Homeland Security (Defenders of Love Book 2) (12 page)

"So, Katie, I never got to thank you properly for taking such good care of my boy here."

Kaiden felt the heat in his cheeks when his mother leaned over and mussed his hair. Katie smiled around her ham and replied, "I was just doing my job, ma'am, but I appreciate your thanks."

"You went well beyond your job in ensuring Kaiden's comfort. We all appreciate it."

"By all she means me and her," Kaiden interrupted.

"And your brother Keegan. If we hadn't been able to trust Miss Katie here, we wouldn't have ever left the hospital. The staff would have been fed up with me gettin' in all their business!"

"I'm sure it wouldn't have been that bad."

"Oh, you don't know how challenging we James' can be." Kaiden and Clara dissolved in a fit of laughter.

"Well, I am very glad I was able to be there and make sure Kaiden's wound healed correctly."

"I think he got some pretty personal care—you definitely made him a lot less ornery!'

"Ma! What are you doing?"

"Just expressing my gratitude, son." Clara grinned at him.

"Like I said, taking care of him was my job." Katie winked at him. "The extra attention was because I wanted him to be comfortable."

"And then my son left the hospital without so much as bidding you a good bye. So, how did you end up back in each other's company?"

"It's work. And you know I can't—"

"Talk about work… yes, I am well aware of the secrets you keep." Turning to Katie she whispered in a conspiratorial voice, "If you get mixed up with my boy he will keep you in the dark all the time. Better be sure you have some thick skin."

"
Mother
, will you please stop?"

Clara raised her hands in surrender. "Okay! Okay, I give up. Not another word about your job. Easy to do since I know nothing about it."

"
Ma!
"

"Moving on then. Tell me, Katie, do you like chocolate cake?"

"Absolutely." Katie pushed her empty plate forward. "It's my favorite desert."

Clara rose from the table and carried the dirty dishes to the sink. She returned with a layer cake and some fresh plates. She cut and served a piece to each of them before speaking again.

"So, what brings the two of you to my door this evening?"

"Work. I told you on the phone that I ran into Katie as a part of a case."

"And that case has you bringing this young lady home to hang out with your mother?"

"Sort of. I'm after a suspect and intel says he is holed up here at his family's vacation home."

"Are you here after the Marks boy?"

Katie choked on her cake. Kaiden shot her a look but she just drank from her glass of milk and pretended nothing happened.

"What makes you say that, Ma?"

"Because the Marks family has the biggest
vacation
home in the area and after spending months locked up tight, it's been busier than a methadone clinic on Christmas Eve."

"What do you know about the Marks family, Mom?"

Clara shrugged. "What everyone knows I guess. They are wealthy, involved in politics. Maureen Marks sometimes stays out here alone, probably to have a break from all the pompous asses in and out of her house on the coast all the time."

"Is she here now?" Kaiden asked.

"Not too sure. Someone is though and I have heard it was the son. Of course, that's just old ladies gossiping in the supermarket."

"What else are they saying in the supermarket?"

"Not much at all. Maureen is the quiet sort and that boy of hers has always been involved in one scheme or another so I figured if he was the one holed up at the Marks place then he had to be in some sort of fix."

"Mrs. Marks is actually a very sweet, kind woman," Katie said. "She was never anything but nice to me. Unlike Nathan."

"Oh, so you know the Marks family?" Clara asked, her curiosity evident.

"I was engaged to Nathan."

"Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle! You don't say?"

"We… um… we broke up a while back. Among his other issues, Nathan has difficulty being faithful."

"I am so sorry to hear that." Clara's words were kind but not really sympathetic. Kaiden caught the sly look his mother passed to him. She was no more sorry that Katie's engagement had ended than Kaiden. If he knew his mother, she already had their wedding planned and he hadn't even confirmed to Clara that there was a reason to plan a wedding.

Because, technically, there isn't.

After they caught up with Nathan the next day he was going to have a real sit down with Katie and see what—if anything—really existed between them. Besides red hot hormones and explosive chemistry.

Yes, after they had Nathan.

Kaiden's phone began to vibrate in his pocket. "Damn, I forgot to call Hunter when we got here." He fished the phone out of his pocket and hit the answer button. "Hey boss, give me a minute." There was a rumble of choice words that he chose to ignore as he turned to his mother and Katie. "You two behave. Ma, no baby pictures or anything. I'll be right back."

He strode out of the kitchen, the echo of female laughter following him. He knew women and leaving them alone together could be dangerous. His mother was a nosy old goat and with Katie so sweet and trusting she would fall right in to Clara's web of questions without even realizing Clara had conducted an entire interview for a potential daughter in law.

Putting the phone to his ear again, he greeted his boss. "Hunter. Sorry. It took longer than I thought to get up here and then you know my mother. Everyone had to eat."

"Clara still making those sandwiches out of whole sides of beef?" He could hear Hunter smacking his lips.

"She doesn't know any other way. All those years of feeding three starving teenaged boys, I guess."

"I should have come with you. It's been a long time since I've had a meal that didn't come out of a paper sack or a freezer carton."

"Some other time, Hunter. Take a vacation or something."

"Maybe you could bring me a little care package?" Hunter's plea humored him.

"I'll see what I can do. Now, what do I need to know?"

"Marks is there. He's got a couple of body guards, his personal assistant, and that's it."

"Mom says there's been a lot of vehicle traffic."

"You told your mother why you were there?" Hunter snapped. "You know better."

"Yeah, and you know my mother. She was on that from the second I pulled into the driveway. She compared the Marks compound to a methadone clinic."

Hunter let out a loud guffaw. "She didn't!"

"She definitely did. All she knows is I am here to find Marks and that Katie used to be… used to date him." For some reason he couldn't bring himself to say that Katie had been engaged to another man.

"Well, your mom has a gift for figuring things out. I suppose you ought to thank her sometime."

"For what?"

"She gave you the genes that made you into a crack investigator."

Compliments were rare from his boss so he took it as such. "I'll be sure to write it in her Christmas card, Hunter. Anything else I need to know?"

"Local LEOs are set to meet you at noon tomorrow. I don't really think this guy is dangerous. The intel coming in says his only job was to get access to the lab. I think he was too much of a pansy to be involved in anything else. Guys like Nathan Marks don't like to dirty their soft, delicate hands."

"Where is this intel coming from?"

"James. This is Homeland Security—we have
access
!" Hunter burst into a round of laughter at his own bad joke. Kaiden waited him out before speaking again.

"Send me a satellite photo of the compound to my cell when we hang up. I want to see where all the entrances are so I can make a plan."

"Not a problem, James. Keep me updated."

"Will do."

"And don't forget to bring me that doggy bag. There will be a little something in it for you come annual review time." Hunter sounded serious but Kaiden knew he was joking. At least, he hoped so. John Hunter really needed a woman in his life.

Kaiden let out a heavy sigh. "Got it boss."

"One more thing."

"Yeah?"

"Fingerprints came back on the elevator thing."

Kaiden had forgotten about that. "One of Marks' guys?"

"Nope. The security guard at the hospital."

"Son of a bitch. Seriously?"

"He has already been arrested by the locals."

"He give any reason why?"

Hunter laughed. "You won't believe it."

"Try me." At this point he would probably believe anything.

"He said he didn't like you."

"So he tried to
kill
us?"

"Not Katie, just you."

"No way." Kaiden couldn't help but laugh. "A little extreme, don't you think?"

"The old guy's a little off his rocker they say."

"A little?"

"He's actually excited about going to jail. Sad."

"Very sad."

"Okay, James, I'm outta here for the night. Keep in touch."

"Sure thing, boss." He hung up the call and stowed his phone back in his pocket.

As he was about to return to Katie and his mother, it rang again. The name Keegan flashed on the screen. His twin brother rarely called only to chat.

"Hey, Kee, what's up?"

"Just checking in. You blew out of Logan's reception pretty quick the other night."

"Work, man. You know how it is." Keegan had recently left the FBI and was taking a little break before joining the border patrol. He would be working out of Hampton Roads, the area of Virginia where Virginia Beach and Norfolk were. He was excited to have his brother nearby—life got a little lonely sometimes. It would be nice to have family to have a beer with once in a while.

"Yeah. Mom called earlier. She said you were at her place. With that cute little nurse from the hospital. Had any sponge baths lately?" His usually stoic brother seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood.

"You really think I'd tell you?"

"Wouldn't have to, my twin telepathy will let me know."

"Twin telepathy? Are you serious?" Kaiden laughed. "Well, my twin telepathy tells me you are in too good of a mood tonight. What's her name?"

"Whom exactly are you referring to?"

"Whatever woman seems to have discovered your funny bone."

"My funny bone isn't what a lady would be after, dear brother."

"Come on, Kee, quit messing with me. You coming over here or what?"

"You need some help with whatever you are doing here for work?"

"Yeah, I could use some back up. Meet me at Ma's tomorrow morning at nine and I'll bring you up to speed. I suppose Logan's still on his honeymoon?"

"Yup. Haven't heard a peep out of him or Angie. Bet they haven't even checked out the island yet."

His cousin was honeymooning on the resort island of St. Lucia. Kaiden felt a twinge of envy knowing Logan had to be enjoying the tropical paradise thoroughly. Some day he would get his chance at love again. Hopefully someday soon.

"Hey, man, I've got to go. I left Katie alone with Ma."

"Big mistake, dude."

"Yeah, I know. I'll see you in the morning."

"Got it."

Keegan hung up and Kaiden dropped the phone in his pants pocket yet again. He hurried back to the kitchen, praying he could quickly undo any damage his mother might have done in his absence. His stomach dropped when he saw the two of them hunched over an old photo album giggling.

Chapter Twelve

Katie looked up when he entered the room and grinned at him. "Your mom was showing me some interesting photos of you and your brother and cousin."

"And you wonder why I never bring anyone here."

Clara sipped her sweet tea. "I earned the right to show these pictures."

Kaiden scowled. "I know, I know. Forty eight hours of labor, blah… blah… blah... I was only gone for twenty minutes. You two couldn't talk about makeup or fashion or something?"

His mother laughed so hard, iced tea shot through her nose and sprinkled all over the table. "Makeup and fashion?
Please
!"

"You know what I mean. Why did it have to be the embarrassing childhood memories?"

"But Kaiden," Katie said with exaggerated sweetness. "I think you were absolutely adorable with your crazy afro curls and bell bottomed corduroy pants."

"Ugh. You saw that one already?"

"Right after the bathtub shot with the bubble bath beard from when you were about two."

Kaiden groaned as he dropped into a chair. "I am a grown man now, Ma. Can't you get rid of that ridiculous picture?"

Clara chuckled as she cleaned up the droplets of sweet tea. "When I am dead and gone from this world you can do whatever you want with it but while I walk this Earth those pictures are mine to do with as I please."

"I know." He frowned at his mother. "Like put it in my senior yearbook."

Katie dissolved in laughter. "Clara! You didn't!"

"I absolutely did! He was a sweet baby. I wanted his teachers to know he wasn't always a complete pain in the ass."

"Can we get back to business here?" Kaiden said.

"Business? I thought this was a social call. You stopping by to see your frail, aging mother before the good Lord sees fit to send his angels to bring me home."

"Hmpf! You frail and aging? That'll be the day. I fully expect you to shoot the angel of death with your shotgun when he comes to take you away. Is there a special part of Heaven for nutty old ladies like you, sweet mother?"

She swatted him with the dish towel. "Mind your tongue, boy. I heard there's a special place for mothers with smart ass kids. They let us haunt you for the rest of your days until you learn to appreciate the sacrifices we made for you all."

Kaiden rolled his eyes. "Now that I believe. I fully expect you to be just that annoying even from the other side."

Kaiden had always had an easy relationship with his mother. He enjoyed the banter and friendship they shared as adults and knew many people who envied their closeness. Katie watched them with interest but also a hint of sadness in her eyes—he would have to remember to ask her about that later.

"Did your boss say anything about Nathan?"

"Yup. Sent me a few pics of the compound. Should be an easy in/easy out deal. You can hang out here with Ma while Keegan and I pick him up."

"Keegan?" Clara turned from loading the dishwasher.

"Yeah, he called after I hung up with Hunter. He's still on leave so he offered to back me up tomorrow."

"I told you, I want to be there too," Katie said. "In fact, I think we should call the local media. That would be a hot story, a Marks arrested by the feds. He deserves to be humiliated the same way I was."

"That's really not a good idea. The government doesn't operate that way. We like to keep things like this under wraps."

She crossed her arms over her chest and eyed Kaiden. "I know. You yahoos prefer stalking, with commandos that kick in doors and grab a girl from her place wearing pajamas."

"Kaiden!" Clara said. "Did you do that to Katie?"

"No! How could I? I was at Logan's wedding when they took her in."

"Kidnapped me is more like it. They thought I was in cahoots with Nathan."

"I am really sorry about how that went down, I am. But being engaged to Nathan made you just as much a suspect as he is."

"A suspect in what exactly? Before yesterday he hadn't done anything wrong except cheat on me."

"Mandy is dead. How do you suppose that happened?"

"I don't know."

"Why do you think it happened?"

Katie shrugged. "I really have no idea. Nathan is a complicated man."

His mother had stopped loading dishes and watched them intently.

"There's nothing complicated about it. She was a loose end. Whatever Nathan is involved in, Mandy knew too much. You are a loose end. Especially now. I don't trust Nathan or the Marks family to simply let you out there knowing he was up to no good. They are going to want to tie this package up nice and pretty."

"We have no idea what he is involved in! Maybe it's nothing."

"The man had someone steal vials of infectious bacteria from the hospital."

"Legionnaires' isn't deadly. Antibiotics work on it. It's not like he stole anthrax or something."

Clara, who had gone back to tidying up the kitchen stopped again. "Did you say Legionnaires' disease? Is that what this is all about?"

"Do you know something, Ma?"

"Maybe."

"Either you do or you don't," Kaiden snapped. His mother could be absolutely infuriating sometimes.

"Don't sass me, boy. I'm thinking."

Kaiden glowered at his mother. He hated when she talked to him like he was a child but he also knew that Clara had ways of finding things out that others didn't. People like his mother were often chalked up as conspiracy theorists; crazy people always looking for the next big secret. The general population often ignored them but most big conspiracy theories—like most stereotypes— were often rooted in some bit of truth.

"One of my groups put out something the other day about a pharmaceutical company in bed with the feds—CDC or WHO or something like that. They are interested in studying the way infectious diseases spread."

"I don't understand. That is common knowledge in the infectious disease world," Katie said. "People get sick and spread it to others by whatever the mode of transmission is for that disease. Ebola requires contact with body fluids. Others like tuberculosis are airborne."

"I don't think it's the actual spread of disease they are concerned about as much as being able to contain it once it's introduced," Clara replied.

"In a controlled setting. Oh damn, someone wants to use biological warfare."

"And I think the pharmaceutical company has been charged with finding vaccines and medicines that the government can step in with to save the day," Clara said.

"Good Lord," Katie said. "Are you telling me that the government wants to make people sick so they can then step in and save them?"

Clara nodded. "Something like that."

"So, how does Nathan fit into that equation?"

"He's probably just a pawn, he is weak minded and money hungry—he was probably easy to convince. I'll text Hunter and have him do some digging." He pulled out his phone and started typing.

"I still don't understand why they stole Legionnaires' vials. We had worse things sitting right next to it."

"Start small," Clara replied. "Legionnaires' is relatively easy to clean up if things don't work out the way they have planned."

"That's horrible." Kaiden could see the frustration and anger in Katie's eyes.

"The world is not a kind place," Kaiden said as he dropped his phone back in his pocket. "People in power will do pretty much anything to get what they want."

"Lives could be at stake. People could really get hurt from this. Are politics really that important?"

"Yes, Katie," Clara said. "To some people, yes. They will stop at nothing to get what they want. People in power try to control those under them through fear. Someday the shit is really going to hit the fan and all those people out there who did whatever the government said will be sorry they followed so blindly."

"Ma, don't be filling her head full of your prepper stuff right now."

"Prepper stuff?" Katie asked, obviously confused.

"My mother is a part of a movement—a group of people that believe that something will happen to dissolve our country as we know it. They call it
when the shit hits the fan
but what they really mean is a pandemic or a breakdown in infrastructure. Something that disrupts life and lets the government step in and be the hero. These people "prep" or prepare for the worst by making sure they have everything they need to survive on their own should it be necessary."

Understanding lit in Katie's eyes. "Like a house built in the side of a mountain with its own windmill and water tower?"

Clara chuckled. "You noticed those things?"

"Yes, but I was too distracted by a woman with a shotgun and an underground mansion to remember to ask about them."

"Oh, you ain't seen nothin' yet, little girl!"

"Ma!"

"Pft! She is gonna find out soon enough. This girl here isn't going anywhere. If I'm lyin' then I'm dyin' but you two are going to get married one day."

"Wow. Geez." Kaiden could feel the heat in his own cheeks as Katie's fair skin deepened into a dark flush.

"
Please!
It was no secret in the hospital and it's surely no secret now, the way you two keep looking at each other with stars in your eyes."

"Ummm… I was dating Nathan when Kaiden was shot."

"Dating, but not married. I'm not blind, missy, despite my need for these offensive spectacles. You and my boy belong together and I will prove it one day. Sooner rather than later, I should hope."

"As much as I enjoy being interrogated and embarrassed by my mother, I think it's time we all turn in for the night. I have some calls to make and I am sure Katie is exhausted. She has had a rough couple of days."

Katie shot him a grateful look but Clara laughed. "Off with the two of you then. I know when an old lady is being given the brush off." She leaned in and kissed Kaiden on the cheek. "I love you, son, but subtlety has never been one of your strong suits." She hugged Katie. "My boy here will show you where you can stay. Logan's room is fresh and clean and ready for visitors, Kaiden."

"Okay, thanks. I'm not brushing you off though. I really do have work to do."

"I know you do, son." Clara smiled with a knowing look. "I need my beauty sleep anyway. Got to keep all this looking good in case the shit hits the fan and I'm forced to survive on my wit and my good looks. Good night, you two."

Clara disappeared from the room. They could hear her whistling to herself all the way to her bedroom.

"Your mother is an interesting woman."

"She's a quack!" Kaiden replied with a laugh. "But smart as a whip and she knows what's going on in this country."

"Are you a prepper too?"

"By default, I suppose. This place is designed for all us boys and any families we have to live here should the need arise. I don't follow the same social circles as my mother though." He laughed. "I don't really have any social circles."

"Neither do I. Mandy was my only friend in Virginia Beach. I don't really keep in touch with old acquaintances from home."

Kaiden reached up and played with a lock of her hair. "Well, I live in Virginia Beach so perhaps our social circle could include each other."

"Can the busy secret agent find time for a recently unemployed nurse?"

"I am pretty sure he can."

"Sounds like something to consider then."

"By the way, it was the security guard at the hospital that messed with the elevator."

"Are you kidding? He's harmless as a fly!"

"Apparently not. He didn't like me much so he decided to do something about it."

"He didn't like you so he cut the cables on the elevator? Unbelievable!"

"I know, right? Who doesn't love me?" He grinned.

"KAIDEN!" Clara yelled from the back of the house.

"What, Ma?" he yelled back.

"Let that poor gal get some sleep!"

"Alright! Alright! I'm showing her to Logan's room now!"

They heard a door close and the house fell silent. "I guess I ought to take you to your room now. You will like it. Based on the bedroom, I think my mother likes him best." He started down the hall toward the sleeping area, his hand on Katie's back. She made no move to shake off his touch. He resisted the urge to wrap his arms around her. They both could use some sleep.

"Logan is your cousin, right?"

"Yes, but he might as well be my brother. He came to live with us when his father went to prison for killing his mother. I think he was eleven or twelve at the time. It happened on his birthday."

"That's awful!"

"Logan is a good guy but he's fought a lot of demons. Angelina has made him in to a new man. Funny how love changes a guy."

"I wouldn't know."

***

She had no idea how love could change a guy since apparently no one had ever loved her enough to stop being a crooked politician.

Ever since their conversation with Clara, Katie found herself getting madder and madder at Nathan. The man was a sell-out, among so many other things.