Queen of Diamonds

by Sandra Owens

  A woman with black hair and smoky brown eyes flashed through his mind. “Funny you should say that. I’ve been thinking the same thing the last few days. But I don’t need you to recruit women for me. I’m capable of finding my own dates.”

  “Too late. I’ve already confirmed that you’ll escort her.”

  A prime example of why Harlan was so successful. He just ploughed right through any barriers in his way until he got the results he wanted. “Let me guess. You’re either trying to buy her father out, merge with his company, or—”

  “The first one, but that’s irrelevant. She’s a beautiful woman, understands our lifestyle, and would be perfect for you. I’m not asking you to marry her, just go out and enjoy yourself for a change.”

  “You just described Olivia, and that didn’t work out so well, did it?” His father was conveniently forgetting his own background and the days when he didn’t have two coins to rub together. He wondered what Harlan would think of Kinsey.

  “It would have if not for…” His dad lowered his gaze for a moment, then lifted eyes that reflected the same sadness Rand lived with every day. “I miss Zoe, too. But it’s time to crawl out of your cave, son. You’ll take Deidre to the ball, and you will enjoy yourself.”

  Rand didn’t doubt his dad was hurting at the loss of his granddaughter. Even though it was the last thing he wanted to do, the tears in his father’s eyes had him agreeing. “Okay. Give me Deidre’s phone number. I’ll call her and make the arrangements.”

  “I know you resent my pushing you to do this, son, but I’m only doing it for your own good,” Harlan said as he walked Rand to the door. “It’s a father’s right to worry about his child.”

  Those last words were as good as an arrow through Rand’s heart, the pain intense. He’d worried when they’d rushed Zoe to the emergency room, but it hadn’t done a bit of good.

  Kinsey glanced over at her passenger. Her brothers hadn’t been happy when she’d insisted they make a stop at her apartment so she could get her car. She wanted to be able to leave if she wasn’t comfortable. They’d asked so many questions about how safe her apartment security was on the way to her place that she hadn’t even gone in. She wasn’t ready for them to invade her space, so she’d gone straight from their car to hers with Alex in tow.

  So far he was the brother she was the most comfortable with. She couldn’t help wondering what her life would have been like if she’d grown up with them.

  “What has you so deep in thought, little sister?” He grinned at her. “I really like saying that.”

  “Guess you’re not the baby anymore,” she said, avoiding his question.

  “You have no idea how happy that makes me. They’ll have to stop calling me ‘baby brother’ now.”

  “Well, on the male side you still are the baby brother.”

  “Just go and burst my bubble.” He let out a dramatic sigh, making her laugh.

  “Sorry.” She stopped behind Nate’s car when they arrived at a gate. He punched in a code, then waved his hand for her to follow him in. A high stone wall hid the grounds from view. “Wow, his house is inside here?”

  “Actually, so are mine and Court’s.”

  “You guys live in a compound?”

  “Yeah. We’ve made a lot of enemies. This is safer for our families.”

  That didn’t sound good. She parked next to Nate’s vehicle and glanced around as she got out of her car. Three houses were set in a half circle, each on what looked like an acre of land. Security lights flicked on as they walked up the sidewalk. Nate had said they were going to his house, so she assumed the one they were approaching was his. It was a sprawling ranch style, and she did a double take at the little faces pressed against the window, watching them.

  “Um…”

  Alex laughed. “I should warn you that there’s a crowd here, waiting to meet you.”

  Nate opened the door, then stepped aside, motioning her to enter.

  “Like how big a crowd?” She stepped to the side while he closed and bolted the door after they were all in. These guys really did seem to take their security seriously.

  Alex stared at the ceiling for a second while clicking off his fingers. “Thirteen, plus one Gentry on the way to be exact. Actually, fourteen counting Rosie.”

  “You’re kidding, right?” Were there aunts and uncles she didn’t know about?

  “Nope.”

  He slung an arm around her shoulder, and she couldn’t help but like it. I have a family. They entered a large living room, and even though Alex had warned her, she paused at seeing all the people staring at her. I have a really big family. Four of them were women and the rest were children. Wow, her brothers were prolific.

  Before she could say anything, three of the women surrounded her, smothering her in a group hug. Kinsey hadn’t been hugged by a female since losing her mother, and with her emotions running high at having a family again, she burst into tears, thoroughly embarrassing herself.

  “Oh, honey,” one of them said. “This has been a crazy day for you, hasn’t it?”

  There was an understatement if she’d ever heard one, and she nodded.

  The women stepped back but kept their hands on her arms. “I’m Madison, Alex’s wife,” the one with red hair and green eyes said.

  “I’m Lauren, Court’s wife,” said the very pregnant blonde with spiky, pink-tipped hair.

  The last one, a gorgeous blue-eyed blonde, smiled. “And I’m Taylor, Nate’s wife.”

  They were all gorgeous, actually.

  “I can’t believe you’re really here,” Madison said. “You have no idea how hard the guys have been trying to find you.”

  “And instead she found us,” Alex said. He glanced at his brothers. “We need to work on our investigative skills.”

  One of the older girls tugged on Taylor’s blouse. “Is that her, Mommy?”

  “Yes, sweetie, this is Kinsey, your aunt. Kinsey, this is Sarrie and next to her is her twin sister, June.” She started pointing at children. “Bri, Elle, Robin, and playing on the floor with the baby is Annie. All the girls belong to Nate and me. The baby is Michael and belongs to Alex and Madison.”

  Nate and Taylor had six kids? Wow. “Hello, everyone.” A chorus of voices answered, the older girls giving her shy smiles. Annie looked up at her and grinned, then went back to bouncing a teddy bear on Michael’s stomach. Kinsey guessed the baby was about three months, and he was on his back, kicking his little feet in the air and laughing.

  “Also, I’d like you to meet Rosie, my foster mother,” Taylor said. “She’s going to take the kids over to Court’s house so we can talk without being interrupted.”

  A tiny woman barreled into her, wrapping her in a hug, which resulted in Rosie’s face buried against her breasts. Kinsey glanced over Rosie’s head, meeting Alex’s amused gaze.

  “She’s a hugger in case you haven’t noticed,” he said.

  When Rosie finally let go of her, she stared from Kinsey to the brothers. “You look just like your brothers, except you’re a lot prettier.”

  “Thank you.” She’d had no idea that she’d have an instant family this big, and she wasn’t sure what to do with them all.

  “She’s overwhelmed right now,” Lauren said. “Let’s get the kids over to my house before she decides she doesn’t want any part of this circus.” She smiled at Kinsey. “You’ll get used to us.” She chuckled. “I hope.”

  While all this had been going on, Nate had stood off to the side with Court, watching. They might share the same blood, but they were two of the most intimidating men she’d ever met. Were they worried she wouldn’t like their children?

  “We’ll help Rosie get them settled and be back in a few minutes. Don’t start without us,” Madison said as the women rounded up the kids.

  And then Kinsey was alone with her newfound brothers and couldn’t think of a thing to say. She did wonder about Nate’s six children but didn’t know how to ask. He didn’t strike her as a daddy
kind of guy.

  “You want something to drink?” Alex asked. “Wine, a beer, water, or something else?”

  “No thanks.” She was too nervous to drink anything.

  “I’ll have a beer,” Nate said.

  “Dude, it’s your house. Get your own beer.” Alex looked at her and winked.

  Court chuckled. “You’ll soon learn that baby brother likes poking the bear, Kinsey.”

  “It’s the highlight of my day,” Alex said. He glanced at Nate and sighed. “Fine, I’ll get the beers. You sure you don’t want something, Kinsey?”

  She blew out a breath. “Okay, a glass of wine would be nice. Whatever you have is fine.”

  “I’ll help,” Court said. “Taylor and Madison will want a glass of wine, too.” Court followed Alex to the kitchen.

  Nate waved a hand at the sofa. “Come have a seat.”

  After she was seated, Nate parked himself in a chair, facing her. She glanced around, taking in the decor. It was homey with the comfortable brown leather furniture that was kid friendly. Toys were scattered over the floor, and a large TV was on the wall across from her. On a long table beneath the TV were game hand controls. A whole lot of them, but she supposed with all the children and adults, that was to be expected. She loved playing video games and wondered what kind they liked.

  “Um, your kids are really cute.”

  Nate’s eyes softened. “Yeah, they are. To answer the question you’re dying to ask, Taylor and I adopted the girls.”

  “Oh, I was wondering. That’s awesome.” It really was, not to mention a surprise. She was fast reevaluating the assumptions she’d made about her brothers. “I have to say that the last thing I expected was to find out my brothers were FBI.”

  He smiled, and she guessed that he didn’t do it often, but he should. Smiling changed his entire demeanor, made him more approachable.

  Court and Alex returned, each carrying a combination of wineglasses and beer bottles, which they placed on the coffee table. The wives walked in a few minutes later.

  Taylor picked up a glass of wine, then perched on the arm of Nate’s chair. Madison settled in next to Kinsey, with Alex on her other side. Court helped Lauren sit in another chair, and then he sat on the floor at one side of her legs, resting his arm over her knees.

  When Kinsey picked up one of the wineglasses, Alex leaned across Madison and tapped his bottle against her glass. “Welcome to the family, little sister.”

  “Thanks.” Did you hear that, Mom? I have a family again.

  “I’m dying to know how you found out you have brothers,” Madison said.

  “It was a shock, believe me. After Mom died… our mother—”

  “She’s dead?” Alex said, his voice cracking.

  “Yes, a little over a year ago, when I was in college. A heart attack. No warning.” Her voice trembled, too.

  Alex stood and walked out of the room, and she realized that this was the first time they were hearing that their mother had died. Madison hurried after Alex, and Kinsey glanced from Court to Nate. Lauren had put her hands over Court’s arm, and Taylor had her head on Nate’s shoulder.

  There was pain in both men’s eyes, and although she was sorry for putting it there, she liked them all the more for mourning a mother they hadn’t seen in years, one who’d walked away from them. All the times she’d read the letter, she’d never once thought of how her mother had hurt her sons for leaving.

  “I just needed a minute,” Alex said, walking back into the room with his arm around Madison’s shoulder.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t even think about you all not knowing she was gone.”

  “We knew it was a possibility, but we were hoping to find both of you,” Nate said, his gaze—full of love and concern—on Alex.

  She cleared her throat. “I have to say it was really weird finding out that she had a life I never knew about. That I had brothers.” She told them about finding the letter in her mother’s Bible. “I thought you would like to read it, so I brought it with me.”

  She retrieved the letter from her purse. When Nate held out his hand, she gave it to him. He studied both sides of the envelope, then lifted his eyes to hers. “You’ve read this often.”

  “I have.”

  He handed the letter to Taylor. “Read it out loud so we can all hear it.”

  Kinsey leaned her head back against the sofa and closed her eyes as she listened to Taylor’s voice reading the letter she knew by heart. When Taylor reached the final words of the letter, Kinsey opened her eyes, unable to stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks. As she looked around at the people in the room, she saw that everyone had tears streaming from their eyes except for Nate and Court, who both had their eyes closed tight. What were they thinking?

  “‘If you should decide to find your brothers, please tell them why I left. Tell them that I never stopped loving them. I only ask one thing of you, Kinsey. Be happy. I love you through eternity. Mom,’” Taylor said, then gently folded the letter and handed it back to her.

  “Wow, that’s so sad,” Madison said.

  Lauren brushed her fingers across her cheeks. “But in a way not. She saved Kinsey’s life. And she was right. Her sons grew up to be amazing men.” Her gaze slid over the brothers. “I don’t think you guys would disagree that she laid the groundwork for who you are today.”

  “We searched all over Gainesville for the two of you,” Court said.

  “Why Gainesville? We lived in Jacksonville.”

  Nate leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Because that was the only clue we had. The man she referred to in her letter who helped her get away, she sent him a baby picture of you and the envelope was postmarked in Gainesville.”

  “Then she either made a brief stop there before moving on to Jacksonville, or she simply mailed it from there so no one could trace her to Jacksonville, I guess.” There was so much her mother hadn’t told her, and Kinsey resented that a little. “Was your father… I’m sorry, I can’t even think of him as mine. Was he as awful as she said?”

  “Worse,” Alex said. He stood, pulled off his shirt, then turned his back to her.

  Kinsey gasped at seeing the scars on his back.

  “Put your damn shirt back on,” Nate growled. “She doesn’t need to know about him.”

  Alex eyed his brother as he slipped on his shirt. “Yes, she does. It’s the only way she’ll understand why our mother felt she had no choice but to leave. You know as well as I do, even better probably, that Mama’s options were limited to either doing what she did or staying with us and risking her baby. I for one don’t blame her.”

  “I don’t either,” Court softly said. “Not anymore.”

  Nate glanced at Taylor, and when she smiled at him, the hard lines around his mouth and eyes relaxed. Kinsey sensed that his wife was one of the few people who could calm him. She’d been subtly watching her brothers, and from the exchanged glances and touches, it was obvious all three were in love. She was both happy for them and envious.

  They talked for hours, her brothers telling her about their lives and she about hers. The more time she spent with them and the more she learned about them, the more she liked them. She especially liked their wives.

  When she started yawning, she said, “I think I’m going to call it a night.” Her brain was on overload and needed time to digest all she’d learned. She wondered how long it would take the idea of having an instant family to settle in.

  Nate pulled his phone out. “Before you leave, what’s your phone number?”

  Everyone grabbed their phones, and they all insisted that she put each of their numbers in hers. She left with six new family phone numbers and a promise to come over Saturday afternoon for a cookout. She’d also learned enough about her brothers not to be surprised when Alex followed her home to make sure she arrived safely.

  She waved to him before entering her apartment, locking the door behind her. After kicking off her heels, she padded to the kitchen to g
et a glass of water. A chill snaked down her spine when she noticed her back door wasn’t closed tight. She always locked it behind her when she came in from the patio. Maybe she’d been careless this morning, but she could almost visualize herself testing the doorknob to make sure it was locked. She set the glass on the counter, backed out of the room, grabbed her purse, and then ran to her car.

  Was she panicking over nothing? Probably. But she wasn’t one of those too-stupid-to-live women who crept through a dark house to see if an ax murderer lurked in the closet, just waiting to chop her into little pieces.

  8

  All Rand wanted was a hot shower and his bed. These bar hours were a bitch. He’d never been a night owl, preferring to be asleep no later than midnight and up with the sun. Quiet mornings were his favorite time of day. Hopefully Nate would find a replacement for him soon. He checked his watch, sighing when he saw it would be another two hours before they could close up. At least it had been a quiet night.

  His phone buzzed, his heart rate kicking up a notch at seeing Kinsey’s name on the screen.

  “Hold on a minute,” he said, heading for the office where it was quiet. He closed the door behind him. “Hey. How was your visit with your brothers?”

  “I think someone might have been in my apartment.”

  His body stiffened, going on full alert. “Get out. Now, Kinsey.”

  “I did. I’m at an all-night convenience store a few blocks from my place.”

  At least she was smart. “You need to call your brothers.”

  “If I do that, it will be like an invasion of a SEAL team or something descending on me. It’s possible I didn’t close my back door and lock it, but I don’t think my brothers know the meaning of restraint. If they even get the hint that something might be amiss, they’ll move me lock, stock, and barrel right into their compound before I can blink twice. They’ve already mentioned what a great idea that would be.”

  That didn’t surprise him. “Are you inside the store?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Stay right where you are. I’ll be there in twenty.” After getting the store’s address from her, he went to find Josh, to let his partner know he had to leave.