GladYouCame (21 page)

“No one leaves,” Scott said tightly. “Got it? No one gets a
pass.”

Tony made eye contact with Ryan who jerked his head toward where
Allison and Beth crouched, still holding Elena’s hands. “I’m going with them to
meet the ambulance.”

“No.” Scott turned the gun toward Ryan. “You’re staying.”
His hand remained steady as he reached over and flicked a switch on the small
device he’d brought. A loud beeping filled the air, a flashing red light
blinking ominously. “I’m ready to meet my maker. Can any of you sinners say the
same?”

Patrick jumped up onto the table, lunging for Scott before
Tony could blink. The gun’s rapport echoed through the alcove, the air now
saturated with the unpleasant stench of gunpowder. The other men pounced,
wrestling Scott to the ground. Tony grabbed his arm, slamming his hand down
onto the floor until the gun skidded away.

Genevieve kicked the weapon farther out of the way, reaching
for the device in the center of the table. Fear curled through Tony’s gut as he
watched her pick it up with gentle hands. “Genie, no.”

“It’s all right. I’m going to take it outside. Elena is in
too much pain to walk and she is not going to die. Neither are the babies.” She
sidestepped the pile of men, gingerly making her way through the door to the
overflow parking area. “No one is.”

After she disappeared through the doorway, Tony met Dade’s gaze.
The same worry sitting heavy in his gut also weighed on Dade. The woman they
both loved just walked out of Brogans with an active bomb in her hands. Gatlin
Falls may have been a fountain of tourist activity, but they didn’t have a bomb
squad on staff. And who knows what kind of jury rigging Scott had wired into
the device.

“If you two don’t go after her, I will. Ryan and I have this
asshole.”

Sam slid into the area. “Girls got Elena outside. Ambulance
just pulled up.”

As Tony stood, he noticed the bright patch of red darkening
Patrick’s Perfect Shot shirt near his collar bone. “Christ, you’ve been shot.”

“Just a flesh wound. Go.” He winced as he gestured. “Now.
Sam, can you grab his legs before I punch this asshole?” Scott let out a string
of violent curses. “Fuck this.” As Sam moved forward, Patrick’s fist slammed
into Scott’s jaw.

The man grunted, falling limp.

Confident the situation in the pub was contained, Tony and
Dade breeched the back door just as an explosion ripped through the air.

“Mom, leave me alone. I’m fine.”

Emmanuelle huffed as she flicked her hand through
Genevieve’s hair. “Honey, you picked up a bomb. What were you thinking?”

“That someone needed to take action to save the people I
love.”
The men I love.
“It’s over and done with. Everyone is fine. Can
we just move past it, please?” She’d gotten plenty of mothering and arguments
with Tony and Dade in the days following the incident at Brogans. Her patience
had tolerated their concern because they’d been there to witness the entire
scene. A scene she felt responsible for dragging Tony into. Without her,
Scott’s issues may have never risen to the surface. But her mother’s worry was
thinly veiled as a means to convince her to move back to Boston.

And Genevieve wasn’t abandoning her home in Gatlin Falls.

Ever.

“Maybe you should stay here for a bit while you work through
things.”

Turning, she slapped her mother’s hand away. “Mother. That’s
enough.”

“Fine.” Emmanuelle’s impeccably painted lips tightened into
a straight line as the doorbell rang. “That must be the mayor. Since you won’t
talk to me, will you please pull yourself together before you come see
everyone? Your hair is a mess. And you have lint all over your dress. I’ve
taught you better.” The sharp snap of her heels clicked against the tile
flooring. As her steps faded, Genevieve leaned over the counter and blew out a
steady stream of air as she tried to calm the indignation rolling through her.

Yes, wouldn’t do to let the mayor of Boston see one of the
Lamberts out of sorts.

It had been eight weeks since the incident with Scott at
Brogans. Genevieve hadn’t managed a decent night’s sleep since. Every time she
closed her eyes, she imagined things going very differently. Imagined a
scenario where the homemade bomb had detonated in the pub, taking the building
and everyone inside with it.

She knew the futility in such thoughts, but she couldn’t
refrain from imaging horrible things. But they weren’t dead. And Scott was
awaiting trial, spending the hours twiddling his thumbs in a jail cell. He was
also getting counseling he very much needed. Patrick was well on his way to
recovery, thanks to the fact the bullet had gone cleanly through his shoulder
without doing any major damage. And, after nearly twenty-seven hours of labor,
Elena and Alex were the proud parents of two strapping bundles of joy.

Thomas and Gabriel Conners.

No doubt, the sly smile the parents shared every time they
said their sons’ names meant there had been a careful selection process. Or
played up their joint obsession with movies.

The fact of the matter was, other than the need to see
everyone around her safe, Genevieve had no unequivocal reason for what she’d
done. The bomb had been in her hands before she’d even thought about the
danger. Looking back on the choice now, she knew how stupid it had been. Which
was exactly why the moment still weighed so heavily on her conscious.

If things had gone differently, she could have changed the
course of her life.

Of Tony’s and Dade’s.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone kiss as much ass as
your mother is with the mayor. At least unless they were getting ready to fuck
them.” Dade slid his hand over her back, his touch a welcoming comfort against
the tempest raging inside her. “You all right in here by yourself?”

“Just needed a minute. Mom is better taken in…small bits.
She’s trying to convince me to move back home. She thinks I’m sick and need
help.” Dade circled each knob of her spine, working around the knots of tension
tightening her muscles. “God, that feels good.”

His touch drifted lower, flaring his fingers wide over the
swell of her ass as he kissed the back of her neck. “We’ll make you feel even
better later.”

Arousal threaded through her, beating back her exhaustion
and tension. Surrendering to them sounded wonderful. Far better than dealing
with the stuffy and tasteless meal they certainly faced. “Why not now?”

Dade flicked his tongue against her neck. “Mmm, sounds like
a plan. But I think I’m already on your mother’s shit list as it is.”

“Welcome to my world.” She lifted her head to meet his steady
gaze. “I’m on it permanently.”

“I know a place I’d like to be permanently.” Dade kissed
her, her neck tingling as he cupped her nape. Then her nipples tightened to
hard points, scraping against the soft cotton cups of her bra, aching for
attention. Her body flared to life as he brushed his tongue against her bottom
lip.

She felt warm and tingly, buzzing in all the right places.

“Mmm, that was nice.” Hunger danced unchecked in his eyes
even though his hands were steady. A sign he wanted to go further. Gift her
with an even more passionate kiss. However, he respected the fact they were at
her parents’ house and surrounded by people who didn’t know about their
arrangement.

Playful as he appeared, his eyes were serious as he tucked a
few stray hairs behind her ears. “Tony seems to get along well with your
father.”

The serious turn in the conversation signaled to her the
heat flaring between them needed to be banked. “Dad loves Tony. Has from the
beginning. Sometimes I wonder how…damn, no. I won’t think that way.”

“You want to know how someone as charming as your father
ended up with a ballbuster like your mother?”

“I shouldn’t think that way. They’re my parents.” The
doorbell rang, a sign the food had arrived. Even more reason for her to pull
back from the moment. Reality settled around her as she straightened her
shoulders, and forced a wide smile. “Better get going. Ballbuster herself will
be in full force now that the meal is here.”

“Just remember what I said, okay?”

He trailed his fingertips over her breast as he stepped
away. “Yes Sir.”

“I like the sound of that. Remember those words for later.”

Moments after Dade left, her mother swept into the kitchen
wearing the million-dollar smile she was known for. Genevieve worked patiently
with the caterers, going along with their suggestions even if it wasn’t
something she would do. No reason to give her mother even more fuel for an
already gasoline-soaked inferno. When the crew finally left, Genevieve counted
out the correct number of plates and lifted the stack into her arms.

“Honey, what are you doing?”

Genevieve paused, shifting the heavy load. “Going to set the
table?”

“You know that isn’t what I mean.” Her mother glared at her
for a long minute. For the first time in her life, Genevieve had no idea what
her mother had decided to get worked up about. It could be as simple as the
choice of makeup Genevieve had made while getting ready for the dinner. “You’re
a married woman.”

She followed her mother’s gaze to where Dade sat on the
couch carrying on a conversation with her older sister, Alaina. He had been
nothing but pleasant with the entire Lambert clan despite the fact her mother
seemed to be doing her best to give him the cold shoulder. “Yes, thank you. I
remember quite well.” Genevieve moved to set the table, but her mother stopped
her so fast the plates landed on the kitchen island with a sharp bang.
“Mother!”

The last thing Genevieve needed was for the family china to
shatter. No doubt her mother would blame that on her as well.

“How could you…with your husband in the next room. It’s
disgraceful, not to mention disrespectful.” The venom dripping from the
statement slid over Genevieve’s skin, leaving a distasteful sheen of hatred.
Her mother regarded anything outside of the norm with great contempt. She’d
jumped to conclusions without asking for clarification. Something else she was
known for. Not as though Genevieve had expected anything less. But she could
have at least asked what was going on first without assuming she was having an
affair.

“Mom, not every relationship is black and white. And it’s
not what you think.”

Her mother’s expression hardened. “Not what I think? I think
I saw you carrying on with your friend while your husband helped your father
with the computer. Shame on you both.” Emmanuelle stormed from the room, no
doubt to find her rosary and pray for her daughter’s sinning soul.

Knowing the dinner needed to carry on as planned, Genevieve
scooped up the plates and went to set the table. Just as she’d placed the last
piece, Dade stepped into the room. “What happened? Your mom is in there talking
with the mayor again but something’s off. Even your dad looks concerned.”

“Nothing.”

“Genie.”

The warning note in Dade’s voice made her wince. “She saw us
flirting.”

His grip on her shoulder eased. “Damn. I thought she was too
tied up kissing ass to notice. I forgot about the whole deal about mothers
having eyes in the back of their heads. Really not the kind of impression I
wanted to leave on your family. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I’ll talk to her after dinner. She’ll want
everything perfect and right to keep up appearances with the rest of the
family. She won’t understand, but she will at least listen.”
I hope.
Smoothing the bright red sweater dress she’d picked especially for tonight,
Genevieve stepped out into the living room. “Dinner is ready everyone.”

She pointed to where she’d set a place for Dade, and for
Tony. One on each side of her. This was Thanksgiving. She was stressed enough
as it was without adding further agitation to the mixture. The men would be at
her side for the meal because she couldn’t bear the thought of seeing Dade
sitting on the other side of the table next to the mayor like a house guest.

Dade was family. Her mother needed to get used to the fact.
The sooner, the better.

As everyone began to sit, Genevieve noticed her mother still
standing at the head of the table. Her gaze immediately flicked to her father,
but he seemed just as perplexed as everyone else.

Rachelle tapped the back of Emmanuelle’s hand. “Mom, sit
down. We have a wonderful meal to eat. And I’m sure the mayor has family of his
own to see tonight.”

Emmanuelle gave a tight smile toward Rachelle before she
looked directly at Dade. “We’ll eat after I’ve spoken to my daughter, her
husband and
their guest
in the front hall.” She blew out of the room
like a tornado determined to destroy everything in its wake.

Genevieve looked to the others at the table and grimaced.

“Better go see what your mother wants, Genevieve.” Her
father rose, gesturing for the three of them to follow. At least he could help
run some interference. She didn’t know what this was all about, but she had a
pretty good idea. “Rachelle, why don’t you tell the mayor about the research
project you reviewed funding for last week?”

Genevieve’s sister immediately began chatting, her voice
cheery and positive as she offered Mayor O’Neil a platter of spinach pinwheels.
The sounds of her gushing about her most recent venture faded as Genevieve lead
Tony and Dade to where her parents waited.

She wanted to find comfort by taking their hands in hers,
but until she knew more about what was going, had a chance to explain their
relationship, she would refrain. “Mom? Dad? What’s going on? The food is going
to get cold.” The thought of dining on the catered food hadn’t been appealing
to Genevieve before. Eating it cold was even less appealing.

“Dinner will go on just as soon as you get out of my house,
young man.” She glared pointedly at Dade as she turned her nose up and huffed.

“Mother!”

“Emmanuelle, what is going on?” Good to know her father was
just as confused.

“This homewrecker isn’t allowed to sit with my family during
our holiday meal.”

Dade set his hand on Genevieve’s arm and squeezed. “I’ll
go.”

Fury ripped through Genevieve. She wasn’t going to let her
mother ruin everything. The past few weeks had been chaotic enough without
adding family drama into the mix. At least she’d been expecting this kind of
discord. “No. You stay right there. Not when she’s making accusations without
asking me. I will not have her insult you just because she’s so close-minded.”

Her mother slammed her fist down on an antique table, a
delicate glass vase rattling against the force. “Young lady, you will not talk
to me like that in my own house.”

Genevieve set her hand over Dade’s, using the connection to
draw strength. She kept her speech level and calm. Raising her voice would just
incite her mother further. “This used to be my home too, Mother. The same one
you and Daddy raised me in to be loving and caring. And most of all accepting.
Which is more than I can say for you right now. Do you even know what is going
on in my life? What I’ve been through? Instead of asking if I’m all right, if
there is anything I need, you insist that I move back here.”

“Don’t you dare lecture me. Don’t even think of having the
audacity to talk back to me, young lady. You invited this man into our home,
during a family gathering, and practically had sex with him right on the
kitchen island.”

“That’s enough. I’m tired of you treating me as if I was a
seven year old again. I am a grown woman capable of making her own decisions.”
Genevieve stepped back, wrapping her arms around the men’s waists. “I love
Tony. And I love Dade. We’re all happy and you will not make me feel guilty for
what we’ve found. Not for one second. And I refuse to apologize or tell someone
they have to leave a family gathering when they are
my
family.”

“Get out of my house. All of you. This instant.”

Remorse for the harsh things she’d said immediately flooded
her system. All Genevieve had wanted was a nice, quiet evening with those she
loved around her. She’d wanted that bit of normalcy in order to set things
right again so she could put the incident still weighing on her soul behind
her. She released the men, moving toward her mother. “Mom, please don’t do this.
Don’t. We’re truly happy. Can’t you just understand that?”