A Hero In Uniform - The Complete Series (27 page)

Francine Greene looked nothing like her little sister.

Sure, they had a similar resemblance in their blue eyes and medium height, but that's all. Karleigh was slim, brunette and looked like a model. Francine was bottle-blonde with black tips at the end of her short hair and was a size twenty at least.

But it was obvious Karleigh loved her big sister.

As he watched them through the windows that overlooked the back patio, Ethan wondered what the eldest Greene sister had done to warrant such attention from the federal police.

“
Two different peas from the same pod, eh?”

Ethan looked at the man standing next to him briefly before looking back at his XO.

“
I'll bet you're wondering what Francine Greene did to be in our custody, Lieutenant Commander Conrad.”

He wasn't surprised the Feds had run a background on him, and all he said was, “It crossed my mind.”

“
She's a murderer.”

Now that was a surprise.

“
Who did she kill?”

“
Phillip Schofield.”

“
Did she have a reason for killing him?”

Doug crossed his arms and kept his eyes on the two sisters as he said, “He's a serial rapist who always manages to slip through our fingers. He was at the head of our suspect list when Miss Greene there was raped, but we didn't have enough evidence to pin the crime on him.”

“
And you think that's why Francine killed him.”

“
I know that's why she did.” 

“
Why isn't she in jail?”

“
She's the key to nabbing one of the biggest criminals in the north.”

“
Who?”

“
Ian Morton. He's wanted in connection with terrorist-based crimes that have been happening all over the Pacific.”

Ethan looked at Karleigh and asked, “How is Lieutenant Greene involved in all this?”

“
She used her position with RAN to get Miss Greene the best treatment and now, I can't move her unless she or Commander Richardson sign off on it.”

Ethan could tell the Senior agent didn't like this, but, like him, Doug had no choice. Orders were orders.

Karleigh and her sister came inside then and his XO began questioning Doug.

“
When do you want to move her?”

“
Tonight.”

“
What reason do you have for doing this?”

“
Miss Greene recently gave us some information about Morton that could lead to his arrest, and now he's been spotted in Bungalow.”

Karleigh looked at her sister and stated, “You think he's on his way here.”

“
I do.”

She looked back at Doug and asked, “Where are you taking her?”

“
I can't give you the exact location, Lieutenant Greene, but I can tell you that she's going to be placed into the WPP unit and put near Samford Valley.”

Ethan smiled to himself and thought; How many times are the RAN and WPP going to cross paths? 

Doug looked at her and said, “If I have your approval, Lieutenant, I'd like to move my witness now before this storm gets any worse or before Morton has a chance to find us.”

Karleigh nodded and said, “Fine. But I'd like you to relay all updates to this case through NAVCOM. I don't want to be kept in the dark, Agent Jones.”

He nodded and ordered his men to move out.

Ethan followed and waited on the curb as Karleigh hugged her sister goodbye. The eldest Greene was whisked away as they stood there, getting soaked by the rain.

In the past, he'd liked to keep himself isolated from emotions.

But seeing Karleigh so upset did him and he had to know … “Are you okay?”

“
No.”

“
C'mon, then. I'll take you home.”

They hailed another cab and she gave the driver her address before leaning into him. Her slender body was shaking slightly and he knew she was crying, so he did what he could and slipped his arm around her shoulders, holding her close as the cab took them to her apartment.

By the time they reached the fifth floor of her apartment building, Karleigh was shaking too bad to even get the key into her lock, so Ethan did it for her.

When he had her inside, he stated, “I don't think you should be alone tonight.”

The digital clock next to her bed read 4:15 when Karleigh woke early the next morning. Her shades were closed, but the rain and thunder could easily be heard on an otherwise quiet morning.

Rolling over onto her side, Karleigh reached over and turned on her lamp before grabbing the photo that was sitting next to her lamp. In the photo, she and Francine had their arm around the others neck and were grinning broadly at the person taking the photo. Karleigh couldn't remember who that was, but she and her sister looked so happy.

Francine Greene might have horrible taste when it came to men, but she didn't deserve to be in the situation she was in now just because one of those creeps hadn't been able to accept no as no.

Putting the photo back on the nightstand, Karleigh threw back the covers and swung her legs over the side of the bed, only to have them connect with bare skin.

Gasping in surprise, she jumped up onto her knees on the mattress and grabbed the Beretta 9mm she always kept hanging at the back of the headboard in a leather holster, ready to protect herself.

But it wasn't a villain or home intruder that her weapon was pointed at.

It was Ethan Conrad, her CO.

“
Boss?”

Ethan sat on a red sleeping bag – her red sleeping bag – his hands raised in a typical surrender position as he looked up at her with an amused expression in his eyes. 

Lowering her weapon, Karleigh asked, “What are you doing here, Sir?”

The presence of the sleeping bag, not to mention his sleep-mused hair and naked torso answered that question, but she needed to ask to keep herself distracted so she wouldn't stare at that wide expanse of pure, fat-free muscle.

“
I spent the night.”

“
That's obvious, Sir. What isn't obvious is the why?” 

“
Relax, X. Nothing happened.” Ethan told her with a grin.

“
I'm not worried about that, boss.” She told him as she put the gun back where it belonged. “I just want to know why you're here.”

Ethan sat up straighter, allowing the sleeping bag to fall around his hips and reveal more of his naked torso in the process.

Karleigh almost forgot what it was they were talking about.

“
You were a mess last night after you said goodbye to your sister, so I stayed to make sure you were going to be okay.”

“
You've been here all night?”

“
Yes.”

“
Sleeping on that bag?”

“
Yes.”

“
Did I ask you to stay?”

“
Yes.”

“
Oh. Sorry, Sir.”

Ethan just smiled and told her, “Don't be.”

Karleigh was about to say something else when her phone rang. Grabbing it off the nightstand, she checked the number on the screen and felt her heart skip a beat when she saw who it was.

If he was calling this early in the morning, it couldn't be good news.

Four

She was almost out the door when Ethan managed to catch her.

He'd seen her reaction to the call she'd gotten, but she hadn't told him what was happening. She'd simply gotten dressed, grabbed a set of car keys and raced off.

But he wasn't about to let her face whatever it was she had to face alone.

“
X, slow down.” He said, adding, “Tell me what's wrong.”

“
I have to go.”

“
Go where?”

Karleigh looked up at him and he saw fear in her eyes. “It's my sister. She's missing.”

Ethan frowned. “How can she be missing?”

“
I don't know. Jones didn't give me much.” She replied. “I just need to get over there.”

“
I'm coming with you.”

“
I can't let you do that, boss.”

“
I'm not asking for your permission, X.” He told her. “If I'm with you, I can vouch for your whereabouts that are going to make you late for the ship's departure this morning.”

“
My career isn't my concern at the moment.”

“
A dishonourable discharge from the Navy could mean trouble for you.”

“
I've given the RAN eight years of perfect service. If they can't back me when my sister needs me, I don't want to be RAN anymore.”