Free Dancing with Deception by Avery Gale

mess resolved before we add any unnecessary stress to her life.”
    “Agreed.” Brandt paused so long, Ryan thought the conversation was over. But then he saw a knowing grin spread over his cousin’s face. “I assume this means Pine Creek is going to have another Doc soon?”
    Ryan didn’t hesitate, laughing he answered, “Hell, your dad sealed this deal weeks ago. This visit is just a formality. I was going to try to find a place while I was here, but now I’m thinking maybe we ought to all stay at the ranch—at least for a while.” God knew there was plenty of space in the main house. He’d also heard several of his cousins’ homes were finished or nearly so, there should be plenty of options available.
    “Joelle definitely needs to stay at the ranch until we get this sorted out. Phoenix is probably ramping up the security system he installed at her place, but nothing beats layers of protection and she’ll have it at the ranch. And we might actually get spend some quality time with her without being interrupted if we have your brothers watching our backs. Hell, I want to shoot the bastard who tripped the alarm for fucking up our time with her if nothing else.” Ryan didn’t care if he sounded petulant, he’d been looking forward to spending some time with Joelle between them even if it was just to sleep for a few hours. He’d been intrigued by her when they first met and now—knowing they shared an in interest in dominance and submission? Hell, he could hardly wait to explore the lifestyle with her, and adding Brandt into the mix the frosting on the cake.

    Brandt looked at his cousin and grinned. “Understood. I have a lot of pent up frustration waiting on the fucker trying to hurt her myself. And screwing up my aftercare plans didn’t do anything to improve my mood. As you know, my team’s last mission, well, it went so far south I saw a penguin sporting a Timberwolf C14.” His favored sniper rifle might not be as recognizable as some others, but it had never failed him. It didn’t matter his Commanding Officer taunted that he’d chosen it simply because of the name—hell, maybe there had been a thread of truth to his accusation. But when his life and those of his team depended on him being able to feel as though the rifle was an extension of himself, he didn’t question why something worked—he just used it.
    “The whole operation was FUBAR from the time we hit the ground and I’m itching to set a few things straight with the Universe.” Fucked up beyond all recognition was a gross understatement, hell, the enemy had been waiting for them. Brandt never was able to find out all the details, but he knew clear to his toes they’d been set up.
    As they neared Joelle’s home, he turned to wake her and saw she was already looking out the window. He hated seeing the forlorn look in her eyes and wished like hell he wasn’t sure he knew what she was thinking. “Joelle, Phoenix and Kip have already cleared the yard, but they’re waiting for me to get there before entering the house.” It was several seconds before she met his gaze—she didn’t respond, just waited patiently for him to continue. “Is the alarm system the only thing we need to contend with?”
    She blinked at him in confusion for a few seconds before he saw understanding dawn in her eyes. “Are you asking me if I’ve booby-trapped the place?” When he nodded, her soft laugh didn’t reflect even a hint of humor. “No. I know Coral said she’d done that in her apartment, but with Phoenix’s security system in place, glassware in front of the door seemed like overkill.” He was glad to see she was, at least, pretending her sense of humor was returning, even though he could see the resignation in her eyes. Damn, he hated knowing she thought running was her only option. It wasn’t—not by a long shot, but he was equally convinced it wasn’t going to be easy to persuade her otherwise.
    Before stepping out of the vehicle,