Harmless Revenge: A Harmless World Novel (Harmless #11)

Damn, his luck was getting shittier and shittier.

He turned over and tried to keep from groaning in pain—and failed miserably. His head spun and his stomach threatened to revolt. Every inch of his body ached as if someone had beaten the living shit out of him. Even the time when he’d been “interrogated” for a week in the Philippines hadn’t left him in this sorry of shape. Worse thing was he had only himself to blame for his present situation.

He blinked at the vision standing in his room. Jaime Andrews dressed as if she were Kama’aina. But then, that was something she had always been good at. She could fit in any situation. The blue t-shirt made her Pacific blue eyes stand out even more. She had tied the shirt in a knot beneath her breasts, allowing for a view of her smooth rich brown flesh. She still had the belly ring she had gotten when they had done a job in Venezuela. Her hair was up, off her neck, and he liked it that way. It always gave him better access.

“Oh, you are a right mess, Sean,” Jaime said.

“What the hell are you here for, and why did you break into my house?”

“I wanted to knock on the door like a regular person. Randy decided we needed to break in.”

She motioned with her head across the room and, sure enough, Randy was there. Of course Randy was there. It was the way his luck had been going lately, not to mention, Randy and Jaime had been joined at the hip for over a year now.

Shit. He couldn’t catch a fucking break. The two people who meant more to him than anyone else—until that trip to Thailand— where there to see him look like an ass. His world had been turned upside down, and he hadn’t wanted to pull his former lovers into the mess his life had become.

He didn’t want to face them, to let them see where he had ended up.

Sean tried to sit up and found his stomach roiling. A soft trade wind blew through the opened window, bringing with it the smell of plumeria. It was a scent that never failed to remind him of Hawaii and give him comfort—until that moment. Now, the usually pleasant fragrance made his mouth water and his belly tremble. Fuck, he’d had too much to drink. He sort of remembered the night before. It came to him in flashes. Someone had been there giving him shit about drinking too much. Del—that’s who it had been. He’d appeared at Rough ‘n Ready and dragged him out of the club. The memory of Del’s voice as he yelled at him on the drive home pounded through Sean’s head. Then, Sean remembered a very pregnant Ali was there, helping him to bed and telling him he would feel like rubbish in the morning.

“Whoa, I wouldn’t move too fast if I were you,” Randy said. He was dressed in cargo pants, a tight blue t-shirt, and his feet were bare. At least Randy could remember the rules of his house, even if they weren’t sleeping together anymore. He’d been in the sun recently. The tips of Randy’s hair always had turned to gold silk when he’d spent time on a beach. And, as usual, Randy looked fucking good enough to eat. Sean knew just how tasty that treat was.

That thought had him scowling. He’d moved on. He didn’t need either one of them. He was independent and didn’t need the pain.

“I think I know what I can handle.”

Randy rolled his eyes and walked over to the open doors that led out to the lanai. Sean could hear the lapping of waves against the shore. Normally it soothed him, but today, it made him want to throw up. Everything did.

Jaime sat down on the bed. “What the bloody hell are you doing?”

He saw the concern in her eyes and heard it in her voice. Years ago he would have been thankful for it. Hell, he would have begged for it. These days, he needed to keep her far away. Jaime and Randy were his kryptonite, together they were deadly to his well-being even on a good day. The way things had been going they would probably the death of him.

“I think I’m sitting in my bed asking questions that are not getting answered.”

“Oh, well, someone isn’t in a good mood. Not our fault that you got pissed last night,” Jaime said.

“I didn’t know you were living on Oahu now,” Randy said, breaking into the conversation.

Sean didn’t think he needed to answer that question. With as much dignity that he could muster, he scooted over to the edge of the mattress and stood up. He wobbled a bit but recovered before he could embarrass himself.

“Oy, where are you going?” Jaime asked.

He slanted her a dirty look and decided to hit her right where it would hurt. “Be careful, Ms. Alexander, your roots are showing.”

With that, he walked into his bathroom and shut the door. Closing his eyes, he drew in deep breaths as the room spun around him. Embarrassingly, he had to lean against the door or he would have passed out. His whole freaking house seemed to be built on a merry go round, or it felt like it this morning.

When he opened his eyes, he saw his reflection in the mirror. His eye was blackened. His torso was yellow and purple. Shit, what the hell had he done last night?

With a shake of his head, he decided he’d call Del later to find out what happened. Sean knew it wasn’t going to be a story he would enjoy, and there was a good chance he would owe his old friend more favors.

“He doesn’t look that bad,” Randy said.

Jaime glanced over her shoulder at him, then back out at the waves rolling in from the Pacific. The sound of the surf coming in was the only thing keeping her calm. Her nerves had been on edge since both she and Randy had realized Sean was missing from their lives. Of course, as soon as they arrived, Randy was rationalizing the situation. Men, they always stuck up for each other. Wankers.

“He looks like shit warmed over.”

There was a pause as if Randy was trying to figure out what to say next. He probably was. She’d been ranting the entire time they searched for him.

“He’s looked worse.”