by Maddie Wade
Lucy leaned in and hugged him, “How’s he doing?”
“I don’t know. He’s so eaten up with grief, guilt, and rage that nobody can get close to him, except Paige. Honestly, I think she is the only thing making him hold it together.”
“Do we know anything about who did it?” Lucy asked.
“No, not yet. They’re still waiting on forensics and DNA.” And God only knew how long that would take.
Dane would be glad when Zack was back from dealing with whatever crisis had taken him away from the team for the past three months. He did not mind being in charge short term, but he wanted to get back to doing what he did best, which was being out in the field, running ops from the ground. Not managing from the office and dealing with the politics of the job.
“Don't worry, man. We’ll find the son of a bitch that did this,” said Nate Jones resolutely. At thirty-two, he was the baby of the group. Well, other than Lucy. With his Hispanic colouring, huge muscles, and tendency to break out his mother’s native tongue-Spanish when he was around them-Nate drew a lot of attention from the ladies but they were wasting their time. Nate didn’t really trust women, not after finding his fiancé in bed with his old school nemesis, twelve months prior. It was a shame. Dane hated to see any of his team get hurt and Nate hadn’t been the same since.
He didn’t really know what it was like to have your heart broken because he hadn’t ever been in romantic love. In fact, he hadn’t had a serious relationship since he was 19 and thought he could have the army and a life outside it. That hadn’t lasted much past his first deployment. No, most women really couldn’t handle the long separations and uncertainty that foreign deployments brought. And honestly, he had been fine with that.
The army, and later the SAS, were all he ever wanted and there was never a shortage of single women willing to help him scratch any itch. The SAS even had their own set of groupies and they could sniff out an operator better than any sniffer dog. He’d always made things clear beforehand that it was just for fun, though, so nobody got overly involved. He wasn’t cruel, he didn’t want anyone to get hurt by the brief hook-ups he preferred and he prided himself on always being straight with people.
He nodded in agreement to Nate’s statement. No, they wouldn’t rest until Claire's killer was brought to justice.
“I’m sorry I won’t be around,” Zin said, in that thick Russian accent that seemed to make woman go all googly-eyed. He didn’t get it himself, but hey, he was a guy, what did he know about what made women tick? It surprised him that his accent was still so strong after so many years living in the UK.
He inclined his head at Zin, “That job for Zack, it’s a go then?” He asked in surprise.
“Yes, I got word about two hours ago. I will be, how you say, Wheels up in two hours.”
Dane nodded and said, “Stay safe, man, and keep in contact. Don’t go dark for too long.”
The big Russian managed to convey his answer with just a twitch of his eye and slight tip of his head. He wasn’t sure anyone else noticed it, but Zin had excess energy rolling off him in waves and although he seemed relaxed he was also hyper-alert. He needed more info on this mission Zack was running with Zin, but he needed to focus on Daniel, as well. If anyone knew what he was doing, it was his boss, so he would just have to trust him for now.
Dane didn’t trust easily, but Zack, in fact everyone at Fortis, had his trust and his respect. Even his baby sister, who was actually a fully-grown woman. Lucy had surprised him when she had gone to work for GCHQ; he had always thought that with her flair for art she would go into graphic design. This suited her though, and he was immensely proud of the woman she had become.
He glanced around the room and saw Daniel talking with Claire’s parents, he watched Lauren go over and hug him and Paige and then kiss Sylvie and Malcolm. He didn’t know what it was about Lauren Cassidy, but the petite pre-school teacher just set his blood on fire. He’d liked her since they’d met four years ago at Claire and Daniel’s engagement party. They had hit it off straight away. She was easy to talk to and they had stayed in touch when he deployed.
The emails started as friendly exchanges of news from home, but over the months, they had become something more personal, with him looking forward to every email she sent. They hadn’t talked about the future, except in general terms. Dane’s feelings had grown for her over the course of those months, but he hadn’t told her how he felt. Which was just as well, because he hadn’t really known then. He’d thought it was a deep friendship that maybe had the potential to be something more but hadn’t been sure.
Well, not until she had emailed him one day talking about a guy she had started dating, Jeff the jerk, as he liked to call him. He’d felt sucker punched by the feelings that her with another man had evoked. From then, the emails had become less frequent and after a highly classified mission where he’d had to go radio silent for an extended period, they had stopped altogether.
Dane had almost been relieved she stopped emailing. He found it too hard to talk about her life with Jeff when he wanted her for himself, but perversely, he had missed her. Now here he was again, and he still felt pulled into her orbit whenever she was around. Of course, it didn’t help that she was stunning with ocean blue eyes and naturally golden hair that fell down her back in waves. At a little over five-foot-four, she only came up to his chest, but oh, she had those killer curves and a heart-shaped ass that made his body tighten painfully.
It wasn’t just that, though. She was kind and genuine and had lovely little dimples in her cheeks when she smiled. Lauren never put on airs and graces either. What you saw was what you got. Her sense of humour and her ability to put almost anyone she met at ease and make them feel relaxed was one of the things that had first drawn him to her. Yes, Lauren was fascinating, and he definitely wanted to know more about what had happened with her and Jeff the jerk.
He knew they weren’t together anymore, and hadn’t been for over two years, but nobody would talk about what happened. Lauren was still the same on the surface, but something was different with her. She seemed unsure of herself, and less confident. Not shy, exactly, but something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. Wary, perhaps?
For the first time in his life, he was fed up with waking up alone. He did not want happily ever after, necessarily, but he wanted...something. And Lauren, with her sweet, gentle nature and intelligent mind-not to mention that drool-worthy body-was always top of the list when he thought about dating. Maybe he should just go for it and ask her out?
Dane cursed himself. What sort of bastard thought about his love life and pondered his own relationship woes at a wake, for Christ’s sake? Furious with himself, he marched outside to get some air and get his thoughts under control.
~~~
Lauren watched Dane slip outside, and wondered why he looked so annoyed, but Claire’s mum Sylvie, was calling her name. Swivelling round, she shook off thoughts of Dane Bennett and concentrated on what Sylvie was saying.
“Would you mind taking Paige outside? I think she’s feeling at little overwhelmed.”
“Yes, of course,” she said, reaching for the little girl. Smiling down at the precious child, Lauren crossed to the French doors that led out to the deck and garden. It was so peaceful, she had always loved it here. The decking blended out into a beautiful lawn bordered on all sides by flowers of all different colours, their scents mingling to make a fragrant perfume. Claire had loved her garden and was always weeding or planting.
Spying Dane in the corner by her playhouse, Paige wriggled to get down. She clearly adored her Uncle Dane and toddled off towards him calling, “‘ane ‘ane!” Lauren watched as he crouched down so that he was at eye-level with the child, the affection they had for each other was so touching that it made Lauren’s throat constrict with tears. He twirled Paige around as she threw herself towards him for a big hug.
Lauren eyed Dane as he held tight until the child started to squirm.
“You want to p
lay on the swing?” he asked, and she nodded eagerly. Straightening up he noticed her coming towards them.
“You’re very good with her,” she said.
He responded with a smile.
“She’s so easy to be around.” he replied, starting to push the child gently on the swing.
“I can see why Daniel can’t bear to be away from her at the moment.”
Lauren felt her throat go tight again at his words.
“I still can’t believe it’s happened. It’s like a nightmare nobody can wake up from.” She choked out.
Lauren could feel the tears coming, but was helpless to stop them, so she turned to hide her face from him. She felt a tug as Dane pulled her into his arms, where all the emotions of the day overcame her.
~~~
He didn’t know what prompted him to offer comfort. Crying women scared him to death. He never knew what to do, but he acted when he saw the pain and anguish overcome her pretty face. He hated to see her so upset and felt helpless. Therefore, he just held her and rubbed her back soothingly while she sobbed silently. She felt so small and vulnerable in his arms and he had the overwhelming urge to fix things for her, to put a smile on her face again.
She moved against him slightly as she cried, and Dane was disconcerted to feel the familiar tightening of his body-it seemed to happen whenever she was around him. He adjusted his grip, easing his lower body away so that she wouldn’t realise what a bastard he was-getting an erection while her heart was breaking.
Slowly, her sobs ebbed and he eased her away. She cast her watery eyes towards him and she sucked in a breath. He wondered if the unchecked desire that had darkened her eyes mirrored his. Heat flooded her face and he felt her body go soft and lean into his. His hands flexed on her arms as he tried to control his reaction to her.
She wet her lip and it took everything in him not to kiss her. He wanted to kiss her almost more than his next breath.
They both stood transfixed as different emotions passed across their faces. He raised his hands slowly and tenderly swiped the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs.
“Push, push, Unc’ ‘ane!” Like a slap, Dane and Lauren jumped apart.
“Of course, sweetheart,” he said, moving away from Lauren.
She rubbed her arms as if she were cold, which was silly because it was eighty Celsius, today. It was probably left over emotion making her shiver. She seemed embarrassed by her meltdown and he was about to say something when she babbled her thanks and made a speedy retreat to the house.
Watching her go, Dane smiled inwardly. She had definitely felt the spark between them and he decided he was going to pursue this attraction between them. He just wished the timing was better.
Whether on purpose or not, and to his great frustration, Lauren kept busy and unavailable the rest of the afternoon. Maybe it was for the best, he thought, as he and the Fortis team departed. Now was neither the time nor the place, and he needed to keep focused on finding Claire’s killer. Lauren was a distraction he didn’t need right now and yet one he couldn’t stop thinking about. Zack vowed to Daniel that Fortis would find out who killed Claire and none of them, especially him, wanted to let Daniel down on this.
Chapter Four
Sitting behind a large oak desk in his grand office a hundred miles away, Marcus Preedy looked at his son with barely-contained disdain. At twenty-one, his son was a big, muscular lad with a talent for martial arts. Which was just as well, as he had no special gifts.
The only reason Marcus kept him around was his size-and his freaky technical skills. Nevertheless, the boy was soft. His heart bled too easily and lately he’d been able to feel how discontented the boy was feeling. It wasn’t anything he could put his finger on. Maybe he was just being a paranoid bastard, but he didn’t think so.
He sighed. His life would have been so much simpler if he had been the one with gifts instead of his snot-nosed, little sister, Joanne. Just thinking about her made his stomach twist in anger. She had run away when she was thirteen, making his teenaged life a misery. Marcus couldn’t understand what made someone run away from the power special abilities gave you. However, she had, and his parents blamed him for it ever since, just because he was the one looking after her when she had left.
Well, he for one had been glad she had run away since they had always hated each other. From the minute she was born, she had plagued his life. He’d thought having a younger sibling to mould into what he wanted would be amazing.
However, from the minute she was born, she’d shied away from him and acted as if she was afraid of him. It made his parents think it was his fault and that he was to blame. He had tried, really, he had, but when he realised she did not like him, he’d stopped trying and just treated her with the hatred and disdain he felt she deserved.
It wasn’t until she was thirteen and he read her diary, that he realised she was an Empath. At the time he hadn’t known what an empath was, he was only sixteen-years-old himself. But her diary had said she could feel the feeling of others as if they were her own. After that, he had made sure to let his hatred towards her show when she was around and revelled in the pain and fear it had caused her.
His life had gone to hell when she ran away because everyone blamed him. They hadn’t come right out and said so, but it was there in the disappointed looks his parents gave him, when they could be bothered to acknowledge him at all. It just made him hate Joanne even more.
He left home at eighteen and gone to college. Marcus had wanted to study psychology, so he could understand how other people’s minds worked. He was reasonably clever, but it was his drive and determination that had gotten him through. He hadn’t seen his parents since the day he left home and hadn’t grieved for them when they’d died. They hadn’t deserved to have him as a son.
Now, Marcus had the power, not special abilities, but people feared him and that gave you power like no other. He loved the feeling and thrill it gave him to see someone cower in fear of him. Perhaps that made him sick in the eyes of others, but he’d never cared what others thought. Nobody had ever heard from his sister again, despite a large police investigation. It was as if she had just vanished. He for one hoped that he never saw her again and with a bit of luck, he hoped the stupid bitch had gotten herself killed. Standing from his desk, he brushed aside his thoughts of his family and focused on the present.
Turning to the other man, Marcus eyed him quizzically. “What do you mean, you think you’ve found her?” He asked his head of security. Michaels looked at him with a smug smile.
“When I took care of Claire Thompson, there were pictures of her with this woman.” He handed Marcus a picture, “She looked just like your ex so I thought...”
Marcus tensed and grabbed the picture-and there she was, his little Lauren. All grown up and she did indeed look just like her betraying bitch of a mother. The shock of seeing the picture made him sit down heavily in his chair. She had the same face shape and her eyes were the same shade, she also had the same full mouth as her mother.
His hands clenched on the picture in anger as he remembered her betrayal.
He had offered her everything and how had she repaid him? By disappearing and stealing his daughter from him. Marcus felt the anger towards Martha mix with the longing he still felt for her and it made him feel weak and angry. Which, in turn, made him want to strike out at her and make her hurt for all she had done to him. He’d had to make do with taking that pathetic bitch, Larissa, to his bed. She had always fawned over him when she thought Martha was not around. It had been fun for a while, having her on the side, but she was not wife material, and had proved that when she had given him that useless boy, as his only male heir.
Nevertheless, against his will, he still loved Martha and if she walked back in now and begged him to take her back, he would. Obviously, he wouldn’t allow her the freedom or privileges that she had had before, but she still had his love and what more could she ask after everything she had done.
He t
urned, again, to Michaels, “Find her and bring her to me. Do it quietly and see that she is not hurt in any way.”
“No, father. Let me,” His son, Drew, implored. “Please, I can do this. I’ll bring my sister to you.”
Marcus looked at him for a long while, considering his request. This might work better and she might be more compliant if she met her long-lost brother. Drew obviously wanted this badly. The way he leaned forward, like an eager puppy and practically begged, made Marcus realise that he could use this. Yes, this could work.
“Very well, do it. Go now, and make sure you check in with Michaels every twelve hours.”
~~~
Drew turned and strode quickly from the room. This was it! His chance to find his sister. He wanted to find her badly, but he didn’t intend to let his father get near her after what they had done to that Thompson woman. His father was losing it, and this was his chance to get away from him and keep his sister safe.
Drew always wanted a brother or sister growing up. His existence had been a lonely one. He’d known about Lauren since he was a small boy-it had been the only time he’d heard the pride in his father’s voice. Marcus had shown him pictures of Lauren as a child and told him all about his wonderful half-sister. He should have been jealous of her, but all he felt when he saw the pictures was longing for someone to share everything with. He’d wondered what it would be like not to be alone.
He had been home-schooled by private tutors at the direction of his father. Marcus hadn’t wanted him to make outside connections. He hadn’t really bothered with him, though, except to come around occasionally when he was younger to check him for abilities. He’d never felt loved by his father; he hadn’t felt anything from his father, except indifference. Drew was more like a possession that he owned and was his duty to take care of financially, rather than a son.
Drew loved his mother, but watching her simper and beg for the scraps of affection that Marcus threw her, normally in the form of them disappearing upstairs for hours, made him eventually resent her weakness. He had still loved her, but hadn’t particularly liked her. She had never stood up for or defended him when Marcus criticised or bullied him. He knew that she loved him in her own way, but it wasn’t enough to love your child, you were meant to protect them, too. He hated that he felt this way about his mother and felt disloyal for it.