by Kariss Lynch
At eight o’clock Liza came over for a movie, bringing popcorn and chocolate-covered almonds to snack on. Kaylan immediately unloaded her anxiety, hoping it was another case of overactive imagination.
“I’m sure she’s fine, Kaylan. Isn’t she dating someone again? That girl’s a firecracker. I bet the guys just line up.” Liza popped in a DVD and curled up on the couch.
“Yeah, she brought a new guy around a few days ago. I just wish I could tell her that it’s going to end in a lot of heartache.”
“Honey, they don’t all end bad. Look at Titus and me. We lived together for six months before we finally got married. My parents threw a fit, but when it’s meant to be, why wait? I mean, I’m sure you and Nick get that.”
Kaylan smiled and shook her head. “We’re waiting. Nothing’s happened between us.”
Liza’s eyes grew wide. “Girl, are you serious? That man is hot. What are you waiting on?”
Kaylan settled into the couch and thought of Nick. She never felt cheap or used with him. Every touch demonstrated care and affection, every look showed attentiveness and love. He honored her. She’d seen the way Jay looked at women, like a lion on the prowl. But with Nick, it had always been pure innocence. They were both attracted, but they hadn’t made a covenant yet, so he didn’t belong to her.
“I guess I believe there are two ways to do this. A way that feels good and a way that is best.”
“What do you mean?”
Music on the home movie screen filled the room as Kaylan prayed for the right words. “I think that God intended one man and one woman for life within the confines of a marriage. I think it is supposed to feel amazing within the commitment. But we love what feels good now and in our own way. I think we settle for immediate pleasure over God’s best, which would be a committed, devoted, and loving life partner. I think you two got lucky. Not everyone who lives together ends up getting married. That ‘try before you buy’ mentality usually ends with a lot of pain.”
Liza waved her hand in Kaylan’s direction. “I’m glad you’re a good church girl. I was that way once. But Titus and I were in love. It all worked out in the end.”
Kaylan smiled. “I’m so glad it did. But these guys Megan spends time with, they like her because she’s feisty and gorgeous in her own dark way. No commitment. Just a night purely for their own pleasure. And that makes me angry for her because God says she is worth more.”
Liza pursed her lips. “I see the way Hawk looks at you. It’s different from some of the other guys. Almost like he worships you.”
Kaylan chuckled. “Believe me, Nick would like to shake me sometimes. I can frustrate the heck out of that man. He doesn’t worship me. Nick treasures me because we both belong to Christ, and he wants to honor me. That’s what you see. Respect. Love. Honor.”
“Not too bad. Maybe Titus and I need to get back in church. I want our kids growing up that way. I’d kill my daughter if she followed my example and moved in with a guy.”
“I’d love for you to come with Nick and me, Liza. But it’s not about the church. A changed life is a direct result of a relationship with Jesus.”
Liza popped an almond in her mouth. “Yeah, I thought I had that once. It’s about time I got back to it. You keep fighting for Megan. One day she’ll realize how much you love her, and she’ll start fighting for herself. She’s lucky to have you.”
“Someone fought for me once when I was in that dark place, and it changed my life.”
“Well, you sure are shaking up ours. Now let’s watch this movie.”
Kaylan and Liza enjoyed a few hours of pure laughter. By the time Liza left a little before 11:00 p.m., Kaylan had almost forgotten her roommate. Almost.
She walked down the hall to Megan’s bedroom and flipped on the light. Her room decorated in navy and white held a feminine grace most people would never see behind Megan’s tough exterior. Kaylan glanced around at art on the walls and photos of the whales and dolphins from Megan’s work, enjoying the glimpse into her roommate’s world. They’d made major strides the last week. She not only liked her roommate, but she’d come to enjoy her as well.
Kaylan sat down on the navy bed spread and noticed a dark smudge. Looking closer, her heart stopped. She knew that sight anywhere. Blood. Not just a streak or a dot like with a paper cut, but almost as if someone had wiped a scrape or cut on the hem of the bed spread.
She jumped from the bed, stumbling over a shoe lying in the floor. The smell of dust and blood assailed her nose as her mind flew back to Haiti and days under tents, her hands stained a brownish red. Tears pricked her eyes, and she fought to steady her breathing.
“You aren’t in Haiti. You’re in California. You’re in your home. Everything’s okay.”
But nothing was okay. Her home had been violated. Now she wondered if her roommate was missing.
“Megan?” she breathed.
She flashed back to panicked moments looking for Sarah Beth. She pivoted in the room, and her gaze stopped on the closet. No. She wouldn’t be in there. She wouldn’t find another friend dead.
“Megan!”
She sank onto the floor in a heap. “Think, Kaylan.” Taking a deep breath, she focused on the room around her. Megan had stayed away multiple nights before. Really, there was no reason to be alarmed. Kaylan picked up her phone to call again just as the screen lit up.
Megan.
“Hey, where are you? I was just about to call.”
Heavy breathing filled the line.
“Megan?”
“We have your friend.” A thick accent assailed her senses. Eastern European with a hint of Middle Eastern mixed in.
“Who are you? Where’s Megan?”
“It does not matter who I am. It only matters that we have a mutual friend in common. And she has sold you to the highest bidder. I’m here to collect.”
The man’s cavalier tone sent her over the edge. Rage unlike anything she’d ever known filled her. She would not lose someone else. “I asked you a question. Where’s my friend?”
“Temper. Temper. You want to see your friend? Meet us on Imperial Beach Pier at midnight tonight. Come alone, and do not tell any of your little SEAL friends. I would hate for something to happen to Megan.”
Kaylan heard a scream in the background. “Kaylan, don’t!”
“Megan!”
But the phone went dead. Kaylan stared at the blank screen. She wouldn’t leave Megan alone. She wouldn’t lose someone else, not when she could stop it.
Glancing at the clock, she stood. Less than an hour to figure out a plan. If only she could talk to Nick. But he had said she wouldn’t be able to reach him. She could call Logan, but she didn’t want to risk these men killing Megan. No FBI either. She had to do it alone.
The lamps cast an eerie glow in the house as her feet pounded a track on the hard wood floor, thinking. Finally she grabbed paper and scribbled two letters. At a quarter past eleven she changed, dressing in a lightweight jacket, yoga pants, and tennis shoes. She had a plan, and no one could stop her. But she’d have to speed. She took the letters, folded them, and palmed her keys. Praying for whatever came next, she
took one last look at her house, unsure where she would wake up the next morning. She knew the risk. To get her friend back, she would hand herself over.
Nick would kill her.
She slipped out the back door and across to Nina’s, keeping to the shadows to avoid any detection from the agents who watched the house. She prayed they were otherwise occupied.
A dim light glowed in Nina’s kitchen as Kaylan silently approached the back door. A figure leaned over the stove. Kaylan paused, her heart jumping in her throat before she recognized Nina’s robe and unusually flat gray hair. She rapped on the glass.
Nina whirled, her hand going to her throat. Rushing to the door, she flung it open. “Kaylan Richards, what on earth?”
Kaylan nearly bowled her over as she slid inside and closed the door, hushing Nina’s protests. “Please, I need you to be quiet.”
Nina’s brown eyes grew wary. “What is going on, young lady?”
She nearly rolled her eyes at the motherly tone. Time was precious, and she had to make two stops before arriving at her destination.
“Nina, I need your car keys and no questions.”
The woman crossed her arms over her chest. “Why?”
“Please, no questions. Megan’s in trouble. It’s bad, Nina. I have to go get her.”
“Well, just go tell the FBI. Their car is right outside, isn’t it? I see everything that happens on this block, you know.”
“I can’t tell the FBI. No cops, no SEALs, or Megan gets hurt. Please. Your keys.” Kaylan held out her hand, trying not to panic.
Nina’s gaze darted from Kaylan’s face to the dark window where the FBI silently watched from somewhere down the street. “No.” She covered her mouth. “You both could get hurt. I can’t let you do that.” She moved toward the front door, but Kaylan darted in front of her.
“Nina, I promise you can tell the FBI. Just let me borrow your car and give me a thirty-minute head start. I need them to come. They just can’t get there at the same time. I’m begging.” Megan’s face flashed before her eyes.
Nina shook her head, and Kaylan held her breath. A tear tracked down her cheek. “Oh, honey.” She pulled Kaylan to her chest in a hug, then reached for her keys and shoved Kaylan toward the garage. “Go. You have twenty minutes before I run hollering out of this house. You got it?”
It would have to do. With a quick thank-you Kaylan slipped into the garage, opened the door, and started the engine. Keeping her head down, she pulled out and pointed the car away from where she knew agents waited. Everything moved in slow motion, as if she were driving through jello. She hit the highway and sped to Nick and Micah’s, now racing the clock and outrunning the FBI.
The key scratched in the lock as Kaylan opened the door to Nick and Micah’s and hurried inside. The lingering scent of Nick’s cologne and the faint scent of sweaty clothes almost made her change her plan. Almost.
Keeping the lights off, she felt her way to Nick’s bedroom and placed a note on his pillow. Moonlight from the window glinted off the glass shielding a picture of the two of them, Nick kissing her cheek, his arms wrapped around her shoulders. They were happy. Together. A tear drifted down her cheek, and she bit back a sob.
She couldn’t let Megan go through this alone. Her fingers found the ring decorating her left hand, and she slowly slipped it from her finger to place it on the letter. No matter what happened, she didn’t want these men to have the pleasure of confiscating it. She prayed she would get it back from Nick. Placing one foot in front of the other, she ran from the house and back to Nina’s car.
Eleven thirty-eight. One more stop. She was almost out of time.
Minutes later she pulled up in front of the Carpenters’ house. Everything looked quiet, but she knew Kim could be up feeding Nadia.
She tiptoed up to the house and placed the letter against the door. A light flipped on and she stumbled, turning to jog down the three steps. A creak behind her made her freeze.
“Kaylan? What are you doing here so late?”
Logan. The last person she needed to see. She slowly turned to face him as he bent in his wheelchair to pick up the letter.
“What’s this?”
“Just a note. Read it when I leave.”
His alert eyes scanned her, and he held her gaze as he opened it. “Logan, please. Wait to read it.”
She guessed he didn’t make it past the first line. “Kaylan, why didn’t you call?”
This couldn’t happen. He couldn’t stop her. She turned and sprinted to the car, calling over her shoulder, “I’ve got to do this. I included the location in Nick’s letter. I’ve got to go.”
“Kaylan!”
She slammed her car door and peeled out of his driveway. Clearly she would make a terrible SEAL. No points for stealth or subtlety. She couldn’t even lie well. Pointing her car toward the beach, she prayed she reached Megan in time, before Logan alerted other SEALs in the area. Before it again became too late to save her friend. An image of Sarah Beth’s chalky face, blood coloring her lips, popped into her mind. She slammed her eyes shut for a moment, jerking the car to avoid a collision. Not again. Not this time.
Eleven fifty-nine p.m.
Kaylan spun into the parking lot and climbed from the car, her shaking hands hidden in the black night. She hit the beach running, her feet sinking deeper and deeper as she beat a path toward the unknown.
Chapter 39
NICK THREW THE door open with a bang and dropped his bag on the floor, glad to be home even if it was 1:00 a.m. California time, and his body clock was all jacked up. Micah entered right behind him and headed straight for the refrigerator. They hadn’t slept much since taking Janus Wednesday night. They were anxious to get home, waiting for approval while they wrapped up mission specifics. Something lurked in Janus’s eyes as they flew her back to the States. He wondered what she had up her sleeve and dreaded finding out. Nick doubted he would truly be able to rest until he held Kaylan in his arms and knew she was safe.
Nick trudged to his room and flipped the light on. Something shiny glinted on his pillow. His heart stopped.
Slowly Nick walked to his bed. He picked up Kaylan’s engagement ring and noticed the letter beneath it. He tore into the envelope.
Nick,
Please know that if I had any other option I would have taken it. The men have Megan. They said no police and no SEALs, and I can’t lose another friend. I’m to meet them at Imperial Beach Pier at midnight Friday. I left a letter with Logan. I also asked Nina to give me thirty minutes before she called the FBI. Know that I love you. Know that I want a lifetime with you. And know that I couldn’t live with myself or with you if I didn’t do what I see you do every day—fight for someone else. I pray that you will be able to place this ring on my finger again, but I would rather you have it than the men I go to meet. I don’t know what will happen. I can only pray you get home in time. Find me, Nick. Please.
Love,
Kaylan
She left an hour ago. They could find her. The trail would still be fresh.
He sprinted to the kitchen, tossing the letter to Micah. “Janus got to the girls. I don’t kn
ow how, but she did.”
Micah scanned the letter quickly, then reached for his cell and dialed Logan. Nick heard a heated exchange and rapid-fire instructions as he ran to his room and reached under his bed for the box containing his pistol.
Micah appeared in his doorway. “Logan already called the FBI. They found Nina’s car and Kaylan’s phone in the sand before the trail ends near Imperial Beach Pier. I told Logan to call the rest of the team and tell them to meet us at the base.”
Nick listened while loading his gun.
Micah continued. “We can’t do this. Legally we can’t chase down these terrorists on American soil. We can’t shoot them or harm them, and if we do, it better be in self-defense. This is FBI territory. But if they hurt my sister or Megan . . . ” Micah shook his head. “I won’t care about the consequences at that point. I’ll kill them.”
Nick met Micah’s eyes. Even in Haiti he’d never seen Micah so wound tight or angry.
“Me first.” He shoved past his best friend, grabbed his keys, and moved to the door.
Micah followed, still filling Nick in on his phone conversation. “Logan says the Feds are looking for abandoned houses or boat docks in the area that might be used as a holding cell. We need to get back to the base and Janus before her flight leaves. If she knows something or even the girls’ exact location, we will be able to find them faster.”
Micah stopped at the door to Nick’s Jeep. “You know this could end our career if it goes south, right?”
Nick didn’t look at Micah. “Let’s make sure it doesn’t go south.”
“Good, then. As long as we’re clear.”
They climbed into the Jeep, and the engine roared to life. Nick peeled out of the driveway.
Normally the wind cooled Nick’s mood. It made him think of days on the ocean, surfing, sailing, throwing the baseball and Frisbee with his dad. But today it pushed him along. Hurry. Hurry.