Dane rolled over and glanced at the clock on the nightstand. It was barely six in the morning, and he had less than two hours sleep. With the move to the new suite, and making sure Destiny got settled into her bedroom, he’d tossed and turned most of the night. He couldn’t get Matthew MacKenna out of his head.
He couldn’t make heads or tails of why their rooms had been trashed. Did MacKenna think he was stupid enough to leave anything lying around that might clue him in to what evidence Dane had accumulated? He might not have any specialized skills with law enforcement, other than what his brothers taught him, but he also wasn’t a rube who just fell off the turnip truck.
Besides, everything he had fed directly to a secure server, encoded and password protected, as well as hard copies which he’d given to an attorney for safekeeping, which would be forwarded to the FBI as well as distributed to every major newspaper in the country. He’d also made certain that Antonio and Lucas got copies because they’d make sure the facts didn’t get buried under a pile of hush money.
Whispers of memory floated through his thoughts, of a young woman, just getting started on her life. Working her way through college, she’d taken on the part-time tutor/babysitter gig for a six-year-old, never realizing that single decision would alter her life forever. As a boy, he liked Ginger. She was fun. She didn’t mind when he got loud or wanted to play for hours. Patiently teaching him, telling him stories, and watching all his favorite animated movies.
She hadn’t deserved to die.
A hard pounding on the hotel’s door had him jumping up from the bed, instantly alert. Blood pumped through his veins, spiked with a rush of adrenaline until he realized the bad guys usually didn’t knock loud enough to wake other guests. He stalked to the door and flung it open.
“What?”
He stumbled back when a hand shoved against his chest—hard. Three tall, broad-shouldered men pushed past him, almost overpowering the space. With an exaggerated eye roll, Dane closed the door and leaned against it, staring at his brothers.
“Wakey-wakey, sunshine. You’ve got some explaining to do.” Antonio’s smirk made Dane want to wipe it off his face, with his fist. Couldn’t do that. Momma frowned upon them fighting—no matter how much they deserved a good beating.
“Don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Shiloh simply walked to the phone and started placing a breakfast order, requesting lots of hot coffee. The amount of food he ordered was enough to feed a dozen people, not just the four of them. No, make that five when he counted Destiny. His eyes strayed toward the closed bedroom door, praying she didn’t wake up. Maybe he could get his brothers out of here before they realized Destiny was in his suite.
Too late.
The door opened and Destiny stood silhouetted in the light flooding through the open drapes. He hadn’t bothered closing them the night before, opting instead to watch the waters from the fountain. The light coming through diffused around her like a halo, and she had that mussed, just got out of bed look that made him want to rush his brothers out the door and make love to her. She was his wife after all, even if he’d spent a long, lonely night alone in his bed.
“Told you. Pay up, bro.”
Heath reached into his wallet and pulled out a twenty. “I hate it when you’re right.”
“Right about what?” Destiny walked over to stand by Dane, and he slid his arm around her waist.
“I bet him that you were with our brother. What I don’t know is why?” Shiloh’s gaze narrowed, immediately taking in the intimate picture Dane knew he saw. Destiny, dressed in a long T-shirt, her legs bare. Fortunately, the oversized shirt hit her below mid-thigh, or he might have to punch his brother in the face. Didn’t hurt that Shiloh had already found the love of his life and wasn’t about to stray. Same with Heath and Antonio, though they did seem curious about why she was with Dane.
“The better question is, what are you three bozos doing here?”
“Looking for you. First, Destiny takes off with pretty much no notice, saying she needs some personal time. Okay, I can buy that, though she’s never missed a day of work since I hired her.” When she started to speak, Shiloh held up his hand, stopping her. “Then you have Dom take over running the ranch while you go ‘out of town for a few days.’” His exact words. He clammed up good and tight after that, refusing to give us any answers. Just so you know, Dad’s sticking around the ranch for a few days, just in case.”
“Still doesn’t explain why you’re here.” Dane decided if they were going to do this, he might as well get comfortable. His brothers were here, and there was no way they weren’t going to get answers. Especially Antonio. He’d burrow deep like a tick, and not turn loose until he found out everything he needed to know.
Keeping his arm around Destiny’s waist, he led her into the living room and sat beside her on the couch.
“Good idea. Might as well get comfy. Room service said it might take a while.”
“You ordered room service? Hope you told them to send extra coffee.” Destiny’s words were broken by a huge yawn and Dane smiled. She looked cute, with her hair tousled from sleep and, without any makeup. He especially liked how she leaned against his side, while his brothers sat on the sofa across from them.
“It’s a long story.”
“Bro, I kind of figured that much out when you hightailed it to Vegas. Now, what kind of business could you possibly have here?” Shiloh’s voice had gone from joking and friendly to deadly serious from one heartbeat to the next.
“For somebody who’s supposed to be the smart one, you sure aren’t very observant.” Heath managed to reach past Antonio’s shoulder and popped Shiloh in the back of the head. “Look at their left hands, dummy.”
Destiny held up her left hand, flashing the gold and diamond band Dane had put on her finger less than twenty-four hours prior. He wore a matching plain gold band on his ring finger. Shiloh choked on his gasp, and Antonio pounded his back, before turning a grin toward Dane.
“Congratulations, bro.”
“Thanks.” Sliding his arm around Destiny’s shoulder, he leaned in and rubbed his cheek against the top of her head. She seemed to get the message, because she cuddled closer against his side, looking like a loving bride.
“Hang on a second.” Shiloh shifted his gaze between Dane and Destiny, before zeroing in on her. He pointed an accusatory finger at her. “You barely know my brother. You’ve met him what, a handful of times. And now you’re married?”
“We’ve spent a lot of time talking. Texting and messaging. Getting to know each other. I know it’s fast, but when it’s the right person, it feels right, and you just—you know they’re the one. Isn’t that how it happened with you and Renee?”
“Not the same thing, Destiny. I was around her a lot more than you’ve been around Dane. Renee and I went through a lot after I found her, what with her being on the run, and—”
“I’m not buying it.” Heath leaned forward, the muscles beneath his leather jacket rippled with his movements. “Part of my job is being able to tell when somebody’s lying, little brother. And while you’re not outright lying, you sure aren’t telling the whole truth.”
Dane turned to look at Destiny. “I hate it when he calls me that. He’s four months older than me. Four months, and he’s gotta lord it over me like he’s the big bad.”
Heath turned toward Antonio and Shiloh. “See how he’s deflecting and trying to change the subject? Typical of somebody who’s either hiding something, or he’s a big ole liar.”
Dane waved his middle finger at his brother, who simply grinned.
“You don’t want to play nice, bro? Well, how about we start this conversation again?” Shiloh leaned back and stretched his arm along the back of the sofa. “Why are you in Vegas? Besides marrying my favorite computer expert, that is. We’ll definitely be talking about that later, Destiny, but right now I want the truth. Are you in some kind of trouble?” His eyes widened. “Please, please tell me you’re not pregnant.”
“I’m not pregnant.”
Dane pulled in a deep breath and let it out slowly. He was busted and he knew it. They’d have learned the truth eventually, but he’d wanted to tell Momma and Dad first. Too late now; his brothers weren’t about to leave without a good explanation. Especially if they caught a whiff of something that might affect the family. One thing about a Boudreau, they protected their own.
“Dane, you should tell them. Maybe they can help.”
“Yeah, what she said.” Heath stood at the knock on the door. “But don’t say anything until I get back.”
Room service unloaded the mountain of food and two carafes of coffee onto the table between the two couches and left, smiling at the large tip Heath slid into his hand. Almost immediately, Antonio grabbed a plate, loaded it with scrambled eggs and sausage, and began slathering a bagel with cream cheese. Shrugging, Dane handed a matching plate to his bride and began pouring coffee. After passing one to Destiny, who smiled, he took his own plate and leaned back, sipping his orange juice.
“You can talk and eat at the same time, Dane.”
“Sheesh, give a guy a break. I’m starving.”
“If we have to ask one more time, I’m calling Momma. We didn’t tell her you’d hightailed it to Las Vegas. How do you think she’s gonna take it when she finds out about you and Destiny? She’s going to be heartbroken you eloped without a word.” Heath’s shark-like grin had Dane hanging his head. He felt guilty enough having finagled Destiny into what practically amounted to a shotgun wedding, minus the shotgun, but nobody could make him feel like a schoolboy caught with his hand in the cookie jar than his mother. Man, if she cried, he was doomed.
“Fine. You guys remember when I came to live at the Big House?” At their nods, he continued. “Nobody knew anything about who I was. Where I came from. I didn’t talk, hadn’t spoken since I’d been picked up by Child Protective Services.”
“I remember.” Antonio shot him a sympathetic look. “You were pretty much a ghost. Physically there, but almost like you wanted to be invisible.”
“I’d been living with a young woman named Ginger. She’d been my tutor and babysitter. She was my best friend, and I got her killed.”
The bite Antonio was about to take froze halfway to his mouth before he lowered the fork to his plate. “What?”
“It goes back to about six weeks before I went into CPS. Ginger took care of me, especially when my parents had to go to business stuff. Dinner parties, meetings, that kind of thing.”
“Wait a second. I thought you couldn’t remember anything about your life before you came to live with us.” Shiloh leaned forward, staring at Dane. “I remember how much that bothered Momma. She hated that you didn’t have any memories about who you were, where you came from.”
Dane sighed. “That was a lie. I never told anybody, because I was scared. Terrified that whoever killed my parents, killed Ginger, would find me and kill me, too.”
Stunned silence met his bald statement. He could see the wheels turning in his brothers’ heads, as they processed his words.
“Your parents were murdered? How do you remember that?” Antonio was the first to ask, which made sense. He processed information quickly, his analytical brain already switching into his FBI persona.
“I’ve always known. We—Ginger and I—were in the house when they were murdered. They’d just gotten home, barely made it through the front door. I remember hearing a noise and a scream. Ginger told me to hush, and she tiptoed to the top of the staircase. When she came back, she picked me up and started running down the back stairs. I remember she was crying and shaking. She made me get down on the floorboards behind the driver’s seat. I didn’t know about my parents, but I knew something bad happened because we weren’t supposed to leave the house—ever—when my folks weren’t home.”
Destiny sat her plate on the table, and took his hand, threading her fingers through his, and leaned her head against his shoulder. Her simple touch offered silent comfort, giving him a peaceful calm to continue.
“It wasn’t until a couple of days later when she told me my parents weren’t ever coming back. I didn’t know what dead meant, and she was so young she’d probably never dealt with somebody she knew dying, either. But she was smart. Smart enough to know she couldn’t trust anybody.”
“Couldn’t she have called the cops?”
“Good question, Heath. But I’m more interested in who Dane’s parents were, because it sounds like that’s a big part of his story.” Antonio’s sympathetic gaze nearly undid him, but Dane knew he needed to keep going. Get the story out, because his family deserved justice, and he was determined to make sure they got it.
While Dane had been talking, Shiloh had been working feverishly on his phone, and when he looked up and met his eyes, Dane knew he’d figured it out. At least the who part of the equation.
“Denver, right?” Dane nodded, the knot in his throat now too big to speak around. “Twenty-five years ago?”
“Yeah.”
Shiloh handed his phone to Antonio, who quickly scanned whatever was on the screen before handing the phone to Heath. He watched his brother’s eyes grow rounder as he realized the enormity of what he was seeing.
“Peter and Marjorie Duncan? Murdered in a home invasion robbery. Their only son went missing on the night of the murders and was never found.”
“That’s right.”
“Dane, that means you’re—”
“I’m Thomas Elliot Duncan, and I’m going to make the man who killed my parents pay.”