Point Blank SEAL

by Carol Ericson

  “When they got me, they got my phone. Your picture is all over my phone—and they used it against me. Used you against me.”

  She shoved a tuft of hair behind Miguel’s ear. “Just because you have violent dreams featuring me and have even acted out in your sleep doesn’t mean any of that is going to surface for you when we make love. We’ve kissed, touched, spent time together cooped up in a car, and I’ve never seen one flick of temper from you—not toward me anyway.”

  “But it could happen. I don’t feel one hundred percent. The only way I feel safe falling asleep is if I’m facing total obliteration of my consciousness. There’s a reason why people turn to alcohol to drown their feelings.”

  “You’re talking to the daughter of a recovering alcoholic. Ask Mom if that works.”

  “It works for me, especially taken with the painkillers.”

  “Maybe Roberto knows a psychiatrist. In fact, I’m sure he does since he seems to know everyone else.”

  “We’re leaving tomorrow. I don’t think a shrink can help me in one day.”

  Extending her legs, she rolled to her side, facing Miguel. She hooked one leg over his. “Maybe I can help you dispel some of those demons, or at least put one to rest.”

  “Maybe.” Miguel uncrossed his arms and threaded his fingers through her newly dark hair.

  “Mommy!” The door of the bathroom that joined their room to Mikey’s burst open and Mikey barreled into the room at high speed.

  He stumbled to a stop and fell forward on his knees.

  “Silly boy. Are you okay? Come on over here.”

  Mikey tottered to his feet, his eyes wide. He walked to Miguel’s side of the bed and grabbed his father’s arm. “Mommy funny.”

  “Oh.” She fluffed the ends of her hair. “I just changed my hair.”

  “Mommy yellow hair.”

  “That’s what I say, kiddo.” Miguel hoisted Mikey onto the bed.

  “Now Mommy has brown hair, just like you.” Jennifer touched her finger to Mikey’s crinkled nose.

  His face broke into a wide grin and he clambered across Miguel’s body to get to her. She pulled him close and stroked his cheek.

  “Mommy and Daddy are going away for a little while. Remember when you stayed with Grandma and Grandpa when Mommy went away?”

  “Gamma?”

  “This time you’ll be staying with your cousins, right here.”

  “Bobby?”

  “Sounds like he already idolizes his older cousin as much as I idolized Roberto.” Miguel chucked Mikey beneath his chin. “That’s right. You get to stay with your cousins while Mommy and I go on a trip.”

  Mikey twisted a lock of Jennifer’s hair around his fingers as he shoved the thumb of his other hand into his mouth.

  Jennifer sighed and rubbed her nose with the back of her hand. “This is not going to be easy.”

  “You can always stay here with him, Jen. I can manage on my own.”

  “No, you can’t.” She leaned close and whispered in his ear. “Mikey will be well guarded here and out of harm’s way, while we’ll be rushing into God knows what.”

  Miguel reached around Mikey to clasp the back of Jennifer’s neck. “I hope to that same God I’m able to handle whatever comes our way.”

  Did Miguel still think she was the only one who needed protection?

  Entwining her arms around her son, she reached for the man she loved. Just as she’d lay down her life to protect her son, she’d walk through the burning flames of hell to keep Miguel safe and bring him back from this edge of madness where he currently resided.

  She’d either have to bring him back or join him.

  * * *

  LATER THAT DAY, their fake ID and documents arrived with Lena’s assurances that they could use the credit card, book travel and even buy a car and vote in the state of Oregon.

  As she and Miguel sat alone in the great room, Jennifer cupped her new driver’s license in her palm and read aloud, “‘Karen Tedesco.’ Ooh, Lena made me a few years older.”

  “She gave me glasses.” Miguel twirled around a pair of black-framed glasses by the arm.

  Jennifer replaced all her documents in the manila folder, but tucked the license into her purse. “Roberto told me Dr. Paz is coming around to check on his patient. How’s the hip?”

  “It feels fine. I’m sure the scar will end up being a lot smaller than some of the others.”

  “I wonder if our stalkers followed that GPS to San Diego.” She chewed on the edge of her nail.

  “They probably did, although they’ll know by now we outfoxed them and that makes me feel pretty damned good.”

  “When we hit the road again, they’ll have no idea where we are—that makes me feel good.”

  “They probably won’t guess that I’ll be heading back to the lion’s den.”

  “Just how do you plan to sneak back into that lion’s den?”

  “I’m working on it.”

  “You don’t think it’s dangerous flying right into DC?”

  “How so?”

  “That’s not flaunting ourselves right under their noses, right in their backyard?”

  “It’ll be a good test for our new ID’s.”

  Roberto opened the sliding door to the patio and poked his head into the room. “Everything look okay? Did Lena do a good job?”

  “She did a great job, Rob.” Miguel pushed up from the sofa and met his brother at the door. “I don’t know how to thank you for everything you did—are going to do.”

  Roberto lifted one shoulder. “I have a lot to make up to you, Miguel. I followed Dad into the criminal life, leaving you no role models, no kind of family life to hold onto. How you made it into the navy and stayed on the straight and narrow, I have no idea. You’re a stronger man than I am.”

  “Part of my sniper training was a psychological assessment, and I learned a lot about myself. I learned a lot about you, too, and your motivations.” Miguel flung out his arm to the side. “You’re no Boy Scout, Rob. I suppose a fixer can’t be completely clean, but what you do is no dirtier than politics and politicians travel in all the right circles. You’ve come a long way. You have a great family, and I’ve come off my high horse.”

  “Miguel, you stay on that high horse—someone in this family has to.” Roberto gripped Miguel’s hand in his. “And when you’re done with whatever it is you have to do, your son will be waiting for you and you can all pick up the life that was snatched from you in those caves in Afghanistan.”

  Jennifer bounded up from the sofa and embraced both Estrada brothers. “I’m ready for another group hug.”

  Vin stepped into the great room with Dr. Paz in his wake. “The doc’s here, Miguel.”

  “Why don’t we do this upstairs this time?” Miguel pointed at the ceiling. “Everyone’s out at the pool, but they’ll probably be coming in soon.”

  “Lead the way.” Dr. Paz patted his black bag.

  Jennifer tucked her hand in the crook of Miguel’s arm. “I’ll come with you. I have a few questions of my own.”

  She ignored Miguel’s sharp glance. “We can even take the elevator.”

  “I’ve been in that elevator many times.” Dr. Paz rolled his eyes. “And don’t ask me what I was doing here or whom I was treating.”

  When they got to the bedroom she and Miguel were sharing, the doctor checked out Miguel’s stitches. “Looks good. They should be dissolving in under a week. Still taking the antibiotics?”

  “Yes. I think I have three days left on those.”

  “You can drop the painkillers if you like and swap them for ibuprofen.”

  Jennifer held up her finger. “I was going to ask you about those, Dr. Paz. Do you think you can give Miguel another bottle of painkillers, or something else?
”

  Dr. Paz’s gaze bounced between her face and Miguel’s. “I thought he wasn’t going to take any at all.”

  A muscle ticked in Miguel’s jaw, right above his new beard. “It’s not my idea, Doc. I can lay off the painkillers anytime.”

  “Dr. Paz.” Jennifer placed her hand on Miguel’s tight shoulder. “I don’t know how much of Miguel’s history you know, but he was a prisoner of war and he’s still suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.”

  Miguel’s whole frame stiffened. “Jen.”

  “It’s true. He can’t sleep. He has bad dreams, so he doesn’t want to sleep. He’s not in a position right now to get treatment, but he will when that time comes. Can you help him?”

  Shrugging her hand from his shoulder, Miguel said, “You need to butt out, Jen.”

  “I’m sorry, Miguel, but I knew you wouldn’t ask him yourself and I don’t want to see you suffer anymore. Besides, you need to sleep if you’re going to get your strength back.”

  “Are you done?” Miguel’s eyebrows collided over his nose and he vibrated with irritation.

  “That explains a lot.” Dr. Paz peeled off his gloves and sealed them in a plastic bag. “I can give you a sleeping aid. It’s a lot healthier for you at this point than alcohol, and definitely safer than mixing pills and alcohol. It’ll put you into a relaxed state and then a deep sleep.”

  Dr. Paz dug into his bag and pulled out a bottle. “Definitely not something you want to become dependent on, but it’s a stopgap until you can get the counseling you need.”

  “Looks like you’re both ganging up on me.” Miguel’s hand closed around the bottle and he shoved it in his front pocket.

  “You’re going to thank me for those.” Dr. Paz zipped up his bag and tucked it under his arm.

  They walked Dr. Paz downstairs and Vin escorted him out to the helicopter pad.

  When the thwacking of the blades died down, Miguel rounded on her. “I didn’t appreciate that...meddling, Jen.”

  “You heard Dr. Paz. You’re going to thank him—and me—for those pills when nighttime rolls around.” She flipped her newly dark hair back from her face. “Besides, you call it meddling, I call it self-preservation.”

  “So, you do think I’m going to attack you in my sleep.”

  “No, but I’m depending on you to protect me and you need a good night’s sleep—every night. How long do you think you can go on sleeping upright in chairs or setting the alarm on your phone to wake you up after an hour’s catnap or, worst of all, drinking and drugging yourself into a stupor?”

  “You’re right.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “The sleeping pills will help with all that, and I do need to be in top form to succeed at this mission.”

  “I’ll take care of you, and you’ll take care of me.” Curving an arm around his waist, she pressed a kiss against his shoulder. “Now, let’s go spend the rest of the day with our son before we have to leave him tomorrow.”

  * * *

  LEAVING MIKEY PROVED even harder than she imagined. He clung to her on their last hug, but was still excited to be staying with his cousins. His mommy’s absence would probably hit him in a day or two, but Gabby assured Jennifer that they’d videoconference every day.

  When they pulled away from the desert compound in a car they’d borrowed from Roberto, with their phony ID’s and a wallet full of cash, Jennifer blew her nose.

  Miguel skimmed his knuckles down her thigh. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. It’s better that we leave him there instead of dragging him out on the road to face who knows what. That truth makes me feel better.” She jerked her thumb toward her laptop in the backseat. “That and modern technology. Being able to see each other, even if it’s on a computer screen, is going to make the separation a little easier.”

  “Do you think he’s going to forget me?” Miguel’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. “We were just getting to know each other.”

  She stroked his forearm. “You made quite an impression on him. He’s not going to forget his daddy. You’ll be getting your mug in front of the camera when we video chat to remind him.”

  “I’m not going to let you hog the camera time—count on it.” He took a sip of coffee. “We’ve got two hours before we get to the airport in LA. You can sleep if you want.”

  “I don’t need it. I slept well last night.” She drummed her fingertips on his arm. “And so did you. No dreams?”

  “Not one.”

  “You haven’t heard anything from Josh Elliott yet?”

  “I checked our chat room last night. He’s on another mission, so he probably doesn’t have a lot of free time. I’ll give it another shot when we get to the airport.”

  Staring out the window at the collection of giant wind turbines, Jennifer twisted a strand of hair around her finger. “I hope we don’t get stopped getting on the plane.”

  Two and a half hours later, they sailed through security without so much as setting off a beep with a buckle.

  Juggling her laptop and coffee, Jennifer poked through the wrapped sandwiches in a refrigerated container. “What sounds better, turkey and pesto or chicken and sun-dried tomato?”

  “They both sound awful.” Miguel reached past her and grabbed one of the sandwiches she’d looked at and discarded. “I’m getting the roast beef. Do you want some chips?”

  “I’m going to skip the chips. Ever since I had Mikey, I’ve had to keep tabs on my calorie intake.”

  Miguel snorted. “You look great to me.”

  “You haven’t really seen me with my clothes off, have you?”

  Miguel raised his eyebrows and jerked his head toward the woman perusing the salads.

  Hunching her shoulders, Jennifer grinned. Served him right. “Maybe I should get a salad instead.”

  “Get the turkey pesto and I’ll share some of my chips and my cookie with you. It’s a long flight.”

  They found two seats facing the window and settled in for the forty-minute wait before their flight started boarding.

  Jennifer tucked her coffee cup beneath her seat and pulled out her laptop. “I’m going to check my emails. I want to make sure my grades were approved.”

  “I don’t have any emails to check, but I’m going to visit that chat room.”

  She slid a glance at him as she logged in to her computer. “It’s not a dating chat room, is it?”

  He raised two fingers Boy Scout fashion. “I know nothing about dating chat rooms and wouldn’t even know how to access one.”

  “So, where are you two meeting, or is that classified information?”

  “Nothing is classified information as far as you’re concerned.”

  “Not anymore.”

  “It’s a message board for a TV show.” He flicked the screen of his laptop.

  “That’s clever and random. Nobody would be looking there for messages from you. Do you have code word screen names and everything? Secret decoder rings?”

  “I wish.” He tapped his keyboard. “I’m Chi Guy—C, H, I—because literally I have no connection to Chicago at all. And Josh is Tom58.”

  “Because...?”

  “Because it means nothing.”

  “Yeah, I think you guys should stick to your day jobs. You could at least have some meaningful screen names.”

  “I’d love to be sticking to my day job.”

  She tucked her hair behind her ear and pulled up her email. She deleted the ads and double-clicked on the message from the school that confirmed her grades were accepted for the school year. At least that was one worry off her mind.

  Next she double-clicked on a message from Gabby. Smiling, she nudged Miguel’s arm. “Gabby sent a picture of Mikey eating his breakfast.

  “Miguel?” She turned her head
and her heart stuttered when she took in Miguel’s taut face and bouncing knee. “What’s wrong?”

  “Josh sent me a message and it’s not good.”

  “Tell me.”

  “The word’s out—I’m a traitor to my country.”

  Jennifer put her hand on his. “What does that even mean?”

  “It means they’re going to use all their resources to bring me in and once they get me there, they have the doctors on their side to label me as crazy or a traitor or whatever it takes so that I’m not believed. The mole must know I’m onto him—and he must be powerful.”

  “You have people who believe you, Miguel. You have Josh and your other teammates.”

  “They don’t matter now. Josh indicated the rumor is that I turned and set up that SEAL team, that it was me who led them into the trap.”

  “D-does Josh have any suggestions?”

  “He wants me to work with Ariel.”

  “I thought he had suspicions about her.”

  “He did, but she handled his situation so well that he’s backtracking on that. He thinks she’s the only one who’s gonna get me out of this.”

  “What if it’s all a setup?”

  Miguel dragged his fingers through his hair. “Not Josh, never Josh.”

  “I don’t mean Josh. What if Ariel is whispering sweet nothings into Josh’s ear to get him to soften you up? She gained his trust to bring you in.”

  “I don’t know, Jen.” He snapped the laptop closed and shoved it into his case. “I’ve been thinking about how I’m going to draw out this mole. It’s going to take some counterintelligence. Just like my original capture when someone planted intel to get us into those mountains, I’m going to have to plant some information that’s going to lure out a rodent.”

  “You’re going to have to get proof, Miguel. If this mole is high up in the food chain, nobody’s going to believe you without proof.”

  “I plan to, but it all goes back to that debriefing center.” He circled his finger in the air like he was drawing a bull’s-eye. “There is something rotten to the core there, and I’m going to find out what it is.”

  * * *

  ON THE PLANE, Miguel tried to engage Josh again, but his teammate hadn’t responded to his questions yet.