She dropped her hands and opened her eyes again. “They’ll come after me.”
“And you’ll fight back. Whatever you think, you’re not alone. Your family loves you and there are resources now.” He waved back to the building housing his office. “Let’s go to my office and call Reid. Bring him in the loop.”
“Oh, God. I can’t. He already thinks I’m a disaster.”
“Sorry, but I’m involved now and Reid and I were teammates. We’ve been friends for years. If I called one of your other brothers, he’d fry my ass. And I’m not doing that. He gave me a chance with this training center.”
“Great. Now you’re loyal, too?”
He smiled. “Above all else.”
“Leave it to me to find Captain Perfect.”
Far from it. At one time, he’d have sucked that up, gotten a high from it. All his life, he’d strived for that one unattainable thing. Perfection. Somehow it always landed just…out…of… his…reach.
At least until he’d gone off to the Army and figured out the hard way that perfection was overrated. And he’d learned to adjust. To accept less than perfect and make it work anyway.
A gift, really.
“Far from it,” he said. “But if believing that will get you to call Reid, then have at it.”
She stared at him for a long time. No problem there. He'd wait her out. Puffs of her warm breath hit the cold morning air, and it occurred to him that the weather might be his friend right now. A girl used to a warm climate wouldn’t want to be out here long.
“Okay,” she said. “But if he starts screaming, I’m not promising it won’t be a war.”
He leaned in, got right into her space, and this time she didn't flinch or step back. This time, she stayed put. “That’s fine. Besides, it's aces when he makes an idiot of himself.”
She gave him a wilting smile. He'd take it. Coming from her, the stoic one, he’d call it a win.
He gestured to his truck. “Hop in. We'll deal with the bike after I call Reid.”
It took twenty minutes for Reid to leave his fiancé’s warm bed and get his ass back to the Hill. Micki peered out the window as the big man tore up the driveway in his white F-150, parked in front of the training center, and hopped out, slamming the door behind him.
“He looks mad.”
Whatever he and Brynne were doing—cough, cough—on this early Saturday morning, Reid wasn’t happy about being dragged away. Gage couldn’t blame him. Particularly since it had been months since he’d started a weekend with a warm, willing woman under him.
Looking at the alluring Micki Steele might have him ready to change that. “Eh. He’ll get over it.”
Micki snorted. “You’re not afraid of anything, are you?”
“I’m afraid of a lot of things. Your brother isn’t one of them. He was supposed to meet me here at eight thirty anyway, to check a couple of weapons. We just moved up his timeline.”
From the main entrance, the alarm bell chimed, announcing someone’s arrival. That was Gage’s handiwork because he didn’t like locking the door all the time, but didn’t necessarily want people surprising him. His goal these past few months had been to keep his nervous system steady. No high drama, no surprises, no fast movements. Basically, nothing that would hype him up and set back his recovery.
“Suds!” Reid called from the entrance.
“Office!” Gage hollered back.
“Why does he call you that?”
Yeah, he wouldn't be telling her that just yet. No chance. Reid swung in the door and stopped short at the sight of Micki sitting on the windowsill.
“What’s this now? Why the hell is Jonah’s bike sitting by the driveway?”
The bike. Right.
Micki jumped up. “I need to get that back to the barn before he sees it.”
Gage held up a hand. “I got it.”
“Suds, what's this about?”
On his way by, he clapped Reid on the shoulder. “I’ll grab the bike before Jonah throws a fit. Talk to your sister. Don’t interrupt. I nearly had to sit on her to keep her from taking off.”
“That’s why Jonah’s bike is in the driveway?” Reid whipped back to his sister. “Are you out of your mind? He loves that bike.”
Leave it to Reid. Gage shook his head, blew air through his lips, and waved a hand at Micki on his way to the door. “Ignore him.”
On his way by, Gage gave Micki a little extended eye contact. Clearly, he hadn’t forgotten their conversation about the lack of a hello hug and the emotional distance between her and Reid. As if a hug would cure her problems.
That aside, Captain Perfect had just handed her the chance to confide in her brother. To, as he’d put it, come clean. Perhaps smooth out the edges that had plagued their relationship these past years.
As much as she wanted privacy while dealing with Reid, the second Gage left, she wanted him back. What was that about? She’d been on her own for ten years and now suddenly she needed a man? Not likely. Considering the men in her life had brought about her current circumstances.
Still, something about Gage settled her, brought everything into sharper focus. He was so…so…calm. Strategic. Thoughtful.
Clearly suspicious, Reid leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. “What’s up?”
Ha. She’d need a year to bring him up to speed. Certain things, she couldn’t—wouldn’t—admit. Not yet. The past needed to be worked out with Jonah. But right now, she'd be honest about today and moving forward. She met her brother’s gaze. “A lot.”
His stiff shoulders relaxed a fraction. He pushed off the wall, waved her to one of the guest chairs, then sat on the edge of Gage’s desk, his long legs stretched in front of him. “I’ve got time. Brynne tells me I need to talk less and listen more. Which, who the hell knows? Maybe I do. Are you in trouble?”
Of course he’d go there. And of course he’d be right. “I have to leave today.”
“Yeah. You said that yesterday.”
“I don’t expect you to understand.”
“Then we've got no beef because I don’t.”
Micki stared down at her feet and tapped them. “I don’t want to fight.”
“We never fight. In order to do that, we'd have to talk.”
“Exactly.”
“So talk.”
“If I could stay, I would. I just didn’t want to go with us being unsettled. I guess.”
If that admission was supposed to soften him, she might have failed, because all it earned her was a throbbing muscle in his jaw.
“Mikayla, I really don’t get you. Suds didn’t drag me out here so you and I could have a Kumbaya moment. What I think this is about is you and whatever is going on in Vegas. We know this guy you work for is an asshole. You don’t think Jonah looked around on the deep Web for intel on him? Give us some credit. To say your boss’s business dealings are suspect is a monstrous fucking understatement. He’s probably dangerous to boot.”
Deny it.
The thing she’d been so good at for ten years. “I don’t get involved with any violence. I’m a…researcher. He tells me what he needs and I see if I can find it.”
“A researcher. Okay. If that’s what you’re going with, it’s your life.”
Her life. It had never been her life. Her family just didn’t know that. “Yep. My life. One I'm trying to fix by leaving. That's what I was doing when Gage busted me.”
“You were stealing Jonah’s bike to leave here?”
Again with the stealing? “No! I planned on locking it up in town and telling him where it was. I needed a way to get to the bus station. That’s all.”
“Where were you going?”
“I don’t know.”
Reid let out a long sigh and rubbed his cheek hard enough to leave red marks on his unshaved face. “God save me from women.”
From somewhere inside, Micki laughed and it brought her back ten years when she’d spend half her time laughing at stupid things Reid said.
&
nbsp; The memory should have made her smile. Should have. Not this time. All it brought was sadness. Loss. Her solid, loving relationships with her siblings, all those years, gone. “I want you to know I’m sorry for doing things that changed us. We always got along and you took care of me. I’m sorry I blew that. Believe me, it wasn't easy.”
“You didn’t blow it. Maybe I can’t figure you out anymore, but you’re my sister and I’ll always love and take care of you.”
But would he like her? And that’s what she wanted. Brynne was right—when Reid loved, he loved hard. But loving and liking someone, well, that was the true accomplishment. One Micki hadn’t achieved.
“I want…”
“What?”
She looked up at him, at her big brother. The one who’d kept the bullies at bay during middle school. The one who’d kicked the crap out of that creep in the seventh grade who'd grabbed her boob in the hallway. After that, no one bothered her.
Ever.
Until Phil. When he'd come along, she’d been complacent, a little too used to her brothers stepping in and taking care of her. As a result, she’d made one critical mistake. She’d never learned the art of battle.
The one thing she needed to know when Phil Flynn showed up.
“I don’t expect help. This was my doing and I’ll take care of it. I just don’t want to hide things from my family anymore.”
“Seriously, I’d welcome that. Look, start at the beginning. I’m not gonna judge or scream or do any of the shit you expect. All I know is I don’t want you running from whatever this is. Not if we can stop it. We’re your family. You’re stuck with us. And if this douchebag in Vegas is hassling you, it’ll get taken care of. You will always have a home here.”
Pressure built in Micki’s chest, trapping her air. Could it be that easy? She didn't want to believe that. Not after all the time spent at a job that left her with zero self-respect. And fear. She couldn't forget about the fear. She clutched at her belly and folded herself forward. A home. Here.
Thankfully, Reid stayed quiet while she clamped on to her composure, willing him not to come near her. Please don't, please don't, please don't. When she heard him get up, she raised one hand. If he tried to console her, she’d come apart. Just an emotional mess that she didn’t want to be.
“Okay.” He sat back down and set his hands on his thighs. “Whenever you’re ready. I’m here.”
For a few seconds, the only noise in the room was the thunk of the furnace Gage had warned her about the day before. Micki didn't mind. It gave her a tiny distraction while she got her thoughts together. Where to begin? Phil in jail. That’s what had kicked this off.
Finally, she sat up, gripped the handles of the chair and focused on her brother. Now or never. “I ran from Vegas on Thursday.”
“Ran?”
“Yes. Phil was arrested in Mexico and Tomas, the other guy who works for Phil, went down there to try and get him released. I was alone in the office and, I don’t know, I’d had enough and I had the chance to leave so”—she shrugged—“I did.”
“You said you ran. Running and leaving are two different things.”
She met his eyes. “I ran.”
Three or four seconds of silence passed between them and she hoped—prayed even—he wouldn't ask too many questions.
“Has he contacted you?”
“Not him. Tomas, though. He found me here. He was in the B last night and I caught him talking to Evie.”
“Son of a bitch.”
“I handled it. I told him I wanted a few days with my family, but that I’d go back. I don’t want to, though. Not if I can help it. The work is—”
Reid held his hands up. “I have an idea of what the work is. I never understood that choice of profession.”
“I had my reasons. Good ones.”
“But you won’t tell me.”
“No. Not yet anyway.”
Not until she told Jonah. He deserved to hear it first.
She stood, walked to the window, and stared out as Gage hopped on Jonah’s bike and rode it to the barn. Such a good guy. Captain America. That was him.
“My thought,” she said, “was to leave this morning and disappear. Phil won’t stop looking for me.” She faced Reid again. “Over the years, Phil insisted on wiping my laptop clean. There are some files I keep on a remote server. Just in case. My own vault of information that would help build a case against Phil Flynn.”
“Smart.”
It was until she e-mailed the most damning of one of those files and tipped him off that her leaving was permanent. Now he'd come after her. After all of them, and the shame whipped at her. “Tomas getting Evie’s number last night was the warning shot.”
“He got her number? What the hell was she thinking?”
“Don’t blame her. He told her he was a friend of mine. Tomas is an operator. Plus, he’s good-looking.”
“Damn, Evie is too trusting. I swear that girl is gonna send me to an early grave. How do we get this guy to lose her number?”
“I took care of it already. I blew up his phone. As long as he didn’t do a backup last night, the number is gone. It’s a temporary solution, though. He’ll be back.”
“Then I guess we’ll have to be ready.”
After killing time returning Jonah’s bike to the barn and grabbing a mug of Miss Joan’s famous pecan coffee, Gage wandered back to what would soon be the Steele Ridge Training Academy and spotted Reid heading up to the house.
Were he and Micki done? Ten years of distance and they’d wrapped that mess up already? No way.
Reid detoured and they met in the expanse of grass midway between the house and the training center. “Everything okay?”
“Hell,” Reid said, “I don’t know. She fill you in?”
Tricky business right here. Admitting too much might not be good for sibling relations. Really, this was Micki’s problem and she needed to handle it the way she saw fit. “Not everything. She was hauling ass when I pulled in, though. I figured something was up and stopped her.”
“I can’t believe she’d do that to us. To our mother. Even for her, that’s a stretch. Usually she says good-bye.” Reid leaned in, brought his face close to the mug Gage held. “Damn, that smells good.”
“Take it. I’ll get another one.”
Clearly not feeling guilty about relieving Gage of his coffee, Reid snatched the mug up and took a healthy swig.
“Micki is scared,” Gage said. “She thought leaving would draw her boss’s fire away from here. Her logic is twisted, but she meant well.”
“So she thinks she's gonna take this guy on herself? She’s delusional.” Reid shook his head. “When we were younger, I was crazy about her. She was edgy and smart and funny. Total badass with a computer. Then something happened during her and Jonah’s senior year and the Micki we knew disappeared. Not physically, but she was gone. Now I don’t know who the fuck she is.”
“But she needs help.”
“And my mother wants her back in Steele Ridge.”
Two exceptional reasons to make sure she stayed. “What do you want to do?”
Reid took another long, enviable swig of coffee, making Gage regret handing it over.
Coffee now drained, Reid casually waved the mug. “I don’t know. She wanted a few minutes. I’m giving her space while I talk to Jonah. She’s sitting on Mom’s bench.”
Gage swung back to the glass and gray stone building that housed his office and spotted Micki, head down, hands braced against the marble bench that welcomed visitors. The front of the building needed additional landscaping, but they’d gotten things rolling with the bench and the plaque dedicating the training center to Miss Joan.
“Listen,” Reid said, “thanks for helping with Micki. If you hadn’t shown up this morning, she’d have bolted on us and we’d be wondering what the hell happened. And, Christ on a cracker, she was gonna leave a ten-thousand-dollar bike locked up to a lamppost. Jonah would have shit himself.”
“Dude, I hate to drag your ass into our family drama, but I may need your strategic mind to deal with Phil Flynn. This guy is all kinds of an asshole.”
A sweet burst of dopamine that Gage had learned to thrive on flooded his system. His entire life, he’d been addicted to that feeling, that high that no drug would ever give him.
“No sweat. Whatever you need.”
“Thanks. Right now I want breakfast and to think this through. I’m sensing a family meeting happening. Soon.”
Taking the mug with him, Reid marched up the back steps leading to his mother’s kitchen and Gage decided he was one hell of a friend for giving up his coffee on a morning like this. Having been away from his own family and their issues, phone calls aside, the drama had drained him. Already he needed a damned nap. Or a few mindless minutes in his office to close his eyes and let his brain rest. To recharge.
First he had to get by Micki.
From her spot on the bench, she watched him approach, her hazel eyes more than a little spooked. “I wanted to see Mom’s bench. It’s beautiful.” She dragged a gentle hand over the surface of the marble. “Beautiful and strong. Just like her.”
“Exactly what the guys were going for.”
“They did well. As usual.”
And, oh boy. He wouldn’t comment on the unveiled bitterness in her tone. “Uh-huh.”
Micki seemed to shift. Wait. No. Not her. Him. Whoa. His body swayed and he drove his heels into the ground for balance. If he fell over, he'd freaking kill himself. Right here. Damned dizziness. He closed his eyes, drew a breath. Come on. Not right now. A few seconds. That's all this would last. But if he didn’t get ten minutes alone to shut his brain down, the dizziness would go on all day.
He opened his eyes, thankful for a seemingly stationary Micki. She stared up at him with that head-cocked, studious gaze people had employed around him lately. Everyone wanted to know what the hell was wrong with him.
“Are you okay?”
Breaking Free (Steele Ridge Book 5) Page 7