Saving Ren (Barretti Security Series, Book 3) by Sloane Kennedy Page A

already knew what her answer would be.
    “I’m going to be out of town on and off over the next couple of weeks so if you need anything and can’t reach me, call Connor, okay?”
    “Okay, baby,” she said softly. “Stay safe.”
    “Love you,” he said as he leaned down to brush another kiss over her head. He didn’t look back as he left the house because that would just make him want to stay and try to talk some sense into her. But between the fucking cinnamon and the look of anticipation in his mother’s flushed expression, he knew nothing he said would change anything and he just needed to get the hell out of there.
     
    ***
    “What’s going on between you and Declan?” Ren asked as he took a swing at Jagger. Even though his question had clearly caught Jagger off guard if the surprised look on his face was anything to go by, Jagger still managed to deflect the punch. It had been Jagger’s idea to do some boxing, sans boxing gloves, after their normal hike had failed to ease the tension in Ren’s system.
    “Nothing,” Jagger responded as he landed a blow to Ren’s stomach. If they hadn’t been training, Ren knew the strike would have taken him to his knees.
    “It’s like you guys can’t stand to be around each other,” Ren said as he took a few steps back and used the hem of his T-shirt to wipe his brow. Jagger went to the porch and grabbed their bottles of water and handed one to him.
    “I guess we just don’t have a lot to talk about.”
    “Besides me, you mean?” Ren said before he took a long swallow of the icy water. Although the mountains were typically cool this time of year, a heat wave had struck the region and even at the higher altitude they were feeling it.
    “Yeah,” Jagger said.
    Jagger had returned the day before yesterday but his mood hadn’t seemed to have improved in the time he’d been gone. In fact, he’d been even quieter than usual. And his interaction with Declan as they’d exchanged a few words outside of the cabin before Declan left was nothing less than ice-cold. Ren hadn’t been able to make out any of the words from his spot on the porch but the whole conversation had taken less than a minute and then Declan’s car was disappearing down the dirt road that led down the mountain.
    “You want to tell me what your nightmare was about last night?” Jagger asked as he put his water back down and raised his arms in a defensive stance.
    Ren sighed and got rid of his water, then dragged his shirt off over his head. It was becoming far too routine that his questions went unanswered but Declan and Jagger had no issue with wringing out every one of his thoughts and feelings whenever they could.
    “If I say no?” Ren asked as he took a jab at Jagger’s mid-section.
    “You say no and we do three miles tomorrow.”
    “You know, some day I’m going to get my full strength back and you won’t be able to pull all your he-man shit on me,” Ren said sourly. He’d like to think his foul mood had to do with the terrible images that had ripped him from sleep at three this morning but the fact was that there’d been other things bothering him long before he’d drifted off.
    “Understood,” Jagger responded. “Talk.”
    “Well, Dr.,” Ren said as he sidestepped Jagger’s next swipe. “I was in this airplane and it started to go down-”
    Ren’s words died in his throat when Jagger suddenly grabbed his arm and yanked him forward several steps.
    “Bullshit,” Jagger said, his eyes completely serious. “The truth,” he ordered.
    The anxiety that went through Ren at the feel of Jagger’s fingers pressing into his skin had absolutely nothing to do with being afraid and everything to do with something else. Something he’d been trying to deny since the day Declan and Jagger had stormed into his life.
    Since for whatever reason Jagger could read him like a book, Ren opted for the truth. “I was trying to climb out of my hole. It was hard because my hands were covered