Shattered Valor (34 page)

“Yes?” came a man’s voice over the intercom.

“I’m Ivy Banks. I’m here to see Kit and Mandy. Are they home?”

“Just a moment, please.”

The door unlocked and a man opened it. She recognized him as one of the group of Kit’s men who had stopped at her diner their first night in town. She nodded at him and stepped inside. Mandy was coming down the steps.

“Ivy!” She skipped down the stairs. “What are you doing here?” she asked as she gave Ivy a quick hug. “Goodness. You’re ice cold.”

Ivy looked past her friend to group of men gathered in the living room. Kit was there, leaning at the bar. He nodded at her, but did not come greet her.

“Mandy, can I talk to you? Alone?”

“Of course. Let’s go to the kitchen.”

As the girls walked away, Max asked, “Who’s that?”

“That’s Kit’s babymama,” Val answered. “She’s hot, isn’t she?”

“Val, you son of a bitch,” Kit growled. “It occurs to me that you don’t need your tongue to be a good sniper. Which is a benie,’cause I’m thinking about cutting yours out.”

“Yeah, but he does need it to be a good sex addict,” Angel pointed out.

“True, that!” Val bumped fists with Angel.

“Ignore them,” Mandy told Ivy as they neared the kitchen. “They have the manners of wet badgers. Would you like some tea or wine? Are you hungry?”

“I’m fine.” Ivy caught her arm and turned to face her. Mandy had a half-dozen tiny cuts on her cheek, nose and forehead. One had a butterfly bandage on it. “What happened?”

Her friend shrugged. “There was a fender-bender in town yesterday.”

“That was no minor accident last night. It’s got the town council up in arms. What’s going on? What are Kit and his friends doing here?”

Mandy sighed and shook her head. “They’re after some bad guys. It’s all I can tell you.”

Ivy studied the face of her long-time friend, watching for any sign of subterfuge. “Are you happy here?”

“Well, yeah. I am. Why?”

“Could you leave if you wanted to?”

Mandy frowned, the warmth in her face chased away by something serious. “What’s this about?”

Ivy looked down the hall. “Just tell me,” she whispered. “Are you here against your will?”

“No, I’m not. Now, what’s going on? Why are you so upset?”

“I need to talk to Kit,” Ivy said without answering Mandy.

“Kit?” Mandy called out to her brother. “Could you join us, please?”

Ivy tried to keep her gaze locked on Mandy, tried not to watch Kit’s rangy stride as he moved silently down the hall toward the kitchen. It was a battle she lost.

His eyes were on her the minute he stepped into the hall. Blue eyes that should belong to a cowboy, or a singer, or to anyone but a cold-hearted warrior like him.

“Yeah. What’s up?” he asked when he joined them.

“I just came from town,” Ivy said. “The town council convened an emergency meeting concerning the troubles you and your team are causing in town.” She looked at Mandy, wishing there was some easy way to break the news of the town’s decision to her friend. “They want to revoke your building permit for the equestrian center.”

“They can’t do that!” she exclaimed.

“What grounds do they have for that action?” Kit asked.

“They’re saying her business is endangering the community.”

“Kit—” Mandy turned to her brother.

He shook his head. “The construction’s on hold for now anyway, sis. This is just noise. They’re upset about the shooting, and I don’t blame them. When this thing’s over, it won’t be an issue. And until then, there’s nothing we can—or need to do.”

“What’s up?” Rocco asked as he joined them in the kitchen.

Mandy flashed him a look that was equal parts rage and defeat. He looked from her to Ivy, then Kit.

“The town pulled her construction permit,” Ivy told him.

“That’s bullshit,” Rocco groused.

Kit shrugged. “It is what it is. We’re not fighting that battle right now.” He looked at Ivy. “Where’s Casey?”

“Home. She’s watching TV.”

“Alone?” Ivy nodded. “Fuck, Ivy. She can’t be alone. Let’s go.”

“No. I’m leaving but you’re not coming with me.”

“The hell I’m not.” He took her arm and led her toward the door. “She can’t be alone right now. No matter what, never leave her alone. Never, Ivy.”

Ivy yanked her arm free. “What’s going on, Kit? Why is it not safe for my daughter to be at home by herself for an hour or two? In this small town. Where nothing happens and everyone looks out for everyone?”

Kit met her angry eyes. “Because I have enemies. And they would not hesitate to use the two of you to get to me.” A muscle bunched in his cheek, clenching and relaxing reflexively.

Ivy’s eyes watered. “Goddamn you, Kit. Goddamn you to hell.” She hit his chest with the flats of her hands. “You had to come back didn’t you? You had to ruin it all. I was making a life for the two of us.” She swiped at the tears on her cheeks. “We were starting over, starting again. Things were falling into place. And now this. The whole town avoided me like I was a pariah at the meeting tonight. It will affect business at the diner. We’ll have to move and start over somewhere else. She needs stability. She needs roots. She needs a home. I don’t want to have to start running from town to town, avoiding the fallout from your life.” She looked at him. “I really do hate you.”

“I don’t give a flying fuck what you think about me. You will keep our daughter safe. If I have to move the two of you here to do that, I will.”

“No.”

“Kelan!” Kit barked, never looking away from Ivy.

“Yeah, boss?” Kelan answered as he walked over.

“Gear up and follow Ivy home. Clear the house. Hang there for a while. Contact me if anything looks odd.”

“I’m on it.” He hurried off, leaving Kit and Ivy alone to glare at each other.

“Do you have my number?” he asked Ivy.

“No.”

He dialed her phone. When it rang, he took the phone from her to label and save his number in her contacts. “Call me if anything seems odd. Don’t be at the diner alone. Don’t go in to work early or stay late.”

“Kit, I have a business to run.”

“Then schedule a couple of other people to get there before you and lock up after you. Bring Casey to work with you.”

“She goes to a local summer camp.”

“Watch for cars that follow you, anyone you might see sitting and observing you. Watch for different behavior in people you think you know.”

“You’re crazy. You know that? That’s Paranoia 101. I’m not doing it.”

“Yeah, and there wasn’t just a shootout in your vaunted small town last night between us and the WKB.” He studied her. “If you can’t do these simple things, if you can’t live more defensively, then I will bring you and Casey here.”

“Boss, I’m outside, ready to go,”
Kelan radioed Kit.

He opened the door, then walked outside with Ivy. There was so much to say, so much he wanted to hear—none of it could get through the reality wedged between them. It killed him that Kelan was the one going over to see to his daughter’s safety. All he could do was watch the woman he loved drive away, angry, scared, and alone.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Kelan waited for Ivy to pull into her driveway, then he backed in behind her, blocking her vehicle. He followed her through the garage into the house, keeping right on her heels.

The house was not large. They stepped from the garage into a short hallway, then right into the living room. A young girl was sitting on the sofa with her feet on the long coffee table.

“Hi, Mom—” She stopped speaking when she caught sight of Kelan walking behind her mom. “Who’s that?” She nodded at him.

“He’s a friend. He’s checking to make sure the windows are locked. Has anyone been here?”

Casey crossed her arms in front of herself and frowned at Kelan. “No. Why couldn’t we check the locks ourselves?”

Ivy put her purse down and looked through the mail Casey had set on the table, ignoring that question. Kelan went through the bedrooms, closets, and bathrooms. There was no basement. He checked that the windows were locked. Checked the back sliding door and the front door. He locked the garage door, then took up a position by the kitchen wall that gave him line of sight to the hallway and front and back exits.

“Is he a cop?” Casey asked Ivy, though she never took her eyes off Kelan.

“No. This is Kelan. Kelan, my daughter, Casey.”

Kelan nodded at the little girl. He crossed his arms, braced his legs, and kept silent.

Casey walked up to him. He ignored her. “Does he speak? Or is he like those British guards who can’t move or talk?”

“Casey, don’t be rude. Kelan’s a guest in our home.”

“Where’d you get him?”

Ivy shot a look at Kelan, then dodged the question by asking one of her own. “What did you eat for dinner?”

“I warmed up the meatloaf you left for me.”

“Good. Kelan, are you hungry?” Ivy asked as she pulled some dishes from the fridge.

“No, thank you.”

“What happened at camp today?” Ivy asked Casey, hoping to distract her from the soldier who’d been foisted upon them.

“Nothing.”

Ivy came out of the kitchen and leaned against the wall. “Really? Nothing? Then why am I paying for it?”

“We learned a new song and took a hike.” She shrugged. “The usual. Why is he here?”

“Your father sent me,” Kelan answered for Ivy.

Casey’s eyes widened even as her face grew pale. “You know my dad?”

Kelan nodded.

“He’s here, isn’t he? He’s in town. You’re one of the terror fighters staying with Aunt Mandy.”

Kelan didn’t answer. Her eyes filled with tears. “Why didn’t he come?”

“Casey, it’s complicated,” Ivy tried to soften the shock of Kelan’s admission.

“No, it isn’t. He could have met me.” Her nostrils flared. “He didn’t even care to come himself.” She stepped closer to Kelan. “You know what? You can tell my father he can go to hell.” She stormed off to her room and slammed the door shut.

“Casey Banks! That is not appropriate. You owe Kelan an apology.”

Kelan put a hand on Ivy’s shoulder and gave her a look. “Let me talk to her.” The door to the girl’s room was locked, but it just took a second for Kelan to take the key prod from on top of the doorframe and open it.

“Get out,” she ordered without looking up. “Just leave me alone. I shut the door for a reason.”

“You’re welcome to be in here, but the door stays open,” Kelan told her. She turned her music up. He walked into her room, dominating the space. Pink walls, a fuzzy throw rug, a fluffy comforter with big circles of color—the space was painfully that of a girl child. There was a shelf with pictures. Here, as with the photo groups in the living room, there wasn’t a single one of Kit.

“I don’t see any pictures of your dad.”

“It’s ’cause there aren’t any.”

“Would you like to see him?”

Casey sat up and wiped the tears from her face. “You have one?”

“I do. I’ll send it to you if you let me send him one of you.”

“Okay.” She wiped her cheeks once more, then sat still for Kelan to snap her picture.

Kelan took the pic, then sent it to Kit. He sifted through his picture gallery for a shot of Kit that wouldn’t terrify his young daughter. “What’s your phone number?”

She told him. A second later, her phone dinged with a new message. She looked at her cell a long minute. She wiped her hand across her nose and sent a worried look at Kelan. “I feel sick.”

Kelan smiled. “Your dad has that effect on people.”

Casey picked up her phone and switched to messages. She looked at Kelan, then at the pic he’d sent. She clicked to make it big. He watched her eyes widen, then she frowned down at the picture. “He’s scary looking.”

“He is.”

“Does he scare you?”

“No.”

“Is he nice?”

Kelan shrugged. “Nice has little value in our world. He’s brave. He’s a good leader. I guard him as he guards me. I’m proud to fight beside him.”

She looked at the photo again. “Does he hate me?”

Kelan looked at the girl and the tears silently streaming down her face. “It’s my belief, Casey Banks, that you’re his world.”

“Then why doesn’t he come to meet me?”

“He will, when it’s the right time.”

* * *

Ty and Rocco went looking for Kit. He’d been grouchy since he sent Kelan home with Ivy. The guys had moved from the living room to the billiards room to avoid his persistent pacing. They found him in the foyer, moving in angry strides from the front to the back of the house. Kit didn’t acknowledge either of them as they took up positions on facing walls. He just kept passing between them.

Ty looked at Rocco, who gave a slight shake of his head. “Kit, you want her, go get her.”