Longing for Diesel (Mysterious Adventures Book 3) Read online

  Longing for Diesel

  By Elizabeth Lennox

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  Copyright 2022

  ISBN13: 9781950451470

  All rights reserved

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Any duplication of this material, either electronic or any other format, either currently in use or a future invention, is strictly prohibited, unless you have the direct consent of the author.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Epilogue

  Excerpt from “Bad Boy Jack”

  Chapter 1

  “You’re gonna get killed if you don’t knock that off.”

  Diesel pulled his eyes away from the willowy beauty with difficulty and glanced at his friend. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  Buck chuckled and grabbed two bottles of beer out of the cooler, handing one to Diesel. “Kaia,” Buck said with a knowing grin. “James will kill you in the slowest, most painful way possible if you don’t stop ogling his baby sister.”

  Diesel grunted, but didn’t deny it. “I don’t ogle,” was his only response.

  Buck sighed and stretched his long legs out in front of him. The back deck of Kaia’s house was huge and impressive, her furniture solid, heavy, and comfortable. “Do you think Kaia buys furniture like this because she knows we’d break the girly stuff she decorated with inside?”

  “Possible,” he grunted again, taking a long sip of his beer. If Buck had noticed Diesel’s surveillance of Kaia, then he was losing his touch. Of course, Buck was a damn good agent and noticed things that others didn’t. But then, James was better, even though he’d retired from the field. One would think that their former team leader would have gone soft after retiring from the agency, but James was still sharp. In reality, James hadn’t retired from the “game”. He’d only stepped away from the agency and started consulting. And making a hell of a lot more money!

  “You’re doing it again,” Buck commented, sotto voce.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” But Diesel realized that he was watching Kaia. Again.

  Buck chuckled, shaking his head as he caught his new wife’s eye. Nina smiled at him, her long, dark hair cascading over her shoulder as a silent message passed between them.

  Buck winked and Nina blushed, then Buck turned his attention back to Diesel. “Yeah, keep on pretending that you’re not interested in Kaia and you’ll find yourself buried in an unmarked grave out in the middle of nowhere. If you want to date Kaia, just ask her out.”

  “James really would kill me,” Diesel grumbled, not denying that he wanted the woman in question. Hell, who wouldn’t want Kaia? She was taller than average and Diesel knew that she’d fit against his body perfectly. She had small, perfect breasts, a willowy figure, and dark brown hair that his fingers ached to explore.

  Jack dropped into the chair beside him, accepting a beer from Buck. “You know, you could just ask her out.”

  Diesel sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Just ask Kaia out and stop lusting after her with your eyes!” Jack said, slapping Diesel on his back. “James won’t kill you. He trusts you.” Jack looked contemplative for a moment. “Now if I asked Kaia out, James might kill me.”

  Jack laughed, but the sound stopped abruptly. Diesel knew that the man’s eyes immediately found the tiny Mindy. Everyone on the team knew where Jack’s preferences lay. Jack sighed and stared down at his beer as he pointed out, “But he trusts you with Kaia.”

  “James trusts us with his life,” Buck commented. “I doubt he’d trust Diesel with his sister.”

  Jack snorted. “James trusts all of us with his life. He wouldn’t have brought us onto his team all those years ago if he didn’t. But he’d trust Diesel with Kaia. Diesel is a saint.” He turned, grinning at his two friends. “Now, me? Nope, he’d never trust me with Kaia!”

  Diesel turned and gave Jack a glare, but it wasn’t as effective as it would normally be. First, Diesel was wearing sunglasses. Second, Jack wasn’t afraid of Diesel. They were about the same height and brawn. They might get into a fight, but neither would come away unscathed.

  “Don’t mess with Kaia!” Diesel growled, abruptly furious with his former-friend.

  Jack’s amusement cleared in an instant. “I would never disrespect you like that,” he replied seriously.

  Diesel relaxed slightly. The sincerity in Jack’s voice was clear. He nodded in silent acceptance, then his gaze turned as he once again searched for Kaia who was sitting with the ladies down on the beach. Kaia’s house was an old, craftsman style cottage that she’d bought after moving to Florida from Houston, Texas, where she’d worked as an investment banker. From what he’d figured out, she’d accumulated an impressive amount of money through her investment efforts, but at the cost to her health. She’d arrived in Florida achingly beautiful, but thin and haunted, exhausted and stressed to the limit.

  “She looks better,” Buck commented.

  “Not nearly as pale or scrawny,” Jack confirmed.

  Diesel reminded himself firmly that these two were his friends. And that he didn’t have exclusive rights to look at Kaia. And also, they were right. Kaia had arrived in Florida several months ago, shocking her brother with how much weight she’d lost. James had been horrified at the pallor of her skin and the listlessness in her demeanor.

  A few months’ vacation, enjoying the sunshine, buying and decorating a new house, and quitting her old job, had brought her back to robust health. Jinx’s fabulous cooking had helped as well. Jinx, James’ wife, was the kind of woman who found intense pleasure in watching others eat her cooking. Jinx was a fabulous cook, whereas Kaia relied mostly on take out, that she then forgot to eat, or frozen meals, which she hated.

  Now she looked…beautiful. The pallor had been replaced by a soft tan, she’d put on a good ten, maybe fifteen pounds, and was softer where before she’d been gaunt, almost anorexic looking. She looked happier too. And damn, but happy looked great on her! Her eyes weren’t as haunted either. They shimmered with life and energy.

  “Ask her out already!” Jack snapped. “You’re the saint in our group. James won’t be mad if you ask her out. But he’s going to kill you if you don’t stop undressing her with your eyes like that.”

  “I’m not…!” Diesel started to snap at him, but refrained. Jack loved to tease, but Diesel didn’t want to play. “I’m not a saint.”

  Buck chuckled, shaking his head. “You’re about as close to a saint as any of us sinners will ever know,” he replied, as he glanced over at his new wife. Nina must have sensed Buck’s glance because she stopped mid-sentence and shot a wink at him. She was lovely, Diesel thought, chuckling silently when Nina’s lips curled into a knowing smile.

  Diesel’s gaze returned to Kaia and discovered that she was watching Nina, a sadness washing into those pretty, blue eyes. When she lifted her lashes, she looked right at him. A bolt of sensation hit Diesel with that look. He wasn’t sure what to do. He couldn’t even interpret that look.
Did she feel it? This energy, or whatever, throbbing between them?

  He almost snorted. Probably not. He must be imagining the pleading look in her eyes.

  “Ask her out!” Jack growled, interrupting his mental conundrum.

  “You idiots don’t know what you’re talking about,” Diesel snapped. He stood up and walked away. Diesel made his way down towards the beach, needing to breathe, to rid himself of this…need. Kaia was too perfect, too amazing for the likes of him. He’d…done things. His team called him a saint. He snorted. After the things he’d done, Diesel was about as far from being a saint as one could get.

  “You’re sick of the job.”

  Diesel turned to find James standing beside him, offering a cold bottle of beer. Diesel took it, not because he wanted more alcohol, but because…hell, because he needed to hold something? Whatever.

  “I’m fine,” he countered, staring out at the ocean. There was something peaceful about the waves crashing against the surf. Something relaxing. The sound and the constancy eased him in some odd way.

  “You’re not fine,” James pointed out, breaking that peaceful thought. “You’ve burned out. Just like me and Buck.”

  That last word snapped Diesel’s head around. “What? Buck?” He swung around to find Jack and Buck still sitting on the wide deck, laughing about something.

  “Buck put in his papers last week,” James said, staring out at the ocean. “He’s going to take a few months off, and then he plans to come work with me. He’ll shift his house flipping business from a hobby to a full-time career.” James chuckled, shaking his head slightly. “Hell, he made more money flipping houses as a hobby than he earned with the agency. So, it makes sense.”

  Diesel agreed. Financially at least, it did make sense. But leave the agency? Leave the business? Yeah, James had done it. But Buck? Diesel had thought that Buck and Jack were lifers!

  James brought Diesel’s mind back to the present. “You’ve burned out, Diesel. And if you don’t get out now, then you’ll start making mistakes. That’s what convinced Buck to get out.”

  Diesels eyes hardened as he looked out at the ocean. “He didn’t make any mistakes.”

  James smiled slightly. “I’ll let you keep thinking that.” He sighed and his features turned serious. “You’re a good man. Your soul needs to help people. It’s what makes you who you are and I respect that. Your life is all about protecting people.” He took a thoughtful sip of his beer. “But there are more ways to protect people than doing what we’ve been doing. Let the younger guys step up and take over. Use your expertise in other ways.”

  Diesel chuckled, amused at James’ subtle persuasion. Although he was right; he needed to help people. He needed to ensure that the world was a better place, even if his efforts were small and maybe a bit unconventional. “You mean, come work for you?”

  James shrugged. “That’s certainly an option. The job is there if you want it. Hell, you know I could use your help. I’m turning away business right and left because I can’t keep up with the requests coming my way.” He looked at Diesel, his eyes steady. “But that’s only one option. You could work for me part time, but perhaps, there’s something else that might feed your need to protect?”

  “There are too many assholes to lock up, James. We both know that. And we both know that I’m good at this.”

  “Yes,” James confirmed. “You’re excellent at finding people. You were, are, an essential part of the team. But…” he sighed, shaking his head. “But Diesel, that doesn’t mean you have to offer your soul up to the world. You don’t have to sacrifice your life and sanity for this job. There are other ways.”

  James slapped Diesel’s shoulder, then turned and walked back up the beach towards Kaia’s deck, leaving Diesel to ponder his friend’s words.

  The cookout continued until well after dark, the eight of them laughing and joking together as only longtime friends could. When it was time to cook the burgers, the men gathered around the grill, talking and laughing, occasionally glancing at the ladies, who were busy setting out the side dishes and plates on the long, shaded tables on the other side of the deck.

  When the burgers were cooked, James carried the platter over to the long table and set it down in the center as everyone settled into chairs, still laughing and joking as the food was passed around.

  It was a nice evening, Diesel thought as he helped clean up after dinner. He loved his friends and knew that he’d do just about anything to protect them. James, Buck, and Jack weren’t just his teammates; they were his brothers. The four of them had gone through so much over the years they’d worked together. James leaving the team had been difficult. And now Buck? He’d always thought Buck would be a lifer. Jack was now the team leader and, with the addition of Mindy, the team had finally started to sync again. Jack was a great team leader, smart and capable, brilliant even. There was obviously tension between Jack and Mindy, but they would work it out. They were professionals and would never let their personal animosity interfere with the job.

  “You okay?”

  Diesel looked up from washing the dishes to find Kaia leaning against the counter beside him.

  Looking around, he realized that everyone else had left. Assholes, he thought. They’d done it on purpose, asking Diesel to wash the dishes because it would take the longest, then abandoning him with Kaia.

  Yeah, he would get back at them. Somehow.

  “I’m fine,” he finally replied, speeding up his dishwashing. Diesel couldn’t handle being alone with Kaia. She smelled…like oranges. How the hell could she smell like oranges?

  He turned and discovered that she’d just peeled an orange. Okay, his powers of observation weren’t top notch at the moment. Go figure! Put a gorgeous woman next to him and he became an idiot.

  No, not any woman. He’d been with plenty of beautiful women over the years.

  Kaia…there was something different about Kaia. She was…special. He couldn’t figure out why or how. She just…she was beautiful in ways that other women couldn’t even compare.

  “Your friends are worried about you,” she commented, offering him a section of the orange.

  “They’re annoying,” he grumbled, eyeing the orange section. He didn’t want the fruit. He wanted to suck her fingers into his mouth so that he could finally discover what she tasted like. Probably orange at the moment.

  Kaia popped the rejected orange slice into her mouth. “They’re sweet. I know that my brother is especially concerned. He thinks you’re working too hard and that you need some down time.”

  He rinsed the last dish and set it into the drainer. “He’s a pain in the ass.”

  She jumped up to sit on the countertop. Diesel admired the way those small, perfect breasts bounced slightly, proving that he wasn’t the damned saint his friends thought.

  “When was the last time you had two whole days off?” she asked.

  He couldn’t remember, Diesel suddenly realized. “It’s been a while,” he admitted, drying his hands on the dishcloth she offered.

  “See? You need to do something fun. Something that’s just for fun and has nothing to do with chasing bad guys.”

  He kept his face completely neutral. “Who says I chase bad guys for a living?”

  Kaia’s snort of disbelief was adorable. “Puleeze!” she laughed, popping another section of the orange into her mouth. “You were on my brother’s team.”

  “James never told you what he did for a living either,” he replied calmly.

  “James would never reveal anything that might put me in danger. But that ridiculous story about doing computer programming for an international company? Nope. I don’t believe it.” She laughed and the sound made his body harden. He dropped the dishtowel and moved over to the table, trying to hide his body’s reaction. Hell, the woman only needed to laugh and he was hard as a rock! What the hell was she doing to him? What kind of spell had she cast over his normally controlled life?

  She’d rocked that control a
ll to hell, he thought.

  Kaia eyed Diesel through her lashes, wishing that he would go ahead and make his move. Just a small sign that he was interested. She felt like a complete idiot every time he was around her. She admired just about everything about him. And everyone kept telling her what a great guy he was. It was almost as if his whole team, and their spouses, were playing matchmaker, but Diesel kept pulling back.

  “Do you want to stay a while and watch a movie? There’s a great horror flick on tonight. I was going to watch it, but…”

  “You watch horror movies?” he asked, startled.

  Her eyebrows lifted in surprise, her eyes wide with hope. “You like them?”

  He laughed, hands fisted on his hips. “I love ‘em. They’re hilarious!”

  Kaia frowned. “They don’t scare the holy hell out of you?”

  Obviously surprised, Diesel blinked at her. “Horror movies?” he asked, trying to figure out if they were talking about the same thing.

  He wanted to laugh at her confusion, but she obviously had a different perspective on the horror movie genre. “No. They don’t really scare me.” Probably because he knew that the real world was a hell of a lot worse than anything Hollywood could dream up. “But if you–”

  “You would?” she whispered, her eyes alert. “You’d stay and watch it with me?”

  That wasn’t what he was about to say, but hell yeah! He’d stay and sleep outside her doorway if she wanted him to keep her safe. Hell, he’d sleep in her bed, holding her close, to keep her safe. Except…well, except that James would skin Diesel alive if he ever touched his little sister.

  Damn, James was a real pain in the ass right about now.

  “Great!” she exclaimed, jumping off the counter. “Let me just put these away and we can watch the movie!”

  She collected the stack of dishes and took them over to the pantry. Kaia was taller than average, but she still needed a step stool to reach that top shelf. “Here,” he offered, taking them out of her hand. “Let me do that.” He set them easily on the shelf. But when she turned around, it felt as if she were suddenly in his arms. He wanted to wrap himself around her, kiss her, and finally discover what it would be like to hold her close.