Coyote's Revenge

by Vannetta Chapman

  “We all know the eighth separates men from boys. No offense, Noreen.”

  “None taken, Peter.”

  Everyone else called him the Colonel. Aiden was sure he could remember his own father addressing him that way. A veteran of the Vietnam War, Col. Bishop had come out of retirement to serve in the Gulf War. Rumor had it he’d only retired because he’d sustained an injury from shrapnel and it wouldn’t heal quite right. If he couldn’t serve in the field, the Colonel wouldn’t serve. Though by the way he played golf, Aiden couldn’t detect any lasting handicap. He was certainly giving Aiden a run for his money.

  “Low trajectory shot to the left, Aiden.” Coming from the Colonel it was more an order than a suggestion.

  Aiden peered over the green and lined up his shot. Water dominated the middle of the hole, with a small island in the middle of the pond. Last summer a family of beavers had taken up residence on the island and proceeded to build a dam from the island across the left side of the water. Aiden liked the fact The Fairmont had chosen to leave the dam there. It reminded him he was inside Banff National Park, not puttering around on some urban course.

  He took two practice swings, stepped closer to the ball, and lobbed it right into the middle of the water.

  “I said a low trajectory, not in the middle of the dam. With your swing I’m surprised you didn’t bust it wide open.”

  Every hair on Aiden’s neck did an immediate salute. Surely not. It was only a phrase, an odd coincidence. Only Aiden didn’t believe in coincidences. Careful of his expression, Aiden turned to face the man.

  “My swing isn’t that hard, Colonel. I doubt I could even dislodge a twig on the dam.”

  “You hit the ball like a baseball.” The Colonel lined up his shot, landed on the green, and turned back to the three of them with a natural air of superiority. “I hope you young people were paying attention.”

  As Noreen set her ball on the tee, Aiden moved closer to the Colonel. Thirty-five days. There wasn’t a lot of time to be subtle, but he couldn’t tip his hand either.

  “You played some golf when you were oversees,” Aiden said. “Ever see a beaver’s dam on the middle of the course?”

  “Europeans don’t want to hurt any of the little animals. You have to play with all manner of distractions. Totally unacceptable. Now if an Elk wanders on to your course.” He paused to study the bull and two cows grazing in the distance. “If an elk wanders on your course I don’t care if you shoot it and dress it for dinner or leave it be. But a beaver? Get rid of them. It’s not like you’d need one of Wallis’s bombs to stop the thing.”

  The Colonel moved beside Noreen as they walked to the next hole. Aiden forced himself to speak casually as they continued to the ninth. It wasn’t easy. He’d found another of the terrorists.

  Ω

  “The Colonel?” Martin asked. “I’m not convinced, Aiden.”

  “Then why did you send me to play golf with him?”

  “Because Coyote needs to believe your cover.”

  “It’s him.” Aiden paced back and forth across the meeting room, finally stopping in front of the surveillance team. “Tony, I want a tap in his room today, and I want to know everywhere he’s traveled in the last five years. Also run a check on his girlfriend. Her name is Noreen Hunt.”

  Walking back to Martin, he collapsed into a chair beside his boss’ makeshift desk.

  “It makes sense. The Colonel was a career military man until they forced him to retire. Supposedly because of an injury during the Gulf War. But play golf with the man—I guarantee you he had no physical reason for retiring. Something happened during his deployment. Something to turn him.”

  “He wouldn’t show up on any of our watch lists,” Tony admitted. “He’s outside the parameters of our search profile.”

  Martin held Aiden’s gaze for a minute that seemed like much more. Aiden refused to look away. With a heavy sigh, Martin picked up his phone. “I’m going to need the complete military record for Colonel Peter E. Bishop. Make sure it includes everything, especially anything classified.”

  He slammed the phone down and stood up, dismissing Aiden with a wave of his hand. “Leave. Go sleep or have a massage or do whatever playboys do when they look like death warmed over. I want you back in the bar tonight, and I want you at the top of your game.”

  Aiden gave him a mock salute and headed for the door. As he walked out of the room he heard Martin complain to Tony, “Worst game of golf I’ve ever seen in my life.”

  It had been one of his worse games. The lack of sleep, thoughts of Madison, and suspicions about the Colonel had combined to destroy his ability to focus. Golf was a game of concentration.

  Aiden once again resisted the urge to go to his room and phone Madison. He had strict orders to remain undercover, which did not include calling family or friends. After all, he was a self-centered playboy. It would be out of character to call home.

  Jacob had assured him she’d made it back to Edgewood with the team.

  Aiden should have felt good about identifying the Colonel as one of Yassin’s team. He didn’t though. All he could think of was the one they hadn’t found. The one who could cause the kind of chaos it was his job to stop.

  One more man.

  Thirty-five days.

  The clock continued to tick.

  AIDEN WOKE TO THE INCESSANT ringing of his cell phone. Looking at the clock, he saw it was 4:17, but it took a full ten seconds for him to realize it was 4:17 in the afternoon. Stumbling to the phone he answered it with a growl.

  “Lewis.”

  “Go home.” Martin’s voice sounded much cheerier than it should have.

  “Say again.”

  “Go home, Lewis.”

  Aiden walked over to the windows as he waited for an explanation. Pulling the drapes open he saw a flawless fall day in the Canadian Rockies.

  “You were right. Colonel Bishop is our man. His military files have significant gaps. Even I couldn’t access information on the missing parts.” Martin sighed and Aiden heard him lean back in his chair. “The fact I needed a federal court order was suspicious enough, but then we started pulling his visa records. We can pinpoint him in proximity with Yassin on at least three occasions. Furthermore, he has no close family. In many ways, he fits the classic profile.”

  Aiden allowed himself a moment of satisfaction. It didn’t last long.

  “Go home. Unless contacted, your involvement with this operation is over.”

  Aiden’s temper exploded. “What do you mean my involvement is over?”

  “Sir—”

  “What the hell do you mean, Sir? There’s still one out there.”

  “Not your problem.”

  “But—”

  “Look, Lewis. You’ve done a good job here. Now go home. If we need you, we’ll call you.”

  Martin clicked off, leaving Aiden with an overwhelming urge to put his fist through something, or preferably someone. He took his frustration out on packing instead.

  It wasn’t until he’d stood under the hot shower a good ten minutes that he began to relax, that he realized he could see Madison. He had no idea how he’d make everything right with her. Flowers wouldn’t work, but he vowed to find a way.

  Jacob had pulled up to the front drive by the time Aiden made it downstairs. As he was checking out, Caroline walked up.

  “Aiden.”

  “Hello, Caroline.”

  “You’re leaving.”

  “My golf game’s off, so I thought I might as well head home.”

  He saw the disappointment in her eyes. She was a nice lady, and he hated that he’d raised her hopes with his drunken display. “Listen, I’m sorry about last night.”

  “It’s all right.” She raised her chin ever so slightly, regained the teasing look in her eyes, and touched his arm lightly. “Maybe next time.”

  Aiden smiled, then kissed her on the cheek. He understood she knew there wouldn’t be a next time, but she had her pride. He respected
her for that.

  After he slid into the backseat of the limo and shut the door, Jacob lowered the window.

  “Heard you tagged the Colonel. Nice job, Iceman.”

  “Any other word on Madison?”

  Jacob met his gaze in the rearview mirror. “Do I hear the sound of ice cracking?”

  Aiden didn’t bother to respond.

  “She’s fine. We don’t actually have someone watching her twenty-four seven, but I have a friend in town who confirmed she’s at the school teaching today.”

  Aiden nodded. “Thanks.”

  “How are you going to make it up to her?”

  “I haven’t the slightest idea.”

  “Flowers?”

  “Tried that.”

  “Jewelry?”

  “Knowing Madison, she’d throw it back in my face.”

  “You have a couple hours to think on it. We should be in Edgewood by ten-thirty tonight.”

  Aiden crossed his arms behind his head and leaned back against the leather seat. He knew he’d done more than disappoint her. He’d betrayed her trust, and there was no chance he could tell her why.

  Maybe he could give her Sierras, but where would she put a horse? Did she even know how to ride a horse? He’d think of something. He had to.

  He suddenly realized he hadn’t ever cared this much for a woman before, and that scared him more than he wanted to admit.

  MADISON LOOKED AT THE name that appeared on her cell phone and forced herself not to answer it. The day had been long and exhausting, as only days with one hundred and twenty teenagers could be. She knew she’d have to face Aiden eventually, explain to him why she couldn’t deal with this sort of relationship, but she couldn’t do it tonight.

  She sank down onto her new sectional couch and picked up Nora Roberts’ latest, but the words on the page might as well have been hieroglyphics. She didn’t regret coming to Montana, but it was lonelier than she’d thought it would be. Starting over was hard. She missed her old things—her ratty couch and her cats. She missed her old life.

  A knock on her door pulled her out of her reverie. It couldn’t be Aiden, since he’d just called from his house. She didn’t know many people well yet and couldn’t imagine who would be stopping by her house at nine o’clock on a Wednesday night.

  “Open up, Madison. I come bearing gifts.”

  Madison opened the door to her mentor/friend, holding two Starbucks cups.

  “You’re bringing me coffee at this hour?”

  “It’s decaf.” Pam said. “Strong, with whipped cream—the way you like it.”

  Madison retrieved two packages of Girl Scout cookies from the kitchen.

  “Thin mints or Somoas?” she asked.

  “Both, of course.”

  Madison dropped the cookies on the giant ottoman that squared out her couch, accepted the cup, and flopped back into a corner. “You’re a saint, and I don’t deserve you.”

  “True. But since you have good taste in Girl Scout cookies, I’ll be your friend anyway. Now spill. I want to know what happened over the weekend and why you’ve been moping around all week.”

  “What makes you think anything happened?” Madison focused on taking the lid off her coffee without spilling it and blowing on the steaming liquid.

  “Please. You left acting like a giddy seventeen-year-old and returned looking like the stars had dropped from the sky.”

  Madison thought about the star that had fallen as she and Aiden were kissing. At the time, she had thought it was a sign. Now she was pretty sure it was a warning.

  “Spill it, sweetie. I probably won’t have any answers, but it’ll help you to share.”

  “Short version? I had a wonderful time driving up to Missoula.”

  Pam’s precisely arched eyebrow went up a notch, but instead of interrupting, she opened the thin mints, took four, and passed them to Madison.

  “Saturday’s golf meet went well. The boys were amazing. You should see them when they’re on the course, Pam.”

  “Tell me that part later.”

  “Right.” Madison nibbled on a cookie. “Where was I?”

  “Saturday’s meet.”

  “When we got back to the C’mon Inn, Aiden asked me to dinner.”

  “You stayed at the C’mon?” Pam reached for more cookies, kicked off her shoes, and pulled a blanket over her lap.

  Madison nodded and reached for another cookie. “Isn’t that where they normally stay?”

  “Maybe. It’s the most expensive hotel in town. The district would never pay for it, but then Aiden has never been stingy with his money.”

  “Yeah. It was nice.” The memories enfolded her again, and like the countless times before she was powerless to stop them. A starlit night, Aiden’s lips on hers...

  Then he had left. Again. Like before. Like every other person she had thought she could trust.

  Pam stood up, walked into the bathroom, and brought back tissues to wipe the tears she didn’t realize she was crying.

  “Then you went to dinner?”

  “Aiden asked me to dinner in the hotel. The boys ordered pizza by the pool. That’s about it.”

  “It must have been a really bad dinner to make you cry remembering it.”

  “Ok.” Madison sighed. “We made out on the patio. I remember thinking that I like this part. The part before the part where you jump in. The part where you feel dizzy just being near someone.”

  They sipped coffee and munched on cookies in silence, both lost in memories.

  “Then Aiden showed up at my room. It was four in the morning, and he said he had to leave. He said I’d have to bring the boys home by myself.”

  “He didn’t.”

  “Yup. He did.”

  “How could he?”

  “Actually, he arranged for a driver. Some guy named Samuel.”

  “Samuel?”

  “Right.”

  “So, Samuel drove you home.”

  “Nope. I told him we didn’t need Samuel.”

  “Aren’t you afraid of driving mountain roads?”

  “I told him we could make it fine without him.”

  “Girlfriend, you rock.”

  They leaned forward, high-fived, then sank back with their coffee.

  “Men suck,” Madison said.

  “Yeah, sometimes they do.”

  Madison’s cell phone rang again, but she ignored it.

  “You going to answer that?”

  “Nope.”

  “You know who it is?”

  Madison nodded.

  “I guess that means it’s Aiden.”

  “Yeah.”

  Both women slouched down in the couch, feet up on the ottoman. A few minutes ticked by, neither needing to break the silence. Finally, Pam stood and stretched, took the cookies back to the kitchen, and picked her jacket up from the hook in the front hall.

  Madison walked her outside and down to her car.

  “Is he a good kisser?”

  “Yeah, he’s a good kisser.”

  “You really like him, don’t you?”

  Madison didn’t trust her voice, and she was grateful for the darkness. Tears filled her eyes and threatened to spill over again. She realized she was acting like a teenaged fool. She barely knew the guy. Why did he affect her this way?

  “I don’t know why Aiden left you, but I do know Aiden. We grew up together here in Edgewood. He might have a reputation as a playboy, but that’s not Aiden. He’s had a hard time since his parents died.”

  Madison nodded in the darkness, drew a deep breath, and hugged her arms to herself. “I know all about not having parents.”

  “Have you had any luck looking for your dad?”

  Madison shook her head. She’d confessed to Pam her reason for moving to Edgewood weeks ago. Together they’d spent many an afternoon trying various web searches, but they always ended up where they started—nowhere.

  “I’m not telling you to give Aiden another chance. But if he said he had to l
eave, he did have a good reason. I can’t imagine what it would be. Maybe he’s a spy or something.” Pam unlocked her Volkswagen beetle and slid behind the wheel.

  “He does look a little like James Bond.”

  “And they’re both rich.”

  Madison reached in and hugged her friend. “Thanks for coming by.”

  “Sure thing. Call me if you want to talk.”

  Madison watched Pam pull out of the parking lot, then turned and made her way back up the stairs to her apartment. When she reached the top of the stairs she saw a car, idling across the street. It looked like the person was looking her direction, but then they switched their cell phone to their other ear and started hollering.

  Not everything was about her.

  It took every ounce of energy she had to drag herself back inside. She was fairly sure Pam was right. Aiden no doubt had a good reason.

  This wasn’t the first time he’d left with no explanation though. Madison might be able to accept he was doing what he had to do, but she couldn’t accept that sort of relationship. How would it be any different than the guys back in Dallas? He still wouldn’t be there for her. She wouldn’t be able to call him when she needed to talk to someone in the middle of the night. She wouldn’t be able to count on him to be there when he said he would.

  Madison tidied up her living room, turned out all the lights, and walked into her bedroom. As she pulled off her clothes and tugged on a nightshirt, she knew what she had to do. Tomorrow, she’d tell Aiden she valued his friendship, but it couldn’t go any further. Somehow she had to forget the way his kisses made her dizzy, how his hands holding hers had the power to burn her flesh. Somehow, she had to give up the childish dream that had sprouted in her heart.