The Return (Butler Ranch Book 6)

by Heather Slade

  He took her hand in his. “Come inside.”

  “I, uh, brought a bag.”

  “Oh, darlin’,” he said, picking her up and turning around and around with her in his arms. “I can’t tell you how happy that makes me.”

  She wriggled her body against his. “I think I have a general idea.”

  “God, I want to be alone with you,” he whispered. “Soon. Very, very soon, I will be.”

  “What about—”

  “She’s leaving.”

  Merrigan giggled. “I was going to say what about Quinn and Mercer?”

  He grinned. “They have their own bedroom.”

  11

  The daggers Lena hurled in Merrigan’s direction couldn’t have been more powerful if they’d come from her hand rather than her eyes.

  “We didn’t expect you,” she said, walking over to where she and Kade stood.

  When Kade groaned, Merrigan squeezed his hand.

  “Mom,” Quinn warned.

  “As I was telling Merrigan, you were just leaving.” Kade leveled his gaze as if to challenge her to contradict him.

  “Actually, I wasn’t. I thought we had an engagement celebration planned.”

  Before Kade could respond, an unexpected voice interjected.

  “We’ll celebrate another time,” said Mercer. “I’ll escort you out.” He was walking toward her as he spoke, and now stood directly in front of her.

  Quinn walked over and stood at Mercer’s side. “Come on, Mom. I’ll walk you out, and then we can make plans to get together later in the week.”

  Merrigan recognized Lena’s defeated expression, but couldn’t bring herself to sympathize.

  “Sorry about that,” Kade murmured when Quinn and her mother walked out the front door and closed it behind them.

  “Don’t be. This type of situation lends itself to discomfort.”

  Kade studied her as though he wondered what she meant, but didn’t ask.

  “Engagement celebration?” she asked, directing the conversation away from his ex-wife.

  “Yes,” said Kade, squeezing Mercer’s shoulder. “Looks like you’ll soon be my son-in-law.”

  Merrigan watched the exchange and the look on the two men’s faces. Clearly, there was a great deal of love and respect between them already.

  “I do hope I’m not intruding,” she said again.

  “Never.” He wrapped his arm around her waist and brought her closer to him. “How about a tour?”

  “Sure, but can we go out the back way?”

  Kade laughed. “We’ll tour the inside first.”

  —:—

  While Kade’s blood was boiling over Lena’s bullshit, he did his best to stifle it and let himself bask in the warmth of Merrigan’s ethereal aura. It was as though each time he was with her, he could physically feel hope for his future in a way he’d never thought possible.

  “What are you thinking?” she asked, smiling.

  “You. Always you.”

  Her cheeks pinkened. “You flatter me.”

  “It’s the truth.”

  Kade stopped in the middle of the house’s gourmet kitchen and pulled her body to his. His lips covered hers in a kiss that he hoped conveyed the way he was feeling.

  “I’d take you to see the upstairs, but I’m afraid I won’t want to come back down.”

  “Me either.”

  Kade hugged her tighter. “I wish you wouldn’t have said that.”

  “Come on,” said Merrigan, taking his hand. “Show me the rest of the downstairs.”

  Mercer had made an early dinner reservation at the Stonehouse at San Ysidro Ranch. “The grounds are so beautiful,” he said, explaining the reason for the hour.

  Once there, Kade realized he had a particular reason for wanting Quinn to see it.

  “We’ll be inside, enjoying a glass of wine,” Kade told them, letting them linger in the gardens, unhurried.

  “It would be a beautiful spot for a wedding,” Merrigan commented.

  “I was thinking the same thing.” Not just for Quinn and Mercer, but maybe, one day, for him and Merrigan, although he wouldn’t tell her that’s where his mind went.

  “Hungry?” he asked, attempting to change the subject.

  She smiled. “Yes and no.”

  “I know what you mean.”

  While he hated to bring up work, he wanted her to know what had transpired since they talked about sharing information. “I have something I want to run by you,” he began.

  She set her glass on the bar and turned to face him. “Go ahead.”

  “Quinn stumbled on some documents that had been hidden in the floorboards of an old cabin on Leech’s property. Most of what she found belonged to me; however, I wasn’t the person who hid them there.”

  “Funny you should bring this up.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “I spoke with Striker, earlier today, and he suggested I ask if you knew who hid them there.”

  “Striker? How is the old bastard?”

  “First of all, as you well know, he’s fine, and secondly, he’s hardly old. If I recall correctly, he’s your age.”

  “And if I recall correctly, you two had a thing for each other at one time. Should I be concerned?”

  “No more so than I in regard to your ex-wife.”

  “Touché.” Kade smiled. “Then I have nothing to worry about. Although I am curious about why you and he were discussing the case.”

  “Perhaps you should ask him.”

  “I certainly will.” He smiled. They both knew full well that Striker was Kade’s main contact at the agency. “Was there anything else you discussed I should be aware of?”

  “Mainly that no one has been able to identify Animus.”

  “Hmmm. Interesting.”

  Merrigan shook her head and laughed. “What does that mean?”

  “I might have a theory.”

  “Do you intend to tell me?”

  “I have a question to ask first.”

  Merrigan glared at him. “Yes?”

  “Have you discussed my proposal with Rivet?”

  “You’re a bloody bastard,” she answered, laughing. “So, the premise is that if we agree to share whatever we find, you’ll tell me who you think Animus is?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Shouldn’t you check with Striker first?”

  Kade shook his head. “I’m a lone wolf, darlin’.”

  Merrigan laughed again. “Oh, really? And what would your partners think if they heard you call yourself that?”

  “What’s that?” asked Mercer, approaching with Quinn on his arm.

  “I just told Merrigan that I’m a lone wolf.”

  He shrugged. “We all are.”

  —:—

  Could it really be almost eight o’clock? Merrigan couldn’t believe they’d sat and chatted in the Stonehouse dining room for almost three hours. She looked about the room, thankful there were several other parties still eating.

  She’d given some thought both to Kade’s proposal and to Striker’s reaction that it wasn’t uncommon for the two agencies to cooperate.

  Maybe she was overthinking it. Was her hesitation to contact Rivet driven by her contrition over her affair with Kade?

  Affair? The word didn’t seem to fit the way she felt about him or where she saw their relationship heading. This was nothing like any other romantic liaison she’d had. Maybe that was what was behind her feelings of guilt, but what they had was hardly illicit.

  “We want to make our home here,” she heard Quinn say to Kade, realizing she hadn’t been paying attention to the conversation they were having.

  “It’s a great idea. By here, what do you mean exactly? The Central Coast? Montecito?” Kade asked.

  Mercer spoke up. “There’s another offer on the table.”

  “And that is?”

  Merrigan inwardly grinned at Kade’s impatience. Couldn’t the man take a breath between hearing what someone was saying
to him and prodding them for the rest of the information? It wasn’t that it bothered her as much as it was simply part of who he was.

  While she’d be the first to agree that a relationship between operatives should be “off limits,” Merrigan wondered how she could be involved with anyone but. As it was, the strength of her personality, coupled with her MI6 status, intimidated even seasoned professionals. That would never be the case with Kade, though. The man oozed badassery as much as mastery. She’d never met another person, let alone a man, who made her consider relinquishing some of the control she held so close.

  “My grandfather offered us the balance of the estate,” Merrigan heard Quinn say.

  “We would build,” Mercer added.

  Kade didn’t answer right away, but was skilled at masking his thoughts. Merrigan wondered if his lack of response had anything to do with the ongoing search for Calder’s files, although she would think Mercer would have the same concern.

  “I told my grandfather that, even though I didn’t spend much time there when I was growing up, the estate still felt like home to me. That was when he said he wanted it to be my home and essentially said the land was mine.”

  Rather than continuing to feel like an interloper, Merrigan excused herself, hoping that by the time she returned from the ladies’ room, the conversation would have moved on. However, she couldn’t help wondering what Quinn’s mother thought about Leech’s bequest.

  When she returned to the table, Kade stood and pulled her chair out, leaning in as she was seated. “Are you about ready to get out of here?”

  “Yes,” she murmured, feeling heat radiate from his body to hers.

  Since her Jaguar and the Porsche were essentially two-seater cars, they’d driven separately, so excusing themselves and giving Mercer and Quinn time alone wasn’t at all awkward.

  “We’ll see you in the morning?” she heard him ask as they said goodnight.

  “Is it okay if we stay at the house?” asked Quinn.

  “If I recall correctly, Eighty-eight and I have an appointment with the Pacific Ocean at zero seven hundred.”

  Kade caught Merrigan’s eye. “However, you and Quinn can sleep as late as you’d like.”

  When the valet brought the car around, Merrigan went directly to the passenger door, hoping Kade wouldn’t mind driving.

  He smiled. “I was going to ask if I could drive.”

  She rested her head back against the seat and let the pleasantries of their evening wash over her. It had been a long time since she’d sat around a dinner table, talking for as long as they had, and even longer since she’d spent any time whatsoever with what was left of her family.

  Her parents had passed away ten years ago, within two months of each other, leaving her with only an older brother she wasn’t close to. She supposed it was one reason why long missions never bothered her. What else would she have done with her time if she wasn’t working? Certainly not spend time with her brother, his wife, and their children, since they’d never invited her to.

  Admittedly, she’d enjoyed talking with Quinn about their wedding plans, although she had nothing to offer based on her own experience. The only thing she’d added that she thought Quinn might find useful, was to remember that she and Mercer, and their wishes for their marriage ceremony, should be all that mattered.

  Years ago, she’d been a bridesmaid, only once, and she’d witnessed one of her dearest friend’s day nearly ruined by the interference of her own mother and the groom’s. She vowed that if she ever were to marry, as unlikely as that would be, all she would want in attendance would be her, her future husband, and whoever was marrying them.

  She looked over at Kade, who was studying her while he waited for the stoplight to turn from red to green.

  “I wish I could read your thoughts,” he murmured, stroking his finger down her cheek.

  “I’m happy to share. I was thinking about how nice tonight was, and how I don’t remember another like it.”

  “Me either. Quinn is…”

  Merrigan waited for him to finish, and when he didn’t, she offered her opinion. “Remarkable.”

  “Isn’t she?” he asked.

  “Given her upbringing, she is spectacular.”

  “I like that word too.” Kade looked away from her. “I’m so proud of her.”

  His voice had changed and so had the look on his face.

  “Now I wish I could read your thoughts.”

  “I’ll explain when we get back to the house.”

  The rest of the ride was quiet, until they turned onto the street where the house was located, and Kade’s phone began buzzing. He pulled through the gate and was about to check it when Merrigan’s phone began to ping as well.

  “Leech. What can I do for you?” she asked.

  “Do you know where Doc is?”

  His tone worried her. “I’m with him. Why? What’s wrong?”

  “It’s Lena,” he said with a shaky voice. “There’s been an accident.”

  “I’ll let you talk to him directly,” she said, thrusting the phone in Kade’s direction.

  —:—

  Leech explained that his daughter’s car had gone off the road not too far from Kade’s place. Paps was the one who had alerted both emergency vehicles as well as Leech when he grew concerned that her tracking device hadn’t indicated movement, although it had been continually updating.

  “She’s in intensive care at the hospital in Santa Barbara.”

  “Are you with her?” Kade asked.

  “On my way. Paps and Razor are with me.”

  “I’m ten minutes away. I’ll meet you there.”

  Kade didn’t need to explain what was happening to Merrigan; she had heard the entire conversation.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Please, Kade. Don’t be.”

  He nodded. “Do you want to stay here or come with me?”

  “Which would you prefer?”

  “It may be a long night.”

  “Understood. I’ll be here if you need anything.”

  Kade got out of the car and climbed into his father’s truck. “I’ll keep you posted,” he said, hoping that she would stay but unable to ask her to.

  “What about Quinn?” she asked.

  “Can you call Eighty-eight?”

  “Of course.”

  —:—

  Kade was beyond the gate before Merrigan realized she had no way to get into the house, and after witnessing the intricacies of the security system, she knew there’d be no sneaking in. Instead, she got back into her car and placed the call to Mercer. After alerting him about Lena’s accident, she started the engine, pulled through the gates that opened automatically when she approached, and drove back to her rental house in Cayucos. When she heard from Kade, she’d simply explain that she hadn’t been able to get in and didn’t want to waylay him from getting to the hospital.

  The forethought explanation hadn’t been needed, though, because twenty-four hours later, she still hadn’t heard from him.

  12

  In addition to puncturing a lung and breaking several bones, Lena had suffered a traumatic brain injury so severe that it impaired critical functions such as speech, vision, emotional stability, and memory. Her nose had been broken and would require surgery in the future, but for now, her brain injury was the medical team’s primary focus.

  After four days in intensive care, the team determined Lena was ready to be brought out of the medically-induced coma she’d been in since the night of the accident. When she woke, she had no memory of anything that had happened since before Calder raped her.

  Additionally, her speech was limited, and she was unable to see out of either eye. The doctors said they believed Lena would regain her sight, but they couldn’t predict when.

  Quinn’s presence alone rattled her mother, given she couldn’t remember being pregnant or having a daughter.

  After three weeks, the doctors determined Lena could either go to a rehab facility
or home, but only if the family was able to hire in-home nursing care for her.

  Quinn asked Kade out to the hall while the team finished their examination of her mother.

  “There’s a rehab facility in Paso Robles, but I think she’d do better at home.”

  “We’ll take your mother to Casa Carrizo.”

  “I know it’s a lot to ask.”

  Kade told her not to worry. There was a guest wing on the southern side of the house with three bedrooms and private baths. The rooms were spacious enough that any of them could accommodate a hospital bed, which was what Lena would require.

  “You can stay in one of the rooms on the main floor. We’ll use the third for the nurse,” Kade told her.

  “If you’re sure.”

  “It’s settled, Quinn.”

  When she walked away, Kade rubbed the back of his neck. It seemed as though there was something he was forgetting. Maybe he should give Merrigan a call and let her know what was happening.

  Throughout the ordeal, she’d been understanding, to a degree that worried him, but for the time being, he had to focus on Lena’s recovery above all else.

  Mercer and Razor became the leads on the mission to locate Calder’s files, and Kade couldn’t have cared less. In fact, it wouldn’t bother him if the CIA and MI6 decided to let United Russia continue the search, and dropped their roles in it. Since Calder and the rest of the Maskhadovs were dead, and no longer posed a threat to his family, he didn’t give a shit anymore about what had been hidden.

  He’d told Merrigan as much in their last conversation. Again she’d told him she understood, but this time, more than any other, he knew she was lying.

  —:—

  They weren’t any closer to discovering Animus’ identity than they had been three weeks ago. Merrigan wondered whether Kade had been telling her the truth when he said he had a theory about who it might be. She’d told Razor about the conversation, and he informed her Kade said he had no idea what she was talking about.