Smokescreen (19 page)

“Keep telling yourself that if it makes the posting here a little more entertaining.”

Lorna laughed softly.

Grabbing her pistol, Christie clipped the pancake holster to her belt at the small of her back. Then she headed for the ball field. The weapon made her feel a little safer. It wasn’t that she was afraid of Dalton, but she knew she needed to be afraid of whatever had compelled him to call her.

A
gentle wind blew across the ball field under a quarter moon. There was just enough light—without Enhanced vision—to turn the white chalk lines of the diamond to silver.

Dalton sat in the home dugout behind the third base foul line. He wore jeans and a T-shirt, too. And his Braves hat.

Christie approached him slowly, her thumbs hooked into her jeans pockets. She couldn’t help thinking that he might run if she walked toward him too fast.

“Night vision?” Dalton asked from the shadows. “Or did you hear my heart beating?”

“Neither. Just knew where you’d be.” Christie stopped at the rail in front of the dugout. “You’ve got a tough call to make and the home dugout gives you the best view of a play that’s going down to the wire at the plate. You gave me the impression that’s what this was all about.”

“I love baseball,” Dalton said. “Always have. That was the one thing my dad and I had in common. Not much else. But we both loved the game.”

Christie waited, knowing he had to talk himself through it. She was certain any prodding or pushing on her part would cause him to clam up.

“You get all the rules in baseball, you know,” Dalton said. “When to run, when to slide, where to throw the ball.” He paused. “When to sacrifice. But that’s all for the good of the team. And at the end of it, even though you’ve sacrificed, you still get to be part of the team. I guess that’s part of why I loved being a Ranger so much.”

“Because they have rules, too.”

“Yeah. Be good at what you do. Stand tall. Don’t leave a man behind.”

Slowly, Christie walked around the railing and stopped in front of Dalton. A chill ghosted through her, but she knew it was more from being in front of the man while he was in such a raw, emotional state than from the wind.

He looked up at her and the pain etched in his face nearly broke her heart. “You know why I came here, don’t you? I mean, the story was in my military profile, right?”

“Yes. Your friend. Captain Reynolds.”

“He was the best man I ever knew,” Dalton whispered. “No one braver. No one wiser. No man I ever knew had more heart.” His throat caught. “I loved my old man, too. He was hard and tough and fair, but there just wasn’t very much of him to go around. He had all he could do some days just to hold himself together.”

“He must have done all right. He raised you.”

“Yeah. I guess he did. But Mac, Captain Reynolds, he taught me more about how to be a man than my father ever could have. Mac taught me how to be a good soldier, too. I’d never have kept my sergeant’s stripes if it hadn’t been for him. He taught me self-discipline, taught me how to be part of a team.”

And his son taught you how to love,
Christie thought.
Goose bumps raised on her arms and her eyes burned a little.

“He was the most giving man I ever knew, too. Always there to help. He shouldn’t have died. Grace and Michael needed him here.”

Christie sat silently, not believing he was telling her this much. She felt guilty now for looking forward to the encounter. She’d had no clue it was going to be this hard for him.

“I didn’t bring Mac back,” Dalton said. “I promised Grace that I would. I failed her. I failed Michael, too, but he doesn’t remember that I promised to bring his dad back.”

“That wasn’t your fault, Dalton. You couldn’t deliver on a promise like that. Not considering the work you two did.”

“I know that now. But it was done. After he was killed, I came here to help Grace and Michael.” Dalton bit his lower lip. “But you know that.”

“I do. I think it was a very noble thing. Michael idolizes you.”

He stood, and for a moment Christie thought he was going to leave. It took everything she had not to try to intercept him.

“I’m in a bad place,” Dalton said. He took a deep breath and let it out. “In order to protect the people I love most in this world, I’m going to lose them.”

“I don’t understand,” Christie said.

“Grace told me if I revealed to anyone what I’m about to tell you, she would make me go away. That she wouldn’t ever let me see Michael again.”

“She wouldn’t do that.”

He grinned crookedly, trying to mask the hurt that he
had to have known was showing. “That just goes to show that you don’t know Grace. She meant every word she said.”

Christie waited, barely breathing. What Dalton had to say was hard and he couldn’t be hurried.

“They threatened Michael,” he said finally.

“Who?”

“The Bronze Tigers.”

“They’ve contacted her?”

Briefly but thoroughly, Dalton told her how he’d found out about Sammy Bao, how he’d had Katsumi Shan ID the man and how he’d come to be at the warehouse the night Arturo Gennady was murdered and over half of her FBI team wiped out. Then he told her about the satellite phone Grace had found in her office.

“The security here is compromised,” Dalton said. “I can’t protect Grace and Michael. She doesn’t want to see that. But I know. And that makes all the difference.”

“That phone didn’t come from one of my people,” Christie said a little defensively.

“It didn’t come from mine either,” he replied. “But it got here somehow. No one new has been through security since your people arrived.”

They let that hang for a moment.

“You don’t know what Grace was told?” Christie asked when he finished.

“She didn’t tell me. She didn’t have to. The prototype of the Seek-n-Fire hardware arrives tomorrow. So does all the research Gennady had done on the project. You want to guess what they want?”

“We don’t have to worry about that,” Christie said. “With your testimony and the images of Bao talking to Dr. Reynolds, I can get the DARPA section chief to
have Dr. Reynolds and Michael evacuated from this lab within the hour.”

Dalton shook his head. “I can’t let you do that.”

“Why not? Your testimony is all I need. The DARPA section chief knows I came down here looking for a link.”

“If you call DARPA before I’m ready, the deal’s off,” Dalton threatened. “I won’t corroborate your story, and I’ll tell Grace that you’re lying when you say I talked to you.”

“She won’t believe you.”

“I’ll make her believe me. I’ll tell her you bugged the house. We talked about this problem tonight. I’ll tell her that you heard about it then.”

“You could do that anyway,” Christie suggested. “You could get yourself off the hook. I don’t mind being the bad guy here. In fact, I can plant a bug in the house tonight.”

“No.”

“Why?”

“Because there’s a chance that Grace might still believe that I had something to do with this.”

Christie hesitated a moment. “Dalton, you’re going to save them. Even here, they’re exposed, vulnerable. On-site security is compromised. The delivery of the satellite phone proves that.” She paused, a little hesitant about advancing the scenario any further. “You saw what happened to Arturo Gennady.”

“I know. That’s why I’m having this conversation with you tonight. But I’ve got to talk to Michael. I’ve got to let him know what’s going on and why his mom is sending me away.”

“She might not do that.” Christie saw how desolate the ball field was. It was almost like a premonition of things to come.

“Grace…” Dalton took a deep breath and let it out. “Grace isn’t herself, Christie. She’s still good at her job, but she’s not centered. Losing Mac has left her scared and broken. Maybe she can figure out new Enhanced systems and design them, but she’s barely holding herself together. I think she’d even regret sending me away, but she’d do it because she felt she had no choice. Because she told me she was going to. She’s…she’s struggling to have some kind of control in her world. She wants to know that she can have a cause-and-effect relationship with the world. And I don’t know how Michael will react.” He looked at her. “I don’t want to lose Michael. Not without giving him an explanation. Maybe that’s selfish, but that’s how I feel. And that’s my deal. It’s the best one you’re going to get.”

Seeing him standing there in the darkness of the dugout, Christie felt how vulnerable he was in that moment. She crossed the short distance between them, then put her hand on his face, looking deeply into his eyes.

“We’ll do it your way, Dalton,” she said. “Until I feel like I have no choice. Don’t get me in that position and it’ll go down just like you say. I give you my word.”

He nodded and started to turn away.

She put her hand on his shoulder, intending to tell him everything was going to be all right. But when he turned, she reached for him and pulled him into an embrace. Desire burned fever-hot within her and she couldn’t pull away from it. She leaned up and kissed him. Then, just when she was certain he wasn’t going to react and that she’d made one of the dumbest mistakes of her life, his lips came alive and sought hers hungrily.

His arms wrapped around her, pulling her to him. He growled deep down in his throat and his breath grew
short. Christie knew her own breath was coming short now, too. There just wasn’t enough oxygen in the air. Her hands slid down his back onto his hips and pulled him against her. She felt the challenge of his erection against her taut belly even as his callused hands slid under her T-shirt and cupped her breasts. Her nipples tightened instantly, filling her with an aching need. She turned molten at her center. He kissed her more deeply, taking her breath away.

Dalton drew back, looking at her. “This is a bad idea.”

“Yeah.” Christie took a ragged breath. “I was thinking the same thing.”

“I think it’s been in the back of my mind since I met you.”

“Me, too.”

“Probably we should go.” But he made no move to pull away.

“You try to leave, Dalton,” Christie warned, “and I’ll run you down. I’m faster than you, you know. Enhanced speed.”

He put a hand behind her head and pulled her close, cupping the back of her head as he kissed her deeply. His hands cupped her breasts again, finding her nipples and flicking them with his thumb. Christie knew they couldn’t have gotten any harder. Pressed tight against him, she was convinced that he couldn’t have gotten any harder either.

He pulled away. “You’ve got Enhanced strength, too. Are you sure this is going to be safe for me?”

Just when she was starting to think he was serious, he grinned. Then he swept her off her feet and carried her to the dugout bench. There wasn’t much room to work with, but they made do. Their shirts came off in record
time, allowing them to press flesh against flesh. They hung their pistols side by side on the dugout railing.

She tried to loosen his belt, but Christie could never remember fumbling so much or being so awkward. Thankfully, Dalton was just as graceful as she’d ever fantasized he would be. He tugged her shoes and jeans off, kissed her breasts and the hollows of her thighs, then, when she tugged on his belt, he surrendered and finished undressing.

He hesitated, awkward, then reached into his fallen jeans and brought out a foil pack.

“You always carry a condom around with you, Dalton?”

“Just since this morning.”

“Why this morning?”

“Because when I saw you in that batter’s box in those shorts and that T-shirt, hitting ball after ball, I realized I’ve never seen a sexier woman. Once the prototype was delivered tomorrow, I intended to take you out to dinner, talk about your dad and baseball.”

Christie laughed. “We could still do that. Want to wait?”

“No,” he growled.

She took the condom from him, tore it open, then sheathed him. He trembled, caught up in his own desire, and she teased him unmercifully till he grabbed her shoulders and pushed her back on the dugout bench, moved in and slid his hard length against her, rubbing against her instead of penetrating her. The slippery friction of the condom and her own wetness drove her crazy, pushing her right to the edge but never driving her over into the sweet abandon of release.

Nearing frustration, she reached for him. He didn’t make it easy, leaning in to press his lips against hers and
opening her mouth to plunder it once more. Then she had him where she wanted him, taking him in deep, surprised at how large he felt even though she was more than ready for him. She bucked up against him, igniting his desire, meeting his burning hunger with her own, till he could no longer hold back.

Christie crested and tumbled over into an abyss of pure pleasure. She came back to her senses just as he was about to reach his own climax. Using her Enhanced strength, she pushed him off of her and almost laughed at the surprised look on his face. Before he knew what was happening, she pushed him back down onto the dugout bench on his back, threw a leg across his lean hips, and pulled him inside her again. This time, firmly in control, she didn’t stop surging against him until he exploded within her, triggering another spasm that racked her.

Later, when they had their strength back, Dalton held her tightly against him. She felt his heart beating inside his chest. The night air felt cool against her sweat-soaked body. She shivered, but it wasn’t just from the chill.

“Help me save them,” he whispered into her ear.

“I will,” she said. “It’s going to be all right, Dalton.” She kissed him, then was surprised to find his hunger rising within her again. She met his passion with her own needs.

Christie yawned, barely getting a hand up to her mouth to cover it.

“Trouble sleepin’, huh?” Lorna shot her a glance filled with mocking innocence.

“Yes.” Christie sipped her coffee and hoped the caffeine would kick in soon. One of the coming Enhanced packages included stim-packs that could be stored in
side the body and accessed through the onboard computer, an auxiliary subsystem to the adrenal pump she was now equipped with. A full range of stimulants, from caffeine to endorphins to system-wide antibiotics and painkillers, were going to be added. She had been resistant to that at first glance, but having that kind of control over her body—especially the waking up part—was becoming more and more attractive.

“Well,” Lorna said, “that walk you went for must have done you a world of good, sugar, because when you came in last night I swear you were asleep before your head hit the pillow.”