Broken

“He took something from me.”

His posture was so rigid, Mia thought he would snap. “You don’t have proof my uncle is the man you seek,” she said. Her heart pounded so hard the blood roared in her ears.

“I found the evidence I need.” Linc refused to look at her. “I found what he took from me. No one else had the means to take the one thing that mattered to me.”

His wife. The blood drained to Mia’s feet, leaving hear as cold as death. Her body had never been found… Seven years ago in the explosion… Her own car accident had been seven years ago…

She remembered nothing from that day or from her entire life before. It had been day after day of trying to remember. Night after night of dreaming things that made no sense.

Air would not enter her lungs. The porch shifted and swayed beneath her. Her vision narrowed until it encompassed nothing but his eyes. “You think I’m your wife.”

Then the spinning sucked her into a vortex that grew deeper and deeper until everything else vanished.

Broken
Debra Webb

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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The loss, pain, challenge and triumph portrayed

by the characters Mia Grant and Lincoln Reece

in this story is very close to my heart. If not for the talented,

patient and compassionate folks in physical and occupational

therapy at SportsMed in Huntsville, Alabama,

I might not have learned to use my right arm and hand again.

Thank you all for caring and for never allowing me to give up.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Debra Webb wrote her first story at age nine and her first romance at thirteen. It wasn’t until she spent three years working for the military behind the Iron Curtain and within the confining political walls of Berlin, Germany, that she realized her true calling. A five-year stint with NASA on the space shuttle program reinforced her love of the endless possibilities within her grasp as a storyteller. A collision course between suspense and romance was set. Debra has been writing romantic suspense and action-packed romantic thrillers since. Visit her at www.DebraWebb.com or write to her at P.O. Box 4889, Huntsville, AL 35815.

CAST OF CHARACTERS

Lincoln Reece—He is an Equalizer who has nothing to lose. Everything was lost to him seven years ago the day his wife, Lori, died. When his former LAPD partner tells him his wife is still alive, will Linc dare to hope and risk that emotional devastation a second time?

Mia Grant—She is a simple woman of approximately thirty years of age who began her life a mere seven years ago. When a stranger arrives in her small town claiming she is his wife, her carefully constructed world turns upside down.

Slade Keaton—He is the enigmatic head of the Equalizers, a private investigations firm that ensures justice outside the law as often as inside. Keaton has secrets that even the woman who loves him is afraid to uncover. Those secrets involve the Colby Agency, and Keaton just keeps getting closer and closer.

Vincent Lopez—He is Mia’s godfather. She calls him her uncle. He saved her life and ensured that she received world-class medical care. But is he really a hero?

Gloria Lopez—She is Mia’s adopted aunt. She is a kind, compassionate woman who would do anything for Mia…perhaps even keep secrets that might tear Mia away from her.

Teddy Stewart—He would like Mia for himself, even if he has to use a gun to keep her away from the man he believes to be a dangerous stranger.

Juan Marcos—He was the most wanted drug lord on the West Coast until he was targeted for assassination by a competitor. His assassination cost many lives, including Lori Reece’s.

Jim Colby—He is the son of Victoria Colby-Camp, head of the Colby Agency. He is glad to help out the new owner of his former firm, the Equalizers. But Jim has a hidden agenda. He is certain Slade Keaton has his eye on the Colby Agency. The only question is, why?

Contents

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

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Epilogue

Chapter One

Chicago, Friday, June 24, 10:06 p.m.

One more drink and he was out of here.

Lincoln Reece nodded to the bartender, an unspoken order for another of the same. He exhaled a lungful of relief that his latest assignment was successfully behind him.

There was no greater rush than the one that came with victim vindication. No one should be allowed to get away with taking advantage of little old ladies. Particularly not a man operating under the guise of the Good Book. The three elderly widows on whose behalf Linc had acted had gotten back the deeds to their homes, and the unsavory counterfeit minister who’d done the swindling was behind bars without bail, awaiting the next step toward prosecution.

The bartender left the glass on the counter and moved on to the next patron without missing a beat. Linc took a long swallow as he turned on the barstool to watch the Friday-night crowd. Most nights he was not on assignment he was here. He liked it here at Hazel’s House. The music was low enough for conversation, not that he ever talked to anyone. Best of all he could slide deep into oblivion and walk the three blocks to his rent-by-the-week room. No one cared who you were or what your deal was here in Hazel’s House.

Unless you dogged out the Cubs or the Bulls.

A table overturned on the other side of the room. Shouting broke out as bodies collided and fists swung. Linc leaned back and propped his arms on the counter to watch the show. A woman hollered that she didn’t belong to no man. Ah, the other reason the occasional brawl broke out in Hazel’s House. Jealousy.

Bouncers swaggered over to clear up the debate. Linc rotated the stool, turning his back to the ruckus. He didn’t need any trouble tonight. He was here to chill. The last time he’d let his old cop instincts guide him he’d spent the night in lockup. His boss had gotten the charges dropped within mere hours of Linc’s call.

Slade Keaton, head of the Equalizers, had a seemingly endless supply of resources. Linc downed the rest of his bourbon. Keaton was a decent boss. Linc hadn’t enjoyed anything about a job—and he’d had several—or about life in general for seven years. Working as an Equalizer gave Linc the closest thing to satisfaction he’d experienced in that time. If you could call existing to work a sense of satisfaction.

Linc laughed, the sound little more than a growl in his throat. Not living…just existing. Sad. So sad.

“Thought I’d find you in a place like this.”

Linc recoiled. What the hell? His bleary gaze cleared instantly. But his brain reacted a little more slowly. He blinked to banish what was no doubt an alcohol-induced hallucination.

The man laughed, near loudly enough to drown out the blues melting from the speakers mounted in the joint. “That’s priceless.” He leaned in close. “What’s it been? Five years?”

Linc gave his head a mental shake as he looked at the man with the gray hair, matching scraggly beard and laser-beam blue eyes. Mort Fraley. Enough long-exiled memories abruptly bombarded Linc to leave him shell-shocked.

Anger rammed his gut. “How’d you find me?” Linc hadn’t seen or spoken to anyone from his old life since he’d given up on the idea that she might still be alive. She. He couldn’t even bear to think her name, much less say it out loud.

Mort slid onto the stool next to Linc. He raised a hand to the bartender, pointed to Linc’s glass and held up two fingers before turning his attention back to Linc. “I can’t believe you asked that question.” His eyebrows reared upward. “I’ve been a cop for thirty years. Besides,” he said as he picked up one of the two glasses the bartender dropped off, “I was your first partner. I taught you everything you know. Finding you was amateur hour, amigo.”

Linc knocked back a long swallow. Didn’t do a thing for the tangle of emotions roiling in his belly. He swiped his mouth and met his mentor’s gaze. “How long’ve you been keeping tabs on me?”

“Since the day you hit I-10 and put the City of Angels in your rearview mirror.”

That too-familiar searing pain roared through Linc’s chest. He decided to cut to the chase. “What do you want?” Linc had moved around a lot the past five years. He’d landed in Chicago just six months ago. Six weeks later he’d hired on with Keaton as an Equalizer. L.A. was a place and time he had no desire to revisit.

Mort contemplated the question for an irritatingly long time before answering. “I retired last year.” He shrugged. “Finally started to travel the way the wife has always wanted.”

A smile attempted to crack Linc’s defensive disposition. “You been driving a motor home around the country like one of those old geezers who retire to Palm Springs every year?”

Mort made a face. “It beats sitting around the house waiting to die of boredom.”

Linc shook off the moment of nostalgia. He didn’t deal with that sentimental stuff anymore. “You two passing through?”

Mort glanced around the crowd, then turned a deadpan expression in Linc’s direction. “Is there someplace quiet we can go?”

That face was another blast from the past Linc could have done without. The impulse to tell his old friend and mentor to get back in his motor home and hit the road pressed against his chest. But Linc knew this man…really knew him. Mort wouldn’t have gone to the trouble to find him if it wasn’t important. And he sure wouldn’t be hiding behind that mask he saved for interrogations.

“You dying or something?” The possibility added another layer of uneasiness to the churning in Linc’s gut.

Mort pushed off his stool and threw a bill on the bar to cover the two drinks. “I saw an all-night diner down the street.”

Linc dropped the cash for his own tab tonight. “I know the place.”

Mort jawed all the way to the diner, catching Linc up on the old narcotics team, whether he wanted to hear it or not. But he’d put that life behind him; he wasn’t going back for anything. As if to defy his determination, Linc’s bum leg ached, adding a noticeable hitch to his gait.

The instant they slid into a booth Mort ordered a round of coffee. Black. This was serious.

“You know the wife always had a thing for country music.” He chuckled before sipping his coffee. “All I’ve heard for thirty years is Nashville, Tennessee. ‘I want to go to the Opry.’”

The coffee was hot and smelled strong enough to have been brewed at breakfast that morning. Linc fingered his cup. “Nothing wrong with having a dream.” He’d had dreams once. Before he’d realized that it was better not to care. A man had nothing to lose if he owned nothing, cared about nothing. Especially dreams.

“Nothing at all,” Mort agreed. “I figure I owe it to her for sticking with a narcotics detective for thirty years.”

The abrupt lure of much-needed caffeine got the better of Linc, and he sucked down a gulp, then gritted his teeth at the bitterness after all that smooth bourbon.

“Last week,” Mort went on, “we drove from Music City to a little Tennessee town named Blossom, of all things, outside the nursery capital of the world.” He harrumphed. “Little village cluttered with antique shops, historic homes and nurseries filled with every sort of blooming bush and tree you can think of. As you can imagine, I was in heaven.”

A deep, guttural laugh burst from Linc’s throat. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d laughed—a real one, anyway. “I’m surprised you got out alive.”

Mort didn’t meet Linc’s gaze. He stared into the coffee cup, both palms down on the table.

A choke hold tightened around Linc’s throat. Something was definitely wrong here.

“The wife and I took one of those hokey historic tours.” He shrugged. “You know, where they show you the oldest houses in town and whatever it is that puts the place on the map. Like the oldest Holly tree in the country. It’s on the National Register of Historic Places, by the way. But none of that got my attention.”

His instincts thumping like the subwoofers in a drug-dealing pimp’s newest ride, Linc braced. Whispers, images from seven years ago seeped past the wall he’d built to block those memories.

Mort looked directly at Linc. “It was at the pink antebellum house, the Dowe house, that I saw her.”

The urge to run hit Linc hard. He shook his head. “I don’t want to hear this.” He held up his hands. They shook. “I gotta go.”

Mort grabbed him by the arm before he could slide from the booth. “Sit.” He nodded to the seat. “Listen.”

When Linc hesitated, Mort pressed, “You know me.” He searched Linc’s eyes, winced at what he no doubt saw reflected there. “I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t sure.”

Linc jerked free of Mort’s hold and dropped back into the booth. He leaned across the table. “My wife is dead. You’re the one who forced me to accept that fact!”

Mort heaved a heavy breath. “I can’t argue with the truth.” He nailed Linc with an unwavering stare. “But I know what I saw and heard.”

Her body was never found. But then neither were the remains of most of the others who died that day. Only two survived. A thug. And Linc. Not a day had gone by since when Linc didn’t wish he’d died, too. If he weren’t such a damned coward he would have pulled the trigger one of those mornings when he’d stuck the muzzle of a gun in his mouth instead of coffee.

“Her face is a little different.”

Linc scrubbed at his jaw, stroking the scar that slashed across his left cheek. “Then you could be wrong.” Not could be. He was wrong. She was dead. Linc’s wife was dead. It had taken two years for him to face that fact. Then he’d spent the next five running from the reality.

Mort shook his head. “It’s her. The voice was hers. The way she moved. She goes by Mia Grant. The folks I talked to said she’s lived there for about six years. The whole town loves her. But not one of them could say where she’d come from. I checked out the name. There was no Mia Grant matching her description prior to six years ago.”

Linc couldn’t do this. “I appreciate that you went to all this trouble to let me know.” He was done here. If he sat here a second longer he would explode.

“I watched her restoring plaster molding in one of the houses on the tour.”

Every single cell in Linc’s body ceased to function.

“Her hands. The way she held the tools.” Mort moved his head side to side again. “It’s her.”

Lori had been a tough cop. A narcotics detective. One who’d skipped her way to detective because she had uncanny instincts and an amazing ability to fall into character instantly. In her off time she loved driving around looking for old homes. She’d searched for months to find the perfect historic home before they’d decided to buy. A real fixer-upper. They’d hit a wall when it came to restoring the plaster. Hiring it out would have cost a small fortune. Lori had set out to master the skill of restoring plaster and she’d done it so well, her work had made a California home-builders’ magazine.

A dash of hope combined with the agony that was churning deep inside Linc. He shook his head. What Mort was suggesting was impossible. “She’s dead,” Linc said. If she had survived she would have found a way to come home. No way would she be hiding out in some small Southern town. She had loved Linc. She wouldn’t do that. His mentor was clearly growing senile or suffering from dementia.

Mort was the one to throw up his hands this time. “Believe what you will, but know that I watched and analyzed her for days before I came here.”

Linc wanted to shake him. The man was pulling out all the stops. “Mort, I—”

“It’s her.”

Linc shook his head. “Why would she do this?”

The resolution in Mort’s eyes held steady. “If you don’t believe me, go see for yourself. What’ve you got to lose?”

Nothing. The agonizing truth sank deeper into Linc’s bones. He had lost everything seven years ago. The day his wife died trying to bring down a major West Coast scumbag, Linc had, for all intents and purposes, died with her.

“Just go,” Mort urged. “Lori’s alive.”

Chapter Two

Blossom, Tennessee, Monday, June 27, 11:30 a.m.

“That guy is back.”

Mia Grant smoothed the plaster she’d just spread with her trowel before turning to her friend. “What guy?” She knew perfectly well what guy Tina Marie meant, but Mia had learned quickly to defuse the teenage girl’s fancies and suspicions or suffer the consequences.

Tina Marie made an impatient sound. “You know, the one who’s taken the tour twice already this morning.” Tina Marie crowded closer. “He watches your every move, Mia.” The girl’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “He’s kind of cute.” She glanced toward the guy in question. “Like a character from a Brontë novel.”

Mia smiled. Tina Marie had been hooked on Wuthering Heights since her freshman year of high school.

Mia watched the man wander around the parlor as if he hadn’t seen it twice already. He was handsome in a brooding sort of way. Tall, with dark shaggy hair, a beard-shadowed jaw. The jeans and black shirt he wore fit like they were designed just for him. Nothing like the off-the-shelf jeans guys around here wore, but then there were no fancy stores in Blossom. Even the slight limp and the scar marring his jaw were attractive in a forbidden sort of way.

He turned toward her as if he felt her staring at him. Tina Marie gasped and rushed over to actually do her job at the souvenir counter. Mia held the stranger’s stare. If he wanted something, now was as good a time as any to find out what. No need for him to pay the ten bucks for a third tour.

She stepped down from the ladder, swiped her hands on her apron and walked right up to him. “Is there something I can help you with, sir?”

His eyes were blue. Deep, dark blue. She couldn’t help noticing, since he continued blatantly staring so intently at her. That old scar trailed up from the corner of his mouth to just beneath his eye on the right cheek. Mia suppressed a wince at how close he’d obviously come to losing that eye and forced her attention back to his gaze. He still watched her.

“Mia Grant?”

She blinked, surprised, not that he knew her name but at the deep, gravelly sound of his voice. It provoked a tiny shiver. Strange. “That’s right.” She extended her hand. “And you are…?”

His stare dropped to her outstretched hand. “Reece.” He lifted those fierce blues back to hers. “Lincoln Reece.”

He folded his hand over hers and squeezed firmly before letting go. His hand was wide, strong, long fingered. An unexpected shock rippled through her, and she pushed away the silly reaction. “How can I help you, Mr. Reece?”

“The house on Magnolia.”

Mia nodded. “The nineteen-ten folk Victorian. The Reid house.” She knew the one. Once upon a time it had been a grand place. That neglected beauty had been empty for nearly two years.

“Yeah, right. That one.” He shoved his hands into his pockets. “How much do you know about the house, Miss Grant?”

The man was nervous. Really nervous. Quite odd. “It’s a lovely old home.” She lifted a shoulder in a vague shrug. The house was for sale. Maybe he was interested. “Needs some TLC. But it wouldn’t be that difficult to bring her back.”

“I was told you do restorative work.” He glanced at the ladder a few feet away.

That explained why he’d been watching her. “Some. I specialize in restoring plasterwork.” As foolish as it sounded she was a little let down that he was interested in her work and not her. She shouldn’t be surprised, though. There hadn’t been so much as a movie invitation in the last year. She would have to work hard to recall her last real date. That was the trouble with small-town life. Everyone knew everyone else. Labels were stamped quickly. No one would dare risk hurting poor Mia’s feelings…or crossing her powerful uncle.

The hands came out of Mr. Reece’s pockets and he seemed to relax. “I’m considering buying the place and I wanted an estimate on the restoration work.” His gaze traveled down to her sneakered feet and noticeably slowed moving up her jeans-clad legs and over her apron and T-shirt. That he lingered on her breasts prompted another shiver.

Flustered, Mia hesitated. The first hint of uneasiness slithered down her spine. “I’ll have to check my calendar. This time of year folks are focused on taking care of things around the house.” That wasn’t exactly true, beyond exterior maintenance and upgrades—none of which were her specialty—but this man was a stranger. A girl couldn’t be too careful.

“Chandra Green suggested I speak to you.”

Had he read her mind and provided a reference? In any case she relaxed a little. Mia would be calling Chandra. It wasn’t unusual for real estate agents to recommend local contractors. Not that she was a real contractor. More a handywoman who’d marketed the only skills she possessed. “Chandra knows my work.”

Mr. Reece pulled a business card from his shirt pocket and offered it to her. “I’ll be in town for a few days. If possible, I’d like to make a decision on the house before I leave.”

Mia studied the card. Only his name and number were printed there, not one other detail. “I’ll call you this afternoon.” No point making the man wait too long. If Chandra gave him a thumbs-up, Mia would jump on the job. She could use the work. There weren’t that many historic homes left in town in need of her particular restoration speciality.

“That’s perfect. Thank you.” He stared at her another moment, then turned and walked away.

Very strange, Mia thought. She tucked the card into her apron pocket and walked to the window to watch Lincoln Reece stroll down the sidewalk toward the town square. Where was he from? He possessed no discernible accent. There was nothing to glean from the way he dressed. And certainly not from his card.

As if he’d once again sensed her thoughts, he stopped and turned back. Mia eased to one side of the window to prevent being spotted. He studied the Dowe house for at least half a minute before resuming his trek toward the center of town.

As she watched him blend into the pedestrians strolling on the tree-lined walk, she winced at her reflection in the glass. She looked a mess. Wisps of hair had fallen loose from her ponytail. She had plaster smeared on her T-shirt and jeans, despite the apron. Not exactly a professional presentation.

“So? Who is he?” Tina Marie demanded as she peeked over Mia’s shoulder.

Mia jumped. “His name is Lincoln. He’s looking at the Reid house. Chandra suggested he check with me about the plaster repairs.”

Tina Marie chattered on, but Mia didn’t get a word she said. The funny shock she’d experienced when she and the stranger had shaken hands still puzzled her. Spending so much time in these old homes, she met lots of strangers, tourists mostly. She’d never had one do that to her with a bear hug, much less a brief brushing of palms. And Reece was by no means the only handsome or enigmatic man she’d encountered, on or off the job.

“I’m taking a break,” Mia said, interrupting her friend’s lengthy supposition about the stranger. “I’ll be back in fifteen.”

Mia skirted the dozen or so tourists oohing and ahhing over the dining room and cut through the kitchen to reach the back gardens. She moved away from the house to avoid interruptions by those wandering the blooming paths of the gardens, slid her cell phone from her pocket and called Chandra.

According to Chandra, Reece was a serious potential buyer.

“So this guy is legit?” Mia asked.

“Definitely,” Chandra assured her. “He’s ready to buy and he doesn’t need financing. The man absolutely insisted I show him all three of the historic homes in town that are for sale. On Sunday no less.”

Another surprise. He hadn’t looked like the type with that kind of money or that sort of determination. “He picked the Reid house over the others?” It was by far in the worst condition.

“He preferred a fixer-upper,” Chandra explained. “Wants to get his hands dirty.”

Actually he wanted to get Mia’s hands dirty. “I guess I could call him.”

“Be sure you do, Mia,” Chandra urged. “You know how slow the housing market has been. I could really use the sale.”

Things were tough all over town. “You can count on me.” That was what folks did here in Blossom. They helped each other out.

After Chandra finished her drawn-out monologue about how handsome and mysterious Reece was, Mia grabbed the opportunity to end the call. Mr. Reece had better watch himself. Chandra had been divorced for three years. She had bemoaned the slim pickings hereabouts for that same time. Reece fit the Realtor’s image of the perfect man—hot and loaded.

Mia would call Reece. But not for a couple of hours. She could use the work but she didn’t want to appear desperate. Fair pay wasn’t too much to ask, even in this economy. If he pegged her as desperate he’d start trying to negotiate her prices in the wrong direction.

She propped her hands on her hips. This could be a godsend. Maybe she’d get that new stained-glass window for her bathroom after all. Not to mention a little cushion in her bank account.

Her uncle had offered to replace the window ten times. But Mia was a grown woman. She could support herself. Her uncle had done far too much for her already.

The journey had been long and arduous but Mia Grant was fully capable of standing on her own two feet. She smiled. That had not been the case just a few years ago. Funny how a person’s darkest hours could seem so far away and not so bad after all when looking from well on the other side of tragedy.

Mia liked this view a whole lot better.