Embattled Home (26 page)

Chad took his man’s suggestion and went to clean up, even taking the time to scrub and care for his amputation. He rinsed the sleeve of rainwater and threw it into the dryer for a few minutes. Not the suggested practice, but he needed to get moving.

Half an hour later he stroked his hand down Lora’s shoulder. She needed her sleep, but he wanted to reassure her before he left.

Her bright green eyes blinked up at him, puffy from sleep. “Is everything okay?”

Chad knelt on the floor beside the couch. “Yes, I just wanted to let you know what was going on. I have to head north to check on Harper. We are his family, as far as I know, and I need to be with him.”

She nodded and reached out to rest her hand on his shoulder. “Of course you do. We’ll be fine.”

“Flynn and Rachel will drive you back to Colorado to your house. They will stay with you until you feel safe enough to let them go. There is no timeline,” he stressed. “I want you to feel secure in your home.”

She nodded her head against the pillow. “Thank you for that. I saw his dead body, but I know I’m going to be a little stressed going back.”

“Which I’m sure is completely normal. I would too. Take your time going back to work. Hell, you may think about just having a few days fun with Mercy. Do things you’ve not allowed yourself before.” He tipped his chin at the little girl curled in front of her. “She deserves to take some time too.”

Tears filled Lora’s eyes and rolled down her temples and he had to lean forward to press a kiss to her lips. “And as soon as I can, I will come to you. This separation is not the end of us, just so you know.”

He winked at her and kissed her again harder, thrilled when she responded. She even looped her arm around his neck to pull him closer for a moment, before releasing him with a stroke down his cheek.

Mercy shifted and looked up at him. “You’re gonna go see Harper?”

Chad nodded. “Then I’ll meet you at your house in a few days.”

Wiggling, the little girl dragged Chad’s old classic teddy, the one he’d given her to replace Handsome when the FBI ripped him open, out from beneath the blanket. She pushed the bear at him. “You need to take this to him. He needs it more than I do right now.”

Throat tightening because he knew how important the bear was to her, Chad took it from her. “Are you sure?”

Mercy nodded her head. “He’ll need it until his family gets there. They live a long ways away.”

Frowning, he shook his head. “I don’t think he has family, Mercy. Did he tell you he did?”

She nodded again. “You need to find them.”

Chad leaned over and pressed a kiss to Mercy’s little blond head before pushing to his feet. Grabbing his bag, and with a chin nod to Flynn, he walked out the door.

As he drove north toward Amarillo, his heart thudded in his chest in protest. He hated leaving them behind.

“It’s only for a little while,” he whispered to himself.

*     *     *

Duncan swiveled his
chair to look out the office window, eyes scanning the distant streets. Chad had just called him to let him know everything that had gone on. Worry hollowed out his stomach and he wondered how the hell Harper had left himself so open. The guy was a machine. That somebody had gotten the drop on him was truly something.

He rolled back to look at the whiteboard across the office. He didn’t need to be anywhere important in the next few days.

When he called Shannon in, she had a slip of paper in her hand. “I knew you would want to be with Harper, so I’ve made your flight. You only have an hour and a half this time so you need to get your sexy butt moving.”

Duncan knew his brows popped in surprise and he looked at her askance, feeling anything but sexy. Actually, he felt more tired than he could remember being in a long time.

With a heavy sigh, he pushed to his feet. He snapped his tablet closed and placed it in the case he carried for it. As he walked toward Shannon, he tried to look more awake than he felt, but she stopped him with a hand on his arm. “I know you’ve been down about something. If there’s anything I can do to help, you just have to say something.”

Smiling, he shook his head. “You already do more than you need to Shannon and I really appreciate it.”

“Well,” she told him softly. “If you need anything, just let us know.”

He nodded, throat tight and walked past her. John met him at the elevator and took his hand. “Don’t worry about anything, Dunc. Tell Harper he needs to get his ass back to work.”

Grinning, Duncan stepped onto the elevator. “I will. I’ll call when I know something.”

John nodded and tossed him a salute as the elevator closed.

Duncan walked through the doors of Northwest Hospital in Amarillo and seriously tried not to be swamped by a sense of futility. No matter where he went or what he did, he always ended up in hospitals. Even in the vestibule, the scent of disinfectant was enough to turn his stomach.

The volunteer desk directed him to a waiting room on the fourth floor. Harper was in surgery now and would be for many hours to come, assuming he survived. As soon as he walked into the room, Chad pushed to his feet and moved to meet him. If the handshake was a little tighter than normal, or the hug a little longer, neither of them said a word.

“Have you heard anything?”

Chad shook his head and sat back in the chair he had been in. There was a raggedy bear sitting in the seat beside him and he picked it up to rub the ears. “They took him into surgery before I got here.”

They settled in to wait. A nurse came out at one point to update them on the non-news. As dawn came and went, they dozed, hands propped on fists.

Right around dawn, a doctor appeared. Tall and gray haired, he had the competent air of someone who had seen lives come and go. “Are you here with Mr. Harper?”

Duncan nodded and pushed to his feet. “We are.”

The doctor propped his hands on his hips and went into the list of everything that was wrong with their buddy. By the time he was done, Chad felt no better for the knowing. After hours in the operating room, Dr. Reynolds gave him a very slim chance at life.

“Can we see him?” Duncan murmured.

The doctor led them down a hallway to the right and into a room. Even ass out cold, Preston Harper dwarfed the bed he laid upon. A respirator hissed rhythmically at the side of the bed. IV lines fed into both sides of his body. His entire head was swathed with bandages. “I can’t candy coat this,” the doctor said softly. “He is very seriously injured. The best news I can give you is that one of the bullets that entered his chest didn’t do as much damage as we had initially thought. He still has…”

The room door swished open and a woman stepped inside. She was tall and lean, with short dark hair and a furious frown on her face. “Where is he?”

Chad looked at Duncan, hoping that he knew who the woman was, but boss man shrugged and lifted his hands. The woman didn’t wait for them to respond. Dodging around them, she shoved her way deeper into the room.

“Oh…my…” she whispered. A hand lifted to cover her mouth as she moved closer to the figure on the bed. Then she reached out with both hands and leaned over to skim her fingers down his body.

“Ma’am,” the doctor said. “I don’t know who you are but you can’t be in here.”

The woman glared at him over her shoulder. “I most certainly can. I don’t know what he’s told you or not told you, but my name is Cat Harper. I’m his wife.”

Chad looked at Duncan, hoping he had some insight, but he had the same dumbstruck expression on his face Chad knew was on his own.

Harper had a wife? What the fuck?

*     *     *

Lora wished for
Chad’s calming presence. It had been three days and they were beginning to get anxious, and this didn’t help. She stared at the letter in her hand. It was from a law office in New York City that represented the Malone estate. They wanted to meet with her.

There were no other details, just that they would come to her in three day’s time and if that was not convenient to let them know and they would reschedule.

Anxiety crept through her gut. She wondered what the hell they wanted with her.

Pulling her cell phone from her pocket, she pulled up the home screen in the hopes that she’d missed a text from Chad. No luck. Thumbing the screen, she debated sending him something, but didn’t want to bother him if he was in with Harper.

The big man had survived several surgeries to repair damage to his lung, liver and bowel, but the other bullet had struck his weapon and sent metal fragments into his face and eyes. He was still under heavy sedation. But surprisingly a woman claiming to be Harper’s wife had shown up.

As if in answer to her thoughts, her phone buzzed in her hand.

Heading home today. I’ll say bye to my parents and be back 10ish.

Lora pursed her mouth, wondering if it would be too forward to invite him over.

I would like to see you,
she typed. A little generic and understated, but true.

Ok!

As she moved through the day, she watched the clock like a mad woman. When she told Mercy Chad was coming, she squealed and raced through the house, as excited as Lora to see him.

“But he may not get here till after your bedtime.”

Mercy scowled then clasped her hands together in front of her little chest. “Can I stay up late? Pleeeeeaase?”

With a resigned shake of her head, Lora agreed that she could, but the little girl was asleep on the floor in front of the TV by nine. When there was a knock on her door at ten, Lora crossed the room to look out of the security hole, then disabled the new alarm that the agency had installed while she’d been gone. As soon as Chad stepped in, she walked into his open arms, totally unable to help herself. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she finally let herself relax.

“I missed you,” she whispered.

Chad stroked her back and she felt none of the anxiety she used to. “I missed you too, baby.”

She pulled him into the house and re-engaged the alarm system. “Thank you for this, by the way.”

Chad grinned at her. “Like that, do you? Palmer picked it out for you and the man is a genius with that kind of stuff. It’ll work well for you. And give you peace of mind.”

Lora was suddenly attacked by nerves. “Can I get you something to drink or eat?”

Shaking his head, Chad crossed the room to stand over Mercy. “She tried to stay up?”

Lora nodded. “She thought she could do it, but she fell asleep an hour ago.”

“Can I carry her to bed?”

She nodded again and watched as he gathered her daughter into his strong arms. Mercy roused and smiled up at him. “Hi, Chad. I waited for you to get here. How’s Mr. Harper?”

Chad glanced over her head to Lora, but she shook her head. She hadn’t told Mercy anything about Harper, only that he’d been injured.

“He’s a strong man. I think he’ll be okay but it may take a while. And I’m sure the bear will help.”

Mercy blinked at him and nuzzled her head into his chest as he carried her down the hallway. After tucking her into bed, he followed Lora back into the living room and sighed as he settled onto her couch. Lora sat in the corner opposite from him. “How is he really?”

Chad shook his head and scrubbed a hand over his face. “I think he’ll be okay but it’s going to take a while. One bullet went down through his body and caused a lot of damage. Recoverable but significant. The second bullet hit his gun and shattered the scope. Glass embedded in his face and a couple of pieces went into his eyes. They did one surgery but I think they’re going to schedule another with a specialist. Something about his retina detaching. Not a good situation for a sniper.”

Lora frowned. “And he doesn’t have family?”

“Well, a woman showed up claiming to be his wife. And she seems really concerned about him. But it’s very odd. I’ve worked with him for a couple years now and he’s never said anything about any family.”

“That’s really sad. If he needs anything please let me know. I feel very guilty that he got hurt watching us.”

Chad shrugged. “It’s part of the job. He knew that.”