Operation Reunion

by Justine Davis

  “And you want to be alone,” she said. “Away. From me.”

  No, she didn’t argue, but she didn’t leave it at that, either. She knew him too well.

  “Yes,” he said, not seeing the point in denying it. His brain knew the truth; they were over. His heart, gut and especially his body were taking a lot longer to get the message.

  “I’ll rap on the window first when I come back.”

  She didn’t answer. He supposed there was nothing more to say. He set the lock, closed the door behind him, shoved the key into his pocket and just stood there for a moment.

  In the short time they’d been inside clouds had rolled in, turning what had been a sunny day into the typical grayness. “Junuary” in the Northwest, he thought. Normally it didn’t bother him; this time of year the sun rose at 4:30 a.m. and it didn’t really get dark until nearly ten, so there was more than enough daylight. At 4:30 a.m., it seemed too much.

  But that was in Kayla’s house, where her bedroom windows faced—had faced—east. He wondered what was left of it now.

  She’d wanted to go by, wanted to see just how bad it was, but he’d followed Quinn’s advice to get her under wraps right away. It had been only advice, but something about the man, some air of knowledge, of command, made it hard to do anything else.

  Dane knew he was ex-military, and he suspected that both Teague and Rafe were also. He’d asked once if all Foxworth people were, and got, “Many, but not all,” as his answer.

  He wondered what a nonmilitary person had to do or be to make it into the Foxworth fold, what criteria they had. From what he’d seen of Quinn, it was probably very particular.

  Dane walked around the building, trying to untangle his chaotic thoughts. He was usually more organized in his thinking, and this tumbling from one subject to the next, like a billiard ball bouncing off the sides of the table, was disconcerting. He knew it was all to keep from thinking about the one thing that was unbearable, but he couldn’t seem to find anything strong enough to put it out of his mind.

  He finished his circuit, trying to set the details in his mind. The faded red sedan parked behind the office was likely the clerk’s, and he guessed whoever worked the next shift would park in the same place. The trees had been cleared enough to give a good fifteen feet of grass around the back of the building, and the parking area was a clear field of view out to the street.

  He supposed it would be possible to come in through the trees and not be seen. It appeared to be open forest behind them, and fences weren’t the norm out here. So if he assumed any approach would be from the rear, the only weakness he could see was the bathroom window. It was the only window in the room that opened to the back. It was high, but not impossible to reach. And it was small, but an adult could get through if they had time to squirm or were particularly athletic. The frosted glass prevented anyone from seeing inside but also declared exactly what room it was.

  Once he had it set in his mind, he headed back. Kayla had opened the curtains in the front window, but thankfully she wasn’t in sight. He tapped the window with his knuckles as he went by to let her know it was him.

  When he unlocked the door and stepped inside, he saw that she had pulled one of the two upholstered chairs off to one side, to where she could see through the opened curtains but not be seen except by someone right at the window or at an extreme angle. So she was, at least, taking this seriously. That relieved some of the pressure that had been building.

  She was sitting in that chair and talking on her phone. She glanced up when he came in.

  “You’re not telling anyone where you are?”

  The look she gave him was both answer and opinion.

  “Sorry,” he muttered as he locked the door behind him, stifling the urge to close the curtains; she was taking care and he didn’t want to upset her more than she already was.

  He walked back to the bathroom and checked the window that had caught his attention. There was a latch on the lower sash, but it was a bit flimsy and old, and he imagined it wouldn’t take a lot to overpower or break it, even from the outside.

  Warning was the best he could do, so he took the paper-wrapped glasses that were next to the ice-bucket on the dresser, unwrapped them and lined them up on upper edge of the lower sash of the window. There was just enough room for them to balance a bit precariously. He might not be able to stop somebody from trying to open that window, but at least he could make it a noisy proposition. He’d have to warn Kayla; it wouldn’t take much to knock those off.

  When he came back into the main room, Kayla was off the phone.

  “Hayley is coming over. She’s bringing clothes and toothbrushes and stuff.”

  He tensed. “Clothes? She’s not going to your place, is she?”

  Kayla looked at him rather oddly. “No, she bought things. My stuff will need to be cleaned. If there’s anything left,” she ended sadly. “I gave her your sizes and preferences earlier.”

  “Oh.” He tried to ignore the implied intimacy of that last bit. She was still giving him that quizzical look, and he felt compelled to add, “I just didn’t want her coming from there straight here. Quinn said arsonists like to revisit.”

  “And you thought he might follow her? When did you become Mr. Super Spy?”

  “The moment somebody tried to kill you,” he said.

  She stared at him for a moment, then lowered her gaze. He saw the faint tinge of color appear in her cheeks. He knew her too well not to guess accurately what she was thinking.

  “I don’t want it to end that way,” he repeated bluntly. “We’ll see this through, and then we can both walk away clean.”

  Her head came up. “If we see this through,” she said, “then the reason you’re leaving will be resolved.”

  He’d thought of that. Repeatedly. But right now he was hurting too much to see hope there. “Unless it’s not Chad. Then you’ll go on and on searching until you’ve wasted your life on it.”

  “I promised you I’d accept what Foxworth found.”

  “What they’ve found is evidence your brother tried to kill you.”

  “Evidence someone did,” she said, her defense of Chad immediate and automatic.

  “I believe we’ve just arrived back at what they call square one.”

  For a long moment they stood there silently, the impasse almost tangible between them. He saw the pain in her eyes and guessed it was probably echoed in his. He would never have believed it would come to this, nor could he keep going. He would see this through, make sure she was safe. This would end—they would end—on his terms. And then he would start learning to live a life without her.

  Somehow.

  Chapter 26

  The slamming of a car door and a bark sounded from outside almost simultaneously. Hayley, Kayla thought. And Cutter, apparently.

  She walked to the window and saw that Hayley had also parked farther down the row of rooms on the other side of their borrowed car. She doubted anybody could have found them this quickly, but she supposed the precaution was wise.

  A quick glance at Dane told her he approved. He seemed so different now, she thought with a growing qualm. He wasn’t her laid-back, easygoing Dane anymore. He was edgy, sharp and...distant. As if it were already over, as if he were already pulling back, treating her as if she were merely someone he knew, not someone he’d spent ten years of his life with, not someone who had been his passionate and only lover for the last five of those.

  She heard another bark and looked out the window in time to see Cutter jump from the back of Hayley’s small red SUV to the ground. He raced ahead, coming to a stop at their door. How he knew which room they were in was beyond her.

  “He must have picked up our scent or something,” Dane said.

  Kayla smothered the instant pang; they had always been so in tune they answered each other’s unspoken thoughts.

  The sound of scratching came at the door, then the doorknob rattled.

  “I swear, if you gave him a key,
he’d figure out how to use it,” Kayla said as she walked over to the door. She was grateful for the distraction; she simply couldn’t bear thinking about a life without Dane. Especially because she’d done it herself, with her inability to let go of her faith in her brother.

  For a long time it had seemed to her an unfair pressure. How could he expect her to give up her quest to find Chad? But now, faced with the price of that quest, she wasn’t at all sure anymore that it was worth it. Chad was her brother and she loved him, but Dane was her entire future.

  Or at least, he had been.

  She turned the knob, but didn’t have to pull the door open; Cutter took care of that. He pushed it back and came in as if he belonged. He greeted them both with nudges and licks and then sat before them, looking from one to the other. And as if he’d read the tension between them, he let out an audible sigh that sounded exasperated. If he was human, Kayla thought, he’d be shaking his head in disgust at them.

  “That dog,” Dane muttered.

  And then Hayley was there, four shopping bags in hand. She stepped in, and Kayla closed the door behind her.

  “Nice enough,” Hayley said as she scanned the room.

  “It’s clean,” Kayla said.

  “Always my priority,” Hayley said with a laugh. “I can put up with old and worn if it’s clean.”

  “Especially the bathroom,” Kayla said, forcing a smile in response.

  “Speaking of which, careful around the window in there,” Dane said, then explained what he’d done with the glasses.

  “Good idea,” Hayley said.

  “It’s the only vulnerable spot on that side.”

  “He’s turned into quite the operative,” Kayla said, trying to keep her tone even. “Quinn must have taught him a lot in a short time.”

  “Or he’s just thinking of everything. When someone you love is in danger, it happens that way.”

  Kayla stopped herself from saying he didn’t love her, not anymore. She didn’t want to hear it, not aloud, not in her own voice, because that would make it too real. Besides, it wasn’t true, not really. He couldn’t turn it off just like that—it wasn’t humanly possible. Dane might be the strongest man she’d ever known, in his own quiet way, but he wasn’t a robot who could turn his emotions off at will. His love might be dying, but it wasn’t dead yet. She wasn’t sure that gave her much hope, but she clung to what flicker there was.

  “His and her clothes,” Hayley said, holding up two of the bags and tossing them on one of the beds. “Jeans and T-shirts, underwear, socks and shoes for you, Kayla, because yours are pretty messed up. Toothbrushes and toothpaste, razors, all that are in there too.”

  “Thank you,” she answered.

  Dane merely nodded; if he found anything uncomfortable about Hayley buying him underwear, it didn’t show. Odd; if it had been reversed and Quinn had done the shopping, she would have been beyond embarrassed at the sight of the silky bra and panties she found in the bag.

  Guys, she thought.

  “He does still love you, you know,” Hayley said quietly when Dane had gone to put the toiletries in the bathroom. “Look how he came running when you needed him.”

  “You don’t understand,” Kayla said tiredly. “That’s just Dane. It’s who he is.”

  She reached down and petted Cutter’s silky head. There was something amazingly soothing about the action, as she’d learned after the explosion when she’d spent a long, quiet time huddled on the couch in Hayley and Quinn’s living room, with the dog half in her lap. She’d finally gone to sleep, a surprisingly dreamless, peaceful sleep she’d never expected to manage.

  Hayley held up the third bag. “Some books and magazines if you get bored.”

  “Thank you,” she repeated. “When you said you’d help find Chad, I never thought it would come to this kind of thing.”

  Hayley laughed. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned since going to work at Foxworth, it’s that things rarely go how you think they will.”

  “Want to make fate laugh, make plans,” Dane said as he came back.

  Was that aimed at her? Kayla wondered. Was there an undertone of bitterness in the words? There was certainly a harsh note that wasn’t like him. But then, nothing was normal anymore. Not in a world where they, of all couples, could be torn apart.

  “Exactly,” Hayley said. “Now, you should be okay here at least for a while. Quinn’s working on a better location, but that takes a little time.”

  “How long do you think I’m going to have to hide?” Kayla asked, more than a little alarmed at the idea it might be more than a day or two.

  “Until we find who did this,” Hayley said, serious now. She might have been putting on a cheerful front, but she didn’t make light of the situation.

  “You really think I’m still in danger?”

  “That’s what we’re trying to avoid. And to that end, I’m leaving you our portable burglar alarm.”

  Kayla blinked, looking around for some bag or package she hadn’t seen. Then Cutter yipped, sounding very pleased with himself.

  Or his assignment, Kayla realized.

  “Cutter?” Dane said, sounding startled now.

  “Cutter,” Hayley confirmed. “He’s better than any mechanical alarm system. And this way you both can get some sleep.”

  With an effort Kayla didn’t look at Dane. And she was grateful when Hayley went on, giving instructions on how it would work.

  “Walk him around and show him how things are now, so he’ll know. Then he’ll let you know long before anybody gets close enough to be trouble. And he’ll show you where they’re coming from.”

  Kayla shifted her gaze to the dog, who was watching intently. “Seriously?”

  “Seriously. I can’t explain it, and neither can Quinn. He just seems to know what to do.”

  Dane frowned. “Is he ex-military, too?”

  Hayley laughed and scratched her dog’s ears. “We’ve wondered, but we don’t know. The vet says he’s young, so we don’t think so, but he sure seems to act like a trained war dog sometimes.”

  “So you haven’t had him since he was a puppy?” Dane asked.

  “No.” Hayley smiled, and her voice went very soft. “He just showed up on my doorstep on the day I needed him most. You’ll find he does that a lot. He just seems to know that, too.”

  Dane’s mouth quirked. “You sure he’s not an alien in a dog suit?”

  “No,” Hayley said and laughed.

  The atmosphere in the room had lightened considerably, Kayla thought. Cutter was also, it seemed, a great distraction. And, she thought, he would be a buffer, something to focus on, to think about, besides the awful tension between her and Dane. Kayla wondered if that was part of the reason Hayley had brought Cutter. She wouldn’t put it past her; the woman was not only kind and understanding, she was also perceptive.

  “I brought some food for him and a couple of bowls,” Hayley said, at last getting to the fourth bag. “He’s good about only eating what he wants, so you can leave it full. Water’s more important. And he’s not above the occasional people-food treat, especially if you hand feed him, but don’t overdo it.”

  “They allow dogs here?” Kayla asked, suddenly doubtful.

  “They’re allowing this one,” Hayley said. Kayla wondered how they’d managed that and guessed it hadn’t been cheap.

  “He’ll let you know when he needs out,” Hayley went on. “He’s very polite about it. He’ll get your attention, then go sit by the door. Just let him go on his own, he’ll be back quickly.”

  Dane shook his head, as if in wonder. “I suppose his...warnings are different?”

  “Yes,” Hayley said. “He won’t leave you any doubt. If it’s someone he knows, one of us, he’ll give all the usual happy-dog signals. If it’s not, if it’s a threat, he’ll act like he’s going to jump out of his fur if you don’t let him get at them.”

  “What about animals?”

  “Normally, he gets as revved up as any dog
when he smells or spots critters. But when he’s on guard, oddly, no. He seems to know when it’s people we’re guarding against.”

  Dane shook his head. Hayley laughed.

  “We’ve given up trying to figure it out. Especially because every day he surprises us with something new.” She grinned. “Of course, just about the time we decide he really is that alien in disguise, he does something utterly doglike, like digging up the garden or dragging home a dead tree rat, and we slide back into reality.”

  Kayla and Dane both laughed in turn. It seemed impossible not to.

  Hayley took something out of the bag slung over her shoulder. She handed it to Dane. Kayla thought at first it was a cell phone, but it only had four numbered buttons and a couple of larger ones—one was black with the standard on/off symbol and the other red.

  “This is a Foxworth walkie-talkie. It uses rotating frequencies, but the signal is always scrambled, so no one can hear you except someone with another one of these. It has a range of about five miles. If you need anything, use it. But if something happens, if Cutter signals strangers coming, you use that red button. It broadcasts to everyone, and Quinn, Rafe and Teague all have them on them now.”

  “But if its range is only five miles...” Dane began.

  “There will be somebody within that range at all times until this is resolved.”

  Kayla drew back slightly. “You mean you’re guarding us?”

  “We’re keeping an eye on this place, yes.”

  “Twenty-four/seven?” Dane asked.

  “Yes. Quinn’s nothing if not thorough.”

  “But what about finding Chad?”

  Kayla sensed rather than saw Dane’s demeanor instantly shift; the tension was back that quickly.

  “We’re still on it. When one is watching, the other three—and me—are working on that.”

  “Sleep much?” Dane asked.

  “On a case? Not so much,” Hayley said. “If you turn on the TV, keep it down. Muted with closed captions would be better. Nothing to interfere with your alarm system.”

  She crouched down beside Cutter, who had given every appearance of following the conversation intently.