Love Inspired Suspense May 2015 #2

by Susan Sleeman

  He stopped, just went stone-cold still. Now she could identify that it was a date. “Aug 3.”

  “Is that your birthday?”

  “No.” The word was clipped.

  Oops—it might’ve been the birth date of his former fiancée. “The date you became a SEAL?”

  “No.” Most of his face was in shadow and for a half second he looked…broken. He stood motionless, like an immovable wall. A wall of stifling quiet, intimidation, grief.

  She felt it rolling off of him. A muscle in his jaw worked and Laura suddenly realized the story behind the tattoo was something terrible. Something painful, and she was afraid she knew what it was. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”

  *

  Griffin released her soft hands and turned away, staring at the scuffed punching bag in the corner but seeing a sandy, dirty expanse of mountainous terrain. Was he going to do this?

  “We were called straphangers,” he said hoarsely. “Extra manpower brought in for dangerous situations.”

  Behind him he felt Laura’s unflinching regard. “Primarily, we did special surveillance and recon, taking pictures of hot spots and sending them back to base. All of our work was done in the dark and there were a lot of hours where we just waited and waited, watching the target, watching our backs.”

  He was really telling her. Was it because he wanted to or because he couldn’t stop himself?

  “We worked in a small unit, four SEALs. One evening, right before dark, we came upon an old man herding goats. We had to decide whether he was a threat or not. Whether to kill him or let him leave. The deciding vote was mine and I said to let him pass.

  “Less than an hour later, we were ambushed by a group of Taliban. The man had gone straight to them and given away our position.”

  Laura gasped and he almost stopped. He had never talked about it since that awful day he’d had to notify the families of his friends.

  “Those guys—” He stopped, his vision blurring for a moment. “We had to get down the mountainside. It was a sheer drop with rock outcroppings.”

  Just as if he were back there, he felt the sun blazing down, the sweat trickling in his eyes, slicking his back. He would never forget the sensation of heat searing his lungs, the burn of ever-present sand in his nostrils. “We all laid down cover fire as we tried to get down the side of the mountain to a small cave.

  “Davy and J.J. had multiple gunshot wounds. They literally took their last breaths shooting, trying to save my and Ace’s lives.” The acrid stench of gunpowder was real. And the metallic scent of blood stinging his nose. “Then Ace was hit. Six times. That tough old boot just kept shooting back. Shooting and yelling at me to get out of there.”

  Griffin’s throat tightened. “I put him on my back and kept going. I was only feet away from the cave when a bullet ricocheted off of an overhang. A baseball-size chunk of rock flew off, hit me in the chest and I fell. Landed right on top of Ace.”

  Laura was silent behind him. Griffin didn’t turn around, afraid he might stop. Now that he was telling the story, he had to finish. “I knew he was dead. My leg was shattered and I was shot up, but I made it to the cave.

  “I knew I wouldn’t last long once the sun came up.” He’d also realized he was on his own. Completely on his own. They had all been trained to fight, to move as one unit, and Griffin was alone. Just as he had been his entire life.

  “Trying to sneak away was suicide, but I decided I’d rather be killed doing that than huddling there like a wounded animal. I made it out, then dropped right off the edge.”

  She drew in a shuddery breath.

  “Turned out to be a good thing, though. An elder and his granddaughter found me, got me to their hut and doctored me up. I wasn’t worth much for the first couple of days, but when I came to, I found out that the Taliban had threatened to burn down the entire village if they didn’t turn me over. That old man and his family refused.”

  Griffin shook his head. Even now, he couldn’t believe the risk those people had taken for him.

  “I knew if I didn’t get out of that village, all of those people would die. Between the granddaughter and me, we managed to find enough of a radio signal to send out an SOS. Army rangers came in and got me. They got Ace, Davy and J.J., too.”

  “It’s a miracle you survived.” Laura’s voice shook. “God had a hand in that.”

  Griffin didn’t see it that way. “We wouldn’t have been found out if I hadn’t decided to let the old guy live.”

  “Griffin,” she said thickly.

  “Two days before, we’d seen a young woman flag down a Marine unit as if she needed help. The second they reached her, she detonated a bomb she was wearing. Even after witnessing that, I didn’t want to believe the old man would give us up, especially after letting him live.”

  To this day, Griffin had nightmares about releasing the goat herder. Thinking and rethinking that decision. He’d never get over it.

  “Did the families of those men blame you?”

  “No, but they should. It was my fault.”

  She moved to stand in front of him and he could see tear tracks on her cheeks. Gently, with just a brush of her fingers, she touched his face. “Do you know what I see when I look at you? A man who would’ve died for his friends, who almost did. I’m sure they were willing to do the same for you.”

  That was an innate understanding every soldier shared. “They still shouldn’t have had to pay with their lives.”

  Talking to Laura made Griffin feel ripped open. He hadn’t felt this raw or rocky since he’d gotten his friends on the chopper to bring them home.

  She laid a hand on his chest. “The only person I’ve ever known with a love like that is God. Besides giving His Son’s life for you, He gave you three friends willing to do the same.”

  Griffin had certainly never thought about it that way. And he wasn’t sure he wanted to.

  He’d never told anyone close to him what he’d just told Laura. He hadn’t known her long, but he knew without a doubt that nothing he’d said about that bleak, brutal day in the Hindu Kush would leave this barn.

  Had he told her only because she was leaving? Because he knew there was no chance anything more could happen between them? Griffin had no idea. What he did know was that the best thing for both of them would be for her to leave.

  EIGHT

  Griffin had opened up to her. Even the next morning, Laura couldn’t believe he had told her about his friends. The friends she’d seen in that photo on her first day here.

  Her throat tightened as she recalled the agony in his voice.

  She had held her breath, afraid to move because she didn’t want him to stop talking. She wished she’d been able to hold him or touch him, something to let him know someone was there for him.

  The self-loathing on his face had broken her heart. By letting the Afghan native go, Griffin had done what he’d thought was right and his friends had paid with their lives.

  It was plain the man couldn’t forgive himself and didn’t see how anyone else could, either. But God could and Laura wished she could help Griffin understand that.

  When they had returned to his house, she’d expected him to pull away or act uncomfortable, but he hadn’t, not last night and not this morning. She wondered if he’d ever told his ex-fiancée.

  Had she known about that horrible day when she had left him? Was that why she’d left him? Laura hoped not. The last thing he needed was someone judging his decision as wrong when he was already struggling to live with it.

  She hadn’t realized the magnitude of the dangers faced by military men and women on a daily basis. Now she’d had a very small glimpse, which had given her more of an appreciation for what they did.

  She rinsed off the last breakfast plate and put it in the dishwasher. Griffin had cooked for her and Joy this morning—toast and omelets. They were the biggest omelets Laura had ever seen. She didn’t know how many eggs he’d used for each one, but the man liked eggs.
A lot.

  Talking around the table had been nice and yet had made her a little sad. It had brought home how much she missed the simple things, like a meal with her family.

  Suddenly she was aware that he was waving a hand in front of her face.

  “Hey,” he said in a low voice. “Earth to Laura.”

  “Sorry.” She smiled into his eyes, getting the same flutter in her stomach she’d gotten upon first seeing him this morning. “I drifted off.”

  “Did you hear me say that Ghost is coming out to upgrade the encryption on my system and add another layer to my firewall?”

  “Do you want me to stay out of sight?”

  “No.” He backed up against the counter and braced his hands on the edge. His gaze searched her face. “He doesn’t know your real identity and he’s a friend. He’s not a threat to you.”

  “Won’t he think it’s strange that I’m staying at your house?”

  “Maybe, but even if he does, he won’t ask.”

  “Why not?”

  “He operates on need-to-know, just like I do.”

  “After hearing his name so often, I’d like to meet him if you think it isn’t a risk.”

  “It isn’t. I trust him with my life.”

  Because of their conversation last evening, Laura knew the significance of that. And if Griffin trusted him, Laura could, too. Their gazes locked and she smiled, enjoying his nearness. He smiled, too, which he seemed to have done more in the past twenty-four hours than he had in the whole time since she’d arrived. Aware of her aunt’s rapt attention on them, Laura leaned down to close the dishwasher.

  “I’ll take you for your injection after Ghost is finished.” Griffin stepped away, looking out the bay window toward the drive. “Ah, here he is now.”

  “Oh, good!” Joy walked over to the door leading to the garage. She opened it and Laura heard the quiet hum of an engine before it shut off. A door slammed and she caught the faint slide of the well-oiled automatic garage door as it closed.

  Joy met the wiry dark-haired man as he stepped inside. “Alex!”

  When she hugged him around the middle, he switched his faded navy duffel bag to the other hand so he could return the embrace. His black eyes twinkled. “Griffin said you might be here. And that you made blackberry cobbler last night.”

  She laughed. “I did and I saved you some. I’ll bring it to the office.”

  “Can’t wait.” Leanly muscled, the other man wasn’t as tall as Griffin, but his shoulders were just as broad and he looked every bit as tough. Street tough.

  Yet with that olive skin, carved jaw and aquiline nose, the man could’ve been a model. So, this was the man Sydney didn’t like.

  He walked over to Griffin and shook hands, his gaze lighting on Laura.

  “Hello,” she said.

  “Hi.” His voice was quiet, almost shy.

  Joy laid a hand on Laura’s shoulder. “Alex, this is my friend Laura Parker. Laura, this is Alex Morales, our computer genius.”

  He looked slightly embarrassed at Joy’s praise.

  Laura smiled, extending her hand for a quick shake. “Otherwise known as Ghost?”

  “That’s me. Nice to meet you.” He slid a sideways look at Griffin. “Didn’t know you had company. I could’ve come later.”

  “No.” Griffin shifted, his arm brushing Laura’s. “After you told me about the massive computer hack on those US banks, I didn’t want to wait for an upgrade.”

  A look of disgust crossed Alex’s handsome features. “The hackers were good.”

  “From China?” Griffin asked.

  “Russia. The amount of information they stole has yet to be fully determined, but it keeps growing. Ready for me to get started?”

  Griffin nodded, walking across the wood floor to the laundry room.

  Joy patted Laura’s back. “Go on down. I’ll join you in a minute. You can get to know Alex better.”

  The man shot Joy a smile, revealing a pair of deep dimples.

  “All right.” Laura didn’t see the point in that, but she kept the thought to herself.

  Griffin gave Joy a warning look. “Don’t be doing any matchmaking.”

  The older woman laughed. “Who said I was?”

  With a wink, she turned and headed for the opposite hallway and the bedroom she’d been using.

  Laura smiled at their visitor. “Would you like a cup of coffee? It’s fresh.”

  “That would be great. Just black.”

  “All right.” She glanced at Griffin. “I’ll bring it down.”

  “Thanks.” He gave her a warm smile that she felt all over.

  He followed his friend down the stairs and Laura poured two cups of coffee, then headed for the security room. As she stepped across the threshold, her gaze moved to the vault and she thought about the photo behind the door. Now she knew what had happened to the men in that picture.

  She handed a cup of the steaming brew to Alex and walked over to pass the other mug to Griffin.

  He took a sip. “Perfect. Two sugars, just the way I like it.”

  “I thought I remembered correctly.”

  Alex spared them a look, drawing Laura’s attention from her bodyguard. The computer expert had rolled a silver metal box the size of a mini refrigerator over by the bank of monitors. That must be the server. He popped off the front plate and removed a small part from the inside.

  Griffin explained to his friend that a man had tried to break into his house yesterday. “Could you take a look at my surveillance footage and see if you spot anything that might identify this guy? I haven’t been able to find much.”

  “Sure.”

  The tap-tap of a woman’s shoes had Laura looking toward the stairs. Joy joined them, chic and stylish in a black jacket and slacks with a crisp light blue shirt. “Did Alex tell you that he and I attend the same church? He never misses.”

  “He didn’t tell me.” So far Alex hadn’t said much to Laura. Alex’s dark gaze met Laura’s. “Maybe I’ll see you there with Joy sometime.”

  “I’d like that.” She sincerely would, but of course, it wasn’t going to happen.

  He replaced the faceplate of the server and rolled it out of the way.

  Joy turned to Laura with a broad smile. “Alex mentors at-risk youth three days a week after school. He teaches them computer skills.”

  Laura could hear the pride in her aunt’s voice.

  “So far they’ve used their powers for good,” Alex said wryly. “And not for hacking.”

  As Alex began clicking away on his keyboard, Joy turned to Griffin. “Pastor Hughes came by Nolan’s hospital room and asked me to have you contact him.”

  “Did he say why?”

  “No, just that he really wanted to talk to you.” She passed him a white business card and he slid it into his front jeans pocket.

  “All right.”

  Laura wondered if it had anything to do with the motorcycle they’d seen in Hughes’s garage.

  Griffin’s gaze shifted to her. “After your injection, I’ll bring you back here then meet with Hughes.”

  She nodded.

  “Joy?” A feminine voice called out from the top of the stairs and Laura recognized it as Sydney’s.

  Her aunt smiled. “Down here!”

  Over at the monitors, she saw Alex’s shoulders go stiff. Had he found a problem on the computer or was his reaction caused by the woman making her way to the security room?

  Sydney stepped into the room wearing dark slacks and a long burgundy coat. Even though her sensible shoes had only a one-inch heel, she looked svelte and tall.

  Green eyes sparkling, the brunette smiled. “Hey, everybody—”

  Her gaze landed on Alex and her face closed up. Her stunning eyes went flat.

  As Laura, Griffin and Joy greeted Sydney, Laura glanced at Alex.

  He responded to the newcomer with a brusque “Hello,” his features stone hard and blank. He stared fiercely at the computer screen. From the distinct chi
ll that had invaded the room, it was evident that Alex and Sydney didn’t like being in such close proximity.

  Laura exchanged a look with Griffin. He shrugged as if to say he didn’t know any more than Laura did.

  A beep sounded and Alex reached into his slacks pocket to pull out a cell phone. After a quick glance at it, he shifted his gaze to Griffin. “Looks like Thompson has substantial gambling debts and he received a large deposit in his bank account a few days ago.”

  Laura remembered that Griffin had asked Morales to report anything he found on the attorney as well as the pastor and the nurse.

  “How big is the deposit?” her bodyguard asked.

  “Seven hundred fifty thousand dollars.”

  Laura nearly choked. She couldn’t imagine making that much money in her lifetime, let alone receiving it as a one-time payment.

  “Do you have a date for that deposit?”

  “Three days ago.”

  Laura went still. That was the day she’d nearly been killed in the ladies’ room. The look on Griffin’s face said he had realized the same thing. As had Joy and Sydney.

  Alex didn’t appear to be aware of the significance. Griffin had said Alex didn’t ask many questions, so it was difficult to ascertain just what the computer genius knew.

  Sydney angled toward the stairs. “If it’s all right, I’m going to grab some coffee. Joy, let me know when you’re ready to leave.”

  “I’ll come with you,” the older woman said.

  Laura wondered if Alex was curious as to why Sydney was here for Joy or why the woman was at Griffin’s so early in the morning.

  She glanced at Griffin. “I’ll see you upstairs. Let me know if either of you want more coffee.”

  “Thanks.” Alex looked up from his flying fingers to smile at her.

  The man was really too good-looking.

  Griffin nodded. Laura was about halfway up the steps when she heard Morales say in a low voice, “If she’s got anything to do with the case you’re working, I can see why you’re so invested in it.”

  Laura felt her cheeks heat and continued upstairs.

  Griffin started up behind her but she heard him call out to Alex, “I’ll leave you to it.”

  “All right.” The other man sounded distracted.