Chapter 17
17
Landon had been sending messages to LSIMT, wanting them to investigate Horticia and Roger. From what the kids indicated, the two had met before yesterday and might have had an arrangement by the time Pamela devised this trip.
His gaze drifted to Noel, her profile illuminated by the dim glow of the flashlight perched nearby. She had been a revelation from the start—smart, resilient, fiercely protective of the kids. During every step of this chaotic mission, she had repeatedly proven herself. She wasn’t just along for the ride but a vital part of this operation. He’d realized that, in truth, those qualities made her very similar to him.
And the kiss? Hell, he’d spent hours trying to push it from his mind, but it lingered, gnawing at him, refusing to be ignored. It wasn’t just about attraction—though, God knew, he felt that in spades—it was about the way she had fit against him, the way her lips had sparked something deep and undeniable. And now, sitting so close their legs touched, her hand occasionally on his arm, he couldn’t help but hope she’d want to kiss him again.
His fingers stilled as he finished his message. He looked over, drawn to her like a moth to a flame. Her head was down, but he could feel her attention on him, her presence grounding him in a way he hadn’t expected. Her hair, still damp, had dried into soft curls framing her face, the earlier storm leaving its mark in the most enchanting way. She shivered slightly, her wet clothes clinging to her frame, and he hated seeing her cold.
When she finally spoke, her voice low and filled with concern, she pulled him from his thoughts. “What do you think was happening?”
He met her gaze, the vulnerability in her eyes pulling him closer. “When I surveilled the building where the kids were held, I overheard one of the men say something about it being payday. Another responded, ‘Fucking easy. She set it up so easy.’”
Noel gasped. “She? Oh my God, do you think it was Pamela?” Before he had a chance to reply, Noel shook her head. “No, their mom had nothing to do with it. It must’ve been Horticia. Either on her own or with Roger.”
“That’s my guess, too.”
“But won’t he disappear? Now that they know the kids are safe?”
“I know the police have a lot to do, but with the storm passing farther away from the island and not hitting us directly, I assume their resources wouldn’t be stretched so thin. My boss has already been in touch with the governor-general and the police commissioner. They’ve got Pamela’s house under surveillance.”
Eyes wide, Noel gasped again. “They suspect her?”
He shifted, turning fully toward her, their knees pressing together. The touch was subtle but searing, grounding him in the moment. He reached out, covering her hand with his. “I know this sounds harsh, but she set the wheels in motion that led to all this. She’ll have to face that, at least until we get back tomorrow.”
Noel let out a long, weary breath. “I hate it when kids are hurt by the people they should trust the most. Roger was after money, sure, but to go this far? To kidnap and terrify those kids? It’s beyond despicable. Fucking worthless shits.”
Her blunt words, so at odds with her gentle demeanor, caught him off guard. A bark of laughter escaped him, startling in its suddenness. He quickly stifled it, glancing at the kids to ensure they were still sleeping. His gaze flicked back to her, amusement lighting his eyes. “You’re this pint-sized ray of sunshine, but damn, you’ve got a mouth on you. It’s hilarious and unexpected.”
A grin spread across her face, her eyes twinkling with a mix of pride and mischief. “Good to know I can still surprise you.”
“Oh, you’re a surprise, all right.”
Their gazes held for a long moment. They were close—not close enough for him to taste her lips again, but close enough that he thought about it. And wondered why the hell he was thinking about it.
“Why did you leave the FBI?”
He blinked, her question coming out of the blue. “What?”
She hefted her shoulders in a little shrug. “I just wondered. I’ve worked with agents before. Not a lot, but in a couple of cases. Mostly when a parent took a child and crossed state lines.” She shook her head and added, “Anyway, I just wondered. Why you left?”
He opened his mouth to give a pat answer, then shut his mouth as he stared at her. Her attention was riveted to him. He could feel her interest wasn’t idle curiosity but something real. Something almost tangible. His tongue dragged over his bottom lip. Her gaze dropped to his mouth before shooting back to his eyes. Forcing his mind to her questions, he replied, “I got tired of the bureaucracy.”
Her lips curved slightly. “Imagine that… the Bureau having too much bureaucracy.”
He chuckled again, and this time, her smile widened until she pressed her fingers against her lips to hold in the sound.
“Smart-ass,” he accused.
As their mirth waned, she said, “Sorry, I made a joke. I really do want to know.”
He nodded and settled back to get more comfortable while making sure his leg still touched hers, wanting the physical connection. No… he needed the physical connection. Gathering his thoughts, he said, “I told you that my dad was a police officer. I didn’t mention that he’d served in the Marines before that. I remember my dad wearing his uniform every day, and I thought he had the best job in the world.”
“You wanted to be like him?”
“Oh, yeah. Absolutely hero-worshipped my dad.” He smiled at the memories. “I was Recon for a tour but knew the military wasn’t where my career lay. The bottom line was my commander was an asshole who ended up putting all of us in danger before he was reassigned. He was not booted out like he should have been but just reassigned so he could be an asshole to someone else. Anyway, I was recruited by the FBI, and I thought I’d found the right place for me. I was still following in my dad’s footsteps but in a different way. I was trained as an investigator and became an agent. While the cases I worked and closed successfully kept me going, the politics, red tape, and posturing of those above made the field agents’ jobs almost impossible at times.”
“You started to doubt yourself, didn’t you?”
Her words startled him. His gaze searched her eyes but found no recrimination in their depths. He nodded slowly. “I wondered if the problem was me. I left the Marines. I wanted to leave the Bureau. I never considered myself a quitter, but… fuck, yeah… I doubted myself.”
“What did you do?”
“I was assigned to a California area, and I met Carson Dyer, the founder of Lighthouse Security Investigations West Coast.” Seeing her head cock to the side, he explained, “The original is in Maine. The West Coast was the second branch.”
“That’s right. You mentioned that on the plane. It’s such an interesting concept.”
“The original one in Maine was near a lighthouse on the coast. It had significant meaning to the man who started the company. The employees are known as Keepers after the old lighthouse keepers.”
“I was fascinated with lighthouses when I was young. My family would always visit them when we were traveling. I saw some in North Carolina and New England one summer.” She pressed her lips together. “But… I get Maine. And I get California. But Montana? That’s brilliant to think of light towers. Are there many in Montana?”
He grinned and nodded. “Not as many as there used to be, but it’s the only state still with standing light towers on some mountains.”
Her eyes widened, and even in the dim light, he could swear they twinkled. “Light towers guided the planes over dangerous peaks, and the lighthouses guided ships around dangerous shores.”
“Same principle.”
“Are you also known as a Keeper?”
“Yeah.”
She leaned a little closer, her voice soft. “I like that, Landon. You seemed all hard and intense when we first met. Now you seem more… real.”
Their gazes remained locked on each other, and the desire to lean closer to erase the distance was strong. But with the kids sleeping so near, he sucked in a deep breath through his nose and leaned back. She blinked and then shifted back, as well.
Clearing her throat, she asked, “So, um… you were talking about your job…”
“Right. Yes. Well, I finally was able to use the skills the Keepers used. They investigated without the red tape and restrictions that were placed on me. They often solve cases and then turn over the evidence to the police, the Bureau, or the CIA. They didn’t care about the glory. They just wanted to keep people safe. After several years, I knew I wanted to do that.”
“So you joined?” As soon as she asked the question, she shook her head. “But that was California? How did you get to Montana?”
“I felt the need to start over. When I learned that the LSI Montana was just beginning, I met the man who would become my boss. I was offered the chance to get in on the ground up and be part of the beginning. It was an offer I couldn’t refuse.”
Her gaze dropped to his mouth. “And from the smile on your face, I take it that it was the right career move.”
His chest moved up and down as he chuckled. “Hell yeah. I finally found where I fit. Best boss and the best people to work with. And the cases are ones I can sink my teeth into. Some are more boring than others. But all are different, allowing me to learn, grow, and do what I was born to do.” As she cocked her head to the side again, he said, “Protect.”
Her face lit and he was struck with the full force of her smile. Everything about her was beautiful—pale complexion with a smattering of freckles across her nose, and her eyes appeared large as her now dry hair waved about her shoulders.
“And your family?”
He jumped slightly, dragging his focus back to the topic. “My parents moved from Pennsylvania to South Carolina when Dad retired. My brother lives in California. He’s got a degree in some tech field. We’re not real close since he’s almost eight years younger than me. But he’s got a good job, and we see each other for the holidays.”
They settled into a comfortable silence, one that wrapped around Landon like a worn, familiar blanket. It had been a long time since he’d felt this kind of ease with a woman. His years with the Bureau had left little room for personal connections. Dating within the agency was a complication he’d avoided, knowing the messy entanglements that could follow. Outside the job, his relationships had been fleeting, often limited to short-lived encounters during the tourist season in Montana—no strings, no expectations. Just a nice dinner, some conversation, and a mutual physical release that ended with no lingering attachments.
But Noel was different.
He glanced over at her, taking in the way she leaned back, her eyes gently closed, her features softened in the dim light. She had been a surprise from the start—insightful, dedicated, and fiercely caring. She wasn’t afraid to step into danger, even when it meant chasing him in a storm with nothing but sheer will and a gun she’d barely handled. Impulsive, sure. But he couldn’t deny her bravery, her determination.
And she was beautiful. Not just in the way her features were arranged, but in the way she moved, the way she cared for the kids, the way she stood her ground. Something about her got under his skin in a way he hadn’t expected, hadn’t wanted, but now couldn’t shake.
He’d requested her background from LSIMT the moment he knew she’d be joining the mission. He’d learned the essentials—born and raised in Billings, a younger sister named Joy, parents still alive and evidently enthusiastic about family holidays. It made him realize how little he knew her beyond the dossier facts and how much more he wanted to know.
The thought of her surrounded by family, laughter, and love painted a picture so different from his own solitary life. His family was loving, but they didn’t see each other often. She didn’t stir, and her breathing was even, though he could tell she wasn’t asleep. A serenity about her drew him in, and without thinking, he spoke softly. “Are you asleep?”
Her eyes fluttered open, locking onto his. A soft smile curved her lips. “No, just resting. I’m tired, but I don’t think I can sleep right now.” She tilted her head slightly, her gaze steady. “Did you need something?”
Landon hesitated for a moment, his fingers twitching with the urge to reach out. “I was just wondering about you. I’ve done all the talking but realize I don’t know much about you.”
Her eyes lit up, a spark of warmth that seemed to glow from within. His chest tightened at the sight, a strange mix of anticipation and something deeper, something he wasn’t ready to name. But as she held his gaze, he felt an unspoken understanding pass between them.
“I’m an open book,” she said softly, her smile widening. And at that moment, Landon knew he wanted nothing more than to read every chapter of her story.
“Compared to your life, mine is very simple, Landon. I suppose we have a lot in common. My family is very close. My parents are still living together, which is becoming rarer in this day and age. You have a younger brother, and I have a younger sister.” She laughed, then clapped her hand over her mouth and glanced toward Tad and Penny. Turning her attention back to Landon, she continued to whisper. “My sister is three years younger, and her name is Joy. My parents met in college at a Christmas dance. They began to date, and two years later, my dad asked her to marry him on Christmas Eve. They were married a year later.”
“Christmas Day?” he asked.
She shook her head. “No, but they did get married on Christmas Eve.”
A smile stayed on her face as she continued. “My dad is the kind of man who not only went out to cut down a Christmas tree for us but would go to the local tree farm and pay for ten other trees to be given to families who couldn’t afford them. The tree farmer always worked with various churches and social services to find out who might need help.”
She smiled at the memory. “My mom had been an office assistant in a medical group. When the doctor retired, she learned about an opening at our local Department of Social Services. She worked for them for fifteen years before retiring. My parents didn’t just talk about helping others—they lived that kind of life. We weren’t wealthy, but we had money. I never had to worry about clothes, food, or housing. But my parents ensured that my sister and I understood that many people didn’t have those basic necessities. When I was in high school, I started a community service project where anyone in the school who wanted to adopt a family for the holidays could do so. Their names were kept private, but the wishes of the kids, their ages, and sizes were given out, and we helped seventy-three children have the most amazing Christmases.”
“That’s amazing,” he said. “I’m incredibly impressed, Noel.”
She shook her head and waved her hand dismissively. “I just had the idea, and Mom helped me develop the plans. But it was all the people in the school who worked together to make that happen.”
He thought back to the women the Keepers in California had ended up with—all wonderful, accomplished women with big hearts. He hadn’t met anyone like that until now. The more he learned about Noel, the more he wanted to know.
“So you carried that kind of concern into your career.”
Nodding, she said, “My mom had the opportunity to work for several social workers, and one summer after my freshman year of college, I did an internship with them. From that moment on, I felt like everything I’d been planning for my whole life came to a pinpoint, and it helped me discover that was my calling. And working with children just came naturally for me.”
“It’s a difficult job,” he said. “And one that I can imagine takes a toll on you.”
“The first time I was called to the hospital to work with a child who’d been abused,” Noel said, her voice soft yet steady, “I walked in, smiled at the little girl, and then immediately turned around and walked back into the hall. I started crying. I couldn’t help it. The weight of it all just hit me.”
Landon’s eyes never left her, sensing the vulnerability in her words.
“There was this kind nurse,” Noel continued, her gaze distant as if she were back there. “She saw me falling apart and gently guided me to the break room. She didn’t say much at first, just let me cry. Then she told me something I’ve never forgotten. She said, ‘If you ever get to the point where you don’t cry when you see an abused child, that’s when it’s time to quit.’ Her words… they saved me that day. I was questioning everything, wondering if I was even cut out for this.”
“Jesus, Noel,” Landon whispered, the raw emotion in her story slicing through him.
“I washed my face, pulled myself together, and walked back into that room.” Her voice wavered slightly, but her determination shone through. “I smiled and talked to a little three-year-old girl who had two black eyes, a broken arm, and a head injury. She was so small, so scared. The only comfort was knowing she was medicated enough to dull the pain. And at that moment, I made a promise to myself—I was going to do everything in my power to take down the monster who did that to her.”
Landon studied her, his chest tightening. The petite woman before him radiated a quiet strength, one that had been forged in experiences most people couldn’t fathom. She might appear delicate at first glance, but her resolve and fierce compassion made her a force to be reckoned with. And damn, if that wasn’t the most enticing combination he’d ever encountered.
He clenched his fists, struggling against the overwhelming urge to pull her into his arms, to feel the warmth of her body against his and kiss away the shadows in her eyes. His gaze flicked to the sleeping kids, their peaceful faces a reminder of why they couldn’t afford any distractions right now. But if we were alone…
His eyes found hers again, and for a moment, the world narrowed to just the two of them. The storm outside, the chaos they’d endured—it all faded. All that mattered was the woman beside him, her courage and vulnerability drawing him in like a siren’s call.