Code Name: Kayla's Fire (29 page)

Chapter Twenty-Six

Thane parked the car in the garage and scanned the area for threats.
“I’ll make lunch,” he said.

“I can make lunch,” she growled, walking ahead of him, still angry
with him.

“No, you can sit your beautiful ass down and rest.”

They’d been to see Doc Plymouth, and a fight always seemed to follow.
Thane didn’t like the way the doc looked at her, and she didn’t waste any time
letting him know he was acting like an obnoxious child. The remainder of the
ride had been in silence. “I just sat for an hour, two, more…I need to stretch
my legs, and I’m not hungry.”

“Then let’s go for a walk.”

“I can walk by myself.” She pointed a sharp finger at him. “Stay away
from me.”

Taking the shortest route, she reached the lake, and lifted her skirt,
wading to her knees in the water to cool her skin and hopefully her anger.
Thane was acting like a possessive imbecile, but to be honest, she kinda loved
his big Alpha insecurities. She loved him.

She heard a sound behind her, thinking Thane was sneaking up, she
whirled around, but her blood coagulated. Deep beats of her pulse told her fear
had taken command when Daniel stepped out from behind a mound of rocks on the
shore. They were in the middle of nowhere, but Daniel was more than able to
make miracles happen. His mind was keen with intellect and predatory thinking.
Like Thane, he was a warrior that never gave in, and he’d tracked her down.
There were no bars between them, and her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth.

He hadn’t changed at all, if anything, he’d become even more
intimidating in his strength and aura. Daniel was the older brother, but he and
Greg shared many of the same traits. The glittering green eyes and jet-black
hair, a jaw set to sharp angles in desire and anger, but Daniel had three
inches and thirty pounds of raw hard muscle on Greg. All of it was tense and
getting tenser as he stared at her, the green of his eyes always a beacon of
what emotion was to come.

“My wife, pregnant.”

She prayed to God Thane didn’t come. A premonition told her it would
be a fight she couldn’t watch. She remained silent, something she hadn’t done
since she’d escaped with her life, but little else.

“Where’s the lucky man?” he asked. He took a step toward her, and she
immediately took one backwards, the water lapping at her thighs. “Stop, Kayla,
you don’t understand.”

She shook her head. Escape by water would be useless, he’d catch her
and drown her. She took a step sideways.

“I’m not here to hurt you, Angel.”

Something in his eyes made her stop. The spears of anger weren’t
present.

“I’m sure Greg told you something else.” He cleared his throat. “He’s
never forgiven me. I guess I…have never forgiven myself, either. That’s why I’m
here.”

She took a careful step to her right. “You want to finish….”

“No, Kayla,” he said. “No, I want….”

Daniel sensed the attack a second before Thane reached him and
blocked. Daniel was deadly when it came to hand-to-hand combat, but so was her
SEAL. Testosterone and the fight mechanism in both warriors went to red alert.
Blow for deadly blow was exchanged, each of them trying to get the upper hand,
bring the other down.

“Stop!” Her heart thumped with fear. The rocks, slippery under her
feet, didn’t help when she tried to scramble for the shore. She stumbled, lost
her balance and fell backwards into the water.

The lakebed dropped away from her feet and she panicked, trying to get
a foothold. An arm circled her and pulled her to the surface. She came up
sputtering, taking in a huge gulp of water.

“Stay away,” Daniel ordered, wading quickly toward the beach and laying
her down on the sand. He hovered over her. She coughed, spitting up the water
in her lungs. At the same time, Thane landed a blow against the side of
Daniel’s head, knocking him out. Dropping to his knees, he swept the blood from
his mouth and then cradled her.

“Kayla,” he pasted her to his chest.

She stretched out to touch Daniel’s arm. “Is he dead?”

“No, just out cold. Come on, let’s get to the house. Can you walk?”

She nodded and found her feet as Thane picked up Daniel’s deadweight.

“The son of a bitch is huge,” he grumbled.

Daniel woke with a start, but realized Thane hadn’t wasted time,
trussing his hands and his legs. “Kayla, are you all right?” Daniel croaked out
the question.

“I’ll get you some water,” she pushed herself up and returned quickly
with a glass.

“I’ll do that,” Thane commanded, walking into the great room, taking
the glass from her.

She sat down on the opposite couch and wrapped the blanket around her
wet clothes.

Daniel turned his acid sharp, green eyes to Thane’s blue, but accepted
the water. “Think you cracked one of my ribs,” he said shifting with a wince.

“You’re lucky I didn’t kill ya.”

“Why are you here, Daniel?” Thane appeared calm, too calm, like the
tense moment before a dog bites or a snake strikes.

Daniel turned his attention on her. “I need to talk to you.” His brows
came together. “Alone.”

Thane spit a laugh seething with disdain. “I don’t think so. You’ve
got about thirty seconds to say what you need to say, and then I’m calling in
the military police. You’re on American soil, with an attempted manslaughter
charge, and you’re not on military business. You’re heading back to a cell,
friend.”

Daniel’s anger sparked, but he dialed it down somehow. She’d never
seen him do that before. She could tell he was calculating everything around
him, looking for weaknesses in Thane, and his strengths, but her Captain was
doing the same.

“You must be Austen, my brother told me about you.”

Thane remained standing with arms crossed, a looming figure. “Time’s
a-wastin’, Lapierre.”

 
“You’re the father of my wife’s
child?”

Thane leaned over. “Not your wife. You gave up that right when you
tried to kill her, you piece of shit.”

Daniel flinched and straightened. “I took a chance trying to find
you,” he said, putting his attention on her. She’d seen that apologetic salve
in his eyes many times. He’d used it on her after his anger dissolved, and he’d
finished fracturing a bone or left puffing flesh from his fists. “But I had to
say this face to face,” his expression imploring her to listen. “You ran away
before I had a chance to see you again, to explain.”

Thane’s movement was slight, but he’d said the same thing to her about
Zara, and he didn’t like Daniel saying it.

“You’re not going to sit there and give a twelve step, please forgive
me speech. Don’t insult her intelligence. You deserve to die slowly for what
you did,” Thane said, his body tensing.

“I know,” Daniel answered, ignoring him and keeping his eyes on her.
“It took ten years of therapy to control what I thought I never could. Greg
probably told you I was still angry, but it’s not the truth.”

“He did,” she said, wary but listening.

“He thinks he can keep us apart if he keeps you scared of me. I did my
time. It’s nothing compared to what should have happened to me, but I was out
of control. It would take hours for me to explain this, and I want to.”

“You seem…”

“He’s not,” Thane cut in. “He’s full of shit, Kayla.”

Daniel shot him a dangerous look. “You don’t know me or what Kayla
means to me. What I did to her, why I did it, is for me to explain.” Daniel’s
shoulders relaxed and he lay back. “You gave me so many chances. Stood by me,
and I saw the hope in your eyes every time you forgave me. My weaknesses, my
sickness would never allow me to…” He blew his breath out. “I know this is
going to be hard to believe, but I never stopped loving you. I guess…I can see
you’ve obviously moved on, and I don’t blame you for that. I don’t blame you
for anything.”

Thane’s timbre had turned deadly. “Are you done?”

“Thane.”

He swung around, a veil of shock flashing in his eyes, he knew what
she was going to ask. “No.”

“Please, Captain. I think I need to hear this.” They’d loved each
other so completely in the beginning, and then it dissolved into anger and
violence.

Thane’s expression emitted waves of hurt and confusion at the same
time. The small victory in Daniel’s eyes made it worse. For a brief second, she
thought Thane was going to power fist Daniel into the next room, but instead he
turned on his heel and walked out the front door.

“Thank you, Angel.”

“Don’t thank me, Daniel. It’s only morbid curiosity on my part. It
took me years to trust anyone after what you did. The man that walked out of
this room is the only man in this room I trust.”

They talked for hours. Around four o’clock Thane came back into the
house and sheared Daniel with a glance that should have taken his head off at
the shoulders. He carried on to the kitchen to start dinner. The pans and
cabinet doors closed and clashed louder than normal. What surprised her was
although Thane had noticed immediately, he hadn’t said anything when he saw she
had released the bindings from Daniel’s feet and hands.

* * * *

Daniel stood and turned toward the kitchen. “Thank you, Captain
Austen.”

Twisting the knob on the gas stove, he said, “For what? For fucking
with her head?” With a ready grip on the handle, he slid a large cast-iron fry
pan onto the element. “I’m convinced she’s a saint to forgive you. Though why
she would, I don’t know, but you can count on the fact that you’ll be seeing me
again.”

Daniel stiffened, his body flaring in response. “I wouldn’t do that. I
can see you mean a lot to her.”

“There is no forgiveness for what you did to her. I’ve seen what you
left behind. I don’t
 
give a shit what
your reasons were.” He watched Kayla step to Daniel’s side, and hurt nearly
toppled him. The initial movement of Daniel’s arm had him stepping around the
counter. “Touch her, and you take your last breath, here, now. Walk out that
door—and you might have a year. Your condition—is terminal, Lapierre.” Daniel
didn’t seem fazed by his words. He was a warrior, trained like him. He could
hide a lot, including the real reason he was here.

“I think my chances are pretty good. I understand my wife, and you
won’t risk losing her by killing me. That’s what’ll happen, Captain,” Daniel
said with confidence. “I don’t think you’re willing to take that chance.”

His hand came down so hard on the counter it nearly shattered the
bones, but the pain centered him. “She’s not your wife.”

“Thane—”

“Kayla, he’s manipulating you. You’re good at it. I’ll give ya that.
He’s been calculating his plan for ten years, and he’s waiting for his chance.
Sweetheart, you have to see that.”

“Thane, he’s not. I’d know it.”

“Goddammit—he is.”

Daniel gave Kayla a comforting smile. A smile that lovers share. “I
have a proposition.”

“I bet you do,” Thane growled.

“Greg told me about the serial killer. I want to help you catch him.
She’s my wife, and I have a lot to atone for. Let me help you.”

“Why the fuck do you keep saying that?” he roared.

“We’re separated, Thane. I couldn’t get the divorce. His lawyer argued
his mental state wasn’t such that he could handle it.”

Shock ripped through him. Why hadn’t she ever told him? “You think
you’re going to put yourself back in her life? The first chance he gets he will
kill you or our son. He’s a trained killer, like me. He won’t show a damn thing
until he’s ready.”

“He could catch the Shark,” she argued.

“I will catch him.”

“Thane, it’s what Daniel does best. He has the uncanny ability to draw
in a target without them even knowing they’re being drawn in.”

“Exactly,” he shouted. “Like you. Don’t you see that?”

Kayla swallowed, and turned to Daniel with confusion in her eyes.

“Angel, you know me. For all the wrong I’ve caused you, I never
calculated or planned it. It was a loss of control. A serious one, but—”

“Even if he is telling the truth, and the shrinks gave him a couple
tools to keep his hardware straight, he’s centered on the reason that took ten
years from his life. He’s fucking angry and hiding it.”

“She gave me ten years of hers, Captain Austen. Her sentence was far
worse than mine.”

Daniel wrapped his arms around her, his eyes gliding over her from
head to heart. How could she still be so mesmerized by him? This couldn’t be
happening. He put his gaze on the marble countertop, his fists clenched.

She freed herself from Daniel and came to his side. “Captain,” she
said quietly, laying a hand on his. “Are you going to run away now?” she
whispered.