Igniting the Flame (Firebrand Series) (12 page)

He hadn’t wanted to hurt her. She was the one good thing he’d had in his life besides Firebrand, and he loved her with an ache that still left him breathless. It was only because of her that he’d been able to overcome all the challenges he’d faced in the past fourteen months. His desire to let her know they both hadn’t suffered for nothing led him to excel to the best of his ability.

Now he was home, back on American soil, and they could rebuild what they’d started the day they met on that mountain trail. He wanted that, and he wanted her with a fierce desire that had only grown more intense in the past fourteen months.

He couldn’t wait to tell her his plans. Firebrand was going to be headquartered out of Texas, and he knew she would love it here. Several of the other guys in the group had wives who would be joining them. They’d have their own small community of friends, and she’d have other women to keep her company while he was gone. Special housing for Firebrand operatives was already being assigned to them, and they’d have their own place where they could live and start their family. With a month’s leave coming, they could be married and moved in before the first assignment came through.

Now as he walked on the tarmac to the terminal, he had to force himself not to run, find a phone, and call Lainey. He needed to hear the voice that had haunted his dreams every night since he’d been gone.

Reese and Colt caught up to him and fell into step alongside him. Reese adjusted the mirrored sunglasses he wore and grinned at Ash. “Are you sure you don’t want to come to Hawaii with us for a month instead of going home?”

“Not on your life, buddy,” Ash answered. “I’ve got better things to do than spend the next month with you two.”

Colt laughed and reached for the door that led into the terminal. He held it open as Ash and Reese walked inside. “I guess you do. I mean, I’ve heard so much about Lainey, I may go to North Carolina to see her myself.”

“You’d be taking your life in your hands, buddy. I plan to keep that girl busy for the next month. So I’ll be thinking about you two losers with just each other for company while I’m relaxing with my girl in the mountains.”

The three of them stopped as John Steadman, their CIA contact, hurried toward them. “Reese, Colt, Ash,” he said as he shook hands with each of them. “Welcome back to the states. I know you’re glad to be home.”

“Yes, sir, we are,” Reese said.

“I’m not going to keep you. I know you want to see your families and begin your much needed R and R. Since we had our debriefing last week at your camp, I don’t have anything else for you today. Just remind your men that they are expected back here in thirty days.”

“Will we have an assignment by then?” Colt asked.

John shook his head. “I don’t know. Just be ready, and enjoy your time off. It may be the last you have for some time.”

“Thank you, sir,” Ash glanced around. “I was told there would be telephones.”

John pointed to a room at the end of the lobby. “Take all the time you need. You’ve earned it.”

Reese and Colt gave Ash a shove. “Go on,” Reese said. “Go talk to that girl.”

Ash grinned and turned toward the door. As he hurried down the hall, he tried to remember all the things he’d planned to tell Lainey when he got back, but his mind was blank. All he wanted was hear her voice and tell her how much he’d missed her.

When he entered the room, he walked straight to a phone, dropped his rucksack on the floor, and picked up the receiver. His heart pounded and his hand shook as he punched in the number for Lainey’s cell phone. Almost immediately a recorded voice came on the line. “I’m sorry, but the number you’ve dialed is not a working number.”

He pulled the phone’s receiver away from his ear and stared at it. Not a working number? Why would she have changed it? He tried again, hoping he’d punched in a wrong number, but the same message rang in his ear.

Holding his breath, he tried again, this time punching in his home’s land line and praying his father wouldn’t answer. His prayer was answered. No one picked up the phone, and his brother’s voice sounded on the recorded message of the answering machine.      

With a snarl, Ash ended the call and slammed the receiver back into its cradle. Where was everybody? Had everybody disappeared while he’d been gone?

William Mason, his father’s lawyer. That’s who he would call. He always knew his biggest client’s whereabouts.

Minutes later he listened as a perky voice came on line. “Law offices of William Mason. May I help you?’

Ash took a deep breath. “This is Ash DeHan. I need to talk to Mr. Mason.”

“I’ll connect you right away, Mr. DeHan.” Apparently the DeHan name worked magic with her, because she didn’t even take time to ask him what he was calling about. With the money his father paid William, he should be available whenever a DeHan called.

“William Mason here. How may I help you?”

“William, this is Ash DeHan.”

“Ash,” he exclaimed. “I thought you were still in South America. When did you get back?”

“I just landed in Texas. I’m trying to get in touch with my family. I can’t reach anyone and thought you might know where they are.”

“They’ve gone to Florida for a few weeks. Your father needed a vacation.”

Ash frowned. His father never took vacations. “That doesn’t sound like Dad.”

“Well, he’s taking it easier these days. Not working so hard.”

Ash tightened his grip on the phone. “If he’s not working so much, who’s running the company? Richard?”

“Yes, he and his wife. Doing a good job, too.”

Ash’s mouth dropped open, and he stared at the phone as if he hadn’t heard correctly. “Did you say Richard has a wife? When did he get married?”

William chuckled. “Oh, I’m sorry to shock you so. I forgot you didn’t know. She’s a lovely young woman, and Edward is crazy about her and the baby.”

Now his legs had grown weak, and Ash sank down in a chair next to the phone. “I can’t believe this. Richard is married and has a baby?”

“Yes, a son. They dote on that boy.”

Ash rubbed his hand across his face and shook his head. “But Richard didn’t even have a girlfriend when I left. And now he’s married and a father. Who did he marry? Is it someone he’s known for a while, or did he just meet her?”

“I don’t know the particulars. You know all my conversations with Edward are business related. Very rarely does he talk about family matters. But I’ve gathered that they’ve both known her for quite a while.”

Ash searched his mind for a girl who Richard could have dated in the past, but no one came to mind. “What’s her name, William?”

“Lainey. She’s a beautiful young woman.”

Ash nearly dropped the phone. He snatched it before it hit the floor.Surely he’d heard wrong. He slowly pulled it back to his ear. His chest tightened as the room blurred before his eyes.

He’d heard wrong. There had to be some mistake.

He swallowed and forced her name from his throat. “Lainey?”

“Yes. Why?”

No. It’s not true. This can’t be happening.

“Ash, are you there?” William’s voice echoed in his ear.

He swallowed and shook his head. “Did he marry Lainey Simpson?”

“That sounds right. Do you know her?”

“I knew her once.” His voice sounded hollow. “And they have a son? What’s his name?”

“Max.”

Ash pressed his hand to his head and groaned. Her father’s name.

“Ash,” William spoke again. “Do you want me to get in touch with Edward and Richard and tell them you’re coming home?”

Go home? How could he do that? There was nothing left at home. The woman he loved had turned her back on him and married his brother as soon as he was gone. Maybe she’d never loved him at all.

He hadn’t believed her when she’d said she wouldn’t be there when he got back. But why would she marry his brother? A sudden thought struck him, and he groaned. The money. That’s what she’d wanted all along. All that talk about money not being important had just been her way of reeling him in. But he’d upset her plan when he’d left, and she’d gone after his brother.

He shook his head in disgust. Richard had been in love with her from the moment he saw her, and she knew it. He’d made an easy mark, even willing to betray his own brother. Hatred for both of them welled up in him. He never wanted to see either one again.

“Ash,” William’s voice called out. “Did you hear me? Do you want me to let your family know you’re back?”

Ash exhaled a deep breath. “Don’t bother. My father doesn’t want to see me again, and I doubt if Richard does either. Will you give them a message for me?”

“I’d be glad to, Ash.”

“Tell my father and Richard that I will never, ever set foot in their house again.”

“Now son, you can’t possibly mean that?”

“And give Mrs. DeHan,”—he all but sneered her name—“a message for me, too. Tell her welcome to the family. I hope she enjoys the lifestyle she sold her soul for..”

“Ash, I don’t think—”

“Tell her!” Ash yelled. “Promise me you’ll tell her my exact words.”

“I think you need to come home and straighten out whatever this is about.”

“I have a new life now, and I intend to live it to the fullest.”

He banged the phone back in its cradle and stared at it as a burning fury spread throughout his body. He clenched his fists at his sides and gritted his teeth so hard that he thought the blood vessels in his head might burst. When he could no longer take the pain that rolled through his body, he grabbed the phone and, with an animal scream of rage, ripped the wires from the wall and threw it across the room as hard as he could. It landed against the wall and fell to the floor with a loud clatter.

He slammed his fist into the wall. Lainey had betrayed him for money. He slammed it again. Richard had been willing to stab his brother in the back to get what he wanted.

He punched the wall again and again. The two people he’d loved most in the world had cut his heart out and left him with nothing. He would never forgive either one.

Reese and Colt ran in the room. Reese grabbed his arm just before he slammed his fist into the wall again. Colt grabbed his other arm.

“Ash!” Reese got in his face. “What happened?”

Ash struggled against his two friends, but they wouldn’t let go. Finally he slumped into a chair and buried his face in his hands. After a few minutes his body quit shaking, and he took a deep breath.

He had to get control of himself. The men he’d trained for the past fourteen months didn’t need to see him this way. He was their leader, the one they’d look to when the missions began, and he had to be ready.

With great effort he willed his legs to support him, and he pushed to his feet. Reese and Colt looked at him as if he’d lost his mind, and maybe he had for a few minutes. But he was back now. He was a soldier. A warrior. He’d fought battles before. He could handle this.

He took a deep breath. “It looks like I’ll be coming to Hawaii with you two. I just found out that Lainey married my brother, and they have a baby. There’s nothing for me at home. In fact there’s nothing for me now except Firebrand.”

He picked up his pack, slung it over his shoulder, and walked from the room.

<><><>

Lainey held a wailing Max close to her body and murmured soothing words as she paced back and forth in the nursery. He’d been crying non-stop for the past thirty minutes, and nothing she’d tried had calmed him. Richard walked into the room just as she turned and started back across the floor.

The robe he’d pulled on over his pajamas hung open in the front, and his hair stuck up on top of his head. She stopped and jiggled the baby in her arms. “I’m sorry he woke you, Richard.”

He smiled, walked over to where she stood, and smiled down at Max. “That’s okay. What’s wrong?”

Tears filled her eyes, and she tried to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat. “I don’t know. I’ve tried everything. He’s been fed, changed, and bounced until my arms ache, but he won’t quit crying.”

A frown puckered Richard’s forehead. “Do you think he’s sick?”

“I don’t know.” A tear trickled from her eye and ran down her cheek. “Maybe I’m just a terrible mother and don’t know what to do.” The last words ended on a sob.

Richard smiled, wrapped his arms around her, and gathered her and Max close to him. “Don’t say that,” he said. “You’re a wonderful mother. He’s just not ready to go to sleep yet. Let me have him, and you take a break. Go to the kitchen and get a cup of the herbal tea that always calms you down.”

She shook her head. “No, I can take care of this. You’ve got work tomorrow. You need to get some sleep.”

He chuckled and pulled Max from her arms. “As if I can sleep with all this crying.” He hugged Max close and kissed the top of his head. “Now go on. Let me see what I can do with him.”

Reluctantly, Lainey stepped away from Richard as he began bouncing the baby up and down in his arms and pacing across the floor. He hummed a soft song. She watched for a moment before she smiled and walked from the room.

Twenty minutes later she came back up the stairs to the nursery and stopped outside. She leaned against the door jamb and stared at Richard who was bent over the crib covering a sleeping Max. He smoothed the blankets over the baby, then touched his fingers to his lips, kissed them, and pressed them to Max’s head.

He turned, and his eyebrows arched when he saw her watching him. “I didn’t hear you come back,” he whispered.

She tiptoed into the room and stood next to him. “How did you get him to sleep?”

Richard shrugged before he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close. They stood side by side watching the sleeping baby. “I just told him that it was way past time for little boys to be awake and that his father wanted him to go to sleep.”

She smiled and laid her head on his shoulder. “You’re so good with him, Richard.”

He kissed the top of her head, and she could feel the smile on his lips. “I love him, Lainey, just like I do you.”

“I know,” she said.

He gave her another hug before he released her. “He’s going to be fine now. Come to bed.”

She nodded. “You go on, and I’ll be right there.”