Paradise Ties: A Fortis Security Novella: Book 8.5 Read online

  Paradise Ties

  A Fortis Security Novella: Book 8.5

  Maddie Wade

  Paradise Ties

  A Fortis Wedding Novella: Book 8.5

  Published by Maddie Wade

  Copyright © August 2019 Maddie Wade

  Cover: Envy Creative Designs

  Editing: Black Opal Editing

  Formatting: Black Opal Editing

  This is a work of fiction. Names characters places and incidents are a product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as fact. Any resemblance to actual events organizations or persons—living or dead—is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive non-transferable right to access and read the text of this eBook onscreen. Except for use in reviews promotional posts or similar uses no part of this text may be reproduced transmitted downloaded decompiled reverse-engineered or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system in any form or by any means whether electronic or mechanical now known or hereafter invented without the express written permission of the author.

  First edition August 2019 © Maddie Wade

  Acknowledgments

  As always there are so many wonderful people who helped bring this book to life. My beta team, Greta and Deanna and you read my books in such a rough draft and are always so positive and supportive, but never afraid to kick my butt when I veer onto the wrong path. I love you for that, your feedback is so crucial to a good book and I hope I do you proud.

  My editing and proofing team—Linda and Cathy. Thank you for making me the best I can be.

  Thank you to my group Maddie’s Minxes, your support and constant thirst for Fortis makes me smile every day.

  My ARC Team for not keeping me on edge to long while I wait for feedback.

  A big thank you to all the bloggers, authors and friends who promote my books and help others to find my books. Without you I would not be able to do this.

  Lastly and most importantly thank you to my readers who have embraced me wholeheartedly and shown a love for the stories in my head. To hear you say that you see my characters as family makes me so humble and proud. I hope you enjoy this new installment as much as I do.

  This book is dedicated to my reader group Maddie’s Minxes. You make me smile when the words won’t come, and your constant support makes me want to keep giving you the best books I can.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Epilogue

  Books by Maddie Wade

  About the Author

  Chapter 1

  Lauren could feel the palpable excitement through the cabin of the Boeing 787-9 as everyone chattered and laughed. She, Dane, their twins Aaron and Leah, along with their friends and family, were finally on a flight to Saint Kitts Island where she would marry the man of her dreams in a double wedding with Dane’s sister Lucy and her fiancé Jace. Will, Jace’s cousin who also happened to be a multimillionaire computer genius, had upgraded them all to first class as a wedding gift and Lauren couldn’t be happier. The men and Lucy all worked for Fortis Security and Lauren considered them all family.

  Leah bounced on Dane’s legs, his big hands holding her safe as she squirmed and wriggled to get free. Lauren studied him as he spoke to his best friend Daniel, who was cradling his own sleeping daughter against his chest.

  Zoey had come into the world five months ago, and she’d never seen Daniel so happy. Her best friend Claire, who had been married to Daniel until she’d died, would be pleased to know the man she’d loved was finally living life again with Megan, the woman he adored who also happened to be Dane’s little sister. Megan had also become a mother to Claire and Daniel’s daughter Paige.

  Claire’s murder at the hands of a madman had been a catalyst for so many things, including her and Dane getting together. She’d also discovered Drew, the brother she’d never known she had and who’d also joined Fortis.

  Dane must’ve felt her stare because he turned to her and smiled. Her heart stuttered at his look, there was so much said in that one expression. When they had buried Claire, she’d never in her wildest dreams imagined she’d feel joy again in her life.

  “I love you so much,” she blurted, her eyes liquid with unshed tears of happiness.

  Dane’s face went soft and he lifted his hand to her cheek, stroking it softly as she leaned into him. “I love you too, Lauren. More than words will ever express.”

  “They don’t have to. You show me every day.”

  “Don’t be cute when we’re surrounded by people and trapped in a flying sardine can.”

  Lauren felt a flutter in her womb as desire flooded her body at the heated look in his eyes.

  He read her body’s reaction and growled low in his throat, making her smile. “Minx, we’ll finish this when these two hellions are asleep,” he said, indicating Leah, now tugging on his hair, and Aaron, who was shoving his hand down Roz’s shirt while she mock glared at the toddler.

  They laughed at the sight of one of the most feared assassins—male or female—and leader of Zenobi and Lucy’s former boss being groped by a toddler. That was something Lauren knew Dane still had trouble getting his head around—that Lucy had once worked for Zenobi as an assassin. He’d always been a protector and knowing his sister was as deadly as he was, if not more so, was proving a difficult pill to swallow.

  “I think he’s like his dad,” Lauren teased.

  “Damn straight he is.”

  Movement in front of them made her turn as Lucy popped her head over the seat. “Hey, there’s my favourite little monster,” she said, holding her arms out for Leah, who quickly abandoned her father in favour of her cool aunt Lucy. Dane let her go as Lucy disappeared with their daughter.

  “I can’t believe we’re finally doing this,” he said, leaning his body into hers.

  “I know. It feels like forever since you proposed. So much has happened.”

  “Yes, good and bad, but mostly good,” Dane said as his eyes glanced across the aisle to Drew. Her heart broke for her brother who’d had nothing but shit shovelled at him his entire life. First from their disgusting excuse for a father, followed by finding out the woman she considered to be the evilest female on the planet was their aunt, and finally losing his leg when an operation went wrong.

  That had been the most significant blow. Being an operative for Fortis was everything to Drew, it had given him the extended family he’d never had. To become an amputee just when he was starting to get his life on track had been the one thing she worried he wouldn’t recover from.

  Drew was physically strong, but mentally, he was far more fragile than her in a lot of ways. His newly-found confidence had been shattered, leaving him a shadow of the man she knew he was underneath the baggage he lugged around.

  “Do you think he’s alright with the flight?”

  Dane angled his head to her as he lifted her hand and placed it against his leg. “Hard to tell. He’s been like a locked vault since the accident. He’s only showing us what he wants us to see.”

  “I know, and it worries me.”

  “He’s talking to the therapist, though, and that must help.”

  “Is he training with you
guys yet?”

  Drew had refused to return to any sort of involvement with Fortis, stating he wasn’t ready. They all knew he was ready physically but not mentally.

  “No, although he did start some one-on-one with K last week.”

  Lauren perked up at that. Kanan, or K as he was more commonly known, was Roz’s husband. “Really, how come you never said?”

  “Because, my love, you have enough on your plate with the kids and the wedding, and I wasn’t sure if he’d stick it out.”

  Lauren nodded, feeling lighter knowing Drew was at least interacting with someone, even if that person wasn’t her. Lauren looked across the aisle at Kanan, who was patiently teaching Katarina to play chess while her sister Natalia slept. Roz had originally adopted the girls, and when she’d married Kanan, he’d also adopted them. “I wonder what it is about K that makes Drew trust him.”

  Dane’s gaze followed hers and he shrugged. “Who knows what draws people to each other? K was a lost soul himself for a while, maybe Drew recognises that in him.”

  “Perhaps.”

  Lauren took a sip of the champagne circulated by a flight attendant, closed her eyes, and allowed herself to relax. The past few weeks had been crazy with organising the finishing touches for the double wedding with Lucy and Jace. Crazy, but also a lot of fun and she couldn’t imagine doing this without them. Dane and his siblings were close, but he and Lucy had an incredible bond, so to share her special day with them felt right. As a family they’d endured more than most, so it was fitting they join with the other couple and have a joint wedding.

  That the entire team and their extended family were flying out with them for the wedding was perfect. It also allowed her and Lucy to have all their friends as bridesmaids. In fact, the entire first class section of the plane was filled with their group from Fortis, along with their spouses, partners, children, and some of their extended family. The rest of their family and friends, including the guys from Eidolon and the girls from Zenobi were all making their own way to Saint Kitts later that day.

  Her eyes fluttered open sometime later as soft lips touched hers, and she smiled at the sensation, one so familiar and yet one she’d never get used to.

  “Hey, beautiful, time to wake up. We’ll be landing soon.”

  Dane’s face in hers made her grin, and his words warmed her. He moved back as she lifted her arms to stretch the kinks from her body. “I can’t believe I slept so long.”

  “I guess you needed it. The kids slept too.”

  Lauren looked at the sleeping babies on the beds next to hers, one of the best benefits of first class. As Dane leaned in and secured the sleeping infants for landing, she smiled again at how lucky she was to have this man in her life. He reached for her hand over the babies, and she watched the beautiful island of Saint Kitts come into view on their descent. The long, sandy white beaches, turquoise water, and the vibrant green of the palms made her insides pop with wonder.

  They were here, they were doing it, and she couldn’t think of anything more perfect than marrying the man she loved to distraction with friends and family surrounding her.

  The landing itself was smooth, and everyone applauded the captain for his efforts. They began to disembark the plane that, even though they were in first class, was always going to be tricky due to kids and hand luggage and not enough arms.

  Her head snapped up at the sound of Drew’s laugh as Aaron lunged for him. Drew adored his niece and nephew and always made time for them. Sometimes she wondered if they were what had kept him going those first few weeks after the accident.

  She watched Aaron leap from Dane to Drew, who hefted him easily into his strong arms. The prosthetic, which was state-of-the-art due to Zack’s connections and insistence that it was covered on Fortis’ health insurance, didn’t affect his balance in any way.

  “Hey buddy, you making a run for it?”

  “He wants more boob to grab hold of, I expect,” Roz called.

  “Boy is just like his father,” Jace said, repeating Lauren’s earlier words as he helped Lucy with her bags.

  “Excuse me, but I’m practically a saint compared with the man-whore holding him,” Dane replied indignantly.

  Lucy pointed to Drew. “He’s got you there.”

  “What’s a man-whore?” Four-year-old Riley asked as they all began to shuffle towards the exit.

  A collective gasp from the adults mixed with a snort from Riley’s mother Ava, came on the heels of the comment.

  “Will you froggers watch your language in front of my son?” Zack demanded, using his own newly-coded swear word to insult them.

  Ava raised an eyebrow at him. “Like you’re any better.”

  Zack looked affronted as he held his daughter Ella so tightly in his arms, the only things showing were her red hair and tiny feet. “I’ll have you know my language is lily-white compared with what came out of your pretty mouth when my angel was born.”

  Ava paused and turned slowly back to him, hands on her hips. “Did you just call me out about my language when I was pushing your seven-pound daughter from my hoo-ha?”

  Zack, the most feared and respected SAS leader ever, and badass owner of Fortis Security, looked momentarily scared of his wife as he realised his mistake. “Never my love, I was merely saying I’m not all bad. In fact…” He leaned close to his wife and whispered something that made her blush and then giggle like a schoolgirl.

  “Can we please move this along? Zoey just puked on my shoulder,” Daniel said.

  The group began to move down the steps into the small airport terminal. Chatter was loud and excited with grumbling and laughter, even a few tears from the tired children, but Lauren thought the chaos and love that surrounded them was the most wonderful feeling in the world.

  Chapter 2

  As comfortable as first class was, Dane was glad to be off the plane and stretching his legs as their group weaved through the bustling terminal towards the baggage claim. Once they had retrieved their luggage, they could head outside to the coach that was waiting to whisk them to the Paradise Bay Resort. With so many in the group, it had seemed the best way to get them to the hotel that would be hosting them, and in four days, the wedding.

  He turned at a tap on his shoulder and saw Daniel beside him with his tiny daughter strapped to his chest like a koala, his big hand resting on her tiny rump. A sense of peace invaded him at the sight of his niece. Granted, he’d not been happy to find out about Daniel and Megan, but it was hard to hold a grudge when he saw Daniel look at her as if she was his entire reason for being. “Hey, what’s up?”

  “Did you clock the five guys that came through passport control just behind us?”

  Daniel seemed hyperaware and alert, instantly putting Dane on guard. Looking around, he saw the men Daniel referred to. To anyone else, they’d just be five friends out for a good time. The shorts and loud Hawaiian shirts gave them a frivolous air but as he examined them closer, the way they continually scanned the interior of the airport for threats suggested they were trained. That didn’t immediately cause Dane to worry as the same could be said about their group. He wondered what Daniel saw that he didn’t. “I see them. What’re you thinking?”

  Daniel shrugged. “Not thinking anything really, just wanted your take on it.”

  Dane turned back to study the men for a minute and decided they bore watching. The five men were now moving towards the conveyor belt as cases began to move through from the aircraft. “Let’s keep an eye out for a bit and see.”

  “What’re you two old women gossiping about?” Zin asked as he, Celeste, Roz, and Kanan caught up to them. Zin was Roz’s younger brother, and his girlfriend Celeste was Kanan’s half-sister. It should have felt weird and somewhat incestuous with siblings being with siblings, but it didn’t. The four had a bond that nothing could come between.

  Dane snorted. “Fuck you, I’m not old.”

  Roz laughed. “But you are acting like an old woman.”

  Dane quirke
d his eyebrow at her in mock annoyance.

  Daniel moved his head towards the men who were now grabbing large, black duffels from the carousel. “We were just discussing the Hawaiian shirt brigade over there.”

  Zin followed his chin lift. “I spotted them as we got off the plane. They look military to me.”

  The group went on alert as they assessed the men. Roz moved closer to her daughters, putting a gentle, protective hand on Natalia’s and Katarina’s shoulders. It was something Dane would never have imagined from her, but he’d been wrong. Roz was as fierce as any lioness. She’d do whatever it took to protect her young daughters who had been through so much before she and Kanan had rescued them from hell. The woman had even joined the Parents, Teachers and Friends Association—otherwise known as the PTFA—at their school and had somehow installed herself as chairperson, whipping them all into shape, though Dane suspected the other members were just afraid of saying no to Roz. She had that kind of personality.

  Dane knew she’d been shaped by the trauma she’d gone through as a young girl. The path it’d put her on had left her hard and unyielding. Now he could see the soft innards behind the hard shell that her love for Kanan Phillips had pulled from her. “They’re hyperaware of the exits and have probably clocked that a few of us are trained,” he said.

  Kanan glanced across at the men. “Well, as long as they aren’t going to the same resort, I don’t really care. I want a cold beer, my kitten in a bikini, and peace and fucking quiet.”