Blindsided, page 20
part #1 of Book Two Series
“Don’t you ever do that again,” he told her, his voice raw.
“I won’t if you won’t,” she muttered and hugged him back.
“Ain’t no time for love makin’.” Sean pushed them toward the door. “We need to get the hell out of here.”
But when they approached the door, it didn’t open.
“Mick?” Sean demanded.
“I think it’s the fire suppression system,” Mickey said. “The building is locking down to contain the fire. I’m trying to override it.”
Rafe reached into his pocket and pulled out the digitally printed silicon thumb Mickey had given to him before they’d left. He slid it on and pressed it against the square scanner that was imbedded into the wall.
The scanner flashed green, and the door slid open.
“I don’t know if that’s really cool or completely frigging terrifying,” Ruby said.
They looked left, then right, and headed quickly toward the stairs, Ruby limping because she was still minus a boot. They passed no one else. Down one flight of stairs, through the doors into the bay, across the bay, which was dotted with bodies, more henchmen with hard faces and big guns.
Sean stopped in front of a pallet stacked tall with boxes and pulled out the last brick of C4.
“Jesus Christ,” Rafe snarled at him. “Let’s just go.”
“Keep your shirt on,” Sean snarled back and swiftly began wiring it.
“Might as well do it right,” Pete said, suddenly appearing next to them.
He held an AR15 and was completely disheveled, his shirt bloody and torn, revealing the Kevlar vest he wore. His left eye was swelling shut, and his lip was bleeding.
Rafe turned and kept going, half-carrying Ruby with a hard, unyielding arm around her waist.
Out the bay door, toward the sleek speedboat Sean had eyed so wistfully when they’d climbed from the water. The sun was flirting with the horizon, washing everything in pale gold; icy fog rose from the sea, the sky pale white.
More snow was on the way.
Rafe lifted Ruby into the boat, climbed aboard and kneeled down to rip open the panel that contained the boat’s electrical wiring.
“I’m not sorry,” Ruby said, standing behind him. “I won’t say I am.”
He didn’t respond. He pulled out the mass of wires that sat just below the steering wheel and removed the knife from his boot.
“Rafe,” she said.
Part anger; part demand.
And deeply shaken. The ice in his veins shimmered. If she hadn’t made it to them—
“Rafe,” she snarled.
He turned to look at her.
“Sit down,” he said and stood to push her gently into the boat’s plush leather passenger seat. “Just breathe, sweetheart.”
Sean jumped onto the boat, followed by Pete.
Rafe struck two wires together, and the boat rumbled to life.
“Now this is the way to travel,” Sean said.
They backed out of the slip, and Rafe sped them away. The fog swallowed them, and in a heartbeat, they were enveloped into an eerie, silent white world of mist and hoar frost.
“Do it,” Pete said.
Sean looked down at his cell phone. Then he looked at Ruby.
“How many people are still in there?”
“None,” Mickey said. “I set off the biological contaminant alarm. Fire crew got out and pulled back to the main road. No one else is in the building.”
“You’re sure, Mick?” Sean pressed.
“Aye, Da. I wouldn’t make that mistake.”
Sean nodded.
Then he dialed his phone.
Behind them, a giant boom sounded. The shock wave that hit the boat made it jolt forward violently.
They turned to look as the speedboat burst out into the main body of the fjord.
A massive orange mushroom cloud was rolling into the sky above the mist.
“I knew it would be beautiful,” Sean said.
Twenty-Seven
The drive back to the hostel was completed in silence.
When Ruby asked if they should retrieve the motorcycle she’d driven to Magnolia like a bat out of hell, Sean shook his head. “Let’s just let sleepin’ dogs lie.”
Rafe sat beside her. She was tucked against him, his arm heavy on her shoulders, his hard thigh pressing into hers.
It was over.
Over.
Magnolia was done. Trudy and Jack had been avenged.
And they were all still alive.
Don’t you ever do that again.
She didn’t plan to. But if she ever had to make that call again…
Well.
No promises.
Because she’d finally realized it was all bunk. All of her self-talk about not getting too close; her determination to deny the things she felt; her driving need for self-preservation….it was all hooey.
A bunch of crap.
She loved Rafe.
And when he’d been strapped to that chair, everything had become instantly, painfully clear.
It was him.
Or nothing.
Life was pain. Nothing would ever alter that truth.
But sometimes…sometimes it gave you something in return.
And sometimes you had to take it.
I love you, he’d said. I always have; I always will.
Words that made her heart stop. Words she’d soaked up like a woman dying of thirst.
Words echoed by her own heart.
And she’d suddenly understood he was hers. She just had to be brave enough to reach out and take him.
But it wasn’t only him she would be claiming. It was Henry, too.
A boy who needed a mom, and Ruby had no idea how to be a mom. Her mother hadn’t been an example of anything worth repeating.
She had no experience in mothering anything…not even a pet.
She couldn’t even keep a damn aloe plant alive.
What kind of chance did she have with a child?
“Stop thinking.” Rafe’s hand curled warmly around her shoulder and squeezed; his lips brushed her temple. “Just let it be.”
She was trying, because the last thing she wanted to do was think.
But she felt…strung-out, exhausted by the furious adrenaline ride, the rush of endorphins that had slowly faded away, leaving only a heavy, leaden weight in her chest. Her brain felt like cotton wool, but it wouldn’t stop churning out thoughts: dark, jagged uncertainties interspersed with bursts of euphoric hope and rampant disbelief.
“You need sleep,” he murmured. “We all do. Then we can talk about tomorrow.”
His dual-colored gaze glittered in the pale light, and Ruby realized he understood.
Her fears; her hesitation.
Her. He understood her.
Tears amassed so suddenly in her throat, she couldn’t fight them. So she looked away, out the window, where the snow was falling.
Again.
Sean pulled into the hostel and parked the van in the barn. When they climbed out, they found Mickey and Henry waiting, Pepper dancing impatiently around their legs.
“It worked,” Mickey said before they could speak. “Magnolia’s data is wiped, their files in the cloud are disappearin’ as we speak, and the one-eared bastard’s confession is all over the web. Interpol just issued a warrant for Sarkovski and his woman.”
Henry looked at his cousin and frowned. “What does that mean?”
“It means our mission was a success,” Rafe said.
The boy reached down and lifted Pepper into his arms. “What happens now?”
His green eyes were dark with fear, but he lifted his chin and tensed, as if readying himself to take another blow.
And Ruby had to swallow another unexpected wave of tears.
Going soft, she thought. What was her problem?
Too much.
It all felt unreal; a dream; a memory.
Hope and terror and the promise of such exquisite happiness, she felt sick.
She’d thought the dizzying rush of fear and adrenaline she’d experienced while tearing across the valley on Sean’s motorcycle as she raced to the rescue couldn’t be matched. Sneaking up to the fire truck; stealing a uniform and boots and a helmet—thank God the trucks were similar to the ones the Chicago crew used, otherwise she never would have known where to look—and brazenly walking into Magnolia when everyone else was running out. Following Mickey’s directions to the hose; desperately holding on when the water started flowing.
Trying to kill a man.
Rafe doing it for her.
Too much, she thought again.
Just be.
“Breakfast,” Rafe said. He put his hand in the small of her back and nudged her forward. “I’m starving.”
Henry’s gaze narrowed. That wasn’t what he’d meant, and they all knew it. But then he cocked his head in consideration.
“French toast?” he asked.
“And bacon,” Sean said.
“And eggs,” Pete added.
“Potato lefse,” Ruby murmured, and someone groaned.
Mickey looked at his dad. “It’s really over? The ones who hurt him, they’re dead?”
“Aye.” Sean walked toward him. “Jackie’s been avenged, and we couldn’t have done it without you, son. I’m proud of you.”
They hugged, and Sean slapped him on the back.
“Best birthday ever,” Mickey said.
“Birthday?” Ruby repeated.
He pulled out of Sean’s hold and straightened, squaring his shoulders, folding his arms across his thin chest. “Aye. Thirteen.” He wiggled his brows at her. “Almost a man.”
“Jesus Christ,” Pete said.
Sean eyed him proudly. “Aimin’ high.”
And Ruby laughed, and it felt so good, she wanted to cry again.
“Dream on,” Rafe told him shortly and nudged her again.
He put his hand on Henry’s shoulder and led them both out of the barn.
“I’m going to get the toast started,” the boy said as soon as they were in the hostel. “C’mon Pepper, you can help.”
And he and his little dog disappeared.
“You don’t suppose he’ll really let her help, do you?” Ruby asked.
“I hope not.” Rafe removed his coat. Then he reached out and started to unbutton hers. “I’m still pissed that you didn’t listen. And it’d better never happen again, especially in a situation like that. But you did good. Really good.” That eerie, beautiful gaze met hers. “You saved us. Thank you.”
Ruby stared at him. “You said you’d paddle my ass.”
A smile curved his mouth, and he looked so different, her heart fluttered painfully. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
“No,” she said instantly, heat filling her cheeks. But that damn pulse started in the juncture of her thighs.
And he laughed, soft and low, and she felt it ripple over every inch of her skin. The pulse intensified.
“Yes, you would.” He dipped his head and flicked her upper lip with his tongue. “I can arrange that.”
She tried to protest, but then he was kissing her, hungry and deep and wet, as if they were in bed instead of standing in the middle of the hostel’s cold, damp lobby.
“Get a room,” Sean said as he strode into the room.
“Jealous,” Rafe murmured and licked her again.
Ruby pulled away, breathless, her entire body throbbing. Cheeks on fire.
“I’ll make some coffee,” Pete said from behind Sean, and both she and Rafe said, “I’ll do it.”
The older man scowled. “I know how to make goddamn coffee.”
“Doesn’t mean you’re any good at it,” Sean told him.
“It’s beans and water!”
“How about cake. Can you make a cake?”
“A pancake,” Pete retorted.
And Ruby laughed again.
“I can make a cake,” Rafe said. “For Mick?”
Sean’s eyes widened comically.
Rafe shrugged. “I have many talents.”
He was different, Ruby realized.
Almost…relaxed.
The sharp, cold tension that had cloaked him since their clash in that abandoned apartment building was gone. Oh, the predator remained, ever-present behind those eerie eyes, an entity always on guard. But Ruby expected nothing less. That being would never fully disappear.
It was part of him.
But the easy air he suddenly wore was…surprising.
And attractive. Because while he was almost dangerously tempting when the coldness took him—the idea of melting all that ice was pretty irresistible—the sight of him smiling at his friends, his broad shoulders relaxed, a warmth she’d never felt from him radiating out toward her, was far more seductive.
“Well, bust my buttons, he can bake!” Sean crowed.
Rafe only stared at him.
“There’s something else,” Mickey said from the doorway, and they all turned to look at him.
“What?” Sean asked.
The boy walked into the room. He looked past them, as if making sure Henry wasn’t around.
“There’s a folder on the SD card,” he said and looked at his father. “It has your name on it.”
“What’s in it?”
“A will and a letter for Henry. It’s got a copy of his birth certificate, too. Uncle Jack is listed as his Da.”
“You read the will?”
Color touched Mickey’s cheeks. “Aye.”
“And?”
“She named you and Rafe as his guardians.” He considered his father. “Does that mean he’s comin’ home with us?”
“No,” Rafe said before Sean could reply. “He’s coming home with me.”
Mickey’s brows lifted. “You?”
Rafe only shrugged again. “I’ll figure it out.”
He seemed wholly unconcerned by any of the worries currently eating their way through Ruby’s soul.
“You’re sure?” Sean pressed.
Rafe met his gaze. “Aye.”
Ruby expected more of a protest from Sean, a ration of grief at the least. But he just nodded and turned to Mickey.
“I’m all yours, son,” he said and spread his arms wide.
“Print those documents for me,” Rafe said to Mickey. “Please.”
“What about the letter?” Sean asked. “Did you read that, too?”
Mickey shrugged, but his gaze fell to the floor.
“Mick,” Sean said.
“Aye.”
“And?”
But it wasn’t Sean Mickey looked at as he answered. It was Rafe.
“And he shouldn’t read it alone.”
Twenty-Eight
“‘Dear Henry:
You are the love of my life. You are the best thing I have ever done, and you must never, ever forget how much I love you. Never, ever, ever.
I didn’t want this to happen. I tried to stop it. But sometimes something comes along that is simply bigger than you are, and it takes you. I wish that weren’t so. But it is.
So this is goodbye, my love.
I want you to know that your father was the love of my life, and the best man I’ve ever known. His name was Jack Taggert. We met in Africa during the Ebola outbreak in Nigeria. He was so wonderful, Henry. I wish you could have known him.
But it was not meant to be. We couldn’t be together, but we made you, and you are the best of both of us. Your father was a warrior, a soldier who put himself on the line for others, again and again. You should be proud to be his son. He died a hero’s death. Never forget that, either.
I’m so sorry I have to write this. I don’t want to leave you.
But someone is doing something very wrong, something I inadvertently helped them to do, and so I must act. I must try to stop them. And I’m not certain I will survive it.
If you are reading this, I have not. But I need you to know I did not leave you willingly. And I did not leave you alone. The men who saved you will care for you now. They are your father’s family, and they will raise you to be the same kind of good, strong, brave man he was.
He trusted them implicitly. So I must, as well.
I want you to listen to them, Henry. And trust them. They will protect you.
Be a good boy. Take proper care of Pepper. Don’t talk to strangers, and don’t play too many video games. Eat your broccoli. Drink your tea.
And sometimes, think of me.
I love you forever.
* * *
Mummy.’”
* * *
Rafe cleared his throat. It hurt.
Then he folded the letter from Trudy and set it on the table.
Ruby sat across from him, tears she was trying to surreptitiously wipe away trickling down her cheeks. Outside, it was snowing again. The kitchen was still warm from the cake Rafe had baked earlier in its oven, and everyone was in bed.
Everyone but them.
He’d planned to tackle this painful and difficult subject the following morning, but Henry had watched him all day with a persistent, wild panic in his eyes that Rafe knew intimately.
The unknown rushing up to meet you. The certainty that it was nothing good.
So he’d decided to put the ball in the kid’s court. Just like Cheyenne had done with him.
“I’m sorry about your mom,” he told the boy quietly.
Henry stared at him, his eyes too big, too dark, his arms tight around Pepper. “What’s going to happen to me now?”
“That’s up to you,” Rafe told him calmly.
The boy looked at Ruby, who nodded in confirmation.
“What do you mean?” he whispered.
“I mean you have a couple of choices.” Rafe paused, surprised by the sudden panic that gripped him. That Henry would choose Sean; that this odd, insistent bond he felt with the boy was one-sided. And he wondered if this was how Cheyenne had felt, laying it out for him all those years ago.
As if she wanted to grab him and run. He would have to ask her.
“You can go with your Uncle Sean,” he said, painfully aware of the tension drumming through him. “Or you can stay with me and Ruby.”
Henry blinked. “Stay where?”
“Well, we haven’t quite figured that out yet.”
The boy looked at Ruby. “Like…a family?”
“I won’t if you won’t,” she muttered and hugged him back.
“Ain’t no time for love makin’.” Sean pushed them toward the door. “We need to get the hell out of here.”
But when they approached the door, it didn’t open.
“Mick?” Sean demanded.
“I think it’s the fire suppression system,” Mickey said. “The building is locking down to contain the fire. I’m trying to override it.”
Rafe reached into his pocket and pulled out the digitally printed silicon thumb Mickey had given to him before they’d left. He slid it on and pressed it against the square scanner that was imbedded into the wall.
The scanner flashed green, and the door slid open.
“I don’t know if that’s really cool or completely frigging terrifying,” Ruby said.
They looked left, then right, and headed quickly toward the stairs, Ruby limping because she was still minus a boot. They passed no one else. Down one flight of stairs, through the doors into the bay, across the bay, which was dotted with bodies, more henchmen with hard faces and big guns.
Sean stopped in front of a pallet stacked tall with boxes and pulled out the last brick of C4.
“Jesus Christ,” Rafe snarled at him. “Let’s just go.”
“Keep your shirt on,” Sean snarled back and swiftly began wiring it.
“Might as well do it right,” Pete said, suddenly appearing next to them.
He held an AR15 and was completely disheveled, his shirt bloody and torn, revealing the Kevlar vest he wore. His left eye was swelling shut, and his lip was bleeding.
Rafe turned and kept going, half-carrying Ruby with a hard, unyielding arm around her waist.
Out the bay door, toward the sleek speedboat Sean had eyed so wistfully when they’d climbed from the water. The sun was flirting with the horizon, washing everything in pale gold; icy fog rose from the sea, the sky pale white.
More snow was on the way.
Rafe lifted Ruby into the boat, climbed aboard and kneeled down to rip open the panel that contained the boat’s electrical wiring.
“I’m not sorry,” Ruby said, standing behind him. “I won’t say I am.”
He didn’t respond. He pulled out the mass of wires that sat just below the steering wheel and removed the knife from his boot.
“Rafe,” she said.
Part anger; part demand.
And deeply shaken. The ice in his veins shimmered. If she hadn’t made it to them—
“Rafe,” she snarled.
He turned to look at her.
“Sit down,” he said and stood to push her gently into the boat’s plush leather passenger seat. “Just breathe, sweetheart.”
Sean jumped onto the boat, followed by Pete.
Rafe struck two wires together, and the boat rumbled to life.
“Now this is the way to travel,” Sean said.
They backed out of the slip, and Rafe sped them away. The fog swallowed them, and in a heartbeat, they were enveloped into an eerie, silent white world of mist and hoar frost.
“Do it,” Pete said.
Sean looked down at his cell phone. Then he looked at Ruby.
“How many people are still in there?”
“None,” Mickey said. “I set off the biological contaminant alarm. Fire crew got out and pulled back to the main road. No one else is in the building.”
“You’re sure, Mick?” Sean pressed.
“Aye, Da. I wouldn’t make that mistake.”
Sean nodded.
Then he dialed his phone.
Behind them, a giant boom sounded. The shock wave that hit the boat made it jolt forward violently.
They turned to look as the speedboat burst out into the main body of the fjord.
A massive orange mushroom cloud was rolling into the sky above the mist.
“I knew it would be beautiful,” Sean said.
Twenty-Seven
The drive back to the hostel was completed in silence.
When Ruby asked if they should retrieve the motorcycle she’d driven to Magnolia like a bat out of hell, Sean shook his head. “Let’s just let sleepin’ dogs lie.”
Rafe sat beside her. She was tucked against him, his arm heavy on her shoulders, his hard thigh pressing into hers.
It was over.
Over.
Magnolia was done. Trudy and Jack had been avenged.
And they were all still alive.
Don’t you ever do that again.
She didn’t plan to. But if she ever had to make that call again…
Well.
No promises.
Because she’d finally realized it was all bunk. All of her self-talk about not getting too close; her determination to deny the things she felt; her driving need for self-preservation….it was all hooey.
A bunch of crap.
She loved Rafe.
And when he’d been strapped to that chair, everything had become instantly, painfully clear.
It was him.
Or nothing.
Life was pain. Nothing would ever alter that truth.
But sometimes…sometimes it gave you something in return.
And sometimes you had to take it.
I love you, he’d said. I always have; I always will.
Words that made her heart stop. Words she’d soaked up like a woman dying of thirst.
Words echoed by her own heart.
And she’d suddenly understood he was hers. She just had to be brave enough to reach out and take him.
But it wasn’t only him she would be claiming. It was Henry, too.
A boy who needed a mom, and Ruby had no idea how to be a mom. Her mother hadn’t been an example of anything worth repeating.
She had no experience in mothering anything…not even a pet.
She couldn’t even keep a damn aloe plant alive.
What kind of chance did she have with a child?
“Stop thinking.” Rafe’s hand curled warmly around her shoulder and squeezed; his lips brushed her temple. “Just let it be.”
She was trying, because the last thing she wanted to do was think.
But she felt…strung-out, exhausted by the furious adrenaline ride, the rush of endorphins that had slowly faded away, leaving only a heavy, leaden weight in her chest. Her brain felt like cotton wool, but it wouldn’t stop churning out thoughts: dark, jagged uncertainties interspersed with bursts of euphoric hope and rampant disbelief.
“You need sleep,” he murmured. “We all do. Then we can talk about tomorrow.”
His dual-colored gaze glittered in the pale light, and Ruby realized he understood.
Her fears; her hesitation.
Her. He understood her.
Tears amassed so suddenly in her throat, she couldn’t fight them. So she looked away, out the window, where the snow was falling.
Again.
Sean pulled into the hostel and parked the van in the barn. When they climbed out, they found Mickey and Henry waiting, Pepper dancing impatiently around their legs.
“It worked,” Mickey said before they could speak. “Magnolia’s data is wiped, their files in the cloud are disappearin’ as we speak, and the one-eared bastard’s confession is all over the web. Interpol just issued a warrant for Sarkovski and his woman.”
Henry looked at his cousin and frowned. “What does that mean?”
“It means our mission was a success,” Rafe said.
The boy reached down and lifted Pepper into his arms. “What happens now?”
His green eyes were dark with fear, but he lifted his chin and tensed, as if readying himself to take another blow.
And Ruby had to swallow another unexpected wave of tears.
Going soft, she thought. What was her problem?
Too much.
It all felt unreal; a dream; a memory.
Hope and terror and the promise of such exquisite happiness, she felt sick.
She’d thought the dizzying rush of fear and adrenaline she’d experienced while tearing across the valley on Sean’s motorcycle as she raced to the rescue couldn’t be matched. Sneaking up to the fire truck; stealing a uniform and boots and a helmet—thank God the trucks were similar to the ones the Chicago crew used, otherwise she never would have known where to look—and brazenly walking into Magnolia when everyone else was running out. Following Mickey’s directions to the hose; desperately holding on when the water started flowing.
Trying to kill a man.
Rafe doing it for her.
Too much, she thought again.
Just be.
“Breakfast,” Rafe said. He put his hand in the small of her back and nudged her forward. “I’m starving.”
Henry’s gaze narrowed. That wasn’t what he’d meant, and they all knew it. But then he cocked his head in consideration.
“French toast?” he asked.
“And bacon,” Sean said.
“And eggs,” Pete added.
“Potato lefse,” Ruby murmured, and someone groaned.
Mickey looked at his dad. “It’s really over? The ones who hurt him, they’re dead?”
“Aye.” Sean walked toward him. “Jackie’s been avenged, and we couldn’t have done it without you, son. I’m proud of you.”
They hugged, and Sean slapped him on the back.
“Best birthday ever,” Mickey said.
“Birthday?” Ruby repeated.
He pulled out of Sean’s hold and straightened, squaring his shoulders, folding his arms across his thin chest. “Aye. Thirteen.” He wiggled his brows at her. “Almost a man.”
“Jesus Christ,” Pete said.
Sean eyed him proudly. “Aimin’ high.”
And Ruby laughed, and it felt so good, she wanted to cry again.
“Dream on,” Rafe told him shortly and nudged her again.
He put his hand on Henry’s shoulder and led them both out of the barn.
“I’m going to get the toast started,” the boy said as soon as they were in the hostel. “C’mon Pepper, you can help.”
And he and his little dog disappeared.
“You don’t suppose he’ll really let her help, do you?” Ruby asked.
“I hope not.” Rafe removed his coat. Then he reached out and started to unbutton hers. “I’m still pissed that you didn’t listen. And it’d better never happen again, especially in a situation like that. But you did good. Really good.” That eerie, beautiful gaze met hers. “You saved us. Thank you.”
Ruby stared at him. “You said you’d paddle my ass.”
A smile curved his mouth, and he looked so different, her heart fluttered painfully. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
“No,” she said instantly, heat filling her cheeks. But that damn pulse started in the juncture of her thighs.
And he laughed, soft and low, and she felt it ripple over every inch of her skin. The pulse intensified.
“Yes, you would.” He dipped his head and flicked her upper lip with his tongue. “I can arrange that.”
She tried to protest, but then he was kissing her, hungry and deep and wet, as if they were in bed instead of standing in the middle of the hostel’s cold, damp lobby.
“Get a room,” Sean said as he strode into the room.
“Jealous,” Rafe murmured and licked her again.
Ruby pulled away, breathless, her entire body throbbing. Cheeks on fire.
“I’ll make some coffee,” Pete said from behind Sean, and both she and Rafe said, “I’ll do it.”
The older man scowled. “I know how to make goddamn coffee.”
“Doesn’t mean you’re any good at it,” Sean told him.
“It’s beans and water!”
“How about cake. Can you make a cake?”
“A pancake,” Pete retorted.
And Ruby laughed again.
“I can make a cake,” Rafe said. “For Mick?”
Sean’s eyes widened comically.
Rafe shrugged. “I have many talents.”
He was different, Ruby realized.
Almost…relaxed.
The sharp, cold tension that had cloaked him since their clash in that abandoned apartment building was gone. Oh, the predator remained, ever-present behind those eerie eyes, an entity always on guard. But Ruby expected nothing less. That being would never fully disappear.
It was part of him.
But the easy air he suddenly wore was…surprising.
And attractive. Because while he was almost dangerously tempting when the coldness took him—the idea of melting all that ice was pretty irresistible—the sight of him smiling at his friends, his broad shoulders relaxed, a warmth she’d never felt from him radiating out toward her, was far more seductive.
“Well, bust my buttons, he can bake!” Sean crowed.
Rafe only stared at him.
“There’s something else,” Mickey said from the doorway, and they all turned to look at him.
“What?” Sean asked.
The boy walked into the room. He looked past them, as if making sure Henry wasn’t around.
“There’s a folder on the SD card,” he said and looked at his father. “It has your name on it.”
“What’s in it?”
“A will and a letter for Henry. It’s got a copy of his birth certificate, too. Uncle Jack is listed as his Da.”
“You read the will?”
Color touched Mickey’s cheeks. “Aye.”
“And?”
“She named you and Rafe as his guardians.” He considered his father. “Does that mean he’s comin’ home with us?”
“No,” Rafe said before Sean could reply. “He’s coming home with me.”
Mickey’s brows lifted. “You?”
Rafe only shrugged again. “I’ll figure it out.”
He seemed wholly unconcerned by any of the worries currently eating their way through Ruby’s soul.
“You’re sure?” Sean pressed.
Rafe met his gaze. “Aye.”
Ruby expected more of a protest from Sean, a ration of grief at the least. But he just nodded and turned to Mickey.
“I’m all yours, son,” he said and spread his arms wide.
“Print those documents for me,” Rafe said to Mickey. “Please.”
“What about the letter?” Sean asked. “Did you read that, too?”
Mickey shrugged, but his gaze fell to the floor.
“Mick,” Sean said.
“Aye.”
“And?”
But it wasn’t Sean Mickey looked at as he answered. It was Rafe.
“And he shouldn’t read it alone.”
Twenty-Eight
“‘Dear Henry:
You are the love of my life. You are the best thing I have ever done, and you must never, ever forget how much I love you. Never, ever, ever.
I didn’t want this to happen. I tried to stop it. But sometimes something comes along that is simply bigger than you are, and it takes you. I wish that weren’t so. But it is.
So this is goodbye, my love.
I want you to know that your father was the love of my life, and the best man I’ve ever known. His name was Jack Taggert. We met in Africa during the Ebola outbreak in Nigeria. He was so wonderful, Henry. I wish you could have known him.
But it was not meant to be. We couldn’t be together, but we made you, and you are the best of both of us. Your father was a warrior, a soldier who put himself on the line for others, again and again. You should be proud to be his son. He died a hero’s death. Never forget that, either.
I’m so sorry I have to write this. I don’t want to leave you.
But someone is doing something very wrong, something I inadvertently helped them to do, and so I must act. I must try to stop them. And I’m not certain I will survive it.
If you are reading this, I have not. But I need you to know I did not leave you willingly. And I did not leave you alone. The men who saved you will care for you now. They are your father’s family, and they will raise you to be the same kind of good, strong, brave man he was.
He trusted them implicitly. So I must, as well.
I want you to listen to them, Henry. And trust them. They will protect you.
Be a good boy. Take proper care of Pepper. Don’t talk to strangers, and don’t play too many video games. Eat your broccoli. Drink your tea.
And sometimes, think of me.
I love you forever.
* * *
Mummy.’”
* * *
Rafe cleared his throat. It hurt.
Then he folded the letter from Trudy and set it on the table.
Ruby sat across from him, tears she was trying to surreptitiously wipe away trickling down her cheeks. Outside, it was snowing again. The kitchen was still warm from the cake Rafe had baked earlier in its oven, and everyone was in bed.
Everyone but them.
He’d planned to tackle this painful and difficult subject the following morning, but Henry had watched him all day with a persistent, wild panic in his eyes that Rafe knew intimately.
The unknown rushing up to meet you. The certainty that it was nothing good.
So he’d decided to put the ball in the kid’s court. Just like Cheyenne had done with him.
“I’m sorry about your mom,” he told the boy quietly.
Henry stared at him, his eyes too big, too dark, his arms tight around Pepper. “What’s going to happen to me now?”
“That’s up to you,” Rafe told him calmly.
The boy looked at Ruby, who nodded in confirmation.
“What do you mean?” he whispered.
“I mean you have a couple of choices.” Rafe paused, surprised by the sudden panic that gripped him. That Henry would choose Sean; that this odd, insistent bond he felt with the boy was one-sided. And he wondered if this was how Cheyenne had felt, laying it out for him all those years ago.
As if she wanted to grab him and run. He would have to ask her.
“You can go with your Uncle Sean,” he said, painfully aware of the tension drumming through him. “Or you can stay with me and Ruby.”
Henry blinked. “Stay where?”
“Well, we haven’t quite figured that out yet.”
The boy looked at Ruby. “Like…a family?”
