by Jill Sanders
“It’s so nice to meet you,” Mia said.
“Sweetie, welcome to Haven.” His mother smiled at her. “This is my husband, Tom.”
Mia shook Tom’s hand and Brian reached over to do the same. He’d known the man his entire life. He’d never really liked him, but that could be because he had always been on the wrong side of the law before.
“Congratulations,” Brian said. “I’m sorry I couldn’t make it out here for the wedding.”
“Don’t sweat it. We had the judge do it in the courthouse.” Tom waved him off, then reached over and took Rea’s hand. “When it’s right, you don’t need the fancy, you just need the now.”
Tom leaned down and kissed Brian’s mother. He’d been concerned when his mother had told him about their relationship and marriage. Now, seeing the pair together, he knew they fit. He could tell that his mother was happy and that was all that mattered to him.
“Shall we?” His mother turned back towards them. “Kristy saved us a booth in the back.”
As they walked to the back of the diner, he passed more than a half dozen people he knew and probably owed apologies to.
By the time they sat down, his stomach was rolling, and his shoulders were tensed. He’d known this was going to happen. It was the reason he hadn’t wanted to return home.
The fact was, he hadn’t even told Mia how bad he used to be. He was afraid she’d call off the trip or, worse, he’d lose her respect.
“So, Mia, tell us all about yourself.” His mother started in the moment they sat down and they all had cups of coffee in hand.
Mia chuckled and put on her charm as she went over with his mother the front story they had come up with.
As far as anyone would know, she had been working in the ER where Brian had been rushed to after a small car accident he’d been in last year.
He had ended up in the ER last year, but it was after he and Mia had already been working together. Instead of a car accident, he’d been shot during a raid. Even though the bullet had just grazed his ribs, he’d been stuck in the hospital for a few days and then put on desk duty for two months. The boredom had almost killed him.
As Mia told the story they had come up with, he glanced around the diner and noted all the usual people.
He’d been dreading coming back home and seeing everyone, but he was especially dreading seeing any of the McGowans. His cousins.
It hadn’t been a shock to find out seven years ago that Gavin Laster hadn’t been his father. The man had said so moments before dying. But it had been a shock to find out that Carl McGowan was his father instead. Just knowing that he was cousins with Trent, Tyler, and Trey McGowan was like getting shot all over again.
While his mother and Mia were chatting up a storm, he was unsure what to say to Tom. The man had arrested him more than half a dozen times back in Brian’s youth.
“So.” Tom cleared his throat. “Are you staying out of trouble in Helena?”
Brian chuckled. “Trying to. I’ve got a job at the local brewery now.” He ran through the planned lies that he’d told his mother a few months ago. His and Mia’s cover was solid enough.
“Oh?” Tom asked, his grey eyebrows shooting up slightly. “I hear those things are popping up everywhere in Helena. We’ve been meaning to get up there and visit.” Tom laid a hand over Rea’s.
“We’d love to have you,” Mia chimed in. He wanted to nudge her under the table. They had talked about the possibility of skirting invitations. Mia believed it would look obvious if they tried to detour anyone from visiting them in Helena. He disagreed.
Leaning back in the booth, he wrapped an arm around Mia’s shoulders as they ordered. He felt her tense when he started playing with her hair, but as the conversation continued, she relaxed under his touch.
He hadn’t planned on enjoying toying with her as much as he was. He loved the way she heated so quickly.
He’d seen her expertly take down a man double her size with a well-executed round kick. She was a better shot than him, could reload her gun faster, and, though it killed him to admit it, was a faster runner than he was. At least she had been at their last yearly physical exam. Since then, he’d taken to running three times a week to train.
When his mind focused again, he realized what his mother had just said.
“Oh, look, there’s Tyler and Kristen McGowan.” His mother’s smile doubled.
His mother had played second mother to the McGowan brothers and had worked for their company until a few years back when she’d finally retired, and she looked excited to see Tyler and his wife. “Oh look, they’ve brought Timmy and Clare.”
His mother jumped up from her spot at the booth and rushed over to pluck the small kid from Kristen’s arms.
Tyler McGowan looked the same. He doubted if the man or any of his brothers would ever grow fat and slow, like he’d been the last time he’d been in Haven.
“Come on over and say hi,” he could hear his mother say to the couple and their two children. Tyler was holding his son in his arms. The almost seven-year-old boy was asleep on his shoulder, still dressed in his shark pajamas.
“Tyler and Kristen McGowan,” he whispered to Mia.
“Your cousin?” she asked quickly. He nodded, then stood up and extended his hand to the man who had once been his best friend and worst enemy.
“Tyler.” He shook Tyler’s hand as it was offered.
“Wow, look at you.” Tyler grinned and shifted his sleeping son. “We’ve followed your… progress.” Tyler nodded towards Rea. “You’ve made your mother very proud in the last few years.”
“Thanks,” he said easily. “This is Mia. Mia, Tyler and Kristen McGowan.”
“It’s so nice to meet you,” Mia said easily. “I can see the resemblance.”
Brian noticed Tyler’s eyes change. “Right, Brian looks a lot like our father and uncle did.” Tyler waved at Kristy as she motioned that a table was ready for them. “It looks like our table is ready.” Tyler placed a hand on Kristen’s back as she reached for the baby from his mother’s arms.
“It was nice seeing you again, Brian.” Kristen smiled at him. “Welcome home.” She shifted the little girl in her arms as they walked across the diner.
“Thanks.” He swallowed the knot in his throat. He hadn’t been too kind to Kristen when she’d first come into town. He still felt guilty for the part he had played with Dennis Rodgers, the man who had kidnapped Kristen and tried to take down McGowan Enterprises. The man who had turned out to be one more hidden feature of the McGowans.
“Oh, that baby gets bigger and bigger every day,” his mother said as her smile slid away. Then her sad eyes turned towards him. “It wouldn’t kill you to settle down soon.”
He had been in the process of taking a sip of his coffee and, upon hearing those words, almost spewed out the sip.
Mia slapped him on the back a few times, hard, until his windpipe cleared.
“Jesus, Mom,” he coughed out, earning a glare from his mother. “Sorry.”
“No pressure,” his mother said to Mia, who just smiled back.
“Oh, think nothing of it.” She shocked him when she wrapped her arm through his. “I’ve been trying to convince Brian to take our relationship to the next level for a while now.”
His cock did a little jump at the thought of doing so, the next step in his mind, of course, being sex.
“Oh, that would be wonderful.” His mother beamed.
“Having two different apartments is such a waste of money,” Mia said smoothly. He watched his mother deflate slightly, but her smile held firm. He knew she’d been thinking of marriage and was thankful Mia had handled it the best she could.
“I agree,” she replied. Thankfully, their food arrived at that moment, moving the conversation onward. He asked what in the town had changed and was quickly filled in on all the latest gossip.
He’d hoped his mother would have mentioned the new problem facing Haven—the onslaught of deadly drugs that ha
d filled Haven and were now being exported from there to other small towns. Even by the time their empty plates were taken away, neither his mother nor Tom had mentioned the three deaths in the past month due to the tainted illegal drugs.
He was trying to come up with the right words to ask them when Mia jumped in.
“So, Brian was telling me about the crime rate in Haven. That it’s one of the lowest in Montana.” She set her coffee mug down. “Helena has become such a large city.” She sighed heavily, allowing his mother and Tom to get the meaning that there was a possibility of them moving to Haven.
His mother’s eyebrows shot up with hope as her eyes moved to his.
Damn it, he was going to have to pay Mia back for this.
Chapter 2
Mia waited and watched the emotions cross Brian’s mother’s face. It was strange—the man sitting next to her, her partner for over a year, looked nothing like the old woman in the booth.
It had been strange to see Tyler McGowan step into the diner. Brian looked so much like the man she wondered why everyone in town hadn’t known of their connection long before Rea had confirmed her affair with Tyler’s uncle.
To be honest, she was a little jealous of Brian’s home life. Not that hers was a shit show, but being raised by a single cop in Chicago had taken its toll on Mia. Especially since her mother had lost her ability to feel emotion in the military before becoming a cop.
Not to mention that her husband had been gunned down by one of the biggest drug kingpins in Chicago the week after she’d given birth to Mia. The death of Mia’s father had stripped whatever feelings remained in her mother.
Being raised by a cold, calculating control freak had left lasting scars on Mia. And she’d been left believing feelings were weakness. So, she’d done what she could and pushed away everyone who tried to get close to her.
Watching Brian and his mother interact had her wishing she could talk to her mother the way he talked to his. She could tell there was some weirdness between them, but seeing the love in Rea’s eyes, Mia knew that whatever it was had been long forgotten by the woman.
“Haven is one of the safest towns in the state,” Tom boasted.
“Oh, that’s a relief.” She smiled at the older man. “I know that in Helena there are a lot of drug problems.” She watched closely for a reaction from Tom and when she got it, Brian nudged her under the table.
“Well…” Brian sighed. “We got in late last night…” His arm around her shoulders tightened slightly, reminding her of the contact. “I think I’d like to show Mia around town, then catch up on some rest.”
His mother instantly deflated. “Oh. I was hoping… That is… We were going to have you over later. You know, to celebrate your return.”
She thought she heard Brian groan and lightly elbowed him.
“That sounds wonderful.” And the perfect opportunity to get a better handle on everyone in town.
Someone was either running tainted pills through the sleepy town or manufacturing them here, and Mia was determined to figure out who it was within a week instead of the allotted month they had been given.
She knew the process could take even longer. Hell, she’d been on one job close to three months. Still, with the extra benefit of Brian having been raised there, she was sure they could cut it down to a week.
Especially after that kiss. He’d almost knocked her out with his lips. Hell, where had that come from?
Sure, she’d felt the sparks between them. It was not only obvious, it was one of the reasons they made a perfect team.
“Darlin’, it’s up to you,” Brian finally said.
Her back teeth clenched each time he called her that, and she realized it was the reason he continued using the nickname.
“I think it could be fun. What time?” she asked his mother.
“Oh, later.” The woman waved her hand. “We were thinking around one?”
“Sounds perfect,” Mia said with a smile. Then she faked a yawn, which turned into a real one since they had gotten less than four hours of sleep.
“You must be exhausted,” Rea said and reached over to pat her hand.
“I am.” She smiled. “I think I’m going to let Brian show me this charming town and then take a long nap.”
They pushed out of the booth and she stood back as Brian paid for their part of the meal.
“I’m so glad you’re home,” Rea said again, hugging Brian when they stepped outside. The weather had turned again, and Mia knew there would be more snow by lunchtime. “I’ll see you both later.” Rea glanced towards her son again and Mia clearly saw the love in her eyes.
“Yeah.” Brian shook Tom’s hand again while Mia hugged Brian’s mother.
“It was so nice to meet you. I look forward to getting to know you more,” Rea said into her ear.
“Me too,” she replied.
Once they were alone in the car, Mia dropped the mask she’d learned to put on long ago. The one that stopped certain people from asking too many questions. The one that said, I’m a normal adjusted woman.
“Your mother loves you,” she said, feeling as if she had a pit in place of a stomach. One that sucked in blackness and made everything she dreamed of disappear or rot away.
Brian glanced over at her, his eyes assessing her too much. He did that to her. Made her assess things about herself that she didn’t like. Glancing out the window, she leaned forward as he pulled out of the parking lot.
“She shouldn’t,” Brian finally said. “I was a shithead kid.”
She glanced towards him and this time her eyes ran over him as he drove. “Yeah, I can see that,” she said honestly. “Then again, most kids are.”
“Were you?” he asked, slowly driving down the main street of town.
“Yeah,” she answered honestly and shrugged. “Still am. The last time I talked to my mother was five years ago.”
“Five years?” Brian balked. When she nodded, he continued. “Jesus, at least I call my mom once a month.”
“Son of the year award goes to…” she said dryly.
“Your mom’s PD, right?” he asked.
“Yeah.” She adjusted her position, feeling uncomfortable.
“Dad?”
“Gunned down three days after I was born.”
“Jesus, that’s rough.”
She shrugged and once again looked out the window. Why hadn’t they ever talked like this before? They’d been partners for over a year, yet their personal lives had never come up.
Maybe it was because they were in his hometown and she was feeling… what? Jealous?
She wished instantly to put the cap on the bottle of emotions she’d unleashed by asking him personal questions.
“So, show me around.” She changed the subject, already looking for buildings that fit the profile for drug manufacturing.
“Main Street.” He pulled over slightly and parked along the side of the road. “Grocery store.” He nodded to the old building that looked like it had just gotten a facelift, including a new sign. “Grocery King.” He smiled. “It used to be…” He shook his head. “I can’t remember the name. I always just called it the grocery store.” He nodded to a larger building. “Granger’s Market. If you need any gear, that’s the store to go to.” He pulled out of the spot and continued to drive down the street slowly. “The Wet Spot, one of the many strip clubs still in town.”
“Nice,” she said dryly.
“They used to have the best steaks in town. We’ll have to hit it before we leave.”
She turned to him. “That desperate for a lap dance?” she joked.
“I know the owner pretty well. Plus, it’s a perfect place to start looking into who’s unloading the pills.”
“Right,” she agreed. Clubs and bars were usually the first places they went to try to score and find dealers. She knew perfectly well that you always started at the bottom to get to the mastermind of the operation.
“Down that street you have McGowan Enterprises,
and the old JB Holdings building. I don’t know what it is now, after it burned down. But basically, you have a bunch of office buildings. The schools are further down the street by the police station and the health clinic.” He turned in the opposite direction. “Here we have the industrial side of town, if you want to call it that. Body shops, a tire store, a bunch of storage facilities, and a few empty buildings. My vote as first area to look.”
“Right,” she agreed as they drove past an old building. “We can have a closer look tonight.”
He swung the car around and headed towards their hotel. “Guess we’ll go back and check in with Carter. You can have a quick nap.” Matthew Carter was their supervisor. She liked and respected the older man, since he’d proven on more than one occasion that he was more than just trustworthy. He put the safety of his agents before the job and still had an impeccable arrest record.
She chuckled. “Right. The last time I took a nap was…” She thought about it. “Never.”
“Seriously?” He glanced over at her. “God, I love a good cat nap.” He smiled and she felt her heart kick in her chest. He had a killer smile. Not that he did it often. Maybe that was what made it so damn hot.
By the time they pulled into the hotel’s parking lot, it was snowing again.
“Montana,” he sighed. “Either love it or—”
“Move,” she finished. “I like the snow,” she admitted. “You?”
“Love it.” She could tell he was enjoying it when they stepped out of the car. He stopped and lifted his handsome face, letting white flakes fall over him. “Just the smell of fresh snow makes me feel rejuvenated.”
“There’s no smell to snow.” She sniffed the air.
Brian chuckled and walked around to her side of the car. “Sure there is.” He stopped directly in front of her. “Close your eyes.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “Trust me.” He laid his hands on her shoulders and waited until she followed his instructions. Closing her eyes, she felt just how close they were. She could even feel the heat from his body, which made her realize just how cold it was outside. She had on her leather jacket, but when a gust of wind picked up, she shivered slightly. He must have felt it because he started running his hands up and down her arms. “Now, take a slow deep breath in, clear your mind of everything.”
