Return of the Prodigal Son (17 page)

When the door closed behind them, Donovan turned to his mother. “I was wondering if Andi and the kids could stay here for a few days.”

Kate smiled at Andi. “Of course you can. With my children growing up and moving out, we have plenty of bedrooms.”

Andi was moved by the warmth of her tone. “I don’t like to intrude.”

“Nonsense.” Kieran helped himself to the last piece of cheesecake. “It’ll be good to have some of those empty rooms filled again. The house won’t seem so lonely.”

Donovan motioned toward the kitchen, where he could hear the children’s voices raised in laughter. “Where would you like them?”

“Why not give Cory Micah’s old room and put Taylor in Cameron’s room. That way Andi can have Bren’s room, with its own bath, and you can have your old room, Donovan.”

He was already shaking his head. “I won’t be staying. I…have things to see to.”

Kieran pointed with his fork. “You can stay the night, boyo. There’ll be time enough to do whatever you have to do tomorrow.”

When he saw the hopeful look in his mother’s eyes, it was on the tip of Donovan’s tongue to agree. But this was too important to wait even one night. He shook his head. “Sorry, Pop. There’s nothing I’d like better than to have a good night’s sleep in my old room. But I have to do this.”

He pushed away from the table and paused to press a hand to Andi’s shoulder. Then he dropped a kiss on his mother’s cheek before starting toward the kitchen. Just then Cory and Taylor walked into the dining room, their faces wreathed in smiles.

“Pru showed us the basketball hoop. And she said she’d teach us how to shoot baskets.”

“Not on your life.” Cameron grinned at his sister-in-law. “She’ll teach you sissy shots. If anybody’s going to teach you how to make baskets, it’ll be me.”

“Wow. Thanks.” Cory turned to Donovan. “Pru showed us the tree where you used to have a tree house. Do you think you and I could build one together?”

Donovan could feel his family watching him. “That’s something I’ll have to think about. As soon as I get back.”

“Get back?” Cory looked around. “Are we leaving?”

“I’m leaving. You’re staying here, where you’ll be safe.” Donovan was halfway to the front door when Cory’s shout pierced the silence, shocking everyone.

“No!” He darted across the room and flung himself at Donovan’s legs.

Caught by surprise, Donovan reacted instinctively, turning and grabbing the boy roughly by the arms.

Despite the man’s strength and size, Cory managed to free himself and began pummeling Donovan with his fists.

“Hey, now.” Donovan was frowning as he held the boy a little away. “What’s all this?”

“You can’t go. I won’t let you.” To Cory’s mortification, tears streamed from his eyes and down his face. He wiped at them with the backs of his hands. His tone turned pleading. “Please don’t go, Donovan. If you do, I know you’ll never come back.”

For several moments Donovan simply stared at this little boy as the truth dawned.

He dropped to his knees and dragged Cory close, burying his face in the boy’s hair. “I’m not your father, Cory. I’m not about to crash and burn.”

“You don’t know that. It happened before. It can happen again.” The words were muffled against his shirt.

Donovan looked helplessly across the room, only to see Andi and Taylor weeping, as well. He felt his heart take several hard hits before he managed to say, “I give you my word, Cory. I’m not going to die. I’m coming back.”

The boy merely shook his head and continued sobbing.

Donovan got to his feet, still holding the boy in his arms. Against his cheek he murmured, “You’ve had to deal with a lot of things that most kids your age haven’t even thought of. I wish I could make this easier for you, Cory, but there’s still too much I can’t talk about. You have to just trust me. Do you think you can do that?”

“No. I don’t mind trusting you, but I don’t want you to go.” The boy wrapped his arms around Donovan’s neck as Andi picked up her daughter and walked up to stand beside them.

“Let’s go outside and I’ll see if I can answer a few of your questions before I go.” As he turned toward the porch, Donovan was aware that his entire family was watching in silence. By the time he opened the door he could hear the whispers, and figured they were having a grand time speculating on his relationship with Andi and the children.

His relationship.

Maybe, he thought as he stepped out on the porch, they’d figure it out among themselves and let him in on it. Especially since he wasn’t at all certain what their relationship really was. Or where it was headed. All he knew was that he’d willingly die rather than see any of them harmed in any way.

If that made him a fool in love, so be it.

Right now he had more important things to deal with. He was about to give his word to Cory that he’d come back, while knowing that life, especially the reckless life he chose to lead, offered no guarantees.

Chapter 14

A
ndi poured herself a cup of coffee and walked to the window to watch her two children shooting hoops in the backyard. She and Donovan had sat with Cory and Taylor until they’d calmed down enough to accept the fact that he was leaving.

When he drove away, she’d felt as desperately afraid and unhappy as Cory.

In anticipation of the morning, Kieran poured coffeecake batter into a pan before setting it in the oven. Then he helped himself to the last cup of coffee and placed the empty pot in the sink.

“So. How is your brother, Champion?”

“He’s doing fine. His international business is flourishing. He’s in London now, and should be on his way home tomorrow.”

“You’ll be glad to see him.”

She nodded. “There have been so many changes in my life since he saw me last.”

Kieran chose his words carefully. “Would one of those changes happen to be Donovan?”

She could feel herself blushing. “Is it that obvious?”

“Even a blind man could tell.” His voice gentled. “A word of warning, lass. Donovan’s a hard man to love. He doesn’t let anyone get too close.”

“I know.” She turned to the window. “But there’s just something about him. Despite his toughness, there’s such goodness in his heart. I can see the changes in my children. Taylor adores this man who can tease and laugh and make her feel safe. Cory is pinning all his hopes on Donovan.”

“How about their mother?”

She turned to the old man. “I’ve lost my heart to him, Pop. I never would have believed this possible. I had a good marriage. I loved Adam. We’d built a fine life together. But with Donovan everything is different. There’s this dangerous side to him that makes him so exciting.”

“Exciting, is it?” The old man’s lips thinned. “Maybe to a woman in love. But to his family that dangerous side has caused a good deal of heartache. Have you given any thought to what it would be like to be married to a man like Donovan? Never knowing where he was. Always wondering if he was alive or dead. Or if he’d ever come back to you. There’s a restlessness inside him. I’ve never understood it. Nor have I approved.”

Andi touched a hand to his. “I couldn’t help noticing that. You realize, of course, that Donovan notices, too.”

“If he does, he’s never let it stop him from doing exactly as he pleases.”

Andi leaned against the counter and studied the handsome, weathered face. “He told me you were a wild man in your youth. He said you were one of the toughest cops on the D.C. force. And he said you and his father had always been his heroes.”

The old man’s frown faded. “He did, did he?” He seemed to lose himself in thought for a moment before saying, “I’m sure I gave my family plenty of bad moments. But I knew that what I was doing was the right thing, even if it meant frightening those who loved me, and putting my own life on the line.”

As soon as the words were spoken, he arched a brow and turned to her. “You’re a sly one, Andi Brady.”

She smiled. “Now whatever do you mean by that, Pop?”

“You knew if you pushed hard enough I’d end up defending him, didn’t you?”

Her smile grew. “I’m told it runs in the family. Donovan said that no matter how far away he was, or how desperate the situation, he always took comfort in the knowledge that his family loved him.”

“That we do, lass.” Kieran turned away and busied himself at the sink until the lump in his throat was gone. “I just hope he confronts this villain quickly and hurries back to us. We’ve a lot of missed time to catch up on.”

Andi kept her tone casual. “Did he say where he was going?”

“Not in so many words. But I have an idea that he was going back to his place.”

Andi glanced at the keys hanging in a neat row by the back door. “I know I can count on you to keep my children safe, Pop.”

“Of course. Didn’t I give my word to Donovan?” He turned and saw the direction of her gaze. “You’d be wise not to meddle in his business, lass.”

“I never said I was wise, Pop. After all, I’m a woman in love with a man who lives on the edge. And that’s just about the most foolish thing I know.” She took in a deep breath. “Would you mind if I borrowed your car?”

He sighed. “The third key ring from the left. There’s a full tank of gas.”

She walked up to him and pressed a kiss to his leathery cheek. “You’re a softie.”

“Soft in the head, you mean. You tell my grandson he’s a fool if he doesn’t appreciate you.”

“I’ll do that.” She snatched up the keys and hurried out the door, before she had time to think about what she was about to do. For if she spent even a minute thinking this through, she’d lose her courage and give it up entirely.

But as she’d admitted to Kieran, there was just something about being with Donovan Lassiter that made her feel reckless and bold.

Whatever he was facing, at least this time he wouldn’t face it alone.

Donovan left his car in a stand of trees and started up the gravel road on foot, his senses alert to anything out of the ordinary. He moved with the sureness of one who’d spent a lifetime staring down unknown peril. As he passed the rental house, he thought about the night he’d spent lying in Andi’s arms. She’d become very special to him. As had her children. Still, the thought of a lifetime commitment had him backing off. He’d spent so many years without roots, without permanence in his life. What gave him the right to think he should inflict himself on three people who had already had their lives shattered by violent death? He would probably be the worst thing that could happen to them. Still, the thought was tempting.

As he approached his darkened house at the top of the hill he paused, listening.

The night seemed almost too silent. No birds cried. No insects chirped. Even the breeze had died down, so that the leaves in the trees were as still, as motionless, as death.

He made a complete turn around the house until, satisfied, he walked up the steps of the porch and opened the front door. He didn’t flick on the lights, choosing instead to cross the room in darkness. He paused at the wall of shelves to reach for the night binoculars, then walked to the window and stared out into the darkness.

“You’re looking in the wrong place, Lassiter.” A man’s voice came from across the room. “I’m right here behind you.”

Donovan didn’t bother to turn. “I just wanted to make sure you were alone.”

“You don’t sound surprised to see me here.”

“No more surprised than you are to see me.” He did turn then, and lowered the binoculars. “You knew, when you grabbed Adam’s children, that I’d be back to finish this.”

“I was counting on it.” The man touched a hand to the wall switch, flooding the room with light. In his hand was a gun, aimed directly at Donovan’s chest. “I’d been so careful to leave no loose ends. I was home free. And then you had to come along and muddy the water. Which means, of course, that you’ll now have to drown in it.”

Donovan studied the man, whose blond hair and unlined face made him completely unrecognizable from his photograph. “Quite an improvement over the old Neil Summerville. Plastic surgery?”

The lips smiled, though the eyes remained cold. “Amazing what enough money can buy today. A new face. Hair implants. A brand-new identity.” His tone sharpened. “Why couldn’t you have left it alone?”

“I was doing a favor for an old college friend.”

“Champion Mackenzie. In all my research on Adam Brady, I never came across the fact that his brother-in-law had once roomed in college with a government spy. If I had, I’d have figured a way to have Mackenzie on that plane with him.”

“A loose end.” Donovan kept his voice bland. “So, Neil, what excuse did you give Adam for missing the flight?”

“I met him at the plane and told him I’d snagged a multimillion-dollar investor who wanted to meet with me that morning. I suggested that he go ahead to Chicago without me.”

“Where did you hide the explosives?”

Neil smiled. “I suppose, in your line of work, you have a need for all the little details.”

“That’s right. So indulge me.”

“In a satchel under the pilot’s seat. I wasn’t taking any chances on the pilot surviving long enough to bail out and possibly swim to shore.”

“You knew the explosion would happen over water?”

“Of course. I planned the timer that way, so they would never be able to recover more than bits and pieces of the plane or the bodies.”

“I suppose you also planted some of your own belongings, so there’d be no question that you’d been aboard?”

“Exactly.” Neil smiled. “You see, Lassiter? We think alike. You’d make a formidable criminal.”

“So I’ve been told.” Donovan started to set the binoculars on a nearby table, and Summerville jumped back before taking careful aim with his pistol.

Donovan merely smiled. “Just tired of holding these.”

“You make another move, I’ll blow you apart where you stand.”

Donovan’s smile widened. “Isn’t that why you came here?”

“That’s right. After I eliminate this loose end, I’ll go back to my new life, with my new lover and a portfolio worth millions.”

“You had this planned from the beginning, didn’t you, Neil? That’s why you invited Adam to join your firm. So you could set him up for the fall.”