Talon: Combat Tracking Team (A Breed Apart) (9 page)

“You didn’t before?”

Her lips quirked, and she shrugged. “Your name wasn’t in the official report.”

Cardinal held her gaze, infusing it with reassurance as he spoke words that could unravel…if they weren’t the truth. “That’s because I don’t exist.”

The world sped by in a whirl of greens as the train spirited Nikol Tselekova toward Brno. Though he sat with his eyes closed, his mind was alert and rampantly going over every detail. Yes, his bed was made. No wrinkles or ripples. Windows spotless. Footlocker unfettered for inspection. Bedposts aligned with the grain of the wood floors that ran toward the towering window. Yes, all had been in place. He’d made sure. Stood there at the door to his room for ten minutes, inspecting. Obsessing.

He tugged the backpack on his lap closer, tighter. It was worth it. To deliver the gift. To see her face. If only but for a second. It would be enough to hold him over till he could attempt another excursion.

The train slowed as it entered the city. Nikol glanced at his watch, mapping his time and journey. Still well within parameters. Fifteen minutes later, the train pulled to a stop in the heart of the Moravian capital city.

He hoofed it through the streets, avoiding cars and cyclists and pedestrians alike. Invigorated with each step, he headed west, out of the city, up the country road to the missionary’s home. As he trudged up the road, he moved out of plain sight. Drifted farther into the trees lining the road. If he was right—

Laughter sailed from a yard. He tucked himself among the trees. Watched. A group of children played among a cluster of small homes. He searched their faces, anticipation thick. On one hand, he wanted to see her—out in the sun, laughing, playing the way she should. She deserved that. And so much more.

Reassured she was not there, Nikol moved forward. A young boy threw a ball toward his friend.

“Dobrý den!” Nikol greeted them.

The boy hesitated, then waved. It was not good that the child recognized him. That would be bad. Especially if the colonel discovered the secret. It would be a path straight back to Nikol.

Sitting on the bench, his back to the main road, Nikol smiled at the boy and lowered the pack to his lap. “Petr, jak se mate?”

The boy shrugged. “I’m good.”

“Would you do me a favor?” Nikol extracted the white box from his backpack.

Petr sighed. “For Kalyna? Again?”

Nikol nodded. He would have to find another way to deliver the gifts. It was too known. The boy was as comfortable with Nikol as he was with his friends. Perhaps he should just send them via the post.

But then, he would not get to see her open them. And that…that was what kept his heart alive.

“If you like her, you should tell her.”

The words brought a smile to his face, but Nikol merely nodded. With the eight-year age difference, it was not so simple as liking the girl.

Fisting his hands on his brown corduroy pants, Petr huffed. “What do I get?”

“Smart boy.” Nikol produced a bar of chocolate and a green banknote. “First, you must tell me—” He broke off when he noticed the boy’s gaze drift to the edge of the field. Following the gaze, Nikol tensed.

A girl stood there.

Watching.

    Six    

W
hat do you mean you don’t exist?”

Sunlight peeked through the cedar trees whose branches waved in the unusual summer breeze. Aspen hated the nerves that skittered through her veins. As she waited for his answer, noting that Heath and Jibril now stood a little taller.

The almost-there smile flickered for a second before it vanished, and Dane lowered his gaze. “I was being facetious.” He shrugged those broad shoulders. “Have no idea why I wasn’t mentioned in the reports. I was there.” He motioned to Talon. “He even recognizes me.”

Instinctively, Aspen’s hand went to the Lab’s broad skull. The big lug leaned against her leg panting, oblivious to the tension that had just coated the afternoon.

“Seriously.” Dane held up his hands. “If you aren’t comfortable with me being here, I can leave.”

“No.” The word shot out before Aspen could process her response—or the why. The urgency that tightened a fist on her didn’t let go. This guy was the first possible good news she’d had in a very long time. “No, I want to hear your story.” Something sparked in his blue eyes that unsettled her. “Then, I’ll decide for myself if you need to leave.”

“Fair enough.”

“Why don’t we take this up to the house?” Heath said.

“Yes, yes.” Jibril started up the hill that led to the house. “I have tea and lemonade.”

“You or Khat?” Heath taunted him.

Laughing, Jibril stepped onto the wraparound porch. “It is my house, not my sister’s, yes?”

Though Heath and Jibril continued with their banter, Aspen drew into herself. Dane might have the answers. Or he might not. And what good would it do to hear his story for herself? Even if he did see Austin in Africa somewhere, it wasn’t proof.

Seated in the cluster of deep-cushioned sofas that overlooked the pool and outdoor area, Aspen motioned Talon to her side. He lumbered to her and flattened himself against the cold tile floor.

Dane folded himself onto a chair next to her. Somehow, the low ceilings and short sofas amplified the guy’s height. While he stood several inches taller than her, he wasn’t a giant. Though his presence carried powerfully in the room.

“Let me get some refreshments,” Jibril said. “Don’t wait for me.”

Hands folded, elbows resting on her thighs, Aspen steeled herself. “So, Brittain shared the interview with me.”

He sat on the edge, forearms on his knees, and nodded.

“So, you were there when the bomb went off.”

“I was.”

“Tell me what you remember.”

“I told Ms. Larabie everything I know.”

“I know.” Aspen drew in a breath and looked at Heath, whose presence gave her the gumption to push. Not that she was weak. But something about this guy unsettled her. Left her feeling nervous. “But I want to hear it for myself.”

“Okay.” As he launched into his story, into being down on the ground when the bomb went off, getting knocked unconscious and coming to, it all rang true.

“And in Africa?” Prompting him felt artificial. As if he wasn’t willing to tell her what he saw. But he couldn’t come this far then drop her off a cliff. Aspen inched closer. “You saw him there?”

He darted a look at her then to Heath before sloughing his hands together.

She touched his arm. “Please. Tell me what you saw.”

“That’s just it—I can’t guarantee what I saw was real.” He snorted. “I mean, I saw
someone
, but…”

“It could’ve been anyone.” Heath towered over both of them.

Dane’s blue gaze rose to Heath’s. “Yeah.” He skirted her a glance. “I just…I don’t want to get your hopes up, ya know?”

“I appreciate that.” She smiled, noticing for the first time how much depth rested in his face. “But you wouldn’t have gone on national television if you didn’t think there was a chance it was my brother you saw, not just
anyone.”

Ice clinked against glass as Jibril returned with a tray of drinks. He set them on the coffee table cuddled in the center of the sofas. “Here we go.” The ABA owner slowed as he set the tray down. As always, he didn’t miss a thing. “Is something wrong?”

“Hot Shot here is getting cold feet.”

The challenge soared through the air, and Aspen could tell it hit center mass. Dane rose. Aspen with him. “Hey,” she said, catching his forearm as she glared at Heath, “no baiting.”

“You know, this was a bad idea.”

“Why?” Heath held his ground. “Am I right?”

Dane swallowed. “I don’t have cold feet.” He started for the door.

“Then what’s the problem?”

“I’m not doing this.” Dane shook his head and stomped toward the foyer.

“Wait!” Aspen speared Heath with her fiercest glare as she rushed around the U-shaped sofa. “Dane, please.”

Sunlight shot through the open door.

She hurried onto the porch. “I want to talk. I need to know everything.”

“Why?” He spun toward her. “There’s nothing that can be done. The government won’t go after him. They won’t even listen to me, though they’ve shoveled threats at me by the ton.”

“What threats?”

He snapped back into composure and lowered his chin. “Never mind.”

“No. I won’t never mind. You have information about my brother and I want it.”

“Why?” His brow furrowed, but those blue eyes shone through. “What are you going to do, Aspen? Go after him?”

Indignation rippled through her and yanked her courage to the front. “If I have to.”

“Be realistic. I’ve been there on a mission. Have you been there? Do you realize the temperature?”

“This is Texas. I’m familiar with hot weather.”

He let out a half laugh, half snort as his eyes closed, and he lowered his head again. “I meant the political temperature.”

“Oh.”

“They aren’t friendly to Americans. It’s predominantly Muslim. There’s an American base there, but that doesn’t mean anything except more trouble. If your brother was there, finding him is one thing. Getting him out of there is another.”

“Why? What are you saying?”

“I’m saying if he’s there, if he went missing—there are myriad possibilities. He could’ve been snatched. He could’ve been brainwashed or have amnesia. He could be—” Dane chomped his mouth closed, and his gaze flung to the trees.

Aspen didn’t need him to tell her his thoughts. Because hers went there, too. “He could be a traitor.” Her next breath felt like it weighed as much as an MRAP. “That’s what you were going to say, wasn’t it?”

“It doesn’t matter. This whole conversation doesn’t matter.”

“Why? Are you saying my brother doesn’t matter?”

“I’m saying we have no way to find him.”

She squared her shoulders. “Are you saying you’ll go with me?”

He blinked and shook his head. “Aren’t you listening to me?”

“I have a team.”

“Who?”

“Talon—”

“The dog?” The incredulity in his voice scraped over her spine.

“Yes.” She practically hissed the answer. “Talon knows Austin. Better than anyone. He never forgets a scent, even the one of a purported coward.”