Nick (Texas Boudreau Brotherhood Book 15)

Chapter One

The waiting room outside of the OR was packed wall-to-wall with anxious Boudreaus. The emergency clinic in Shiloh Springs managed to stabilize Antonio but didn’t have the equipment or staff available to treat his critical condition, and he was medevacked to the trauma center in Austin. Douglas had made the trip in the helicopter with Antonio, and the rest of the family broke land-speed records getting to Dell Seton Hospital, where they awaited word on his condition.

Nick Vincent sat alone against the far wall, head hung low. He shouldn’t have come back to Shiloh Springs. The last time he’d been here had been for Douglas and Ms. Patti’s vow renewal ceremony. Man, he’d loved walking her down the aisle. For once, he didn’t need to hide his emotions, keep everything bottled inside. He’d been honored when the brothers asked him to participate and he’d dropped everything, making his way halfway around the globe to be there for the people he cared about.

Of course, he’d come back to clear up the mess his last case created. It had been a quick in-and-out visit, job related, dealing with the aftermath of bringing down a human trafficking monster named Winston Brashear. The first time he’d shown up in Shiloh Springs he honestly hadn’t expected any of the Boudreaus to recognize him. Not after so many years of not seeing them or having any type of contact. But he hadn’t counted on Ms. Patti and the love she felt for every boy who had ever stayed at the Boudreau ranch.

Almost immediately she’d recognized him, even though he didn’t look or talk the way he had when he’d been a snot-nosed brat with a chip on his shoulder and a screw you attitude toward the world. Didn’t matter he’d dyed his hair, his skin held a darker tan, he wore colored contacts, and had grown over a foot taller. That wonderful, loving, giving woman had met his gaze across the crowded diner and immediately knew him.

And how amazing was that?

When he’d showed up at the Big House earlier, he’d debated whether to go inside and reconnect with the family who’d meant everything to him, or to simply turn around and disappear again. With his past, no matter how much good he did, how many people he helped, he never felt clean. No, he’d been immersed in the ugliness for too long, and he didn’t want to bring that anywhere close to Douglas and Ms. Patti or the rest of their family. Better for him to quietly disappear again with nobody the wiser.

Only Antonio had come outside before Nick could make a clean getaway and convinced him to come in and talk with the family. He couldn’t help remembering what happened.

He uncurled his fingers from the steering wheel, admitting he was stalling. He hadn’t seen her since that day in Rafe’s office, when she’d recognized him. That fact alone still floored him. Nobody had ever recognized and connected Nick Vincent with Assad, hired killer working for one of the biggest facilitators of human trafficking.

Yet she hadn’t hesitated. Even with the black hair and contact lens, and the passage of more than fifteen years, she’d known him. She’d lovingly told him she recognized him with her heart. And to learn she and Douglas had looked for him after he’d been removed from their home? Unbelievable.

When he’d been called by his boss, he’d given his word he’d return back to Shiloh Springs. They had needed to finish the job they’d started, which was to put away the monster preying on young girls and boys and selling them to the highest bidder. Those who didn’t sell? Well, he didn’t like thinking about the tens of thousands that had disappeared without a trace. He knew what that felt like on a very personal level—he’d been one of those who’d fallen between the cracks—until Grant Calvin rescued him and put him on the road to redemption.

He nearly jumped at the hard rap on the driver’s side window. “You gonna sit out here all day or come in and join the party?”

Party? Nope, he wasn’t ready for a Boudreau family celebration. He’d only planned to see Ms. Patti one final time, get the chance to speak with Douglas, and then hightail it out of Shiloh Springs before it managed to draw him back in with its charm and down-home goodness. Somehow, he doubted Antonio would let him start the car and leave without anybody the wiser.

Climbing from the rental, he stood to his full height and looked around, taking in the expanse of green lawn surrounding the front of the house. The two-story home with its dark green shutters and white columns looked the same, though it had the appearance of being freshly painted. Large live oak trees flanked it on both sides, providing not only shade on hot days, he remembered, but it gave the place a stately Southern charm.

“I did not realize you were celebrating. I don’t wish to intrude. I will come back another time to see Ms. Patti and Douglas.”

Antonio made a scoffing sound. “Seriously, you think I’m going back in there and tell Momma and Dad I let you leave without coming inside? Nuh-uh, not happening. Besides, in a roundabout way you’re part of this celebration. You probably heard Joshua and Lauren get to keep Daniel. He is officially their son.”

Nick smiled. “I heard. Don’t have any details; just they had legally adopted the boy. After what Brashear put them through, I’m glad they are finding happiness.”

“Yep, they are so sickly sweet together, it’s enough to make your teeth rot. Good thing they’re getting hitched soon, so they can move out and get their own place. I swear between Jamie, Daniel, and with Brody and Beth’s newest little one due any day, it’s getting as crowded as the Houston Rodeo around here.”

Standing with Antonio, Nick felt overwhelmed by nostalgia for the short time he’d spent here on the Boudreau ranch. Though he hadn’t been here long, he remembered every second of it. Even the stuff he didn’t like invaded his thoughts. Like chores. And being the smallest kid—though that didn’t apply anymore. He’d had a major growth spurt in his teens and shot up to over six feet tall. The Boudreau ranch had become ingrained in his memories as the epitome of home. It was the place he clung to when his world turned into a cesspool of despair and he thought he couldn’t live another minute. He remembered the love of Ms. Patti, the way she would pull him close, ruffle his hair, and tell him how much she loved him. Which seemed impossible because he knew he’d been an unlovable child. He remembered Douglas taking him out to the barn and showing him how to work with leather, repair bridles, or brush the horses. Douglas hadn’t been one to show his emotions, didn’t wear his heart on his sleeve, but every night he’d hug Nick and tell him he was glad he was part of their family.

“Listen, man, I can’t do this. I thought I could simply drop in, visit for a few minutes, say hello to you guys, and take off, putting Shiloh Springs and the Big House in my rearview. Except I know if I walk through those doors, everything’s gonna change. And I’m not ready to have my life turned upside down. Give the family my apologies. Tell them I got called away.”

Antonio shook his head. “You’re making a big mistake. Momma has talked about you almost every day since you came back to Shiloh Springs. You leave without seeing her and it’s gonna break her heart. Dad’s too.”

Nick closed his eyes and took a deep breath before admitting, “I’m afraid. Not that they won’t accept me, because I remember how loving and forgiving they are. I’m afraid I’ll bring danger to their front door if I get involved with this family again. My life hasn’t been a bed of roses and I’ve made a lot of enemies. I do not want that part of my life ever coming close to touching any of you.”

“You do realize almost every one of us, at one point or another, has been involved in dangerous situations up to our eyeballs, right? Or maybe not, since you’ve been out of the loop. None of us has a pristine past; we’ve all got secrets. I get it, not wanting to bring somebody from your past that might be out for revenge anywhere near Momma and Dad. That’s a choice you and only you can make. But think long and hard before you cut them out of your life. Or the rest of us. We call ourselves a clan for a reason. We take care of each other, not because we have to, but because we want to. But if you’re going to walk away, do it now, before Momma gets her hopes up that you’ll come home to stay. The front door is open. It’s up to you whether you walk through or turn your back on the possibilities that Momma and Dad’s love offers. Your choice.”

Antonio clapped him on the shoulder and turned, taking a step toward the Big House.

The crack of the gunshot still echoed in Nick’s ears, as he replayed the events in slow motion in his mind. Antonio’s surprised expression. His hand lifting away from his chest coated with blood. Nick had caught him as he slumped to the ground, while Rafe and several other Boudreaus poured out through the front door.

While chaos reigned around him, he’d scanned the area, looking for the shooter while Antonio’s brothers had each surrounded their fallen brother, guns in hand. Funny, he hadn’t expected all of them to be armed. Guess a lot had changed around the homestead.

“It’s not your fault.”

Nick’s head rose at the voice, finding Dane standing in front of him. He remembered Ms. Patti mentioning Dane ran the ranch full time now, while his brothers helped when they could. Memories of getting up at five o’clock in the morning, rain or shine, when he’d been on the ranch flitted through his memory.

“Appreciate your saying that, but I have to disagree. That shot was meant for me.”

Dane eased onto the chair beside Nick’s. “You don’t know that for sure. I know you haven’t been around for a while, but most of us have some bad blood in our backgrounds, and we’ve garnered a few enemies of our own along the way. I’m not saying you’re wrong, but don’t jump to conclusions.”

Nick pulled in a deep breath and scrubbed his hands across his face. He was tired, beyond tired actually. Wrapping up the paperwork on this case, as well as being deposed while he was in Australia, so that he could come back to the States, he’d been surviving on grabbing sleep when he could and gallons of caffeine. He still wasn’t happy with the disposition of Brashear’s case, but it was out of his hands now. Of course, his boss and surrogate father figure, Grant Calvin, had been livid. He’d wanted Brashear’s head on a pike in the middle of downtown. Nick’s lips turned up at the corners, thinking back to the tirade Calvin threw when he’d found out Brashear wasn’t going to be extradited back to Australia. Instead, Brashear found himself at the not-so-tender mercies of the United States government, where he’d accepted a deal to spend the rest of his natural life behind the bars of a maximum-security prison in exchange for taking the death penalty off the table.

It couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. The number of lives Winston Brashear had destroyed could never be accurately calculated. Nick still felt dirty from having worked with the man for three years, building a case against him for the Australian secret police. While there was satisfaction in having done his job and helping end the tyranny of the despot, it was a sad fact that another cockroach would crawl up to take Brashear’s place.

Before Nick could answer Dane, a physician walked through the doorway of the waiting room, and everyone sprang to their feet. With a quick glance around the room, the doc zeroed in on Douglas and Ms. Patti. Stepping closer to them, he spoke in a hushed tone. While he couldn’t hear the conversation, watching Ms. Patti’s body sag with relief was all the answer he needed.

Antonio would pull through.

As everyone gathered around the happy family, Nick took the opportunity to surreptitiously walk into the hall and pull out his cell phone. Hitting the speed dial for his boss, he waited to hear the gruff voice that was as familiar as his own.

“What?”

He almost smiled. The man never said hello or hi. If you wanted him, called him, it was always “what”.

“We’ve got a problem.”

He could almost hear Calvin’s sigh over the phone. “What kind of problem?”

“Somebody took a shot at me today.”

“I take it they missed.” Not are you alright, what do you need? That wasn’t his style, but Nick knew the older man would give his own life to keep him safe.

“Missed me. Hit Antonio Boudreau. He’s just out of surgery.”

“He gonna make it?”

“Seems like. Wondered if you might have a clue who took a potshot at me?”

Calvin gave a short bark of a laugh. “List is long, ain’t it?”

Nick had to agree. He’d made more than a few enemies over the years and put most of them behind bars. “Who’s out who might be holding a grudge?”

“Let me check. I’ll get back to you. In the meantime, you watch your back. Can’t afford to lose you.”

Behind the gruff response, Nick knew his mentor and surrogate father meant I love you; he just never came out and said those words. He’d shown it, though, over the last fifteen years.

“Thanks. I’m going to stick around here for a bit, make sure Antonio’s going to be okay. Do a bit of nosing around, see if I can get a handle on who might be after me.”

“Good. Let me know if I need to head to the States. You know I’ve always got your back.”

“I do. I’ll be in touch.”

Disconnecting the call, he turned back toward the waiting room, and noticed Douglas standing not far away, watching him intently. Though there was no judgment in his gaze, guilt ate at him. He knew Douglas had figured out the bullet that hit his son had been meant for Nick.

Gracie Medeiros hoveredin the doorway of the waiting room, watching the Boudreaus gathered around in clusters. Read the anxiety and worry on their faces. Obviously, they hadn’t heard anything about Antonio yet, and her heart broke for the family who’d come to mean the whole world to her.

When she’d first driven up to the town square in Shiloh Springs, she’d been broken and lost, searching for a place where she could basically crawl into a hole and lick her wounds. Figure out where she wanted to rebuild her life, starting over with nothing but the clothes on her back, a twenty-year-old piece of junk car she was sleeping in, and a checking account that held exactly eleven dollars and twenty-seven cents. Her life had been in shambles, literally and figuratively, and she knew it wouldn’t take much to push her over the edge.

It turned out showing up in Shiloh Springs was the best thing to ever happen to her. Meeting people who didn’t judge her, who didn’t expect her to be anybody except who she really was, had been eye opening. Then she met Patricia Boudreau, or as the locals called her “Ms. Patti.” In her entire life, she’d never met anybody quite like the Boudreau matriarch. Standing barely five feet tall, she was a never-ending ball of energy, running a thriving business, guiding the town with an iron fist in a velvet glove, and holding together a family unlike any she’d ever met. And she envied them, because they each had something she never had—someone who loved them unconditionally and would lay down her very life for them.

Catching Nica’s gaze, the pretty blonde motioned her over, patting the empty chair beside her. She’d heard Nica was home from school for the big family celebration, welcoming Joshua home and his engagement to Lauren Wright, as well as their son, Daniel. Normally boisterous and outgoing, the solemn expression on her face told Gracie things were serious. She couldn’t help noticing the tall stranger seated nearby. Dark blond hair cut short with a little bit of wave to it. Brilliant blue eyes that seemed haunted. She couldn’t help wondering who he was, and how he was connected to the Boudreaus. He wasn’t a local, or she’d have seen him around Shiloh Springs. It didn’t matter, she was here to find out about Antonio, and to see if there was any way she could help.

“Any word on your brother?”

Nica shook her head. “Not yet. He’s still in surgery.”

“What happened? I know it’s probably none of my business, but—”

“He got shot. In the chest.” Nica drew in a ragged breath and Gracie grabbed onto her hand, squeezing tight, offering what little comfort she could. She couldn’t imagine what Nica was going through. She knew the lone Boudreau daughter adored her big brothers. “I was in the kitchen with Momma. Everybody else was in other parts of the house, talking and laughing, having a great time. Antonio went outside to talk with Nick. The next thing I knew, there was the loud crack of a gunshot. Everybody raced outside. By the time I got there, Antonio was on the ground and Rafe was holding his shirt to Antonio’s chest. There was…so much blood. All I saw was red. It was awful.”

“Did they catch the shooter?”

Nica shook her head. “Heath, Dane, and Ridge took off toward the area where they think the shot came from, but whoever it was, they were long gone by the time my brothers got there.”

“Why would somebody shoot Antonio? I know his job’s dangerous, but to have someone come out to the ranch to try and assassinate him with all his family around? They must have a death wish.”

Gracie realized her poor choice of words the second they left her mouth, but it was too late to take them back. And wasn’t that just like her, mouth engaged long before her brain did.

“Nobody’s sure who took the shot, but I know who’s riding the guilt train.” She gestured toward the blond man. “Nick was outside talking to Antonio when it happened. I swear he’s just like the rest of my brothers, always thinking they should have known what was going to happen before it actually does.”

Gracie shot a glance toward the stranger. She had to agree with Nica. He looked like he carried the weight of guilt on his shoulders, like Atlas holding up the world. Jaw set, he stared at the floor while Dane sat beside him, talking quietly.

“I don’t know him,” she told Nica. “I haven’t seen him around town.” Which was a lie. She did remember him, though he’d looked so different the last time she’d seen him. He’d been working undercover in a criminal organization, to help take down a ruthless human trafficker, at least that’s what Ms. Patti later told her.

“He’s one of Momma’s Lost Boys. He was here when all the drama with Joshua and Lauren was going on. Everybody thought he worked for the man who was after Lauren, Brashear. Turns out he was working undercover trying to take Brashear down.” Nica gave a watery chuckle before adding, “Momma blew his cover and the whole investigation out of the water when she recognized him. She hadn’t seen or heard anything about him for over fifteen years, yet she knew him.”

Gracie knew all about Ms. Patti’s “Lost Boys”. Knew they were foster kids who had been assigned to live at the Boudreau ranch, A.K.A. the Big House. For whatever reason, Child Protective Services removed them after a period of time. Sometimes they went back to live with their parents, others went back into the system. Ms. Patti told her about how hard it was on Douglas when the boys had to leave. Gracie was smart enough to read between the lines, and knew it hurt Ms. Patti far more than she was willing to admit. The family had taken to calling those kids the Lost Boys, because they were lost to the Boudreaus.

In the last few months, she’d heard that a couple of the Lost Boys had come back into the picture. She’d met Brian when he’d been searching for a serial killer and the trail led straight to Shiloh Springs and her friend, Harper Westbrook. Thankfully, he’d figured out who the real killer was and had fallen hard for Harper. Another Lost Boy, Gage, had reconnected with Ms. Patti, though she had yet to meet him.

Now, another one of Ms. Patti’s lost sheep had returned to the fold. Well, maybe. Because if the look on his face was anything to go by, he wouldn’t be sticking around. Guilt made people do things they later regretted. She knew that from first-hand experience.

Before she could say anything else, silence filled the space as a surgeon walked in and headed for Douglas and Ms. Patti. Grabbing Nica’s hand, she squeezed it tight, praying Antonio was okay. Anything less was unacceptable. When she saw Ms. Patti relax into Douglas’ arms, Gracie released the breath she’d been holding and hugged Nica tight.

While everybody was milling around Douglas and Ms. Patti, Gracie noticed Nick slip out the door without saying a word. Somehow, she knew he was leaving, but she had the feeling this wasn’t the last she’d see of the tall, enigmatic stranger.