Lean on Me (7 page)

Troy carried the boys into the dining room
where the team and their families had assembled for their
pre-marathon dinner. They cheered at the sight of his boys. He
stepped into the door and Trece and White Boy took the boys from
him. Trece and White Boy carried the boys as if they were Superman
flying over the table. The team raised their hands. The boys held
their hands out flat and patted the team’s hands as they flew by.
Alex hugged Troy tight.

“
I’ll be in to check on you
tonight,” John said.

“
You need your rest for the
run tomorrow,” Troy said. “Plus, the boys want the door
locked.”

“
You’ll ring me if your
pain is too much?” John asked.

Troy nodded. John hugged him.

“
We’re on the support
crew,” Troy said. “We’ll see you in the morning. You’re not running
alone. Are you?”

“
Mattie is running with me.
I’d run with Colin but he’s too fast,” John said. “Plus Max and Raz
are pacing.”

“
No Jimmy?” Troy
asked.

“
Not yet,” John
said.

“
Sorry I won’t be there,”
Troy said.

“
Next month.” John smiled
at his running partner. “We’ve plenty scheduled this
fall.”

“
Listen, I don’t have a
place to stay.” Troy’s worried eyes reviewed John’s face. “We
thought we’d rent a house in Denver this month but…”

“
We haven’t rented out your
space yet,” John laughed. “But you never know what random relative
will show up.”

“
You don’t have kids at the
house,” Troy said. “My boys…”

“
Our contractor is moving
the door to your suite as we speak,” John said. “The boys will have
their own rooms and a bathroom. There’s plenty of room. You’re
welcome there as long as you need the space.”

Feeling movement near him, Troy turned to
see Alex’s parents. Rebecca Hargreaves hugged him and Patrick shook
his hand. Emily Lamberton stood from her seat and asked about his
feet. She ended their conversation with a hug. Before another
person arrived for a hug and a chat, his boys returned to his
arms.

“
Time for bed!” Troy said.
“Boys?”

“
GOODNIGHT!” Hermes and
Hector James yelled. The crowded dining room cheered for the
boys.

Troy carried them up to bed. Only a year
ago, he would have resented not being able to run the marathon.
This would be the first month in almost twenty-four that he hadn’t
run a marathon.

“
Daddy?” Hermes
asked.

“
Yes baby,” Troy
said.

“
Will Mommy be mad if I go
to sleep without kissing her goodnight?” the little boy asked.
“I’ve never gone to sleep without kissing Mommy
goodnight.”

“
Let’s kiss her goodnight
when we get to the room,” Troy said.

Tonight, he was grateful that his children
had survived their executioner. He opened the door and set the boys
on their beds. They read the Winnie-the-Pooh story book that
Rebecca had left for them. By the time they were through a few
pages, the boys’ eyes were heavy.

“
Let’s kiss her goodnight
in our minds and tell her we love her,” Troy said.

“
Like we do for you when
you’re not home?” Hermes asked.

“
Exactly,” Troy
said.

“
Love you Mommy,” the boys
said almost in unison. “Goodnight.”

Troy switched off the overhead light and
watched the boys fall asleep. For the first time in his adult life,
the queen bed seemed impossibly large without Dahlia in it. He
tried sleeping on the left side where she had slept. No luck. He
tried his usual side. Nothing. Sighing, he grabbed a blanket and a
pillow and made a spot on the floor next to the boys’ cots.

“
Goodnight, sweet Dahlia,”
Troy whispered. “I will miss you all the rest of my
life.”

With tears seeping from his eyes, he forced
himself to sleep.

FFFFFF

Sunday early morning

October 25 – 4:15 a.m. EDT

Sheridan Circle Mansion, Washington DC

“
This place is a fortress,”
James Kelly said. “I’ve been standing on the stoop like a street
urchin for hours.”

Alex raised her eyebrows.

“
Five minutes,” he
said.

“
Yes, you’re right,” Alex
laughed. She stepped aside to let him in. “I can’t teleport down
the stairs to get you.”

“
That’s not a Fey gift?”
James smiled. “I thought it was.”

“
Very funny,” Alex said.
“Are you ready to run?”

“
I need to change my
clothes,” James looked up at the mansion surrounding him. “This is
a lovely fortress.”

“
Amazing,” Alex said. “The
butler won’t be here until six. He usually arrives at eight, but
he’s on special duty for the marathon.”

She tapped the tip of her nose as if it was
very posh. James laughed. He held out his arms and they hugged. He
kissed her cheek.

“
I’ll take you up to your
room,” Alex started up the wide marble stairwell. “Did you find
anything interesting?”

“
I brought what Interpol
has,” James said. “But it’s not much. Our satellites picked up what
you have. The cover of trees makes it impossible to see Captain
Olivas. Heat imaging shows something moving fast through the
forest. Once the house explodes, everything is hot. You probably
have the same thing.”

Alex nodded. They turned at the landing and
continued up the next flight of stairs.

“
And the house?” Alex
asked.

“
Nothing,” James
said.

“
Shit. I thought there
would be something on the night-vision,” Alex said.

“
He must have set up the
explosives some other time,” James said. “Have you gone back in
time?”

“
Just a couple of days.
That’s a good idea,” Alex said.

“
He could have set the
explosives a week or more before,” James said. “I watched a few
days of video. They kept a very regular schedule. It wouldn’t have
been hard to set everything up in advance. You know, you should ask
my brother Cian. He might be able to see something we
haven’t.”

Alex opened the door to a bedroom. The
gorgeously appointed room had a Queen-sized bed, its own bathroom
and balcony.

“
This is lovely,” James
said. “The nicest place I may have ever stayed in.”

“
It’s gorgeous,” Alex said.
“We’re having breakfast in a half-hour or so. Why don’t you get
cleaned up? I’ll go wake the runners.”

“
The police are coming for
Olivas in an hour or two,” James said. “Early. They want to throw
him off guard.”

“
Thanks,” Alex
said.

“
He’s lucky you put
Dahlia’s house on the watch list,” James said. “I had the entire
month put in your account. If you need more, I just have to call.
We wouldn’t have anything if you hadn’t flagged the
house.”

“
That’s cold comfort to his
boys,” Alex said.

“
Johnny and I were orphans
a lot younger than these boys,” James said. “Look at how we turned
out.”

Alex raised her eyebrows and gave him a
“that’s what I mean” look. He laughed. With a nod, she turned to
leave.

“
One more thing,” James
said.

Alex stopped at the door and turned to look
at him.

“
We’re missing an entire
team,” James said. “Very hush-hush. They were on loan to NATO.
September 22, they’re tracked by GPS and satellite; September 23,
they vanish.”

“
That’s why you were in the
Falklands?” Alex asked.

“
I went to where they were
last seen,” Jimmy nodded. “And when I say vanished, I mean there
was not one bit of evidence they’d ever been there.”

“
Not even physical
evidence?” Alex asked.

“
Nothing. It’s like the
Bermuda Triangle or an alien abduction.”

“
Can you leave the details
for me?” Alex asked. “I’ll check into it.”

“
I sent the folder to your
Intelligence account,” James said.

“
See you in an hour,” Alex
said.

She pulled the door closed and wandered down
the hall. She knew John was already moving through his pre-race
routine. She tapped on Vince’s door and was greeted by Amelia. She
was wearing pajama bottoms and one of her dad’s big Navy
shirts.

“
I’m running too!” Vince
and Emily’s daughter said. “Dad, Leena, and I have been
practicing!”

“
I wondered when I saw your
grandmother,” Alex said. “She loves to watch you being so
liberated.”

Amelia beamed a mouthful of braces. She was
a stunning cross between her delicately made mother and Vince’s
rugged power. At fourteen, she was both strong and beautiful.

“
Mom and Dad are next
door,” Amelia said. “He’s already hogging the bathroom. Hey, how
come Leena isn’t here? I thought she was running with us. Plus,
she’s Dad’s partner. She’s supposed to go where he
goes.”

“
She wanted to see her mom
while she was in Washington,” Alex said. “Turns out her mom is
pretty sick. She’s looking into putting her into a nursing
home.”

“
That’s awful,” Amelia
said.

“
I know,” Alex said. “I
think Leena’s hoping to move her mom to Denver so she can keep an
eye on her.”

“
I’ll go visit her mom
too,” Amelia smiled. “I go to nursing homes with my Girl Scout
troop.”

“
I bet Leena will ask your
advice about a good nursing home,” Alex said.

Amelia smiled and stood a little taller. Her
father’s beautiful Navy mineman partner had become Amelia’s
not-quite-a-parent, fun adult friend. Alex smiled.

“
Is that Alex?” Vince’s
voice came from behind Amelia’s door. Amelia was startled. “Sorry,
Am. I didn’t mean to surprise you. I need to talk to
Alex.”

“
The rooms adjoin through
the bathroom,” Amelia rolled her eyes.

Vince put his hands on Amelia’s shoulders
and kissed the back of her head. Alex had been in a medically
induced coma when Erin had seen her high school friend Vince
Hutchins’s name on the board at Walter Reed Hospital. Knowing he
didn’t have a family, Erin talked their father into having him
moved in with Alex. Of course, Erin didn’t know Alex had rescued
Vince from a hole in Iraq just six months before. Through mutual
pain, multiple surgeries, and the playful torture of their Navy and
Army guards, Vince and Alex became fast friends.

“
I’ll get dressed,” Amelia
waved and retreated to the bathroom.

“
Hey!” Vince said. “Don’t
be in there long!”

With one more roll of her eyes, Amelia
closed the bathroom door.

“
She’s a real bathroom
hog,” Vince said.

Alex struggled to keep from laughing.

“
What’s up?” Alex
asked.

“
I haven’t had a chance to
talk to you since going to Troy’s place,” Vince said. “Then it was
paperwork and reports and…”

“
James thinks he may have
set the explosives ahead of time,” Alex said. “We don’t see
anything on the satellite but we haven’t looked past
yesterday.”

“
He’s probably right,”
Vince said. “I’ll check it out after the marathon. It would be nice
to catch the bastard red-handed.”

“
We should match the dates
with Troy’s schedule. I bet he set them on a date he knew Troy
would be there,” Alex said. “That way it would link back to the
whole PTSD soldier crap that Asshole Jasper is spewing.”

Vince nodded.

“
Anyway, good luck today,”
Alex turned to leave.

“
Wait,” Vince said. She
spun around. “I got a call right after we landed last night. My old
Commander…”

Alex nodded.

“
He couldn’t talk,” Vince
said. “He said he’s missing a crew. He knew I was working for you
and wondered if I could look into it. He sent the details to Emmy’s
work email from a bogus civilian account and I forwarded it to
you.”

“
Why couldn’t he talk?”
Alex asked.

“
He asked about them a few
times and has been told to leave it alone. The last warning came
with a detailed safety review of the destroyer.”

“
Clean?”

“
Of course, they were
clean. It’s just a pain in the ass,” Vince said. “The team in
question has been gone a few months. He’s been waking up in the
middle of the night with the feeling they’re begging for help. He
waited until the ship was in port and used a burner phone to call
me. He’s scared – for them and for himself.”

“
That’s not good,” Alex
said.

“
He said he didn’t want to
be in a Navy that would let its men and women just disappear,”
Vince said. “Alex, I’ve known this guy for a long, long time. I’ve
never known him to be scared.”

“
I’ll look into it,” Alex
nodded.

“
But you’re not surprised,”
Vince said.

“
This is maybe the eighth
time I’ve heard the same story,” Alex said. “At dinner last night,
Mom said Heath was missing. I was like, ‘Hookers and beer?’, but
she was dead serious. I think something actually happened to
him.”