Broken Bonds

  BROKEN BONDS

  Crimson Point Series

  Kaylea Cross

  BROKEN BONDS

  Copyright © 2020 Kaylea Cross

  * * * * *

  Cover Art: Sweet ‘N Spicy Designs

  Developmental edits: Deborah Nemeth

  Line Edits: Joan Nichols

  Digital Formatting: LK Campbell

  * * * * *

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the author.

  ISBN: 978-1-928044-39-0

  Table Of Contents

  ABOUT THE BOOK

  DEDICATION

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Dear Reader

  Excerpt from Lethal Edge

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  COMPLETE BOOKLIST

  ABOUT THE BOOK

  Autumn winds and rain have returned to Crimson Point.

  It’s November in the Pacific Northwest and Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Beckett and the Crimson Point gang are looking forward to celebrating the holiday together. This year they all have more to be thankful for than ever…but that also means they have even more to lose.

  But this year a different kind of storm is looming.

  Recent problems at work have left Beckett and crew scrambling to get projects completed. It’s all hands on deck, and just as the end is finally within sight, a deadly threat emerges from the shadows. When things take a lethal turn, the Crimson Point team must once again come together to save one of its own, and hunt down the vengeful killer before he can strike again.

  *NOTE: This novella is a final wrap-up of the Crimson Point Series and is not intended to be read as a stand-alone.*

  DEDICATION

  To my Crimson Point readers. I hope you’ll enjoy this opportunity to catch up with the CP crew as much as I enjoyed writing it!

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  I’ve been waiting for the chance to come back to Crimson Point. So much has happened since we last saw these characters, and everyone’s been busy. Aidan’s first Thanksgiving is coming up, and after what’s coming, it’s going to be an incredibly special holiday for them all.

  Happy reading,

  Kaylea

  Chapter One

  Aidan dried off his hands and reached for his phone on the bathroom vanity when a text message lit up the screen.

  You hear anything more from Troy?

  Aidan immediately responded to Beckett. No. Maybe no news is good news? He was project manager, and Beckett the owner of the company. If neither of them had heard from Troy or any lawyers yet, then maybe things had settled down and Troy had decided not to sue.

  That’d be nice. But not holding my breath.

  Aye. Aidan had been there yesterday when Beckett had a run-in with their former employee, who was angry at being let go and threatening to sue.

  Because everyone in management was former military, the company hired veterans whenever possible, and most of their staff were great employees. This one…

  Troy had severe mental health issues that needed to be addressed by medical professionals.

  Beckett had tried to get him help, but now it was up to the lad to help himself. The whole thing was hardest on Beckett and Jase, because it hit far too close to home after what happened with their friend Carter two years before.

  I’ll let you know if I hear anything, Aidan responded. See you in a little while.

  Beckett replied with a thumbs up.

  Aidan left the guest bathroom and headed down the hall to the kitchen. His ten-year-old stepdaughter Ella looked up from where she was sitting at the island with the fading afternoon light gleaming on her blond hair, devouring her allotted amount of leftover Halloween candy for the afternoon.

  “Don’t spoil your supper,” he told her, envying her young metabolism.

  “I won’t.” She shoved a miniature chocolate bar into her mouth, then frowned. “Mom’s napping again?”

  “Aye. Thought I’d let her sleep a little longer while I make her tea.”

  “I’ll do it.” She slid off the stool, picked up the kettle and took it to the sink to fill it.

  Aidan smiled to himself as he watched her. This past year had been the best of his life, bringing so many changes. He’d married Tiana in Edinburgh in July, and gained a daughter in the process. Ella still wore the ring he’d given her last Hogmanay, never took it off.

  “When are we going to Mr. Beckett and Miss Sierra’s house?” she asked, setting the kettle on the stove to heat.

  “We’re meant to be there for five.” He was looking forward to it, because it was Friday night, and it had been a bloody long week.

  Things had been challenging at work lately. He, Beckett and Jase had all been running themselves ragged while scrambling to finish up several projects for Beckett’s custom home renovation company, and sending out bids for several more. The staff problems they’d had over the last few weeks had made things tough for everyone.

  Due to various issues like unreliability, substance abuse, and mental health reasons, Beckett had been forced to let three employees go over the last month or so. The company had been so busy he hadn’t yet had the time to hire replacements to fill the ranks, so Aidan and Jase had been helping pick up the slack.

  “Perfect, that’s Walter’s dinnertime, so maybe I can feed him,” Ella said. She looked over her shoulder at him, frowned as she swept her long hair out of her face. “Are we gonna tell everyone tonight?”

  “Maybe. We’ll see.”

  “I think we should tell them.”

  He’d like that, but he’d take his cue from Tiana. “We’ll see.” He waited until she reached into the cupboard for Tiana’s favorite mug before sneaking one of his favorite chocolate bars from her stash.

  Ella caught him just after he’d popped it into his mouth, and her blue eyes narrowed. “Saw that,” she accused. “Next time, Mac, just ask. It’s not like I won’t share with you.”

  Aidan chuckled. The lass was so much like her mother. Feisty. No man would ever push her around, and for that he was grateful. Because the thought of her becoming a teenager in a few years and then the boys coming to sniff around was enough to give him heart palpitations. “Thank you.”

  “Can you get the tea bag for me? I can’t reach.”

  “Sure.” He crossed to the cupboard and took out a bag of peppermint tea, then resisted the urge to help as Ella poured the boiling water into the mug.

  She wanted to prove her independence so badly, and he was trying to give her room to spread her wings a little. After the traumatic events of the previous summer, letting her have some freedom while trying to make her feel safe and secure proved a constant balancing act for him and Tiana.

  “Want me to take it to her?” he asked.

  “No, I can do it.” She walked slowly from the kitchen with the mug balanced in both hands, concentrating on not spilling. He opened the bedroom door for her.

  Lying on her side in their bed, Tiana opened her eyes in the dimness and smiled at them. “Is t
hat for me?” she said in a sleepy voice.

  “Yes. But we need to go soon, so don’t go back to sleep after,” Ella announced.

  Tiana grinned. “Wow, so bossy. But thank you, sweetheart.” She sat up, kissed Ella on the forehead, and took the mug, sweeping her pretty red hair over her shoulder.

  When she smiled past her daughter at him, Aidan felt that familiar tug at his heart. These two lasses were his whole world, and there was nothing he wouldn’t do for either of them.

  After Tiana showered and changed, they took the short walk together up the sloping street to the old Victorian house through the chilly but clear November air. Beckett’s family had lived in the house at the top of Salt Spray Lane for generations. It was a bonny place looking over a spectacular view of the sea spreading out from the base of the cliff.

  Partway up the lane, the drone of a lawnmower reached them. Ella gasped in excitement and took off at a run. “I bet he’s driving Walter!”

  “We’re lucky she let us get away with just a cat,” Aidan said to Tiana as Ella raced up the hill ahead of them.

  “I know. If it was up to her, we’d live on an animal sanctuary.”

  “Aye.” Aidan grinned at Ella as she raced away, her yellow ponytail bobbing. “I love her big heart.”

  “I do too.” Tiana squeezed his hand, her cheeks pink from the cold and her hair blowing in the breeze.

  She still took his breath away. “You just keep getting more beautiful.”

  Her cheeks flushed darker as she rolled her mismatched eyes—one green, the other hazel. “Whatever. Flatterer.”

  He could tell the compliment pleased her, though. “It’s true.” God, he loved her. He was the luckiest man alive.

  When they reached the edge of the property, Aidan chuckled when Beckett came into view from around the back of the house on the ride-on mower. “And to think this is the man who said he never wanted a dog.”

  Beckett raised a hand in greeting as he drove toward them, his old rescue basset-cavalier mix, Walter, riding shotgun on the seat beside him. They made quite a pair, Beckett dark and gruff, and Walter so mournful-looking.

  No one would ever guess it to look at him, but old Walter was an adrenaline junkie. They’d found out quite by accident that his most favorite thing in the world was riding in the back of a dune buggy with his doggles on and his long, furry ears flapping in the wind. Then he howled like a maniac and begged to go faster. Riding on a mower must be dull by comparison.

  Standing on the edge of the neatly-trimmed grass, Ella laughed and clapped her hands in delight, practically hopping up and down in excitement. “Can I ride too, Mr. Beckett?” she called out.

  Beckett’s hard features softened in a lopsided grin as he stopped the mower in front of her. “Sure, come on up.” He held out a hand for her, helped her clamber in. Then he hauled Walter into her lap, started up the mower and carried on past them.

  “This is definitely going on our Christmas card.” Aidan pulled out his phone and started taking both video and pictures. It was too priceless.

  “Come on,” Tiana said with a laugh, and tugged him toward the house. “I’m starving.”

  He lifted an eyebrow in surprise at the welcome news. “Are you?”

  “Yes.”

  Everyone else was already inside and greeted them with hugs and handshakes. Beckett’s wife Sierra was bustling around the kitchen with Poppy. Poppy’s fiancé Noah, the town sheriff, Sierra’s brother and Beckett’s best friend since childhood, was setting the table. Jase, a former Green Beret who’d served many years with Beckett, was busy with his wife Molly corralling their eighteen-month-old daughter.

  Savannah squealed in delight when she saw Tiana, and toddled over. Tiana scooped the little one up and gave her smacking kisses on the side of her neck that made Savannah belly laugh.

  The entire scene filled Aidan with warmth. “What can I do to help?” he asked Sierra.

  She shoved two platters of nut-crusted chicken breasts at him. “Anywhere there’s room left on the table. We’re just about ready to eat.”

  Ella traipsed in a few minutes later, pink-cheeked and grinning from ear to ear. Walter hobbled after her, looking decidedly less cheerful now, the tips of his ears dragging on the old hardwood boards and his red-rimmed eyes staring up at everyone with a woebegone expression now that his ride was over.

  “We finished the lawn,” Ella announced. “Mr. Beckett said the grass didn’t need mowing, it’s just easier to clean up all the mess the cedar and fir trees leave that way. We should borrow it, Mac. That way we won’t have to rake anymore. I’m sooo sick of raking.”

  “Aye, me too.” Every time the wind blew this time of year, it seemed more and more of the stuff came down from the trees. He ruffled her hair. “Now go wash your hands, it’s time to eat.”

  When the meal was laid out, everyone gathered around the long rectangular table. Normally Walter liked to lie beneath it in case something should fall accidentally—or on purpose, in Ella’s case—during the meal, but with Savannah around he chose to hide in his crate beside the fireplace instead, safely out of reach from curious and not always gentle little hands.

  From his seat at the head of the long, wooden farmhouse table, Beckett raised his glass of beer. “Thanks to all of you for coming.” One side of his mouth lifted in a rueful grin as he glanced between Aidan and Jase. “It’s been a helluva week. Couldn’t have done it without you both.”

  “You’re right about that,” Aidan agreed, earning grins around the table before he turned his attention to the food. “Looks amazing as always, ladies,” he said to Sierra and Poppy. Group meals like this weren’t as common lately as they had been, and everyone enjoyed catching up together.

  “Did you make any pancakes, Miss Poppy?” Ella asked hopefully as she surveyed the assortments of platters laid out.

  Poppy owned a local café/bookshop in town called the Whale’s Tale. She paused in the act of scooping up a spoonful of scalloped potatoes, a chagrined expression on her face. “I didn’t, sweetheart, sorry. But next time you come for a sleepover I’ll make you whatever kind of pancakes you want, okay?”

  “Okay. Chocolate chips with strawberries, and lots of whipped cream. And that chocolate sauce you make.”

  Poppy smiled. “Dark chocolate ganache.”

  “Yum,” Ella declared, her expression becoming decidedly less enthusiastic as Tiana began putting salad and vegetables onto her plate for her.

  The meal was louder and more boisterous than usual with Savannah adding her shrieks and little noises to the conversation. Jase and Molly took turns wrestling her on their laps, stealing a few bites before passing her to the other.

  “Would’ve brought her high chair, but she hates it,” Molly said, quickly shoving a bite of parmesan roasted asparagus into her mouth while Savannah yelled in protest and reached a chubby hand out for the food.

  “I’ll take her for a bit.” Apparently eager for an excuse not to eat her vegetables, Ella hopped down from her chair and carefully gathered Savannah up under Molly’s watchful supervision.

  “Watch her like a hawk,” Molly told her with a gentle smile. “She’s fast and into everything.”

  “I will. Come on, Savannah. We’ll go for a walk.”

  Aidan grinned around a mouthful of chicken as he watched Ella hold Savannah’s little hands above her curly head and carefully guide the toddler’s clumsy steps around the living room.

  “She’s a natural little mother already,” Jase said, slowing his pace now that his daughter was occupied with someone else.

  “Aye.” Aidan caught Tiana’s eye and smiled. And wasn’t that a blessing.

  Sierra grabbed her camera to capture shots of the two girls as they made their way around the living room. After the meal the adults visited for a while, and Savannah began to fuss. Ella steered her back to Molly and handed her over with an exhausted sigh that made everyone chuckle. “Man, babies are a lot of work.”

  “Aye, they are, and you
didn’t even need to change her nappy,” Aidan said.

  “She’s just hungry and tired,” Molly said, handing Savannah to Jase while she got out some cut-up fruit they’d brought for her.

  “I’m gonna go hang out with Walter for a while now, if that’s okay.” Ella looked at Beckett and Sierra.

  “Sure, he’d like that,” Sierra said. “In fact, he’d love it if you took him for a short walk in his stroller.”

  “Okay!”

  Beside him, Tiana tensed and opened her mouth to argue, but Aidan squeezed her hand in gentle reprimand beneath the table and she caught herself before saying anything.

  Ella zoomed across the room to get the dog, still hiding in his crate. “Come on, Walter. We’re going for a walkies.”

  “Just up the lane,” Tiana told her, anxiety clear in her eyes but not in her tone. “And take a flashlight with you.”

  It took some coaxing, but Ella finally managed to lure the old lad out of his crate with a biscuit. Walter waddled through the living room, careful to give Savannah a wide berth.

  “Here, take this with you,” Jase said, taking his grandfather’s WWII leather bomber jacket from the back of his chair and handing it to her. “It’s cold out.”

  Ella shrugged it on, the coat swallowing her little frame as Jase did up the zipper for her. She got the leash on Walter, took the flashlight Beckett offered her and opened the door to the porch, then stopped and looked back at her mother and Aidan. “Wait, are we gonna…” She looked pointedly at the others and back to them, raising her eyebrows.

  Aidan glanced at Tiana and mimicked Ella’s expression. Are we?

  Tiana laughed and shook her head. “You’re both so impatient. But all right.” She leaned back in her chair and smiled. “So, we have—”

  “I’ll do it! I wanna tell them!” Ella cried, abandoning Walter at the door and rushing back to the table. Aidan draped an arm across her narrow shoulders as she squeezed her way in between him and Tiana.