The Ties That Bind (7 page)
He fully expected for the cartel to hunt him down. Knew they’d come after him. But if Cade’s plan worked out like he thought it would, then he’d be luring them right into his trap and get to take them out once and for all. Then he’d turn in his badge once and for all.
Cade helped his brothers lift the king-size feather mattress and put it on the bed frame, and he managed to ignore their silent looks to each other. He’d gotten good at ignoring the looks his family gave him every time they were together. They were worried. His time undercover in del Fuego’s cartel had changed him, and there was nothing he could do to bring his old self back. He wasn’t as quick to laugh or tease as he once was. There was a darkness inside of him that would never go away. Too much exposure to true evil did that to a person over time.
“This is a good move for you,” Shane said, ignoring the warning look Cade gave him. “You’re still doing what you love.”
Not even his brothers knew that his current job was just another cover, though he had a suspicion that Declan was in on it. His brother seemed to know everything going on all the time.
“And now you have a house and a sexy neighbor,” Shane said, shrugging. “It’s very mature. You’re thirty-six years old. It’s about time you settled down.”
“Enough, Shane,” Cade growled, thoughts of the future and children he’d never gotten to share with Carmen clouding his vision. “I don’t want to settle down in some picture perfect life of what you think would make me happy. I’ll do my fucking job. I might even do my fucking neighbor. But I’ll be damned if I bring some woman and a bunch of kids into the misery that is my life. You think del Fuego or his men will ever stop looking for me? My family would never be safe. I’m a wanted man.”
“Bullshit, Cade,” Shane said. “There have been no reports on activity again in the cartel. You’re just afraid to live again. For the last couple of years you’ve done nothing but be miserable to yourself and everyone around you because of what happened to Carmen del Fuego. I know you loved her. But you might as well be dead the way you’re living now. You’re trying to get yourself killed. You think we’re too stupid to know that you’re setting yourself up as bait?”
Shane was always the more hotheaded of his brothers, and he never knew when to shut his mouth. Cade could see Declan shaking his head from the corner of his eye and moving into position to get between them if things got violent. And Cade knew that Dec wouldn’t pull his punches if he was forced to break up a fight.
Cade had worked with his middle brother on several ops over the years, and Cade still had no idea what branch of the government Dec worked for or exactly what he did. He only knew that his brother always showed up when he needed to, and he wasn’t someone to mess with.
“It’s my life, Shane. They’re my memories, my regrets, and it’s my fucking guilt. I’ll do what I need to, and I’ll do the job I’ve been given. Even if it means I spend my last breath watching the cartel come to an end. Don’t ever expect anything more from me. I don’t need the hero worship you had for me as a kid. I know my duty.”
“You’re sure as fuck not anyone’s hero anymore, Cade,” Shane said. “You think it doesn’t break Mom’s heart every time she sees what you’ve become? Miguel del Fuego might be the most unimaginable bastard to ever walk the face of the planet, but even he’s got life in him that you don’t have. Because he has a purpose. His purpose might be to kill you, but it’s a purpose all the same. What the hell do you have?”
“A brother who doesn’t know when to shut up.”
Shane grabbed his shirt off the floor and jerked it on, and Cade followed him into the living room, feeling the acid churn in his gut as his brother grabbed his duffle bag and slipped on his sunglasses. He wanted to stop him. To apologize. To just do—something. But he didn’t say anything.
“You know what the shitty thing is, Cade?” Shane asked as he turned back, his eyes hidden behind his glasses. “It’s like your whole family died with Carmen that day. I don’t know why the hell we all bother. I’m leaving on assignment tomorrow. I’ll be back in country in six weeks.”
Shane waved a hand negligently as he walked out the door, and Cade decided he’d be better off going to the kitchen for another beer rather than throwing something against the wall like he wanted to do.
“Are you leaving too?” Cade finally asked after Declan had been silent for what seemed like forever.
“Might as well. I’ve got a job coming up.”
“I can’t help the way I feel, Dec. And I can’t change the way I am.”
Cade heard Declan sigh, and his grip tightened around the bottle in his hand at the disappointment that one breath of air seemed to express.
“That’s not for me to say, Cade. And I know it won’t be one of us who has the power to make you feel differently. Maybe it’s time to just open your mind to the possibilities of having something more. I’m not saying you have to,” he said, before Cade could interrupt. “But maybe there’s a chance you didn’t die that day with Carmen after all, and there’s a lot of life ahead of you. She wouldn’t want you to do this to yourself.”
Cade grunted and brought the beer up to quench his dry throat. He was just so damned tired. And empty. And lonely.
“Just be grateful Darcy and Grant aren’t here to add their opinion to Shane’s.”
A rusty laugh rumbled from Cade’s chest as he thought of his two other siblings. Grant had just gotten married and was settling in nicely with his new wife, and his sister, Darcy, was finishing up her Master’s Degree and trying to figure out what she wanted to do with her life, driving everyone crazy in the meantime. One of the reasons he’d moved from Montana to Texas was because he never had any peace. Someone in the family—between his parents, siblings and cousins—was always trying to give him advice on how to get his life back together.
“Oh, believe me. I’m grateful.”
Declan nodded and grabbed his own bag from the hall closet. “You’ve got a nice house here, Cade. It’s older, and it’s going to need some care and maintenance, but she’s got a solid foundation. You’ve got a lot in common, I think.”
“You know I love you guys, don’t you, Dec?” Cade said, feeling the urgent need to let his brother know it. “I just need some time.”
“I know. Try to stay out of trouble. We haven’t heard rumbles of the cartel moving again, but my gut’s been churning ever since you took this job. They’ll find you, and I know you’re expecting it, but shit happens. I’ll be mighty pissed if you end up getting killed.”
“I’ll do my best.”
Declan grinned, stretching the ragged scar on his right cheek into a fine white line. “And don’t give the pretty lady next door too hard of a time. She’s going to give you a run for your money.”
“Never in a million years. Did you see the way she glared at me? No man wants that kind of grief all the time.”
Declan’s laughter followed him out the door. “Whatever you say. You know how to reach me if you need me.”
He gave a two-fingered salute and slipped out the back door silently, through the trees in the backyard and to the car he had parked about a mile away. Declan was a paranoid bastard, and he had good reason to be. He also had uncanny instincts, and if his gut was churning then Cade could all but guarantee the cartel had found him. Perfect.
Read CADE, along with the rest of the MACKENZIES! Here's the correct reading order...
Dane
A Christmas Wish: Dane
Thomas
To Catch A Cupid: Thomas
Riley
Fireworks: Riley
Cooper
The Ties That Bind: Cooper
A MacKenzie Christmas
1001 Dark Nights: Captured in Surrender
1001 Dark Nights: The Promise of Surrender
Cade
Shadows and Silk
Secrets and Satin
Sins and Scarlet Lace
Sizzle
Crave
Liliana Hart is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than a thirty books. She lives in Texas in a big rambling house with her laptop and cats, and she spends way too much time on Twitter. She loves hearing from her readers.
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The MacKenzie Series
Dane
A Christmas Wish: Dane
Thomas
To Catch A Cupid: Thomas
Riley
Fireworks: Riley
Cooper
The Ties That Bind: Cooper
A MacKenzie Christmas
1001 Dark Nights: Captured in Surrender
1001 Dark Nights: The Promise of Surrender
MacKenzie Box Set (Dane, Thomas, Riley, Cooper)
Cade
Shadows and Silk
Secrets and Satin
Sins and Scarlet Lace
The MacKenzie Security Series (includes the 3 books listed above)
Sizzle
Crave
The Collective Series
Kill Shot
The Rena Drake Series
Breath of Fire
Addison Holmes Mysteries
Whiskey Rebellion
Whiskey Sour
Whiskey For Breakfast
The Addison Holmes Mystery Box Set (includes the 3 books listed above)
Whiskey, You’re The Devil
JJ Graves Mysteries
Dirty Little Secrets
A Dirty Shame
Dirty Rotten Scoundrel
Down and Dirty
Dirty Deeds (novella)
Standalone Novels/Novellas
All About Eve
Paradise Disguised
Catch Me If You Can
Who’s Riding Red?
Goldilocks and the Three Behrs
Strangers in the Night
Naughty or Nice