Page 4 of Breached

I thought about the man I shot. Frank had him in Washington now. We had questioned him over and over but never got much from him. He was more afraid of who sent him than our threats. We knew he was a direct link to Bruno Perez, and it was Bruno who was behind the hit on our family. Someone had tipped off the Cartel that we would be at Zack’s that day and had probably been well paid to share that information with Bruno.

We ran through the names and went over the tapes from Zack’s restaurant so many times and from every possible angle that we were exhausted. We had the names of every single person who had been there before, during, and after the day of the party. All the staff had been scrutinized with a fine-toothed comb, but we couldn’t find a single suspicious moment where someone could have planted the tracker in Easton’s jacket. The only theory we came up with was that someone could have physically given the child the tracker to put it in his pocket himself. Perhaps it had even been slipped into his gift bag, and he thought it was a toy. Easton hadn’t been able to remember anything from that day. The doctor suggested it may be a good thing he had suffered memory loss of the event, and Savannah agreed.

All our safehouses were at a level five threat—code red. It was the reason we all carried a concealed Glock 43x ready to fire.

“I’d like you to come find me after this.” Frank’s voice made my body turn to stone as he came up next to me. “We need to get ahead of this, Paul, which means⁠—”

I snapped my gaze over at him. “Don’t.” He had some balls even going there at a time like this.

“We need you back undercover. You’re the only one who can,” Frank said in a tight voice. He had become a major concern. He had a one-track mind about getting me back to Mexico as Eric Noah, the man I had portrayed for years to feed information back to my brothers. That role had taken a major toll on my life, and I had told him I wasn’t going to risk it again. I had too much to lose. Even the fact that he would bring it up in such a public place where people weren’t vetted was a concern all on its own. That he would bring it up here burned me.

“Have some fucking respect,” I snapped then turned away from him, only to come face to face with Nicole, who clearly had heard what he said. Her eyes shifted from me to Frank, then back to me.

Shit.

“John was looking for you,” she whispered, and when I took her arm, she winced.

“Okay.” I dropped my hand and gently took hers to slowly lead her back into the church. Thankfully, the bullet she took that day hadn’t hit any major organs, but she had a bad habit of not resting, and it was affecting her ability to heal. I loved but hated her stubbornness.

As we walked down the aisle, she looked up at me, and I could see the fear in her eyes. Nicole was strong and resilient, but these last few months had taken a toll on us all. “Paul, are you going back to Mexico?”

“Where’s Chase?” I ignored her question and looked around for my son.

“Mia.” She pointed her head, and I spotted Chase with Mia.

“Do you hurt?” I asked quietly.

“I’m fine.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

“I know.” She stepped into the pew and slowly lowered herself onto the hard bench. “I’ve learned from the best.” She shot me a look, and I wrapped my arm around the back of the bench, wanting her close. These were the times I wished so much I could share the truth with her. I wanted her to know Chase was my son and not Eric Noah’s. If only I thought she would understand all I’d held back from her. How could I tell her I was Eric Noah when I knew how much she hated who she thought he was? I took a deep breath and prayed. What better place?

Savi and Olivia were like statutes as they sat in front of us. You could barely see them breathing. Mark, on the other hand, had tears rolling down his face and wasn’t hiding the fact that he was one song away from losing control of his emotions. I worried about Olivia. She carried a lot of guilt because she had insisted on having her birthday party at Zack’s. I scanned the room, making sure Frank’s men were in place, and tuned in to the weight of the handgun on my hip. I wouldn’t relax with the knowledge we could be attacked at any second—none of us could. My gut told me Bruno wouldn’t attack here. He’d play the long game. Waiting out the enemy was more damaging, psychologically. It was what I would do.

I made eye contact with Doc Roberts, who gave me a grim nod. He had tried his best to be there for everyone, but we assured him it was his time to grieve as well. I shifted my gaze over to the new guy who would one day replace him. Dr. Bash. I pressed my lips together when I saw he was texting. Inappropriate. I didn’t like the man, and I’d expressed my concern that he was not a good fit for the house. After all that had happened, it had been dropped. Nicole told me I just wasn’t good with change and that I needed to give him a chance. He’d apparently won her over.

“Mama!” Chase’s cry for Nicole drew my attention back to the present, and when Mia couldn’t hold him any longer, he scrambled toward us.

“Sorry!” Mia whispered and looked horrified, but Nicole shook her head with a small smile to let her know she had nothing to be sorry for. She had her hands full with her own three.

He did a nosedive into Nicole’s lap, and she pulled him up and held him.

“Hey, buddy,” I whispered. He was a determined little guy and only gave me a side glance. “Let me take him.” I could see it hurt her to hold him, so I firmly took his little body and pulled him to me. The fact that she let me said a lot.

“You’re good, sweetie.” She held his hand as he leaned heavily toward her. The music changed, and everyone stood as the priest walked to the altar. I was thankful for the moment. As Chase began to cry, I leaned my mouth to his ear and made his favorite helicopter noise, which instantly soothed him. Thankfully, I had mastered the art of doing it quietly.

Once everyone was told to sit, I handed Chase my keychain, and he settled. I looked up and forced myself to acknowledge the small wooden boxes all in a row at the front, and everything hit me at once.

A sound behind us made the priest pause and hold up a hand. Cole walked down the aisle, pushing Easton in a wheelchair. He parked it next to Savi then sat next to her and Olivia. I saw his hand reach out to take Easton’s. I still couldn’t believe what the boy had gone through. They had to remove his leg just under the knee as there was no chance of saving it. But the kid was a trouper, and when he wore his temporary prosthetic leg, he was off like a shot. It barely slowed him down. Kids were amazing like that. If his grandfather’s body hadn’t shielded him that day, he’d be in a wooden box right next to his grandparents and Abigail.

The priest gave a kind smile to Easton then cleared his throat and directed his words to the room. “I wish I could stand here today and say something that would heal the pain inside each of you, but sadly, I cannot. Healing is a personal thing that comes from within. What happened to these three dear people was tragic and unimaginable. The Devil showed himself and took without mercy. We cannot let him win. We must be strong. We must stand fast against such unimaginable horror, and above all, we must forgive ourselves, because good will always trump evil if we believe.”

I glanced at Keith, who gave me a small nod back. We’d heal when the blood of our enemies has been shed and our loved ones avenged.

The service was just under an hour, and thankfully, Chase slept through most of it. Cat appeared to take him to his stroller while Mike hovered behind her. I mouthed a thank you and handed him over, then turned back to help Nicole. She grimaced as she pulled herself out of the pew and let out a shaky breath as she stood.

“Why don’t we leave now?” I suggested. Please say yes. I hated the idea of her being in the open outside the church. It was no secret to me that Bruno wanted her—but why target the car she and Chase had been in? It didn’t make sense. He wanted the child to use as a pawn against Talya’s parents, and he wanted Nicole for himself, so why hit that vehicle? If he got his hands on Nicole again, there was no telling what he might do to her.