by Jeanne Adams
"Tall for his age, yeah. He's ten, but everyone thinks he's twelve."
"He doesn't have his father's big build," the woman observed, squinting and shading her eyes to get a better view. "He's got more of a basketball player's leanness."
"Oh, Charlie's his stepfather. But they have the best time together," the lie flowed easily, thank God. "We've only been married a short time." Crap, she couldn't remember how long they were supposed to have been married.
"Well, that explains the newlywed googoo eyes he keeps shooting you," the woman smirked. "Lucky you. Eb and I've been married for fifteen years, and I'd give a pile of money to have that pre-kid time again, at least for a few hours. Or days," she slanted Dana a knowing look.
Not liking the turn of the conversation, Dana made a noncommittal noise, then said, "Oh look, it's a major chase now."
Eb had the Frisbee, and boys and dogs were in a dead run after him. Caine was laughing at them, but not in the midst of it. He scanned the area before closing in on the action. He favored his injured leg, but covered it so well, she'd have missed it if she didn't know.
"Go long, Charlie," Eb called and Caine trotted their way, arm snaking out to catch the flying disc seconds before Shadow's teeth clamped onto it.
Grinning at the other woman, he paused long enough to give Dana a kiss and mutter, "Kiss toll," as if everything were normal between them. He turned and flipped the missile into the fray.
Claire sighed. "As I said, lucky you. It's nice you have such a spark. And with such a guy."
The words arrowed into Dana's brain. A spark. That was so pale a word to describe ...
"Oh no," the woman teased. "That brought a blush. Sorry."
But she didn't sound the least bit contrite.
It hit Dana with the impact of a freight train. That was no spark, it was a freakin' forest fire.
Dammit, dammit, dammit. She did not want to be in love with Caine Bradley; especially now, when he was treating her as if she were a leper. But a wall within her gave way, and emotion fired in the pit of her stomach.
It was a conflagration.
It was staggering.
Her rational mind knew the little water bucket she had, full of reasons why it was stupid and useless, would never be enough to put it out.
Caine saw Dana go pale and stagger a bit and was instantly on alert. He ignored the other man's questions about what he did and where he was from in an effort to see what had so deeply disturbed Dana.
"Excuse me, Eb, I'll be right back." Gritting his teeth to block the pain in his leg, he jogged over to where she stood, hands rubbing her arms briskly, as if to warm them.
"Hey honey, you okay?"
"I'm fine, really. I got one of those walk-on-your-grave shivers, you know? Must be the wind."
"Oh, I get those sometimes," Eb's wife said, reaching out to pat Dana. He saw that Dana was uncomfortable with the contact, but she held her ground, giving him no notion of what was bothering her.
"Charlie, I know you met Eb; this is his wife, Claire."
Caine held out his hand and they shook. Hers was a firm grip, and she gave him a sly smile. "Your lovely wife here tells me you're practically newlyweds. You're a lucky couple, I adore it when people are so smitten. It's great to see in this divorce-me-now kind of society, don't you think?"
Oh. That gave him an inkling of where the women's conversation was directed. No wonder Dana looked off her game.
"Yeah, it is, isn't it, honey?" He leaned in and kissed her again, sensed a shimmering quiver in her skin. "You okay?" he whispered.
She returned the light peck then playfully tugged at him so he would lean closer. "I'm fine, but I have to get away from this woman."
"Hey Charlie," Eb called. "Okay if Mike goes over to the jungle gym?"
"Yeah, I'll be right with you."
"We'll all go over," Dana said. "I'll need to leash Shadow with the other children around."
"Oh, yeah," Claire said, jingling her own dog's leash. "The park patrol doesn't come around much, but they get snarky if your dog's unleashed. Then again, so do some of the parents."
"I don't blame them, especially with our dog," Caine said, whistling for Shadow. To his delight, the dog responded instantly. "He's big. I think some find him intimidating."
"I'll bet he's a pussycat, isn't he?" the woman cooed and went to one knee to pet Shadow. The dog tolerated the caresses, but was focused on Dana and Caine, who had summoned him.
"Yeah, a bed dog," Dana remarked, clipping the leash on.
"I'd better go get Cullen before he finds a deer scent. Last time it took us an hour to catch him, once we put the Frisbee away."
The woman clucked to her dog and cunning creature that he was, he headed the other way. Claire called something to her husband and pointed to the dog. He nodded and waved her on. Dana took a seat not too far from the jungle gym, Shadow at her side.
"I'll stay with Mike," Caine said, giving her a reassuring squeeze.
"Hey Charlie, check out the boys," Eb said as he walked over.
To Caine's amazement, both boys were on top of the jungle gym, hanging upside down. "Wow."
"Braver than me, I'll tell ya'."
"Yeah," Caine's answer was noncommittal. The boys' agility reminded him painfully of dangling off a cliff in Afghanistan, two members of the resistance clipped below him and hanging on with everything they had after having slipped. His heart jolted, and he wondered if it would be too obvious, too overprotective, to tell Xavy to get down.
"So, you and the family are traveling home?"
"Yeah."
"Too bad. Never seen our Tommy take to someone so quickly. Be nice if you were local." The other man sighed. "Tommy's a good boy, but introverted. Stays to himself. Your boy seems more outgoing."
"He is. His mother's been really great about getting him out, but I think it's in his nature anyway."
"Nature. Yeah. That's the problem. Tommy's more of a bookworm, ya' know? He likes the park, though."
"Yeah, I know. Hey Eb, if you've got these two for a sec, I need to talk to Sara."
"Go ahead, I'll be right here."
Knowing he could be at the jungle gym in seconds, Caine went to Dana, sat beside her and slid an arm around her, pulling her close.
Smiling at another parent walking by, Caine waited until the woman was out of earshot before he said, conversationally, "What happened with Claire? The way you looked I thought Walker was here in full riot mode."
"I'm sorry... honey," Dana apologized. "Claire was nattering on about us being newlyweds and acting it, and... I nearly freaked. I realized I didn't remember our cover, how long we were supposed to have been married, none of the details. I've never had to go to ground with anyone else. Just me and... Mike."
He tightened his grip. He told himself it was for support, but it was a lie. He wanted to hold her, protect her. He wanted to tell her everything would be fine. But, she'd made it clear she didn't want that. Besides, it wasn't true. They were still very much in danger.
"I get it." He glanced around, checked for listeners. "My contact says the leak isn't fixed. Walker's not counting on us walking into the trap, though he's ready if we're stupid enough for it. He's planning on running us down. My contact thinks he'll call, confirm the meet in Richmond. He also believes he's got us on radar somehow and is going to hit sooner."
"Sooner?" Dana exclaimed, struggling in his grasp. Her head whipped around as she scanned for danger.
"Stop it, Dana. We didn't come this far for you to panic."
He saw the flush of anger, the fire in her eyes. He couldn't have said why it made him want her desperately.
Here. Now.
So he did the one, socially acceptable thing that came to mind. He kissed her.
Anger flavored her response, but she did respond and he grinned. She might not want him, but God, what a woman.
"What was that for?" she hissed even as she covered her emotions with a sunny smile at a gorgeous toddler and her nanny.
"You're beautiful when you're angry," he said, whispering it in her ear.
"Clichés now, Charlie?" she emphasized his name.
Ah, still mad.
"Not when it's true. It's time for WitSec, Sara, and protective custody. Both of you. It'll buy you a couple years of peace. For that." He pointed at the boy, now balanced on a rope bridge in a pirate ship play structure, laughing like a loon. "He shouldn't wonder if you'll come home."
Under his arm, her body tensed. For several long minutes she was silent. Maybe now she would agree. He wanted her to agree. He wanted to know she and Xavy were protected.
While his head told him the program was compromised—for her, even WitSec wasn't secure— his heart wanted her safe. He knew the new identity, the security another life would bring might be false, fleeting, and dangerous. Yet somehow it seemed better than what they were doing.
"No."
"What?"
"We've been through all this, Ca ... Charlie. Tervain's put the plans in place. We have to see it through." She was silent for a moment as they watched Xavier navigate a tire bridge, then slide along a slant beam with an audible "Wheeeeee." "It's for his sake that I have to go, end this."
"But..."
"Who are you?" she said suddenly, facing him. "Why are you saying this?" She must have seen something in his eyes, his face, because she turned away, a hand to her mouth. "Don't do this to me," she whispered. "I'm not strong enough."
He hesitated, then said, "Dana ..."
"No, Caine." She said it quietly, with conviction. Her ironclad decision showed in her posture. "I'm not what you think. I'm damaged goods, too scared to trust, and this... this thing between us... who knows what that is?"
What was she saying? Was she changing her mind? "No way to find out if you get killed."
"Or you do."
"We need breathing room ... Sara," Caine said, barely remembering to use cover.
Anger rose at the realization of his mistake. Where the hell was his professionalism? If he didn't pull it together, he was going to get them all killed. Perfect time to remember he was a man, just in time to forget he was an agent and have them all end up good and dead because he fucked up. Again.
"If we go in, even prepared for a trap," he hissed. "We may not come out. We might never know..."
"Know that we're not suited? Know that it was a fleeting moment of attraction?" she growled, her voice low, but hard. She didn't look at him, never glanced his way, even as she leaned into him. Her attention was all for the playing children. He saw the fire in her striking eyes as he looked down at her, the dark lashes framed the elegant sweep of color on her rosy skin.
"And if I tell you it isn't momentary, for me?" He knew he risked all his emotions on her answer; a roll of the dice.
She froze, her body rigid in the circle of his arm. Shadow whined, and stood, responding to the subtle cues of distress.
"Hey Mom, look!" She waved at Xavier, pretended to laugh as the two boys raced each other around to slide down a twisting slide, competing for who could get there first.
When she finally looked at him, her gaze was sharp, and something ... exultant shimmered over her features.
"Then all the more reason. Dammit, it's time to quit circling the wagons and go on the warpath ourselves," she declared fiercely.
It took him four full seconds to process the analogy.
Then it pissed him off. She wasn't being reasonable. He was the agent, the expert. He knew what Walker would do. He knew what would happen. Dammit. Why was she being so stubborn?
"You can't be serious," Caine snarled. He fought to maintain casual body language even though he was fighting mad. "Circle the wagons, my ass. I can't protect you."
"No one can. Not anymore. There's no guarantee, period," she told him, with equal intensity. "But if Donovan goes down, then Xavy has a chance for this," she nodded toward the boys playing once more on the jungle gym.
"And if Walker escapes, goes underground again?"
Swiveling on the seat, she gazed at him, her face solemn. "Do you think he'll survive this? It's him or me, Caine, and he knows it. I'll kill him, or he'll kill me. It's time to make a stand. I won't run anymore. We do it Ter-vain's way, take the chance, or I take the car, go home to Petersburg and clean my house. I'll meet him there, on my ground, if I can't do it any other way."
"No, not that way, that's the worst possible . . . Canada—"
"No. That's out. I did a lot of thinking when you were out last night. I'm not running." She gripped his arm. "Help me. Help me do it the other way, the best way. I know the risks. Hell, breathing is risky sometimes. I have to try."
He opened his mouth to protest. Then shut it. What the hell did he know? Maybe she was right. The thought of risking her, risking Xavier, froze his heart, but the thought of them forever running, threatened to break it.
"Are we done fighting about this now?" she asked, not calmly, but softly. "Because we can't sit her like this much longer. It's too obvious."
"Yeah. We're done. For now. I'll relieve Eb, then we'll make our excuses." He rose to stretch and spotted Eb's wife.
"What?"
"Claire caught the dog. She's on her way over. Endure it, if you can," he said, hearing her sigh. "My leg's rested. We've finished arguing. I think we're done here."
His attempt at humor was met with a snort of laughter, quickly disguised as a cough when Claire strode up. With that validation, he left her to fend off the other woman.
"Whew," Claire said, plopping down on the bench. "Stubborn dog. He gave me quite the run. Then again, I needed it." She winked at Dana, and mock-whispered, "And it gave me a few minutes to myself, you know?"
"Yeah," Dana replied, glancing at Caine and Xavy.
"Wow, look how much fun they're having."
"It's a treat to watch. I think they've tried out every piece of equipment on the playground."
"Really?" Claire sounded surprised. "That's wonderful. Tommy usually sticks to the swings. Then again, he's almost always by himself."
"Well, he's made up for it today," Dana pointed to where the boys were, setting the Frisbee on the pirate ship's deck, sliding down to grab it and toss it onto the jungle gym once more.
"I'll say. I'm amazed. Your boy's a great influence on him," Claire enthused. "Oh, Sara, I do wish you lived close by."
"It would be nice," Dana murmured as a pod of small boys came running onto the playground. They were all dressed in soccer uniforms.
"It must be first day of practice for the little guys. Half-day kindergarten around here," Claire rolled her eyes. "Thank heavens I'm past that and don't have to find entertainment for him all the time."
Kindergarten. It was so long ago. Dana wistfully remembered Xavy's first day of school as she watched the younger boys run to various pieces of favorite equipment. The noise level on the playground increased tenfold.
Where had they been for kindergarten? Cleveland? Milwaukee? No, Milwaukee had been first grade. She was trying to ferret out the city when she heard Xavier holler.
Chapter Sixteen
On her feet in a flash and running before she knew it, Dana beat Shadow to Xavier by less than a second. Caine beat them both.
"Baby, are you all right? No, don't move, but tell me—"
"I didn't hit my head, Mom," he said, struggling to sit. She pushed him down. Gently. "But my arm hurts."
"Let me see."
"Ow," the boy exclaimed, clutching at his forearm.
Caine pried his hand away. "Hang on, buddy. Let your mom see it." A reassuring presence, Caine knelt next to Xavy, while Dana peeled the jacket away. Blood ran down her hands from a cut on his arm.
"Oh, shit," Xavier said, his face going pale and green.
"Don't curse," Dana said automatically.
"Is it bad?" the boy's voice was frantic. "It's bleeding. Maaaaama, it hurts."
"Not too bad," Caine remarked calmly. "You hit it wrong, did a little damage. We'll just pop into the emergency r
oom, have it checked out."
"Shady Grove Hospital's close by," Eb said, hovering beyond Caine, a frightened looking Tommy clutched to his side. "Is he going to be okay? Oh, gosh," he fumbled.
"He'll be fine," Caine reassured, as he helped Xavier to his feet and herded them all toward the car. Shadow, on full alert, rumbled a growl at anyone in their path.
"Oh, Sara, I'm so sorry," Claire said, ignoring the dog's warnings long enough to give Dana a hug. "You hang tough, Mike," she hugged Xavy as well. "It's just a scratch."
Dana helped Xavy and Shadow into the car as Caine got directions from Eb. She managed a wave as the other family called their goodbyes. True to Eb's directions, they were at the emergency room within minutes.
"How are we going to handle this? It's a paper trail."
"I've dealt with this before." Caine deftly parked the car, then lifted Xavier into his arms. "If we need it, there's an insurance card in my wallet."
The ER was quiet, and they were seen quickly. "Hmmm, good long cut you got there, young man," the attending physician muttered. "On a jungle gym, you say?"
"Yes, we're on our way home to Cumberland. We were at the park, and he was restless after being in the car."
"Ah, yes. Well, a couple of stitches and you'll be right as rain. Have a scar to show off to your friends at school."
"Mom," Xavy's voice wavered between manly stoicism and tears.
"It's okay, honey. The doctor will numb your arm, then do the stitches. You don't have to watch."
"Here," Caine said, swinging a leg over the high bed and sitting behind the trembling boy. Dana didn't miss the wince as his own injury was affected by the maneuver. "Lean into me and shut your eyes. You'll feel the needle stick for the numbing stuff, that's it."
"Ouuuuuuuuuch," Xavy wailed and flinched as the doctor began numbing the area, and Dana winced with him. It hurt her to have her baby hurt. To see Caine there, solid as a rock, holding her child hurt too, in a pleasure and pain sort of way. The conflict must have shown in her face, because he reached out, held her hand tightly, mouthing, "It's okay. He's okay."
With a nod, she distracted Xavy with chatter about the dog and how much fun it had been to watch him play with Tommy.