KANE

  ALPHA COMPANY RENEGADES BOOK 13

  KALI HART

  Sawyer is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2020 by Kali Hart

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval systems, without express written permission from the author/publisher, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  CONTENTS

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Epilogue

  Alpha Company Renegades Series

  Sneak Peek FORD

  1

  AUDRA

  I fell in love with Anthony Kane the moment I saw him.

  Fell hard.

  Which is completely crazy. I was never one of those mushy, love-at-first-sight types. I was raised to believe that all those happily ever after’s in movies just weren’t possible in real life. Dad bailing on mom and me when I was five kinda drilled that point home. And considering the quality of relationships I’ve experienced, I had no reason to change my position.

  Until the sexiest soldier I’d ever laid eyes on strutted into the housing office and over to my desk.

  “You’re thinking about him again, aren’t you?” My coworker, and dear friend, Blaire accuses. The two of us share one room in the large, Army headquarters building, and it’s times like these I wish our desks didn’t face each other.

  “No, I’m not.”

  I don’t have to look right at her to know her eyebrow just shot up at least two inches.

  Blaire clears her throat, as if my bull was a bit thick to swallow. “It’s been six months, Audra. They’re not together. Don’t you think you should at least talk to him? There might be more to the story.”

  I avoid answering the question by taking a long sip of my ice water and waving in the next soldier for in-processing. He’s the last one on our list before a lunch break I desperately need. There’s nothing to talk about.

  I met Kane in this very office. At this very desk. Some days it just sucks to be stuck here, with that reminder on repeat.

  Flashes of that horrible day try like hell to worm their way in, but I force them out. I thought Kane was my soulmate. Turns out, he was just a player and a liar like all the rest. Lesson learned. I won’t be burned again.

  My stupid, stubborn heart has just about pushed the man out of it.

  “Good morning, ma’am.” A broad-shouldered soldier drops into the chair in front of my desk.

  “Good morning…” I flicker my eyes to his nametag, “Ford. What can I do for you?”

  I spend the rest of the morning helping this soldier get everything he needs to be added to the housing wait list. Unfortunately, for higher-ranking single soldiers, it doesn’t look promising. But, at least, he’s added to the list.

  Ford is very attractive. The old Audra would flirt up a storm with such a fine specimen. But there’s one pesky phrase repeating in my head. He’s not Kane.

  The worst thing about falling in love with a man like that…no one will ever measure up. His kisses ignited my entire body on fire. Why did he have to turn out to be such a jerk? I’m really looking forward to my kickboxing class over lunch. I need to punch something.

  As Ford leaves with his paperwork, I feel Blaire’s eyes boring into me. “Call him, Audra. Or at least send him a text.”

  “No.” I wish what I saw wasn’t real. But it wasn’t some quick two-second misconception. I stood there and watched for several minutes. Or maybe it just felt that long the voice in my head argues.

  “The man’s going to war in less than a week,” Blaire continues. “Don’t you think you should at least get his side of the story before he ships out?”

  Yes! a pesky voice screams in my head. “No.”

  Blaire stands up, reaching for her purse. She lets out a heavy, annoyed sigh. It means she’ll drop it for now, but that I’m driving her crazy. I don’t blame her for feeling that way. I’m driving me crazy. “Don’t suppose you want to join me for lunch ?” she asks, waiting while I gather my things so she can lock the office door behind us.

  “Kickboxing class.”

  “That’s your excuse every day,” Blaire says with an eye roll.

  “It’s a good class.” I flash her a cheeky smile, but I know she sees through it. As tough as I’ve tried to be, there are still moments of weakness. Today is not one of them, though. Nope. Not a chance.

  Walking out to the parking lot, Blaire says, “Someday, when you don’t feel like kicking the crap out of something, join me for lunch okay?”

  That day will likely be far, far away. “Sure.”

  KANE

  In one week, I’ll be boots on the ground in Afghanistan.

  I’ve been trying like hell to focus on the training, the preparation, the soldiers—everything that goes into an upcoming deployment. I’ve given two hundred percent hoping it would be enough for forget about Audra.

  Should’ve tried for three hundred percent. Most nights, when I should be passed out in bed, thoughts of her still keep me awake.

  I knew the moment I first saw her that she was meant to be mine.

  Our connection was immediate and undeniable that day in the housing office. It was damn adorable watching her shaky hands mistype and knock over her cup of paperclips. Her smile warmed a spot in my heart that I’d considered permanently frozen. She made me laugh without even trying. Everything about her screamed mine.

  I took her out for the lunch that same day and almost made her late for getting back to work.

  “You’ve got that distant look in your eyes,” my buddy, Ford accuses when I sit a few seconds too long at a stop sign. He just got to town a few days ago and has been going through in-processing. Though he’s in our unit, he arrived too late to make the deployment. He’ll stay back in the rear to keep things together at home.

  “Just tired, man.”

  “No,” Ford shakes his head, his chuckle a little too knowing. “This is about a woman.”

  Ford and I met in basic training more than fifteen years ago. He’s the brother I never had. We’ve been lucky to share the same duty stations twice—now three times. But we’ve also been thousands of miles apart, too. “Is not.”

  “Danica still giving you trouble?”

  I tense at my ex-wife’s name. She’s the reason I messed things up with Audra so badly. It was a huge misunderstanding I never got the chance to explain. But I can’t blame Audra for shutting me out. It looked bad. I wish like hell it’d never happened. That I could take away the pain I’ve caused her. “She’s gone for good,” I say firmly.

  “Not in a body bag somewhere?”

  I’m so messed up in the fucking head that it takes me a few beats to realize Ford is joking. My delayed laugh doesn’t make my buddy any less suspicious. “No, but I made it clear we’re over.”

  “Good. I never did like her,” Ford says.

  “You tell me this now?”

  “I was halfway around the world when you met her.”

  Too bad. Ford would’ve talked some sense into me. If he had, I might be married to Audra right now. Spending every spare minute of this last week with her, much of it naked. I did the gentlemanly thing. I took Audra on several dates without leading her to my bed, despite how fucking strong that temptation was for both of us.

  That special night was ruined when my ex showed up unannounced and caused a scene.

  “You turning?” Ford asks.

  I slam on my brakes, relieved no one is behind me. Lost in my thoughts, I damn near drove right by the gym. I have a few down days before the deployment and promised to help my buddy get settled in. He’ll need to find a place off-base to live while he waits for something to become available. But right now, he just wanted to get in a workout.

  Pulling into a spot, I want to ask him if he saw Audra today.

  Since it’s Ford’s first time to this gym, I wait with him at the counter while he gets all set up. The place is normally packed at lunch, which is why I avoid it until after dark. But Ford was antsy for a workout that involved more weights and less running and pushups. So, here I am.

  I step around the corner to grab a couple towels off the rack.

  That’s when I see her: The love of my life.

  Head pointed toward the floor, Audra wipes the back of her neck with a towel, buying me a few extra seconds to sweep my gaze over her perfectly curvy body in those workout clothes. When her gaze connects with mine, my pulse triples. I send her a smile.

  Audra returns it with narrowed eyes and a scowl before she disappears into the locker room.

  “Ready man?” Ford nudges me with his elbow.

  Leading the way to the locker room, my heart still pounds in my chest like I’ve run five miles. Unfriendly glare or not, one thing is abundantly clear to me. I still love Audra—I always will. And I’m not leaving U.S. soil until I lay it all out on the line.

  2

  AUDRA

  No. No way is Kane here.

  My l unchtime kickboxing ritual is sacred. I’ve been doing it every day for months. Not once have I run into him here. He hates places that are too crowded. Once he even told me he’d never go to the gym during the lunch hour, even if someone bribed him. So why is he here today?

  I wish I had the luxury to take my time showering and changing back into my work clothes, but the class ran a few minutes over today. I need to get back, or Blaire will be stuck with an onslaught of annoyed soldiers to help on her own.

  Dressed in work clothes, I tiptoe toward the locker room exit. This is ridiculous. I come here to work out my frustrations over the whole Kane situation. I shouldn’t be hiding from him. Convincing myself that the smile he flashed me earlier was filled with nothing but ill will, I strut out into the open.

  I’m so busy looking over my shoulder that I plow right into a hard wall. If it weren’t for the distinct sensation of cotton against my cheek, I wouldn’t know it was a man. The woodsy scent is familiar. I close my eyes, fighting the desire to drink it in. No. Coincidence, Audra. Just a stupid coincidence.

  “Audra, hey.”

  Dammit. “Hi, Kane.” I hop back, putting space between us, annoyed at how my cheek tingles from the contact. There’s never any denying that the chemistry between us is still scalding hot. “What are you doing here?”

  “Showing my buddy Ford around.”

  “Ford?” I catch a glimpse of the same man who was in my office less than two hours ago and am unable to hide a gasp of surprise.

  “Hey, Audra.” Ford gives a wave when he catches me staring and approaches. “Didn’t realize you two knew each other.”

  “I have to get back to work.” Before I can make my escape, Kane’s fingers reach for my wrist.

  “Audra, can you please wait just a minute?” The plea in his deep tone nearly undoes me. My stupid heart is fluttering, begging me to go to him. To find the comfort I’ve yearned for in his arms. If soulmates were a real thing, I would’ve bet my life savings Kane was mine.

  I still don’t understand how my heart can yearn for him so strongly despite how much he hurt me. “I can’t.”

  “Please.”

  Maybe Blaire is right. I should at least hear him out. Maybe I should’ve answered one of his fourteen texts and three voicemails on the night it happened. I could’ve nailed him on his lies and been done with this. Or, he might’ve had a perfectly reasonable explanation.

  Maybe.

  So many maybes.

  Just get this over with. I feel myself jerk a nod. “Fine. You have two minutes.”

  The relief in Kane’s eyes is instant. “Thank you.”

  “But outside. Not in here.” Not with Ford or anyone else watching. I want to know I have the option to run to my car and hide my emotions should I need to.

  The afternoon sun warms my skin as Kane and I walk to the gym parking lot. Dammit, it even feels wrong not to hold his hand. This is stupid. So, sooo stupid. My gaze keeps darting to his lips, missing the way they made my own feel so alive.

  “Audra, I want to say I’m sorry about what happened.”

  “Sorry.” Sorry doesn’t mean I was wrong. Sorry means he regrets making a mistake. This was a bad idea. My heart might break all over again.

  “I’m sorry I never told you about being married. It was so short that I didn’t really think it mattered. I never expected Danica to show up.”

  “Why did you kiss her?” It’s the question I’ve been dying to know ever since I showed up at Kane’s house, prepared for a romantic dinner and sleepover where we didn’t sleep. Instead of skipping dinner and heading straight to dessert, I found him locking lips with his ex-wife.

  An ex-wife he never even mentioned.

  “I thought she was you.”

  Of all the explanations I expected, that was not one of them. I dare to look into Kane’s piercing green eyes, knowing they have the ability to put me in a trance. Already, the butterflies in my stomach are getting giddy. But I need to see for myself if he’s telling me the truth. Because if he is, I may have wasted the last six months.

  Am I a fool to believe him? Probably.

  KANE

  “I was setting up a romantic dinner in the backyard, just like we talked about,” I continue, remembering every detail of that evening like it was yesterday. The candles, the rose petals, the bottle of wine I spent an hour picking out because I never drink wine but wanted to impress Audra. “I wasn’t paying attention. She snuck up behind me and kissed me before I realized who it was. I was expecting you—”

  “You had to know it wasn’t me,” Audra says, her voice soft. Almost sad.

  “I did. Within two seconds. I pushed her away, but you’d already left.” I daringly reach for her fingertips, testing the waters. Praying she won’t pull away. “I tried to call you. To go after you. I showed up at your house.”

  “I—I didn’t go home.”

  My heart pounds in my ears as I fear the worst, that Audra might’ve sought the comfort of another man. I should leave it alone, but hell, I have to know. “Where did you go?” The thought of another man touching her makes my fist ball at my side.

  “To Blaire’s.”

  The relief I feel is instant. I love this woman with all my heart, and I know deep down she loves me too. We belong together and with no one else. “Have dinner with me tonight.”

  “I—I don’t know if that’s a good idea, Kane.”

  “Think about it?”

  Audra nods. “Yeah, I’ll think about it.”

  Though it’s not the answer I want, it’s a foot in the door.

  “I have to get back to work,” she says, pulling her hand free from mine. I already miss the silkiness of her fingers. “I’ll text you okay? No promises though.”

  I almost say I love you, because it feels like the most natural impulse, but I pull the words back at the last second so I don’t send her running. I’m going to do whatever it takes to fix this before I head overseas. I’m pulling out all the stops.

  3

  AUDRA

  “You have to go to dinner with him,” Blaire insists after she catches me staring at my phone for the hundredth time since I came back from lunch.

  “I don’t know.” I managed to dodge the invite yesterday, but today the temptation to say yes has doubled. Am I just a glutton for punishment? I believe him about that kiss I witnessed, yet I’m terrified of letting myself fall so hard for him again. I may not survive a second time.

  “He thought she was you,” Blaire reminds me. I tried to keep running into Kane on my lunch break a secret, but I was almost twenty minutes late getting back yesterday, and apparently something big was written all over my face. My confession saved me a reprimanding.

  Any hope that Blaire would drop it now that a whole day has gone by is out the window, though. She’s more persistent today than ever. “I swear I watched him kiss her for several minutes,” I say, preparing to invite the next appointment into the office. “He says it was two seconds.”

  “Time isn’t really reliable when you’re in shock,” Blaire says. “Trust me, I know.”

  Before I can call for the next soldier, a delivery man appears in the doorway carrying the largest bouquet of red and pink roses I have ever seen in my life. It’s a miracle he can walk with that thing. It has to weight a ton.

  “Looking for Audra?” he calls through the thick foliage that covers most of his face.

  “That’s her,” Blaire answers, her eyes illuminating with excitement. She points to a small table that sits between our two desks and clears off the pamphlet rack to make room for the flowers I’ll never be able to carry to my own car. “You really plan to turn him down now?”

  Kane had a few romantic gestures up his sleeve when we dated, but never anything of this scale. “It’s so over the top,” I say.

  “He knows the clock is ticking. He wants to make sure you get it.”

 

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