Edge of Brotherhood (Love on the Edge Book 6) Read online

  Edge of Brotherhood

  Molly E. Lee

  Copyright © 2017 by Molly E. Lee

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN#: 978–1-946356–93–2

  This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. This 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. This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you’d like to share it with. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

  Visit my website at www.mollyelee.com

  Cover Designer:

  Regina Wamba at Mae I Design

  Editing:

  Karen Grove

  Interior Design and Formatting:

  Christine Borgford at Type A Formatting

  Contents

  Edge of Brotherhood

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Epilogue

  Sneak Peek

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  For Liz Berry because this book wouldn’t have been possible without your brilliance.

  &

  For Imani Hackney because you’re the first one who wanted the Edge men together and told me I could make it happen. Thank you.

  “DID DANIEL THINK we were bringing the entire crew?” Blake asked when she saw the limo waiting for us outside LAX.

  I nodded at the chauffeur and slipped inside the large backseat first. “No, he said he just needed me.”

  Daniel, one of the producers of our successful storm-chasing reality TV show, had been borderline hyper when he’d called to schedule travel plans to have a meeting with him and another star of one of the network’s shows.

  Blake snorted, falling in behind me. “And that makes me what? An annoying bonus?” The driver shut the door and got behind the wheel but the partition was up so I couldn’t see or hear him. Not that he’d offered anything more than a casual greeting.

  Scooting close to Blake, I wrapped an arm around her hip, tracing the line of her jaw with my nose. “You could never be annoying, Blake.”

  “To you,” she said a little breathlessly. She leaned into me, tipping her head back so I could trail my tongue along her bottom lip. “Dash.” She sighed, kissing me fiercely but ending it just as quickly.

  I growled, holding her to me as she tried to put distance between us. “Come on. We’re in a limo. Let’s see if that partition really is soundproof.” I didn’t need the fancy ride as an excuse to touch Blake. I always wanted her.

  She smacked my chest. I nipped at her neck, and she arched into me. At first thought she was giving up, but Blake always liked a battle. “Dash Lexington,” she scolded me, and I released her. She had used her serious tone. The one that was entirely business. “I will not go into a studio meeting—one I wasn’t even invited to—completely in the dark.” She gave me another quick kiss and pulled out her cell. “And I love you so much I won’t let you, either.”

  “You drive me crazy, woman.” I forced my hands to rest innocently on her thighs as I waited for her to continue.

  “You love it.” She winked at me, typing on her phone.

  “I do,” I said, and those words had never had so much meaning as they did now. It’d been six months since my best friend Paul had married us during of a tornado chase, but I still couldn’t believe she was my wife. How in the hell had I gotten so lucky?

  “Okay, got it,” she said triumphantly and scooted closer so I could see the screen. “Easton Wells. This is the most viewed clip on YouTube from his treasure hunting show, Unearthed.”

  She pushed play, and I resisted the urge to pull her into my lap while we watched. It wasn’t every day I got Blake all to myself in the back of a limo. Usually we were surrounded by crew and crammed into my truck while flying down backroads in the hopes of catching a tornado. I loved every second of it—every second of my life with her—but a man could get used to this kind of luxury.

  Her screen filled with the shaky camera image of who I assumed was Easton Wells. I’d never seen his show before, but Daniel had mentioned over the phone that he was a renowned treasure hunter and survivalist. His show was one of the longest running reality series on the same network that produced ours.

  “Nice hat,” I said, rubbing smooth circles on Blake’s thigh and relishing how she shifted her weight the higher I got. I couldn’t help myself. Despite being well out of the honeymoon phase our passion had never dulled. If anything it had gotten stronger, which resulted in me wanting her twenty-four-seven.

  “I like it,” she said, eyeing me before returning her attention to the clip. “Or don’t you remember that Indiana Jones was one of my first childhood crushes?”

  I straightened, noting the signature hat Easton donned in the clip. I captured her bottom lip with my teeth, gently teasing her for a minute. “Are you saying I have something to worry about?”

  She rolled her eyes but opened her mouth as I slipped my tongue inside. I wasn’t actually jealous, but I didn’t mind claiming her mouth to get her focus back on me. She giggled against my lips, sighing my name again. “Seriously, we need to focus.”

  I grunted, glancing back at the screen while I wrapped my arms around her and rested my head over her shoulder. “All business,” I teased.

  “One of us has to be!” She shook her head. “Aren’t you the least bit curious why Daniel would fly us all the way out to L.A. to meet this guy?”

  “A little. He was excited on the phone but was stingy with the details. I figure it’ll be something like a numbers briefing or maybe a brainstorm session on how to up our ratings.”

  “For both shows? What, they don’t have enough money to hold separate meetings?”

  I shrugged again, flinching as I watched Easton nearly get his arm ripped out of its socket as he caught a blonde woman before she plummeted to her death off a huge mountain ledge. “What in the hell?” I took the phone from Blake so I could better see the clip. “Did he just pull her up with a rope? Holy shit.”

  Blake chuckled. “Now you’re interested.”

  “Did you see that? Who is that girl? Why was she with him on this expedition?” I couldn’t tear my eyes off the screen as Blake reached in my pocket for my cell. She got busy searching for something else while the clip cut to a shot of Easton and the woman running away from another set of people, but I couldn’t tell why they were being chased.

  The shaky angles made me guess the footage caught—or at least shown—was from GoPros. It would switch from Easton’s point of view to the girl’s, each scene more gripping than the next. If all this was legit—and it looked incredibly legit—and not one of those entertainment shows that was supposed to look real, then this guy was an absolute badass.

  “That’s Rain Wells,” Blake said just as the clip ended with a shot of Easton cupping Rain’s fa
ce. It was a close up, and I recognized the look in his eyes. I’d worn it almost every day since I’d met Blake. He was crazy in love with her. “Formerly Rain Walker, daughter of the famous archeologist Harrison Walker,” she continued.

  “That’s his wife?” I blurted out, watching as YouTube brought up the next clip. This one showed Rain and Easton somewhere in Africa surrounded by lions.

  “Why do you sound shocked?”

  “She almost fell off a cliff! And then look.” I pointed at the screen. “Lions. How could he let her tag along on all these dangerous expeditions?”

  Blake situated herself in her seat, planting me with an incredulous gaze. “Tag along? Did you honestly just say that?”

  The sharp tone of her voice made me put down the phone like it was suddenly too hot to hold. “I didn’t mean—”

  “Is that what I do? Tag along on all our chases? Several of which have nearly claimed both our lives, in case you’ve forgotten.”

  I cocked an eyebrow at her, the air in the limo suddenly heavy. “Fifty years could pass and I wouldn’t be able to forget, Blake. As much as I beg the night to erase the haunting images of almost losing you . . . I can’t. They stay with me,” I said, touching the center of my chest. “You think being next to you drives me crazy? Well, being separated from you turns me into a madman. Especially when you get hurt.” A shudder ran through my body as the image of Blake, limp and bleeding after being hit by debris from an F-4 tornado flashed in my head. One of the longest, hardest days of my life. I thought I’d lost her for good. “The thing that keeps me sane? You’re trained. You have a degree, experience, and . . . it’s in your blood.”

  “And how do you know Rain doesn’t?” She smoothed her hand over the muscle that had clenched in my jawline.

  My shoulders dropped as the air went out of my lungs. She had me there. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have assumed.”

  A breathtaking smile shaped her lips as she scooted closer to me, patting my chest. “It’s okay. You’re my white knight, always trying to protect us helpless damsels.”

  I growled and bit down on the sensitive spot underneath her ear before soothing the sting with my tongue. “I am no knight.”

  She arched into me, hooking one leg around my hip. “Keep telling yourself that.” She sighed against my mouth before crushing her lips against mine.

  “And,” I said between kisses, “you’d never be helpless.”

  “I know.” She sucked my bottom lip into her mouth. “But you’re still a knight.”

  I lightly spanked the part of her ass I could get to, and smirked when she hissed but hugged me closer. “Woman,” I said, slipping my hand beneath the fabric of her shirt. “Keep teasing me and see what happens.”

  Her hand splayed over my chest before running downward and landing on what was growing rock hard in my jeans. She trailed her eyes up to mine slowly, holding me there with a look that had me dying to rip her jeans off and sink into her. “Oh, I’d love to see what happens.”

  “You asked for it.” I smacked her ass again, shifting her so I was between her legs. Even fully clothed, the woman had me aching like a teenager to get her naked, and we had made love this morning before our flight.

  I set my mouth on her right breast, gently biting her nipple over the fabric of her shirt. A breathy moan left her lips as she tangled her fingers into my hair.

  “More,” she whispered, wrapping her legs around my hips to press me against her center.

  “Fuck,” I growled, reaching for the zipper of her jeans.

  The limo slowed to a stop, shifting us just enough to notice the difference. Seconds later I heard the driver get out. We scrambled upright as if our parents were about to walk in on us. He opened the door for us a breath after Blake had gotten her legs untangled from me.

  And she laughed the entire walk into the studio.

  “You’re not wearing your hat,” I said, shaking Easton’s hand after Blake and I had entered the conference room. Rain greeted Blake on the other side of the long table that took up the center of the room, and from their relaxed chatter, it didn’t look like I was getting her back anytime soon.

  Easton grinned, releasing my hand. He glanced at the ceiling, his dark brown eyes seemed almost black. “Not much need for protection from the elements in here.”

  “Is there a story behind it or did the studio force you to wear it?” I asked, wanting to know if his show was as legit as it appeared or if it was all the producers doing.

  He smirked. “There is a story but not one I want to get into today.”

  “Fair enough.”

  “I hear you chase tornados?”

  I nodded.

  “And your wife?” He eyed around me to where Blake and Rain were talking. Damn Blake was gorgeous when she laughed like no one was watching.

  “She’s my right hand. Better chaser than me, but don’t tell her I told you that.”

  He raised his hands. “Wouldn’t dare.”

  “Yours?” I motioned toward Rain.

  “She’s better at everything than me. I couldn’t imagine not having her on an expedition. She’s smarter, stronger, and pushes me to be better.” He stopped making moon eyes at her and glanced back to me, pleading. “Don’t tell her I said that.”

  I smiled, shaking his hand once again. “Wouldn’t dream of it.” I liked him instantly. Anyone who loved their woman like that was good in my book. “Now tell me,” I said, dropping his hand, “you know what we’re doing here?”

  “They didn’t prep you?”

  I shook my head. “My producer said he wanted a face-to-face with both you and me present. Nothing more than that.”

  “Fucking suits,” Easton growled. “Sometimes I wish I could go around them and their hoops.”

  I cocked an eyebrow at him. “Have trouble with them in the past?”

  “Yeah. They wanted to cancel my show a while back. Led to me and Rain nearly getting ourselves killed to earn back the ratings. They’d exaggerated the drop a bit to see how far I’d go.” A muscle in his jaw ticked before a deep breath smoothed his features. He glanced at Rain again. “Wouldn’t take it back though. Not a second of it.”

  “I saw some of the footage in the car on the way over here. When she nearly fell?”

  He winced as if the words pained him. “Yeah, that clip is more popular than I’d like.”

  “I get that.” My eyes landed on Blake. “My producer denied my request to kill footage of Blake after she’d been injured on a chase.” I swallowed past the ball of anger in my throat. “Said it would be our most viewed episode because of my reaction to it.” He’d been right, but I couldn’t believe they’d let it air. I shook my head.

  “Like I said, fucking suits.” He clapped me on the back and motioned to some chairs at the head of the table. Blake and Rain had already sat down and were chatting away like they were old friends. “Anyway,” he said after we’d sat. “We’re here today—”

  “Apologies,” Daniel, our producer, said, entering the room. “Didn’t mean to keep you waiting.” He held the door open for another man in a suit—this one older with salt and pepper hair and a permeant greasy look on his face—and two other guys. One had jet black hair that was secured in a ponytail and had sleeves of tats running along his arms. The other was tall, clean cut, and had dark hair that was in a high and tight, making me guess he was either military or ex. A petite blonde came in after the tatted-up guy, reaching for his hand and smiling at Blake and Rain on the other side of the table.

  “Connell, Wade.” Daniel motioned to a pair of chairs opposite Easton and I, leaving the girls to take up the end. The blonde took a seat on the other side of Blake, and they whispered an exchange. “For those of you who don’t know, I’m Daniel Davis and this is Robert Miller, he’s the one who funds Easton and Dash’s projects.”

  We each nodded our greetings, though Connell—the tatted guy—remained stiff and glaring at Easton across the table like he wanted to strangle him. I didn’t ha
ve a clue what that was about but didn’t know if I wanted to find out, either.

  “I’m sure you’re all wondering why you’re here,” Daniel continued, pacing the front of the room as he spoke. “You two have two of the best-rated shows on the network.” He pointed to me and Easton. “And we’d like to keep it that way.” He glanced at Robert before continuing. “The studio heads and myself have been deep in research mode, running statistics and focus groups, trying to really peel back the reasoning for why your shows are doing so well.”

  Blake huffed. “Isn’t it obvious?” The other girls laughed, too, but I stifled mine behind my hand. Blake and Daniel had made peace with each other after a rocky start when we first started filming the show—hell, they were even friendly on occasion—but she never let him get away with bullshit when it came to the business. And from the way he was laying it on, it sounded like a line of bullshit would come out of his mouth before he got to the actual point.

  “Enlighten us,” Robert said, his voice gruff like he’d been forced to come to a meeting they’d flown us out for.

  “Look at them.” Blake motioned to myself and Easton before dropping her hand on the table. “Pair those looks with life-or-death action? Plus, the bonus of giving audiences unique content they can’t get anywhere else? How could they not succeed?”

  I winked at her, my chest flexing just a bit at the pride from knowing how much she believed in me. Wait, did she just say that Easton was hot?

  Robert smacked his hand on the table. “I can see what you meant.” He pointed to Blake but was looking up at Daniel. “She is a feisty one.”

  I ground my teeth together until he stopped pointing at Blake. She didn’t need me to go all knight on her and say something, but it didn’t kill the urge to do so. Jokes aside, she’d been right—I had this annoying need to protect her when she was strong enough to do it on her own. Not that Robert was threatening her, I just didn’t like his attitude.

  “You’re absolutely right, Blake,” Daniel said, hurrying to get back to the point . . . I hoped. “We found evidence to back up what you’ve already stated. And, in an effort to boost both shows during the off season, we came up with something quite unique.” He picked up his pacing again, his eyes lighting up the way they did right before he asked me to get closer to an F-4 tornado. “We would like to do a special. A show that utilizes each of your skill sets. One that could eventually turn into a spin-off, if the numbers agree.”