“This way.” Shade walked across the room, going through a door into a hallway. He went to the door at the end, opening it after a brief knock.
Willa’s mouth dropped open when she went in after Shade.
Rachel was on her knees on the bed, giving Cash a blowjob.
“Dammit, Shade,” Cash snapped.
Rachel’s mouth came off Cash’s cock with a pop. Then her friend frantically began pulling a cover over her, burying herself beneath it.
“I need the room.”
Willa could have sworn she heard amusement in Shade’s voice. She glanced away while Cash pulled on his shoes and boots, picking up his shirt from the bottom of the bed.
“I don’t think Lucky would be happy to hear you say that,” Cash commented.
Shade didn’t respond, forcing Willa to clear up the misconception. “We’re just going to talk.”
Both men laughed at her expression.
“Willa, I knew that.” Cash went to the bed. “Let’s go, Rachel.”
“No, I’m not coming out. Ever. Tell them to go talk at Lily’s house.”
“I need this room,” Shade stressed.
“I don’t care. I’m not—” A loud squeal filled the room when Cash reached under the cover to pull his wife out. Rachel didn’t release the covers when Cash tossed her over his shoulder, going to the door.
“It’s all yours.”
“Thanks, brother, Rachel.”
“You freaking bast—!” Shade slammed the door on Rachel’s insult.
“She’s pretty mad at you,” Willa observed.
“She’ll get over it.”
As Shade went to a large, wooden cabinet against the wall, Willa stared around the room. The bed was huge with a black sheet. It was masculine-looking and … sexy. Willa was ashamed of the sinful feelings rising in her body, knowing her mother would be mortified she had even thought the word.
Shade opened one door of the cabinet then took a set of keys out of his pocket, unlocking the other side. Curious, Willa wandered over to look inside.
There were several drawers inside the cabinet. Some were half-drawers; others were whole; all had keyholes. One at the bottom was twice as large as the rest, and Shade slid a smaller key inside then opened the drawer, revealing leather books. There was also a glass-framed display.
“Have a seat on the couch,” Shade ordered.
Willa took a seat while Shade removed the items from the drawer, setting them down next to her. Then he sat down on top of the coffee table in front of her.
Picking up the display case, she was able to see several medals and a flag.
“Lucky tell you anything about when he was in the service?”
“He told me that a friend’s brother was killed, and he felt responsible.”
“He wasn’t responsible. I’ve told him that, his superiors have told him that, and this tells him he wasn’t responsible”—he gestured at the case—“but he can’t let himself off the hook because he made that promise to Bridge.”
Shade’s face twisted. “The Last Riders met when we were overseas, and we’ve remained friends even after we were discharged. I’ve thought over the years about what has kept our friendship strong, what made the difference between us to keep us from splitting up and just talking occasionally.” Shade shrugged. “We work well together as a unit. We watch each other’s back, and we trust each other. I came to the conclusion that each of us has a code that we live by that makes us the men we are.”
“What’s Lucky’s?” Willa stared down at the picture frame in her hands.
“You tell me.”
“Honor.”
“Yes. I met Lucky when he was still a pastor in the service. I was in and out of camps during different times, and I never had much contact with him then, but even from what little I saw of him, I saw the war taking its toll on him. After Knox’s wife Sunshine died, he couldn’t do it anymore. He couldn’t tell one more brother that someone they loved wasn’t coming home. I thought he would leave the service then, but he re-upped, went into Seal training, and came out at the top of his class. If Lucky couldn’t save them with the Bible, he had made his mind up to do it with a rifle. His sense of honor had him wanting to make sure he could bring as many brothers home as he could, even if he had to sacrifice all his beliefs, even if it was his own life he had to forfeit.”
“John 15:13: ‘Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends,’” Willa quoted softly.
“He went on all the dangerous missions in the worst areas. Then Bridge asked Lucky to watch over his kid brother when they were told to empty a village before the enemy attacked, and Lucky promised he would.
“Willa, what I’m about to tell you is classified.”
“I swear to God I won’t repeat what you tell me,” Willa said earnestly.
“I know you won’t, or I wouldn’t have told you as much as I have.”