Mantis (K19 Security Solutions Book 4)

by Heather Slade

  She’d been sitting in a wheelchair by the window when they arrived, and instead of moving closer to them, she stayed where she was.

  “I’m listening,” said her father.

  “First of all, I need a way to communicate, so unless you know where my phone is and can return it to me, I need you to get me another.”

  “Matille,” said her father, turning to her mother, who reached into her bag and set Alegria’s phone on the tray table.

  She rolled the wheelchair closer and picked it up.

  “Thank you. Next, I need the best damn physical therapists money can buy. If they aren’t here, I want you to arrange for me to be moved to wherever they are.”

  She watched as her father again met her mother’s gaze.

  “If you can’t help me—”

  Her father held up his hand. “We will.”

  “Good.” She shook her head. “Thank you.”

  Her father nodded and looked at her mother again.

  “Why do you keep checking with her?” she snapped at him. “And you,” she said to her mother, “are you going to deny my father helping me?”

  “Manon,” he said, resting his hand on her shoulder. “There’s something your mother and I need to tell you.”

  She moved the wheelchair away so he was no longer touching her. “What?”

  “Your condition is not the only reason we’re in Boston.”

  Alegria heard her mother’s voice catch, and when she looked, she saw her brush away tears.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Your mother is here for treatment as well.”

  “What for?”

  “I have recently been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer,” she answered, barely above a whisper.

  She looked between her mother and father. “When did you find out?”

  “A few weeks ago, but it wasn’t until yesterday that we found out how advanced the disease is.”

  Alegria hated that the first thing she’d thought upon hearing the news was that it explained why her parents had suddenly been so much nicer to her.

  She wheeled over and took her mother’s hand. “Je suis désolée, Maman.” She looked at her father. “This changes everything.”

  “What do you mean?” her mother asked.

  “You and Papa need to focus on your health. I will manage on my own.”

  Her mother shook her head. “Non.”

  “Manon,” her father began, pulling a chair over to sit near her mother. “It is important to your maman that we do whatever we can to help you heal.”

  “What about you?”

  “It may be too late for me,” her mother answered, squeezing Alegria’s fingers.

  “You can fight this. You can beat it.”

  “Manon,” her father murmured again, shaking his head.

  “You can’t just give up,” she insisted, looking into her mother’s eyes.

  “I’m not giving up.” Her mother sighed and then looked at her father. “Pierre, may I talk with our daughter alone, s’il vous plait?”

  He nodded and walked out of the room.

  “The disease is advanced, Manon. The doctors said they would do everything they could to keep me comfortable.” Her mother took a deep breath. “I’m sorry.”

  Alegria shook her head and wiped away her own tears.

  “My biggest regret is that I have not been a better mother to you. I know it’s too late…”

  “No. It isn’t,” Alegria cried. “The cancer…there are treatments…”

  “Not the cancer, ma fille. I know I can never make the time we missed up to you.”

  “There is nothing to make up, Maman.”

  Her mother smiled and nodded. “There is too much, but for whatever time I have left, I want to try.”

  “You can’t worry about me. You have to focus on yourself.”

  “I have spent all of my life, and most of yours, focused on myself. Now I want to focus on you.”

  Alegria heard a knock on the door. “Can you give us a few more minutes?” she asked the nurse walking in.

  “I need to get you hooked back up to the monitors. It’ll only take a minute.”

  “It’s okay,” said her mother. “Do as she asks.”

  Alegria wheeled over to the bed, and the nurse lowered it.

  “Can you manage, or should I call for someone to help?”

  “I can manage.” Alegria could move her legs, but that didn’t mean she had enough strength to use them to support herself. Instead she used her arms to shift from the wheelchair to the bed.

  Once she settled, the nurse began reattaching the leads from the monitors to her body.

  “Where did my mother go?” Alegria asked when the nurse moved out of her line of sight and she could see the empty chair.

  “I don’t know,” the nurse answered. “She was just here a second ago.”

  Alegria closed her eyes, rested her head against the pillow, and pulled her phone out of the pocket of her hospital gown. She expected it to be dead, but instead, it was fully charged. She punched in her passcode, and saw that her screen background had been changed. Instead of a photo of an F15 in flight, there was one of her with her mother when she was a baby. Alegria had no idea how her parents had figured out the code to get into her cell, but it didn’t matter. She held it close to her heart, wishing her mother would come back so she could hold her close instead.

  —:—

  Mantis had been back less than an hour when his phone buzzed. “It’s Doc,” he told her and put it on speaker.

  “I got word from Shiver,” he began. “Rivet swears he saw Dutch in Kaiserslautern.”

  “Did he make contact?” Alegria asked.

  “Negative.”

  “Why not?”

  “He said that Dutch looked right at him and then ducked into an alley.”

  “So he assumed Dutch didn’t want him to approach.”

  “Something like that. Rivet mentioned it in passing during a phone call with Shiver.”

  Rivet was Shiver’s boss at MI6—wouldn’t he have been privy to the bulletins about Dutch?

  “What’s Rivet doing in Kaiserslautern?” he asked.

  “On holiday.”

  At least that explained why Rivet hadn’t known about Dutch being MIA.

  “Listen, Mantis, there’s chatter about Zamed Safi. Word is he’s on the hunt.”

  Mantis nodded, his gaze focusing on Alegria’s. “For me,” he murmured.

  “Affirmative,” Doc answered, even though Mantis hadn’t asked.

  No one had considered Zamed, Bagish and Dadvar Safi’s youngest brother, a threat. His dossier read “student of philosophy” and didn’t list a tie to the Taliban, the Islamic State, or al-Qaeda, other than his two brothers.

  “Who’s backing him?” Mantis asked.

  “Unknown.”

  “What’s his purported threat level?” Alegria asked.

  “Again, unknown. I’ll be back in touch when I know more about Dutch and about Safi. For now, sit tight.”

  “Tell me what you’re thinking,” he said to Alegria after disconnecting the call.

  “It might be a good idea to contact Razor,” she suggested.

  Everyone who’d ever worked with him knew Razor Sharp, third founding partner of K19, never forgot a face. Nor did he forget any details he’d ever learned about a person.

  “I heard Zamed was Bagish’s personal secretary, translator, and press spokesman,” Razor told him. “In addition to his native Pashto, he speaks English, Arabic, Urdu, and Persian. He was born in Jelahor village, Arghandab District, Kandahar Province.”

  “What threat level would you consider him?”

  “I’d say minimal. Without the power of his two older brothers behind him—you know, since they’re dead—he doesn’t carry much weight. The vendetta, if it’s true he has one, would be personal. He wouldn’t be acting on behalf of the Taliban.”

  “Enemies?” Alegria asked.

  Razor laughed. “E
veryone who rose to a position of power after Bagish’s death.”

  “Because they see him as a threat?”

  “Because they see everyone as a threat. Your best bet in terms of neutralizing the little bastard is to make Abdul Ghafor think he’s after him too.”

  Given the leader of the Islamic State was integral in Mantis infiltrating the Taliban back when he was after Bagish Safi, it wouldn’t be a stretch for a rumor such as the one Razor was suggesting to be taken seriously. Going after anyone—K19, CIA, ISIL, or al-Qaeda without the full force of the Taliban, was tantamount to a death wish.

  It would be foolish, however, not to think Zamed had the means to assassinate Mantis. Anyone with access to a deadly weapon could make it happen.

  “Someone should just take him out. Make sure the evil bloodline ends with this generation of Safis,” Razor told Mantis as he was about to end the call. “By the way, is Doc putting a team together?”

  “Not yet.”

  “When he does, I want to handle it.”

  “Roger that,” Mantis answered, unsure why Razor wanted to do so, but he wouldn’t argue.

  “I guess now I wait,” he said after they ended the call.

  Alegria nodded. “I can’t wait to find out whether I’m getting out of this place.”

  Mantis smiled and stroked her cheek with his finger. “I get that you’re Superwoman—you always have been—but I’m not sure it’s wise to spring you while you’re still hooked up to all this.” He motioned to the various monitors keeping track of her vital signs along with the IV she was still attached to.

  “Spoilsport.”

  Alegria looked away from him, but he could see the tears in her eyes.

  Mantis put his fingers on her chin and turned her head so she’d look at him. “Tell me why you’re crying.”

  She shook her head.

  “If you won’t tell me, I can’t help make it better.”

  “I’m not sure anyone can make it better.”

  He wiped her tears with this finger, but they didn’t stop falling.

  “It’s my mom.”

  “What about her?”

  Alegria told him about her conversation with her parents.

  “I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” he said, lying next to her on the bed and putting his arms around her.

  “Once the nurse came in, my mom just left. I haven’t heard from her since.”

  “How long ago was this?”

  “About an hour before you got back.”

  Mantis nodded. “Do you want me to try to reach your dad?”

  “Would you mind?”

  “Of course not.”

  Alegria handed him her phone. When her father didn’t answer the call, Mantis left a message.

  “Knock, knock. Are you two lovebirds at it again?” they heard Tom say from the doorway.

  Mantis stood. “Come on in,” he said.

  “I’m here to take the beautiful lady to physical therapy. You comin’ along?”

  “Sure am.”

  “Glad to hear it. Patients always do better when they have family there to help.”

  “I’ll be here every day as long as she’ll let me.”

  Alegria smiled, but they both knew it wasn’t entirely up to her. When the call came from Doc saying that Mantis was needed, he’d have to leave.

  Mantis could tell how hard Alegria was trying to fool the physical therapist into thinking her legs were stronger than they were.

  “I just want to get out of the damn hospital and get on with my life,” she told him. “Why can’t my body cooperate?”

  “If you push too hard, you’ll only wind up in worse shape than you are now.”

  When Alegria stuck her tongue out at him as he walked away, Mantis was smart enough to keep his mouth shut, although he was tempted to remind her she hadn’t been any different with him all those years ago when he was recovering from surgery.

  “We’re done for today,” said the same therapist who had warned her about working too hard.

  Without him saying so, Mantis knew he wouldn’t recommend that she go home this afternoon, especially after he told her he’d see her the next day.

  “I’m sorry, sweetheart,” he said when the man told Mantis it was okay for him to take her back to her room.

  “You might not want to stick around tonight,” she muttered.

  “Why’s that?”

  “I’m warning you in advance that I’m going to be lousy company.”

  Mantis smiled, stopped the chair, walked around in front of her, and kissed her forehead.

  “What’s that for?” she asked.

  “Because sometimes you need love the most when you think you deserve it the least.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means you’re never as unlovable as you think.”

  Alegria was quiet as he wheeled her to the elevator.

  “I don’t think I’m unlovable,” she said when it dinged and he pushed her inside.

  “And you’re right. You’re also not lousy company.”

  “You might change your mind.”

  Mantis laughed. “After spending so much time without you in my life, there isn’t much you can do to make me want to leave.”

  “Not much, huh?”

  —:—

  Mantis stood when they heard a knock on the door, and walked over to open it.

  “Okay, lovebirds,” said Tom. “Time for dinner.”

  One of the nurses followed Tom in and disconnected the leads to the monitors as well as hung the IV from the pole on the wheelchair.

  “Where are we going?” she asked.

  “You’ll see.”

  Alegria gasped when Tom wheeled her through a door near the cafeteria entrance. “What’s all this?”

  The private dining room was set up with a single table for two. The rest of the surrounding tables were laden with candles and vases filled with roses.

  “Would you like to take it from here?” Tom asked Mantis.

  “Sure would.” He wheeled her to the table, and a man came through a different door, carrying two plates that he set in front of each of them.

  “I’d like to tell you that we prepared this in the hospital kitchen, but sadly, we did not,” the man said before going back through the same door.

  “Wow,” Alegria gasped, looking over the assortment of cheese, fruit, and artisan breads. “Do you think my father arranged for this?”

  Mantis smiled. “Do you?”

  She shrugged. “It seems a bit overkill.”

  Three more courses were served before the mystery was solved.

  Alegria smiled when the man set individual Pavlovas in front of them. “This was not arranged by my father.”

  Mantis rested his chin in his palm. “No?”

  “You did this.”

  “What makes you think so?”

  “The details.”

  “Go on.”

  “Don’t play coy. You know very well that raspberries, kiwi, and blueberries are my three favorite fruits. You also know I am a stickler for a perfectly toasted, crispy meringue.”

  “A stickler, huh?”

  “Shut up,” she said with one of her sweet smiles.

  “I know it was difficult to find out you couldn’t leave the hospital tonight.”

  Alegria reached across the table for his hand. “Thank you.”

  Mantis stood, moved his chair closer to her wheelchair, and took her hands in his. “I love you, and I want to spend my life with you. I hope you know that. No matter what happens.”

  “I want that too, Mantis.”

  “You and Dutch…”

  “We’re more friends than lovers.”

  Mantis closed his eyes. “I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to talk about the lover part—or listen to you talk about it.”

  “We don’t have to talk about it. I just want you to know that my relationship with him wasn’t…the same.”

  “As what?”

  Alegria
looked into his eyes. “I could never love another man the way I love you.”

  Mantis’ phone vibrated, but he ignored it. “I feel the same way about you.”

  “See who it is,” she said when the phone continued to vibrate.

  “It’s Doc,” he said, accepting the call and bringing it to his ear.

  “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

  “Alegria and I are just finishing a romantic dinner.”

  “Shit,” Doc muttered. “That makes it harder for me to tell you why I’m calling.”

  “Go ahead.”

  “Onyx, Monk, and Striker are on their way to Boston. They’ll meet you at the airfield, and you’ll fly out together. Diesel and Ranger are already on their way. Gunner, Razor, and I are on standby.”

  “Things have escalated.”

  “Striker will brief you when you arrive.”

  “Roger that.”

  “Almost a full team,” Alegria said when Mantis ended the call with Doc, obviously having overheard the details of the conversation.

  Mantis nodded. “I can’t believe I’m leaving you already.”

  Chapter 25

  Dutch

  He scrubbed his face with his hand. He was getting damn hungry, not to mention it would soon be nightfall and he had nowhere to stay. Maybe his best bet would be to check into a hospital and tell them he’d lost his memory. Either that or go to a police station.

  Only the idea that whoever had him held captive earlier would be looking in those two places first kept him from doing it.

  “Dutch?” he heard someone say.

  He probably wouldn’t have even noticed, but the woman’s voice sounded so familiar. He turned around, hoping she wasn’t about to put a gun in his side, and was met by the prettiest hazel eyes he’d ever seen.

  “I’ve been looking for you,” she whispered. “Everyone is.”

  Dutch, if that was his name, pulled her around a corner into another alley. “Who are you?” he asked, his fingers digging into her arm.

  “Come with me,” she said, pulling him farther into the alley. The grip he had on her arm seemingly didn’t bother her.