The Puppeteer (37 page)

“Mack, it's not a good idea,” he pleaded again, this time more concerned than anything else.

“I know,” she conceded. “But still, I'm here. And still, I want to listen in.”

Spanky stared at her for a long time. Technically, he could throw them out. He could call security and they'd be out of there faster
than they could say ‘goodbye,’ but she was banking on loyalty now. On their years of work together. She was asking him as a friend.

“Dani,” he sounded pained, but she wasn't going to change her mind.

“Shit,” he said, in final resignation. She almost smiled in triumph, but he turned his gaze on her and pinned her to the spot with the deadly seriousness in his eyes.

“I'll let you stay, Dani, but you know as well as I do that this mission could go any number of ways. We all want it to be easy in and easy out, but we both know things can go from sugar to shit in a heartbeat. Are you ready for that? Really ready?” he demanded.

He was asking her if she was ready to listen to Ty die. No one expected it to happen, no one expected anyone to die on this mission. But it was always a possibility.

Taking a deep breath and willing the panic the thought caused to subside, she nodded. For a moment, it didn't look like he believed her. With good reason, since she didn't believe it herself—how could anyone be ready to hear someone they loved die? But, it wasn't going to change her mind. She wanted—she needed—to be there.

Spanky threw up his arms and made a vague gesture to the empty chairs in the room. Dani sat, giving Spanky a wide berth, given that he wasn't too happy about her presence. Sammy sat next to her, with Jason behind them. Dani must have looked as nervous as she felt because Sammy grasped her hand and offered a reassuring squeeze. She squeezed back and they both held on.

They were still sitting like that, several minutes later, when the audio synced up. She could hear Drew orchestrating the mission from the Navy boat anchored off Frey's island. She heard Roddy and Fawkes and, after what seemed like an eon, she heard Ty.

Closing her eyes, she focused on his voice. On the little snippets of information he passed on, location, status, visuals—all standard operating procedure. And every time she heard him, she gave a little prayer of thanks, and one of pleading, pleading to bring them all home safe.

Her mind raced with every second that went by in silence and she sat still, so still, as they listened to the mission unfolding thousands of miles away in the dark of the night. The only movement was the occasional squeeze from Sammy when they heard Ty checking in.

And then they heard the shots.

Even though the sound was expected, Dani jumped. Her heart rate accelerated but, even knowing she was still recovering from a heart attack, she ignored the sensation and leaned forward, aching to hear Ty's voice through the now near-constant sound of weapons being discharged.

She gripped Sammy's hand and sensed Jason's hand on her shoulder as she listened to the sound of a gunfight that felt like it was never going to end. Voices shouted across the airwaves, but there were too many, there was too much chaos to pick out Ty's.

Once or twice Spanky cast her a concerned look, but she ignored that, too. Always focusing on the sounds and trying to sort through everything she was hearing. And then it was silent. The shots stopped, no one spoke. No one in their tiny room moved.

“The target's down. The area is secure,” came Ty's voice, loud and clear. Dani, who hadn't cried in years, felt the tears tracking down her cheeks.

“He pulled a knife on me,” Ty continued, sounding almost amused.

“He hit you?” Fawkes's voice carried through to the room.

“Yeah, in the arm, but I'm fine,” Ty answered.

Dani sat back and let out a choked breath.

“We're clear here,” Ty spoke again.

“We've got the backup, clean up team on the way. ETA ten minutes,” Drew answered. “Casualties?” he added.

“Everyone's accounted for here,” Ty answered. “I'll need a stitch-up when I'm back on board, but other than that, no one else was dumb enough to get in the way of a knife or bullet.”

“Glad to hear it, Fuller,” Drew responded. “And the target?”

“Down, out of commission. It was self-defense on my part,” Ty added and Dani could hear the smile in his voice. “There are two guards on the beach and six in the house.”

“Anything we need to worry about?” Drew asked.

“You'll need to do a sweep of the jungle behind the house when you get here. We've got people posted back there and they haven't seen a thing, but when the backup gets here, they should do a more comprehensive search.”

“Roger,” Drew answered. “Take your team and head back to the boat.”

“We're on our way,” Ty answered as the lines went silent. It was hard to believe the end of such a horrible mastermind came in less than ten minutes. But it was over.

Dani closed her eyes and sent a silent prayer out to whomever, thankful that the team was okay. That Ty was going to be home soon.

“Dani?” Spanky spoke. “You okay?”

She opened her eyes and smiled. “I'm fine. Better now. Thank you, Spanky.” He still didn't look convinced that he'd done the right thing, but he nodded and glanced at Sammy and Jason, who looked as relived as she felt.

“Better, baby?” her sister asked, brushing a strand of hair from her face. Dani nodded and squeezed her sister's hand. She'd gone through hell, but she had the love of her family and Ty, and things were going to be better. She knew it, she could feel it.

She opened her mouth to say just that when the audio crackled behind them. Startled by the sudden sound, Dani swung her gaze back to the console, only to find Spanky looking just as surprised.

“Shit, we've got incoming,” Fawkes's voice rang through the static. The tension in it was unmistakable.

“Get back to the boat, now!” Drew ordered.

“We're on our way,” Ty answered as the sound of an explosion rocked the room.

“Ty!” Fawkes shouted.

“Ty, Fawkes, what's going on out there?” Drew demanded, the panic in his voice carried straight into Dani.

“Shit, we've gotta swim. The boat's sinking,” Fawkes answered. “Ah, shit!”

And another sound of something exploding echoed.

“Ty!” Fawkes called, panic and fear clear in his voice.

“Get back to the boat, now!” Drew's demand was met with silence.

“Fawkes? Ty?” He called again.

“Can't…need to find Ty…” Fawkes's voice faded and then the audio went dead all together, muted by Spanky.

Dani stared at the console, at the speaker that Ty's voice, moments ago had come through. And refused to believe what she'd just heard.

“He's not dead,” she mumbled, shaking her head. “He's not,” she repeated.

“Honey,” Sammy's voice shook next to her.

Dani raised her eyes and looked at her sister. “He's not,” she insisted. “They'll find him. Fawkes wouldn't let anything happen to him. I'd know if he were dead. I'd just
know
,” her voice raised. “Spanky,” she demanded, turning to her colleague. “Turn the audio back on. Get on the phone to Drew and tell him to send the search boats out. They have a helicopter, use it dammit! It must have a spotlight. The damn Navy boat probably has one, too. Make them use it!” She pounded her fist on the desk.

“Dani, you know Drew is doing everything he can,” Spanky responded. But still, no one was moving, they just watched her, doing nothing.

“Do something!” she screamed at Spanky as Jason's arms came around her from behind. She struggled against him, fought him, refusing to believe what had happened. Even as she sank into darkness, she still refused to believe.

Chapter 26

DANI STOPPED HER CAR
at the bottom of the long driveway and looked up at the adobe house perched at the other end of the drive. It was late fall in Taos and the landscape looked barren and harsh. Beautiful and rugged. She could see why people would like it here. She could even see Ty, as a young boy, hiking around the jagged mountains, exploring the unusual terrain.

Three months
, Dani thought to herself as she sat in the idling car. Three months since Ty had disappeared into the waters off of Africa. Three months since she'd fled the city and all that reminded her of everything they'd had together. The chance they'd lost.

She still had a hard time accepting that he was dead. His GPS had been found on a bit of the boat that was pulled from the water. There hadn't been a body, nothing to prove if he'd lived or died, nothing to say goodbye to.

She glanced at the house and wondered if she was doing the right thing. Would Ty's parents want to be reminded of their lost son? But looking at the house, the question vanished. Replaced by the memory of Ty's voice telling her about his family, how close they were, and how much they loved each other.

And it was for Ty that she was here, waiting to gather enough courage to introduce herself to his parents. She could have gone a lifetime without the meeting, without the reminder of what would never be, but she owed it to Ty. And herself.

And their baby.

She placed her hand on her belly. It was the one good thing to come from her injury. The sound waves that caused her heart attack
had affected other parts of her body, rendering the birth control shots she received unreliable. They hadn't known then. And for that she was glad, because if they had, they would have taken extra precautions and she'd have nothing left of Ty.

She put the car in gear and slowly made her way up the driveway. When she reached the top, she turned off the engine and, before she could chicken out, opened her door, slid from her seat, and closed the door behind her.

Pulling her jacket tight around her, Dani made her way to the front door. It opened before she knocked and an attractive woman, who looked be in her sixties but with eyes like her son, stood before her.

“Is everything okay, dear?” she asked. “I saw you down on the drive. It's not a great day to be out. Come in,” she beckoned. Speechless, Dani followed.

The door closed behind her and a man appeared in the hallway.

“Is everything okay, Jeannie?” he asked, his eyes on Dani's. Dani blinked at the man who so resembled Ty his face was like looking into the future, at what could have been, and then she suddenly found herself embraced in a tight hug from Jeannie Fuller.

“It's okay, dear. It will all be okay,” she soothed. Dani took a few deep breaths only to find herself crying in the arms of this stranger. And then something broke and, after months, she let the grief take hold.

She didn't know how long she cried, or how long afterward she slept. But, when she awoke, she was lying on the couch, in front of a roaring fire, wrapped in a quilt. Jeannie was knitting in a chair beside her and Ty's father was reading the paper. He looked so much like an older version of Ty that she couldn't help staring.

“How are you feeling, now? Can I get you something to drink?” Jeannie's voice cut through the haze. Dani glanced back to the woman and then, embarrassed by what had happened, she swung her legs off the couch and began to stand.

“Sit, Dani. It's okay,” Ty's father spoke.

Dani stared at the couple, easing back down onto the couch, before she found her voice. “You know who I am?”

“From the moment you stepped out of the car,” Jeannie answered. “You look a little different than the photo Ty sent all those months ago. But I saw the resemblance. And then, when you looked at
Christopher,” she added with a nod to Ty's father. “We knew it was you.”

“Ty sent a picture?” She knew she must sound crazy or stupid, but it was news to her.

Jeannie smiled and nodded. “He loved you.”

Dani blinked to keep the tears welling in her eyes from falling. “I—” she stopped and cleared her throat. “I love him, too,” she managed to say.

“And that's our grandbaby?” she asked with a nod to Dani's barely-there stomach. Dani nodded in response. And Jeannie smiled.

“Well, Christopher,” she said, turning to Ty's father. “What do think about another grandbaby?”

Christopher Fuller smiled at his wife, and then turned to Dani. “I can't tell you how glad we are that you've come.”

Dani swallowed back another set of tears before she spoke again. “You know what happened, right? You know he went after a man because of me?” Somehow it was important to her to say what she was going say, to make sure they
knew
that Ty's disappearance was her fault.

Christopher frowned. “Did you tell him to go?” Dani shook her head. “Did you force him to go?” Again, she shook her head. “If Ty hadn't gone after this man, would he have come after you or done something else awful?”

“Someone else would have gotten to him first,” she answered. “It didn't have to be Ty.”

“But would he have? Would this man have come after you or someone else?” Christopher pressed. And Dani nodded.

“Then he went because he needed to,” Christopher pronounced.

“But—” Dani started to protest, but stopped when Jeannie's hand touched her arm.

“Dani, he loved you. He did what he thought was best for both of you. It's not your fault. It's not anyone's fault but the person who killed him. Do you understand?” Jeannie fixed her with a look and, though Dani wasn't yet convinced, she found herself nodding.