We were sitting on the steps that led from the patio to the office at Seth and Ronan’s Whidbey Island house and while the back of the house sported an amazing view of the water and surrounding mountains, I had eyes only for what was happening on the expansive grass in front of us. But it wasn’t just Tate and Matty I was focused on as they played soccer with Seth and the two dogs. Of course, the puppy, Storm, wasn’t really interested in the ball because all she did was chase after Bullet as Bullet tried to steal the ball from the players. No, it was the fourth participant in the game I had my attention on. His name was Magnus DuCane and he’d turned out to be nothing like I’d expected.
From the second I’d walked into my house a month earlier, I’d known something was off, but before I’d been able to even call out to Tate in warning, two men had jumped me. My fear for Matty and Tate had consumed me as I’d fought the men, but they hadn’t been just any lackeys and I’d only managed to snap the neck of one of them when the other had managed to put his gun to my head. I’d had a moment where my life had flashed before my eyes as I’d waited for the bullet to pierce my brain and it had turned out to be a really great moment. Because it had been filled with memories of Revay and Tate and Matty and there hadn’t been even one regret or doubt. But I’d felt nothing as the first gunshot rang out and by the time I’d opened my eyes, Mav was already standing over the guy who’d been about to shoot me and he’d put a second bullet in his head.
There’d been no time for explanations as to how Mav had known what was happening, but I’d found out later that Daisy had been tracking the men in Ricardo Davos’s circle and one of them had used a credit card to buy gas in a town just twenty miles from Rocky Point. Ronan had tried to call both me and Tate to warn us, but since my phone’s battery had died just after we’d left Yellowstone and Tate had forgotten his, we’d been sitting ducks. Although Mav had already left town, he’d managed to make it out to my house in time. Ronan had called the police as well, but they hadn’t arrived until well after the whole thing had ended.
Mav and I’d had only precious seconds to come up with a plan as we’d hurried from the house to the barn where we’d heard a gunshot and my heart had been in my throat the entire time as I’d run the short distance. My relief at seeing both Tate and Matty unharmed had been almost crippling, but I’d been able to keep my wits about me as I’d waited for Mav to get into position. He’d managed to climb up the rusted out machine that had once been used to move hay bales from the ground into the hayloft and as I’d done my part to make sure Matty didn’t move so Mav wouldn’t inadvertently hit him with the knife, Mav had taken aim. The second I’d seen the knife hit Buck, I’d done my best to take him down without hurting Matty and then I’d plunged the knife into histhick neck before he’d even had a chance to try and take another shot at me. And it wasn’t just Revay’s image that had flashed through my mind as I’d taken his life; Tate’s and Matty’s had been there too.
After the police had arrived and questioned us, Tate and I had taken Matty to the hospital to be checked out and then we’d gone to a motel to spend the night. Tate and I hadn’t spoken much as I’d held him in my arms and he’d held Matty in his as Matty had slept. We hadn’t needed to say anything. Because we’d both been aware of how close we’d come to losing each other and our son.
The next day I’d learned more about what had driven Buck to seek us out and when I’d had Daisy investigate Jenna DuCane, I’d been led to her father, Magnus, a Texas Ranger. Tate had been scared to reach out to Matty’s maternal grandfather, but he’d known it needed to be done. His biggest fear had been that the man would try to seek custody of his grandson. We’d been back in Seattle at that point and Matty had been undergoing his second round of chemo, so I’d flown down to Texas to talk to Magnus so I could try to feel him out. What I’d found was a devastated, broken man who’d been searching for his then seventeen-year-old daughter and three-year-old grandson for two years. He hadn’t known about Buck and Denny and it was me who’d ended up having to tell him his daughter was likely dead based on Buck’s comments to Tate in the barn.
At only forty years old, Magnus DuCane was still a young man, but I could tell that his daughter’s disappearance had aged him significantly and I’d understood the raw pain he’d been enduring both in the two years he’d been searching for her and the day I’d told him she wasn’t coming home. The only thing that had caused the tiniest spark of hope to flare in the man’s eyes was when he’d learned his grandson was alive. I’d spoken with Tate that night on the phone and had explained what Magnus had been going through and it had been his idea to bring the man home with me so he could see Matty for himself.
Three weeks later and Magnus was still here.
We’d taken our time explaining who Magnus was to Matty andalthough he’d understood that the man was his grandfather, he hadn’t asked too many questions about his mother. But we knew there would be a day when he would and Magnus would be the only one who could tell him who she’d been. Tate had been welcoming to Magnus, but his fear that Magnus would try to take Matty away from us hadn’t eased until Magnus had pulled us both aside one day when Matty had been asleep in his hospital bed and thanked us for giving him a chance to know his grandson again. He’d gone on to thank Tate for saving Matty’s life and he’d told him that he could think of no two better parents to raise Matty. His only ask was that he could still be included in Matty’s life. After that, Magnus had been enfolded into our little family and I had no doubt that the man stood no chance against Matty’s persistent request asking him to stay.
Matty’s second round of chemo had progressed much like the first, though he’d been more worn out this time around and had spent a lot of time sleeping or just lying in bed. There’d been some rough days too as Matty had struggled with the inevitable pain that came along with his treatments, but between all of us, we’d managed to build a good support system for him. His recovery from the events of that terrible day in the barn had been slow and he’d been plagued with nightmares. A child psychologist was helping him work through the trauma and expected that Matty would eventually completely recover. There’d been some concern that Ricardo Davos would send someone after us to get rid of any potential links to his organization, but between Daisy monitoring the man and Ronan bringing in several of his guys to give all of us round the clock protection, I knew Matty and Tate were safe. And Matty had found himself his own personal bodyguard in Mav who spent nearly every day at the hospital stationed outside of Matty’s room. The only time he gave up his post was when he was forced to get some sleep.
Tate and I hadn’t started the process of looking for a house in Seattle yet since we spent so much time at the hospital. We’d ended up taking up residence at the same hotel Ronan and Seth had gotten Tate set up in for the first round of Matty’s chemo. I also hadn’t started looking for a job since Matty’s treatment was scheduledto last another four months. I had managed to talk Tate into taking a photography course so that he’d be able to spend some time outside the hospital and after much reluctance, he’d finally consented to try it and had ultimately been excited to have something back in his life that had always brought him so much pleasure. In hopes of encouraging Tate to one day pursue his passion as a career, I’d also surprised him with an expensive camera that his instructor had recommended.
I’d been fortunate enough to have plenty of money saved up for both Matty’s treatment and for Tate and me to live off of, but I knew I had the man next to me to thank for that because he’d paid considerably better than the army ever had. But my loyalty to Ronan had also made it difficult to admit that my professional relationship with him was over. Since I hadn’t taken any cases in the two months since I’d met Tate, I suspected Ronan already knew what my plan was. His question confirmed it.
“I owe you so much-” I began to say, but Ronan cut me off.
“No you don’t,” he said simply. “We saved each other, Hawke. You know it. I know it. Let’s just leave it at that.”
“Are you going to keep the group going?”
Ronan nodded. “It does too much good not to.” His eyes were on Seth when he said, “But I’m not going to be picking up a gun again anytime soon,” he said.
“What will you do?” I asked.
“I’m looking into going back into medicine,” he admitted. He nodded at Matty. “I can still save kids like him. I’ll just use a scalpel to do it.”
I smiled at that.
“What about you?” Ronan asked.
“I’m thinking about doing something in security,” I said. “There’s a security firm out here that has a really good reputation.”
“Barretti Security Group,” Ronan said. “I’ve heard good things about them. They’d be lucky to have you,” Ronan said.
“What about the group? Who’s going to run it?”
“Not sure. Mav seems interested in being second in command,but he doesn’t want to be lead. I’ve got another guy in mind, but he’s not exactly a team player.”
“Who?”
Ronan glanced at me. “Memphis.”
I chuckled and shook my head. “Good luck with that,” was all I said before I took a sip of my beer. I’d only worked with Memphis Wheland on one occasion and while he was the ultimate killer, his interpersonal skills were considerably lacking.
“Yeah,” Ronan agreed. “When are you going to tell Tate about his mom?”
“Tonight,” I said. “Thanks for keeping an eye on Matty for us.”
“Are you kidding?” Ronan said. “Seth can’t get enough of that kid.”
