Shattered Valor (6 page)

Which, if this day went true to form, it would.

A few minutes later, they left with the take-out they’d ordered. They were approaching their turn at the end of the block when Ty suddenly handed her the bag and grabbed her arm in a big-handed grip, moving her along at a faster pace.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Let’s turn here,” he said, pivoting into an alleyway.

Wolf Creek Bend’s short business district sat next to several old Victorian homes. An alley ran between the two halves of the block, bordered on one side by the long brick wall of the old mercantile building and on the other side by the high fence of someone’s backyard. Once in the narrow road, he drew her into a limping run. At the backside of the building, there was an alcove by an entrance. He pushed her into it, then covered her body with his, pressing her against the wall.

“Drop the bag. Wrap your arms around me.”

“What’s happening?” Whatever he was doing, it wasn’t the start of an attack—he was focused on everything but her. Which meant whatever was about to go down was a whole lot worse than being assaulted.

“Do it. Now, Eden!”

She dropped the bag and ordered Tank to lie down, then wrapped one arm around Ty’s waist, the other up over his shoulder. God, it was like hugging a brick wall. He was all ridges and muscle and taut hardness. He kicked her legs apart and arched into her body. She just had time to register how pleasant that felt when she heard a car moving slowly down their alley, its tires crackling over the gravel. Ty braced an arm against the brick wall, blocking her from the approaching vehicle.

“If they aren’t up to mischief, they’ll just keep on driving,” he whispered in her ear.

A black Mercedes SUV rolled even with them. Eden gasped as she stretched to look over Ty’s arm. It was the same as the one that had driven by earlier. The passenger window began to lower. She noticed just the tip of a silencer before Ty pushed her to the ground. The gun went off, hitting the bricks where they’d just been. Ty moved fast. Gripping his cane like a spear, he shoved it into the face of the armed passenger, causing the next shot to go wild and slam into a wooden fence. Just before the car sped away, the window in the backseat lowered a few inches, revealing a pair of eyes in the shadowy interior.

Eden knew those eyes. Jefferson Holbrook. She huddled lower on the ground. This was really happening. Her calm, rational world was gone. “No no no no no,” she moaned, rocking herself. Ty came back over to her, and leaning heavily on his cane, he crouched before her. She looked up at him. “That was Holbrook.”

Tension sharpened his features. “You’re sure?”

She nodded.

“Are you hurt?” he asked.

“No.” She checked Tank and was relieved that he was unharmed as well. “How did you know they were there?”

“Instinct.” He pressed something in his pocket. “Angel, come in.” There was a pause. “Just had a drive-by from our WKB friends. We’re fine. Be ready for trouble.” There was another pause, then Ty sighed. “No, I don’t think you were doing your nails. Jesus, Angel. Just stay alert. We’re headed your way. I’m out,” Ty signed off.

“That car came by before, when I was walking Tank,” Eden told him as he helped her to her feet. “Do you think it’s safe? Will they try to hit us again?”

“Not now. Their shooter had plenty of opportunity to kill us. That was just a warning. We’ll follow this alley to the clinic and go in the back way.”

Eden grabbed the bag of take-out and hurried after Ty. For a man with an injured leg, he sure could move. When they reached the back door of the clinic, they slowed down. He took her hand and led her down the hall and to the right, into the wing where the girls’ room was.

Ty was relieved to see Angel was still in position. “Eden,” he said as he took out Angel’s burger and handed her the bag, “not a word of what just happened to the girls. No need to worry them.”

She nodded. “I won’t.”

“Will you bring Tank out to my house tonight?” he asked.

Again, she nodded, though he could tell she was afraid. He wondered if she would be safer with them, or far, far from them—and the WKB. A whole lot farther than Cheyenne. Like back home in New Jersey.

That thought sat like a rock in his gut. If she left, he doubted he’d ever see her again.

“We’ll leave in a few minutes,” he told her. She took the sandwiches into her friends. He handed Angel his box, then called Owen.

“Eden’s agreed to bring Tank to my house and check things out. She’s charging you a grand.”

“What the fuck, Blade?” Owen growled. “That’s twice the going rate. She should be able to do the search in a couple of hours,” Owen complained.

“She’s a starving dog trainer with big student loans. Pay it. Or take it out of my pay if you’re too cheap.”

“If she finds something, I’ll pay it. If she doesn’t, you pay.”

“Fine. We’ll head to my house in about ten minutes. Meet us there.”

CHAPTER FOUR

Eden stared in awe at the sprawling timber and stone mansion that Ty owned. It was easily ten or fifteen thousand square feet, she thought, with the two wings she could see. She got out of her SUV, then took her time getting her jacket, flashlight, and the leash she’d need for Tank, using the activity to cover her reaction.

The man had to be as rich as Croesus to afford a place like this. It struck her how different his life was from hers. She always ran out of month before she ran out of bills. He probably pooped money.

Whatever.

She was here to do a job, not lust after the man’s worldly possessions.

It just didn’t help that his wealth was accompanied by a body that was a visual treat. She’d bet beautiful, elegantly dressed women threw themselves at him all the time. He’d never look twice at someone like her, plain and lacking in most social graces as she was.

She sent a quick glance over her rough hiking clothes. Tonight, she wore her standard tee and cargo pants. She loved the pockets—never had to carry a purse, though she sometimes lugged her backpack around. She never wore makeup. Her nails were always clean and trim, but she never polished them. She didn’t flirt or say nice things to stroke a man’s ego like her friends, Trudy and Sherri did. She was the most unfemale girl she knew.

Yeah, she and Ty were from completely different worlds.

If only his eyes weren’t so captivating, she thought, unable to keep herself from circling back to the mysterious and sexy Ty Bladen. His beautiful gray eyes were fringed with thick tawny lashes and wide brows. And those shallow dimples on the sides of his mouth that only showed when laughed—or when he tried to not smile. He had wide shoulders with heavily muscled arms and that ripped stomach she’d seen when he wasn’t wearing his shirt.

“It’s a monstrosity, I know,” he said.

He was standing next to her. She looked at him blankly, trying to understand what he meant even as she fought the heat creeping up her face.

“The house. It’s an abomination.”

“I think it’s beautiful.” She collected her things and shut the door, then went to the rear hatch and opened Tank’s cage. “Did you buy it recently?”

“I was raised here.”

She looked at him to see if he was joking. There was no humor in his face. “Are you married?”

“No.”

“Have family who lives here?”

“Not any more.”

Eden shook her head. “Okay. I cave. How is it that a gorgeous, wealthy man like you is still single?”

His eyebrows lifted. Clearly, she’d taken him off guard. And spoken without filters. Dammit, why couldn’t she keep her tongue from engaging before her brain?

“I was in Afghanistan a long time. And I’m not looking for a relationship.”

“Right. That’s good, ’cause nor am I. I’m focused on building my career right now. I mean, not that there was a potential for us, just that I hear where you’re coming from.” She bit her lip and looked at him, hoping he bought that she was not interested in him.

He watched her with a steady regard. “If you weren’t into me, why did you want me to call you ‘Eden’ instead of ‘Eddie’?”

He had to bring that up, didn’t he? She remembered telling him her real name during the fight at Winchester’s. “No one calls me ‘Eden.’ I think it sounds prettier.”

He slowly grinned at her. “Uh huh.”

There they were, those damned dimples. She felt the warm flush of blood slip farther up her neck and was glad for the failing light.

Turning away, she led Tank over to some bushes so that he could relieve himself before starting work. Once she put his working vest on him, he’d be excited but focused, ready for his assignment. Which was good, because it gave her something to concentrate on other than the tall, ex-warrior whose mansion she was about to inspect.

Another black Expedition pulled into the drive and parked next to their vehicles. Several guys climbed out, dressed in solid black from head to foot—cargo pants, boots, long-sleeved tees. Each of them wore a dark head covering of some sort, baseball caps, knit beanies, or skull caps, each had a full complement of gear—guns, knives, night-vision goggles.

She looked from the guys to Ty, wondering if it was too late to reconsider. “Some R&R, huh?”

He shrugged. “Night fishing.” He smiled in that off-handed way of his, easing her nerves a bit. “Eden, the two guys you haven’t met yet are Rocco and Max.” They both nodded at her. She nodded back. They were dressed in matching war gear. One had a straggly beard and hair that feathered out from beneath his skullcap. He wore thick, black plugs in his earlobes. Catching her perusal, he flashed a smile of white teeth.

“Forget it, Max.” Val hit him in the chest. “I think that ship has sailed.”

Max turned a dark look on Val. “It ain’t written in stone yet, is it?”

“Can’t you tell?” Val nodded at Ty.

Eden couldn’t make sense of that exchange, so she ignored it. Owen handed her an envelope. “What’s this?” she asked, opening it to find a check for a thousand dollars. She shook her head and handed it back to him. “I can’t accept this.”

“Why not?”

“Because this is Tank’s first real assignment. What if he doesn’t find anything? What if it doesn’t work?”

Owen gave her a stern look. “Eden, we all start somewhere. If you’re serious about this career path, you need field experience. None of my men are volunteers. None of them come cheap. Your expertise has earned you that fee.”

“I don’t work for you, Owen.”

“Yet. Are we doing this or not?”

Eden sent a look at Ty, who watched her without giving any hint of his thoughts. She folded the envelope and tucked it in a pocket. “We’re doing this.”

“There’s a nondisclosure form in the envelope. Read it and sign it.” She did as he requested and handed it over to him. “How do you want to handle the search?” Owen asked her.

“I’ll take Tank around the perimeter, then we’ll do the inside, top to bottom.”

“How will we know if he finds something?” Kit asked.

“He’ll bark once for explosives, ammo, or weapons and twice for drugs.” Eden told them.

“Kit, take the team inside and clear it before we go in. Blade, you’re with me, Eden, and Tank.” Owen laid out assignments.

Eden took Tank off his leash and gave him the command to start searching. She jogged over to the front door, directing him to the foundation of the house. He put his big head to the ground and started at a quick pace, sniffing at windows and the foundation. He went behind the bushes, pushing his way through the beds bordering the front of the house. It took them a half hour to check the entire perimeter of the house as well as the oversized, six-car garage and another out-building connected to the house. Nothing caught Tank’s attention. When they came back to the front, the door was open and the man Ty had introduced as Rocco stood there. He gave Ty a somber look.

Ty walked up the steps, pausing as he met Rocco’s gaze, then entered the house. The lights were on. He stopped just inside the door. Eden leashed Tank and followed him inside. A quick glance around showed her the place had been trashed.

The guys were congregated in the huge entranceway. The massive front door was flanked by a bank of windows that rose two stories high. A long hallway intersected the entranceway, moving an equal distance to the right and left. In front of them was a wide, stone wall around which a staircase rose to a bridge on the second level. A big landscape painting that must have hung on the front wall was in shreds on the floor. A glass table with an antler base was on its side.

Behind the wall was an enormous living room, large enough for several suites of furniture. From where she stood, she could see bookshelves that flanked a fireplace were empty, their contents strewn over the floor in the living room, shelves were broken, furniture upended. More paintings were on the ground, their great frames broken. Ty had said he’d been a victim of a home invasion. She wondered if the WKB had done this or if it had been done by another enemy.

“It wasn’t like this when I came here to meet with Dennis, before they nabbed me,” Ty said, his quiet voice carrying in the open entranceway. “Amir was here, but the place wasn’t trashed.”

“Wasn’t like this when Kelan and I came looking for you, either. None of us has been in here since,” Rocco added.