Forever Devoted Page 4

  That stopped him. Damn right it should. It was his family’s fault for the rift, not hers.

  “Then why did you curse if it wasn’t because we’re the dreaded Faulkners?” Gavin asked, confused.

  “First a priest and then my own cousin,” Layne muttered as she buried her face in her hands.

  “Okay, I’m confused.”

  Layne peeked over her fingertips at her cousin. “I hit on a priest without knowing he was one. Now I’m flirting with my own cousin. My family is never going to let me live this down.”

  Gavin’s lips twitched as he fought the smile.

  “Go on, give in,” Layne said, letting the humor of the situation outweigh the embarrassment.

  Gavin tossed his head back and laughed long and hard. Layne’s own lips turned upward as she shook her head. “I swear, I have the worst luck, and I will do whatever it is you need my help with if you swear you won’t tell anyone about what just happened.”

  Gavin stopped laughing and held out his hand. “Deal.” They shook and Layne looked back into the restaurant to see Luke pretending not to watch. “But what you do mean by ‘my grandfather’s fault’? Great-Grammy always told us Great-Aunt Marcy chose her husband over her family and didn’t want anything to do with us.”

  Layne’s head shook automatically. “That’s not what happened. Great-Grandma hated Marcy. She was cruel to her. She constantly berated her and told her she wasn’t important. Uncle Scott and Uncle Kevin were what mattered. My grandmother had fallen in love with my grandfather and Great-Grandma didn’t care. She just expected my grandmother to leave the love of her life because your grandfather got married or something. For the first time in her life, my grandmother didn’t give in and do what was expected of her. She married my grandfather the second she turned eighteen. They’ve been together ever since. They had five sons and one daughter. My dad, Miles, is the oldest of the six children.”

  Gavin was quiet for a moment as he took in what she said. Layne wondered if he’d argue with her, but hearing what little she had, Layne was willing to bet their great-grandmother had caused the rift and kept it going, either for attention or to feel superior. Layne didn’t know which, but her grandmother had described her mother as a very cruel-hearted woman who believed only sons had value. Layne and her cousins had always thought it an exaggeration, but now she wasn’t so sure.

  “It sounds as if there is a lot of family history that needs to be cleared up, but now isn’t the time to hash it out.” Gavin paused and looked back at Luke sitting in the open restaurant across the lobby. “I hate to keep your date waiting, but this is of a pressing nature.”

  Layne pulled out her cell phone and sent Luke a text to eat without her. She promised him she’d see him in an hour and then looked at her cousin. “I’m all yours for an hour. Tell me about this case.”

  5

  Layne should have seen the family resemblance. Gavin looked a lot like Ryan and Wyatt, except he had green eyes instead of Grandpa Jake’s hazel ones. He even carried himself with utter confidence like her cousins did.

  “You say it was untreated for two weeks?” Layne asked as they stood in the Charleston heat. Tourists, Citadel cadets, and locals walked by as they talked. A man played a saxophone a block away on the steps of one of the many historical churches. Even though Layne wanted to listen and enjoy her time in this great city, Gavin’s case had captured her interest.

  “Yes. He, um, was on a vessel that didn’t have a surgeon. But he was treated as best as he could have been.”

  Layne rolled her eyes. “Look, Gavin, I know you don’t know me and probably distrust me based on our family history, but I know the military. I know classified information, and I know injuries. I also know that while you’re not lying to me, you’re leaving some very important details out. You may think I’m some hick from Kentucky, but I can say with certainty, whatever it is this man has gone through, there is absolutely no way it’ll shock me.”

  Gavin was quiet as he glanced down the street. Layne followed his eyes to a convertible and a man leaning against it. The man didn’t look military, which told her he was special ops. His sable brown hair was similarly windblown to her cousin’s and his muscled arms were crossed over a very muscled chest. Plus he was favoring his left leg.

  “Or we could just go ask him,” Layne suggested.

  Gavin shot her a look and then back to the man. “How did you know?”

  “Like I said, my dad and two uncles were Special Forces. My guess has always been Delta Force. Another uncle was a spy. I have a whole bunch of neat tricks up my sleeves. I’ll help him, but I need the truth.”

  The man’s head turned toward her in that instant, and his electric blue eyes pinned her to where she stood. Layne wouldn’t have been able to move if her life depended on it. She surveyed the man as much as he surveyed her before he looked away.

  “Then let’s go meet him, but I have to have your word you won’t tell anyone about him. Not Luke, not someone asking questions at the conference, not a police officer who pulls you over for speeding. No one,” Gavin said, grabbing her hands and making her look at him.

  “You have my word, Gavin. And to me, that means everything.”

  * * *

  Walker had thought Dr. Davies was attractive in her picture. In real life, she took his breath away. She looked back to Gavin, and then a second later they headed toward him. Walker guessed the good doctor was in.

  He pushed himself off of the car and grimaced as the muscles in his leg knotted up. His leg worked, but it hurt, and especially after being in the trunk for part of the trip to Charleston. He only hoped the doc was half as talented as she was beautiful then he’d be ready to take on Jud in no time.

  “I haven’t told Dr. Davies anything yet,” Gavin called out when they got within ten feet. “I’m leaving it up to you if you want to or not. She does believe she can help you.”

  “Where’s the injury?” she asked. Her voice was light, with just a hint of a southern accent but full of confidence. The way she asked the question sounded more like an order, and Walker found himself answering automatically.

  “Hmm, can you roll your pant leg up that high? I’d like to talk a look at it,” Dr. Davies said, not taking her eyes off his leg. She took in the way he was favoring it, the way he wobbled, and the way he grimaced.

  “It’s a little high for that, Doc.”

  Her eyes flew up to his, and Walker saw the similarities to her Shadows Landing cousins. While her eyes were hazel, what green was in them was the same color as Gavin’s. “How rude of me. I haven’t introduced myself. Layne Davies,” she said, holding out her hand. Walker paused, not knowing if he should use his real name or not. “My father was Special Forces if that helps you decide if you want to use your real name or not. I know how to keep a secret.”

  That both reassured Walker and worried him, but everything about Layne Davies screamed trustworthy. He didn’t doubt for one second she could keep his identity a secret. But did he really want to drag her into something so dangerous?

  “Okay, how about this,” Layne started, “let me examine you and see what we’re working with. You be honest with me about that, and I’ll be honest with you about recovery. Then, if you feel more comfortable with me, you can tell me your name and what kind of trouble you’re in. I will tell you, I won’t blink an eye at whatever it is. I may not be a soldier, but I’ve seen plenty of action.”

  “In Kentucky?” Gavin asked as if she were telling a joke.

  Layne smiled slowly and suddenly Walker worried about embarrassing himself if he had to take off his pants in front of her.

  “Oh, you have no idea how much goes on in Keeneston,” she said with a smile that made him think he was on the outside of an inside joke.

  “You have a deal, Dr. Davies,” Walker said.

  “Layne, please. Is there anywhere we can go for an exam? I would offer my hotel room, but I rented a beach house on the Isle of Palms.”

  Gavin nodded.
“Yeah, my cousin Ryker has an office a couple blocks away. We can go there.”

  “Gav,” Walker warned. Ryker owned a shipping company along the Cooper River just a mile from downtown. And right now shipping companies were being searched for one Walker Greene.

  “He has an office on Bay Street,” Gavin said reassuringly, and Walker nodded. That would be very close and not as watched as the shipping yards.

  “Then let’s go. It’ll be fun to meet a new cousin,” Layne said with something near excitement and worry. If what Walker heard this morning were true, Ryker was the last cousin Layne should meet. Even Harper would be nicer.

  * * *

  Layne reminded herself to breathe as she followed Gavin to his cousin’s office. The soldier struggled next to her, but Layne knew better than to offer assistance. Soldiers like him would see it as an insult.

  “Here we are,” Gavin said as he pushed open a dark green door along the bluestone sidewalk in historic Charleston. The old house converted to offices was painted a Charleston blue/green color and a white sign hanging on iron over the door read Faulkner Shipping. “Don’t worry about Ryker. He’s usually at the shipping yard at this time of the morning.”

  “Yet here I am.”

  Layne tore her eyes from the historic maps of Charleston Harbor lining the entranceway to see a pair of cold green eyes narrowed at her. This was a man used to getting his way. A strict man who held his power in his coldness. Too bad for him, his stare had nothing on her father’s.

  “Hello, cousin!” Layne smiled extra wide just to needle him. She wasn’t one to run and enjoyed the momentary shock in Ryker’s face.

  Layne was pretty sure Gavin’s mouth hit the floor as she wrapped her arms around a frozen Ryker Faulkner. Her head only came to his chest, but she squeezed for all she was worth and discovering, contrary to his icy demeanor, Ryker was, in fact, warm-blooded.

  “I’m Layne Davies, your cousin from Kentucky. It’s so great to meet you.” Layne smiled as she stepped back from Ryker. “But, now I need an office to examine my patient, so we’ll have to play catch-up later.” Layne patted his shoulder, grabbed the soldier by the hand, hauled him past a stunned secretary and into what she guessed was Ryker’s personal office, and shut the door on her cousins. Not that being alone in a room with the soldier let her breathe any easier, but Layne turned off her hormones as she set her bag on the massive mahogany desk.

  “Okay, mister. Take off your pants and have a seat. Let me see what kind of injury we’re working with.” Layne kept her back turned as she dug through her bag for a pair of latex gloves. She could tell he stood still for a moment before deciding to trust her. She heard his pants hit the floor and her face flushed. Taking a deep breath and putting on a clinical eye, Layne turned around.

  The man sat in the dark brown leather chair with his injured leg outstretched. Layne’s eyes went straight to the wound. In seconds, she was on her knees in front of him manipulating his leg this direction and that. The soldier would never tell her what hurt, but she could read his body well enough to get all the answers she needed.

  “No fever?” Layne asked as she felt the muscles and soft tissue around the injury.

  “Not anymore. The injury was three weeks ago. It was unattended for one week. By that time it was infected, and I was delirious. I was then able to get treatment. The wound was cleaned, and I was put on antibiotics. However, Gavin had to go back in and remove some debris that was preventing healing. He’s done that and now I’m good to go.”

  Layne gave a brief chuckle under her breath. “You’re not good to go. You’re alive. But you need a lot of work on this leg to get it back to full use. I’ll start with a compression wrap, then you’ll need massage, specific exercises, stretching, and electrotherapy. You’ve had severe muscle damage at the wound site and your leg muscles have begun to atrophy.”

  “Can you help me? I need to get back to fighting shape.”

  Layne stood and looked down at him. “I can help you, but you have to help me. I need your name, who you are getting back into fighting shape to kill, and why it looks like you were shot by a military weapon. I’m guessing it was friendly fire since you’re not reporting it and sitting in a base hospital somewhere getting treatment.”

  “It was anything but friendly,” he muttered. “And I should warn you, if you’re found helping me it could be trouble for you. It’s only fair to let you walk away when all I can do is bring danger to your door.”

  “Then you picked the right doctor. Danger is something I can handle.”

  The man looked down to her soul. He searched her out and after several long seconds he seemed to see Layne was telling the truth. Her father had trained her for danger her whole life, and the threat of it only made her more determined to help.

  “Then I’ll take you up on it, doc. My name is Walker Greene.”

  6

  The pretty doctor probably didn’t mean to gasp, but she did. “You’re supposed to be dead.” Before he could reply with a smartass comment, he saw the wheels turning in her head. “Jud Melville tried to kill you,” she stated as if it was clear as day.

  Once again this woman left him stunned. “How did you possibly guess that?”

  She shrugged and shoved her long black hair away from her face. “Easy. You don’t want anyone to know you’re alive, which means you were shot by someone you know. The only person alive from the mission you were on is your team leader, which means he’s the one you’re hiding from, and the only reason you’d do that is if he shot you.”

  “He killed the rest of my team,” Walker found himself admitting. He thought she’d scream, deny it, say it wasn’t so, but instead she just nodded.

  “We figured something was fishy about that operation.”

  “We?”

  “My father and I. As I said, he’s former Special Forces. When he listened to Melville’s account of the mission, he said it didn’t sound right.”

  Walker didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t expecting to be believed. “Thank you for believing me. And for helping me. There’s one more thing you should know. There’s someone looking for me.”

  “Figures, since your body was the only one not recovered. Melville wants to make sure you stay dead and buried. Well then, I guess we’d better keep you out of sight. I have to stay for one more day, then we can leave.” Layne tore off her gloves and shoved them back into her bag as if this was no big deal.

  Walker had the feeling he was suddenly no longer in control. “Leave?”

  Layne nodded as she turned around and faced him. She seemed so innocent, how could he bring her into this? “We leave for Kentucky day after tomorrow.”

  “Kentucky? Wait,” Walker said, struggling to sit up and pull up his pants. Layne instantly bent and handed him his pants. He saw her eyes heat up as they moved up his leg and past his wound before her face flushed and she looked away.

  “Yes, the best place for you is at my home. I have all the equipment I’ll need to start your rehabilitation. Melville and his minions won’t think to look for you there. Plus, there’s no place safer than Keeneston if they do manage to locate you. But right now, here’s the key to my house I’m renting. I’ll give Gavin the address. I have to get back to the conference. Lucky for you, there’re more reps there than I can shake a fist at, so I can get a ton of stuff to bring back tonight to begin your treatment.”

  Walker reached out and grabbed Layne’s hand as she moved to open the door. “Thank you.”

  She smiled at him, and Walker felt as if his whole world brightened. “Are you armed?”

  Walker blinked and then smiled. This woman may be the death of him if he wasn’t careful, because right now she seemed too good to be true. “No. I’m not.”

  Layne appeared shocked, but then she reached into her bag and pulled out a folding knife and tossed it to him. It was a freaking SOG knife. Who was this girl next door with a military blade in her purse?

  “Sorry, but my guns are in the car. This
will do for now. I assume you know how to use it.”

  If Walker were less of a man, he might be insulted. Instead he laughed. “Yeah, I think I can figure it out.” The door opened as Gavin and Ryker practically shoved their way inside. “Is everything okay?” Gavin asked, looking from a perfectly unruffled Layne to him laughing.

  “Yes,” Layne smiled. “Can you drive Walker to my place? I’ll start working with him as soon as I can leave the conference. We’ll leave the day after tomorrow for Keeneston.”

  “We?” Ryker asked suspiciously as Layne filled him in on her plan.

  “Mr. Faulkner, a man who says he’s investigating the death of a Mr. Greene is here to speak with you. I’m afraid he doesn’t have an appointment and won’t leave.” Walker shot a gaze to the closed office door as Ryker’s secretary spoke over the intercom. Layne was already on the move. She had the window open and was motioning for him to hurry and join her.

  Without question, Walker moved. There was something about Layne that invoked complete trust. “Take my car. It’s parked in the back,” Ryker whispered, handing the keys to Gavin. “Drop Walker off and then come back. Leave the keys under the back tire.”

  Gavin nodded and Layne gave Ryker a wink. Walker saw Ryker shake his head, but his lips had twitched upward. His newfound cousin was beginning to make a dent in Ryker’s wall.

  It hurt hopping out the window, but Layne was there to help steady him. She didn’t make a big deal about it, but she wrapped a surprisingly strong arm around him and practically propelled him into the back of the SUV. “Stay lying down until you’re out of town. I’ll see you in a couple hours.”

  With that, she silently closed the door and disappeared down the alley before Gavin had even left the small parking lot. “That sure is some cousin you have,” Walker said from the floor of the backseat.