Framed Read online

  Turning on his cot, he placed his feet on the floor of his 6x8 cell. He looked around at the dimly lit cage he called home, and his mind drifted back to that fateful night like it always did when he woke from the dream. It had been two years since Sutton’s murder and a little over six months since he’d been found guilty of a crime he didn’t commit.

  He’d left Pensacola and joined the Navy to escape his wild youth, only to land right back in the thick of it without even trying. A former rebel without a clue, he was lucky he didn’t have little Kade juniors running all over Florida. After too many narrow escapes, he’d only seen one option to keep from being another sad statistic of a broken home: join the military and make something of his life instead of ending up dead by the time he was thirty from booze, drugs, or both.

  His father had abandoned them when he was five and his brother Kyle was two. His mother couldn’t hack being a single parent at the age of twenty-five so she’d walked out as well. She’d left to relive her youth with only a phone call to his paternal grandfather saying, “I’m outta here, come get the boys.” She hadn’t bothered to look back in twenty-seven years. His dad had made an appearance once every five years or so to borrow money from his grandfather, until one day he didn’t. No one had heard from him in ten years and Kade’s guess was, he overdosed without I.D on him and was buried somewhere in a John Doe's grave.

  This was why Kade had acted out in his youth. Nothing screamed abandonment issues and reckless behavior like being left high and dry by your parents. He’d felt that betrayal to his core and let everyone see it until the day he shipped off to boot camp. Except for his grandfather and brother Kyle, who he’d protected fiercely while growing up, he had nothing but bad memories of his childhood in Pensacola and had not intended to return. No, he’d intended to be career military and had worked his way up to Chief Ensign 2nd Class when he’d gotten a phone call from his brother, saying Pops, his grandfather, had cancer and he needed to come home. Hearing that, he’d taken a 30-day leave of absence and hopped on a plane. When he arrived home and saw his fragile grandfather in a hospital bed, he knew he couldn’t turn his back on the man. He owed his grandfather more respect than a visit once a year while he fought for his life. So, after twelve years in the Navy, and his re-up just a few short months away, he returned to base and informed his commanding officer of his plans and filed for discharge. Sixty days later, he’d packed his bags, said good-bye to his team, and returned home to Pensacola and the life he’d left behind.

  When he returned and stepped off the plane, he realized the angry young man he’d been when he left, hell-bent on never returning, had been trained out of him. He was now a lethal fighting machine with the patience of Job, one who had buried his demons through discipline. Being home for good had surprisingly felt right, and for the first time in his life, he pictured a family with a white picket fence instead of a career protecting his country.

  That dream had been short lived.

  He’d gone out with his brother for one drink his first night back, but one shot after another had been bought for him by bar patrons as a thank you for his service, and he’d over indulged. When Sutton came into the bar, a man he’d gone to high school with, he remembered he’d pissed the guy off when he’d nailed a girl he was sweet on. The result of his youthful indiscretion had ended in a fight that Kade had easily won. Wanting a clean slate now that he was home for good, he’d tried to talk to Sutton. Instead of allowing Kade to buy him a drink and shake hands for old times’ sake, Sutton had been on edge, belligerent, wanted to be left alone. He sure as hell didn’t care that they had feuded in high school, so Kade had backed off. But Kade’s training told him something was off with Sutton; that he might be in trouble. Out of habit, he kept an eye on his old friend and noticed immediately from across the bar when Sutton turned ghostly pale. Before Kade could turn to see who or what had spooked his friend, Sutton had left quickly out the back door. Kade being Kade, which meant he was a SEAL to the core, he’d followed Sutton out of concern. Followed him right into an ambush he hadn’t seen coming because his focus was off from one too many shots. Now, Sutton was dead and Kade was in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.

  The police had pinned the murder on him from the moment they’d arrived, and Kade had been helpless to stop them. No bail had been set since he was a flight risk due to his military training, and with his grandfather sick, they couldn’t afford to hire a defense attorney. He’d been left to the mercy of a public defender who was wet behind the ears and didn’t believe in his innocence. And why should he? Kade had handed himself over to the police on a silver platter.

  Stunned by the blow to the back of his head, he’d stumbled back into the bar, holding the murder weapon. Between the booze and his dazed state, he hadn’t been thinking; he’d been in seek-and-destroy mode and the knife was his only weapon. The killers hadn’t returned of course; they’d left him to take the blame for Sutton’s murder instead. And the police had all but tied a bow around his neck as a present to the State’s Attorney.

  Stretching his tight limbs after being forced to sleep on a cot that was too short for him, Kade moved to his sink and turned on the water. Considering some of the desolate places he’d slept during his career, a cot with minimal padding, and a blanket to boot, was civilized in his book. Hell, he had running water, a toilet that flushed, and three squares a day. If it weren’t for the fucking bars, lack of women, and not being able to see how his grandfather was doing, Kade would think he was on vacation.

  “You up, King?”

  Turning at the sound of Cooter Hays’ voice, Kade responded. “I’m up, old man.”

  Cooter was a lifer, had been inside since 1985 for the premeditated murder of his wife’s lover—a murder that most men could understand. You don’t piss in another man’s backyard; if you did . . . all bets were off.

  Cooter’s cell was next to Kade’s; when they were locked in, the man kept him company with his tall-tales whether Kade wanted to hear them or not.

  “Did I ever tell you about the time my cousin Jim-Bob and I stole the sheriff’s car and took it for a joyride?”

  Moans could be heard from the surrounding cells. Cooter’s story about the time he stole the sheriff’s car when he and his cousin were thirteen had been told no less than twenty times since Kade had been in prison.

  Smiling, Kade responded, “No, Cooter, I don’t think I’ve heard that one.”

  The resounding “Fucks” made Kade chuckle. No one would say a word in defiance to The King, as they had dubbed him, if he wanted to hear Cooter’s story again. Once word spread he was an ex-SEAL, he was given a wide berth. Not even Fat Bastard, the prison godfather, had looked at Kade sideways.

  “See, Jim-Bob had this crazy idea. He figured if we stole the sheriff’s car and then drove it down to Atlanta, we could ditch it, take a bus back home, and no one would be the wiser.”

  “What’d he do that made you want to steal his car?” Kade asked with a grin in his voice.

  “The bastard caught us shooting off fireworks in the park and took them from us.”

  “That’s all?” Kade asked. “You just shot off fireworks?”

  “Well now, it mighta had somethin’ to do with the fact that we shot them off in the back seat of his cruiser.”

  “It mighta,” Kade agreed.

  “Or . . . it mighta had somethin’ to do with the fact he wasn’t alone and had his hand shoved up Mrs. Murphy’s shirt.”

  On cue, Kade laughed at the story. Then he genuinely laughed when more groans could be heard from around the cellblock.

  The sound of the steel door being buzzed open alerted everyone to morning roll call. Kade finished dressing, then walked to the front of his cell so he could be seen and counted. When his cell buzzed open, he dipped his head so his six-foot-four frame could clear the opening, then waited as old Cooter shuffled out of his cell into the common room.

  At sixty-eight, Cooter was the oldest prisoner on the block. Which, in K
ade’s opinion, afforded him respect. Kade let him lead while he followed the plump man with gray hair and a hunched back.

  “Kingston,” Gerald Daily, one of the prison guards, shouted. Kade paused at his name, turned, and looked back at the man.

  “You’re to report to Hinkle before breakfast.”

  “Why? My regular counseling day is Wednesday.”

  “Don’t know, didn’t ask.”

  “Gotta rid you of those demons, boy,” Cooter chuckled.

  Looking back at the old man, Kade flashed a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I don’t have any demons, Cooter.”

  “If you believe that then you’ve got more than I thought,” the old man grumbled.

  That hit closer to home than Kade wanted to admit, and for the first time since meeting the old man, Kade let his anger show.

  “Yeah? You’d have demons, too, Cooter, if you killed as many men as I have.”

  “Well, I’d say that’s the most honest thing you’ve said to me since walking into this place.”

  “Save it old man,” he growled low, “I don’t need to be psychoanalyzed.”

  Furious for losing control, he shoved past the old man and headed towards Daily, who handcuffed him in preparation to leave the cellblock. After a ten-minute walk through locked door after locked door, which put an exclamation point on his sudden foul mood, they reached Hinkle’s office. Daily knocked, waited for the counselor to answer, then opened the door and escorted him in. Kade was surprised to find a woman sitting in Hinkle’s office when he cleared the door. He was even more surprised when she stood, turned, and faced him. Christ, she wasn’t just a woman; she was Kade’s wet dream, one he’d dreamt about on and off since high school and was completely off limits because she was married.

  Harley Dash Jordan.

  Kade scanned her long legs, large, soft breasts, dark blond hair that had been kissed by the sun, and big brown eyes that reached into his very soul and his breath froze just as it had every time he’d looked at her. She was beyond tempting to any man, but to him, she was a highly anticipated Christmas present he could never unwrap. He hadn’t seen her in eight years, but his reaction was still the same. Lust surged swiftly, like the current of a fast moving river, the moment those brown eyes hit him, and he took a step back.

  He’d fantasized about Harley after he’d seen her on the football field his senior year. He knew she was too innocent for the likes of him so he’d let her be instead of pursuing her like every molecule in his body told him to do. Then, years later, once he’d straightened out his life, he’d seen her at her father’s garage on his way out of town and cursed his rotten luck he wouldn’t be back for more than two years. When he had returned, he found out she was a month away from getting married and he’d cursed his rotten luck again. Now, he wanted to howl at the moon that she was standing in his presence when he hadn’t had a woman beneath him in over two years.

  “Take a seat, Kingston. There’s an opportunity to participate in a worthwhile program I want to discuss with you.”

  Shaking his head before they could tempt him with forbidden fruit, fruit that would make his time here unbearable, he answered immediately.

  “Whatever it is, the answer is no. Not if she’s involved.”

  Two

  I couldn’t concentrate. This was the closest I’d been to Kade since high school and his effect on me was overpowering. Never in my life had I encountered a man as insanely sexual or blatantly masculine. Everything about him screamed danger, dominant male, and sex.

  The air shifted with an electrical current that arced between us as I stared back into his dark, blank eyes. His effect up close and personal was commanding and it took a moment to gather my thoughts. I was stunned by his outburst and knew I should be sensitive to his situation, but instead I was insulted, maybe even a little bit hurt that after all those years fantasizing about him, he’d reacted that way towards me. That hurt turned to recklessness, however, and instead of waiting for Hinkle to step in my pride got the best of me.

  “Not if . . . not if I’m involved? What the hell is that supposed to mean? I can assure you the program is an excellent one,” I defended, narrowing my eyes and crossing my arms. If I’d been any more insulted, I might have started tapping my foot, but Hinkle and the guard being in the room stopped that embarrassing behavior.

  Kade drew in a sharp breath at my outburst and his eyes sparked to life as he took my measure. They roamed from the top of my head to the tips of my toes and back again. When he was done, and his brown eyes settled back on mine, I wanted to take a step back at the hunger I saw there. I took a shuddered breath and rocked back on my heels when the full force of his eyes bore into mine. His sheer force of will filled the room and I felt my body respond to him immediately. As if he could sense my reaction, I watched in fascination as he took a step back and threw up his shield again, blanking his face to block out the world.

  “I was on assignment for two months before I was debriefed and then moved home,” he answered with a dry neutrality I didn’t believe. “I was thrown in jail my first night home for a crime I didn’t commit and I’ve been here for six months after spending close to eighteen in county lockup. I haven’t had a woman beneath me for more than two years and the only way I’m surviving without killing someone is because there are none here. So, you, with your long legs and large . . . Let’s just say the Taliban couldn’t think of a better way to torture me.”

  I missed the part at first where he said my body was a distraction. I was too busy watching his jaw clench as he spoke. He was tightly reigned in, his façade impenetrable, and it almost knocked me on my ass to watch his shadowed soul shut down further as he spoke of being imprisoned against his will. I wanted more than anything to change his mind just so I could spend time with him, but it was clear from the firm set of his jaw and intense look in his eyes there would be no reversing his stance. Not if the way he all but growled his words was any indicator.

  “As you wish,” I mumbled, giving in without a fight before turning and taking my seat. I wasn’t about to pressure him no matter how much I wanted to be in his presence. I’d just have Hinkle keep offering and hope he agreed someday. If Kade didn't, and I was still the problem, then I’d be willing to step aside and let one of the other volunteers run the dog-training program during his participation.

  “Did you just quote The Princess Bride?” Kade rumbled low. I looked back and noted his hard eyes had softened; the carefully guarded shield had cracked. His mouth had pulled into a wry grin as he waited for my answer. I saw an opening so I stood, responding quickly, hoping to break down the wall further.

  “You have a dizzying intellect, Kade. I’m surprised you caught that.”

  His brows rose slightly, then he crossed his arms and corrected me. “It’s truly,” he answered. “Truly, you have a dizzying intellect, Kade.”

  Inconceivable.

  I couldn’t believe an ex-SEAL, a former badass who dodged bullets for a living, admitted to knowing the lines of the greatest comedy slash romance slash action-adventure ever written.

  “How is it a badass SEAL like yourself can quote lines better than me from a romantic comedy?”

  He hesitated a moment, his eyes darting to the guard before he answered.

  “Because one of my badass SEAL brethren is married to a woman who can quote every word . . . and does so with frequency.”

  His shield was down fully now. The smile he gave me caused my breath to hitch and my nipples hardened in response.

  “Can we start over?” I jumped in, hoping a bridge had been built.

  “No,” he answered firmly and immediately, his voice low with a warning you couldn’t mistake. Just like that, the man who had smiled and quoted Princess Bride word for word was gone. “There isn’t anything you could offer that would entice me to spend time with you. It would be dangerous for every man in my cellblock and my own peace of mind.”

  “But if you’d just hear me out. I understan
d where you’re coming from. I—”

  “No, you don’t. You think you do, but you don’t. Not with a man like me.”

  “Kingston, the program we’re offering you is fulfilling and would make your time here more bearable,” John Hinkle, prison psychologist and counselor finally jumped in. “You won’t be up for parole for another seven years, Kade. I think this program could be beneficial to you.”

  Ignoring Hinkle, Kade turned to the prison guard who’d escorted him in. “Do I have to stay here ’til they’re done?”

  “Nope,” the guard answered. “But it’s a good program Kingston, you should hear them out.”

  “Then we’re done here,” Kade growled, then turned towards the door. When the guard turned and opened the door, Kade looked back at me for a moment and stared as if he was memorizing my face. Then, just as he did that day in the forecourt of my dad’s repair shop, he jerked his chin slightly before he walked away.

  Turning back to Hinkle, I sat down in the chair and sighed. I’d hoped for a better response from Kade.

  “We can try again in twelve weeks when the new dogs come in,” Hinkle said. John was in his late forties with salt and pepper hair, an extra tire around his middle, and wired rimmed glasses that reminded me of John-Boy from The Waltons.

  There has to be some way to convince Kade.

  “Will you do me a favor, John?” I asked when an idea came to me. “Can you see if I can move my class outside in a secured yard near his cellblock? Maybe if he saw the program he’d be willing to listen to what I have to say.”

  “Hold on, let me see what yards butt up to his.”

  Hinkle pulled up the files on his computer, then looked at a map of the yards.

  “It could work, but you’d have to deal with inmates disrupting class and it would require more guards.”