“Tell him I said hi. I love you. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Okay?” Her mother’s sigh was loud and clear over the phone, but if Miranda didn’t cut her off now, she’d talk to her for at least an hour, extracting every detail of her day and then some.
“I love you too. Goodbye.”
“That was pretty quick,” Cam said as he came back in from the kitchen with Halo at his heels.
“Did you feed him? He’s licking his chops.”
“Yup. I think he was disappointed I didn’t have any leftovers and he had to eat his food.”
“I bet. I’d be too after smelling the Chinese food.”
“I need to take him for a walk. I don’t want to leave you alone, so you get to come too.”
“A walk sounds wonderful.”
While Miranda was talking to her mother, Cam checked in with Jake. They hadn’t heard anything from Tex yet, which wasn’t a good sign. He’d hoped that he’d have identified the other shooter or at least some known associates by now. Grabbing the gun from the drawer he tucked it in his waist and pulled his shirt down to keep it hidden before going back into the living room. With any luck, Miranda wouldn’t notice.
After he finished clearing away dinner and putting her leftovers in the refrigerator, they took Halo out for a walk.
“I can’t believe he hasn’t had to go all afternoon.”
“He’s a good dog and soldier.”
“That’s for sure,” she said as they walked to the crosswalk. Cam checked their surroundings before crossing the street. Halo was calm and hadn’t detected any threats either.
“Do you think we can go to the beach tomorrow? Or will you have to go to work again?”
“The beach sounds great. Are you going to wear your new suit? It looked fantastic.”
“Maybe. Probably.”
“No pressure, Sunshine. But you looked amazing.”
“Thank you, but I think you might be a wee bit prejudiced.”
“I don’t think so. Meghan said the same thing.”
“How about we change the subject?” She was adorable and totally oblivious to her beauty. He was so used to dating women who thought they were all that and a bag of chips. Meeting her and Meghan had been a real eye-opener. It was no wonder he didn’t want to let Miranda out of his sight.
“What would you like to talk about?”
“Tell me more about your family. Other than your sister, you haven’t mentioned them. I don’t even know where you grew up.”
“My dad was in the Navy too, did his twenty-five years and retired. I grew up in Virginia Beach, so this is home for me. My sister lives in New York now, but my parents are still here.”
“Do you see them a lot?”
“Not as much as I should. But I talk to them at least once a week when I’m home. And we always spend the holidays together as long as I’m not on a mission.”
“Will I get to meet them?”
“Of course. I didn’t think we’d have time this trip, but since you’re going to move here…” He left it hanging because they’d never finished that discussion. “You are going to move in with me right?”
“Are you asking?”
“Fuck yeah, I am. I’ll beg if I have to.” Miranda giggled and looked like she was considering it. “Wait, you’re not going to make me beg, are you?”
Before she had a chance to answer, Halo growled. “What is it?” Cam asked the dog. Glancing around, he didn’t see anything, but Halo had. He noticed movement in the trees across the parking lot just before the first shot rang out, followed by four more. It wasn’t the same as the machine gun drive-by, but he didn’t doubt it was the same crew.
“Get down, now,” Cam yelled, as he pushed Miranda down to the ground. Then he let Halo off his leash. “Go get him.” The desire to chase the shooter warred with the need to keep her safe and her safety won out. With his gun in one hand and his phone in the other, he dialed Jake.
“Under fire near the apartment.” Then he disconnected the call and called nine-one-one. For the second time in two days, he’d had to shield her from gunfire, and he was furious.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Just a little freaked out. When is this going to stop?”
“Soon, Sunshine, soon. I promise. One way or another,” he answered as he helped her to her feet. He’d rather get her inside, but they needed to wait for the police.
Halo returned with a piece of cloth in his mouth, and Cam shoved it into his pocket. Jake and Ryan arrived a few minutes later.
“That was quick.”
“We were at The Ready Room having a beer,” Jake answered. “Are you okay?” The question was directed at Miranda, not him, and she nodded.
“Halo came back with this. Looks like traces of blood,” Cam said as he handed it to Jake.
“Shouldn’t you give that to the police,” Miranda asked.
“We’ll be able to identify the guy faster if we keep it.”
“You mean that Tex person?” Jake looked at Cam and he shrugged.
“No, Chrissy.”
“Chrissy is involved?”
“Not officially. But she has the access and can get this identified faster than if we go through the police. Plus they won’t share their info with us.”
“And you don’t trust the police to catch these people?”
“It’s not that, we’re just better at it. It’s what we do.”
“But you don’t do it here. So basically, I’m not supposed to know this.”
Cam grinned. She was a smart woman. But he’d known that already. “It would help if you didn’t.”
“I know nothing then.”
“Good, girl.”
The police arrived a few minutes later. One of the first things Cam said was he had a gun, and then put it down on the ground. The last thing he wanted was a jumpy cop thinking he was a threat.
Jake and Ryan waited in Jake’s truck while the police questioned them. This was becoming a habit. It would be bad enough if it was just him, but Miranda was in danger just from being around him.
The crime scene techs showed up and Cam led them over to where he thought the shooter was standing. There was no sign of him but there was blood on the ground. Under his breath, he whispered good boy. Halo might not have taken him down, but he definitely got a piece of him.
“You said you sent the dog after him?”
“Yes, he’s trained just like your K-9 officers.”
“Looks like he found him. Did he bring back any evidence?”
Cam wasn’t used to lying to anyone, let alone the police, but this time it was necessary. “Nope, nothing. Think you’ll be able to ID him from the blood?”
“We’ll see. Maybe we’ll be lucky and there will be prints on these casings. Any idea why he shot at you?”
“No, I don’t. We were walking the dog.”
“And the other day, you were involved in the drive-by, weren’t you?”
“Yeah. We were there.”
“Too much of a coincidence. I don’t like coincidences.” This guy was definitely more experienced than the one who’d been at the last scene. He was suspicious too. Not that Cam blamed him, he’d be in his shoes.
“I’m not very fond of them myself,” Cam answered. Miranda had stayed across the street and was giving her statement to another officer. He’d left Halo with her as protection. Not that he didn’t trust the cops, but the dog has faster reflexes. “Are we done, or do you have more questions for me.”
“We’re done for now. I have your contact information if I need to follow up. But most likely it will be Detective Black.”
“I’ll be around. We’re on leave.”
“I’ll make a note of that. And the Senator’s daughter?”
“She’ll be here for a few more days. Then she’ll be going back to Atlanta next Monday.” The cop nodded and made a few more notes as they headed over to where Miranda was with the other officer.
“Everything okay,” Cam asked as he t
ook Miranda’s hand.
“Yes, fine. I think we’re all done.”
“Yes, ma’am. We’ll be in touch if we have any further questions.” Then they walked over to where the crime scene techs were working.
“Are you okay?” Cam asked and hugged her.
“Yes, I guess I’m getting used to being shot at. I’m not nearly as freaked out today.”
“I don’t think that’s a good thing.”
“No, it’s not. But it’s better than a total meltdown.”
“That’s true. Halo, you’re a good boy.” Cam rubbed the dog behind the hears. He’d gotten them their best clue unless Tex could pull up something on a traffic cam or some other camera in the area.
“You want to grab a drink and we can talk about this?” Jake asked as he and Ryan came up to them.
“You up for going out, Miranda. Or would you rather go back to the apartment?”
“Can Halo come?”
“Of course, it’s The Ready Room, they love him there.”
“Then, yes, let’s go. I could use a shot of whiskey.”
Chapter 15
It was where they spent most of their time together. The Ready Room was the place to be if you were a SEAL. The place was packed and with a lot of other SEAL teams. True to Cam’s word, Halo was welcome in the bar and walked in like he owned the place. Miranda hadn’t been in many bars in her life, so she hadn’t known what to expect. This one was filled with pictures and just about anything you could associate with the Navy. It was like walking into another world.
Murph, Rafe, and Meghan were sitting at a table in the back of the bar. From the amount of beer left in the pitcher, they’d been there for a while.
“I didn’t think everyone would be here.”
“When I called Jake, he called the others.”
“Miranda, are you okay? I can’t believe this keeps happening,” Meghan asked as she jumped up to hug her.
“I’m fine. Cam is great at pushing me out of danger.”
“He’d better be,” Murph said, “it’s what we’re trained to do, among other things.” Then he waggled his eyebrows. There was no doubt that he was the black sheep of their ‘family.’
“Enough,” Jake said as he sat down at the table. It was like he’d flipped a switch, and for the first time since Afghanistan, Miranda saw the team mission ready. “I called Chrissy while we were waiting for the cops to finish up. She’ll be here in a few minutes.”
“What does Chrissy have to do with this,” Meghan asked. That surprised, Miranda. She’d figured she was the only one in the dark.
“I’ll leave it up to her as to what she wants to tell you, but since it’s job-related, probably not much,” Jake answered. Meghan looked surprised but just nodded.
A waitress came over with another pitcher of beer and more mugs. Her nametag said Pam and from the way she joked around with the guys, she knew them well.
“Is everyone good, or can I bring something else?”
Cam squeezed her hand to get her attention. “Did you still want a whiskey?”
“Yes, I do,” she answered and looked up at Pam. “Do you have Macallan?”
“Yes we do, the twelve single or double cask?”
“Oooh, double please.”
“Anyone need anything else?” Pam asked and then went to get Miranda’s scotch.
“I didn’t take you for a scotch drinker.”
“My dad is, and I picked it up from him. But most of the time I just drink wine.”
“That would explain it, and he’s got good taste too.”
“My mother wouldn’t have it any other way,” she said with a laugh. Miranda figured they were stalling until Pam came back with her drink and Chrissy got there.
Pam was back with her scotch faster than she’d expected. “Look who I found at the front.” And there was Chrissy. Miranda was anxious to hear what was going on, but she wasn’t sure how much they’d share.
“Do you want anything, Chrissy?”
“Beer is fine, thanks, Pam.”
“Okay, signal if you need anything.”
Rafe pulled over a chair for Chrissy from the next table and put it between Meghan and Jake. Sitting down, she picked up a mug and took a swallow.
“Thanks for coming, Chrissy. I know you were going to try to stay in the background, but we need your help.”
“No problem. If I get fired I can always see about a job with the CIA.” Miranda wasn’t sure if she was joking or not but hoped she was.
“It shouldn’t come to that, but if it does, I’m sure the captain will put in a good word for you.”
“Thanks. So where’s this evidence you have?” Jake pulled the piece of fabric that Halo had ripped from the shooter and handed it to Chrissy. She put it in an evidence bag, marked and sealed it.
“The police found blood at the scene, so they’ll be running it too, but they don’t know we have this. Figured your lab would be quicker.”
“Has Tex found out anything else?” It looked like everyone knew about this Tex guy but her.
“Not that he’s told us. But he had to cast a pretty wide net,” Jake answered.
“I realize we have to wait for information, but I’m getting tired of being shot at. And how come we’re the ones being targeted?” Cam asked.
Miranda had wondered that herself. It did seem weird that if they were targeting the team that they’d been the only ones dodging bullets.
“Good question. Maybe it isn’t the team after all?”
Oh great, just what she’d needed to hear. “So it’s me they’re trying to kill? What did I do to them?”
“Let’s not jump to conclusions. We’ve been keeping out of sight since this happened. You were an easy target when you were out with Halo.”
It was a plausible explanation. But were they just trying to make her feel better?
“What’s the plan, Boss?” Ryan asked the question they were all wondering.
“We’ll give Chrissy time to ID the shooter from today and Tex time to finish his deep dive into wherever he looks. If we can figure out who we’re dealing with, it will make it easier. If not, we’ll bait them.”
The men nodded in unison, but the women exchanged looks and Miranda was sure they were thinking the same thing she was, that it sounded too dangerous.
“I don’t like waiting around,” Murph complained.
“None of us do, but we have to give Tex and Chrissy time to see what they can find out. The more we know the better. How many times have we bitched about the lack of intel?”
“Too fucking many,” Rafe answered. Re-thinking the whole scotch ideas as her stomach churned, she wondered what that meant for their missions. Losing Cam wasn’t an option she wanted to think about, even though she knew it was a real possibility. But if someone in the government screwed up and she found out about it, they’d be sorry.
“Everyone good?”
“I don’t like this at all,” Meghan said.
Rafe looked surprised and covered the hand she had resting on her mug. “It’ll be okay. It sounds much worse than it is.”
“It sounds like a fucked up plan to me. Using anyone as bait is not acceptable.”
“If that’s what it takes to make sure no one is hurt, then that’s what we do,” Jake answered. “It’s what we always do—whatever it takes to get the mission done.”
“But this isn’t one of your missions. Can’t you just let the police do their job?”
“Sure we could do that, but I don’t want to sit in the house and worry about you every time you step out the door,” Rafe said. “It’s just too dangerous to wait. Not when we have other options.”
The air deflated from Meghan’s argument when he made it about her, and Miranda couldn’t fault her for it either. What could they say? Chrissy had been quiet, and Miranda wondered what she was thinking, and which side of the argument she agreed with.
“Are we good now? Anything else that needs to be discussed?” Jake asked as he look
ed around the table.
“What about Chrissy’s phone?” Ryan asked.
“What about my phone?”
“Right, thanks for the reminder. If you’re okay with it, I’d like to put a tracker on your phone.”
“What the fuck for? Why would you need to track me?”
“It’s more of a precaution. We have them in Meghan and Miranda’s phones too.”
Meghan nodded. “Tex sent me one when I went to Afghanistan and thank God too. Or Rafe never would have found me.”
“Okay I get that, but why do you need it now?”
“It’s a precaution. If something goes sideways, Tex can locate you. I promise we’re not stalking you.”
Chrissy sighed. It was apparent she didn’t like the idea, but it wasn’t necessarily a bad one. “Do you have them too?”
Jake looked surprised at the question. “No, of course not. We’re special operators that’s a big fuck no.”
“It’s a double standard then?” Miranda asked. “Couldn’t something happen to you just as easily?”
“But we’re together most of the time and there are safeguards built in.”
“Fine,” Chrissy said as she handed Jake her phone. “But after this shit is done, it’s coming out. If I want to run naked through the streets of Williamsburg it’s none of your fucking business.”
“Well fuck, if you’re going to do that, can you call me first? I want to watch,” Murph said.
“If I wanted you to know, I’d leave the fucking tracker in.” Ryan looked relieved at Chrissy’s answer and Miranda hid her smile. How could she not see that Ryan was interested in her?
“I’ll let you know if I hear anything from Tex.”
“And I’ll let Jake know when the results come back. It’s the weekend so I’m not sure how fast it will be,” Chrissy said as she got up from the table. “I’m out of here.” Then she whispered something to Meghan as she passed her on the way out.
“Who’s going to take us back to the apartment. We seem to always be without transportation.”
“We’ll take you.”
“Or we can, we bought you here,” Jake answered. Miranda hoped he’d pick Rafe so she could talk to Meghan and find out what Chrissy said.
SEAL's Sunshine - Lynne St Jame Page 12