Her Daring SEAL (Midnight Delta Book 5) (3 page)

She looked at him.  Georgie once again saw things he shouldn’t be able to, it was like he was on a different plane with his autism that made him a little more sensitive, more in-tune with other things.

“I’m safe, Georgie, you don’t have to worry about me.”  This time, he did look at her directly.

“Don’t lie.  Lying is bad.”

Fuck.  Were all of the kids going to call her on her shit today?  Was it ‘Pick on Rylie Day’ and she just hadn’t been told?  Her stomach grumbled, and she felt the effect of the cheese on the eggs.  Yep, it was definitely ‘Pick on Rylie Day.’

***

D
arius got to his apartment in San Diego.  He’d just left the hospital where Tate Llewellyn had gotten out of ICU.  He knew the man was in for a rough haul.  He’d lost part of his left lung, but it wasn’t the physical issues he was worried about, it was the bullshit he was dealing with from the brass at the CIA.  Seriously, in Darius’ eyes, and the rest of the Midnight Delta SEAL team, Tate was a hero.  He had literally saved the three man and woman single handedly from a suicide bomber. 

Tate said he had told them help was on the way, but it was just seconds before the bomber had infiltrated the compound.  The scientists hadn’t been apprised of the rescue, so of course they would have taken off on their own instead of waiting around for the next attempt on their lives.  The problem was nobody knew if they were now working with ISIS or not.  They had been working on the nuclear weapons program for their country.

Tate had been in contact with the head scientist, Fatima, for months.  He was positive she would never work with a terrorist organization, but he couldn’t get his superiors to believe him.  Now instead of trying to rescue them, there was a bounty on their heads, despite the fact Tate had recorded his Skype conversations with Fatima, but Tate’s computer had blown up in the explosion, and the paranoid bastard hadn’t saved any of the data with the CIA system. 

Currently, Clint Archer, the head of communications for Midnight Delta, was working to get his hands on the recordings for the Navy.  If anyone could find them, it would be Clint.  Darius was pretty sure Tate’s field instincts were right, and Fatima and her team were on the side of the angels.  He hoped Clint and the Navy could help them.  Fuck, Langley needed to pull their heads out of their asses, like a woman scientist was going to go sign up to work with ISIS, yeah, that was going to happen.

Despite the fact he was exhausted, Darius knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep without going for either a run or a swim.  After the time in the desert, he opted for a swim.  It was one of the benefits of living two blocks from the beach.  His apartment might be tiny, but by God, the location was perfect.

He threw on his trunks and tennis shoes, went out on his second floor deck, climbed over, and dropped down on the little grass spot.  He grinned and waved at Marci, who was sipping something with an umbrella.

“Hey handsome, off for a swim?”

“Yep.”

“We’re having a party tomorrow night.  You’re invited.  Bring the boys.”  He looked over her pretty tanned curves and come hither smile.

“Any boy in particular?”

“You.  It’s always you, Dare.  But my friends like it when the others come, it ups my reputation when I can get you sexy single SEALs to show up.”

He grinned at her fun flirting.  She never pouted when he turned her down, and she was never clingy the few times he hadn’t.  Yep, Marci had been perfect.  Too bad his focus had been on one slippery blonde for the last six months.

“Oh no, you’ve got that look in your eye again.  You know, if I can’t talk you into a date, you might want to come over for a couple of drinks and a long venting session.  Sometimes talking to another woman about your woman problems can help.”

“I think a long swim in a big ocean is the answer Marci, but thanks.”

“Suit yourself.  But come to the party.  It’s going to be rocking.”

“I’ll think about it.”  He looked at her again in her bikini on the deck chair and paused.  “You are wearing sun screen, aren’t you?”

“Ah shit.  Dare, if seeing me in this little bit of nothing has you only worried about my health, then I know you have it bad.  Yes, Daddy, I’m wearing sun screen.  Now go swim.”  She gave him a wide smile and saluted him with her drink.

He trotted down the street and realized how bad he had it.  Rylie Jones, aka Sylvia Hessman, had been on his mind constantly, and he had only seen her in person once.  Since the operation in Veracruz, he knew she was embroiled in the human trafficking operation up to her delicate little neck, and it scared the piss out of him.

He arrived at the beach and got to the water’s edge.  He toed off his sneakers and waded into the water.  Finally, at the right depth, he dove in.  Cold.  Perfect.  He started swimming straight out from shore, maybe twenty-five meters then rotated ninety degrees and swam parallel to the beach.  Kicking, and pulling himself through the water, kicking and pulling, he swam hard, loving the burn.  Occasionally the water splashed into his mouth as he turned for air, but he relished the taste of the salt water.  It tasted of home.

Just before he hit the wall, he turned and started back, knowing he would be physically and mentally burnt out by the time he reached his shoes.  It would be perfect as he dragged his sad, sorry ass back to his apartment.  He would be able to sleep.  He’d dream.  It would be of Rylie.  He still remembered her in the stunning suit with the short skirt, her eyes made up to look all exotic and smoky. Her baby fine blonde hair pinned up, and her tiny little feet encased in those high heels.

––––––––

S
he looked like crap.  She had a plane to catch, and she’d been up all night, sick in the bathroom.
Thank you, lactose intolerance.
  Rylie finished brushing her teeth.  She didn’t need to pack her toothbrush, she had an entire ‘Sylvia Hessman’ suitcase in a storage facility close to the Dallas Fort/Worth International Airport.  Apparently, she had been right in her paranoia since Sawyer was already on to her antics.

The boy was way too smart.  Hell, both of her boys were.  Scratch that, Sawyer was damn near a man.  Rylie gulped another big mouthful of air, frowned at herself in the mirror and went to the fridge to grab some Sprite.  Four o’clock in the morning was not her favorite time of day. 

“Hey,” Sawyer said.  Well, at least he had waited until she had finished swallowing.

“Hey, back,” Rylie responded.

Sawyer was seated backwards in the chair, his arms hanging over the back.  “Are you off to save the world?”

“I’m not going to talk about your deluded fantasies, Sawyer.”

“I had Trey hack into your computer.” 

The green bottle stopped midway to her lips.  “Impossible.”

“He said he’d never seen anyone as good as you...except for him.” 

Rylie thought of the little boy who had been Sawyer’s friend forever.  He’d hovered since he was a geeky adolescent, asking her questions, always wanting to learn from her.  He had been such an eager computer student.  She had been happy to help teach him.  He’d stopped asking her questions six months ago.  It should have been a big red flag.  But no, she’d had her head up her ass.  There was only one way he could have bypassed her security protocols.  “You let him into
our
house, and let him touch
my
computers.”

“You bet your ass I did.”

Yep, with direct access to her computers he could have hacked her, and she hadn’t set up very strong security against hackers here at home, because Char, Sawyer, and Mrs. Whitehawk sucked at computers.

“But why?  Why would you do that, Sawyer?”  She had to use two hands to put down the soda bottle.  There were videos of beheadings and torture on her computer.  She’d tracked down drug lords in Veracruz to help stop their reign of terror just months ago. 

“Because the woman I consider my sister, hell the woman who raised me, is up to her neck in something that scares the hell out of me.  Do you know how much I hate to have you out of my sight?  The reason Georgie cries when you leave is because he picks up on my terror.  He’s a smart boy.  Charlotte prays for you, she believes God will keep you safe, I want more than that.”  A slow smile spread across his face.

“Oh God, Sawyer what did y’all do?” Rylie demanded, her accent suddenly thick.

“I didn’t do anything, sis,” he said innocently.  Too innocently.

“What did you have Trey do?” 

“It all depends, Rylie.  If you’re going to Omaha like you said, to go pitch some new software to a company, then Trey did nothing but confuse some lady in San Diego.  But, if you are actually planning on going undercover to Vancouver as Sylvia Hessman, then you will end up with some Navy backup.”

“Dammit, Sawyer, y’all had no right.”  Rylie remembered to keep her voice lowered at the last moment.  She didn’t want to wake up Georgie or Charlotte.

“Are you telling me you aren’t going to Omaha, Rylie?”

She slumped against the avocado green refrigerator and stared at the young man’s steely gaze.

“Vancouver.  I’m going to Vancouver.  What did Lydia say?”

“She kind of reminded me of you.”  Sawyer finally grinned. The knot in Rylie’s stomach eased.  “She demanded to know all about me and Trey.  After we had given her our names, within minutes she had the size of our underwear.  Then she stonewalled us.  Said she would keep you safe, and if we wanted more information, we would have to ask you.”

“I love that woman.” Rylie smiled thinking of Lydia Hidalgo, a woman who had been tortured by Mexican drug lords and was still intent on finishing her degrees so she could join a law enforcement agency.

“Well, apparently the feeling is only somewhat mutual.  She has been trying to track you down for a long time, and she sounded really frustrated she hadn’t managed to find you until we had contacted her.”

“Yeah, well, I liked it better when she didn’t know where to find me.”

“Rylie, we read all of your chats with her, before we contacted her.  Trey was not impressed you kept those on your computer by the way.  Anyway, we could tell she was one of the ‘good-guys.'  We’re not stupid.”

“Sawyer, you are one of the smartest people I’ve ever met.  I would trust you with my life.”

“Then why haven’t you?” He shot out of the chair, nearly tipping it over.  Suddenly, he was towering over her, his eyes glistening with tears.  “Rylie, you are the heart and soul of this family.  You’re the one who saved all of us.  You, Char, and I were together in that soulless home for orphans.  You rescued us when you became an adult.  You concocted this bullshit story about being our older sister.  You didn’t forget about us.  You saved us, you saved Georgie when his piece of shit mother threw him away, and now you’re putting yourself in danger.  I won’t have it.”

“It’s not as bad as you think, Sawyer.”  She watched in horror as a tear dripped down his face.

“It’s worse, we saw those videos you forwarded to Lydia.  You’ve done some intensive research on this father and son named Guzman.  My God, they behead people.  You have videos of it.  Trey showed me how you actually met up with them in Lerado.  Are you out of your damn mind?  They torture people, cut out their tongues, and you go traipsing down to a Texas border town so you could get donations for the damn children’s home.  Don’t deny it, Trey showed me all the proof.”  He was trembling so hard Rylie thought he’d fly apart.  She wrapped her arms around him, and he clung to her.

“This is my last time pretending to be Sylvia Hessman, I promise.”

“Please don’t go.”  It was the pleading of the nine-year-old boy she had first met.  The boy she had made a solemn promise to years ago.

“Sawyer, I have to.”

He pushed out of her arms.  “Fine, then expect to have company on your flight from Dallas to Vancouver.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that even though Lydia wouldn’t tell us anymore than we had already found on your computers, she did promise us you would have back-up on this mission, and Trey and I believed her.”

“I can’t.  It will get me killed.”

“Doing what you’re doing is what will get you killed.  Don’t you see that, Rylie?”

“Lives are depending on me.  I’ve met these girls, Sawyer, some of them are younger than you.  They’ve been taken from their homes, some sold by their families, some orphaned, some just fell for a gimmick, and now they have been shipped to North America to be sold.  They need help, and I can help them.”

“Call the authorities.”

“They’ll just shut down this operation, and start again somewhere else.  I need to make sure we cut out the whole cancer, and I’m the only one who can do it.  I’ve been playing this part with Albert Liu for almost a year.  I’ve gained his trust.  I’m so close, I can’t afford to have anyone, or anything upset this operation.  It’s delicate.”

“Tough.  I feel for these women, I do, Rylie.  But it’s you I really care about.  Lydia said the men who would be coming to help are the best.  They’ll keep you safe.  Since you don’t seem to have the sense God gave a turnip, I’m trusting the people she’ll send.” 

The image of a man with dark hair shot through with auburn highlights burst in front of her, his dark, intense eyes glaring at her, as he rubbed her feet.  As much as she wanted to rail at Sawyer, she couldn’t help thinking Darius Lane Stanton might be an answer to a prayer.

“Talk to me, Rylie.”

“I still can’t believe you did this.”  Now she was beginning to feel vulnerable, and she didn’t like it.  She didn’t like it at all.

“If you’re so upset, then stay home.  I know this Lydia lady was positive these Navy guys could keep you safe, but I don’t want you to go.  Please, Rylie, I’m begging you.  Stay here.  Stay here with Char, and me, and Georgie.  We need you.” She hated to see him so scared.  She had to reassure him somehow.

“Sawyer, they’re not just navy, they’re Navy SEALs.  Seriously, I’ve seen them do amazing things.  There is this one man who you can absolutely trust.”

For a moment she saw a glimmer of hope in the boy she considered her brother, then it was replaced with grim desolation.