Code Name: Ghost (A Warrior's Challenge 1) (43 page)

He sat up straight, his brow rippling.
“Kayla—what?” Stunned, he watched her march toward his house. “What
the hell?” he muttered, looking around the tree line. Half a moon
glowed and gave enough light to see dark outlines, but not
definition.

“Commander—” Mace said drawing out the
title.

“What?” he snapped, remembering his entire
team had just shared their most intimate moment.

Mace cleared his throat. “Sir, you realize
what you just said, right?”

He grabbed his pants and yanked them onto
his legs. He paused and then pushed himself to his feet. “Report,
Lieutenant Cobbs, anything?”

“Nothing, Commander, if he’s lurking he’s
just observing.”

“Then you’re relieved for the night. Get
some sleep, men.” Only the rustle of foliage in his earpiece gave
away his teams extraction, but he caught no movement with his
eyes.

As he walked toward the house, he heard
Cobbs. “Thane…”

“Stand down, Pat, I’ll watch her.”

“Listen, old friend, you know you have to
fix this, right?”

“Fix what?” he growled, but the guilt
already bit into his guts. He realized once Mace had prompted him,
what his words must have sounded like to her. That’s not what he
had meant to say.

Silence returned, and then a sigh followed.
“Are you bringing her in tomorrow morning?”

“I think I will. She needs to work. It’ll
make her feel more at ease. She needs normal right now. She’s
scared, although she hides it better than most men.”

“Maybe that’s because she feels alone, even
with us around her. She’s lived through a lot already, and now she
has to face this.”

Cobbs knew him better than anyone did, so he
didn’t take offense with his next words.

“She’s not just a regular woman. Kayla is
missing in action, Thane. No one can go through that many years of
abuse and not be affected. You’re either going all the way or
you’re going to walk away. Don’t hurt her worse than she already
is.”

He pushed the back door open, locked it
behind him and scanned the empty room. Leaning against the door, he
swayed his head in resignation. “I know, Pat. Why the hell do I
always say the wrong thing to her? And that was the worst thing I
could have said, wasn’t it?”

“Yup. See ya tomorrow, Ghost.”

“Send Marg my love, okay?”

“You know I will. She worries about you,
too. She says she’ll keep doing it until someone relieves her of
duty, and she hopes it’s Kayla.”

His brow wrinkled with doubt. “I just blew
my only chance tonight with the most amazing woman I’ve ever known.
How the hell could I have screwed that up?” He walked down the hall
and checked the bathroom.

“See, I always knew there was hope for you,
Ghost, but the beauty of women is they’ll usually forgive us for
saying stupid shit.”

His shoulders rose with a laugh. “Night,
Pat.”

“Roger, out.”

“Kayla?” Eyes everywhere, and with a hurried
step he searched the darkened house. “Kayla?” He tugged on the
garage door, still locked. “Kayla, answer me.”

A door slammed shut down the hallway. That’s
not a good sign. Standing in front of the closed guest room door,
he took a deep breath. Kayla was pissed. “Kayla, I—”

“Take a hike,” shot through the door.

“Open the door. If we’re going to fight,
it’s going to be face to face.”

“I don’t need to see your face right now.
Good night, Commander.”

He exhaled, trying to keep his patience, but
the two inches of wood between them was pissing him off. Crazy
words threatened to spill from his mouth, but he resisted. Too many
years of making love to women and leaving them without a second
thought had ingrained itself. Too many missions, too many funerals
seeing the sorrow in the widow’s eyes as he laid a folded flag in
their shaking hands stopped him.

“Kayla, open the fuckin’ door.” He heard her
tenacious footsteps fall away and the creak of the frame as she sat
on the bed. Maybe leaving her alone would be best. Christ, he
didn’t know, this was a first for him. Shuffling a woman out of his
house on the rare occasion he did have one over was never an issue
and of paramount importance. He rested his palm on the raised wood
panel. “We have spent every night in each other’s arms for two
weeks.” When silence returned, he slid down the pine-stained door,
and sat on the floor crossing his arms over his knees. “Is this the
silent treatment?” Leaning his head back, he closed his eyes.

“Go to bed, Commander Austen.”

* * * *

Thane’s eyes shot open and he craned his
neck to see the clock on his nightstand staring back at him. Zero
two-thirty hours. The sound that must have pulled him from sleep
came again. Kayla was crying out. Throwing the blankets, he strode
down the hall and listened. Reaching for the knob, he rolled his
eyes as it turned in his hand. Why the hell hadn’t he tried the
door earlier?

Filling the doorway, he took a quick scan of
the room. The streetlight splashed the floor with a diffused glow.
Kayla struggled with her demons as she did every night. Sweat
covered her body, and her arms jerked then stilled. Standing over
her, knowing what she was fighting in her mind, his anger
dissolved. Biting his cheek, he stared down at her. The strength
she had to possess to deal with her past and not fold to her demons
amazed him. Lying down, he curled her in his arms. “Sweetheart, he
can’t hurt you anymore,” he whispered, gathering her heated body
against his. “I’ve got you.” Within a few seconds, she relaxed.

Kayla draped her leg across his. Dipping his
head, he nestled his chin against her hair. “Have to leave,” she
mumbled, and then her breathing eased. The long draws of a peaceful
sleep tempting her.

He didn’t want to contemplate what his life
without Kayla would be like. The answer came with one
word—empty.

Once he was sure the nightmares had been
driven back, he left her. For the next two hours he stared at the
ceiling, resisting the urge to return to her. What they’d shared
would stay with him forever. He ignored the immediate agreement of
his erection, and tried to sleep.

* * * *

Thane held out a cup to her when she walked
into the kitchen the next morning. She expected anger, instead—he
pushed the milk carton and sugar toward her with a worried
expression. “One cream, and a half sugar.”

A quick snap of guilt ricocheted inside her.
“Thank you.” She poured it quickly and then headed for the
deck.

Waking with a clear head, she’d decided
Thane was not going to be twisted up in her troubles any more.
Sitting down on the wooden stairs, she stared into the sky. A few
small cumulus clouds dotted the otherwise clear celestial dome.

He sat down beside her. “You are a pain in
the ass.”

This time she wasn’t falling for the bait to
prod her into an argument. Slowly she raised her chin, her heart
racing, but she folded it in a cold hand of refusal. “No,” she
looked over her shoulder at him. “I’m a pain in
your
ass.
Let the police do their job and you go do yours.”

“I am doing my job. We serve and
protect.”

“Not one person,” she said, attempting to
get up, but he laid a strong hand on her arm for her to stop.

“Sometimes we do.”

“Somebody important, not someone like
me.”

“You are important. You’re important to
me.”

“I know. I’m the bait, and I’ll do my part.”
Downing her coffee in a couple gulps, she lingered on the split
second of warmth it gave her, then took a deep breath. “I’ll take
the bus to work, and I’m going home tonight.”

“We need to talk about last night.”

“No, we don’t.”

He followed her into the kitchen. Grabbing
her overnight bag, she headed for the door, but he stood in front
of it with his arms crossed. When she looked at him, he shook his
head at her as if exasperated. “You’re not bait, and I—”

“I know—you’re like the Mounties. You always
get your man.”

“Sit,” he ordered, and pointed at his
couch.

“Bite me.” She almost stunned herself with
that one, but obviously, it stunned him more when his eyes popped
open. Then guilt, which had no business taking a stroll through her
heart, made her pause. “Listen, I get it. I’m okay with it, and I
don’t need to talk about it.”

“You don’t get squat. Sit the fuck down, Ms.
Banks.”

Making a big production of scanning the
ground around her, she then looked up at him. “I don’t see a
military base around here, do you, SEAL? There’s about three
kilometers of road between here and there. I’m going to work. You
can take it out on me there.”

“You’re not working today, sit.”

“Then I’m going home. Either way, I’m not
staying here with you.”

“Fine, you want to be obstinate—go.” He
opened the door with a sharp tug. “If you want to pretend what
happened between us last night meant nothing, great, so will I.”
His eyes grew fierce.

She brushed by him ignoring his anger.
“Good, put me on your ‘been there, done that’ list.”

An angry growl rumbled from him. “You’re the
one running away, not me.”

At the bottom of the steps, she turned to
look up at him. He always had to have the last word, well not this
time. “You have a country to protect. I have a job to do.
Obviously, we crossed the line. Transfer me, soon.”

He nodded sharply. “You want a transfer, you
got it.” The door closed with a heavy bang.

God, he was such a hardheaded egomaniac, and
he’d gotten the last word in—again. Standing at the bus stop, she
mulled over their intimate moments in her mind. His words to her
while they made love kept tumbling over each other, but she
couldn’t make sense of any of them. They’d resisted each other for
so long. Why last night? Suddenly she realized Thane’s car was
parked against the curb a foot away from her. The window
lowered.

“Get in, we can fight some more on the way
to work.”

She concentrated on the lady walking her dog
across the street. Dressed in his uniform, Thane got out of the car
and approached, looking like one very angry, profoundly large man.
The two other people at the bus stop took a step backwards. He
stopped only inches from her, but didn’t touch her, leaving his
hands on his hips. “You’re not bait, all right, and you should know
that.”

Her bus rounded the corner and trundled
toward them. “My bus is coming.” Her heart hammered in her chest
with Thane staring down at her. “It was mind-blowing sex, is that
what you need to hear? And it will never happen again.” She
shrugged. “There you go, you’ve heard it.”

Thane’s mouth tightened into a thin line
then he turned and opened the passenger door. “Get in.”

It was easy for anyone to see he was
vibrating mad. “Want to hit me, don’t you? Go ahead, get it out of
your system.”

“What?” His expression disintegrated into
confusion. “Kayla, I could never do that.” He gently grabbed her
shoulders. “If this is a test you can consider it over right now.
You can push my buttons all you want, but I will never hurt
you.”

She almost caved with the sorrowful look in
his eyes. Believing in him had always been easy for her, it was
herself she didn’t trust. “I have to go, Commander.” He looked
terribly unbalanced, and that didn’t happen—ever. “You’re the first
man I’ve…well you know…in a long time. I understand why you did it,
and it was the right thing to do. We have to catch the Shark so no
one else will die. I can stand on my own two feet. I don’t need
your protection or your concern.” She swallowed heavily, knowing
every word was a damn lie. “But we can never do that again because
you push all my buttons, too. The ones that make me into a woman
who doesn’t want to be alone any more. Who thinks you’re the most
amazing man she’s ever known, no doubt like all the other women
who’ve spent a minute with you. That’s more dangerous than the
Shark will ever be to me.”

He blinked at her and for once, she got the
last word, and stepped onto the bus.

She worked her last shift of the set and it
was a busy one. Sleep deprived, she was wearing down. Revealing her
thoughts to Thane had worked. He gave her space, at least
physically, but he called her every night wanting to come see her.
Her answer was a resounding, “No.” He said they needed to
talk
. Since when did men want to
talk
? Last night had
been the hardest.

“I’m coming over and you better open the
door,” the Commander said, sounding more unsure than
threatening.

“Not happening.”

“Why?” he shot back. “My men shouldn’t be
there, I should.”

“Send the team home.” A four-man shift
watched her every night. She always brought the guys in and made
them dinner. They tried so hard to make her feel at ease, and she
tried hard to make them go home, but they’d give her a hug and
kiss, and resume their post until morning. Thane didn’t come as far
as she knew, at least she didn’t see him.

“I will, if you let me come over.”

“Whatever you need to say, you can say it on
the phone.”

“I want to say it in person.”

Maybe the Ghost realized he had gone too far
trying to the catch the bad guy. “You don’t have to screw me to
entice the Shark. Send your men home and he’ll come.”

“That’s not why I made love to you.”

“Screwed.”

“Made love.” The words recoiled like a
powerful rifle and then he fell silent.

Her heart constricted wanting to believe
him, but the man whore of Coronado wasn’t going to change his
spots. “Bullshit. Now send the guys home, because they won’t listen
to me.”

A heavy knock on her door made her mouth
gape. She didn’t have to open it to know there was a very powerful,
exceedingly handsome warrior standing on the other side of it.
“
Go—home
.”