Defenseless (37 page)

Authors: Corinne Michaels

Tags: #Fiction, #Romance, #Contemporary, #General, #Military

BOOK: Defenseless

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“I have to go, and he’s your kid!” I look over at Makenna, thankful I’m bringing her in the car. She’s so easy.

When I got pregnant with Makenna, we agreed not to even attempt natural birth again, but she had other plans. Nine days before my scheduled surgery, Makenna decided it was time to make her appearance. I was crowning by the time we got to the hospital.

“My mother is going to kill me!” I continue tossing over everything in the kitchen, hunting for the damn keys.

“It’s a four-hour drive. You should’ve been on the road a while ago,” Mark says with Cullen hanging upside down with no pants on.

“How is it that you can’t handle getting a four-year-old dressed? Aren’t you supposed to be all badass?”

“Badass!” Cullen repeats. Of course.

I crouch down as he hangs like a bat. “That’s a bad word, baby. Don’t repeat what comes out of Mommy’s mouth.”

Mark laughs. “We should have another kid.”

I stand slowly and glare at him. “We’re never having another child. You can’t even handle the two we have.”

“Says the woman who has ‘go get your son’ on repeat.”

“He listens to you more,” I say, still searching for the damn keys. I stomp my foot as I grow more aggravated. “We have to go, now.”

Mark pulls me against his side as Cullen giggles. “Mommy, I go to Mamma’s?”

I lean down and ruffle his hair, “Not this time buddy, but Mommy isn’t going anywhere unless I can find the keys.”

“Potty!” he says.

Mark looks at me and we both close our eyes. “He put them in the toilet,” I grumble. This kid.

I head into the bathroom, and sure enough, sitting submerged are my keys, along with a few other items I’ll never touch again.

“Mark,” I say sweetly.

“No.”

“You owe me!”

“Cash that fucking day in, because I’m tired of hearing about it.”

Never. I’ll hold on until the day I die. It’s my one bargaining chip.

Mark and I took this week off to head to DC. Dominic is being sworn in to Congress tomorrow, and of course, my mother is throwing a party. Once we realized we’d need to have the oldest spawn out in public we reevaluated and decided to leave Mark and Cullen home.

We don’t see my family as much as I would like, but I love our home here in Virginia Beach. Mark sold his bachelor pad on the beach for more money than we could’ve ever imagined, plus my apartment sold for top dollar. We bought a piece of land and built the perfect home for us. Full of toys, technology, and baby proofing.

I work from home most days, thanks to the demon I love so much, tackling various intelligence projects for Jackson and Mark. The California office exploded in the last year, so I do work for both sites. Mark made an effortless transition as co-owner, and the pay raise helps.

Everyone handled Erik’s betrayal differently, but Jackson and Mark worked hard to keep everyone calm. Aaron was by far the angriest. He lost the most, thanks to Erik’s betrayal.

“Mark!” I call for him again. “Please! I’m willing to bargain.”

Some things never change.

He comes in behind me. “I don’t get you. Slaughtering, torture, and spying you’re good, but fishing some keys out is an issue?”

“Whatever. I have to kill the spiders,” I counter.

“Let’s not even talk about your fear of sharks. The insanity
that
is. Cullen is going in the damn water this year.”

“He’s welcome to the beautiful saltwater pool in the backyard. As much as he drives me insane, I like him enough not to get eaten.”

“Charlie,” he grumbles.

“Mark.”

“Charisma.” He kisses me quickly.

“Such a charmer.”

“You know it, beautiful.”

He reaches into the bowl and tosses the keys at me. “Asshole! I hate you,” I say since I have to change my damp shirt and be even later to my mother’s.

This is our life. It’s crazy, fun, messy, and chaotic. We fight a lot, but we have even more fun making up. Hence, why Makenna came so soon after Cullen.

“You love me, baby!”

“Love to kill you.”

“You’d miss me.”

“Not this time! I have better aim than you,” I call out. He laughs.

When I get back downstairs, Mark is sitting on the couch with both kids nestled in his sides. I stand against the wall just watching them. He reads as Makenna stares at him with a smile on her face, and Cullen touches the pages.

Moments like this, getting to see the most wonderful husband and father, make everything we’ve been through worth it. While we may have gone through a whole lot of hell, we found our heaven—together.

THE END

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M
y attempt to keep this short and sweet should be interesting.

My readers: I can never fully explain what it means to me that you not only took a chance on me, but that some of you have stuck with me. I know I tend to keep leaving you with these crazy cliffhangers and you still love me. The support that you give me is astonishing and humbling. I love you so much!

My beta readers: I don’t think anyone truly understands the sacrifice you make by dealing with me. You drop everything, read my drafts over and over, and put up with my insanity. Jennifer, Melissa, Katie, Holly, Michelle & Kristi . . . thank you will never be enough.

My early readers: Melissa & Alison, once again you give me the insight I need. I can’t express my gratitude.

Christy Peckham: You’re an asset in my life. We laugh, cry, and you keep me sane.

Melissa Saneholtz: The word publicist doesn’t seem fitting for what you do. You run my life pretty much and I couldn’t imagine anyone else doing this with me.

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Claire Contreras, Laurelin Paige, Mia Asher, SL Jennings, Whitney Gracia Williams, Mandi Beck, Kristy Bromberg, Kyla Linde, Tillie Cole, Leylah Attar, Kennedy Ryan, SL Scott, EK Blair, Lauren Blakely, CD Reiss, Pepper Winters, Elisabeth Grace, Rebecca Yarros, Livia Jamerlan, &—thank you for making me smile, laugh, talking through one of my crazy ideas, and just being my friends. I’m truly blessed to have you in my life.

Jesey: I haven’t been able to do this until now. Thank you. Because of something we dreamt of two years ago, look where we are. It’s amazing to think the friendship we’ve had has somehow twisted our worlds to this place. I love you!

My formatter: Christine, you are first-class in this business. Your professionalism and attention to detail are above and beyond. You work tirelessly and it doesn’t go unnoticed.

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My photographer: Nicole, seriously! You nailed this shoot. You were an absolute dream to work with!

Lisa from The Rock Stars of Romance: THANK YOU! Your support has meant everything to the success of this series. I can’t begin to thank you enough. I love your face!

Bloggers: I don’t think you guys understand what you do for the book world. It’s not a job you get paid for (well, not nearly what you deserve). It’s something you love and you do because of that. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

To my husband and children, I’m so lucky to have you. You probably bear the worst part of this process. I love you three more than anything in this world. Thank you for putting up with all that you do. I know I need to put the computer and phone down more because you deserve that. Thank you for being here and supporting me day after day. Thank you for letting me cry when my feelings are hurt. Smile when something amazing happens. But mostly thank you for loving me and believing in me.

C
orinne Michaels is the USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author. She’s an emotional, witty, sarcastic, and fun loving mom of two beautiful children. Corinne is happily married to the man of her dreams and is a former Navy wife. After spending months away from her husband while he was deployed, reading and writing was her escape from the loneliness.

Both her maternal and paternal grandmothers were librarians, which only intensified her love of reading. After years of writing short stories, she couldn’t ignore the call to finish her debut novel, Beloved. Her alpha former Navy SEALs are broken, beautiful, and will steal your heart.