Remember Love: Saints Protection & Investigations (23 page)

“Well, my son has kept you a secret, but I can tell you that I’m thrilled to meet you,” Barbara said.

“We haven’t been…I mean, I haven’t really been…um,” Grace stammered, her gaze jumping between Blaise and his mother.

Once more, Blaise came to her rescue. “We haven’t been together too long, so there was no reason to introduce her to the family yet.” His arm tightened around her shoulders as he grinned down at her. “But, I wanted to rectify that situation, so as awkward as this was, I’m glad you get a chance to meet each other.”

Just then, Bayley came back from the kitchen with a plate of toast slathered with butter and jam and carrying another cup of coffee. Handing them to Grace, she said, “Here, we totally interrupted your breakfast and I didn’t want you to go hungry.”

Grinning at the blonde beauty, Grace accepted the plate.

“So how did you meet my brother? He’s not exactly Mr. Sociable out here with all his animals.”

Grace hesitated, deciding to let Blaise answer for her. His eyes searched hers as he whispered softly. “We can trust them, Grace, but only if you’re comfortable.” Nodding her acquiescence, glad for his lead, she smiled in return.

“I met Grace when she was having some difficulties,” he began. “She’d had an accident and subsequently lost her memory.”

Bayley and Barbara’s eyes widened in surprise, clearly not expecting such a dramatic answer.

“Oh, my dear, how horrible,” Barbara gushed.

Grace noticed Barbara’s eyes moving to her forehead and she nodded. “Yes, that’s where I got this,” she said, fingering the puckered skin gently. “I’m afraid I treated it myself and so, while it is healing, I have a rather large scar to contend with.”

“Nothing mars your beauty, babe,” Blaise said, leaning over to place a kiss right next to her scar.

Grace faced Blaise’s family and added, “So you see, I am like the strays he has found…only this time, I’m a human stray.”

Blushing deeply, Barbara leaned forward, grasping Grace’s hands once more. “I have bungled this entire meeting, haven’t I? I’m so sorry I made such a statement.”

“Mrs. Hanssen, it’s fine. Really. I accept what happened to me and we’re working to piece my past back together, so it’s all good. After all, a stray is when you find something worth protecting so much you bring it to your home.”

“Brother dear, you’d better keep this one!” Bayley laughed, before turning her eyes back to Grace. “Girl, I think you and I are going to be good friends!”

The awkwardness of the morning sliding away, Grace grinned.
Maybe, just maybe…this day will be a good one after all.

*

Several hours later,
Grace walked through the Midlands Memorial Gardens, a bouquet of pink mums clutched in one hand, Blaise’s fingers linked with her other hand.

“I can’t remember their death, but I remember that mom loved pink mums,” she said, as they wandered through the gravesites.

They made their way to the site, the double headstone carved with entwining roses and vines. Kneeling, she placed the flowers in the middle of the marble then bowed her head while placing one hand flat on the surface.

Blaise stood back, far enough to offer privacy and yet close enough to provide comfort. Wrapped in the warm blanket of the summer sun, Grace sat for several minutes listening to the sound of birds in the nearby trees. Finally sighing, she lifted her head as her hand slid down to trace the words on the gravestone.

Martha Graham Kennedy and Thomas Carl Kennedy

Together in life…together in heaven

As she glanced at their birth and death dates, she sighed as she thought about their deaths. “They died on the same day…together. I remember being told by the police about their deaths, but I don’t remember details.” She twisted around to look at him, observing his face registering sadness, not surprise. “Do you know?”

Nodding, he knelt beside her. “Babe, I found out everything I could about you when we were first learning who you were.”

He watched her carefully as she digested this information, relieved when anger did not present itself. Only resignation in her slumped shoulders. “Do you want to know?”

She met his gaze and said, “Yes. The counselor said that my most traumatic memories may be the last to come back to me. Was it…particularly traumatic?”

“I think the sudden, unexpected death of any parent would be traumatic, sweetheart. You can tell by the dates that it was over two years ago, so at least you were an adult. They were killed in a car accident. Icy road and they…” he hesitated, searching her face to keep his pulse on her emotions, “slid off the road and down a ravine.”

“Just like me,” she said, eyes wide.

“No, baby,” he corrected. “You didn’t die that night.”

Sucking in a breath through her nose before letting it out slowly, she nodded. Turning back to the tombstone, she said, “Right now, I can’t remember the horror or the aftermath…but I remember how happy they were together.”

With her hands in his, Blaise stood, gently pulling her up with him. Kissing the top of her head as his arms encircled her, he added, “Then just keep remembering that, sweetheart. Hold on to those good memories as we make new ones together.”

Arm in arm, they left the cemetery and headed over to her apartment. This time, stepping inside, she felt more at home. Smiling, she walked over to the family pictures on the wall, now recognizing the young girl and her parents. Blaise stood back, his smile equaling hers as he watched her move about the room. Tossing her dark hair over her shoulder, she bent to look at the books on the shelves below the TV. He walked over and said, “Babe, as I’m standing here, I realize what a change this is for you. You’ve just remembered some of your past and I’m taking you from this.”

Smiling, she shrugged. “It’s not like I haven’t had a lot of change in the past month.” She glanced around, adding, “And, while I like this place, from what you tell me, I only lived here about a month before my accident anyway, so it’s not like I would have a lot of memories built up with this place.”

Kissing her forehead as he pulled her into his embrace, he asked, “What would you like me to pack up, babe?”

Looking around she said, “I guess more of my clothes, books, and any personal items, such as pictures.”

For the next hour, they worked side by side, laughing at old photos of her as a child, most pictures of her with her own menagerie of animals. “Wow, we’ve packed most of my stuff, except for the furniture and kitchen items.”

“We’ll figure out what to do with everything later,” he said. “You’re paid for awhile so we don’t have to rush.”

Walking out, locking the door behind them, Grace took a look around, but nothing seemed overly familiar, while not feeling completely foreign either. Following Blaise to his truck, she smiled.
None of this was in my life-plan, but here’s to the next step!

B
laise stared at
the video-conference with Mitch and the Saints, his jaw tight as he listened to what the FBI’s investigation was proving.

“Ms. Kennedy’s car definitely sustained an impact on the left bumper and back side that would not have occurred when it came to a halt against the trees. The lab was able to determine from paint chip fragments, she was hit by a Range Rover, color match was Fuji White.”

A few whistles were heard around the table, as Bart exclaimed, “Kind of pricey vehicle for some farmer to have, isn’t it?”

“After the fiasco with the ATF a couple of months ago, I lit a fire underneath my counterparts at a few of the other agencies that have a presence down here. I’ve since found out that the DEA is looking into drug cartels using some of the obscure farmland around the state as landing strips for moving their drugs. Cam, I hate to even mention this, but it looks like the Sinaloan Cartel has a presence.”

“Fuckin’ hell,” Cam exploded, the memories of fighting the Mexican cartel to rescue Miriam from their clutches still fresh in his mind. “Those ruthless bastards’ll stop at nothing.”

“So what are you saying?” Blaise bit out. “That they are the ones who were after Grace?”

“We don’t know. We have no evidence of that at all, but I wanted you to be aware of what you might be up against. I know you’ve checked on that mountain, and the Saints never back down. I just need you to be aware of the possibility of what’s there. I don’t suppose she remembers why she was on the road?”

“No, not the reason…just that she was there.” Blaise looked at Mitch and then at Jack. “I want to go back up there to see what we can find.”

“I’m working on the satellite images of the area,” Luke added. “Got lots of farmers’ fields that could be used, but so far I don’t have an image of someone flying in.” He slurped a sip before setting his coffee cup down, sloshing a bit over the side. “Damn,” he said, grabbing a tissue to dab at the spill.

The men chuckled as Bart said, “You need to pull back on the caffeine, man. That hard stuff you slam down will kill you.”

Shooting him a glare, Luke proclaimed, “Yeah, well, I’ve already been cutting back. I’ve only had one cup and it’s fuckin’ decaf. I think that’s why I’m shaky!”

“Caffeine withdrawal alert,” Chad quipped. “Better get the lock down room ready.”

The air lightened for a moment as the men smiled for the first time since the meeting began. Jack never held them back when they released some tension, but it only took a moment for the seriousness of the situation to settle over the group once more.

“Okay,” Luke began again, “here’s what’s weird, and, Mitch, maybe you can shed some light on this.”

Alert, the Saints gave Luke their full attention. “I’m locked into some satellites and can see basically what the CIA can see—”

“Jesus, don’t tell me your illegal shit,” Mitch bit out.

“Hey, man, I worked for the CIA…hell, I developed some of these programs for them,” Luke protested.

“Yes, but that little clause you signed as an employee that said…oh, hell, just keep going and I’ll pretend I don’t know where you get all your intel!”

The Saints chuckled under their breaths, as Luke continued. “Every single time the satellites get to a certain point, there’s a blip.” He paused, looking around the table in expectation. Everyone’s blank faces stared at him. Lifting his arms up for emphasis, “Don’t you get it? A blip?”

The stares continued, now with expressions of confusion. Blaise growled, “Luke, we don’t get it! What the fuck do you mean by a blip?”

“Oh, yeah, right,” he muttered. “Well, the image simply disappears for just a moment. Now, normally, that wouldn’t mean too much…it could be atmospheric problems, equipment failure, human error—”

Blaise, anxious to get on with the explanation, huffed. “Why are you concerned about the blip? What does it mean?”

“Because it happens over the same part of the area every time. Every. Single. Time.”

“Okay,” Jack acknowledged. “Why do you think that is happening and how big of an area are we talking about?”

“I know I call it a blip, but the area is large enough that I don’t think a simple drive by will let us know what’s going on. And the why? My best guess is that whoever is down there doesn’t want to be seen and has a way to interfere with the signal.”

“Goddamn drug cartels!” Cam burst out again, slapping his hand down on the table.

Mitch nodded and said, “Okay, I’m going to my superiors at the FBI and also the DEA to see what they know about this.”

“Is there any way we can scope it out on the ground?” Jude asked, “Like we did looking for Grace’s car?”

Luke shook his head and said, “I think it would be too hard. Might not be off a main road.”

“Why don’t we take a plane?” Marc asked, a gleam in his eye.

“You want to take your Cessna up and scout the area?” Jack asked.

“I was thinking of something that wouldn’t draw any attention if it flew lower,” Marc answered, grinning at Blaise.

“Cropduster?” Blaise asked.

“We could go back and see if that farmer would let us take his up. Pay his gas and give him some money to rent it. I bet he’d be good with that.”

Monty grinned, saying, “You can fly lower and don’t need a flight plan. Brilliant.”

Marc added, “We get up in that man’s plane and no one around will think anything about it. It’ll give us a chance to scout out the area.”

The men grinned, the idea of the mission moving forward re-energizing the group. Jack said, “Marc, you’re on point with that. Take Patrick with you. He’s been with the Army Corps of Engineers and has the training to scope out areas and how to mark an aviator map. Once complete, report to us so we can plan a little nighttime recognizance if needed.”

*