When Tom wheeled her in, she saw her mother, but not her father.
“Manon,” she said, nodding her head.
“Maman. You know Mantis, and this is Tom.”
Alegria almost giggled when Tom walked over to shake her mother’s hand.
“Pleased to meet you, ma’am,” he said. “You have a beautiful daughter.”
Her mother looked at her as if to confirm what Tom had said. Why did her own mother make her so uncomfortable?
“Thank you,” she heard her say. “She is very beautiful.”
“Thanks, Maman,” she said, wondering briefly if this was just another crazy dream. Since when did her mother acknowledge something positive someone said about her?
“Bye now.” Tom waved behind him, but then stuck his head back in the door. “I’ll be back later to take you down to the cafeteria if you want.”
Alegria looked up at Mantis.
“I’ll see if I can spring her myself, but thanks, Tom.”
“Your father is arranging to have lunch brought in.”
Now Alegria was sure she was dreaming, and it pissed her off. She really wanted the words she and Mantis had said to each other to be real. She grabbed his hand and pulled him down.
“What’s up?” he asked.
“I do love you, Mantis.”
“And I love you. What’s this about?” he whispered.
“I don’t want this to be a dream.”
He smiled and scrunched his eyebrows. “What makes you think you’re dreaming?”
“Did you hear my mother say she thinks I’m beautiful and that my father is arranging for lunch?”
“Yeah,” he grinned, “but did it occur to you how easy that would make it for him to poison me?”
—:—
Alegria was mostly quiet until after her parents left, telling her they’d be back later.
“Thank God they’re gone,” she said once they walked out the door.
Mantis had to admit they made him uncomfortable too, but at least they’d made some attempt to be civil. He certainly wouldn’t have predicted their behavior after his confrontation with her father earlier.
“I had a dream about Dutch.”
Mantis’ eyes met hers. “Yeah?”
“He was in danger.”
“Tell me about it.”
She did, and the part that bothered him the most was that, in it, Dutch had said he was already dead. Sure, he’d had plenty of bizarre dreams that didn’t mean a damn thing, but when she’d said the words, a chill went up his spine.
“I know Doc is working on making contact,” she said. “But I’m worried.”
He was too. Should he admit that to her or remind her that Dutch going dark was just part of the mission?
“Doc said that, as far as he knew, Dutch was in Germany. He has no reason to believe he is no longer there.”
“Do you think he’s refusing to make contact just because of us?”
“I don’t,” he said, shaking his head. “Dutch may be pig-headed, or a know-it-all, but he isn’t stupid. At the very minimum, he’d check in with Doc, even if he is ‘bravely’ letting you and I have space.”
Alegria nodded, but still looked troubled.
“Talk to me, Flygirl.”
“My instincts are telling me it’s more than that.”
“Let’s call Doc together, then.”
“You don’t think I’m overreacting?”
“Never.”
She reached over and put her hand on top of his. “I appreciate that.”
Mantis scrubbed his face with his hand, wondering if he was about to make a mistake by telling her about his conversation with his mother.
“My mom asked me to give her my top five words to describe you this morning.”
“Are you going to tell me what you said?”
He nodded. “Smart, stubborn, independent, and sexy as hell.”
“That’s only four.”
“I know…”
“You have to tell me the fifth. If you weren’t prepared to do so, you shouldn’t have brought it up.”
“Insecure.”
Alegria looked away from him. “I am all those things.”
“I’d always trust you to have my back, Flygirl. Always. I want you to know that. I trust your instincts as much as my own.”
“And I, you. Let’s call Doc.”
By the time they hung up, Doc had reassured them that he’d stepped up the efforts to find Dutch, but would add a few more feet on the ground.
“We have operatives around the world on the lookout for him,” he’d said.
The fact that no one had seen him was troubling in and of itself.
Mantis held both of Alegria’s hands in his. “Look at me, Manon,” he said, and she did. “I don’t want to leave you…”
“But you have to.”
“Not yet, but if Doc says the word, I’ll have to go.”
“I told Dutch before he left for Somalia that I understood he had to go in and get you. I also told him that if the situations were reversed, I’d understand and support your decision to do the same.”
“And you understand I’m not choosing him over you.”
“You are choosing me over him,” she murmured. “You’re choosing us.”
He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. God, he missed the feel of her next to him so much. He’d do anything to feel her lips on his, her arms around him, and the feeling of being inside her, their bodies joined together.
She smiled. “I can read your thoughts.”
“Good, then I don’t have to say any of it out loud.”
Alegria brought his hand to her lips. “I ache for you, Mantis.”
“I love you, Manon.”
“I love you, Gehring.”
How long had it been since she’d called him by his first name? Since they were at pilot training, he’d guess. Even before that, she called him Cassman more than Gehring.
“I wish I could read your thoughts as easily as you can read mine.”
“I want everything you do. Maybe even more than you do.” She pulled back and looked into his eyes. “When you left the hospital in Stamford, I wished we’d made love one more time, so I could remember.”
“I can’t tell you how many times I wished the same thing. There were times I wasn’t sure I’d ever see you again, let alone make love to you.”
“Mantis…”
“Talk to me. Whatever you have to say, I want to hear.”
“Tell me what happened in Afghanistan.”
Mantis stood and walked toward the door.
“Where are you going?”
“Nowhere,” he answered, closing the door behind him and then walking back over to her. “Are you sure you want to hear this?”
“I am.”
“I haven’t told anyone else…”
She nodded. “I understand.”
It had been eight months, twelve days, and fifteen hours since he arrived in Kabul, and countless times he’d thought he was close to finding Bagish Safi.
Mantis had no reason to believe his cover had been blown; he wouldn’t have the access he had now if it had. He was rarely without the heavy makeup that convinced the terrorist organization he was Yousef Jamil, an Afghani native and Taliban supporter.
Once a day, he’d remove his disguise, shower, and then immediately reapply it. He had to be ready to act in a moment’s notice and couldn’t afford the risk not to be.
His initial access to al-Qaeda had been arranged by Islamic State leader Abdul Ghafor, a man to be feared far more than Bagish, but for now, the only person with plants—made up of former Taliban loyalists and now defectors—far enough inside his nemesis organization to get Mantis in.
The closest he’d gotten to Bagish’s inner circle was his nephew Abed Omar. Gaining Abed’s trust had been a huge milestone in his mission to find and kill the man’s uncle. Whether Abed was loyal to him or was one of Ghafor’s secret followers, remained to be seen.
>
He hoped that soon everything he’d planned and worked for would finally happen, and then he’d be on his way back to the States while Bagish would be headed straight to hell.
The call came in at zero three hundred, alerting Mantis that the Taliban was scheduled to gather with Afghan forces in the Rodat district of the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar.
This meeting posed a significant threat to the Islamic State and was of enough importance that Bagish’s attendance was likely.
Shortly after the group from Kabul arrived in Nangarhar, a suicide bomber almost derailed Mantis’ mission. At least thirty-six people were killed and another sixty-five had been injured in the bombing—Bagish among them.
Instead of thwarting his mission, the bombing and ensuing chaos gave Mantis the one shot he’d been waiting for, but he didn’t use his gun to kill Bagish.
“I saw him lie there, barking orders at the one or two men still alive, and who looked to me to be much worse off than he was. I was overcome by a rage unlike any I’d ever felt. He thought I was coming to help him. Instead I put a knife in his heart and watched him bleed out.”
“Why was it so important that you kill Bagish?”
“He was the last direct link to Ian’s death.”
Alegria closed her eyes. “What happened next?”
“I didn’t go back to Kabul. I connected with one of the men on Shiver’s MI6 team, who arranged transport to the UK.”
He had no idea how many days he’d been holed up in the London hotel room—maybe four or five? He’d chased off anyone, other than room service, who came to his door, and he’d refused access even to them.
“Leave it,” he’d holler from his side of the door, and they would. Once word got out about the generosity of the tips he left, not a single bellman would question his demands.
When he heard the knock mid-morning, he figured it was housekeeping and they hadn’t seen, or chose to ignore, his do not disturb sign.
“Go away,” he shouted, filling his glass with whiskey. He’d stopped bothering with ice after his first few hours, and while each bottle was delivered with a bucket of it, he let it melt.
“Mantis,” said the familiar voice. “You can open the door and let me in, or I’ll use the master key the manager so graciously gave to me.”
“Go away, Shiver.”
“Cannot do. Open the damn door.”
“How did he convince you to come home?” Alegria asked.
Mantis didn’t really remember anything other than it involved a lot more drinking, followed by Shiver sharing the outcome of a mission that had nearly destroyed his career.
His reason for revenge had been entirely different than Mantis’, but that didn’t change the fact that an op undertaken with a reason other than the mission was destined to either fail or destroy the operative.
In both cases, the mission hadn’t failed, but had taken a great toll on the man who carried it out.
—:—
Alegria watched Mantis’ face as he told her the story he’d never told anyone else. His pain sat so close to the surface, she could feel it.
All those years, it had been about avenging his brother’s death. Why hadn’t he ever said so? The better question was, why hadn’t she sensed it?
“That’s what it was. The reason you accepted every mission put in front of you.”
Mantis nodded.
“How many others?”
He shrugged. No one liked to keep track of the number of people they’d killed, herself included.
“Too many, including a couple locked up in Guantanamo.” He shook his head. “I was lost,” he whispered. “I still am.”
She pulled him close to her. “Lie with me.” When he was by her side in the small hospital bed, she wrapped her arms around him.
“You aren’t lost anymore, Mantis.”
She brought her lips to his and softly kissed him.
“Manon,” he groaned.
“Shh. Don’t talk,” she told him. “We’ve both talked enough.”
Mantis pulled her closer, so her head rested on his chest.
Chapter 23
Dutch
The naked woman from the hotel room must’ve lifted his wallet, either that or the terrorists had. That’s the way he’d started thinking of them.
Whoever they were, they wanted him to deliver someone called Mantis. Since he had no idea who that was, he’d have a damn hard time doing it.
He looked around once he was out on the street. He was in Germany, that much was obvious, but who he was and why he was here, wasn’t.
No identification. No money. No idea if there was anyone he could turn to for help. He was as far up shit creek as one could get.
His only hope was that there were good guys looking for him. He already knew the bad guys were, but how would he know the difference?
The only things he had now were his instincts and his life. In order to keep the latter, he had to rely on the former.
He caught someone watching him out of the corner of his eye and ducked into the nearest alley. From there he saw the man pull out a phone, talk for a couple of minutes, and then walk in his direction.
If he was a bad guy, wouldn’t he have come directly after him rather than make a phone call first?
He pulled out his knife, prepared for his instincts to be wrong, and waited until the man came around the corner, but he never did.
Chapter 24
Mantis and Alegria
When he woke, he was still in the small hospital bed, next to Alegria. His muscles ached, but his heart felt better than it had in months.
Holding her in his arms felt like coming home again, but hearing Alegria say she loved him was like being reborn. The life he was afraid he’d never have was within reach. All he had to do was be patient, find Dutch, and tell him that he’d been right all along.
This time around, he’d do things differently. Before he accepted any mission, including one involving Dutch, he’d discuss it with her. He didn’t want to give Alegria any reason to doubt that she mattered more to him than anyone or anything—including avenging his brother’s death.
The need to wasn’t gone entirely; it had just changed. Like he’d told her, he felt lost, as though he wasn’t sure what the purpose of his life was anymore.
With Alegria by his side, they’d forge a new life together instead of alone.
She shifted, murmuring in her sleep. “Mantis?”
“Yes, sweetheart?”
“Am I dreaming?”
“You’re not.”
“Good.” She snuggled in closer. “I want to walk today.”
Mantis didn’t know if her legs were strong enough for her to be able to, but he’d do everything in his power to help her. “Sounds great,” he murmured.
“I want to get out of the hospital too.”
“Let’s hear what the doctor says this morning and see if we can make both happen.”
“If Doc believes Dutch is in danger, I want to go in with you.”
Mantis could’ve predicted Alegria would say those exact words. If he were the one whose medical clearance was questionable, he’d do everything he could to get healthy. The idea of a team going in without him, particularly for one of their own, would never sit right with him.
“I understand,” he told her.
“But…”
“No buts. It’s up to you, sweetheart. I’m your…um… I’m not your dad.” He’d come so close to saying he was her boyfriend, but he wasn’t yet—not until they were able to reach Dutch.
She nodded against his chest, her hair tickling his neck.
He scrubbed his face with his hand. “The thing that worries me most is that whatever trouble he’s in, is because of me.”
“It could be because of any of us. We’ve all had ops that required us to do things we knew would result in our heads being on the block.”
Mantis nodded. She was right, but something was telling him that he was more right.
&n
bsp; “Dr. Gertman is in surgery this morning. I’m Dr. Perry.”
Mantis shook the man’s extended hand, as did Alegria.
“I understand the feeling in your legs is slowly returning.” He moved the sheet from her legs. “Nod when you feel my fingers.”
Everywhere the doctor rested his hands, Alegria nodded. When he told her to try moving, she was able to.
“I’d like to walk today.”
The doctor murmured his agreement. “I see no reason why you shouldn’t be able to.”
“What about the neuropathy?” asked Mantis. “She was having issues before her last surgery.”
The doctor studied her chart. “I see there were fragments removed. Are these bullet fragments?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.
“Yes,” answered Alegria.
He ran a pen on the bottom of her left foot. She flinched and giggled.
“We’ll try some more uh…scientific tests this afternoon, but I’m optimistic.”
“I’d like to be discharged.”
The doctor looked first at Alegria, and then at Mantis. “If we allow this, what kind of help will you have?”
Mantis wanted to tell the doctor that he’d be by her side no matter what. But he couldn’t. If Doc called and said he was needed, Mantis would have to leave.
“My parents are here,” she answered. “They’ll hire someone if need be.”
His gaze met hers and she smiled. Alegria was telling him that if he had to go, she’d make arrangements for him to be able to without feeling guilty.
“I’ll need to consult with Dr. Gertman, but let’s see if we can get you out of here today.”
“I love your smile,” Mantis told her after the doctor had left.
Her cheeks turned pink. “It feels like it’s been a while since I’ve felt like smiling.”
—:—
“Mantis is making arrangements for a place to stay, but he’ll be back later. In the meantime, there are a few things I want to talk to you about,” she told her parents when they arrived an hour after Mantis had left.
Mantis (K19 Security Solutions Book 4) Page 12