Betrayal of the Dove (Men of Action)

by Montgomery, Capri

  “Alyssa.”

  Alyssa tacked her hands to her hips. “No arguing with me, Eve. You go get your car right now missy.”

  Eve laughed. “Yes mother,” she kept laughing all the way out the door. Alyssa grabbed her keys from behind the desk and knocked on the security room door again.

  “I’m going to move my car so Eve can have my space. I’ll be right back.”

  “I’ll move my truck,” he said. “So you can stay where you are.” His voice was so gravely serious that she figured there was no point in wasting time arguing with the man.

  “Fine, then you’ll be right back,” she said. “There aren’t any parks close by.”

  “I’ll find something.”

  “Hey,” she said as he was getting ready to walk out the door. He turned around and waited for her to say something. “Nothing,” she shook her head. She was tempted, and almost ready, to ask him if he wanted to go out to dinner with them tonight. But she couldn’t do that. Dinner would be almost like a date and they were not dating. She just had to keep reminding herself of that fact. Although some part of her mind was already screaming that they were dating. Lunch every day at her place was pretty much a date…although she had justified it by saying it was just two people who worked together eating lunch at the same time in the same place.

  He nodded his acceptance of her words before walking out the store. First order of business for her was to call Thomas before Eve got back in there. Thomas was probably the only person who could talk her into staying in the States instead of moving to London. Of course the moment he answered the phone he assumed something was wrong with her. “Brothers,” she mumbled. “I just called to tell you Eve is back. She’s here and she’s going to help me out with the store on Monday.” She listened to him complain about the fact that she hadn’t called him. “Well she didn’t call me either until she got here. Listen; call her Monday at the store. She won’t be able to run away from you then.” She was amazed that he agreed to her plan. When it came to their family Thomas wasn’t exactly the sit back and wait kind of guy, but he was going to wait this time. Thank goodness for that.

  Chapter Six

  “I should have known she would call you.”

  “You should have called me,” Thomas nearly growled. “We’ve always been close. I’m sorry you hate me now.”

  “I don’t hate you,” she said. “I love you more than I love myself, Thomas. You’re a huge part of my heart and you know it. I just…Adam was a huge part of it too and I just needed some time away.” She came to help Alyssa, not get a surprise call from her big brother on a Monday morning at the store when she couldn’t use any excuse to get away. She had just opened ten minutes ago and as Alyssa had told her, the store didn’t start to get busy until about ten o’clock. She was sure that was something her big sister had alerted Thomas to when she called him and told him she was in town.

  “You took the job,” he said somberly. “The one in London. You’re going and we’ll never see you again. We hardly see you now.”

  “Good Lord,” she sighed. “It’s not like I’m moving to Mars. Get a grip. It’s not like you to dramatize things. I think Thena’s rubbing off on you,” she had enough humor in her tone to make sure Thomas knew she wasn’t insulting him or his wife. “And about Belfast,” she turned serious. “I didn’t tell you I was going there so you could play big brother. I can’t believe you sent Blaine in there. I was fine.”

  “Fine?” He nearly snapped. “From what I hear things got hot and you could have died. You might not care if you end up in a box, but I do! I’m not going to lose you. It would kill me, and you know that.”

  She couldn’t argue with him there. Things had taken an unexpected turn for the worse…no, she would be lying if she said she didn’t expect it. All along she knew it would. This was the IRA, they didn’t do interviews unless they had hostages on the other end and they were trying to get demands met. They also didn’t leave people behind alive. She knew that going in, and on some level she just didn’t care. She was going to get the story even if she didn’t live to write it; somebody else would get her gear and they would write it for her. When the shooting started she hadn’t bothered to try to get away. She just stood there and shot as many pictures as she could get. That’s when she felt a large hand grab her arm and drag her out. She looked up to one angry looking Blaine Ashworth and she knew her brother had once again been looking out for her. But did he have to send Blaine? The man seemed to think he was her father or something. Way too protective—much like Thomas in that regard.

  “Details,” she said passively dismissing his concern for her safety.

  “You want me to bury you is that it? Well I won’t do it. You tell me where you’re moving in London and I’ll have somebody there to watch your six because clearly you don’t care enough about yourself or this family to do it for yourself.”

  Jeeze, he was angry. Maybe he had a right to be. She hadn’t been thinking about anything other than the enormous pain where her heart used to be. She just wanted it to stop, to go away, and she hadn’t, not until Belfast, thought about what her death on any of those assignments would mean to anybody other than herself. Blaine had, not so delicately, pointed out the error of her ways when he broke it down for her in morbid details. He painted her the picture of her body in that box, her family standing over that grave, and the one that hurt her most was the image she conjured up of Thomas standing there weeping over her dead body. She couldn’t do that to him. She wouldn’t do that to him.

  “Look, I’m not—”

  “You are telling me!” He barked. She laughed and that seemed to anger him more.

  She laughed harder. “Thomas, if you would just put your war horse back in the stable I could tell you that I’m not moving to London. They offered me the job, but I decided to take the one in Hawaii instead.”

  “You had a job offer in Hawaii and you didn’t tell me?”

  “They offered it to me the day before my London interview. I wasn’t sure which one I was going to take, but Hawaii…well, it’s tropical and sunny and London is historically beautiful, but cold and not so sunny. I think I need sunshine in my life right now.”

  “And what are you going to be doing; exposing government corruption?”

  “No, that’s your job,” she snickered. She hadn’t freely laughed since Adam died, she didn’t know she could still do it. She had forced several smiles, but over the past few days, being with Alyssa and talking with Thomas, her laugh was definitely back; this was genuine. “I’m working the pieces I wanted to work while Adam was alive,” she said. “I’m telling the world about some of our heroes right here at home. Some of the jobs might get dangerous, but for the most part I’ll be safely tucked on the sidelines of whatever goes down. I’m starting with a piece on the HCG. The Coast Guards have rolled out the red carpet for me,” she laughed again. “They seem to think it’s an honor for me to be there, while I think it’s an honor they’re letting me come along and write about them.”

  “Thank God,” he said. “I know people on the HCG.”

  “Figures,” she retorted. “Don’t you dare play big brother or I’ll take the job in London instead.”

  He conceded to not interfering with her work. “But I am letting Valencia know you’re coming. I’m going to ask her to keep an eye on you.”

  “Which eye?” She chuckled. “Seriously, I’m going to be on Oahu. She’s living on Kauai with her opera composer soon-to-be hubby, Harrison Sinclair.”

  “She’ll still make sure you’re okay. From what I hear she has a place on Oahu.”

  “I know,” she agreed. “I’m renting it for the year. I’ll probably try to find my own place later, but her place is fabulous and she’s letting me have it for next to nothing. I couldn’t pass that up.” She planned to get some black and white film photographs for Valencia at her wedding, if she managed to score an invite that is. She knew Thomas would be there because Valencia thought of him like a brother, but
that didn’t mean she would invite her. If she did, she was going to take her Yashica and do the best black and white photographs ever. Then she would print them on fiber based paper and present them to her as her wedding gift. She had it all figured out—mostly anyway. If she didn’t get an invite she would have to find something else to get to thank Valencia for all she had done, not just for her, but for Thomas too.

  “You told her before you told me?”

  “I wanted to make sure I had living arrangements secure before I told you. I came prepared for whatever you would throw at me.” She heard him growl and it made her laugh. She sobered quickly. “Thomas,” she waited for his response. “Thanks for helping me get my laugh back. I didn’t think I would ever be able to do that again, but I have thanks to you and Alyssa. Thank you.”

  “Thank you for sharing that beautiful laugh with me.”

  She could hear the pride in his voice. They were reconnecting the way they were before she withdrew. She knew she would never love another man the way she loved Adam. She would never allow herself to fall in love and she would never, ever date another man with a suicide profession. But she would love her brother, and she would be the sister for him that she used to be. She had lost a part of her heart; she wouldn’t take a part of his away by withdrawing from him. She wouldn’t inflict that pain on him.

  “So, you and Thena will come visit me in Hawaii; yes?”

  “Yes,” he agreed. “We’ll come once you get settled.”

  Eve ended her call with Thomas right before the first customer walked in. “Family,” she mumbled with a smile on her face. “If you need help picking something out for your wife, or girlfriend please let me know,” she smiled at the officer in front of her.

  “Actually, I was looking for Alyssa.”

  “Oh,” she said. Alyssa hadn’t mentioned a cop being in the romantic mix. Although it was clear her sister had the hots for the security guard, maybe she had missed something and this cop was a factor too. “She’s in court today.”

  “Court? Is there a problem?”

  “Oh, I think it’s a discrimination law suit, but she’ll be fine. She’s meeting with her attorney, his attorney and the judge to see if it needs to go to trial. She should be back at work by Wednesday.” She knew Alyssa might be out of chambers on Tuesday whether it was the end of things or not. If this suit moved forward they would have to set a court date. But she also knew her sister needed a real day off. She wanted her to just sleep in for a few hours, and then go down the Row to the spa and have a spa day on her. The woman needed to relax some. She worked all the time, constantly trying to keep her business stable and growing. She needed a break, a day off to herself. Eve would suggest she stay up in the room and rest all day, but she knew her sister. Alyssa would be up before the crack of dawn working on a new piece of jewelry if Eve didn’t find a way to get her out of the flat for the day. The spa seemed like a good enough idea to her.

  “So how long are you here?”

  Not that it was really any of his business, but it couldn’t hurt anything. “I’m just here for however long she needs help with the store. I have to make the rounds on seeing family before I move so probably just a few days—unless the case doesn’t close and she needs somebody to run the store for longer.”

  He nodded. “Tell her Craig Davis stopped by, please.”

  “Will do,” she smiled. “Have a nice day.” She watched him walk out of the shop. He seemed thoroughly disappointed that the wrong woman was behind the counter today. She shrugged. He wasn’t entirely friendly, but maybe that was just a cop thing or something. And since Alyssa hadn’t mentioned him there couldn’t have been anything romantic on her part. Alyssa had gone on and on about Shane, how great he was, how skilled he was, his military exploits and how little she knew about his family. Eve didn’t think Alyssa even realized how much of their conversations had revolved around the man. That’s how Eve knew her sister was deeply in love with the man in her security room, whether she wanted to admit it or not.

  She heard the security door open before she looked up to see Shane watching her. “How are you doing out here?”

  She grinned. “Like you don’t know. I saw those monitors while I was in that room Saturday and I know for a fact you have full view of this store—of my sister while she’s in here.” She smiled. “So, are you watching her daily, Shane Maxwell?”

  He brushed his hand through his short cut hair. “You’re really observant.”

  She nodded. “She is too, when she allows herself to be. I bet you’re checking her out all day; aren’t you?”

  He laughed. “Change of subject,” he insisted.

  “Okay, but know this; if you hurt my sister I’m going to hunt you down and kick your butt.”

  He laughed. “Oh, I will,” she said. “And if I can’t take you I’ll find somebody who can.” She was serious as a heart attack on this one. Her sister meant the world to her and she wouldn’t see another man hurt her the way her ex did. She had been the one Alyssa cried with when it went south and she was not going to watch her suffer that same pain again.

  “Noted,” he nodded. “I have no plans to hurt her.”

  She nodded her understanding. “Then I’d suggest you stop sitting on your behind and make a move already.”

  He laughed. “You’re both very direct women, aren’t you?”

  She shrugged. “Life is too short to sit around and waste time. Trust me on that. If you like her, go after her. She’s not going to make the first move because you’re her employee and she wouldn’t think it’s fair, or right, to do so.”

  “Thanks,” he said. “I’ll keep that in mind. Now, are you okay out here?”

  He watched the store entirely too much. She was sure he noticed in her down time, between customers, she was combating tears. She hated resting from working, because the moment she stopped being busy she thought about Adam, his life, his death, her loss, and she didn’t want to have to think about that.“I’m fine. I’m just trying to decide which one of these pieces I want to buy. Alyssa never lets me buy anything, she always gives it away, but I’m going to buy it and you’re going to help me.”

  “I am?” He looked at her, his green-blue eyes silently questioning her.

  “She’ll never let me pay her, but you…I think you can buy it with my money without her knowing.”

  “Um…won’t she think I’m buying it for a woman then?”

  “Probably, but I’ll be right there and after you buy it I’ll take it from you. It will be too late for her to change things then.”

  He shook his head and laughed. “You women and your plotting ways.”

  “I know my sister,” she said. “She won’t let me buy anything from her.” And if he thought this was the first time she had found a way to trick her sister he would be wrong. Alyssa had a heart of gold and precious gemstones. She would give her last to any friend and anybody on the street; that’s just who she was as a person. “Besides, I’m planning to take a few of her clothing items with me so it all works out,” she laughed.

  “You’re not the same size. You’re smaller than she is, and you’re taller.”

  She shrugged. “We’ve always shared some things. I’ve lost weight,” she admitted. “I’m like a zero in size now and she’s still a two, three at the max, but I can still fit her sleeveless tops and I’m sure some of those knee-length sundresses will work despite my height.” They would be shorter on her, but hey, Hawaii was the perfect place to show off her legs.

  “Were you trying to lose weight? You look great, but I bet you didn’t need to lose any.”

  She shook her head no. “Let’s just say I spent a lot of time running for my life over the past year and that is definitely a weight loss inducing activity.”

  “Playing it dangerously close to the edge; are you?”

  “I was,” she admitted. “But Blaine showed me the error of my ways and I realized I needed to change some things—at least a little.” She couldn’t live on t
he edge forever. Adam wouldn’t have ever wanted her to do that. If he were alive he probably would have lectured her six days ‘til Sunday. But then again, if he were alive she would have never taken ninety percent of the assignments she had taken.

  More customers came in, causing Shane to retreat to his security room while she worked at making sales. She hoped Alyssa’s day was going as favorably in court as her day was going in the store. The sales were top notch, and she was happy she would have some good news to break to her sister once she arrived home…maybe two things of good news because she still hadn’t told her she would be staying Stateside instead of moving to London. Well, that’s what after work conversations were for, and she was going to be sure to make sure they had a long conversation tonight. Just the two of them, like the sisters they had always been, and would always be. She missed her family, missed the days of being in touch with them more regularly and she was going to correct that; that was her promise to herself.