by Grady, D. R.
Greg leaned closer because while this was probably information he didn’t want to hear, he still needed to know.
“I could have sworn O’Riley said the guy died, but I heard some talk that Lamont finished up another mission.” Welby stared at Janine like she should offer all the answers he wanted.
She stared back at him with assessing amber eyes. “He’s dead.” Her statement was final.
Great, this was just great. If people didn’t think Michael Lamont was dead...
This was yet another reason why he hated coming home. It was nothing but bad news piled on top of bad news. Then he realized if someone, anyone, thought Michael Lamont was still alive, trouble would ensue. And that was exactly why he stood on Hershey soil again. He had heard the same rumors that must have reached the SEALs’ ears.
Greg’s spine stiffened more as he listened. His heart tightened, while his lungs couldn’t seem to draw in enough air. To take his mind off his physical woes, he watched Janine’s amber eyes gleam with a fierce light. Some of his tension eased.
“A dead operative can still cause problems for the living. Especially if Michael Lamont didn’t take all of his secrets to the grave with him.” Ben’s voice was low and flat.
Lamont hadn’t taken all of his secrets to the grave. Unfortunately, a vast amount of information his government would be interested in had resurfaced recently. Months after Lamont’s official death. Greg didn’t want to resurrect Lamont because... well, because he didn’t. He didn’t want to deal with the danger again, or bring it closer to home.
That particular information could land him into a lot of trouble if not absolute danger. Neither of those commodities bothered him. He had survived both plenty of times before. What ate at him was the fact that all the Morrisons, his sister, and the SEALs he had helped in the past could land with him. The SEALs could take care of themselves, but the Morrisons and his sister were innocent. If there was one thing he hated, it was watching the innocent get hurt because of him.
“Maybe we ought to help O’Riley stop the rumors of Lamont still being alive.” Beaumont spoke softly, as he usually did, but his voice was infused with power.
“Like I said before, the man’s death was reported in the paper. His death certificate is on file.”
“Maybe O’Riley better make sure that information is readily available,” Welby said.
“I’ll mention it to him.” Janine’s eyes hadn’t lost their fierce light.
Greg realized he had to leave soon. His breathing was labored and he needed space. He needed answers, but he didn’t think he’d find them here.
He was thankful to have overheard this conversation between the SEALs and Janine. Now he had more confirmation that Lamont wasn’t dead after all.
It was not comforting news.
Before he could escape to his car, the Morrison women filed out of the store while the SEALs drifted away as silently as they’d come. Janine intercepted the ladies exit, jiggling her keys like visiting her car had been the reason for her absence. He was trapped in the cover of the trees until they all climbed into their vehicles and drove away. If he made his presence known, he shuddered at the very thought, he’d have to stay and answer a dozen questions from each of them.
The very thought of that many women in his personal space made him fear passing out from lack of oxygen. Or having a seizure on the very spot. Janine probably wouldn’t be happy with him if he died after all the time and effort she put into keeping him alive.
“That’s all the information I have,” General Emma said briskly. “Now, ladies, how are your family searches going?” She rubbed her hands together, as though disposing of the previous subject to launch the next. He was more than ready for them to move on.
The brunette and Janine exchanged glances. Not the same full on conversations Janine and KC employed, but it appeared this woman and Janine might have a similar ability to silently communicate. They smiled at each other before turning back to O’Riley’s wife.
“I’m still looking. The courthouse has a lot of information.” The brunette rocked her baby.
“And I’ve done some internet searches for John Morris, but there are thousands of them.” Janine’s voice sounded wry.
KC tilted her head. “Have you been able to contact anyone on your island?”
“I have sent letters to several of the women I remember there. I don’t know if they’ll be answered.” Janine’s calm seemed to blanket the entire area. Breathing was easier now. Greg heaved a deep breath, and enjoyed how his lungs expanded. Good, passing out ceased to be an option, for now. Fainting tended to provide much fodder for hecklers and Greg preferred if people ignored him.
After she repositioned the baby, the brunette nodded. “I can take half your names if you want help with the internet search.”
“I’d appreciate that, Lainy.”
John Morris. Why were they searching for him? A memory niggled, but he couldn’t pull the tendrils into a cohesive thought. John Morris. John Morrissey. John Morrison.
He filed away the information for later, when he had his encrypted computer handy. Greg figured he could bounce ideas against a secure server that would help to pull the pieces into something he could use. Hopefully.
“Sure. My courthouse search isn’t moving fast.”
“And Mom and Aunt Heather have been complaining about the mess in Aunt Tilly’s attic.” Lainy rolled her eyes.
“Oh yes. They’ve tried to rope us into helping with that project.” KC shook her head with vehemence before she raced after Ryan, who had seen something and took off.
“Like we’re that stupid.” O’Riley’s daughter rolled her eyes.
“I’ll take a look at some of those names, too,” Emma offered.
“I’ll split the list three ways and send each of you a part.” Janine looked relieved. But tension knotted in Greg’s stomach. Why did that sound like a bad idea?
And why did these women want to find John Morris?
He heaved a silent sigh. The reasons for his returning home kept piling up. A gruesome picture of shackles and chains circling him, looking for an opening to grab and bind kept taunting him.
If this matter enchained him, he was as good as dead.
Chapter 2
Fear skittered down Janine’s spine after she climbed into her SUV. Why had someone broken into O’Riley’s house and not hers? How could they have known the agent was connected to Admiral O’Riley? Did they know he convalesced in the admiral’s home?
She and the admiral had kept that fact silent. Neither had recorded it anywhere. Not even via an obscure e-mail or hastily scrawled reference because they both wanted to protect the operative. While he came through the operation successfully, he hadn’t been in any shape to defend himself against those he had destroyed.
But that was the thing. As far as they knew, Michael Lamont had taken out all the terrorists the same night he set the bomb that caught him in its backlash. There shouldn’t be any more of those enemies chasing after him. They should all be deceased, just as Michael Lamont was supposed to be. Maybe those terrorists weren’t the cause of the problem, though. Anyone could be after him. The man had attained near legend status. During his career he surely had made more than a handful of enemies.
But after she signed his death certificate Janine knew Admiral O’Riley had personally shoved the paperwork through all channels so that everyone who might have a beef with Michael Lamont knew he was dead. Michael Lamont’s legendary career was over. Janine figured he was fine with the end of his former career. She received the feeling that he intended to retire to a houseboat and paint. But from what General Emma mentioned today, he had instead returned to Hershey under his civilian name.
She didn’t even know if he was still staying with the admiral. Had they tracked him there? KC had been surprised to hear her brother was in town. If he was here, he hadn’t let anyone know. Silly of him, since the Morrison grapevine put all government communication models to shame. She was
more likely to trust that a goodly portion of her family had spied Greg Gilmore driving through town than the scanty rumors that he was somewhere on a houseboat painting.
A shiver wracked her body. If someone could piece together Lamont’s connection to O’Riley, they could easily include her in the puzzle. She was a member of Michael Lamont’s team, after all. He hadn’t even known that until he lay dying on her operating table. [The Nerd and the SEAL – Book 3 – The Morrison Family Series] She assured him then only so he would know he was in trustworthy hands. Hands that understood the dangers surrounding him and that would protect him at all costs.
Had someone figured her out? Would they target her because her name was scrawled on Michael Lamont’s death certificate? Would they come asking questions about his supposed death? If the rumors grew louder that he was still alive the fallout would be ... more than she wanted to deal with.
Janine forced herself to breathe deeply and evenly. She didn’t know for certain that someone had connected Michael to her. Nor was there any indication that they’d connected her in any way other than as his doctor. They had no proof.
She should have expected some questions. Her eyes darted around the cluster of women climbing into their own vehicles and her heart nosedived. What if her inclusion on Michael’s team placed her family in danger?
She had only just been enfolded into this wonderful family. Each and every Morrison was hers and felt she was theirs. They all loved her and accepted her. They were her family. The only thing she’d ever wanted in her entire life.
Family. Such a small word for such a big thing.
Could she give them up? If she placed them in danger, yes. She’d run. She would leave them behind and hide until she figured out what to do. If she had to.
But where did that leave Greg Gilmore, the other part of the Michael Lamont mystery? She had better ask KC if she heard from her brother so she could start planning. KC might have heard but didn’t want to share. Knowing the man’s whereabouts was the most logical first step.
Heaven help her if she had to run. Janine had thought retiring from the military and her career there would enable her to start a new life.
Now that she realized her conclusion might be wrong, her heart ached.
“Is Michael Lamont my brother Greg?” KC’s question drifted innocuously through her open SUV window and for a moment Janine couldn’t comprehend what she had asked.
“Where did you get that name?” Janine’s throat tightened as she watched some of her Morrison rellys wave as they left the store parking lot. She swallowed because she couldn’t figure out where KC could have come up with that particular agent’s name and then connected it to Greg.
KC looked down for a minute before her eyes connected with Janine’s again. The blue orbs glowed fiercely in the sunlight.
“I saw a patient named Michael Lamont, a man who looked just like Greg, on your operating table, remember? I’d just spent eight months operating in Kuwait. I know what shrapnel looks like. I know what exploding bombs do to bodies. I won’t ever forget his body.” KC turned beseeching eyes on her, and Janine struggled for words of reassurance.
“All I can tell you is that Michael Lamont is dead. He was a secret operative who was quite well known around the world. He still has a lot of enemies.” She stressed the latter part.
KC’s forehead crinkled. “Will that matter to us?”
“Anyone associated with him might provide information to them.” Janine feared offering too much, but KC needed to remain alert.
“How would anyone know they have the answers?” Her friend sounded confused. Janine suppressed a sigh. She couldn’t tell KC these enemies had their methods. All of them included intense pain and suffering beyond most human endurance.
“You don’t need to know you know the answers they want. You just have to give them the information they demand.”
KC’s mouth firmed. “So this Michael Lamont could cause all of us to be in danger, even though he’s dead?” KC’s voice escalated to panic proportions, and Janine reached out to place what she hoped was a comforting hand on KC’s arm.
“Michael Lamont doesn’t have a sister.”
KC nodded slowly. “Greg Gilmore does. Does that put us in danger?”
“Only if they can trace him all the way back to you,” Janine said.
“Can they?”
Janine shrugged. “Maybe. Right now we know so little. But from what I’ve heard, he excelled at burying his secrets deep.”
“Why would Greg put us in danger?”
“I’m sure he didn’t, not knowingly. And you can be certain he’s here to clean this up if he has. But he’ll have to be careful.”
“Because his enemies think he’s dead.”
“KC, we don’t know that Michael Lamont is also Greg Gilmore. And you can be sure your brother isn’t going to reveal that information, either.”
“Why does this have to be so complicated?”
“Because the stakes are so high.”
Breath whooshed out of KC’s lungs. “This means we’re going to have to very careful for a little while, right? At least until we figure out what’s going on?”
“Yes. We should be careful anyway. We don’t live in a secure world.”
“No, that’s true. Life just becomes that much harder when you have children to protect.”
“That’s the way it should be, KC.” Janine patted her arm. “Just remember something.”
KC darted a look at her. “What?”
“You’re not alone.”
Chapter 3
Greg watched the woman careen into his driveway and park the van. The vehicle was still rocking by the time she hit the bottom rung of his front porch stairs. He might have been worried, except he knew her well.
KC pounded on his door. He didn’t give her long to knock. Instead, with a weary sigh, he opened the door, determined to assuage whatever had caused this snit. The vulnerability in her eyes surprised him. She hesitated before greeting him. “Greg,” she said, her voice as raw sounding as the look in her eyes.
“Hello, KC.” He opened his arms and she launched into them. “What brings you here?” He enfolded her close and closed his eyes as her welcome, familiar scent surrounded him.
“I’d have been here sooner if you had bothered to tell me you were coming home. I had to hear about your arrival in the grocery store.”
“I’m sorry about that. I intended to call you tomorrow.”
“Did you?” Something in her voice made his senses sharpen and he stared hard at her, trying to determine what made her so uneasy. He was willing to give a lot to make her happy.
“KC, this is Greg, your brother, remember?”
She tilted her head at him. “Are you my brother?”
Fear, and something that might have been anguish caused a cold sweat to break out along his spine. His top lip also moistened. How much did KC know? She couldn’t possibly know about his alter ego, could she?
“What?”
KC watched him for a moment, her head tilted to the right and he marveled at the way the sunlight danced in her blonde hair. Even if he didn’t seem recognizable to her, she was utterly familiar and comforting to him.
“Why are you here Greg?”
Nothing like a blunt question. Greg sighed inwardly. He couldn’t tell her the real reason he was in town. “My boat is in the shop for repairs, so I had some downtime. Thought I’d come home for a few days. Catch up with you. I haven’t met your daughter yet, you know.”
“Is that why you’re here, to meet my daughter?” Something in her voice alerted his senses again. The warning bell shrieked as loud as a fire siren.
“Tell me what you’re afraid of.” He faced her but kept his body loose and easy, so he wouldn’t appear threatening to her.
“Are you here to take Ryan from me?” Her voice exposed all of her fears.
Greg groaned, reached out and wrapped his arms around her. He tugged her into his embrace and settled h
is chin on her head, like they used to do when they were kids and it was them against the world.
“No. He’s your son, KC. Yours and Max’s.”
“Why? How could you give him up, Greg?”
Because secret operatives don’t sire children. Or, if they did, they buried them deep. At least that’s what he did. But the price he paid was high. Too high. “Can you believe me when I say it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done?”
She nodded, her face grief stricken and a chord in his heart answered. “I couldn’t have given him up.”
“I had no choice, baby. Please believe me. Even though I want to be, I can never be known as Ryan’s father. Never.” He heard the fierceness in his own voice.
He felt her relax and realized KC must have heard it, too. The familiar debilitating pain from giving Ryan up welled inside and he forced the anguish back into the darkest corner of his heart. It could never be allowed free. Otherwise it would drive him to his knees and possibly kill him.
“I was so worried.”
Greg stroked her hair. “I know. But believe me when I tell you I’d die for your children. And for you.”
Her head bounced off his shoulder and her eyes, wide with shock, met his. “You really mean that,” she whispered.
“Yes, I do.” He could say those words because they were one hundred percent true. He would die for KC and her children. Without regret or remorse.
“You’re not just a driftless painter, are you Greg?”
“I am.” Never would he tell her the truth. Maybe she suspected, but he couldn’t confirm her theory. Ever.
He didn’t want to be here, in Hershey. Life had other things for him to do. He should have his feet propped up on his houseboat railing somewhere in the tropics. The tropical breeze scenting and cooling the air as it ruffled his hair. With a half finished painting and a beautiful woman both vying for his attention.
Where he enjoyed his retirement and thought of nothing more important than the next painting, the next tropical port to welcome him. He suppressed blowing out a frustrated breath. Hershey was a long way from where he wanted to be, exactly the same as when he grew up here.