A Time to Protect (14 page)

“I don’t. But he’s been at the newspaper office asking questions. Colleen saw him.” For a moment, Brendan couldn’t see Chloe and he surged to his feet before realizing she’d bent to retrieve something behind the desk. “Chloe said one of her patients talked about
El Jefe
. Maybe you can do a little fact-finding there, too.”

“I’ll see what I can find out. Sounds like
El Jefe
and the
Chief might be the same guy.” Jake tracked his gaze to Chloe. “She’s very beautiful, Bren. If you have to guard somebody, might as well be a woman that looks like her.” His scrutiny turned speculative. “Anything special there?”

“I’m her protection,” Brendan protested, knowing full well that his intuitive cousin would see beyond his words. Jake had always been good at reading between the lines. “Somebody’s trying to take her out. It’s my job to make sure she and her children are safe.”

“But you like her.”

“I like her a lot,” he admitted, more to himself than Jake. “But I’m not getting involved. It wouldn’t be professional.”

“Probably wasn’t very professional of me to fall in love with my assistant, but who am I to deny it when God sends love into my life,” Jake said, an odd look in his eyes. “Is Chloe a believer?”

“Yes, but she’s struggling to figure out who God really is. Her ex did a number on her self-esteem with his ‘friends’, what little she had left when her father took off, that is.” He got angry just thinking about those two self-centered men. “Chloe pulled herself together, got herself out of a bad situation and made a new home for her son and daughter. She’s got this core of inner strength that amazes me. She even got in a few hits on her attacker the other night.”

“Brendan—”

“Don’t say it.” He tore his gaze from her amazing figure and met Jake’s stern look. “I know I should keep it strictly business, but Chloe’s different. I’ve never met anyone who tries so hard to shape her world into something worthwhile. And her kids are great, too. Kyle has some issues to deal with, but he’s coming around. And Madison’s on my soccer team. She’s a sweet kid. They’ve managed to pull it together in spite of their problems.”

“You sound pretty involved with this family, Bren.”

The warning shocked him until he saw the truth in it. He had
become involved with Chloe’s family, much more than he realized and more than Jake could imagine. He’d begun to see himself as part of their future, someone Kyle could talk to when his father messed up. He’d assumed he’d be there to watch Madison blossom into the beauty she would become. But mostly Brendan saw himself with Chloe, hand in hand, walking into the future.

It was a dream, of course. The kind of rosy impossibility a teenager might imagine. But that didn’t stop Brendan’s desire to be there when Chloe needed someone to talk to, someone to lean on, someone to share her life with.

“Bren?” Jake snapped his fingers. “Are you there?”

“Sorry.” He looked more closely at Jake. “What’s wrong?”

“Not wrong exactly, but I’d like to get home. Holly’s not feeling too well these days.”

“And you want to be with her. Sorry, I shouldn’t have pulled you away. Do they know what’s wrong?” Brendan saw a flicker of sheer joy twinkle through Jake’s blue eyes and knew. “You’re going to be a daddy!”

“Yep. But don’t say a word—we’re not telling anyone just yet.” Jake rose, clamped a hand on his shoulder. “My advice is to forget about Escalante and that bunch for now. They’re history. What you’ve probably got is a new bunch of criminals moving into town. Your ‘Chief’ is probably the ringleader. I’ll see what I can find out. See you.” He sauntered to the elevator door and was gone a moment later.

Brendan checked on Chloe as his mind planned the next course of action. If not Escalante, how about Alessandro? Not that he thought the man was selling drugs, but he’d certainly been in town far too long to be simply scouting opportunities for the European Union. Brendan pulled out his phone.

“Can you get me everything you can find on Alessandro Donato ASAP? Thanks.” He turned, saw Chloe pause behind him.

“I thought the Vances and Montgomerys were close. Isn’t that what this town is built on?” She frowned when he didn’t
answer. “Why would you need to have the mayor’s wife’s nephew investigated?”

“I’m just exploring all the angles, Chloe.”

“Uh-huh.” She lifted one eyebrow, shrugging when he didn’t offer any more. “We’ve got two drug cases coming in. I suggest you get yourself in a corner and stay there if you don’t want Sylvester harping at you.”

“More drug cases?” he asked, heart sinking.

She nodded. “Sam Vance found them over by that new museum that’s opening. They’re in pretty rough shape.” She glanced over her shoulder as the elevator doors opened. “I have to go.”

Chloe disappeared into a room with the other caregivers. Brendan sat down, dialed Colorado Springs PD and had Sam Vance paged. Maybe the detective had found something that would tell him where to look next.

She pulled out the locket, removed the small round photo that had been tucked inside and pressed it against her cheek.

“You did not die for nothing. You will be avenged. I will see to it.”

A noise. She looked out the open window, saw two police officers poking around. Something must have happened. She remained in her chair, silent as she watched from her window.

“This is where Sam said he found them. Kids are using drugs all over the country, but I had hoped they’d miss Colorado Springs.” One of the officers shoved a stick into a rain-soaked box. “I thought we were safe.”

She smiled at his arrogance.
No one is safe
, she longed to scream. But she held her tongue, waited, watched.

“Mayor Vance’s plan was a good one,” the other man said. “All we have to do is see it through to the end, no matter what.”

She nodded, smiled. She’d made the same vow—to avenge no matter what.

“These drug pushers are going to pay,” the first man growled. “Every one of them is going to pay.”

Exactly,
she wanted to say. But she knew better. So she held her tongue and let them think they were in control…for now.

“I’
ve told you, Kyle. I’m thinking about it,” Chloe said as they drove to church.

The discussion had grown old in the week since Maddy’s game. In fact, Chloe had begun to wish her life was back to the mundane normalcy it had been before the mayor’s shooting, even if that meant Brendan left. He saw too much. She looked at him and saw possibilities that could never be.

“Well, when are you going to know? Everyone’s making plans and if I don’t decide soon, I won’t get to go.”

Fully aware of Brendan in the seat beside her, Chloe turned halfway around to give her son “the look.” “I’m doing the best I can, Kyle. It’s not even December yet. I’ll let you know when I’ve got something figured out about your ski trip. Okay?”

He opened his mouth, thought better of it and turned his face to the window. Chloe heaved a sigh of relief. Nothing she’d confronted was as hard as having strangers involved in the dynamics of her family.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized as Brendan helped her from the van.

“For what?” He checked to be sure the kids’ guards weren’t far behind Kyle and Madison. “What did you do? Aside from burning the bacon this morning?” He grinned, reminding her
again of those moments he’d caught her staring at him while her unruly thoughts ran rampant.

“I’m sorry you have to be in the middle of our arguments. It’s not the most pleasant atmosphere.”

“Are you kidding?” He walked beside her toward the church, one hand beneath her elbow in case she slipped on the slick walk. “Your family is fun. Remember last night? Those games were a hoot.”

“This morning wasn’t.” She blinked, paused to stare at him. “You call Kyle’s tantrums fun?”

“They’re not tantrums. The kid is just venting. Wouldn’t you if you were followed around all the time? He wants to be grown up, independent, and he’s got this babysitter on his tail all the time. I think he’s handling it admirably.”

“Oh.” She thought about that until the Sunday school class began. A new session on putting faith to work had begun a few weeks earlier. Chloe had been amazed by the open and honest discussion of others who struggled to trust. One woman’s words stuck all through the morning service.

If you don’t trust God, how will you ever know what He can do?

A hand rested on her arm. “It’s nice to see you again, Chloe.”

“You, too, Mrs. Montgomery.”

“Fiona, please. Mrs. Montgomery was my mother-in-law.” She chuckled. “Is Brendan around?”

“I think he went to talk to someone about a Christmas party for his model club.”

“Good. Then I’ll be quick.” Her vibrant red head bent near, her voice dropped. “I’m wondering if you can do a favor for me.”

“If I can.” What could Fiona Montgomery want from her?

“Thursday is Thanksgiving, as you know.”

“Yes.” She probably wanted her son home for the holiday.

“Well, Friday is Brendan’s birthday. I want to surprise him so I hoped you and your children could think up an excuse to get him to our house.”

“But I have no idea how to do that,” Chloe protested. “Besides, we all have guards now and—”

“Oh, I know all about that.”

“You do?”

“Certainly. Not from Brendan, my dear. He would never breathe a word about his assignments. But I have my sources.” She winked outrageously. “Anyway, can you come up with something? We’ll only have family there. Jake will make sure no one shows up who’s not supposed to. It’s Brendan’s thirtieth, you know. I want to remind him that he’s not getting any younger.” Her eyes danced with fun. There was no way she was taking no for an answer.

But neither could Chloe shake the memory of those hands dragging her from the vehicle, pulling her into the alley. It would be taking a chance to pop this on Brendan unexpectedly, but maybe if she told the other guards, they’d go along with it. She wouldn’t be alone. Besides, it seemed as if half of Brendan’s family and friends were in law enforcement.

“Unless you have to work.” Fiona nibbled on the corner of her thumbnail. “Oh, dear, I never thought of that.”

“I’m off both Thursday and Friday,” Chloe told her.

“Here he comes. Then you’ll do it?” Fiona whispered expectantly. “Please?”

“I’ll try. But I’m not very good at keeping secrets, so don’t be surprised if he guesses.”

“He won’t. Thank you, my dear.” Fiona’s hug enveloped Chloe in a cloud of some spicy fragrance. Then, Fiona tapped her son on his chin and laughed. “Nice to see you, son. Take care of Chloe, now.” Then she disappeared into the foyer crowd.

“What was that about?” he asked, his eyes narrowing.

“I’m not exactly sure.” That was the truth.

He laughed, held out her coat. “Well, don’t worry about it. My mother has that dazing effect on a lot of people. Should we pick up some pizzas for lunch?” he asked.

She caught her breath when his fingers brushed her neck as
he adjusted the collar, but Brendan didn’t seem to notice anything, just gave her that quirky questioning look.

“As it happens, I have pizza dough rising in the fridge at home. All we have to do is roll it out and put on our own toppings.”

“All right!” He gave her that dazzling smile. “You are a very talented woman. Do you mind if I ask my brother to join us?”

“Not at all.” She waited while he snagged the other man and offered the invitation, but he returned wearing an odd look. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m not sure asking Quinn was a good idea.” Brendan motioned Fergus to drive to the door. Kyle and Madison piled into the back. Brendan sat beside her in the second row.

“Why not?” She watched his face, searching for an answer. “Will the guards upset him or something?”

“No. But I just remembered he’s crazy about pizza. He’ll probably eat you out of house and home.” Brendan’s eyes widened. “In fact, we’ve probably been doing that all along, haven’t we?” He slapped a hand to his head. “I forgot all about food. I’ll get Darcy to put in some vouchers right away. There’s no way the FBI expects you to feed all of us for nothing.”

She giggled, reached out to cover his hands with hers. “You’ll have plenty to eat, Brendan, don’t worry. We’ve never run out of pizza in my house.” Chloe smiled as he joked about Quinn’s appetite, mentally relieved that some of the stress would be off her budget. Was it enough to pay for Kyle’s trip though? If only she could get in a few extra shifts.

“Ziggy loves pineapple,” Kyle piped up from behind them. “He regurgitates it a couple of times but he loves it.”

“Gross!” Madison covered her ears. “Mom, make him stop,” she wailed.

Amused by Brendan’s green-tinged face, Chloe suggested Kyle find another topic for discussion. They arrived home laughing uproariously at Brendan’s description of his brother’s pizza-making abilities.

She’d expected Brendan to offer to set the table but to
Chloe’s surprise, once she’d rolled the dough, everyone pitched in to create the pizza of their dreams. Quinn and Brendan jostled each other for most creative chef, then insisted on cooking the pies to perfection while she watched. The entire meal was a joyous occasion and Chloe relished the happy faces—until Darcy drew Brendan from the room to answer a phone call.

When Kyle found out Quinn enjoyed boxing, he insisted on going downstairs. A friend of Maddy’s arrived and the girls buried themselves in her room. Chloe was left to turn on the dishwasher. She made a pot of coffee and carried a cup partway down the stairs, enjoying the sound of her son simply having fun.

“Brendan got me this because I’m like him, no good at sports,” she heard her son say to Quinn. “He doesn’t like snakes though.”

“Yeah, well, there’s a reason for that.” Quinn’s voice grew solemn. “It’s actually my fault. I teased him with a snake when we were kids. I thought it was harmless but it turned out to be poisonous. He nearly died.”

“Oh.” Kyle’s haughty tone drained away. “No wonder he doesn’t like to touch Ziggy.”

“Yeah. I remember sitting in the hospital for hours waiting to find out if he’d live or die. That was the day I learned a hard lesson.” A soft thud echoed. Chloe went down a couple more steps so that she could see them standing together on the far side of the basement.

“What lesson?” Kyle demanded.

“That your family is the most important thing God gives you.” He paused, looked straight at Kyle. “Brendan is my best friend. If I ever need anything, I know that he’ll be there for me, just like I’ll be there for him. You probably have the same relationship with your sister.”

“Maddy’s okay, but it’s not like having a brother.”

“Why?”

“She’s really into sports. I’m not.” Kyle shrugged, then thwacked the bag away from Quinn. “She’s dead serious about
that stuff. I just like to fool around. Plus she’s lots younger than me.”

“But that’s a good thing, isn’t it?” Quinn tilted one eyebrow. “I mean, later on she can give you the girl’s point of view, tell you who thinks you’re cute and who couldn’t care less. Bren never could do that for me.”

“Hey, I never thought of that!”

Chloe almost burst out laughing. Obviously Madison’s usefulness was just occurring to Kyle. Behind her she heard a noise and saw Brendan standing at the top of the steps. She put a finger to her lips, watched him descend. He bent near her ear.

“You okay?” He waited for her nod then angled his head toward the others. “What’s going on?”

“Boy stuff. Your brother is one of the nice guys.” She wiggled over on the step allowing him to sit down beside her even as she wished she hadn’t. The stair was a snug fit.

“Yeah, he is. One of the very best. He loves working with wood, which is why it was so easy for him to take over Montgomery Construction after our dad retired. I keep wishing he’d find that someone special.”

“He hasn’t?”

“He thought he had. Turned out she preferred a man who enjoyed fancy parties. Quinn dates a lot of beautiful women, but he’s never gotten serious again. For now he prefers his wood, I guess.”

“And you?”

Brendan shrugged, glanced at his brother. “I was born into a construction family so I can do the basic stuff but I’m no genius with wood. Quinn is. He loves to mold a piece of nothing into something wonderful.”

“Not exactly what I meant,” she chided, knowing full well he’d dodged the question. “Anybody special in your life?”

His eyes held hers, darkened to a deep mysterious green that shielded secrets. “I’ve dated. But I intend to get married once—only to the woman I’ll be with for the rest of my life. It’s just taking a while to find her.”

“Oh.”

“I like my job, love the work I do. The hours are tough sometimes. No shutting down and going home. But the payoff is enormous when a case is solved and people are free to live without fear. That’s why I keep doing it.”

“Well, I for one am glad you do,” she told him sincerely. “I can’t imagine how I’d have managed if you and the others weren’t here.”

“But you wish it was over.” There was no question in his voice.

“Yes. I’m tired of feeling on edge all the time, of looking over my shoulder. I’m nervous every time I go out, wondering if this time he’ll get what he wants.” She reached up, caught her hair in her hand and shoved it back off her face. “I just want my life back.”

“It will happen, Chloe. Ritchie wasn’t much help but we will get this guy and we’ll put him away, you can be certain of that. You just have to trust me on this.” His hand covered hers, squeezed it. “Tell me about happier times. When you were young, what kind of guy did you date?”

“I only ever dated Steve,” she told him, feeling foolish. “At nineteen I was pregnant with Kyle.” Chloe studied his face. “Does that surprise you?”

He shook his head. “So you had to leave college?”

She nodded. “Steve’s family paid for him to continue. I raised Kyle. It wasn’t the worst life anyone’s ever lived, but I was lonely a lot. Things got better when Steve graduated, and we got a new home. Eventually Maddy came along. The kids became my life.”

“What about your husband?”

She hung her head, squeezed the words out. “Steve wasn’t really into the family scene. He liked to party, liked to be with women who were more interesting than me. I had two young kids who needed their father. I tried to make it work every way I could.” She gulped, lifted her head to look at him. “One morning I woke up and realized that I was exactly like my mother.
She used alcohol, I used pills, but we were doing the same thing to blot out our unhappiness. I was cheating my kids just like she’d cheated me.”

“So you got yourself cleaned up. Then what?”

“I got a separation, enrolled to finish the nursing course I’d begun. Eventually I knew I had to finish my old life and get a divorce.” She stared upward to stop the tears. “Of all of it, that was the worst.”

“Want to tell me why?” His fingers tightened and she realized he was still holding her hand.

“I knew Steve had gone out with other women. That wasn’t news to me. It started shortly after we were married.” She faced him, not caring that he’d see her tears. “I never knew any of them, never wanted to. Then I found out he’d had a daughter with another woman. I can’t explain how betrayed I felt.”

“You don’t have to explain, Chloe,” he assured her. “It doesn’t matter.”

“It does though. I’d just begun to think maybe God was real, not some stuffy ghost meant to terrorize. I believed it when a friend told me God cared about me, that He really was listening to my prayers. But how could He care about me and let that happen?” She stopped, hearing the wobble in her own voice.

“God didn’t do it, Chloe. Steve did. He abused your love and trust, and the kids. He abandoned you. He made the choice to do it. That wasn’t what God wanted.”

“I’ve begun to understand that a bit better lately, partly because of that study at church,” she told him. “I don’t hate Steve anymore. I know there’s some flaw in him that makes him the way he is. But none of that gives me back the trust I once had.” She looked him straight in the eye. “My father left our home when I was ten. I didn’t know where he’d gone, that he was never coming back, so I kept waiting, hoping. My mother was drunk most of the time. I didn’t dare ask her about him in case she went on another bender.”