Code Name: Kayla's Fire (17 page)

Thane’s warm hand curled around her hip, and his large palm covered
her stomach. He must have put his hand there at least three dozen times since
he found out she was pregnant. As if he were trying to connect with their baby
already. It wasn’t something she expected from this rugged man with so many
hard edges.

“I love you, Kayla.” He kissed her shoulder and drew her into his
massive chest. “Get some sleep.”

“I wish I could have made out his face.”

Thane’s hand stopped moving. “There’s something else, isn’t there?”

She nodded. “I know him. Something familiar, I just can’t quite…”

“Don’t drive it, pull back, let it come on its own.”

“I suppose.” He kissed her again, and rolled her over so her cheek lay
against his heart. “Why don’t you have a tattoo? All the guys have at least
one. I never thought about it before until you mentioned getting my face
tattooed on your heart, which you’re not going to do.”

“Am.”

“Not.”

“Fine, how about your name on my ass?”

“If you say because I’m a pain there already, you’re sleeping with
Mace.”

The chuckle caught in his throat. “Hmm,” he growled playfully.

She pushed herself to her elbow, and cocked her head looking down at
him.

“I already have a reminder of the SEAL life. I didn’t need to add more.”
He brushed a wave of hair across her shoulders.

She ran her finger against the scar. It had to have been a terrible
wound with the scar still so distinctive. It wasn’t ugly, just predominant, a
single tear from the top of his cheekbone into the hollow of his cheek, and
ending at his jaw. “We all have scars, but yours makes you look even sexier.”
She felt her cheeks heat, and it got worse when a warm grin creased his lips.

“Do you realize that’s the first true compliment you’ve ever given
me?” He rolled, resting his head in his upper arm, and gazed at her
reflectively. His other hand snaked around her waist and brushed against her
back. “I’ve seen every beautiful part of you, but you’ve never let me see your
back in the light of day, and I know you’ve done it on purpose.”

“Believe me, it’s not sexy.”

The tips of his fingers swirled against her rear end. “Absolutely
everything about the mother of our daughter is sexy,” he admitted, leaning in
and landing a kiss on her lips. “Absolutely—everything.”

Chapter Fifteen

Vehicles packed to the hilt with kids, lawn chairs and sleeping bags
drove into the backcountry of San Diego. Trailers and campers followed in
convoy as the two lane deserted highway leading to Marg and Pat Cobbs’ ranch,
gained altitude.

Thane looked in his rear view mirror and grinned. Nina and Mace had
plenty of room in the backseat of the SUV he rented, but nothing thicker than a
slip of paper would fit between them. Kayla caught his look. She didn’t turn,
but her lips puckered with amusement. He grasped her hand linking their fingers
together on the console. With a tilt of his body, he nudged her shoulder. “I
love you, Kayla,” he whispered, and brushed a kiss against her cheek.

“Told yaaaa,” came a bleating tease from the back seat.

“Shut it, Nina,” Kayla barked.

“Yes, boss.”

Both he and Mace chuckled. These two were a lot like him and Mace.
They bickered good-naturedly and analyzed every topic.

“Wow, look at that,” Nina gushed as they pulled into the expansive
approach to the ranch. “This isn’t a ranch, it’s a mountain estate.”

The sprawling, two-story structure with an enormous wraparound patio
boasted twenty bedrooms and a vast great room. Marg’s grandparents had used it
as a summer retreat for family and friends. The property sprawled over one
hundred and fifty acres, encompassing forest, rugged, dry hillsides and one
very precious lake, a welcome sight in the heat of summer. Being the end of
February, the water was chilly, but the brave could still swim in it with the
southern California sun beating down on the arid terrain.

“Not a bad spread, huh?” Thane said, throwing the vehicle into park.

Nina flipped a hand over the front seat. “How often do you come up
here?” she asked Mace.

He shrugged. “Not often, but I think this time might be different,”
his voice turning gravelly with want.

“All right, Sniper, why don’t you guys go find a room, if there’s one
left.”

Kayla swatted him. “Don’t be crude,” she chided.

Her eyes widened when he swept in to take a long hard kiss from her.
He just couldn’t stop himself. The floodgates were open now, and all his wants
and wishes were like a flash flood barreling down on her—the mother of his
child. “Our room’s on the top floor, last one on the right. Think we should
check it out.” He leaned back, then realized how wan she looked, and his desire
evaporated. “Are you okay, Kayla?”

“Course.” She patted his hand, and reached for the door handle.

Nina and Mace had already exited, headed for the house. “Hey.” He
stopped her from getting out with a gentle hand on her arm. “Sweetheart, what’s
wrong? Do you need to lie down? Should we go to the doctor? Talk to me.”

“Thane,” she sighed, “It’s fine, really.”

“You say that way too much. You’re not fine.” He brushed a curl of
hair from her cheek. She was too warm. “Sweetheart, I need to know if you’re
not feeling well. You have a bad habit of keeping everything inside. I don’t
want you to do that any more.”

“I’m concerned about you,” she said, offering a reason.

“Why?”

“How dangerous is this mission?” she asked flatly, rubbing her
stomach.

He slid her hand aside and took over the duty, warming her stomach and
massaging it gently. “Kayla, you know there’s a percentage of risk with all our
missions. Why are you asking me this?”

“Because we’re here, and….” She paused clutching her hands together.
“Captain Redding told me when Marg throws one of these weekends it has
meaning.” She lifted her gaze to his.

“If I go.” She opened her mouth to argue and he took possession of her
lips and kissed them quiet. “If I go, and I haven’t decided yet, you need to
believe nothing will stop me from coming home to you and my little girl. I
don’t want you to worry, all right?”

Kayla was the least emotional woman he’d ever known. Until recently,
but the changing hormones in her body were playing with her. She didn’t talk
about her thoughts or feelings. She didn’t want to know his. He couldn’t argue
when she’d claimed they really knew very little about each other. That would
change. He just had to be patient, but one day he’d have enough nerve to ask
her about her past. He’d listen to every word, even though it was going to rip
him to pieces.

* * * *

A couple hours after arriving, and the melee of settling in for the
weekend calmed down, the guys gathered for beers, finding shade under a tall
pine. The wives and girlfriends busied themselves in the massive kitchen,
equipped with twenty-foot long counters, sky-high cabinets and two industrial-sized
ovens with a couple gas stovetops to feed everyone.

The fire pit, located behind the ranch house, sprawled fifteen feet
across, and was piled high with wood, ready to set ablaze when the night sky
took over. Kids ran like packs of wild coyotes, howling their lungs out, and
playing games. Many of them went to school together or knew each other from these
gatherings. Even Cindy and Rayanne—Cobbs’ girls, had come to be with the
children they’d grown up with.

The real meaning behind these weekends was never forgotten, but the
focus remained on enjoying the kinship of the SEALs and their families. This
weekend was to celebrate life, and he had two lives to celebrate, his beautiful
Kayla and their baby. God, he was still riding a mile high on the thought.

“Where’s Kayla and Nina?” Mace asked, shoving a beer into his hand.

“Thanks. Probably in the kitchen. Marg is like a drill sergeant.
Unless you want to be conscripted, stay clear.”

Mace nodded and scanned the crowd. “Good showing.” Cobbs strode up to
them. “Need a hand with something?” Mace asked.

“Yeah, I need my hand around an ice cold one.” Mace accommodated. “So,
that Nina is a pretty nice lookin’ woman, hey, Mace?” Cobbs noted, tipping the
head of the bottle at him.

Mace’s eyes shot to the ground. “She’s ah—different.”

Cobbs chuckled. “What the hell’s with you?” he asked, turning on his
heel toward Thane.

“What?” A long pull on his beer kept him from grinning—almost.

“Is it just my imagination or are you smiling all the time? It’s kinda
freaking me out, actually.”

“Just enjoying the weekend.”

Cobbs eyed him suspiciously. “Spill it. For the last week you were a
mass of fucked-up frog, now you’re grinning like a wolf with a full belly.”

Rayanne and Cindy broke into the circle. “Dad, we’re heading out to
the lake,” Cindy said, standing next to her sister, both of them with their
swimsuits on and low-slung cutoffs that barely covered their bottoms. The girls
were lookers, being a healthy half-and-half mix of mom and dad. Cindy had
already started to dabble with modeling, much to Cobbs’ chagrin. He didn’t want
anyone ogling his little girl and undressing her with their eyes, he’d
grouched.

“I wanna go, Daddy,” Kelsey said petulantly, pushing between his and
Mace’s knees. She stopped in the center of the circle, amid the rugged,
muscle-bound hard-asses that they were, looking up at her father with an angry
scowl, similar to her mother’s. The little pipsqueak wasn’t intimidated at all.
Thane could already see she was going to have Cobbs tearing his hair out one
day. She was only five, but she had her mother’s tenacious personality and her
father’s courage.

Cobbs picked up Kelsey and arched a brow at Cindy. A look he’d
perfected long ago, with a jaw and chin shaped like an arrowhead.

“No way, Dad. We’re not taking her with us,” Rayanne spouted.

“Who you going to the lake with?” Cobbs broke into concerned father mode.

“Dad…” Cindy crowed.

“Who?” he said, his gray eyes sharpening.

Rayanne cut in. “Dad, remember that little talk we had about growing
up?”

Cobbs rolled his eyes and folded a free arm around her shoulder, still
holding Kelsey in the other. “Yup, and remember what I said.” Now, the girls
rolled their eyes. “I’m still your father. I’ll always be your father, and I’m
always going to ask questions.”

“Daddy, I wanna go with them,” Kelsey said, trying tears out for size.

“Not this time, baby girl. You stay here with Daddy, okay?”

Kelsey plopped her chin on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around
him, a head of dark curls coiling around his cheek. “Noooo.”

“Who’s going?” he asked again, and this time he wanted an answer.

“Richie, Dan, and some of the other guys. Why?” Cindy asked, winding
her beach towel around a tender young neck.

Cobbs peered at the four young guys standing not more than twenty feet
away. “Richie, Dan front and center.”

The young men looked at each other nervously. Richie and Dan were
signing up to join the Navy in September, doing some time, and then applying
for the BUD/S program. Looking guilty as shit, they stepped toward Cobbs like a
couple of ten-year-olds.

Don and Thomas took a step back, and looked relieved as hell they
weren’t summoned. They were older than the other two, and had joined the Navy
last year. Both strapping young sons of Todd Richardson in Team Seven. With
cocky attitudes, they’d already tried for the teams, but rang the bell ending
their chances at serving as a SEAL.

“Dad…” Cindy warned with a growl that sounded just like her father’s.

This was amusing as hell and good practice, Thane thought.

Cobbs ignored her. “Heard you boys were joining up this fall.”

“Yes, sir,” Richie said, inspecting his feet instead of looking at
Cobbs.

“Got something you don’t want me to see in your eyes, son?”

“No, sir.”

“Then head up.”

Richie’s head snapped like a yoyo on a string.

“Takes a lot of strength to become a SEAL. Restraint, willpower too.”

Grins cracked on the squads’ faces seeing where this was going.

“Yes, sir,” Richie answered.

“Think you got what it takes?”

Thane chuckled, seeing the two young men had fallen well into the
trap.

“Yes, sir,” both Richie and Dan piped up.

“Good. You can start showing some now, with my daughters. Get what I’m
saying?”

“Oh, God, Dad,” Rayanne groaned.

Ritchie and Dan darted looks at each other and then at the girls.
“Yes, sir,” Dan said, being the brighter of the two and realizing he was
cornered.

“Got to have a tongue to be a SEAL, Richie.” Cobbs laid on one of his
scarier scowls.

“Yes, sir, willpower.”

With a grunt of assent from Cobbs, the guys hightailed it out in a hot
extraction for the lake.

That would be him in a few short years, and he knew he was going to
have a gun handy. No fucking guy was going to get within ten feet of his
daughter until she was twenty, nope thirty. Heaven help any SEAL or wannabe who
showed up at his door.

The girls gave Cobbs a quick wave and laughed at him as they headed
out. “Tell mom where we are.”

Cobbs cleared his throat. “Count yourself lucky, Thane. Raising kids,
especially daughters—is hell.” Kelsey drooped on his shoulder, her eyes closed.
“These girls have caused me more stress than our worst mission.” Cobbs turned
his gaze from his daughter to him and his expression blanked just like that.
“What—the—fuck,” he blustered.

The problem with being swim buddies for twenty years, you often times
knew what each other was thinking. “Something wrong?”

“No way.” Cobbs scanned the guys standing in their circle, Caleb,
Nathan, Clay and Fox had joined them, but it wasn’t until he hit Mace, he knew
for sure. “Holy shit, man.” He raised his beer to him.

“Am I missing something?” Tony asked, plucking an icy beer from the
cooler.

“Congratulations, old friend,” Cobbs said, waiting for the others to
catch up.

Fox clued in first. “Captain, are you?”

“She’s going to kill me if she thinks I told you. I’m not saying a
word.”

Young Nathan still hadn’t clued in, but Mace let him off the hook.
“Kayla’s, um. Well—she’s gonna be a mom.”

“Frig-it frog, Kayla?” Two trains hit straight on as an enormous smile
spread across Nathan’s face. “Who’s the dad?” he said and then laughed.

“Hooyah,” they whooped and thundered his back with slaps.

“Figured it out, did they?” Red said, limping up to join the circle.
He surprised them, using his cane. No one said a thing, but they shared a quick
look. “Well, here’s something else to celebrate,” he said, eyeing Mace.

The old man didn’t miss anything, either.

“You gave Nina the job?” Thane said.

“I texted you, but I didn’t get anything back, figured you were too
busy trying to take the Shark on yourself. Which we’ll talk about later, in
private,” he warned.

Thane’s brows popped under his bangs, and Mace chuckled, knowing he
was going to get an earful from his old lieutenant.