Sean: Empire Series: Empire, #2

By Edie Harrison

Sean feels like the worst kind of friend - lusting after his late commander's beautiful wife when he should be honoring his friend's memory.

 

Eve and Garrick had the perfect love story - or did they?

 

Eve has her work cut out for her, working with her patients at the veteran's center, campaigning for better treatment, and maintaining her dead husband's memory - everyone knew Garrick as a hero, but no one saw the darker side.  

 

Now she's being stalked - and there's only one person she can trust.

 

Sean has wanted Eve for as long as he can remember, but he knows she's strictly off limits. His feelings for her go against every code of honor between his brothers in the teams. But when she calls needing help, he soon realizes he'll never be able to let her go.

 

Giving in to temptation means facing the past - Can Sean accept the truth about what really happened to Garrick and Eve?

 

Can Sean and Eve forgive themselves - and will they even get the chance?

 

Adult themes throughout - 18+ only.

 

 

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Edie Harrison
• Release date: Jun 6, 2022
• ISBN: 9798224634439

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

Sean King leaned back on the large swivel chair, turning slightly to look out over the city through the glass window that adorned the interior of his office. The backdrop was impressive and moody as always, the sun’s rays reflected off the glass window giving it a profound shine, just like a mirror. Sean studied his reflection, which hovered unnaturally against the glass skyscrapers just beyond. The tailored suits he never thought he’d have to wear daily fit him perfectly yet still irritated him. The scar above his eyebrow from his last fateful mission in service caught his eye. It never failed to bring him back to the moment. He turned towards his computer and the various case files awaiting his approval.

It was mid-noon, and there was still so much paperwork and profiles to get through. It had been a busy but profitable few weeks. Sean’s latest clients included politicians, wealthy private clients, and even a few well-known Hollywood actors. Olympus Security was going from strength to strength, building the standard that Sean envisioned when he started the business. He credited his handpicked and highly trained former military operatives for the company’s success. His clients knew quality when they saw it in action, and his team was certainly getting plenty of action recently. The past few weeks had kept everyone busy, too busy for paperwork. Sean was playing catch up now. Two high-profile hostage resolutions and one private international rescue alone recently pushed everyone to their limits. Sean looked at his current client list of more minor security details. It wasn’t lost on him that his team would benefit from a few quieter weeks and the chance to decompress. One thing he promised himself was that Olympus would never be a pure money-making shop. He wanted it to be so much more than that for himself and his team. The money didn’t hurt but being part of the King family dynasty meant he didn’t need it. Sean already had plenty of money. His office, the buildings he owned, the shares in his family’s international media businesses, the bespoke suits, private education, and fast cars had been Sean’s by birth. But his military career, fearless reputation, and hard-earned medals were his alone. They were the things he fought hard for. The scar on his face was one of the many reminders of his victories and failures in the field. The ingrained sense of duty, training, and the companionship of his team’s brothers certainly provided more welcome memories than the scars.

Sean understood his immense privilege, probably more so than either of his brothers, simply due to his experiences in the military. When he had been forced to take an honorable medical discharge after his team's last mission, he didn’t have to worry about washing out with nothing like so many other veterans. He could have sat on a beach and lived off his trust fund, joined the board of his family’s business, or even focused on the charitable foundation he had set up with his brothers. These had all been options, but they were not the answer. Perhaps Sean craved something more, or maybe it was the thrill of the adventure he just couldn’t shake. He never lost the irresistible urge to give in to his nature. Sean couldn't fight instinct. Years of training had honed his skills for a specific purpose: not relaxing on a beach, schmoozing with media types, or running fundraisers for bored rich New York housewives.   

Sean was well known throughout New York’s elite, having attended school with most of them or summered with their families in the Hamptons. As a result, he was tapped regularly for security advice from family friends and political connections. It hadn’t t taken Sean long to realize private security was the way to go. It was the perfect channel for his military skills and pent-up frustration, with just the right amount of action to stop him from being bored. Sean knew all too well that if he was bored he had to think, and there were plenty of things he would rather not dwell on. Olympus might have been born out of his selfish needs, but Sean was pleased to see it attract many highly skilled vets. He saw himself in each of them. All needed a home after the military and a sense of purpose.

Surveying his sleek office overlooking Manhattan, Sean had to admit he never thought he would see the day his military career would go full circle and resemble anything like the corporate world his father had planned out for him. Yet there he was, proving his father wrong and flipping him the middle finger while he did it. Sean wondered what his old man would think of it all. Would he finally forgive him for enlisting? He shook off any notion of getting anything out of his father now. Even if he hadn’t been ravaged by Alzheimer’s, Carmichael King had never been one to forgive or forget. Sean hated it when his brothers pointed out he might share similar characteristics.  

He turned his attention to the next file, instantly recognizing an actor from a recent premiere he recently attended in the city. He shook his head, knowing it wouldn’t be a particularly serious or interesting case. Half of these turned out to be linked to overzealous paparazzi or even made up entirely as a means to boost their flailing careers or generate press. It never failed to amaze Sean how insipid the entertainment industry could be. If anything, he preferred the political clients. At least their bullshit was expected.

The more Sean tried to concentrate on his work, the more tired he felt. A yawn escaped his lips, reminding him he had been working long hours for weeks and was undoubtedly running on empty. Partly, it was due to work, but he couldn’t deny the long nights spent tearing the city up at his brother’s new club, Dusk, either. Sean could pretend he was just there to keep his younger brother Kayden on the straight and narrow. But the steady stream of hot women and mindless fucks kept Sean’s mind from wandering to places he would rather it didn’t. Kayden might be the one with a history of substance abuse, but he was quick to point out to Sean that fucking to forget was not exactly helpful behavior either. Sean had told him where to go when Kayden tried his pseudo therapy on him last night, but in the cold light of day, Sean had to admit his little brother might be on to something. Not that he would admit that to him. Kayden’s head was big enough these days.

Besides, as one of New York’s most eligible bachelors, according to Time Magazine, Sean was just living up to the reputation. He missed his wingman though, in the shape of their older brother Ryan. They were quite the team until Ryan unexpectedly and swiftly fell in love with his girlfriend, Mallory. Sean couldn’t help but like and respect her though, she had been through hell escaping a horrendous past, and Ryan was head over heels. Still, Sean could not imagine falling for anyone like that. Except maybe for one woman, but that wasn’t even an option. Just one of the many things Sean didn’t want time to dwell on.

Just then, Sean’s phone beeped from under a stack of files. He retrieved it, assuming it would be one of his brothers as not many people had his private number. He was slightly taken aback to see it was Eve, his late commander’s wife and pretty much the last person Sean wanted to think about while he was in a reflective mood.

Eve had been married to Lieutenant Colonel Garrick Conan. Thoughts about his fallen brother, and the bomb blast that ended Garrick’s life, could send Sean spiraling in a way nothing else could. Except maybe Eve herself.

His heart picked up speed, racing in equal parts, excitement and anxiety on seeing her name. Sean hated himself for it. Garrick was like family to Sean. That’s how it was in the teams. They were like brothers. When Sean joined Garrick’s team, he’d met his commander’s new wife, Eve, and she welcomed him into their lives. Off-duty was filled with BBQs, family dinners, and Thanksgiving that lasted all weekend. They were some of the happiest times of Sean’s life, hanging out with his large extended team. He finally felt like himself. But, if Sean was really honest with himself, it was Eve that made him feel something. Her laughter, kindness, beauty, and ability to seemingly understand Sean in ways he couldn’t comprehend had been the driving force behind a torrent of emotions that plagued him whenever she was close.