by Kariss Lynch
It was signed Mary Statton.
“That’s where the trail ends as far as your mother is concerned.”
Nick looked away. His eyes found Kaylan’s across the room as laughter and jokes reached his ears. He had everything he ever wanted. Yet he still hoped for answers. Maybe some of the men who served with his dad could give him insight into this mystery woman. If his dad died at twenty-five, then Nick had been conceived at least before that. His dad’s buddies would be late forties, early fifties. He could track them down.
He turned his focus back to Pap. “Thank you for taking the time to do this, sir. It means a lot.”
“You’re family now. As good as blood.” Pap winked. “And even if you didn’t make my granddaughter’s face light up, I would still help you out. You aren’t alone, son.”
Nick shook his hand and rose from the table. Joining the family, he dropped his arm around Kaylan’s shoulders, realizing he would officially belong to this family in a matter of time. No matter his own background, his kids would have parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and uncles.
“Gran’s sweet tea give you a stomachache, Hawk?” Micah punched his arm. “You’re turning kinda green.”
“That’s from your company, Bulldog. I turn green in your presence,” Nick joked.
“From jealousy. I knew you would admit it someday.”
“Mark the date, bro,” Seth said as he took a bite of chicken. “It’ll never happen again.”
“Wishful thinking, Mike,” Dave said, pounding his brother on the back.
Micah threw his arm around Dave’s neck. “You know you want to be me too. Get away from that desk job and play with guns and exploding things.”
“The fact that they let you do that just means that they need their heads examined. And I work very well at a desk.”
Micah and Seth both rolled their eyes. “I have no idea how you do that. I’m thankful God gave you the numbers brain and not me,” Seth quipped. “Although football stats are right up my alley.”
“Speaking of . . . ” Kaylan cut through her brothers’ banter. “Y’all gonna give us a good game tomorrow?”
Nick smothered a grin. Kaylan’s accent deepened at home or when she got off the phone in California after talking with her family. He never got enough of that sound.
“Heck, yes. Roll Tide!” Seth held up his glass, and the rest of the family followed suit. He glared at Nick’s silence.
Nick laughed. “I guess I better learn to be a Bama fan.”
Chapter 22
NICK HADN’T CHEERED so loudly in all his life as he sat next to the Richards clan Saturday night at Bryant-Denny Stadium. They all sported Alabama colors, and with the exception of the SEAL teams, he’d never felt more at home. Seth had worked his way up after a year as a redshirt and made several good tackles during the course of the game. Alabama won 31–6 over the Florida Gators.
“Roll Tide!” Kaylan shouted as they stepped out of the car after hours at the stadium.
“Did you see Seth sack that guy? I may need to stop messing with him now. Our baby brother’s all grown up and playing on national television.” Micah threw his arm around Kaylan.
Kaylan patted his arm. “Maybe there’s hope for you too.” She and Micah reached the porch first with Nick and her parents trailing behind.
Nick spotted a brown box sitting on the welcome mat.
“Huh, that’s funny. It doesn’t look like there is postage on this. Maybe the neighbors dropped it off.” Kaylan reached to pick it up. “Who’s Nikolai Sebastian?”
Warning bells sounded in Nick’s head, the ease of the last couple days fading. “Kaylan, don’t touch it.”
Micah jerked her out of the way just before she touched the brown wrapping as Nick leaned down to inspect the package.
“Nick, is everything all right? Why don’t you just bring it into the house and you can open it there,” Marian suggested, oblivious to the charged energy radiating off her son and Nick as she and Scott moved past him to unlock the front door.
“I think it would be best if I opened it out here. I’ll meet you inside in just a minute.”
Scott caught Micah’s expression and reached for Marilyn’s hand to lead her into the house. “Anyone interested in hot chocolate?”
“Sounds great, Dad. I’d like some in a minute.” Kaylan looked between Micah and Nick, and Nick nodded that she could stay with them. “Be right in.”
As soon as the door closed, Nick pulled out his military-issue pocketknife and sliced into the small box no bigger than a box of Chinese takeout. A note sat on top on the same paper and with the same Russian script as the other notes. You owe me a yacht. Continue to chase me, and your debt will increase. I may just take something you love.
Nick’s heart stopped beating as he lifted the note. Kaylan’s lily necklace rested at the bottom of the box on blood-red tissue paper.
“Hawk.” Micah’s voice dripped with caution and anger. “Fill us in, man.”
Nick lifted the necklace from the box, and Kaylan caught her breath. “But how . . . ”
Nick placed the trinket around her neck, thankful to have it back where it belonged. But what it now represented terrified him more than he cared to admit. “Babe, would you mind going inside while I talk to Micah? Go ahead and make us both mugs of hot chocolate.”
“Extra marshmallows in mine, pretty please,” Micah added, his attempt to lighten the mood falling flat to Nick.
Kaylan looked back and forth between them. He watched the war to argue or agree battle within her. Finally she nodded. “You got it.”
As soon as the door shut, Micah lost it. “No way. You have got to be kidding me. They know where my family lives. What’s worse is it looks like that package was hand delivered, meaning Janus most likely knew we were here this weekend!”
Nick popped a piece of Juicy Fruit in his mouth and began to pace. “Let’s talk through this. We’ve received two packages: one at our place with a photo of me and Kaylan, and one here at your family’s house with Kaylan’s necklace. We’ve also found or received four notes: one on the boat, one in the mail at our house, one on the back of a picture of Kaylan and Sarah Beth, and one here.” He stopped pacing and hesitated to ask the next question. “What’s the common denominator?”
Micah leaned against the porch railing, his fingers tapping with nervous energy. “Hawk, with the exception of the note on the boat, the common denominator is my sister. I would think the target is me since she’s my sister and this is my family’s place. But the packages and letters are all addressed to you. In Russian. Like whoever is writing knows you can read it.” He stilled completely and locked eyes with Nick, revealing his combat-ready side that forever lurked just below his playful, carefree exterior. “Hawk, Janus or someone close to her is targeting you.”
Nick’s steps quickened as he resumed pacing. “Why would the right-hand woman of one of the most dangerous arms dealers in the world target me? Our whole team has been after her, but we only have the intel we’ve been given by the big wigs. CIA has had a target on her back long before we ever heard her name. Why start dropping clues, leaving threats? Why me and not someone
else on the team? And why Kaylan?”
Micah shook his head. “That last question worries me the most. It implies someone has watched you enough to know she is your one weakness.”
“How is that possible, though? She only moved to Cali in August. It’s been a couple months. The rest of the time, it’s been long distance between California and Alabama and Haiti. There’s no way . . . ”
“There’s no way this person would truly understand Kaylan isn’t just another girl unless they’d been watching the two of you for a long time,” Micah finished.
Nick stopped pacing and faced Micah. He fought panic and rage that Janus had somehow reached into a safe and fun weekend to scare him and Kaylan. This wasn’t how SEALs fought. But somehow she’d managed to make it personal. They needed to end this.
“I’ll call X and the Feds, let them know what’s up. Janus or one of her minions is on American soil. If they have any more leads, we need to know. Surely with the SEALs, the FBI, and the CIA all working different angles, we can catch Janus soon.”
Nick lowered his voice. “I’m ready for this to be over. We better figure out a plan to have eyes on Kaylan while we are gone at training.”
“I know just the duo for the job.”
They entered the house and Nick went to the kitchen for his hot chocolate, the peace accumulated over the weekend now drained. For now, he could only pray and sit tight. If it came down to the wire, he wouldn’t let Kaylan out of his sight.
Janus studied the lake house from her position in a tree house across from the driveway. Old books and action figures littered the corners, and Janus inhaled humidity, longing for her yacht and the comforts of home it once offered. Well, at least the closest thing she had to a home since childhood.
She watched as Nick and Micah finally entered the house, glancing around before firmly shutting the door. As if that could keep her out. They were so easy to rattle. Americans thought their teams were so elite, but break them down, hurt them by harming what they loved the most, and they wept like babies. They knew nothing of loss, nothing of terror. Nothing like what Janus saw as a child in Russia. She still remembered the door crashing open and Stasi pouring in, her brother hauled away and her father doing nothing while her mother wept. Life hadn’t been worth living east of the Wall. No place for children.
She lifted an action figure. What would it have been like to raise a son? Like Andrei. Or a daughter, like herself. She bolted upright, the action figure cutting into her palm as something foreign and wet rolled down her cheek. No weakness. She’d made her choice, the choice she’d had to make her whole life—anything to survive. And she’d do it again. Even if it hurt someone else.
Coughing seized her lungs, and she attempted to smother the sound. She’d seen some of the best doctors in Eastern Europe. Too much vodka, too many cigarettes, too much running. She grew weary just thinking about it. She glanced at her watch in the moonlight. Business called.
A plane waited for her in the morning. She had a meeting with a client regarding weapons. Janus didn’t care what they did with them. She asked few questions, her main objective to collect the money. Her boss wasn’t a patient man, and he demanded cash up front.
She shuddered despite the warm night. If he ever knew she dipped into the payoff from time to time, he would kill her in the most gruesome way possible. But she hadn’t survived this long by throwing caution to the wind. Except once when her emotions overrode her good sense with a handsome soldier that set her heart racing. But that had been a long time ago. Janus would never allow herself to experience that pain again. No matter what.
Chapter 23
MONDAY CAME TOO quickly for Kaylan as she began her rotation at a relief organization, learning the foods to plan in case of a natural disaster. Fortunately for the organization, and unfortunately for her, she was all too familiar with this dire scenario.
As she met with the manager and learned more about what the next month would look like, Kaylan struggled not to flash back to the days following the quake. People stood in line for days with buckets hoping for water or food. The deaf or impaired were thrown out of line so that the “normal” could survive. People trampled others in their pursuit of survival.
More than the proper food, Kaylan knew they needed proper planning to get food to people as quickly as possible, with people on both ends ensuring the supplies reached the final destination. As she formulated a proposal and plans, the hole in her life that Sarah Beth once filled seemed bigger than ever. And in those moments her fear Nick wouldn’t come home magnified irrationally. Everything seemed out of control. “See you tomorrow, Bill,” she waved as she left for the day. Already the weekend felt like it had never happened.
Megan’s car was parked out front when she got to Nick and Micah’s. Kaylan hoped things had ended with the guy of the week. As much as she loved her brother and boyfriend, she would love a girl around, especially one who would make light of a situation that kept Kaylan up at night.
“Hey, babe,” Nick met her in the kitchen and bestowed a quick peck on her lips. “Can you come in here for a second?” Twining his fingers through hers, he led her into the living area where Megan waited with Micah in what seemed like a silent standoff.
Kaylan almost laughed. “What’s going on?”
“Sidekick over here called and said I needed to come over.” Kaylan could tell her roommate was uncomfortable being anywhere near a military base. No wonder she hadn’t wanted to stay with the guys.
Kaylan sank down on the edge of the couch and looked at her brother and boyfriend. “All right, spill it. What’s going on?” She fought to keep the panic at bay but could tell nothing from their calm demeanors.
“Micah and I both have training out of town for about a month. And we need to talk about living arrangements.”
“Okay, well, I’ll just move out of Micah’s room and back into my house.”
“Kayles, I’m not sure about that.”
“You aren’t going to be at your place. Clearly whoever this is knows your address as well as mine. Megan and I will be better back at our place. The FBI can watch us there just as well as here. Just let me know which of the guys will be in town so we can call if we need to.” She shot an apologetic glance in Megan’s direction. “I’m so sorry about this, Megan.”
Megan grimaced, then shrugged. “It was starting to get a little boring around our house anyway with you being Miss Perfect and all.” A glimmer of a smile graced her mouth, and Kaylan silently cheered for Megan’s grudging support.
“Kaylan.”
Kaylan’s eyes shot back to Nick. “Nick, you can’t control your training schedule. I can’t live in fear, and I really can’t do anything if you won’t tell me what or who I’m watching out for.”
“You know I can’t tell you.”
“Babe, I need to move on with life right now unless you have another idea.”
“We figured you would pull the tough act on us. So we do in fact have another idea.” The front door opened, and Colt and Jay filed into the room.
“How’s it going, ladies? We’re your new body guards.” Jay grinned, winking at Megan, who blushed before rolling her eyes.
“You have got to be kidding me. I can take car
e of myself, thank you very much.” Megan stood but tumbled back on the couch to avoid running into Jay. “Seriously? Can’t you take your six pack somewhere else?”
“You know you like it.” Jay stalked closer.
Megan glared at Kaylan. “Do military boys ever leave high school?”
“Boys? I am all man, baby.”
“Jay, knock it off,” Colt cut in. He looked at Kaylan and smiled. “We won’t get in your way. The Feds have y’all covered right now anyway. We’ll be around and available for our group’s peace of mind. Since Jay, Titus, and I are on a different team from Logan, Hawk, Bulldog, and X, we aren’t on the same training schedule.”
“So we are at your beck and call.” Jay flashed his most charming smile at Megan.
Megan’s smile bordered on wicked. “You may regret that.”
Kaylan sensed trouble ahead. She shot a look at Micah, who rolled his eyes.
“Jay, behave yourself while we’re gone,” Micah lectured. “She’s off limits.”
“I don’t see you making a move.”
“Jay, I mean it.”
Jay waved a hand in Micah’s direction. Colt grabbed Jay’s arm and shoved him out the door. “Kayles, call us if you need us.”
Kaylan released a breath, admitting defeat but comforted that she had someone she knew close at hand if necessary. “Thanks, Colt. I’ll add you to speed dial.” He flashed a pearly white smile as he closed the door behind him.
The room grew silent. Megan glanced between the three of them. “Well, I’ll go first. I personally think this is overkill. But”—her voice quieted—“I admit I have no clue what is going on, and as long as those bozos stay out of my way, I can handle protection. And you said the Feds are still around?”