Page 1 of Protecting Kelli
CHAPTER ONE
One day.
That’s all it took for Wade “Flash” Gordon to remember why he didn’t vacation at the beach.
He hated sand.
Hated the heat.
Hated the salt that stuck to his skin.
Which was ironic, considering he was a Navy SEAL who spent half his life, or so it seemed, in the ocean.
Flash took a sip of the beer he’d been nursing and grimaced. Warm.
Another reason to dislike the beach…his beer didn’t stay cold longer than five minutes.
He was well aware he was being an asshole, but he didn’t care. The only reason he was here, sitting in a beach chair, grumpily staring at the gentle lapping of the sky-blue waters off the Jamaican coast, was because of his little sister, Nova.
She was ten years younger than him, and Flash would do anything for her. He’d adored her from the moment hisparents brought her home from the hospital, when he was ten. He never cared when she cried at night, that her poops stunk up the house. That she’d followed him around when he was a teenager. He’d loved every second of having a younger sibling. They’d both cried when he’d left home after graduating from high school and joined the Navy.
And through the years, Flash had kept in close contact with his sister. Phone calls, texts, even letters sometimes. So when she’d met Charles Hepworth, Flash had flown home specifically to meet the man and put the fear of God into him. Make sure he understood that if he fucked with his sister, he’d regret it.
Flash wasn’t too impressed by Chuck. He was older than Nova by six years and far too…smooth. But then again, Flash could admit that he, himself, was constantly surrounded by men who were a little rough around the edges.
Despite his feelings for the man, when Nova called and asked if he’d be a groomsman at their wedding, Flash didn’t have to think too hard. Ofcoursehe’d stand up with his sister. He might not be her fiancé’s biggest fan, but he’d support Nova no matter what.
And if things didn’t work out, he’d be there to help her pick up the pieces too.
As a groomsman, when this trip to Jamaica was cooked up as a bachelor party kind of thing, Flash had been invited. He’d planned to turn it down—he definitely didn’t want to hang out with Chuck’s buddies—but Nova had begged him to go. It was one of the rare times he would’ve said no to his sister, except he read the concern in her voice when she’d told him about the private resort. How she assumed there’d be plenty ofbeautiful girls there who might want to hook up with Chuck.
It was obvious she was worried her fiancé might think the same thing.
So here was Flash.
In Jamaica, sitting on his ass on a hot beach, babysitting…no…spyingon his sister’s future husband. Making sure his occasional flirting didn’t cross any lines.
Flash had no problem whatsoever reporting back to Nova. Even if it might cause her pain in the short-term, he wouldn’t keep any indiscretions by her fiancé a secret from her. But so far, Chuck had been on his best behavior. Hanging out with his friends Rowan, Ben, and Sebastian, mostly at the bar, and not hooking up with any ladies.
Though, not so surprising to Flash, the resort wasn’t very crowded. The country was beautiful, as were the grounds of the resort, but Jamaica had been going through a tough period of time with crime and violence. Back home, Flash’s SEAL team leader had expressed surprise their commander was even allowing him to go to Jamaica on leavebecauseof that violence.
Chuck and his buddies weren’t happy with the sparsely populated resort. They’d wanted tons of people they could party with. Instead, they’d gotten families with young children, a smattering of couples on their honeymoons, and only a handful of singles their own age.
A loud crack of laughter sounded from the bar area, and Flash glanced over his shoulder. He saw Chuck and his buds sitting around a large table with a group of four women, all of whom were tall, slender, stacked, and blonde. He’d been introduced to them last night at the resort’s indoor bar.
The women were here for a bachelorette weekend. Charlotte was the bride-to-be, and the bridesmaids sitting with her at the table were Ava, Alice, and Afton. Flash had mentally rolled his eyes at the fact their names all started with A.
After hanging around the group for three minutes, Flash had quickly deduced nothing about any of the women would interest him. They were younger, mostly concerned with talking about themselves. And the giggling…
He shuddered. The giggling had gotten on his nerves within seconds.
So he’d ditched the group to enjoy a drink by himself, far enough away to avoid the high-pitched tittering while still keeping an eye on things.
Now here he was again, glaring at the water, playing monitor, wishing he was anywhere else. He’d much prefer to be home in Riverton, California, in his two-bedroom apartment, studying maps, going over intel about bad guys, watching football…anything other than babysitting Chuck and his buddies.
“It can’t bethatbad.”
Surprised out of his thoughts by the husky voice to his right, Flash turned his head to see a woman he recognized, smiling at him from several feet away. She was in her own beach chair, had a book in her hand, and a water bottle stuck in the sand beneath her chair.
