After the Storm (KGI #8)(27)

“I’ll go with you,” Steele said.

Donovan shook his head. “No way, Steele. I know it chaps your control-freak ass to stand down on this one, but if you show up, I guarantee we won’t get anywhere near them. Not to mention they’ll likely bolt. When I say Eve’s trying to keep it together, I mean trying, as in barely managing it. She was spooked enough with just me there. You show up?”

“He’s right,” Maren said, looking pointedly in her husband’s direction. “You’ll scare the poor woman witless.”

Steele scowled.

“Maren is in no danger,” Donovan said. “The only people who live there are Eve, Travis and Cammie. Travis is a good kid. Shouldering way too much responsibility, but you have nothing to fear. I’ll be with Maren the entire time. No way I would let her go into a situation where I wasn’t absolutely certain she’d be safe.”

Steele’s lips thinned, but he didn’t argue the point.

“Besides, I’ll need you to keep Olivia,” Maren said in amusement.

Steele’s gaze automatically fell over his daughter, and his expression softened. His face lost the hard lines that seemed permanently etched in his skin, and his eyes lightened with love.

“I’m trusting you with my life,” Steele said as he lifted his gaze back to Donovan.

They were words echoed from months before when Donovan had pulled Maren from the helicopter wreckage while Steele had waited, helplessly pinned.

“I know,” Donovan said quietly. “I’ll take care of her. I promise.”

Steele nodded and then glanced in Maren’s direction. “You ready? Little bit is about ready for her nap.”

Maren laughed. “Which means she’ll eat on the way home first.” She shook her head. “I swear this kid eats more than Steele does.”

“What time do you want her here tomorrow?” Steele asked as he rose, cradling his daughter in the crook of his arm. “I’ll bring her here and wait for y’all to get back.”

Maren rolled her eyes. “Because heaven forbid I drive myself.”

Steele shrugged. “I need to talk to Sam.”

Maren nodded, a quick look exchanged by the couple. Donovan lifted an eyebrow.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah. I know you’ve had my team, Van, and they couldn’t be in better hands, but I’m ready to get back in. Maren and I have talked about it and it’s time. Her practice is established and she’s going to be taking the patient load back on, and it’s time for me to get back to my team before they forget who they belong to.”

Donovan chuckled. “As if that’s going to happen. I’ll miss them. It’s been great working with them over the past several months. But I know they’ll be glad to get their team leader back.”

Donovan walked out to Steele’s SUV with them. Steele turned back to Donovan, his expression serious.

“Give Sam a heads-up on the weather, okay? It’s supposed to get bad. Don’t know if he’s had an eye to the forecast or not.”

Donovan frowned. “Will do. Y’all be careful too.”

Maren rolled her eyes. “Oh, we’ll be spending the night in the basement, no doubt. After the baby was born, Steele set up a bedroom down there, and if there’s so much as a chance of severe storms, that’s where we sleep.”

Steele grunted. “Can’t be too careful. Not much of a duck-and-run kind of guy.”

“Got a point,” Donovan said. “See y’all in the morning.”

Donovan watched as they drove away and then glanced across the way to where his brothers’ homes were. They were all separated by several acres and Nathan’s was even farther away, nestled on a bluff overlooking the lake. Things were quiet. No current mission. They weren’t even training today.

The new team had trained extensively over the last several months and Sam had given them all time off, a precursor to setting them loose on their own.

Skylar and Edge had moved closer to the compound while Swanny still lived with Joe in Sam’s old cabin a short distance away. Skylar and Edge spent a lot of time at Joe and Swanny’s place. It was good for them to bond. Build camaraderie and form the foundation of a solid team.

Complete immersion. They’d spent every day together for the last few months, but now it was time to give them a break before parceling out missions to the new team and trusting them to get it done.

It was hard for Donovan. He’d admit that. He had complete faith in all the teams, but it didn’t mean he didn’t worry. Nathan and Joe were his youngest brothers. They’d always be his younger brothers, which meant his instinct was to protect them whether they needed it or not.

And the truth was that Nathan, Joe and Swanny had all been through hell. Nathan and Swanny more so, but Joe hadn’t had an easy time of it either. Donovan worried from time to time that they weren’t ready.

But he and Sam and Garrett had agreed. They were solid. It was time.

So the next mission would be drawn by Nathan and Joe, with Steele’s team acting as backup. Now that Steele was getting back into action, things would get back to normal and Donovan would step back and not take as active a part in the missions.

Not that he’d ever just stand back and keep out of action. Sam and Garrett had taken more of a managerial position over the last year. They coordinated, did the planning, called in the teams as needed, but they’d stepped back.