Now that the initial panic fest had subsided, to be replaced by the humiliation fest—just another day in the life of Mikayla Steele, screwup—Micki drew a long breath of dewy morning air.

Any chance of walking away from this episode with her dignity intact loomed just out of her reach.

Behind Gage stood her mother’s house and inside that house, Mom was probably getting breakfast ready. That’s what her mother did. She took care of her children. In spite of an absentee husband and four boys who fought like crazy and a daughter who’d run out on her, she’d never failed them.

Inside that house lived sanctuary Micki didn’t deserve.

Gage stepped closer. This time she let him. Fighting wouldn’t work. He was too calm, too thoughtful, too determined.

The weight of her backpack tugged at her shoulders and she slid it off, let it hang from her fingertips for a second before it fell to the ground.

“That’s a good start,” Gage said. “Jonah will be glad you didn’t steal his bike.”

“I wasn’t stealing it. I intended to lock it up in town and text him.”

“Before you tossed your phone?”

Busted. He'd sliced and diced her plan, hadn’t he? “Yes.”

“Ah, Micki. What’s tormenting you?”

Did he have ten years? It would take her that long to list everything. All of it though, could be encapsulated, boiled down to one word. “Phil.”

“Your boss.”

She nodded. “He was in a Mexican jail. He should have been released last night.”

“A Mexican jail. From what I’ve heard, not a stellar place to be.”

“With the things he’s—we’ve—done, he deserves to be there.”

No matter how she liked to distance herself, she’d done just about everything he’d told her to do.

“Why is he in jail?”

How did her once-promising future get to this? Screw it. If she intended to fix it, she’d have to admit what she'd done. Clear her conscience and just get rid of it. “He was smuggling fake passports to a client and got caught.”

“I see. Who was the guy last night? It looked like you knew him.”

“Tomas. He works for Phil. Until last night, I thought he was my friend. The day I left to come here, he went to Mexico to get Phil out. When he left, I bolted. And it was so stupid. I shouldn’t have come, but I had to…say good-bye.”

“Jesus, Micki. You were going off the grid and not telling your family?”

In her mind, it had been a great strategy. When he said it, when she heard it out loud, it sounded awful. “My plan was to stay a day and leave before Phil caught up with me.”

“Why?”

His eyes were too much. Too honest and pure and she'd left honest and pure behind long ago. She looked away. Down at the ground and his sturdy work boots.

“Hey,” he said, tipping her chin up. “It’s okay. Believe me, I’ve seen some brutal shit. You won’t scare me off.”

Then he did it, he wrapped his arms around her. She pressed her face into his chest, inhaled his clean, untainted scent, and a chunk of her resolve disintegrated.

Prince Charming might actually exist.

“You’ll be okay,” he said.

No. She wouldn’t. “I can’t live this life anymore. I’m angry and disgusted and…vacant.”

The words, ones she’d never spoken before, tumbled out and she prepped herself for the next wave of humiliation, that immense weight she could never seem to rid herself of.

Nothing.

Whatever she’d expected never materialized. What she felt now was a massive offload of dead weight, so she breathed through it and let him hold her. Why not? She rested her cheek against him, absorbing his good, solid energy.

“Tell me about Tomas. Did he threaten you?”

His chest rumbled as he spoke and she backed away to look him in the eye. That was the least she could do.

“No. He hit on Evie. He knows messing with my family will get to me. I got mad and blew up his phone.”

Gage laughed. “You blew up his phone? How?”

“I e-mailed him a virus. As soon as he opens that sucker, bye-bye phone. Based on the way he was looking at some giant-boobed redhead, he probably didn't back his files up last night after getting Evie’s number. Then this morning, I sent Phil a video that could create problems for him. I’ve basically declared war. On Phil. Who can be a scary guy.”

“Well,” Gage said, “lucky for you, you’ve got the Steele Army behind you.”

Micki wasn’t buying it. The I-don’t-think-so shake of her head told him so. No matter. He’d stand out here for a week if that’s how long it took to convince her she wasn’t alone. After the past months with Reid’s family, he didn’t doubt they’d help her.

“With everything I’ve put them through,” she said, “I can’t stay here. If I go, if I cut off all communication, Phil can’t use them as pawns. There’d be no point. It’ll be a twisted game, but he’ll know what I’m doing.”

In that respect, her logic was sound. Sound enough for Gage to know that Micki understood Phil’s MO. Still, he cocked his head, thought it through some. “Honey, all due respect, is that the best plan? If this guy is off his stone, he’ll take your family out so he can make a statement.”

She slapped her hands on top of her head and squeezed her eyes closed while she chomped on her bottom lip, rolling it in, then dragging her perfect top teeth against it. If she kept that up, she’d tear the skin straight off.

“I didn’t think about that. How did I miss that?”

“It's all right. You’re all keyed up.”

“I only have one choice.”

Now she was getting on board. Running from this thing wouldn't help. She needed to attack it. Straight on. No prisoners. “Yeah. To stay here.”

Micki's face stretched long, her eyes bugging out. “No! Are you insane? I have to leave. Even if it’s just back to Vegas. I can throw myself on Phil’s mercy. Tell him I screwed up by sending him that video. I don't know. Something. What a mess. I promise you, I’m smarter than this. I was working on emotion. If I’d stopped to think it through…”

“Forget that. No looking back. You went on instinct and that'll save your life. Whatever your setup is with these guys, you have to stay away. No deals. No compromising. If you want a change, make a clean break and deal with the fallout.”

She dropped her hands and opened her eyes again. “They’ll come after me.”

“And you’ll fight back. Whatever you think, you’re not alone. Your family loves you and there are resources now.” He waved back to the building housing his office. “Let’s go to my office and call Reid. Bring him in the loop.”

“Oh, God. I can’t. He already thinks I’m a disaster.”

“Sorry, but I’m involved now and Reid and I were teammates. We’ve been friends for years. If I called one of your other brothers, he’d fry my ass. And I’m not doing that. He gave me a chance with this training center.”

“Great. Now you’re loyal, too?”

He smiled. “Above all else.”

“Leave it to me to find Captain Perfect.”

Far from it. At one time, he’d have sucked that up, gotten a high from it. All his life, he’d strived for that one unattainable thing. Perfection. Somehow it always landed just…out…of… his…reach.

At least until he’d gone off to the Army and figured out the hard way that perfection was overrated. And he’d learned to adjust. To accept less than perfect and make it work anyway.

A gift, really.

“Far from it,” he said. “But if believing that will get you to call Reid, then have at it.”

She stared at him for a long time. No problem there. He'd wait her out. Puffs of her warm breath hit the cold morning air, and it occurred to him that the weather might be his friend right now. A girl used to a warm climate wouldn’t want to be out here long.

“Okay,” she said. “But if he starts screaming, I’m not promising it won’t be a war.”

He leaned in, got right into her space, and this time she didn't flinch or step back. This time, she stayed put. “That’s fine. Besides, it's aces when he makes an idiot of himself.”

She gave him a wilting smile. He'd take it. Coming from her, the stoic one, he’d call it a win.

He gestured to his truck. “Hop in. We'll deal with the bike after I call Reid.”

It took twenty minutes for Reid to leave his fiancé’s warm bed and get his ass back to the Hill. Micki peered out the window as the big man tore up the driveway in his white F-150, parked in front of the training center, and hopped out, slamming the door behind him.

“He looks mad.”

Whatever he and Brynne were doing—cough, cough—on this early Saturday morning, Reid wasn’t happy about being dragged away. Gage couldn’t blame him. Particularly since it had been months since he’d started a weekend with a warm, willing woman under him.

Looking at the alluring Micki Steele might have him ready to change that. “Eh. He’ll get over it.”

Micki snorted. “You’re not afraid of anything, are you?”

“I’m afraid of a lot of things. Your brother isn’t one of them. He was supposed to meet me here at eight thirty anyway, to check a couple of weapons. We just moved up his timeline.”

From the main entrance, the alarm bell chimed, announcing someone’s arrival. That was Gage’s handiwork because he didn’t like locking the door all the time, but didn’t necessarily want people surprising him. His goal these past few months had been to keep his nervous system steady. No high drama, no surprises, no fast movements. Basically, nothing that would hype him up and set back his recovery.

“Suds!” Reid called from the entrance.

“Office!” Gage hollered back.

“Why does he call you that?”

Yeah, he wouldn't be telling her that just yet. No chance. Reid swung in the door and stopped short at the sight of Micki sitting on the windowsill.

“What’s this now? Why the hell is Jonah’s bike sitting by the driveway?”

The bike. Right.

Micki jumped up. “I need to get that back to the barn before he sees it.”

Gage held up a hand. “I got it.”

“Suds, what's this about?”

On his way by, he clapped Reid on the shoulder. “I’ll grab the bike before Jonah throws a fit. Talk to your sister. Don’t interrupt. I nearly had to sit on her to keep her from taking off.”

“That’s why Jonah’s bike is in the driveway?” Reid whipped back to his sister. “Are you out of your mind? He loves that bike.”

Leave it to Reid. Gage shook his head, blew air through his lips, and waved a hand at Micki on his way to the door. “Ignore him.”

On his way by, Gage gave Micki a little extended eye contact. Clearly, he hadn’t forgotten their conversation about the lack of a hello hug and the emotional distance between her and Reid. As if a hug would cure her problems.

That aside, Captain Perfect had just handed her the chance to confide in her brother. To, as he’d put it, come clean. Perhaps smooth out the edges that had plagued their relationship these past years.

As much as she wanted privacy while dealing with Reid, the second Gage left, she wanted him back. What was that about? She’d been on her own for ten years and now suddenly she needed a man? Not likely. Considering the men in her life had brought about her current circumstances.

Still, something about Gage settled her, brought everything into sharper focus. He was so…so…calm. Strategic. Thoughtful.

Clearly suspicious, Reid leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. “What’s up?”

Ha. She’d need a year to bring him up to speed. Certain things, she couldn’t—wouldn’t—admit. Not yet. The past needed to be worked out with Jonah. But right now, she'd be honest about today and moving forward. She met her brother’s gaze. “A lot.”

His stiff shoulders relaxed a fraction. He pushed off the wall, waved her to one of the guest chairs, then sat on the edge of Gage’s desk, his long legs stretched in front of him. “I’ve got time. Brynne tells me I need to talk less and listen more. Which, who the hell knows? Maybe I do. Are you in trouble?”

Of course he’d go there. And of course he’d be right. “I have to leave today.”

“Yeah. You said that yesterday.”

“I don’t expect you to understand.”

“Then we've got no beef because I don’t.”

Micki stared down at her feet and tapped them. “I don’t want to fight.”

“We never fight. In order to do that, we'd have to talk.”

“Exactly.”

“So talk.”

“If I could stay, I would. I just didn’t want to go with us being unsettled. I guess.”

If that admission was supposed to soften him, she might have failed, because all it earned her was a throbbing muscle in his jaw.

“Mikayla, I really don’t get you. Suds didn’t drag me out here so you and I could have a Kumbaya moment. What I think this is about is you and whatever is going on in Vegas. We know this guy you work for is an asshole. You don’t think Jonah looked around on the deep Web for intel on him? Give us some credit. To say your boss’s business dealings are suspect is a monstrous fucking understatement. He’s probably dangerous to boot.”

Deny it.

The thing she’d been so good at for ten years. “I don’t get involved with any violence. I’m a…researcher. He tells me what he needs and I see if I can find it.”

“A researcher. Okay. If that’s what you’re going with, it’s your life.”

Her life. It had never been her life. Her family just didn’t know that. “Yep. My life. One I'm trying to fix by leaving. That's what I was doing when Gage busted me.”

“You were stealing Jonah’s bike to leave here?”

Again with the stealing? “No! I planned on locking it up in town and telling him where it was. I needed a way to get to the bus station. That’s all.”

“Where were you going?”

“I don’t know.”

Reid let out a long sigh and rubbed his cheek hard enough to leave red marks on his unshaved face. “God save me from women.”

From somewhere inside, Micki laughed and it brought her back ten years when she’d spend half her time laughing at stupid things Reid said.

The memory should have made her smile. Should have. Not this time. All it brought was sadness. Loss. Her solid, loving relationships with her siblings, all those years, gone. “I want you to know I’m sorry for doing things that changed us. We always got along and you took care of me. I’m sorry I blew that. Believe me, it wasn't easy.”

“You didn’t blow it. Maybe I can’t figure you out anymore, but you’re my sister and I’ll always love and take care of you.”

But would he like her? And that’s what she wanted. Brynne was right—when Reid loved, he loved hard. But loving and liking someone, well, that was the true accomplishment. One Micki hadn’t achieved.

“I want…”

“What?”

She looked up at him, at her big brother. The one who’d kept the bullies at bay during middle school. The one who’d kicked the crap out of that creep in the seventh grade who'd grabbed her boob in the hallway. After that, no one bothered her.

Ever.

Until Phil. When he'd come along, she’d been complacent, a little too used to her brothers stepping in and taking care of her. As a result, she’d made one critical mistake. She’d never learned the art of battle.

The one thing she needed to know when Phil Flynn showed up.

“I don’t expect help. This was my doing and I’ll take care of it. I just don’t want to hide things from my family anymore.”

“Seriously, I’d welcome that. Look, start at the beginning. I’m not gonna judge or scream or do any of the shit you expect. All I know is I don’t want you running from whatever this is. Not if we can stop it. We’re your family. You’re stuck with us. And if this douchebag in Vegas is hassling you, it’ll get taken care of. You will always have a home here.”

Pressure built in Micki’s chest, trapping her air. Could it be that easy? She didn't want to believe that. Not after all the time spent at a job that left her with zero self-respect. And fear. She couldn't forget about the fear. She clutched at her belly and folded herself forward. A home. Here.

Thankfully, Reid stayed quiet while she clamped on to her composure, willing him not to come near her. Please don't, please don't, please don't. When she heard him get up, she raised one hand. If he tried to console her, she’d come apart. Just an emotional mess that she didn’t want to be.

“Okay.” He sat back down and set his hands on his thighs. “Whenever you’re ready. I’m here.”

For a few seconds, the only noise in the room was the thunk of the furnace Gage had warned her about the day before. Micki didn't mind. It gave her a tiny distraction while she got her thoughts together. Where to begin? Phil in jail. That’s what had kicked this off.

Finally, she sat up, gripped the handles of the chair and focused on her brother. Now or never. “I ran from Vegas on Thursday.”

“Ran?”

“Yes. Phil was arrested in Mexico and Tomas, the other guy who works for Phil, went down there to try and get him released. I was alone in the office and, I don’t know, I’d had enough and I had the chance to leave so”—she shrugged—“I did.”

“You said you ran. Running and leaving are two different things.”

She met his eyes. “I ran.”

Three or four seconds of silence passed between them and she hoped—prayed even—he wouldn't ask too many questions.

“Has he contacted you?”

“Not him. Tomas, though. He found me here. He was in the B last night and I caught him talking to Evie.”

“Son of a bitch.”

“I handled it. I told him I wanted a few days with my family, but that I’d go back. I don’t want to, though. Not if I can help it. The work is—”

Reid held his hands up. “I have an idea of what the work is. I never understood that choice of profession.”

“I had my reasons. Good ones.”

“But you won’t tell me.”

“No. Not yet anyway.”

Not until she told Jonah. He deserved to hear it first.

She stood, walked to the window, and stared out as Gage hopped on Jonah’s bike and rode it to the barn. Such a good guy. Captain America. That was him.

“My thought,” she said, “was to leave this morning and disappear. Phil won’t stop looking for me.” She faced Reid again. “Over the years, Phil insisted on wiping my laptop clean. There are some files I keep on a remote server. Just in case. My own vault of information that would help build a case against Phil Flynn.”

“Smart.”

It was until she e-mailed the most damning of one of those files and tipped him off that her leaving was permanent. Now he'd come after her. After all of them, and the shame whipped at her. “Tomas getting Evie’s number last night was the warning shot.”

“He got her number? What the hell was she thinking?”

“Don’t blame her. He told her he was a friend of mine. Tomas is an operator. Plus, he’s good-looking.”

“Damn, Evie is too trusting. I swear that girl is gonna send me to an early grave. How do we get this guy to lose her number?”

“I took care of it already. I blew up his phone. As long as he didn’t do a backup last night, the number is gone. It’s a temporary solution, though. He’ll be back.”

“Then I guess we’ll have to be ready.”

After killing time returning Jonah’s bike to the barn and grabbing a mug of Miss Joan’s famous pecan coffee, Gage wandered back to what would soon be the Steele Ridge Training Academy and spotted Reid heading up to the house.

Were he and Micki done? Ten years of distance and they’d wrapped that mess up already? No way.

Reid detoured and they met in the expanse of grass midway between the house and the training center. “Everything okay?”

“Hell,” Reid said, “I don’t know. She fill you in?”

Tricky business right here. Admitting too much might not be good for sibling relations. Really, this was Micki’s problem and she needed to handle it the way she saw fit. “Not everything. She was hauling ass when I pulled in, though. I figured something was up and stopped her.”

“I can’t believe she’d do that to us. To our mother. Even for her, that’s a stretch. Usually she says good-bye.” Reid leaned in, brought his face close to the mug Gage held. “Damn, that smells good.”

“Take it. I’ll get another one.”

Clearly not feeling guilty about relieving Gage of his coffee, Reid snatched the mug up and took a healthy swig.

“Micki is scared,” Gage said. “She thought leaving would draw her boss’s fire away from here. Her logic is twisted, but she meant well.”

“So she thinks she's gonna take this guy on herself? She’s delusional.” Reid shook his head. “When we were younger, I was crazy about her. She was edgy and smart and funny. Total badass with a computer. Then something happened during her and Jonah’s senior year and the Micki we knew disappeared. Not physically, but she was gone. Now I don’t know who the fuck she is.”

“But she needs help.”

“And my mother wants her back in Steele Ridge.”

Two exceptional reasons to make sure she stayed. “What do you want to do?”

Reid took another long, enviable swig of coffee, making Gage regret handing it over.

Coffee now drained, Reid casually waved the mug. “I don’t know. She wanted a few minutes. I’m giving her space while I talk to Jonah. She’s sitting on Mom’s bench.”

Gage swung back to the glass and gray stone building that housed his office and spotted Micki, head down, hands braced against the marble bench that welcomed visitors. The front of the building needed additional landscaping, but they’d gotten things rolling with the bench and the plaque dedicating the training center to Miss Joan.

“Listen,” Reid said, “thanks for helping with Micki. If you hadn’t shown up this morning, she’d have bolted on us and we’d be wondering what the hell happened. And, Christ on a cracker, she was gonna leave a ten-thousand-dollar bike locked up to a lamppost. Jonah would have shit himself.”

Gage snorted. “No problem.”

“Dude, I hate to drag your ass into our family drama, but I may need your strategic mind to deal with Phil Flynn. This guy is all kinds of an asshole.”

A sweet burst of dopamine that Gage had learned to thrive on flooded his system. His entire life, he’d been addicted to that feeling, that high that no drug would ever give him.

“No sweat. Whatever you need.”

“Thanks. Right now I want breakfast and to think this through. I’m sensing a family meeting happening. Soon.”

Taking the mug with him, Reid marched up the back steps leading to his mother’s kitchen and Gage decided he was one hell of a friend for giving up his coffee on a morning like this. Having been away from his own family and their issues, phone calls aside, the drama had drained him. Already he needed a damned nap. Or a few mindless minutes in his office to close his eyes and let his brain rest. To recharge.

First he had to get by Micki.

From her spot on the bench, she watched him approach, her hazel eyes more than a little spooked. “I wanted to see Mom’s bench. It’s beautiful.” She dragged a gentle hand over the surface of the marble. “Beautiful and strong. Just like her.”

“Exactly what the guys were going for.”

“They did well. As usual.”

And, oh boy. He wouldn’t comment on the unveiled bitterness in her tone. “Uh-huh.”

Micki seemed to shift. Wait. No. Not her. Him. Whoa. His body swayed and he drove his heels into the ground for balance. If he fell over, he'd freaking kill himself. Right here. Damned dizziness. He closed his eyes, drew a breath. Come on. Not right now. A few seconds. That's all this would last. But if he didn’t get ten minutes alone to shut his brain down, the dizziness would go on all day.

He opened his eyes, thankful for a seemingly stationary Micki. She stared up at him with that head-cocked, studious gaze people had employed around him lately. Everyone wanted to know what the hell was wrong with him.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m good. I get dizzy sometimes.”

What? For months he’d been hiding the brain injury, telling no one. Not his family, not even Reid. How fair that was to the guy, Gage constantly asked himself. Reid had given him a job, a chance to rebound from his blown career, and in return he'd lied about his mental condition. A lie by omission, but a lie was a lie was a lie.

Sure, Reid had caught him plenty of times with his head back and eyes closed. Being the man he was, he didn’t press it. He’d simply asked if he felt all right and invited Gage to talk anytime.

Gage didn’t want to talk. He wanted his brain in working order so he could see his family and still be the son and brother they knew.

Until then, he’d stay away.

“Gage?”

He hit her with a flashing smile. “Sorry. Tired today. How’d it go with Reid?”

“I guess okay.”

“Forgive me if I don’t believe you. What with that enthusiastic answer.”

“I said what I needed to. It’s a process with him.”

“Everything is.”

“You do know him,” she said.

“When you go into battle with someone you learn a lot. Fast.”

He wouldn’t talk war stories, though. War stories led to his purple heart and a gunshot wound that had healed and a brain that hadn’t.

Micki stood, stared down at the bench a second, then faced him. “Thank you.”

“For?”

“Trying to help. You don’t even know me, and yet it feels like we’re old friends.”

“Your brother and I are old friends. And I’m nuts about your mother. I’ll do whatever I can for anyone in this family.”

“I’m afraid they’ll get hurt.”

“I get that. Believe me. From the time I was a kid, my dad pummeled it into my head that I needed to take care of my sisters. In a lot of ways, it’s what drives me. But the thing is, they’re adults now. As adults, they’re entitled to make their own decisions. If they decide they’ll help you, you should let them. That’s what family does.”

She looked up at him, holding her hand over her eyes to block the shifting sun. “I guess I’ve been on my own too long.”

“Maybe that needs to change.”