Targeted (Firebrand Book 1) (9 page)

Lainey tried to take a step backward, but he reached out and grabbed her arms. She tried to twist away, but his grip tightened. “I’m sorry I misunderstood. I’ll make her feel welcome here.”

  “And what about me?” he demanded.

She stopped trying to escape his grasp and stared up into his flushed face. “What about you?”

He leaned his head closer until she could feel his breath on her face. “Are you sorry you misunderstood me, too?”

She hesitated for a moment as she stared into his stony gaze. Then she inhaled and nodded. “I’m sorry, Ash.”

“You should be,” he muttered as he released his hold and pushed her away. He didn’t move for a moment as his gaze raked her, and her heart shriveled up from the fire in his eyes. He opened his mouth to speak but then seemed to change his mind about whatever he was going to say. He took a step back from her.

“I think I’ll go back outside for a while. I’ll bring Casey in when she arrives.”

He headed for the back door, but before he could open it Max’s voice rang out from the den. “Hey, Mom, we have a package that was just delivered. I think it’s some kind of clock. I can hear it ticking.”

Ash stopped, his hand on the door knob. He turned to Lainey. “A package? How could that be? The gate is locked, and no one can get in.”

Lainey’s knees grew weak, and she put her hand on the back of a chair to steady herself. “Why would there be. . .”

The words died in her throat as Ash’s eyes grew wide, and his nostrils flared. He gave a strangled cry, and then he ran from the room. His shouted words seemed to bounce off the walls. “Max, don’t touch that box!”

Her heart leaped into her throat, and for a moment she couldn’t move. The she dashed after him and skidded to a stop at the den door where she looked in horror at the scene unfolding before her. What looked like a shoe box wrapped in brown paper sat on her desk. Max had just pulled the tape loose from one sealed end of the package and looked up in surprise as Ash ran into the room. Even above the sound of Ash’s footsteps she could hear the loud ticking and knew a bomb lay inside the box.

“No!” she screamed. 

With a fierce growl, Ash leaped across the room like a panther, grabbed Max in his arms, and cradled his head with his hands as he whirled to run from the room. He was about half-way to the door when a loud ringing sounded inside the box. With a terrified look on his face, he charged into Lainey, knocked her to the floor, and dived on top of her with Max sandwiched between them.

His arms came up to cover her head, and she had a fleeting thought that the three of them would die together on the den floor. They lay that way for a few moments, the room now eerily silent. The ticking had stopped.

Ash listened for several seconds before he closed his eyes in relief and sighed. “It’s okay now.”

“What was that?” she whispered.

“It sounded like an alarm clock,” he muttered.

Before she could ask another question, Ash had pulled her and Max to their feet. Wrapping an arm around each of them, he hurried them from the room. Lainey’s legs wobbled as he pulled them down the hallway, and she stubbed her toe as they entered the kitchen. Ash’s hold on her tightened, and instead of stopping he propelled her and Max to the back door and out into the yard. Her eyes widened in surprise when men dressed in camouflage and carrying rifles converged around them.

She stared at each of the men and shivered at the way they clutched their weapons and the somber expressions on their faces. It was as if they had suddenly materialized out of thin air to stand around them.

“What’s up?” one of them asked.

Ash gave a terse nod toward the man as he pulled his phone from his pocket and tapped in a number. “Lainey, this is my friend Phillip Tyler.” She was about to ask who he was calling, but he held up his hand to silence her and spoke into the phone. “Reese, we’ve had a problem here. Thought we had a bomb, but it didn’t go off.”

He nodded as he listened to whatever Reese was saying before he spoke again. “I haven’t touched it, but it needs to be checked out. Can you send our EOD squad over?” He hesitated for a moment. “Okay. I’ll be expecting them. I’ll keep Lainey and Max out of the house until they’ve had a chance to inspect it.”

“Have you talked to John yet?” He listened for a moment and then nodded. “In a meeting, huh? Well, keep trying. I’ll talk with you later.”

He ended the call and shoved the phone back in his pocket. Lainey swallowed and stared up at him. “EOD squad? What’s that?”

A surprised look flashed across Phillip Tyler’s face, and he muttered something under his breath as he glanced at the house. “You’ve called for the EOD squad? What happened in there?”

Ash quickly related the events and then turned back to Lainey. He frowned as his gaze raked her and Max. “Are you two okay? We landed hard on that floor.”

Lainey had her arm around Max’s shoulders, and she drew him closer. “We’re fine, thanks to you. But what is an EOD squad?”

Ash chewed on his bottom lip a moment before he answered. “That’s our Explosive Ordnance Disposal team. They’ve had some of the most extensive training available, and they’re going to instruct the classes for law enforcement bomb squads when the new facility gets going. I want them to check out our box.”

Lainey’s chin quivered, and she glanced back in the direction of the house. “But this one wasn’t a real bomb.”

Ash exhaled and rubbed his hand over his eyes. “It appears it wasn’t, but we can’t take any chances. I want you and Max to stay outside until our guys check out the package and make sure it’s safe for us to reenter the house.” He put a hand on Max’s shoulder and stared down at him. “Max, where did that package come from?”

Tears stood in Max’s eyes, and he looked first at Ash and then at his mother. “I was in the den looking out the window and saw two men with guns come out from behind some trees and walk around the house.” He cast a sidelong glance at the men standing around them. “They had on green uniforms like these men.”

Ash’s mouth twitched as if he was trying to keep from smiling. He nodded toward Phillip. “These are some of my friends from Firebrand, Max.”

Max’s eyes grew wide as he stared at each of the men. “For real? You’re all with Firebrand?”

The men smiled, and Ash nodded. “Yes, Max. Now tell me more about the box. What happened after you saw the soldiers come out of hiding?”

      
“Well, they walked around to the back of the house. Then I saw a man at the front gate. He must have known the password because he punched the buttons, and the gate swung open. Then he ran up to the house. He set a package on the front porch and ran back through the gate and closed it. So I went and got it and brought it inside.”

Lainey frowned. “Why didn’t you tell me there was a package on the porch?”

A tear ran out of the corner of his eye, and his lips quivered. “I knew you were in the kitchen, and I came to tell you.”

“Then why didn’t you?”

Max eyes darkened, and he shot a hostile glare at her. “Because I heard you and Uncle Ash yelling at each other, and I was afraid to come in.”

Phillip straightened to his full height and gave a curt nod to the other men standing with him. “Okay, guys, let’s go back to our positions.” He turned to leave and called over his shoulder. “Let me know if you need anything else.”

Lainey cast an embarrassed glance at Ash as the men retreated to their positions around the back yard and then turned to Max. She gripped him by the shoulders and stared down into his eyes. “Why were you afraid to come in the kitchen?”

Max jerked away from her and clenched his fists at his side. “I heard you tell Uncle Ash that you didn’t know what kind of person he was anymore. And I was afraid you were going to make him go away, and I would never see him again.”

Lainey’s mouth gaped open. “I would never make him go away, Max.”

Tears rolled from Max’s eyes, and he gave his cheeks an angry swipe. “Then why were you being so mean to him? Aren’t you glad he came to see us?”

“Of course I’m glad. . .”

“Max,” Ash interrupted before she could finish. “Your mother and I were having a difference of opinion. I was at fault as much as she was.” He put his hand on Max’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “But don’t you worry. I’m not going anywhere for a while.”

Max looked up at him and tilted his head to one side. “Do you promise?”

“I do.”

“And will you go to my school musical tomorrow?”

“If you want me there, nothing could keep me away.”

Almost before he’d finished speaking, Max hurled himself at Ash and grabbed him around the waist. He pressed his cheek against Ash and hugged. “Thank you, Uncle Ash. I’m glad you came.”

Ash waited a moment before he put his arms around Max and pulled him close. Then he held him at arms’ length and put his finger under Max’s chin to tip his face up. “But about this package, is there anything else you can tell me? Did you get a good look at the man who left it there.”

Max shook his head. “No, it all happened really quick.” He stared up at Lainey. “I’m sorry, Mom. I won’t do it again.”

She wanted to say something, but she was afraid she’d burst into tears if she tried. Instead she took a deep breath and tried to smile. “It’s okay. Now since we’re going to be outside for a while why don’t you take your uncle to the pool house and see if he can keep up with you on the new dance mat machine we just bought.”

Max grinned and shook his head. “Aw, he couldn’t do it.”

A smirk pulled at Ash’s mouth, and he reached out and tousled Max’s hair. “So you think I couldn’t keep up, huh? I’ll have you know I’m not an old man yet. I can take on anything you dish out. Go on and get the machine set up, and I’ll be right there.”

Max laughed and ran toward the pool house. When he had disappeared inside, Ash took Lainey by the arm and looked down into her eyes. “Are you okay?”

“No.” The word was a strangled sob, and the dam that had been holding back her tears cracked. She buried her face in her hands as her body began to shake with sobs. Then she felt Ash’s arm go around her shoulders.

He pulled her closer. His hand touched the back of her head in what felt like a tender caress. “Somebody must have come onto the grounds when I was in the back yard talking with the two details. Nobody was in place at the time. I’m sorry, Lainey.”

She looked up at him and shook her head. “No, I’m sorry. If I hadn’t argued with you, Max wouldn’t have gone outside.”

His dark eyes clouded. “You can’t blame yourself for this. It wasn’t your fault. We both need to watch what we say. I don’t want Max upset like this again.”

“Neither do I.” She hiccoughed and stared into the face of the man she’d thought minutes ago she would die with, and new tears rolled down her cheeks. “Thank you, Ash. You didn’t know the bomb wasn’t real when you went after Max. I’ll never forget that.”

His arm tightened around her, and she leaned forward until her cheek was resting on his chest. She could hear his heartbeat, and she sighed in pleasure. It had been so long since they’d stood like this.

The sudden chime of his cell phone brought her back to reality, and he released his hold on her and as he pulled the phone to his ear. “DeHan, here.”

His grim expression told her the conversation wasn’t to his liking. He listened for a few seconds before he ended the call and stared at his phone.

“Who was that?” she asked.

“I don’t know.”

She frowned. “What did he say?”

He wrinkled his brow as if trying to recall the words and then spoke. “He said. ‘Hello, Mr. DeHan. I wanted to make sure the gift I sent had been delivered. Sorry about the joke, but I couldn’t resist. Next time it will be the real thing.’”

She squared her shoulders and tried to project the determined expression she used when confronting problems at DeHan Enterprises. She wasn’t sure she’d succeeded and cleared her throat to dislodge the words that didn’t want to come. “In addition to two men holding me at knifepoint and threatening my son and me. . .” She swallowed before going on. “We’ve had two phone calls and a bomb scare in less than twenty-four hours. I think it’s time you told me what’s going on.”

“Lainey, I’m not sure. . .” He stopped and sighed in resignation as his eyes took in her quivering chin and the fear she felt must show on her face. After a moment he shook his head in resignation. “I think this may be payback for a Firebrand mission I conducted down in Mexico. I helped raid a drug cartel’s operation in a small village. Although he wasn’t there, we knew the drug lord was a man named Eduardo Diaz. I think he may be behind this.”

      
She’d heard news reports and read articles about what happened to people who dared to defy a cartel. She tried to stifle a groan, but it was no use? “”Oh, Ash, th-they’re g-going to kill us, aren’t they?”

He grabbed her by the shoulders and gave her a gentle shake. “No, Lainey. That’s not going to happen. I will protect you and Max.”

She shrugged free of him and took a step back. Anger welled up in her, and she wanted to reach out and strike him, to take out her rage on him because his dedication to Firebrand had been stronger than his love for her. And it had brought them to this moment where she and Max would suffer because of his choice.