With Honor (25 page)

“I understand. I should at least stop over and check on your safety. Shawn is very worried and had asked me to drop by.”

Jasmine glanced across the room at her father. He lifted a brow and she shrugged. “I’m fine, really.”

“Shawn said you’d say that. As you probably know, Shawn is like a brother to me. If something happened to you I’d never forgive myself. Shawn would never forgive me.”

She had a feeling Peter wouldn’t take no for an answer. “Stop by if you’d like, but I was heading to bed…”

“No worry. I’ll just come by, check things out and be on my way.”

Clicking off, she turned to her father. “That was a friend of Shawn’s, Peter. I guess Shawn is worried about my safety and asked Peter to drop by.”

“How long will it take for him to get here?” Dad asked.

“He’s on his way,” Jasmine answered.

There was a second of silence. “Okay if I hide out in the bedroom?”

A part of Jasmine wanted to ask him to leave, but another part, the more emotional part, wanted him to stay longer. In the end, she went with her emotions. “Yes.”

“I’ll be there until the friend leaves.” Her father disappeared just as the phone rang again.

Shawn’s cell number came up. “Shawn? Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m okay. I’m calling to check on you.” His voice was rough. She wondered if he’d been sleeping.

A knock sounded at the door.

“Shawn, I’m okay. Peter is here now at the door. He said you asked him to check out what Shane was looking for the night at my apartment but I hope you’ll understand that I’m not up to it tonight.” A louder knock made her jump. “The man is impatient. I’ll call you back.”

“Pete?” Shawn said.

“Yes, he’s here…” Another knock came. “I’ve got to go.” She clicked off.

Jasmine opened the door and greeted Peter with an edgy smile. He smiled back and seemed friendly; however, she needed to get rid of him ASAP. “Thanks for coming, but I assure you I’m okay.” She opened the door only halfway and hoped he got the hint.

“I wouldn’t have been able to get through the day unless I was certain.”

He took a step forward, but Jasmine didn’t budge. “Well, I’ll tell Shawn when I speak to him that you stopped and checked things out. In fact, I’m getting ready to call him now.”

Peter wore ABU’s, and he stuck his hands deep into his pockets. Nervous? “Shawn has feelings for you. I think it’s fitting we get to know one another over a cup of coffee.”

Her patience thinned. There was no time for this. She didn’t want to be rude, but she also couldn’t allow anyone to know she wasn’t alone. This could get ugly. “I’d love to, but another time. I’m very tired. I was at the hospital all night–”

Her cell rang. Shawn again. “Sorry, I better take this. Shawn must need something important.”

“Don’t answer that.”

She couldn’t understand what Peter meant. “Why?”

Peter moved and whipped out a gun hidden in the waist of his pants. “Because I don’t have time for this shit.”

Jasmine started to slam the door, but Peter’s foot stopped it. Her phone dropped. Peter pushed her backward and shoved his way through the door. She stepped on her phone and it snapped. She couldn’t hold him back any longer. The door came flying open, knocking her against the wall.

Now inside, he banged the door shut. He smoothed his trembling hand over his hair, keeping the gun pointed at her chest.

“Why are you doing this?” she asked.

He cackled and it made goose bumps rise on her skin. His eyes took on a dishonest appearance, dark and slanted. “I’m sure you’re smart enough to put the pieces together.”

“I have no idea what you mean…”

“Don’t play dumb with me,” he snapped.

Terror clawed through her as she instinctively placed her hand over her stomach. Her baby’s safety took precedence as she realized that Peter was psychotic, and the danger tripled because he had a weapon. She lowered her gaze to the gun, noticing how shaky he was. He brought his hand down against his thigh and she saw the red, raw spot on his fingers. Burns! She knew then what he meant. “You set the fire to the hangar,” she said in shock.

“Smart woman,” he sneered.

“What do you want with me?”

“The same thing Shane wanted.” His eyes fell over her in latent meaning. She shivered in disgust. “Too bad I don’t have the time for that. I want what he was looking for that night.”

“I have no clue what he was looking for. If I did, I would have told Shawn.”

His smirk spread from ear to ear. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if I need to. You don’t amuse me like you do Shawn.”

She needed more time. Did her father know what danger she was in? “How did you know about the night I spent with Shane? Shawn didn’t tell you.”

The gun lowered only slightly. “Shane and I were both given the assignment to find your father after he was spotted by an agent. We were working together as a team until Shane must have grown a soft spot for the old man. He heard his stories about espionage and betrayal and fell for the bullshit. The two of them cooked up a scheme. I couldn’t allow that to happen. Shane needed taking care of for his betrayal.”

She kept her composure. “But why Shawn?”

“You stupid bitch. The fire was meant for you, and killing Shawn would have been an added safety measure.” He rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand. The gun wobbled. “This problem would have been taken care of if you’d been inside the building too.”

The man would kill her no matter what she did. She could read his cold expression. Her knees shook, but she didn’t waver. “As far as I’m concerned, you can go straight to hell.”

“I’ll meet you there.” He lifted the hand holding the gun, bringing the nuzzle to her head…

“Put the gun down.”

The voice came from behind Jasmine. Peter pulled away, but kept the gun steady. The look of horror that spread across Peter’s face made Jasmine shudder.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Peter said in a low tone.

“Same reason you are, but with different intent. Is this what you’re looking for?” Her father moved into Jasmine’s line of peripheral vision, holding the statue up for Peter’s investigation. As he reached out, her dad pulled back. “Not so fast. Let my daughter go and you can have what you came for.” Her dad’s voice was smooth. He showed no physical signs of fear or concern.

Peter laughed. “If you haven’t noticed, Sinclaire, I’m the one holding the gun. I make the rules.”

Dad withdrew a pistol from the waist of his pants, and before Peter could blink an eye the gun was aimed at him.

Jasmine whimpered.

“Rules change,” Dad said.

Peter didn’t seem alarmed that his leverage lowered. “Only problem is, Sinclaire, I don’t give a shit about her and the baby, but I’m sure you do.”

Dad’s composure dropped, but his wall quickly went back into place. “One of us will be walking out of here alive, and I’m promising it will be Jasmine. I’ll blow your brains to smithereens before you can pull that trigger, because you’re right, I do care.”

Jasmine couldn’t hold her tears any longer. They slipped silently down her cheeks. All she wanted was to make it out alive so that she could love her unborn child. Her child deserved life.

“Catch this.” Dad threw the statue up in the air, causing Peter to follow the movement with his eyes. When he lost his bearings, his gun left its target.

“Don’t move!” The shout penetrated the room.

Before Jasmine could identify who was yelling, a gun blast shattered the air. Blood splattered from Peter’s chest, turning his green ABU crimson.

Peter dropped his weapon and went falling back to the floor. She jumped when a hand touched her shoulder. Turning, she looked into Shawn’s pale face. She fell into his chest, sobbing.

“All is okay, sweetheart. I’m here. I’m here.” He wrapped his arm around her and kissed the top of her head.

“I can’t believe you’re here.”

“Sweetheart, I need to make sure Pete is dead.”

Jasmine pulled away and watched as Shawn bent next to Peter, who lay eerily still.

Shawn felt the man’s neck. “He’s gone.” There was sadness to Shawn’s tone and Jasmine understood why. Peter had been a long time friend and his betrayal cut deeply.

* * * *

Shawn stood up and blocked Pete’s dead body from Jasmine’s view. He went to her and grasped her shoulders lightly. “Are you okay?” Her eyes were red and swollen and she was shaking.

She looked up and his heart almost broke in two. If anything would have happened to her, he could never have recovered. “I…I’m fine, but how did you know?”

“I couldn’t reach Pete, and I didn’t ask him to come here. It all made sense to me. He had betrayed Shane, and me.” He swallowed back emotion. “I’m sorry. I came as quick as I could.” Movement made him look at the older man standing a few feet away.

“Shawn, this is Jonathon Sinclaire, my father.”

Her father. He’d guessed as much from the conversation he’d overheard when he came in through the back door.

“Thank you. Thank you so much for saving my daughter’s life.” Jonathon’s eyes were moist and his bottom lip quivered.

“You’re supposed to be dead,” Shawn said.

“Long story,” Jonathon sighed.

“One I’d like to hear.”

“Right now you got a dead man lying in your floor. That’s my cue to leave. No one can know I’m alive. I trust you’ll understand.” Jonathon’s tears cleared and his expression turned blank.

Shawn nodded. He looked back at Jasmine. “You’ll fill me in?”

“I’ll tell you everything.”

Shawn looked back, but Jonathon was long gone.

Chapter 21

“Are you sure this is where you want to be while you’re pregnant?”

Jasmine looked at Shawn across the back seat of the cab.

Sweat beaded his forehead and upper lip. “This place is freaking hot,” he said.

She laughed. “Yes, I’m sure this is where I want to be. They have air conditioning.”

“Couldn’t your father have chosen a less humid spot to hide his ass?” Shawn grumbled.

“Bora Bora is beautiful. How can you possibly complain about being in Tahiti? For one, who could ask for a better honeymoon environment? Secondly, you’re on leave for two months.”

His features softened. “Leave? I’m on disability leave, not vacation. Damn burn wounds.”

She slid closer to him on the vinyl seat. “As angry as I am with my father, I want to get to know him better. You said yourself you have a ton of questions to ask him about your brother.” She swiped the tip of her fingers along his jaw. “I understand that you’re still upset you’re on disability leave, but it’s for the best. This is our time, before the baby is born. I’d like to spend some quality time with my husband, without all of the drama.”

“I want you to be happy.” He threaded his fingers through her hair.

She laid her palm on her belly. “I’ve done my research about this lovely romantic spot. We are going to have the best honeymoon.” The baby moved and she arched her back from the dull ache. “I think I’m carrying a lineman.”

He winked. “You’re carrying a jet pilot, my love. No pilot likes to be confined. He’s trying to push his way out of there.”

“Not for a while yet–a long while. That’s the rules. I have plans for us. I wonder what it’s like to make love in a water hut.”

His brows popped. “Is that why you wanted to come here?”

“One reason. Is that bad?”

“Amazingly bad.” He bent his mouth to hers, and kissed her, leaving her breathless.

Jasmine’s heart took on a heavy beat, as it did every time he touched her. “I love you, Shawn.”

“I love you, Jasmine. And I love our baby…Taylor Shane Conner.”

Rhonda Lee Carver