by Zoe Dawson
To give credit where credit was due, he couldn’t argue with that. She wasn’t a slacker. Oh, no. Kai got into the trenches with them and dug around in the muck to shift through every clue.
He sighed heavily. “What do you need?”
“I need you in El Centro, preferably before the Santa Anas shut down I-8. We’ve got a murdered pilot, Sarah Taylor.”
“El Centro,” Austin said, turning toward her. “That’s Blue Angels territory.”
“Yeah, it’s a Blue Angels pilot and this one is priority.”
“Why?”
“She was one of few female pilots chosen for the team. She never even got to fly her first show. This comes from high up. Solve it fast before there’s speculation that could hurt the reputation of the team.”
He chuckled. “Yeah? That’s what they’re worried about?” He grabbed the surfboard out of the sand and walked past her. “Wherever my investigation leads me is where I’m going.” He grinned. “Their reputation be damned.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
And he thought that again as he raced toward El Centro, his heart beating as if something heavy were sitting on his chest. Like the walls were closing in. He swore under his breath at the Santa Anas. It had stopped raining by early morning, but new storm clouds were again piling against the jagged ridge of the mountains, and the rising sun cast the dark, heavy cloud formations in auras of gold and purple.
His thoughts trailed back to Melanie. He’d thought she had been everything he’d ever wanted in his wife. She was bright, funny, energetic and loved surfing as much as he did. She had been in school, heading toward a law degree, and he’d expected to stay in the Marines for another twelve years until he could retire, then law school. Their future had looked so bright. Then he’d been sent to Ja’arbah and nothing after that seemed to make sense to him.
He wasn’t going to think about Jenna Webb. She wasn’t a factor—something he’d told himself over and over.
After he was cleared for duty again, Austin had ended up at the US Consulate General in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A cushy job with lush green jungles was a bold contrast to the heat and sand of the Middle East. It had been Portuguese instead of Arabic and an individual bedroom. The Marine House was posh and included a beautiful vista overlooking the city.
When he’d had a chance to go to the American Embassy in Cairo at age twenty-five, after Rio, his decision to reenlist heavy on his mind, he’d found out that Ambassador Robert Webb was being posted there after his time was up in Ja’arbah. After a heated argument with Melanie about reenlisting, tired of her unhappiness and the separation, he’d gotten rip-snorting drunk and put in his walking papers.
Jenna Webb was not a factor, he told himself again.
He snapped out of his past musings when his GPS instructed him to turn and announced that he was at his destination. An apartment building. He sighed and squared his shoulders. Jenna was old news, and he had probably been reacting to nothing but the adrenaline, her beauty, and the fact that he had been assigned to guard her. He really needed to stop rehashing it. Move on.
He got out of the car but froze as he was reaching for his phone. Through the open window as the crowd of law enforcement officials parted, he caught a glimpse of a woman. Her back was to him, but there was something unnervingly familiar about her sleek, dark curls. A funny feeling unfolded in his gut, and he shook his head, disgusted with the way his mind was malfunctioning today. The lack of sleep was definitely screwing up his head. Now he was seeing old ghosts.
He grabbed his phone, his heart stutter-stepping as he approached the door and walked briskly down the hall. Pocketing his phone and reaching for his badge, he cleared the door frame to the apartment. But right then the woman turned, presenting her profile to him, and Austin froze, the moving bodies turning into a weird blur. He stared across the room, feeling as if he’d just been slammed in the solar plexus. His mind wasn’t playing tricks on him after all.
“Jenna,” he said in a strangled voice. He saw the shocked look on her face, the sorrow and the glazed pain of losing someone close to her that he’d seen on the countless faces of the loved ones left behind. Only it broke his heart that she had been so ravaged, that she had to be the one to find the deceased. He wanted to do nothing but take her in his arms. But six years and her marriage sat between them.
He’d never realized how much she’d affected him until this moment, when the reality of his feelings from the past slammed into him.
He’d thought he was never going to be the same after that embassy situation, but here, now, he knew that this case, this woman, could break him.
Chapter Three
Jenna was frozen in place, her gaze riveted to the man standing in front of her. Her chest was tight; she could hardly catch her breath.
Oh, God. Her heart was pounding.
Austin Beck. He’d saved her life, been wounded, and she’d never heard from him again. He was, of course, married, and probably had children with the woman he’d chosen, Melanie. She felt foolish for what she’d felt for him. But even knowing that, she couldn’t stop her heart from breaking or jumping at the sight of him. And it was some sight. Six years had been good to him, six years of maturing but not changing the lean angles of his face, the unique color of his hair, or the aching gray of his eyes that had looked into her soul.
And six years wasn’t enough time to assuage her guilt, or her doubts, or the way she’d felt about him. Her pulse was racing with an awful mixture of shock and wariness, and a truly horrible excitement at just seeing him again.
What was he doing here?
Then she saw what he was holding. The badge that told her he was NCIS and a special agent. The special agent who had been assigned to Sarah’s case. Oh, my God. He was here to investigate Sarah’s murder.
She would have to see him, interact with him. On top of Sarah’s death, this was just too much. She put her hand to her temple and wobbled a bit. Austin reached out immediately, and without saying anything, helped her to the sofa.
After she was seated, he said, “Are you all right?”
How could she respond to that? No, on so many levels she wasn’t all right, the least of them to do with seeing Austin again. She hadn’t expected this and the shock to her system was overwhelming.
He went into the kitchen and poured her water, then brought it back. Setting the glass in her hand, he crouched down, his gray eyes both a little disoriented and warm at the same time. This felt like déjà vu, and the memories from the embassy came flooding back to her.
“It’s good to see you again, Jenna.”
The inflection in his voice made her heart jump.
“It’s been a long time,” she said, taking a sip of the water.
He nodded. “How are you involved in this?” he asked, glancing over at the people in the kitchen.
“Sarah Taylor is my cousin—a distant cousin.”
He rose. “Let me introduce myself and…check things out. I’ll be back.”
He had been about to say look at the body but had changed his words to spare her. Draining the glass, her throat parched, Jenna leaned back against the cushions. The woman she was just getting to know, the woman who had opened her home and her arms, the woman who was her only living relative, was gone.
With so many regrets piling up inside her, she inhaled sharply, the cramp in her throat intensifying. Sarah had been a port in the storm. And with the mess her own life was in, coming here had offered her an escape. So she had closed down her house in DC, packed what she’d needed and come here to think, to get herself in the right frame of mind to begin her life again. Her dear family friends, Tom and Elise Sonnet, had been taking care of her to the point where she was feeling suffocated. Tom was a longtime crony of her father’s, and she suspected they were more than happy to help her out.
Money was no object as she had gotten a sizable divorce settlement, along with the family money she’d inherited. She’d been actively working at
charity functions in DC.
She watched Austin interacting with Detective Jack Morton from the El Centro Police Force. He was a big, burly man with kind brown eyes who had introduced himself when he'd shown up on the scene more than an hour ago almost on the heels of two uniformed police officers. He'd taken her statement, and when he'd discovered that Sarah was in the Navy, he'd called NCIS.
The medical examiner was here now and all of them were in the kitchen. Her throat cramped again, and she shifted her gaze, trying to will away the sting of tears, angry with herself. God, she was such a mess. Her life was a mess. But then maybe she had it coming. She never should have married Robert. She’d known it was a mistake right from the beginning. But she’d always been the dutiful daughter, even when she’d wanted to bolt two days before the big splashy wedding her father had organized because, of course, the details would have been too much for her.
He tried to convince her that she had nothing but pre-wedding jitters, and everyone had them. It had been her own unexplored intuition speaking loud and clear, but she hadn’t had the self-confidence or the experience to recognize it for what it was. Maybe that was why she’d hung on to that buried anger. That was something she hadn’t let go of.
At the deep cadence of Austin’s voice, her attention went back to him—was drawn to him was more like it. If he was in the room, she was aware of him in every pore of her heart, body, and mind. He was dressed in khaki slacks and a blue-and-white-checked button-down beneath a gray Henley sweater, the same pearl gray as his eyes, the buttons undone. Even though he wasn’t in a suit, he looked so competent, solid. His intensity was totally focused on the detective and what he was saying, but she got the distinct feeling that he was very aware of her. Reaction shivered down her spine.
He was still lean but more filled out, with wide shoulders and a compact body, muscled, but sleek, like a prize fighter, and he stood with the relaxed attitude of a man aware of his own strength. Spiked on top, fuller than the sides, his layered hair, with some locks across his forehead, was an enticing mix of brown and blond. His sharp features were defined by his well-formed nose and smooth cheekbones, tapering down to a narrow chin with a cute cleft. The dark blond facial hair, in a neat, trimmed, almost-there beard, accentuated his strong jaw. She was having such a visceral response to him, and it wasn’t right, with Sarah dead on the floor only a few feet away.
She straightened when the detective and Austin turned their attention to her. His face gave very little away, except his devastating good looks, and his eyes even less—guarded, unwavering, inscrutable. They were, she realized with a funny flutter in her abdomen, a deep, dark, bottomless granite—impenetrable and mesmerizing.
Realizing that she was staring, she shifted uncomfortably and wrapped her arms around her middle.
They crossed the room, the detective talking on his cell. Austin sat down on the coffee table across from her, while the detective took one of the chairs, ending his call.
“I’m deeply sorry about your loss, Jenna.”
She nodded, grateful for his compassion.
There was a strained hesitation, then he said, his voice all business, “Detective Morton is going to search her room. While he’s doing that, I’m going to have to ask you some questions about your cousin. Is that all right?”
Sensing his sudden withdrawal, as if walls had suddenly gone up, Jenna avoided his gaze, her voice not quite even when she said, “Yes, that’s all right. I want to help in any way that I can.”
He exhaled heavily. “Could you go over Sarah's actions today?”
"She was sick. She stayed home to nurse her cold. We watched some TV and talked some, had breakfast and lunch, then I left for my concert at six. I got dinner out. That was the last time I saw her.”
"Was there anyone in Sarah’s life who wanted to harm her?”
She tightened her arms around herself, bracing to answer these questions, glancing at the now covered body for a moment before she said, “I don’t…didn’t…know my cousin as well as other people know their family members. We just became acquainted recently in Baltimore. It was for Maryland Fleet Week and Air Show. She contacted me and asked if we could meet up. We hit it off so well, she invited me to stay with her in El Centro for a short visit. I came here the beginning of December to get to know her better. It was just temporary, as I had plans to return to DC in a couple of months. I will say that Sarah had been exacting in her standards, never took any lip from anyone, unless it was a commanding officer, and had nerves of steel.”
“Was there a man in her life?”
Her voice was quiet when she spoke. Her cousin wasn’t going to ever know love or the joy of starting a family, and her throat got tight. She stared back at him, not sure if her voice was going to hold or not. “No, no boyfriend.” She loosened her arms and stared down at her hands until she was certain she had her emotions under control, then she looked up at him. Her voice cracked, and she cleared her throat. “Sarah was focused on becoming the best pilot in the Navy and has always wanted to become a Blue Angel. She wouldn’t have jeopardized that dream for a man, any man.”
He leaned forward, compassion in the gray depths of his eyes. “That couldn’t have been easy for her.”
Jenna brushed her chin-length hair over one ear. “Sarah was good, better than some men on the team.”
His mouth lifted in a semblance of a smile. “I’m sure that ruffled a few boys’ club feathers.”
Jenna held his gaze for a moment, then managed a small smile. “They resented her, and she endured some harassment. I’m not sure if some of it was sexual. Sarah didn’t say. She was…so self-possessed. So strong.” Stronger than Jenna could ever hope to be. She wished she had half of Sarah’s courage.
“Did she happen to mention anyone by name?”
Jenna shook her head. “She was being discreet. She didn’t like the way she was being treated, but didn’t want to direct attention to herself. In any other situation, she would have made plenty of waves.” Jenna swiped at her wet cheeks. “She said she threatened the person responsible with action, but I don’t think she was going to follow through. She was just trying to get them to back off. She just wanted to fly with them.” They had zipped Sarah into a body bag, and she was being removed from the apartment. Jenna choked up, tears welling and sliding down her cheeks. “She’ll never get that chance.”
Their relationship had been wonderful right from the beginning. Maybe it was the blood tie and the fact that both of them had no other family in their lives. Getting to know her cousin had been an all-too-brief period, but it warmed Jenna to know that she'd had someone in her life who genuinely cared about her.
He reached out and clasped her hand, his looking big and broad, engulfing hers. His palm and fingers were powerful and warm. He gave her a solemn look, his gray eyes soft now. “I think that’s enough for now.”
Deep sorrow twisted her up inside. Rising a few feet, he started to release her. Feeling a little lost, she gripped his hand. She didn’t want him to leave just yet. When he settled back down, she noted he wasn’t wearing a wedding band, but some men didn’t. That meant nothing. But she was certain if Austin were married, he’d wear a ring. It had been six years and they were pretty much strangers. She had no right to ask him any personal questions. She wanted to know about his life. About him. But that would only cause her more heartache. She was completely pathetic.
Detective Morton came out of Sarah’s room carrying her laptop. “We’ll have to take this as evidence, ma’am,” he said.
Jenna nodded as she glanced over to where her cousin had been only moments ago, and said, her voice uneven, “Where are they…taking her?”
He squeezed her hand, then said gruffly, “She’s going to be shipped to Camp Pendleton, where our forensic coroner will examine her.”
Experiencing a growing pressure in her throat, she let go of him. “When can…I bury her?”
“I don’t know that information yet. It’s up to the coroner,”
he said.
Blinking rapidly to will away the burning in her eyes, she waited for the moment to pass; then she looked back at him. “Would you let me know as soon as possible? I have to make funeral arrangements for her. I have no clue where to begin, but I’ll figure it out. I’m her only living relative now. Her mother died of breast cancer and her father from a heart attack.”
There was a solemn intensity in his expression, something that made her heart accelerate, and the muscles along his jaw tensed. He stared at her, his gaze darkening, and the muscles in his throat contracted as he leaned forward. For one heart-stopping instant she thought he was going to touch her again, but then he clenched his hand and let it drop. “Of course. As soon as I know, you’ll know.” He rose. “Do you have someone who can come and stay with you?”
“No. I’m fine. Thank you for everything. Both of you.” Detective Morton nodded and handed her a card. “I’ll be working this case as needed with Special Agent Beck. Please feel free to call me with any questions.”
He headed for the door and Austin said, “I’ll be there in just a minute.” He turned back to her. “I’m going to get settled into my hotel room, then head out to the base, talk to her CO.” He studied her, stepping closer. “Are you sure you’ll be all right here…alone?”
His closeness overwhelmed her senses, and she swallowed hard, trying to struggle against the longing that surged through her, making her heart race even faster. She remembered what it had been like to be held by him, to feel the weight of his arms around her. And, scandalously, she wondered what it would be like to lie with him, to feel the full length of his body against hers. It would be heaven to feel his warmth, to experience the comfort of his embrace. To be touched by him again.
“I’ll be fine,” she assured him.
He nodded. “I’ll touch base with you after I’ve had some time to look into this. Tonight? Would you be free for dinner? We could catch up?”
Her voice was unsteady when she answered. “Yes, I would like that very much.” Her insides were in turmoil.
