Colton 911--Soldier's Return, page 13
“Agreed.” Jones looked at Carly. “Do you have a hammer and some nails?”
“Yes. They’re in the garage,” she replied.
With the two men carrying the plywood between them, they headed back toward the house. They made a quick pit stop at the garage, where the sheer amount of stuff Carly had crammed in there made Micha wince.
Carly turned on the light, rummaged around for a moment, and then emerged with a hammer and a box of nails. “I knew I had some,” she said.
Working together, Micha and Jones made short work of nailing the plywood over the broken window. “That should work until you can call the glass repair company in the morning,” Jones said.
“Thanks.” Carly sighed. “I’m also going to contact an alarm company. Besides an alarm, I might look into having cameras installed on the outside of the house.”
Jones hugged her. “I think that’s an excellent idea. I’m going home now.” He glanced at Micha. “Micha, would you mind walking out with me? I’d like to have a word.”
When Carly made as if she intended to follow, Jones shook his head. “In private,” he said. “Why don’t you go work on seeing if you can get your dog to come out? Poor thing is going to need some heavy reassurance.”
Carly frowned. “Jones, is this really necessary? Heath has already said enough. I really don’t need you to make things worse.”
“Please. I’m not Heath,” Jones replied, his tone mildly offended. “I have no intention of chewing Micha out. I just want to have a private word with him.”
Considering, Carly finally nodded. She turned away without another word, apparently heading toward her bedroom to check on Bridget.
Jones and Micha headed outside. The neighborhood had fallen peaceful once more, everyone tucked safely inside their houses.
When they reached Jones’s vehicle, Jones turned. “Do you love my sister?” he asked.
Micha didn’t hesitate. “Yes. Of course I do.”
As if he’d expected that answer, Jones nodded. “Then I strongly suggest you do what you can to get her to go somewhere safe until this is over. With or without you.” Then Jones got into his car and started it, driving away without waiting for Micha’s response.
* * *
After stopping by the kitchen to grab a handful of dog treats, Carly walked quietly into her bedroom. She could see the shine of Bridget’s eyes from her spot under the bed. Carly sat down on the floor, making no move toward the still-terrified animal, and simply began to speak softly to her. She repeated the same words and phrases, even though the dog most likely didn’t understand them, telling her over and over again that she was safe, she was loved and everything would be all right.
She placed a dog treat in the space between her and the bed, where Bridget could see it, and continued talking. Eventually, as Carly had expected she might, the dog inched closer, her nose twitching.
Careful not to make any sudden moves, Carly placed another dog treat on the floor, closer to her this time. After Bridget scarfed down the first one, she came all the way out from under the bed, got the second and crawled into Carly’s lap.
Carly gathered her close, still crooning, and stroked her silky fur. At first, the dog trembled, but eventually even that stopped.
The front door opened, which meant Micha had returned from his chat with her younger brother. At the sound, Bridget stiffened and raised her head. “It’s just Micha,” Carly told her, hoping her new pet understood. When the dog gave a quick thump of her tail, Carly thought she might.
When Micha appeared in the doorway, Bridget let out a low woof. More of a greeting than a warning. Micha got down on his haunches and Bridget wiggled her way over to him on her belly. “Such a good girl,” he said, scratching Bridget behind the ears. He glanced at Carly over the dog’s head. “Still okay?”
She nodded. “Still okay.”
“Do you need help getting up?”
“No, I’m good.” Though she felt stiff, Carly climbed to her feet. “Is everything all right with you and Jones?”
“Sure.” Micha rose, too, beckoning her to follow. “He didn’t read me the riot act, if that’s what you’re asking. He just asked me to try to talk you into staying somewhere else until this mess is figured out. Which you have to admit does make sense.”
They’d reached the kitchen. Bridget went immediately for her water bowl. Carly eyed Micha, trying to think. “Both the car exploding and having my house shot at are terrifying,” she admitted. “But I hate to let some crazy person drive me out of my own home. Plus, where would I go? I don’t want to stay with Heath or Jones. You live in a hotel. And my dog needs an outdoor space like I have here.”
“I could rent a place,” he offered, dragging his hands through his longish, wavy brown hair. Two years ago, he’d worn it short, in a military cut. She liked it better this way, she thought. The longer cut made him look sexy, almost roguish. More like a pirate than a soldier. Though bad boys had never been her type, Micha made her want to change her mind.
Mouth dry, she tried to force her thoughts back on track. “Rent a place?”
“One of the ones we were going to go look at,” he continued. “That way you’d still be close to work.”
Leaning against her kitchen counter, she crossed her arms. “And then what happens if this crazy person finds us again? If he’s staking out my job, all he has to do is follow us. Once he knows about your new Jeep, that could be a target, too. We’d have to keep moving, which isn’t possible right now. I have a job I love, my first dog and family here. This is our home. We can’t keep living our lives on the run.”
She caught her breath as she realized she’d said us and we and our rather than simply herself. She’d included him in her future, as if she already decided he’d be there. The realization made her stomach do a somersault.
If Micha noticed he gave no sign. “That’s a valid point,” he agreed. “Still, until they catch this guy, there’s got to be something we can do.”
“Precautionary measures?” She was good at those, mostly because she had to be as a nurse. “I’ve already started on some. As I said, I’m planning on hiring an alarm company to put in a monitored alarm with outside video cameras. Tomorrow I’ll call a glass company and get that window replaced. And I’ll get that garage cleaned out on my next day off, so we can park our vehicles inside.”
Gaze serious, he studied her. Her heart skipped a beat at the heat in his eyes. “Are you sure you want me hanging around? What if this person is after me instead of you? My presence here will only endanger your life.”
All this back and forth exhausted her. He needed to take a stance and stick with it. “I’ll leave that up to you,” she finally told him. “If you don’t want to face this as a team, I get it. If you go, I can handle it.” She lifted her chin. “I’m used to being on my own.”
“Ouch.” He winced. “I’d never forgive myself if something happened to you because of me.”
“Then you have quite the conundrum,” she drawled, refusing to give in to the sudden, sharp urge to beg him to stay. Never again, not after he’d disappeared and allowed her to believe him dead. She still couldn’t wrap her head around his decision not to make contact. If the situation had been reversed, she would have moved heaven and earth to make her way back to his side.
That was what hurt more than anything.
Some of her thoughts must have shown in her face. He crossed to her, placing his hand gently under her chin. “I’m not leaving you,” he declared, right before he kissed her.
More relieved than she cared to admit, even to herself, she kissed him back. By the time they broke apart, she could hardly think straight.
“Come,” he said, taking her hand and leading her into the bedroom.
Carly only got up once for the rest of the night—to take Bridget out. She finally fell asleep, wrapped in Micha’s strong arms, feeling safe and extremely well loved.
Carly’s cousin Simone called early the next morning as Carly had just gotten her first cup of coffee and filled Bridget’s bowl with kibble. Taking a deep breath before she answered, Carly wondered if Heath had already notified the entire family about what had been going on with her and Micha. But if Simone knew, she didn’t bring it up. Instead, she wanted to talk about finding their fathers’ killers.
“Since classes are out for the summer, I’m planning to dedicate all of my time to this,” Simone declared. “January is too busy with work, so I thought I’d ask you if you wanted to help.”
“Help with what?” Carly asked, resisting the urge to mention that she also had a full-time job. While she might have today off, she always had a lot to do in her limited leisure time. Especially today.
“Well,” Simone said. “Clearly the police aren’t making the case their top priority. Now that we know it’s likely the work of serial killers—”
“The FBI is taking the lead,” Carly interrupted. “At least, that’s what I’ve been told.”
“Either way, no one but family has as deep of an interest in catching the murderer,” Simone continued, unfazed. “I’ve been doing a lot of research on serial killers. It’s a fascinating subject. I had no idea.”
Carly made a noncommittal sound, aware Simone didn’t really require a response. Among family, Simone had always been the one who loved to research whatever happened to be her interest at the moment. Right now, that appeared to be serial killers.
“Do you want to meet up for coffee in an hour and talk more about it?” Simone asked. How she knew Carly had the day off, Carly wasn’t sure.
Glancing at the clock, Carly sighed. “I can’t. I have a ton to do today. In fact, I need to let you go so I can finish getting ready.”
Micha walked into the kitchen just then, barefoot and shirtless, with his faded jeans riding low on his hips. Carly completely lost her train of thought. Apparently oblivious, Micha strolled over and kissed her cheek. “Good morning,” he murmured, his raspy before-coffee voice sexy as hell as he moved past her.
“Who’s that?” Simone chirped. “Is that Micha? Did he spend the night at your place?”
“Yes,” Carly replied. “Sorry, Simone. I’ve got to run.” Heart pounding, she quickly ended the call.
Admiring Micha’s backside while he made himself a cup of coffee, she knew she needed to finish her morning preparations, but she couldn’t make her legs move. Usually, she preferred to start her days off enjoying a leisurely coffee on her back patio but all she could think of at this moment was how to lure Micha back to bed.
“Who was that?” Micha asked, turning to face her, holding his mug with both hands. As he raised it to his mouth to take a sip, she caught her breath, unable to tear her gaze away.
“That was Simone,” she replied, pushing the words out past her suddenly parched throat. To cover, she drank some of her coffee and picked up Bridget’s now-empty food bowl.
“Ah. I’m guessing Heath has already told everyone about the explosion and the gunshots?”
“That’s what’s so weird,” she said. “Simone didn’t mention any of that. Instead, she wanted to talk about investigating our fathers’ murders. She’s really into research and she’s been learning about serial killers and what makes them tick.”
Bridget scratched at the back door, whining to indicate she needed to go out. Glad of the distraction, Carly took her dog out, bringing her coffee with her. Once outside, she breathed in the fresh morning air while she watched Bridget explore the backyard. She hadn’t known she’d love her dog so deeply or so quickly.
How the hell Micha could still affect her so strongly, especially since they’d spent the night wrapped in each other’s arms, she didn’t understand. She wasn’t sure she even wanted to.
The back door squeaked, alerting her to the fact that he’d joined her outside. “Nice morning,” he said, sounding a bit more normal now that he’d had a few sips of coffee.
“It is.” She tried hard to sound normal, too, as if her heart wasn’t racing and her skin prickling with the awareness of him.
“I’m thinking of giving up my hotel room today,” he said. “Assuming you still want me to stay here with you.”
“I do,” she replied, even though living together was a huge step. Deciding to qualify that, she turned to face him. “At least until the danger is over.”
Micha kissed her cheek. “At least until then,” he agreed. “Would you mind giving me my own key?”
She hid her smile. “Of course I don’t mind. Roomie.” Because she was determined that was all they’d ever be—roommates. She couldn’t risk having her heart broken by him ever again.
Chapter 9
Micha dressed carefully for the Colton get-together at Lone Wolf Brewery. He figured Carly’s entire family would be scrutinizing his every move. Even though she’d tried to play off her asking him to move in with her as strictly a safety thing, they both knew better. She might try to pass him off as just a roommate, but he knew none of the Coltons would look at it that way. He remembered how they’d scrutinized him when he and Carly had gotten engaged. He was pretty sure Heath had even run a background check on him. Actually, Micha couldn’t really blame them. Carly was pretty damn special. It made perfect sense they’d want to make sure the person she chose to share her life with was on the up-and-up.
After the two-year absence, despite what had happened to him, he imagined the scrutiny would be even more intense. Eager to prove to them he would be there for her from now on, he was ready for whatever they dished out. He welcomed it even.
Even Jones, who’d always seemed low-key to Micha, had delivered a brotherly warning. Micha expected no less from the rest of the Colton clan.
Beyond that, he really was looking forward to touring the Lone Wolf Brewery. The idea of crafting and distributing beer interested him. He had to give props to Jones for following his passion.
“What do you think?” Carly asked, emerging from the bathroom wearing a formfitting black dress and sky-high heels. She wore her long blond hair down, a silky curtain swirling around her shoulders.
Stunned, he could only stare for a moment, his entire body zinging with desire. “You take my breath away,” he told her. “Now all I can think about is how badly I want to get that dress off you.”
She grinned, her bright blue eyes dancing. “Thanks. You don’t look too bad yourself. I like your jeans. And that button-down shirt looks great on you.”
Ridiculously relieved, he thanked her. Though he’d met and interacted with her entire family numerous times in the past, he felt as if he were meeting them for the first time again.
They took his new Jeep to West Loop. To Micha’s surprise, Lone Wolf Brewery was housed in quite a large building with ample parking. A large sign proclaimed the establishment was closed that evening for a private party. “Wow,” Micha commented. “This is not at all what I expected.”
Carly gave him a curious glance. “What did you expect exactly?”
“I don’t know. Something smaller. More on the scale of a first-time brew pub owner.”
This made her laugh. “Right. We’re Coltons. We don’t do anything halfway.”
She had a point. The family business—Colton Connections—was well-known in the entire Chicago area. It made sense that when any of the Colton offspring decided to start their own ventures, they’d be done with finesse and flair.
As they walked toward the entrance from the parking lot, Heath came out the back door and intercepted them. “Glad I caught you,” he said, sparing Micha a single hard glance. “Carly, I haven’t said anything to the family about the car bomb or the shooting. Jones hasn’t, either. Let’s keep that quiet for now. I don’t want to worry Mom, okay?”
“Sure.” Carly nodded. She squeezed Micha’s hand. “She’s got enough to stress about, so that’s perfectly fine with me.”
“Good.” Opening the door, Heath motioned them to go past him.
“Where’s Kylie?” Carly asked.
For a moment, Heath’s hard gaze softened. “She’ll be joining us later. She had a few things she wanted to do at work first.”
“Kylie is Heath’s fiancée,” Carly told Micha. “They met at Colton Connections. She’s one of the VPs working for Heath.” She flashed a mischievous grin. “It was a workplace romance.”
Heath rolled his eyes and strode away without responding.
Watching him go, Carly tugged on Micha’s arm. “Just ignore him. I’m guessing he’s got something else on his mind.”
Micha nodded. Inside, he took his time and looked around, pleasantly surprised again. The decor, while rustic, also managed to look hip. There was lots of dark wood and metal, with numerous large beer tanks located behind the bar. On the wall, a large sign hung with the Lone Wolf label—a gray, smiling wolf’s head on a bright red background.
“Nice,” Micha said, turning a slow circle to take it all in. Not huge, but not overly small, either. And he spotted a red exit sign, indicating the emergency exit, and made a mental note. Always good to know.
“Thanks.” Jones appeared, smiling from ear to ear. “Come. Let me give you both a private tour of the place. We’ll be doing a beer sampling later and then I have a big announcement for us all to celebrate.”
His enthusiasm had Carly grinning, too. “Sounds perfect,” she said. “I really like what you’ve done with the decor.”
“I had help with that,” Jones replied. “Tatum did most of it. You know how well she’s done with her restaurant. She took one look around and knew exactly how to decorate this place.”
“You remember my cousin Tatum, don’t you?” Carly asked Micha. “She owns a wildly successful restaurant called True. Not only that, but she’s also the chef.”
