Chapter 4: CONNOR

Back at the compound where I lived with the men, I considered my brothers. I got ready for the day. I was getting a bit of a late start which none of the nosy fucks let me forget as they tried sticking their noses in my business as soon as I caught up with them.

I was prepared for their shit, which I knew would be forthcoming. I'm the one always saying this relationship shit wasn't for me. I wasn't against it for others, but it just wasn't for me.

Now I would be the first to take the plunge. I wonder if I should let them in on just what the fuck was in store for them when their time came?

This all-consuming obsession that fucking ties you up in knots and owns your ass. I think I've become part bitch overnight or some shit. What the fuck am I thinking?

"Fuck Connor, you smell like a bitch."

"Fuck you, Zak." I smacked him behind the head as I went by on my way to the coffee. The other five assholes were all staring at me like I was some sort of anomaly.

"Fuck bro, I know that scent." Logan sniffed the air around me. He better not know that fucking scent.

"What the fuck! You assholes don't have anything better to do? We suddenly cleaned up the streets, and we're having an off day?"

"Whose scent is it, Logan?"

"I can't put my finger on it, Quinn, but I know it." He looked like he was really giving it some serious thought. If anyone could sniff out what's going on, it would be my brothers in arms.

Seven ex SEALs who'd spent the last ten years together both on duty and off. We were closer than most brothers of blood. Just this once, though, I wish they would mind their own damn business. I wasn't quite ready to share yet. I wanted to savor the newness of it first before life intruded. I sound like a bitch.

"If you're through sniffing my ass, maybe you girls want to fill me in on how things went last night?" Anything to get the meddling fucks off the scent.

Everyone grew serious because what was going on in our little burgh was no laughing matter. Some fuck was using our backyard to traffic drugs and what we suspected might be worse, or so it seemed. So far, we haven't been able to find anything but suspicions were high.

Our little town in Georgia was a perfect little out-of-the-way haven. Its close proximity to the water and underground caves, along with some other shit that we had yet to explore, made it the perfect venue for criminals of a certain ilk.

We knew from experience that these were the perfect breeding grounds for some serious shit. Out of the way, not really on anyone's radar. It was the ideal spot to carry out all manner of criminal activities.

We'd scoped out the area first thing to make sure we had our flanks covered from all angles. Yeah, it was a bit over the top bordering on paranoid, but we believed in better safe than sorry.

There hadn't been any red flags, but that had been almost two and a half years ago. Though we'd seen the potential for some shit if someone was of the mind to go that route.

It would appear some enterprising soul had reached that same conclusion and was now making good on it. What they didn't know was that there were now seven ex SEALs taking up residence here who were not about to let that shit happen.

We've only been here less than a year. None of us had ever lived in this town before, so we were new to the area. No one knew who the fuck we were, and of course, seven grown men descending on them out of nowhere must've been food for the fodder.

There were whispers and speculation, of course, but since we never answered any questions other than our names, the town's people had learned not to ask.

What conclusions they'd drawn on their own was anyone's guess, but we weren't really interested in that shit either. We just wanted to get settled in and do our thing while being left the fuck alone.

Bikes and tats put fear in people, but if someone wanted to pass judgment without having all the facts that was on them. So far, no one had approached us with any bullshit, and we hoped to keep it that way.

The way I see it, we didn't go around asking people who the fuck they were, so they should give us the same courtesy. This was home now, one we planned to make ours, and we'll fit in in our own way the way we always did.

***

We'd all grown up in different parts of the country, but our old commander had been from right here, born and raised. When he'd died three years ago.

For some fucked up reason, he'd left this land and all his earthly possessions to the seven of us. It had made our decision when the time came for early retirement that much easier.

As members of the same team, we'd each put in a few more years of service, but we'd all known from day one that we were going to not only keep the land but we were also going to make this town our home.

Not really having any ties to any one place, it was easy for us to make that decision. After years of eating, sleeping, and fighting together, we knew each other inside and out and trusted one another to have each other's backs. So it only made sense that we would stay close to each other when we came back to civilian life.

Two years ago, we'd drawn up plans for what we wanted to do. The one thing we all knew for certain was that we wanted to stay together. There was more than enough land for the houses we wanted to build. The first thing we'd done was build up a high wall around the perimeter, so no one knew what was going on inside.

The town's people thought it was some new development going up, but we'd cordoned it off to start construction on the homes we were going to have built, and since we were still on active duty, then we didn't want to leave the place unprotected. Not the most trusting motherfuckers I know, but we trusted no one except each other.

Construction had been started six months later, with each of us getting two acres. We situated our homes in such a way that they were literally right next door to each other.

The land was in the back and to the front, but. Off a ways from the houses, we'd built our office. It's where we were planning to run our construction firm.

We'd decided a long time ago, even before our commander had been so generous, that when we left the service, this is what we would most likely be interested in.

We could easily have gone into security or something of the like, but after years spent securing sea, air, and land, we pretty much wanted out.