Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Protecting Beauty (Kindle Worlds Novella) (The Bounty Hunters: The Marino Bros. Book 5) (8 page)

Andreas was nodding, agreeing with his wife. “True. He shouldn’t feel guilty. But, I can understand how that must have eaten away at him. It was one of the things I hated about being a cop, and a detective. Justice is slow. But to prevent an organization like that from just restocking their supplies of women,” he said distastefully, “sometimes it’s a necessary part of the job. You’ve got to prevent it from happening again or the cycle never ends. Someone else will pick up the pieces and pick up from where the last criminal left off.”

Melody was relieved to hear Andreas say that. That was very similar to the words of wisdom she tried to impart to Tex. But being in similar work, Andreas had expressed it more clearly. And maybe hearing those same words from Andreas would help bring it home to Tex, because from her, he had brushed it off. “That’s what I told Tex. But he still feels remorse. He left the FBI then and that’s when he joined the Navy SEALs. He didn’t want to wait. He wanted to help those who needed it right away.”

Andreas couldn’t fault the man for that either, hell, he’d done a similar thing when he’d quit the force, although it had been for different reasons then. He hadn’t met the man yet, but he knew he would like him. From everything his wife said, the man was a real upstanding guy.

Cat gazed across at her husband fondly and Melody saw the exchange. This couple was just as in love with each other as she and Tex were. She wanted more than anything for Tex to see that. That alone would help to ease his conscience. It was the little things that sometimes spoke the loudest. And the look Cat had just given her husband was one filled with love and respect.

When Cat started speaking once more, Melody gave her her full attention. “My husband left the police force, because his parents were killed by the same serial killer that was after me. The son of Demetrius Makas who held us for so long.” Melody gasped. This she had not known. That sicko had also taken Andreas’s parents. “It was our destiny to meet. For him to save me. We were both his victims. But nonetheless, my Andreas left the PD, he has told me, because not only did he want to keep the rest of his family intact, but because the bureaucracy and red tape was making it so much harder to do his job. And there were people there who played politics and that made the job even harder. The wheels of justice, it seems, turn too slowly for both our men,” Catarina commiserated.

Melody smiled. Their men had a lot in common. Tex would feel good to know that Cat had found someone like him. She took a sip of her water and worked up her courage to ask her next request. When she set down her glass, she asked. “So will you meet Tex and me, and explain that to him. He is so heavy hearted right now. And I know seeing you, together, how happy you are, and knowing you don’t hold a grudge, well, it would mean a lot.”

Catarina watched as the woman absentmindedly touched her own stomach once more. She had done it several times during the course of their light meal. It got Cat to thinking. Remembering back.

Andreas answered for them both. He knew his wife enough to know she would agree.

He put his fork down and cleared his throat. “Of course. Tex sounds like a great man. One I would respect immediately. In fact, my wife and I do a lot here in Tampa for soldiers. And I have an idea you both may appreciate.” The idea had come to him when Melody had mentioned her husband’s service and the fact that he had been injured in war. Both he and his wife volunteered on the local base for the Wounded Warriors Project and the Fight for the Fallen. He remembered when Cat had bid on him for the bachelor auction last year, and the fight and make up session that had ensued afterwards. But he pushed that thought away. It was about this woman now, and her husband. A true hero. When both women were listening to him, he continued. “I have many friends who were Marines, and Navy SEALs before or after their police service. In fact, tomorrow night my wife and I have a charity dinner for Fight for the Fallen. The general on base is a very good friend of ours. I’d love for you both to be our guests. My wife is one of the organizers, and I think thanking him there, publicly, would not only ease his conscious but be more fitting.”

“Oh, we could surprise him. That would be lovely.” Cat clapped her hands. She would love to thank him in such a manner. He deserved it.

Melody’s heart began to beat faster. Fight for the Fallen. That was one of Tex’s passions back home. Although he wouldn’t care to be recognized personally or publicly, he always felt it was important for the families to see what these soldiers had sacrificed. It gave her an idea of her own. She just hoped she could pull it off. She nodded her agreement. “Yes, yes, I think John would like that.”

Cat picked at her salad, and thought back on the young man she had known. It grieved her heart to think he had lost his leg. The young man she knew had been so vigorous, so full of life. But then pushed the thought away. The men she worked so hard to recognize and serve were still vigorous, still hopeful, and like her, not victims, but survivors. Warriors who had been through hell and had survived, and while some scars were apparent like his, some like hers were not. But they made you who you were and made you stronger. “John Keegan is a true hero, a warrior,” she concluded.

Again pushing away the embarrassing tears, Melody stated the thought that was uppermost in her mind. “Yes, he is to me.”

“And to me too,” Cat reiterated reaching across the table to clasp Melody’s hand. “He saved me at the perfect time. He is a hero.”

Melody was choked up, but her heart swelled with pride. “I know I have asked a lot already, but can I ask one more favor?”

Both Andreas and Cat exchanged a look before nodding in unison. “I don’t want to tell him until we arrive that we are meeting with you. He might balk. Not because he wouldn’t face you, but because he would hate to know I interfered.”

“Of course. I will give you directions to MacDill Airforce Base. The dinner is being held there at eight tomorrow evening. In fact, we will be gifting some amputees homes and special automobiles at this event, and I think maybe with our connections with the general we might be able to do even a little more.” Andreas was speaking.

Cat looked to her husband wondering what he had up his sleeve. “Cat is doing the presentations after a short speech by the general, but what if she were to present Tex with a little token of her own appreciation. Nothing big, just something to thank him for his service not only to our country, but to all the people he helped before. A plaque or pin of some kind. Then afterwards we will join you for dinner and drinks at your table?”

“Oh, my,” Melody exclaimed. “You would do that?” She was completely caught off guard by their proposal. Tex didn’t need, nor would he want the limelight. But in her heart she felt he deserved at least that.

“For a hero. For the man who saved my Cat, I would do anything.” The man said it with such conviction and passion, Melody found herself moved to tears once more, and her stomach rolled at the same time. Her hand immediately went to her stomach as she thanked Andreas and Cat profusely. They were going above and beyond her expectations. All she had wanted was a quick meeting so that Tex could see this woman had found happiness, and now they were planning on doing so much more. It was too much.

Cat gave the woman an inquisitive look after accepting her thanks once more. Not one for being overly emotional, Cat suspected Melody was the same. Each time she expressed those emotions and then apologized for it, the woman clasped her stomach. Cat had begun to suspect that the woman who was desperately trying to get pregnant was in fact already pregnant; she just didn’t know it yet. She recognized the signs. The stomach upheaval, the strong emotions. “Melody, you have done that several times. Touch your stomach. You said you and John were trying to get pregnant, but I think you may already be,” she gave her opinion point blank.

Cat’s words this time caught Melody completely off guard.
No. Could she be?
She hadn’t taken a test in over a month, since her last menstrual cycle had come and gone. Then with the planning for the trip, she had just completely forgotten about it. Her cycles had never been regular and weren’t something she paid much mind too. She sat up straighter doing some calculations in her head.
Could it be?
Then she looked down, and saw her own hand placed gently and delicately over the small bump there. She had dieted a bit before her vacation, but hadn’t been able to drop any weight at all. She felt the flutters. Flutters she had felt before, but had assumed were nerves or something she had eaten. “I . . . I don’t know,” she gasped with growing suspicion. Her eyes went round as she thought of all the other things she could have misconstrued. She could very well be pregnant. If only . . .

“I can see my suggestion took you by surprise, but a mother’s instinct is most assuredly accurate. That is how I found out, the butterflies told me first,” Cat confessed.

Strange choice of words, Melody thought, but smiled at the raven haired beauty across from her. Cat was most assuredly astute. “I guess . . . I might be. And I’m going to check on that right way. And then if I am, I may have another surprise for Tex tomorrow night, right after you deliver your own.” Hope surged within Melody. Hope that her husband’s guilt would be assuaged and hope that she would be able to give him what they both wanted more than anything else in the world.

THE PARTY WAS in full swing. General Melendez had once again outdone himself for the festivities. The Air Force Base that employed over 14,000 men and women on a five million square foot training ground was a well-oiled machine. But when it was time to celebrate, the general knew how to do things right. Twice yearly he opened the base to the local community to recognize those heroes who served and trained there, and the community embraced and honored them. When Cat had called to enlist his help in recognizing one more soldier he was more than willing to help out. She had been working with the general for years now and she and her husband were both good friends with him, willing to help with one of his projects whenever they could. Fight for the Fallen was one of them.

This year’s black tie event was recognizing the U.S. Army Reserve’s 23 Black Hawk Helicopter teams and the two units that shared duties on the 16 KC-135 Stratotanker refueling jets that had served in the last deployment. The mayor was going to be there, as well as community leaders who had helped raise the funds to build the four homes and specially ordered vehicles for the wounded warriors who were being recognized and surprised by the public’s generosity. The organizers and volunteers who had scraped up the funds wanted to thank the three men and woman who had lost limbs or become paralyzed. The homes had been built for these veterans as a thank you for their service. Each one was adapted to their specific disability. So when Cat told him that she wanted to recognize another man who had sacrificed for the war, and lost a leg, but was also the man who saved and rescued her all those years ago when she was being held captive and against her will, he was more than ready to do so. But giving the man a simple plaque, although if he knew soldiers the way he did, that would be enough, but it wasn’t for him. General Melendez wanted to do more. Part of the presentation was to allow the families to see what heroes their soldiers were. He wanted the man’s family brought in. With all of these planes at his disposal, it had been easy enough to get the people to MacDill who needed to be there to thank John Keegan personally. Among those he invited to be witness to the event on this soldiers behalf were his former comrade in arms Matthew Steel and his wife, who were taking care of the man’s adopted daughter, also an amputee.

But he also wanted Cat to not be alone in recognizing John Keegan’s work in the FBI. He knew her story. They had been friends for years. He made a few calls and was able to bring in his former FBI team leader, and four of the six victims whom he’d rescued in the Maryland flophouse, Cat being one of them. One of the victims was overseas, Jani, and had an ailing relative she did not want to leave, and one other was deceased, Geoff, a victim of a drunk driving accident. But the others would be there, Cat included. Lucia, Donna, Susan and Cat all had agreed to come and speak for a moment and thank one of the men who had saved their lives.

General Melendez looked at the crowd from behind the curtains on the raised dais. He nodded to the lieutenant to open the curtains to the head table. He saw that all the players had arrived. Earlier, he had introduced himself to John Keegan as he had sent the invitation as part of the ruse to bring him here. His explanation to the soldier when he greeted him had been that several of his boys had met him and told of his service and that he was in town. The man had accepted and he and his lovely wife had then been seated at a practically empty table. It would be full later.

The general exchanged a quick glance with Cat who nodded that all was in place and the evenings ceremonies commenced. He gave his brief speech as the waiters worked the room.

Clearing his throat, he thanked the local community first for their unwavering support of his men and women, and then proceeded to thank all those who worked under him who showed their support and love for their country and were willing to give the ultimate sacrifice. The screen behind him then showed the four homes constructed with the medically adapted vehicles beside them. Then the four recipient soldiers and their families were called up onto the stage and presented the keys to their new homes, homes equipped and adapted to their changing lifestyle being either disabled or an amputee. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house. He himself was choked up with emotion. These soldiers were his family. When the final family left the stage, the general then introduced Cat as the lead on the fundraiser. The applause was thunderous. The men and women of MacDill knew her well.

***

TEX HAD BEEN thoroughly enjoying himself. His new friends had invited him and Melody as special guests of the General to the black tie event on the Air Force base, and he hadn’t been able to refuse. He’d enjoyed their company immensely these past few days fishing, and it had kept his mind off his own worries about Melody; she seemed to have come down with some kind of bug lately. She hadn’t wanted him to sit all day with her and so he had hung out with the guys while she fought the bug that seemed to bother her more in the early part of the day. By evening she was feeling better, and they still continued to enjoy the sights that Tampa and the Clearwater area had to offer.

And tonight Melody looked stunning. She had purchased a beautiful gown in deep red satin, and she had never looked more beautiful to him as she did that evening. Her hair had lightened from their days in the sun and she wore her long curls down the way he liked it. No jewelry adorned her golden skin other than her simple wedding band and the golden hoops he had purchased for her at Christmas. She was laughing at one of the jokes James shared while they finished their meals. The general had just finished his presentation and the last of the families being recognized was leaving the stage when a blur of blue caught his eye. The general was introducing the woman who had raised the funds for the families recognized tonight, and it was her.
Cat. His Cat.
He hadn’t recognized her in the stage party. She had her back to him most of the evening. But when she stood and walked across the stage, he couldn’t help but notice her in the aquamarine dress she wore.

He looked from Cat to Melody. Then back to Cat. As she walked across the stage, her eyes scanned the crowd until they landed on him. She was looking directly at him. He was startled by it. His throat clenched. “Excuse me,” Cat intoned into the microphone while the crowd settled down. “There is one more person to be recognized tonight, but I asked the General if I could do the honors on this one. This one is a bit personal for me. Special.” Tex’s heart thundered in his chest. The Beauty’s eyes hadn’t wavered from him for one moment.

Again his eyes sought out his wife’s. Melody was looking at him, and he could see the brightness in them, the brightness of unshed tears as a smile spread across her face. She knew something. And then when a presence behind him alerted him to someone being present, a quick glance told him he had been set up. It was Wolf, Caroline, and his daughter. He felt his throat constrict.
What had they done?
Full of emotion, he pulled Akilah to him, and held his daughter as Wolf, after a quick clap on the back and Caroline with a one armed hug, slipped into two of the empty chairs at his table. He buried his face for a moment in his daughter’s hair before peeking out and looking into his wife’s glorious knowing smile. There was a spotlight on him, and he was on the large screen over the dais.

“Sorry, I kept this from you, John. I love you baby,” she mouthed the words thickly. He nodded that it was okay. He was still too shocked by all the attention on him.

Then Cat was speaking again in her slightly European accent. “Yes, I asked the general for the honor, John, of recognizing you tonight for your service. But I am not alone.” The curtains moved and three other women came forward. All were in their mid to late thirties. He recognized each of them. His heart constricted.
Why? Why were they here?
Tears sprung to his eyes. He squeezed them shut and swiped his face.

Cat cleared her throat. “John Keegan is a retired soldier, a Navy SEAL who lost his leg in Iraq during his second tour. He is a hero.” Cat started and stopped as the three woman flanked her. They all linked their arms together in mutual support behind each other’s backs. “But even before his sacrifice for our country in battle, he was a man who served this great county in other ways.” Cat looked up to the screen above her. A video played showing a man on the screen with an FBI jacket on over his suit.

“I’m Gerald Burton, and I worked with John Keegan back in the day when he was a member of my FBI team that raided a group of houses being used in an international sex slave ring. His role was instrumental in keeping the girls and boys safe and allowed us to get the key players who were kidnapping these young innocents. Over twenty teenagers were rescued and twenty others in their twenties and thirties, and countless others were saved from having to go through this horrible experience. Images of kids and woman flashed across the screen. John recognized all their faces. “Thank you, John for being part of my team, and thank you for your service to our country and your continued work on behalf of our special teams and forces.”

Tex swept a hand across his face feeling uncomfortable under the thanks of a man he had so respected. A man who had understood when he had left. He held the tears in check. The screen now showed a woman sitting in front of book case. “My name is Jani Rikin, and John saved me from the flophouse in Maryland. Thank you, John. After the trial, I came home and rejoined my family who never gave up hope that I would return home even after a decade of captivity. Because of you I have been able to be by mother’s side though her battle with cancer. I’ve got that time with her, and I’ve also married and had two children. Thank you, John. Without your selfless participation in that rescue, I would not have this life I now love.”

It was almost too much hearing Jani speak directly to him from some place in Russia. He was not prepared for the small boy he saw next. A young boy with red hair that looked vaguely familiar. When he spoke it was with an Irish accent. “Hi John. My name is John McCallister and my father was Geoff McCallister. You saved his life a long time ago, and that is why he named me John. He is in heaven now, but mommy loved him, and I’m here because you saved him. So thank you. I miss him, but I still wanted to thank you for saving my daddy. I am glad I was named after a hero like you.”

Melody was in tears across from him. Akilah was hugging him harder than he had ever felt her hug him before. He was having a harder and harder time keeping it together. He still didn’t understand why they were doing this. Why they were all thanking him. He was just following orders.

He grabbed Melody’s hand and held it. He felt her return the squeeze. It gave him strength. One of the women behind Cat stepped forward. “We all wanted to . . . to thank you, John.” It was the Spanish woman, Donna. “I returned to my home, and there I have worked to help young girls, like me, runaways, make a life for themselves. To start over. My experience has taught me very much . . . and because of you I am making a better life for others. Not only did you save me, and save the others that they speak of, but the cycle continues through me.” The Spanish woman’s slightly broken English didn’t deter the message she was trying to convey. His deeds went on to change others’ lives and they had gone on to pass it forward.

Lucia was speaking next. “I want to thank you as well, John. You saved my life, and the lives of my friends, but I know you didn’t see it that way. Not at first. It’s hard to be the survivor. I too had difficulties afterwards, knowing that not all were saved. That there had been others before me who didn’t get out. It is something I had to learn to deal with. I went to school to get my degree in psychiatry. Now I counsel others with PTSD. Many of them military men and women in my country. Soldiers who give so much, but expect so little in return for their service no matter how big or small. But even the smallest part has its repercussions, has its snowball effect, John. You saved people, you saved children, you allowed people to return to their families who were so missed, your actions allowed them to have families of their own, allowed them to become doctors, therapists, counselors, teachers, volunteers, moms, dads, and writers. Even one small act, John, can move mountains. And yours most definitely did. Thank you.”

John nodded at Lucia, thanking her for her words as she stepped back and the third woman stepped forward. He felt Akilah’s small body shuddering against him. “I’m so proud that you chose me, Dad.” Her words were choked and it undid him. He let the tears fall no matter who saw them.

The third woman had straight dirty blond hair to her shoulders. He recognized her too. “I’m Susan, the writer Lucia spoke about. Thank you, John, for saving me too. I’ve written over twenty books since you rescued me. It may not seem like much compared to what some of these woman have done with their lives, but my books at first were my escape. When I was a slave they were only in my head, but after you rescued me I was able to give those flights of fancy wings. I was able to write down my hopes and dreams through my characters. For that was what my books were. But now, my books are about so much more. They are about heroes and men and woman who learn to love against indomitable odds. They are about people who have been to hell and back and have survived it all. I was in hell, John. And you gave me my life back. And you and the others you worked with, John, you gave me hope. And through my words that’s what I hope to give to others. Hope. Hope that there are men like you out there. Men who will sacrifice anything for the love of a good woman, good men who will lie down their lives for love, for the future, and to protect those they care about. And because I met you and the other heroes who rescued us from slavery, I know that heroes do exist. I met my hero then. And I’m proud to say he’s my husband now. He worked with you when you were in the FBI. He was your boss, Patrick Stoker. We’ve been married for over a decade, and each and every day he makes me realize that dreams do come true. My books now do that for hundreds of thousands of people. They give them a little bit of hope that heroes do exist. So John, a great number of people are thanking you now. The karma has come full circle, and when Cat and the general called us here today to come and thank you for your good deeds, we just couldn’t say no. How could we? Even the smallest good deed comes back to you. It is what your actions have taught us all.”