One November #2
“Sully to most. Pain in the neck to others,” Maya murmured.
Elena laughed. “I’ve always found him pleasant enough.” More than. But she kept that to herself. “Who’s with him?”
Maya pulled Elena to the side, out of hearing range of the others. “I’m just letting you in on this because I have permission. He has his new partner, Piper Whitaker, and a young girl who witnessed a murder with him. Her name is Olivia Callahan.”
Elena’s laughter faded. “Oh, how terrible.”
“Yeah. Sully and David used to work together in some capacity at the bureau. David and I talked about it and agreed to let them hide out here until the trial.” She waved her phone. “Sully called and said they were attacked on the way but managed to get away.”
“Attacked! By whom?”
“The people who want his protectee dead, I would assume.”
“Poor girl.”
“They were working a case, and the murder she witnessed was in conjunction with that. It’s turned into a RICO investigation starting before the murder that Ollie witnessed.
There were two or three before that. Anyway, it’s a big thing involving the mob and all that.
She’s a foster kid. Been in and out of the system almost as long as she’s been alive. ”
The words kicked Elena in the gut. “Life can be so unfair.” She knew that better than most. Maya’s dark eyes glistened with a compassion that Elena knew was reflected in her own gaze. “But,” Elena said, “if she’s coming here, we’ll take care of her.”
“We?”
“Yep.” She gave a decisive nod. “We.”
Maya hugged her and looked back at the others.
“I don’t want them to know or worry about this.
I hesitated to say yes when Sully asked if he could bring her here.
But David and Sully felt like this was the best place for her.
” She shrugged. “I’m still not sure, to be honest. The ranch is supposed to be a place of calm and healing, not a hideout for people on the run.
But the girl . . .” She chewed her bottom lip.
“I had a hard time saying no to this one.”
“There is no way to say no to that,” Elena said.
She glanced at Frank. “You should let Frank in on it. He was special ops and is completely trustworthy—in spite of his scruffy appearance.” His black beard curved around his chin, and his bushy brows could use a good trim, but he had the kindest heart of anyone Elena had ever met.
“Maybe. I’ll have to run that by Sully. Right now, all anyone knows is that my cousin, his ‘sister’—also my cousin—and her ‘daughter’—my niece—are coming to visit.”
“Right.”
Maya bit her lip. “I pray I’m making the right decision,” she said, her voice low and soft.
“You’ve said over and over that you want this ranch to be a refuge. A place of restoration. Well, there you go. If that girl has seen a murder, she’s going to need us to be her village.”
Maya’s worry faded from her features. “I knew you’d say that. With your certification in wilderness therapy and trauma counseling, it may be you who’ll be able to help Ollie the most.”
“I’m happy to help her any way I can, you know that, but Rachel’s the trained counselor.” Rachel Evans, their art therapist, was a former military chaplain. She had her own counseling practice and split her time between her in-town office and the office at the ranch.
“We’ll just see what she needs, then make the judgement as to who can help her the most.”’
“That works.” Elena nodded to Adam. “He was in the system a few years and from what little he’s shared, it’s not a fun place to be.
In some ways I think his wounds from that are worse than the ones he got in combat.
” She shot a pointed look at his titanium leg attached to what remained of his thigh.
“Yeah,” Maya whispered. And then there was no more time to chat. The SUV pulled to a stop in front of the house about fifty yards away from the barn. “All right,” Maya said. “I’m going to get everyone settled.”
“I’m right behind you,” Elena said.
“Thanks. They need to meet everyone as soon as possible so they can be familiar with who belongs here.”
And so they could also know if someone didn’t belong.
Elena dismissed her class with promises to finish the project in their next session, then followed Maya to the main house. She let her gaze scan the area behind it in the direction of the mountains that hid . . . a lot.
“You okay?” Maya asked.
“Yes, why?”
“You’ve seemed a bit preoccupied lately.”
Ouch. She’d been that transparent? “I just saw someone in town the other day who reminded me of my childhood.”
“Your childhood? With the cult?” A snort slipped out.
“Preppers.” Elena said the word with a mild tone and small smile. The argument was a familiar one.
“Cult.”
She wasn’t convinced they were an actual cult, but she wasn’t convinced they weren’t either.
They hadn’t started out that way in Virginia, but when they’d left the group in Virginia to join the one here in Tennessee .
. . Yeah, it was very different, so maybe cult was the right label.
It hurt to think so. She still cared about people up on that mountain in the distance. “Okay, whatever. But yeah.”
“Who?”
She sighed. “It doesn’t matter. It was just a glimpse. I’m probably seeing things.” But she didn’t think so. “Let’s focus on your company.”
“Fine, but you’re spilling the tea later.”
Elena should have known better than to try to hide anything from the person who knew her best.
The main house was set on a ranch that spanned about five thousand square acres.
In the main house, Elena lived in the lower-level apartment while Maya and her husband, Gideon, had the top space.
Elena’s small living area, complete with two bedrooms, a den, and a tiny kitchen was all she needed—and more.
She was the only worker who lived in the big home, and she paid a modicum of rent because she didn’t feel right mooching off her friend.
Although to hear Maya tell it, Elena was the one doing the favor.
The tall man who’d just exited the vehicle was Collin Sullivan.
Elena had met him a few times over the past six months she’d been there.
And Maya had told her all about the cousin she adored, so Elena felt like she knew him.
Maybe. He favored Maya in looks. Dark hair, dark eyes, deeply tanned skin even in November.
Five o’clock shadow. A couple of inches over six feet.
He caught her staring and held her gaze, a hint of amusement coloring his eyes. “Hi.”
Busted. “Hi. Good to see you again.” Thankfully, her voice was steady, no hint of her rapid pulse. And with her turtleneck and hoodie on, there was no way for him to see the heat climbing into her neck. Hopefully it would stop before it could reach her cheeks.
“You too,” he said.
The back door opened, and he turned his attention to the teenager climbing out.
The witness. Poor girl.
The front passenger door opened, and a woman with pretty features that were set in a hard expression emerged. Her eyes scanned the area, then swept back to the house.
Maya went to Sully and hugged her cousin.
“Welcome. We’ll get you all set up. I’ve got a four-bedroom cabin available that’s not too far from the house, but it’s secluded so you can easily see if anyone approaches.
It’s set pretty close to the lake and has an updated security system. It’s called Serenity.”
Sully nodded. “That sounds perfect.”
Maya smiled. “Let’s hope it can live up to its name.”
“Definitely.” He frowned. “Where’s David?”
“In town checking on a client.” While David was in charge of security for the ranch, he and his team also had private clients who hired them on a regular basis. “He should be back sometime tomorrow, I believe.”
“I can’t thank you enough for being willing to take us in at the last minute like this. Our last three places were compromised, and we’ve been running out of options. ASAC Winters suggested I find a place and keep it secret. This place came to mind.”
Elena raised a brow. “Sounds like you’re trusting someone you shouldn’t.”
His gaze collided with hers, and it was like a physical impact smack in her gut. She swallowed. Weird.
“I don’t want to think it,” he said, “but can’t say it hasn’t crossed my mind.
” He gestured to the tall woman still standing by the car.
“This is Piper Whitaker, my partner, a.k.a. my sister and cousin to Maya.” Piper was only about three inches shorter than Sully.
And she was very pretty. The woman nodded and offered a smile.
“And this brave young lady,” Sully continued, “is Olivia—better known as Ollie—Callahan, ‘my niece.’”
Once the introductions were made, Maya held out a key to Elena. “Do you mind showing them the cabin and giving them the code to the alarm system as well as the door code? I don’t think they’ll have any trouble, but here’s a backup key in case. I have a phone call I need to make.”
Elena took the ring and curled her fingers around it, letting the jagged edge dig into her skin and keep her grounded. Now wasn’t the time to be mooning about Collin Sullivan—Sully. Not that there was ever a good time for that.
Focus.
“Of course,” she said, forcing a smile. What she needed to do was figure out what this weird attraction arcing between her and Sully was, but that would have to wait.
She climbed into the SUV, and within ninety seconds, they pulled into the horseshoe-shaped dirt drive.
The cabin was the biggest one on the property and most would call it a house, but all of the structures around the lake and up the hill into the woods were known as cabins.
She unlocked the door with the code and waited for them to grab their things. Ollie, who still hadn’t said a word, slung a backpack over her shoulder and pulled her rolling carry-on inside. Elena met her gaze and offered her a reassuring smile. The girl’s lips never twitched.