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“Grandson,” his grandfather called.
He looked back.
“Welcome home.”
His throat too tight to speak, Caleb simply nodded.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Laterthatafternoon,Caleband Gia drove to Zach’s hogan.
Gia’s happiness lit up the car as she chattered about her meeting with the clinic director, more animated than he’d ever seen her.
“I explained everything and assured her there’s no longer any threat to me or her staff.” She grinned. “She’s keeping me on.”
A familiar red pickup sat parked beside Zach’s cruiser and Dodge Charger when they arrived.
“Jennie’s here.” Gia unbuckled her seatbelt.
Caleb smirked. “Maybe she’s nursing him back to health.”
They exchanged a knowing glance as they walked to the hogan and knocked.
Jennie flung open the door. The swelling in her eye had gone down, the bruising now a mix of purple and yellow.
“Oh, thank God!” she breathed, dragging Gia inside and wrapping her in a fierce hug.
Caleb followed, chuckling.
Zach lay sprawled on his cowhide sofa, bare-chested in jeans, his left arm in a sling. A white bandage peeked out just below his shoulder.
He started to rise.
“Sit,” Jennie ordered. “You just got home from the hospital.”
Zach sank back, grumbling. “Didn’t know you were this bossy.”
But Caleb caught the amused glint in his cousin’s eye—and the way Zach’s gaze lingered on Jennie, not Gia.
After Gia greeted Zach, the women drifted into the kitchen, chatting about his recovery.
Caleb settled onto the cushion beside his cousin. “I saw Grandfather today. Chief Nez cleared us.”
“Not before he tore me a new one for bypassing procedure and involving civilians,” Zach grumbled. “But yeah, he came through.”
He lifted a brow. “And the Feds?”
Caleb recounted what had happened in Albuquerque and their summons to the FBI Field Office in Phoenix.
“Assistant Director Caldwell’s a friend of my bosses at Dìleas. When he realized his task force was compromised, he had the US Marshal’s Office deputize us to give us legal cover.”
Zach glanced toward the kitchen. “And Gia?”
“She’s in the clear. Vincente Lopez Garcia and his cousin are dead. Diego Lopez’s brother tried to engineer a coup—he’s on his way to supermax, but he won’t last long. Right now, Gia and I are the least of the cartel’s problems.”
“So now what?” Zach studied him. Like their grandfather, his face gave nothing away.
“Gia is staying here. So am I.”