Finally Home (Home Series) (15 page)

"OK, baby, just...God...OK, I'll be there as soon as I can...there is
nothing
more important than you."

Mike met Riley's gaze as they listened to Colt console his wife.  Mike pulled up a text to his uncle and arranged for a plane to be ready to fly Colt back to Wyoming.

"I've got to get back to Sarah," Colt said as soon as he ended his call.

"My uncle's jet is waiting for you at the airport," Mike told him.

"Thanks.  I hate to leave you but...she started vomiting blood and...God," he said, wiping a weary hand over his face.  "She's just really scared."

"Oh, man," Riley said, placing a hand
on Colt's shoulder, "I hope everything will be all right."

"I've got to get back."

"I'll take you to the airport," Riley told him.  "Mike, you good?"

"
Yeah, I've got this.  Hang in there, Colt," Mike told him, giving him a quick one-armed hug.  "Keep us updated."

"I'll leave my stuff running here," Colt said, gathering up the rest of his things.

"Don't worry about this, we've got it covered.  Go take care of your family."

Colt nodded, "Thanks.  I just can't -" he started but his voice choked up.

"Come on, man, let's get you to Sarah," Riley said.

Colt nodded and blindly followed Riley out the door.  Mike hoped that everything would be all right with Colt's wife. 
In all the years he'd served with Colt, he'd never once seen fear in his eyes.  The big man looked terrified now, though.  Mike glanced up at the loft area and his bedroom door.  That's what women did to a man.  He barely knew Lainey, but the thought of something happening to her brought real fear to his heart. 

He worked on the schematics for security for the Adtkisson's estate for the Founder's Day Ball in between the checks he was running on Charles Conroy.  The fact that Lainey knew him helped, but at the same time, he was afraid her feelings for the man Conroy had been would cloud her perception of the level of danger she was in.  She viewed him as someone to be pitied and
, as such, she may not be quite as cautious as she should be regarding him.

His phone rang and he saw it was Gib.

"Casiano," he answered.

"Conroy's house is empty.  Neighbors say he hasn't been hom
e in a while.  Mail is piled up, looks like going back about a month.  Got the standard, 'he's quiet, keeps to himself' lines from all we spoke to.  No one knows who he works for.  We do know that he drives a tan Chevy Silverado pickup.  I don't think that was listed on the records Colt pulled this morning."

Mike scanned the reports Colt printed.  "Registered vehicle is a red Dodge Ram."

"The neighbor across the street thinks she may have some pictures with his truck in the background that may show us the plate.  She's looking through her files now; said she'd text us if she found anything."

"Excellent.  Listen, Colt had to get back home, his wife is in the hospit
al with pregnancy complications."

"
We'll keep them in our thoughts and pray everything will be all right.  We're heading up to the hospital now to check on Tessa."

"Send her my best.  Let me know how she is."

"Will do."

Mike glanced at the clock and realized he hadn't fed Lainey breakfast.  Getting up, he went into the kitchen to see what his housekeeper had stocked the
fridge with and found grapes.  He put some on a tray with a glass of juice and went upstairs.  In his room, he could hear the jets from the tub going and had to fight down an overwhelming wave of desire at the thought of her in his tub.

Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door.

"Yes?"

"Can I come in?" he asked.  There was a brief pause and then she replied.

"Yes."

He opened the door and found her neck deep in the water and thankfully covered with frothy bubbles.

"Thought you might be hungry," he said, placing the tray on the side of the tub.  He made a point of keeping his eyes on her face, resisting the urge to let them sweep the length of the tub, looking for weak spots in the bubbles.

"Thanks," she replied softly.

"Riley took Colt to the airport; there is an emergency with his wife and he had to get back home," he told her.

"Oh, no!" 
Lainey exclaimed after he explained what happened.  "That's awful.  Oh, I hope everything will be all right."

"Me, too," he said, eyes searching her face. "Are you all right?"

She nodded, taking a sip of the juice he'd brought. 

"I'm fine.  I was just thinking...now that I know it is Charles, maybe the next time he calls, I can talk to him, get him to realize what he's doing is wrong."

"Perhaps," he said, turning toward the door to leave.

"Mike?"

"Yeah," he replied, his back still to her.

"Is something wrong?
"

He turned his head slightly so she could just see his profile over his shoulder.

"I'm not made of steel,
cara
, and the bubbles are thinning.  See you downstairs."

She smiled broadly as he left, feeling as high as a kite.  She loved the way things were developing between them and couldn't wait for things to move to the next level...and they would; she had no doubt about that.  Mike Casiano was finally in her sights and interested in her; nothing was going to stop her now.

Chapter Ten

Lainey was glad she'd packed a couple of her nicer dresses and shoes.  She hadn't anticipated being invited to a formal dinner with Mike's family, but she was glad her mother had anticipated that she may need something nice and had packed a few dresses.  She chose a simple little black dress that was elegant but conservative and paired it with her three-inch Louboutin heels, which were her

current favorites.  She kept her make-up light and after a debate, decided to leave her curls rather than straighten them, because Mike seemed to like them.  When she stepped out of the bathroom, Mike was just emerging from his closet.  He wore black slacks, black jacket and a white shirt, open at the collar, though he was carrying two ties in his hand.  She felt her heart flutter at the sight of him
.

"Skip the tie," she said, when he held them up for her to see.

"Yeah?"

"You look nice, and it's just a family dinner, right?"

"Yeah.  Just a family dinner," he said, and the way he said it made her think he was dreading going.  She watched him walk back into his closet to put the ties up. 

His eyes found hers when he emerged.  The intensity of his gaze never ceased to amaze her.  He took her breath away.  She didn't know how she was going to make it through this whole ordeal, being with him pretty much twenty-four, seven.  It had only been a few days but she
was already well attached to him. 

He crossed over to where she sat on the edge of the bed and picked up the shoe she'd sat on the bed.  She watched him turn it over in his scarred hands, studying it before handing it back to her.

"How in the world can you walk in that?"

She slipped it on and stood, seeing that the three inches really didn't make that much difference; she was still nearly a foot shorter than him.

"Lots of practice."

"Ready to go?"

"Yes," she replied, picking up her purse.

He offered her his arm as they walked down the stairs to the elevator.  She noticed that he'd grown quiet and
his mood was dark as they made their way to his Escalade. 

"Have you heard from Colt?"

"His wife is in the hospital, they're monitoring her closely.  Not sure what has caused the vomiting or the bleeding.  Everything with the ultrasounds seem fine for now."

"They must be so scared."

"I've never seen Colt more terrified than he was when he left."

The rest of the drive to his family's home passed in silence.  Lainey had never actually been to Jeannette's house but she was well aware of where it was; she had to pass it every time she went to Kacee's house.  He pulled up to the gate and used his remote to access it, then drove up the long drive to the circular driveway up front...where a valet was waiting to take his keys.

"Welcome home, sir," the valet said when he opened Mike's door.  Another valet came around and opened Lainey's door and helped her out.  She walked around to Mike, who placed his hand on her back to lead her to the steps, then took her elbow to help her up.

"Thank you," she said softly as they approached the door.

He turned his head to look down at her, just as the front door opened.  Lainey tore her gaze from Mike's icy eyes, and then froze when she saw the man at the door.  She looked from him, to Mike, to the man and back to Mike.

"I take it you didn't tell her you were a twin," the other man said.

"Never came up," Mike replied.  "Lainey, Nick.  Nick, Lainey."

Her eyes widened and her head snapped around to regard Nick, who smirked.

"Ah, but you did tell her about me, I see."

"Are you going to let us in or just stand there and gloat?" Mike snapped.

Nick stepped aside, making a grand sweeping gesture for them to enter.

"By all means."

Mike led her inside and then kept them walking, ignoring Nick altogether.  Lainey glanced over her shoulder to see that Nick had walked off in the other direction, so she stopped Mike in the grand foyer. 

"If you want to leave...
" she began but he shook his head.

"I'd never hear the end of it.  Just ignore him."

"But, he's your twin!"

"Yes, he is," he said, looking up when he heard his mother approaching.

Lainey noted that his head came up well before she heard Jeannette's heels clicking in the hall.  Riley and Trevor did that a lot, too.  It was spooky.

"Lainey!  I'm so happy you could come," Jeannette said, holding her hands out to Lainey and leaning in to air kiss each cheek.

"Thank you for inviting me."

"Michael," Jeannette said, and Lainey saw how she had to fold her hands together to keep from reaching out to touch him, "how are you?"

"Fine," he replied.

Mike's father walked in, looking very much like an older version of Mike...and Nick, she supposed.  He held out his hand to shake Mike's but that was the only contact they made.

"Who have you brought us, son?  She looks familiar."

"Dad, this is Lainey Riley, Chief Riley's daughter.  Lainey, my father, Lorenzo Casiano."

Lorenzo took her hand and raised it to his lips, "Welcome to our home, Lainey.  Your father and I have a tee time next weekend, I believe."

"Oh, Lorenzo, you always have a tee time," Jeannette said, linking arms with Lainey.  "Michael, go with your father, I'm going to take Lainey to meet the girls."

Lainey looked at Mike over her shoulder as Jeannette led her away.  He had his hands shoved in his pockets and looked like he was standing there watching paint dry; there was absolutely no animation in his face at all. His eyes were dull, and cold as ice.

"Jeannette, give me just a moment, please," she said, pulling her hand away.  She turned and walked back to Mike, seeing him raise a brow at her as she approached.

"Excuse us for one moment, please, Lorenzo?" she said, sliding her hand along Mike's forearm to link her arm with his.

"Certainly," he replied, and Lainey walked Mike a few steps away from him.

"What's wrong?" Mike asked.

She faced him, looking up at him.  "Are you all right?"

He frowned.  "I'm fine."

"We don't have to stay here," she told him again.

"It's only a few hours.  I'll survive."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

She stood on her toes and reached up to pull him down so she could kiss his cheek.

"OK, see you in a while, then," she said, giving him a wink and a saucy smile.

She started to walk off but his hand tightened on her elbow.  Surprised, she looked up at him, unsure of what she was seeing in his eyes.

"What is it?"

"Think you missed a spot," he said, his voice soft and smooth as silk.

"Oh yeah?" she asked, smiling at him.  "Where would that be?"

"Here," he said, touching his other cheek.

Lainey laughed.  She couldn't help it.  He was teasing her and she loved it.  Standing on her toes again, she again kissed his other cheek.

"Better?"

"Much," he replied, raising her hand to his lips and kissing her knuckles.  "Have fun."

She laughed and went back to Jeannette, who was watching her with a huge smile on her face and tears shimmering in her eyes.  Jeannette quickly embraced her then took her down the hall to where Mike's sister, Gia, sat with two other
women.