Tatyana nodded but didn't speak. She didn't need to, and she wasn't one to add words if they weren't needed.
"My God, you and Chief are going to make one hell of a pair. Worse than Frank and his one grunt sentences," the man mumbled.
"Chief?" Taty sat up and winced at the sudden movement. She didn't know who the hell Frank was, but that was irrelevant.
"Yes?"
"You are from this Guardian?"
"Guardian Security is my company, yes."
Tatyana's soul screamed for her to ask about the man that had become so necessary to her in such a little time. Was he well? Was he injured? The last time she'd seen him he was locked in a life and death struggle with the young Russian. She knew the Russian was in custody but was David… Chief, alright? Was he married? Did he love another? Could she ever be a part of his life? Was anything they talked about true? Was she just a mission to him or did he feel something for her?
The man, Gabriel, cocked his head at her and then looked around the small room assessing her accommodations. "I have the authority to take you with me, now. You may remain with MI6 or sign this." The man withdrew a neatly folded paper from his pocket and pushed it across the table to her.
Tatyana used her one functioning hand to open the paper. "This is my resignation from MI6." He nodded and extracted a second paper. Tatyana read the writing and immediately read it again. An offer letter for employment within Guardian Security as a consultant and an instructor of foreign languages at someplace called The SD Annex. The salary was exorbitant even considering the dollar to Euro conversion that she had to do in her head. She put the paper down and lifted her eyes to the man across from her. Was this some sort of trick? There was no reason or rationale for this type of offer. "Why?"
Gabriel leaned back in his chair and narrowed his eyes at her as if he was determining whether or not to answer her question. "Because someone I care for put his life on hold for over a year to help bring these bastards down. In the process, he found someone important to him. As far as he knows, you are a criminal, and he'll never see you again. Now, you have a decision to make. If he means nothing to you, if you were just doing your job, stay here. But, if you feel anything for that man, sign those documents, and you'll be on your way to him." He leaned forward. Even with the table between them the man's aura filled the room and made her feel small and insignificant. "But know this: If you have any malice or ill intent toward that man, I will make sure you regret signing."
Tatyana shivered at the man's tone. She'd been around many powerful men, but the absolute authority this man radiated solidified his threat. He'd make her regret any such ploy. She looked at both papers as they moved slightly from the forced air heat that was warming the sterile room.
"Will he want me there?"
"If he doesn't, you will be relocated and the employment offer still stands."
"Why are you doing this? I understand that your employee has served you well, but this is a little over the board, yes?" Tatyana leaned back and cradled her arm. Her head pounded with the same heartbeat she felt radiating with the pain in her shoulder.
"He is more than an employee to me. He is family." The man leaned back and watched her carefully. She had the distinct feeling he could not only see every secret she'd ever hidden, but he could read her thoughts, too. A hint of a smile lifted the corner of his mouth and an eyebrow raised.Oh my God, that was freaky. Taty gulped and dropped her focus to the papers. A simple choice, but one that would change her life forever. If there was even a minuscule chance Dav… Chief would be happy to see her, she'd go. She positioned the sheets closer and scanned them again before she lifted her eyes to the man across from her. "Mr. Gabriel, would you happen to have a pen I may borrow?"
Chapter Thirty-One
"Chief." Frank Marshall's gruff voice interrupted his contemplation of an amazing view. The sun was setting casting a golden hue across the pastures that spread out as far as the eye could see. Cows slowly meandered, eating the first green shoots of spring. They were in the middle of calving season. Frank, his ranch foreman, John Smith, and several new hands that Chief had yet to meet, had ridden out and brought in four of the cows that always had issues delivering and penned them up next to the barn.
The cool breeze of the early evening brought a chill to his skin. He'd lost track of time once again. He'd been doing that since he'd been back. The Wonder Twins had done a great job at running the facility but were more than happy to hand the reins back to him. Their primary interests were physical training and taking on random projects. The latest was a solar powered heating system for the water troughs and stock-pond which wasn't new technology, but getting an old rancher to embrace the idea was a major project in and of itself. Listening to them pitch the idea to Frank had been hilarious. They never shut up, and Frank didn't do much of anything but grunt, yet the writers of the classic Three Stooges movies couldn't have scripted the dialog any better. Chief raked his gaze over the pastureland. God, he'd missed this place and yet...
"Frank." Chief acknowledged the man as he stepped up and sat his ass on the top board of the fence alongside him.
"You know I ain't one to butt in."
"But you're going to do it anyway." Chief chuckled when the man grunted an affirmative sounding noise.
"Yup. What happened out there?"
Shit, the man didn't mince words. Well, neither did he. "Fell for the wrong woman." Chief knew Frank would keep his confidence.
"Huh." Frank fished in his pocket and tugged out a bag of taffy. The little diner in Hollister had taken to selling it by the cash register. Damn stuff was good. Frank offered him a piece, so he took it.
"Yeah." Chief popped the confection into his mouth, folded the little square of wax paper and put it in his pocket. They didn't litter on the ranch. Ever.
"Took me forever to find Amanda… after." Frank busied himself folding his own square of wax paper.
"True, but you deserved to find happiness."
"Huh."
Ever the conversationalist, Frank ended his thought there. Chief gave Frank a sideways glance. "Huh, what?"
"You said that like you think you don't." Frank turned his head and stared straight at him.
"I'm not ready." He worked hard, gave Gabriel and Jason an honest day's work… more than that, actually. But he was even more withdrawn than he'd been before. Right now he didn't want to see what the others had. He needed time to heal, and he wasn't about to do that in public view.
"Huh." Frank fished for the bag again and drew another piece of candy out for each of them. "Life's just like a horse. Get bucked off. You get back on. You deserve happiness, too." He handed the taffy over as he spoke.
Chief shrugged his shoulder and fiddled with the peppermint taffy now in his hands. He didn't believe it. "Guess we'll see."
"You visit your kin when you was gone?"
Chief shrugged. "Got no kin. Mom is dead, never knew my dad."
"Damn good thing you got us then." Frank let out a long breath. "Been blessed. Got me one hell of a family and I figure you to be a son, just the same as those two whirling dervishes."
Chief chuckled at that. The description fit Dixon and Drake. Frank gave him a rare smile. "You deserve the love of a good woman."
"That's the problem. That woman I fell for? She wasn't good. She's a criminal and everything I did last year put her behind bars, probably for the rest of her life."
Or he assumed she was there. Doc had told him that she'd made it out of surgery, but Interpol had taken her into custody. That was over two months ago. He'd made numerous inquiries about her, her condition and her case, but none had been answered. He'd given his deposition, and he'd testify when it came time. He didn't know how he was going to deal with seeing her again—as her accuser.
Frank rubbed the back of his neck and groaned. "Don't figure you give your love none too easy. H
ad to be something there."
"Nothing that can change her fate or mine." Chief fought daily to keep that thought front and center, or he'd go fucking insane.
"Damn it, son, this conversation needs more than taffy. Let's go get us some brown liquor."
Chief shook his head. "Thank you, but I'm good here. I need to process, to be alone."
"Don't like that idea."
"I know."
The drone of a jet engine shattered the silence. "Gabriel?" Frank asked as they both turned their eyes toward the complex's runway.
Chief drew a deep breath and jumped down from the fence. "Shouldn't be. He's in Europe. The last of the supply transports arrived about 2:00. Unless you and Amanda are expecting a visit?" Chief eyed the G6 as it descended in its approach pattern. It wasn't the aircraft the King family used when visiting the ranch. He watched as Dixon and Drake left the ranch house en route to the landing strip.
"Nope." Frank took off his cowboy hat and raked his hand through his salt and pepper hair. "Kids ain't due anytime soon."
The Wonder Twins disappeared. "They'll handle it." Chief headed toward the barn and Frank fell into step beside him. The man grunted his affirmation.
"Dinner is in thirty minutes. Don't make us wait for you." He turned and headed toward the house.
Chief had heard Frank admonish his family in that tone too many times not to smile. "Roger that." Chief glanced at his watch to make a note of the time.
He wandered to the stalls and fussed over the horses while his two dogs followed at his heels. He loved the animals, and they seemed to sense he needed the peace of being alone with them, because every one of them, even Keelee's cantankerous gelding, nudged him gently when he approached. He stopped at Chance's stall. The sorrel had one eye and was scarred from a fight he'd had with a barbed wire fence. Frank had bought him as a rescue, and Chief had instantly felt a bond with the old guy. Chance placed his head at the center of Chief's chest and rested it there as Chief whispered mindless affirmations to the animal.
Tatyana approached the massive doorway. She'd never been this close to large animals in her life. The men who met the plane and read the envelope she'd been directed to give them recognized her immediately, and she recognized them. The pilots that accompanied David… No. The man standing three hundred feet from her was not David Xavier. His name was Mike White Cloud. At least that is what Gabriel had told her. Her handlers at MI6 had been there when she'd awakened after surgery. She was flown from the Maldives to London while heavily sedated. But that portion of her life was over as of three days ago.
Her arm hung almost lifeless against her side. The doctors promised more mobility, and eventually, with physical therapy, she would be able to use it to write and feed herself. Until then, she had been getting by using her left hand and arm.
She leaned against the wall in the shadows and looked at the man she loved. Mike, Chief or David, the name didn't matter. Mike didn't know she was MI6. Gabriel had given her the opportunity to tell Mike herself. Tatyana held onto a thread of hope that what they'd shared wasn't a dictate of his mission. There were so many things not said, so many lies told, and there was every reason to believe she meant nothing to him. Except for the flight to the Maldives. The way he made love to her, the connection she felt, bound her to this man. She risked everything by coming here. Her sanity, her tenuous justification to herself about the vile acts she'd been accessory to in order to bring down the Bravata, her shallow hope that maybe the man standing there would love her even after everything she'd done. What she'd done had stained her in ways she'd never be able to clean. For the thousandth time, she debated why this seemed like a good idea when Gabriel presented it to her. The answer that kept surfacing was simple. She'd lose everything if she didn't try. Because that man, no matter his name, made her broken life whole.
His low chuckle as he talked to the horse brought her out of her jetlagged stupor. London to South Dakota in… she lifted her left arm and checked the face of the watch. She did the math then blinked and shook her head. Twenty-two hours, maybe? No, twenty because of the American time zones. She fixed her addled brain on the reason she was here. Tatyana walked forward quietly. A huge animal stuck its head over the half door and blew out a huff of air. Taty jumped and squeaked at the sudden appearance of the massive animal. Her good hand clutched her chest in surprise. Two dogs sprang from the straw and barked.
"Tatyana?" His voice carried shocked disbelief. She cast a terrified wayward look at the big animal before she stepped closer to the reason she'd flown halfway around the world. He looked so damn good. His biceps strained the long sleeve t-shirt he wore. The boot-cut jeans formed to his powerful thighs. Brown cowboy boots and a wide leather belt with a huge silver buckle sold the cowboy look.
"See, you lied to me. You are a cowboy." She emphasized her accent. Mike dropped the hand that had been stroking the horse and put both hands in his pockets. His body stiffened, no longer relaxed like he'd been when petting the large brown horse behind him. "How are you here, Taty, and what's wrong with your arm?"
Taty stopped walking about three feet from him. She reached down and pulled her arm up and cradled it against her waist. She should have worn the sling, but the doctors wanted her to use it as much as she could to strengthen the damaged muscles. "The bullet damaged the joint and muscle. It will get stronger, but it may never be the same." She bit her lip and looked up at him through her lashes. She drew a long deep breath in before she answered his other question. "Your boss, Mr. Gabriel came to see me."
His mouth opened and then closed several times. The doubt she saw play across his face turned into suspicion. "Why?" He stepped back and pulled his hands out of his pockets and placed them on his hips in a defensive posture.
Taty shrugged. "I do not know his motivation."
"Why are you here?"
"I was asking myself the same question just now. Do you want to know what the answer was?"
Mike's eyes narrowed and his jaw set as if he were grinding his teeth together. This wasn't the hearts and flowers reunion she'd hoped for.
"I'm here because I care about you."
"You don't know me. You only know my cover."
"And you don't know me. You've only met my cover. But there is truth to my statement. You can't deny it."
"Your cover?" he whispered.
"Until three days ago I was an undercover agent with MI6. I worked for eight years to get to the top of the Bravata to take down the organization, rung by rung."
"Eight years?" His voice broke.
Her eyes filled with tears, and Taty nodded.
Mike stepped forward and she looked up into his eyes. His hand palmed her cheek. "I'm so sorry. I wanted to tell you, but I…
"You couldn't. And I couldn't. We were pawns in a bloody awful game. We couldn't stop what we'd started even if it cost us each other."
Chief lifted her injured arm and carefully held her hand as his other arm reached around her and cradled her into his massive body. She'd forgotten how broad and tall he was, and now in cowboy boots, he towered at least a full foot over her, but she felt safer than she had in years.
"I thought I'd lost you." His admission echoed her own thoughts. He lowered his lips to hers. She trembled at the soft sweep of his lips against her mouth.
"I didn't mean to fall in love with you." She breathed the most honest words she'd ever spoken against his lips.
"I thought I'd lost you." He repeated his words and buried his face in her curls as he held her as if she would break. "I wanted to tell you, to let you know what you meant to me before—"
"No, I understand. I knew in here." She interrupted and lifted her good hand to his chest and covered his heart. "I knew. You told me on the plane, didn't you? That's when you told me you loved me."
"I couldn't lose you without letting you know… somehow." Chief's lips found
hers again, and this time the kiss wasn't tentative or sweet. It was possessive and demanding. Taty opened for him and fell into the bliss of his desire.
"Ummm… We'll tell Frank you aren't coming to dinner."
A man's voice behind them startled her, but Chief didn't stop. He didn't loosen the tender grip he had on her arm or the possessive hold he had on her hair, allowing him to angle her head for a deeper kiss. Taty sighed into the safety of Mike's embrace.
"You aren't coming to dinner are you?"
Taty recognized the voices and groaned when Mike lifted away.
"Go away." He directed his words at the men in the barn with them, but his eyes remained on her. Love and laughter filled his expression, and her heart warmed at the genuine feeling of unadulterated bliss that swept over her like a crashing wave.
"Man, talk about unappreciative."
Mike finally broke eye contact and gathered her into him. His chest rumbled against her ear. "Go away. Now."
"See right there. Yep, I agree, unappreciative and rude. He should really introduce us. I mean proper like."
"I agree! You know if that were our woman, she'd be treated better. Be introduced to everyone, but you know how these guys are. Neanderthals."
Tatyana turned in Mike's embrace. The twin on the right was staring at his brother, his mouth opened like a gaping fish before he snapped it shut. "Neanderthal? Ne-fucking-anderthals? Really? So now you are making generalizations about an entire career field? That is like saying all blonde women are ditzy! That shit will get you in trouble faster than a baseball bat hitting a bee hive. Hell, who the hell are you and what have you done with my brother?"
Chief grabbed her good hand and pulled her toward the side of the building and closer to a smaller door she hadn't noticed before.
"What? No! You are purposefully misunderstanding me."
"Oh...I understand you! Hey, Chief, back me up here... Now where in the hell did he go?"
Chief (Kings of Guardian Book 7) (The Kings of Guardian) Page 23
