by Leslie North
A low growl from Frankie stopped that train of thought, and Alex went instantly on alert. A sense of dread filled him as he realized it hadn’t been Soledad at the door. Frankie growled again before barking a warning.
“Platz!” Alex said. She lay down at his feet, quiet and still, obeying the German command he’d used in training her.
Alex cautiously entered the house, leaving the door open behind him. When he reached the entryway, he stopped cold, sick fear filling his stomach. Bruce’s left arm was around Soledad’s neck, forcing her body tight to his. But that wasn’t the worst of it. In his right hand, he held a Sig Sauer P226 to her temple.
Her brown eyes, wide with fear, met Alex’s. He kept his gaze steady on her, trying to convey reassurance. Inside, he wanted to strike, wanted to hurt Bruce so badly that he could never threaten anyone ever again. But Alex couldn’t lunge forward and act. Bruce was as highly trained as he was and was running scenarios in his head just like Alex. Bruce was expecting him to react physically, so he couldn’t.
“You don’t need her as a hostage, Bruce,” Alex implored, letting himself seem weak. “It’s me you’re after. Let her go, and I’ll do whatever you want.”
“You aren’t in a position to bargain with me,” Bruce said, tightening his hold on Soledad. “I’m holding all the cards.”
Not all of them, Alex thought. Luke wasn’t there, and Soledad was far from helpless. But that’s not what he said. “You are.”
“Don’t like it, do you?” Bruce snarled. “How does it feel to have shit happen to you? New experience, golden boy?”
“I’ve dealt with plenty of shit,” Alex said, keeping his voice steady. His youth had been pure shit until the admiral took him. His early experiences, though, had helped form him.
“Looks to me like you’ve been leading a fine life lately, while mine’s been fucked up.” Bruce’s expression was ugly, anger pouring out of him. “You did that to me. All while you’ve been living the good life. But that’s over. You aren’t going to have this pretty woman anymore. Hell, you won’t even have that mutt of a dog if it gets too close to me.”
Soledad gasped and opened her mouth to protest but quickly closed it. Alex had no doubt Bruce would shoot Frankie given the chance, since he had a cruel streak.
“You’ve tried to protect them, but I’ve watched you. I’ve seen your baby boy, too. Oh, yeah, I took some nice pictures while you were all out for a walk and at the park. I saw you looking around for me, thinking you were being careful. But you can’t hide from a telephoto lens.” Bruce’s grinned, his expression gleeful. “I’ve even got pictures of you kissing your woman like a randy teenager.”
Bruce planted a smacking kiss on Soledad’s cheek. He was going to pay for that, Alex thought, in blood.
“Let her go,” Alex repeated. “Your beef’s with me, not her or my son.”
“Don’t like me touching her? Does that bother you, golden boy? I think you’ve had the perfect life a little too long. You need to remember what it’s like for the rest of us who aren’t the Goody Two-shoes with the white picket fence. Do you even know what a lucky son of a bitch you are?”
“I know it,” Alex said. “I know how lucky I am to have a woman I love and a beautiful baby boy.” He saw Soledad’s eyes widen and her expression soften. The words he spoke were for her. He hoped she knew that. “The only thing that matters to me is being here for them and earning their love. I plan to spend the rest of my life doing that.”
“That’s the sappiest shit I’ve ever heard,” Bruce scoffed.
“Maybe, but it’s true. I love you, Soledad. I have for a long time.” He took his eyes off Bruce for a second to focus on her face. The tiniest smile told him she believed him.
“Christ,” Bruce spat. “I don’t want to hear your eleventh-hour declaration of love. It makes me want to puke.”
Alex ignored him. He’d gotten his message across, and that’s what mattered. Even if he didn’t get out of this mess alive, Soledad would know how he felt about her and their son. That counted for something, but he wasn’t giving up. While Bruce talked, Alex’s mind had been ticking through what he knew about Bruce. Alex needed to use that knowledge against him. The guy was a narcissist with little understanding of the word “team,” but more than that, Bruce never wanted to take responsibility for his actions. Maybe that was the right angle. All Alex needed was an opportunity, a moment of weakness, to attack. But Alex had to get Bruce to loosen his grip on Soledad first, so she had a chance to get out of the line of fire.
“You can blame me for the punishment you got if you want, but you chose a path you knew was wrong all on your own,” Alex said, goading Bruce. “I was doing my job, respecting the oath we both took.”
“Fuck you and your superior attitude,” Bruce growled. “You always thought you were better than the rest of us. You had to play the perfect Boy Scout, the dutiful Soldier. That mission sucked. I got bored. Intelligence gathering? Shit, all we were doing was talking to the locals about farming. So I figured out a way to entertain myself and turn a tidy profit.”
“You sold drugs to your fellow SEALs,” Alex said. To him, that was the unforgivable part. Engaging in the opium trade was bad enough; hooking their comrades in arms on the junk proved what sort of man Bruce was.
“So? I wasn’t the only one doing it,” Bruce said, as if that were a defense.
“You were the only SEAL,” Alex shot back.
“Which is why you should have turned a blind eye like everyone else did, golden boy. But do you know what he did instead?” Bruce addressed his words to Soledad. “He gathered intelligence on me and turned me in like I was no better than the people we were fighting. Me, his SEAL brother. Me.”
Bruce tapped himself in the head with the gun as he said the word, giving Alex the opportunity he needed. He lunged forward and knocked the gun from Bruce’s hand. Soledad spun away as Bruce’s hold on her loosened. Alex gripped Bruce’s arms, taking him down to the floor in an attempt to subdue him.
“Fass!” Alex yelled, giving Frankie the command to attack. The dog charged in and wrapped her jaws around Bruce’s leg. Bruce squealed in pain and thrashed wildly, trying to shake her off. He landed a punch to Alex’s jaw, dislodging him enough to wrestle him to the floor. Bruce struck out with his leg and slammed Frankie into the wall.
Alex caught a glimpse of the stunned dog. She shook her head and rose, poised to leap back at Bruce.
“Platz!” Alex shouted to call her off. He didn’t want her hurt. Alex got his hand around Bruce’s throat, trying to force the man off him, but Bruce was as strong as he was. Alex was moving to slam his forehead into Bruce’s, when he heard a crack and felt dirt sift down on him.
What the hell? Alex didn’t know what had happened, but Bruce weakened, giving Alex the chance to roll them over and get the upper hand. He scrambled to his feet, ready to end this. Bruce was struggling to his knees before Alex landed two right hooks to his jaw, knocking him back to the floor, where he lay unmoving.
Breathing heavily, Alex assessed the situation. Fragments of pottery and soil littered the area. Understanding dawned. Soledad had slammed her potted cactus into Bruce’s head. Alex took his eyes from Bruce long enough to give her a grin.
He had a sentimental fondness for the potted plant that she’d tried to use against him the day he returned home to find her there—and for the woman who wielded it—but he couldn’t allow himself to go there yet. He had to secure Bruce. First he checked the man’s pockets for additional weapons, pulling out another handgun and a hunting knife. Then he grabbed zip ties from a kitchen drawer and bound Bruce’s hands and ankles before hog-tying him with a belt. SEALs knew how to get out of the usual restraints, but he didn’t think Bruce could get free from this. At least, not in the time it would take for the police to arrive.
He’d make the calls to the authorities and his brothers in a minute, but first he needed Soledad. She was seated on the floor next to Frankie, gently stroking the dog’s si
de.
“Is she okay?” he asked, dropping to his knees in front of them.
“Just stunned, I think,” Soledad said. “I want to have a veterinarian check her out.”
“We will. Are you okay?” Alex looked at her with utter admiration. She’d just had a gun held to her head by a trained killer, but she was more concerned with the dog.
She nodded.
“Soledad, I am so sorry about all of this,” he said. There was so much he wanted to say to her, but he had to start with an apology. He didn’t think he could ever apologize enough for what she’d just gone through.
She gave him a little smile and came up on her knees facing him. He took her actions as permission and reached for her, yanking her to him more roughly than he should have. She didn’t object, wrapping her arms around him in a fierce hug. He needed to know where they stood, but this was a good start.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered into her hair. He was never going to be able to say it enough, even if he repeated it every day for the rest of their lives. He hoped she’d give him the chance to do that. He stroked a hand down her back, grateful she was unharmed. After a minute, he released her. “I’ve got to deal with this, and then we’ll talk.”
And somehow he was going to have to find the right words.
14
“Everything’s good. Soledad’s safe,” Zach said when he returned to Alex’s house a few hours later.
“Thanks.” His oldest brother had taken on the responsibility of getting Frankie to the vet’s office and taking Soledad back to Colin’s house. She’d had to stay and give her statement to the local police, and the NCIS team that came to investigate would want to speak with her again, but she’d been allowed to leave and return to Luke. “Frankie?”
“The vet said she’s fine, maybe a bruised rib. He’s keeping her overnight for observation,” Zach replied. “I think it’s over, bro.”
“Scary as hell.” Alex couldn’t shake the image of Bruce holding a gun to Soledad’s head. He’d felt in those moments that his whole world could end. He could have lost her so easily, which was what prompted him to confess his love. She had to know, regardless of what happened.
“Been there. I know how it feels,” Zach said. The jewelry store owned by Zach’s wife had been targeted by a man bent on revenge against her family. Zach did understand, but it didn’t make the situation better. Seeing Bruce behind bars would.
“They’re fighting over who gets Bruce.” Colin came to stand with his brothers on the front lawn and indicated where Bruce sat cuffed in the back of a squad car. “The local guys want him on a couple felony charges. My money says the Navy will win this one.” NCIS representatives were in a heated discussion with uniformed police officers. “I think I’ll stroll over and listen in.”
Alex let his brother deal with it. As long as Bruce was in custody, he didn’t care where. A few minutes later, Bruce, his hands cuffed behind his back, was transferred to the back of a black Suburban. Alex made eye contact with him one last time and saw the hatred in his expression. Alex didn’t feel sorry for him. Bruce had brought this on himself. He’d made the choices that led him here.
Colin walked back across the lawn as the last of the police and NCIS vehicles left. Together, the brothers went inside. Alex wanted to hear what Colin had learned before going to see Soledad. A tough conversation was ahead of him still, but he was hopeful his chances with her were good.
“The NCIS guys were steamed when they realized how the earlier charges against Bruce were mishandled,” Colin reported. “He should never have had the opportunity to come at you.”
“The value of connections,” Alex observed. Bruce’s family had bailed him out, saved him from a harsh punishment, but nothing could help him now.
“This incident opened up a can of worms about the slap on the wrist that Bruce got. I think his father’s going to feel some pressure, maybe even get forced into early retirement,” Colin said. “And there are others, too, who knew about Bruce’s involvement in the opium trade and let it slide. I expect at least a couple resignations.”
“As long as Bruce is locked up,” Alex said. He felt no sympathy for those whose careers were ruined. They’d proven themselves dishonorable and should suffer the consequences.
“He will be, and you came out the hero for having turned him in. Might figure into your next promotion… if you reenlist,” Colin said.
Alex knew that was unlikely. He’d made some calls about the position Colin had mentioned to him previously, and the job was his. “I need to talk to Soledad before I decide anything.”
“Wise man,” Zach said, clapping him on the shoulder. “I’m headed home. If I hurry, I can make it in time to tuck the kids in.”
“Yeah, me too. Let’s go.” Colin led the way to his truck parked at the curb.
Ten minutes later, Alex stepped in the door of the little basement apartment Soledad and Luke were using while staying at Colin’s. His brother planned to turn it into a playroom for the kids, but for now it had made a good space so that Soledad had been protected but still had some privacy.
He spotted Luke asleep on his back in the portable crib. The boy was the picture of innocence in a white sleeper with his arms stretched over his head.
“He’s out. Down for the night, I think,” Soledad said softly as she came from the bedroom. She crossed to Alex with no hesitation in her stride. When she reached him, her arms went around him in a hug tighter than the one they’d shared after Bruce was subdued.
Unlike that one, this turned into a kiss that reached the depths of his soul. It felt like the beginning of something new… and a little like goodbye as well.
Hell, no. This wasn’t a farewell kiss. It couldn’t be. His hands went to her waist while her fingers combed through his hair. He didn’t know how long the kiss lasted—he never wanted it to end. All too soon, though, Soledad stepped back, her beautiful brown eyes meeting his.
“We need to talk,” she said, and he saw flickers of doubt on her face. “I’m so glad this is over and you’re all right, but things… things between us haven’t changed. You’re still leaving, and I don’t know how to go forward from here.”
I do, he wanted to say. They got married and stayed together forever, with children and dogs, in a happy home. For the first time in his life, he could see that kind of future for himself. But before he could talk about that, he owed her the words he’d only spoken under duress that afternoon.
“I’m not leaving,” he said. “There’s no mission. There’s nothing that could take me away from you—today, tomorrow, next week, or next year.”
“But you said…”
“I lied. I’m sorry about that, but I needed you to believe I was deploying so you’d take Luke to safety and stay there yourself, away from the danger that Bruce posed.” It hadn’t worked. He hadn’t moved fast enough. The guilt of putting her through that horrific experience with Bruce swamped him. “And I’m so sorry about today. I—”
“Don’t you dare apologize for that,” she said, a spark in her eyes. “It wasn’t your fault, and Luke was safe here thanks to you. I just wish you had been honest with me about your plans.”
“Would you have gone to Philadelphia if I hadn’t pushed you away?” He knew the answer. She was far too strong to have been scared off. His only leverage had been to make her think of Luke’s safety and ratchet up her anger at him.
A tiny smile played at the edges of her lips. “Probably not,” she admitted. “I see your point.”
“I’ve made a lot of mistakes when it comes to you,” Alex continued, reaching for her hand, “and I don’t want to make another. So here’s the absolute truth. There’s no mission, and I’m not reenlisting. If you’d gone to your aunt’s house, I would have come for you as soon as Bruce was in custody.”
“You’re staying?” She wanted clarity on that point, and he couldn’t blame her.
“I’m staying. I even have a job offer, so I won’t be an unemployed baby daddy.”
He grinned at her. “It’ll be you, me, Luke, and Frankie together.”
“I like it.” Her arms went around his neck again, but she leaned back, a curious look on her face. “Hey, about Frankie. How did she know those commands?”
“I’ve been training her. That’s what those long walks were about. I never went far from the house, because I was afraid to leave you alone. Afraid of what Bruce would do.”
“Did you walk in circles?” she teased.
“A million loops around the block.” He could smile about it now. “Frankie only knows a few basic commands. I didn’t have time for more.” He’d never meant for Frankie to get hurt, since he’d hoped the situation would never come to that, but he’d been glad for her assistance earlier. He owed her a lifetime’s worth of dog treats as compensation. “She’s a smart girl, though. She picked them up fast.”
“You’ll have to teach me the words. German?”
He nodded. “It eliminates the confusion for dogs that hear English all the time, makes the commands clearer to them.”
“Very clever of you.” Her fingers played along the back of his neck.
“About that, maybe, but I’ve done one intensely stupid thing.” A mistake he was correcting now.
“What’s that?” She cocked her head to the side, waiting.
“I never told you that I love you. I loved you a year ago before we broke up. I loved you when I was gone on my last mission.” He hadn’t let himself realize how much. With an iron will, he’d prevented himself from thinking about her during those months. “And I love you more now than you’ll ever believe possible.”
“Oh, I’ll believe it,” she smiled at him, “because I’m willing to bet it matches how much I love you.”
“Care to prove that?” He kissed the edge of her mouth.
“I think so,” she murmured, her lips against his. “Sleeping baby, queen-sized bed right through that doorway, sounds like a perfect opportunity.”
“Works for me,” he said, picking her up and carrying her to the bedroom. He left the door partially open, so they could hear Luke if he cried. As he placed Soledad in the center of the bed, Alex thought that he would be forever thankful if the child slept for the next hour. Make that two hours, he amended when he joined her and began a kiss that left them both breathless with emotion and need. He was so lucky not to have lost her, and he poured that thought into his kiss along with all the love he’d been holding back.
