It had taken the rest of her family another two hours to get there. She’d never forget those two hours. She’d called Cody, who’d brought Kelly and their supervisor Allison Brewster. They’d stayed with her that day.
Two months later and the transfer request had come from PAVAD. Payton had been one of the first ones to sign on. She had to get out of Indianapolis—out of the apartment she’d shared with her brother. And St. Louis had drawn her. Patrick had always loved St. Louis…She’d boxed up all of Patrick’s things and sent them to her brother Preston. And then, despite the rest of her family’s protests she moved.
And she hadn’t regretted it, but twice.
She wasn’t close to Al’s brothers; not enough to offer any real comfort while Al’s family waited, but she could pay the support that Cody and Kelly had given her forward with Paige.
She stayed at her friend’s side, making sure Paige ate and that her friend had everything she needed. Until Ed Dennis pulled her aside to ask what she knew.
They stepped out into the hallway. Marianna was there. Payton’s direct supervisor had become involved with the director shortly after they’d all transferred from Indy. He really seemed to care about Marianna, and Payton had never imagined her friend getting involved with someone. Not after what she’d heard had happened to Marianna in her first marriage.
“How are you holding up, Payton?” Marianna hugged her again. Payton resisted the urge to cling.
“I’m ok.” A lie. She’d definitely be having nightmares for a while. She’d heard a good friend get in a car wreck and then get shot. That was bound to affect anyone, wasn’t it? “I’ll be fine. I’m just worried about Al.”
“Julia is checking on her now,” the director said. “Can you tell me in more detail what you heard?”
Payton nodded. “It isn’t much. Luc and I were in his living room. My phone was on the couch—it had slipped out of my pocket. One of his dogs sat on it. When I grabbed the phone I think I hit Al’s number on my speed dial. I picked it up. That’s when she told me what was happening.”
“Good thing.” The director squeezed her arm. She liked him, even though he made her nervous at times. He genuinely cared about his people. And when she’d been in the hospital after the lab had exploded he’d checked on her several times. He was a good boss and a good man. “What did you hear?”
“She was already following that man. Keeney, I believe. She asked me to get her help and to call it in. Before I could disconnect I heard her scream. Then I heard the sound of the car hitting her.” Payton’s breath caught. Was that what it had sounded like when her brother had been hit? She had to force thoughts of Patrick away, had to.
“Oh, sweetie…” Marianna hugged her again. “I’m sorry you had to hear that.”
Payton closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath. Pulled herself together. “I’m not. I needed to hear it. Because no one else was close enough to help Al. If I hadn’t been the one to call her, and if I hadn’t been so close, she probably would have bled to death. If I’d been at home, instead of with Luc…I was close enough to help her. I need to remind myself of that.”
“Why were you close enough?” the director asked.
How did she put it? “I went with Luc to the dinner for the mayor this evening. Then we went back to his house. I was with him when I called Al. He sent his security team to help her when we realized how close we actually were to her. He lives less than two miles from where Al was. It was all just coincidence. If he hadn’t had his security guys on duty...”
“Thank God he did,” Marianna said.
“Al was so lucky.” Payton didn’t know how to put it into words. “Luc’s bodyguards were both in the army, medics. They knew what they were doing.”
The director nodded. “They saved her life. You saved her life, Payton. Don’t forget that.”
“All I did was accidentally call her. It was Luc who really helped her.” He’d helped her, without her even having to ask. And he’d stayed with her, too. He was such a complex man. She would probably never understand him.
“What did Al say before the gunshot?”
“It’s Riaz. He’s not dead. And the word gun. Then someone shot her.” That was a sound she would never forget. And she knew it.
“You absolutely certain?”
“Yes. You can ask Luc, too. He’d switched my phone to speaker. We both heard it.”
“Thank you, Payton. We’ll get him. I swear to you.”
Before the guy hurt someone else?
Chapter Nineteen
He’d never felt such a rush of panic as when Payton stepped outside the waiting room, leaving him next to his sister. That panic lasted a few seconds until he gained control of himself. She didn’t know who she was to him; that was obvious from the way Paige hadn’t truly looked at him since she’d arrived. No one except Chase and Terrance knew about her. He’d seen to that.
She was so pale. The injured woman was one of her best friends. He knew that, though he didn’t have any friends that close to him, other than Cody. Her fear was so plain for him to see. It ate at him. He wanted to hug her, or something. Offer comfort to the one person he’d ever claimed a blood relation to. But he didn’t. Now definitely wasn’t the time for family revelations. But she was so scared…
Between her and Payton, both so frightened, he felt useless and raw. He wanted to protect the both of them, and he couldn’t. That was one of the drawbacks of caring about people, wasn’t it?
Paige’s fear had always gotten to him. Even when she had been two years old. Paige had been bounced back and forth from their mother and Social Services until she was three years old. After that…well…after that he and Paige were fully wards of the state. Did his sister even remember having a brother at one time? She had been so young…
When his mother had had Paige he’d taken care of her every minute of every day. Except when he’d been in school. He’d hated leaving every day, knowing Paige would be at the mercy of their mother for all those hours every day. He’d run home on lunch to check on her, to change her soiled diapers, feed her, then run back to the shitty elementary school a few blocks away. He’d always feared coming home and finding her hurt or gone, thanks to Social Services.
He’d never fully understood why Social Services would take the baby but not him. That had never made sense to him. Except that he was a pretty self-sufficient kid, tall for his age and mouthy. Maybe they’d thought he was fine where he was. He’d never understood.
Finally, when Paige had been almost four, their mother had sold the both of them. To some sick bastards. Luc had been eleven, and had known what was about to happen—it wasn’t the first time his mother had pimped him out for a fix—but he would never let Paige be hurt like that.
That time he’d called Social Services himself. And once he’d made damned certain that his mother would never get her hands on either one of them again—he’d spilled all to the social worker and stuck it out in a foster home himself until his mother’s rights were terminated a year later—then he’d taken off permanently.
He’d tracked Paige down fourteen years later, using the money Manny had left him. In the time since he’d kept an eye on his sister, suspecting she wouldn’t want his interference in the good, clean life she was building for herself.
He’d hoped his sister had a better chance after Social Services had taken her than he had. He’d learned she hadn’t. She and Carrie Sparks had had a rough life. They hadn’t grown up in the same foster home like he’d originally thought, though both had been wards of the state. They’d grown up on the streets, just like he had.
He’d so wanted to prevent his sister following his path.
He was so damned proud of the woman she’d become.
Luc looked up when someone took the seat next to his. It wasn’t Payton, but a woman equally welcome.
She patted his hand. “Thanks, Luc. Once again, you were the white knight.”
“Unintentionally, of course. You and your fri
ends seem to draw trouble your way.”
“Occupational hazard.” Her shoulder bumped his. “How are you holding up?”
“I’m fine. I’m not the one injured.”
“So how in the hell are you here?”
“Payton. She was with me when she called your friend. We heard everything.”
“Someone is going to want to interview you.”
“They’ll get around to it. Payton is with Director Dennis now.”
Cody eyed him for a moment. “Why were you with Payton?”
“She was my date for the mayor’s dinner.”
“When did you meet her?” Cody loved to interrogate him. It drove him crazy. “Is it serious between you? Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t she?”
“I don’t know. Why don’t you ask her?”
Luc knew the truth; he would never be serious about a woman. It just wasn’t in his cards. What kind of woman could put up with him, not to mention the constant security details, the threat of someone blowing up their damned house, plus what else he’d involve her in? And the idea of having children someday? Not if he could help it. He wouldn’t be that responsible for another living being again. Especially not one as young and vulnerable as the little girl currently clinging to the man he recognized as Alessandra Brockman’s oldest brother. “Don’t read anything there, Cody. I needed an escort, and I called Payton. Someone else wasn’t available, remember?”
Payton returned, and he stood. She looked marginally better than she had before she’d left the waiting room, but she was still so pale. “Payton, sit.” He put a hand out for her, and she took it. Was she even aware of him? He somehow didn’t think so. “Cody, I’m going to go talk to my people. Can you keep an eye on her? She’s pretty shaken.”
“Of course.” Cody already had an arm around Payton. They were close, he’d known that.
He stepped out into the hallway, vaguely aware of the other Brockman brother following him out.
Chapter Twenty
Mick wanted to shout, to punch the walls. To scream. To find the son-of-a-bitch who’d hurt his sister and render him limb from limb. He’d settle for beating the shit out of that Lorcan bastard for getting his sister messed up in this whole thing to begin with.
That sounded like the most satisfying option.
To keep himself from doing that very thing in front of his mother and his little niece he stepped out of the waiting area and started down the hall. He’d get some coffee from the vending machine, then shove some food at Al’s partner. She’d been a damned wreck from the get-go. She’d hopped up from her chair several times and practically climbed the walls around him. He’d wanted to snap at her, get her to at least stay in one place, but the utter terror on her face had kept him in control.
She loved his sister so much.
He followed behind the Lucas guy.
Probably should say something, shouldn’t he? If it wasn’t for Lucas, Al would have been dead before help found her. He owed the guy. “Lucas. Wait up.”
The man turned. He was just as tall as Mick, but Mick estimated he had a good seventy-five pounds on the other guy. “Yes?”
“Wanted to say thanks. If it hadn’t been for you, my sister would be dead.”
“I’m glad I was close enough to help. Your sister and I have a few mutual friends.”
“Still, if I can ever repay you, let me know.” And he meant it. Mick always stayed true to his word. It was a matter of honor. And he always paid his debts.
“I’ll keep that in mind if I ever need an FBI agent. Other than Cody.” The guy stared at Mick for a moment out of brown eyes that reminded Mick of someone. Had they met before? He didn’t think so. “I know it seems like we did something great, but in truth, we just helped out a friend. I was happy to do it, and glad my men were close enough to make a difference. And I just happened to have my best trained men on duty, men who knew what they were doing around bullet holes. Coincidence, that’s all it was.”
“Or divine intervention.” Mick wasn’t a big believer in all the trappings of church like his parents were, but he believed enough.
“If that’s what you want to call it.” The guy shrugged, the move reminding Mick of someone yet again. He just couldn’t figure out who.
He held out a hand and Lucas took it. “Thanks, Lucas, for saving my sister’s life.”
Chapter Twenty-One
She wanted to stay at the hospital, and when the opportunity came she volunteered. The rest of the room cleared out, except for Al’s sister-in-law Jules and Al’s mother and father. Payton would stay, if just to help Al’s mother and father. When Patrick had been in surgery, she would have been all alone if it hadn’t been for Kelly, Ally, and Cody. She didn’t want that for Al’s parents. She’d met and liked both of them.
She settled in the chair next to Al’s mother. “Dr. Brockman, do you need anything? Something to drink, maybe?”
“I’ll be fine, Payton. Thank you.” The woman patted Payton’s knee. “Thank you, my dear. You saved her life. We all know that.”
“But I didn’t do anything. I just happened to accidentally call her at the right moment. If I hadn’t…”
“But you did. Someone is watching out for my daughter right now. And that someone acted through you. Accept that, sweetie. You made the difference tonight.”
Al’s father stood. “I need to take a walk. Check the car. I’m not sure I locked it.”
His wife smiled softly. “Of course. Can you grab my bag? The one with the sweater?”
“I’ll be back shortly. Text me if she wakes.”
His wife waited until he was out of the room. “He needs time to compose himself. Much like Mikhail. They like to control things, and this is something that they can’t. Where did your friend go? I’d like to thank him, too.”
“He’s the one who really helped. His bodyguards were ex-military medics. They are the ones who helped her. She’ll be ok.”
“Yes, she will. I trust my daughter-in-law’s opinion. You should probably go home, get some rest.”
“I will in a bit. After she wakes up.” Because Patrick hadn’t. And she wasn’t certain that Al would until it actually happened.
“Who did you lose, sweetie?”
That shocked her. Was it that obvious? “My brother. He was on his way to pick me up after my shift. A drunk ran a red light. My brother died a few hours later. Before the rest of my brothers could get there.”
“How many do you have?”
“Seven now. I had eight.”
“And you are the youngest?”
“Patrick was. He was a year younger.”
“Are you close?”
Were they? Perhaps before Patrick they were. “We were.”
“But not now?”
“Not since the accident. I moved. They were angry about it. They all lived within two hours of Indy. Now I’m too far away, I guess. And after the funeral…” Payton had spent quite a bit of time with Al’s mother. The other woman was very close to her daughter, and a lot of Al’s downtime was spent at her parents’ house. For some reason Payton, Paige, and Cody had ended up hanging around the senior Brockmans’ home, too.
Al’s mother gave Payton a level look. How was she holding herself together so well? Of course, this wasn’t the first time one of her children had been shot, was it? Mick had been hurt pretty badly back at Christmas. “Don’t lose your family, Payton. Families matter so very much. And you are so very young to be so alone.”
Luc returned. He took the seat next to her. What was she supposed to say to him? “I’m going to stay here. You don’t need to, if you don’t want.”
He nodded and checked his watch. “It’s after midnight now. I will call you tomorrow.”
She wanted to say something, but didn’t know what. She stayed quiet.
“Walk me to the doors? My men are waiting outside in the front parking lot.”
She stood, suddenly reminded of everything that had happened before she had called Al. �
�Of course.”
He put a hand on her waist as they walked out of the hospital. It was so cold and she’d forgotten her coat at his house when she’d ran out the door. She shivered. He pulled her closer.
He made it so hard to remember that she’d not wanted to be with him tonight in the first place. “Thank you, Luc. You saved her life and I will always be grateful.”
“I don’t want your gratitude. Or anyone’s. It was the right thing to do. What was I supposed to do? Not help? I’d do it for a stranger—hell, I did do it for a stranger, remember?”
“You saved Cody first, and now Al.” He’d just done it, acted almost without considering the consequences to himself. Like with those poor girls he was trying to save. He often came across as a real jerk, and then he did something to truly help someone else. Why did she find him so confusing? “I’ll say it again, thank you. They are my friends and I’m glad you were there.”
“Me, too. And Payton? I’m leaving Chase here. He’ll take you home whenever you’re ready to leave.”
“But…” She didn’t want someone having to wait for her. “I’ll get a ride with Paige or Cody, when they come back. I’ll be fine.”
He studied her for a long moment. “I’m sure you will.”
***
He didn’t want her looking up like that. He didn’t want anyone to think he was anything more than what he actually was. Especially her. “I’m not a nice guy, Payton. You should remember that.”
“Oh, I’ve not forgotten why I was with you tonight.”
He rubbed his thumb over the bottom lip she’d been chewing on for the last several hours. He’d noticed before how she did that when she was worried. She had such beautiful lips. Lips that had his mind shooting someplace it definitely didn’t need to be wondering. “See that you don’t. I’m not finished with you, Payton. By any means.”
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