TankMy heart beats a steady rhythm in my chest as I stretch, feeling the pull of muscles at my legs. It feels good, better than I thought it would. I move my neck form side to side, trying to get the tension to loosen. My stomach is tight with nerves, and I'm scared to death I won't be able to pass this final test to get back onto the Moonshine Task Force. "You ready?" Holden asks.Am I? I'm not sure. I know I'm not ready to fail, but I'm scared to death I will. Once before I did this, I can do it again. "I'll be right beside you," I hear, my gaze shifting to the right. Renegade is there, wearing a pair of athletic shorts and a t-shirt, just like me. "We're gonna do this together.""You don't have to do this," I'm overcome with emotion I didn't know I had."I do," he shakes his head. "No man left behind, ever, and you're my brother. It'll be my honor to run this course with you. You're going to make it."I can't believe how lucky I am to have the people I do in my life
Tank"Congratulations," I hear as soon as Blaze comes through the front door. My heart explodes with happiness as she runs to me, hopping up in my arms. "Thanks babe, I can't tell you how excited I am.""When do you get to start?""Tomorrow," I put her down, smacking my hand against her ass. "I filled out all my paperwork today. I'm good to go back on rotation tomorrow. Renegade and Tank will be burning up those backroads at zero nine hundred. So your lead foot better watch out.""Fuckin' speed trap artist," she grumbles as she stands on her tiptoe, kissing me on my jawline."If you'd obey the speed limit, there wouldn't be a problem."She knows I'm right, but she shakes her head anyway. "I'm gonna go change out of this uniform. It was hot today," she fans her hand in front of her face.It was hot today, but I honestly didn't care. I was too excited to be back in a police car, even if I did have to transport Leighton with Holden. That situation is really odd, and if I
Tank"So how does it feel?"I look over at Renegade, not able to keep the smile from spreading across my face, or the joy out of my voice as I answer. "To be back? It feels fucking amazing."He laughs as he takes a drink from his to-go mug of coffee. "It's awesome to have you back. I like Ace, but you're my best friend."I'm letting Renegade drive, which is totally unlike me, but they've all asked me to be honest with them, and I admitted to Holden it would be best for me to wait a few weeks. I need to do a couple of pass-through's on the bottoms before I'm ready to drive the road myself. It's nothing like PTSD, but there's a nervousness I can't explain, even though I've tried. Everyone seems to understand and for that I'm grateful. "I know, I love Blaze, don't get me wrong," I stretch my leg out, pleased at how it feels. "But I'm glad to have someone else's company for a while."He nods in agreement. "Same. I love Whit and Stella, they are my life, but I enjoy coming to w
TankI tug at the collar of my dress shirt as I stand outside the courthouse, surrounded by friends, family, and coworkers. There's a part of me that doesn't want to be here, but there's also another part of me that knows I need to be here. I have to see justice be served. More than anything, I deserve to see justice served."You doing alright?" Blaze asks as she stands next to me, her hand on my arm.Glancing down at her, I take in the dress she's wearing. Conservative, not her normal wear, and she has her hair pulled back in a pile of curls on her head. She looks nothing, if not sophisticated. Beside her my family stands, and then the guys from the Moonshine Task Force. "I'm good," I clear my throat. "Want this over with so we can truly move forward.""It does feel like there's a dark cloud hanging over us in the form of Brooks, doesn't it?" she puts her arm around me, leaning into my chest."Yeah," I answer truthfully. "It's the unknown. I don't want to ruin the kid's l
Blaze"It's too cold to get in that pool," Whitney and Trevor's mom, Mona, yells at Ryan as he dips his feet in the shallow end of the pool in their backyard. It's been hot all day, but as night falls this time of year, it usually gets cold."He's gonna catch his death of cold," she mumbles as she watches him not heed her warning."Whatever, it got up to ninety today and it's almost April. Hell," he takes a drink of the beer in his hand. "It's damn near summer."I glance at Whitney, who shakes her head laughing when she sees Trevor making his way over to Ryan, sticking his feet in the pool too. I'm not sure what the two of them are talking about, but we're rewarded with their deep laughs as they both throw their heads back. I love their friendship.I'm holding Stella in my lap, facing outward so she can see all the goings on. In the past few weeks, she's started to become more animated and to show a little bit of personality. She smiled at me the other day and I thought I'
BlazeTwo Months LaterI enter The Café with a huge smile on my face. Today's been a great day. In what's become our regular booth, I see Trevor waiting for me, wearing his hot as fuck white t-shirt with his bullet proof vest over the top. It's too hot for them to wear their button-down shirts and this is what most of the guys look like around these parts right now."I'll be right with ya, Blaze. He already ordered your drink," Leighton tells me as she gives me a grin.Not long ago she started waitressing here, and she seems to have acclimated well. "Sounds good."As I approach the booth, Trevor stands up, grabbing hold of my hand and bringing me in for a kiss. "Hey, hot stuff," he whistles between his teeth as he sees the dress I wear with my Louboutins. "Look at you, how did your meeting go?""Hey, handsome," I kiss him, gripping him around the waist as he motions for me to sit in the booth. We're same-side sitters and everybody makes fun of us, but I love being pressed u
TankAugust"I didn't expect to see you here today," I lean over kissing Blaze, who looks gorgeous in her sundress and sandals. The turquoise color she's picked makes her look like The Little Mermaid with her red hair. "I gave a talk at the high school about mental health awareness," she explains, putting a bag on my desk. "Then I went and got a piece of pie from The Café, because when your arms aren't available, chocolate and coconut make it all better."I get up from my seat, enveloping her in my arms. "Why have chocolate and coconut when my arms are yours whenever you need them?"She burrows her head into my chest, and like always, it makes me feel like I'm the strongest man in the world. To know this woman counts on me to be her anchor in the storm that's sometimes our lives is the biggest blessing I've ever received. "You okay?" I kiss her on the forehead."Yeah," she whispers. "Sometimes it's hard to talk about her, but I'm really proud of the work I've been doing in
VOLUME THREE: HAVOCHavocSix Months Earlier"Holden, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, until death do you part?"It's hard to swallow against the lump in my throat. I worry that I'm doing the wrong thing here. Making this young girl trade in one life she didn't want to live for another. But as I look at her, I see a future for me. One I'd never thought possible. As a rule, I don't trust women, but I have trusted her since I met her.For six months I've lived with her, learning the type of person she is, knowing without a shadow of a doubt that she has a good heart. In some ways she's a product of her environment, in other's she's risen above and beyond. I want to be the person who helps her realize her destiny, the future she can have. I've come to care for her, come to be her friend, and I know there's nothing I won't do for her. Somehow, she's