Shadowed

by Kariss Lynch

  Nick wanted to swear but bit his tongue, immediately tasting blood.

  “Hawk, why is a picture of you and my sister in this envelope?” Micah snatched the note sheet out of Nick’s hands. Nick reached for the picture, a shot of him and Kaylan at the beach, covered in sand from a game of volleyball. Kaylan had this picture up somewhere in her house.

  His heart sank all the way to his toes. Kaylan.

  “Hawk, what does this say?”

  Nick licked his lips, his voice shaky as he responded. “It’s Russian. It says, ‘It’s me or her. Take your pick.’” He met Micah’s eyes, his fear full blown. “It’s the same handwriting as the note we found on The Jupiter.”

  “Janus,” Micah spat. “How did she get this picture, Hawk?” Micah met him nose to nose. “How the heck did she get this picture of you and my sister?”

  “I don’t know. But here’s another question: How does she know my full name? And why didn’t she use my last name? No one has ever called me Nikolai. And no one spells it like that. Who is this woman?”

  Micah tossed the paper on the table. “I’m calling Kaylan. Get that stuff in a Ziploc bag and let’s take it to base now. First Logan and now a picture of Kaylan. This chick just messed with the wrong Frogmen. Time to call in my buddy in the FBI.”

  Janus’s gaze drifted to the calendar. Nick would have her letter right now. She’d sent it to Victor, then had him send it from Moscow. No way the envelope could be traced back to her exactly. No fingerprints. No DNA. Nothing. She’d even selected the paper from the stash she’d purchased in a Ukrainian market. Let him wonder how much she knew and where she stalked him.

  He would not ruin her life. Not again.

  She poured vodka in a tumbler and gazed around her new home. She’d furnished the rooms exactly as she liked them. She’d purchased new furniture, a new coverlet, and pillows for the bed. Money was no object.

  Men always wanted weapons, and her boss knew where to find them. She offered her clients an endless supply, terrorists or politicians. Sometimes the line blurred. If she pocketed some of the profit now and then, the big man remained oblivious. His bank accounts overflowed.

  She’d alerted her boss. The team had returned. From what she’d gathered, one appeared injured and might possibly lose a leg. She had a man on it, a rather handsome one at that. It amazed her how talkative nurses could be over coffee with a handsome stranger after a long night on shift.

  She took a swig of the vodka, thankful for the taste of home. She really did prefer the bourbon, though. Or maybe a nice glass of wine charged to the boss’s account.

  Her chest tightened. They were too close, and he breathed down her neck like a dragon, one step away from writing her death sentence. How to take care of both problems?

  She wouldn’t live the rest of her life behind bars, and the SEAL team knew too much, would chase her to the ends of the earth until they ended their mission. Maybe it was time to look into real estate on a remote beach somewhere.

  But if she couldn’t run, one option remained. She could run right to the thing the team wanted most. Her boss.

  Her hands began to shake. If only she were as noble as Andrei, as kind, as self-sacrificing.

  A car jerked to a stop down the street, startling her. The glass slipped from her hands, shattering into prismatic shards. Her heart raced and she gripped her chest.

  Enough.

  Nothing could change the past. And nothing could save her now. But she’d vowed long ago that no man would ever control or manipulate her again. If she couldn’t scare Nick away, then she would do whatever necessary to ruin his life and her boss’s in the process.

  It was the only way.

  Chapter 15

  KAYLAN FINISHED UP her meeting with Mr. Armitage. With his invasive surgery looming, she would need to take care and plan his diet accordingly. The hospital dietician continually taught her how to keep track of each patient’s medical chart and diet. It could be an overwhelming task at times, but Kaylan decided to adopt the SEAL mentality of never giving up. She would learn this and be better for it.

  Kelly, one of the nurses, stuck her head in the room as Kaylan rose to leave. “Kaylan, two guys are out in the hall making a fuss looking for you. Can you please make them shut up so the patients can get some peace and quiet?”

  “That’s weird. Yeah, I’m coming.” She waved at Mr. Armitage and hurried from the room, following the loud voices coming from near the nurse’s station.

  “If you won’t tell us where she is, we’ll find her ourselves.”

  “Sir, if you don’t calm down I’m calling security.”

  “Ma’am, this is an emergency.”

  Kaylan began to jog, recognizing her brother’s voice. Micah never showed up at work. And he never yelled unless something had happened, usually something bad. She entered the open area around the desk and immediately spotted Micah and Nick. Kaylan rushed forward.

  “Micah, calm down. I’m right here. What is going on?”

  Micah immediately grabbed her arm and pulled her down the hallway out of earshot of the nurses.

  “Micah, that kinda hurts. Let go.”

  “Bulldog, you need to calm down.”

  Micah released Kaylan’s arm and took a deep breath. “Kayles, I’m sorry. We just couldn’t find you, and it was like Haiti all over again and I panicked.”

  “Oh, Micah.” She stepped into her brother’s arms, kicking herself for never realizing the toll their trip to Haiti must have cost him as well. She wasn’t the only one who’d been hurt. He’d tried to find her for days, only to locate the ghost of the girl she used to be.

  She pulled away from her brother. “Okay, now what is the big deal? Is the family okay? Pap, he didn’t have another stroke.” She fought fear and panic in equal measure as she battled to stay calm. “No, it’s not the family, Kayles.”

  Kaylan couldn’t think of what else could possibly warrant a work invasion. She glanced at the clock. She could go home in two hours. What was so urgent?

  Nick held up his smart phone, a grainy photo displayed on his screen. “Do you recognize this?”

  She took the phone from him, squinting at the pixelated shot. “Yeah. It’s that picture of us after playing beach volleyball the first week I moved here.” She smiled. “It’s one of my favorites. That’s funny, though. I meant to ask you about that.”

  “Ask me about what?” His guarded tone sent her heart fluttering.

  “Well, it was in a frame sitting on my dresser, but I can’t find it. I assumed you took it on your trip with you and would give it back when you got home.”

  His eyes widened.

  “I’m guessing that’s not what happened?” She looked from one to the other, annoyance building like a geyser. “Look, you two. Enough of the SEAL code of secrecy. Why are you here, and what’s the big deal with this photo?”

  Nick leaned in closer. “Kaylan, this picture showed up in a letter mailed to me this morning. A letter that has the name written on my birth certificate that no one knows or uses. The letter contained a threat with the photo. Babe, I need you to ask to leave early and come home. We’ve got to f
igure this out, but we can’t talk here.”

  A thousand thoughts raced through her head. Who sent the letter? How in the world did they get the picture? Did that mean . . . “Does that mean someone’s been in my house?”

  Nick and Micah looked at one another, and she knew. “No way. Someone’s been in my house. Someone you’re trying to catch? I’ve got to tell Megan. We’ve got to get Megan.” She fumbled for her phone in the pocket of her scrubs.

  Nick stilled her hands. “We called the FBI and looped in our superiors. The FBI will send agents who will keep a low profile. We’ll take care of Megan. We don’t know for sure they’ve been in your house.”

  “How else would they get that picture, Nick? They didn’t bother to hide the empty frame. Obviously they wanted me to notice. I just thought I was losing things.”

  “Things? Things plural, Kayles? What else have you lost?” Micah’s voice rose again.

  Her eyes darted to Nick. “Please don’t be mad. I’m sure it’s in my room somewhere.”

  “Kaylan.”

  “I can’t find the necklace you gave me. I know I took it off in my room. But I haven’t been able to find it since. But don’t worry. I got sidetracked, but I’ll tear my room apart this weekend and find it.” The blood drained from Nick’s face and Micah’s eyes grew wide.

  They looked at one another. “Please don’t tell me . . . ”

  “We don’t know that yet, Bulldog.”

  “Wait, you don’t think whoever took the picture took my necklace, too?”

  Nick placed his hands on her shoulders. “Kaylan, please go tell them there is an emergency and you need to leave.”

  She shook free and took a step back towards the station. “No. I have less than two hours left, and I want to finish.”

  “Kaylan Richards, do not make me swing you over my shoulder. Get your tail in the car.”

  “No, Micah.” She gritted her teeth. “I am going to finish. Whoever this person is, they are not going to walk into my home and violate that space, then steal my opportunity here too. No way.”

  “Kaylan, please.”

  “No, Nick.” Her voice shook, but she refused to waver. After a few moments of a silent standoff, resignation and a hint of pride flashed across his face. “I would never ask you to play it safe or to give up something, mostly because you wouldn’t want me to. It goes against your very nature to give up. Please. Let me finish.”

  He slowly nodded and pulled her into a quick hug. “We aren’t leaving until you are in your car and on the way to the house.”

  “Fine. But go somewhere and be quiet, will you? I want my coworkers to like me, and you aren’t helping.” With a small smile their way, she left them looking a little lost as she set her sights on finishing the day strong, no matter how much her hands shook.

  Chapter 16

  EVERY INSTINCT IN Nick told him to grab Kaylan and run as far away as possible. They could be happy somewhere else, anywhere that Janus couldn’t find them. A shack in Haiti. The beach in Australia. A cottage in England. He didn’t care. Any other option seemed better than reality . . . one of the most-wanted arms dealers in the world knew his girlfriend’s address.

  Nick had to concentrate not to step on Kaylan’s heels as he and Micah flanked her all the way to her front door. “Kayles.” Nick placed his hand on her waist and nodded to Micah.

  Without a word his friend took the keys from Kaylan’s hand and unlocked the door, then went on ahead to check inside. Nick pulled her close to him and kissed her cheek before glancing around the neighborhood.

  “Is this necessary if you called in the FBI?” Kaylan’s soft voice reinforced his protective instincts. “I don’t see why you can’t just take care of this.”

  “It’s necessary because this is way out of our hands. We asked them to keep a low profile, and we already told them all we could, but this isn’t optional, Kaylan.” He motioned for Kaylan to follow him into the house.

  Micah met them at the door. “No one’s home.”

  “Anything look out of place, babe?”

  She walked through the house, her eyes darting back and forth. They followed her down the hall to the guest bathroom and Megan’s room then into her room. She shook her head. “It just looks lived in. Neither of us has been home much the last couple of weeks. I really wouldn’t know.”

  Nick looked at her nightstand then to her bookshelf in the corner. “Think significant items. Things you might not notice right away but that would carry a lot of sentimental value for you, or us, or your family.”

  Her eyes darted around the room, then she shook her head, tossing her hands in the air. “Nothing. I can’t think of anything. If whoever this is wanted to freak me out or take things I can’t replace, they already took my necklace. They took a photo. I’m officially freaked out.”

  Micah nodded to her nightstand. “Anything in your drawers or under your bed?”

  A faint pink tinged her cheeks and Micah chuckled. “Besides clean laundry, sis.”

  Nick did a double take. “You keep clean laundry under the bed? No way.”

  She turned on him, her pink face now red. “Hey, you said be vulnerable; this is vulnerable. I didn’t have time to fold it yet, all right?”

  A grin spread on his face. “You aren’t as neat as you’re trying to pretend.”

  She threw her hand over her heart. “My fatal flaw. Now can we get back to this?” She got down on her hands and knees and reached under the bed skirt, retrieving the wood box Nick had given her right before she left for Haiti.

  Opening the lid, she rifled through a few papers. Then her hands stilled and her face went white. Nick immediately knelt at her side. Under a few letters lay a picture of her and Sarah Beth, both with red x’s over their faces. Kaylan’s face boasted a question mark over the x.

  Micah punched the wall before turning to face her. “You are not staying here tonight. We are moving you now!”

  Nick picked up the photo and turned it over, trying to touch it as little as possible. In the same Russian script he read, Continue to chase me, and she will end up like her friend.

  “Nick, what does it say?” Kaylan’s voice shook as she leaned in to him.

  He looked at Micah, and a silent understanding passed between them. Panic built in Nick’s gut and threatened to spill over. Never had he been so scared in all his life, not even when he couldn’t locate Kaylan after the earthquake. And he couldn’t control or fix any of it. He knew how to fight the enemy on foreign soil. He knew how to operate within the cloak of night and anonymity. He knew how to use the water as a shield and his body as a weapon. He knew how to use his mind to outwit and outlast any opponent. But he did not know how to protect his girlfriend in her own home on American soil, and the thought paralyzed him.

  The front door banged open, and a high-pitched yelp sounded from the living room. He and Micah shot to their feet, every nerve in Nick’s body ready for a fight.

  “Hello? Anyone home?”

  Kaylan moved past the two of them to greet her roommate. Nick followed her down the hall.

  “Well, I see soldier boy’s here.” Megan smiled as
she dumped grocery bags on the kitchen floor.

  “Soldier boy?” Micah glanced at Nick and grinned.

  “Looks like he brought his sidekick with him.”

  Nick choked down a laugh and put his arm around Kaylan, watching Micah process Megan’s comment.

  “Sidekick? How do you know he’s not my sidekick?”

  Megan looked at him and smirked. “It’s okay, Micah. Everyone either has one or is one. Just accept your role in life.”

  “Do you have any other flavor besides sarcastic?” Micah’s voice held a teasing bite.

  Nick could see this getting out of control. “All right, all right.” He glanced at Micah. “Hey, Megan, can you do us a favor?”

  She hopped up on the counter. “I guess that depends.”

  Nick looked at Kaylan, wondering if this would come better from her, praying she had the discretion to keep it vague.

  She nodded at him, then turned to her roommate. “Megan, would you mind checking your room to see if anything’s missing?”

  Megan’s eyes grew wary as she looked from Kaylan to Nick to Micah. “Why?”

  “There’s a couple things from my room that are missing, and I need to know if it’s just me.”

  “Do you think someone has been in the house?”

  “We’re not sure, Meg. But we need to find out.”

  “Think valuable or sentimental things,” Nick encouraged.

  “Well, that’s a short list.” Megan hopped off the counter. “Perks of a rocky childhood. Give me a few and I’ll check.” She disappeared around the corner.

  Kaylan turned to face them when Megan left the room. “It isn’t safe for her either. If y’all don’t want to tell us what’s going on, then fine. I understand. Kind of. But you need to tell her enough to convince her to leave for a few days. I won’t have her hurt by whatever psycho has a problem with you or me.”