“Mr. McKay, this is David Grayson.”
David waited for the groan that he imagined was coming, but he didn’t hear it. Instead, Kipling asked politely, “How can I help you tonight, Mr. Grayson?”
“As I explained to you during our other conversations, I’m in dire need of help in running my security firm. We had an incident today that clearly underscores the trouble we have with the management of the firm. If we could—”
“What incident?”
David sat up a little straighter, wondering if he’d finally gotten the man’s attention. He quickly described the situation, what he knew of it, stressing how the target gave away the address of the safe house and what the results were.
“Well, first of all, you shouldn’t allow your clients to keep their cellphones, especially after they’re moved to a safe house. Second, you should place some sort of motion detection on the windows. If a target can get out a window, a threat could get in. Third, you probably shouldn’t give your targets so much space inside a safe house. The operative should have eyes on the target at all times.”
David smiled despite himself. This man sounded just like Ash.
“Thank you, Mr. McKay.”
“Of course.”
“Would you consider coming into the office and checking out our operations? I’m sure that’s just the tip of the iceberg—”
The call disconnected before David could get all the words out of his mouth.
This was going to be a bit of a struggle. But he was more confident now than he had been before that he’d eventually be able to convince Kipling McKay to join GWS 2.
Chapter 23
Ingram
Philips’ wounds were basically superficial. He was in the same hospital Bailey was taken to, under lock and key as the doctors worked to patch him up. They should have let him suffer more if you asked me. He had a bullet lodged under his ribs. The bleeding was all from a nicked artery. He could have gone hours before he bled to death. I sort of regretted that the police had arrived as quickly as they had.
Cops came by Bailey’s room the following day to get her statement on the attempted rape Philips, Carmichael, and James had perpetrated five years ago. While they were there, Bailey mentioned the interviews she’d done, looking for proof against Philips.
“I have them in a safe in my house back in Katy.”
“We’ll arrange to have them picked up,” the cop said, making annotation on his notepad. Then he touched my wife’s arm. “You did well.”
It was a mild, almost halfhearted compliment, but I could see it meant everything to Bailey.
It was on the news two weeks later. James was picked up as his ship came to port. He and Philips would both face federal charges. The FBI had decided they had jurisdiction since the Navy had done little to protect these women all these years.
And I got a call from a detective in Galveston. There would be no charges in the death of Carmichael. The bomb squad had been over the damage done to the front of the lodge, and it appeared that Carmichael was the aggressor.
It was all over.
I stood on the beach some weeks later, staring back at what had once been a group of cabins dotting the landscape in a grove of trees. Now it was a sad debris field, most of the trees gone or damaged, the cabins completely gone. Only the lodge remained, and it was in need of some serious repairs.
“Maybe we should rebuild.”
Bailey came over and snuggled up against my chest, her cast rough against my ribs. “I don’t think so. Just the lodge so we can come up here in the summer for a little time off.”
“You don’t want to run the business anymore?”
“It was more my dad’s thing than mine.”
I wrapped my arms around her, tugging her closer against me. The DA notified her mother a few days ago that they had asked the coroner to change the cause of death on Laurence’s death certificate to homicide. They were hoping to get more information out of Philips and James when the FBI was done with them. Until then, the insurance companies had no reason not to pay out on the multiple policies Laurence had taken out on his own life when he began the business.
“I think he knew about Karen,” Bailey had said to me one night as we lay in bed together. “I think that’s why he went to see you. I think he suspected that they were coming after me.”
“What makes you think that?”
“He asked me to fire Karen four days before he died. And he said something about loyalty. I wasn’t paying attention. I wish now I had been.”
We might never know for sure whether Laurence’s death was an accident or not, or if the malfunctioning gun had been meant for him or Bailey. And we might never know what he meant when he came to see me and asked me to watch over Bailey. But I was a man who took promises very seriously. I was going to watch over her for the rest of my life.
“David suggested we live in the main house for a few months, until modifications can be made to my cottage.”
She pulled back and looked up at me with wide eyes. “That’s way too generous.”
“He wants to do it, and he has money to burn.”
Bailey shook her head, but there was no energy in it.
“I like Ricki,” she said softly. “And it will be such a blast to be pregnant together.”
“Ricki’s pregnant?”
She pulled back and looked up at me. It was then that it really hit…what she’d said.
“You’re pregnant?”
She nodded, this huge smile bursting over her face. “We never really talked about kids, but I’m so excited, and I know Adam will be such a great big brother!”
I took her face in my hands and kissed her roughly. “I love you. I want as many babies with you as you’re willing to have.”
She giggled. “I want a whole houseful. Five or six.”
I laughed. “I’ll have to warn David that those modifications will have to be bigger than he expected.”
She snuggled up against me and sighed. “I think he’ll have to make a few modifications to his own life. She hasn’t told him she’s pregnant yet.”
I tried to imagine that. I had no idea why Ricki would hide news like that, but I was happy for David. Being a father to Adam has changed my life even though it’s only been a few weeks. And I could see how deeply in love David was with his son. A new baby? It was a gift.
I was happy for him.
Chapter 24
At the Compound
David stood on the front porch and watched the car pull up to the front of the house. Ash climbed out, his familiar mug more of a pleasure to see than David had expected. And out of the passenger side stepped a tall, dark man who had the regal stance of a lifelong military man, but the stoop of someone who’d been living under a terrible burden far too long.
Ash finally told David what Kipling McKay’s story was.
His family had been murdered while he was in Afghanistan. Someone broke into his house and brutally murdered them for reasons that even the police hadn’t quite figured out. It seemed they initially thought it might have some connection to Kipling’s work overseas with the military, but they were never able to prove that. But there didn’t seem to be any other motive, either.
They caught the guy who did it. He was convicted and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. But Ash thought that McKay wasn’t quite satisfied with that. He hinted that McKay would have preferred to take the guy out himself.
It was a military thing, David thought.
They came up to the house and Ash pulled David into one of those awkward bro hugs that always seemed to go wrong for them. He knew Ash loved him. He knew family was important, especially now that they were the only two left from their biological family. But there was still that undercurrent of sibling rivalry that would always exist between them.
“David, this is Kipling McKay.”
They shook hands. Kipling didn’t have much to say, but David was used to that after their many telephone conversations. Ash had finally talke
d him into consulting with GWS 2. As David watched the two of them walk into the house, he found myself wondering if he was getting in deeper than he’d wanted to.
There was no going back now.
David showed them around the house, pointing out the changes they’d made as much for Ash as for Kipling. When they were done, they settled in David’s office, drinks all around.
“Ash tells me that you run in the black, but that you feel like you need better organization?”
David inclined his head, thinking he’d already told him that three times.
“I’m not military. I’m FBI. The way I organize things is not always the way the operatives expect it to be.”
“And you need someone from the military to help with that?”
“We mostly just wondered if you would help consult with some of our cases. Help us figure out why things go wrong from time to time.”
“Management is an important part of running a security firm,” Ash announced.
David wanted to hit him.
He knew his brother loved him. He knew that Ash would do anything for him.
So David couldn’t hate his brother. But he could moan and groan.
“Mr. McKay, I think what we really need is for you to hang around for a few weeks and tell us what we’re doing wrong when you see something that needs to be changed,” David said. “We can pay you—”
“I don’t care about the salary,” Kipling said. “I’m here as a favor to your brother. That’s all.”
David inclined his head. “But we will compensate you for your time.”
Kipling shrugged. “I’d like to meet your employees as soon as possible. Can you do that?”
“Of course.”
“For now, I’d like to check out the property. Do you mind?”
“Of course not.”
Both David and Ash stood as Kipling left the room. Once they were alone, there was little they had to say to one another.
“How’s Mina?” David finally asked.
“Good,” Ash said. “She’s got her hands full with the kids.”
“I can imagine. How’s Ford?”
Ash’s eyes lit up. “Curious. Always asking questions, some I’m not sure how to answer.”
“And Rachel?”
Ash inclined his head. “There’s something about having a daughter, David. I can’t even begin to explain how different it is from having a son. Rachel is…she’s my pride and joy.”
David smiled, relieved to see his brother so relaxed and confident in himself. It’s been a long time since he’d seen him that way.
After a while, they wandered out of the house themselves, heading to the small cemetery where their parents were buried. It once killed David’s soul to stand there and see his parents’ names on headstones. But it was getting easier with time. He touched the engravings, tears in his eyes despite himself.
“They’d be proud of you, little brother,” Ash said softly. “You’ve done everything with your life that they could have hoped for.”
“Have I?”
“You have Ricki and Chase. And they make you so obviously happy.”
“They do.”
“And you’re making a success of this business. That’s impressive. Do you know how long it was before the original Gray Wolf was making a profit?”
David glanced at him. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
Ash put his arm around his brother’s shoulders. “We’ve done good for ourselves. Mom and Dad would be so happy for us, just like I’m happy for you.”
“Goes both ways.”
“We did good, brother.”
Chapter 25
Bailey
The Fourth of July called for a huge party at the compound. I’d now, officially, met all the employees of Gray Wolf Security 2, along with the original founder, Ash Grayson. It was funny how much he looked like his brother. It made me wonder if the baby I carried would look much like Adam.
The kids played on the grass while the grownups stuck to the porch, the men manning the barbeque pit and the ladies hiding in the shade. Ricki was green around the gills, beginning to enjoy the lovely discomfort of morning sickness. I watched her, wanting to help where I could. My own struggles had yet to begin, but I knew they would soon if this pregnancy was anything like my first. I was not looking forward to it. But, again, I kind of was.
Ingram slipped up behind me and wrapped his arms around my belly.
“Some of us are going to sneak out to the local bar in a couple of hours. Will you come dance with me?”
“Do you want me there? It might cramp your style a little.”
“I think it’ll be okay.”
I twisted in his arms and kissed him. “I’d love to dance with you.”
“Hey, break it up!” Alexander came up behind Ingram and poked him hard in the back. “Time for that later, bro.”
“Yeah, well, I get it where I can.”
I smacked his arm and pulled away to go find Ricki. She’d slipped into the house again—the third time since the party began. I found her coming out of a ground floor bathroom, wiping self-consciously at her lips.
“I hate to interfere, but don’t you think it’s time to tell him?”
She nodded. “I just… I wanted to make sure nothing bad was going to happen.”
“I think this one’s stuck. Morning sickness is supposed to be a sign that the pregnancy is strong, right?”
She nodded. “And what better time to tell him than while his brother’s here.”
There was laughter in her eyes, making me wonder what it was she was thinking. But then she took my hand and led the way back out.
“Hey, everybody,” she yelled, using me as support as she climbed onto one of the tables. “I have an announcement.”
“Uh, oh,” Ingram said, sneaking up behind me again. I leaned back into him as he kissed my neck again.
David turned from the barbeque pit, concern instantly etched on his face.
“Ricki, get down from there before you fall.”
“I’m fine. But you should come here because I have something to tell you.”
“If it has something to do with your pregnancy, it’s not necessary.”
Ricki’s face paled. “What?”
“I know you, babe,” he said, climbing up onto the table with her and tucking her into his arms. “I knew the moment you did, probably.”
“I thought I was protecting you,” she said so softly I almost couldn’t hear her.
“You don’t have to protect me. I protect you.”
I smacked Ingram’s arm. “Now I know where you get it from.”
I turned into his arms as he laughed. We kissed, but then Ash was calling for everyone’s attention, toasting to his future niece or nephew. Everyone cheered, yelling well wishes for the happy couple.
We ate after that and sat around for a couple of hours, waiting for the food to settle. Then a group of us headed over to the bar while Ricki, David, Ash, and Kipling stayed behind to watch over the kids. It was a nice night, the bar was crowded, the music was good, and being in Ingram’s arms was even better. We danced for hours, it seemed like. Alexander and Tierney danced together, too, and Elliot and Tony found many women willing to dance with them. Even Knox seemed to be enjoying herself. In fact, I saw her duck out the side door with a tall, handsome man on her arm.
“Let’s get out of here,” Ingram finally whispered in my ear.
We went back to the compound and slipped up the stairs without waking or bothering anyone. We were sharing the same room we’d shared since coming here, the king-size bed wonderful even when Adam snuck in to sleep with us some nights.
Ingram undressed me slowly, sliding his hands under the material of my dress, cupping my breasts and kissing my shoulder. He had always been fascinated with my breasts, but especially now that they’d begun to swell slightly with my pregnancy. He would have loved them during my pregnancy with Adam.
I closed my eyes, thinking about
Adam, about everything the three of us had been through the last five years. I had so many regrets, but it had all finally worked itself out for the better. We had time to make up for all the lost moments, time to make our way back to what should have been.
Ingram and Adam loved each other. They were already the best of friends, out running around together all the time, like brothers instead of father and son. I loved to watch them together, to watch them fulfill all these dreams I’d been so afraid would never come true. It was coming true. Ingram was the father I’d always known he would be.
My mom had settled in Dallas with her sister. And, I supposed, it was for the best. She never liked Ingram, and she was not pleased to learn he was back in my life—in Adam’s life. Distance was probably a blessing under the circumstances.
Ingram turned me into him, his mouth capturing mine. My thoughts evaporated under his touch. I tugged at his shirt, at his pants, remembering the heat that had burned between us onboard ship and again at the lodge. It was a heat that had evolved but never really disappeared. I could feel it now, this desperate need to touch his skin and to feel his hands on mine.
He pushed my dress off my shoulders and his palms slipped over my body, rubbing across my back and sliding over my shoulders. He kissed me roughly, then gently, his mouth and his tongue doing these incredible things that made me ache all over. And then he lifted me up and lay me on the bed, kneeling in front of me and sliding his hands under my panties, pulling them away as his tongue found new lips to tease and play with. I cried out when he found my clit, wondering briefly if anyone else in the house could hear me. I hoped not. Then again, I sort of wanted the whole world to know how wonderful my man was to me.
He nibbled at my fat outer lips, then sucked at my inner lips, pulling them out so that he could nibble on them, too. And then he turned his attention back to my clit, making it stand up at attention, aching to be manipulated, to be licked and sucked, sending waves of pleasure through my body that I was pretty sure my logical mind wouldn’t be able to take. And then his fingers slid inside of me and I was writhing on the bed, unable to lie still.
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