Code Name: Kayla's Fire (34 page)

“Get up,” he roared at his brother.

Daniel stared at her with shock. “It looks to me as if you’re more
concerned about my brother than me.”

She ignored him, and crossed the distance to Greg. “I can’t lose you.”

Greg’s gaze dropped to hers and softened. A small wrinkle crossed his
brow. “You’re right, there’s no going back. No righting the wrongs, but we can
both be happy, and I have to start by letting you go.” He shot a look toward
the Captain.

“No,” the word choked in her throat, and tears rushed to her eyes. He
was cutting her off, and it scared her beyond belief. “Greg,” a sob vaulted
from her throat. “Why? Whatever I did, I’m sorry. Please don’t be mad at me.”

“Kayla,” he gave her a comforting smile, and pressed his lips to her
ear. “I’m not mad at you. It’s not forever. We both need to heal, and I have to
do it without you. I will never love anyone as much as you, but I can be
content. We’ll see each other again, I promise.” He gently wrapped her in his
arms, holding her against his chest, resting his chin on her head. The smell of
gun oil and dust in his clothes was familiar, but it was being in his arms that
made her safe and her world balanced. A gasping cry flew from her throat, and
she squeezed the life out of him, as he tried to push her away. “Captain—”

“Isn’t that fucking sweet,” Daniel declared, anger and hate dripping
from each word. “I was right all along wasn’t I? Behind my back. How many times
did you screw my wife, brother?”

Greg’s eyes hardened. “Not enough, but that’s the shame of it all. I
did it too late. I should have fought for her in the beginning, instead of
suffering with all the pain you caused both of us, coddling your insecurities,
standing beside you while you put us through hell. We never gave up on you, and
we let you burn us both to the ground. This time, I’m not letting you do it to
either of us. You’re leaving, and you’re leaving Kayla here.”

“You’re on U.S. soil illegally,” Thane finally spoke.

The sound of several boots entered the house, and her head snapped
around. Four Master-at-Arms strode in the room accompanied by two men in suits.

One of the men in a dark suit stepped forward. “Daniel
Arthur Lapierre, INS Immigration and Naturalization Service. You are
in the United States of America illegally with an attempted manslaughter charge
on your Canadian record. Please come with us.”

Thane centered on Daniel, anger clenching his jaw.
“Get—out—of—my—fucking—country.” He nodded at the men.

“Kayla,” Daniel resisted, but two of the MAs restrained him. “Kayla,
come home. Don’t stay here. It’s a mistake. Jesus,” he shouted. “I’m going.” In
the middle of the great room, Daniel wrenched himself from his detail. “She
won’t stay with you, Austen. She’s only in love with one man, and it’s not
you.” Rage fired to life in his eyes, and it sent a shiver down her spine. “And
it’s not me.”

Kayla stood dumbfounded as the MAs led Daniel away, but it was Greg
she watched. He lingered at the door, a shadow of movement in the darkness as
he turned. “I’m sorry, Kayla,” his voice beseeched. “It should have been us,
but I know the Captain will never hurt you. Forgive me, Angel. I should have
done this long ago, for both our sakes.”

“No, Greg, please don’t.” A strangled cry escaped, and her shoulders
shook as sobs wracked her body. She’d lost everyone in her life one way or the
other, and now the only person who had stood by her through it all was leaving
her too. A wail thrust itself from deep in her soul, and she clamped her fisted
hands across her mouth. When she ran toward him, Greg disappeared, and closed
the door between them. She hammered the wood with her fist. Dropping to her
knees, she buried her face in her hands. The emptiness claimed every cell
inside her. Since she was eighteen years old he’d been by her side, her
brother, her friend, her wall of strength. He had been all things to her, and
now he was gone. “Greg.” She drew her knees up and tucked her head.

A warm hand pressed against her. “He’s not gone, Kayla,” Thane said,
his words resigned. “Open the door, tell him. It’s not too late.” He stroked
her back.

All she could do was cry and cry more, until she couldn’t breathe.

“I guess I knew, but I never wanted to admit how much you love him.
He’s always been there for you, hasn’t he? You think you’re all alone. It’s
Greg, not Daniel you truly love.”

She couldn’t see for the tears in her eyes, and Thane’s hand on her made
it far worse. Her legs trembled, too weak to stand, so she did the only thing
she could. Too many times in her life she’d been driven to the ground by the
men who’d punished her. Pride nor penance would stop her, and she crawled,
because that’s all she could do to get away from Thane’s reach. His strong arms
wrapped around her hips, and he picked her up, and set her on the couch.

“If you want, I’ll drive you to the airport. Greg can take you home,
sweetheart, and I think that’s where you need to be. Far away from me.” A gust
of air escaped him, and his voice trembled, tears choking his words. “Greg and
I agreed Daniel had to go. I know you won’t understand this now, but with time,
you will. I’m sorry, Kayla. I’ve done nothing but make your life a misery, when
all you deserve is peace.”

He covered her with a blanket, and sat silently beside her stroking
her hair. The sounds of the house spoke to her with comforting creaks, and
exhaustion stepped up to draw her toward sleep.

Thane kissed her forehead. “Goodbye, my beautiful mermaid.”

Chapter Thirty

The sound of bird song from outside roused her. Opening her eyes, she
blinked. Rubbing them with her hands didn’t stop the burning sensation.
Clumsily she swung to a sitting position, a task becoming more daunting every
day. She listened, but the silence confirmed she was alone. Her body ached
liked she’d run a marathon. Focusing, she saw a piece of paper on the coffee
table in front of her. A set of keys, a phone, five hundred dollar bills and an
envelope lay under them. Sliding sideways, she stretched for the note, and
caught it between her fingertips.

Kayla,

I’ll make this as short as I can, but it isn’t
easy. There is no way in this world walking away from you is easy. Just writing
this note, I want to tear it to shreds as I watch you sleeping peacefully. I
can’t ever remember a time in my life that I came closer to feeling bliss than
being in your arms, but there seems no end to the war between fate and our
future.

I’d fight for you till my dying breath, but you
wouldn’t be able to make the journey without falling in battle. It’s because of
you I have to fall back and let you carry on without me. You’re free for the
first time in twenty years, probably longer. You’re the master of your own
destiny. No man, myself included, has a right to control you or your future.
It’s for you to decide where you’ll go and who you’ll love, but I can see Greg
controls your heart. He wants to be by your side, and I need to accept you need
him.

I consider myself the luckiest man in the world.
The most amazing woman I’ve ever had the honor of meeting, is the mother of my
son. I have no idea what you’ll do, but I’m certain it will be the wisest of
choices. If I never see you again, please believe one thing; my soul, my heart
and the man I am, loves you. You are a true leader, a woman who never fell, no
matter what destiny decided. Your courage taught a man like me, strength isn’t
proven by victory, but by compassion and love.

Wherever you are, my heart will be there as well.

PS You’re not alone. There’s a MA standing guard
outside.

Thane

She read his letter four times, until she could repeat it without
seeing the words. A sense of calm settled inside her as she laid the letter on
the couch. She reached for the envelope on the table, but stopped as the bundle
in her belly kicked up a storm. She tried to soothe him with her hand, but her
rambunctious son was having none of it, and continued to squirm.

A knock landed on the front door. With a push and a grunt she got to
her feet and opened it. The MA’s car sat close to the house, but he wasn’t
inside. She looked to her left, the porch void of her guard. She backed up, and
because her enormous belly hid her feet, she hadn’t seen the white rose lying
on the door mat, and a white card. Sighing, she carefully stooped over and
scooped the items up. The garage door was open. Thane had left his car. The
hairs on the back of her neck pricked. With a slow glance to her right, her
heart began to pound.

The MA sat on the bench, his chin resting on his chest. Her gaze slid
down his still form, and she watched a drop of blood fall from his finger, joining
the pool on the floor at his feet. Her attention snapped to the card, flipping it
open.

It’s just you and me now
.

A long wet streak of blood underlined the words.

Terror and anger raised their swords, and thrust themselves to a
stance ready to fight. A quick sweep of the landscape didn’t give away his
hiding place. She couldn’t see the subtle almost invisible clues like Thane.
She closed the door, locking it. It wouldn’t do a thing to keep out the Shark.
Listening, she backed up to the couch, and picked up the phone. Thane’s coded
identifier was the first number in the directory. Every SEAL had one, and if
that number rang, they answered.

She stopped herself from dialing. Handling this on her own, like she
had every other threat, was risky. It wasn’t just about her. Thane’s son fussed
and rolled. Running from the Shark was her only choice, but Thane had to know.
Hitting the button, she headed for the kitchen. Someone answered, but he didn’t
say anything, and she didn’t wait, swiveling in a circle, the hair standing up
on her neck. Thane would need a clue to who the Shark was.

“He’s here,” she said.

“Kayla?” Thane’s strong timbre gave her a quick slice of comfort, but
it was gone instantly when she turned toward the back windows, and caught a
glimpse of someone taking cover on the patio. “Kayla!”

“Thane, the Shark is here.”

“Kayla, there’s a weapon upstairs in the bedroom, between the mattress
and box spring. Lock yourself in the room. I’m coming.”

“No. This is over.” She bit down on her fear. “I just wanted to hear
your voice.” Something toppled to the ground near the side entrance that led
into the massive storeroom. “I think he’s inside.”

“Kayla get in the bedroom, now.”

“Listen to me. This is important.”

“Get in the bedroom,” he boomed, but she knew it was fear making him
react.

“Look for signs. I’ll try to leave one to identify him.”

She could hear the wind in the phone, and the sound of an engine.
“Kayla, for all that’s holy, please get in the bedroom, and lock it down.”

“Captain Austen, I never want you to dwell on the thought that my love
for Greg was the same as yours. It wasn’t. He was my safe haven. I had nobody
else.” She slid down the counter slowly, and leaned around the corner to peer
into the back room. “Thank you for giving me my freedom, but I didn’t want it.
I wanted you, as screwed up and unworthy as I am.”

“You do?” he choked.

“Always, no matter how far off course fate wanted to push me. I know
you have to be with Zara, but I wish with all my heart you were here with me.”

“Kayla, I’m too far away. I’m going to call the police, but I’m
coming, sweetheart. You can do this. You can evade him, keep one step in front
of him.”

“I can’t, Thane.” The door creaked open to the storeroom, sending her
fear soaring. “I loved you from the day we met, and I won’t stop even in
death.”

“Don’t you fucking dare give up now!” he shouted at her. “Kayla, take
cover—run! I’ll find you.”

* * * *

“Lakeside Police, how
can I direct your call?”

“This is Captain Thane
Austen of NAB Coronado. I need you to dispatch as many units as you have to the
Cobbs Ranch, Trenton Hill road. The serial killer known as the Blood Shark—”

“Hold on a moment, sir,
while I transfer your call.”

“No don’t—”

 
“Sheriff Fisker.”

“Sheriff I need your
men at the Cobbs Ranch. It’s located on Trenton Hill Road. My girlfriend is
there, and so is the Blood Shark.”

“The serial killer from
San Diego? Who did you say you were?”

“Captain Austen of NAB
Coronado.” He was trying his damnedest not to yell. “He’s in the damn house
with her. Get there, now!”

“Standby one”

A few seconds later,
the Sherriff was back on the line. “All right, Captain, I’ve sent two units to
check.”

“What’s their ETA?”

“One of my deputies is
fifteen minutes from that location.”

“That’s too long.
Please, she’s seven months pregnant.”

“Give me her name?”

“Kayla Banks. She works
for NAB as well. Isn’t there somebody closer?”

“I’m sorry, Captain.
You sound like you’re in a car, how far away are you?”

“Too far. An hour.”

Last night he’d left
the ranch, but couldn’t finish the drive back to San Diego, so he’d stopped in
a roadside motel. The place was a dive, but he needed to sit in a dark room and
lick his wounds. Seeing Kayla fall to pieces when Greg told her he wouldn’t be
there for her, devastated him.

“Call me when your men
get onscene.”

“I’ll let you know.”

The last mile was the
longest of his life, and when he came to a sliding stop between the four police
cars parked in front of the ranch house, his heart roared with fear. Taking the
steps three at a time, he vaulted through the front door. A blanket was draped
on the floor, and his body temperature dropped to zero. “Where is she?” Denial.
She was not under that blanket. He stepped closer, and realized it wasn’t a
body, but pillows.

Six police officers
stood in the living room, and their heads all shot up at the same time.

“Captain Austen?” an
older man and probably the sheriff greeted.

“Yes,” he said, taking
everything in. Signs, she’d leave him a sign, but everything looked in place.
He saw the rose and the note. The envelope he’d left her sat unopened. His
heart squeezed tight.

“Don’t touch that,” the
sheriff said, walking toward him.

He flipped open the
note anyway, and his guts rolled over. “What did you find when you got here?”

“Sir, we’ve called for
tracking dogs, they should be here any minute.”

Thane walked the room,
searching, scanning. “Was the door open when you got here?”

“Yes, sir, front door.
I’m Sheriff Fisker.”

Gripping the man’s hand
for one shake, he leveled his gaze on the kitchen, evaluating the room. “What
else did you find?”

“Nothing, the front
door was open. That note and flower were on the coffee table.”

Thane turned and took
the stairs to the bedrooms. Fisker and another deputy followed. He yanked the
mattress up. The revolver lay where he’d left it. She didn’t have time. Fear
clenched him at the same time his nose filled with her scent. “Come on, Kayla,
please keep running,” he whispered. “She’s good at evasion. She’ll keep one step
ahead of him. We need to search the ranch. She’ll leave us a trail if she can.”

“Captain.” The sheriff
gave him a doubtful look as he tugged his wide-brimmed hat from his balding
head. “This property is attached to thousands of acres of land. We don’t have
the manpower to cover it all. We’ll start with the dogs, maybe they can pick
something up.”

They both heard another
vehicle arrive outside. Thane snatched Kayla’s sweater from the chair and gave
it to him. “I’ll find her faster than the dogs.”

Without waiting, he
headed out. He stopped on the front porch, and took in the bench. A sheet
covered the MA who’d stayed behind to protect her. The blood at his feet had
congealed to a dark brown in the heat. “Which way, sweetheart?” The dog handler
was unloading two shepherds from his wagon. Both of them began sniffing the
second their paws hit the ground.

The sun beat down on
him, and he closed his eyes. Listening and sensing. Kayla and he were
connected, not only by heart, but by training. Her native roots gave her the
ability to seek refuge in the forest, and her military background would analyze
the options. She had an edge.
Which way
would she go?
Swiping his mind clear he envisioned her, collating things
she’d said in the past. She’s on foot. She knows she can’t move fast, so she
has to move smart. Opening his eyes, he saw what she had when she exited the
house. Closest cover, least time out in the open. The forest was thicker to his
left. She’d gotten to know her surroundings in the months she’d spent here.
There was an old cabin on the property, maybe a kilometer away. It was the
original homestead on the property. The path there was covered over with years
of growth. He had to be sure; he couldn’t waste time.

Sheriff Fisker handed
Kayla’s sweater to the dog man, and he offered it to his dogs. Immediately they
began to snuffle the ground and run in expanding circles. One of them stopped,
barked once and turned sharply to the left, his nose tight to the ground. The
other one joined him. It was enough for him, and he ran for the forest. It’d
been years since he’d been to the cabin, but he’d find it, and hopefully her.

Doubt began to run cold
in his veins. The trail to the old cabin was undistinguishable and a tough go.
He had to dig his hands and feet in to scramble up the elevating landscape.
Could Kayla even do this in her condition? He’d been on the move for thirty
minutes. The dogs weren’t far behind. She’d definitely come this way, there
were signs of disturbed earth. The sound of water drew his attention. A stream
cut through the landscape and down the hillside. Breaking through brush, he
found it fifty yards to his left. He swung around in surprise when the first
dog cut through the brush and came to a stop at the river beside him. The
officers weren’t far behind.

“Ya think she crossed
here?” Fisker asked the dogman.

“Looks like.” The dogs
continued to pick up the scent, but returned to the point where they stood. Why
would she cross here? Was it coincidence he had come to the same spot
? Think!
Sometimes their training gave
them leads that even they didn’t recognize, but their subconscious did. What
had he missed with his eyes that his subconscious had picked up? He cut through
the brush back to the point he’d turned in.
What
is it?
He turned, seeing nothing but forest, trees bigger here because of
the water.
Something has to be different.
She knew he’d follow. She’d look for something she thought he would understand.
He leaned up against a big old tree, and kept his mind running up and down
their past, searching.