SEALs of Honor: Markus (19 page)

“Really? Where did you get that from?” she exclaimed in delight, noting that one of the men held a cardboard holder with several other cups. “Thank you.” She accepted the cup. “Oh it’s so nice and warm.” She beamed at them.

Markus shot her a hard look, then jumped in the truck and turned on the engine. The men shut all the doors. Instantly heat blasted toward her.

Lord, she hadn’t realized how cold she’d become. Sitting on the edge of the seat, beside Doris, she curled up in a ball and waited for her bones to get the message that the cold freeze was over. She could hear the men talk.

Hugging her coffee, she breathed in the potent aroma and thanked her lucky stars for keeping her safe.

Or rather, Markus for keeping her safe.

*

“She’s really cold,
isn’t she?”

Markus nodded, swiveling to check on Bree’s progress. “She’s way underweight and can’t keep warm. The little bit of food she eats is expended instantly to keep her functioning and warm.”

“Damn. I want to run out and buy her a meal,” Evan said, trying to study Bree in the back of the truck.

“I already have and want to do it all over again,” Markus admitted.

“How sick was she?”

“She’s not giving details but if I had to hazard a guess I’d say uterine cancer.”

“Shit,” Even whispered. “That’s a tough one.”

Markus could feel his buddy’s side long glance.

“She’s an interesting woman,” Evan added in a neutral tone. Too neutral.

“She is.”

There was a heavy silence. Finally Markus, curiosity driving him, asked, “What’s wrong?”

Evan hesitated. Chase snorted. “He wants to know if you’re keeping her.”

Evan shot him a dark look.

“What, it’s true. After watching Cooper you’re all over the idea.”

“And what if I am,” Evan protested. “That doesn’t mean I can’t see the lay of the land here. She’s all about Markus. You guys need to send me in to do the damsel in distress rescue thing next time. Then maybe they’ll look at me first.” He smirked, but it quickly fell away. “Although maybe it should be Levi’s turn next.” He stared at Markus. “But all joking aside, that’s not what I’m talking about right now.”

Markus frowned. “So what are you talking about?”

“It’s just well…it seems harsh to say but…and I mean it in the nicest way…”

“Jesus, Evan, spit it out,” Chase snapped.

“You already lost someone you loved. Are you up for someone else who is battling a major disease? One who could die from it in the not so distant future?”

“Battled…” Markus corrected.

“Yes, but we also know that it can come back – too damn easily.”

Chase sucked in his breath. “That’s rough.”

“And that’s why I hesitated to bring it up. She’s a lovely girl. She’s seriously into Markus and he’s into her, but he had a hell of a time after he lost Fiona, and to go through that again…”

“And yet she could be completely fine now.” Chase glanced over at the back of the truck.

In the distance the ambulance sirens sounded.

“I’m just wanting you to think about this, Markus.”

Markus gave him a lopsided grin. “I already have. The thing is, when you’ve loved and lost, it
does
make it tough to move on. But when you do you also realize you wouldn’t have missed out on those years even if they were damn short. I’ll never regret having Fiona in my life… Bree’s in remission, and she’s had her uterus completely removed. That doesn’t mean the cancer won’t return in a different section of her body, but there’s also no reason to think it would. In her case, it’s an organ that they could completely remove. If she could get her strength back she’d be doing wonderfully.”

“Right. That’s the way to look at it. Stick to being positive.”

“And know that bad shit happens to good people and that no matter how many precautions we take, there’s no guarantee of any of us living to a ripe old age,” Markus said calmly.

“Especially us,” Chase said with a short nod of his head. “She could be getting the worse part of the deal.”

“At the moment, there is no deal,” Markus said. “So the discussion is moot.”

“No, there is a deal. It’s just whether you are prepared to go forward and accept the gift right in front of you.” Evan turned to face the ambulance barreling toward them. “If you decide you aren’t – let me know.”

“Don’t be holding your breath,” Markus snapped. Evan was a good man but lighthearted and a great lover of women. Not a bad thing but not someone for Bree. He didn’t understand what she’d been through. Whereas, it was something Markus could understand completely.

At least they were both facing the same future, and if they were willing that was a unique meeting ground.

One he felt better to have with her than anyone else.

I
t was in
the wee hours of the morning before the ambulance left. Bree turned to Markus and whispered thank you. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and tucked her up close. She knew she didn’t have to explain. He could have sent her to the hospital with the ambulance. Lord knew she wasn’t feeling good, but there was little the hospital could do for her and they had patients with real needs to deal with. Not exhaustion issues like she had. She also knew she was limited to what she could expect in terms of healing if this didn’t stop. She couldn’t afford to not work but she needed a week in the sun. Or two.

Like that was going to happen. Unless she went to her father.

She snuggled closer to Markus. She’d love to spend a week in the sun with him, but they were a hell of a long way away from that.

“Markus,” Chase called out.

Markus swiveled but didn’t release her. “What?”

“We’re doing a full sweep of the neighborhood right now.”

“Right.” Markus gave a clipped nod. “I’ll drop Bree off at the police station and join you.”

“We’re taking both trucks so we’ll follow you.”

Markus lifted Bree up into the passenger side of the truck they’d been driving in and walked around to his side.

“What if I don’t want to go to the station?”

“Do you have anywhere else to go?” he asked. “You can’t come with me and I can’t look after you. So the next safest place is the cop shop.”

She didn’t agree but didn’t have a better solution. The thought of not having him around didn’t make her feel better either.

They were at the small building within minutes. There was a light on. Of course there was, but here it was akin to saying no one was home. Markus walked up to the front entrance and pulled the door open. He ushered her into the small open room with a wooden railing separating a counter from the desks into the back.

And the room was empty.

Evan walked in behind him. “Is there anyone here?”

Markus walked to the office and checked all the rooms. “No, it’s empty.”

He and Evan exchanged a look that had her wincing. “It’s not supposed to be empty, is it?”

“Not normally in a scenario like this. It would be the central hub.”

“In order to be central it has to have people on the outskirts, remember? It’s why so many people live here. Little law and few problems. They usually solve the problems themselves. Now, however…”

She took a seat on the wooden bench against the wall. “Go, I’ll be fine here.” She lay down and tucked her hands under head. “I’ll be asleep in no time.”

Chase called out from the front yard, “Let’s go.”

Frustration on his face, Markus leaned down and gave her a hard kiss. “Stay here. If anyone comes, hide until you know for sure who it is.”

She nodded, but inside she was feeling bereft already. “Or I could stay locked in the truck,” she said hopefully.

“No, you could be seen.”

“I could be here too,” she said dryly, waving him off. “Go. There are no good options. At least the cops will come back here eventually. Not sure what I’m supposed to do then, but whatever.”

He stood undecided in the middle of the room, obviously hating to leave her. She loved that about him. Then he was a very lovable man. A good one. “You are needed. Go save the world,” she said in a low voice and closed her eyes. “I’m warm, I’m safe. I can finally sleep again.”

“Be here when I come back.” The only sound after that was heavy footsteps as he walked the long porch and stepped off.

She waited until she heard both trucks drive away before she tried to sleep. She was tired. But there’d been so much going on she didn’t know how to stop the nightmare of events circulating and recirculating over and over again. If that mental hamster wheel would stop, she’d be out in no time.

But instead, questions continued. Why here? Why now? What were these men after? Were they just pissed at their little protest having gone wrong and made a quick change up in their schedule or plan? Or was the protest just noise to divert attention from something much more serious?

It was all too bizarre. This might be a small town, but there were still tens of thousands of people here. And that had to count. She didn’t want anyone else hurt.

The light overhead was pissing her off too. She hopped up and walked over to shut it off. The moon was low in the sky, barely visible with the clouds. There was an otherworldly glow to the night.

The sleepy peaceful town image had been blown out of the water now. She’d never get the mirage back into the box. And maybe it didn’t matter. She’d enjoyed the time she’d been here, but she was ready to move on.

Lying back down on the bench she closed her eyes and resolutely tried to sleep. Surely, given that she was warm and safe, she’d be able to drop off quickly.

After a few moments, she could feel her poor body relax into a peaceful rest. Sleep just around the corner.

Until she heard footsteps on the porch outside.

Instantly awake, she froze remembering Markus’s warning. If anyone came, she was to hide.

But hide where?

She sat up and stared out at the room. Her choices were limited. It was either inside a small office or under the desk. Damn it. That was no choice at all. If they were expecting to find her here then neither location provided any help. If they didn’t know she was here then maybe…just maybe she’d be good.

She chose the desk on the far side as it faced the office. Just as the door opened, she skidded underneath.

*

Markus swept down
past the second house on the alley. The cops were here – both of them. And they were running the center communication, but no one was counting on them. His unit was used to handling this. But there were a lot of neighborhoods to cover.

As far as he was concerned these were men with an agenda, only no one knew what they were up to. But after taking down Boomer and Doris, kidnapping three women, and shooting Jake, they meant business. And of course then came burning the diner to the ground. There was a personal note to that part that had him questioning what was really behind all this. Did they know Boomer? Had he been a part of this and pulled out or had he just had the misfortune to serve one of them undercooked eggs?

Markus had seen too much shit in his lifetime to be surprised at any triggers anymore. People were walking time bombs, and what sent one off would be nothing to someone else.