“Hey, hey! Mercy, what’s going on?” James’s deep voice was filled with worry as he unfastened his seatbelt to inch closer to her. “And if you say nothing, I swear you’re going to regret it.”
A half-laugh made its way through the tears. “Must be putting two stupid bikers down that’s getting to me.”
When she lifted her head, the expression on James’s face was closed off, his eyes glacial. “Mercy, you know I care about you, even more than you think, but I’m done having you shutting me out. We all have scars and nightmares that haunt us, it’s part of who we are. I have plenty of my own, and that’s exactly what partners are for, to support one another with them.”
Stunned, Mercy watched him get out of the car and get Abbie. “Don’t worry, I’ll call Shane and ask that Nick takes over when he brings our stuff.”
Getting out of the car, Mercy couldn’t say a thing as Abbie started crying and she saw movement from the house.
James was marching toward the house as Ian wheeled himself down the ramp toward the driveway. James offered him his hand and smiled, exchanging a few words with Ian before he gestured toward the house, probably asking where he could take care of Abbie.
Without a backward glance, James disappeared inside, and before she could process anything he’d said, Mercy was face to face with Ian for the first time in years.
Words stuck in her mouth. Mercy’s last image of him had been his drawn, pale face, filled in pain on his hospital bed, and soon after, he’d left for the rehabilitation center. Now, he was in a high-tech black wheelchair, arms crossed, all fire and muscles, just as she remembered him, especially his smile.
When he cocked his head, she noticed the car was holding her up and that she and Ian had been staring at each other for much longer than it was polite.
“Never thought I’d see the day where you were scared, kid.”
Only with one sentence, the man brought her back when they were patrolling the dark alleys of New Orleans. “I’ve only been scared of one thing in my life, and you were never it, old man.”
“Well, I feel the old Mercy coming back, but she’s not quite there yet. Why don’t you come into the backyard? I have a cooler with some beers calling our names. Get your stuff and follow me in.”
And once more she was following his orders. Making sure to lock the car, Mercy grabbed what was left and followed him inside the house. James had Abbie gurgling on his chest as he heated her formula.
“Do you need help with her? I can take care of the bottle if you want?”
James didn’t even look at her. “No need. It’s all under control.”
He may as well dropped a bucket of ice water over her head with his tone. “I’m leaving everything else on the kitchen table if you need anything before Nick arrives.”
Dismissed with his lack of a reply, Mercy went to join Ian.
The deck was vast, adapted for Ian’s wheelchair and overlooked a beautiful backyard. The flower beds were definitely Marnie’s work.
“Welcome to my new haven. Since the kids are at college, Marnie decided the yard was ours again and gave it a makeover. What do you think?”
Accepting the beer with a smile, Mercy sat by Ian. “Your yard is amazing, as is your house. By the way, where is your lovely wife and kids?”
“Gone to see her mother in upstate New York. The kids went with her, so your call was perfect timing. Too bad you waited for an emergency to come pay me and my backyard a visit, kid.”
That stopped her mid-sip, closing her throat. What could she say?
“That’s another first, you speechless. I swear each time I caught you on the phone, you filled every single second of it, barely allowed me to speak, and now we’re face to face at last, I thought you’d talk my ear off.”
Unable to swallow her drink, she put it down. “I’m sorry, Ian.”
With her tears about to flow again, Mercy had never felt so unsteady in her life, especially in the middle of such a dangerous mission. She felt as if she were constantly under fire.
Ian rolled closer and surprised her when he took her hand. Something inside her cracked at the gesture. “I’m so sorry, Ian. I don’t know why you’re even talking to me, let alone welcoming us here. Not after I destroyed your life.”
She tried to pull her hand from his, but Ian was a strong man. “I suspected as much, and I’d hoped to have this conversation years ago. Mercy, you’re going to be quiet and listen to me.”
Last time she’d heard Ian using that tone of voice was when she was a rookie and had taken down a drug dealer by herself without telling him. “There’s nothing you can say, Ian.”
“Mercy Broussard, close your mouth and listen! I always knew you were a brilliant woman, but if you think you had anything to do with what happened, you’re a fool!”
“Weren’t we in the same shootout by the pier? Where I was shot, and you almost bled to death? Because I remember it damn well, Ian.”
Her former partner shook his head, his frown set. “I’d been taken by a mad man who was about to kill me. If not for you, I’d be six feet under.”
“If I’d been faster, you wouldn’t be trapped in that chair! If I’d been more accurate, I’d have killed that fucker before he shot you!” Unable to stay still, tears streaming down her face, she stood. “I cursed the heavens for not taking that bullet through the heart! How could I face you when I’d failed you?”
Wiping her wet cheeks with the back of her hands, Mercy almost stumbled when Ian placed himself in the way.
“Now, Officer Broussard, sit down, shut up, and listen to me. I swear you’ll hear me out if it’s the last thing I do!”
If anything, she owed him that much, even if it wrecked her soul forever.
Once she was seated, Ian placed himself in front of her. She suspected it was to stop her escaping. “Mercy Broussard, get it through that thick skull of yours that I owe you my life. Without you, my wife would’ve been a widow, and my children would’ve lost their father. I was there. I know what I saw. Did you ever read the final report on the operation?”
Mercy shook her head. “I was in enough trouble after barging in on the rescue. They blamed me and stripped all my commendations.”
“That’s why you left the force?”
“I left because I couldn’t bear not seeing you around, or remaining there, even as part of SWAT. I went back to my family, but it only took a month to remind me why I’d left in the first place. So I traveled for a bit. It seemed the right thing to do.”
“And that’s when you ended up on the West Coast and got that stunt job?”
For the first time, she felt like smiling at the memory. “Your extensive driving techniques paid off for sure. Still helps today. That job was fun while it lasted.”
Ian grinned. “No wonder. Why did you leave?”
“The constant adrenaline was great, but it lacked purpose. I wandered for a while after that until I met Shane Rhodes. We worked together on an unorthodox mission, and I must’ve impressed him because when he founded his security agency, he rang me. I found what had been missing, at least part of it, since NOLA.”
“So, you’re in charge of protecting that young man and his baby?”