Agent S5: Jaydan (11 page)

Hope heard the gasp in the desert stillness, the yelp of disbelief, before running footsteps. Darn it, if she didn’t stop crying she’d miss everything.

Natalie rushed up the three remaining steps, Riordan behind her. Tears trailed down her cheeks, her eyes wide with incredulity. “Keegy-baby?”

Nodding, Keegan threw herself at Natalie, nearly knocking them both to the ground. Smiling, Riordan caught them, their tears of laughter echoing off the outbuildings in the light of dawn.

Hope didn’t realize she’d sobbed aloud until Jaydan came up behind her. “Don’t go trying to steal their thunder.”

Laughing, she punched him on the chest. Pain shot through her knuckles. Would she ever learn
not
to do that?

“Are you two responsible for this?” Riordan spoke over the sister’s heads.

The women turned to stare at them.

Jaydan nodded at Hope. “Your sister and her DNA tracker. I only tagged along as the muscle.” He pointed his thumb at Dylan standing a step behind him. “And this one. Dylan McCall…” Jaydan pointed at Riordan. “Riordan St. James. You two have a lot to talk about.”

Mitchell yelled at Jaydan. “Don’t you have a wedding to get to, Rose?”

“Shit. Yes.” With a quick grin, he said, “I gotta get to Texas, Saint. I’ll see you in a few days.”

He rushed up the steps without a backward glance.

Hope watched him ascend, sadness enveloping her like a scratchy blanket. She missed him already.

“You coming, Hope?” Riordan said, as he escorted the women off the steps.

Dylan stopped beside her, backpack slung over his shoulder. “Let’s go Powers. They need to block my signal before Cyrus finds me.”

“Oh, shoot. My bag.” She ran up the steps just in time to stop Jaydan from pulling up the stairs. “I forgot my bag.”

She ducked under his arm and stopped short. Her things were scattered all over the cabin. It would take time to pick them up.

“Dammit, Hope. I need to go.”

She rushed to the seat that held her bag. “Well, excuse me for wanting to loan Keegan my things.”

“
Hope
.” Jaydan practically yelled it. “I. Don’t. Have. Time. For.
This
.”

Stuffing clothes in her bag, she waved off his tirade. “Fine. Go then. Who’s stopping you?”

What was a few minutes? Dammit…

Storming to the cabin door, Jaydan pulled up the stairs and slammed it shut. Whipping around, her mouth fell open.

With a lethal, narrow-eyed glower in her direction, he walked straight to the cockpit.

She gulped. It looked like she was headed to Texas.

Hope sulked the entire flight to Texas – until she realized why Jaydan had given her the silent treatment.

It had nothing to do with the fact that she didn’t get her things off the airplane in time. Or, that she’d eaten the last muffin he had stashed on the plane.

He was going home to his family. To Booker.

It had nothing to do with her.

Sure, Hope. They probably have some beachfront property in the Texas Hill Country, too
.

The wheels hit the runway with a rough bounce before Jaydan pulled the plane to an easy stop in front of a hangar painted like a barn.

“I’ll just stay here.”

She made the offer with solid sincerity. She could sleep on a plane.

“Is there a convenience store or something nearby where I can get some food?”

Unbuckling, he stopped to stare at her. “Take a look around. Does it look like there’s a convenience store nearby?” He went to the back of the plane.

Standing up, Hope gazed out the windshield. Nothing but rural farmland for as far as the eye could see.

Pulling up her phone, she asked the voice attendant where the nearest convenience store was located.

Twenty point four miles. Dammit.

“Let’s go.” Jaydan stood in the doorway, duffle bag in hand. He disappeared from sight.

Worried he may just leave her stranded in the middle of nowhere, she ran to the cabin and grabbed her packed tote bag. Throwing it over her shoulder, she followed him down the steps.

“Hot damn.”  Jaydan smiled for the first time in hours as he stared at the old, black pickup truck sitting beside the runway.

“What is it?”

Ushering her to the passenger door, he opened it. “My old truck. I used to drive it in high school.”

Although it was clean, the truck had seen better days. The gray bench seat was worn, its dashboard cracked in a couple of spots.

He started it up. The truck rumbled, its muffler overshadowing the blast of the country music blaring from the dash.  He gazed over at her with complete and utter arrogance.

“Hold on, baby. This could get a little wild.”

Peeling out in place, dirt and gravel kicked up in a thick cloud of utter mischief. Hope grabbed the handle above her window and braced herself. Jaydan shot down the gravel lane and out of the gate, never stopping as he whipped onto a paved road. He sped down the deserted street like demons were on his heels.

He gave a rebel yell. She couldn’t contain her smile.

“You’re such a redneck, Rose.”

His cocky grin made her laugh. “You’re damned straight. And proud of it.”

They traveled for miles, Jaydan humming to the Gary Allen song on the radio. The landscape passed in a blur, one field blending into the next, with cattle and horses scattered intermittently.

Driving over a rise, the scenery changed. Cars and trucks lined either side of the road for at least a quarter mile. Jaydan slowed to turn into another gravel drive. More vehicles were parked along the path, with people walking toward a huge oak tree beside a white rock house. An arch adorned with ivory and coral flowers stood beneath the heavy limbs, hundreds of chairs arranged in rows before it. People mingled together, dressed in everything from cocktail wear to jeans. It proved to be quite a crowd.

Skidding to a stop, Jaydan made his way around the truck to help her out. Taking her by the elbow, he ushered her inside the house. Several men in tuxedos stood in the front room, pacing and looking nervous. She spotted Booker in the background, clad in a full tuxedo, arms crossed over his chest as he stared out a side window.

Jaydan’s voice held a note of humor. “I’m looking for the groom. He ran off with my woman.”

All of the men whipped around. Huge grins split their faces before two of them rushed over to him. They had to be Jaydan’s brothers, with the same raven hair, chocolate eyes and dark, good looks.

Dropping his bag, Jaydan took them both in a hug. They huddled there for a long moment, sobs coming from within. Tears sprang to her eyes for the second time that day, her happiness for Jaydan filling her with elation.

He deserved this reunion with his family, deserved this kind of love. After all, he’d just given the same thing to Natalie and Keegan.

Pulling away, the two brothers swiped at their noses as they gave Jaydan a critical inspection.

“Damn. Look at you,” one of them said. “You’re freakin’ ripped.”

The other one said, “Hey, Superman called. He wants his costume back.”

Hope smiled to herself. If they only knew how close they were to the truth.

“Hope.” Jaydan held out his hand to her.

Swallowing hard, all eyes were on her now. She knew she looked a mess, wearing the same torn clothes from the island, her face nicked from the chandelier glass.

She told herself it didn’t matter. She’d never see these people again. Somehow, that didn’t make her feel any better.

Ushering her forward, Jaydan nodded to his right. “Hope, this is my little brother, Austin. The loser on the left is the groom, my brother Gunner.”

Gunner stared at her with shy, pleasant surprise, while Austin gave her a totally male onceover. Jaydan seemed to fall somewhere in between.

She smiled at them both. “Sorry to crash your wedding. We had a job that ran late.”

Gunner shook his head at Jaydan. “Mom’s going to be pissed. You said you weren’t bringing a date.”

Ignoring the comment, Jaydan said, “Where is Mom?”

“Right here.”

Squealing, she rushed to Jaydan, her arms outstretched. Scooping her up, he twirled her around before setting her down with a kiss on the cheek.

“You look beautiful, Mom.”

She really did look beautiful, with her dark hair piled high on her head, a floor-length gown of pale peach floating around her. Her smile faltered when she held him at arm’s length.

“You’re not taking steroids are you, J.J.?”

With a shake of his head, Jaydan gave a half laugh. “No, Mom. I have to stay fit. It’s part of my job.”

Her shrewd gaze landed on Hope. “Well, hi. I’m Penny, Jaydan’s mother. Are you the date he isn’t bringing?”

“Mom…” Jaydan warned, in a good-natured tone.

Laughing, Hope said, “No, I’m Hope, the… co-worker that didn’t give him time to drop me off before flying out.”

Penny glanced back and forth between them. “Uh, huh.”

Booker’s voice boomed in the happy room like a clap of thunder. “It’s just like you to make everyone wait and worry, isn’t it, Jaydan?”

She felt Jaydan stiffen, her own gasp lodged in her throat. Glaring at Booker, she told herself to remain calm. The man had always been an abusive asshole. She couldn’t expect anything less than insults from someone like him.

However, the logic didn’t keep her from speaking her mind. “Do you have any idea what your stepson does for a living? Or, don’t you give a shit?”

With an arm in front of her, Jaydan spoke with a low note of warning. “Hope…”

Booker’s bushy eyebrows rose into his receding hairline. His cheeks burned behind his auburn moustache. “You’ve got quite a mouth on you, little lady. I’d watch it if I were you.”

“Or what?” Jaydan’s voice rang like a steel-edged sword against an anvil.

“For your information,” she said, “Jaydan rescued a woman –“

“
Hope
.”

She ignored Jaydan’s warning. “ - that was kidnapped from her family over twenty years ago, and reunited her with her sister.”

Jaydan glared down at her. “
Hope, that’s enough
.”

Lifting her chin, she never took her eyes from Jaydan’s face. “I’m sure her family would think it was worth the delay.” Her gaze went to Booker’s stunned face. “But then again, the world revolves around you, doesn’t it?”

Gunner and Austin ducked their heads, while Penny smiled at Hope, brows high on her head. Tension radiated off Jaydan like the flames of a wildfire, his shoulders stiff and hard.

He didn’t want to ruin Gunner’s wedding day.

She’d done it for him.

Booker studied Jaydan with keen interest, his eyes razor sharp. “Jaydan,” he said, hands in pockets. “Make sure she gets to the wedding.” Walking away, he left the house out a side door.

Taking a deep breath, Hope had to get out of there. She’d done enough damage for one day. Jaydan would never forgive her.

Hiking her tote bag onto her shoulder, she said, “I’m sorry, Gunner. I didn’t mean to ruin your wedding day.” She pointed a thumb over her shoulder. “I’m going now, but wanted to wish you all the best.”

She could call her father’s private pilot and have him pick her up. Luke wouldn’t be happy but, in this case, she thought he’d prefer her alive rather than dead.

Jaydan’s grip on her bicep tightened. “You’re not going anywhere.”

A child’s scream of temper came from the back of the house.

Penny sighed aloud. “I’ve got to go. That Issy is a mess today.”

Gunner frowned at his mother. “What’s the problem?”

“Your daughter pulled out all of the pins in her hair and won’t let anyone fix it.”

“What happened to Cindy?” he said. “Did she leave?”

Penny nodded. “She left after she finished all of the girls’ hair. She wanted to get home in time to get dressed and come back. She didn’t want to miss the ceremony.”

Hope pursed her lips. Maybe she could make up for the scene she’d just caused.

“Do you mind if I give it a try?”

Jaydan whipped around to look at her, his eyes wide.

She said, “I’m no professional but I think I could do something.”
Anything to get out of here
.

“Well, come on.” Penny waved her toward the hall. “We’ll try anything at this point.”

Without a backward glance, Hope followed Jaydan’s mother down a short corridor. She could hear women talking down the hall, one of them exasperated and weary.

“Come on Issy, honey. Let us fix your hair. Mommy and Daddy are getting married in just a few minutes. Don’t you want to look pretty when you walk down the aisle?”

Poking her head around the corner, Hope saw a beautiful bride and several bridesmaids surrounding a little girl of three or four. She sat in a chair, her patent leather feet kicking nonchalantly, her peach ruffled dress gathered around her and trailing down both sides of the chair.

Hope remembered what used to work with her when she wouldn’t cooperate with her mother. She hoped it worked today.

Her mother. A woman she’d loved and admired but obviously hadn’t known at all. When she returned home, she had to talk to Riordan before she talked to her father. Could Luke have been involved, too?

She stepped into the doorway. “Hi.”

All eyes turned her way. Nothing like walking into a room of women in formal gowns while her hair was dirty, her face free of makeup and her leggings ripped like it was intentional.

“I heard you have a princess in here. I came all the way from Hawaii just to see her.”

The little girl’s arm shot out to point at her mother. Hope acted like she didn’t see it.

Walking around the room, she said, “It’s not you, or you…” Turning, she stopped short when she faced little Issy. “It’s
you
. I knew you were here.” Curtsying low, she said, “Your Highness.”

Above her bowed head the little girl giggled. “Mommy, what is she doing? I’m not a princess.”

Raising her head, Hope straightened to full height, her hands clasped in front of her. “You must be. Look at your shoes. They’re of the finest leather.”

The girl straightened her legs in front of her and studied her shoes. She waved her feet from side to side.

Hope pointed at her dress. “And look. Your dress is of the finest satin and chiffon in all the world.”

With both hands, the girl spread out the ruffles on her dress, studying them. Glancing up at Hope, she giggled.

“And your pearls,” Hope continued. “They are the rarest of the sea. You must be -”

Gasping, Hope covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh no. Your hair.”

Losing her smile, the little girl patted at her hair before stretching out one curl to study it.

“What happened?” Hope said, feigning shock. “Why, no princess can be seen without her hair done.” Bowing low, Hope spoke in a voice filled with reverence. “I would be honored to make it so...” She looked at the little girl and smiled. “For you, Princess Issy.”

This was the point where Hope would tell her mother, “Yes, please do. My prince awaits.” And, they would giggle and laugh while her mother fixed her hair for school.

She missed her so much.

Issy held out the vines of flowers that had once occupied her hair. “I have these. Are they for princess hair?”

Hope took them from her hand. “Why, yes. They are the finest of flowers. They will make you a grand princess.”