Torn Bond (Bonded Duet 1)

Asher snorted. “I bet he thought you were gonna blow his cover.”

I grinned as I remembered the look on his face. He’d had the perfect mask in place, but his eyes were screaming at me to turn around and pretend I didn’t know

him. We’d never spoken about that night, not since he’d taken up bodyguard duties.

Asher boosted me higher, and I reached for the dock, then pulled myself up. I should have known Mom would have been there waiting with towels. She wrapped me up like a burrito, just like she did when I was seven years old, and the memory sent warmth through my body.

Cade and Asher followed me out, but they wouldn’t let her do the same to them, so she flung her arm around my shoulders and walked with us back to the balcony and into the kitchen.

“It don’t matter how old you get,” Dad started as we walked back inside. “You’ll always act like kids.” His lips were pulled into a grin, causing his eyes to wrinkle at the corners.

He was right. It didn’t matter how old we all got because when we were together, we’d always have the bond we’d built. Just like me with Ford. I turned to look at him, and his gaze was fully focused on me. The bond we had was unbreakable.

At least, I hoped it was.

Chapter Twelve

FORD

Brody’s idea of a vacation at the lake house was to get up as the sun rose and pack the boats for a day out on the lake. I didn’t mind getting up early because I was used to it, but I hadn’t expected Asher to be out there before we were, running around the lake and doing pull-ups on a branch on the biggest tree surrounding the house.

“Hey, Uncle Ford,” he greeted, jumping down and wiping his T-shirt over his sweaty face. I winced at his greeting, remembering a time when Belle had called me that, but it had stopped a long time ago.

“Asher,” I grunted, leaning against the tree trunk. “What are you doing?”

“Training,” he replied and downed some water. “I’ve got a tournament in a couple of weeks. Need to make sure I’m in the best shape I can be.” Asher was an MMA fighter, and we all knew he wanted to be a pro. He’d been making headway since he was ten years old, but the last fight I’d been to had been at least three years ago.

“Sounds good,” I said, at the same time Brody came out of the side of his house carrying a tackle box. “If I’m not on assignment, I’ll come watch.”

Asher grinned at me, and I couldn’t help but compare him to Brody. He had his eyes and his jaw, but he had his mom’s mannerisms and kindness. I didn’t doubt that outside of the ring, he wouldn’t hurt a fly, not unless they deserved it.

“Get the rods,” Brody told Asher, and Asher nodded in reply and moved away from me. I’d watched how he was with his sister yesterday, and I could see the concern he had for her and the way she was acting. I wanted to voice it to Brody, but I wasn’t sure how I’d be received. She’d gone into her shell since someone had tried to break into the apartment, and I didn’t know how to make it better. I’d never thought about how someone was feeling after an incident. It was my job to put the bad guys away and then move on to the next case, but it was different when it was someone you cared about.

I pushed off the tree trunk and walked over to Brody, who was putting things in one of the two boats we were using today. We’d spoken briefly about the case since Belle and I had gotten here two days ago. Tomorrow the court would be back in session and we’d get more updates. It was a possibility that I’d have to testify, but the DA knew the importance of keeping my cover under wraps even though it had been blown. Testifying would put any future assignments at risk, and we had to do everything we could to protect that.

“Hey,” I greeted Brody. “Need some help?”

He turned to look at me, his face a mask of worry. I had no idea how he was feeling about the situation, but I could understand he wanted to step in even though he couldn’t. “I got everything for this boat. Asher is getting the rest.” He widened his stance, placed his hands on his hips, and huffed out a breath. “I hope this shit is over soon.”

I nodded, agreeing with him. When I’d first met Brody, I knew there was something off about him, and I’d been right. He was working undercover to take down my then boss Hut, and in the end, I’d helped. Lola had been the deciding factor—that and making sure my cousin Jenna could start over fresh somewhere. Between the two women in my life, I’d tried to do right by them, but since staying with Belle, I knew I’d go beyond anything I’d ever done for anyone else to protect her.

“Me too,” I told him, crossing my arms over my chest. “What happens once the case is over?”

Brody scrubbed his hand over his face. “You come home.” He paused. “And I want to try and get Belle to come home too. I don’t like her being so far away, not when this is happening.” I read between the lines of what he was saying. Even when the court case was over, it didn’t mean it was entirely over. There’d always be something hanging over her head.

“I don’t think she will,” I ventured, but what I really wanted to say was that she definitely wouldn’t. Belle being stubborn was an understatement.

“Thought you’d say that,” Brody huffed out. “She won’t have a choice if he gets off. I won’t let her be at risk and so far away.” He paused as tires kicked up gravel, and a second later, voices we both recognized echoed around us. “Team is here,” Brody confirmed.

I hadn’t seen any of them since I’d gone undercover nearly a year ago, but it wasn’t unusual for us to go so long without seeing their faces. Them turning up made me bite my tongue and not say what I desperately wanted to. He couldn’t order Belle around like she was a kid. She was a grown woman who could make her own decisions, and he was forgetting that.

Kyle was the first one to come leaping around the back with a case of beer tucked under his arm. He was followed by Jord, and then Ryan. “Well, look what the cat dragged in!” Ky shouted, making it to me on the dock in a few steps. He handed off the beer to Brody and then wrapped his arms around me. He was the fun-loving guy of the group, the womanizer. He was energetic and never afraid to say what he thought, though he never actually thought about what he was going to say before it came out of his mouth.

“Hey,” I said, feeling him trying to crush me in his embrace, but it would be impossible because I was twice as strong as he was.

He pulled back with a huge grin on his face and slapped my back several times. “You look older,” he commented, and I replied with a punch to his arm. The fucker.

Jord greeted me next with a handshake and hug combo. He was a man of fewer words than Ky, but it was nothing compared to the silent but contemplative Ryan. He was the serious, broody one of the group, even broodier than me.