Guts & Glory: Brick (In the Shadows Security Book 6) Read online

  Guts & Glory: Brick

  In the Shadows Security, Book 6

  Jeanne St. James

  Copyright © 2020 by Jeanne St. James, Double-J Romance, Inc.

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Acknowledgements:

  Photographer: FuriousFotog

  Cover Artist: Golden Czermak at FuriousFotog

  Cover Model: Chase Ketron

  Editor: Proofreading by the Page

  Beta readers: Whitley Cox, Andi Babcock, Sharon Abrams & Alexandra Swab

  Warning: This book contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language and may be considered offensive to some readers. This book is for sale to adults ONLY, as defined by the laws of the country in which you made your purchase. Please store your files wisely, where they cannot be accessed by under-aged readers.

  Keep an eye on her website at http://www.jeannestjames.com/ or sign up for her newsletter to learn about her upcoming releases: http://www.jeannestjames.com/newslettersignup

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  Contents

  Books by Jeanne St. James

  About the Book

  A Special Thanks

  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

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Epilogue

  Sneak peak of Blood & Bones: Trip

  Sneak peak of Blood & Bones: Trip (unedited)

  If You Enjoyed This Book

  Also by Jeanne St. James

  About the Author

  FREE Erotic Sampler Book

  Books by Jeanne St. James

  * Available in Audiobook

  Made Maleen: A Modern Twist on a Fairy Tale *

  Damaged *

  Rip Cord: The Complete Trilogy *

  Brothers in Blue Series:

  (Can be read as standalones)

  Brothers in Blue: Max *

  Brothers in Blue: Marc *

  Brothers in Blue: Matt *

  Teddy: A Brothers in Blue Novelette *

  The Dare Ménage Series:

  (Can be read as standalones)

  Double Dare *

  Daring Proposal *

  Dare to Be Three *

  A Daring Desire *

  Dare to Surrender *

  A Daring Journey *

  The Obsessed Novellas:

  (All the novellas in this series are standalones)

  Forever Him *

  Only Him *

  Needing Him *

  Loving Her *

  Temping Him *

  Down & Dirty: Dirty Angels MC Series™:

  Down & Dirty: Zak *

  Down & Dirty: Jag *

  Down & Dirty: Hawk *

  Down & Dirty: Diesel *

  Down & Dirty: Axel *

  Down & Dirty: Slade *

  Down & Dirty: Dawg *

  Down & Dirty: Dex *

  Down & Dirty: Linc *

  Down & Dirty: Crow *

  Crossing the Line (A DAMC/Blue Avengers Crossover) *

  Guts & Glory Series

  (In the Shadows Security)

  Guts & Glory: Mercy *

  Guts & Glory: Ryder *

  Guts & Glory: Hunter *

  Guts & Glory: Walker *

  Guts & Glory: Steel

  Guts & Glory: Brick

  Blood & Bones: Blood Fury MC™

  Blood & Bones: Trip

  Blood & Bones: Sig

  Blood & Bones: Judge

  COMING SOON!

  Blue Avengers MC™

  Magnum: A Dark Knights MC/Dirty Angels MC™ Crossover

  Brothers in Blue: A Bryson Family Christmas

  Everything About You (A Second Chance Gay Romance)

  About the Book

  No one would ever expect what haunted him because he hid it so well....

  As a former Navy SEAL sniper, Brick has faced his share of intense situations, but nothing could have prepared him for his latest assignment. The king of hookups, going undercover with a ring on his left finger may as well be a noose around his neck. If that’s not enough, he’s paired with a whirlwind of a woman who’s as outspoken as she is curvy.

  Fresh off the heels of a life-changing breakup, Londyn crashes at her sister’s house. To prevent knocking heads with her future brother-in-law, Mercy, she jumps at the opportunity to take the undercover job that has her “playing house” with the notorious playboy of the Shadows crew. His laid-back personality, coupled with stunning good looks, should make this a walk in the park. If they weren’t trying to catch a murderer.

  Brick, however, is unprepared for the intimacy that comes with living as a married couple and soon the lines between real life and assignment begin to blur. But beneath his easygoing smile there’s a secret he hides from the world. One he’s not sure he’s willing to let it come to light.

  Note: Brick is the sixth book of the Guts & Glory series, a six-book spin-off from my Dirty Angels MC series. While it’s recommended to read both series in order, each book can be read as a stand-alone. As with all my books, this has an HEA, no cliffhanger or cheating.

  A Special Thanks

  To Alexandra Swab for assisting me with Brick’s blurb. Your help, as always, was invaluable!

  Also, thank you to ALL my readers who belong to my readers’ group:

  https://www.facebook.com/groups/JeannesReviewCrew/

  You all encourage me to keep writing!

  Love to you all!

  Chapter One

  The glass-shaking slam of the front door had all the Shadows shooting straight up in their chairs. Brick wasn’t the only one sitting around the table whose hand automatically fell to the handgun strapped to his ankle.

  What sounded like a woman’s heels came down the hallway in their direction.

  “Shit,” Ryder muttered. “You said she was out with the sisterhood tonight.”

  Mercy’s silver eyes slid to him. “Yeah, she’s fucking supposed to be out most of the night with the rest of them.”

  “I knew we should’ve had poker night at the fucking warehouse,” Steel grumbled.

  “The motherfucking heat is out,” Hunter said. “We would’ve had to cancel because of blue balls. And all the women are occupied with Bella’s baby shower, so it’s the perfect time to play.”

  “We could’ve worn layers,” Walker muttered.

  All eyes slid to him. “And your momma could’ve dressed you up in your fucking snowsuit and mittens, too.”

  Walker gave Steel the finger.

  A stutter of those clicking heels was heard, a stumble, then a bang. Like Rissa had fallen against the wall.

  Brick glanced at Mercy. “Jesus, is she drunk? What’d you do wrong to make her get smashed?”

  Mercy frowned and surged to his feet. “Nothing. I never do anything wrong, asshole.”

  Chuckles and snorts circled the din
ing room table where their chips, cards, ashtrays, cigars and booze were strewn.

  Before Mercy could go check on Rissa’s condition, a woman burst into the room, her dark blonde hair—the same color and almost the same length as Rissa’s—a wreck. Her blue eyes—also the same color as Rissa’s—wide as she took them all in.

  “Fuck,” Mercy muttered and sank back into his seat, scraping a hand down his scarred face.

  “You didn’t set the alarm?” Ryder asked, grinning.

  “You know I fucking did,” Mercy grumbled, then turned to face the intruder. “How do you have the fucking code?”

  “From the last time I was here. Parris gave it to me.” The woman made a face at Mercy. “What? I’m her sister, not a terrorist.”

  Brick pursed his lips as he took in a younger version of Rissa, but one just as curvy and whose attitude, and other similarities, could make them twins.

  Gorgeous, but a pain in the ass.

  Or at least, that’s what Mercy said. Not the gorgeous part, the pain in the ass part.

  Though, Brick never had a chance to meet her in person. And he only half paid attention when Mercy bitched about her during their poker games.

  Normally, Mercy wasn’t one to bitch. He usually kept shit to himself and let it eat at him like acid. But apparently Rissa’s sister liked to do stupid things. Or, at least, make stupid decisions.

  The biggest one being, moving across the country to shack up with a man she met on the internet after only talking with him for a month.

  Mercy said she was “impulsive.”

  “She lets you smoke cigars in here?” Not only were Londyn’s S’s slightly slurred, but her balance wasn’t so steady, either, as she wrinkled her nose and waved a hand around to break up the smoke. “Yuck.”

  “Rissa know you’re here?” Mercy growled.

  Brick read the look on Mercy’s face and hoped to hell that Rissa hadn’t forgotten to tell Mercy something so important.

  “No, I sent her a text when I landed at the airport... For some reason she hasn’t responded yet.”

  Brick swore Mercy rolled his eyes.

  Actually, rolled his fucking eyes.

  Brick dropped his head and hid his chuckle.

  His chuckle died when Londyn stepped up to the table, grabbed the bottle of whiskey sitting next to the pile of poker chips in the center, removed the cap and guzzled straight from it.

  While Brick had noticed many similarities between Mercy’s woman and her sister, he’d also noted that her chest was just about as big as Rissa’s. And Rissa had a great rack.

  Brick’s eyes swung back to Mercy to make sure he wasn’t going to die for even thinking those thoughts. He swore the man could read minds.

  Luckily, Mercy was too busy scowling at Londyn, so Brick turned back to her. She had dropped the bottle for a second, took a breath and then took another guzzle.

  Brick noticed he wasn’t the only one whose eyes were glued to her exposed cleavage in the deep V-necked pant-suit thingy she was wearing, or the way her throat moved as she swallowed.

  “Bet it would look like that if she was swallowing something else,” Brick said under his breath, unable to contain it.

  Next to him, Steel stifled a snort and dropped his head.

  Mercy surged to his feet and snatched the bottle from Londyn. “Why the fuck are you here?” He slammed the bottle down next to him and out of her reach.

  “I had nowhere else to go since you made Parris sell her house in Vegas.”

  “I didn’t—” Mercy’s mouth snapped shut and he just shook his head.

  “I can’t understand why she’d want to leave Vegas when Michael spoiled her. You’re just a big ol’ grump.”

  Steel jerked beside Brick, and he had to turn his face away before his laughter got him a .45 bullet smack between the eyes.

  Her red-rimmed blue eyes landed on the bottle next to Mercy. “I need a drink.”

  “How much have you had to drink already?” Ryder asked, looking more concerned than amused.

  Londyn lifted a shoulder. “A couple on the plane... And... maybe...”

  “Right. We can figure it out on our own,” Mercy stated. “No more booze.”

  Londyn’s lips parted as she stared at Mercy for a long, uncomfortable moment, then, as if she shook something loose, she clapped her hands together loudly and yelled, “Then I need ice cream! Your wife have any ice cream?” and beelined right out of the room toward the kitchen.

  “Wife?” Brick’s head rotated from watching Londyn’s thick, but luscious, ass disappear around the corner to Mercy. “You get married and forget to tell us about it?”

  Before he could answer, Londyn backed that caboose right up so they could only see her head tilted back, her long hair spilling down her back and the sweet, sweet ass that, if he was a dumb fuck, he’d try to tap.

  But, one, he wasn’t dumb, and, two, he preferred his balls to not end up on a skewer and served for dinner.

  “Oh... That’s right. I meant your girlfriend, Ryan. Over two years now and my sister still doesn’t have a ring on it.”

  Then she set that train in a forward motion and disappeared.

  “Damn,” Brick whispered. He picked up his beer and took a sip to hide his smirk.

  “No wonder her fucking man left her,” Mercy grumbled.

  “I heard that!” came from the kitchen.

  “That was the fucking point!” Mercy bellowed back.

  “Can we get back to the game?” Steel asked.

  “Why? This is so much better,” Brick said under his breath, though Mercy heard him and shot him a look that could curl wallpaper.

  “Should we just call it a night?” Hunter asked.

  “I’m not leaving yet,” Brick announced. “This is too good.”

  “And anyway...” Londyn announced as she came back into the dining room in record time, carrying a heaping bowl of ice cream and dragging a chair behind her from the kitchen. She worked it around the table to shove it in between Brick and Steel.

  Giving each other a look, they shifted their seats enough to make room.

  “He didn’t leave me. I kicked him out.” She circled her spoon around the table with narrowed eyes. “Doesn’t look like any of you eat ice cream.”

  Before anyone of them could answer her, Mercy barked out, “Notice something?”

  “Yeah, a whole bunch of panty-wetting men sitting at a table not eating ice cream. But, helloooo, I’ve given them up. All of you. I don't care how hot you are. How skilled your tongues are. I’m done!” She shoved a full spoon into her mouth and closed her eyes like she was having an orgasm. “Damn, that’s good.”

  Yes, it was. Brick watched as she jammed the spoon into the frozen mountain again and lifted it to her mouth. His eyes were glued to her lips as they parted and her tongue darted out. Then the spoon disappeared again, her eyes closed once more, and she made a mmm sound.

  Mmm. Yeah. Fuck.

  His hand dropped to his lap as he wondered if she liked to eat cock as much as she liked ice cream. Though by her curvaceous figure, he guessed she liked ice cream a whole lot.

  Mercy’s shout of, “No women!” pulled Brick out of his ice cream fantasy.

  “What?” Londyn asked as the now empty spoon exited her mouth.

  “What you apparently hadn’t noticed, Londyn, is there are no fucking women sitting at this table.”

  She raised her brows. “Well, I am.” As Mercy’s mouth opened and the rest of them sat on the edge of their chairs to watch this all unfold, Londyn cut off whatever he was going to say. “Where’s my sister, anyhow?”

  “With the rest of the women, where she belongs.”

  Londyn’s raised brows plunged dangerously low and she dropped her spoon into the bowl with a clatter. “Where she belongs?”

  Brick crossed his arms over his chest and sat back. This was better than porn. More entertaining than Heaven’s Angels Gentlemen’s Club.

  It was...

  “Why the
fuck are you here, Londyn? Did your man kick your ass out finally?”

  “You know my man didn’t kick me out. You know I kicked his ass out.” She dropped the bowl onto the table and a little bit of ice cream landed on Brick’s arm.

  She noticed it, too. “Sorry.” She glanced around the table. “I don’t have a napkin.” Then she leaned over, giving him a perfect view of her tits, and licked the melting ice cream off his arm.

  Rewind.

  She licked the melting ice cream off his arm.

  Who did that?

  But that warm, wet tongue on his skin...

  Shit.

  “Why?”

  What? Was Mercy asking her why she licked his arm?

  “Didn’t Parris tell you? He hit me.”

  The room went electric, snapping and popping circled the table. The woman, whose mouth was again full of ice cream, seemed clueless to what she just set off.

  “What’d you do?”

  Londyn was now licking the back of the spoon like a cat licking its paw.

  Brick’s fingers twitched near his dick.

  “Why do you assume I did anything?” she huffed, then shrugged with a grimace. “I shot him.”

  Spines snapped. Jaws tightened. Eyes slid around the table. That little tongue on his skin and on the back of the spoon were quickly forgotten.