Colton 911: Secret Defender Read online

  “No brothers or sisters or second cousins, twice removed?” Aaron asked, thinking of his own family dynamics.

  “That’s what no means,” Felicia replied, then flushed. “Sorry, that was flippant and you don’t deserve that. The fact that I’m alone is kind of a sore spot for me.”

  He believed her. Part of him felt guilty about making her aware of that sore spot. “Well, you’re not alone anymore. I’ve got enough cousins to lend you some of mine,” he said with a smile. “Not to mention that my mother and Aunt Vita can’t stop singing your praises, so you can just feel that you’re part of this family.”

  A warmth filled her as her eyes met his. “You’re serious.”

  Aaron couldn’t judge if she believed him or not. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

  The reason was easy. Greg had lied to her so many times she had never known when to believe him and when to be skeptical. Since he represented her very first experience with a man, she just assumed that they were all like that: given to lying and being abusive, while equipped with a mercurial temper.

  Maybe she was being foolish—or desperate, she thought—but she found herself believing Aaron. Still, she knew she had to answer his question honestly. “Because I found that men lie.”

  “Some men lie,” Aaron corrected. “But definitely not all. Not by a long shot.” Felicia had been hurt, he could see that. The only question was, was the man responsible for that just passing through her life, or was he someone she had been seriously involved with?

  He had a feeling it was probably the latter, because she seemed so leery when it came to certain subjects.

  Aaron supposed that he could ask Damon to look into her background for him. That way he could get some actual insight into the woman he found himself attracted to. Still, he felt that he would be better served if she trusted him enough to actually tell him the truth on her own.

  He decided to let the matter go for a little while and give her the opportunity just to talk to him on her own for now.

  “For instance,” he said, continuing on the subject he had started, “I don’t lie.”

  She would have expected that from a man. Greg had professed not to lie on several occasions. “Oh, so you’re a saint?” she asked, a touch of dry humor curving her mouth.

  “No,” he told her honestly. “I just have a poor memory.”

  She stared at him, not seeing the connection. “How’s that again?” Felicia asked.

  “To lie effectively requires being able to keep track of all the details that you’ve come up with in fabricating your story,” he told her. “Quite honestly, I always found that the truth is hard enough to keep track of. If you’re lying to begin with, that can get extremely confusing to remember, so I don’t. It’s as simple as that.”

  Felicia looked up into his eyes again. It occurred to her that that old saying was really true. Eyes truly were the windows to the soul.

  At least his were.

  And she found herself mesmerized.

  Felicia realized that she believed him. Maybe she was being foolish, but then again, maybe not.

  It was extremely comforting to feel that the person she was talking to was being honest with her and that he wouldn’t somehow just turn everything she had said around against her.

  “You know, I really wish that there were more people like you,” she told him in all sincerity.

  He looked at her for a long moment, then asked, “What was his name?”

  And just like that, her mouth went dry and a wave of insecurity took a huge bite out of her.

  “Excuse me?”

  He knew he was pushing it, but he really wanted to know. “The man who hurt you.”

  She should have just backed away, she thought, upbraiding herself. “What makes you think there was someone who hurt me?” she asked defensively. She should have terminated the conversation before it had gotten to this point.

  That was easy enough to answer, he thought.

  “I’ve dealt with enough troubled teens to know the signs.”

  She stiffened. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not a troubled teen,” she informed him, hoping he would just back off.

  “No,” he granted, “but the signs are still the same. I found that sharing helps lessen the impact and the pain of whatever it is that you’re carrying around. Look, I’m not going to push. But I just want you to know that I’m here for you,” he said, “in case you do want to talk about it.”

  He watched intently.

  Felicia looked away, unable to meet his gaze. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  He really wanted her to open up to him, but he knew he couldn’t force her to do it. That had to come entirely from her.

  “You do that,” he encouraged, nodding his head.

  She needed an excuse to get away from him, or else she knew she was going to break down and tell him about Greg. She didn’t want to involve Aaron. Neither did she want to be on the receiving end of his pity. That would just ruin everything.

  “But for now,” she told him, preparing to head toward the door, “I think I should be getting back to your mother’s house.” When she saw him raise a quizzical eyebrow in response, she explained, “Nicole has another set of exercises to do.”

  “Another set?” he asked, curious. “I just assumed that you were done for the day.”

  She could see why that might have confused him. “Normally, that would be true, but I found that breaking up her workout and doing part of it in the morning, part later on in the day is more beneficial for her. Everybody’s different. That way your mother gets more therapy in and she doesn’t wind up being exhausted by it,” she told him. “It’s also a way to build up her endurance. And, like I told you previously, your mother is doing really well. So, for now, we’re going to keep up two sessions a day.”

  Aaron nodded. “I owe you an apology.”

  She wasn’t sure she understood why he was saying that. “Why?” she asked, once again wary.

  “Well, if you remember, when my mother first wanted to hire you strictly on the strength of the fact that she liked you, I was against her doing it. And when I finally got the chance to come by to see for myself how you were doing, I have to admit that I thought you were too young and too attractive to really know what you were doing.”

  Felicia caught herself being amused by his statement. “You’re telling me that you think only people who wind up stopping clocks as they walk by are equal to doing a good job?” Despite the serious nature of the conversation, there was laughter in her eyes.

  He knew how nonsensical his assessment had to have sounded to her.

  “Not exactly, but I felt that you had to at least have some ‘miles’ on you instead of being so damn attractive,” he told her honestly.

  “I’m actually ninety-seven,” she deadpanned.

  He pretended to nod his head at that. “Great makeup,” he said, commending her.

  Felicia didn’t miss a beat. “I think so. You don’t have to be old to be good,” she told him seriously. It was just one of the things she firmly believed. “You just have to be really dedicated.”

  He nodded, seeing the error in his thinking. She had certainly turned out to be really good. “You’re right.”

  She thought of something to further illustrate her point and really bring it home. “For instance, someone could say that you’re just too good-looking to be a decent boxer. You should have a bunch of scars and at the very least a broken nose to look as if you’re a serious fighter.”

  Aaron laughed. “Point taken.”

  “You know,” she went on, “I wouldn’t have believed that you bought into something so stereotypical,” she told him.

  Aaron smiled at her, tickled. She could stand up for herself if need be, he thought.

  “I guess that you were a revelation,” he admitted. “All I know is
that I’m glad my mother stuck to her guns when it came to you, because even though she is a very stubborn woman, she couldn’t have made so much progress in such a short amount of time if it hadn’t been for you.”

  “Well, let’s not overlook the fact that most of the credit belongs to your mother,” Felicia pointed out with sincerity.

  “I know,” Aaron agreed, “but it’s because you know just how to get her to adhere to the program. According to Aunt Vita, my mother lights up whenever she’s doing those exercises with you.”

  The remark pleased Felicia. “It works both ways,” she told him. “Now get me back to my patient.”

  The corners of Aaron’s eyes crinkled as he smiled at her.

  “Yes, ma’am. Your wish is my command.” And with that, Aaron lightly took hold of Felicia’s elbow and escorted her out of his gym.

  Chapter 10

  “So, what did you think of Aaron’s gym?” Nicole asked Felicia once Aaron had dropped her off at the house and then left.

  True to her word, Felicia had gotten Nicole started on her second round of physical therapy exercises for the day. Within five minutes of arriving back at the house, she’d had to corner Nicole in the kitchen and drag her away from the dinner she was preparing for the next day’s catering event. Nicole was doing her best to pick up her life from where it had been before her accident.

  Refusing to listen to excuses, Felicia had insisted that she get started as soon as possible. She might have been mistaken, but she got the impression that the woman liked being bullied a little. Nicole respected someone who stood up to her.

  “Well, I have to say that Aaron certainly keeps the gym a lot cleaner than I’d thought it would be,” Felicia said as they got started. The only gym she had been to recently could have used a deep power cleaning.

  Nicole smiled. She loved hearing good things about her firstborn. “That’s because I raised him right and made a point of having him pick up after himself. Considering the rough patch I had with him when I first took in Nash and Damon—there was a time when Aaron’s hostility could have taken him in a whole different direction—I am very proud of the way that boy turned out.” And then Nicole flushed, and it had nothing to do with the energy she was exerting. “Although he’s hardly a boy,” she added.

  “No, he’s clearly not,” Felicia agreed, then realized how that had to have sounded to Nicole. “Let’s focus on these exercises, shall we?” she asked, gesturing toward the equipment that had been set up for the second half of the therapy sessions.

  At this point Felicia was having Nicole do fifteen different exercises. Initially she had started out with five and had slowly been adding to the total each day. To keep Nicole interested and motivated, Felicia had been doing the same exercises alongside her. It was as much to set an example for Nicole as it was to give the woman a pace to keep up with. The fact that it also helped to keep her limber was an added bonus as far as Felicia was concerned.

  Nicole frowned as she watched the young woman go through her paces. “Show-off,” she murmured accusingly, although her smile gave her away.

  “I just wanted you to have someone to gauge your progress against,” Felicia explained. “You know, if you keep this pace up, you’re not going to need me for much longer.”

  A look of dismay creased Nicole’s forehead. “Oh, don’t say that. I’m not feeling nearly as strong as I think I should be,” Nicole told her.

  Felicia raised an eyebrow. “Now you’re just making things up.” She knew a fabrication when she heard one. “I bet that if I left you a list of exercises for you to follow, you could do them all perfectly well without having me hovering over you.”

  But Nicole shook her head. “Oh, I think without you around, I’d just wind up slacking off.” Her eyes crinkled as she looked at the younger woman. “You make all of this fun, Felicia.”

  She sounded sincere. Felicia felt her heart warming. “Well, I’m not going anywhere yet,” she told Nicole. She really did like living here, and working with Nicole was a total pleasure. She couldn’t remember the last time she was anywhere near this happy.

  “Good,” Nicole declared. “Because I think you’re good for me. And for Aaron.”

  A warm shiver suddenly danced through her body. Felicia did her best to ignore it and push forward. She couldn’t allow herself to dwell on Nicole’s words and get distracted. “Why? I’m not having him do any exercises,” Fee said with a laugh.

  “Maybe not,” Nicole said, moving onto the next set of exercises, “but he looks more relaxed than I’ve seen him in a long, long while now. Until you came along, he was so caught up with that teen-at-risk program he was running, not to mention the fighters he’s always training, that he was always on the go without stopping to even breathe.” Nicole smiled. “You’ve provided a very nice break for Aaron just by being here.”

  Felicia grinned. She was obviously not going to change Nicole’s mind, so she just went along with what the woman was saying. For a moment, she even pretended that it was true.

  Taking out what looked like a cycle meant to exercise Nicole’s calves and ankles, Felicia placed it right in front of the woman.

  “Sit down,” she coaxed, moving a chair so that it was directly behind Nicole. “Five minutes.” Taking out the egg timer, she set it for the allotted time and placed it close by so that Nicole could shut it when it went off.

  Nicole glanced at the timer. “You know, I’m beginning to hear that thing going off in my sleep.”

  The younger woman laughed. “You’re not the only one,” she confided. When she had first gotten started giving the physical therapy sessions, it seemed as if the sound of the timer was going off and echoing in her head all the time.

  Nicole nodded at the timer. “Not to mention that I use that when I’m preparing meals for my business. It’s getting to the point that I don’t know if I’m coming or going,” she said with a grin.

  “Don’t look at it that way,” Felicia advised. “I prefer thinking of it as keeping you on your toes.”

  “Oh, it’s more than that now,” Nicole told her. She blew out a breath as she finished up a set of exercises. “I don’t think I’m ever going to be able to hear the timer go off without thinking of you.”

  “I don’t know if you’re flattering me or if I should take that as a complaint.”

  “Let’s just go with the former,” Nicole said with a wink.

  In the midst of all this camaraderie, Felicia felt a sudden pang. She was going to miss working with this woman when her job was finally over. Nicole was like the mother she fervently wished that she’d had but never did.

  Well, you’re not gone yet, so instead of missing the woman, just enjoy this experience while you’re still able, Felicia told herself as the timer went off, signaling the end of yet another round of exercises.

  “Okay, on to the next exercise,” she said.

  Nicole groaned. “How many more are there?”

  “I’ll let you know when you’re close to the end,” Felicia promised.

  “And?” Nicole asked quizzically.

  “Not close yet. Now stop wasting time,” Felicia directed, suppressing her grin.

  * * *

  Myles Colton walked into his older cousin’s gym like a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders. At times he thought of the place as his own personal haven. This was one of those times.

  “Hey, Aaron, are you around?” he called out. Stopping the first gym employee he came across, he asked him, “Is your boss around here somewhere?”

  Rather than verbally answer him, the man pointed to an area located right in front of the locker room.

  “Thanks,” Myles murmured. Spotting his cousin, he strode over toward him.

  At this point, aware that he was the object of his cousin’s search, Aaron remained where he was. “Give me a minute,” he told the fighter he was traini
ng. Turning his attention to Myles, Aaron could feel a wave of sympathy and concern washing over him.

  Myles, five years younger than Aaron, was a successful lawyer with more business than he could currently handle, and married to Faith, a schoolteacher. They had a little boy and appeared to be the perfect couple. A love match straight out of the storybooks.

  However, recently the pair had suddenly separated, surprising and distressing everyone who knew them. To a person everyone reacted the same way: If Myles and Faith could grow apart, then what hope did any of the rest of them have of making their relationships work?

  Trying to keep a positive outlook for Myles’s sake, Aaron smiled at his cousin. “To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?”

  “Who said anything about pleasure? I’m here because if I don’t blow off some steam soon, I’m just liable to explode, if not self-destruct altogether. You did say it was okay to come by anytime, right?” Myles asked him.

  “Yes, and I meant it,” Aaron assured his cousin. Glancing back at the fighter he had been working with when Myles walked in, he held up his hand, spreading out all five fingers, asking for an indulgence of five minutes.

  Nodding, the fighter went back to working out with a punching bag.

  Aaron turned back to his cousin. “So what has you so steamed?” he asked. “Is your senior partner piling on the work and making you jump through hoops?”

  Myles waved his hand at Aaron’s question. “I can handle that. It’s what I’ve been working toward this last year.” He sighed. “Hell, I can handle just about anything—except not seeing Jackson.” He was referring to the apple of his eye, his four-year-old son, whom he adored and who was currently with his estranged wife.

  “Not being able to see that little face every day is just killing me,” he confessed sadly. “You know, I was so certain when I married Faith that we were perfect together.”

  “Everyone else thought so, too,” Aaron told him in all honesty.

  “Yeah, well, everyone was wrong.” Myles huffed irritably. “It’s like the more successful I became, the worse things got at home. It’s almost as if she doesn’t want me to succeed.”