“Ash,” Emily called from the front of the SUV.
Kirkland was on the ground, a cloth of some sort pressed to his shoulder. He looked up and smiled that damn cocky smile.
“Hey, boss.”
“What happened?”
The paramedics picked that moment to come over, tugging at his jacket and the cloth he pressed to his shoulder to see the wound. There wasn’t a huge gush of blood, which was a good sign. And he didn’t seem about to pass out, which was also good. He was a little pale, in a bit of pain, but he seemed to be holding it together pretty well.
Emily grabbed my arm and tugged me away from Kirkland.
“What happened?”
“He was headed back to the client’s office and someone took a shot at him. Just one shot, fired from high range. Probably the top of one of these buildings.”
“Just a random shot?”
“That’s what it looks like at the moment. No one approached the car after he managed to stop it. No other shots. That was all it was.”
It didn’t make sense to me. If someone was after whatever it was we were protecting for the client, they would have approached the car. If someone was after Kirkland personally, they would have made sure they’d gotten him. Why would someone take a random shot at a random car for no reason?
“It’s a crazy world these days, Ash,” Emily said—almost as though she could read my mind. “It could have been a couple of kids who found their daddy’s shotgun. Or it could be something else. We won’t know until we find whoever did it.”
The paramedics helped Kirkland to his feet and walked him toward the ambulance. I rushed up behind them.
“Where are you taking him?”
“St. John’s.”
“Call Mabel,” Kirkland said. “If she sees this on the news…”
“I will.”
He nodded, his face a little pale now. Only thoughts of Mabel could do that to him. It must be true love.
The moment the ambulance was out of sight, I pushed the Bluetooth into place and connected with the team leader. Emily wouldn’t like it, but I needed to know who the hell had done this to my operative. I sent the team up on the roofs that would have had the right angle to do this, telling them to search for anything that might indicate who was behind this.
“We have this under control.”
“My people can help.”
“I don’t need your help. And, legally, you’re all civilians. Civilians cannot get mixed up in an official investigation.”
“Yes, well, you’re Los Angeles Police Department. Technically, you can’t be here, either.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Jack’s people have this under control. You need to stay out of their way.”
I inclined my head slightly, but I knew my people were already on their way. By the time the Santa Monica team arrived, my guys would have found what we needed and they would be on their way back to the compound. And I would be at the hospital.
My phone buzzed as I headed back to my SUV.
“Where’s Kirkland? How bad is it?”
Joss.
“He’s on his way to St. John’s. I’m headed over there after I pick up Mabel.”
“Shit! How bad is it?”
“It’s his shoulder. Not a lot of blood, but that can be misleading sometimes.”
“Yeah. Okay. We’ll meet you at the hospital.”
Now for the hard part.
***
Mabel smiled when I walked through her office door, the smile brighter than anything I’d seen all day. And I had to destroy it.
She stood and came around her desk, revealing the balloon-like skirt she was wearing with bumblebee striped tights. Mabel was quite a character, the only kind of woman who could ever get through the walls Kirkland put up around his heart. And she did, tearing them down so quickly none of us saw it coming.
Well, maybe Joss did.
“What a surprise! Did you come by to talk about the article in our magazine?”
“Mabel—”
“Because it is causing the issues to just jump off the shelf. We’ve already sold twice the copies we expected to for a first issue. And the calls have been coming in, people asking for more information on you and the people you work with. You’ve become celebrities in a small way.”
I laid my hand son her shoulder, as she came to a stop in front of me, trying hard not to look me in the eye.
“There’s been an incident.”
The color absolutely drained from her face. I mean, quite literally. I could almost see it. She finally looked up at me, her eyes wide and fearful.
“Is he still alive?”
“He was shot in the shoulder. They’ve taken him to St. John’s Hospital.”
She nodded slowly, tears making her eyes shine. “We should go, then.”
She turned to grab her bag and tripped over the edge of the desk. I caught her just before her head crashed into the desktop, pulling her back against my chest. She burst into tears, turning and burying her face in my chest. I held her because I had no other choice. But it only lasted a second. She got hold of herself and stepped back, wiping at her face with the heels of her hands.
“He’ll be angry with me if he knew I cried before I knew for sure what was going on.”
“He’s going to be okay.”
She nodded, but she wouldn’t look me in the eye again.
Chapter 9
Mina
Rose drove, but Joss kept telling her where to turn and when to speed up. Joss was leaning forward, her hands on her swollen belly while she stared hard out the windshield, as though her stare could get us there faster. Joss was out the door the moment we pulled up to the emergency room doors, running despite her advanced pregnancy.
“Are you okay, darling?” Rose asked me.
“I’m fine. Go ahead.”
She didn’t wait for me to finish before she, too, jumped out of the car and rushed into the hospital. By the time I got the baby out of his car seat and myself out of the SUV, they’d both disappeared. The waiting room was fairly crowded, the usual assortment of bruises, bleeding, and the sniffles waiting to be seen. I headed for the triage desk, hoping to find Rose and Joss there. But they weren’t there.
“Wilhelmina, right?”
I turned, and the lady cop who’d talked to me after the baby was born came toward me. She smiled, brushing a finger over the baby’s cheek.
“He looks good.”
I was at a loss for words. It seemed odd being back here so soon after my own visit just a few days before. I tugged the baby closer to me, running my hand down his back as I watched Detective Warren watching me.
“Have you seen Ash?” she asked.
“No. I came with Joss and Rose, but I lost them in the rush to get inside.”
She nodded. “They go kind of crazy when one of their own is hurt.”
“They’re a family.”
“Very observant. You’ve only spent two days with them and you’ve nearly got them figured out.”
Joss came around the corner then, rushing up to Detective Warren. “Do you know how he is? They’re not telling us anything.”
“He was hit in the shoulder. That’s all I know.”
“Who did this?”
Detective Warren shook her head. “He was driving down the street and someone took a shot at him from a nearby roof. One shot. Nothing else.”
“Why?”
She shook her head. “We don’t know.”
But I did.
I stepped back, feeling as though all the air in the room had been sucked out. I knew what was happening; I knew who had probably pulled the trigger; and I definitely knew who had ordered the shot. It was a warning.
We’re coming.
“Mina?”
Rose came beside me and wrapped her arm around my shoulder, carefully guiding me to a chair. I sat hard, trying to fight back the panic that was building in my chest. They were never going to leave me alone; they would never stop this cr
azy vendetta they were avenging. I was sick to my stomach, too aware of exactly how this was going to play out. I knew how it would go. I’d been there; I’d seen it too many times to count. This was not going to end well for Ash and his friends, and I had to warn them.
But what proof did I have?
“You shouldn’t be here,” Rose said. “Why don’t you let me take you back to the compound?”
“Don’t you want to be here?”
“It’s okay,” she said, helping me to my feet. “I can come back after we get you and the baby settled.”
Joss and Detective Warren had their heads together. They probably wouldn’t even notice we were gone. And no one else really cared about the older lady with the young mother.
Rose helped me get the baby settled back into the car seat and drove in silence. I stared out the window, rehearsing in my head what I would tell Ash.
I was struggling to survive, and I met this guy who promised to make everything all better. I just had to do this one little thing…
Would he believe me? Would he look at me differently? Would he throw my baby and me out of his house? Would I survive without his protection?
What about Ford?
David greeted us at the house, announcing that they thought Kirkland was going to be fine. He carried my few purchases upstairs, and then they left, returning to the hospital together. I was on the outside again, watching this family drama play out like the stranger I was.
I would never be a part of something like this because I’d done too many horrible things. My turn was gone. But Ford? He still had a chance, and I was going to do all I could to make sure he got that chance.
Chapter 10
Ash
Kirkland was in surgery by the time we arrived at the hospital. The bullet had torn the bicep tendon, and he needed surgery to repair it. It wasn’t a life threatening injury, but the sooner it was fixed, the better. The doctor held Mabel’s hands and explained the procedure, promising that Kirkland would be out of the hospital in a day or two, barring any complications.
It seemed like the surgery took far too long, but he was all smiles when they finally let us back to see him.
“I guess I’ll be the one with the cool scar now,” he said, winking at Donovan.
Mabel smacked his good shoulder.
“Don’t ever do that again,” she said. “You scared me to death.”
“I won’t, babe,” he said, drawing her close to him and stealing a kiss.
We went to dinner when we left the hospital, all nine of us, including McKelty. I kept running it over and over in my mind, even as everyone around me enjoyed the free flowing wine and laughed over Kirkland’s many escapades in the past. Emily arrived a little late, but in time to enjoy a steak of her own. The Santa Monica Police Department didn’t find anything useful on the rooftops. But neither had my team.
Whoever had done this was a pro. And that worried me.
Donovan was in a seemingly random car accident a week ago. And now a professional sniper had taken a shot at Kirkland. That didn’t seem random to me.
I was worried.
I grabbed the sleeve of Carrington’s shirt as we were all walking toward the parking lot, pulling him back a little.
“Watch over Joss.”
Carrington shoulders instantly tightened. “Why?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. I don’t have any proof, but I think someone might be coming after my operatives.”
Carrington studied me for a long moment, then he simply nodded.
“And when she goes into labor, let us know, okay?”
“You want to provide security.”
“I want to make damn sure nothing happens to that baby.”
“Okay.” Carrington glanced over to where Joss and McKelty were standing close together, talking to Ricki and Rose. “She’s stubborn. She won’t appreciate the caution. But I’ll convince her somehow.”
“Thanks.”
He walked off, sweeping his daughter off her feet and carrying her high on his shoulder across the parking lot, making her squeal with delight. I needed to say something to everyone else, but what did I say? In the end, I said what I always say.
“Be careful. Don’t get dead.”
***
The baby started to cry a little after two. They’d been asleep when I got home, so I didn’t disturb them. But there was something about spending the better part of a half hour thinking one of my closest friends was dead that made me want to hold a new life in my arms.
I crossed to Mina’s room as quietly as I could, not hesitating in the doorway this time. The baby wasn’t really crying, but making noises that made it clear that he was awake, hungry, and determined to get some attention. I picked him up and cradled him gently against my chest, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of his head. He smelled like powder and lilacs. There was definitely an element of his mother there, one that was far from unpleasant.
“Did he wake you again?”
Mina was beside me before I realized she was awake. She touched the back of the baby’s head, a sleepy smile on her full lips.
“I don’t sleep much.”
“Me either.”
“You don’t mind, do you?” I asked, gesturing at the baby.
“Of course not.”
“If anyone could see me now, they’d think I’d lost my mind or something.”
“I don’t know. I think they’d pretty awed by the sight of a big, powerful man holding such a tiny baby.”
I shrugged, not really seeing it the way she did.
I carefully handed her the baby and watched as she changed his diaper and took him back to the bed, curling up against the pillows before lifting her top to nurse him. Like the night before, I tried not to look. I got up and stood at the windows, looking out over the quiet yard. I could hear the baby gulping down his meal again, and it made me smile.
Eat well, little one.
“How’s Kirkland?” she asked.
“Good. He needed surgery, but the doctors say he’ll be as good as new in a couple of weeks.”
“That’s good.”
I turned and caught her watching me with something like guilt in her eyes. She dropped her gaze to the baby, touching her finger to his hand so that he would grab it in his grip. It hit me again what a lovely sight this was. No matter how hard I tried, though, I couldn’t imagine Alexi tackling motherhood nearly as calmly as Mina had.
I sat on the edge of the mattress, not ready to be alone again.
“Tell me about your day. Did you get the things you needed?”
Mina gestured with her head toward a stack of bags in one corner of the room. “We weren’t able to finish, but we got a good start.”
“Sorry about all the drama. These things don’t usually happen despite the nature of our business.”
“I know.” She touched my arm lightly. “It’s going to be okay.”
I hadn’t been vulnerable with a woman…I don’t think I’ve ever been truly vulnerable with a woman. Not since I was a toddler and my mother was fixing a scrape on my knee. But there was something about the look in Mina’s eyes that made me want to open up to her. There was an honesty, a goodness, there that I couldn’t ignore. And I had this sudden need to kiss her, and that hadn’t happened since Alexi.
I stood.
“I should leave you to it.”
“You don’t have to go.”
“No, I should. I have a long day tomorrow. I should try to get some sleep.”
She nodded, clear disappointment in her eyes. But she smiled.
“I’ll see you in the morning then.”
Chapter 11
Ash
“Tell me you found something.”
David shook his head. “There’s nothing to find, Ash. We have enemies, but none who are capable of this sort of thing.”
I glanced across the room to where Mina was wiping down the counters in the kitchen, the baby strapped to her chest. It’d been almost two weeks
since Kirkland was shot, and we were no closer to figuring out who did it, or why, than we were the day it happened.
“It could have been a personal thing against Kirkland himself,” David suggested, not for the first time. “You know he’s crossed quite a few people in his time.”
“I know. But it doesn’t feel that way.”
“I think you’re just paranoid, brother,” David said, climbing to his feet. “But I’ll keep looking.”
He walked off, going back to hide behind his huge workstation. My eyes wandered to Mina again. The baby must have fussed because she was talking to him, smoothing her fingers over his head. He’d been a little fussy last night. I sat with him for a while to let her get some sleep, but I could still see the dark circles under her eyes.
I’d gotten up with Ford every night since he came home from the hospital. The kid was as regular as clockwork, waking every night about the same time for a feeding. I was in the room before he cried a couple of times, watching him sleep. Watching her sleep. It sounded creepy, but I liked to watch her, curled up against the white sheets on the bed, breathing low and steady. She had this peacefulness about her when she was asleep.
Creepy. I really needed to get a life.
I turned back to my computer, working through the paperwork I’d started an hour ago and should have completed by now. Rose walked past my desk to go to the copier. I called to her, realizing I hadn’t yet talked to her about Donovan’s cottage.
“Michael moved out last month, right?”
Rose nodded. “He’s having a blast with the internship.”
“Good. Glad to hear it.”
“I appreciate you helping him out with that. He was so excited, but he had no idea what to do with the application.”
“No problem.” I leaned forward a little, studying her. “So now that your house is empty, have you thought about what you might want to do with it?”
“I hadn’t. Not really.”
Rose was a widow. Her husband died some five years ago. The thought of her rambling through a big, suburban house all on her own worried me, especially now with all that had been happening. And we had all these empty cottages on the property.
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