Page 23 of Finding English

Chapter 10

It had been a week since Cassie had revealed her horrifying story to them. A week in which he’d watched her fight not to let any of this touch her daughter, instead making the stay at the ranch into an adventure for Michaela. The child had utterly captured his parent’s hearts, and he’d be lying if he said he were any different.

As he looked out over the paddock, Michaela was having her first riding lesson from his father. Bear and Ozzy, his father’s two dogs, sat close to the paddock gate as if they knew this tiny human needed them. Michaela had entirely fallen in love with the big beasts, and he could see by the way they trailed after her the feeling was mutual.

Cassie was still inside helping his mum clear away after breakfast, insisting if they stayed, she wanted to help. After watching the bond that was forming between the two women. Henry sensed it was something Cassie had missed for a long time, having that motherly figure he took for granted.

If it weren’t for the cloud of Bunce hanging over them, life would be perfect right now. But the man was shrouding them, the anger burning in Henry’s every nerve was a constant humming that threatened to overpower everything.

They’d found nothing useful at Cassie’s home, so now it was back to opening a cold case and trying to follow what they did know about the man to find him again. Knowing who he was and yet law enforcement not finding him for the last fifteen years opened its own set of questions, but at least it gave them a thread to pull and an avenue to investigate.

Where had the man been? Had he stopped killing or merely changed his tactics, and why had he come back now? Cruz was working this case, as was Dax and TJ in the spare time they got from their own jobs. Calder was snowed at the office with cases from the new drug coming in almost daily.

Henry had fought Cassie when she insisted on going back to work tomorrow but given in when she told him she needed some normal in her life, that Bunce would not take this from her, force her to hide. He’d agreed reluctantly but only because he’d got word his back-up would be arriving today.

As he’d promised, Will had sent him a team, including himself and Aubrey, his brother Jack, ex-SAS operator and leader of Eidolon, Reid who had been FBI HRT, and Waggs who was an ex-army Ranger. Then from Fortis there was Zin, the scary badass Russian with a past Henry had a feeling he didn’t want to know about, and Nate, who was an ex-para and also a sniper.

Henry had first met him when his now step-son had been kidnapped and he’d been the investigating officer. Thank God that story had a happy ending for them all, but it was that case that had introduced him to these two teams and opened his eyes to a world he hadn’t realized was happening in his town.

Now they were stepping up and helping him and he’d never been more grateful. He lifted his hand and waved as Michaela walked closer to the fence line atop Majestic Maze, a bay thoroughbred racehorse. She was the gentlest of all the horses they kept, retired from the track now and left to live her retirement in the peace of the Texas heat.

“Look, I’m doing it!” The excitement and joy on her face lifted his heart, and he felt happier than he’d never believed possible.

“Well done, sweetheart.”

Henry sensed Cassie behind him and turned to watch her walking toward them, a grin on her face that hid the worry simmering below the surface. Henry wished he could hold her how he wanted, to take away all the pain she carried but he couldn’t. He lifted his arm and his heart tugged as she slid beneath it, wrapping her arms around his waist as she settled against him and they watched her child. The trust she gave him was a gift he’d never take for granted given everything she’d been through. He was amazed at her resilience.

Her scent wove around him, the sweet evocative smell making him want to see if she tasted as sweet. Burying his nose in her hair as they let the moment burn itself into a memory, he cherished this time.

Cassie broke the comfortable silence. “How’s she getting on?”

“Great, she has a good seat in the saddle and no fear. My dad is trying to persuade her that she has to stay on the lead rein because of her arm.”

The cast still had four weeks before it could come off, but Michaela seemed to be in no pain and was ready for it to be gone already.

“How did that go?” Cassie asked, amusement in her voice that he knew was only slightly forced.

“Pretty good, she seemed to accept it.” Henry lifted his head and pulled back so he could look at her. “How are you doing?”

Cassie rocked her head back and forth. “Okay, I hate this limbo, but work will help. Although I hate to leave Michaela.”

“Well, I might have some news that will help a little. My friends, you know the ones I told you about, are arriving today, seven of them in total. That means we’ll have someone on Michaela at all times, plus more people on the investigation that won’t have the same constraints as Cruz does.”

“That’s good.” Cassie frowned as she said the words, and he heard the doubt in them.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“Cassie,” he warned low as he dipped his head to catch her eyes.

“Do you trust them?”

“With my life.” He understood her reluctance to have strangers around Michaela. “They’re good men, and Aubrey is coming as well. My parents will be here with her too, as well as Bear and Ozzy. Those dogs have adopted Michaela as their new human.”

Cassie dropped her forehead on to his chest and sighed. “I know I’m being an idiot.”

Henry stroked the soft skin at her nape. “No, you’re not. It’s natural to want to protect her given everything, but Michaela is safe here. My parents adore her, in fact, I’d be more worried about my mum and dad never letting you leave.”