Code Name: Kayla's Fire (4 page)

“What’s that?” she whispered against his mouth.

“Each other.” He chuckled. “And the entire West Coast SEAL teams.” She
shook her head, but he stopped her movement with a finger to her chin. “You
might be the most stubborn woman on the planet, but I also know you’re the only
woman on earth meant for me.” He swept the small white hand towel on the
nightstand into his hand and offered it to her. “I’m willing to surrender.”

A little groan escaped her as she pushed herself to her knees and
straddled his thighs. With a slow hand, he swirled his thumb around her blush
areola, and it peaked against his touch. The response between his legs came hard
and fast. He lifted his gaze to memorize the features he wanted to see every
day of his life. “I know I promised you I’d find the Shark, and I won’t lie,
I’m no closer now than three weeks ago, but I won’t give up.”

Kayla leaned forward, brushing a gentle kiss on his lips, making his
need for her soar, but it came plummeting down with her words. “I want you to stop
chasing him. Stop chasing me.”

His brow drew tight, trying to read her. Her expression gave nothing
away, benign and beautiful as always. “I don’t want to do either. Why would
you…?”

When she dropped her gaze instantly, he knew Red was right. She was
doing this to protect him. “Kayla, up here,” he said, wanting her to look in
his eyes. Reluctantly she did. “If I die protecting you, it’s a sacrifice I’d gladly
make for the only woman I’ve ever loved.”

Her eyes soared open, reflecting more expression than he’d ever seen.
Disbelief stood protecting the small twinkle of hope that carefully peeked from
the corner. A grin pulled at his lips. “I” He planted a kiss on her nose.
“Love.” He brushed another one on her cheek. “You.” Settling his mouth on hers,
he lingered there. Her dainty arms slid over his shoulders, and her hands
locked behind his neck, infusing his heart with warmth. Her eyes narrowed a
little when she withdrew. “Kayla—” he warned, sensing she was going to put up a
diversionary tactic. “I know I can be the world’s biggest ass sometimes, but
you’re stuck with me. Wrap your head around that.” He tried not to laugh seeing
her mouth open and then slam shut again.

“I’m…you’re…God you’re impossible,” she pushed the words out like
she’d just run a 10-K race.

“You have some ‘impossibles’ racked up too. Impossibly beautiful,
impossibly intelligent, sexy, kind, strong.” With each description, her cheeks
blushed. He was on a roll, and the words had their own momentum. They all had a
target, her heart, her trust. “I’ve had a lot to be thankful for in my life,
but none of it comes close to the day you walked in my door. Then there was the
day I first touched your lips, and the day,” his breathing started to labor
with internal heat. He lifted her hips, and with a slow beautiful slide, he
entered her channel. His lids slammed closed with the glorious feeling of their
bodies becoming one. “We first made love.” Her body softened in his hands. “I
will never betray your trust.”

 
Until dawn, he cherished her,
with slow, gentle heat, not because of her injury, but because his heart
demanded it. He seated himself deep, and came with an agonizing orgasm that
kept him shuddering and filling her with his love. When her sweet little gasps
of pleasure told him she was close, he watched every expression on her face as
he teased her release, and his heart stretched to its farthest boundaries when
she came apart in his arms.

Kayla curled against him, and she fit so perfectly against his
strength. What was he waiting for? The woman he loved—loved him. He thought
about all the times he’d screwed up when it came to her. He was going to do
this right!

Chapter Three

“Why does he have to be such an overbearing asshat?” Kayla grumbled
for the tenth time.

“Why do you think, Snow White?” Mace cranked a quick look in her
direction as he drove the rental car up Old Town Avenue, and found a spot to
park on Juan Street.

A week of hard work had passed since their car accident. She’d
followed the doc’s orders, and did her physio religiously every day to
strengthen her shoulder, even though she hated doing it at the base. Everyone
used the facilities. They were all so fit and beautiful, especially the women. Thane
showed up, and before she knew it, sweat poured down her back in a full workout
instead of some simple strengthening exercises for her ligaments. When she
tried to stop, Thane barked at her like a recruit, which had her firing back
responses that had everyone staring at them. Mace jumped between them, but the
fight was already underway, and had nothing to do with working out. Normally
she held her own, but these days she couldn’t keep it together, and started to
cry, which made her even madder. With little thought or regret, she hurled a
three-pound disc weight, aimed at Thane’s head, and then walked out. Mace
followed her, and agreed to take her off the base, in hopes of calming her
down.

The main drag of the small, restored district known as Old Town, a few
miles from the core of San Diego pulled in visitors by the carloads each year. The
great food and party atmosphere was a local favorite, and hers.

Slipping off her sweater, she slung it over her arm as they joined the
tourists meandering the sidewalks under a warm February sun investigating
little shops with handmade knickknacks and bobbles to attract the eye and crack
the wallet. “He doesn’t have to hover over me when I’m doing physio, you’re bad
enough.”

Mace wrapped his arm around her waist, and they ran the crosswalk to
the other side of the street, then sauntered up the steps to a patio bar, and
snagged a small table. Mace sat down across from her. Covering her hand, he
said, “You’re special to him.”

“He’s got the admin assistant slobbering all over him, and he likes
it.”

“Hi, folks.” A guy in his late twenties turned brilliant blue eyes on
her. She scanned the black apron with
Bruce
written on it as he leaned over the table. “What can I get ya?”

Roping her purse on the back of her chair, she said, “Do you make a
good Margarita?”

Bruce’s cheeks puckered, and he gave her the once-over. “For you
beautiful, I’d make anything.”

“Hey, man,” Mace growled. “I’m sittin’ right here. How do you know she
isn’t my girlfriend?”

The waiter turned his attention on Mace. “Because you’d be next to
her, having a hard time keeping your hands to yourself.” Balancing on his
knuckles, Bruce tilted in her direction. “Least I would.”

Mace rolled his eyes. “I’ll have a Bud, man, and don’t do that when
her boyfriend gets here, he’ll grind you into ash.”

“Margarita for me, make it two.”

The waiter winked at her and returned within seconds, placing a red
wicker basket of nachos and salsa on their table.

“Two?” Mace asked, grinning at her. “I didn’t work you that hard in
Physio.”

“Did too.”

“Not.”

“I’m thirsty.”

“Have some water.”

“Captain Austen is not my boyfriend, Mace.”

Mace nodded at the waiter when he dropped a brew in front of him.
“You’re right, he’s more than that. A man doesn’t break his balls going twenty hours
a day trying to catch a serial killer if he doesn’t like a girl, but it’s your
PTSD that scares him more than the Shark.”

Her gaze fell to the tiles covering their table. Brilliant, hand-painted
strokes of blue, red and yellow brightened the small squares. “None of you were
supposed to know.”

“So—we do now. We love you. Deal with it.” Mace squeezed her hands.
“Tell me what’s really wrong. Normally you’d be dressing him down. You’re
acting like a girl these days.”

She breathed out a pent-up gust of air. “I don’t know what’s wrong
with me, Mace.”

“Why don’t you stop fighting him for starters?”

She looked into Mace’s beautiful baby blue eyes, too warm and kind to
be a warrior, but in combat, he was lethal. Patient, deadly accuracy had given
Mace a reputation as one of the best snipers in the military community. “I
don’t understand what you mean.”

“Yes, you do.” Mace plucked a chip from the basket and loaded it with salsa.
“If he isn’t your boyfriend, what is he?”

“Overprotective. On a mission. Dog with a bone. All of the above.”
Flicking a loose wave of hair from her eyes, she said, “I want Thane to stop
chasing the Shark. You have to convince him.”

Mace swayed his head. “Not until the Shark is dead. I don’t know if the
son of a bitch realizes whom he’s up against, but he put crosshairs between his
own eyes when he decided to come after you. He’s never going to trial.”

Scooping a hefty amount of salsa onto a chip, she cupped her other
hand underneath. “Why is Thane so obsessed about this?”

Mace’s broad shoulders rose with a chuckle. “We’re back to…Why do ya
think?”

“It’s not because of me,” she said around a full mouth.

He leaned back, crossing his abundantly muscled arms. “Guess again.
The
only
reason he’s doing this is
because of you. Before you became a target, he was satisfied NCIS would find
the Shark. Women were dying, but no one asked us to track him down. It’s a
prime example of bureaucratic paradigms. SEALs don’t pursue serial killers,
they ferret out Tangos.” He shrugged. “It was obvious to all of us we should
have started to hunt him as soon as we knew what we were dealing with. In a
way, you’re saving a lot of other women.”

“I hope so.” She sighed and leaned back, trying not to drip the salsa
all over herself while balancing a chip. “You give him such a bad time, but you
respect him a lot, don’t you?”

“I do. I think the bigger question is what do you think about him?”

She’d been under lock and key for too long. The entire time her
thoughts swirled around the Captain. “I’m going to leave—if I live through this.”

“What? Why?”

“Between you and me?”

He nodded, searching her eyes. “I know what you’re going to say, and I
think the Captain knows too. He wants you to trust him, Kayla. He knows what
you went through, we all do. By the way, your first appointment with the shrink
is next week.”

“I don’t need a shrink. I’ve dealt with my—stuff—just fine.”

“I’ve got my orders and this time I’m following them. I’ll sit on you
myself in the doc’s office. I am
never
going to watch you have one of those—episodes—again. I’ve been tied up in knots
hoping to hell you don’t have another one when it’s only me around.” Mace’s
body tensed, and he shoved himself back in his chair, chucking back a long gulp
of his beer. Swallowing, he brought the bottle down with a thud on the table.
“No fucking way am I ever watching that again.” A hard set of eyes gazed at her,
and he worried his cheek with his tongue. “You know you’re ex is back in the
service, don’t you?”

Downing half the Margarita, she dwelled on sidestepping the issue of
her past as she licked the salt from her lips. “Yes.” It hadn’t been her only
motivation, but it certainly was one of the reasons she’d applied to the U.S.
for a new job.

“That’s why you came here, isn’t it?” Mace surmised, cocking his head
at her. “The Canadian forces brought him onboard after his release from prison
because he had a sterling record prior to the attack. Exemplary warrior, and no
government is gonna waste that.”

“Greg told me he’d been given a waiver. How do you guys find this
stuff out?”

“Not me. The Captain went looking for answers. He could never
understand why you were here.” Mace read her expression, saying, “No one blames
you for leaving, Kayla. It’s understandable. Your ex is overseas right now, and
the Captain knows where he is.”

“That’s not good.”

“You’re right, it’s not. Manchester received your file from the
Canadian RCMP while we were in his office, and it included pictures of you in
the hospital after the attack. It took five of us to stop
your boyfriend
from heading out the door.” Mace gave her a
sympathetic smile. “You know us well enough. No matter what situation a SEAL
encounters, we’re trained to maintain control, even if it’s in a hailstorm of
confusion. I’ve never seen the Captain lose his edge, but he went nuts. Fox had
to call Redding. He was the only one who could stop him from getting on a plane
and hunting your ex down.”

A trickle of worry slipped down her spine. “When did this happen?”
Mace only offered a steady tense brow. The “SEAL look,” she called it. “When?”

“Three days ago.”

“He doesn’t understand.”

“Understand what?”

“My marriage was complicated. I’m not defending what Daniel did, but
he had issues he couldn’t control.”

Mace sat up straight. “You sound like you’ve forgiven him.”

She bit on her lip thinking about Daniel. They were explosive together
in all the good ways and the worst. In the end, Daniel’s darkness won out.
“Mace,” His eyes softened as they always did when he looked at her. “I loved my
husband. What happened to me wasn’t Daniel’s fault.”

Mace folded his arms over his chest, his brow furrowing. “How can you
say that?” he said. “I saw what he did to you. He didn’t just beat you up, he
tried to slaughter you. I’ve left the enemy in better condition than you were.”

Fingering a chip, she turned her face to the warm sky. “Daniel was a
victim of childhood abuse as well. Like me, he and his brother Greg joined the
Navy to escape, and in a way, find a new family. Greg resolved his youth, but
Daniel’s anger stewed inside him. The missions with JTF began to change him.
Back then, Post Traumatic Stress wasn’t an open topic for admission or
conversation. He didn’t mean to do it, and I understood that.”

Mace watched her intently. “So you’re giving him an out and blaming it
on PTSD?”

She ignored his obvious doubt. “As the years progressed and he didn’t
get help, the episodes got worse and came more often. That night,” She took a
breath to center herself. “Daniel had just returned from a deployment. We were
going to have a wonderful Christmas. Daniel had been standing at the fireplace
reading the Christmas cards. His brother, Greg, had sent one. When he read the
card he got angry, unreasonably so, but in that same instant a truck or car
backfired on the street. Daniel wasn’t Daniel anymore. He attacked me. He was
back in the theater fighting the enemy.”

Mace reached across the table and squeezed her hands tightly, trying
to stop them from shaking. “I don’t want you to talk about this if it bothers
you, but, Kayla, I want you to be honest with me.”

She nodded.

“Was Daniel only abusive when he had PT episodes?”

Her gaze veered to the couple sitting next to them. They were laughing,
and had their heads together looking at something on her phone.

“Kayla—”

She gnawed on her lip. “Daniel hated it when men talked to me, and
working on the base I was surrounded by them. I knew it was just his past
haunting him, and I tried to reassure him, but I could never convince him, and
once his anger took hold….” Trying to explain this to Mace was near impossible.
“We were both too young to be married, and with our backgrounds and
inexperience…we’d fight.” She bowed her head.

“You can’t blame all those years of abuse on PTSD. He had problems,
deep ones, and you were right to leave. He needed help desperately, and
hopefully got some, but using you as a punching bag is not acceptable therapy,”
Mace growled.

She nodded knowing Mace was right on some levels. “Regardless, I’m
just shrapnel in a minefield of women in Captain Austen’s life. There is no
reason for him to become tangled up in my past.” Thane was stronger in mind and
body than any man she’d ever known, except maybe Daniel. She wouldn’t want them
to come face to face. The thought of those two titans squaring off, scared her
more than the thought of standing like a morsel of meat between two T-rexes.

Mace reached across the table and stroked her necklace. “Do you really
believe that after he gave you his Budweiser?”

It hung around an undeserving neck as far as she was concerned. Thane
had earned it long ago, passing the BUD/S training, his qualification training,
and then designated as a Navy SEAL. “He must have had a thousand opportunities,
and he’s never settled down. There’s a reason for that.” Twisting the napkin
around her finger, she watched the blood flood to the surface, reddening the
tip. “The woman Thane’s meant for will be someone important. Someone strong,
like him.”

Greg Lapierre slid into her thoughts. Her brother-in-law had called
every day since she’d told him she wouldn’t be home for a while. He kept
prodding and asking questions until she finally broke down and told him about
the Shark.