by Kariss Lynch
A knock sounded, and Kaylan jumped. Now who was jumping at shadows and noises?
She rushed from the room, pulling Molly’s door shut in her wake. Running to the door, she opened it and flew into Nick’s arms.
“You’re here. You’re home.”
“When I’m with you, I’m always home, gorgeous.” He picked her up, twirling her around on the porch. “Gosh, I missed you.”
She held on tighter, wanting to flee back into the house but unsure whether it was safer outside or inside. She was sure of it now. Someone had been in Molly’s room. Terror tore through her at the possibilities.
“Kaylan, your heart’s racing.” Nick grabbed her arms from around his neck and held her from him to look in her eyes. His smile immediately left. “What’s wrong? What happened?” He looked past her into the house and then pulled her inside.
“Nick, I’m so sorry. This isn’t how I wanted to welcome you home. I had this whole romantic night planned. And then Logan and Kim asked me to babysit so they could go out, but I still wanted to see you. So I planned something here, but then . . . ” She rambled, fear taking hold. She didn’t want to burden him. But if it was who she thought . . .
He cupped her face, calming her as their eyes met. “Kaylan, I don’t care how I get to see you. I just wanted to be with you. Now, slow down and tell me what’s wrong.”
“Someone was in Molly’s room.”
“When?”
“About thirty minutes ago probably.”
He let go and moved toward Molly’s room, but Kaylan grabbed his arm, tugging him to a halt. “Be quiet. She’s asleep again. I didn’t figure it out until she was drifting off. And then you knocked.”
“How’d they come in?”
“The window. But I know I closed it before I put her to bed. I remember doing it. She woke up screaming. Said she saw a shadow. I thought she was just seeing the shadows cast by her stuffed animals, but then she said the shadow coughed. There’s a dusty partial footprint on the window ledge. Nick, what if . . . ”
She couldn’t finish, didn’t want to think it, because if it were true, she’d placed these kids in danger.
“What if it’s the same person who sent the notes and packages?” he finished for her.
She nodded.
He pulled her tight and whispered instructions in her hair. “I want you to call the number on that card we gave you for the FBI. I’m sure they are close by. Tell them what happened and that the person is gone and ask them to come quietly. I’ll call Logan.”
Where could she go that was safe? Where could she run to protect the ones she loved? She clung to him for a moment, feeding off his strength and his calm.
“Kayles, can you do that for me?”
“Absolutely. What are you going to do?”
His jaw tightened, and she knew there was something he couldn’t or wouldn’t tell her. “I’m going to see if our guest left a calling card before they show up.”
She nodded and ran to grab her phone, resisting the urge to check on Molly again as Nick slipped from the house, silent as a panther.
Chapter 27
NICK FLIPPED OFF the porch light and gazed into the darkness around the house. Logan and Kim lived in a home much like his and Micah’s; the neighborhood remained still and quiet with the occasional barking dog or car traveling down the street. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. And yet it seemed that Janus may have invaded his world yet again.
She’d crossed a line entering Logan’s home, terrorizing Molly. Rolling his eyes, he sighed. As if she hadn’t already crossed a dozen lines. He stepped off the porch and tucked himself close to the stucco wall, creeping around the corner to where he knew he would find Molly’s window. One thing concerned him. Janus hadn’t demonstrated carelessness, and a shoeprint was just that. If it was her, had she done that on purpose? Or did she escape right before Kaylan came in the room and hadn’t had time to erase the evidence? That thought chilled him. If Janus had been that close to Kaylan with an open window, she’d chosen not to act yet. Which meant she had a plan later if Nick and the SEALs didn’t stop chasing her. They couldn’t and wouldn’t, but neither could they live with the repercussions to their families.
Nick stopped short of Molly’s window and crouched low, searching for footprints in the dust. None, not even a broken branch or crushed leaf on the bush growing right next to the window. He was almost sure of it. It’d been Janus.
A flash of white caught his eye, tucked near the root of the bush. He reached for the paper, the beading sweat on his brow chilling at the familiar Russian scrawl. All doubt receded from his mind. A known terrorist stalking American families on American soil made his blood boil. Time to take this up a notch, lock Kaylan away or something. He inwardly groaned. Although if they did that, it would ruin the internship she’d worked so hard for, the one she had almost missed because of Haiti. But her life was far more valuable. He wished he could do something about it, but unless Janus left for overseas and he was tasked with the mission, he could do nothing. Unless . . . there was one other option. But his heart couldn’t bear it.
He turned the card over. “I know where you live. I have easy access to those you love. Catch me if you can, little SEAL.”
He called Micah. “I got another letter at Logan’s.”
“Is Kaylan all right? The kids?”
“I’m outside now. They’re fine. I don’t know what to do. If being close to Kaylan means I put her in danger, then . . . ” He stopped short. He didn’t want anyone who might be listening to know she’d rattled them. But if she’d lurked near the window as Kaylan calmed Molly, she knew enough.
“Don’t go to the absolute extreme yet, Hawk. The Feds are on it. Let’s talk this through before you do what I think you are thinking.” The dial tone sounded.
Nick skirted the perimeter of the house, pausing to listen now and then. A car rolled up to the house, lights off and deadly quiet. He sent up a silent prayer of thanks. No use alerting the whole neighborhood. This was a one-time break-in arranged for one sole purpose—creating fear to gain control. She’d only shown interest in Logan’s family because she knew Kaylan was there and most likely suspected Nick wouldn’t be far behind. Logan couldn’t chase her even if he wanted to.
Kaylan stepped from the house to meet the two federal agents coming up the sidewalk. Nick instantly appeared at her side, greeting them and filling them in. He wasn’t sure of the next steps, but of one thing he was absolutely certain—his team was ready to make war.
Janus lurked in the shadows of the neighbor’s house. Two men scanned the perimeter as Nick and Kaylan stood close, talking in the light streaming from inside.
She’d scared the little girl. She’d made just enough noise to wake her and stayed far enough out of the light to frighten her and make her doubt. That is until that nagging cough.
Nikolai had found her note. She chuckled quietly to herself. She hadn’t had this much fun in years. She quite enjoyed this little game of cat and mouse. The cat always won. She relished the victory. Fear remained a worthy and effective tool in her arsenal. If she controlled their emotions, she controlled the chase.
Soon she would leave for a major
deal that the boss had thought big enough to appear for. She wondered at the risk. He remained anonymous because he remained hidden. Her alias kept her hidden, and her clients feared to reveal her identity once business was complete. But this meeting had the potential to wreak havoc on everything they’d built. If only he trusted her.
She shivered in the evening air. Fear became a weapon against her, and she determined to double her efforts to make sure her boss was caught if she was. It seemed ironic that the thing that had almost ruined her life so many years ago had chased her down to try and ruin it again. She could run, leave well enough alone. But they would chase her, and she couldn’t let that go—not at the expense of her life, her freedom.
The Feds slipped into their car as Nick and Kaylan went back into the house. She shook her head. Her first impression had been right. He could do better. The meddlesome fool would get herself killed if she kept trying to help. The more Kaylan interfered, the less Janus cared what happened to her. At least that is what she would continue to tell herself. Feeling anything different was simply out of the question.
Her little game was all too real. If Nick wouldn’t be intimidated, then the stakes rose. If he played to win, she would have no other choice.
Nick closed the door to the Feds, alone with Kaylan for the first time in weeks. His heart told him to take her in his arms and hold her until this mess ended. But logic told him they needed to address some things. He looked up to find Kaylan watching him and realized his hand rested over the lock on the door.
He dropped his hand and approached her, his lips finding hers. Some kisses made him ready for the wedding. Yesterday. But some, like this one, reassured him that he could spend a lifetime with this woman, not caught up in passion alone but because she symbolized home to him and all the things that lasted long after the fireworks faded.
“Welcome home.” She pulled back and rested her hands on his arms. “I missed you.”
“Missed you too. Looks like you couldn’t stay out of trouble for a few weeks. What in the world am I going to do with you?”
“Me?” She stepped away, laughter and warmth filling her eyes as the threat of danger faded for the moment with him near. “It’s not my fault.”
He joined in her laughter but couldn’t escape the gravity of the situation. “Kaylan, I can’t leave you defenseless.”
“So leave me your pistol next time you go out of town.”
“What?”
“C’mon, darlin’.” He grinned as her accent thickened. “I grew up in the South with three rowdy brothers, a dad, and a granddad close by, and you don’t think I learned a thing or two about guns?”
Nick crossed his arms and tried to picture his sweet girlfriend staring down the barrel of a gun. “I can’t see it.”
“Well, I didn’t say I actually shot at anything living. But I am a pro with old Coke bottles.”
“Now that image makes more sense.” He reached for her hand. “Seriously, though, Kaylan. If I gave you my gun, could you use it if you needed to? If you or someone else was in danger?”
Nick watched her wrestle with the reality of his words. Her eyes drifted to Molly’s door and her grip tightened in his. When she looked him in the eye again, he saw no doubt, only a measure of sadness. “If there is no other option, then yes. I would pull the trigger.”
“Kayles, anything around you can be a weapon. Look for a way to leverage your body and your environment to get the upper hand on someone. When adrenaline gets going, you will only have time to react, not think, so make your actions count.”
She nodded. “Do me a favor?”
“Anything.”
“Please don’t let it come to that.”
He crushed her to his chest, his fingers running through her hair. “I’ll do my best.”
But his heart sank to his feet. He was fighting a ghost and could only pray she made a mistake.
Chapter 28
XAND THE FIVE guys from the Ukraine mission reported to the War Room on Saturday morning. Titus had stopped at Starbucks, and everyone gripped cups of steaming coffee, the scent calming Nick’s nerves and reminding him of mornings with Kaylan. With the FBI running the case on the home front, the SEALs kept waiting for something to break abroad so they could take the fight to her. Janus had managed to cost them an active member of the team. She had stalked Kaylan, sent threatening letters and tokens to Nick, and overall invaded their lives. She’d poked a beast that should never be riled, and now she would experience their wrath.
X made eye contact with every man. “I realize Janus has hit home for you in ways it hasn’t for the rest of the Support Activity 1. That makes doing your jobs even more difficult. Because of the scope and delicacy of this situation, we will take a much larger team on the next mission. But because this is so personal for those in this room, I wanted you to learn what I know ahead of time to prepare yourselves. But if this leaves this room, I will personally throttle the tattle-tale.”
Smirks greeted his threat. No one would leak info.
He tossed the photo they’d taken in Nicaragua down in front of them. The grainy image of a woman in a bungalow felt all too familiar to Nick now. Too bad her features were still incomprehensible. “Meet Anya Petrov, aka Janus. Like I’ve said before, she works for a much bigger fish. No name for him or her. No photo. No ideas.”
Micah elbowed Nick. “Hawk’s started calling him the Big Kahuna. How do we catch her and this big fish?”
“Do we have a plan, X?” Nick crossed his arms to curb his anxious energy. He wanted to finish this, marry the girl of his dreams, and never worry about a terrorist invading their home. What if something happened when he deployed? He’d never know and wouldn’t be close enough to help.
“Well, I’m stating the obvious, but we all know she has invaded our little community in some way. Now whether she is leaving us these love notes herself or through a courier is the question of the decade, but regardless, she or someone she works with is intimately aware of certain team members’ routines and private lives.”
All eyes shifted to Nick for a moment, but he kept his gaze centered on X. “So what does that mean? What can we do?”
“Hawk, you don’t need me to tell you that we can’t do anything. It isn’t in our job description.”
“So let’s fit it in,” Micah muttered through gritted teeth.
“Hold your horses there, Bulldog. We might get our chance. Intel came through that a big meeting is brewing between a group in Iran, Janus, and this Big Kahuna.” X smirked at Nick. “Apparently it’s big enough to bring her boss out of hiding. The top dogs are worried Iran has its sights set on disrupting Israel’s new settlements, which is not okay with the administration. There’s no love lost between Israeli and American leadership right now, but we want to make sure no fuel is added to the fire.”
“Where is this shindig going down, X?” Jay chimed in, smacking on some gum as he rocked back in his chair. Nick could sense the energy radiating off him. He would go hard at the Halloween party that night. Nick caught Micah’s eye and nodded. They would need to watch Jay, whose temper tended to flare under the influence of beer and a pending deployment.
“That remains unclear. It’s possible that we a
re looking at another Yalta trip, or a little farther down the coast in Sevastopol. If not, we are looking at a very uncomfortable operation in the Iranian mountains.”
“Bring it on.” Colt rubbed his hands together in anticipation.
X sighed, and Nick knew the burden he carried weighed heavier in light of Logan’s surgery. It had hit them all hard. “Look, guys, I know we signed up for this. But I don’t think we ever sign up thinking the fight will physically invade our homes. I know you’re angry. You’re looking for revenge. You want to protect this team you care about, and you want to protect our families.” He slapped the table. “But take this on board: don’t be stupid. Logan is someone we can’t replace, but at least he came home. We won’t come home draped in a flag. We will have a larger team, more manpower, and more eyes.”
Heads bobbed around the room in silent affirmation.
X waved his hand. “Now get out of here and get ready for that Halloween party you all have been yapping about for weeks.”
The guys filed out of the room, somber, but eager for a night of laughter. This costume party would be epic, of that Nick had no doubt. He nearly groaned thinking about the costumes Kaylan had picked out. “Hawk, Bulldog, you got a sec?” X called.
Nick nodded to the rest of the team as they paused at the door.
“You guys don’t need to hear this.” X waved at the rest of the team. His Wisconsin nasal accent leaked through under pressure, and Nick grinned. So different from Kaylan and Micah’s Southern drawl that stretched and deepened when they were tired. As Nick approached X, he noted black circles under his eyes. His shoulders slumped slightly as he leaned against the wall, an unusual pose for the military man.