Code Name: Ghost (A Warrior's Challenge 1) (27 page)

“I’d rather say hello.” The guys green eyes
surveyed every inch of her.

If he was a betting man, he’d say the
bastard was looking at Kayla with a memory of her without clothes.
The thought of another man touching her tipped Thane over the edge
of sanity, just like that.

“It’s so good to see all of you,” she said
happily, and draped an arm around the waist of the soldier beside
her.

The soldiers had her in a broad-shouldered
protective circle. “What are they doing here?” Thane asked, keeping
his emotions in check—barely. Without waiting for an answer, he
approached them. The Canadians all looked up and their smiles
waned.

Kayla turned in the bastard’s arms. He could
let go of her any time, but now would be a good time.

“Commander, this is Greg “Bigfoot” Lapierre,
and his team.” Kayla quickly introduced them, “Spearhead, Rock,
Kane, Dog, LV, Tasker, and Spirit.”

But he wasn’t interested in any of them, and
kept his eyes on Lapierre, who did the same to him.

He stretched out a hand. “
Bonjour
,
Commander Austen. Lieutenant Commander Lapierre,” he said, giving
him a strong grip, then disengaged to cast his arm around Kayla
again.

What the fuck? No, more like shit. This was
him! It had to be. The Lieutenant Commander Tony said Gord had
asked Kayla about when he was over for dinner.

“Angel Face, what are you doing here?”
Lapierre turned her gently so she’d look at him.

“Mission.”

His brow furrowed, and then he laughed
thinking she was kidding him. “Yeah, right?”

“
C’est vrai, premier temps,
” she
said, nodding.

His expression darkened.
“
Non, vous ne pouvez pas.
”

Bigfoot didn’t like the answer, and Thane
didn’t need to know French to read his expression.

Kayla nodded. “Tactical recon, I work in
Coronado with the SEALs now.”

“Angel,” He paused and darted a look at the
team as if for support. “You can’t go out there.” Lapierre’s arm
slid around her, pulling her closer. “Are you outta your mind?”

Mace had drawn up to his side and nodded at
the men, who nodded back. “Mace Callahan,” he said, and a couple of
the men shook his hand. “Passing through?”

Lapierre surveyed both him and Mace. “Yeah,
two-night stopover, then down the road to the White Mountains to
follow up on you, if it’s your team going into the caves.” He
dropped his attention to Kayla. “You are not going into those
caves. This is first infusion, there’s going to be heavy
resistance. What are you doing exactly?”

“Mapping out the grid of the caves, and
taking the team in and out. I dug something up, and—”

“Don’t you always, Angel.”

“
C'est mon travail et je le fais,
”
she said, attempting to take a step backwards.

Lapierre stopped her with a sweep of his
large hand, threading his fingers through her hair. “Angel, you’ve
been through enough, you don’t belong here.” Lapierre’s glare shot
to him, but he also gripped Kayla even closer to his chest as if
protecting her from him. “You had to bring her here? The U.S.
special warfare ops didn’t have a single person who could do what
she can.
C'est des conneries,
” Lapierre growled, turning up
the deadly glare for his benefit.

What the hell was he going to say? And why
the hell didn’t Lapierre stop touching her like he had a right to
hold her? The man’s razor-sharp features and overt masculine
presence radiated courage, strength and assuredness. She looked far
too comfortable and safe in his arms. Two slashes of dark brows
intensified the green eyes that filled with heat when he looked at
her. He hated the guy right down to his muscled protective
stance.

“Bigfoot, it’s not bullshit, and I’m going.
Now come and meet the team,” she said, pulling on his arm. The
other guys followed her, but he and Lapierre didn’t move.

“If you’re her Commander you can stop
this.”

“She’s going to be replaced, but tonight she
goes. I’ll be right beside her.”

Shaking his head, he said, “She never stops
doing this. She’ll run right up death’s ass if you let her. If you
knew her you wouldn’t sacrifice her for the information you
need.”

Thane knew he’d be giving a tell with his
next words, but this guy, whoever the fuck he was, needed a
squaring off. “Your concern seems more than professional,” he said,
clenching his molars together. “Obviously, you like her, but so do
we. She’ll be safe with me.”

Lapierre’s gaze strayed to where Kayla stood
at the table introducing the two units. “I don’t like her,
Commander, I love her, but she won’t love any man after what
happened to her.”

His SEAL sense ignited. “What?”

Lapierre stepped up to him, his expression
darkening into a mask of unfriendly. “She only tells the people
closest to her. People she trusts. I guess that’s not you.”

Being at a disadvantage was not something he
liked—ever. “She trusts you, I suppose,” he uttered, burying a look
in Lapierre most men would back away from.

“She’s our girl, always will be.” A knowing
grin twisted his lips. “I’ve known her for twenty years. How long
have you known her, five minutes? Your interest strays past
professional, too, Commander. I can see it.”

“She’s my responsibility.”

Lapierre’s voice lowered to a dangerous
pitch. “Don’t try to bullshit me, SEAL. Do you know how many men
have looked at her the way you do?” Lapierre stepped back,
surveying him, his stubbled jaw squaring off. “Having that woman in
your arms is something a man never forgets, nothing comes close
after that. Believe me, I know. I was going to give up this life
for her, but she wouldn’t let me.” Pinning him with a look he
couldn’t misunderstand, he said, “She won’t let you, either.”

Dangling from the end of his temper, he
said, “Make yourself at home, Lieutenant Commander.” Talking with
this guy would only make him lose control, and with nothing to
fight back with, he knew he had the disadvantage.

As he stepped away, Lapierre said, “If she
dies tonight, I’ll be looking for you.”

Maintaining the last grasp of control he
had, he growled, “Then you can find me lying dead with her in
my
arms.” He braced, waiting for Lapierre to take a swing at
him. That’s all he wanted him to do so he could tear this guy to
fucking pieces for no other reason than Lapierre had a memory of
making love to Kayla. He was sure of it. A memory he didn’t
have.

The tight expression on Lapierre’s
expression shifted and he nodded. “Don’t let her die, Commander,
because that’s what she wants.” Lapierre’s forehead rippled as he
brushed past him.

The solid ground fell away from under him,
toppling his thoughts into a heap.

Did he really know Kayla? The answer was no.
Deployment had been his last option, and he took it because he had
nothing left in his arsenal to fight her invisible draw. Throwing
up walls was second nature to him, but his was riddled with holes.
She held weapons of mass destruction against his heart, her smile,
her warmth, and her courage.

He’d accused her of wanting something from
him he could never give her, but the truth was she’d never, ever
come on to him. He’d thought about that night in Arizona a thousand
times, all of them with regret. The memory of kissing her and
holding her in his arms had engraved itself into him like words on
a tombstone. Kayla was a landmine to everything he believed in, her
essence left shrapnel inside him that he’d never get rid of.

Would he end up like Lapierre—haunted by
her? Slowly, he turned to see Kayla walking toward the weapons
range with Mace. What would he do if she died tonight? Fear gripped
him. An unfathomable depth of grief he’d never survive, ready to
eviscerate him if that happened. He had to try and convince her not
to go. He could hide her withdrawal, but bureaucracy had him pinned
in a corner and he couldn’t order her not to go.

Sitting back down at the table, he ignored
Lapierre and tuned into Lieutenant Gibson from Dev, who shrugged
and shot a look at Cobbs. “A woman like her should be raising a
family and being pampered by her husband. What the hell is she
doing here?”

“Good question. None of us has the answer,”
Cobbs replied.

Gibson pulled out a package of cigarettes
and stuffed one in his mouth. “Did anyone ask? You guys know her
better than we do. It doesn’t compute, does it?”

“She’s solid, that’s all you have to be
concerned about,” Cobbs said defending Kayla, pushing away his MRE,
Meal Ready to Eat
.

“Yeah, and what’s she going to do when
bullets start flying around her head?”

Cobbs adjusted his cap and squared his jaw.
“She gets pissed off, actually. How she ended up that way we don’t
know.”

Fox’s beard stopped thrusting up and down
from chewing on a mouthful of food. “That’s because none of ’em
bothered to ask her. So they don’t know squat.” He took a big swig
of water and belched. “Not bad for desert food.”

Nathan’s shoulders rose with a quick
laugh.

“Ah, for fuck’s sake, Master Chief. Are you
eating snake again? the Commander asked.

“Better than the crap you’re eatin’,
sir.”

He cleared his throat and squared his
shoulders. “If you know something about Kayla we don’t—”

“With respect, sir. If you want to know, ask
her yourself.” He pinned a hard look on him. “But I don’t think you
should. That dead look in her eyes she tries to hide, and gives
yours a run for the money, isn’t there because she had an easy
life. It’s because part of her
is
dead.”

He darted a look at Lapierre, whose brows
flexed with interest. “Fox.” His patience was dwindling fast. Was
he the only guy who’d been kept out of Kayla’s shadows. That’s how
he saw them now. Things he should know, but didn’t.

Fox peered at Lieutenant Gibson. “I wouldn’t
worry if she’s taken prisoner. She’s the last person on the planet
who’ll talk.” He craned his head to look at him. “She’s used to
torture.”

He vaulted to his feet and Segal stopped
him. “Thane, if she’s got ghosts haunting her, don’t bring them up
now. She has to have her wits about her out there, and so do you.”
He pulled him away from the table. “You should have told me you had
feelings for the woman.”

“You didn’t ask me,” he fired back, and then
blinked realizing what he’d just admitted. “You just brought her in
here.”

Slipping his cap off and running his fingers
across his bald head, Segal sighed. “I’ll bring Fielding out, but
it won’t be for a couple days. If she doesn’t go tonight, it puts
us behind.”

“She goes. She’ll do her job, we’ll do
ours.”

* * * *

Kayla held the Sig at arm’s length. Mace
stood behind her, his arms wrapped around hers as she fired on the
target. The bullets tore through the center ring. When she stopped
to reload, he stepped up to them.

“Looks like you know what you’re doing,” he
said. Kayla checked the magazine, and then secured it in the belt
on her hip. “We’re leaving in forty-five minutes. Are you
ready?”

She nodded. “Thanks for the instruction,
Mace.”

“Don’t pull the weapon unless you have to,
Kayla,” Mace said. “If you have to, it means there’s no one left
standing but you. Until then you concentrate on plotting the grid
through the caverns and nothing else.”

“I will.”

“Kayla. Commander Segal and Fox are going to
lead the convoys tonight. I’m going to be your shadow. There’s no
room for argument out there, and there will be active combat.” He
gazed at her, searching for something, and then he saw it,
Goddamnit he saw it. In the boathouse, her feet cut to pieces, she
should have been screaming with pain, but she didn’t. Fox had said
she could withstand torture. What the hell could that mean? “One
last chance. If you back out, no one can stop you. I’d have to give
you disciplinary action, but the paperwork would get lost before it
ever hit your file.”

“I’m going, Commander.”

Mace stood watching them, and he looked like
he wanted to pitch his two-cents-worth in to try and stop her,
himself. “Kayla, do what the Commander says. Back out. I don’t want
you to go either.”

He could see her resistance. Not even Mace
was going to talk her out of this, and he knew she had a soft spot
for him. “Mace—”

“I’ll leave in a second,” he said, and
rested a hand on Kayla’s shoulder. “You have the heart and bravery
of a SEAL, but you’re not a SEAL, and the truth is,” He paused, and
leaned his forehead to hers. “I love you and I want more cinnamon
buns.”

A smile finally graced her lips. The first
she’d offered them since she’d arrived. She stood on her toes and
hugged Mace. “I love you, too, Mace, and I’ll make you more when we
both go home, but I’m doing this.”

She’d said it so easily, and she meant it.
She did love Mace, in the way a sister loves a brother. “There’s no
point in this,” he said, taking over from Mace.

“My job is my point. I was asked to do
this.” Her smile disintegrated as she turned her attention to
him.

“No,” he interrupted, before Mace could make
an argument. “You were offered. No one said you had to.” He reached
out and swept her hair from her face, the wind driving it into a
chaotic sea of waves. “Would it make a difference if I told you I
don’t want you to do this?”

“No.”

“No, what? You don’t care what I think or
you don’t care if you mean something to…us?”

“Something like that.” She pulled his hand
into hers, squeezing it, and softly grazed her cheek against his
fingers before releasing it. “I have to get my equipment.”

He scanned the camp, seeing the men
preparing for the night’s mission. Heads turned in their direction,
including Lapierre’s. “Mace, give us a second.” Kayla began walking
away with him, obviously she didn’t want to talk. Without letting
much distance separate them, he said, “Who is he?”