Code Name: Kayla's Fire (10 page)

“I know, but—”

He shook his head.
“Nina’ll be here when you get back, Petty Officer Callahan.”

Mace’s shoulders
tightened. Instead of a lippy retort, he said, “You don’t think Kayla’s going
to convince you to go?” Ramming his hands in his pockets was a sign Mace was
pissed. He didn’t have many. “She will. We’re all going, and they’ll be left here
without us, no insult intended, Lieutenant Law.”

Cobbs nodded as well.
“Mace ain’t firing blanks, Thane. Kayla is going to put a complete airdrop on
you the second she gets a chance, and she’s not going to run out of ammo until
you get on that plane with us. She was pissed off when she found out you
weren’t deploying.”

Manchester produced a
pair of plastic booties and covered his feet. Slipping gloves on his hands, he
wandered into the bathroom. “I don’t give a shit how much resistance she throws
at me. If I leave now, I’ll be getting a goddamn text saying they found her
body. She needs me more than you do.”

They all rallied in
Kayla’s living room. He listened while Kayla brought Nina up to date.

“I’m a target now,”
Nina said harshly. “Well fine, put me out there, I’ll reel the stupid prick
in.”

Great! Who were these
Canadian women? They could bring a SEAL down with one look, and they had balls
bigger than most guys he knew.

“Why haven’t you tried
to set him up yet?” She turned the question on Mace who’d crouched down next to
her.

“We don’t use women as
bait, Ms. Samson,” Thane stated firmly.

“He doesn’t want to use
me
as bait,” Kayla added. “Which he
bloody well should.”

Mace winced at her
words.

“Oh, don’t worry, Mace,
she doesn’t waiver with the word, just the sight of it.”

Nina’s eyes flashed as
if ticked with herself. Tony had said Nina passed out after seeing Kayla’s
bathroom. After assessing her carefully in the interview, Nina appeared to be
sure of herself and stable. Obviously, blood wasn’t her favorite thing, but
they all had an Achilles heel and he looked over at his. Kayla was still
pinning a harsh look on him. “The discussion is closed, understood, Ms. Banks?”

“Then use me,” Nina
spouted.

“Not a chance,” Mace
piped up, attracting an interested eye from Nina with his response.

“I agree, not a
chance,” Kayla said, laying a hand on her leg. “What about Gabby?”

Nina’s expression
morphed to concern. “She’s safe.”

“Who’s that?” Mace
asked.

 
“My daughter.” Lowering the glass to the
table, she said, “Gabby’s with mom and dad. If something happens to me, I’ve
willed them as her guardians.”

“There must be a
hearing impairment when it comes to Canadian women,” Thane grumbled.

“My hearing is above
average.” Nina pinned her
don’t fuck with
me Alpha guy
look on her face. “This lunatic is roaming around waiting for
his opportunity. I know Kayla, she’d want to take this head-on. It’s worse
dodging shadows than facing the nightmare. I’m fresh meat and obviously, you’ve
got an opportunity here. Take it,” she said harshly, but her eyes softened
looking at Mace. “Do it now. Isn’t that what you SEALs do? You catch
terrorists, Tangos, bad guys, whatever it is you call them.”

Mace’s forehead rippled
with humor. “Been doing some homework on the jargon, huh?”

“I know you don’t want
to hear it, Captain, but she’s right,” Law agreed. “If Nina runs for it, the
Shark might follow, and we’ll have him.”

“No, Captain,” Mace
said, pushing himself up. “We’re not taking a chance with either of them.”

 
Thane wasn’t going to take the chance with
Kayla, but they weren’t getting anywhere on the leads. Kayla saw him
considering.

“Just me, Captain. Put
Nina on a plane home,” Kayla demanded.

Lapierre sat down next
to Kayla and slid a protective arm around her.
“
Mon amour, viens à la maison avec moi
.”
My
love, come home with me.
He
grasped her chin, his gaze caressing her lips. Instantly, she blushed.
Ungluing his lustful hold on Kayla, Lapierre
turned his attention on Thane. “She isn’t safe here anymore, Captain. Even with
your men watching, she’s too close, too accessible. I understand why you’re
doing it, but you’re being selfish, and Kayla will pay the price. I won’t let
that happen again. Do you understand?”

He did understand, and
Lapierre could go fuck himself halfway to Sunday.

“No,” Nina said
sharply. “Deal with this. We’re not running away. Use both of us, Captain. With
us together, he won’t be able to resist.”

Clay, their
communications specialist, leaned over and whispered in his ear. “Captain,
we’re talking openly in a room that hasn’t been checked. This guy could be
listening to us.”

He nodded. “The answers
the same as before,” he said loudly. “No.” He saw Mace’s tension subside a
little. “Kayla and Nina, I want you out of here, now.”

If they put a plan
together tonight, he could deploy with the men, but he wasn’t leaving Kayla
with the Shark still free to hunt or Lapierre hanging around. Fuck, how the
hell was he supposed to protect Kayla and do his job at the same time? One of
them would suffer, and he knew damn well he would never sacrifice Kayla, even
though she’d be willing to do it herself.

“Captain…” Kayla jumped
to her feet.

“Enough,” he said
hotly. He gave his squad the signal to follow and remain silent. Kayla caught
on immediately. She quickly grabbed Nina’s hand, and pulled her to her feet.
Greg not far behind.

They followed him into
the landing. “All right.” All faces stared up at him. “This is how it’s going
to play out, and if either of you go rogue I’ll end it, do you understand?”
Both Kayla and Nina nodded. “Nina, you’re going to make a run for it. We’re
going to let today settle, and then we’ll put it into play. Until then, status
quo.” He spent ten minutes explaining the plan, and then they headed into the restaurant,
although no one was hungry.

Chapter Nine

“Greg?”

“
Quoi, mon amour?
”
What, my love?

“
Casey Burton nommé le Requin Sanguinaire. Je
ne crois pas que ce soit une coincidence.
”
 
Casey Burton named the Blood Shark. I don’t think that’s a coincidence.

“
Tu crois qu’il sait quelque chose?
”
You
think he knows something?

“
Oui, nous avons besoin de lui parler
.”
Yes,
we need to speak with him.

Nina interjected.
“
Je pensais la même chose.
Le Requin collecte le sang.
Qu’elle sont les chances?”
I was thinking the same thing. The Shark
collects blood. What are the chances?

Tony leaned into Mace. “Wish I would have taken French,” he muttered, the
corners of his lips lifting with a quirk.

Mace’s lids slid to half-mast. “Still wouldn’t get you in her pants,”
he stated.

Nina winked at Mace, and he suppressed a grin.

The Captain swiped a hand around his jaw. “I think you might be right,
Kayla. It can’t be coincidence. That journalist, Casey Burton, he’s been
weaving a tight story, trying to tie the Shark to one of us. Finding out this
guy collects blood as a trophy is too suspect.”

She felt her brows pop to the middle of her forehead, and craned her
neck to look at Greg.

Greg cleared his throat, then nodded. “You understand French,
Captain.”

“Oui, et chaque mot que tu as dit essayant de
convaincre la femme avec qui je fais l’amour, de me laisser,”
Yes, and every word you said trying to convince
the woman I make love to, to leave me, Thane said, pasting a dangerous smile on
his face.

She, Greg and Nina shared a look. “Oh,” she uttered, gulping deeply.

“
Qu’est-ce qui ne va pas mon amour?
Tu as
l’air un peu pâle,”
What’s
wrong my love? You look a little pale. The Captain leaned back and shot a look
at Lieutenant Cobbs.

In perfect French, Cobbs said,
“
Sa prononciation est parfois un peu.
”
Her pronunciation is a little off sometimes. Raising
a brow, he stuck his tongue deep into his cheek.

“Son-of-bitches!”

The Captain barked out a laugh. He and Cobbs fisted each other.

“Mon Fran
ç
ais est parfaitement Franco-Canadien.”
My French is perfect French-Canadian.

Law, Cobbs and Thane threw around a few bantering sentences.

She banged the table with her palm, and they stopped, grinned, crossed
their arms at exactly the same moment, and gave her a dry look.

“Bloody Americans!” she shouted.

Greg guffawed. “Well done, gentlemen.”

Nina looked stunned.

Mace leaned toward Nina, curling his finger. As if tied to it with a
string, she leaned forward.
“
Qu’est-ce
qui ne va pas, beauté ? La plupart des SEAL connaissent au moins trois langues.
”
What’s wrong, beautiful? Most SEALs know at least
three languages.

Her eyes glittered with an impish look. “What other languages can you
speak?”

Mace’s lips quirked.
“Je
suis pas mal à passer le message avec mes mains.”
I’m pretty good at getting the message across
with my hands.

The flush that ran up Nina’s cheeks to her forehead made everyone at
the table laugh.

Greg chuckled with a deep resonance beside her. When she turned her
gaze to him, he leaned in and whispered in her ear, “These guys aren’t
half-bad. Except for maybe the big one there who thinks you’re going to be his
wife one day.”

Greg kissed her slowly on the cheek, and gave her a full, head-on Greg
Lapierre smile. The one most women couldn’t resist, and would immediately lie on
their backs to see again. All women except her. She was used to that family
trait.

“Since he hasn’t attacked me yet, I’m guessing you haven’t told him.”

The Captain’s expression darkened.

“He can read lips, Greg.”

“Then let him read the yes on yours to my question.” Greg rose, and
she peered around to see other eyes rising with him, all of them women. He
squeezed her shoulder gently, and headed for the bathroom.

“Yes to what?” Thane asked, looking like a jaguar ready to leap across
the table. “Kayla,” he growled. “Yes to what?”

She shook her head, seeing he was beginning to seethe. The table
teetered when Thane thrust himself to his feet, and she had to clamp down on it
to settle it.

“Easy, Ghost,” Cobbs warned.

“If we don’t come out in five minutes, call an ambulance,” Thane said,
and headed for the bathroom.

“Umm, Lieutenant—”

Cobbs rolled his eyes and sighed. “Come on Law, think I’m going to
need your help.”

“Help for what?” Law asked, his head jerking around, his owl-like eyes
sweeping the restaurant looking for a threat.

The first shout made it clear across the restaurant.

“Hurry-up, God damn it,” she said rising to her feet.

Nina pinned her with a “What the hell’s going on?” look.

* * * *

Greg leaned against the
laminate counter, one long, muscled leg crossed over the other.

“I’m going to fucking
annihilate you, Lapierre.”

 
Greg lowered his chin, and gazed at him with
those freaky green eyes. “Why, because I asked her to marry me, and you don’t
have the balls to?”

The men’s room door
banged against his back. “Busy,” Thane growled.

“Ghost, open the door,”
Cobbs ordered.

“Still busy.”

“Marg will friggin’
kill me if I end up in jail again, buddy. Open the goddamn door.” He stepped
away, and Cobbs signaled to someone. “What the fuck is wrong with you two?
Seriously, man.”

His fists clenched.
Knocking the Cheshire cat grin from Lapierre’s fucking chops was a predominant
thought. “He asked Kayla to marry him.”

“And?” Cobbs drilled
him with a look.

“What do ya mean…and?”

“I mean, I don’t see
tin cans tied to the ass-end of his car, do you?”

“Apparently she’s
considering it. Considering it,” he shouted, and smashed the wall with his
fist.

Cobbs gripped his arm,
and flattened it to his side. “Watch it, friend, that appendage could be
considered a deadly weapon.” He stepped back just in case. “Why shouldn’t she?
You haven’t asked her, have you? What do you want from her? You expect her to
hover in no-man’s land while you figure out whether or not she’s the one?”

“Of course she’s the
one,” he said. “Who the fuck’s side are you on, anyway?”

“Kayla’s,” he said,
surprising Thane.

“The woman has ridden
through a shit storm, Thane. Not a little, not some, but a lifetime of it.
Somehow, she’s endured it. She’s smart, beautiful, honest and loving. She’s
adorable, and yet you keep her swinging on some hook, pawing at her every once
in a while to make sure she’s still yours. Marg thinks you’re an idiot. I think
you’re an idiot, and so does the rest of the team. Don’t be pissed at him
because he’s not an idiot!”

“I’m—” He took a deep
breath and glared at Lapierre. “She doesn’t love you.”

Lapierre pushed off the
counter, and walked the few steps to stand in front of him, right into his
swinging arc. Considering what Kayla would do if he decked this son of a bitch
to make himself feel better, he held the idea under water until it stopped wiggling
in his gut.

“She told you what
happened to her, but do you really know what she went through, day after day,
year after year?

Gnashing his teeth, he
shook his head.

“My brother beat the
ever-lovin’ crap out of her. I watched the bruises and burns as they healed.
The broken bones as they mended. I got involved, and every time I did, Daniel
took it out on Kayla and hurt her, again, but she wouldn’t leave. I begged her
to, but she was adamant. She wouldn’t give in, even if she had to suffer a
lifetime with him. She loved Daniel. No matter how badly he hurt her, she loved
him, and somehow she rallied hope, day in and day out.” Their gazes locked.
“There is no one who understands her, except me. My brother nearly destroyed
the most amazing woman because he didn’t want to get help. Don’t get me wrong,
he loved her. He still does. When Daniel got out of prison, I told Kayla a lie.
I told her Daniel still blamed her, and might hurt her, but I did it for a good
reason.”

He shook his head,
refusing the idea. “No way.”

“Yes,” Lapierre said
harshly. “She’d forgive him. If you think otherwise, you don’t know her at all.
Her loyalty, once she’s set on something or someone, is indestructible.” He
sighed heavily. “I know it’s wrong. He’s my brother, but he doesn’t deserve
another chance. It’s our turn. Finally—she’s going to take a chance on us.”
Lapierre gripped his arm. “I’m sorry, Captain, but Kayla is coming home with
me. I don’t need her to love me a lot, I just need a little, and I’ll ante-up
the rest.”

The door creaked on its
hinges, and he hammered it shut.

“Owww!” Kayla yelped
from the other side.

“Oh, shit.” He yanked
it open, and Kayla’s eyes watered and blinked as she held her hand against her
forehead. He reached for her, but she swept his hand away. “Sweetheart, I’m
sorry.”

“No worries, had
worse,” she said, waving him off, and taking a step into the room.

A sick churning in his
stomach joined the fear furiously rallying in his chest.

“Greg, I asked you to
let me talk to the Captain myself. What are you doing?” Irritation simmered in
her eyes.

His heart twisted into
a tight ball, squeezing off the air to their future.

Cobbs fell back to the
wall, and leaned against it. “I think you have something to say, Thane.”

He shook his head, his
heart bleeding out. If Kayla was considering Lapierre’s proposal it meant she
wasn’t considering a future for them. “I’m needed at the base.” He blasted out
of the restaurant, and didn’t spare a look behind him.

Kayla’s hand grabbed
his arm just as he was getting in his car.

“Captain, stop, let me
explain.”

He shook his head,
biting down hard on the words he needed to say, but it wasn’t the right time,
and now he’d never get the chance.

“What did Lieutenant
Cobbs mean in there?”

“Don’t know.” He shoved
the key into the ignition.

“I’m going to stay and
be the bait. We’re going to catch the Shark, Captain. ”

Keeping his gaze firmly
on the front window didn’t help. The pain in his chest cinched tighter.
Just let her go.

“I trust you, Captain.
You’ve never been unfair to me. Hard—yes. Expectant—all the time. I’ve watched
you all these months. You’re an impenetrable wall of strength, and you command
without even trying. When I dwell on what you’ve seen and experienced—by
choice—because of duty—”

Kayla squeezed his arm,
but he kept his attention on the destroyer docking across the channel, the tugs
pushing on her port shoulder and aft quarter. That’s where his attention
belonged—on his career, on war, not on dreams of having a life filled with
warmth or the same woman’s arms around him. His life had never been safe. He
put it out on the wire for God to choose.

“Captain Austen, you
never weaken, and you’ve seen the worst things humanity can do to one another.
You showed me I could do the same.”

He slowly turned his
head to look at her.
Who would he become
without her?

“I wanted to tell you a
long time ago how much your strength gave me the will to move forward. I had to
earn your trust, accept the challenge you set when I first came, remember? You
told me you wouldn’t take flourished compliments from anyone else. That I’d
have to prove myself, but you gave me the chance to prove it.”

He gently grasped her
little hand in his, not able to stop himself, and she folded her soft palm over
his. So delicate. So breakable, but her will was forged in titanium.

“I healed more in the
last ten months than I have in ten years. If I could start over, the only thing
I’d change is allowing you to know what happened to me. I keep thinking I’m a
disappointment in your eyes, and that’s the last thing I want.”

She’d healed him too.
Kayla unlocked the door to a hidden place where his feelings were raw and pale,
never seeing the light of day. She held it open, and exposed him to what he’d
walked away from—a life that had nothing to do with war. “Kayla, you deserve to
be loved. Safe, not used as bait.” She had him cornered with her beautiful
eyes. He’d never, ever forget her eyes. “You deserve happiness.”