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Hell, he wished Chaya was here. He’d lie on the couch with her again, hold her, and reinforce the shield. His lips quirked at the thought of that. It had taken him long enough to get beneath her shields, but once he had, the woman he found beneath there was more than a match for him. And he liked that; he liked that fine.
He finished the beer, tossed it in the trash, and moved to the couch to wait. He’d wait that hour before he left the houseboat. There was no sense in arriving early, or even on time. He may as well make an entrance when he arrived. He and Dayle Mackay had never pretended to stand on ceremony with each other.
He pushed his fingers through his hair and thought of the team moving into place. They knew where Dayle’s spotters were; that would make it easier. Natches knew Alex and his team—they didn’t make mistakes. And Dawg and Rowdy were black death when they wanted to be.
He waited. He didn’t pace; instead, he sat on the couch and stared around the living room. He thought of the house Dawg had nearly completed farther in the mountains. There was land close to him, and it wasn’t but a few miles from the house Rowdy and Kelly were building. He could buy that land, build him and Chaya a home. A place to love and to raise their babies.
Lots of bedrooms, he thought. He wanted to fill her life with babies and with laughter. Both their lives. He wanted to be the husband he’d dreamed of being with her, the father he’d never had.
When the clock showed five minutes past the hour, he stood and left the houseboat. He paused on the deck as though considering turning back, then shook his head and moved to the docks, striding quickly to the small metal building Ray had allowed them to set up to park the Harleys in. He took his time getting it out and checking it over.
Half an hour and he was on the road. He didn’t rush, there was no need to. Dark glasses protected his eyes from the cold wind, but it ruffled through his hair, clearing his head.
He pushed thoughts of Chaya and babies as far back in his mind as he could, though he admitted, that wasn’t far. Hatred, a child’s rage and pain, and the fear of the dark that kid had known. He erased it from his mind. It was just another mission he told himself. Except this time, he wasn’t going to kill.
He pulled onto the side of the street before Nadine’s driveway forty-five minutes past the deadline and parked the Harley before cutting the motor and stepping off. Far enough away that he’d be surprising them.
He’d passed the dark panel van parked on the street, blending in with the SUVs and pickups it shared space with. Wasn’t Nadine nice? Why, she had bought her a nice little place in the middle of town. Made things so much easier. But it didn’t make this any easier.
Stepping up to the door, he didn’t bother to knock. He pushed open and stepped into the living room before coming to a rocking stop.
“You’re determined to make me puke this morning,” he stated as he watched his aunt jump from Dayle’s lap and Dayle pull his hand slowly from beneath the silk dress she was wearing.
Nadine didn’t even bother to flush. Actually, she let a nervous little smile touch her lips; it was almost welcoming.
What dimension of the twilight zone did he step into? Natches wondered as he lifted his brow and closed the door.
“We thought you weren’t arriving. ” Dayle rose to his feet, adjusting the polo shirt he wore and the creased slacks.
He looked as powerful as he ever had. Six feet plus, wider than Natches, broader. Older, Natches reminded himself as he hooked his thumbs in the top of the chaps he wore and stared at the man who dared call him son.
“I didn’t think I was either. ” He shrugged and stared at Nadine as she twisted her hands together nervously and glanced between Dayle and Natches. “What’s her problem?”
Dayle smiled. “She wants to welcome you home. ”
“Really?” Natches arched his brows. “How interesting. Last I heard, she wanted to gut me for popping Johnny’s head off for him. Changed her mind rather fast, didn’t she?”
She paled, swaying as Dayle put his arm around her and whispered something in her ear before nodding toward the back of the house. Giving him a grateful look, she accepted his kiss on the lips before moving through the house.
Natches shook his head. “You know, that relationship you have going on there never did make sense to me. She had her brother’s kid, and you’re not the brother. No wonder Johnny was so screwed up. Now she just wants to welcome me right into the family as though she never hated my guts? You two been doing hard drugs or something?”
“You always were a smart-mouthed little bastard,” Dayle snapped irritably.
“Yeah, I do good at that. ” Natches grinned in pride. “So, what the hell do you want and how do I return things to where you ignore me rather than harass me?”
Dayle grimaced, his lined face tightening into displeasure as he pushed his hair, still thick and barely graying, back from his forehead.
“Little whelp,” he muttered. “You don’t even look like me. If it wasn’t for those eyes of yours I’d swear you weren’t even mine. ”
“Maybe Chandler was my daddy as well as Johnny’s,” Natches mocked. “From what I remember, it could be possible. ”
“I thought of that,” Dayle snapped. “Even had the paternity test done. No such luck, you’re mine. And now it’s time we both come to terms with that. ”
“And how do you suggest we do that?”
“You know what I am, what I’m a part of. ” Dayle sighed. “I always knew you’d remember it. ”
“Is that why you hired Linkins to try to kill me in Iraq?”
