Code Word

by Traci Hunter Abramson

  “How are we splitting up our entry points?” Jay asked.

  “I’ll take the back entrance. Seth can circle to the right side to the front door, and you can take the left side and go for the deck. Hopefully the girls are still outside in the open where they’ll be easy to find.”

  Jay nodded even as his stomach clenched. He watched Brent and Seth move down the side of a sand dune, using the landscape to hide their approach. Vanessa retrieved the rifle from the back of the SUV and chose her position along the ridge overlooking the house. When everyone was in position, Jay sent up a silent prayer, slid into the driver’s seat, and started the engine.

  He felt the surge of adrenaline, the one signaling that his body was ready for action. Running alongside the familiar feeling was stone cold fear that reminded him that if this mission wasn’t successful, his life would never be the same.

  When he pulled over the ridge, the house looked quiet. The men who had been standing guard a moment ago were no longer visible, but Jay couldn’t tell if his teammates had neutralized them or if they had taken cover when they heard him coming.

  The Jeep was parked in the driveway, and suddenly, Jay sensed movement in front of it. A shadow shifted beneath the midday sun, and Jay considered what needed to be done. The longer they could remain silent, the better chance they had of getting Carina and Bianca out of there safely. Rather than take the space beside the Jeep, he stopped right behind it.

  He swung the door open, deliberately making noise when he stepped out onto the gravel driveway. He then walked loudly toward the door. A moment later, he sensed someone coming up behind him, and he struggled not to react too quickly. He heard the stutter of footsteps and turned as Brent grabbed the man from behind, silencing him with a quick elbow to the side of his head. Brent scooped up the pistol the man had dropped and ducked closer to the side of the house.

  Jay surveyed the yard in search of the other men they had seen through the binoculars a few moments before. That’s when he saw Seth lower another man onto the ground in the trees and collect his weapon. He signaled to Brent to check the other side of the house. Brent nodded and started toward the corner.

  A moment later, the back door opened and gunfire erupted. Jay dove for cover behind the Jeep as terror swept through him. Where was Carina, and was she now in even greater danger than before? Another burst of gunfire sounded, followed by a single rifle shot. The man dropped onto the porch, and Jay sprinted toward the deck.

  38

  The sound of gunfire pierced the air, and pure evil swept over Alex’s face. His words were filled with venom, his eyes focused on Carina. “Your friend must want you to die today.”

  He lifted his gun, at first taking aim at Carina. Then he smiled wickedly and swung the gun toward Bianca. “Let this be a lesson about what happens when people don’t follow directions.”

  “No!” Carina screamed. Her heart racing, she reached into her briefcase with a single thought in her mind. Protect Bianca. She grabbed her gun, flipped the safety, and swung it toward Alex. Without hesitation, she squeezed the trigger. And missed.

  Alex turned toward her, fury flaming in his eyes. His weapon swung toward Carina now, and Carina fired again. This time Alex stumbled back and grabbed his side, where the bullet had apparently grazed him along the rib cage.

  “You’ll die for that.” He lifted his weapon, one-handed now, and Carina fired again, her shot ringing out in tandem with another.

  All expression on Alex’s face froze, and he crumpled onto the deck.

  Her arms trembling, Carina lowered her weapon and immediately felt her body start to shake. She saw Seth rush toward Alex as Jay reached her and snaked one arm around her waist to pull her close as he reached his other hand toward Bianca. “Are you both okay?”

  Carina couldn’t speak. She clung to him, one arm reaching around Bianca as the three of them hugged and formed a single unit.

  “I’m so scared,” Bianca managed to say, voicing all of their thoughts.

  “It’s okay now,” Jay assured them both.

  Carina let herself glance over at Seth and the body of the man who shared her blood. “Is he . . . ?”

  Seth nodded. “He’s dead.”

  “It’s over now,” Jay added. He leaned back and kissed her forehead. “It’s all over.”

  * * *

  Marciano Perelli read the details about an upcoming trial, a trial he knew Alex was scheduled to testify at because of his position with the FBI. He considered the layout of the courthouse, the vantage point from the building across the street.

  Alex had dropped out of sight over a week before, but Marciano was confident he would resurface for the trial. This could be the opportunity he had been waiting for, his chance to finally end this family war.

  For months he had waited and plotted, quietly making arrangements while doing everything possible to protect his family and make sure Alex’s influence didn’t penetrate the tight circle of trusted associates he had surrounded himself with.

  Nick Baldino had been instrumental in helping build that circle. After discovering that he had been used as an unwitting accomplice to Alex’s plans, Nick had been more than willing to help the Perellis root out those who had allied with the enemy. One by one, those spies had been dealt with quietly and efficiently.

  No one threatened his family and lived, even if the man issuing the threats carried the same blood that ran through his own veins.

  He knew from some of his interrogations that Alex hadn’t yet given up his search for Carina. Alex’s obsession with finding his nieces had left him vulnerable and apparently unaware that Marciano’s support within the organization was growing while Alex’s was being eliminated.

  Marciano smiled a little when he thought about how frustrated his half brother must have been when he realized that people he worked with in the government were now working against him. Alex must have been furious to find that someone on the inside understood the threat even if they didn’t know his name.

  A trusted associate within the FBI, one who had been on the family’s payroll for years, had tried to locate his nieces for Marciano in an attempt to determine if they were still vulnerable. The associate had come back with the news that not only had they dropped off the grid, but his brother’s location had also been sealed. Had Giovanni not called him, even Marciano wouldn’t have been able to locate him.

  “Marciano, you need to see this.” Nick Baldino stood at his office door, a file folder in his hand.

  “What is it?”

  “A report from one of our friends at the Bureau.” Nick entered the room and handed it to him. “Alex is dead.”

  “What?”

  Nick handed the file to Marciano, but before he could open it, Nick added, “Carina killed him.”

  “Carina?” Marciano’s eyes met Nick’s. “Are the girls okay?”

  Nick nodded. “They’re fine. The file doesn’t say where the incident happened. Apparently, that has been classified at a higher level than our source has access to, but it details that Carina and Bianca were both there and that they are both okay. From what we can tell, Gianna isn’t living with them right now.”

  “They’re safe.” Marciano sighed the words. He read through the report, noting that the details were still sparse.

  “Do you want me to try to find out where they are?”

  Marciano considered for a moment. Carina still held the key to many of the family’s secrets as well as a decent slice of their legitimate assets, but she had also accomplished what the rest of his associates had failed to do. She had rid him of Alex, the one person who had been destroying everything his father had built.

  Slowly, Marciano shook his head. “If the girls want to come back to the family, they’ll come when they’re ready.”

  “What about the key you were looking for?”

  “The information Carina has access to was only a threat to Alex, not the rest of us. As for the money and assets my father left for her, I think she’s
earned them.”

  “I thought you said she doesn’t know where everything is locked up.”

  “She doesn’t.” His shoulders lifted. “But if she ever decides she wants to understand, she knows where to find me. For now, I want you to call our attorney. Let’s see if anything can be done about getting Giovanni out of prison.”

  * * *

  Carina sat in the living room of her new apartment, her phone gripped in her hand. Jay should have called by now. They had instant messaged online for more than an hour last night, and he had told her when he would be allowed to call her next.

  Jay’s squad had yet to return from the mission that had taken him away right after Raymond Alexander had shown up in North Carolina. It had been so hard to watch him go, her whole world still feeling like it was in a state of confusion. Thankfully, Vanessa and Amy had arranged to stay a few extra days with her. They had both visited twice afterward, both times bringing the wives of the other two SEALs on the Saint Squad.

  It was due to one of those visits that she had managed to secure a job here in Virginia Beach so quickly. Riley Crowther, Tristan’s wife, owned her own business and needed someone to help pick up the slack as she prepared for the birth of her first child. Even though the job was only guaranteed for six months, it paid well enough for her to find a modest apartment and still cover Gianna’s next tuition payment.

  Bianca had found a job of her own with one of the year-round swim teams, coaching their younger swimmers. It didn’t pay much, but it offset all of her own swimming fees and gave her a little bit of spending money.

  Together, they were making a new life, and so far, they hadn’t seen any sign that the family knew where they were.

  Bianca walked into the apartment with her swim bag over her shoulder and kicked the door closed behind her. She looked down at Carina’s phone and gave her a sympathetic look. “He hasn’t called yet?”

  “Not yet.”

  “Maybe something came up,” Bianca suggested. “It’s happened before.”

  “I know.” Carina sighed.

  “Is he still reading the Book of Mormon?”

  “He says he is.” She nodded. “But he still won’t commit to meeting with the missionaries.”

  “You know, six months ago, I was wondering if religion even mattered to you.” Bianca’s expression was a combination of sympathy and amusement. “I can’t believe it took someone who isn’t LDS to help you see what’s important.”

  Carina’s eyebrows drew together. “What do you mean?”

  “Since Mom died, it’s like you took your testimony for granted. Once Jay started asking questions, I think he reminded you that you knew the answers.”

  Even though she didn’t like to admit it, Carina could see the truth in her sister’s words. In Miami, she had struggled to get motivated to drive the few miles to church each Sunday; yet, when they were staying in the Outer Banks, she had made a point of attending every week, even though getting to church took more than two hours and included a ride on the ferry. “What am I going to do if he doesn’t believe in the gospel?”

  “I don’t know.” Bianca gave her a sympathetic look. “I guess we’ll have to keep praying that he finds the truth.”

  Carina let out a sigh and nodded. Though she had tried repeatedly to deny her feelings for Jay, she knew that distance had accomplished what had started during that awful time in Florida. She had fallen in love with this man, and she was torn about what to do now. If Jay didn’t accept the gospel, could she follow Vanessa’s example and walk away from the person she had grown to depend on, the man she wanted in her future? Or did she try to make a future with Jay and hope for a miracle, knowing that it might never come?

  The phone rang, and she answered it without waiting for the number to flash on her caller ID. “Hello?”

  “Hi, Carina. It’s Amy.”

  Carina couldn’t keep the disappointment out of her voice. “Oh, hi, Amy.”

  “You were waiting for Jay to call,” Amy said perceptively.

  Carina let out a sigh. “He said he was going to call almost an hour ago.”

  “I heard through the grapevine that their mission was delayed. It’s probably going to be a few hours before we hear from our guys.”

  “Thanks for letting me know. I was starting to go a little crazy.”

  “No problem,” Amy said, and Carina could hear the smile in her voice. “I actually wanted to let you know that I talked to Kendra today.”

  Carina’s heartbeat quickened. She had been waiting anxiously for weeks to find out if Kendra had chosen her to design her wedding gown. “What did she say?”

  “She wanted to know if you could meet her at my parents’ house in northern Virginia in two weeks to finalize the designs on her wedding dress.”

  “What?”

  Amy’s laughter carried over the line. “She loved the last design you sent her. She wants to get started as soon as possible.”

  “I can’t believe it! Amy, thank you so much.”

  “I’m glad I could help,” Amy said with humor in her voice. “But beware. I think you’ll end up designing the bridesmaid dresses too. And my mom mentioned something about needing something for the wedding.”

  Carina thought of the whirl of excitement that would surround Kendra Blake’s wedding, especially the news that a big star would be choosing a temple marriage over a traditional one. The thought popped into her head that she couldn’t have that with Jay right now. “It sounds like I’m going to be very busy.”

  “With any luck, by the time Riley is ready to come back off of her maternity leave, she’ll be able to teach you how to set up your own business.”

  Carina tried to keep her thoughts on her professional life rather than her personal one. “Sounds like a dream come true.”

  39

  Jay headed straight for a computer the minute he entered his squad’s boardroom on the USS Harry S. Truman. He logged on quickly, praying that Carina would be online as his teammates scrambled to use the other computer terminals in the room. Undoubtedly, they too wanted to chat with the women they had left at home. The phone call Jay had hoped to make two days ago had never materialized, interrupted by a high-priority mission.

  They only had a few hours before they would fly out again, this time on a helicopter bound for Afghanistan, but he needed to talk to Carina first. He didn’t stop to wonder when talking to her had shifted from a want to a need. It didn’t really matter when it had happened, just that it had. She had become the most important thing in his world, and he ached to see her.

  For tonight, instant messaging was the best he could do. Assuming that she was at her computer. A smile crossed his face the minute he saw that she was online.

  You there? Jay typed, hoping she hadn’t just left herself logged on while she was off doing something else. A minute stretched into two while he waited impatiently for an answer.

  I’m here. How are you?

  Okay. Only have a few minutes but wanted to make sure you’re okay.

  I’m fine, but I miss you.

  Jay smiled. Miss you too.

  Any idea yet when you’ll be back?

  Nothing certain yet, but it should be sometime this week.

  I hope so. I love you.

  Jay read the words, the three simple words that resonated through him. He started typing his response, eager for Carina to know he shared her feelings. Before he could hit the send key, his Internet connection severed.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Jay muttered.

  “Did you get kicked off too?” Seth called from across the room.

  “Yeah.” Jay nodded.

  “So did I,” Tristan added. “Looks like we’re under a communications blackout.”

  “I wonder why,” Seth mused before the phone in the boardroom rang.

  Brent answered it. He was only on the line for thirty seconds before he hung up and motioned to the rest of them. “Grab your gear. It’s time to go.”

  * * *
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  Carina didn’t know what to think. She had actually confessed her love to Jay, and what had she gotten in return? Nothing. Absolute silence. Seventeen hours and thirty-two minutes of absolute silence.

  She couldn’t count the number of times she had woken during the night to check her computer and cell phone only to find Jay still hadn’t responded. She had started to call Vanessa this morning to ask her advice, but she couldn’t bring herself to talk to someone else about Jay when the only thing she wanted to do right now was to talk to Jay.

  Working today had been a trial as she struggled to concentrate on the various tasks that should already be second-nature to her. Carina supposed that Riley would probably understand her dilemma well enough, but it wasn’t the same as having gone through it the way Vanessa had.

  Carina finished filing the last batch of course evaluations in Riley’s home office and started to sit at the round table where her laptop was set up. She glanced over at Riley, who was sitting at the desk across the room, her face pale. At first Carina thought maybe she had forgotten to eat again. Then Riley looked up at her with tears in her eyes.

  “Riley, what’s wrong?”

  She didn’t speak, only waved helplessly toward her computer.

  Carina circled her desk and looked over Riley’s shoulder. And her whole world dropped out from under her. She felt the color drain out of her own face when she saw the headlines on the screen dated today, August 6, 2011. Helicopter crash in Afghanistan kills 38 including 31 US Special Forces.

  “You don’t think . . . ?” Carina let the unspoken question hang in the air.

  “I don’t know.” Riley’s voice came out in a whisper.

  Carina felt her chest tighten, and helplessness washed over her. What would she do if Jay was one of those thirty-one? She looked down at Riley. What would Riley do if Tristan was among them? Would her child be born without a father? Would she ever be able to love someone again after finding the man who was so obviously perfect for her?

  Carina barely recognized the silent prayers running through her head, but she felt a spurt of hope go to battle with the despair. “See if you can find any more details. I’m going to call Vanessa.”