Code Name: Kayla's Fire (A Warrior's Challenge)

by Natasza Waters

  “Uh-huh.”

  “He’s pretty cute, isn’t he?”

  She reached out to touch his fur. “Hey little guy, you need to go home?”

  “I don’t want mama bear making a charge at us. Stay on the porch.”

  She followed him outside. Mama bear wasn’t far, standing at the tree line. Thane put her baby down, and gave him a little push. The cub ran straight for her. Satisfied there was no threat, she wandered into the bush, her cub following. She joined Thane, and they walked around the house. He stopped, laying a hand on her shoulder, then his head turned sharply, his eyes methodically scanning everything around them.

  “What’s wrong?”

  He knelt down and grazed the ground with his hand. “Boot prints.” He looked up the tree that grew beside the house. “Stay behind me, Kayla.”

  “The police have been all over this property.” A little light seeped over the trees, enough to see, but dusk was close.

  “These are military tread, standard issue.”

  The confirmation was waiting for them when they entered the house. They both scanned the room, and saw it at the same time. An envelope sat on the coffee table. Thane drew her close, holding her under one arm. “You want to come out and play. Why put it off?” he yelled out. They both heard a car at the same time, and Thane pulled her with him onto the front deck.

  Marg jumped out as Pat pushed the driver’s door open.

  “Get in the car,” Thane ordered, zoning in on Marg.

  Marg stopped, her gaze falling on Kayla.

  “Get in the car and drive,” he yelled, pulling her behind him.

  “What’s wrong, man?” Pat said, holding his hand out to Marg, motioning her to stop.

  “He’s still here.”

  “What?”

  “He’s here, just left an envelope on the table.”

  Marg sprinted across the gravel, and grabbed her hand. “Come on.” Worry spread across her face as she looked around. “Pat, no,” she said loudly, seeing him step away from the car to stand beside Thane.

  “Girls, get in the car, and head for Coronado,” Cobbs said, and then turned to Thane. “Let’s get this over with. That fucking guy has to go down.”

  “Thane, no. Let’s all go.” She knew as soon as she said it, he’d never get in that car with them.

  “Here,” he gave her his revolver. “Use it. Don’t hesitate. Marg, be careful, but drive fast.”

  “Shit, come on Kayla.” Marg jumped in the car, and started the engine.

  “Thane, maybe it’s not….”

  He turned toward her, his eyes severe. They were so cold and deadly it reminded her of the White Mountains as he’d run past her into the cave. “Don’t stop until you get to Coronado. Go to Mace’s apartment.”

  “Thane….”

  Marg leaned out of the car. “Kayla, come on.”

  As fast as she could waddle, she rounded the car. She kept her eyes on Thane and Cobbs as Marg turned the car sharply, spitting rocks behind her as she hit the gas.

  “Seatbelt,” Marg said, thrusting the visor up. She navigated the turns down the rough road as fast as she could, and still keep control.

  “We shouldn’t leave them there, Marg.”

  “I know, but they wouldn’t be able to do what they have to do if we’re there.” Marg darted a quick look at her, and then reached out and covered her stomach with a hand. “We have to keep him safe, and you.”

  “I’m so sorry, Marg, I didn’t mean to upset anyone.”

  “We’ll talk about that later,” Marg said, glancing in the rearview mirror.

  The only thing behind them was the yellow lines dividing the road as they left the gravel and found pavement.

  A couple minutes passed in silence. Kayla relaxed a little, then tensed. Both she and Marg saw the headlights behind them at the same time.

  “Do you think it’s them?” Marg asked.

  “If it is, they’ll catch up.” She kept her eyes glued to the side mirror. The vehicle was narrowing the distance. “Faster, Marg.”

  “We’re coming to a windy section, and then it’s miles of straight.” She kept her foot pinned on the accelerator. “We’re out of cell range here. Another ten miles before we can call the police,” she said, slipping on the corner, and veering into the oncoming lane. The vehicle behind them didn’t give in, the lights becoming brighter as dusk fell. Suddenly the high beams flashed.

  “Don’t stop.”

  “It might be the guys,” Marg said, the car swaying heavily through another turn.

  “Then they’ll catch us, but that doesn’t look like a car. The beams are too high. I think it’s a truck.’

  “We don’t have a truck. Shit.”

  Marg reached the straightaway and floored it, but so did the vehicle behind them. “Oh, God, it’s not them. Jesus, he’s going to—”

  The truck hit them, but the impact wasn’t severe with both vehicles flying down the highway at relatively the same speed.

  “Another car!” Marg yelled.

  Kayla saw it coming in the other direction. The truck rammed them again, and they both cried out this time. The truck swerved to the left as if it was going to try and run abeam of them.

  “Don’t let him get any closer, Marg.”

  “I’ve got it floored.”

  The approaching car remained in its lane, and Marg kept ahead of the truck so he couldn’t tag their quarter, and send them into a roll. Suddenly it veered behind them. The car opposing them went by in a blur.

  “Was that a cop? God I think it was.” The lights began to flash, and the cop did a one-eighty in the middle of the highway.

  “Thank God,” Marg breathed.

  The truck pulled back. Marg did as well. They all slowed down, and stopped, but Marg left a healthy distance between them.

  A loud gust of wind escaped her as she laid her head back for a second. “The cop’s getting out of the car,” Marg said.

  They saw him stand in front of the window of the truck, but not even a second passed when they heard a weapon fire, and saw the cop crumple to his knees.

  “Go,” she yelled. “Go back.”

  Marg was already spinning rubber, and they both ducked as they passed. The glass in the side window shattered with the bullets impact. Marg straightened the car out and floored it. “You son of bitch,” she yelled.

  The Shark drove with reckless speed, forcing Marg to do the same. When she hit the curves, she took them hard, the small car able to cling to the road better than the truck, but the Shark was out for blood, and he was right on their tail. They didn’t even see the motorbikes until they were passing them.

  “He’ll kill them in that truck,” Marg shouted, gripping the wheel, her knuckles white.

  “Keep going.” Marg was able to remain ahead of the truck, but not by much.

  Kayla opened her window. “They’ve turned around.” The back window shattered, and the bullet kept going straight through the front window between them.

  “Get down, Kayla. There’s a road up here that leads to a viewpoint in the canyon. I’m going to take it. There!” Marg pointed, then cranked the wheel sharply without letting off of the gas. They slid straight across the road and into the brush, but Marg hit the gas again. The truck followed almost the same track.

  “What the hell?” Marg yelled, looking in the rearview mirror.

  Kayla saw the truck, but someone was in the back of it. Thane or Cobbs, but she couldn’t tell which. Whomever it was swung through the window, feet first and the truck swerved right off the road, bumping and jarring it kept its speed until it hit a tree, cleaving the front of it almost in two. Marg hammered on the brakes, and spun the car around.

  They sat for only a second, then saw the other bike. “Stay there,” Cobbs said when he reached Marg’s window. Spinning the bike around, he headed for the truck.

  “Kayla, no, stay here!” Marg yelled as she threw the door open.

  She stumbled and fell, and got to her feet and ran
again.

  “Kayla, stay there.” Cobbs was already off the bike, and at the truck window.

  She kept running, she couldn’t do anything else. Her heart hammered in her chest. Reaching the truck, she saw the passenger was door open. Terror gripped her like she’d never felt before as she ran the last few steps to Cobbs’ side as he pulled the driver’s door open.

  “Thane?”

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Kayla’s heart stopped, seeing motionless legs on the floor of the truck. “Thane!” She ran around to the other side, and knelt down. He lay across the floor, his arms out in front of him, his head bent at an odd angle.

  “Thane, please don’t leave me. Oh, God.” She reached out, and grasped his hand in hers. Afraid to check his pulse, but knew she had to know, she nearly cried out in relief to feel his heart beating. “Thane—” She leaned over him kissing his head. “I need you. I do. Wake up.”

  A low moan parted his lips as he lifted his head. “Kayla, where’s Pat?”

  She looked across the dark interior, but Cobbs wasn’t standing there anymore. “Easy,” she said, seeing a gash bleeding freely across his forehead. She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

  “Kayla, let me get him out of there,” Cobbs said.

  Thane found his legs, and lifted himself, while Cobbs helped him out. “Where is the son of bitch. I hammered him. I should have broken his neck.”

  “He’s about fifty feet behind us.”

  “Get me there. Kayla, wait here.”

  She ignored him, and wrapped her arm around Thane’s waist, while Cobbs did most of the heavy lifting on the other side.

  The body lay face down, arms stretching above him. Cobbs took the last steps by himself and rolled him over. Kayla’s heart jumped when the Shark groaned. Thane drew a weapon from behind his back, and took a few staggered steps toward him. “Stay there,” he said sharply to her.

  She did what he said, almost. The Shark was at their mercy. He’d haunted her, stalked her, and murdered all those women. She had to know what he looked like.

  “He’s bleedin’ out, old man,” she heard Cobbs say. “No more than a minute left.”

  “You finally fucked up, you son of bitch. I hope you burn in hell, and you better run for cover when I get there,” Thane warned.

  In the last shred of light the sky offered, Kayla saw his face, and her heart stilled, but it wasn’t because of his dark olive colored skin, jet-black hair and vacant brown eyes.

  “Kayla, get behind me.”

  “I know him.”

  “Who is he?” Cobbs asked.

  She pointed at him, and then looked into Thane’s face. Blood covered one side of it from the wound on his forehead, matting his hair, and dripping down his jaw to his shoulder. “That’s not the Shark.”

  “What do ya mean, Kayla? He left the note,” Cobbs said.

  “That’s Zara’s guard.”

  The man pulled a weapon from underneath his body, but before he leveled it a flash and the distinctive sound of a round leaving a barrel made her jump. Blood sprayed, and his body bucked as the bullet from Thane’s weapon opened up his forehead. The crack echoed against the hills.

  “Are you sure, Kayla?” Thane asked, not even a hitch in his voice after ending a man’s life. He drew her to his side, and tucked her close.

  “I’m sure. He was at your door in the hospital when I tried to see you. He wasn’t going to let me in.”

  “Pat.”

  “Already on it,” he said, pulling out his phone. “Yeah, this is Lieutenant Patrick Cobbs, Seal Team One Alpha. We need to locate an Egyptian royal named Zara Hamuudaah.” There was a pause. “Attempted murder.” Another pause. “San Diego.”

  “Won’t she get diplomatic immunity and leave?” she asked, reaching up, and swiping the blood from Thane’s cheek.

  Thane sighed. “Exactly, but she won’t be welcome to come back.”

  The puzzle pieces fell into place. “She wanted you badly enough to kill me?”

  Thane remained silent for a moment. “Something doesn’t add up here. That envelope on the table.”

  “What did it say?”

  “One word—thanks. We thought he pulled a diversion. One of two things just happened. Zara may have heard us talking about the Shark and was going to use it as a cover-up to kill you or synchronicity just saved us.”

  “Synchronicity?”

  “The Shark could still be at the house or somewhere along the route home waiting for you, knowing we’d send you away. It might be shit house luck Zara’s assassin came looking for you at the same time.”

  “Both plausible,” Cobbs said, joining them. He cocked his head at her. “Is it just me, or does everyone want to kill you?”

  “Jesus, Pat,” Thane said curling his brow tight.

  Cobbs scratched the back of his neck. “Sorry, old man, but it’s kinda true.”

  Kayla looked between both men. “It kinda is, Thane.”

  “You’re getting your fair share of beat up these days, Ghost. Think you were right about God cutting you a break. Come on let’s get back to the house,” Cobbs ordered.

  “No, let’s track him. If he’s here, he’ll want his shot.”

  “Man, you are in no condition. You got your bell rung, and you’ve probably got a concussion.”

  “Never stopped me before, has it?” Thane said, taking a staggering step.

  “Yeah, but a SEAL knows when to pull back and wait for his moment. Start moving those legs cuz I ain’t carrying ya.”

  “Kayla, are you all right?” Thane asked.

  She squeezed the life out of him.

  “Hey…” He chuckled. “I’m breathing, I’m okay.”

  Cobbs joined them, and swung a strong arm under Thane’s, helping him to the car where Marg waited, her head swiveling like an owl with every sound.

  Within the hour, several police cars sat in disarray out front of the ranch house. After giving them their story, more were called in for a hunt. An ambulance arrived, but the paramedics didn’t have much to do, since she’d already cleaned Thane up. She placed the butterfly bandages across the gash on his forehead that probably needed stitches, but Thane refused to go with the ambulance. Nothing was broken, but he was going to be a walking bruise for the next few days, and he needed bed rest.

  Cobbs took charge of the cops and Marg filled them in on the car chase.

  “We’re going home,” Cobbs said. “The son of a bitch could still be here.”

  “It’s gonna be a little windy driving home,” Marg reminded everyone.

  Cobbs wrapped an arm around her shoulders and kissed the side of her head. “No wonder you get all those speeding tickets the way you drive.”

  She tilted her head and kissed him deeply. “I learned from you, remember, hot stuff?”

  Kayla watched Pat’s expression melt with warmth when he gazed at his wife.

  “Why can’t we take Thane’s?” Kayla asked.

  Cobbs shook his head. “More than flat tires, he disconnected and trashed a few parts as well.”

  After collecting a few things, and wiping off the glass from the car seat, they all piled into one very air-conditioned vehicle, and drove the hundred miles home. Both she and Thane slept in short bouts. Cobbs and Marg weren’t listening to any arguments, refusing to let them stay anywhere but with them as they came to a rolling stop in their garage.

  “We all need a drink,” Cobbs said, throwing an arm across the backseat.

  “I want to put Thane to bed.”

  “Magic words to my ears.” Thane flinched sliding from the car. He shook his head, and slapped Cobbs on the shoulder. “That really fuckin’ hurt,” he said under his breath.

  Cobbs laughed. “I bet.”

  * * * *

  The next morning he was walking like an Egyptian mummy, and he looked like one with the bandage on his forehead. Marg had breakfast on the table, and they all took a breath after last night’s excitement.

  “Where’s
Kelsey and the girls?” Thane asked sitting down, tenderly.

  Marg filled his mug with coffee. “At their grandmother’s in another state,” she answered, looking down at him with a concerned smile. She leaned over and popped a kiss on his forehead. “You look like shit.”

  “I feel like shit,” he admitted, then winked at Kayla.

  They hadn’t taken two mouthfuls of breakfast when the front door crashed open. His eyes darted to Pat, and he saw him blink slowly, and lift his cup to his lips, shrugging at the same time. Suddenly the table was surrounded by the squad, all talking at the same time.

  “What the hell?” Fox growled with Kate by his side looking miffed.

  Nathan and Tinman shook their heads, and both hurled comments. Caleb, Clay and Naomi stood beside them, giving them hell in surround sound, but it wasn’t until Nina and Mace pushed through the crowd that they all fell silent.

  Nina’s green eyes sparked with anger, and then tears were falling out of them while she yelled at the top of her lungs. “How could you do this to me? Do you know how fucked up we were? What’s the matter with you, for Christ’s sake?” She flung herself at Kayla, and hugged her, taking a hiccupping breath.

  Kayla gazed at every face and then back at Nina. “Breakfast?”

  The roar of voices was like a freight train thundering by as they all got it out of their systems. Thane reached over, and covered Kayla’s ears. He couldn’t help but squint, the noise making his headache tilt the scales. Cobbs laughed and Marg shook her head, heading for the kitchen.

  One by one, they stopped, and then all eyes were looking behind them. Lydia and Red stood at the top of the stairs. He felt Kayla tense, and he slipped his hand over hers. Kayla rose and took a few steps toward them, looking very unsure.

  Red’s expression softened, the creases on his forehead dissolving. “Come here, girl,” he said. Kayla strung her arms around both Lydia and Red, and they hugged her like a lost child. Lydia reached a hand up and stroked Kayla’s hair. Red took hold of Kayla’s hands. “Don’t you ever run away again. If you’re ever scared, ever unsure, you run to us, do you understand? No matter what or when.”