Shadowed (20 page)

“Micah and I both have training out of town for about a month. And we need to talk
about living arrangements.”

“Okay, well, I'll just move out of Micah's room and back into my house.”

“Kayles, I'm not sure about that.”

“You aren't going to be at your place. Clearly whoever this is knows your address
as well as mine. Megan and I will be better back at our place. The FBI can watch
us there just as well as here. Just let me know which of the guys will be in town
so we can call if we need to.” She shot an apologetic glance in Megan's direction.
“I'm so sorry about this, Megan.”

Megan grimaced, then shrugged. “It was starting to get a little boring around our
house anyway with you being Miss Perfect and all.” A glimmer of a smile graced her
mouth, and Kaylan silently cheered for Megan's grudging support.

“Kaylan.”

Kaylan's eyes shot back to Nick. “Nick, you can't control your training schedule.
I can't live in fear, and I really can't do anything if you won't tell me what or
who I'm watching out for.”

“You know I can't tell you.”

“Babe, I need to move on with life right now unless you have another idea.”

“We figured you would pull the tough act on us. So we do in fact have another idea.”
The front door opened, and Colt and Jay filed into the room.

“How's it going, ladies? We're your new body guards.” Jay grinned, winking at Megan,
who blushed before rolling her eyes.

“You have got to be kidding me. I can take care of myself, thank you very much.”
Megan stood but tumbled back on the couch to avoid running into Jay. “Seriously?
Can't you take your six pack somewhere else?”

“You know you like it.” Jay stalked closer.

Megan glared at Kaylan. “Do military boys ever leave high school?”

“Boys? I am all man, baby.”

“Jay, knock it off,” Colt cut in. He looked at Kaylan and smiled. “We won't get in
your way. The Feds have y'all covered right now anyway. We'll be around and available
for our group's peace of mind. Since Jay, Titus, and I are on a different team from
Logan, Hawk, Bulldog, and X, we aren't on the same training schedule.”

“So we are at your beck and call.” Jay flashed his most charming smile at Megan.

Megan's smile bordered on wicked. “You may regret that.”

Kaylan sensed trouble ahead. She shot a look at Micah, who rolled his eyes.

“Jay, behave yourself while we're gone,” Micah lectured. “She's off limits.”

“I don't see you making a move.”

“Jay, I mean it.”

Jay waved a hand in Micah's direction. Colt grabbed Jay's arm and shoved him out
the door. “Kayles, call us if you need us.”

Kaylan released a breath, admitting defeat but comforted that she had someone she
knew close at hand if necessary. “Thanks, Colt. I'll add you to speed dial.” He flashed
a pearly white smile as he closed the door behind him.

The room grew silent. Megan glanced between the three of them. “Well, I'll go first.
I personally think this is overkill. But”—her voice quieted—“I admit I have no clue
what is going on, and as long as those bozos stay out of my way, I can handle protection.
And you said the Feds are still around?”

Micah nodded. “Keeping a low profile but there if something happens.”

Megan stood and rubbed her hands together. “Well, that means I'm going home to sleep
in my own bed tonight.” She looked at Kaylan. “See you in a bit?”

“I'll be there soon.”

As Megan left, Micah slipped from the room and Kaylan stood. “Guess I better go pack.”

“Babe, wait. Talk to me.”

Kaylan turned on Nick, eyes flashing. “I feel controlled and helpless. But worse
than that, I'm scared.”

“Kayles, I'm so sorry. I promise, we are ending this soon. Please bear with me a
little longer. I'm not trying to control you. I just want to protect you.”

He pulled her into his arms and lowered his lips inches from hers. Her frustration
warred with her affection for him. “If anything, anything ever happened to you,
Kaylan, I couldn't handle it. Especially if it was because of me.” He tightened his
arms around her until her anger lessened, and she leaned into him, responding to
his desperation, needing comfort, wanting to support.

“You won't lose me.”

His lips found hers, soft at first, then became more intense—as
if kissing her enough
could make the danger and everything else evaporate until nothing existed but the
two of them. After a few moments she pulled back to rest in his arms. “You can't
kiss this away. I'm fine.”

He chuckled and rested his forehead on hers. She felt his chest rise and fall with
a heavy sigh as if he carried the weight of the world. “Let's keep it that way, okay?”
She nodded as he kissed her forehead. Despite his strength, she sensed an emotion
he fought to keep at bay. She stroked his back, waiting for him to relax.

“Will you go with me to the hospital?” Nick mumbled against her hair.

“Oh, babe, Logan's surgery!” She pulled back to study his face. “How'd it go?”

“It's finished. I wish they had found an antibiotic that worked, but it is what it
is. He's back in his room. I called Kim. She said it's okay if we drop in over the
next couple days. He wants to see us.”

Kaylan had never seen Nick so lost. The famous fixer couldn't fix anything, and lives
were at stake. It terrified him.

She wrapped her arms around his neck. “I would love to go with you. Who has the kids
tonight?”

“Logan's mom flew in to stay with them for a few weeks. I think Kim's mom will come
out after that.”

A low growl sounded behind them. “All right, you two, break it up.” Micah used his
arms to pry them apart and walked between them on the way to the living room. “I'm
going to record the game tonight, and then I'm ready to hit the road.”

Thirty minutes later they arrived at the hospital. Micah turned the car off and sat
still. “I'm not ready for this.”

Nick shook his head. “I still can't believe it came down to this. I thought the antibiotics
would clear the infection, and after some therapy, he'd be back with us.” The two
exchanged a look, and Kaylan could feel their pain from her seat in the back.

Kaylan stuck her head between the seats. “Once a SEAL, always
a SEAL. It's still
Logan. You didn't lose the man, just some of the motor skills. Focus on him and all
you can help him overcome now. This is your next mission as a team.”

Nick met her eyes in the rearview mirror, and she saw a measure of peace mixed with
the pain. “Now I remember why I'm dating you.”

Kaylan snorted. “You forgot? I guess I need to remind you more often.”

“Let's go, you two.” Micah climbed from the car and slammed the door, Nick and Kaylan
following suit.

Kaylan wove her fingers between Nick's, and he squeezed tight. After all he did to
stand beside her after Sarah Beth passed away, she could and would do this and more
for him.

She leaned in close as they walked to whisper, “I love you. You are not alone in
this.”

He stopped before they entered the doors and kissed her. “When can I marry you?”

She smiled. “Ask me later.”

Within a few minutes they stood outside Logan's door, Micah joking with Kim and Logan
inside. She squeezed Nick's hand as he took a deep breath. Ever the protector, it
killed him when someone he loved was in pain and he couldn't change it.

They entered the room, and Kaylan struggled to keep her gaze from drifting to the
end of the bed where two legs should lie under the sheets. Now one leg stopped short,
the sheets abnormally flat next to his other leg. She focused on Kim's face and the
beep of Logan's monitors.

Nick approached Logan's outstretched hand and clasped it tight. “Hey, man, how are
you feeling?”

“Ready for another Hell Week. I could take on the world right now,” he slurred, but
his eyes held the humor they all knew and loved. Kaylan continued to be amazed by
the strength of the SEALs and their occasional daredevil bents. Very little stopped
them. If they couldn't accomplish a goal one way, they would try a million other
options until they achieved success. To Logan and Kim, this surgery just became a
challenge to conquer, not a hill to die on. Life remained to be lived.

“Does it hurt?” Micah asked as he came to stand at Logan's other side.

“It's weird. I still feel like the rest of my leg should be there, but it's not.
I hear phantom pains are a possible issue. But so far I'm too drugged to care. I
got to thinking though.” His smile turned mischievous as his eyes drooped. “I need
a new nickname: The Triple Threat, Tripod, Trey, something with three.”

Micah chuckled. “How about you let us choose something less lame? Let's face it.
You've never been good at choosing the nicknames.”

Nick grinned. “I don't know. I kinda like Tripod. Or we could just go with something
like Terminator.”

“Oh, that's a good one. Even without a limb I can still whip most of the team.”

Kaylan and Kim joined the laughter.

Logan's tired eyes turned serious. “How am I going to do this?”

Kaylan stepped forward to the end of the bed. “Did Nick ever tell you I was in Haiti
during the earthquake?”

“He never shared details.”

“Many lost limbs in the earthquake. Doctors volunteered and have fit many Haitians
with prosthetics. This isn't over. If the Haitians can do it, I'm confident you can
overcome this. One step at a time. And we're here to help with whatever you and Kim
need. Besides”—she looped her arm through Kim's—“I've fallen in love with your kids.”

Kim laughed. “You were an instant hit the moment you gave them ice cream.”

“I might possibly have intended that to be a bribe. Apparently it worked.”

Logan's eyes drooped more.

“I think we need to go. Don't worry about anything, Logan. We're here every step
of the way.” Nick reached for Kaylan's hand as they turned to follow Micah out the
door. Nick kissed Kim's cheek. “Call when you need us.”

“Thank you. All three of you. I can't tell you how much it means to know you are
a call away.” Kim teared up despite her smile. “We're going to get through this just
fine.”

Kaylan squeezed her hand. “Yes, you will. We're praying.”

“She's a keeper, Hawk. Don't you mess this up, or I will climb out of this bed and
beat you with my old leg,” Logan croaked from the bed.

Nick's eyes twinkled. “Save your energy, Pops. I'm never letting this one go.”

As they left the hospital, Kaylan thanked the Lord that their relationship hadn't
been normal. In more ways than one they'd had to support one another in the darkest
of times and learned to treasure the sweet moments. Life included the rough moments,
and she knew with Nick by her side they could laugh or cry together, no matter the
circumstance.

Chapter 24

K
AYLAN KNEW SHE'D
fallen in love when she went over to Nick and Micah's to clean
just because she missed Nick and wanted things to be nice when he got home. She hated
cleaning. The guys had been gone two weeks, two very busy weeks for them and two
very uneventful weeks for Megan and Kaylan—unless they counted Jay's frequent and
unexpected drop-bys.

At first, being alone set them both on edge. After a week of quiet they settled back
into their old routine. Kaylan still couldn't quite figure out how to breach Megan's
walls. But she figured a costume party might be fun. With Halloween a couple weeks
away, she had time to plan a party with some of the team and their dates. It would
be a fun way to laugh the night away and help Megan understand that not all military
guys were like her dad. So far Kaylan had run out of luck convincing her.

“C'mon, Megan. You can be anything you want. Use your imagination.”

Megan rolled her eyes from her slouched position in the love seat, a copy of
The
Hobbit
in her hand. Kaylan liked to read, but the classics bored her. She didn't
know how Megan managed to enjoy them. “The Grinch.”

“That's Christmas. Try again.”

“A vampire.”

“Too cliché. Think out of the box, Meg.”

“I'm cliché? Have you met you—Miss Perfect Life, Perfect Boyfriend, Perfect Family?”

Kaylan ignored the jab. “Are we really going there again?” Megan pushed people away
to protect herself. Kaylan had decided to fight past that. A few bruises along the
way were inevitable.

“Sorry. I'll drop that. Why can't I just go Goth?”

“You wear black all the time. Who did you want to be as a kid? Or who's your favorite
literary character?”

“Juliet. She dies tragically with her stupid boyfriend.”

“Seriously?”

“Fine.” Megan grew quiet and thoughtful. When she finally spoke, she wouldn't meet
Kaylan's eyes. “I always kind of liked Frodo and Sam from the
Lord of the Rings
trilogy.
They left home and set out on this great adventure. And bad things happened, but
they succeeded.”

Kaylan struggled to maintain the seriousness of the moment while smothering a smile.
“So . . . you want to dress up as a short person who likes to eat and has furry feet?”

Megan threw a pillow at Kaylan as Kaylan burst into laughter. “I'm sorry, Meg. I
couldn't help it.”

“See if I answer any of your questions again.”

“Don't be that way. It was a joke. We can figure out a costume for that. You'll make
a cute hobbit.”