Ruthless (Crescent Cove: Viper Force Book 2) Read online

  RUTHLESS

  Crescent Cove Romantic Suspense, Viper Force, Book 2

  Marlie May

  Hummingbird Press

  RUTHLESS

  Copyright © 2019 Marlie May

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be used

  or reproduced in any manner

  whatsoever without written permission

  except in the case of brief quotations

  embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names,

  characters, events, and incidents are a

  product of the author’s imagination.

  Any resemblance to an actual person,

  living or dead, is entirely

  coincidental.

  ASIN: B07TP84P4M

  ISBN: 1078488711

  From Hummingbird Press

  Cover art by Black Bird Book Covers

  Find them on Facebook here

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  1. Mia

  2. Mia

  3. Eli

  4. Eli

  5. Mia

  6. Eli

  7. Mia

  8. Eli

  9. Mia

  10. Eli

  11. Mia

  12. Eli

  13. Mia

  14. Eli

  15. Mia

  16. Eli

  17. Mia

  18. Eli

  19. Mia

  20. Eli

  21. Mia

  22. Eli

  23. Mia

  24. Eli

  25. Mia

  26. Eli

  27. Mia

  28. Eli

  29. Mia

  30. Eli

  31. Mia

  32. Mia

  Other Books by Marlie May

  Chapter 1, Viper Force Book 3

  For Mom.

  You never had the chance to read my books,

  but I know you would’ve been proud.

  Thanks for telling me to

  ‘write the damn book’!

  Miss you.

  For my children who give me

  endless support.

  My friends & critique partners who

  make my books infinitely better.

  To Léonie Kelsall, a dear friend despite the

  physical distance between us.

  Jes Ireland for reading & listening

  at all hours of the night.

  And, lastly, for my own personal hero,

  my retired Seabee Chief husband.

  I couldn’t do this without all of you.

  Only Eli, a wounded ex-Navy man,

  is ruthless to protect Mia

  from someone lurking in her past

  who’s determined to destroy her.

  Doctor Mia Crawford moved to Crescent Cove, Maine to escape an abusive—and now jailed—ex-boyfriend and forget what happened one night on a dark beach in Mexico. She settles into the peaceful coastal community, psyched to be close to her brother, Flint, who runs Viper Force. An added incentive is Flint’s new employee, Eli Bradley, a man who asked her out eight months ago when she couldn’t ever imagine dating again. When someone stalks her, she turns to Eli.

  Eli never forgot Flint’s younger sister, Mia. Sure, she shot him down, but they now live in the same town and she says she’s open to more. Things soon heat up between them, and she offers a future he never thought he’d have. When someone breaks into her house while she’s sleeping and writes #1 on her bedroom mirror, he’ll stop at nothing to eliminate this threat. A kidnapping attempt is followed by #2 painted on her front door, and he fears it’s only a matter of time until Strike 3.

  No way in hell will he let anything happen to Mia. But her past overshadows the present—and a shocking revelation puts her in the sights of a murderer. It'll take Eli’s considerable military skills and the MacGyver tricks he’s picked up at Viper Force to keep the woman he’s falling for safe.

  1

  Mia

  Waves crashing on the Mexican beach masked all sounds—except for the footsteps coming up fast behind me.

  My skin crawled with fear. Earlier, someone had shadowed me as I shopped for souvenirs in town. I’d tried to lose the creep and only after I’d raced down an alley and jumped into the back of a cab, shouting for the driver to go-go!, had I escaped.

  No one was ever going to hurt me again.

  Inhaling sharply, I pivoted and swung out my beach bag, smacking the person’s shoulder.

  A man dropped to his knees on the sand, releasing a surprised curse. As quickly as he’d fallen, he burst to his feet, his feral gaze trained on me. His hand flew to his thigh. A weapon?

  “Crap!” I backed away quickly. The setting sun eclipsed his face, making it impossible to make out his features. Had the man from earlier found me?

  My heart thundered in my chest, and I instinctively took the stance my military-trained brother, Flint, had drilled into me. Fists raised. Feet squared. Ready to kick. My snarl collapsed when I got a better look at my opponent.

  Double crap.

  “Eli?” I gasped out. Horror and embarrassment surged through me like a red tide. Eight months ago, after Flint’s engagement to Julia abruptly ended, I’d flown out to Port Hueneme, California to help him pack up his things. He’d needed a change and was discharging from the Navy. His friend, Eli, had been stationed there. He’d asked me out but I turned him down, telling him long-distance relationships never worked, especially with a man who was career military, getting ready to deploy overseas.

  It was the only excuse I could come up with. I couldn’t tell him the real reason.

  “I’m sorry I hit you,” I said. “I thought, well…”

  Eli brushed sand off his jeans, wincing when his hand encountered his right thigh. He huffed, but from the sparkle in his chocolate brown eyes, I could tell he also found the situation funny. He swiped his hand through his thick, dark blond hair and laughed. “Flint said you’d be down here, staring at the waves. Gotta say it, Mia, you sure know how to greet a guy.”

  Figures. The first time I meet up with the man I’d thought about almost continuously for months, I nailed him with a sack of books. I’d never live this down.

  “I’m really sorry,” I said. “What are you doing in Mexico?”

  Flint and his employees, Jax and Cooper, were in Puerto Morelos on assignment for my brother’s business, and I’d opted to join them for my last night before flying home to Maine tomorrow.

  Eli was an anomaly.

  “It’s your birthday, and I wanted to surprise you,” he said.

  “Consider me surprised.” I grinned, and my unease drifted away like dandelion fluff on the wind.

  “Thought about sending flowers.”

  My eyes widened. “Here? In Mexico?”

  “Well, back home.” Color rose in his face. Damn, it made him even cuter. “You might not know it yet, but I’m done with the military. Moved home to Crescent Cove six months ago. Just took a job with Flint.”

  He lived in Crescent Cove? My heart rate doubled. “What made you decide to get out?”

  His hand twitched on his thigh. “It was kind of a mutual decision.” He nudged his head, indicating we should walk, and we started down the beach with waves rushing up the shore beside us. A storm at sea last night meant the surf was still high.

  His gait…Did I detect a subtle limp? Mutual decision, he’d said. A medical discharge? Since I could tell the topic made him uncomfortable, I let it go. “You said you work for Flint now. What are you going to do at Viper Force?” My curiosity about what went on inside that huge warehouse my brother bought had b
een gnawing through my bones, but Flint had dodged my questions so far. Maybe I could tease a few details out of Eli. “Viper Force is an awfully lethal name for a company that builds and sells kiddie drones.” Flint’s lame explanation.

  “Kiddie drones. Yeah,” Eli said slowly. “That’s what I’ll be working on.” Stopping, he bent over to pick up a pale pink shell and presented it to me.

  I smiled and pocketed it, and we continued strolling. The setting sun warmed my back and other than a few birds trying to outrace the waves on spindly feet, we were alone. “Flint said you guys will also do simple security jobs on the side, such as the one here in Mexico.”

  Like I believed my brother was involved in anything simple? The drone thing made sense. Flint had been an Explosive Ordinance Disposal Technician in the Navy. When he was twelve, he’d built a rocket and launched it into our neighbor’s backyard. Mrs. Johnson’s shriek made my mom jump. Mom’s shriek sent Flint running. “Last I knew, Seabees didn’t spend their time learning combat skills with the Marines only to provide guard duty for the local convenience store. I’m thinking that part of Viper Force sounds more like James Bond.”

  His gaze flicked toward the houses lining the boardwalk on our left before returning to the ocean. “That’s all there is to it, I’m afraid. Convenience stores.” I could almost hear the groan in his words. “But, hey, Flint said you’d just finished a month-long medical mission here?”

  Decent subject change. My curiosity about Viper Force might not be satisfied today.

  “I’m a doctor. When Flint moved to Crescent Cove to be near the base for his Reserve duties, I visited and fell in love with the area. And because of what…” Wincing, I pinched my lips together. When I left Massachusetts, I chose to focus on the future, not the past. “Anyway, I followed Flint and took a job at Crescent Cover General Hospital, though I won’t start until after Labor Day. I’d already set up this volunteer opportunity in Mérida, and I’m presenting my findings at a conference in western Maine next week.”

  “What sort of findings?”

  “Cardiac risk in older women. I worked with the Juniper Foundation’s mission here, providing free education and testing to women who might not otherwise receive the cardiac care they need.” My volunteer work meant even more to me after what happened with a woman I was unable to save back in Crescent Cove.

  “That’s really admirable.”

  “Flint set it up, actually. He’s friendly with the head of the Foundation, as you may know. He mentioned the connection, and I signed on to volunteer.”

  “I do remember meeting Peter, the head of the Foundation. And, well, Flint’s fiancée, who was somehow also associated with the Foundation.”

  Julia had been a nanny for one of the Foundation board members. She’d bailed on my brother and left no forwarding address.

  “When Flint asked me to fly down here to provide extra cov—uh, support on this job, I mean, I was hoping we’d run into each other.” The crooked smile Eli sent me made butterflies flit around in my belly. “Didn’t expect to find myself dusting the beach with my knees, though.”

  “I’m sneaky like that,” I teased. As we slowed and studied each other, I tried to ignore the warmth radiating off his skin, let alone his scent, a heady mix of fresh air and spice. This man was hot enough to make my head spin.

  He tugged on the bag still dangling from my hand. “What do you keep in that thing, anyway? Cannonballs?”

  I held it up, smirking. “A girl can never have too many books when she’s hanging out at the beach.”

  “Can’t be just books,” he said, chuckling. “No way would a couple of paperbacks deliver that solid a punch. I’d say you’ve got…A twelve-pack of beer in there, too.”

  “Really.” I tucked my hand on my hip and lifted one brow. The humor in his gaze tickled through me. “You think I’m lugging a bunch of beers around at the beach?”

  He shrugged. “I would.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Figures.” Just like a guy. “No beer.”

  “What are you reading, now? Last I remember, you spent some time out at Port Hueneme curled up on Flint’s sofa with a romance.”

  “Or at the pool. We can’t forget that little pool incident.” When he’d come up behind me as I sat on a folding chair with my feet the water, absorbed in a particularly steamy part of my book. He’d been going wide to catch a football thrown by Flint, only to stumble against my chair and send us both flying into the water. I’d been wearing a sundress, not a bathing suit. He’d rescued me—Flint’s words, not mine—but I’d been drenched through.

  Eli’s soft gaze drifted down my front, and his voice deepened. “Not sure I’ll ever forget the pool.”

  Was he remembering how our clothing clung to our bodies as we stood in the shallow end, close enough I could hear him breathe? A white sundress became transparent when wet and I’d gone braless. He’d only been wearing low-hung shorts and his bare chest, broad and rippling with muscles, had gleamed in the sunlight. I’d been unable to drag my gaze away.

  “I still love romances,” I said in a squeaky voice, overcome by the memory of how I’d felt back then. “But mystery is on today’s menu.”

  “You sure it’s not romances?” he asked. “With sexy covers?”

  “Not you, too,” I grumbled. Too often, Flint teased me about my choice of reading material.

  “No way. I’d be the last to pick on you for that. Besides, I read romance novels, myself.”

  I halted and stared up at him, my jaw dropping. “You read romance novels?”

  “Love the Highlander ones the best. You read any by that author who lives in Crescent Cove? Dag Ross. Highlander’s Fury is the first in the series.”

  Who was this man, and why did I not know this about him?

  “All those swords and battles.” Eli wiggled his eyebrows. “And hot sex.”

  “Wait a minute.” I scowled. “You’re joking with me, right?” My voice grew hushed. “You don’t really read romance novels.” As I gaped up at him, I pushed my windblown hair off my face. Damn curls kept getting in my eyes. “Do you?”

  He snagged a particularly unruly strand and tucked it behind my ear. “You should check out my bedside table.” Whistling, he started down the beach again.

  Bedside table? That took my brain in a steamier direction. I stared after him before rushing to keep up, shaking my head about his comment. “Hold on.” Grabbing his arm, I pulled him to a stop. It was impossible to ignore the nice play of muscles underneath my palm. Was the rest of him still as ripped as I remembered from eight months ago?

  A crazy thought occurred to me, and I frowned at the ocean. Aw, shit. Did I dare? After all, I did sort of owe him.

  “Hey, Eli,” I said slyly.

  He turned and walked backward. Yes, he did have a limp. So subtle, it would take someone who knew about injuries to notice. “Yeah?”

  “About that pool incident.”

  His brow narrowed as if he hoped to read my intentions in my face, but I was a better poker player than that. The word came out again, slowly, “Yeah?”

  Giggling, I rushed him, my hands outstretched. But I tripped and tumbled forward, into his arms that wrapped around me.

  Momentum sucked.

  Eli lost his balance. As we fell, he pivoted and I landed on top of him, my dress hiked up, my legs straddling his waist.

  Now, wasn’t this a delicate position?

  A wave flew up the shore and crashed over us before receding. Sputtering, I pushed my sodden hair off my face and wiped the salty sting from my eyes. “I’m sorry,” I said. “You okay?”

  “More than okay.” He rose up onto his elbows, grinning at me. “Damn, girl, you do know how to greet a guy.” His heated gaze traveled down my front.

  Of course. There was nothing like a wet white sundress.

  * * *

  After changing, I met up with Eli, Flint, Cooper, and Jax outside the restaurant where we’d arranged to celebrate.

  “Mia,” Coo
per said with a nod. “Happy Birthday.”

  “Thanks. Congratulations to you and Ginny on getting engaged,” I said.

  His smile grew wider. “Thanks.”

  “What’s this I hear about you and Eli going in for a swim, Red?” Flint asked me with a big grin. He ruffled my hair.

  Big brothers could be a major pain in the butt. “My hair is strawberry blonde, not red,” I insisted for what had to be the thousandth time since I’d learned how to speak. “And you know I hate that nickname.”

  “Dude.” Jax came up behind Eli, sporting a smirk wider than the sea. He nudged Eli’s shoulder. “When you say you’re gonna surprise a woman, you sure don’t hold back.” Chuckling, he came around to lay his arm on my shoulders and smoosh me into his side. “Happy B-Day, kiddo.” He kissed my cheek. “Heard about the tote bag incident, but I must’ve missed the swim. Where did you learn that move, huh? Not from my boy, Flint, here, because he’s too much of a softie to encourage a sweet-as-honey girl like you to dance in the ocean with a man like Eli.”

  Sweet-as-honey. The nickname Jax gave me after I brought a batch of cookies into Flint’s office. Despite the endearment and kiss, Jax and I were only friends. Actually, I had a feeling he was sweet on my cousin, Haylee, who also worked for Flint. Not that he’d acted on it as far as I could tell. Whenever she was around, he went all broody and barely said a peep.