Chapter 44
FORTY-FOUR
A house rose from the rocky coastline like something out of a magazine. Stone and cedar, sprawling and elegant, windows glowing gold against the gathering dusk.
The driver parked in front of it, and Jaz stepped out of the car that had brought them from the Portland airport.
They’d arrived on a private plane. Never mind that it was owned by Kenzie’s cousin, Wright still must’ve paid for it.
Jaz had grown up with money, but not fly-private-because-why-not? money.
Jaz and Kenzie had slept most of the way from St. Martin. Wright had been on the phone. Before they landed, he’d settled in the chair in front of Jaz and Kenzie and swiveled to face them. “Talked to a friend at the DEA, just to be sure. You’re off the hook. No charges will be filed against you.”
“Whoa. Are you serious? Just like that?”
Wright laughed. “You brought down a couple of notorious criminals. There was no ‘just’ about it.”
“I guess, but…” Jaz could hardly take it in. He was actually…free.
After five years, he’d given up hope, and now, it was over.
“We’re pretty sure,” Wright continued, “with Aldridge and Magras in custody, you’ll be safe, but we’ll be monitoring the situation. If there’s any reason to believe they’re coming after you, we’ll figure it out.”
Jaz had stood and shaken the man’s hand. “Thank you, Mr. Wright.”
“It’s Gavin. No reason to thank me. You earned it. And you saved my daughter’s life.”
Jaz couldn’t have done it without his friends and Wright…Gavin. Calling him that would take some getting used to.
Now, Jaz stood in the circular driveway, hands shoved in his pockets to protect them from the freezing cold air, trying to reconcile this…estate with everything he knew about Kenzie Wright.
The woman who’d lived in a sparse St. Barts apartment.
Who’d fought pirates with nothing but a handgun and sheer determination.
Who’d refused to leave the yacht where she’d been a prisoner until she’d disabled it.
Thanks to her quick thinking, Aldridge, Magras, Francine, and all the other men who’d worked for them were on their way back to the US to face charges.
Kenzie had done that.
Maybe he’d helped a little.
“You okay?” Her voice pulled him back.
He was still waiting for the tinnitus to fade, an unfortunate result of those bullets flying in a tiny corridor, but he could hear well enough. “This is where you grew up?”
“Don’t hold it against me.” She tucked her hand in his elbow. “I tried really hard to be normal.”
“Oh, you’re far from normal, Jesus girl.”
She laughed. She was home now, and safe. Even though she hadn’t decided what she’d do next, she seemed content.
He’d get there too. As soon as he figured out who he was supposed to be now.
Gavin hurried toward the doorway, his stride quickening with each step. A woman stood there, tall and slender with long silvery-blond hair. He reached her and wrapped her in his arms.
“That’s Mom,” Kenzie said. “I have no idea who else is here. Probably most of my sisters, plus the guys.” She squeezed his bicep. “Don’t worry. They’re really nice, even if they come on strong at first.”
“Meaning?”
“You survived a gunfight with drug smugglers. You’ll be fine.”
“Should I have brought my weapon?”
She laughed again, and the sound warmed him from the inside. He loved making her laugh.
They climbed the stone steps. Beyond the windows, a crowd of people seemed to be talking, gesturing, and joking. Family. The kind of warm, chaotic, all-in-your-business family he’d had once, before everything had fallen apart.
Kenzie’s mom stepped back from Gavin, took one look at Jaz, and opened her arms.
“You must be Jasper.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I’m Evelyn.” She pulled him into a hug that rivaled his own mother’s, tight and fierce, the kind of hug that made you feel like you belonged.
“Thank you.” Her voice hitched. “Thank you for bringing her home safe.”
“She’s pretty tough. She probably would’ve figured a way to save herself.”
“No chance,” Kenzie said behind him. “You saved my life more than once.”
Her mother finally released him, stepping back to study his face. “I owe you…everything.”
“I’d settle for getting in out of this cold.”
“Cold? It’s practically balmy.” Her eyes twinkled as she stepped onto the porch. “Go on in and warm yourself.” She threw her arms around Kenzie, and they hugged for a long moment while Jaz waited. He wasn’t going in there alone.
When they were finished greeting each other, Jaz took Kenzie’s hand and stepped inside.
Wow. The house was even more impressive inside. Vaulted ceilings, exposed beams, a wall of windows overlooking the ocean. Jaz barely had time to take it in before he was surrounded.
“Jaz!” A tall woman with long blond hair hurried toward him and grabbed his hands. “I’m Alyssa. Thank you for keeping my baby sister alive.”
“Thank you for helping me crack El Fantasma’s identity. If not for you, I’d still be chasing my tail.”
“I do what I can.” She shrugged, but he got the sense she knew she was good and didn’t feel the need to hide behind false humility.
A blond man beside her reached out to shake Jaz’s hand. “Callan. Alyssa’s fiancé.”
“Nice to meet you.” The words were barely out before another sister appeared. Brunette, a little shorter than Kenzie with a wide smile. She hugged him like they’d known each other forever. “I’m Brooklynn.”
“The photographer.”
She beamed. “Kenzie told you?”
“He’s a photographer too.” Kenzie hugged her sister.
“No, no. I just dabble. It’s nothing like what you do.”
“Let’s compare notes sometime.”
A man stepped forward. Red hair and beard, confident smile, oddly familiar. “Forbes Ballentine.”
The Forbes Ballentine. Billionaire recluse? Obviously, that last part wasn’t true, considering he seemed perfectly comfortable in this crowd.
Jaz shook his hand, trying to hide his reaction. “Nice to meet you.”
“You too.” He kissed Kenzie’s cheek, welcoming her home, then slid his arm around Brooklynn’s back.
Another sister was waiting in the wings, this one with strawberry-blond hair and hazel eyes. She hugged him next. “I’m Cici, sister number three. And this is Asher.” She pulled a man standing slightly back from the group forward. This guy was huge—broad shoulders, eyes that took in everything.
Asher offered a nod. “Thanks for having her six.”
“Of course. It was mutual. She’s…”
He lost his train of thought as another sister caught his eye.
Delaney stood near the fireplace. When their eyes met, she smiled—tentative, understanding. He’d met her the night before Charlotte had been kidnapped. Delaney had put her life on the line to save his daughter.
He crossed to her. “I didn’t expect… You’re here.”
“We flew up this morning, as soon as we heard.” She glanced toward the corner of the room. “We wanted to be here.”
We?
Jaz followed her gaze, almost afraid to see.
Noah stood by the window, watching. Just watching, the way he used to when they were kids. Jaz was always messing around, causing trouble. Noah was always observing, protective, ready to step in if necessary.
Everything had changed. And nothing had.
The room seemed to fade—the sisters, their boyfriends and fiancés, even Kenzie—until it was just him and Noah, separated by fifteen feet and too many years of grief and sorrow.
His brother looked good. More settled. A man who’d figured out what mattered and had built his life around it.
The kind of man Jaz had never managed to become—but wanted to.
Noah crossed the room in long strides.
Jaz stood frozen, unsure what to expect. Anger? Accusations? The righteous disappointment Noah had every right to feel?
But Noah reached him and pulled him into a hug that nearly crushed his ribs.
And held on.
“I didn’t know.” His voice was rough against his ear. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
All the years of pretending, of living the lie, of letting his brother think the worst of him to keep him and Charlotte safe.
“I couldn’t tell you.” The words came out strangled. “I had to stay away. If they knew about you, about Charlotte…”
Noah pulled back but held onto Jaz’s shoulders. “You let me think you didn’t care. You let Charlotte think—”
“I know.”
“For five years—”
“I know.” Jaz couldn’t look at him. “I screwed up. I ruined everything.”
“And now you’ve fixed it.”
He shook his head. “Not in time. It was too late.”
Noah’s grip tightened. “She’s here.” He nodded to the far corner of the great room.
Charlotte sat cross-legged on the floor, playing with another little girl. His daughter had grown. She’d been so small, so skinny, when he’d dropped her with his brother, a product of her grandmother’s neglect.
And his neglect.
But Noah and Delaney loved her so well. Her hair was longer, just as curly as ever. She wore jeans and a purple sweatshirt with a unicorn on it.
She looked healthy, happy.
Loved.
Everything he’d wanted for her. Everything he’d never been able to give her.
He didn’t move toward her. Couldn’t. What would he even say?
“It’s not fair.” Noah sounded almost tortured. “That she’s mine when you were trying so hard to do the right thing. When you gave up everything—”
“It’s fair.” Jaz’s words came out thick as he faced his brother again. “I got myself into a mess, Noah. A terrible mess, but you stepped in. You’re her father.”
“But it’s wrong.” Noah adored his daughter. Adored her. Yet his eyes filled with tears at the thought of all Jaz had lost.
Jaz’s eyes filled too. “You’re a good father. The best. I’ll be her uncle. I’ll show up for birthdays and holidays, and I’ll be the fun one who brings terrible presents and teaches her bad jokes.” His voice cracked. “And I’ll live with it.”
What else could he do? His choices—the gambling, the debt, the desperate deal that had seemed like salvation at the time—had led him down a road with no return. He couldn’t go back. Couldn’t undo the damage or reclaim the years he’d lost.
But his baby girl was thriving. She was loved. It was enough.
It had to be enough.
Noah pulled him into another embrace, and for just a moment, Jaz let himself grieve what could never be, even as he thanked God for all He’d done for him.
“Let’s start over,” Noah said. “Be brothers again.”
Jaz nodded against his shoulder, unable to speak.
Across the room, he felt more than saw Kenzie watching. When he finally pulled back and met her gaze, she was smiling—soft and understanding and maybe a little teary herself.
She mouthed two words: I’m proud.
And somehow, despite everything he’d lost, despite the wreckage of the last five years, Jaz felt something glowing inside him.
It was hope.