SEAL's Code (17 page)

“I have no clue. I’m guessing no. She’s only fifteen.”

“You call me back in a day or so when I’ve done a little more digging around. I know better than to assume I can reach
you
.”

“That’s right.”

“I have a pretty good idea for what purpose she was taken. What I don’t know yet is
why
she was chosen. I’ll bet my ass it wasn’t random. So I think that’s a good thing, right?”

“Maybe.” The caller sighed. “You need any local help, like if some miracle should happen and he was allowed to come home, could you use him? Something the Bureau could use to escalate a request up the chain of command?”

“This his sister or wife or child?”

“His sort of sister-in-law. Younger sister of his lady. And they have a newborn.”

Fuck sake.
Sanders never really wanted anyone else’s help and only took Lyle because he was required to. Could he work with a novice? A novice who was in all probability a lethal killing machine and would be good with equipment?

Suddenly, he changed his mind. “Well, hell. Tell him to come on down. The price is right.”

‡

L
uci was getting
more and more nervous as the hours ticked by and no one gave her any indication they were any closer to finding Sarah. Danny had told her the first twenty-four hours were the most critical, and that time limit had passed several hours ago. The FBI man she’d interviewed with was stoical, but she understood he was uncomfortable with the investigation. She’d spent her time trying to console her mother, who burst into tears nearly every hour.

She also wondered if James, the man she trusted who’d been hanging out with Yellowhorse for a time, had something to do with Sarah’s disappearance. He hadn’t been seen or heard from again, but she was careful not to bring up his name for fear of perhaps confusing everyone involved with the case. Her mother didn’t want to talk about it with anyone, since the relationship with Yellowhorse was not something she was very proud of. In her mother’s fragile state, Luci had to be careful since she didn’t know on which side of the wall her mother would land if she lost control. She didn’t want to tip the scale and push her mother back into drinking. That could spell disaster.

The local TV stations from Phoenix and Albuquerque had picked up the story. News crews were not given permission to come on the reservation, since the investigation was far from complete, but one persistent white van, with the satellite dish outfitted on its roof, took a roundabout way and presented themselves at her mother’s front door. Since Sarah was a minor, Luci wasn’t sure how they found out who her family was, and she realized someone inside the investigation was leaking things to the outside.

“Can you tell us, did whether Sarah had any online boyfriends like the other missing girls?” the red-headed female news reporter asked, shoving the black, padded microphone in her face without saying hello first. Their lack of respect for how difficult it was for Luci and her mother to function with Sarah missing disgusted her.

“You’re not supposed to be here. I’ve been asked not to talk to anyone outside of the tribal police or FBI.”

This appeared to encourage the reporter, who asked a follow-up question, “So it
is
true, then. The FBI
has
been called in?”

Luci decided not to be cordial any longer. She slammed the door in the reporter’s face and dialed the district office. Within five minutes, the news crew was escorted off the res by two uniforms.

She called Danny several times and left messages. On day two, he returned her call.

“How you holding up, Luce?”

“Oh, God, Danny. It’s so good to hear your voice. I guess I should be grateful Mother is doing so poorly. It’s actually distracted me from thinking about whatever Sarah is going through right now. I just feel so helpless—”

She was unable to continue. Danny’s soothing voice quieted her. “Well, I’ll be there tomorrow. We got permission for me to detach from the Team on emergency leave. Should get in tomorrow evening. Might be late.”

“Oh Danny!” Her eyes began filling up with hot tears. Outside of the news that Sarah was home safe, this piece of information was a close second. Danny coming to help share the burden was something she hadn’t dared to dream possible. She felt her shoulders relax some. The back of her neck was stiff as she turned her head to the right, and it hurt when she bent over while Griffin was nursing.

“How’s Griffin?” he asked.

“Sleeping right now. Good as gold. Always is. I can’t tell you how relieved this has made me, hearing you’ll be coming here to help.”

“Not sure how much help I’ll be, but I’ll be there, for sure. When I get there tomorrow, I want you to tell me everything you can think of. Remember what I asked you?”

“Yes.”

“You think this FBI guy, Sanders, is any good?”

She was surprised he knew the name. “He’s an odd one, so maybe that’s a good thing. But, Danny, I have no experience with this.”

“That’s the way it’s supposed to be. Hang on, sweetheart. I’ll be there in less than twenty hours.”

After they hung up, Luci went looking for her mother, and found her standing in the middle of her backyard in her nightie and robe. It was nearly noon, and she hadn’t dressed or showered yet. It was painful seeing her mother struggle with the reality of what had happened. As Luci got closer, she could smell alcohol on her breath.

Zelda was staring at a cactus plant as if she could see the face of her daughter embedded there. The saguaro had grown up as a volunteer, starting some five years ago, probably planted by a bird dropping, and was now well over five feet tall, having branched out with a cluster of stubby arms. Two holes, one on either side of the main trunk below the branches, were home to a pair of small bird families.

Zelda flinched when Luci put her arm around her shoulder. “Mom, Danny’s coming here to help out.” She didn’t want to confront her mother’s recent return to drinking.

“Remember the Christmas lights Sarah put on this cactus last year? I just noticed we never took them off, and now the plant has grown around it, with the wires now inside it. You notice this before, Luci?”

She hadn’t noticed this before, and she told her mother so.

“Hey, come on. Let’s go inside, Mom.”

Zelda walked as if one leg was longer than the other, in an awkward swinging of her hips, her form suddenly looking frail and unstable. Luci kept her arm around her mother’s shoulders and led her inside. Zelda appeared docile, vacant.

“Did you hear me? Danny’s coming.”

“I heard you,” was all her mother said.

The next day
seemed to drag on forever until Luci got word that Danny had landed in Phoenix, rented a car, and was heading north to the house. She encouraged Zelda to get dressed, but she remained glued to the couch, watching TV and mumbling to herself. Luci said no more than a handful of words to her, and none of her comments elicited a response.

The screen door creaked just before Luci heard the tap tap tap on their front door. With three large strides across the living room, Luci flung the door open wide and collapsed in Danny’s arms. She’d spent so much time trying to show composure and resolve to her mother, when Danny’s strong arms gripped her and held her close to him, she released her reserve and began to cry. They stood on the threshold as he rocked her until her tears stopped flowing.

“I’ve been trying to be so strong. I guess that’s the lie I’ve been telling myself,” she whispered, trying to keep the words from her mother’s ears.

“Shhh. Shhh. Don’t worry about it. I got you, Luci,” he said to the top of her head as he kissed her there. One of his palms rubbed up and down her spine, squeezing the top of her shoulders, pressing fingers and massaging soft tissues into submission. She didn’t want to, but he pulled her away to arm’s length and examined her face. “You getting any sleep?”

“Are you kidding?” She squinted, and could feel hot tears spilling down her cheeks. He brushed them away with his thumbs and then followed up with a soft kiss under each eye. She needed to feel his arms around her and she buried herself in his chest. She was grateful for the loving tenderness he gave her.

Griffin began to cry.

“Love that sound,” he whispered.

An hour later,
FBI agent Courtland Sanders, telephoned the Tohe household and asked for a meeting with the ‘Special Forces Guy.’ Luci noticed Danny wasn’t surprised by the request. The meeting was arranged for the next morning.

Luci skirted around several of their earlier conversations concerning long-term commitments, without bringing up marriage in particularly. Danny seemed to take her lead and not press her on the promises he’d asked of her before he left on deployment. She was relieved she wasn’t being pressured to make such a decision now, since they seemed inappropriate with all that was going on. Luci knew she loved Danny and wanted to be with him for the rest of her life, but she also didn’t want him rushing into something he’d regret later.

Nothing about their relationship was planned out, but then, she doubted that was the way of the heart anyway. She suspected the reason for her need for a sliver of distance between the two of them was because she was numb with fear for Sarah. It seemed hard to look squarely into a future that might contain some very bad news, though she tried to be positive, at least for her mother’s sake.

Zelda was also working her way out of a deep freeze. Luci could see the shakes coming back. Danny was equally patient with her, helping her by holding Griffin, carefully standing by to monitor her mother’s reactions. The more time she spent with the baby, the more she seemed to come alive. Of course, what also came with this were her tears. Of the two, Luci knew the tears and sadness, although difficult, were healthier than the deep freeze. She knew depression was an issue with her people traditionally, leading some to thoughts of taking their own lives. In short, they were in a waiting game until they had more information to process.

Zelda was encouraged to turn in early, so they could prepare for the next day. Luci was exhausted as well, but anticipation was pumping adrenaline into her veins. Without saying a word, Danny took Luci’s hand and led her to the bedroom, where Griffin was asleep in the co-sleeper beside the bed.

“Been thinking about this every day and night since I’ve been gone, sweetheart.” Holding her face between his palms, he placed his warm lips against hers. She felt the fire she’d been missing ignite, sending warm vibrations all over her body as she melted into his hardness. She’d been starving for his taste, his touch. She was shy as his fingers found her skin beneath her cotton top, as they slowly traveled up her torso, under and into the cups of her bra, massaging her breasts. Her body responded to everything about him. His kiss below her ear sent a chill down her spine. He whispered her name and said, “Missed you, Luci,” over and over again.

She normally liked strong sex where she was an equal physical partner, but tonight she took what he was offering. She allowed herself to relax enough to feel the tenderness and love he showed her with his touch, with how he took his time. He slowly explored her body with kisses, his hands going under her clothes, on top of the fabric of her jeans and top. He pushed aside her hair, tracing the line from her lips, down the side of her neck, to the line between her breasts. He pressed his hardness against her thigh. His long kisses left her breathless and wanting more.

She was lost in the feel of this man of sinew and bones, the desire that fueled him. It was like she could hear the wind in the forest in his breath. She could hear the frogs at her secret place, hear the call of the night birds, the way the sandy wind whipped over the desert floor in the height of the mid-day. He was separate from this magic place of the Four Corners, but he was also a part of it. She could not tell where he began and the land stopped. Everything inside and outside of him was connected in a ribbon of past, as red as their bloodline, as explosive as the sun, and the promise of a bright future steeped in passion.

He slipped off her top and bra. She needed to see his desire. She needed him to lay eyes on her bare flesh, to show him what belonged to him, what would forever belong to him. The flames of her nakedness in his presence warmed her as she slid her palms up his smooth stomach muscles, up over his tightened nipples and well-defined, rock-hard chest. Like she was exploring him for the first time, her fingers brushed over his lips. He grabbed her hand and placed it between their bodies at his groin, pressing his demanding package into her palm. His hard ridge showed her his need, asking things of her she was only too willing to give with abandon.

She tugged at his shirt and he removed it the rest of the way, adjusting his stance so her breasts barely touched against his warm flesh. His fingers undid her fly button. He slid the jeans over her thighs, lingering. He spread her knees apart, before one hand travelled to her sex to caress her through her panties.

She rolled her head back, closing her eyes as he held the back of her waist with one powerful arm and, kneeling, kissed and nibbled his way up the inside of her right thigh, slipping aside her lace panties, finding the slit of her opening. He pulled away, sitting back on his haunches as she came forward, bending over his head so he could bury his face in her chest. His right hand found her opening, as he looked up at her and slowly angled toward her and, at last, covered her mouth as his fingers slid smoothly inside.