Framed

by C. P. Smith

  Kade thought about the last twelve hours and nodded.

  “You’re right. Climb on my back and I’ll carry you.”

  “What? Why can’t I walk?”

  “Snakes. Your luck, you’ll get bit.”

  “Good point.”

  She climbed on, wrapped her legs around his waist, then asked, “Am I too heavy?”

  Kade scoffed, then walked out the door and trudged down the bank until he made it to the boat without breaking a sweat.

  Five minutes later, they were back inside the safety of the shack and Kade moved to the cot and pointed.

  “Sleep. There’s four hours until daybreak.”

  “What about you?”

  “Been in prison for the past two years, I’m used to little sleep. Besides, I gotta keep a look out for White.”

  “Then I’ll stay up and keep you company. I was asleep for most of the trip thanks to his spiked water, so I’m not tired.”

  “I should kill him just for drugging you,” he growled, then moved to the cot and brought it to the window. He sat down, then Harley crawled in beside him and he pulled her into his side, placing his gun in his lap. Harley took a deep breath and gazed out the window as Kade scanned the darkness. Five minutes later, her arms went limp and he chuckled. “Sleep tight, princess,” Kade whispered, then placed a kiss to her forehead and settled in as night drenched the Glade in velvet darkness.

  ***

  “Time to go, princess.”

  My eyes popped open and I looked around. Yep, we were still in the Everglades and the day before was not a dream.

  “Breakfast. Eat and drink this before we leave,” Kade ordered, shoving a bottle of water and a protein bar in front of me as I sat up.

  I took them, but I had to empty my full bladder first before I could eat. Hmm . . . No chamber pot, no hole in the floor, only the bushes out back. “Ah, Kade . . . I don’t suppose there’s a five star bathroom attached to this place?”

  Kade grinned, turned, and produced a roll of toilet paper. “We keep a ‘go bag’ packed and ready at all times. There’s a bush out back with your name on it.”

  “It must be true love,” I chuckled.

  “Why’s that?”

  “I’m sitting here discussing where I should pee and I don’t feel the least bit embarrassed. But I’ll forewarn you now, when we get home, that doesn’t mean you can walk in and shave while I’m on the toilet.”

  “Duly noted.” Kade smiled.

  He bent and grabbed his duffle then moved to the door. “Wait here while I look around,” he ordered then tried to disappear out the door.

  “Wait! If you shot him wouldn’t he just leave to seek medical attention?”

  “He’s ex-Army and knows basic combat medicine. He needs us dead, baby. Short of succumbing to his wound, he’s out there, waiting.”

  I don’t know why I thought this would be over when Kade pulled me from the bottom of the Glades. Relief that I was in his arms must have short-circuited my brain. It was in the 90s, and the humidity was oppressive, but hearing that he was waiting for us to raise our heads so he could shoot them off caused a cold sweat to break out.

  “Why don’t we wait here until someone comes looking for us?”

  “We’re sitting ducks here. All he has to do is sneak up with an M16 and reduce the shack to rubble with us inside.”

  Okay, that was bad, too.

  “Okay, let’s get out of here then.”

  Kade nodded once, then stepped outside. He was gone a few minutes before he came back and stuck out his hand. He walked me around back to some bushes where I relieved my bladder in record time, wanting to be long gone before White returned.

  We loaded into the airboat as the sun crept above the tree line highlighting the almost prehistoric world of the Everglades. Dense bushes and trees, their limbs braided together like some forgotten jungle from the past, were home to snakes and small animals with the larger alligators keeping to the murky water and small beaches. Pale green moss hung from limbs while orchids peeked through, breaking up the green and weather-wood color of the Glades. There were so many places to hide if a man wanted. White could be camouflaged hiding in a tree with a sniper rifle or crouched low on a bank, waiting to riddle the boat with bullets.

  Kade handed me a set of headphones with a microphone attached. We would be able to talk over the sound of the propeller. Then he pulled out a bulletproof vest from his bag.

  “Put this on.”

  “Shouldn’t you wear it?”

  “I’m not taking a chance with you. I’m bigger and stronger and can handle a bullet wound.”

  “Doesn’t it stand to reason he will go for you first? With you out of the way, I’d be easy game.”

  “Yeah, but I’m still not wearing it.”

  “What are you, superman, or something? Able to bounce bullets off your chest?”

  “I’m a SEAL. I don’t need a red cape,” he grinned. “Besides, I told you two weeks ago you’re mine to protect and that’s what I’m doin’. So put the damn vest on.”

  “Fine, but I want it noted that if anything happens to you, I will hunt this bastard down myself.”

  Kade rolled his lips between his teeth, but his eyes told the tale. He was laughing at me.

  “I could do it,” I defended. “I’d just train Buck to kill and then set him loose on the guy.”

  “All right, that, I believe. Now, put this on?”

  “Fine. We have bullets covered, but what about the AOUSs?”

  “AOUSs?”

  “Alligators of unusual size,” I answered and pointed towards one swimming in the middle of the water.

  Kade looked at the great beast and shrugged.

  “Keep your hands and feet in the boat at all times,” was his helpful answer, then he helped me into the vest, put me into a chair, and buckled my seatbelt.

  The thunder of the engine broke the quiet and sent birds flying into the air. If White were close, he would know we were leaving.

  For some reason, Kade didn’t navigate the dark, narrow channel slowly; he pushed the boat at a breakneck speed as the canopy of trees and bushes closed in around us. I decided a fast moving target was harder to hit than a slow moving one.

  We’d traveled at least a mile when Kade slowed. He pulled a pair of binoculars out of his bag, focusing on something in the distance. I searched ahead and caught sight of a boat bobbing on the water. It looked empty, so I started scanning the tree line as we drew closer, looking for White in the trees.

  Kade voice came through my headphones. “We’re gonna take this nice and slow. I want you to unbuckle your belt and squat down in between the seats.”

  I nodded I understood and did as I was told. Kade stood and placed himself in front of me; I was sandwiched in between the back of the boat and his massive body.

  Time seemed to stand still as we made our way past the small outboard. Kade scanned the trees with one hand on the gas and one with his gun raised ready to shoot.

  “Lots of blood,” Kade said through the headphones.

  “Do you think he’s dead?”

  “No.”

  “Then where is he?”

  “Lying in wait somewhere ahead. Stay where you are and hold on tight.”

  If I thought Kade had been flying before, I was wrong. He pushed the airboat to its limit as we glided across the water. When he slowed for a curve and turned left, I caught sight of a Gumbo tree that oddly had a dick growing out the side. Once we passed it, I turned back to look because it was so unusual. I was thinking Mickey would get a kick out of that when something moved from the base of the tree.

  “Kade, gun,” I shouted into the microphone just as a bullet ripped into the propeller, sending shrapnel flying. Another bark of the gun could be heard above the now sputtering engine and before I could shout again, Kade hauled me up and over the side of the boat. We hit the water hard and struggled against the weight of the bulletproof vest. As I reached the surface to catch my breath, Kade p
ushed my head under again just as an explosion concussed the Glades. Flames shot across the top of the water as the fuel from the boat caught fire. Kade dragged me in the opposite direction so we could surface and take a breath. When we did, the high-pitched sound of bullets flying sent us down below the water again. He kept dragging me further from the wreckage of the boat until we needed air, then we’d surface, catch our breath, and submerge again.

  When we broke for air again, I heard a small engine starting. I looked back as we swam for a sandy beach and saw a personal watercraft come flying around the corner as our legs hit the sand. White was heading straight for us on a collision course with the beach. He was bent slightly, holding his side, trying to steer and shoot at the same time. Kade dragged me to my feet just as a bullet exploded in the sand to his left. We were trapped with nowhere to run. Kade was unprotected since I had on his vest, and it was clear that White was aiming for him. Without hesitating, I spun around just as White took aim and jumped in front of Kade to push him out of the way. As I lifted my arm and shoved, a bullet ripped into my side just under my arm where I was unprotected by the vest. Searing pain knocked the air from my lungs. I went down, gasping for air, and saw blood on my hand. Kade roared “No,” and got to his feet, launching himself at White before he could take aim again. I struggled to breathe as they sunk below the water. When they surfaced again, Kade had his arm locked around White’s neck in a chokehold. White tried to peel Kade’s hold from around his neck but it was no use. Kade’s powerful arm held like a Rottweiler, cutting off his oxygen until his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he was gone.

  Kade released White once he was sure he was dead then rushed to my side. I tried to talk, but I couldn’t catch my breath.

  “Don’t talk,” Kade ordered, ripping the vest open. “Just keep breathing, do you hear me? Jesus, I can’t believe you stepped in front of a bullet,” he bit out and then ripped my shirt open, tugged off his shirt, and applied pressure to my side. “You’ve got a collapsed lung. I need to bind it, then I’m gonna put you on the Sea-Doo and get you back to town.”

  I struggled through the pain as he tightened the shirt then sucked in enough air to talk. “I’d do it again if it kept you safe,” I barely whispered.

  Kade’s eyes flashed with raw emotion, so I reached up and ran my hand across his cheek. “Kade, if I don’t make it . . .”

  “Don’t. You’re not going to die, do you hear me? I’m not gonna lose you, not after . . . Jesus, baby. Just hold the fuck on,” he said in a strained voice.

  “Bossy,” I wheezed out.

  “You haven’t seen bossy yet. Swear to Christ, I’m never letting you leave the house again,” Kade growled as he cinched his shirt around my middle. He stood then and lifted me from the ground, heading for the Sea-Doo. He loaded me first, then wrapped his body around mine and took off. I began to feel weightless and my head slumped to the side, resting on his arm as the trees sped past. I felt the sun on my face, but I was so cold. My vision began to tunnel as darkness crept from the outside in and then all there was, was darkness. Darkness and Kade’s ravaged voice begging me not to die.

  Epilogue

  Five years later . . .

  Waves crashed over rocks on the jetty, sending white foam into the air. Kade watched as a small blue sailboat danced back and forth across the water as he sipped a cold beer. Turning his head to the right, he could make out two figures on the beach walking away from him. His brow furrowed because he’d had this dream before and they should be walking towards him, not away. Then he remembered his other dream, the one where his daughter told him he should wish hard upon a star to save them both and he placed his beer on the sand and started following. The feeling of déjà vu was so strong he felt his heart rate pick up as he quickened his pace.

  “Wait,” he called out, but they didn’t stop. “Harley, stop, where are you going?”

  Harley turned at his voice, her belly full with their second daughter, and she scowled.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Did you or did you not tell me I couldn’t take a walk on the beach with Madison?”

  Kade looked down at the cherub face of his four-year-old daughter. Her golden curls lifted in the sea air as she glared back at him with the same coffee-colored eyes as his own. Then she put her hands on her hips just like Harley and reminded him, “Silly Daddy. Don’t you know you don’t tell mommy what to do?”

  Kade smiled at his daughter and leaned over so he could look her in the eyes. “Mommy needs to remember what we went through to be here today and accept that where you, your baby sister, and she are concerned, she doesn’t get a vote. It’s my job to protect you.”

  “Mommy said that the men who hurt you are all gone now. That the two bad men are in jail and the really bad man is dead and she has nothing to worry about.”

  “Well, you can tell mommy that I don’t give a rats . . . that I don’t care who’s in jail. There are lots and lots of bad men in this world.”

  “What about bad women?” Madison asked.

  “There are plenty of those, too. But your mother can kick their . . . behinds.”

  “Cause you taught her?’

  “Yep. And when you’re older, I’ll teach you to kick Uncle D in the . . . boy parts, too.”

  Kade looked up at Harley and caught her smiling. When she looked back at him, she stuck out her tongue.

  “You know what you can do with that tongue, too, baby,” Kade said, arching his brow.

  Harley rolled her lips between her teeth to keep from venting in front of her daughter. He wouldn’t be seeing her tongue anytime soon. On any part of his body. Ordering her not to walk on the beach as if she was a child, just bought him at least a day of silent treatment. She wasn’t so clumsy that she couldn’t walk on an uneven surface just because she couldn’t see her feet.

  Kade reached down and picked Madison up, placing her on his hip. Then he snaked out his hand, hooked Harley behind the head, and brought her mouth to his. He teased her with his tongue until she relented and kissed him back. “You’re my world, you and the girls. Don’t fight me on this.”

  He watched Harley’s eyes melt, then she leaned into his body in acceptance.

  He’d come close to losing her that day five years ago when a bullet had found its way under the vest, and it still gave him nightmares. She’d only survived their ordeal because Prez and D hadn’t followed his orders, once again, and were waiting at Boggy Creek Landing when they arrived. They’d left Pensacola when he had and driven all night. Highly trained in combat medicine, they’d kept Harley alive while they waited for an ambulance and Kade begged her not to die. Then they’d paced the halls with Kade during her five-hour surgery, keeping him focused and in control.

  Chapel had shown up as well, wanting answers until he heard Harley was injured. Then he, too, paced the halls until she was out of surgery.

  They’d found what was left of White’s body after the alligators had finished with him, wrapping up the investigation into Stan Sutton’s murder in a tidy bow. The evidence that Williams’ wife turned over to the SA had laid a trail all the way to the Mayor’s office. He resigned within a week and he and Williams both, fittingly enough, were now residing at Renault under the careful supervision of Cooter Hays and Leroy Stubbs.

  The months that followed had been an exercise in patience as he and Harley were hounded by the press. But the end result had been a blessing. During her convalescence and recovery, her birth control was compromised by the antibiotics she was taking to fight off infection, and she became pregnant with Madison.

  They married when Harley was six months pregnant, on the same beach he’d said good-bye to his grandfather under the setting sun. Then they’d danced under the same stars that had always watched over him.

  Pulling Harley into his side, they started heading towards the beach house. Kade had bought Kyle out so he could raise his family in the only home he’d felt loved. Kyle had refused to take the money the state had aw
arded Kade, so he lied and told Kyle the house was worth more than it was and padded Kyle’s half with the money. His brother was now teaching at The University of West Florida, living five miles from Kade. In the end, he couldn’t leave Kade and Harley, not once Madison was born.

  Buck and Buttercup led the way home as Madison pointed out a seagull circling above. Harley gasped suddenly as they neared the house and her eyes told the tale. He put Madison down immediately, scooped Harley in his arms, and then clipped out, “Maddie, stay right by my side. Mommy’s having the baby and we need to get her to the hospital.”

  “I can walk for God’s sake. I’ve been having contractions all morning.”

  “And you’re just now telling me?” he bit out.

  “Uh, yeah, Captain Obvious. You tend to overreact.”

  “I do not.”

  “Oh really? Madison, what does Uncle Prez call Daddy?”

  “Detective Worrywart.”

  ***

  “Push,” Kade growled.

  “No,” I growled back.

  “Babe, we’re stopping at two.” Kade stupidly informed me. “You just have to push this one out and you’re done.”

  “I’m not having this baby until my dad gets here and we aren’t stopping at two.”

  “Jesus.” Kade sighed.

  “I thought you wanted a full house?”

  “You’re gonna give me nothin’ but girls and you know it. Buck and I know when we’re beat. Any more estrogen in that house and it will explode.”

  “FYI, Detective. You and Buck will be sleeping together if we’re stopping at two.”

  My stomached contracted again and I bit my lip to keep from screaming. Deep breath, in and out. Nope, this baby was coming, grandfather in attendance or not. “Okay, I’ll push,” I cried out.

  “Finally,” Kade said.

  The doctor had been ignoring us, preparing for the birth. When my next contraction hit, he very calmly replied, “Take a deep breath and push ’til I say to stop.”

  I grabbed the rails on the bed, pulled myself up, taking a deep breath, and then started pushing. After a count of five, the doctor said, “Stop,” and he grabbed the nose sucker.