Hiding Catherine

by Jennifer Becker

  Ghost received the call from Tex as they were leaving Charlie’s house. The car had stopped at one warehouse at the edge of town. Tex had used satellite imagery of the warehouse to determine the best point of entry was the main door which was the only way in or out. The place had been abandoned decades ago. The image showed Catherine’s car there.

  “How many inside?” Charlie asked him.

  “Thermal scanning shows two bodies.”

  “Two? As in just Rayne and Catherine?”

  “It’s an overhead view so I can’t tell. I can tell you that they are in two different parts of the warehouse. There is also a large dark matter in the middle of the warehouse.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Something cold. I can’t get a good reading on it.”

  “Thanks for the heads up, Tex.”

  “Sorry, it’s not more.”

  “You found out where they are. It’s a good start.” Charlie was eternally grateful to Tex for that. Otherwise, he would have no idea where to even start.

  “I’m sending you all a layout of the warehouse. Like I said it only has one door.”

  “Why would he trap himself in like that?” Hollywood asked. “He had to know we would come for him.”

  “Remember Jacks? He put himself on top of that container. He knew he didn’t have a way out.” Fletch reminded him.

  “So, it’s a suicide mission for him?” Ortiz asked munching on a cookie.

  “What does he have to lose? His leader is dead, all his other followers are either captured or gone.” Ghost said deadpan.

  They were quiet the rest of the car ride and parked a block away from the warehouse in case Martin had cameras watching the property. They snuck onto the property without incident. Ghost and Charlie lead the teams in. They arranged for two-man teams to secure the perimeter and sweep the surrounding areas. They were getting ready to move in on Catherine’s car when Coach held a hand up and signaled towards the ground. There were running tracks from the warehouse to where Coach was standing, where the ground was disturbed. It was unclear what happened, but it appeared to be a struggle.

  Ghost nodded, and they continued further. They approached the car and peered inside. It was empty including the keys. Fletch and Hollywood took up a position at the car as the rest of the teams moved forward. Viper and Minnow from Charlie’s team, and Truck and Coach from Ghost’s covered the corners of the building.

  “Tex, you copy?” Ghost called into his mic.

  “Go,” came the clipped reply.

  “Any change in readings?”

  “Negative. Still two. One is at your two o’clock.”

  “Copy.” Ghost stood to the side of the door, and Charlie took the opposite position. He was ready to bust down the door and go in but knew he had to play this by the book. Going rogue got soldiers killed, and no one was dying today. Ghost’s team had been restricted before from using live rounds when dealing with Jacks. Now they were using live rounds. Today it ended. Charlie set the charge against the door and set the timer. “Masks on, we go in three…two…one…” The door exploded, and the rest of the team filed in and took a position with Ghost and Charlie last into the room. Oreo and Romeo popped a smoke grenade, and they all fanned out. Charlie headed towards his two o’clock and could see a large water tank with a body on the ground in front of it coughing. He approached the person on the ground thinking it was one of the women but realized his error almost too late. Martin whipped around and fired at him with a gun he had pulled out from his back. Charlie ducked down and hid behind the water tank.

  “You’re too late.” Martin taunted. “You’re all too late.”

  “I have a clear shot of the target,” Beatle called into the mic.

  “Do it, but don’t kill him.” Ghost ordered. In the next second a shot rang out, and Charlie heard Martin drop to the ground. He peered around the tank and saw Martin lying motionless on the ground. It was over.

  He took off his mask now that the smoke had cleared and looked around. The place was empty except for the tank and the chair in front. “Where are the women?” He yelled out in frustration.

  Romeo looked over Charlie’s shoulder. “Oh fuck, Bulldog.”

  Charlie whipped around thinking there was another enemy and raised his weapon but froze when he saw Catherine was in the tank. Her wrists were bound to something attached to the glass, a ball, and chain wrapped around her feet. She wasn’t moving. She was just floating there. “No,” he bellowed in denial. He couldn’t be too late. He banged his fists against the glass and sunk to his knees. She was gone.

  “Move,” Sledge ordered him and raised his rifle and fired at the glass. Charlie barely had a second to get out the way before the glass shattered and the water poured out. Catherine was pulled forward, and Charlie caught her before she fell.

  “Truck, I need you.” Ghost called out as he and Sledge lifted the ball and chain from the tank and set it on the ground.

  “Shit, she’s ice cold,” Charlie stated as he tilted her chin back and breathed into her mouth and did chest compressions.

  “This was what Tex saw on the thermal scan. It was so cold he couldn’t pick up a reading from it.” Oreo stated.

  Truck came running in and took a moment to take in the surroundings before he raced over to where Ghost and Sledge were kneeling. Without a word, he cut the bindings from her wrists and took out his kit from his pocket and picked the lock keeping her feet bound. “Is that Martin?” He nodded at the prone figure next to the tank.

  “Yeah.”

  “Where’s Rayne?” Ghost was quiet. To quiet. Truck hung his head. Losing Rayne would kill Ghost. She meant everything to him.

  A loud piercing whistle rents the air. Everyone but Charlie turned. “Ghost,” was all Beatle said and waved him over. Ghost and Truck ran after Beatle and followed him into a room.

  Sledge, Romeo, and Bear stood by Charlie while he altered from chest compressions to breathing into Catherine’s mouth. He ignored them while they stood over him. Watching his six. He didn’t care what happened around him. The warehouse could crumble down around him, and it would mean nothing. Nothing mattered without Catherine. She made him see the goodness in the world where all he once saw was blackness and death. She didn’t care about his faults. When she looked at him, she didn’t see his scars. She only saw him. She was the only woman he had ever loved. He had vowed to protect her, and she died because of him. “Come on, baby, breathe.” He begged. He didn’t care what he had to do to bring her back to him.

  He sat back on his haunches breathing out in frustration. Tears burned his eyes but he refused to shed them. There would be plenty of time later for that. When he was alone. Catherine wouldn’t want him alone, but there was no happiness in his life without her. No sunshine. Only darkness.

  “Bulldog,” Romeo placed a hand on his shoulder, but he shook it off. No, he didn’t want comfort. He wanted vengeance. He turned his sights on Martin who was still unconscious on the floor. It wouldn’t be as sporting, but nothing mattered to him anymore. He had nothing else to lose.

  His teammates sensed what he was about to do because they blocked him from getting to Martin and ripping him to pieces. He fought with his brothers. Anyone who got in his way. He struggled and fought to get to his target. His vision tunneled, and he locked in on Martin. He didn’t care who he had to go through to get to him. He pushed Romeo out of his way with ease. Bear and Sledge were harder. They outweighed him and tackled him to the ground together. “Get off me,” he screamed until his throat hurt. Pain was good.

  “Charlie,” a faint feminine voice called out behind him.

  He was hearing things. It couldn’t be Catherine. It was her spirit calling out to him not that he believed in ghosts. Sledge and Bear released him when he stopped struggling. Charlie turned around afraid that he would see that Catherine was still dead and his mind had been playing tricks on him. Instead, his beautiful angel stared at him with her beautiful gray eyes. “Charlie,” she said again a
nd reached out to him. He scrambled out from under Sledge and Bear and pulled Catherine into his arms.

  “You’re alive.” He said repeatedly. How could this be? He would not question a miracle. She was alive. He pulled away from his friends and looked her over from head to toe. Before he had been so focused on performing CPR he hadn’t looked her over. A large bruise marred half her face and she was cradling her right wrist that was red and swollen. He gently took it in his hands and gently probed it. It felt broken. “Oh, baby.” He cooed and pulled her close to his chest. He wanted to kill the bastard now more than ever, but he was reluctant to let Catherine go.

  “I knew you’d come.” She whispered. Hearing her voice was music to his ears. To think he almost lost it forever.

  “I’ll always come. No matter what.”

  “I love you, Charlie. When I was about to die, I saw Martin watching me, all I could think about was you and the day you gave me a ride home.”

  “That was the first best day of my life. I love you so much.”

  “I’m so sorry.”

  Charlie shook his head. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”

  “I got Rayne killed. I told her to run, and Charlie shot her in the back out by my car.”

  “We didn’t see her or any blood.” Could that be where Beatle had led Ghost? Had Rayne been moved? He looked up towards where Beatle had led them and what he hoped was a smile broke across his face. “Look,” he told Catherine.

  Catherine turned her head and gasped at seeing Ghost carrying Rayne in his arms despite her protests. “Really Keane, I can walk.”

  “So, can I.” He said and stopped when he reached Catherine and Charlie. Charlie helped Catherine stand and Beatle handed them a blanket to wrap around Catherine. “Thank you.” He said to Catherine. “Rayne told me what you tried to do for her.”

  “Not that I’m complaining, but I thought you were dead. I saw Martin shoot you.”

  “They were bean bags. Hurts like hell.” Rayne told her.

  “Why go through all that effort, since he all but killed me?”

  “Only he would know.”

  “Nice shooting by the way Beatle.” Charlie looked over at Martin who was sporting a bullet graze to the head.

  “Ghost said not to kill him.” He shrugged.

  “He has a lot to answer for.”

  “He’s the one behind all the murders that have been reported in the papers,” Catherine told Charlie. “He told me they were practice for when he killed me.”

  “Sick son of a-” Sledge muttered to himself.

  “We need to call the police and get Martin into custody, and Catherine needs to go to the hospital. Bastard broke her wrist.” Charlie lifted Catherine into his arms and headed for the exit.

  “What are you doing?” Catherine protested.

  “Taking a page from Ghost’s book and carrying my woman out of here.”

  “But you said the police need to be called.”

  “Sweetheart there are more than enough people here to watch over Martin and explain what happened while I take you to the hospital.”

  “We’re coming too.” Ghost called out behind him.

  “Really Keane. I’m fine. I got handcuffed to a bed again. At least this time there weren’t any rituals I had to worry about.”

  “And the doctor will tell us for sure.” Rayne kept her mouth shut and held onto Keane as the men carried them out to the SUV a block away.

  “You couldn’t park a little closer?” Catherine teased.

  “We were trying to be stealthy.”

  “I’m sure after your race you have to be exhausted. Oh my god the race.” Catherine sat up in his arms and clung to his shoulder. “Who won?”

  “Ghost did by technicality.”

  “Technicality my ass. I was letting you lead.”

  “Boys,” Catherine cut in. “You lost?” Catherine asked sadly. And after all the training he had done for it.

  “I saw you were gone and Emily looking upset so instead of crossing the finish line I ran up to her.”

  “You lost because of me?” Now she felt even worst.

  “And I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I’ll beat them next year.” He said confidently and peaked over at Ghost who just snorted.

  “Keep dreaming.” Ghost said with a twinkle in his eye. “Old man.” He added just to irk Charlie.

  Chapter 28

  At the hospital, Catherine’s wrist was placed in a splint and she was given a painkiller. Due to her drowning, the hospital wanted to keep her for observation and run tests on her. Catherine protested, but Charlie told them to do whatever they had to. As soon as they were alone, she would give him a piece of her mind, but right now the painkillers were kicking in, and she was having trouble staying awake. The next time she opened her eyes she was surrounded by Rayne, Kassie, Emily, and Annie, who was sitting on the edge of the bed peering closely at her. She was so close Catherine was almost seeing two of her.

  “She’s alright,” Annie stated proudly.

  “Annie, give her some space.” Her mother chided her. Annie huffed and hopped off the bed. She sat down in a chair and pulled out her Army men from her backpack and played with them quietly.

  Catherine was touched these women came to visit her. She looked up at Rayne who had been standing at her left shoulder. “Are you alright?”

  Rayne rolled her eyes. “Don’t start on me too. It’s bad enough I had to get checked out because Keane insisted. I’ll tell you what I told him and the doctor. I’m fine. Martin didn’t do anything to me other then tie me to a bed. The worst thing that happened was getting shot in the back. Even if it was a bean bag. Still hurt.”

  Catherine was thankful she was all right and didn’t hold Catherine responsible even though she did herself. “I’m so sorry.” Catherine croaked. The gravity of what happened hit her like a Mack truck.

  The women as one soothed her. “It’s not your fault,” they told her until she calmed down.

  “Is Martin the reason you left the PX?” Emily asked her.

  Catherine wiped her eyes with her good hand before a tissue was passed to her from Rayne. “I saw you were distressed,” she addressed Emily. “I offered food when I could, but I knew it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t until the news broke out about the training exercise that I finally put the pieces together. Martin had been spending more money than usual and disappearing all the time. Strange people would come to our apartment, and I would get kicked out until they all left. When he came home that night, he told me he had tried stopping Jacks, but by then it had been too late. He promised he would never do anything like that again. It wasn’t long after that he started disappearing again and would get phone calls at odd hours. He always whispered on the phone if I was near. I knew he had to be doing something wrong again. When he was in the shower, I stole his phone, and saw that he was in contact with two brothers that were going to kidnap a teenager. It was the last straw. I packed up that night and left, but Martin found me, and I ended up in the hospital. When I came to and they told me about the kidnapping I had had enough. I explained as much as I could to my supervisor and the police, and they approved my transfer to Fort Sam. I should have told someone about Martin before but I was scared. He had already threatened my grandparents, and he had hurt me so many times before, so I fled like a coward.” Catherine turned to look at Kassie. “I know I said it before, but I am so so sorry.”

  Kassie smiled at her. “It all worked out. I know what it’s like to fear for your family. You did what you had to. You didn’t have someone like Graham to protect you. You only had yourself.” She knew they had said they had forgiven her before but hearing it again now that the danger had passed felt like she could finally put the past behind her and think about her future.

  The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, and she knew without having to look, Charlie was there. Like a magnet, her eyes turned to the door, and there he stood. He still wore the black pants and a loose black shirt he had rescued he
r in. His vest had been left in the car. His baseball cap covered his head, but for once wasn’t pulled low over his eyes. Catherine sighed at the vision he made. If it weren’t for the fact they were in a public place, surrounded by people, she might be tempted to suggest they make love.

  “Well, that’s our cue. We’ll be in touch.” Rayne hugged her, then Kassie and Emily.

  Charlie still stood in the doorway after everyone left watching her for a moment. His eyes roamed over her making her toes curl, and her body feel restless. How could he turn her on so much with just a look? “Are you going to just stand there or come see me?” She issued the challenge and in typical Charlie-style he accepted. He stepped into the room and closed the door. It gave them a semblance of privacy since the window curtains were still open into the hallway. He closed the distance between them in a few long strides, and he sat on the bed beside her, pulling her close. She basked in the feel of him holding her and let his male scent surround her. And to think she almost lost this.

  “Is it really over?” She asked into his chest.

  Charlie pulled back from her and looked her in the eye. “It’s over. Martin will never be able to harm you again.” Catherine closed her eyes, and her shoulders drooped. It was well and truly over. The women forgave her, and Martin was gone for good. That chapter of her life could finally be put behind her.

  “Did he say why he did it?”

  “He didn’t say much, other than he had a score to settle with Ghost’s team. That’s why he didn’t want to kill Rayne right away. He was going to torture Ghost with what could have happened to Rayne in Egypt while reenacting it.” That would explain why he hadn’t used real bullets.

  “He said he was coming after me because I cheated on him and turned him over to the police.”

  Charlie pulled her closer to his side and kissed her temple. “He will never come near you again.” He vowed. It went a long way in soothing her fears of her ex.

  “I was so scared, Charlie. The whole time all I could think about was staying alive until you found me.”

  “I told you before, babe. I’ll always find you. I’m going to have Tex make you a tracker as he has for some of the women.”