Finally Home (Home Series)

by Vaughn, Ann

  "Well, yeah, have you looked at the man? He makes me feel...I can't explain it except that I've never felt that way about anyone before. But, at the same time, it's too soon."

  "Says who?"

  "Me! It's only been three days."

  "Yes, but you've had a thing for him since we were seventeen."

  "A school girl crush doesn't justify..."

  "Stop over-analyzing, Lainey. Sometimes you've just got to follow your heart."

  Lainey sighed, raking her free hand through her hair.

  "I guess. I just -"

  She looked up when Mike walked into the room, his icy eyes locking onto her.

  "I gotta go. I'll call you later."

  "OK. Love you, Lain."

  "Love you, too, Kace. Bye," she said, then put the phone down, her eyes locked on him. "Did you find anything?"

  "Conroy tried to get in the window to your guest room in the back of the house. He was gone by the time Riley got there."

  She drew her knees in and wrapped her arms around her legs.

  "I need to talk to him. Now that I know who he is, maybe I can -"

  "You know as well as I do that you can't reason with someone who may have suffered some sort of psychotic break."

  "He was my patient and he was dealt a bad hand. I've got to try."

  He studied her a moment. "We'll see. I called your father. He and your mother are on their way here to stay with you. We're all going out to scout the woods behind your house and see if we can't find him."

  She nodded. "OK," she said, watching him disappear into his closet. When he came out, he was dressed all in black: combat boots and pants, black long-sleeve Henley, and he looked downright scary. The Henley was form-fitting and showed off his muscles to perfection. She realized that other than when he wore warm-ups to sleep in, this outfit was the first time she'd seen him in something other than slacks. Even those days when she ran into him at Jenna's house, he was wearing slacks. She wondered if he even owned a pair of jeans.

  Her thoughts came to a screeching halt, however, when she saw him unlock the armoire that stood on the wall opposite the bed and he pulled on a Kevlar vest and began arming himself. Having grown up a cop's daughter, she was used to being around armed men, but she had to admit, this felt a bit different. This was...the man she could see herself falling in love with.

  "Hey," he said softly, his hand cupping the back of her head, "look at me. Everything's fine. This is just a routine search."

  She nodded. "OK."

  They heard the buzzer for the elevator. Mike glanced at his phone, which was linked to the camera for the elevator to make sure it was her parents, then hit the button to open the door for them.

  "I'll be back as soon as we're done," he said, leaning down to claim her lips in a brief but passionate kiss.

  "Be careful," she said, then got up and followed him downstairs just as her parents emerged from the elevator.

  "Thanks for coming," Mike said, shaking hands with Gavin.

  "I can send some of my guys..." Gavin started, but Mike cut him off.

  "We've got this. Chances are he's long gone, so no use wasting your guys' time. I'll be back as soon as I can."

  Lainey met his gaze as he stepped into the elevator, smiling when he winked at her just before the doors closed. Taking a deep breath to calm her racing heart, she turned away from the elevator, and found both her parents gaping at her.

  "What?" she asked, stepping past them.

  "Is there something going on between the two of you?" Lisa asked her daughter.

  Lainey walked into the kitchen, opening the fridge. "Want something to drink? Eat? Mike's a health nut, lot of fruit in here."

  "We're fine. Sit down, honey, you look stressed," Lisa said, "and you didn't answer my question."

  Lainey took a bottle of water from the fridge and sat at the bar next to her mother.

  "I'm fine, just tired. And honestly, I don't know."

  "Sure looked like it to me. Do you want something to happen with him?"

  Lainey sighed and met her mother's gaze. "I think so," she said softly, not wanting her dad to hear. "He makes me feel things no one else ever has."

  "But?" Lisa prompted.

  "But...it's complicated. He's been through a lot. He's built walls around himself that I don't know if I'll ever be able to push through. He hasn't dated anyone since he joined the Navy. His last girlfriend left him for his twin brother and ended up marrying him. His family treats him like a stranger. He's shut himself off from everyone for so long, but yet, I've seen glimpses of his heart. You know it was him who arranged to have Jack, Trevor and Aaron given leave at Christmas because he knew things were happening with Riley and Jenna. Riley didn't ask him to do that; he just did it. And I've seen him with Cam. You can't BS a kid; they see right through it. Cam adores him, so I know he has a good heart. At the same time, he's stubborn and set in his ways. He orders me around like I'm one of his men. We argue all the time."

  Lisa smiled and reached out to stroke her hand over Lainey's hair. "Sounds to me like you've already made up your mind, honey. Just keep in mind that everything isn't ever going to be absolutely perfect. It's all right to argue once in a while. Keeps things interesting. And if anyone can help him sort through his troubles, it is you."

  "Thanks, Mom."

  She saw her dad scanning the monitors on the desk and could tell he was impressed.

  "This place is impressive," Lisa said, looking around the massive great room. "Is it drafty, though?"

  "Not really," Lainey answered.

  "You can't even tell from the outside that anyone lives in here."

  "Best part about it," Gavin said. "They're at your house now," he said, nodding to the monitors. Lainey got up and crossed over to the desk, sitting beside her dad. She spotted Mike and Riley immediately, and knew the other two were Coop and Whit. Her dad turned the volume up and suddenly they could hear the guys' communications.

  "Take the left. Riley and I will take the right," Mike directed them.

  "On it, Boss," Whit replied.

  She watched them flank her house and then move out of camera range. Their chatter was short, mainly in military speak, but she got the gist of it. They called out 'clear' when they'd dismissed each sector.

  "Look at this," she heard Riley say.

  "Interesting," Mike replied.

  "Coming up on your six, Boss," Coop said.

  "Looks like he's definitely been hiding here," Mike said. "Straight shot into her bedroom. Go into the house and go into her room. Turn the light on but leave the blinds closed. I want to see if he could really see anything."

  "On it," Whit replied.

  Lainey shook her head, watching Coop and Whit approach her house, punch in the security code and unlock her door and go inside. They cleared every room in the house, then went into her bedroom, turned the light on and stood in front of the window.

  "See anything?" Coop asked.

  "Your shadows," Riley replied.

  "But if he had a high powered lens?" Whit asked.

  "With the blinds closed he wouldn't see anything," Mike answered.

  "Yeah, but does she keep them closed?" Whit pressed.

  "As far as I know, at night anyway," Riley said. "During the day, though, she may have them open."

  "He wouldn't be able to hide as easily during the day, would he?" Coop asked.

  "Depends on if he's fashioned a hooch."

  She heard Mike curse quite impressively in Italian and found it amusing that he rarely cursed in English, but he did so often and with impressive imagination in Italian.

  "What did he say?" her dad asked.

  "Um, you really don't want to know," she said, making him smile.

  "Got it."

  They watched Mike and Riley approach the house and meet Coop and Whit in her living room. They turned their two-ways off since they were all together, so all she could do was watch them. She watched Riley pull his phone out and then was surprised when he
r phone rang.

  "Hello?"

  "Do you need us to bring you anything from here?" he asked.

  "Oh, yeah, thanks," she said, then gave him a list of things to grab. She watched Riley go into her room and gather the things she requested, glad it was him doing it rather than Mike.

  Charles Conroy knew he'd barely made it away from Lainey's house in time. Her commando friends were swarming in on the house even now. He'd placed one bug and camera on the window but he knew it wouldn't take them long to find it. He just needed to try. Since he'd attacked her lady cop friend, they'd taken her and hidden her away somewhere. He was used to seeing her every day. He hadn't seen her since that incident and it was driving him crazy. He had to see her. Needed to see her, like he needed food and water; air to breathe. Lainey was essential to him.

  He'd tried tailing the SUV she'd gotten into that day but that big man was a good driver and had lost him. They'd posted a notice on their office doors that they were closing for an undisclosed time frame due to personal emergencies so he had lost that route of seeing her, too. He'd tried tailing the rich girl, Kacee Adtkisson, but her body guards were always present and he knew he'd never be able to get close enough to her to find where Lainey was.

  He'd have to bide his time and wait for another opportunity to present itself. A prime chance was coming up, but it would prove to be difficult. The Founders Day Ball, held at the Adtkissons' Estate. He knew Lainey would be there; she was there every year. He also knew getting to her would be tricky. Security was always tight at that thing, and he knew that the goons who were surrounding Lainey now were in charge of upgrading the Adtkissons' security this year, making it even harder for him to get through. He'd have to get tricky but he knew that would be his best shot at seeing her again.

  He wanted badly to call her, to hear her voice, but he knew he'd better not press his luck. Those guys surrounding her were no slouches. For now, he had to content himself with calling her home phone to hear her voicemail message.

  He wondered if she'd figured out who he was yet. He bet she had. Those guys or even her cop daddy had to have pulled security footage from the club and possibly gotten a look at his face. Was she surprised to find out it was him? He knew once she saw his face she would remember him. Maybe she hadn't figured it out yet, though, because, if she had, he had to believe that she would understand. That she would call the goons off and let him see her. She was always so nice to him. Surely, once she knew who he was she would want to see him, want to talk to him.

  He thought about the day he'd seen her at the mall. She'd smiled so sweetly up at him and told him how proud she was of him. And then, she stole his heart completely when she'd put her hand on his arm, stood on her toes and kissed his cheek. If he closed his eyes and thought about it real hard, sometimes he could still feel her lips on his cheek. She was so beautiful; so sweet. He knew that if she knew who he was, she'd maybe give him a chance. Then maybe he could finally hold her in his arms and kiss her lips and tell her face-to-face how much he loved her.

  Chapter Twelve

  Over the course of the next several days, Lainey felt like she was on the verge of extreme cabin fever. Partly because Mike rarely allowed her to leave the loft, and partly because, ever since he came back from searching for Conroy around her house, Mike had begun to withdraw from her. It started slow; after her parents left, he'd sent her off to bed on her own because he told her he would be up watching the monitors, checking to see if Conroy would try to return to her house. The next night he had some other excuse to send her off to bed alone. During the day, he stayed either on the phone or huddled with Riley and the others preparing for their security upgrade for the Adtkisson Estate and also putting together a security plan for her for the Founders Day Ball.

  It got to the point that he was gone when she woke up in the morning. She'd wake up to find Whit or Riley in the office area. Coop had gone home to be with his family for a while before the craziness of the Founders Day Ball hit. Tessa was released from the hospital and she and Shane had gone home, but she was planning to be there the night of the Founders Ball to run the security room and help keep an eye on the monitors.

  Colt's wife had been released from the hospital as well and he was on his way there, with his wife, so that he could install the Adtkissons' new alarm system. His wife, Sarah, was still having some issues with her pregnancy, but her doctor cleared her to travel so long as she promised to take it easy. They would be arriving today and Jenna was coming over to help her welcome Sarah. Mike told her that Sarah was pretty shy and told her a little about her story. Lainey knew that Mike had been shot by a man who had orchestrated the kidnapping of Sarah when she was a baby and again just a few months ago. She knew from Kacee that Mike had lost a lot of weight due to the gunshot, and that he had recovered in remarkably fast time.

  "Hey, Lainey!" Whit called from the office.

  "I'm right here, Whit," she said, peeking at him from the opposite side of the desk, "and I don't want to hear any short jokes."

  "Oh...sorry," he said and she could tell he was trying not to laugh.

  She pitched a waded up paper at him, hitting him square in the forehead. The shocked look on his face was priceless, causing her to get up and do a little victory dance.

  "Steeeeeerike!!!!" she laughed.

  "Good aim."

  "Grew up with Riley, Whit, what'd you expect?"

  "Damn. That's impressive...anyway, Mike said he's on his way with Colt and his wife."

  "OK."

  He studied her a minute, "What happened with you and Mike, if you don't mind me asking?"

  "Got me. You know him better than me, you tell me," she said softly.

  "I do know him better...in combat situations. In everyday life, not so much. But, you'd do better to ask Riley. I've never seen him with a woman. He..." Whit shook his head. "I don't know. He said once that when he found the right one, we would all know it." He gave her a pointed look. "We all do."

  They heard the elevator buzz and both looked toward it.

  Lainey sighed. "Well, Whit, if I'm the one for him, he has a funny way of showing it."

  The elevator opened before he could reply. Colt stepped in, a pretty brunette on his arm, though she looked a little pale. Mike came in behind them, his icy gaze settling on her a moment. She felt her heart accelerate under the weight of his gaze, then looked away when Colt said her name.

  "Going stir crazy yet?" he asked.

  "Just a wee bit."

  "Sarah, this is Riley's cousin, Lainey. Lainey, my wife, Sarah."

  Lainey smiled at Sarah and stepped forward to shake her hand.

  "Why don't you come in here and curl up on the couch," she said, putting her arm around Sarah's waist and frowning at Colt behind Sarah's head.

  "What?" he asked.

  "Nothing," Lainey replied, but her tone was short and Mike and Colt both bristled at it.

  Sarah laughed softly as they headed into the living area.

  "Colt said you were something. I don't think they quite know what to make of you."

  "He's lucky I don't go tear into him. He should have stayed home with you."

  "It's fine, really. The doctor cleared me to travel. I'm just pale because I don't like flying much, and I really don't like flying when I'm nauseous."

  "How far along are you?"

  "Almost five months. I've made some improvement in the last couple of weeks. I'm actually not throwing up all the time, now. I just feel like I'm going to throw up."

  Lainey smiled. "I worked as a massage therapist in college. I know a few tricks that may help, if you'll allow me."

  "At this point, I'm willing to try anything," Sarah said.

  Lainey got up and went around to the back of the couch, placing her fingertips on Sarah's temples, starting a slow, easy massage.

  "How was Colt when he got back to you when you were in the hospital?"

  A soft smile touched Sarah's lips. "Terrified and so incredibly sweet. He's faced down
all kinds of bad guys in his life, but when he walked into that hospital room, he looked white as a ghost."

  "That's pretty much how Mike said he looked when he left. He obviously loves you very much."

  Sarah smiled. "He does. It took me a long time to accept that. I kept thinking that he was too good for me. Colt doesn't give up so easily, though."

  "Hmm...well, good to know at least one of them doesn't. Well, two of them. Riley didn't give up on Jenna, either."

  "Colt told me about you and Mike," Sarah said. "You know he was shot trying to help me, right?"

  "Yes."

  "He terrified me when I first met him. His eyes...and he seemed so cold...but I saw the effect he had on Colt. Just Mike's presence in the room calmed him down. When I was kidnapped, he and Riley were the ones who came into the room to find me. Riley cut me loose and handed me to Mike and Mike carried me out. The day he was shot, I'd heard the voice of the one kidnapper who'd gotten away at my parents' foundation offices. Colt was across the room and talking to someone and I couldn't get his attention. I'd decided to go into the restroom and splash some water on my face and calm down. Mike followed me. He'd seen that I was upset. To this day, I don't know how he didn't see Lewis approaching."

  Lainey glanced up from Sarah and caught Mike's eye as his eyes were drawn to her as soon as she raised her head.

  "He saw him," she told Sarah.

  Sarah glanced up at Lainey, a puzzled expression on her face. "But, if he did, then..." Sarah's eyes widened and filled with tears. "Oh, my God! He knew he would be shot! He..."

  "Sarah?" Colt asked, coming to her side.

  Lainey shook her head as she stepped back from Sarah to give them some semblance of privacy. These guys were so attuned to their surroundings, Mike had known when she looked up and Colt had known when Sarah got upset. They were pretty amazing, actually.

  She went into the kitchen, looking up when Mike came to her side.

  "Everything all right?" he asked quietly.

  She took a deep breath and touched his stomach, right above where his gunshot scar was. He glanced down at her hand and then looked into her eyes.