Code Name: Ghost (A Warrior's Challenge 1) (31 page)

Still searching, he said, “What did she look
like?”

Kelsey lifted her head. “Kinda like mommy,
but smaller.”

“Did you see her, Pat?” peering across every
face again.

“All right, start talkin’,” Marg
ordered.

“Here.” He plopped Kelsey in Marg’s arms and
fought his way back toward the terminal waiting room. Throwing open
the door he glanced around quickly. It was empty except for a
cleaning woman pulling a black bag from a garbage can. He shook his
head and fought off an unexpected tsunami-sized wave of
disappointment as he stared at the floor.

“Are you looking for me?”

His pulse quickened as he turned around.
“Kayla—” Standing five feet away from him, her eyes smiling, was
the most gorgeous, wonderful, incredible woman, he’d ever seen in
his life.

Sweeping a wave of disobedient hair from her
face she said, “Welcome home, Commander.”

The distance between them disappeared with
two steps. “Sweet Jesus, you’re a beautiful sight.” Christ, he
thought he was going to cry himself feeling her softness in his
arms.

She tenderly touched his forehead where an
angry red wound marred his skin. “I’m glad you’re home safe.” She
smiled up at him. “Did you bring everyone home?”

He palmed her cheek and nodded. “Yeah,
everyone came home.” He wanted to kiss her so badly, but something
stopped him. She was being polite and professional, and trying so
damn hard to hide her feelings, and so was he. What the hell was
the matter with them that neither of them was going to give? Over
the years, he’d lost count of the women who’d offered
forever
, but he’d never wavered. If only Kayla would say she
wanted him, he’d probably fall to his knees with relief.

“Good.” She glanced away nervously. “Captain
Redding sent me over to tell you that you need to come in tomorrow.
You’ve got some kind of high-level meeting about Al-Qaeda at
ten.”

Shit, that’s why she was here? She hadn’t
come because she wanted to. God, he was an idiot. “Right—well, I’ll
be in.” He stepped away from her, but he found he couldn’t let go
of her hand. Glancing up, Cobbs and his family stood not more than
ten feet away. Marg looked like she was going to bust a coconut,
excitement radiating on her face. Talk about being stuck between a
rock and another rock.

“Are you going to introduce us or what?”
Marg asked, clasping her hands together.

Kayla spun around with surprise. “Hi.” She
gave a quick wave, and pressed herself against him. His hands slid
to her hips, holding her gently. “Lieutenant Cobbs.”

“Hi, Snow White.”

“Snow White!” Marg stepped forward. “It’s
nice to meet you, Kayla. I’ve heard a lot about you from Pat.”

“Ah—Marg, right?” Kayla said, accepting her
hand.

“Yeah, so one more for dinner then?” she
said, barely containing her excitement.

“I’m working, actually. I just started my
evening shift. Captain Redding just wanted to get a message to the
Commander.”

Kayla glanced up at him, and he realized he
was holding his damn breath.

“Well, I better get back. It’s good to see
you all made it home. It was nice to meet you, Marg.”

Sweeping her into his arms and landing the
kiss of the century on her lips is what he wanted, but how could he
do that? “Kayla?”

She offered him a small smile and pulled
away from him. “Bye.”

Just like that—his chance, his moment, the
one he’d been missing all his life was gone. The soles of his feet
riveted themselves to the ground to stop himself from chasing her.
He had made up his mind to let her go. He never changed his mind.
He swallowed thickly to clear the lump from his throat.

Marg marched up to him, her brow tight. She
stopped within two inches and glared at him. “Are you that stupid?”
she hissed at him. “Go after her. That woman truly loves your
sorry, hard ass.”

Confused, his feet felt like they were
sinking into the tarmac. He stared blankly back at her.

“Don’t make me hit you,” she blurted.

“I’d listen to her, Thane, she’s got a
wicked right cross,” Cobbs said, grinning.

“She doesn’t,” he breathed, but he’d never
forgotten Kayla’s words in the desert. She’d been knocked
senseless, there was no way a woman like her could love him. Could
he do what he planned if she did?

Marg narrowed her eyes at him. “She does,
you idiot.”

“Right again,” Cobbs said with a laugh. He
swayed Kelsey back and forth in his arms, and then shrugged at him.
“How many people have to call you an idiot before you get a
grip?”

He swallowed hard and looked up to see Kayla
getting into Red’s car. He’d sent her over here on purpose. The old
man had set him up. “Marg, you don’t know her.”

“I know what two people who want to fall
into each other’s arms looks like, Thane. I never thought I’d see
it, but I’m right aren’t I?”

He glanced at the ground, deliberating on
denying it, then stared into Marg’s waiting expression and
nodded.

Her face cracked into a beautiful smile. “I
like her.”

He tilted his head with a raised brow. “You
don’t even know her.”

Marg gently leaned her forehead against his.
“I don’t need to. I can see what she does to you,” and she wrapped
him in a huge hug. “Don’t you dare let her get away,” she whispered
in his ear. “I know what you think, but you’ve always been wrong.
We’re stronger than you give us credit for. We have to be, we marry
warriors like you.”

* * * *

The Commander had been back for two weeks,
and they’d managed to avoid each other. She swapped her shifts to
all evenings, which meant she was only in the office for an hour
before he left for the day. Twice she’d had to give him a debrief,
and both times the air between them felt more like jell-o, tense
and vibrating.

Both he and Captain Redding had a late
meeting today and both of them were still in at seventeen hundred
hours. As she passed by their door on her way to the bathroom,
Redding waved his hand. “If you have a minute, Kayla.”

Shit!
“Yes—sir.”

The Captain’s white brows arched, as if he
saw her distress. He shuffled some papers on his desk. “I’m
drafting the Christmas schedule, and you’re off.”

She nodded. “John’s family is having a large
reunion; everyone is coming from the four corners of the planet.
I’ll work the twenty-forth through the twenty-sixth for him.”

Redding began to shake his head. “Jake, said
you were working his shifts. That would mean three days of double
shifts.”

“Yes, sir, that’s right.” She turned to go,
but he cleared his throat, a sure sign she needed to stop. Peering
at him, he began to shake his head.

“Kayla, I was suggesting you have Christmas
off, and that maybe you wanted to take an extra cycle off and go
home.” He surveyed her with concern.

“No, sir.” The Commander watched her, but
she refused to look at him. Looking at him caused her physical pain
now. As soon as the new year came, she would start looking for
another job, somewhere far away from Coronado and Thane.

“You’re not working straight through
Christmas, Kayla,” Thane said.

Keeping her eyes fixed on Captain Redding,
she said, “I do it every year, sir. It’ll be slow anyway.”

Redding placed the schedules on his desk and
crossed his hands. “You’re not working Christmas Eve.”

“Why?” It was usually a relief to management
when someone like her could work.

“Because you’re spending it at my house,” he
declared, rising from his chair. “We have a dinner for friends and
family, and you’re going to be there.” He limped toward her and
placed a fatherly hold on either side of her arms. “I’ll consider
the other shifts, and let you know.” He paused, “but you are going
to spend Christmas Eve with my family, agreed?”

A stuttered breath escaped her, and her
stomach churned. She didn’t want to be rude. “That’s very kind,
sir, but I don’t think I can.” She took a step back, but her legs
weakened and it probably looked more like a stagger.

The Commander vaulted from his chair.
“Kayla, what’s wrong?”

She had to get out of here. “Excuse me.”

With a surge of will, she bolted from the
room without a glance at Thane. Maybe she should have accepted the
Captain’s invitation to take Christmas off. With a quick stride,
she passed Karen’s desk.

The admin assistant tipped her head up.
“Going to the Christmas party, Kayla?”

“No,” and she kept walking at a good
clip.

“Bitch,” she heard Karen mutter under her
breath.

Any other time she would have burned the
woman, instead she shot around the corner and thrust the bathroom
door open, relieved to see it empty. Thrusting the tap on, she
cupped her hands and splashed cold water onto her face, then
clutched the edge of the counter, letting the droplets slide down
her cheeks and drip from her chin.

Raising her head, she stared back at herself
in the mirror. The ghost of Christmas past haunted her. She
squeezed her eyes tightly together when the glass began to waver as
if it were a living entity. There were ten days to go before
Christmas, but just the mention of it threw her into a
tailspin.

Her first instinct was to call Greg.
No
. This Christmas she would manage on her own. Greg
deserved a life instead of standing guard over her.

She clumsily turned and used the wall to
steady herself, but it wasn’t enough and her legs gave out. Her
butt reached the ceramic tiles of the floor just as the bathroom
door flew open. Pressing her hands to her face, she didn’t care who
saw her.

“Kayla?”

Except maybe him. Her voice muffled, she
said, “You’re in the wrong washroom.” The air moved as he knelt
beside her. He tried to pull her hands away, but she resisted. Not
forcing it, he caressed her arm. “I just need a second.”

“Tell me what’s wrong,” he asked gently.

Invisible blades pierced her heart, and she
bled internally. The overwhelming clutch of fear and sadness wanted
to swallow her. Searching for her center, concentrating on her
breathing, she put her mind in a better place. If she didn’t get up
soon, he’d be calling for help. Slowly she leaned her head back
against the wall. “All’s well, Commander,” she whispered. His warm
palm pressed against her forehead, and his other hand gripped
hers.

“You have a fever.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Your skin is clammy.” His fingers brushed
against her cheek. “Today is your third double shift in a row. No
more, you’re going home—now. I’m calling someone else in.”

“No,” she shook her head and swept her legs
beneath her, pushing herself to her feet. The room spun and she
took a step to balance herself. Thane clutched her, and although
she didn’t want his help, she accepted it.

“The flu’s been going around. You’ve
probably got it.”

Without knowing it, he’d given her an out.
“Sure, probably.” She licked her lips and cleared her throat.
Looking up at him, she saw concern radiating in his eyes. “I’ll be
fine. Maybe I will go home.”

“I’ll take you. You’re not riding the
bus.”

When he tried to pull her under his arm, she
pushed away. “It takes ten minutes, sir.” She needed to sleep,
preferably until December twenty-sixth.

His warm palm cradled her cheek.
“Sweetheart, you’re sick. I’m going to take care of you.”

She shook her head quickly. Definitely not a
good idea. The nightmares had started to get worse, only giving her
a couple hours of deep sleep each night. “Then we’ll both end up in
bed.” His lips twitched, and a small wicked glint sparked in his
eyes. She gave him a stern look. “You know what I mean.” Gently his
hands slid down her bare arms, leaving a trail of goose bumps.

“Let me take care of you,” he said, brushing
her bangs away from her eyes.

If she allowed him to see her vulnerability,
he’d never see anything else. She yanked his fingers away from her.
“Do I look like I’m five years old?” She stepped past him, but she
didn’t miss the hurt dawning on his features.

“We should have talked before now. You’ve
been avoiding me.”

“Yes, I have, but I work thirty steps away
from you. If you wanted to talk, you could have asked for a
meeting.”

Thane swallowed heavily, and his gaze shot
to the floor. “I don’t know what I want to say. What I should say
and what I—want are at war.”

She clutched the door handle. “You’ve
already said it, and I heard you loud and clear.” She yanked the
door open, and abruptly stopped, Karen was standing on the other
side of it.

“Commander, Libby Debberville is waiting for
you in the lobby. She says you have a dinner date.” Karen’s gaze
slid to her, obviously pleased with sharing her message.

“Thank you, Karen.”

The Commander brushed around them and headed
down the hall. Karen leaned into her. “She’s been his
go-to
girl
for years.”

Ignoring the jab of jealousy, she said,
“Good for him.”

What she needed was coffee if she was going
to get through the next seven hours. Conversation had been enough
to push back the demons. When the elevator doors opened, she saw a
very tall blonde wrap her arms sensually around Thane’s broad
shoulders and place a steamy kiss on his lips. Keeping her
attention on the front door, she strode past, but his eyes tracked
her.

“Who’s that?” she heard Libby ask.

“Just one of my staff,” he answered.

That’s right, Commander, and nothing
more.
A tightness pinched her heart.
Never anything
more.

A high-pitched scream pierced the air behind
Thane. Instead of diving for cover, he slowly turned to see the
little redhead, barely the height of the back of his chair with a
field of freckles covering her nose, gazing up at him. Crocodile
tears welled in her big blues, her bottom lip quivered. Thane
chuckled. Reaching out his hand, her eyes widened, but she grasped
his fingers with her tiny ones.