Home > Memories of You : A Stark Security Novella(3)

Memories of You : A Stark Security Novella(3)
Author: J. Kenner

The corner of her mouth twitched. “Oh, it did. For the case and for the two of us. Always nice to reconnect with the one you love, you know?” She nodded toward Winston, her expression a mixture of softness laced with heat.

“Yeah,” he lied. “I know.”

“Speaking of,” she continued, “I’m going to go mingle with him. I just wanted to say that I’m glad we’ll be working together.”

“Me too,” he said sincerely. In truth, there wasn’t anyone at Stark Security who wasn’t completely up to snuff. Except possibly him.

He drew in a breath, squared his shoulders, and ordered himself to get the hell over it. Then he let his gaze roam the room.

The workday was wrapping up, but everyone in town was in the office, along with a few spouses and friends, and all to welcome Linda to the fold. He’d had a similar welcome gathering when he’d officially joined the team, but Linda’s had an energy that his party hadn’t, primarily because the circumstances of her arrival at Stark Security were so unusual, what with the fact that—until a few weeks ago—her husband, Winston, had believed she was dead.

So it was a celebration of not only her new job, but her renewed life. And love, too. Because as he watched the two of them together—the heated glances, the shared smiles—it was clear that those two were meant for each other.

That’s what it looked like, anyway. But Renly had worked long enough in Hollywood to know that things weren’t always as they seemed.

Hollywood? Hell, his own life was a study in things not being what they seemed. Or at least his life was concrete support for the adage that good things never last.

He hoped Winston and Linda were the exception to that rule. He really did.

“Renly?”

He blinked, then realized that he’d been staring at the couple, Linda’s hand tucked into Winston’s, her expression so full of love it made his heart ache. “Sorry,” he said. “I feel like a voyeur.”

They both laughed, and he mentally kicked himself as he turned toward Nikki Stark, who was standing right by the couple. Talk about an exception. As far as Renly could tell, Nikki and Damien Stark weren’t just in the top one percent for wealth, but also for passion. God knew those two had been through a lot, all played out in the tabloids, and they were still—

“Sorry,” Nikki said, the word interrupting his thoughts as she caught Linda’s eye. “There’s an emergency. I need to run.”

Winston stepped toward her. “The kids?”

She shook her head as her eyes scanned the room, presumably for Damien. “No. No, it’s my assistant. Sorry. I mean my partner.”

Renly frowned as that tidbit clicked into place. “Abby?” He took a step forward. “Is she okay?”

A few days before, he’d learned that his childhood friend, Abigail Jones, worked with Nikki. He’d planned to look her up right away, but he’d been busy following up on a corporate espionage investigation with Leah and just hadn’t done it yet. That and the fact that he treasured the memory of the friendship they’d had in their youth, and he didn’t want it to be tainted by the very real likelihood that they no longer clicked.

Nikki frowned at her phone and then looked up at him. “I—I… I’m not sure.” She swallowed, fear shadowing her lovely face. “Sorry. I really need to run,” Nikki continued, lifting her hand to catch Damien’s attention.

“Of course,” Winston said as she started to pass.

Renly didn’t even hesitate. This was Abby, after all. “Wait,” he said. “I’m coming with you.”

 

* * * *

 

Renly raced to the scene behind Nikki and Damien, the rumble and roar of his 2019 Ducati Panigale surrounding him. The sound was loud, almost numbing, but it damn sure wasn’t enough to erase the worry that was crawling through him like a parasite.

What the hell had happened to Abby?

He wished he’d asked for the address. Damien Stark knew how to handle that Bugatti, and he was definitely pushing the speed limit, but Renly would have left him in the dust by now if he only knew where they were going.

One turn, then another, and too many damn stoplights, and all the while his mind was spinning with fear.

In the end, the ride took less than ten minutes, but it felt like an eternity. Then, when he saw her standing there by a little blue Fiat that was so very Abby, he actually had to take a moment to breathe, shocked by not only the intensity of his relief, but also by the flood of joy that burst through him simply from seeing her again.

Nikki was already at her side, having tumbled out of the Bugatti the moment it stopped, and Damien was just a few steps away.

Renly, however, felt frozen.

She was okay.

He let the words roll over him, shocked by his intense visceral reaction, though he knew he shouldn’t be. Abby had been his rock when his mother had lost her hearing, and then again when his father had packed up and moved out, hauling his ass to New York.

So yeah. Abby was important to him. Of course he was relieved.

He was also stalling, he realized, though he wasn’t sure why.

Except, of course, that was a lie. It had been over a decade since they’d seen each other, and yet he would have recognized her anywhere. Her wide eyes and blond curls. That sweet mouth that he remembered in a smile but was now curved into a frown as her teeth worried her lower lip.

Over the years he’d gone so far as to pick up the phone to call her, only to put it down again when he realized that he was calling because there was shit in his life he wanted to talk through—and why the hell would he think she’d appreciate him dumping that in her lap without even a Christmas card during the passing years?

She’d remained in his mind and his heart, the only close female friend he’d ever had in his life. Even Tascha, who’d gone side by side with him into combat and for whom he’d put his life on the line, had never gotten close enough to see the childhood demons that had formed the man. And that still tormented him.

Abby had, and maybe it made him a damn pussy, but if she didn’t recognize him, it was going to be like a goddamn knife to the heart.

Fuck it.

He got off the bike and hurried toward them, pulling off his helmet as he went. Abby was shaking her head, hovering near the driver’s door as Nikki said something soothing.

Then she stopped, her head turning as her eyes went wide. Then she squealed and sprinted toward him, her arms wide as she threw herself at him, crying out, “Renly!”

He caught her and spun her around, all the time feeling like a damn idiot. This was Abby, after all.

So what the hell had he been worried about?

 

 

Chapter Three


“Renly Cooper, is it really you?” I’m breathing hard, unsteady on my feet now that he’s put me down. I’m dizzy, yes, but not because he’s spun me around. No, I’m unsteady because the whole freaking earth is shifting on its axis. “When the hell did you grow up?”

And grow up so fine, too, though I don’t say that last part out loud. The Renly I used to know wouldn’t care, but I’m not certain about this gorgeous action-hero of a male specimen. I mean, the youthful, athletic guy I knew was seriously cute, but the Renly in front of me is the kind of man women drool over.

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