Accepted it.”
“You seemed to make it work for you.”
Hammer nodded. “I did, but it took a long
fucking time, and a hell of a lot of training. We all have to deal with it. You,
me, Hunter, Storm, Dante. Hell, it’s why I don’t let any of the amateurs spar
with Dante in the ring in a real fight. He has good training instincts and the
younger guys respond to him, but he still has that edge to him and I can’t risk
him unleashing on some poor kid. It’s not his fault, though. We’ve spent years
training for combat, man. That’s not something we can just forget overnight.”
Dare glanced away and stared down at his own
hands. They were clean now, but in his mind he saw them covered with blood.
Looking back up, Dare forced himself to say the words. “I killed someone,
Hammer. I killed him looking him in the eyes just like I’m doing with you right
now. I’m a fucking doctor. I’m supposed to save lives, not take them.”
“I’m sorry you had to do that,” Hammer said
softly.
“He was the terrorist leader in Spain. I had
to stop him before he blew up another church filled with people. It was like
something out of a fucking nightmare, all the people dead or dying and there
was nothing I could do. No way to stop it...until that moment. Until I did stop
it.”
“You don’t have to explain your actions to
me, Nyght. Whatever you were forced to do, I know you had a good reason without
you having to tell me. No matter what, you are a good man. Nothing you tell me
is going to convince me otherwise.”
Dare closed his eyes for a moment,
overwhelmed by what Hammer’s acceptance of him made him feel. His chest grew
tight with barely restrained emotions. To know the faith his friend had in him
was staggering. And knowing that helped lift some of the weight that had been
on his shoulders since he’d pulled the trigger in Spain.
“You don’t know how much that means to me to
hear you say that,” Dare said in a low voice, rough with emotion.
“I mean it.” Hammer cleared his throat and
patted Dare’s bare shoulder. “It took me a long time to get my head right. Even
when I thought I had, things really changed for me when I met Kali.”
“She’s a good woman. Too damn good for you.”
Grinning, Hammer tapped the wooden bench with
his fist. “Oh, I know it. But now that I have her, I’m gonna make damn sure she
stays mine. It’s funny what loving the right woman can do for a man. She makes
me better.”
Dare raised a brow at that. “If you say she
completes you, I may just have to hit you.”
“Shut up. You know what I mean. She makes me
want to be a better man for her. Not because she demands it. For some damn
reason she loves me just as I am, but I want to be everything she needs, and
that is how loving her makes me better. So, going back to what I said about my
cousin—”
“Oh, no. I’m not looking for love—”
“Which is the perfect time for it to happen.
I have it on good authority.”
Dare’s eyes narrowed. “And what is this
authority?”
“The women, of course. Sometimes Kali and her
friends get together and I can’t escape, so I have to listen to them babble on
about all kinds of girly shit. According to them, people who aren’t looking for
love are the ones who find it. And happy people who are in love seem to attract
other happy people—”
“Oh my God!”
Hammer bellowed out a laugh. “I’m just
fucking with you now. Come on, get dressed so we can go eat. I’m starving.” He
paused with a smirk. “I would hug it out, but you’re in nothing but a towel and
that is much closer to your junk than I want to be.”
“You’re such a dick.”
“Yeah, love you, too.”
Chapter Seven
Evie glanced at the empty bottle of wine on
the table, then shook her head at her three friends who were sitting with her
in the living room of the her house. “Why is it every time you three come over
I end up with a hangover?”
“Because we’re fun,” Zoe Lang said
“You seemed to make it work for you.”
Hammer nodded. “I did, but it took a long
fucking time, and a hell of a lot of training. We all have to deal with it. You,
me, Hunter, Storm, Dante. Hell, it’s why I don’t let any of the amateurs spar
with Dante in the ring in a real fight. He has good training instincts and the
younger guys respond to him, but he still has that edge to him and I can’t risk
him unleashing on some poor kid. It’s not his fault, though. We’ve spent years
training for combat, man. That’s not something we can just forget overnight.”
Dare glanced away and stared down at his own
hands. They were clean now, but in his mind he saw them covered with blood.
Looking back up, Dare forced himself to say the words. “I killed someone,
Hammer. I killed him looking him in the eyes just like I’m doing with you right
now. I’m a fucking doctor. I’m supposed to save lives, not take them.”
“I’m sorry you had to do that,” Hammer said
softly.
“He was the terrorist leader in Spain. I had
to stop him before he blew up another church filled with people. It was like
something out of a fucking nightmare, all the people dead or dying and there
was nothing I could do. No way to stop it...until that moment. Until I did stop
it.”
“You don’t have to explain your actions to
me, Nyght. Whatever you were forced to do, I know you had a good reason without
you having to tell me. No matter what, you are a good man. Nothing you tell me
is going to convince me otherwise.”
Dare closed his eyes for a moment,
overwhelmed by what Hammer’s acceptance of him made him feel. His chest grew
tight with barely restrained emotions. To know the faith his friend had in him
was staggering. And knowing that helped lift some of the weight that had been
on his shoulders since he’d pulled the trigger in Spain.
“You don’t know how much that means to me to
hear you say that,” Dare said in a low voice, rough with emotion.
“I mean it.” Hammer cleared his throat and
patted Dare’s bare shoulder. “It took me a long time to get my head right. Even
when I thought I had, things really changed for me when I met Kali.”
“She’s a good woman. Too damn good for you.”
Grinning, Hammer tapped the wooden bench with
his fist. “Oh, I know it. But now that I have her, I’m gonna make damn sure she
stays mine. It’s funny what loving the right woman can do for a man. She makes
me better.”
Dare raised a brow at that. “If you say she
completes you, I may just have to hit you.”
“Shut up. You know what I mean. She makes me
want to be a better man for her. Not because she demands it. For some damn
reason she loves me just as I am, but I want to be everything she needs, and
that is how loving her makes me better. So, going back to what I said about my
cousin—”
“Oh, no. I’m not looking for love—”
“Which is the perfect time for it to happen.
I have it on good authority.”
Dare’s eyes narrowed. “And what is this
authority?”
“The women, of course. Sometimes Kali and her
friends get together and I can’t escape, so I have to listen to them babble on
about all kinds of girly shit. According to them, people who aren’t looking for
love are the ones who find it. And happy people who are in love seem to attract
other happy people—”
“Oh my God!”
Hammer bellowed out a laugh. “I’m just
fucking with you now. Come on, get dressed so we can go eat. I’m starving.” He
paused with a smirk. “I would hug it out, but you’re in nothing but a towel and
that is much closer to your junk than I want to be.”
“You’re such a dick.”
“Yeah, love you, too.”
Chapter Seven
Evie glanced at the empty bottle of wine on
the table, then shook her head at her three friends who were sitting with her
in the living room of the her house. “Why is it every time you three come over
I end up with a hangover?”
“Because we’re fun,” Zoe Lang said
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