Angelino Heights
Los Angeles
“Come in, Brax. We’ve been waiting for you.”
Charles Garrett opened the door wide and stood aside for him to enter. When he crossed the threshold, Valentine saw Raine’s mother, Clare. She stood down a hallway with her body darkened by shadows. He set down his bag and waited for her to come toward him. When she stepped into the light, he saw the grief etched on her face and the heartache in her eyes.
With his heart pounding, Brax stood in silence and waited for what she would say as Charles joined his wife and put his arm around her.
Clare reached out to take his hand. Valentine dropped his chin and took her fingers in his. Unable to look her in the face, he stared at her nails and the length of her fingers. He studied her wrist as if he could spend a lifetime doing it.
When he finally looked up, his gaze shifted to her eyes and lingered. He trailed a finger down her cheek and wiped away a streak of wetness from her face with his thumb.
“You gave her your hands…and your eyes. Now I know who to thank.”
Clare choked on a sob and pressed fingers to her lips.
“Thank you for loving our daughter.”
Those words tore at his heart. He felt the sting of tears and didn’t fight it.
“She cherished you,” Raine’s mother said. “You made her the happiest she’d ever been.”
“The police said you saved all those people,” Charles said. “If you hadn’t been there, it could’ve been worse.”
Brax shook his head.
“But I couldn’t save her.”
“Oh no, honey. Don’t say that.”
Clare held her arms open and waited for him to fill them. When he lowered his head, unable to look her parents in the eye or accept their kindness, both of them came to him.
“It wasn’t your fault, Braxton. We were just thankful she had you with her. She’d taken that train before, coming to see us. You know how she hated to fly.”
She died because of me, he wanted to scream, but he didn’t. It would’ve been too painful for them to hear.
“This could’ve happened another time, without you there,” her mother said. “Our little girl would’ve died scared…and alone.”
Brax leaned into her arms and held Raine’s mother as a flood of memories hit him hard. When her father stroked the back of his head, Brax sensed Raine’s spirit with them.
“You’ll always be part of our family, son.” The man’s voice cracked. “Always.”
The affection would’ve given anyone comfort, but not Valentine. He hurt worse than if they had shunned him. Because of him, Raine had been put into danger. Because he let her love him, her days had been numbered.
Brax wanted to confess what had really happened. He owed them the truth, but he didn’t have the strength for it now. He let time slip through his fingers as softly as sand, holding onto Raine’s memory with her parents, until Clare pulled from his arms.
“We have you upstairs in her old room,” she said. “Raine called it her ‘time capsule.’ We thought you might want to see it, but if you’d like another room, we understand.”
Brax wiped his eyes and forced a smile.
“No, that would be perfect. Of course I want to see her room.”
Anything that brought him closer to her, he craved the intimacy, even in death. He’d only had a precious year with her, when he’d wanted to spend the rest of his life. Raine’s death had caused a volatile swell of emotions from self-loathing to the sheer joy of having known her.
He felt unworthy of her love, yet at the same time, blessed that their lives had crossed at all.
“Thank you for bringing her home. Come on. I’ll show you to…your room.”
Raine’s mother reached out her hand and Brax took it.
***
Our Lady of Angels Church
Days later
1:00 p.m.
Organ music played softly inside as Brax paced the sidewalk in front of the church. People dressed in black had packed the pews and were still filing through the entrance. He couldn’t breathe in the crush of humanity with everyone staring at him. The fiancé.
He had his hands in the pockets of his slacks, his fingers touching a small burgundy velvet box he’d brought from San Antonio when he thought he understood what forever meant. Brax had wanted to surprise Raine by showing their wedding bands to her parents on her birthday.
That wouldn’t happen now.
He wore his ring today. In his mind they were already married. Before they closed the casket and buried her in the ground, Brax would slip her wedding band on Raine’s finger when he said good-bye for the last time. With his stomach twisting at the proposition of going back into the church, he stared at the cars lining the road.
Parked down the street, a dark van without windows raised the hairs on the back of his neck. He took a step toward the curb to cross the road, but a voice stopped him.
“Braxton?”
He turned to see a tall slender woman, wearing a black dress and heels, calling out to him from the steps in front of the church. Her caramel colored skin set off her large hazel eyes and her straight dark hair wafted in the breeze as she walked up to him. Brax had seen her face before, in photo albums Raine had shown to him.
“The Garretts sent me to get you. They’re about ready to start.” The young woman extended her hand. “Hi, my name is Bella Duran. I’m Raine’s best friend, since we were in elementary school. I’ll be giving the eulogy.”
Brax liked that she used the present tense when she spoke of Raine. In the human heart, love stayed, sustained by memories. He spoke of Raine in the present, too—and he loved holding on to her for as long as he could—but something more struck him whenever he talked about their life together. Since Raine’s death, he couldn’t stop saying the word ‘we.’
‘We love sushi.’
‘We’re camping this weekend.’
‘We’ll meet you for drinks.’
He wasn’t a ‘we’ anymore, but he couldn’t stop saying it. It felt too right to quit. Brax would have to find his way back to ‘I’ and he hated the prospect of cutting Raine from his life, betrayed by his own word choice. Not even death should be able to do that.
Brax glanced over his shoulder at the van. No license plate. Tinted windows were too dark to see inside.
“Sorry we had to meet like this.” He took her hand and heaved a sigh. “Raine spoke of you often.”
Bella smiled.
“We spent hours of girl time talking about you.” Her eyes welled with tears. “Are you ready to go inside?”
“No, but lead the way.”
He followed Bella into the church, after one last look over his shoulder at the mystery van.
Valentine knew enough about the De La Cruz cartel to know they wouldn’t let go of their failed attempt to kill him. Raine had always wanted her family to become his. That could never happen now. The quicker he left the Garretts in peace, the safer they would be—and the sooner he could hunt Mateo De La Cruz to kill him, the man who had ordered the hit.
***
Mia, Valentine is heading back into the church. You’ll see him in three, two, one.
Faith Halloran sent Mia Romeo a psychic message. She had Mia positioned inside the church in a seat near an exit.
Yeah, I see him, Faith. The family sent someone to get him. I’ve got nothing on the cartel so far.
Mia wanted visuals on the family and to scan the minds for harmful visions from anyone attending Raine Garrett’s funeral, to determine if the cartel would do the unthinkable—to attack Valentine at the burial of the woman he loved. On Mia’s end, no news was good news.
Keep a low profile, Faith told Mia. We don’t want him spotting you and recognizing a familiar face from the train.
Down the block from Our Lady of Angels Church, Faith sat behind the wheel in a navy sedan. She worried over Mia taking a chance of being recognized in the church by Valentine, but Mia had insisted and Faith understood her need to attend the service. She had witnessed the carnage on the train.
Faith reached into a canvas bag of gear tossed onto the empty passenger seat beside her. Her armed surveillance crew from Phoenix had spread out on foot, positioned at strategic spots around the church. They were there to protect the family, to allow them to grieve without worrying about cartel retribution, but the Phoenix Agency had to set up a way to track Valentine if they were going to use him as a lure to draw out the elusive Mateo De La Cruz.
“Anyone get a license off the dark van down the street? Can we run plates?” Faith used binoculars for a closer look, but the tinted windows gave her nothing of the driver or anyone inside.
“No tags, front or back. If I were a betting man, I’d say we have company.” The voice of Mark Halloran came over the com unit Faith had in her ear. “The cartel is watching who shows for the funeral. They’re messing with Valentine.”
Mark had positioned himself in the cemetery behind the church, pretending to be a groundskeeper. He had a view of the tail end of the van, which meant the vehicle couldn’t be identified. Not a good sign.
“If anyone moves from that vehicle, I want to know about it.”
“You got it,” Mark said.
When Faith’s cell pinged with a text, she glanced at a cryptic message from Mike D’Antoni—one of the five partners who had started the Phoenix Agency—and clenched her jaw.
I’m here. Heading in now.
Mike had balls of steel.
***
Angelino Heights
Los Angeles
Outside the home of Charles and Clare Garrett, Mike D’Antoni sat in a large panel van watching the people coming and going from a pristine Victorian home in a quaint historic area of Los Angeles. In a backpack, he had special gear from his days working with covert CIA ops, but what would get him in the door was a case of bottled water.
Once he stepped out of his rental vehicle, he had to act like he belonged.
Friends of the Garretts were working inside the house, preparing for the wake that would follow. Food and flower deliveries had foot traffic going in and out of the house. He would just be one more service provider.
“Heading in. Sound check in ten.” Mike spoke up loud enough for his team partner, Dan Romeo, to hear him.
Dan sat in the rear compartment of D’Antoni’s rental, ready to initiate the audio system in the cargo hold.
“Nothing fancy, hot shot,” Dan said. “Get in, get out.”
“Copy that.”
Mike texted Faith and got to work. With his gear slung over a shoulder, he hoisted the case of water in his arms and headed through the front door, looking for the kitchen. He kept his head down and placed the supply on a counter before he bounded up the stairs, as if he had the right.
No one had seen him dash up to the second floor. He was alone.
Within ten minutes, he had wired surveillance into the guest room of Braxton Valentine, and for good measure, he had another wire planted in the parent’s bedroom.
“Testing, testing,” he muttered into the listening device.
“Coming in loud and clear.” Dan’s voice came through D’Antoni’s com unit. “Now get out of there.”
Without the ability to mentally read Valentine, they had to resort to old school surveillance tactics. If Valentine had a second sense, he might pick up on another psychic, but wiring the house for sound would get the job done without the risk of getting caught. They could protect the Garretts and Valentine’s backside in the process.
D’Antoni walked with authority down the Garrett’s stairs with a gear bag on his shoulder. When he hit the landing, he straightened a crooked framed photo hanging on the wall—a beautiful picture of Raine Garrett. Mike thought of his fiancée, Kat, and commiserated with the grief Valentine must be feeling.
He would kill anyone who hurt Kat—and no one would find the body.
***
Our Lady of Angels Church
Flowers in all shapes and sizes and colors adorned the altar near Raine’s body and scented the air of the church. Despite the family’s wishes to have donations made to her favorite children’s charities in lieu of flowers, people who loved her must’ve done both.
Brax sat in the front pew next to Charles and Clare Garrett and stared at her open casket. A priest read passages from the bible, a woman sang, and a teacher friend shared moving stories of Raine that broke his heart. He wanted to be with her to the end—like a lost and grieving dog unable to leave its master—but he felt like a hypocrite.
You’re dead because of me. Why wasn’t it me who took that bullet?
The muscle memory of his arms still held her dead body. He remembered smelling her perfume mixed with the coppery aroma of her blood.
Too much blood.
Mired in grief, he barely heard Bella Duran’s name as the priest introduced her for Raine’s eulogy. He bowed his head and closed his eyes—wishing he could turn back time—but something in Bella’s voice touched him.
She sounded like Raine.
When he looked up, Bella stared at him and he couldn’t take his eyes off her.
“I loved Raine like a sister. Today we had plans to celebrate her birthday, but if you knew Raine, she thought her birthdays were meant to give gifts to the people she loved.”
Soft laughter echoed in the church, along with sobs.
“She intended to give her mother a special locket. Inside is a photo of Raine and Braxton.” Bella held the locket in her trembling fingers. “But the real gift came in an unexpected way…in the card she had written to her mother before she died. With Charles and Clare’s permission, I’ll read Raine’s message.”
Brax never read the card Raine had written on the train. After authorities took her personal belongings, he never got the chance. A tear trailed down his cheek and his soul ached from missing her as Bella read her words.
It was as if Raine were with them now.
“Dear Mom. See this man in your locket, I love him like you cherish daddy. Take him into your heart like I did. Daddy will find the son he secretly always wanted, so he’s not outnumbered. And you’ll get to know the good, strong man who loves your only daughter more than his own life. Brax has made me happier than I ever believed I could be, mom. I can’t wait for our future to begin. Love you forever, Raine.”
Brax lowered his chin and let his tears fall. People touched him, but he’d already grown numb. He didn’t deserve their comfort.
***
The church service for Raine left Mia mourning someone she’d never met. The outpouring of love from family and friends left her emotionally drained, especially after Mia saw Valentine place a wedding ring on Raine’s finger and saw he wore his band. She wanted to be happy that Raine and Brax had found each other, but violence had ended their happiness.
That broke Mia’s heart for both of them.
After the priest ended the celebration of Raine’s life, he called up the pallbearers to escort the coffin from the altar to the cemetery behind the church where she would be buried.
Mia wanted to stay, but she had a job to do.
No cartel at the service. I’m heading out. Meet you at the car. Mia sent a telepathic message to Faith and grabbed her purse to leave.
She hadn’t intended to stay for the whole service, but she couldn’t take her eyes off Braxton Valentine, especially after hearing the eulogy of Raine’s own words. At the end of the proceedings as they rolled out the casket, Charles and Clare Garrett walked solemnly behind the pallbearers and Valentine followed with his head down. He looked lost and physically exhausted. Mia guessed he probably hadn’t slept much.
Mia stood as the coffin rolled by, like the others in her pew, but as Braxton drew closer he glanced up and his sudden move startled her. She hadn’t expected him to notice her since she hadn’t sat on the aisle of the church. When he fixed his gaze on her, something in his eyes sent a clear message that he’d singled her out for a reason.
He didn’t try to mentally communicate to her in words. Maybe he couldn’t, but his eyes had conveyed enough—a mix of sadness and fierce resentment for the intrusion. Had he deliberately intimidated her, for the safety of the Garrett family? She didn’t know him well enough to say.
He looked straight at me. I don’t know what his powers are, but he’s definitely got something. Mia sent another message to Faith and fought to keep the emotion out of her meaning.
I thought you weren’t going to let him see you. Faith kept her message calm and steady. They were both fascinated by Valentine and it showed.
That was the plan. I didn’t know how he could’ve remembered me, but he made sure I noticed his attention. Mia turned and walked toward the nearest exit sign.
As she headed out a side door, Mia felt an oppressive weight at her back, as if she were being watched. When she turned, she noticed Valentine had his eyes on her from the church vestibule. He leaned toward the young woman who’d given the eulogy. If Mia had to guess, he’d probably asked if she recognized her. When the young woman shrugged, Valentine kept his eyes fixed on Mia until she left the building.
His stare had been intense, compounded by something else.
Her fear that he had somehow tagged her mentally seemed more real, but why would he have done it? She hadn’t threatened him or the Garretts. If he had probed her mind without her knowing it, what would he have seen? Her memories from the Phoenix Agency could be misunderstood.
She could appear to be an enemy, but when her worries gave way to the tingle of a vision, she let it come.
In a stab of mental reflections, Mia lost her sight after she stepped through the door of the church into the daylight. Her eyesight had been replaced with glimmers between shadows and the dull throb of a headache. Her world had turned dark and she couldn’t move. She pressed her back against a hard surface and shut her eyes to embrace the onslaught of her vision.
She expected something stark and terrible, but that didn’t happen.
Mia saw Valentine holding Raine in his arms as they danced in a lovely spring shower. They were both drenched and didn’t care. As the music played in the recesses of Mia’s mind, she heard Valentine’s low voice whispering Spanish in her ear. He caressed Raine’s body as if she were rare and precious. Mia didn’t know if Raine spoke the language, but no woman would need to. Braxton loved her with every ounce of his being.
When the song stopped, he took Raine’s face in both his hands and kissed her, deep. He took his time and made love to her with his mouth. Mia warmed with the intimacy between Braxton and Raine.
When he dropped to a knee and reached into his pocket for a small burgundy velvet box, Mia didn’t have to hear him speak to know the moment Brax had asked Raine to be his wife.
A tear slid down Mia’s cheek and her stomach clenched with the heft of his grief and regret. As fast as the image came, it left her with an overwhelming sense of loss in its sudden wake. He had lost everything when Raine died. If Mia hadn’t put words to that feeling, she understood it now.
Had she seen into his past on her own? If she did, why had her vision been that moment? What purpose would it serve, other than to give her insight into his profound misery? It seemed like something deeply personal that should’ve remained between the two of them.
Mia stood on the steps outside the church and leaned against the closed door, taking a deep breath. Braxton Valentine worried her. The death of his beloved fiancée had stirred a powerful sadness in him that she sensed. It was beyond grief.
From his extreme skills on the train and what Mia had learned about him, Valentine had existed in a violent world and knew how to survive in it, but he’d given that up for Raine. Without her love to give him hope, what would he have now? If he didn’t have the will to live without her, he could turn into a very dangerous man, bent on revenge. Maybe he already had.
She prayed it wouldn’t get him killed…or anyone on her team.
***
Angelino Heights
Los Angeles
Out of obligation and for the sake of Raine’s parents, Brax wandered through the crowd of people who packed the Garrett house after the church service. Tense and unable to focus, he felt trapped like a caged animal. Everyone tried to feed him, but he declined. If someone tried to engage him, the conversation turned one-sided fast.
Stranger’s hands reached out to touch him. They called him a hero to his face and behind his back. As part of a team on a mission, he never thought of himself as a hero. Ever. After what happened on the train with Raine dying because of him, he had grown to resent every comforting touch and the platitudes that meant nothing. The last thing anyone should call him was ‘hero.’
Valentine’s eyes shifted to the windows and the doors of the Garrett home on instinct. Something didn’t feel right.
The woman at the church, the one with the familiar face, had put him on edge. She didn’t belong. He didn’t have to know her name or get confirmation from Bella that the stranger fit in. His gut told him otherwise.
Brax stood by a picture window and stared at the vehicles on the street. It took him a minute to realize he had a reason—he searched for the dark van.
“How are you holding up, son?” The voice of Charles Garrett came from behind him and forced him to turn.
He only shrugged and said, “I’m not. What about you and Clare? This must be impossible for both of you.”
“It is, but it helps to have friends and family here. If you want to slip out, feel free to go to your room and rest. I’m sure you could use it.”
“I can’t sleep.” Brax’s eyes shifted to the street and the cars again. “But I could use some time alone. Thanks for understanding.”
Before Brax headed for the stairs, Charles opened his arms and hugged him in a move that took him by surprise.
“Thank you for loving my baby,” the man whispered.
Brax shut his eyes and fought the emotion that squeezed his throat.
***
Behind the closed doors of Raine’s bedroom, Valentine slumped onto a corner of the mattress holding a framed photo of her with Bella Duran when they must’ve been in high school. They double dated to the prom. He gazed at a bookshelf where paperbacks with dogged pages and creased spines had been dusted with care. Everywhere he looked, Brax was surrounded by Raine’s life and he couldn’t get enough.
He had wanted to share Raine’s memories with her and hear all her silly stories again, the ones that always made him laugh. That wouldn’t happen now.
Brax set the photo down on the nightstand and walked toward her bedroom window to gaze down the street. When he caught a glimpse of the dark van parked a block from the Garrett home, the same one from the church, anger swelled inside him.
Bastards! It had to be the cartel. They were sending him a message that they were coming for him and those he loved. Once he left Los Angeles, he could go off the grid. He’d done it before, but the Garretts would be at risk. The cartel knew where to find them.
Brax had to end this. His way.
He pulled his cell phone from his slacks pocket and sent a text. Within minutes he had a reply—and a plan.
After dark, he would say his good-byes to the Garretts. When he told them the truth about why Raine died, he wouldn’t be welcomed in their home again. With severed ties, he would lure the cartel from the Garretts’ door and let the cartel find him.
Mateo De La Cruz would know without a doubt—there would be no more games—but first he had a message for the notorious crime boss.
Brax shrugged out of his jacket, pulled off his tie and tossed it onto the bed. With his chest heaving, he bounded down the stairs and weaved through people until he yanked open the front door and ran toward the van—unarmed.
Clare Garrett called after him, but Brax didn’t stop.
When the driver behind the dark windshield saw Brax racing for him, he started the engine and hit the gas, burning rubber as the vehicle fishtailed. The van barreled toward Brax as he stood in the middle of the road.
Protect and defend—Valentine refused to back down.