The Fall (ATCOM Book 2) (4 page)

For the first time since his offer, he had
reservations. Mia and Jason were a family. And him? A stranger who didn’t
belong at their dinner table.

Uncertainty rushed through him. Made him want to
grab his gear and go do something dangerous.

Mia glanced over her shoulder at him from where she
stood in front of the stove, stirring something in a pot that smelled heavenly.
“Would you get the iced tea from the refrigerator, please, and fill our
glasses? Do you like tea?”

Chest tight, he nodded.

Mia smiled. “Thanks. Dinner will be ready soon.”

Through lungs that wanted to seize, Brendan strode to
the fridge to do as asked. God help him, what had he done?

Chapter Five

Mia stirred the chicken and wild rice soup, trying
to ignore the tingle of awareness that made every hair on her body stand up to
attention. What was it about Brendan that made her heart race in her chest?
She’d seen handsome, rugged men before. Dated a few, but never brought them
home. Before now, she’d never invited a man into their home. She refused to be
that kind of mother. Bringing home a different man each time she thought he was
the one. That would do nothing but traumatize and confuse her son. Something
she wouldn’t do. They had enough issues without her adding to them.

This whole Brendan thing still had her spinning. It
had been so easy to say yes to him. Too easy. She’d been on her own since Jason
was six. Leaning on a man hadn’t been in the cards for her. Then or now. Ray
had been anything but a stellar husband. The fact he’d fooled her for as long
as he had still made her angry. Usually a good judge of character, she blamed
herself for not seeing him for what he was. He’d hid his criminal tendencies
from her exceptionally well.

The signs were there; she’d refused to see them.
Or, didn’t want to believe the man who made love to her almost every night led
a double life. That mistake she would never make again. She’d never fall for a
man who craved danger again. Been there, done that. Not doing it again.

Behind her she heard Brendan pouring tea into
glasses. Why was she so nervous about feeding him leftovers? The soup recipe had
been one of her mom’s. Even Jason had liked it. And soup reheated very well.

Ridiculous. She wasn’t a teenager with a crush.
They were both adults and his purpose here wasn’t to break her sexual dry
spell.

The front door slammed, startling her. Snapped out
of her thoughts, she put the spoon on the spoon rest and turned to see Jason
bound into the room. He looked at her then Brendan and rolled his eyes.

“Can we sit down and talk about this?” Mia asked.
“It’s not what you think.”

“I doubt that.”

A chair scraped on the floor. “Have a seat,”
Brendan said, his tone leaving no room for argument. To her surprise Jason did
as told and sat without a word. “Your mom is trying to talk to you. I suggest
you listen.”

“How about we eat first?” She turned off the stove
and carried the pot to the table where she dished out three servings.

“I’d rather hear this first.” Jason crossed his
arms.

Setting the pot back on the burner, she sat next to
her son. Brendan took the seat at the head of the table. How long had it been
since a man sat to dinner with them? Not since her divorce. It felt oddly
surreal. And somehow right.

“As you know, your father is here.”

“Yeah, he emailed me when he was released.”

Ray had been emailing her son? For how long? And
why hadn’t Jason said anything? “Have you been talking to him for long?”

“About a year now.”

She straightened her shoulders, ready to accept the
fact Ray may have told Jason what she’d done. “I see. I wish you’d told me.”

Jason shrugged.

“I’ve never lied to you and I won’t do it now.
Brendan is staying with us because your father threatened me.”

Jason sat up in his chair. “What? How?”

Time to pay the piper. “You know we came down here
to pack up Aunt Ginny’s house and collect the inheritance she left me?”

Jason nodded.

“Well, between the sale of the house and the
inheritance, we’ll have enough to finally buy the home of our dreams.” She put
her hand over his, happy when he didn’t pull away. “Remember how we used to
talk about moving to the mountains and living in a rustic log cabin? You even
picked a name for the dog we’d get. Rover. Remember? Those things can happen
now. We have the money to do it.”

For a moment, her little boy who used to dream
about owning a dog flashed across her son’s face. “That’s great, Mom. You know
I’m going to college in a couple of years.”

Not ready to think about her son leaving her, she
said, “Now you can go to any school you choose. I’ll have enough left over for
tuition.”

“Really? We can afford for me to go to school?”

“Yep.”

A glimmer of hope shone in his eyes, making her
heart melt. She wanted to give him everything, and now she could. Well, except
a father figure and someone he could look up to.

“What did Dad do?”

“He wants the inheritance money. That’s why he
followed us to Hawaii.”

Jason’s face reddened. “He said that?”

Damn her ex. She’d give anything not to have to do
this. “Yes.”

“How did he hurt you?”

She shook her head. “He didn’t because Brendan was
there to stop him.”

“I would never let anyone hurt your mother,”
Brendan said.

She glanced at Brendan, then back to Jason. “That’s
why he’s here. He’s going to help me find a way to put an end to this.”

“You don’t even know him.” Jason’s voice rose.
“You’re fine with letting a complete stranger in the house, but not my own
father.”

How could she explain to him that she trusted
Brendan more than she trusted her ex? She couldn’t explain it to herself.
Somehow, she just knew Brendan was a good guy.

“Sweetie, it’s not like that. You know who your
father is. I never hid that from you.” But, she hadn’t told him all of Ray’s
dark secrets. Jason didn’t need to know her ex had gone to prison for more than
robbing a few houses.

“All I know is my dad just got out of prison and
now he’s here. You say he threatened you. The man I met doesn’t fit that
profile.”

They had met? Good God, how many secrets did her
son have from her? She began to speak, but Brendan spoke first.

“See this bruise on my jaw?” He tilted his head.
“Your dad attacked me when I left today. Warned me to stay out of this. I broke
his nose for it.”

Shock showed on Jason’s face. “
You
broke his
nose?”

Mia stared at her son. “You’ve met with him
recently?”

“Yeah, that’s where I went on my bike,” he
answered, distracted, his gaze pinned on Brendan. “He said you attacked him.
That you wanted him out of the way so you could get to Mom.”

She had learned long ago not to let Ray’s lies get
to her. It took a while to see through them, but eventually she did.

“Believe what you will,” Brendan said. “Just know
that I’m not here to
get
your mom. I’m here to protect her. And you.”

Jason bolted out of his chair, sending it skidding
across the floor. “I’m the man in this family. We don’t need you.”

Mia stood. “Jason—”

He stepped out of her reach. “No. Just leave me
alone. You guys are making my dad out to be a monster and I won’t stand for it.
God, Mom, why can’t you just let me be happy?” Sending her a wounded look that
broke her heart, he ran out of the room. His bedroom door slammed a few seconds
later.

Exhausted, emotionally and physically, Mia dropped
down into her chair and propped her head in her hands. Jason’s words hurt more
than she cared to admit. Happiness was the only thing she’d ever wanted for her
child. To give him the best life she could. On a teacher’s salary it hadn’t
been easy, but they’d done all right. Could have been worse.

A pair of hands landed on her shoulders, startling
her. Definitely not used to having a man around. Brendan must think her a jumpy
flake.

His fingers dug gently into the tight muscles. She
let out a low moan.

“Are teenagers always this difficult and
unreasonable?” Brendan asked.

The feel of his hands on her skin made talking
impossible. Felt so good. Too good. She shouldn’t be doing this. If Jason
walked in and saw them…

Forcing her head up, she shifted so his hands fell
away. Immediately missing his touch. “We may as well eat. Jason can heat his
later.”

Brendan returned to his seat and picked up his spoon.
She picked hers up, too, but her appetite had fled.

“I can camp out in the backyard if my being here
will cause too much trouble for you. I don’t need to be in the house to protect
you.”

Sounded reasonable, but if she were to be honest
with herself, she didn’t want him to leave. She felt safe with him in the
house.

That wasn’t the only reason, but she wasn’t ready
to go there.

“I don’t know.” She sighed. “Maybe I’m being
over-dramatic.”

“I know men like your ex and he’s desperate. If he
needs that money he’s going to get it. No matter what it takes.”

Mia rubbed her forehead. “I don’t want to believe
that, but I know Ray’s history and if he’s back in the game he’ll stop at
nothing.”

“What was he involved in that sent him to prison?”

Setting her spoon back down on the table, she met
his gaze. “Home invasion and attempted murder.”

Brendan didn’t react. Not like she’d expected when
he heard her ex had almost killed someone. That gave her courage to go on. “He
shot one of the homeowners on his last job. Wounded the man, but didn’t kill
him. I had no idea he was involved with criminals like that. I guess I refused
to see the truth. When I put the pieces together—his absence during the
robberies, the reports I saw on the news about break-ins—the way he lavishly
spent money that I knew his job as a bartender didn’t afford us.” The high he’d
been on when he came home. Made for great sex, wild and a little rough, but
didn’t quiet the voices in her head telling her he’d changed. That he wasn’t
the man she’d married. That something was wrong with this picture.

None of that she spoke aloud. It only served to
show what a blind fool she’d been. Thank God her parents weren’t alive to see
how much she’d screwed up her marriage. Theirs had been a marriage made in
heaven. They married young, loved long, and died happy. Mia always thought
she’d have the same kind of marriage as them. Thought Ray was the man to give
it to her. In the beginning, he had. Then he started disappearing more. Staying
out all night. Meeting with friends he never introduced her to.

“You confronted him about it?”

She nodded, remembering that night. He’d come home,
riding that high he always got after a job, wanting sex, but she denied him.
Said they needed to talk. That set off his temper. Since he’d never raised a
hand to her, she’d pushed forward, asking him where he’d been, about the blood
staining his shirt sleeve. When she brought up the robberies he got angry and
stormed out. That’s when she knew for sure. She’d gone straight to the police.
Ray was arrested the very next day. They found him in a hotel room with a
hooker, stolen goods and the weapon he’d used to shoot the home owner. He’d
been offered a reduced sentence if he rolled on his cohorts, but Ray was no
snitch. He served his time, protecting the ones who helped him with his
criminal activities. The man he’d shot declined to press charges so his
sentence was reduced to assault with a weapon and home invasion. She assumed
his partners had gotten to the victim and somehow got him to back down from
charging Ray. The less she knew the better, she figured.

Out of fear they would find out she had turned Ray
in, she’d packed up Jason and moved without telling anyone. Every few years
she’d move again, telling Jason she’d found another job instead of the truth
that she worried Ray’s partners would retaliate for her snitching. It didn’t
help her relationship with her son any, but she had to protect him. He was her
world and it would end her if she lost him.

“Then I went to the police,” she said. “And, the
rest, as they say, is history.”

“History but not freedom.”

No, she was anything but free. That, she could
never change. As long as Ray walked the earth he would always have a hold on
her through their son.

“Once I’m finished with him he won’t bother you
again.”

Mia lifted her gaze to meet his. She thought she’d
had her fill of alpha-type males. Brendan’s declaration made butterflies set
flight low in her belly and her heartrate speed up.

Someone pounded on the door, breaking the moment.

“I’ll get that,” Brendan said, already on his way.

She followed. Ray burst in before Brendan had a
chance to open the door. He glared between them. “Where’s my son?”

“In his room. What are you doing here?” Mia stepped
up beside Brendan, his presence solid and strong.

“Jason called me and said you had some guy living
here.”

Hurt that her son had run to Ray instead of talking
to her, Mia pointed to the door. “That’s none of your business. Please leave.”

“I’m not going anywhere until I know my son is
safe.”

Now her temper had risen. Where did he get off
calling Jason his son when he hadn’t seen him in ten years? He’d never been a
father to him. He didn’t have the right to worry. “Jason is fine. He’s been
fine since the day you were arrested.”

Ray’s face tightened into angry lines. “I wouldn’t
have been arrested if you hadn’t snitched. Does our son know that his mother
was the reason he lost his dad?”

Outraged, she stepped forward. “You bastard.”

Ray laughed without mirth. “Priceless. You tell him
everything except the most important detail. No wonder he grew up hating me.”

Brendan opened the door and held it open. “I’ll
walk you out.”

“Why, so you can sleep with my wife?”

“For the last time, I’m not your wife any longer.”
Did he keep calling her that just to get at her? Sounded like Ray. And she’d
stepped in it with both feet.

Ray pointed a finger at her. “Next time I come over,
he better not be here.”

On impulse, she pressed herself against Brendan and
slipped her arm around his waist. Good Lord, the man was a solid wall of
muscle. “This is my house. I’ll have whomever I choose stay here. And, if that
happens to be in my bed then that’s none of your business.”

Face red, Ray stormed out of the house. Brendan let
the door close without slamming, muscles shifting beneath his t-shirt. He
smelled like the outdoors, clean and rugged. Felt like more man than she’d ever
been with. To say her body stood up and took notice was an understatement.