Code Name: Ghost (A Warrior's Challenge 1) (34 page)

“Kayla!”

She turned as Mace and Tony ran to her
side.

“Who are you yelling at?” Mace asked,
scanning the darkness while Tony began walking deeper into the
alley.

“Stop, Tony,” she blurted and vaulted
forward, grabbing his arm.

“What the hell’s going on, Kayla? Is someone
there?” Mace asked, stepping in front of her.

She followed them as they walked toward the
bins. Both Mace and Tony’s body language went taut. Stopping at the
closest bin, she surveyed it. Cuts—deep ones. Something very sharp
had done this.

Tony touched her shoulder. “What are you
looking at, Kayla?”

“Nothing.”

Mace joined them and they both looked where
she had. Mace’s finger followed the neat line slit through the
metal. His next movement reminded her of an eagle, his head
pivoting, his eyes looking sharply at their surroundings and then
back at her.

“Don’t tell him, Mace. I can handle this
myself.” Tony pulled his phone from his pocket. “Tinman, stop. Both
of you, just stop.”

Mace gripped her shoulders and nearly put
his nose to hers. “I don’t know what’s going on with you. Our
Master Chief is talking in riddles. The Commander’s going mental.
And you’ve been doing your damndest to push us all away.”

She darted a look at Tony and he wore the
same severe expression. “I don’t want you wasting time protecting
me. The Commander’s overreacting.”

“This is not an overreaction,” Mace said
gruffly, pointing at the bin. “This is the Shark, Kayla. He’s
targeted you, and the only reason he hasn’t got you yet is because
of the Commander.”

“Then tell him to stop. It’s Christmas Eve.
You both need to be somewhere.” She pulled away from Mace. “Don’t
you dare tell him about this.”

Mace shook his head sharply. “The Commander
is not going to stop protecting you. He can’t.”

She retrieved her bags from the ground,
shaking the rain from them. “Why not? It’s simple.”

“I think you know why, Snow White.” He gave
her a thoughtful stare. “It’s simple.”

* * * *

If the Mess hall sounded loud, it didn’t
hold a candle to Red’s place on Christmas Eve. With six grown
children, a squad of in-laws, and a number of grandchildren too
high to count, the loud ruckus was deafening.

“Thane!” a woman shouted excitedly when he
came through the door, and hooked his coat on the wall rack. Marie
flew into his arms before he had a chance to step into the room and
gave him a big hug.

“Merry Christmas, Marie.” Red’s youngest
daughter was twenty-eight and a real looker. He’d known her since
she’d worn pigtails and had a mouthful of braces. Being the
youngest, she’d been indulged her whole life, but she’d turned into
a determined — some might say pushy—woman. She mastered in
political science, and was now making her mark in the state
political arena. If they could only see her with the reindeer
headband sprouting antlers on top of her deep brown locks like the
audacious kid she once was, they’d laugh.

Marie beamed at him. “Thane, you’re going to
love your present this year.”

One of her missions in life was to hook him
up with one of her friends. Every year he had a couple nights
enjoyment with the woman she brought to the Christmas Eve dinner,
and Marie knew how to pick ’em.

“I brought a friend,” she said winking at
him. “Her name’s Doreen. She’s a veterinarian. She has her own
practice and she’s very independent.”

He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and
shook his head. Normally he’d be interested to see what Marie
offered, but not this year. His mind reeled with only one woman.
Marie grabbed his hand and dragged him into the melee.

Handshakes and hugs went around as Red’s
family descended on him. Tomorrow he’d spend Christmas with his
sister. His parents were coming out this year as well, but it was a
lot quieter than this Christmas storm. Marie dragged him through
the living room and stopped beside a very beautiful woman.
Somewhere in her thirties, the woman radiated a serene beauty. Deep
brown waves of hair cascaded around her shoulders and she clasped
her hands in front of her demurely.

“Thane Austen, I’d like you to meet Doreen
Rochester,” Marie said with a bewitching smile.

He nodded and accepted Doreen’s lithe hand.
“Doreen, it’s nice to meet you.”

“I’ll leave you two to get acquainted,”
Marie said, giving him another wink before leaving.

Doreen’s eyes washed across his features and
a warm smile touched her lips. She was beautiful, but she
wasn’t…

“When’s dinner on, sweetheart?” Red called
out to Lydia as she broke from the kitchen with oven mitts
clutching a large white serving bowl.

“A few more minutes,” Lydia responded,
setting the bowl on the table.

Guiding Doreen to a couch, they seated
themselves amongst Red’s family.

“This is quite the show.” Doreen offered an
enchanting and interested smile.

“It’s like this every year, but it’s getting
noisier,” he said with humor. It had been a helluva long time since
he’d had sex. How many times had he stared at the pages of women’s
numbers in his phone list who could ease his carnal cravings? He’d
sworn to push Kayla from his soul and follow through. He’d tried
taking some out, and politely dropped them off at the end of the
evening, feeling cold when the heat in their eyes began to flame.
Doreen was obviously interested, and she was beautiful.

Doreen pulled his attention back to the now.
“I thought the back of my office was noisy, but this tops it by
miles,” she joked.

A warm sparkle in her eyes touched him. Nice
gal, he thought to himself. “Marie said you have a veterinary
practice.”

She nodded. “I do. I take care of the usual,
cats, dogs, a pot-bellied pig from time to time, but I also
specialize in exotic animals.”

“Really?” Was he interested? He couldn’t get
a grip of his own feelings any more. He shouldn’t have left Kayla
alone last night. He should have stayed with her, whether she
wanted him there or not. Today he’d gone into the office, even
though he didn’t have to. Kayla had brought him four briefings
throughout the day, but she wouldn’t look him in the eyes. She’d
simply waited for his orders and then left his office.

“You’d be surprised at how many people want
to have a tiger or a snake, and then when things get out of hand,
that’s usually when the animal gets hurt or is tossed aside.” She
cocked her head at him. “You’re a Commander at the Amphibious Base,
is that right?”

“That’s right.”

“There she is,” Lydia called out, darting a
quick glance his way.

A red silk dress slipped around the curves
of Kayla’s body, and a pearl necklace lay against her delicate
collarbone. Massive, soft curls cascaded to her chest. She was an
absolute vision.

“Do you know her?’ Doreen asked, trying to
retrieve his attention.

He shot a look at Red, who pursed his lips
trying to repress a grin, and a wicked glint in his eyes told Thane
he’d known Lydia had persuaded Kayla to come. “Ah, yes, she…she’s
one of our newest additions to the Command center.”

“What an amazingly beautiful woman,” Doreen
said without discourse, but watching him closely at the same
time.

“Okay, okay it’s time,” Marie hollered to
the crowd, placing another serving bowl on the table.

Lydia cleared a path, introducing Kayla to
everyone, ending at his doorstep.

Kayla nodded briskly and extended her hand
to Doreen. “Hi, I’m Kayla.”

“Hi Kayla, I’m Doreen. It’s nice to meet
you. I see you’ve been adopted, too.”

Kayla smiled, but not one ounce of warmth
sat in her eyes. She looked tormented to him.

“I suppose. Lydia and Captain Redding were
kind enough to invite me.” Her gaze swept across the room, and a
little warmth seeped into her expression when Red pushed himself
from his big old leather chair and walked up to them.

“Kayla I’m glad you came.” Red gave her a
warm hug. “You look lovely. Why don’t we find you a seat—”

Marie stepped into the circle with
razor-sharp awareness. She panned a mildly annoyed look at Kayla.
“Hi, I’m Marie, daughter number six.”

Kayla shook her hand. “Thank you for letting
me join your family tonight.”

“Where’s yours?” Marie said a little too
sharply.

Kayla shook her head once. “I don’t
have…they’re not here.”

Marie surveyed her coolly. “Well, I guess
you know the Commander, but you haven’t met Doreen.”

She introduced Doreen as if they were a
couple, but Kayla’s expression didn’t give a twitch of
acknowledgement.

Marie placed her hands on her hips. “Thane,
Doreen, I’ve put you two down near dad, and Kayla there should be
an empty seat at that end,” she said, motioning carelessly with her
finger.

“Thank you,” Kayla murmured.

Kayla was so damn tense he could taste it.
To everyone else she probably appeared reserved and relaxed, but he
knew different. Doreen’s arm slid through his. He uncoiled her from
him and laid a hand on her back to lead the way.

Dinner conversations rolled over each other
and mingled with bursts of laughter. Kayla sat at the end of the
table circled by grandchildren, and she helped them cut their meat
and cleared up their spills. Her eyes didn’t venture to his once.
When everyone was full and happy, she jumped up immediately to help
Lydia clear the dishes.

“Are you finished, Commander?” Kayla asked
before reaching for his plate.

His body tensed as her hip brushed his arm.
He swallowed thickly and picked up his plate. “Thanks, Kayla.” As
she worked her way around the table, his eyes followed, and when
she disappeared behind the door to the kitchen, he simply stared at
the door. Sadness bit him hard, Kayla had isolated herself with her
sorrow and loneliness. The haunted gaze he’d remembered seeing when
he’d first looked into her eyes was all that was left there
now.

* * * *

Kayla scraped the leftovers into the garbage
and loaded the dishwasher. Captain Redding’s daughters brought the
dishes in but returned to the table, seeing galley duty was in
hand.

“Kayla, are you feeling all right?” Lydia
asked gently, touching her shoulder.

“Yes, Lydia.” Straightening up, she looked
into the features of a woman whose face had morphed into a regal
warmth with age. As a young woman, she had to have been an absolute
beauty. Lydia’s concern for her made Kayla’s chest squeeze tight.
“I’m fine.”

“Christmas can be a hard time of year, can’t
it?” Lydia said, but didn’t add more.

Tears torqued in her eyes and she bent over
to rearrange the plates in the dishwasher.

“You’re welcome to join us tomorrow evening,
Kayla. I would love it if you came. I’m sure you’re going to put on
ten pounds between tonight and tomorrow, but Christmas is off the
radar when counting calories.”

“I’m working Jake and John’s shifts.”
Shuffling the plates around to make more room in the dishwasher,
she squeezed a few more in. “I appreciate the invitation.”

Lydia’s smile edged with understanding.
“I’ve started the coffee, why don’t I wash and you dry?”

“This is family time, Lydia. I’ll wash and
dry, my thanks for a wonderful dinner. Go,” she ordered, shooing
her out of the kitchen. “I’ll bring the coffee out when it’s
ready.”

Surrounded by pans heaped on the kitchen
counter, she stopped to stare out the window to a large backyard. A
swing set and toys cluttered the yard, reminders that children were
always present in this home. Bikes lay on their sides, waiting for
little hands to pick them up and leave a zigzag of trails through
the grass. Pulled into the past, she saw herself. There was little
laughter, only confusion and fear. She stretched her arms and
gripped the edge of the counter, bowing her head while the sink
filled with water. The door opened behind her. “I’ll bring the
coffee when it’s done.”

Warm hands slid around her waist and Thane’s
chest fit to her back. He didn’t say anything, but his chin came
down to rest on her shoulder. Soothing lips gently ran a line
across her skin, but instead of feeling the heat, she
felt—nothing.

“You look so beautiful in that dress,” he
murmured, sweeping her hair from her shoulders and kissing the back
of her neck.

“I’ll bring dessert in soon,” she said,
gazing out at the green lawn. Where was the snow? Christmas meant
snow even in BC, if they were lucky. She would walk in the
neighborhood where she lived, the snow crunching beneath her boots,
peering at the families in their front windows. Christmas trees
glittered with lights and laughter filtered through the homes,
where several cars parked out front brought friends and loved
ones.

Every year she walked like a spirit through
her neighborhood, unseen, unconnected until after midnight. Tired
and numb enough, she’d go home and fall asleep, only to be woken by
her nightmares. This year was different. The temperature hadn’t
dipped below sixty-eight and palm trees instead of snow-covered
bows lined the streets. Although the malls piped jingle bells
through the sound systems and magnificent decorations hung from
vaulted ceilings, it wasn’t the same.

“Sweetheart, don’t shut me out,” Thane said,
drawing his arm around her chest, pressing her against his
warmth.

She wiped a stray tear away before he could
see it. “I was just thinking about work, actually.”

“No, you weren’t.”

“Thane?” Doreen came through the door and
stopped.

Instead of drawing away from her, he kept
his arm wrapped protectively around her. “We’ll bring everything
out in a second,” he said.

Doreen cleared her throat. “Sure,” and
quickly backed out of the kitchen.

She grasped the taps and Thane covered her
hands with his, twisting them off. “I didn’t come with her, Kayla.
Marie tries to set me up every year.”