Dare to Take (Dare to Love 6)

In hindsight, he should have seen she’d had a crush on him for years, but she’d just been the kid he looked out for, the little girl he’d met when she was donating bone marrow to her stepmom. He’d always felt protective of her, mostly because she was such a little thing for so long.

Once he’d enlisted, his trips home were sporadic, and he hadn’t seen Ella in years. Not until that night.

“Tell me you’re on fucking birth control,” Tyler had said to a very naked, beautiful, and obviously vulnerable Ella. But he’d been too angry with himself and, at the time, with her to see it.

She’d managed a nod, her brown hair hanging over her bare shoulder, her hazel eyes a damp mossy green. “I am.”

Relief had flooded him. She might have crawled into his bed uninvited, but he’d known damn well what he was doing when he’d thrust inside her. She’d been so damned tight, and when he’d hit that obvious barrier, he’d realized immediately … but it was too late. His control had snapped, and he’d taken her hard and fast, nothing like what her first time should have been like—if he’d been sober. If he’d known she was a virgin. But if he hadn’t been drunk, she wouldn’t have made it into his bed in the first place.

“It’s okay.” She’d reached out and touched his bare chest, the sweet gesture

a brand on his skin, and his body had woken up again, hardening for her. Which had only served to piss him off more.

“No, it isn’t okay. It was a big fucking mistake. A mess, and you better believe it won’t be happening again.”

Tears had filled her eyes as she’d gathered her clothes, pulled her long shirt on, and run, slamming his bedroom door behind her.

“Fuck.” He’d fallen back against the pillows, so furious at himself he couldn’t think straight.

Traveling to the Caribbean to rescue Ella would bring them alone together for the first time since he’d looked her in the eye and spoken with all the finesse of a drunk twenty-three-year-old.

He’d been an ass. Worse, he hadn’t stuck around the next day to apologize. He’d kissed his mother good-bye and lied, saying he’d been called back to base, all to avoid facing Ella. And in the years since, he hadn’t manned up any better. He ran a hand through his now-longer-than-regulation-length hair. If any man had treated his sisters the way he’d treated Ella, Tyler would have had their balls.

“Ty? You’ll go get her, right? What if it’s worse than a concussion and they misdiagnosed her? She needs someone there before the storm hits.”

He groaned, already having come to the same conclusion. “Yeah. She does.” He grabbed a pen and paper from his desk and handed it to Avery. “Write down everything you know about where she’s staying and what hospital she’s in. I’ll call Ian and have him get in touch with his pilot.”

“Umm, plane’s fueled and ready,” she said, a flush staining her cheeks.

Tyler shook his head. “That sure of me, hmm?”

“You’re a good guy, Tyler. Plus you’re the best at what you do. If anyone can handle things for Ella, I know you can.”

Oh man. Talk about more guilt. If Avery knew about his past with her best friend, she wouldn’t be sending him down to take care of her. But he couldn’t worry about what Avery would or wouldn’t think. He had to make sure Ella was okay, and to do that, he needed to check the weather forecasts and hope like hell he could get onto the small island before the storm.

* * *

The flight had been bumpy, and by the time Tyler landed, the wind was whipping through the trees. His goal was to get Ella settled safely into the hotel before the hurricane hit. He arrived at the hospital to find pure chaos. Unlike an American-run place with generators and general preparedness, the staff was more concerned with getting themselves home than with the welfare of their patients.

He stopped a few people before someone, finally, directed him to the American woman down the hall. Considering she’d been mugged, the fact that they didn’t ask him for ID or worry that maybe he was out to hurt her concerned him. It made him all the more determined to get her out of here as soon as possible.

During the trip down, he hadn’t stopped to ask himself why he was doing this. He’d said no to his sister before. Not often, but he managed when he wanted to. So why put himself in the position of rescuing a woman he had such a messy history with? One who surely wouldn’t be happy to see him, and whom he’d have no choice but to apologize to?

And there he had his answer. He’d let her down, and she wasn’t the first person in his life he’d disappointed when they needed him, and he was trying to make amends and correct his past mistakes.

Tyler, like all of his siblings, had idolized their father, Robert Dare. After his other life and family had come to light, he’d shattered each child in different ways.

Ian had stepped up and taken over as man of the house. Sure, Tyler and Scott had helped look after their sisters, but it was Ian who’d held them together. And by taking care of the family, Ian had made sure Scott could be a cop and Tyler could do what he wanted with his life.

And what had Tyler done? Instead of facing the anger he felt at his father, Tyler had run away, joining the Army, telling himself it was a big F.U. to his dad. In reality, it was a cowardly act of betrayal to his family. And when he’d come home on leave and treated Ella so badly, had he faced her the next day? No, he thought, combing a hand through his hair. He’d run again.

He wasn’t ready to delve back into how he’d learned these lessons courtesy of Jack Gibson, who’d bailed on his family, on life in the worst possible way. Tyler visited that in his nightmares often enough. But learn them he had. And if Ella’s mugging and the damned hurricane gave him the chance to make things right, he would. He owed her a lot more than an apology.

For the last nine years, he hadn’t been able to get the night with Ella or the morning after out of his head. Now was his chance to make it up to her and get rid of some of the guilt he’d been carrying around for being a dick.

For calling her a mistake.

For a lot of things.