by Sheila Kell
An arm slid over her shoulder, pulling her into an embrace that allowed her to weep over all she’d lost. It wasn’t just the destruction of her studio. It was her only link to who she’d been in her homeland.
A second arm went around her, and she snuggled into Danny’s chest, thoroughly dousing his shirt while she cried.
His soft kiss on the top of her head and his tight hold on her brought her sanity back to normal.
“I’ll help you restock the place.”
His tenderness renewed the tears that’d just slowed. She’d miss him so much when she finally went home.
Chapter Twenty-One
Opening the door to Cowboy and Doc, relief lifted from his chest. Not only did they have more agents protecting Moira, but he also wanted to know what they’d found.
As they walked into the living room, Cowboy blurted, “Dude, your place smells like—”
Danny sighed. “I know.”
“Is it your choice or hers?” Cowboy continued on his path to embarrass him, but it wouldn’t work.
He stared at the agent, knowing he was bringing levity to the meeting. “Does it matter?” Sure, it smelled like flowers, but he didn’t mind because it wasn’t overly powerful, and it was Moira’s favorite perfume now spilled from a broken bottle.
They sat and updated Danny. They arrived with nothing. If the Underground wanted her, they were being tight-lipped about it.
Danny jumped up and wanted to hit something. Hard. “Dammit! Someone is fucking with her, and I don’t like it. Not one bit.”
“How’d they get past your security system?” Doc asked from the couch.
“They busted a window. I don’t have window alarms or motion sensors.” He dropped in the chair opposite the couch. “Just door alarms.”
“How is she?” Doc always worried about people’s health—both physical and mental.
“I think she’s heartbroken more than anything else.”
Cowboy leaned back on the couch and stretched his legs, before crossing one over the other. “Do you think it’s the guy in Ireland that she ran from?”
He sighed wearily. “I don’t know. She was in one photo before Devon had it taken down off the website we found.”
“It was a Celtic site, though. An Irish one.”
Cowboy had it right. “I doubt the minister or Boyle check out those sites.”
“True,” Doc agreed, “but their employees might.”
“If he hasn’t made the move in the last three months, why now? And why just tearing up her studio? Why not her room, instead of just the broken perfume bottle?”
With his nervous, arguably ready-for-battle energy flying through his nerve endings, he jumped from the chair again and paced. No matter his feelings for Moira, he had to be level-headed.
“If it’s him, he’s coming now because he found out she’s still alive.” Danny wiped his hand over his face, trying to clear his head and settle his brain to figure this out. “Here’s my gut’s guess. He may know she’s here, but it’s not him. Boyle is a cold-blooded killer and would hire the same. So, the men at the tavern and whoever fucked up her studio aren’t in the same class.”
His teammates nodded, but their expressions showed a flash of concern. It only lasted briefly, but it told him how they felt about this op. Technically, it wasn’t an official op. AJ had given him leeway to use the team—not like he wouldn’t have—to collect Moira.
Doc leaned forward, resting his forearms on his thighs. “I think this whole thing stinks to high heaven. There are several options. Someone in the Underground is keeping it secret. The ruined studio doesn’t fit with that option. That could be an angry artist who doesn’t like the competition or a disgruntled client.”
“Yeah,” Danny said, but without conviction. “I don’t see the last two going to the effort. But there might be something to your thought. This was a message, but I’m not sure what kind.”
Cowboy pulled his legs up and straightened in his seat. “Whoever did this has been watching the house and guessed the limitations of your security system. They knew neither of you were here and did it not long after you’d left late last night.”
He’d already been racking his brain to see if he remembered someone poking around more often than should be or starting a casual conversation with himself or Moira.
“I know,” Cowboy said. “I’m looking into this more. If it’s who’s chasing her from Ireland, he may’ve used muscle but not killers. They’re taunting her to confirm she’s the right person.”
“That sounds plausible,” Danny said.
“Has she said anything or hinted about trouble?” Doc asked.
Danny gave him a sideways glance. “You saw her. She only asked for help when she couldn’t get away. Like us, she knew better than to go out the back door right away, in case someone was waiting. So, if she had problems outside of the reason she’s here, I doubt she’d share them unless they got out of control.”
“Damn stubborn women,” Cowboy muttered.
“Agreed.”
“Let me call AJ about it all. My plan is to protect her, keep our ears to the ground for local or international chatter.”
Cowboy gestured his thumb to the front door. “What about the scary twins?”
He and Doc chuckled at that. HIS only needed the two of them to confront a perp and they’d be spilling the beans, without so much as a word from either twin. Come to think of it, he’d only heard a few words from Jane and even less from John. “They’re with us. They’ll be our nighttime secret weapons.” He paused, then added, “Let me call AJ. Then we talk to Stone.”
“Stone?” Doc’s brow furrowed. “Is he back with us?”
Danny shook his head. “I think he’s done with his field days. I’ll have him dig up what he can about our potential suspects. When Moira arrived, I had him pull what he could of those at the mansion that day, but I set it aside when I felt she was safe. Stupid of me.”
“Don’t sweat it. We’ll take care of it.” Doc stood. “Got anything to drink in the fridge?” Doc loomed over him.
“Help yourselves. There’s also snacks in the pantry.” He stepped to his office to make the first call.
AJ picked up before the second ring. “What the fuck? You should’ve reported already.”
True, but he’d needed to calm down. Pissing off AJ would doom anything extra he might need or make them pull him. “We had a problem.”
“Go ahead.”
“We found her easily this morning and brought her home. The problem is that someone has been in my home and destroyed her art studio on my third floor.”
“Don’t you have a security system? If not, I’ll meet your ass in the ring.”
He wanted to laugh. AJ, well, he wasn’t good in the ring. As if channeling his boss, Danny’s finger and thumb rested on the bridge of his nose before he answered, “Of course I have a security system. It just isn’t on the windows or inside motion.”
“Do you think it’s the Irish threat?”
“I couldn’t say. There’s no chatter of her in the Underground, but I won’t write them off completely. The two thugs could’ve been trying to fill a quota and decided she looked good for it.” Danny took a breath and continued. “Whoever did the deed last night knew Moira wasn’t there, knew I’d left, and knew my house and security system, or made a damn good calculated guess on it. Plus, they targeted her space.”
“Shit. Hang on,” AJ said and muted the call.
He hated when the brothers did that, but, sometimes. it was better than hearing them loudly discuss the situation. As he began running down all he had to do, AJ returned.
“Devon will be there tomorrow to replace or upgrade your security system to include the second and third floor. He’ll also install some cameras that’ll give you full coverage of front and back. Front will cross the str
eet, so you can see anyone hanging out.”
That took the first thing off his mental list of to do items. This system would be significantly better than what he’d planned. “We’ll be here. About my team—”
“Keeping Moira safe is now an Alpha team op. You’ll remain. Make room in your home for them. Have someone come grab what you need. Make sure to remind Cowboy that every situation does not require a flash bang.”
Danny smiled at the idea because he knew it to be true. “Thank you, AJ.”
“Don’t thank me yet. I’m your coordinator, and I get short-tempered when I’m called away from my wife and son for something that can wait. That’s not to say don’t wake me up before shit happens. Okay, you know the drill. I want Moira covered 24/7. If things get bad, we take her to the safe house. Stone will continue to pull intel for you. No more jumping the gun for you and taking away part of my job.”
An “oops” almost slipped out.
“Make sure she is on board or bring her to Jesse’s. Kate will convince her.”
Damn true on that. “Roger.”
AJ hung up.
Knowing his team had approval for this op, versus going rogue, released some of the rope coiling in his stomach. With a nod, he made his way back to the living room, wondering if he had any food left after Doc and Cowboy opened the pantry.
Surprisingly they only had bottled water open. “Did you guys have breakfast?”
Doc nodded. “We did drive-thru. Did you guys eat?”
“We did before Moira went to bed. The twins took turns.”
Wide eyed, Cowboy asked, “Did they say anything?”
“Nope,” Danny said as he shook his head. “I did get a nod from each of them.”
“Damn odd,” Cowboy said.
“Didn’t we cover this earlier?” Danny asked.
Cowboy shrugged. “Just trying to figure them out.”
“Maybe they just need to warm up to us,” Doc countered.
“Once they feel comfortable with us, I’m sure things will be different.” He held his phone out in front of him. “Are you ready for us to call Stone?”
“What about the twins?”
Cowboy just wouldn’t let that go, but he did need to bring them up to speed. Turning on his microphone, he ordered, “Mission brief. Jane, you need to be in here. John, we’ll broadcast the meeting, so just interrupt us if you need to.”
“Why Jane?” Danny didn’t recognize the voice, but it had to be John. The man did speak and might be protective of his sister.
“She’s going to be close to Moira, so I need you to handle things alone. We don’t have a sniper to spare, but let me know if you need Jane back. I think it’ll be easier to protect her with a woman most of the time.”
He counted his heartbeats in wait of whether John would respond.
“Good plan” was all he said.
From a black ops guy, who may not even legally exist, that put confidence back in Danny.
Chapter Twenty-Two
While Devon and crew updated his system with inside cameras, sensors on every window, glass breakage sensors, and motion sensors, Danny took Moira shopping to replace what she’d lost. It wasn’t a necessity and, according to Devon, was a risk not worth taking, but with Jane, John, and Cowboy all surrounding her and carrying concealed weapons, Danny felt they could keep her safe.
They still had no idea who destroyed her studio. It made no sense. Sure, she’d been followed, but to follow-up with destruction? It sounded like two separate incidents. It could be the same person and would be better if it was, so they didn’t have to keep an eye on more than one front, but still….
They were going to handle things as if Moira had been found. Well, except for today’s excursion. Doubt crept in. Maybe he shouldn’t have pushed for it. Was he losing his objectivity because he wanted the girl… wanted to please her? Had Boss and the brothers encountered the same issue? Granted, he wasn’t in love, but he could see himself falling in love with Moira. If only she wanted to stay in the States.
Once Justin collected the info to bring Boyle to justice, she could live freely. If she’d only stay, he’d help her get her start as an artist in any way he could. Surely Jesse and Kate had a contact that would be of use.
“Danny, can we go home now? I’d like to be there when all of these packages are delivered,” Moira said.
His heart warmed when she said “home.” It may have been a slip of the tongue, but he’d hoped the three months since she’d been here, she’d begin to consider his home hers. “Sure.” With that, the group turned and still maintained a protective circle around Danny and Moira. They were intent on their duty, and while none had liked the risk, they’d stood up to be selected for the detail. Doc had been left behind because Devon said his height would be of benefit during the install.
“Did you get everything you wanted?” he asked.
“Nay, but I have enough to get started again.”
He had no idea what she planned to do with all the paintings anyway if she was leaving, unless she planned to pack them all up and ship them. “What are you planning to paint next?”
“The streets of Dublin. More specifically one street. It holds memories I like to revisit.”
“Anything you want to share?”
He looked at her and caught a blush creeping round her cheeks. “Well, it’s silly really.”
That made him chuckle because now he wanted to know. “You can tell me.”
“Okay. Remember I said it was silly.”
He nodded and glanced at her again. God, she was beautiful. In blue jeans and a comfy looking T-shirt, her figure drew him to her, and his blood ran south. Damn, he had it bad for her.
“Well, we were at a bar and it was the first time my parents bought me a pint of Gat.”
“Okay,” he said slowly. Odd memory.
“I told you it was silly. It’s just, that was the first time they acknowledged me as an adult. So, I remember that feeling of gratification and think of them.”
That was heavier than he expected. “That is a good memory,” he said, because anything else would be wrong in some way. “I have a memory from my father.” Now he felt stupid about what he was going to say. “It was when he gave me my aviator pilot watch.” He showed her the item on his wrist. “It told me he had faith in me becoming a pilot.”
“And you did.”
A pilot who was afraid of taking flight. “Yeah, I did. But, like you, I remember that moment every time I look at my watch. So I get your need to recreate the scene so you can revisit it.”
“When I go home, I can visit it as often as I want. But, until then, the painting will do.”
They were quiet the remainder of the walk back to his home. Once there, he marveled at how much Devon, some of the Hamilton brothers and a few from Bravo team had accomplished.
“The glass has been replaced in your window, and all windows have sensors on them, so no one will sneak in that way again,” Devon said, when Danny approached him.
Devon’s voice didn’t sound it, but Danny felt like he was being chastised for not protecting his home better to begin with. “Thanks. I appreciate it.” Anything to make Moira safer.
“I’m still ready to kick your ass for taking her out today,” AJ told him.
Bristling, Danny stiffened and straightened, ready for a fight, even if only verbal. “I made sure she was safe.”
“She’d have been safer here with all of us,” Brad Hamilton said.
Of all the men to tell him about keeping his woman safe, these three took the cake. His woman? He wanted her to be, but there was still the matter of his brother. Based on her holding Danny’s hand, he didn’t think she held any regard for his brother, but he owed it to the man to speak with him first, in case his brother did hold a regard for Moira. Then, there was her wanting to return to I
reland. He guessed he could go with her, but his home was here. That realization let him feel how important it was for her to return home. Home held a special place in your heart. Maybe since she wouldn’t have any loved ones still there, she’d then consider staying.
“She’d just been freaked out and you brought men she doesn’t know here. Of course she needed to get out. Besides, I’m not certain the three of you, especially you, AJ, are the best for telling me how to protect a lone woman.”
“Hey, times with Megan were different,” AJ blustered.
“Yeah, sure. You kept her on the run with you instead of handing her over to the safety of your brother’s protective arms. At least I’m utilizing all the protection available.”
“Megan was still different,” AJ hedged.
“Maybe not.” Let them take that for what it was worth. He’d just let them know Moira meant more than a friend needing protection. If they tried to take him off lead for the op because she meant something to him, he’d go ballistic. Only Boss could usurp his leadership of the team. Technically, any Hamilton brother could do that, but they didn’t. They left the teams to Boss and even followed him when they participated on a mission. Well, mostly. They each took over when the women, they later married, had been in danger.
“So that’s how it is.” AJ shook his head. “Only a man in too deep would even consider putting a tracker on his woman.”
Okay, it sounded wrong, but he knew it wasn’t. She’d been free to move around, but between the men he’d hired and the tracker, he’d known where she was in case she’d been in trouble. Well, except for last night, since he’d chosen not to replace the men. He’d become comfortable and somewhat safe. He swallowed at the thought of the danger she’d been in when he’d been drinking beer with the guys.
“Anything on the men who chased her?”
“Underground by association, but no specific IDs on their names.”
