Saint Brothers #3
Matt lives a pretty simple life. A physical therapist, he helps people to heal and become their best selves once again. When he’s offered a live-in position at the Saint residence, he accepts easily and for a while, things go smoothly. But then there’s a drunken night…and a possible stalker. Matt is really starting to miss that simple life.
Nick likes computers more than people…except maybe his twin brother. Matt living with them for months on end doesn’t affect him much…until one weird night. Now Nick sees Matt in a different light, and when someone else starts looking at Matt in a very dangerous way, he is filled with a need to help. But will Matt let him? And who is stalking Matt?
When the situation begins to escalate and it appears that Matt’s life may be on the line, Nick refuses to stand on the sidelines—he calls for his family to step in and help. As Nick and Matt get closer in every way, so does the threat. Can Nick and Matt keep one step ahead of danger, or is luck not on their side?
Mine to Keep is book three in the Saint Brothers Series. While the story is a standalone, characters from past books appear in this story so for the full experience I suggest reading in order Book one: Slay Ride. Book two: Kill Me Sweetly.
Davidson King brings everything to the kitchen and delivers a 5-star meal once again with Mine to Keep. The title gives you an idea the featured subject: stalking and she shines a spotlight on so many disturbing emotions felt when one is stalked. I don't speak from personal experience but from everything I've watched and read on the subject over the years, is within the pages of Mine. I certainly hope the author speaks from research and not experience but either way the respect for the topic is shown on every page. Don't get me wrong, there are many scenes of humor, generally between the Saint brothers and their loving banter we've come to know them for, to help balance the overall story.
I gotta say it. Mine to Keep freaked me out more than the first two entries in the author's Saint Brothers series. The first two were definitely more violent, more action-packed, frankly they bordered on horror as much as you can without a paranormal or slasher element in my book. To be honest, Mine was less bloody, less gory, less in your face violent mayhem and yet it terrified me more, or at least more deeply, it spoke to the fear inside me more. Stalking is scary and creepy on multiple levels but it is also something that happens every day, can happen to anyone at anytime. Does it happen that often? More than you probably realize but no, not often. But it can. Stalking speaks to the inner demon that we all have, of course only a select few actually act on it but the idea it can happen on any given day to any and every one you know, that is what makes it such a horrifying event. This is why Mine to Keep scared me more than the first two.
Really the above statement is surprising because just as you think Davidson King might have went a little soft with this entry, she kicks back, kicks butt, and terrified me to the very core. The author's last release in February did something that I wasn't expecting, it gave me moments of respite from the grief of losing my mother. I mention this not because the books are related as that was a standalone nor am I making any kind of content comparisons but because today I'm still grieving but also preparing to find a job and dealing with health issue with my dad so I'm crippled in fear most days. Davidson King has once again given me moments of respite so that I can step outside my inner fear and yes, she has catapulted me into a fear-filled realistic fictional world but it is so entertaining and so heart-grabbing that it was a distraction from my reality fear. For all the fear Matt and Nick face you allowed me to recharge here and there and I can't thank you enough, Davidson King for those moments that allowed me to breathe.
I want to mention Matt and Nick but I don't want to spoil anything so all I'll say is I wanted to wrap Matt in a giant Mama Bear hug to protect him just as Nick does but I also wanted to shake him to make him listen to Nick and his family before things escalated too far. As for Nick, well how can you not love him? He has super mad computer skills, which come in handy in this case, and he just wants to protect Matt even before they connect. The Saint brothers may not see him as family at first, but as JJ's physical therapist helping him heal after what occurred in Kill Me Sweetly(book 2) Matt is as close as one can get without a romantic connection but not so much as they want to break the family rules of voting on interfering. Even vigilantes have a playbook😉.
I feel like I've descended into rambling here so I'll finish with this: Mine to Keep will hit you in all the feels that will keep you hooked till the end and guessing right to the reveal, I know I was wrong. A winner on all fronts.
CHAPTER ONE
One Month Ago
Matt
“I’m so happy you finally agreed to come out with us.” Joan’s violet-painted lips were wide, her eyes glassy. She’d been drinking a lot since we arrived…which had been only an hour ago.
“Sorry. I wanted to hang sooner, but this new client, he was in bad shape. I had to be more hands-on than normal. The first month was a lot of recovery, but they still needed me there. By the end of every day, I was beat.”
She nodded. “Camie gave you that assault victim.” She snapped her fingers. “J something.”
“He’s a great guy—he’s come a long way. I know Camie gave him to me, thinking I’d quit when I found out it was in-house physical therapy, but it’s cool. Pay is amazing, and the house is gorgeous.”
“This the house with all those guys living there…brothers, right?” Lewis, who worked with me and Joan, came to the table with a cold beer.
“Saint brothers. Yep, that’s them.” I pursed my lips as I thought about those men.
It was a huge house, and they were all foster brothers except for the twins. Those two were blood related. I hadn’t seen a lot of them—mostly just my patient, JJ, and his boyfriend, Shepard. I’d been there every day, even the weekends, until recently. JJ was doing a lot better. Another month and he’d cut down to maybe two days a week.
Joan fanned herself. “That’s some serious hotness. They run that bakery, Saintly Sweets. Delicious food—even yummier owners.”
I rolled my eyes. “Joan, go dance and work off some of that…” I made a figure eight with my hand. “Whatever that is.”
She laughed, pulled Lewis up, and dragged him to the dance floor. The Alibi was our favorite club. I loved its diversity and while loud at times, there was never any drama, fights, or major issues.
“All alone?”
I looked up to see Darnell holding two drinks. “Joan forced Lewis to dance.”
Darnell sat and pushed one of the drinks over to me, then sipped his own. “They need to just fuck and be done with it.”
I guffawed. “Lord, no. That can’t happen.”
Darnell hummed. “She’d eat him alive.”
“True facts, my friend.”
Darnell, Joan, Lewis, and I worked at Rybelt Physical Therapy and Sports Management. Once a month, we’d get together at The Alibi and decompress. This was the first time I’d been able to join them since I’d started working with JJ.
“I gotta ask.” Darnell leaned forward. “What’s it really like being in a house with all those guys?” He jerked his head toward Joan and Lewis. “I heard them talking to you about it.”
I had to be careful. While Darnell was my closest friend at work—hell, we’d dated for a few months a while back—I still had to maintain privacy.
“It’s different. I hadn’t done live-in therapy before, so if I’m being honest, it took me more time to adjust to that than to get to know any of them.”
“Well, what’s a typical day for you?”
I sipped my drink, wondering what I could say to appease him. “Get up, eat, then usually meet JJ. We do morning routines, break, and after that do afternoon ones. In the evening, it’s mostly massage and relaxation—things like that. Then I pass out.”
He nodded. “Was that why Tony and you broke up, you not being around?”
I snorted, thinking about that asshole. “No. I mean, it wasn’t the final straw for him, but Tony and I were never going to work. He was demanding, a serious control freak, and closed-minded.”
“How so?” Darnell cocked his head.
“About two weeks before I’d started working for JJ, I came out of the shower and he was looking at one of my photo albums. And not just any—the one Trinity made me.”
“You just had that laying out there?”
“Nope. It was in my closet. But that’s the least of it. He pointed to a picture of Trinity and said, what’s that?”
“That?” Darnell whistled.
“Mmmhmm. Trinity was dressed up in one of their awesome creations, and I told Tony they were my ex, Trinity. He slammed the book closed and yelled that he thought I was gay.”
Darnell held his hands up. “Whoa, he looked at Trinity and…I don’t get it.”
“You know how Trinity hates labels: pangender, nonbinary. I told him Trinity was fluid, didn’t conform to one gender, and in this picture Trin was wearing a dress and makeup.”
“And he thought they were a woman?”
I shrugged. “Doesn’t matter; I didn’t feed into it. I just told him that I never said I was gay, and that I was, in fact, pansexual. Then I explained that Trinity was nonbinary, and did my best to educate him as well as I could. He shook his head and was all, ‘No, there’s only straight, gay, or lesbian.’ ”
“No, he did not!” Darnell pressed a palm to his chest.
“Oh, he did, and I explained that he needed to go home because if he felt that way, we weren’t a good fit.”
Darnell slapped the table. “Good on you. How’d that go?”
I chuckled. “We broke up, remember?”
“Shit…well, you dodged a bullet with him. What a dickhead.”
“For sure.” I drained my drink and stood. “I’m going to get another. I’d like to be drunk tonight.”
Darnell beamed. “Fuck, yeah. That’s why we Ubered it here. Go get all the alcohol.”
I headed to the bar to order myself and Darnell the next round of drinks since he’d gotten the last. While I waited, I scanned the club. Lewis and Joan were really going at it…Hmm, maybe they should fuck and get it over with.
“Here you go.” The bartender slid the drinks to me, and I tossed him a twenty.
For the next hour or so, I drank, danced, and drank some more. I had nowhere to be tomorrow, and I was going to stay in bed in my apartment. It was nice to have weekends back.
“Shots!” Lewis shouted.
“I’ll go up with you.” I followed Lewis cautiously. Seriously, the floor moved when my feet touched it.
“Four Nasty Nipples,” he ordered, and I glared at him.
“What the fuck is that?” I thought that was what came out of my mouth, but judging by the look on Lewis’s face, maybe not.
“Hey.”
I spun around…too fast actually, and stumbled. Steady hands gripped my arms. “Careful there.” The man’s voice was low and gravelly.
“Sorry.”
“I got him,” Lewis said as he tried to pull me away.
“I don’t need to be gotten.”
The stranger smiled with perfectly straight white teeth. Oh, he was lovely. “You carry the drinks; I can walk…what’s your name?”
“Matt.”
“I can walk Matt back.”
“Fine.”
We followed behind Lewis. No one else was at the table; I could see them on the dance floor.
Lewis took his shot and faced me. “I’m gonna let them know their shots are here.” He pointed at the stranger. “I’ll just be a minute.”
The guy chuckled. “He’s protective.”
I looked at the man. He was tall, built, and I tried to focus on his face but couldn’t really. “Wanna make out?”
The man grinned even wider. “Very much.”
I couldn’t believe that had worked. “Come on, fast, before Lewis returns.”
I dragged Hottie Stranger with me toward the bathroom. There wasn’t a great place for any quickies at The Alibi, so a stall would have to do. We were halfway down the hallway when I heard someone call my name.
We stopped and I turned to see a figure walking our way. There was something familiar about him.
“Matt, hey.”
“Hi?”
“You know this guy?” Hottie Stranger asked…and that was annoying.
“What’s your name?” I squinted so I could focus on his pretty face.
He smirked. “Steve.”
I was staring at him, feeling all warm and gooey inside, and then my bubble burst.
“Mattie, what’s up?”
Mattie, literally nobody called me that.
“Who are you calling Mattie?” I squinted at the man…Oh, he was pretty too. So many gorgeous specimens. He truly was familiar. I knew him from somewhere.
“Sorry, dude, I’m not letting you take him to the bathroom to do whatever it is you think you’re about to do.”
I opened my mouth to say something, but Steve beat me to it. “I’d never do anything without consent, Matt invited me.”
Hottie-familiar-man quirked a brow…I think. “An inebriated person.” He eyed me from head to toe. “A very inebriated person invited you? Anytime someone is this drunk, there’s no consent.”
“Who are you to police his choices?”
This was right out of a fantasy. Two delicious guys fighting over little old me. I leaned against the wall…Oh, it was nice and cool.
“He can barely stand, shitdick, so if you want to keep your legs, face, and arms intact, I suggest you piss right the fuck off!” Familiar man was winning.
“Fuck this. No one is worth this drama.” Steve glared at me and stormed off.
“Bye, Steve,” I yelled, then ogled the hottie blond. “So, you win…Do I get my surprise?” I reached for his belt, but he backed away.
“I’m taking you home.”
“Pardon me? I mean…did I say pardon? Did that come out right?”
“Jesus,” he mumbled. “Come on, Matt, I already told your friends I’d take you home.”
“Who are you? They’d never let a stranger whisk me away to the whatevers.”
“It’s Nick, Matt. Nick Saint. You’ve been staying at our house for five months, and you can’t recognize me? You’re trashed. Let’s go.” He went to grab me, but I pulled away.
This of course made me spin, the room spin…my stomach spin, and that was when I threw up all over Nick.
Davidson King, always had a hope that someday her daydreams would become real-life stories. As a child, you would often find her in her own world, thinking up the most insane situations. It may have taken her awhile, but she made her dream come true with her first published work, Snow Falling.
She managed to wrangle herself a husband who matched her crazy and they hatched three wonderful children.
If you were to ask her what gave her the courage to finally publish, she’d tell you it was her amazing family and friends. Support is vital in all things and when you’re afraid of your dreams, it will be your cheering section that will lift you up.
Mine to Keep #3
