A shattered dream, a kidnapped sister, and a lost love.

Tristan Barrett fought for every scrap he ever earned. When he leaves his ex-wife after her latest failed stint in rehab he sues for sole custody of his kids. As his ex-wife is richer than Midas he’s in a battle for not only his future but his kids lives. One he must win.

Mia Blackwood left her home to follow her dream of military life. With glowing recommendations and a lot of work, she moves up the ranks fast, until a fateful mission ends her career. While in the hospital her parents are in an accident that ends their lives and her sister is shipped off to foster care. After finally reaching Boston, Mia finds her sister missing. Using all of her skills and every favor she accumulated while in the military, Mia searches for her sister. It takes almost a month but Mia tracks her sister down only to be told she cannot gain custody. She needs a job and a home. Luckily, a white knight from her past proposes with a contract.

Now legally husband and wife, Mia and Tristan must find a way to merge their lives while fighting to keep their family together. If they fail, Mia will lose her sister back into a system that almost destroyed her and Tristan will lose his children to his corrupt in-laws.

Can Tristan and Mia forge a family beyond the contract, or will they lose everything and everyone?

Excerpt~

Gently closing the door that led into the bedroom Sophia, Penny, Vicky, Annie, and Will had chosen to sleep in—the girls in beds and Will on a cot, not wanting to be far from his sister—Mia turned to the main area of the suite Tristan had insisted on renting. The other bedroom was Tristan’s, and would be Will’s as well tomorrow, but at the moment, the man of the hour perched on the sofa in the den area, watching Mia with an intent expression.
“You know, if it hadn’t been for your connection with Special Agent Flynn and Rafe’s connection with the Governor, those girls would be in temporary foster care right now,” Tristan said. His green eyes pierced Mia where she stood.
“I know.”
“Mia, what the hell happened?” His voice held a raspy quality she had never heard before. “Where are your parents? Why are you here?”
She didn’t know where to start. Instead of blurting out an answer, she took a seat on the far end of the brown couch that matched the neutral tone of the entire suite and twisted to face him while she gathered her thoughts.
“You said you could be out of contact for up to a year, and that’s why you cut ties with me. What happened to you that brought you back in the country?” he asked, continuing to press her as only a lawyer could, slowly backing her into a corner to force her to answer.
“Stop.” Mia held up a hand, hoping Tristan would quit peppering her with questions. “Just stop for a minute.”
“Sorry,” he scrubbed a hand over his face, “I’m just shocked to see you—and at that house, of all places.”
“Same.” She sighed. “Look, I can’t go into detail about the op I was on except to say that it went sideways and people died.”
“But you’re okay, right?” Tristan’s worried gaze raked her from head to toe.
“I’m fine.” Was she okay? Not really. But he didn’t need to know all her demons just yet. There was no need to scare him off when she had missed him so much while undercover. She had wished she’d handled things with him differently.
“Okay, so what happened?”
“You just can’t help but toss questions, can you?” Mia found her first smile.
“I’m a lawyer, so sue me.” Tristan shook his head and returned her smile.
“The short version is I was injured on the op.” Mia’s smile slid from her face as her eyes dropped to the soft fabric of the sofa. “My parents came to make sure I was okay, which I was, and when they returned home, they were in a car accident.”
It was much more complicated, as she had been reported dead during the blast that killed the rest of her team. She hadn’t been there since she was at the meeting spot to pick up the senator’s daughter. The girl had gone into hiding the second the NGO humanitarian relief group was hit. Mia and her team were sent to rescue the survivors, which turned out to only be the senator’s daughter, as she had been making house calls at a nearby village.
Mia had allowed the “dead” label to stay as she used her backchannel resources to get them safely out of the country. It had taken over a month of constant movement since the girl was being hunted. Finally, as they rushed to the extraction point, the men pursuing the girl found them. Mia had taken three bullets so the girl could get to their extraction team first.
Her parents went from mourning Mia to suddenly learning that she was alive. Of course they had rushed to her side to see for themselves.
“Jesus, so they’re in the hospital?”
“No, not the hospital,” she murmured, even as she wished she never had to say the words again. “They died. My mom at the scene and my dad at the hospital.”
Tristan moved closer to her, and his warm hand clasped hers. “I’m so sorry. I know how close you all were.”
“Yeah.” Mia swiped at the tears that escaped her eyes. “Sorry, something in my eyes.”
“No worries.”
She had forgotten how easily he understood her. Anger surged as she finished the story. “Anyway, Sophia was supposed to stay with friends until I made it home, but when I returned, I found a different social worker assigned to Sophia’s case. The previous one had had a family emergency, so she went on leave. So everything I had set up, while I was doing my best to fast track my discharge, unraveled and Sophia had no way to get in touch with me.”
“But your parents would have listed you as her guardian,” Tristan stated.
“They did, but everything runs slower when dealing with the military. So the paperwork kept missing me.” She raked her hands through her hair and tugged to rid herself of some of her anger.
Technically, what she said was the truth, but it was so much more complicated. Being declared dead had tossed up red flags, which Mia and her commanding officer had smoothed out with the original social worker. However, the new social worker wasn’t in the loop. The woman assumed Mia was dead and shipped Sophia to a foster home. If Mia told Tristan any of it, he would not stop digging until he had the entire story, which she couldn’t tell him. Instead, she focused on what she had missed. “I didn’t even make it to their funerals because I wasn’t at the hospital when the first message was sent. It took over a week to track me down. Mom and Dad were buried by then, and Sophia was in foster care.”
“The social worker was in on Sophia’s abduction?”
“Yes, she was paid extra for special orders. Sophia was one of them.” Mia was relieved for the story to move forward so she wouldn’t have to lie to Tristan.
“I’m guessing the social worker didn’t know you worked in military intelligence.”
“She did not.” Mia smirked. “Needless to say, I arrived in Boston and all hell broke loose. I pulled every string I could and was right behind Sophia.”
“I bet those assholes who took her felt you breathing down their necks.”
“To say the least, but now for you.” Mia leaned toward Tristan, needing to change the subject before her anger got the better of her and she went back to the precinct to teach Oscar a lesson. “How the hell did your kids end up at that house?”
“My ex by way of her parents.” Tristan slumped back into the corner of the couch.
“What the hell?” Shock reverberated through her. “The last time we talked, you had a hearing scheduled to regain custody.”
“Yeah, when I got home from that trip, the ex-in-laws had already built a case around me being gone all the time. Which is why I had a nanny in my home plan. However, they somehow got to her, and she never showed up at court.” Tristan’s head hit the back of the sofa. “I have another court date in a few months to try again. I hope I’ll have enough documentation to gain custody, especially with what happened last night.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?” Mia knew how much he loved his kids. If she could help, she would.
“Are you going to be around for a while?” His emerald eyes held a wealth of emotions, none of which she could decipher.
“Is that why you asked me to live with you? So you could put me down as your plan?” Mia released a breath of frustration.
“Hell no.” Tristan scowled at her. “You made it abundantly clear that the military was your life when you broke up with me. I hoped if you could stay until you had Sophia squared away, maybe that would give me some breathing room.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I know as soon as you can, you’ll be right back into the thick of things with the military. I just need someone who can help me with the hearing, and then I’ll take it from there.”
“What you really need is someone to not only watch your kids but have your back too.” Mia rubbed the back of her neck.
“Yeah, that’s the dream.” Tristan shook his head. “But the only person I’ve even pictured by my side in the years since Stephanie has been gone is you. And you don’t want the position.”
“What position are we talking about?” Mia asked, hope beginning to take root. If she had a wish, now that her military career was over, it would be to be with Tristan and rebuild what she had destroyed.
“Look, let me lay it out. I need a wife—”
“Anyone will do?” She frowned, not liking that answer at all. She wanted him to choose her again.
“Right now,” he shrugged, “yeah. If she helps me get my kids, then anyone will do.” He held a palm up. “However, my preference would be you.”
“It can be me.”
“What?” His gaze jumped to hers.
“Seriously?” She stared at him in disbelief. “Did you not just hear me say that I had to fast-track my discharge?”
“Sorry, everything is just so surreal right now. I mean, I was sitting in a shack eating shrimp when Will called me, and then there was a gun in my face, you rescuing us, your sister being there, the cops, just everything.” He raked his hands through his hair. “This isn’t my life. I’m a real estate and contract attorney for Chrissakes, not some spy or super secret agent.”
“And yet, you raced to your kids’ rescue.” Mia nudged his leg with hers.
“And almost got my face blown off.”
“Meh, semantics.” She waved that away. “You’ll do better next time.”
“No, there will be no next time. My kids will never be in that situation again,” he snarled. “Even if I have to kidnap them and go live in another country, I’ll be damned if that ever happens to them again.”
She patted his leg in understanding because she felt the same way about Sophia. “Okay, how about you give me some time to think about pretending to be your wife?”
“If you agree, I can draw up a contract so you can be sure you and Sophia will be cared for.”
“A verbal contract will be enough, Tris. Your word has always been enough because no matter what else came between us, I trust you.” Her gaze tangled with his. “We might have had wild monkey sex, but we started out as friends. Hell, I still consider you a friend.”
“I don’t know about the wild monkey sex because you refused to consider the bathroom at that German club, but I’m more than willing to count you in the friend column.” The smile he shot her finally reached his eyes. He pointed toward the couch. “With Will sleeping on a cot in the girls’ room, I can take the couch.”
“I protested that bathroom because the place was disgusting. I mean, my shoes literally stuck to the floor as if I was wading through syrup, and the peanut shells did not help with that situation. And no to the couch.” Mia shook her head. “If Sophia or one of the other girls wakes up, it’s better if I’m out here to help them.” She nudged his shoulder. “Besides, I’ve slept on worse.”
“You have a point about the club.” He chuckled and pushed to his feet. “As for the couch, if you change your mind, all you have to do is come get me.”
“Will do.” Mia stood and began taking the cushions off the foldout couch. It wouldn’t be the most comfortable place to sleep compared to Tristan’s bed, but it wasn’t as bad as roughing it while on various missions.
Besides, it was one night, and then Penny and Vicky would be off with their parents. Tomorrow night, Mia could share Sophia’s bed since they wouldn’t be leaving Louisiana until after Rafe’s and Tristan’s meetings. Which was why Rafe had volunteered his private plane to fly the girls’ parents down and return them home without the hassle of commercial airports.
Her thoughts inevitably settled on the gorgeous man that had disappeared into the other guest room. When they’d met in the Netherlands, they had begun as friends interested in exploring the World War II monuments scattered around Groningen. That had shifted to spending several days and nights at Fort Bourtange, the fort built by William the Silent during the Eighty Years’ War. Sex was easy for Mia. She refused to form attachments since she was focused on her military career—until Tristan.
With him, she had been well on her way to giving him her heart before she realized he would want more of her time than a few weeks she could carve out each year. Between her love of the military and her almost love for him, she had chosen what had been her dream since childhood. The military.
It left her with her first regret, but not enough to leave the military. However, now she was being given another chance. Her military career was over after that last op went sideways. She had come home with a screwed-up shoulder and torn-up knee thanks to those damned bullets. But even though she wasn’t combat-ready, she was more than capable of keeping Sophia and Tristan’s kids safe. That was her new goal. To keep them safe and maybe convince Tristan to turn his wife contract into a real marriage.