Code Name: Ghost (A Warrior's Challenge 1) (46 page)

“Don’t know, but they’re definitely having a
good time,” Cobbs said, smiling to himself. “I don’t think I’ve
ever seen him laugh that hard before.”

“Yeah, I’ll bet he had a good time,” Mace
growled, lying beside him.

“Ah, get over it Mace,” Cobbs said
chuckling. “They’re friggin’ perfect together, you know that.”

The lit kitchen glowed with warmth, and his
empty stomach grumbled smelling the goodness coming from the house.
They all watched from deep inside the tree line. Finally, Cobbs
thought to himself, watching his old friend take Kayla into his
arms. Thane was a different man when he was with her.

This last week had been hell on wheels,
though. They’d all paid the price. Thane had come over to his place
twice, both times getting drunker than he’d ever seen. The man was
an absolute wreck, blathering about transfers and her being a
hard-assed shrew that was driving him crazy. It was obviously a
lovers spat, but Thane had never been in those shoes before. And he
sucked at it.

“Yeah, I know,” Mace said. “I’m just fuckin’
jealous, that’s all.”

“Don’t be. I’m sure Miss Perfect is just
waitin’ for you to show up and whisk her off her feet. Be patient,
man,” he said with a chuckle.

“Six o’clock,” Fox jumped into the
conversation.

“Mace?”

“Scanning, Lieutenant.”

Mace tensed and swung the rifle, scanning
the night with the infrared.

“Ten feet in, south side, movement,” Fox
whispered. “Got it?”

Mace let the site roll across the area.
“Affirmative, not one of us. Tinman, you’re in the line of
fire.”

“He’s here. Tinman, work to the west. Clay
cover the north, Fox, maintain your position,” Cobbs ordered.

Everyone went mobile, closing in on the
target.

“Now take him,” Cobbs ordered. This was it.
They’d finally hooked that fucking bastard.

At the same time they rushed in from every
direction, a shot ripped through the air, splintering the glass on
the patio door.

He and Kayla sat down to eat, still
laughing. It was like a slow-motion picture. Thane turned his eyes
up to her, heard the gunshot, then the
pop
of glass as the
bullet tore through it, the look in her eyes as she smiled at him,
and the sickening feeling that tears at a soul before death.

The bullet came so close it swept through
her curls. He lunged, taking her over backwards chair and all, into
his arms as they hit the floor, protecting the back of her head
from the slate.

“Stay here,” he ordered, pulling his weapon
from the back of his pants. In a running crouch, he crossed the
kitchen and slammed his hand down on the lights, pitching the room
into darkness. He made his way to the patio doors, stopping—he
glanced at the small bullet hole in the glass, then reached up and
shut the lights off on the deck.

“Here,” she said, scrambling on her haunches
up to him and placed the earpiece into his palm.

“Lock the door behind me.” She nodded.
“Report,” he said when there was a break in the comms between his
men.

“Goddammit,” Cobbs swore, and then broke
through the tree line onto the lawn. The other men emerged at the
same time. “Tinman, Mace, what have you got?”

“Jackrabbit got away,” Mace said. “He’s
driving a late model dark sedan. That son of a bitch is fast.”

“Now he knows we’re waiting for him,” Cobbs
said as he reached the group. “Our cover’s gone.”

Mace turned toward the house. “Where’s
Kayla?”

“In the house. The bullet passed through her
hair,” he stormed. The men took a step backwards seeing the anger
radiating from him. “How the hell did he position himself there
without you seeing it?”

“There’s only one answer to that,” Fox,
always the voice of calm, said. They all turned to him. “He’s
trained like us.”

Mace cracked the round from the chamber and
laid the weapon in the crook of his arm. “I thought he was a knife
man. What’s he doin’ using a firearm?”

The Commander swung a look past all of them.
“He wasn’t trying to kill Kayla,” he stated. “He was trying to take
me out.”

“Are you thinking he’s a SEAL? I don’t
believe it,” Mace argued, shaking his head.

He and Cobbs glanced at each other, the idea
a sickening one. “Maybe he just got lucky or he was a SEAL, but I’m
not willing to believe he’s active anymore. He wouldn’t have missed
if he was. But if he’s got our training, and understands how we
operate, that’s a problem.” The patio door opening pulled their
attention to the house. Kayla stood under the moonlight, but she
didn’t venture out. He waved her over, but he could see her shaking
her head. Even in a moment as serious as this, he started to laugh
all over again.

“What the hell’s the matter with you?” Cobbs
said, giving him an odd look.

“Nothing. Listen, you men stand down for the
night. I’m going to keep Kayla here with me for the next few days.
Mace, come with me.”

“Already on it, Commander,” he said walking
toward the house, knowing he wanted him to find the bullet. It
might give them a lead, but he didn’t miss the hesitation in Mace’s
step. “What’s wrong with him?”

Cobbs grinned. “Puppy love, boss.”

“Huh.” He watched him enter the patio door.
Kayla had already disappeared inside, no doubt running for cover,
embarrassed the guys had seen every glorious part of her. “Don’t
think she’ll be looking you in the eye any time soon,” he said
chuckling.

Cobbs grabbed his shoulder and gave it a
squeeze. “You know what, old friend, I got a good feeling. Don’t
worry, we’re gonna get him.”

“Always trusted your instincts, but it’s
time the gloves came off.”

“Shark?”

“Nope, Kayla.”

* * * *

Curled up under a blanket on Thane’s soft
leather couch with a big mug of tea in her hand, they talked about
mundane things. Over Christmas, she’d met his entire family. His
father had been in the Navy as well, but retired and was living in
Arizona with his mom. His brother and two sisters lived in L.A.
with their families.

“They all loved you. My sisters keep bugging
me to bring you over for dinner,” Thane divulged.

“They’re good people, but I didn’t expect
anything else.” She raised her mug to her lips. “You’re lucky, ya
know. I wish I had a family.” She sighed and placed her mug down.
“I guess you always want what you can’t have.”

“You can borrow mine any time you want.”

She laughed. “Thanks.” Giving the pillow a
fluff, she stretched out, feeling safe and content. “I owe you so
many thank yous I’m losing track.”

“I’m not counting.”

His eyes strayed leisurely down her bare
leg, stretched out on the couch, making her feel more beautiful
than she knew she was. Running his hand through his hair, he gave
her a look, the one that always heated her through and through.
After all this time, he was still the most handsome man she’d ever
known. “You’re never going to transfer me, are you?”

He shook his head. “Nope. I just wish you
would have come fifteen years ago.”

She burst out laughing with the thought. “We
both would have been locked away by now. We drive each other crazy,
Commander.”

“We’re always going to spar, Kayla. That’s
who we are. We like challenge, and we challenge each other.”

“Friends don’t bicker as much as we do.”

Thane gave her a deep look, but he didn’t
deny it.

“Commander, why do they call you the
Ghost?”

He set his mug down on the side table.
Leaning back, he rested his head against the chair and stared at
the ceiling. “Red gave me the name,” he said quietly.

She sat silently, waiting to see if he would
add anything.

“Everyone has a team name, usually they get
it because of what they do, like Caleb, calling him Stitch because
he’s a corpsman or,”—He paused—“sometimes it’s because of a skill
or idiosyncrasy, like Fox. Briggs is the best tracker I’ve ever
seen. It just gets coined and sticks. Like your name. Mace gave it
to you. When he saw you for the first time, he said you reminded
him of Snow White.”

A soft laugh left her lips and she nodded at
him. “I’ll remember that next Halloween.”

“I think I would have called you Ariel—after
the Little Mermaid. She’s tenacious and sweet, quick with her wit,
and beautiful.” His gaze dropped to his lap, and his jaw
tightened.

A small flame dared to flicker in her
heart.

“My name,” he continued, “isn’t any of those
things. I got it because Red said I could kill a man faster than my
target realized his life was over.” With his head down, he nodded
slowly. “I’ve killed a lot of men, Kayla.”

She clearly heard the bitterness in his
words. The muscles jumped in her legs, and before she knew it, she
was in his lap. He clutched her in his arms and rested his head
against her chest as if finding comfort in her beating heart.
Minutes ticked by before she said, “It’s better to die quickly than
slowly,” she whispered into his hair. “That’s how I want to
die.”

He leaned back and ran his finger across her
cheek. “I won’t let you die, Kayla.”

She offered a small smile even though she
didn’t believe the Commander could do anything to stop the Blood
Shark. He’d get his chance, and if he didn’t take it soon, she’d
give it to him. Alpha squad couldn’t protect her forever. The
thought of dying didn’t really matter so much. She wasn’t leaving
anyone behind. How she died might be a different issue.

“Why?” His expression hardened. “I don’t
understand why…” His grip tightened. “Why did you stay so long when
he kept hurting you?”

Every muscle in her body twitched, and her
breath caught in her lungs as a wave of nausea swooped through her
stomach. Oh, God, he knew. How long?

Thane’s expression folded with pain. “Your
husband tried to break you, but he couldn’t do it, and it pushed
him over the edge, almost taking you with him.”

A perfect storm of emotions flooded her. Her
first instinct was to bury her head. Over the years denial worked
best when she didn’t know what to do. “Who told you?”

“Christmas Eve the cop told me it was your
husband, attempted murder and when. Manchester filled in the
rest.”

“Everyone knows?” she whispered, feeling
ashamed.

“We know everything, sweetheart, including
what happened to you as a little girl.” He watched her carefully.
“We haven’t decided whether when this is all done, we’re going to
go find your ex-husband and finish the job Lapierre didn’t.”

“No, Commander.
You don’t
understand
.”

“If it would have been me instead of
Lapierre, I would have killed him.”

“A headstrong woman might seem cute for a
while but it wears off quickly.”

“You’re making excuses for him? Kayla—you
were admitted thirty times to the hospital. How many times didn’t
you go?” he asked, squeezing her tighter. “How many times did you
just hide the bruises?”

“Please don’t look at me like that.” Her
fingers brushed his forehead, trying to soothe the wrinkles. “It’s
been ten years, Commander. I’m not going to buckle under pressure
at work if that’s what you’re worried about.” She tried to
withdraw, but he clutched her hips. “I can’t stop the nightmares.
They’ll always be there, but I don’t have to be here. You can
transfer me.”

Taking her hand into his, he said, “I know
all those things already. You may cope, but it never goes away.
I’ve seen it too many times in weaker men. You were at war for
years, Kayla. You’re a survivor, and you hide it well, but now that
I know, I see it all the time. In the things you do, like pulling
away.” He brushed her cheek. “And it tears me up to see it in
you.”

“Put your energy on catching the Blood
Shark, Commander. I’ll help any way I can.” She paused, and offered
him a grateful smile. “I might have weak moments, but I always find
my feet again.”

A breathy, sad laugh escaped him. “Why don’t
you just hang on to me for a while?”

The last thing she wanted was for him to
think he had to take care of her. “I’m sorry about this evening. I
don’t have any crazy thoughts or expectations in my head. I’m a
normal woman, and I guess I just…” He tried to suppress a harsh
case of amusement at her discomfort, and she glued her attention to
the fireplace, feeling ridiculous.

The clock in his living room ticked loudly,
the silence in the room too silent.

“I think,” he began, placing his fingers
under her chin, prompting her to look at him. “You’re afraid if you
rely on someone it’ll make you vulnerable. Since that day when you
fought for your freedom—and I know you fought with everything you
had—you’ve tried to prove you don’t need help.” He swayed his head
and his gaze deepened with memory. “It’s easier that way,” he
murmured, repeating the words she’d said to him months ago.

He might as well have ripped a knife through
her heart like a pirate slashing through a sail, making her spill
the truth. Tears welled in her eyes. What could she say? She
couldn’t hide and she couldn’t stop the tears. “I think I’ll turn
in. Good night.”

“Kayla—” His jaw tightened as he searched
her eyes. “The question is whether you can ever trust a man
again?”

She shook her head, and pushed against his
shoulders, his muscles hardened beneath her fingers. “I think I
should go back to work tomorrow.”

“Fine, but I want you in my arms tonight,”
he whispered and leaned over brushing his lips against hers. “I
need you next to me.”

“Commander—”

“When you argue with me, it makes me
hungrier for you. So if you want some sleep,” He paused grinning at
her. “I suggest you come quietly.”

“Commander—I’m not girlfriend material,” she
blurted. “I’ll just piss you off. I guarantee it.”