KILLER DATE (SCANDALS) (26 page)

Suddenly, self-conscious, we turned our backs as we stripped, then stepped into showers at opposite ends of the row.  Each shower was divided off and had a curtain, so once inside we could focus on scrubbing off the layers of grime.  A
couple times I heard Nick grunt, and wondered if he was going to let a doctor check him out or if he was going to push through the pain.

I heard his shower turn off first, and I let him have plenty of time to dry off and get dressed.  By the time I got out with a towel wrapped around my waist, Nick
was standing at the sink, wearing only the navy blue pants and brushing his teeth.  His dark hair stuck wetly to his face, but I could see his head was bleeding again.

“I’m no expert, but I think you need stitches,” I told him.  I opened my kit and pulled out a razor and some shaving cream.  I usually didn’t mind a little stubble, but right now I looked like I still had a dirty face.

“Yeah…maybe,” he mumbled with a mouthful of suds.

I eyed the black and purple bruise that covered his whole left side.  “Looks like you cracked a couple ribs, too.”

“And that’s why I usually shower alone,” he retorted, back to his prickly self.

But I could see it hurt him with every breath and movement, so hopefully he wouldn’t be too macho to get that looked at, too.

I’d made it through relatively unscathed.  I had cuts on my hands and knees and a couple on my face.  There was a big knot on top of my head where I had whacked the rock.  But the wound was small and hadn’t bled when I shampooed my hair.

God, it felt good to be clean. 

Nick pulled a white t-shirt on, grimacing with every movement. He left, and I finished making myself presentable, then dressed in my uniform.  I kicked my old clothes into the corner, not sure what I should do with them.

When I went back outside, I saw that several large pizzas had arrived, along with pitchers of beer and soft drinks.  Nick was already sitting with a plateful in front of him, and I picked up a paper plate and joined him.

We didn’t talk as we gobbled down one whole pizza.  We were on our last piece when the door buzzed open and Dallas, Jenny and Angie were escorted in.

We stood and even Nick participated in a round of hugs, however gingerly.

After the initial happy greeting, Jenny and Angie stepped back and punched me in the arm, one on each side.  “So tell me why we had to swim across a dirty river, then take the road trip from hell while you guys got picked up by a helicopter and dropped off at a spa,” Jenny sputtered.

I ignored her grumpiness and grabbed her in a big hug.  “And I’m glad to see you, too.”

Angie gave me a strange look.  “Wow, you clean up well. I see why Jenny’s crazy about you now.”  Jenny gave her a sharp elbow in the ribs which Angie ignored.  “You look just like that hot guy on
Vampire Diaries
.”

I hadn’t actually seen that show, but from the admiring way she said it, I assumed that was a compliment.  But more importantly, she had said that Jenny was crazy about me.  That was what I zeroed in on.  Jenny, who was still standing next to me wouldn’t meet my eyes, so I leaned down and whispered in her ear, “Is that true?”

“Yeah, you sort of look like that guy,” she said.

“No, the other part…about being crazy about me.”

“You wish,” she answered back, and I saw her cheeks flush.

“Would you rather eat first or clean up?” Major Oates asked.

The girls and Dallas eyed the pizza hungrily, but all agreed that they’d rather clean up first.  However, they each grabbed a piece to carry with them into the showers.  Major Oates took Dallas to the same bathroom we had used, then led the girls down the hall to another bathroom.

Dallas returned first,
clean shaven, his blond hair still wet and dressed in the same Air Force-issued outfit as Nick and me. 

“Thank God you guys made it!”
Dallas exclaimed.

“Man
, you really fucked up that drone,” Nick chuckled.

“I saved your sorry ass,” Dallas snapped back.

“Did you see us?” I asked.

“No, you must have been hidden pretty well.
I tried to stay in the area long enough to spot you, but that Mexican drone was making a pest of himself. But I did see that lock on the rock.  I flew over that area twice before I remembered your tattoo.  I wasn’t sure it meant anything, but I took a chance.”

I held out my arm and flexed my forearm so that the word Houdini with its open lock bulged.
“I’m glad you picked up on that. Good job, bro,” I held out my hand and we did a fist-bump.

He smiled back.
  “Is everybody okay?”

“
Nick’s got a hole in his head and some cracked ribs, but the rest of us made it through okay.”

“Some people say Nick has always had a hole in his head,” Major Oates said with the first hint of humor I had seen from him.

“You two know each other?” I asked.

“We’ve worked together…a couple of times,” Oates answered
vaguely as he and Nick exchanged a look that said much more than words.  “After our meeting, I’ll get the medic to drop by.”

Jenny and Angie walked into the room and headed straight for the pizza.  They were wearing the same casual uniform
s as the rest of us, except in much smaller sizes.  Neither of them was wearing any makeup, and their faces glowed from the recent scrubbing, making them look like teenagers.

I had a flash
back to my first real crush in high school.  She had been the president of the drama club, smart, pretty in a Goth kind of way and very dramatic.  I think she used me to practice kissing for the role of Juliet, but I was okay with that because I benefited from the practice, too.  Unfortunately, Romeo beat me out…that time.

I smiled at Jenny.  This time
I was going to win my Juliet.

The door opened
and a tall, thin black man in khaki shorts, a pink golf shirt and a dark blue baseball cap with the word Navy spelled out in yellow letters strode into the conference room.  Major Oates snapped a salute which the man casually returned.  He took a seat at the front of the room, immediately drawing everyone’s attention.  This was definitely not his first meeting. As he slid his chair into position he spoke, “I’m Lieutenant Colonel Haney.”  His slight drawl indicated he was from East Texas.  He slowly panned the room, making a point of having full-on eye contact with each of us and stopping with Nick.  “The first thing you should remember about today is that nothing happened.  You weren’t anywhere near the Veracruz compound when it blew up, you didn’t crawl through a cave and end up in Mexico and…this is the most important point…you were
not
rescued by anything even remotely resembling a helicopter.  No one saw you, no boundaries were crossed.  Okay, right?”

He waited until each of us answered affirmatively.

“Second, this building is a maintenance warehouse. Tools, chemicals, extra furniture…other regular storage items.  We didn’t meet here tonight, and you don’t know me.  Okay, right?”  Haney focused on Nick.

“Ye
s sir,” Nick agreed instantly.

“We’ve got your vehicle
outside.  Excuse the damage.  We had to toss it to be sure you weren’t carrying any contraband.  I’ve checked out each of your backgrounds, including yours, Nick.  While I would prefer you had not gone about it the way you did, I understand your motives and why you went there in violation of U.S. Federal law.  It was not only illegal, but it was stupid.  Don’t expect the same level of force to rescue you should you decide to do something like this again.  Okay right?”

We all nodded.  We couldn’t have agreed more
.

“That being said,” he continued, “congratulations on a successful mission.”

I exhaled.  I had to admit that this guy was a little intimidating.  But I sensed he was impressed by our initiative.

“We
found some guys from the Sinaloa cartel hiding in the riverbed.  Any idea why they were there?”

“Sinaloa Cartel?”
Nick shook his head.  “What did they say?”

“They said you knew why they were
there.”

“Hmm.
”  Nick appeared to be confused.  “Don’t know why they told you that…can’t trust drug dealers, you know.”

“We confiscated twenty-
five automatic weapons and a shoulder-fired Stinger launcher.  My guess is that they were acting out a revenge attack on the Veracruz compound.”

Nick nodded.  “That sounds like a reasonable assumption.”

“I also assume the arms will not be replaced.  The
Fast and Furious
days are long gone.  Okay, right?”

“Right…sir,” Nick quickly agreed.

H
aney focused on me, and I felt like a schoolboy being reprimanded by the principal.  “Reno, is it?”

“Yes
, sir.”

“W
hen you get back to Austin, tell Christopher…because I know he’ll ask, that you aren’t allowed to explain anything that happened here.  Tell him that if word gets out, Scandals will lose its license.  Okay right?”

“
Okay, right…sir.”  I agreed, echoing his rather annoying phrase.

Haney stood.  Oates and Nick also stood until the higher ranked man left the room.  Once the door shut
, we all relaxed.

Oates said, “It’s getting late, and
it’s a long drive back to Austin.  I know you are probably exhausted, so I’d like to invite you to stay here tonight.  It’s the Fourth of July, you know, and we have a helluva fireworks show planned.  The barbecue starts in about an hour.”

I had completely forgotten it was the Fourth of July.  It seemed like a week since we had left Scandals.  The thought of not spending four more hours in the car was tempting.  I glanced around and saw that everyone else was facing the sam
e dilemma.

Dallas yawned.  “I, for one, wouldn’t mind having a good meal and going to bed early.

Angie echoed his yawn. “I really want to see Miguel, but I’m so tired.”

The yawns were contagious and none of us could think of a single good reason to make the trip back tonight.

“But first, our medic is going to check all of you out,” Oates said in his God voice that not even Nick dared argue with.

An hour later, our fingers still sticky from the barbecue ribs and our stomachs full of potato salad, boiled shrimp,
roasted corn-on-the-cob, French bread and hand-churned ice cream, we sat on the grass next to the vast tarmac.  Out on a runway about five hundred yards away, some airmen were setting off an amateur display of giant aerials that rained down glittery sparks.  Red, white and blue were the predominant colors and the shapes ranged from the traditional chrysanthemums to weeping willows to hearts and even one that looked like Saturn.

In spite of the persistent booms and crackles, it was a struggle to keep our eyes open.  Jenny had apparently forgiven me for leaving her in the river and was leaning against me.  I had my arm
around her waist, and she had hers around mine.  It was a good beginning to our new beginning.

It was barely
10 p.m. when our yawns caught Oates’ attention, and he led the way to our sleeping quarters.

I still wasn’t quite sure what this facility was used for, and when he showed us to small separate rooms, the mystery grew.  The rooms weren’t luxurious by any means, but the single-sized beds appeared to b
e comfortable.  Each room had an upholstered arm chair with a side table and a lamp.  Nothing else.  No private bathroom.  No closet.  Not even a chest.  Very sparse, almost like a cell.  I checked out the doors when we passed and saw they had locks on both sides.  These were clearly not normal rooms.

I knew if I asked, Oates wouldn’t tell me, so I just assumed they were some sort of holding cells for special prisoners.  I guess tonight that would be us
, but hopefully without the lockdown. 

We each retired to our own little room.  The two large communal bathrooms were down the hall, so we didn’
t have to take turns.  I was the last one out of the men’s room, and I noticed that everyone else’s doors were closed as I returned to my own personal cell.  When I passed Jenny’s room I hesitated.  Should I knock?  Was she still awake?  I really wanted to see her and kiss her goodnight, but I didn’t want to disturb her.  We had been together almost constantly for the last four days, and yet I missed her.

Those feelings
confused me. I had never missed anyone.  And no one had ever missed me.  It had seemed like a good way to get through life.  No baggage, no regrets, no obligations.  I decided I wasn’t ready to deal with such weighty issues when I was so sleep-deprived, so I continued on to my room.

But sleep didn’t come as quickly as I would have thought.  Probably a little of that was because I was in a strange place.  However, I had slept in a lot of new places in my life, including outside, so that shouldn’t have been an issue.  It was
almost as if I was too tired.

I tossed and t
urned, very aware that Jenny was just two doors down.  I tried to blank all thoughts out of my mind, but the image of her face, her expressive eyes, her full lips, her sexy body kept pushing into my consciousness.  When I heard a tentative knock on my door and it opened, I thought it was my brain playing tricks on me.