zip ties for a set of wide cuffs. After hooking the chain between the cuffs to the hook Stefan handed him, Thomas smacked the man’s face. “Going up.”

  Lincoln, who was next to the winch, flipped it on and dragged Brown over the floor, and up into the air into position before turning off the motor and locking it in place.

  Brown twisted in the air and shook his head. “Man, you have to let me go. You can’t just leave me here for the Russians. I wouldn’t have hurt that kid, not really.” He was begging now, and a telltale stain showed on the front of Brown’s pants as he hung there crying.

  “Probably shouldn’t mention the Russian in the room then,” Thomas muttered. Shaking his head, he moved off to the side. “So, what are we going to do about this sorry sack of shit?”

  “We should turn him over to the cops,” Gareth said. “But that seems rather unfair to the Russians. I’m sure they could get to him in jail anyway, but I find the idea of leaving him strung up for them appealing after what he’s done. It is a bit of a moral dilemma really.”

  “We put it to a vote then,” Mik said. Turning his back to Brown, he looked at the men. “Who says we hand him over to the cops for due process?” Not a single hand went up. “All right, those for giving him to the Russians for what he’s done to Hailey, and Dale?” Every hand went up.

  “No!” Brown screamed and twisted again. “You can’t give me over to them. It would be murder,” he said with panic evident in his voice. “Come on, you guys can’t do that. You are the good guys. Right? You’re all law-abiding citizens. You can’t do this. It's not fair.”

  Dieter scratched at his jaw and made a face. “He does have a valid point. It would be a tick in the wrong column for each of us if we were to hand him over.”

  Mikhail nodded slowly and turned to face Brown. “True enough. But who says it has to be us that hands him over? Ares!” he called out.

  “Ares? What in the hell? First, you talk about Hades, and now you are talking about Ares. You guys know that’s all fake, right?”

  “Who’s fake?” Ares asked when he appeared right in front of the man. “So, you are the one who took that young boy from his mother? I think that there are some things that we could do to you to ensure that you remember just how bad it is to steal a mother’s child.”

  Mikhail turned to look at Ares. “We voted to hand him over to the Russians. When you’re done here would you mind terribly passing him along? I figured you might fare better getting back out of there again.”

  “It would be my pleasure. This will ensure that Hailey is out of danger, correct?” Ares asked as he looked at the waste of flesh and humanity. “You are a nasty bit of goods. You have endangered a woman that is like family to me, and you took a child from his mother. One of the special children, ones that are closer to the gods than anyone will ever be. You deserve everything that you will receive.” Ares leaned in and added, “I will also ensure that they know you took a child from its mother. Did you know that his brother has Down’s Syndrome and how close he is to his sibling? The man you owe so much money to. He will ensure that your life lasts for a very long time in a large amount of pain to issue a warning to one and all.”

  Mikhail looked to Brown and shook his head. “You really shouldn’t have doubted his existence. It’s amazing how pissy they can get about it. Not like they write or occasionally call to let us know they’re still kicking. They just assume we are aware. Well, good luck. Your lifespan is about at its end. Try to keep the crying and begging to a minimum if you can manage. You dug this hole. Man up and take whatever they dish out. Thanks, Ares. I’ll let Hailey know you’re handling the delivery of Mr. Brown to his associates.”

  “My pleasure,” Ares stated, and with a distasteful look laid a hand on Brown, and both men were gone in a flash.

  Letting out a breath Mikhail rubbed a hand over his face. “Let’s load up, boys. I’m hungry, and I’m sure Hailey will want to know the good news.” He turned, and nodded when he saw Gareth’s worried look. Mik was tired, and he really wanted to get home. And now that Brown was out of the picture, maybe they could get back there.

  ****

  Hailey had been gobsmacked by how amazing the men had been with Dale and with Sharon. All the men had been patient with Dale, and each one of them had given him their phone numbers so that if he ever needed anyone they could call him. Her biggest surprise, however, had been when Ares had given Dale his call sign on the game that they both played. She never would have pegged the god as a gamer, but evidently, he was hardcore.

  She heard Nolan in the shower, and when arms wrapped around her from behind she smiled and leaned back against Owen.

  “Hey, you.” She placed her hands on his and caressed him lightly. “I’m ready to go. Unless there is something else that we could do to kill a few hours?”

  His lips were warm against her neck as he pressed a kiss to her thundering pulse. “I’m sure we could find something to occupy ourselves for a little while. We do have some time before the plane is scheduled to depart. It’s a shame to let this huge suite go to waste for even a few minutes of time.”

  “Oh, I think that we could come up with quite a few things to do to ensure that we make use of every single surface of this hotel room.” She leaned her head to the side so that he could have better access to her neck. “Please, do that again?�
�

  “I’m sure we could,” he whispered. “We should likely kick the others out if we’re going to be doing more than using the bedroom. They are perverted enough to stick around to watch, and take notes to give us a review later on. It wouldn’t be good.” This time when he brushed his lips over her skin he added a bit of tooth.

  “Then you kick them out while I go and hunt down Nolan. He’s taking far longer in the shower than he should be. I think he’s been waiting for me to come and join him. What do you say?” she asked and let her hand move down his chest.

  “Well, tell him to get his ass out of there so we don’t all die from slipping on those damn tiles.” Cupping her face, Owen kissed her hard and fast. He grinned when he pulled back. “I’ll encourage the others to go fuck off, and find something else to do for a while.”

  “Sounds perfect.” She gave him another kiss and then walked away from him. Once she was in the bedroom she shared with Owen and Nolan she stripped out of her clothes. She moved into the shower where Nolan was and grinned up at him. “So, I talked Owen into doing a few exciting things with me if you were up to a little bit of play time as well? He’s going to go and tell everyone to bugger off so we can play in the whole suite. You up for it?” she asked and stroked her hand over his cock as she spoke to him.

  “You would know best, given where your hand is currently resting,” he said. Nolan crowded her into a corner and dipped his head down to kiss her. Slowly, he nibbled at her mouth, sliding his tongue into tease hers while his cock twitched in her hand.

  Hailey lifted a leg and wrapped it around his hip. “I need you. I always need you,” she admitted. “But Owen said that we need to get out of the shower so that we aren’t slipping and sliding on the tiles. Although I wouldn’t be opposed to you slipping and sliding into me.”

  Chuckling he cupped her ass and lifted her up. “Turn off the water, sweetheart. Then we shall get out of here, dry off a little, and see if he’s managed to clear out the others. I’m also hopeful he thought to order up some whipped cream.”