CHAPTER THREE
It had been several weeks since Jonas met the members of the team. He was surprised at how easily he fit in with everyone. Then again, they made you feel welcome whether on their property or on his.
It started out just helping avenge the admiral and finding his brother-in-law. He was remembering everything so clearly as it unfolded. Everything that made him feel utterly and completely confused about his life and where it was going.
A young woman walked toward them, her silky black hair and almond-shaped eyes smiling at them. She set down bowls of gumbo and plates of cornbread.
“Mama Irene said y’all would be hungry,” she grinned. “Macie, your mama is waiting for you to do a final fitting of your dress at the big house.”
“Thank you, Khloe,” said Garr. “Oh, Khloe, this is Jonas Samson . Jonas, this is Khloe Jones . She attended our school and returned to us recently.”
“Your school?” he frowned.
“There’s a school here at Belle Fleur for children who are orphans, most of whom were rescued by these men,” smiled the young woman. “I was just a teenager when I was kidnapped to be sold into a trafficking ring. Garr’s father, Wade, was the one who carried me out of there and brought me here. I received medical treatment, counseling, and the best education a girl could have asked for.”
“That’s wonderful. He said you returned. Where were you?” he asked with interest.
“Oh, I’ve been attending medical school. I’ll be joining the medical staff here starting in the new year. I’m a doctor of internal medicine.”
“A doctor,” grinned Jonas. “That’s wonderful. You should feel so proud of yourself.”
“I am, thank you. If you’d like a tour of the grounds later, it’s beautiful all lit up for the holidays.”
“Oh,” he said, looking from her to Garr. Garr nodded at him with a smirk. “Yeah. Yeah, I’d love that.”
“Great. I’ll find you after the parade. Great to meet you, Jonas.”
“Great to meet you,” he said quietly as she walked away. Jonas realized he was the eye of everyone’s attention and turned, grinning at the men.
“She’s a great girl,” said Macie. “Obviously, extremely bright, and most women wouldn’t have survived what she went through.”
“She’s beautiful. I’ve never seen anyone like her. Her features are so unique.”
“It’s funny,” said Macie with a sly grin, “she wasn’t supposed to arrive until after the new year, but Mama Irene asked her to come early. She arrived late yesterday.”
“I guess that makes me a lucky man,” said Jonas.
“Jonas, Jonas, baby,” said Mama Irene, walking toward them. “Jonas, I’m Mama Irene. You can call me Mama, Irene, or I prefer Mama Irene. You’ll be stayin’ through the holidays, so we have a cottage all ready for you.”
“Oh, ma’am,” he started. The men around the table groaned, and he looked at them.
“Don’t groan at him,” she fussed. “He’s new and don’t know. No ma’ams around here. Understand?”
“Yes, ma- uh, yes, Mama Irene.”
Mama Irene had turned out to be everything he thought, everything he’d been warned about, and more. She seemed to always be near him, watching him, guiding him in some weird, untouchable way.
With the issue around Admiral Harris, his wife, and brother-in-law wrapped up, the team moved seamlessly to Macie and Garr’s wedding. It was as if it was just another day at Belle Fleur, and he supposed that it probably was business as usual for them.
He looked at Khloe, seated across the aisle from him, and smiled. Having taken her up on her offer of a tour of the grounds, he found her to be smart, funny, kind, and maybe the most beautiful woman he’d ever met in his life.
At first it gutted him to even be thinking about another woman. Then, there was a voice in his head telling him to live his life and be happy. He was sure it was his late wife, but it also could have been wishful thinking. Wanting to believe it was true, he made the decision to give it a chance.
If weddings at Belle Fleur were magical, their receptions were off the charts as parties go. Of course, this one combined the reception and Christmas Eve all in one. The entire property was like a huge magical Hallmark movie. Except with guns and dangerous men. Hell, they had dangerous women.
“Khloe? Would you like to dance?” asked Jonas.
“I can’t think of anything better.” As they took the floor, Khloe smiled as Matthew and Irene left the tent, then nodded toward Macie and Garr.
“They’re a wonderful couple,” smiled Khloe. “I’ve known Garr for more than ten years. As I said, it was his father who carried me out of the warehouse where we were being held.” Jonas nodded, unsure if he should ask her any questions about her ordeal.
“Yes, I don’t know them well, but they’ve been really great to me,” said Jonas, smiling down at the beautiful woman in his arms. She wore a plum-colored satin gown, off the shoulders, highlighting her creamy flesh. The silky black hair hung loosely down her back, her gray-green eyes sparkling in the light of thousands of candles.
“Who are those men?” she asked, nodding to a table.
“Oh, I’m not sure exactly. I know they’re former teammates of Conor’s. I think their names are Johnson and Dieter. I only met them briefly.” She nodded, smiling up at him.
“There are so many people here. Some I know well, others I just haven’t seen in years, and still others that have arrived since I was here last. It always amazed me the community that’s been created here. I didn’t ask, but are you married?” He gave a sad smile and shook his head.
“No. I’m a widower.”
“Oh, gosh. I’m terribly sorry, Jonas. I’m sorry I brought it up.”
“It’s okay. It’s been five years now. What about you? Married? Divorced?”
“Neither. I was engaged but broke it off.” Her own expression was sad but also filled with something that resembled fear. That stuck with Jonas as he looked down at her.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” he said, lying to himself and to her.
“He did something unforgivable, and the truth is, I think I made a mistake by accepting his proposal.”
“Did he cheat on you?” he asked. “Sorry. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
“No. It’s fine. For me, it was worse. He had a drinking problem. A big one, and no matter what I said or did, he refused to quit. One night, he checked himself into my emergency room. He was involved in a hit-and-run accident, killing a mother and her unborn twins.”
Jonas froze, swallowing the bile building in his throat. It was as if his feet were in concrete, weighing a thousand pounds. He couldn’t move.
“Wh-where? Where did that happen?” he asked.
“He was on business in Virginia. I was finishing my residency in the Baltimore, D.C. area. The woman was killed in Virginia. He showed up with a head injury, and one of the nurses took care of him before I could get to him. He wouldn’t tell me how it happened other than he hit the woman, but I put two and two together.”
“Did you report him?” he whispered.
“I did. I called the police, but he ran before they could get there. It’s one of the reasons I decided to come here. I needed to be away from him and somewhere that he couldn’t find me.”
Jonas had completely stopped dancing, staring off across the dance floor.
“Jonas? Jonas, are you alright?” she asked. He stared at her beautiful face and nodded.
“I’m sorry. I think I’m exhausted. I’ll take a rain check on the other half of the tour and dance.” He stepped back from her, giving a strange smile. “Goodnight, Khloe.”
“Goodnight,” she whispered. Ajei and Kate stood beside her, linking their hands with hers. “Did I say something wrong?”
“Come with us, honey. I think you need to hear this story.”
“Oh, God,” she whispered. “He must hate me.”
“He doesn’t hate you, honey. He was taken aback by that bit of news. Jonas is a smart man. He won’t blame you, but he does have to come to grips with how you’re connected.”
“I-I can’t imagine the pain, the horrible pain he went through. Archie. Stupid, immature, selfish Archie! That man should be behind bars.”
“What’s kept the police from finding him?” asked Ajei.
“If I had to guess, his father. I don’t know how he thinks he’s ever going to be able to hold public office. It was all over the news what he did, and he’s been gone now for almost five years. No one seems to be able to find him, and I think that’s suspicious. I’d bet that his father has someone to keep him out of the public eye.”
“He murdered three people,” said Kate.
“Yes, he did. And he tried to kill me,” whispered Khloe. The two women stared at her, waiting for more of an explanation. “I should have told you all. I know what you do and how amazing you all are. He was leaving threatening notes, voicemails, all kinds of threats. I’ve had to change my number three times.”
“Did you have the team check your phone for trackers?” asked Ajei.
“I did,” she grinned. “I’m more than aware of all the tricks. Hiro said it was clean, but he added some safety precautions to the phone and gave me the new injectable tracker.”
“Good, that’s good.”
“What do I do about him?” she asked, staring off toward the dark opening of the tent. “I really like him, and I feel like I should say something.”
“Just let it work itself out, honey. You can’t rush anything with this. That’s a lot to unravel for a man who only just met you and now discovers that the woman he has a crush on is linked to the death of his wife and children. He’ll come to grips with it sooner or later.” Khloe stared at the women, her eyes filling with tears.
“I agree,” said Kate. “Give him some time to find his place here and figure all this out. It might take him a while, but he’ll get there. Like Ajei said, he’ll come to grips with it all sooner or later.”
“And what if he doesn’t?”