Shadowed (26 page)

Micah met Nick's eyes. “With all the weird things going on lately, I'd like to check
this out real quick. What do you think, Hawk?”

Nick nodded. “Let's just make sure it's nothing. Kaylan, you stay here.” The two
of them fanned out, while Kaylan fidgeted, her concern growing. Despite their attempt
at nonchalance, Nick and Micah's attentiveness heightened her anxiety—and her frustration.
Once again they were looking for a ghost. This one just happened to actually be in
costume.

After twenty minutes of wandering around, they met back in the kitchen, admitting
defeat. “She must have slipped out when everything happened with Kim,” Nick said,
rubbing Kaylan's shoulders.

“Now I know it was nothing. I'm sorry for making a big deal out of it.”

“Kaylan, I think your instincts are better than that. But you're right. Let's just
clean up.” Nick grabbed a handful of trash bags from the pantry and handed one to
Kaylan.

“I'll start shoving people out the door.” Micah left the room, his voice carrying
through the house. “All right, happy Halloween! Party's over, so it's time to go
creep someone else out unless you want to stay and help pick up.”

A few groans followed his announcement. Kaylan and Nick chuckled. “I knew your brother
was the perfect man for that job.”

“Never a dull moment with him.”

“Has he always been like that?”

“Pretty much. You know Micah. He can be the life of the party or the most serious
guy on the planet, but he's always there when you need him.”

“His sister's kind of like that, too.”

“Oh, yeah? Life of the party?”

Nick chuckled. “Well, maybe more the dependable part of that.”

She smiled. “I'll take it.”

Within minutes the house emptied, and the three of them collected plates and cups
from every surface downstairs.

Kaylan stopped to catch her breath, then remembered her roommate. “Anyone see where
Megan went?”

“I made sure Colt took her home before tucking Jay in bed,” Micah hollered from the
kitchen. She heard the faucet switch on in the kitchen.

“Perfect.” She cast a glance into the dark hallway at the top of the landing. “I'll
check upstairs.” Kaylan dodged the jack-o-lanterns as she climbed, lugging the trash
bag. Her feet ached, and she'd abandoned her wig. Bed sounded better and better
as the clock neared 2:00 a.m. She opened and shut the two bedroom doors, noting everything
seemed fine. She stepped into the bathroom, grabbing a couple of cups off the counter,
and stopped cold. An envelope addressed to her sat on top of a bouquet of dead white
lilies. Their petals and leaves lay shriveled on the counter. She reached for the
envelope and slid her finger under the flap, withdrawing a piece of stationery.

Kaylan
,

Tell your boyfriend and his friends he should have left well enough alone. He can
no longer stop what is coming. It is your fate to end up like your friend.

Janus

Kaylan fought a scream as the image of Sarah Beth rose before her eyes. Who would
taunt her using her best friend?

“Kaylan, they had the baby!” Micah shouted from downstairs. She made herself turn
and follow his voice, the letter and bouquet now clutched in one hand and the trash
bag dragging the floor
behind her. Her mind raced. Who was Janus? Someone she was
supposed to know? The person the team chased?

“It's a girl, Kayles. Molly is going to be stoked. Nadia Elaine Carpenter. Six pounds,
twelve ounces, twenty-one inches long, and all her fingers and toes. Until y'all
start giving me some nieces and nephews to entertain, I'm going to spoil the Carpenter
kids rotten.”

He stopped as he met her eyes, and then his gaze drifted to the flowers in her hand.
“Kayles . . . ”

“Micah, who's Janus?”

She heard a bag hit the floor in the kitchen, and Nick darted into view. “What did
you just say?” He spotted the note and dead lilies in her hand. As the blood drained
from his face, she knew. “Give it to me.”

She descended the last few steps and stood in front of them. Fatigue made her eyes
cross. She leaned into the banister behind her. “Answer my question, Nick.”

“Give it to me. Now.” She shrank back at the sharp edge in his voice and noticed
Micah shoot him a glance.

She handed him the letter and flowers, the dry stems and petals crackling as they
transferred hands. Wrapping her arms around herself, she fought to stay in the present.
She needed air. She needed to clear the image of rubble and Sarah Beth from her head.
And she was tired of the secrecy. Tired of not knowing who or what threatened her.

“I'll take the trash out.” She shoved past them, grabbing a couple other bags from
the kitchen and barreling out the door. She could almost taste the desire to run
and hide. She gritted her teeth. New life. New start. New memories. “Lord, I'm tired.
When will my memories stop shaking my present?”

She dropped the bags in the trash and slowly moved back to the house, thankful for
the fresh breeze winging its way through the backyard. She sat on the patio and put
her head in her hands, searching for the strength to let go.

Nick watched Kaylan head out of the house, her shoulders slumped and her hands shaking
a bit. He'd messed that up, let his fear dominate his calm.

“Dude, what was that?”

“She was here. She left a note for Kaylan. And it freaked me out, Bulldog. What are
we going to do?”

“Let's read the note first and take it one step at a time.”

“Since when did you become the rational one?”

“Apparently since you lost your mind and your ability to keep your cool.”

Nick glared. “What am I supposed to do?”

Micah snatched the note from his hand and held it in front of them both. “Like I
said, one step at a time.”

Together they read the short note. Nick noticed the paper was different. Same handwriting,
just in English this time.

“You think the person Kaylan saw was Janus?”

“I don't know, Bulldog.”

“Is there anyone close to her that could be Janus or a courier?”

Nick ran his hand over his face, wiping away makeup. “There are two women who moved
to the neighborhood in the last few months. Both travel a lot with their jobs. Kaylan's
met both of them and says they are nice. I've met one. But I don't know. It could
be anyone. Someone at church. Someone who crossed paths with her during her internship.”

Nick's hands grew sweaty. He rubbed them together as his gaze drifted toward the
kitchen window. He could see Kaylan on the patio outside, her back rigid. “But a
neighbor or friend at church would make sense. It would explain how she knew when
we went to Alabama or when we were deployed and got back. It would explain how she
knows where we live. She has the perfect stalking
position since we are around Kaylan
so much.” He ran a hand over his face, chipping away at the remaining face paint.
“There's only one way to find out.”

Micah nodded. “Any of them resemble the woman we saw in Nicaragua?”

Nick ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “I don't know, man. It literally could
be anyone. Either way, Janus just upped her game. This just got even more dangerous
for Kaylan.”

Micah nodded. “I'll call the FBI, let them know. Speaking of dangerous”—Micah motioned
to the back door—“you might want to go clean up your mess.”

Nick groaned. “I don't know what to do.”

“Apologize. Explain as much as you can.”

“You don't get it, Bulldog. They are targeting your sister because of me. Of us.”

Micah's voice grew quiet and cold. “I get it, Hawk. Believe me, I get it. But I'm
more worried what would happen now if we stepped out of the picture than if we stay
close to her.”

Nick shook his head and headed for the patio, leaving Micah to make his phone call.
He could see Kaylan through the back door. His heart settled a bit knowing she was
nearby and okay. Should he put space between them? Would Janus just target the team
if he were out of Kaylan's life until they caught her? He couldn't bear the thought
of someone harming Kaylan. He thought back to the note and understood why she'd been
so rattled. She had no idea the danger she was in, but she did understand the reference
to Sarah Beth. If he had to guess, her reaction had been based on that more than
anything else.

He slammed his fist on the counter, unsure what to do or what this conversation would
look like. Catching a glimpse of his reflection in the window, he paused. The face
staring back looked frightened, haunted. He couldn't remember the last time he'd
felt that
way. Unless . . . he could. It was the last time he'd thought he'd lost
Kaylan and couldn't do anything to stop it. Last January in Haiti.

He pushed past the reflection to study the woman outside. Her shoulders shook slightly.
Her chin rested on her arms and her hair hung in a limp pony tail that stopped between
her shoulder blades. He couldn't leave her. Didn't know how. She'd just reentered
his life for good, moved to his city, integrated into his world. But was it best
for her? With a ring box tucked away in his room at home, he needed to make up his
mind quickly. The answer to all his questions lurked just out of reach in the shadows.

Chapter 31

K
AYLAN KNEW THE
sound of his footfalls as well as she knew her own heartbeat. Funny
how more time with a person bred familiarity with the most basic habits. He sank
down next to her on the patio.

They sat like that for what felt like hours. She heard every car that passed by,
the sound of the wind whipping through the streets. But loudest of all seemed to
be the roar in her head, dark memories still fighting for prominence. Tears pricked
her eyes, but she refused to let them win, let an unknown force scare her back to
the cave she'd made inside herself months before. It had almost cost her the man
she loved.

Loved. The commitment bound her to him regardless of a ring. As certainly as she
knew life had not ended with Sarah Beth's death, she knew life had only just begun
with Nick Carmichael. She couldn't turn her back on that. If only she could be as
strong as Kim.

Nick's arm settled around her, and she gave into his embrace, resting her head on
his shoulder. He'd always been her rock. But the man she'd seen in the entryway had
somehow snapped. What if she was in danger that even he couldn't protect her from?
“Kayles, I'm sorry for letting my temper get the better of me.
You asked a question
I couldn't answer, and it scared me.” His fingers traced patterns down her arm.
She shivered, leaning in closer to him. “Please forgive me?”

She sighed and nodded. Closing her eyes, she pressed into him, imagining everything
was okay, remembering the bliss of Labor Day weekend when he had told her he loved
her and everything seemed right in the world. Now fear and uncertainty filled her.
“Can we talk it out before you snap, next time?”

He groaned. “I told you I have some anger issues occasionally.”

“Can you tell me anything?”

“Kaylan, please don't make this more difficult than it needs to be. All I can tell
you is that hopefully we will wrap this up in one more mission.”

Knowing this was the price for dating a SEAL, she swallowed the urge to ask more.
Demanding answers wouldn't change the reality anyway. They could do nothing but wait.
For now, she was safe.

The quiet stretched between them again, and she forced herself to relax. She wondered
if it would be like this fifty years from now when time had bonded their souls so
much that they could say as much in the quiet as in conversation. It had been like
that with Sarah Beth, although that bubbly blonde had rarely shut up for a moment.
Kaylan smiled at the memory, thankful Nick had met her.

Nick's deep voice broke through her reverie. “You know, growing up, Mom hated Halloween.
Since I was an only child, our house was always full of the neighborhood guys, and
they loved my mom. She never let us dress up as anything scary for Halloween. When
I was really little, she dressed me up as the Cookie Monster.”

Kaylan laughed. “Still got those pictures?”

“Somewhere. Buried in a box. Where you can never use them for blackmail.”

“C'mon.” She could hear her Alabama twang emerging more as the night wore on. “I'm
sure you looked cute.”

“I think we've covered this. Me and cute do not mix.” He squeezed her knee playfully.

She shrieked and tried to pull away, but his arm tightened around her. “All right,
all right, I give. I'm sure even at three you looked very tough.” She rolled her
eyes but slowly quieted, sensing he had more on his mind than costumes.