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“You’re lucky.” Jonas sat next to her on the hospital gurney. “No more hanging out alone for you.”
“What do you mean?” Kendall was outraged. “You sound like Sloan. Where is he?” She glanced around. “I have something to discuss with him. Specifically, that hypnotism thing he pulled on me. Like I’m a baby that needs a nap to calm down.”
Jonas grinned. “He’s in the parking lot.”
“Doing what?” She glared at Jonas.
“Waiting on you. Let’s go.” He helped Kendall off the gurney and walked her slowly outside.
Sloan was near the E.R. doors, just as Jonas had said. He looked as if he was on security detail, alert, watchful and dangerous—and Kendall realized Sloan was looking for something. Someone.
“You don’t think it was an accident, do you?” She got in the car, and Sloan slid in next to her.
“No. How’s the leg?”
It hurt. “Never mind. I’ll live.” She moved to get a bit more comfortable on the seat, and Sloan pulled her leg across his lap.
“Keep it up to help the swelling,” Sloan said.
She wanted to argue, but it did feel better to have her leg elevated. His fingers on her ankle, keeping her leg steady, were warm and comforting. Kendall sighed as a wave of tiredness swept over her. “Look, Callahan, you and I are going to have words in the very near future.”
He smiled, and she closed her eyes. He didn’t seem as worried as he should be about her temper. It was a strange thing. She was in charge of a global company that made and shipped large construction equipment. Her phone rang constantly with business deals. But Sloan seemed to think she was a helpless woman.
I’ve got a lot to discuss with that handsome rebel. Male chauvinists are not an attractive species.
But right now, he seemed pretty nice. His hand felt good on her ankle, and she knew she should chew his butt, but for some reason, her leg seemed to hurt less now that he was touching her.
I’ll seriously bawl him out tomorrow.
Jonas, too.
* * *
THE MEETING THAT NIGHT was held in the immense and beautiful upstairs library at Rancho Diablo, apparently a Callahan tradition. Sloan sat on a leather sofa, leaning back, his mind wandering. He couldn’t stop thinking about Kendall, worrying about her, though he doubted she would appreciate his concern. And he was more apprehensive than he’d let on. Although he’d vigilantly studied the E.R. parking lot, he hadn’t seen one thing, one person, that raised his radar.
But he felt a dark presence nearby. Hidden. Watching.
He feared the mercenaries who were now on Callahan land weren’t newbies to the game. Unlike the last merc who’d tried to take his cousins down, whatever was here now was serious. Their grandfather had warned of three—which meant the enemy could gather a lot of intel while husbanding their resources and not stretching too thin.
Sloan’s gut cramped. Kendall had been fortunate.
“I’ll let Sloan fill you in on what happened,” Jonas told the roomful of men and Ashlyn.
Sloan put down his crystal glass. “As you know, Fiona and our grandfather have decided we should stick together. I’m not sure about that,” he said. “With the attack on Kendall, I feel pretty certain she was an intended kidnapping victim. I’ll go with the general vote on whether we go undercover or remain on the ranch.”
He knew everyone in the room had the same thing on their minds: How best to protect the whole family?
“We don’t know what we’re dealing with,” Falcon said. “Kidnappings are a concern.”
“Anything could happen—not to scare the hell out of you,” Galen said.
Sloan saw his six Callahan cousins absorb this. They had families here. His side didn’t have skin in the game—no children, no wives. They could pick up and leave tomorrow, and this would have just been a nice vacation for them.
Except Kendall. She needed a bodyguard, in his opinion. She was tough, but a tiny woman like her was no match for a merc. The spirits had been on her side today.
The library doors opened. Chief Running Bear walked in, and everyone stood. Sam handed him a cut crystal tumbler of whiskey.
They all settled into the leather seats. Their grandfather set his glass on a table, his dark face serious. “Everything has changed.”
Sloan cast a glance at his cousins. They were serious, alert. Listening.
The chief looked at all of them. “With this direct attack on the ranch, we must change the enemy’s focus.”
“What are you suggesting, Chief?” Jonas asked.
“Divide and conquer.” The old man studied the people in the room, assessing their reaction to his words. He looked grave. “The situation is dangerous. The tactic must meet the moment. All Jeremiah’s children and grandchildren must leave the ranch.”
Sloan’s cousins didn’t say a word. He figured that had to be a huge bombshell dropped on them. But he also saw where the chief was going. With no one here, the mercs’ purpose was essentially wasted. They were never going to find the Callahan parents; Molly and Jeremiah would never be given up by their sons.
Unless a child was kidnapped. All bets were off if children were involved in a ransom situation. And that was the utmost worry now on the chief’s mind, Sloan felt certain, or his grandfather wouldn’t have suggested such a radical tactic.
With sympathy, he met Jonas’s gaze. But there was nothing Sloan could say. No one had expected the situation to get this dangerous so fast.
“Some can go to Dark Diablo. There’s room there for many,” the chief said. “Others can go to Hell’s Colony. Kendall and her brothers have offered their compound, which she says is large and safe. There’s also transport for the children, and a staff to assist with the transition.
“I told her we were looking for a place for the children to go to school, for maybe the next half year. I didn’t mention the mercenaries. When she’s over the shock of what happened today, perhaps more can be explained. For now, she believes we’re looking for a place where the children can also go to school. I was prepared to consider someplace in Canada, but Kendall has convinced me that, between the two locations, the family will be comfortable.”
Sloan glanced around at his brothers and sister. Their grandfather’s plan meant his family could all go back to their own homes. He would miss spending time with them. He’d thought they would be here longer, have more time together.
The chief looked directly at him. “You will stay here, Sloan, to keep an eye on the ranch. All of you, to watch over the Diablos, and the land.”
They all glanced at each other, surprised.
“It’s a lot of people to uproot,” Sloan said, “much to change. The children’s education, their friends.” He didn’t know why he was speaking up. The chief’s plan was clear and concise, his preeminent goal to get the children and women out of the line of fire. Sloan got it—the plan was wise, strategic. Still, he understood how hard this would be on the families.
As a military operative, he’d lived alone for many years. Loneliness was part of the deal. But not for children.
“It’s true,” the chief said. “But there is no other way. There were no women, no children, before, but now there are many targets. I would not lose any of my family. Or my friends.”
The chief meant Kendall. Sloan felt himself tense.
“Well,” Jonas said, “there are two silver linings here. We have places to go, fortunately, because the Hilton would get expensive for as many of us as there are.”
His brothers laughed, the tension lightening just a bit. There was, of course, no Hilton in Diablo, New Mexico.
“And thankfully, we have backup,” he added, looking at Sloan.
After a long moment, Sloan nodded. For him, the mission had not changed all that much.
But it had become more personal than before.
* * *
KENDALL EYED SLOAN when he entered her room upstairs in the main house. “I have no makeup on,” she said, “and I’m just vain enough that it matters. Plus I haven’t showered. And I’m sulking because I’m stuck in here. So you’ve been warned.” Her leg was atop a pillow, and she wore a tiny tank top and some heart-dotted shorts for comfort.
Sloan thought she looked sexy as hell.
He sat in the wingback chair next to the window. Not too close. “You got lucky.”
“I guess.” She winced, not wanting to dwell on the attack. “Anyway, just for the record, I knew you did something to put me to sleep. Don’t do it again. I’m no fainting female who needs to be protected from the scary monsters.”
He considered her. “You’re very brave.”
“It has nothing to do with bravery,” Kendall said, “which is the part that scares me. I just reacted. But what if I’d frozen?”
She’d be dead or kidnapped. Sloan didn’t mention that. Kendall would figure it out in time.
“So what was the meeting about? I heard a lot of footsteps on the stairs.”
He thought her blond hair, which was pulled up into a ponytail, would probably be soft as a bird’s wing if he ever got to touch it. “Jonas should probably be the one to tell you.”
“You go ahead and tell me, soldier. My curiosity is killing me.”
She was just the type of woman who would always want to have all the information. “Not my job, beautiful.”
She stared at him. “Are you patronizing me?”
“Stating a fact. You are beautiful. The truth should not be an intimidating thing.”
“Oh.” She considered him for a moment. “That was pretty smooth for a guy who’s supposed to be a loner.”
He shrugged.
“Anyway, back to the subject matter,” Kendall said. “What happened in the meeting?”
“I think,” Sloan said, “change is in the wind.”
“Because of what happened to me.”
He inclined his head.
“Great.” She sighed. “Sloan, I never got a good look at whatever it was. I feel kind of silly, if everybody’s going to get upset about what happened, when it could have been...” She didn’t know how to finish. It had been huge, and intending harm. New Mexico was fairly new to her, though she’d learned a lot about it in the year she’d worked for Jonas. “My mind keeps stupidly thinking bear, and yet I know it wasn’t that. There are none around here.”
“It was a human,” Sloan said, “and the intent was to take you, hold you for information. Your subconsciousness recognizes this.”
Kendall blinked. “I don’t have any information. Personal family stuff is never discussed with me.”
“Ransom,” Sloan offered. “Information for your freedom.”
That made sense. She hated it, though, hated being party to someone—something—that threatened the Callahans. “So now what?”
“Everyone will move. Decamp to other places.” He stood. “Can I get you a book? Cookies? Fiona is baking chocolate chip cookies, and I’m going to grab some on my way out.”
She frowned at him. “What the hell does ‘decamp’ mean? You mean the whole family?”
“Right. To your compound, and to Dark Diablo. I believe my cousins have gone home to instruct their wives to pack up the children.”
“Well, I did offer the compound to the chief when he told me he needed a vacation home for the clan,” Kendall said, “but I didn’t realize he meant no one would be here. That means me, too?”
He nodded. “Probably you especially.”
“And you?” Her gaze met his.
“I’ll likely sleep in your bed,” Sloan teased, trying to get into her space just a little, to bedevil her, get her mind off the danger the Callahans—and her own family—were in.
And to get his mind off her, too.
“This bed.” She sniffed. “If you like lace and flowers.”
“I’ll sleep very well.”
A reluctant smile touched her lips. “Somehow I don’t think you’re a lace and flowers kind of guy.”
He shrugged. “It isn’t forever.”
Could be forever. There was no way of knowing.
“Take care of yourself,” he added.
“What does that mean? You sound like we’re moving out immediately.”
He went to the door. “You are. In the morning. The danger is here and you have to get away from it.”
Sloan walked out, not wanting to think about how quiet the ranch would be without the children, without all the Callahans, and most of all, without the blonde who loved yanking his chain.
The fact that he might not see her very much—or ever again—after she left Rancho Diablo bothered him.
* * *
KENDALL ACCEPTED with a grateful smile the plate of cookies Fiona gave her. “You’re an angel. Thank you so much. I really don’t know what I would do without your cheery face right now.” She hated to think that Fiona would be leaving the ranch. Fiona and Burke were the heart of Rancho Diablo, in Kendall’s mind. They were always there, to comfort, to give a warm word of wisdom, perhaps just an encouraging smile. “Are you going to Dark Diablo or our house in Hell’s Colony?”
“I’m staying right here.” Fiona sat in the same wingback chair Sloan had been sitting in not forty minutes ago. “Burke and I have too much work to do.”
“Did you tell Jonas?”
Fiona nodded, sipped her cup of hot tea. “He’s not happy. But I’m the aunt. I get to do what I want at my age. Anyway, I’m in no danger.” She smiled at Kendall. “How’s the leg?”
“Sore. But not as sore as my ego.” Kendall wouldn’t admit the feeling of helplessness she had from the attack. It was almost as if part of her confidence had been stolen. Her soul.
Fiona nodded. “Perfectly normal. Takes a while to pass.”
“I’m not a good victim. Especially when I don’t know what it was.” Kendall considered Fiona. The wiry Callahan aunt sat smiling, as if nothing was wrong. But she had to be worried sick. “You’re trying to keep my mind off what’s going on.”
Fiona shrugged. “Seems to me we can’t do anything but wait.”
“I don’t wait well.”
“Neither do I. Still, you’ll heal. Your leg, your heart.” Fiona set her teacup in its saucer on the tiny side table. “Where will you go?”
Sloan would be here. There’d be plenty of Callahans on the premises. And Fiona and Burke. “I’m staying right here. I can work from my room. No one will come into this house. I’m safe as a princess in an ivory tower. And you need another female on the ranch to talk to.”
Fiona stood. “Good luck telling Jonas. He’ll read you the riot act and tell you that as his employee, you have to go. That your insurance is too high to run such a risk. And that he wants you directing the traffic flow of tiny bodies at your compound.”
Kendall smiled. “There’s an army of people at Hell’s Colony who will be delighted to have small feet running around.” In fact, it just might bring her mother and new husband home from the perpetual honeymoon they’d been on, leaving Kendall, Xav, Shaman and Gage to manage the compound and Gil Phillips, Inc.
“You know, Fiona, our business is moving large equipment in our cargo planes. Worldwide. If we ever needed to, we could always take the family out of the country, if this goes on for a while.”
She nodded. “I pray the day never comes. Surely the danger is just here at this ranch.”
Who knew what they were dealing with? Kendall certainly didn’t. “Is Sloan still downstairs?”
“Last I saw.” Fiona got up, carrying her teacup with her. “Do you need to talk to him?”
Kendall nodded. “Yes, thank you. If you don’t mind asking him to come back up for just a minute.”
“I’ll see you in the morning. Feel better!” She smiled at Kendall. “I don’t mind telling you that I’ll be glad to have another female on the ranch.”
“I suppose Ashlyn will be around somewhere,” Kendall said.
“I don’t know. We all do what the chief tells us. Well, everyone but you and me.” Laughing, Fiona left.
A moment later, Kendall heard Sloan’s footsteps on the landing. He poked his head into the room.
She frowned. “Come in, please. Shut the door.”
He did, and perched on the arm of the chair. “Talk, Blondie.”
“My name is Kendall. Not Barbie, not Blondie.”
“Gotcha.” He smiled, slow and dangerous, a reminder that she didn’t really know this man she was about to give all of her trust.
Kendall knew that, but she’d never run from a fight. “Sloan, after all the Callahans leave in the morning, I want you to take me somewhere.”
“Anywhere. Name it.”
“The spot near the canyon, where the new bunkhouse will be.”
He gave her a long look. “You don’t have to face it so soon. Give yourself some time.”
“I’ve lived a long time without you advising me. Either you take me or I’ll go by myself.”
“You can’t drive with those stitches.”
“Let me tell you something about me that you don’t know. I would bounce on one of the Callahan kids’ pogo sticks to get back there if I have to. It’s my job, and I will do it.”
“Whatever you say.”
“Jonas won’t like it.”
“It’s all right. I’ll play chauffeur. You rest.”
She closed her eyes, suddenly tired. “Thank you.”
She felt him near her bed, felt him peek at the bandage covering her stitches, run a palm over her calf, testing for changes in her skin temperature.
“Don’t you dare pull any of that mumbo-jumbo stuff on me again,” Kendall said. “I’m going to read a book, and I don’t want to go to sleep. I’m still teed off with you.”
He sat on the edge of her bed, the mattress dipping under his weight. She wished she could open her eyes to glare at him, but she was just so darn tired.
“Rest,” he said, and she said, “You’re annoying. Has anyone ever told you that?”
But when Sloan touched his palm to her cheek, she relaxed against his hand, drawing in his strength.
It felt good to have someone take care of her just for a moment. Not Kendall against the world... Right now, she let Sloan chase the unspoken fear away.
Tomorrow I’ll be strong again.
Chapter Five
Close, close. The wolf was so close, its eyes fierce with anger and malice. It wanted his soul, wanted his lifeblood. Sloan jerked awake, his heart thundering.
He cursed under his breath when he realized he’d fallen asleep in Kendall’s bed, against the headboard, her head against his chest, her long blond ponytail trailing to his abdomen.
This was bad. In the military, snipers didn’t allow emotions to get in the way of the job.
His emotions were definitely becoming involved. He had to stop it from happening.
Carefully, he disengaged himself from Kendall, laying her slowly back in her bed. God, she was soft. So feminine. She acted so brave, but what had happened had wounded her, revealing the vulnerability she hid so well.
He went downstairs, knowing he had to make sure—damn sure—his unfortunate lapse didn’t endanger his senses, his assignment, or her.
“Hey.” Jonas filled up a coffee mug, slid it his way. “Let’s talk, cousin.”
Sloan followed him into a large den filled with dark brown leather furniture and a huge TV. Toys were stacked in a playpen in the corner. Clearly, this room was one of the children’s hangouts, no doubt because of its proximity to Fiona’s kitchen. Jonas put a tray stacked with his aunt’s fresh-baked cookies on the coffee table in front of them. Sloan perched on a chair, wanting a direct face-to-face with his cousin.
“We pull out at 0500. Cover of darkness is essential,” Jonas said. “We hope that whoever might be spying on the ranch won’t see us leave.”
“Good idea.”
“We’ll be using a series of vehicles. There’ll be too many of us to follow, if they should see us leave. As the chief said, divide and conquer.”
“Wise strategy.” Sloan nodded.
“Some of us will pass around Diablo, double back here. Rafe has the jet ready. Some of the children and wives will travel on it to Hell’s Colony. The vehicles we plan to leave in town. I’m asking you to get them back here when you can.”
“No problem.”
“I’ll show you the firearms we have on the ranch. The chief knows where everything else is. Money. Whatever.”
Sloan blinked. “We won’t need money.”
“Someone has to run the ranch.”
“Fiona will be here. And Kendall is your employee, right?”
Jonas nodded. “But we all agree we’d feel better with a Callahan heir handling ranch transactions. I don’t mean grocery store bills and things that affect the household—Fiona and Burke have been doing that for years. I’m talking about whatever needs to be done to make certain this ranch is kept secure.”
“I understand.” Jonas wanted them to have whatever they needed to protect the houses, livestock and the wild Diablo mustangs.
“There’s a cache of silver in the basement. It has a specific purpose.” Jonas looked at him. “You can get the rest of the info on that from the chief. That’s just between you and me, cousin.”
Sloan nodded again.
Jonas gave him a hard stare. “I also charge you with convincing Kendall to eventually come to Hell’s Colony. I know she won’t leave the ranch now, but that was the drugs talking. It’s important that she not be here. She could have been taken, or worse. It’s not safe for her.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“If you have to hypnotize her again, do it.”
Sloan shook his head. “She asked me not to. Actually,” he said, “she didn’t ask me. It was more like she commanded me never to do it again.” The memory of her ragging him about it made him smile. She refused to admit that she’d been in shock and pain, and relaxing helped. He admired the fact that she would choose pain over giving up any independence. “I can’t do it. She’s not a willing subject.”
“She’s not a willing subject about anything. Why do I always have stubborn women around me?” Jonas asked. But the question was rhetorical, Sloan knew. Jonas was crazy about Fiona, about his wife, Sabrina, who was rumored to have a very stubborn streak, and even Kendall.
“Strong men draw strong women,” Sloan said.
“Lovely. Just once I’d like to have a ‘Yes, Jonas’ type of female in my life.” He got up to pace, so Sloan reached for a cookie, biting into it with pleasure. The simple pleasure of a home-baked cookie was something he hadn’t had in years. Not since—
“Sloan.”
“Yes.” He straightened, focusing on Jonas again. “I’m listening.”
“Whatever you do, you can’t let Kendall run you around.”
Sloan hesitated. “Meaning?”
“She’s bossy. She thinks she can handle herself. And handle anything. The truth is, she doesn’t really know much about what’s been happening here over the past four years. She doesn’t know much about the family.” Jonas paced some more, his body darkly silhouetted in front of the huge window where the moon shone into the den, touching the furnishings with dim light. “She knows a little, but not enough to convince herself she can’t go about her duties the way she used to. I know Kendall. She’ll decide she imagined the whole thing, that she hurt herself on the jeep. Like maybe a big bird flew over and startled her or something. The next thing you know, she’ll be back out there, making plans for the new bunkhouse.”
Sloan swallowed. “I’ll get her out to Hell’s Colony somehow.” It would be for the best.
He looked at Jonas. “I think I have an answer to your problem.”
“I would love to hear it,” Jonas replied, appearing relieved. “Please share.”
“Fire her,” Sloan said.
Jonas looked stunned. Then he laughed. “That’s perfect.”
Sloan felt bad, but saving Kendall from Kendall was paramount.
“Wish I’d thought of it.” He got up, slapped Sloan on the back. “I’ll leave you to take care of that tomorrow morning, after we’re gone, cousin.”
Jonas walked out. Sloan grimaced, the delicious cookie no longer appealing.
It was going to be a long night. The dream wolf had long been his nocturnal companion, a shadowy fear that kept peace at bay and shredded his sleep.
But he’d rather face the wolf than the woman who was going to be none too happy when he told her that her services were no longer required.
* * *
“WHAT?” Kendall exclaimed in a shriek. She glared at Sloan. “What do you mean, I’m fired?”