Kaeden took a step toward her. "I won't let anything happen to you."
Sky shook her head and pinched her mouth shut before she snapped, "You can't say that. You have no idea what those people could do!"
Kaeden looked at the ceiling and rubbed the back of his neck. He blew a huff of air through his nose and sat down on the edge of the bed. He patted the mattress beside him. "Sit down with me, Sky."
She didn't want to sit down. She wanted to run, to find the police, and to get help to flee from the criminals that were targeting them.
"Please."
His plea cut through the thoughts spinning around her brain. She ran her hands up and down her arms trying to warm herself before she stepped toward him and perched on the end of the bed. "We have to get help."
"I don't need any help taking care of you, Sky."
The calm tone he used brushed against her ragged nerves and made her bristle even more. "How can you say that?"
"Because I know what I'm capable of doing… to them ." He turned to face her. Sky pushed her hands up and held them out as she tried to talk sense into Kaeden. "Wait, look I know you have a gun, and yeah, that freaks me out, but you told me that you don't know who is after you. They could have a gang or a cult or an army of people."
Kaeden stood up and paced the small floor of the hotel room. He looked at her several times before he spoke again. "Sky, what I do for Guardian is very specialized. I guarantee you there isn't a threat out there that I can't handle. You are safe here as long as you do what I tell you. You'll just have to trust me on that. I can't tell you any more, and I've probably already overshared, but know I will kill anyone who comes through that door without an explicit invitation."
Sky blinked up at him. The venom in his voice turned his grandiose statement into a believable threat.
"I am a dangerous man. Deadly. I won't sugarcoat that truth. I am everything you and Kadey don't need in your life, but I can protect you, and I will. You can believe me or not. Frankly, that doesn't matter in this situation. What matters right now is that you are safe. Now, you need to get some sleep, so when Kadey wakes up, you'll be able to take care of her and the events of the day."
Sky stared at the man in front of her. It was as if he'd shed another layer of skin and become another version of Kaeden, one she hadn't seen before, but one that had been under the veneer the entire time. Sky swallowed hard and nodded. She doubted she'd sleep, but she'd lay down with Kadey. Taking off her shoes and jacket, she slipped into the bed beside her daughter. She wasn't going to lay down beside Kaeden. Not tonight. The man she'd made love to in her home last night wasn't the same man who stood in this hotel room.
Kaeden turned off the light and Sky rolled onto her back as she listened to him stretch out on the bed. His words echoed around her brain in a swirl. He was dangerous. Deadly. He'd told her again the exact reasons why he would not stay with them, and why he would leave as soon as Kadey was through her surgery and recovering. Her last fragile hope for a normal relationship with Kaeden died, marked by a silent tear that slid down her cheek. She heard his phone vibrate. The pale green shadow of his display momentarily illuminated his features. Sky watched as he thumbed a text and dropped the phone on his chest, rendering the room dark again. She had no idea what tomorrow would bring, but Kaeden was right. She needed rest because she would need to deal with events as they unfolded. Carefully she reached out and placed her hand on Kadey's before she closed her eyes and said a silent prayer-a prayer for protection for all of them.
Chapter Eight
> Credentials in route. Contact in a.m.
Anubis read the text and acknowledged the input.> Fix required.
>Sacramento location?
> Affirmative. X3
> Confirmed.
Anubis hit the power button on his phone and dropped it on his chest. It was a burner phone, and it couldn't be traced, yet he itched to take out the SIM card and break the piece of plastic in half-and automatic reaction after so many years in the field.
He didn't enjoy scaring Sky, but she needed to understand what he was capable of. Hell, he probably should have made that point clear before they became physical again. As much as he knew it revealed him as a selfish bastard, he couldn't regret being with her. His body yearned for any contact she'd allow. Fuck, the woman lit him up like a load of chaff out of the ass end of an AC-130 Hercules. Brilliant, hot and sparkling for a short duration, but doomed to fall away and burn out, leaving nothing but the conjured memory of the moment floating in front of your eyes.
He knew the moment she drifted to sleep. Her breaths lengthened, and the rhythm relaxed. Anubis started constructing the events of tomorrow, adding a never-ending loop of possibilities that he may have to deal with. The actions that were mandatory were simple. Meet the contact, secure his credentials and make his way into the Gateway. He'd make contact with Guardian via secure lines at that point and find out what the fuck was going on.
Kadey mumbled something in her sleep. Anubis turned his head toward the bed where the two most important people in his world slept. He didn't know how Guardian was going to arrange the surgery, but he trusted the organization to get it done. They'd never let him down before.
Anubis allowed himself to doze, trusting years of training and living one-step from death to alert him if anything went amiss. At six, he shifted off the bed and eased out of the room. The motel was quiet as he made his way across the street to a small mom and pop restaurant. Anubis sat down at the counter. He could see the door to his unit from where he sat. There was no reason to fear they'd been followed. The van was clean and parked behind the local sheriff's office, co-located with the small fire department. Anubis grinned to himself. He'd wondered how many shift changes it would take before they checked out the van parked in the back corner of the lot.
"What can I getcha?" A disembodied voice called out of the kitchen.
"Coffee and a to-go order," Anubis called back.
"Damn waitress is late." A haggard man pushed the silver doors open and grabbed a mug and the coffee pot as he walked past. The cup plopped down, and the coffee poured with efficiency. "Name's Ernie. What do you want in that to go order?"
Anubis nodded at the introduction and deliberately answered the question without returning the favor of an introduction. "Two orders of pancakes, scrambled eggs and bacon." Anubis couldn't eat, not unless he'd cooked it, or trusted the person who was cooking, and Ernie wasn't on that very short list. "Can I get two cups of this to go and a large milk?"
"No problem. Give me a minute to get this made up. If you want a refill, the pots are over here. Holler if anyone else shows up, will ya?"
Anubis arched an eyebrow but nodded. Damn, living in a small town had to be a kick. He listened to Ernie clanging around in the kitchen. The coffee smelled good, so Anubis stood and walked behind the counter, dumped the cup Ernie gave him and grabbed another out of the middle rack. He pulled the orange tab on the coffee machine and rinsed the cup with steaming hot water. Three times. The coffee that was brewing when he entered the restaurant sat in the machine. Anubis pulled the filter holder out of the machine and examined the paper. No unexpected discolorations or odors. He filled the clean cup and went back to his stool before he took his first sip. It was worth the effort; the coffee was damn good.
A sheriff's car pulled up in front of the establishment partially blocking Anubis's view of his unit. He slid to the adjacent stool clearing his field of view. The deputy stretched his long, lanky body as soon as he got out of his vehicle. He ambled in and looked around, his eyes landing on Anubis. "Where's Iris?"
"She's late again." Anubis pursed his lips and whistled then bellowed, "Yo! Ernie! You got another customer."
Ernie pushed his head far enough around the door to see who it was. "Hey, Dean. Breakfast sandwich and orange juice?"
The deputy stretched again
. "Nah, I need coffee this morning. The baby is teething and ain't nobody sleeping."
"Grab yer own. I'll bring out the sandwich in a minute." Ernie ducked back into the kitchen, and the deputy filled his cup and then took a seat next to Anubis.
"Dean Potter. You new around here?"
"Yep. You lived here long?"
"Hell, seems like forever, but shoot… it has only been just over a year. Once I get enough experience, I'll apply to bigger departments. What about you? What do you do?"
"I work for the Air Force." Anubis took another drink of his coffee.
"Yeah? Normally all the people coming in to work at Taylor Air Force Base stay over in Fairfield. Why are you all the way out here?"
Anubis smiled and winked at the sheriff. "Surprise inspection. The new wing commander called in a favor from the Inspector General. They sprinkled us all around the area so there would be no notice."
"Damn, I pity them. The Air Force is always doing exercises and inspections." Deputy Dean took a drink of his coffee and yawned hard, cracking his jaw in the process. They sat in comfortable silence while they drank their coffee.
Ernie came out with two foam containers and two paper bags. "Your total's fifteen even." He spoke to Anubis and then placed the small bag in front of Dean. The deputy picked up the bag and stood. "Put this on my tab will ya, Ernie?"
"You got it." Ernie went to the old cash register and pulled out a tattered spiral notebook.
"Take care, man." Dean headed for the door.
Anubis looked up from his wallet and nodded at the deputy. "You, too." He pulled a twenty from his wallet and dropped it to the counter.
"Damn it, the delivery truck is early." Ernie watched the food service truck make the turn into the drive. "Go ahead and grab two to-go cups and fix them up any way you want. Flip that sign to 'closed' when you leave? I'll switch it back when I get done putting this delivery away." Ernie didn't wait for Anubis to respond but hit the silver door and headed to the back of the building.
Anubis felt his phone vibrate and palmed it reading the new text.
>Cobalt
He glanced out the window. His contact had found him. He didn't make it hard. He was in the only pay by the hour motel in the area they knew he'd be heading toward. He typed in his countersign. >Azure and hit send.
Anubis moved away from the counter, rinsed out the take-out cups, three times, prepped two cups of coffee and gathered the sack containing the breakfast he'd ordered. The person making contact would wait until they were sure the area was secure before showing themselves. In the meantime, Sky and Kadey needed to eat.
He strolled back across the street and unlocked the motel unit. Anubis knew immediately that someone else was in the room. The chills that ran up his spine settled quickly. Kadey and Sky still slept in the far bed oblivious to the intruder. He set down the food but picked up both coffee cups as he turned.
"You want cream or sugar?" He whispered the question.
"Depends. Have I done anything to piss you off recently?" Asp's deep voice scratched through as a whisper.
Anubis motioned out the door, and both men departed silently. Anubis handed the coffee to Asp. Asp looked at him and reached out, taking the cup from the hand that Anubis was lifting to his lips. He chuckled at Asp's caution. "It has been quite some time since I've poisoned anyone on our side."
"But you admit you have." They strolled to the end of the small units.
"I can neither confirm nor deny…"
Asp's deep laughter pulled a genuine smile from Anubis. It had been almost three years since he'd seen his friend.
"What are you doing back in the States?" Anubis leaned against a post and kept his eyes trained on the unit where Sky and Kadey slept.
"Had a mission go south. The back-office hacks seem to think I need a break to regain my strength and heal, and I need to do a re-eval on the go/no go. Seems I was a bit too angry for the shrink's liking." Asp's arm curled, exposing a line of pink and red scars from his wrist to where his leather jacket hid the freshly healed wounds.
"Had that happen. About six years ago. Laid up for five months until the powers-that-be called me back." Anubis took a drink of his coffee.
"I see you were busy during that time." Asp waggled his eyebrows.
Anubis sneered a semi-smile and shook his head. Asp on assignment was silent and deadly, but outside the time he was working in his profession, the man talked a mile a minute and was as subtle as a ton of bricks falling in the middle of a freeway during rush hour traffic. Anubis had no idea how the man managed to meld the two sides of his personality, but he was one of the elite in Guardian's Shadow World, so he obviously managed it well.
"She's raised the little one by herself. I had no idea." Anubis shrugged off the guilt. He'd had no knowledge of the little girl. If he had, maybe… hell, he still didn't know what he would have done.Yes, you do. He swatted the small inner voice out of his thoughts
Asp reached into his jacket and pulled out a manila envelope. "Credentials to access the Gateway. Bengal relayed that your medical authorization is already in the system. You won't have any problems accessing the medical facility with the identity the architect gave you."
"New name?" Anubis put the envelope into his jacket not bothering to look at the information. He'd read the brief when Asp left.
"Beats the fuck out of me, I didn't look. That's information I didn't need to have." Asp leaned against the grey siding of the last unit. He fished out a set of keys from his pocket. "Burgundy Cadillac STS with luggage for all three of you in the trunk. Alpha told me to put a field kit for you in the spare tire compartment."
That meant he had another weapon and ammunition plus a clean, secure phone.
"I figured you'd need some grub. Groceries are in the trunk. I stopped in Sacramento and picked some stuff up for you. Nobody but me has touched it or had the keys to access it. It's safe."
Anubis dipped his head and cleared his throat. His phobia about food wasn't well known, but a few did know. "Thank you." He hadn't eaten since he'd made pancakes with Kadey two days ago. The only reason he could eat the pancakes was he'd opened the sealed pancake mix. He'd inspected the container of milk and broke the seal on the jug. Eggs were damn near tamper-proof, but he checked each one before he broke them into the batter.
"Meh…you'd have done the same for me. I was instructed to tell you the clean-up is done." Asp hefted his large frame off the side of the building. "Take care of yourself, my man. If you need me, reach out. I'm not on assignment, and I kinda like the area. Whatever it takes, brother." Asp extended his hand.
Anubis once again noticed the new scars. He wondered what had gone down, but knew not to ask. If Asp needed to confide in him, he would. He grasped Asp's proffered hand and shook it finishing the motto they lived by, "Thank you, and I'm here for you too, as long as it takes, brother."
Asp spun around the corner onto the gravel. The lack of noise as he walked away wasn't a surprise. For a big man, Asp was damn near silent. Anubis peeled himself off the post he was holding up and headed back to the room.
Sky was up and in the bathroom, but Kadey was still asleep. Anubis moved their breakfasts and the large milk to the small table. He'd go across the street to get her another cup of coffee if she didn't want to share his.
He set his cup down and pulled out the envelope. Three DoD identification cards fell into his lap. Kaeden had a Common Access Card with an encrypted chip. Sky and Kadey had been issued DD Forms 1173, dependent ID cards. Kaeden picked his up and looked at the civilian rank he'd been assigned.Holy fuck. The architect had engineered him a Senior Executive Service employee, Level II cover. Shit that was a four-star general equivalent. Level I and II's could actually be presidential appointments. Kaeden, Sky and Kadey Long. Not much of a difference, but enough to negate a search of any system for the surname of Lang and it was vastly diffe
rent from Meyers, not that it would matter once the Rh-null bloodwork was determined. However, Guardian had a way to suppress that information within the military channels. No, he wouldn't have any problem accessing the installation or getting medical attention for Kadey. Guardian gave him the golden ticket, and he held the golden ID in his hand.
Sky quietly opened the bathroom door and came out as Anubis pulled two more documents out of the envelope. "What is that?" She sat down opposite of him.
He pushed the take-out containers toward her. "Breakfast for you and Kadey."
"No, I mean that." She nodded towards the identification cards and grabbed his coffee from in front of him.
"Our ID's to access our gateway to safety, Taylor Air Force Base, and to the medical facilities on the base." He passed her the ID cards.
"Long? What if they figure out these are forgeries? We could go to jail." Both of Sky's hands shook when she put down the coffee to take the identification cards.
He reached over and moved the coffee cup before she spilled it and burned herself. "They aren't fake."
"Are you in the Air Force?" Sky's question was more of an accusation.
"I am today." He raised his ID card.
"But…"
"Sky, I assure you Guardian has cleared us through this process. We work with all kinds of agencies, the FBI, CIA, DEA and the DoD. Hell, we work with Mossad, MI6 and every other intelligence agency out there. If they need our specialties, we respond. If we need their resources, it's reciprocal, legal and above all else… safe."
"So we are going to the Air Force base, now?"
"After Kadey wakes up. I'll go out to the car my company provided and get your luggage."
"What luggage?"
"They provided an appropriate wardrobe for our time at the base." Anubis rose from where he sat.
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