Page 32 of Waiting For A Girl Like You (Haven House #4)

T he small home of Emmett Watson stood solitary in the night, flashing red and blue lights washing over the dilapidated structure.

Federal agents had roped off the area with police tape, the extra layer only amplifying the home’s macabre aesthetic.

Between the ambulance, firetruck, and various police vehicles, Emmett’s driveway had likely never seen so many visitors.

The clay road leading to this strip of land hadn’t been easy to traverse on his bike, and Rowan had given up about halfway down, catching a ride with Ben in his Rover.

“They have a half-hour jump on us,” Agent Klausen told the assembled group of law enforcement. “Maybe more, depending on how well he knows these woods.”

Toward the back of the group, a Hollingsdale detective held up a large photograph so everyone could see the man who shot Liam.

“The suspect’s name is Bruce Hughes, and he is a known domestic terrorist. Big guy, approximately six foot seven with brown hair…”

Rowan turned away, heading toward the ambulance. He didn’t need to listen to stats he’d already read a thousand times. It would only piss him off. They should have found these people by now. He should have found them.

And his failure had led to this.

“Sir, if you don’t hold still, I’ll have to take you to the hospital and finish. ”

Holly, the paramedic, returned to stitching Liam’s arm after the warning. She’d agreed to treat him in the rear of the ambulance instead of making him go to the hospital and was probably regretting the offer.

“I’m sorry. I’ll do better.” Shirtless and grinning, Liam watched intently as Holly worked at the wound.

The bullet had grazed his upper bicep, tearing the flesh wide enough to need a heap of stitches.

“As much as I would love to ride in the whoo-whoo van, I would rather get this taken care of here.”.

Not only did Liam have a hole in his upper arm, but he was also heavily drugged. Poor paramedic Holly might have been willing to go above and beyond by stitching him up on the side of the road, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to give him something to relax.

And they were thankful for the sedatives. It was the only thing keeping Liam from tearing off into the night after Bruce. When Rowan arrived at the shack, he’d found Jamison sobbing while trying to restrain a bleeding, manic Liam.

“The whoo-whoo van?” Dr. Cohen shook his head. “Holly here must have given you the good stuff.”

“Yep,” Liam said, popping the p . He glanced around the crowd, eyes landing on Ben. “I’m sorry I suck at my job.”

The serious edge in Ben’s features softened slightly. “You don’t suck at your job.”

“Yes, I do.” Liam slouched in defeat, earning himself a dirty look from Holly. “I got shot, and now you’re probably not going to let me marry your daughter. I asked her again, and she said yes, but I don’t want to wait.”

The pitiful tone in Liam’s voice had Ben pressing his lips together for a second. “You can marry her if she says yes.”

At the moment, Jamison didn’t look like she’d say yes to anything. Standing off behind Liam while Holly worked, she was not at all pleased after having been put through the scare of a lifetime.

“She did say yes!” Liam beamed, then leaned down and whispered to Holly. “She said yes.”

“Wonderful,” Holly mumbled, intently sewing the wound together. “Can you hold still and tell me about the big day?”

“We’re getting married in a week.” Liam turned toward Simone, giving her a sheepish smile.

“At your place? Under that big tree? Can we get married there? I think that would be nice. Evie and the girls could come then, and I guess they could bring Samuel. They kind of have to, since he’s my best man. ”

Simone looked about as happy with Liam as Jamison did, but nodded. “Yes, you can get married at my place, but I don’t know about us doing it in a week.”

“Awesome, and yeah, we can do it in a week, or I’m hauling Jamison’s beautiful butt to the courthouse.” Liam sighed, clearly pleased with his own plan. “Jamison has a great butt.”

“I’m glad she has a nice butt,” Holly replied dryly. “Now, can you relax that arm for me?”

Liam complied but jerked back up seconds later, causing Holly to groan in frustration.

“Wait, is Samuel my best man? Oh shit, I hope not. He’s so fucking mean and tries to tell me how to handle my board all the time. I know how to handle my board. It’s my board.”

“My son is referring to his surfboard,” Bernie explained, watching Holly’s hands closely. “And may I ask what type of medication you gave him?”

“Ketamine,” Holly said, holding Liam’s arm steady while rifling through her bag.

“And before you say anything, that was all I had. This isn’t exactly a fully stocked rig.

It’s used to transport risky L and D cases from Hollingsdale General to Port Michaelson, and I was en route back when the shooting call came in.

Since I used to work trauma before labor and delivery, we decided to respond. ”

“You’re not a fully trained paramedic?” Liam’s voice slurred with disbelief. “Are you sure you can do this?”

“Relax, buddy. She’s a nurse,” Rowan cut in, suppressing the urge to pull out his phone and record everything for Annabeth. “Let her work so we can get back.”

Liam’s eyes lit up when they landed on Rowan.

“Oh, Rowan is my friend! See, I don’t just have Samuel.

I can get Rowan to be my best man, so I won’t have to listen to Samuel telling me I don’t know how to surf while saying my vows.

Yeah, that’s better since I can’t have my real best friend be my best man. ”

Holly didn’t pause. “Why can’t your real best friend be your best man? ”

“Because it’s Jamison. My wife is my best friend.

” Liam realized what he said and laughed at himself, swaying slightly.

“I mean, my future wife is my best friend. She’s fucking amazing.

You should meet her, Holly. I know she’s around here somewhere.

You can’t miss her. She’s so pretty it makes your heart hurt. I have no idea why she chose me.”

A smile tipped the edge of Holly’s lips, and her gaze flicked briefly to Jamison standing just out of sight. “She sounds lovely.”

Liam groaned in total ecstasy. “It’s unreal how beautiful she is, but you know what? That’s not even the best part. Nope. She’s smart as hell. Brilliant. Totally brilliant, and she puts up with my shit. Oops—sorry. Crap. Shit . I mean, crap. She’s so pretty and likes my crap.”

“Easy, son,” Dr. Cohen said, trying hard not to laugh. “You’ve had a little too much fun juice.”

“I like the juice, and the juice likes me.” Liam hummed a little tune before rambling on.

“But Jamison does put up with my bullshit. Let me tell you something, Holly. I am not an easy man to handle. I got all these thoughts rolling around in my head, but Jamison can take it. She listens and works through the shit ton of messy ideas I have and gets all of it. She gets me. I missed her. I missed us. But we’re gonna be us again, and I’m so happy . ”

Jamison finally stepped forward, resting her hand on Liam’s head. “Hey, you.”

“Oh my God, we were just talking about you!” Liam arched toward her, jostling Holly as she finished. “Holly, this is my Jamison. Jamison, this is my Holly. Well, not my Holly. I don’t need another woman, and I’m sure she has a husband at home.”

“Actually, my husband is a firefighter, and he’s right over there.” Holly leaned back and examined her work. “Okay, here are the rules…”

While Holly gave aftercare instructions, Rowan drifted closer to Ben. “Do you have any idea how pissed he’s going to be when he finds out we drugged him?”

“He’ll get over it,” Ben replied. “But are we sure the bullet didn’t hit something serious? He’s covered in blood.”

“Nah. I’ve been shot before. It bled like that.”

Ben turned his head slowly. “Who the fuck shot you? ”

“My sister. She tried to shoot me in the ass once but missed.” Rowan grinned, thinking of Cait. “The bullet grazed my hip and bled pretty good. Hurt like hell, too.”

Ben snorted. “Yet everyone thinks we’re the weird family.”

Rowan’s expression sobered. “Speaking of family…”

He struggled with how to tell Ben the news. No one had delivered the full details to him regarding Parker, and Ben was going to be furious when he found out that his niece’s partner might be involved.

Then again, there wasn’t really a “ might .” Parker was involved. There was no other explanation for why he’d been with Bruce.

Emmett Watson was clearly in bed with Zanmi, and the weapons cache inside the shack made that abundantly clear. The guy seemed like he would fit in perfectly with the cult crowd.

But they couldn’t afford to focus on that right now.

“We need to find Claudia,” Rowan said, pulling a stunned Ben away from the crowd after he relayed the information he knew. “Jamison said Madison was with Parker, but Claudia wasn’t.”

“Claudia is not involved with Zanmi.” Ben halted abruptly. “I know the Fairweathers are dysfunctional, but this? Even Claudia, during her bitchiest of days, would never get wrapped up in Zanmi’s bullshit.”

“What about Parker?”

Thinking for a minute, the steady sureness Ben held seconds ago disappeared. “I’ve only met the guy a few times. All I know is that my sister-in-law loves him, which isn’t saying much. Heather’s got a… unique personality, and that’s me being polite.”

“She’s horrid.”

Simone joined them, shivering in the crisp night air.

Wrapping her arms around herself, she wrinkled her nose at the buzzing activity.

The canine unit had arrived, and teams were preparing to search the swamp for Bruce.

It was a waste of time in Rowan’s mind. A man like that would be long gone or so well hidden, local cops wouldn’t see anything even if they were standing right on top of him.

“Why are y’all talking about Heather?” she asked. “Did Damon show up with Emily and Claudia?”

“Not exactly.”